You Can Always Come Home

Intro Reading of Treatise Who is Jesus Christ

Our Down Falling

408 From Fear to Faith

Comfort Comfort My People

 From Fear to Faith

Scripture References:

Isaiah 40; Habakkuk

Mar. 20, 2022 Quacco Baptist Church

Introduction -

From among letters delivered from Stalingrad in January 1943 by German soldiers to their families; these being intercepted by German command authorities wanting to check on the morale of the soldiers, is the following:

We are entirely alone, without help from outside. Hitler has left us in a lurch, [that is without help or protection]. If the airfield is still in our possession, this letter may still get out … So this is what the end looks like. Hannes and I will not surrender; … yesterday I saw four men who had been taken prisoner by the Russians. No we shall not go into captivity. When Stalingrad has fallen, you’ll hear & read it. And then you’ll know that I shall not come back.

The Fuhrer made a firm promise to bail us out of here; they read it to us & I believe it firmly … because I have to believe in something. If it’s not true, what else could I believe in? Leave me my faith dear Greta; all my life, at least eight years of it I believed in the Fuhrer & his word. –

On the other side of the line was an equally brutal, if not more so, regime with its own network of concentration camps. Solovetsky Islands—or Solovki—a string of small islands in the White Sea near the Arctic Circle, where medieval Orthodox monks had built monasteries, tsars of the sixteenth century built prisons, and, in 1923, the Bolsheviks established a camp. 

The camp called Solvoki, the administration at Solovki put up a sign at the main camp, which captured the Leninist program. It read, “With an Iron Fist, We Will Lead Humanity to Happiness.”

So began the Red Terror, which helped win the civil war for the Bolsheviks and defined the nature of Communist power. From then to the fall of the Soviet Union. These camps were in effect “a death sentence on 10 million” Russians.

That slogan pretty much epitomized the program of the Lenninist. 

Well, the war in Europe ended on May 8, 1945 and the people celebrated the victory. Raymon Ortlund, Presbetyrian minister, wrote that his mother celebrated that night in Washington D.C. but when she came home she said the triumph of democracy had turned into a “pretext for public vulgarity. He asks did Washington represent the triumph of good or evil?

From those days up to today, do we truly see how broken this world is? How far have we, the world, fallen? As we see more of life we’re just persistently confronted with a lot of disappointment and so we convincingly see having hope as just something dumb, stupid. We’re disappointed in our ideals, our careers, the people we trust, and in ourselves.

The Jews in exile in Babylon, were living a far cry from what God had wanted for them. God had told Abraham that he would be a mighty nation, that he would be a blessing to the whole world, (Gen 18), but they had failed their high calling, and paid a heavy price for it.

Now God’s people in exile are defeated, bitter, disillusioned, and in fact, they think God has failed them, Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God"? (Isa. 40:27). That’s what we typically do - blame God –.

But then what does God do? He comes down to us and comforts us with a promise, a hope, that doesn’t depend on us at all, but only on Himself. He promises to display His glory before the whole world. As we enjoy His promised salvation, His coming for us, as He said in John 14, "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.  He strengthens us to face anything while we wait.

The wait though, seems to be long, hard, and difficult. It's been 1,990 years, by our Gregorian calendar in use. Let’s look at what has transpired in the 120 years. Two world wars, and numerous countless conflicts. I read last week that in the last 100 years there have been only 46 days of no conflict. How accurate that is I don’t know. In researching I kept finding various answers. But just in the past 3 to 4 decades look at what has come about here in the U. S. 

School prayer was banned in public schools in a decision by sophists of the U. S. Supreme Court – I remember my dad saying in a couple expletives how wrong that was, “why, we said the Lord’s Prayer in school everyday”. Back in the 30’s in the one room schoolhouse in Dalton Ohio. I really didn’t pay it any mind, I was attending a Catholic school and we prayed morning, noon, and before being dismissed.

In 1973 came the decision on Roe v Wade, and begins the legalization of abortion; sacrifice of children on the altar of Molech. And for the next 60 plus years we have continued on a slippery slope with the sacrificing of over 350,000 babies annually.

