Last Sabbath I gave a sermon concerning the phrase “diligently seek” God as the phrase is used in Hebrews 11:6. In the sermon I used the term “command” because it is implied in the original Greek meaning of this phrase. This idea of “command” is used in the context of God’s obligation wherein He is bound to answer the prayers of His people. I want to make sure no one would think that I was saying that we could command God to do anything, which would be a foolish thought.
I was commenting on that phrase in that the words “diligently seek” were derived from one Greek word that pointed to God’s powerful commitment to answer the prayers of those who had entered into the covenant relationship with Him. One of the underlying words from which this phrase was derived is “command”. The implication was that the covenant relationship binds God to hear our prayers and answer them. Of course that obligation of God’s was based upon the fact that our requests were according to His will, and that we are obedient to Him. I spoke about this matter in a context that assures us that we are to boldly come before Him.
An example of this covenant relationship, which commands each party to respect and respond to the other, is a marital covenant. The status of being in that covenant relationship commands or demands respect from both parties if they are keeping their commitment to the covenant. God respects and never fails to keep His obligations under a covenant He enters with us and the same is required of His people.
It is my hope that my sermon and these comments will assist you in coming before God boldly in prayer, seeking the answers He has promised.
Hello to everyone!
We have all returned home from the Feast and are once again settling into our varied lives of work, school, and everyday events that include parents battling with this world for the minds and hearts of their children.
Now every parent faces the question of what Bible lesson they need to teach their child or children that will prepare them for the challenges they will meet. Parents have a difficult assignment. Competing with all the distractions—TV, School, Movies, Videos, Friends—to gain children’s attention is tough. It takes imagination to find the right subject that will grab children’s minds and hold them in place while attempting to deliver a lesson that will inspire confidence in God and His ways. Here is one I recommend that will appeal to their imagination and open up discussion—that of Angels
In the Bible there are a number of sterling examples of young peoples’ behavior. Among them is one example that always stands out to me–that of three young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who are written about in the book of Daniel. Those boys, probably in their teen years, were captured by Nebuchadnezzar’s army and taken from their homes in war-torn Israel to the pagan kingdom of Babylon. There they faced a very serious challenge to their faith in God. As an act of loyalty to their new king, they were told they must bow down to an idol that represented the king himself. If they refused, they would be thrown into a fiery furnace—a furnace so hot it would destroy anyone who even approached it.
These three young men refused to bow down, and for that reason they were led to an opening to the inner core of a furiously blazing fire that was meant to kill them instantly. Even the men who thrust them into the fire died as they flung them into the waiting flames. Earlier, they had stood their ground, refusing to bow to a pagan idol. So in they went, to the very heart of that fiery pit; but to the amazement of all, those who stood at a safe distance could see four figures, which included God’s protective angel, walking about in the flames that continued to leap in that fiery caldron. Undeniably, the three young Israelites were still alive and unharmed, and the dazed king, coming to his senses, called to them demanding they come out of that deadly furnace.
You see, God had saved the young men—all three—from the flames that took the lives of those who were tasked with killing them. This miracle was performed by one of God’s angels sent to protect them. No harm came to those three young and very brave fellows. They had stood their ground, and God performed a very great miracle for them so that not even a hair on any on their heads was singed.
Where would Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be if God’s angel had not neutralized the flames that were about to end their lives? Like those three, your children have the blessing of oversight by watchful angels who are ready to help them when they need their help. Make sure your kids know that, and make sure they know, like those young men, they will benefit from showing their loyalty to God:
Matthew 18:10: Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
How powerful are the angels that watch over us and our children? After witnessing how God had delivered Shadrach, Meshch and Abednego from those monster flames, Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed he exclaimed:
“Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trust in him and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.” (Daniel 3:28)
Once you have finished a Bible lesson illustrating God’s powerful intervention for those who are loyal to Him, make sure you reinforce the knowledge that God has millions of angels who serve Him, and that some of them are given the assignment of protecting His people today. Those very same angels that delivered His people in the Bible are with us right now. God will still use them to protect, guide, and reward our children who pray to Him and follow Him as they learn about Him from the lessons you teach.
Matthew 19:11: For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
Until next time,
David O’Malley
This coming Sabbath Mr. LeBlanc will be holding a prophecy Bible Study in Sacramento. Sacramento is a large city, but its importance in the world is that it is the capital of the state of California. Depending on how economies are measured, California has the 7th or 8th largest economy in the world. It is actually larger than that of Italy. California’s population is over 30 million. Being the capital city of such a huge population and powerful economy is no small matter.
The Sacramento Bible Studies have consistently drawn a number of people who are strangers to the teachings of God’s church. Some have substantial knowledge of the contents of the Bible; some have little understanding; but they all are in need of the warning message Mr. LeBlanc will deliver.
Mr. LeBlanc has recently spoken to the need for us to do our part in warning those that will listen. In light of that, the following scriptures are sobering and worth our attention:
Ezekiel 3:19-21: “Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless, if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.”
Mr. LeBlanc has had a number of Bible Studies in Sacramento. Some have returned to hear him speak many times. Pray that those who are sincere will be “cut to the heart” and thereby “be saved from this perverse generation” (Acts 2:37-40). We are responsible to spend time before the Bible Study to ask God to provide His spirit so that those who might hear will be at the Sacramento Bible Study this Sabbath.