Lesson IV based on Disobedience and the Events of the Book of Daniel
Please don’t be offended because I called us Gentiles. I use the term to demonstrate the message of the Book of Daniel. God established a group of people known to us as Jews as his chosen people. All others were…Gentiles. As this is the fourth in a series on the book of Daniel I refer to us non-Jews as Gentiles.
As I stated in my last post, the disobedience of Jews opened the door for Gentiles to receive salvation. Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior, ransomed us out of sin so that we too could have a right to the tree of life. It’s true that the Jewish people were disobedient. Look at what Ps. 78:10-11 (KJV) has to say.
They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law; And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had shewed them. (Psalm 78:10-11).
But what about us, dear Gentiles? We cannot say a word about the disobedience of the Jews because when we were unsaved we were disobedience personified. We were mired in sin and shaped in iniquity (Psalms 51:5 ). But thank God that the Blood of Jesus is strong enough to break the yoke of Sin. Jesus says in Matthew 11:28
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Jesus has made salvation very simple for us. He did all of the hard work for us. All we have to do is:
1. See ourselves as sinners in need of salvation. (This is hard to do for some people because their Pride won’t allow them to see themselves as anything less than a god in their own eyes. (Get over yourselves Kanye and Kirk. You are no gods. It’s that very pride that will take your soul to Hell. You are confusing so many and you are going to get a beating for it if you don’t repent!)
2. Repent of our sins. (Say you are sorry and really mean it).
3. Accept Jesus Christ as our only hope for salvation (Because He is).
4. Ask for the power to live according to the rules that have been established for us by God. (Get filled with the Holy Ghost according to how God set it up. Yes, that does include speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance…Mk. 16:17.)
5. Live according to the rules that have been established in the Bible. (This is really a turn-off for some people because; just like the Jews, they don’t want to be obedient to God’s rules.)
Yes, it is true that the Scripture in Matt. 11: 28-30 says that the yoke of Jesus is easy, but it never said that there was no yoke. It said that his burden is light, but it never said that there was no burden. Yes, it’s going to cost you something to be saved. It’s going to cost you your very life. But my, what a beautiful life you will gain when you put away your old life and take on the life of Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
I hate to tell those of you who hate rules and only want to do things your way, but Jesus also requires that we follow His rules. We are told that when Jesus rules in the new Millennium (1000 year reign of Christ that follows the Tribulation) He rules with a rod of iron.
Rev. 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
He’s not mean; He just means business. It’s righteousness or the highway. He requires obedience, just as God requires obedience. Jesus asks the question in Luke 6:46:
Why call me Lord, Lord and do not the things I say?
And in John 14:15 He says, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” To me, it is such an honor and a privilege to be able to serve God. Does anybody remember that He is the Creator? Have we forgotten that we Gentiles were bought with a price, which was paid by the very blood of Jesus Christ? Never has a man loved us so much that He would willingly die for us. But Jesus did. John 15:13 says
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Jesus Christ is our perfect example of obedience. (Philippians 2:8) He was obedient to His father, even unto the grave. He hung, bled, and died for our sins, was resurrected and now sits at the right hand of His father. And for His obedience He is greatly rewarded. (Matthew 28:18) So, Jesus did all of this to keep us out of the Lake of Fire and you can’t say: Sorry; forgive me; fill me; I’ll live for you? It all boils down to the same problem that the Jews had with obeying God and rejecting the Messiah. God has an answer for the Jews. The answer is the Tribulation. God knows how to deal with their disobedience and He will resolve the problem. They will receive the Messiah and become the evangelistic nation that they were always meant to be. Judah is an eternal people according to Joel 3:20.
But Judah shall dwell forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
But what about you, dear Gentile? Will you give your heart to the Lord? Will you give up your way of sin and receive the Messiah? I implore you, “Get right, get right with God. The only way for you to get right with God is to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. I’m going to live with Jesus forever and I want you to be there with me. Together we can give Jesus the glory that He so richly deserves. We will be able to add our voices to those who praise both God our Father and the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, as described in Rev. 5:11-13.
And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.