Developing Intimacy With Christ

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Old Testament Scripture Reading Zechariah 8:1 – 17 (NASB)

Zec 8:1 Then the word of the LORD of hosts came saying,

Zec 8:2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.’

Zec 8:3 “Thus says the LORD, ‘I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.’

Zec 8:4 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of age.

Zec 8:5 ‘And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets.’

Zec 8:6 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘If it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be too difficult in My sight?’ declares the LORD of hosts.

Zec 8:7 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west;

Zec 8:8 and I will bring them back, and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem, and they will be My people and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.’

Zec 8:9 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Let your hands be strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, to the end that the temple might be built.

Zec 8:10 ‘For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no peace because of his enemies, and I set all men one against another.

Zec 8:11 ‘But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares the LORD of hosts.

Zec 8:12 ‘For there will be peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.

Zec 8:13 ‘And it will come about that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a blessing. Do not fear; let your hands be strong.’

Zec 8:14 “For thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Just as I purposed to do harm to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘and I have not relented,

Zec 8:15 so I have again purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear!

Zec 8:16 ‘These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates.

Zec 8:17 ‘Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for all these are what I hate,’ declares the LORD.”

New Testament Scripture Reading 1 Corinthians 8:1 – 9 (NASB)

1 Cor 8:1 Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies.

1 Cor 8:2 If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know;

1 Cor 8:3 but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.

1 Cor 8:4 Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one.

1 Cor 8:5 For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords,

1 Cor 8:6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.

1 Cor 8:7 However not all men have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.

1 Cor 8:8 But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat.

1 Cor 8:9 But take care lest this liberty of yours somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

Study Notes

Point #1) Being called to be learners {Disciples} of Jesus Christ we are to gradually acquire knowledge from Him through His Word which we are also to apply to ourselves and to teach to others around us as we go through this life.

Point #2) By coming to an understanding of the Word of Christ, we must also be increasing in our personal fellowship with Jesus and the Father as we commune together over an ever widening circumference in our lives.

Point #3) As we become more intimate with the LORD we must also learn that His desires, purposes, and plans are greater than our capabilities of perception so that we can trust His judgments even when we fail to understand them.

Today’s Goody Online Bible Study

The Reinstatement of Israel

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A.D. Old Testament Scripture Reading Zechariah 12:1 - 6 (NASB) Zec 12:1 The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, Zec 12:2 "Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. Zec 12:3 "And it will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. Zec 12:4 "In that day," declares the LORD, "I will strike every horse with bewilderment, and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. Zec 12:5 "Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, 'A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God.' Zec 12:6 "In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem. New Testament Scripture Reading Revelation 18:1 - 7 (NASB) Rev 18:1 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory. Rev 18:2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! And she has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. Rev 18:3 "For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality." Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, that you may not participate in her sins and that you may not receive of her plagues; Rev 18:5 for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Rev 18:6 "Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. Rev 18:7 "To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, 'I SIT as A QUEEN AND I AM NOT A WIDOW, and will never see mourning.' Rev 18:8 "For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong. Study Notes

How Sin Affects Believers

Rescued From Indwelling Sin Old Testament Scripture Reading Zechariah 3:1 – 9 (NASB) Zec 3:1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. Zec 3:2 And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” Zec 3:3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. Zec 3:4 And he spoke and said to those who were standing before him saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.” Zec 3:5 Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the LORD was standing by. Zec 3:6 And the angel of the LORD admonished Joshua saying, Zec 3:7 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways, and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here. Zec 3:8 ‘Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you– indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch. Zec 3:9 ‘For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. New Testament Scripture Reading Romans 7:13 – 25 (NASB) Rom 7:12 So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Rom 7:13 Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. Rom 7:14 For we know that the Law is spiritual; but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. Rom 7:15 For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. Rom 7:16 But if I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that it is good. Rom 7:17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells me. Rom 7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. Rom 7:19 For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. Rom 7:20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. Rom 7:21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good. Rom 7:22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, Rom 7:23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Rom 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Rom 7:25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. Study Notes Transforming Power Statements: #1) The holiness of the Law of God when presented reveals to the transgressors thereof the carnality of their nature and is designed to amplify sin and draw the sinner to accountability before God. #2) The saved individual has been given a deep inner desire to please God and really wishes to live in accordance with the Law of God and is often found in conflict with God in that there is yet the presence of indwelling sin. #3) The only deliverance from such a fallen condition is by the blood of Jesus Whom God has sent forth to deliver all who believe in Him from eternal wrath and endless judgment.

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