{"id":577,"date":"2017-09-21T07:41:44","date_gmt":"2017-09-21T15:41:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/?p=577"},"modified":"2017-09-21T07:46:07","modified_gmt":"2017-09-21T15:46:07","slug":"revelation-13-6-better-than-good-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/?p=577","title":{"rendered":"Revelation 1:3-6 Better Than Good Enough"},"content":{"rendered":"

Revelation 1:3-6 <\/strong>– Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it,\u00a0because the time is near.\u00a0 4\u00a0John,\u00a0To the seven churches\u00a0in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you\u00a0from him who is, and who was, and who is to come,\u00a0and from the seven spirits\u00a0before his throne,\u00a05\u00a0and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness,\u00a0the firstborn from the dead,\u00a0and the ruler of the kings of the earth.\u00a0 To him who loves us\u00a0and has freed us from our sins by his blood,\u00a06\u00a0and has made us to be a kingdom and priests\u00a0to serve his God and Father\u2014to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBlessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy\u2026<\/span>\u201d Let us always remember that God does not predict, like a meteorologist who interprets the clues to give his best guess of what the weather will be.\u00a0 No, God speaks of what He knows.\u00a0 Remember that God is omniscient.\u00a0 Since He knows everything, He knows the future.\u00a0 He KNOWS the future.\u00a0 He tells of things that will happen because he knows they will happen.\u00a0 When God speaks it is absolute and unerring truth.\u00a0 If God says it will rain, it will rain, even if it had never rained before.\u00a0 God does not speak of the future as someone who makes an educated guess, but as someone who knows what does not yet exist (Romans 4:17, Matthew 24:25<\/strong>).\u00a0 So sure does God know the future that He exists in what is not yet existing, but beyond all doubt, will come to exist (Isaiah 46:8-10<\/strong>).\u00a0 When God reveals a prophecy to us, it is not a prediction of what is to come and then we wait to see if God was right.\u00a0 No, it is a statement of what God knows and there is not a margin of error. This is of highest importance to us.\u00a0 Because God knows the future, we know that we shall be eternally secure in His grace.\u00a0 We know that He will rule forever and that He will forever keep those that are His.\u00a0 No error is possible.\u00a0 There are no \u201cifs.\u201d\u00a0 God has spoken and it is not a matter of if something will happen, it is only a matter of when it will happen.\u00a0 What God says will happen is, to us, as sure as what has already happened.\u00a0 The fact that yesterday the sun rose in the east and set in the west, is no more true than what God has stated will happen.\u00a0 Praise our God!<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the seven churches\u00a0in the province of Asia<\/span>\u2026\u201d This book is written to the seven churches of Asia.\u00a0 Why did God choose to write to seven rather than three or five or seventeen?\u00a0 Well, He didn\u2019t say.\u00a0 We can surmise, but we must always be careful to express that what is said is only an opinion and not expressed by God.\u00a0 Therefore, being clear that it is an opinion, some think that the number seven is used because it expressed completion. Also, many think that these seven churches aptly represent the condition, or stages of all churches.\u00a0 Some think that these seven churches represent the different stages the church, as a whole, will be in at different time periods.\u00a0 One thing is certain is that the church is the body of Christ, the children of God.\u00a0 This letter is written to the children of God.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026Grace and peace to you\u00a0from him who is, and who was, and who is to come,\u00a0and from the seven spirits\u00a0before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness,\u00a0the firstborn from the dead,\u00a0and the ruler of the kings of the earth<\/span>.\u201d\u00a0 His greeting is a greeting given to the believer, to who the peace of God is solely available to.\u00a0 Only those who know of a sure and eternal future with God have the deep down eternal peace of God. Before a man can have the peace that God gives, He must first be recipients of His grace.\u00a0 Who give us this grace and peace is God, God the singular, yet plural, person of the Holy Trinity.\u00a0 We see God the Father sending Jesus His Son, who is led and empowered by God the Holy Spirit. \u00a0What is a witness but somebody who has seen something, heard something or has done something and then recounts what he has seen, heard or personally experienced.\u00a0 Or what the witness has a sure knowledge of, such as an expert witness.\u00a0 Jesus sent His angel to reveal, to uncover, what is within this book.\u00a0 Jesus has testified, the angel revealed and John recorded it and passed it on. Jesus is firstborn from the dead.\u00a0 Jesus was the one who defeated death.\u00a0 We are blessed to receive the benefits of His victory.\u00a0 Jesus has preeminent and absolute authority.\u00a0 He is King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 17:14<\/strong>).\u00a0 All authority is under Jesus (Matthew 28:18<\/strong>).\u00a0 Who is the boss, none other than Jesus!\u00a0 Praise God!<\/p>\n