Additionally there are forces that seek to dismantle the core values that built America .. They want to rewrite the past to control the future of this nation. Diversity is used to divide, to destroy. The ideologies that are promulgated are to keep the different cultures and races in a perpetual, endless conflict.

The ultimate call is for the eradication of Christianity, and the way of life here. There is an increasing bellicose attitude of the socialist and other religions against Christianity and Jews. Even within Christianity itself there are calls to make it a more inclusive religion.

Planned Parenthood commits more than 350,000 abortions each year as I said earlier. We find ourselves wondering what in the world is going on? The battle keeps getting harder and harder. These problems are worldwide but I am focusing on us here in America. Can we like Israel ask as in Isaiah 40: 27,  "My way is hidden from the LORD, And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God"?

Well, this really isn’t a political science or sociology class. We may think that things now are different then in other times; in the times of the Old Testament but no, they aren’t really much different – We have technology, super communication, and awareness but these are superficial impressions.

As you read through God’s word and listen to the prophets it becomes clear that human condition was as much the same then as now.

It won’t be a long series but we’re going to go through the book of Habakkuk.

A brief background

Habakkuk prophesied around the final days of the Assyrian Empire & the beginning of Babylon’s world ruler-ship, - under Nabopolasar & his son Nebuchadnessar.

The Babylonians overthrew Nineveh in 612 BC & Haran & Carchamesh by 605 BC. Necho the king of Egypt was enroute through Judah to assist the Assyrians but was opposed by Josiah, then king of Judah. 

Now, Josiah reigned for 31 years, from 640 BC to 609 BC & these were the best years of Judah; 3 decades in their latter years. There were no wars from outside enemies & they were concentrated on rebuilding her land & spiritual resources.

Idolatry was rampant in the land when Josiah came to the throne. At that time he was 8 years old. He had to have godly advisors; he followed the ways of (his father) David and did everything that was right in the eyes of God. He went down the straight path, it’s written he didn’t go to the left or the right. He didn’t follow the ways of his father Amon nor his grandfather Manasseh. At 16, the age when teens begin to want to become independent, he began to seek the Lord.

Second Chronicles 34, 35 & 2 Kings 22, 23 gives you a play by play account of the reforms by Josiah.

            The temple was cleansed from all objects of pagan worship, and the idolatrous high places in the land were demolished. Josiah restored the observance of the Passover (2 Kings 23:2–23) and removed mediums and witches from the land. Second Kings 23:25 records, “Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.” God’s wrath would later come upon Judah due to the evil King Manasseh had done (2 Kings 23:25), but the judgment was delayed because of Josiah’s godly life and leadership (2 Kings 22:20).

 

Josiah died in battle against the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho at Megiddo. King Josiah was buried in Jerusalem in his own tomb, and his son Jehoahaz took the role of king. Much can be learned from Josiah’s life that is positive. First, Josiah shows the influence a person can have from a very young age. Even children have enormous potential to live for God and to have great impact. 

            Jehoahaz son of Josiah, king of Judah (609 BC). Although he was the fourth son of Josiah, Jehoahaz was made king over Judah once his father died (2 Kings 23:31; 2 Chronicles 36:1). Also known as Shallum (1 Chronicles 3:15), Jehoahaz only reigned for three months in Jerusalem before being deposed by Pharaoh Necho. The pharaoh installed Jehoahaz’s brother, Eliakim (aka Jehoiakim) as king and deported Jehoahaz in chains. Jehoahaz later died in Egypt (2 Kings 23:31–35). This third and final Jehoahaz also “did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as his predecessors has done” (2 Kings 23:32).

 

The sins of the last Jehoahaz are especially tragic because his father, Josiah, had been an exceptionally good king. Josiah had found the Book of the Law, renewed the covenant, torn down the high places of idol worship, destroyed the priests of false gods, reinstituted the Passover, and turned to the Lord “with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses” (2 Kings 23:25). But his son Jehoahaz did not follow in his steps.

