Psalm 119:18  “Uncover my eyes so that I may see the miraculous things in your teaching” [God’s Word Translation GWT]

1 Corinthians 8:1-3 “Now regarding your question about food that has been offered to idols. Yes, we know that “we all have knowledge” about this issue. But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church. Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.”

Everything really truly hinges on us having a deep abiding relationship with God.  Loving God and receiving His love I think are the springboards to all other kingdom living

1.The Word of God itself has the power to heal us

Psalm 107:20  (KJV) “He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”

Key point:  The Word itself has the power to heal us and deliver us.

Proverbs 4:20-23  (KJV) ^“20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. ²¹ Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. ²²For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.²³ Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

Key point:  Our part in being healed by His Word:   Listening attentively to God’s Word and chewing on them, thinking about them repeatedly will lead to the healing of our whole bodies.

Truly, we need to guard what gets into our heart.  This happens through our five senses.  We have to guard what we lay are hands on, our eyes to see, our ears to hear, the people we spend our time with etc.      Over and over again scripture warns us that if these things are not pure, are hearts are being filled with all the wrong things.   

2._Everything of God and His Kingdom are birthed in us through His Word, the Incorruptible Seed

1 Peter 1:22-25 (KJV) “22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:  23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.  24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”

Key point:  The Word of God is perfect and nothing can cause it to rot or perish or be changed in any way.   Everything of God in us comes through hearing and acting on His Word.    There is no other way to Truth and His Kingdom.

Themes:

• the need for us to be purified/pure, and to actively participate in this process and let God do this work in us through relationship with Him and His Word
• We are empowered by the Spirit to do what is otherwise impossible… Love our brothers and sisters with unfeigned love.
• The seed is good, we have to keep it in us and water it for it to sprout and grow to fruitfulness.  If we do our part, the seed cannot fail and will never rot or diminish in anyway.  It is always there, just waiting for us to do our part to burst forth and bring all the promised fruit.  Truly we must feed on every word of God daily and choose to meditate on it often/constantly.

James 1:18 “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

Key point:   The Word itself is what births all things of God in us.

• God wills for us to be his creatures, and He does the work in us through His Word.
• We are citizens of His Kingdom.  We have a new identity in Christ.
• There is no way to bypass being birthed by the Word itself.     By design, we were made to need food, air, water, nurture etc to really thrive.  Above all these things, by design, we were made to and our live literally depend on feeding on the Word of God.   Many are sick and week and miserable, mentally suffering, relationally suffering or simply not fruitful in the Kingdom  because they are living in a state of chronic deficiency.   
• Equally, man was designed to be grafted in to the vine, living in a state of abiding relationship with God.  Again, humanly speaking, we tend to operate on put in the least amount of effort with the hopes of the maximum return.  This is why so many marriages are in the state that they are in.    We are the branches, He is the vine.   If we are not tapped into Him, we will never really thrive, be fruitful or truly LIVE as He made us to live.   Just as a flower will surely die once it is cut from its stem, even though we have the appearance of life for a season, we are spiritually dying if we do not have the living sap, the love and life of God running through us.
• So many are trying to self-help themselves, diet manage themselves, pep talk themselves, comfort themselves through hobbies and or addicions, or distract themselves to avoid feeling the symptoms of this deficiency through endless forms of entertainments and activities.        This is one of the very best ways to share the gospel.  Every human being not tapped into God is hurting from the separation.  This is the most common path through which I personally share the gospel.      There is an answer, there is a way to fill that hole, that hurt, that question, that inward longing, that desire for peace, that desire for joy, that desire for purpose etc.   JESUS CHRIST. 
• This means that God has given us the power to stop and or stunt our own growth in that we limit Him in the measure that we are willing to obey and abide and spend time with Him.   He will do everything else, but we must choose to prioritize Him and the Kingdom and set apart time to really pay attention and listen to Him and His Word.

3._God’s Word is 100% essential to our physical, mental and spiritual health_(Deficiencies will cause adverse effects)______

Deuteronomy 8:3 “Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

key point:  Your physical and spiritual health are dependent on you “feeding on God’s Word”.

• Self-reliance will almost surely separate a man from God.   If our needs can be perfectly and fully met by our own hands or by other people, would we ever turn to the Lord.  In James it says the rich man fades away while he goes about his business.   In the story of the feeding of the five thousand, we see that Jesus knew that the people sought him because He fed them and healed them.   At the end of the day, that is really His goal,   That we would come to HIM, so that we realize it is Him that we really need and that in Him, all of our other needs (not perceived needs and wordly wants necessarily) are perfectly met and/or exceeded (remember 12 baskets of food left over).
• Job knew of God, but didn’t know God until he faced a season of trial where he had to believe and rely on God even when it didn’t look good.   Perhaps Paul’s real issue with the thorn in the flesh is related to this same thing.  Paul had so much knowledge that He could have easily relied on His knowledge and come to rely on it instead of God.    It was the comfort and the direction and the relationship with God were ultimately the well from which the men had to draw to overcome and finish their own races well.    

Matthew 4:4  (KJV)  “4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

Key Point:  There are zero superfluous verses in the Bible.   Every book and every verse is there for a purpose so reading the whole Bible in some sort of routine way is essential.

• In our home, we do a three year Bible reading schedule.  We use this one from Moody https://www.moodychurch.org/bible-reading-plans/ click on the 3 year plan for the pdf
• The very same words echoed by our Lord and Savior Himself when He was tempted by the Enemy.   This is surely one of the keys to the victorious christian life.

Matthew 22:1-10 (ESV) “And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants[a] to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.”

Revelation 3:20 (KJV) “ I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

• God is always waiting on our part.   He is always at the door of some part of our life knocking and waiting for us to let Him in and establish His Kingdom in some part of our lives that we have kept Him firmly shut out of.   All we have to do is find an area where we can’t/won’t obey Him and you can know for certain that it is us not letting Him be Lord of that part of our life and not Him desiring to be locked out.
• the imagery of the feast runs through scripture.  Abundance, comfort, relationship, intimacy with God

John 6:35  (KJV)  “35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

key point: Jesus is the bread of life, by reading His Word and meditating on it, we are feeding on Him.  He is the only way to satisfy our hunger and thirst totally.

