Isaiah 40:9
“O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!”
The greatness of God is something we all must be reminded of on a regular basis. It is so easy for man to get His eyes off God so we must be careful as to not allow anything to pull us away from Whom we are serving. God reminded Isaiah of His greatness and then said, “Behold your God!”
Luke 15:12
"And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living."
The parable of the Prodigal Son has several lessons which it can teach. Every time this story is read, it should break the heart of the reader because of the potential that was wasted. It is always tragic when potential is wasted because of foolish actions. I find there are five lessons in this parable that teach how potential is wasted.
Isaiah 36:21
"But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not."
Hezekiah was facing pressure from the king of Assyria. The king of Assyria criticized and mocked Israel and their ability to defend themselves. Yet, when Hezekiah addressed the people, he commanded them not to answer the mocking and criticisms. He told his people not to dignify these people with a response. He understood that God would come through. He understood that they would be vindicated for doing right. He understood that time always reveals who is right.
Luke 10:41
"And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:"
The phone call came, and my mother would answer it only to get off the phone and start giving orders to my siblings and I. Someone was on their way to the house and we had to make sure the house was in order. Though my mother kept a clean house, she was like most ladies who always think their house is never clean, and she wanted her house to look good for the company when they arrived.
Isaiah 16:5
"And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness."
In the verse above, Israel was under the rule of Moab. God addressed the king of Moab and gave him several options as to how to reign and establish his throne. The most favorable way to rule his throne was to follow God's instruction for establishing the throne. There are several things that God expected of this ruler, and the things God expected of him He expects from every person who leads.
Psalm 42:3
"My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?"
Palestine was a country where aqueducts had to be built so each town could get water. Oftentimes, they would use big rocks that were bored into the ground to build these aqueducts so that water could get to these towns. At rare instances, they would have to cut through mountains or boulders just to get water so people could drink.
Mark 9:31
"For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day."
The ministry of Jesus Christ was all about the Gospel. His whole purpose of coming to Earth was to make it possible for people to get saved. He came to a point in His ministry when He needed to tell the disciples about His death, burial and resurrection. It was right after Jesus explained this that He had to remove some impediments that would hinder the disciples from getting out the Gospel. Let me show you these three impediments which Jesus had to handle so the Gospel would not be hindered.
Mark 4:35
"And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side."
Did Jesus know that a storm would come when He said, "Let us pass over unto the other side"? He absolutely knew there would be a storm. In fact, when you study this whole chapter, you will see that Jesus prepared His disciples for the storms with the sermons He preached and the illustrations He used. There were five things that Jesus tried to teach His disciples before they faced this storm to prepare them for the upcoming storm.
Psalm 23:1
"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want."
Throughout the Scriptures, God refers to Christians as sheep. That means that if we are sheep, then we need a shepherd. The Scriptures make it very plain that God becomes one's shepherd when a person gets saved. Though God is your shepherd, that does not mean that you automatically get all the benefits of being His sheep. Those benefits only come from yielding to your Shepherd. Psalm 23 shows us several benefits of yielding to your Shepherd.
Matthew 6:16
"Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward."
One of the groups whom Jesus consistently exposed were the Pharisees. The Pharisees were certainly very religious people who made sure everyone saw how good they were. If you were to come across a Pharisee today, you would think of them to be a very good and moral people. They attended their services regularly, tithed of all their income and they prayed on a daily basis. They were very good people if you compared them to other men.