 

Jehoiakim (named Eliakim at birth, 2 Chronicles 36:4) was one of the last kings of Judah before the Babylonian Captivity. Jehoiakim was a son of good King Josiah (Jeremiah 26:1) of Judah. His mother’s name was Zebidah (2 Kings 23:36). Jehoiakim’s father, King Josiah, had returned Judah to the Lord by tearing down idol shrines and restoring obedience to God’s Law (2 Kings 23:19–25). After Josiah’s death, his son Jehoahaz was chosen king by the people. But, as often happened in those days, Jehoahaz did not follow in the footsteps of his father but “did evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Kings 23:32). Jehoahaz only reigned three months before he was taken into captivity by the king of Egypt, who replaced Jehoahaz with his brother Eliakim (2 Kings 23:26; 2 Chronicles 36:5). The Egyptian king renamed the 25-year-old Eliakim “Jehoiakim.”

 

Jehoiakim also did evil in the Lord’s sight (2 Kings 23:37). Because of the ongoing, unrepentant sin of the nation of Judah, God sent invading armies to capture and enslave them. Jehoiakim was taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar, who put him in chains and carted him off to Babylon (2 Kings 24:1; 2 Chronicles 36:6;). It was at this time that Daniel and his three friends were also taken to Babylon (Daniel 1:1–2). Jehoiakim was later returned to Jerusalem, although he had to act as Nebuchadnezzar’s servant for three years and pay tribute to him.

During the time King Jehoiakim reigned as a vassal of Babylon, the prophet Jeremiah preached in Jerusalem. God’s message was that the Babylonian invasion was God’s punishment for Judah’s sin and that the Hebrews should repent. Jehoiakim called for Jeremiah’s scroll to be read in his court. But, as every three or four columns of the scroll were read, “the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire. The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear, nor did they tear their clothes” (Jeremiah 36:23–24). Rather than heed God’s warning, Jehoiakim hardened his heart and tried to destroy God’s Word (see Jeremiah 25:1–4). Earlier, Jehoiakim had murdered the godly prophet Uriah (Jeremiah 26:20–23).

 

            Jehoiakim reigned eleven years (2 Kings 23:36; 2 Chronicles 36:5). Jeremiah rewrote the scroll that Jehoiakim had burned, and God pronounced judgment on the king: “Therefore this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out and exposed to the heat by day and the frost by night” (Jeremiah 36:30). “He will be buried like a dead donkey—dragged out of Jerusalem and dumped outside the gates!” (Jeremiah 22:19, NLT). This prophecy was fulfilled when, in the eleventh year of Jehoiakim’s reign, he stopped paying tribute to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar responded by besieging Jerusalem. According to Josephus, Jehoiakim was killed during the siege, and his body was thrown over the city wall.

 

            After Jehoiakim’s ignoble death, his son Jehoiachin succeeded him as the new king in Judah. Jehoiachin reigned only three months and ten days (2 Chronicles 36:9) before he, too, was taken to Babylon while the foreign king appointed his successor (2 Chronicles 36:10). This appointment of kings by the people or by invading armies was a far cry from the holy anointing of God’s chosen ones by His prophets in days gone by. The removal of God from Judah’s political process was another indication of just how far the Jewish people had fallen away from their God. We have removed God from our political process. Oh yes, public offcials place their hand on the Holy Word of God and take an oath in His name; but as children did and do, had their fingers crossed. We are no different than they.

 

From King Jehoiakim’s life, we can learn that godly parentage does not guarantee godly children. Many times in Israel’s and Judah’s history, the Scripture records that the children of good kings and prophets “did evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Kings 21:1–2; 1 Samuel 8:3) and did not follow the paths of their fathers. God holds each individual responsible for his or her obedience to His direction (Deuteronomy 24:16).        Jehoiakim’s willful rejection of God’s Word and his subsequent fate are a perfect illustration of the folly of disobedience. “Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy” (Proverbs 29:1).

Now enters Habakkuk after this introduction and we will pick it up here next time. 

 

323 Opening prayer Responsive Reading - Mar. 20, 2022

A Rebuke

407 Upside Down Wisdom

Evangelio Segun Juan, parte 2

002 Evangelio segun Juan

Comenzando el estudio del evangelio como lo escribió Juan, respondiendo a la pregunta, '¿Quién es realmente este hombre Jesucristo? Hoy comenzamos con los primeros cinco versículos de Juan capítulo 1.