• If we put His Kingdom truly first, he has promised to provide everything else we need.   I think Jesus was promising both physically and spiritually that we would lack nothing.   Some verses below to support this.

Matthew 6:32-34 King James Version (KJV)
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.  34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Acts 4:33-35 King James Version (KJV)
33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.  34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,35 And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” (the whole Psalm is of course wonderful beyond words)

Philippians 4:19
And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 34:9
Fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing.

Luke 22:35 King James Version (KJV)
35 And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.

Here is a link for those who might like to explore another online resource called Biblehub, it is a great spot to find cross reference verses.

https://biblehub.com/psalms/23-1.htm

Psalm 23:5  (KJV) “5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”

key point:  God has laid out a feast (His Word) for us that is available even in the very midst of our deepest troubles.

• Our worst moments, our dryest deserts, our deepest trials are the place where God has prepared the most lavish feasts for us.   They have the potential to be our greatest encounters with God and His faithfulness.  They have the most potential to glorify God.   The more impossible the situation, the more glory He receives when He delivers us from them.   Your greatest challenge is very possibly your most powerful testimony waiting to happen.
• Really stop and visualize this whole thing.   It is wild to think about someone setting up a table and chairs, a place of abundance and celebration while surrounded by a pack of wolves.  Now, let’s stop and fill in some biblical details of why this makes total sense.      Take a closer look.   See that wolves are caged, muzzled, detoothed and powerless to hurt you.   See that they are there to witness to and be evidence of Your Lord’s absolute victory over them.    They are there so you can see for yourself the state to which they have been reduced so you no longer have to live in fear that they are free roaming and fully armed out there somewhere seeking your harm.
• The NT tells us that Jesus has publicly shamed and disarmed our enemies.       Colossians 2:15 New Living Translation (NLT) “¹⁵ In this way, he disarmed^[a] the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.”   This is our positioning as NT believers. 
•  In Roman times, they practiced something called a triumphant entry.  It was a time of great rejoicing.   The victorious general would get all dressed up and be celebrated in a triumphal procession when he returned to the city.  The enemy leaders would be shackled, and at times maimed severally (blinded and their sword hand chopped off) and led through the city as well to prove to the citizens that their foe has been thoroughly defeated and that all cause for fear is gone.   Jesus HAS overcome our enemy, Satan is a publicly disarmed and shamed foe.    When we start living according to who we are and what He has done, we can truly enter into His rest and joyfully become involved in preparing the feast for others, in the presence of our enemies, but of course freed from all fear knowing that they truly have lost all power to harm us. (Luke 10:19)

Matthew 7:8-12  (KJV)  “8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.  9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?  11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?   12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”

Matthew 15:25-30  (KJV) “25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.  26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.  27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.29 And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.  30 And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them:”

Key Point: Healing is the bread of the children.  Jesus taught us to pray, give us this day our daily bread.   Healing and deliverance are daily provisions that God wants us to seek Him for.

• The multitudes “came unto him” with  those who were lame, blind, dum, maimed and others and “cast them down at Jesus feet”.   And He healed them
• There are only a few examples where the great personal faith of a person results in someone getting healed in scripture, and this is one of them.   Against seemingly all, this foreign woman (interesting that the centurion was not a Jew either, that somehow it is actually easier for those outside of the faith to believe and seek Jesus for healing) sees and persists in receiving from Jesus what she sees He is capable of and willing to do.   This is very very encouraging for those who are intercessors, as these verses tell us that we can bring people to Jesus, and see them healed even at a distance as this woman’s daughter was healed at “that very hour” without anyone laying hands on her or speaking over her directly.   Truly the prayers and petitions of a righteous one avail much.
• If you are maimed like I am from surgery or otherwise, this is an excellent verse.  He healed those who were maimed (crooked or mutilated, especially in the hands and feet) and restored them to health. http://www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G2948&t=KJV and http://www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G2323&t=KJV.   see also Matthew 12:10-20 of  a more detailed description of what this looked like.  There are many testimonies of missing body parts being restored. Asuza Street Revival had several including limbs growing out that were amputated in work accidents, I have read several of women who had hysterectomies who went on to have healthy babies.

Luke 11:2-4  (KJV) “2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.   3 Give us day by day our daily bread.  4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”

Key point:  Your will be done (here on earth) as it already is being done in heaven.   There is no sickness, no death, no disease, no blemish, no brokenness, no maimedness, in heaven.   We can know absolutely for a fact that God’s will is NOT happening on earth as it is in heaven but that He desires this.    Praying for healing and wholeness glorifies God as do all things that bring His will to pass on earth. We can know 100% that these are a product of the fall…. they are part of the fall out of the sting of sin entering the world.   

So so much to chew on here.  Each point of monumental importance to understanding the Kingdom here on earth as it is in Heaven.  I cannot encourage you to chew on each one before considering any points that others share with you.

• Our Father – This is a HUGE revelation and shift from the Old Testament.    Jesus introduced us and made it possible for us to be called children of God.   At no time in history prior to Jesus’ time here on earth did any human get to call the Creator “Father”  “Abba”.      Jesus perfectly modelled walking out life as God’s Son with all of the benefits of being His child, all the while reverencing  and 100% submitting to Him as LORD.    This is a big theme that we will see throughout the New Testament.   We will never truly understand who we are and what our new identity is in Christ if we don’t come to a place of understanding what changed when God revealed Himself as “Our Father”

• Which art in heaven – If you read in Leviticus, you can see just how many steps the High Priest (and only the High Priest could) had to go through to enter into God’s presence (only once per year was permitted).   To enter into his presence and Kingdom, we also need to meet certain criteria.   Jesus has totally redefined how we do this and what it looks like.   We will explore this theme ongoing.  We were just reading Habbakuk as a family and it really jumped out to me that God can set no impure thing before His eyes…   God is Holy, to enter into His presence, we need to put on holiness.  This is only possible in Christ.   This is the reason why no one can get to the Father without going through Jesus.   Fear of the Lord is the beginning of all knowledge and wisdom  (Proverbs 1:7)

Proverbs 1:7 King James Version (KJV)  “⁷ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Psalm 111:10 King James Version (KJV) “10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.”