\u201cTo him who loves us\u00a0and has freed us from our sins by his blood.<\/span>\u201d\u00a0 The victory of Jesus that belongs to all believers is complete and omnipotent.\u00a0 It is the power of Almighty God released for our benefit.\u00a0 Almighty God freed us and lives within us.\u00a0 The God who created all and has no limits, lives within.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!\u00a0 The veil is rent in two and what separated us from full communion with God was defeated by Jesus (Matthew 27:51<\/strong>).\u00a0 We have been freed from our sins and from the power of sin (Romans 6:17-18<\/strong>). We were slaves to darkness but are freed by Jesus to live in the light (Psalm 107:14<\/strong>).\u00a0 Jesus paid the whole price to set us free.\u00a0 He paid it with His own blood.\u00a0 Oh Family, let\u2019s jump up and down and praise Jesus!\u00a0 Let us spread the Good News, Jesus did it all and to Him we owe everything.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026and has made us to be a kingdom and priests\u00a0to serve his God and Father\u2014to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.<\/span>\u201d\u00a0 Ephesians 2:10 <\/strong>states that we are \u201cGod\u2019s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do<\/span>.\u201d\u00a0 We are not the authors, the creators, the givers, or the finishers of our salvation (Ephesians 12:2<\/strong>).\u00a0 It is all through and by Jesus. The Word says here that we are a kingdom, united under His kingship.\u00a0 We are priests serving as Jesus our High Priest determines.\u00a0 We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a prized possession of God who saved us from living in the stench of evil while residing in darkness.\u00a0 The job of a priest is to get the message of God to the people and pray for the people.\u00a0 We are His prized possession.\u00a0 Family, we are His prized possession!\u00a0 What do you value most in your life?\u00a0 That is us to Him.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!\u00a0 We who were not a people, not a group, were called to be His people (Hosea 2:23<\/strong>), and His servants, and He has all the assignments of His people, as a group mission and as individuals, ready for us to do. Remember the famous quote of Hannibal Smith from the television series The A-Team \u201cI love it when a plan comes together?\u201d\u00a0 Well, all of God\u2019s plans \u201ccome together.\u201d\u00a0 In fact they are together now.\u00a0 We shall see them.\u00a0 It is not a matter of if, but when.\u00a0 Praise our God who is all-powerful and all-knowing so that all He has said, and all He has promised, will come to pass, at just the right time.\u00a0 Because He said so.\u00a0 Good enough!\u00a0 Better than good enough!\u00a0 Praise God!<\/p>\n

Psalm 150:6<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Micah 7:7<\/strong>\u00a0– But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear\u00a0me.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Micah 6:8<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0He has shown You, O man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; And what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Revelation 1:3-6 – Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it,\u00a0because the time is near.\u00a0 4\u00a0John,\u00a0To the seven churches\u00a0in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you\u00a0from him who is, and who was, and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[2407,556,164,2406,1841,23,2410,7,43,2411,103,180,100,2148,101,94,20,2408,506,17,711,10,2409],"class_list":["post-577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-asia","tag-blessed","tag-blood","tag-churches","tag-ephesians","tag-father","tag-firstborn","tag-god","tag-grace","tag-hosea","tag-isaiah","tag-jesus-christ","tag-john","tag-kings","tag-matthew","tag-micah","tag-peace","tag-priests","tag-prophecy","tag-psalm","tag-revelation","tag-romans","tag-witness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=577"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":579,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577\/revisions\/579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}