Espero que sigas conmigo.......

Si tiene preguntas, puede enviarme un mensaje aquí en Facebook o enviarme un correo electrónico a quaccobaptist.paul@gmail.com

Our Life in Christ 1 John 1: 8 -10 Part 3 "Fess-up"

001.1 Introducción al Evangelio de Juan

Evangelio de juan

Una introducción

 

El evangelio de Juan, junto con la carta de Pablo a los Romanos, es considerado por muchos como las “Torres Gemelas” de la teología del Nuevo Testamento. Este evangelio en particular profundiza más en los misterios de la revelación de Dios en Jesucristo que los otros libros canónicos de los evangelios, es decir, los sinópticos y cualquier otro libro bíblico.

Juan afirma la persona, la naturaleza y el papel de Jesús a Su Deidad, Su naturaleza humana y divina. Esto ha moldeado los pensamientos, las expresiones de los concilios y credos de la iglesia primitiva.

A pesar de los incontables ataques a la honradez de Juan desde la época de la Ilustración y los eruditos alemanes liberales, el evangelio de Juan aún hoy se mantiene como un testimonio confiable de la vida, las palabras y las obras de Jesús.

Desde sus inicios, el evangelio de Juan fue muy cuestionado; los gnósticos lo reclamaron afirmando que apoyaba su mensaje de salvación a través del conocimiento. La primera epístola de Juan da testimonio de la forma en que se estaba malinterpretando el evangelio, quizás intencionalmente.

Configuraciones históricas

La autoría. Hay una combinación de evidencias externas e internas para concluir que Juan el Apóstol es el autor, aunque su nombre no aparece en el evangelio. Las tradiciones de la iglesia primitiva lo identificaron fuertemente como el apóstol Juan. Ireneo, (130-200 d. C.) el padre de la iglesia primitiva que fue discípulo de Policarpo (70-160 d. C.), quien también fue discípulo de Juan, testificó con la autoridad de Policarpo que Juan escribió el evangelio durante el tiempo que residió en Éfeso. en una avanzada edad. Todos los padres de la iglesia asumieron que Juan fue el autor del evangelio. Clemente de Alejandría escribió que Juan, consciente de los hechos establecidos en los otros evangelios y movido por el Espíritu Santo, compuso un “evangelio espiritual”.

El nombre de Juan no se menciona directamente, pero la designación recurrente de sí mismo como el discípulo “a quien Jesús amaba”, que evita deliberadamente su nombre personal, refleja su humildad y celebra su relación con su Señor Jesús. Además, no era necesario mencionar su nombre ya que sus lectores originales sabían, entendían que él era el autor del evangelio.

No se ha encontrado ningún manuscrito que atribuya el evangelio de Juan a otra persona que no sea él.

En 1925 un pequeño fragmento de lo que resultó ser el evangelio de Juan, de menos de nueve centímetros de alto y que contiene por un lado parte de los versículos 31-33, por el otro los versículos 37-38 del capítulo 18, es parte de la colección de griegos papiros en la Biblioteca John Rylands, Manchester. Fue descubierto originalmente en Egipto, y puede provenir del famoso sitio de Oxyrhynchus (Behnesa), la ciudad en ruinas en el Alto Egipto. La importancia de este fragmento es bastante desproporcionada con respecto a su tamaño, ya que puede estar fechado con cierta confianza en la primera mitad del siglo II d. C. y, por lo tanto, se ubica como el fragmento más antiguo conocido del Nuevo Testamento en cualquier idioma y significaría que Juan escribió el evangelio en la última parte del primer siglo.

A quién fue escrito.

Juan escribió a los perdidos (3:16), a los incrédulos (20:31), a los nuevos creyentes (1:50-51; 15:11; 16:33), al filósofo (1:1) y a los teólogo (1:12-14).

El propósito se da en (20:31) y porque es el único evangelio de los cuatro que especifica la razón para componer el evangelio; “... estas han sido escritas para que creáis que Jesús es el Cristo, el Hijo de Dios; y para que creyendo, tengáis vida en su nombre.” Aunque esto se afirma casi al final del evangelio, establece claramente el propósito por el que lo escribió. Es evangelístico y apologético. El propósito evangelístico se refuerza en que “creer” se usa unas 100 veces en el evangelio. Los otros tres evangelios, el sinóptico, usan el término menos de la mitad. Él escribió, compuso el evangelio para dar a los lectores razones para la fe salvadora, para que estuvieran seguros de que recibirían el don divino de la vida eterna (1:12).

