Matthew 18 & Psalm 32: Therefore, let all the godly pray

Today we read Matthew 18 and psalm 32 together. why? Read the following two verse together : (Very accurate confirmation of how a terrible situation could happen in the spiritual realm. God’s words are forever settled in heaven. Do not take His words lightly.)
Psalm 32: ⁶ Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment.
Matthew 18: ⁶ But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Matthew 18 (1-10)
Matthew 18:1 About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
² Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. ³ Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. ⁴ So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
⁵ “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. ⁶ But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.
⁷ “What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting. ⁸ So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
¹⁰ “Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.
Psalm 32 A psalm of David.

¹ Oh, what joy for those
    whose disobedience is forgiven,
    whose sin is put out of sight!
² Yes, what joy for those
    whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,
    whose lives are lived in complete honesty!
³ When I refused to confess my sin,
    my body wasted away,
    and I groaned all day long.
⁴ Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.
    My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude

⁵ Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
    and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”
    And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Interlude

⁶ Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time,
    that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment. 

⁷ For you are my hiding place;
    you protect me from trouble.
    You surround me with songs of victory. Interlude

⁸ The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
    I will advise you and watch over you.
⁹ Do not be like a senseless horse or mule
    that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”

¹⁰ Many sorrows come to the wicked,
    but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord.
¹¹ So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him!
    Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!

Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance

1 Peter 1

New Living Translation (NLT)

Greetings from Peter

1 This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.

I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.^{[a] 2} God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
May God give you more and more grace and peace.

The Hope of Eternal Life

³ All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, ⁴ and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. ⁵ And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

⁶ So be truly glad.^[b] There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. ⁷ These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
⁸ You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. ⁹ The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.
¹⁰ This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. ¹¹ They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.
¹² They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.

A Call to Holy Living

¹³ So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. ¹⁴ So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. ¹⁵ But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. ¹⁶ For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”^[c]

¹⁷ And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as “foreigners in the land.” ¹⁸ For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. ¹⁹ It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. ²⁰ God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days.
²¹ Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.

²² You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters.^[d] Love each other deeply with all your heart.^[e]
23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. ²⁴ As the Scriptures say,

“People are like grass;
    their beauty is like a flower in the field.
The grass withers and the flower fades.
²⁵     But the word of the Lord remains forever.”^[f]

And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.

Footnotes:

1. 1:1 Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia were Roman provinces in what is now Turkey.
2. 1:6 Or So you are truly glad.
3. 1:16 Lev 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7.
4. 1:22a Greek must have brotherly love.
5. 1:22b Some manuscripts read with a pure heart.
6. 1:24-25 Isa 40:6-8.

Journey in the Holy Spirit: being spiritual

Because this blog is all about God, I am reluctant to say much about my own thoughts or sharing my life. But I have been witnessing the increasing chasm between the spiritual and carnal Christians (those who are more accustomed to use their five senses) all over the world. So I have decided to share a bit here, despite the limitation of my words.
_______________________
I have lived in different parts of the world and have encountered different customs and cultures for the bulk of my life.
In the last ten years I have gradually encountered the reality of the holy God in the Spirit, in the Bible and in life. I realized what it means to have the reverent fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2). This means agreeing the spiritual existence of absolute good and evil and the final accountability everyone must give to the holy God, who abhors things done not of the Spirit, but out of man’s flesh or carnality.
Jesus has Himself declared, the ruler of this world has nothing in Him. His disciples followed the same principle.

When one aligns with God, one does not yearn to be the same as the Jones. What do Christians have to do with evil? Why bring in their customs and cultures which are abominations in the eyes of the holy God? God wants us set apart for Him, away from the world and its customs, just as He had warned the Israel people. 
Being spiritual means we live in awareness of two realms: the physical and the spiritual. The spiritual reality governs the physical. All customs and cultures have a spiritual realm where the spiritual rulers rule and direct their adherents’ lives. Apostle Paul had revealed this truth in Ephesians 6:12.
Our Lord Jesus warned the disciples to be spiritually discerning when sending them into the world! “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrew as snakes and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16) Jesus was talking about the physical as well as spiritual enemies. Why? Because they were stepping into spiritual enemy’s territory as they go out and witness for Jesus!