• Hallowed be thy name – God is absolutely Holy, we need to approach Him in this light and allow Him to change our thinking and lives so that everything we do reflects the holy-ness of His person and name fully.    As His children, we must allow Him to make us Holy and blameless so that others looking at our lives see a reflection of Him and His kingdom plainly.

• Thy Kingdom Come – We are called to be Ambassadors of reconciliation to preach the gospel to every creature…     God has called all believers to deny themselve, pick up their cross (die to themselves) and follow Jesus (do as He did and even greater things see John 14:12) so that God’s Kingdom can come to the multitudes.  Luke 2:49 tells us Jesus was about His Father’s business even in his youth…   

• Thy will be done-   Jesus wouldn’t be instructing us to pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven if it were already happening.   There are a lot of things going on in the world that are outside of God’s will and certainly brought Jesus himself to weeping.   The verse below illustrates what happens when God has a will but no human intercessor to stand in the gap.   He has delegated certain works in His Word to mankind.  God simply cannot break His Word as He has perfect integrity and is perfectly Just.  We must earnestly realize that sometimes mankind’s or individual disobedience to a prompting from God has immense impact.   If God prompt’s me, I try to constantly remind myself I might be the only one He has for the work He is prompting me to do.

Ezekiel 22:29-31 King James Version (KJV) ²⁹ The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.  ³⁰ And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.  ³¹ Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God.

• as in heaven, so on earth – I personally scripture through a specific lens and this really hits home for me.   There have been/will be 3 times in all of history where God gets to express His will perfectly on earth.   1st.  Prefall.  It was very good.  2nd.  In and through Jesus when He was walking on this earth.   If you want a picture of what a perfect God and perfect man look like in a fallen world, read and chew heartily on every verse that describes Jesus and His in the flesh earthly ministry.  You are seeing what it look like for God’s perfect will and way to operate in the midst of the falleness that surrounded Him.   3rd.  The New Heaven and New Earth after sin and death have been fully evicted.     I love to meditate on these passages and encourage myself with eternity and to let God reveal to me what His perfect will looks like.
• give us this day our daily bread – main point I was making above.   Pay attention to the things Jesus calls bread.  These are things that He considers necessary and of daily importance.
• forgive us our sins as we forgive others
• Keep us from temptation
• set us from evil
• thine is the Kingdom
• the power
• the glory 
• forever – a final reminder that everything is best understood in the context of eternity and that God the Un-Created one who always was and will always be.   

John 6:32-37  (KJV) “32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.  34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.  35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.  6 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.  37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

 

John 6:48-54  (KJV) “48 I am that bread of life.   49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.  50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.  51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.  52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?  53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.  54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Isaiah 53 prophesied what Jesus would accomplish through His body and blood being sacrificed for us.    Psalm 103:1-4 echoes this..   We see this in the Lord’s Supper.   Jesus did nothing that was not required and did not accomplish something to advance God’s Kingdom.  I encourage you to keep your eyes and hearts open to learning all His Word has to say about what he paid for with His broken body, and what eating His body should bring to our remembrance and what drinking His blood should bring to our remembrance.   The price He paid for our salvation, our peace, our healing both physical and mental was in the form of the terrible suffering we went through, and torture beyond that which any natural man could bear…  even to deathand hell He sacrificed Himself.    When we learn to partake of the bread and blood fully, we begin to recognized and receive fully the benefits and  redemptions He dearly paid for us to have.  

1 Peter 2:24 King James Version (KJV)  “24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

1 Corinthians 10:15-17  (KJV) “15 I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.   16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?  17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.”

 

Deuteronomy 32:47  “These instructions are not empty words—they are your life! By obeying them you will enjoy a long life in the land you will occupy when you cross the Jordan River.”

John 6:63  “The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”

Key point:  Humanly speaking, no human effort can give true life to anyone.   God’s words ARE spirit and life and are essential, absolutely essential to true life.    We bought some roots and bulbs this year.   One particular bag of “roots” looked so dried and shrivelled I would have tossed them if I had been looking at them strictly in the natural.  They are presently green bunches of leaves all through by flower beds and well on their way to being lovely ronunculus flowers.    We also bought some other “roots” that did not take quite so well and produced a 50% return only.    People are often the opposite.  They have pink cheeks and a smile so we think that they must be relatively healthy..   But spiritually speaking they are dead to eternal life as long as the Word is not in them and through them.   Appearances can be so so deceiving.

 

Psalm 81:10 “For it was I, the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.”

Key point:  This verse always reminds me of a newborn baby’s need to latch on to nurse properly.   The very first step is getting them to open their mouths wide.   We need to be like a newborn understanding that the Word is the milk that we must open our mouths wide for and when we do, God, the perfect Father has promised to fill it with good things.

Ya ya.. but what does that look like practically? Clearly we don’t just hang around all day like a baby bird chirping and asking for a worm etc to be dropped in our mouths physically.   But the posture we take is very similar.   I have 4 babies, and thankfully, (I love the blessing of the breast and the womb) we have had 4 excellent nursers.  But at the beginning it took a lot longer for them to get the milk they needed.   By the time they were weaning, they were all nursing champs.    Set time apart, open your spiritual mouth by praying as we so often pray in group.  “Heavenly Father, I ask you for eyes to see and ears to hear and the ability to really understand your Word.   Scripture says that these thing are gifts from you.   I ask you to remove any veils and scales or other hindrances/blocks that are keeping me from really hearing from you and your Word.   In Jesus name.”  And commit to a regular Bible study window, giving your full attention to what you read and continually seeking to know who God is, what He is like, what He is asking you to do etc…      Do not read it to get through it, read it to understand what God is communicating to you and your life in that passage.  You will be amazed at what starts to speak to you and how relevent all of scripture becomes to your life.

