Obedience through Punishment

“And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.”

– Leviticus 26:18

Exposition:

        We love to hear that God is love, and we often hesitate to talk about the wrath of God. Sure, it looks good to attract people because of love than to drive them by fear. However, the Scripture says that God is also an angry God and He has often punished us to bring back to Him. In Leviticus 26, God assured the Israelites of prosperous blessings should they continue to obey Him. He also warned them of punishment should they choose to turn away from Him.

        Verse 18 reveals that God’s punishment is not merely a consequence of disobedience, but it is for us to obey God knowing that the way of disobedience is hard and painful. No matter how stubborn we may be, God is not backing off. If the Israelites would not turn away from their sins even after a season of punishment, God warned them that He will punish them seven times more. It is to make them realize that only the path of obedience pleases the Lord to bless them.

        The wrath of God is virtuous like the love of God or the justice of God. God’s wrath is unleashed upon the unjust that everyone may fear Him. However, God never punishes us to the degree that we deserve; for none can bear the full punishment of God, only Jesus can, and He bore the wrath of God in the cross. He satisfied the wrath of God which was to be upon the sinners who put their trust in Him for their Salvation. Whosoever repent for their sins and trust in the Lord will receive eternal life. God commands everyone to repent of their sins to be saved from the wrath to come.

Personal Reflection:

·       Is there any unrepentant sin in my life that I should deal with now before it is too late?

Personal Commitment:

·       I must consider the trials of life and the chastisement of God as joy knowing that God chastens whom He loves.

Prayer:

Lord, forbid me to be stubborn like the Israelites of the Wilderness. Show me my sin by the convicting work of Your Spirit, and then empower me to yield my life to His control, Amen!

Block Diagram and Outline of 1 John 4:7-11

Because we are begotten of God and Beloved of God

 

Block Diagram and Outline of 1 John 4:12-21

1 JOHN 4:12-21 “PERFECT LOVE”

Block Diagram and Outline of 1 John 5:1-5

“We are Overcomers” – 1 John 5:1-5

"A Child of God can keep the Commandments of God because he is a Conqueror of God."

Block Diagram and Outline of 1 John 5:6-13

 “Life is in His Son”

Believe in the Son for the Eternal Life

Got A Prayer Request?

"Meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains."

– Colossians 4:3

Exposition:

        Apostle Paul is a man of prayer, by this I mean he believes in prayer. In private, he prays unceasingly for himself, other Christians, Jews, and Gentiles. In public, he prays along with the other saints in a formal and informal context. Furthermore, he would not only pray solely by himself, but he would ask other saints to pray for him. He exhorts everyone to live a life of prayerfulness. Here, in this verse, we see Apostle Paul requesting prayers from the church at Colossae for his preaching ministry.

        Now, if Apostle Paul seeks prayer for himself and his team members, would we not seek the prayers of others for us? Paul is arguably the godliest person, yet he seeks prayer from ordinary church members. It does not matter how immature we may be, if we are Christians, our prayer is before the throne of God. We mustn't hesitate to pray even for such godly people, they need our prayers like the rest of us, and our prayers are effective as well, if not Paul wouldn't have asked for their prayers.

Sure, prayers must be according to God's will. We can't expect God to help us do the wrong things or for our sinful selfish interest. Even here, Paul is seeking a release from his imprisonment, not for the comfort of free life, but to continue the preaching ministry, and he wouldn't mind another imprisonment for preaching the gospel. Colossians could at least pray for the release of Apostle Paul, even if they aren't able to proclaim the gospel effectively like Paul does, or not bold enough to endure suffering as Paul does on account of the gospel.

Personal Reflection:

• Do I (as a minister of the gospel) have a list of prayer supporters who know my prayer points from time to time?
• Do I (as an ordinary Christian) have the habit of saying, "May I pray for you" or "Is there anything I can pray for you" or "Shall we pray together”?

Personal Commitment:

• To seek others’ prayers and also the prayer points from others from time to time.

Prayer:

Lord, humble my heart to fall before your throne of grace, Amen!

Block Diagram and Outline of 1 John 5:14-21

“Christian Confidence – What are we sure of” 

Christians can be certain of their prayers answered, sins pardoned, power over sin, deliverance from the power of Satan, and eternal life in the person of Christ, because they are born of God from the day they have heard and received the gospel. 

Block Diagram and Outline: 1 John 1:1-4

"Knowing Jesus – the Joy of Fellowship"

One must understand the nature of Christ and the nature of this fellowship to have this joy.

 

Thankfulness in Life

"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

– Colossians 3:17

Exposition:

        It is far easier to control our actions than our attitude. Actually, actions are the precursors to our attitude (thinking, planning, or conceiving). One could avoid sinful actions but still sin in one’s heart. Likewise, we can do a lot of good work, but with a bad attitude. We can even say or do godly things with a sinful attitude of remonstrance, grumbling, or whispering. This verse exhorts us to do everything in speech and action with an attitude of thankfulness to God. Both action and attitude matter to God.

        When we are thankful, we do not grumble or whisper, we are joyful. God wants us to be joyous people. The root meaning of 'giving thanks' is gratefulness. Gratefulness is a response to the grace of God. Since we have received and built our life upon His grace, we are to be thankful people at all times, in all places, and in all works. Thankfulness is a recurring theme in this book of Colossians (1:3, 12; 2:7; 3:15, 17; 4:2). O How God wants us to be thankful people!

        All our thankfulness is always primarily to God the Father. It's not the kind of thankfulness one has for somebody who helped him gain thing wrongfully. It is the thankfulness that comes when doing the right things according to the power of Jesus in our life. Would you recognise that the Sovereign God is your Father–who has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus–when you say and do all things for the edification of one another in the body of Christ? When we recognise that, we will not only be faithful people but also be thankful and joyful people.

Personal Reflection:

• I am commanded not only to do everything for the glory of God (1Cor.10:31) but also to do everything, giving thanks to God.

Personal Commitment:

• To delight in any work of ministry knowing that every work of ministry is a grace of God because even being called into the body of Christ is grace.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Thank You for making me a Christian, and for giving us a church. Thank You for this family.

Block Diagram and Outline: 1 John 1:5-2:2

“The Life in the Light”

God cleanses us from sin to have fellowship with Him
1. Pursue Sanctification (Holiness), 2. Confess Sins, 3. Trust Jesus's Work