The pagans know better about the spiritual. They are wise on what to avoid and when. For example, different cultures round the world have their own ‘ghost’ festivals. The Chinese called the Halloween in the West, the Westerners’ ‘ghost’ night, the night when the evil spirits paraded, (like the Chinese July month when hell opened its gates and let the hungry demons come out) and they avoid going out that night! Other pagan religions too have their own ghost periods and festivals.
A spiritually discerning person can see spirits. They see spirits in unclean houses, the streets, schools, offices, hospitals, shopping malls, movie theaters, and funeral parlors. A normally fit and healthy rational German Christian man recently testified that he walked under the air vent of a shopping mall, and saw this huge black thing coming at him, entered and went through him. He was instantly hit with severe pain and collapsed on the floor. His wife and daughter who regularly attend a Spirit-filled, Bible believing and adhering church, took authority using the name of Jesus, prayed fervently, as he lied there near dead, gasping for breath. he finally survived. The experience was traumatic.
When Christians stay away from certain locations during certain time, they merely obey the leading of the Spirit of the Lord, who is holy. The evil spirits know too whether you are walking in the Holy Spirit or not. The seven sons of the priest were attacked by the evil spirit because they knew Jesus and apostle Paul walked in the power of the Holy Spirit, but this group of exorcists did not. This group of believers were trying to do the right thing, casting demon, using the mighty name of the Lord Jesus. But they were not sent by the Lord. They went on their own flesh and of course they suffered the terrible consequences.
When God sent Moses to Egypt to confront Pharaoh, the Lord gave him spiritual power to overcome the territorial evil spirits controlling the land there. When the prophet Samuel patrolled the Israel land he was just one man, but the territorial spirit of the Philistines feared him, because he walked in the Spirit of the Lord. None of his words fell to the ground. He merely spoke and the words took effect.
Unless we are sent by the Lord and walk in discernment of the spiritual realm and in the power of the Holy Spirit, we do not do exploits. This is what I have learned over thirty years being a born again Christian, after having suffered immense loss.
So what shall an ordinary Christian do? Find out more about the reality of God and His words, the Bible. The Bible cannot be read as a knowledge book. Do not rationalize away the real meaning and purpose of the holy words. Jesus has warned clearly, as the pharisees and other religious leaders, even His own followers/disciples did not believe in the spiritual reality of Jesus and what Jesus has represented. Read the four Gospels again. Ask the Lord Holy Spirit to guide you. Daily pray the prayers of apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians (1:16-23; 3:14-21).
What happens if some still cannot hear the Holy Spirit? I believe in the grace and mercy of God. Keep seeking to know God, keep asking His Spirit to reveal to you. For a start, daily praying the Lord’s Prayer can help you a lot, if you believe!
John 6:61-65 (NKJV)
⁶¹ When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶² What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? ⁶³ It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. ⁶⁴ But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. ⁶⁵ And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

____________________

Hell is real!

Journey to see God: See what God looks to see

Today we learn to see what God looks to see in us. One theme stands out: be obedient to His word.
_________________Bible verses: (English Standard Version)
Humble and contrite; tremble at God’s word
But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My word. Isaiah 66:2b
Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His word: your brothers who hate you and cast you out for My name’s sake have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified that we may see Your joy’; but it is they who shall be put to shame. 66:5
Delight in the Lord’s word
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night…for the Lord knows the way of the righteous.. Psalm 1:1-2, 8a
Fear the Lord
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Proverbs 1:7a
My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom, and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek like silver and search for it like hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:1-5
And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, Isaiah 11:2-3
But I, through the abundance of Your steadfast love, will enter Your house. I will bow down toward Your holy temple, in the fear of You. Psalm 5:7
Worship God: bow down, give thanks and praises, know His name and trust Him alone
I will give thanks to the Lord with My whole heart; I will recount all of Your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most high. For those who know Your name put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You. Psalm 9:1-2, 10
Have faith in God: seek Him
By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, Hebrews 11:4
By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death…now before he was taken he was commended for having pleased God. Hebrews 11:5
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6
Hold fast to God in love
Because he holds fast to Me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows My name. Psalm 91:14
Made God your dwelling place
Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place-the Most High, who is My refuge- no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. Psalm 91:9-10
Bible Example 1: Belief in the word of God, fear God, and took action evident of repentance.
The case of the Nineveh city.