Psalm 119:93”I will never forget your commandments, for by them you give me life.”

Key Point:  God heals us and give us life through His Word.   God’s commandments are all very intentional.  By obeying them, we can walk in life and obedience long before we are spiritually mature enough to understand the why’s of why they are given and essential.

There is a why behind every commandment in there.   Just as we can all recall our parents or guardians telling us certain things over and over again “Don’t snack right before supper, you’ll spoil your appetite” etc..  in hindsight some very practical and common sense guidelines to healthy living, God’s Word is full of instructions that lead to spiritual health and holiness.    Even when we are too young in our understanding to understand all the why’s, we are blessed if we honour them.  I can only imagine what my 4 years olds life would like without a parent to offer him counsel and structure.     As we walk with Christ, we tend to find out more and more about the why’s and realize that all along, his instructions, prohibitions, and commands were all given in love, to protect us and lead us into every blessings He has planned for us. 

This reminds me of the very beginning.  God made man out of clay and breathed (spoke) life into Him.   This verse plainly echoes what has been so from the beginning.   His Word is the delivery system of life.   

4.__The Word helps us in Understanding and Assuming Our Original/newly re-released Identity_______

James 1:22-25 KJV “22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:  24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.  25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

 

2 Corinthians 5:6-8  (KJV) “6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:  7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)  8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

Key point: Scripture and only scripture can reveal to us who we really are and what we are truly capable of.

We don’t often stop and think about it, but our identity is very very often a byproduct of a number of very highly subjective things.   Our 5 senses, our experiences, our memories, the words of our friends and family members, even those of total strangers, the books we have read, the movies we have seen,  our life up to this point, act as witnesses and tell us who we are and what we are like.    They do so in such a convincing way that we take it for granted that none of these things are actually reliable witnesses.    Depending on which culture, era, family, country etc we live in, all of these things, what is perceived as admirable, admirable, etc are all very much subjective.   Scripture tells us all sorts of things about who we really are.  I encourage you to seek God first and his righteousness, but also come to look for yourself in His Word.     He tells you all sorts of things about yourself that you will never know without meditating on his Word.    The hand outs we gave on the first day are a perfect example and wonderful sampling of the things that God says about you.   You are the apple of His eye and His thoughts about you truly are countless and greater in number than all the grains of sand on the earth.. WOW!!!   God places so much value in who we are and who He created us to be, that He sent His Son to die for YOU and ME.   For some who struggle with self worth, this is unfathomable but absolutely true.   He never ever loses trak of who we really are underneath the burden of sin and sickness and worldliness that is constantly tripping us up.   Every other lens we can look through gets our true likeness wrong.  Scripture goes on to tell us that as we look into His Word and let us transform us,we will go from strength to strength and glory to glory…   Literally the more we look into this mirror, the more we will reflect our true and fully redeemed natures. HOW encouraging.

5.__Jesus is and the Word of God are one and the same________________

John 1:1-5 + 14 “In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was present originally with God. All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being. In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men. And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it].”  +  “And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.” [Amplified Bible]

Jesus has always existed.  Before being born of the virgin, He was called, among other things simply the Word.   He was given a human name when He was born to a human mother and bears that name still today.   But Jesus has always been and “all things were made and came into existence through Him”.   If you are ever tempted to think how in the world can God fix the mess that is my health, my life, my????    Rest assured, the One who spoke and created the whole universe from nothing  is more than able to redeem and restore and fix everything.   Nothing is impossible or difficult for our Creator.

6.__We can be confident because the Word CANNOT fail

Isaiah 55:10-11  ““The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow,  producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit.  It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”

Our biggest challenge is simply not letting the world crowd the Word out of our hearts and lives.   If the Word remains in us long enough, He will win.   It is that simple.   But there is nothing harder to do in the natural. In fact, it is humanly impossible.    We need God’s help even in this very simple thing.    The enemy will try by every means to get you off the Word because if he can get you to set your eyes elsewhere, you are easy prey.   

Practical application:   Start with one thing God is showing you in His Word, and convicting you about.  Camp in that place until your whole life becomes a reflection of His Word in that area.   There are limitless examples.    One that we have mentioned before is take full responsibility for your buttons.  If someone we know is pushing our buttons, they are not the problem.   There will always be someone the enemy can send to push those buttons.  How could he not take advantage of such a marvelous foothold.     How to do this?  Be transparent with God and other true believers..  Find verses about who you are and then allow God to transform your thinking and habits accordingly.   Be prepared to eat a lot of humble pie as you are called to instantly and often apologize to others and ask God for forgiveness.    Humble pie is a great motivator.     

Another example would be gluttony and addictions:   The fruit of the Spirit is self-control.   Most of us can quickly name things that we are prone to doing in excess.    Screen time is one that I fight with during certain windows (2-3 hours of tv was quite normal in my home growing up, I still fight cravings to sit down in front of a screen and let it eat up my time).  Sugar can be another one.    If i eat a lot of sugar, I crave a lot of sugar. The less I eat (hard at first, the better I feel and the less I crave it)… But if i open that door up again with a few sugary days, it can feel like I am starting the fight all over again.  I am not, and I get over it much more quickly but the pull is there.  Praise God, in both of these things, my appetite are steadily and over time decreasing and I am feeling the pull less and less to fall prey to them.   I guarantee God is talking to all of us about something that we could be “letting” Him help us with more than we did yesterday.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 “Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe.”