Disculpándose, refuta cualquier herejía que pueda surgir en cualquier generación. A los que niegan la deidad de Jesucristo, la humanidad de Jesucristo, a los que siguen buscando un mesías humano y una utopía terrenal.

Este propósito en dos partes, evangelística y apologética son realmente inseparables.

Características especiales - Juan es el evangelio de la sencillez; eso solo significa que Juan usó el lenguaje más simple y el griego puro posible; un estilo muy simple y por eso algunos subestiman la profundidad del evangelio. Debido a que el evangelio de Juan es un evangelio “espiritual”, las verdades que transmite son profundas. No vamos a profundizar en el estudio teológico de Juan, pero los animo a que no tengan miedo y se sumerjan y se saturen en Su palabra.

La compulsión de Juan fue mostrar que Jesucristo es la revelación misma de Dios mismo. Así es también el Evangelio del Apocalipsis.

Una y otra vez Juan muestra que las profecías de la Escritura, el Antiguo Testamento, se cumplieron todas en Jesús.

Es el evangelio de la redención. Centrado en la cruz y muerte de Jesucristo. Juan 1: 29. Es el evangelio de la redención. Centrado en la cruz y muerte de Jesucristo. Juan 1: 29- “Al día siguiente vio *a Jesús que venía hacia él y* dijo: “¡He aquí el Cordero de Dios que quita el pecado del mundo!” Todo, toda su vida apunta hacia la hora de su pasión. En las bodas de Canaán, -Y Jesús le dijo*: Mujer, ¿qué tiene eso que ver con nosotros? Aún no ha llegado mi hora. (2:4); El mundo no puede odiaros a vosotros, pero a Mí me odia porque yo doy testimonio de ello, que sus obras son malas. (7:7); Cuando algunos griegos pidieron ver a Jesús cuando entrara en Jerusalén, respondiendo a Andrés y Felipe: “Y Jesús les respondió*, diciendo: Ha llegado la hora de que el Hijo del Hombre sea glorificado”.

el evangelio de la humanidad de Jesús; el evangelio de la misma Palabra de Dios, que Jesús es la misma expresión, pensamiento, idea, imagen de Dios y lo que Dios quería decir, quiere decir y está diciendo al hombre.

El evangelio de 'YO SOY' - de Dios mismo. Las palabras Yo soy son muy importantes para la historia judía; es el nombre por el cual Dios se reveló a Moisés en la zarza ardiente. Jesús se reveló como el “Yo Soy” por lo menos diez veces.

Yo Soy el Mesías – 4:26

Yo soy (es I eimi en griego) 6:20

Yo Soy el Pan de Vida – 6:35

Soy de arriba 8:23

Yo Soy la Luz del mundo 8:12; 9:5; 12:46

Yo Soy antes que Abraham fuera, Yo Soy (eterno) 8:58

yo soy la puerta 10:7

Yo Soy el Buen Pastor 10:14

Yo Soy el Hijo de Dios 10:36

Yo Soy la resurrección y la vida 11:25

Yo Soy el camino, la verdad y la vida 14:6

Yo Soy la vid verdadera 15:1

Yo Soy Alfa y Omega Apocalipsis 1:8

Yo Soy el Primero y el Ultimo Apocalipsis 1:17

El mensaje, como mencioné anteriormente, es simple, claro y directo, lo que hace que la verdad del evangelio sea muy accesible para todos los que lo leen. La accesibilidad es lo más importante, es el evangelio salvador que salva vidas para los incrédulos. Juan mismo dice que es:

“Muchas otras señales hizo también Jesús en presencia de los discípulos, las cuales no están escritas en este libro; pero estas han sido escritas para que creáis que Jesús es el Cristo, el Hijo de Dios; y para que creyendo, tengáis vida en su nombre.”

Señor vamos a escuchar tu palabra,