Jonah 3:5 “And the people of Nineveh believed God.”
Jonah 3:10 “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that He had said He would do to them, and He did not do it.”
Bible Example 2: How a self-seeking king lost his kingship because of his fear of men rather than fear of God; disobedience to God because he took God’s word lightly.
The case of king Saul, in 1 Samuel 15:22-23 
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.”
Bible Example 3: Have faith in God and His word! The case of the centurion.

Matthew 8:8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under My roof, but only say the word, and My servant will be healed,”

8:10 when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who followed Him, “truly I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.”

Bible Example 4: Jesus.

Matthew 3:17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
John 7:16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but His who sent Me.”
6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me.”
John 8:28-29 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”

Walk with Jesus : last ten days on earth prior the cross

There are ten days to the cross. This year’s Easter falls on 29th-31st March. The watchman is led to read Matthew from chapters 19-28 daily one chapter with Jesus.

He invites everyone who wants to walk this journey with the Lord to join in. Today the reading is for spiritual background covering chapters 16-18. 

The goal of the entire reading is to walk with Jesus on His last journey to Jerusalem, to Calvary, to the cross, and finally to the resurrection. Know Him as the Son of God. 
What are His last concern while on earth? His last concern is all about His disciples. His own. Will they learn to be led by the Lord, the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Christ) after He left this earth (as a human, Son of Man)? will they see and understand spiritual matters and set their mind on the Spirit (the unseen and can only be discerned in the spirit) and not on the flesh (what they can see in the physical)? Will they mind the things of God and not the things of men? 

This is a unique spiritual journey. Only the Lord Holy Spirit can bring us along and guide us all the way. Angels too will line up and minister to every disciple / follower of Jesus. (Hebrews 1:14)

BACKGROUND: WHO MAY WALK WITH JESUS? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WALK WITH JESUS?

Chapter 16 JESUS WANTS HIS DISCIPLES TO REALLY KNOW HIM BEFORE THEY COULD WALK WITH HIM TO THE CROSS

verses 15-17 MAKE SURE WE KNOW WHO JESUS IS

Jesus made sure His disciples knew Who He really was. He asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Peter answered correctly, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”

Then He knew they could hear God after all and He was ready to go. He described this ability to hear God ‘blessed’. Then He explained, “My Father in heaven revealed this to you. You did not know this from any human being.”

Ability to respond according to God’s view point is called, “blessed”. (Today, believers and followers of Jesus have the Holy Spirit Who tells us
God’s viewpoint. No excuse not to know or understand what the Bible is saying to each of us!)

v 21-28 EITHER BE BLESSED OR BE CURSED

v21-23 BE CAREFUL TO SEE JESUS IN GOD’S VIEWPOINT  (Peter’s example)

Only then He began to tell them His readiness to go to Jerusalem where He would suffer, be killed and on the third day be raised from the dead.

When Peter responded from his flesh (human view point), he was classified as ‘Satan’ and dangerous trap for Jesus. Here Jesus clearly stated that human viewpoint is equivalent to Satan’s viewpoint!

V24-28 TWO VIEWPOINTS, TWO RESULTS

Human viewpoint: always look out for self. The key words are: keep ‘my ways’, save ‘my life’, gain ‘my whole world’.