Key Point:  Scripture is all from God.   We must treat it as gospel truth.    The Word is beyond and above human ideas and is not the product of human authors.  It was 100% inspired by God and authored by God through human hands but God’s heart and will and truth.  Not that the Word only continues to work in those who believe

 

2 Timothy 2:9 “And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained.”

 

7._____The Word of God is absolutely true and pure and complete

Isaiah 45:23 “I have sworn by my own name; I have spoken the truth, and I will never go back on my word: Every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will confess allegiance to me”

Key point:  God never goes back on His Word.   His decrees are eternal and work in harmony with every other word in the Bible.   God has perfect integrity.

Psalm 12:6  (KJV) “6 The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.”

Key Point:  The Word in it’s pure form as we find it in scripture is absolutely trustworth and true.  We have to be so mindful of how often we are tempted to add or take away from it.   To do so is to contaminate and at times make even the Word of God of no effect.    While a glass of water is life giving, a glass of water laced with poison is lethal.   Satan loves to twist and add just enough falsehood to the Word to render it useless in our lives.  We need to guard our hearts and eyes against such things.

 

Psalm 18:30  (KJV) “30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.”

Isaiah 45:22-23  (ESV) 22 “Turn to me and be saved,     all the ends of the earth!    For I am God, and there is no other. 23 By myself I have sworn;   from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return:  ‘To me every knee shall bow,    every tongue shall swear allegiance.’”

Psalm 89:34 “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.”

Psalm 119:160  “The sum of Your word is truth [the total of the full meaning of all Your individual precepts]; and every one of Your righteous decrees endures forever.” [The Amplified]

Key point:   Not one point in scripture ever disappears.  There are things that are fulfilled, things that are specific to a specific group or person.

“The very essence of your words is truth; all your just regulations will stand forever.” [NLT]

Psalm 148:6 “He set them in place forever and ever. His decree will never be revoked.”

Isaiah 40:8  (ESV) “8 The grass withers, the flower fades,     but the word of our God will stand forever.”

2 Samuel 7:28 “For you are God, O Sovereign Lord. Your words are truth, and you have promised these good things to your servant.”

 

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START OF SESSION 2

8.__The Word is our only offensive and defensive weapon but more than sufficient

Matthew 4:1-11 “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.  During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”  But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”  Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”  Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”  “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”  Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.”

Key Point:   We see Jesus Himself in action here effectively and powerfully resisting temptation, submitting to God and His Word and then seeing the devil leave as a result.   Whatever Jesus models for us is with deep meditation and consideration.   His primary defense “It is written”  Jesus defended Himself with the Word.

• Self-control and the ability to deny self are ESSENTIAL.   If we have a known weakness, sin with capitalize on it.   Satan came at Jesus with the same kinds of temptations he comes at us with.  He appealed to Jesus’ fleshly appetites trying to entice him with food (while he was in a 40 day fast), with recklessness and looking to God for protection whilst in the midst of rebelling against his Word and wisdom,  and Self-centeredness and self-glorification.  We can learn so so much about what Jesus teaches us here.    We can sometimes make light of things like the inability to moderate our eating and the need for the approval and encouragement of others.   If Jesus lacked self control over Himself, He would have failed during this time of temptation.    I believe fasting and prayer and crucifying self and the flesh are ESSENTIAL for us to be equipped to resist and stand on the Word relentlessly when the enemy comes at us.
• Jesus never lost track of His Father’s will and plan.  He submitted 100% to God’s Word and simply did not entertain any of the enemy’s attempts to get him to doubt God’s goodness and truth.
• When the time of testing and tempation that the Holy Spirit led Him into was over, Jesus received ministry from angels.  Often, we look to other people after a tough go, and not to our Heavenly Father’s provision and ministrations via His angels.  This was a really powerful thing for me to realize as so often we look to those who have hurt us to “make it better” or “make it up to us” and end up getting hurt even more when they don’t/won’t/ or can’t.
• Note that this exchange continued until Jesus shut it down by sending the devil away.   Is it possible that we actually have this same power to shut down temptation using our God given authority? If so, surely this is something we need to understand and practice using.
• The same account in Luke 4 tells us Jesus returned in the power of the Holy Spirit.   For whatever reason, Jesus needed to be 1.  baptized, 2. spend a 40 day window of time in the wilderness being tempted and fasting and praying 3. These things proceeded His ministry and Him operating in the power of the Holy Spirit.    I PERSONALLY believe that this is one of those things that we all have to go through and that it was forshadowed in the Old Testament to.   We are told they we baptized when they went through the Red Sea and baptized in the presence of the Spirit as they followed the cloud, we see that Jesus was baptized (immersed in water) and with the Holy Spirit descending on Him as a dove.   They were led out into the wilderness for a time and tempted there, but failed the tests, and therefore remained stuck in the wilderness.. 
•  Jesus was led out into the wilderness but passed the tests with all expediency and returned in the power of the Spirit.    I think both are notable keys and worth meditating on until we see them manifest in our own lives.  When I compare these things, I see 2 big things right off the hop.
  • Jesus was utterly dead to self-will.  The Israelites remained fixated on self… self never died.  I am very convinced that we will always be stuck at least in part in the wilderness place of our own lives as long as self-will has not submitted to God’s will and plans.   
  • Jesus trusted God 100%.  The Israelites trusted God to a point and were willing to follow Him if they were motivated enough in the moment to do so but just as often refused based on their own understanding and perceptions of the situation.  Jesus trusted God absolutely and did WHATEVER He told Him to do.

Proverbs 30:5 “Every word of God proves true.  He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.”

Key point:  EVERY word proves true.    So often, in the heat of it all, it can seem like God’s Word has fallen short or not delivered…..  BUT guaranteed, it has not and cannot fail.   When we finally do see things clearly, this will be totally evident.   So it takes faith to accept this and act accordingly now when our senses and experiencing and others are telling us otherwise.

At some point, we will hit a promise of God that seems so big, so good, so utterly impossible that our human capacity to truly receive it is simply insufficient.   These types of promises can only come through a revelation/rhema word.  Thankfully, the Word Himself imparts those who seek Him faithfully this kind of understanding.   EVERY word of God PROVES true, regardless of how hard it is to believe when we hear it through our human understanding and limited perspective.  See Romans 4:20-22 as an example of Abraham believing in spite of his humaness.

Psalm 149:6 “Let the praises of God be in their mouths, and a sharp sword in their hands”

Key Point:  Jesus knew the Word and was able to deflect and counter ever blow with the Word.    Someone mentioned the word sword here implies a short sword intended for close combat, not a long sword to swing wildly about.  What we can say between these two verses is that Jesus knew the Word well enough to recognize the omissions and twists that the enemy tried to add to the Word and readily responded with another verse that disarmed his enemy effectively.  When we learn to hear from the Holy Spirit and spend daily time in the Word, He can equip us in this way as well.   We referred to the Word being used with surgical precision.   Jesus used specific verses and did not simply “beat the air” and throw out everything He knew hoping that something would work.   Dear Father, teach me to know and understand the Word with the same measure of depth and power, in Jesus Christ name.

9.___________________________________________________________________________

Ezekiel 3:10 “Then he added, “Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself.”

Key Point:  Before we can really share the Word with others effectively, investing our time to read  and re-read, to meditate on and consider the Word until it comes to life in our own understanding is so powerful.   Once I have gotten a hold of a truth, it is easy to teach it with joy and passion and power.   Learning it on a by rote level (the abilityt to parrot the words but not necessarily get the meaning) yields very little fruit.

 

****************  Week 2 Session 2 *********************************

John 15:7  “But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!”

Key Point:  Our part is to abide in (continually think about and consider His Words and His nature and live accordingly) and keep His Words always before our eyes, THEN we will ask only according to His Will and will receive all that we therefore ask for.

John 8:31-32  “So Jesus said to those Jews who had  in Him, If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples. And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.”

Key Point:  The progressive present tense nature of the sentence, you will continually know the the Truth and will be continually (ongoing) be set more and more free promise is conditional on us abiding in His Word.   This is also saying that if we do NOT hold fast to His teachings and live according to them, we are NOT His disciples).

Joshua 1:8-9 “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.  This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Key Point:  Obedience is a fruit of reading and meditating on God’s Word continually.   We simply cannot be obedient if we have not taken the time to hide God’s Word in our hearts.   Obedience is really a fruit of abiding in God.

Luke 1:20  “For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”

Key point:    Yes, some promises have an appointed fulfillment time.  In this case the context was the birth of John the baptist.  Very often, there is a conception time (seed planting time), an incubation time (a watering and growing season) and a birthing time (harvest) when it comes to the Word of God.   The Word is the incorruptible seed.  As we sow it and water it increasingly into our lives and the lives of others, we can grow impatient if we don’t understand this element.   Thankfully the healing of our flesh is not one of these wait a long time promises.   Jesus healed them all right away and did not send even one away to “learn from their sickness” to grow in their maturity or other fruit or to wait for his timing.  He simply healed them all.     The Word simply says that His best way to teach us and to grow us and to disciple us is via His Word.    The serpent wants us to add to the Word here and permit him to allow lengthy delays in our healing.   Don’t take the bait.  Today is the day of” soteria” /salavation.

Strong’s “σωτηρία sōtēría, so-tay-ree’-ah; feminine of a derivative of G4990 as (properly, abstract) noun; rescue or safety (physically or morally):—deliver, health, salvation, save, saving.”

2 Corinthians 6:2 The Passion Translation (TPT) 2 For he says,  I listened to you at the time of my favor.  And the day when you needed salvation,  I came to your aid.  So can’t you see? Now is the time to respond to his favor! Now is the day of salvation!”

 *****************Session 2 Week 3 *************************************

1 Chronicles 16:14-16  (KJV) “14 He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.  15 Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations;  16 Even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac;” 

Key point:  God’s judments, laws, regulations are already in operation in all of earth.    Regardless of our awareness and understanding of them, they ARE.  It is in our best interest to obey Him in studying His Word so that we can work within  the framework He has established.   He has commanded us to be ALWAYS mindful of theses things.

Ezekiel 3:1-3  (ESV)”   And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.”

Key point:  God has given us His Word.   We will only benefit from it if we “eat/read” it until we are truly filled with it.   

10.____________________________________________________________

Proverbs 1:2-4 “Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline,(1st) to help them understand the insights of the wise (2nd). Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined (3rd) and successful lives (4th),  to help them do what is right (5th), just, (6th) and fair (7th). These proverbs will give insight to the simple (8th),  knowledge(9th)  and discernment (10th) to the young.”

Key Point:  the book of Proverbs is a powerhouse and is on assignment to do at least 10 different things for us.   I do these often with my own children as they give insight to the simple and knowledge and discernment to the young (in  age and in their walk).

****Tuesday Sessions 3, week 4*****

 

Psalm 19:9-11 “The [reverent] fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even than much fine gold; they are sweeter also than honey and drippings from the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is Your servant warned (reminded, illuminated, and instructed); and in keeping them there is great reward.” [The Amplified]

 

Psalm 69:32-33 “The humble will see their God at work and be glad.  Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged. For the Lord hears the cries of the needy;   he does not despise his imprisoned people.”

 

1 Timothy 4:13-15 “Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them.  Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you.  Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress. “

 

2 Timothy 3:16-17  “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.  God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work..”

 

Romans 7:7-12 “Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power.  At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me.  But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good.”)

 

11.______________________________________________________________________________

Ephesians 5:26-27 “For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.”