God’s viewpoint on your viewpoint: ‘your selfish ways’, ‘you cannot save your life’, ‘your gain means loss’. The loss will be terrible because Jesus said you need to exchange your world with your soul (life)!

Outcome: Only God’s way can save your life (soul), but you need to first give up your self, your ways and your life. Jesus’ demand is meant for all His followers, i.e. disciples.

Chapter 17 Jesus further made sure His disciples knew Who He really was and told them again what His mission on earth was

V1-13 TRANSFIGURATION: He showed three of the disciples Who He really was. God also testified from heaven just to make sure the three got the message. “This is My dearly loved Son Who brings Me great joy. Listen to Him.” (Up to that late time, they had not been listening to Jesus!)

v 22-23 Later Jesus and all His disciples gathered and He told them again that He would be betrayed, killed and on the third day He would be raised. (v23 “the disciples were filled with grief.” They were still not listening to Jesus.)

WALK BY FAITH VS WALK BY SIGHT

V14-20 BY FAITH: Jesus said, even mustard seed size faith can move mountain. Unbelief hindered faith in operation. Unbelief of disciples is due to walking by sight (seeing the evil manifestation in the boy under torment, the boy’s father’s exasperation, the bystander crowd).

V24-27 BY SIGHT: (regarding temple tax) Peter viewed Jesus as an ordinary man like any Jew who must obey the temple law to pay temple tax. Jesus brought up two spiritual points. In the spiritual realm Jesus was far above the man-made temple and even Moses law. Jesus is the Son of God. The second point is that only those who had been conquered need to pay tax to the conqueror. Jesus is the Conqueror and not the conquered!

(This is very relevant today: why are the citizens paying taxes? Because the citizens are actually the ‘conquered’ by the political and related ‘conquerors’ who receive the taxes /benefits from the taxes!)

Chapter 18 Jesus’ answer to “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

V1 The disciples asked the ultimate question of a human mind, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” In the human political system, physical (material) power and status are fought over naturally. Even the devil runs his subordinates with hierarchical levels of authorities ( Ephesians 6:12).

V2-14 Jesus answered in great details to make sure His  disciples knew how the Kingdom of Heaven operates.

HE WARNED THEM OF THEIR PRESUMPTIONS (V2-10)

1. Make sure you get into heaven first before you ask for heavenly positions. The requirements are: repent for your sins and humble yourselves.

2. Make sure you do not sin further. Just as heaven is real, hell and eternal fire are real. Jesus warned specifically of causing others to sin as well as sinning yourselves.

3. Angels (messengers of God) are always watching and making reports of what you do.

4. Don’t ever look down on the humble. In God’s view, they rank high!

JESUS TOLD THEM OF HEAVEN ACCOUNTING PRIORITY (BASED ON GOD’S WILL) (V12-14)

The number ‘one of them‘ is of great priority in Kingdom of Heaven’s accounting.  God’s will is ‘Not one lost’, ‘Not one perished’. Jesus made sure the disciples got their priority aligned with the will of God first! (distributing political / governmental post is of the least priority as Jesus clearly showed here).

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN’S POWER COMES IN TWO FORMS: EXECUTIVE AND SPIRITUAL WARFARE (V15-20)

EXECUTIVE POWER: (v15-17) Jesus taught them how to operate this power which was an administrative authority. The goal was to gain back the erring or sinning brethren so his soul would not be lost.

SPIRITUAL POWER: (V18-20) Jesus also taught them how to use spiritual power in the heavenly realm. This power is used to release the captives and set the oppressed free from from spiritual imprisonment. Indeed Jesus had given His disciples this power and they had used it effectively. (Luke 4:18)

HOWEVER, JESUS KNEW WHAT HIS DISCIPLES NEEDED MOST AND HE WARNED THEM FURTHER! (V21-35)

UNFORGIVENESS IS A BIG ISSUE AND UNLESS THEY RESOLVED THIS MATTER THEIR ENTRY INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN REMAINED QUESTIONABLE.