 

Psalm 119:11 Context all of Psalm 119 “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

 

1 John 3:9 “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
 

1 John 5:18 “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.”

 

Nehemiah 8:1-17 New Living Translation (NLT) “… all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given for Israel to obey. 2 So on October 8[a] Ezra the priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly, which included the men and women and all the children old enough to understand. 3 He faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law.  4 Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform that had been made for the occasion. To his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah. To his left stood Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. 5 Ezra stood on the platform in full view of all the people. When they saw him open the book, they all rose to their feet.6 Then Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people chanted, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.  7 The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—then instructed the people in the Law while everyone remained in their places. 8 They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage.  9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting for the people said to them, “Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lordyour God.” For the people had all been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.  10 And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”  11 And the Levites, too, quieted the people, telling them, “Hush! Don’t weep! For this is a sacred day.” 12 So the people went away to eat and drink at a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them.  13 On October 9[c] the family leaders of all the people, together with the priests and Levites, met with Ezra the scribe to go over the Law in greater detail. 14 As they studied the Law, they discovered that the Lordhad commanded through Moses that the Israelites should live in shelters during the festival to be held that month.[d] 15 He had said that a proclamation should be made throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, telling the people to go to the hills to get branches from olive, wild olive,[e] myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees. They were to use these branches to make shelters in which they would live during the festival, as prescribed in the Law.  16 So the people went out and cut branches and used them to build shelters on the roofs of their houses, in their courtyards, in the courtyards of God’s Temple, or in the squares just inside the Water Gate and the Ephraim Gate. 17 So everyone who had returned from captivity lived in these shelters during the festival, and they were all filled with great joy! The Israelites had not celebrated like this since the days of Joshua[f] son of Nun.”

2 Chronicles 34 (about Josiah finding the Law)

12._________________________________________________________________________

Psalm 119:50 “This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life.”

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”

Psalm 119:114 “You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope.”

Psalm 119:133 “Guide my steps by your word,  so I will not be overcome by evil.”

Romans 15:4 “Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.”

2 Peter 1:3-9  (KJV) “3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;  6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.”

2 Peter 1 :19-21 “Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding,  or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.” 

13.___________________________________________________________________________________

Hebrews  4:12 “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. “

James 1:21 “So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for.” it has the power to save your souls

Psalm 33:4-6  (KJV) “4 For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth.5 He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.  6 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

Psalm 107:17-20 “Some were fools; they rebelled and suffered for their sins.  They couldn’t stand the thought of food, and they were knocking on death’s door. “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death.”

Genesis 1:1-31 – God spoke all of creation into being.

Psalm 33:4-7 “For the word of the Lord is right; and all His work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the loving-kindness of the Lord. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all their host by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea as in a bottle; He puts the deeps in storage places”

Jeremiah 1:11-19  (ESV) “11 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond branch.” 12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.  13 The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.”14 Then the Lord said to me, “Out of the north disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. 16 And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands. 17 But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. 18 And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”

Jeremiah 15:19-21  (ESV) “19 Therefore thus says the Lord: “If you return, I will restore you,  and you shall stand before me.  If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,   you shall be as my mouth.  They shall turn to you,  but you shall not turn to them.  20 And I will make you to this people  a fortified wall of bronze;  they will fight against you,   but they shall not prevail over you,  for I am with you to save you and deliver you,  declares the Lord.  21 I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,  and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.”

14.___________________________________________________________________

Psalm 78:1-10  (KJV)  “78 Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.  2 I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:  3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.  4 We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.  5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:  6 That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:  7 That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:  8 And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.”

Luke 11:27-28  “27 As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” 28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

Deuteronomy 12:28  (KJV)  “²⁸ Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God.”

15.______________________________________________________________________

Deuteronomy 30:14  ^“But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your mind and in your heart, so that you can do it.” [the Amplified]

Isaiah 28:9-20 “Who does the Lord think we are?” they ask. “Why does he speak to us like this? Are we little children, just recently weaned? He tells us everything over and over— one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there!”  So now God will have to speak to his people through foreign oppressors who speak a strange language! God has told his people, “Here is a place of rest; let the weary rest here. This is a place of quiet rest.” But they would not listen. So the Lord will spell out his message for them again, one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there, so that they will stumble and fall.  They will be injured, trapped, and captured.  Therefore, listen to this message from the Lord, you scoffing rulers in Jerusalem. You boast, “We have struck a bargain to cheat death and have made a deal to dodge the grave. The coming destruction can never touch us, for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception.”  Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone.   It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken. I will test you with the measuring line of justice and the plumb line of righteousness.  Since your refuge is made of lies, a hailstorm will knock it down. Since it is made of deception, a flood will sweep it away. I will cancel the bargain you made to cheat death, and I will overturn your deal to dodge the grave. When the terrible enemy sweeps through, you will be trampled into the ground Again and again that flood will come, morning after morning, day and night, until you are carried away.”

Matthew 11:25 “At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike.  Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!”

Proverbs 8:9-10 “My words are plain to anyone with understanding,  clear to those with knowledge. Choose my instruction rather than silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold.”

Psalm 119:130 “The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand.”

2 Corinthians 1:13-14 ”Our letters have been straightforward, and there is nothing written between the lines and nothing you can’t understand. I hope someday you will fully understand us, ¹⁴ even if you don’t understand us now. Then on the day when the Lord Jesus returns, you will be proud of us in the same way we are proud of you.”

16.____________________________________________________________________

Psalm 138:2  (KJV) “2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.”

Psalm 119:89  “Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.”

1 John 4:1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

2 Corinthians 11:4  “For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.”

1 Corinthians 3:9-11  (KJV) “9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.  10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.  11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 

Matthew 7:24  (KJV) 24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:”

POTENTIAL BLOCKS

1.____________________________________________________________________________________

 Deuteronomy 4:1-2 “And now, Israel, listen carefully to these decrees and regulations that I am about to teach you. Obey them so that you may live, so you may enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.  Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you.”

Galatians 1:7 “I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.”

Revelation 22:17-19  “I [personally solemnly] warn everyone who listens to the statements of the prophecy [the predictions and the consolations and admonitions pertaining to them] in this book: If anyone shall add anything to them, God will add and lay upon him the plagues (the afflictions and the calamities) that are recorded and described in this book. And if anyone cancels or takes away from the statements of the book of this prophecy [these predictions relating to Christ’s kingdom and its speedy triumph, together with the consolations and admonitions or warnings pertaining to them], God will cancel and take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the city of holiness (purity and hallowedness), which are described and promised in this book.”[the Amplified Bible]

2._______________________________________________________________________

Deuteronomy 5:1 “Moses called all the people of Israel together and said, “Listen carefully, Israel. Hear the decrees and regulations I am giving you today, so you may learn them and obey them!”

(see Word Study Shema)

3._________________________________________________________________________

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.  And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.  And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.  Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders.  Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

Deuteronomy 29:29 “The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.”

4._______________________________________________________________________________

Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”

Isaiah  5:13-14  KJV “Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.  Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.”

The Amplified Bible“Therefore My people go into captivity [to their enemies] without knowing it and because they have no knowledge [of God]. And their honorable men [their glory] are famished, and their common people are parched with thirst.     Therefore Sheol (the unseen state, the realm of the dead) has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth without measure; and [Jerusalem’s] nobility and her multitude and her pomp and tumult and [the drunken reveler] who exults in her descend into it.” 

1 Samuel 3:1  (ESV)  “Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.”

Isaiah 52:7  (KJV) “7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!”

Romans 10:15  (KJV) “15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!:”

Acts 20:25-27  (KJV) “25 And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.  26 Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.  27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.”

Jeremiah 5:12-14  (ESV) “12 They have spoken falsely of the Lord and have said, ‘He will do nothing; no disaster will come upon us,  nor shall we see sword or famine.  13 The prophets will become wind;   the word is not in them.  Thus shall it be done to them!’”  The Lord Proclaims Judgment 14 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts:  “Because you have spoken this word, behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire,     and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them.”

5.___________________________________________________________________________

Jeremiah 6:10 “To whom can I give warning? Who will listen when I speak? Their ears are closed, and they cannot hear. They scorn the word of the Lord.  They don’t want to listen at all.”

John 8:47 (KJV)“He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.”

John 9:39-41 “Jesus then said, “I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day, making all the distinctions clear, so that those who have never seen will see, and those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind.”   Some Pharisees overheard him and said, “Does that mean you’re calling us blind?” Jesus said, “If you were really blind, you would be blameless, but since you claim to see everything so well, you’re accountable for every fault and failure.”  (the Message)

Matthew 13:8-16  [The Amplified Bible] “He who has ears [to hear], let him be listening and let him consider and perceive and comprehend by hearing.     Then the disciples came to Him and said, Why do You speak to them in parables?  And He replied to them, To you it has been given to know the secrets and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.    For whoever has [spiritual knowledge], to him will more be given and he will be furnished richly so that he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is the reason that I speak to them in parables: because having the power of seeing, they do not see; and having the power of hearing, they do not hear, nor do they grasp and understand. In them indeed is the process of fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, which says:

 ‘You shall indeed hear and hear but never grasp and understand; and you shall indeed look and look but never see and perceive. For this nation’s heart has grown gross (fat and dull), and their ears heavy and difficult of hearing, and their eyes they have tightly closed, lest they see and perceive with their eyes, and hear and comprehend the sense with their ears, and grasp and understand with their heart, and turn and I should heal them.’ But blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are your eyes because they do see, and your ears because they do hear.  Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men [men who were upright and in right standing with God] yearned to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

Proverbs 19:27″ If you stop listening to instruction, my child, you will turn your back on knowledge”

Proverbs 4:5-6 “Get wisdom; develop good judgment.  Don’t forget my words or turn away from them. Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you.  Love her, and she will guard you.”

Proverbs 28:9 NLT “God detests the prayers of a person who ignores the law.”

KJV  “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.”

Isaiah 5:24  (NLT) “24 Therefore, just as fire licks up stubble and dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will rot and their flowers wither.  For they have rejected the law of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies;  they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.”

Jeremiah 8:9  (ESV) “9 The wise men shall be put to shame;  they shall be dismayed and taken;  behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord, so what wisdom is in them?”

Jeremiah 11:3-8  (ESV) “3 You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, Lord.”   6 And the Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.”

Jeremiah 23:36 “ Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. 17 They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”

6.____________________________________________________________________

Jeremiah 4:3 “This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:   “Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns.”

Jerimiah 6:10-11 “10 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the Lord is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.  11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.”

Luke 8:4-15 “One day Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear him: “A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants.  Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”  His disciples asked him what this parable meant.  He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:   ‘When they look, they won’t really see. When they hear, they won’t understand.’ “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved.  The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity.  And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.”

7.____________________________________________________________________________________

Matthew 15:1-9 “Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition?  For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”  Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? For instance, God says, ‘Honour your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’  But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you.  For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’  In this way, you say they don’t need to honour their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition.  You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’

Mark 7:10-13  (KJV)  “10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:  11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.  12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;  13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.”

1 Corinthians 1:15-24  (KJV) “15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.  16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.  17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.  18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.  19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.  20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?  21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.  22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:  23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;  24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.”

Mark 6:4-6  (KJV) “4 But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.  5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.  6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.”

Romans 4:19-21  CONTEXT (KJV) “19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb:

20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.”

8.______________________________________________________________________________

1 Samuel 9:27  (ESV) “27 As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to pass on before us, and when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.”

Luke 14:12-24  (ESV)  “12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.  15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”

Luke 10:38-42  (NKJV) “38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”  41 And [b]Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

James 1:11  (ESV) “11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.”

Matthew 13:15-23  (ESV) “15 For this people’s heart has grown dull,  and with their ears they can barely hear,  and their eyes they have closed,  lest they should see with their eyes     and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’  16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.[a]22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

Proverbs 23:11-13  (NLT) “11 For their Redeemer is strong;  he himself will bring their charges against you. 12 Commit yourself to instruction;    listen carefully to words of knowledge. 13 Don’t fail to discipline your children.    The rod of punishment won’t kill them.”