Who Really is the King

I invite your attention to the New Testament Book of Matthew Chapters one and two. If a man suddenly appears and claims to be a king, the public immediately asks for proof. What is his background? Who pays homage to him? What credentials can he present? Anticipating these important questions, Matthew opened his book with a careful account of the birth of Jesus Christ and the events that accompanied it. Mary and Joseph were in the one year waiting period when Mary was found to be with child. Matthew presented four facts about the King. Fact number one, the heredity of the King proves He came from royal lineage (1:1-12). Since royalty depends on heredity, it was important for Jesus to establish His right to David’s throne. The opening verse connected Christ to two great covenants, the Davidic, found in II Samuel 7, and the Abrahamic found in Genesis 12:15. Note Jesus human heredity (1:1-17). Genealogies were very important to the Jews, without them they could not prove their tribal memberships or rights to inheritances. Anyone claiming to be “the Son of David” had to prove it. Matthew gave Christ’s family tree through Joseph, Luke gave Mary’s linage. The list of names show that Christ is part of history. His divine heredity is spelled out (1:18-25). Jesus was born of an earthly mother without the need of an earthly father (v. 18). The Messiah would be born of a woman, of the seed of Abraham, through the tribe of Judah, and of the family of David. Jesus is the only Jew alive who can prove His claims to the throne of David. All other records were destroyed in 70 A.D. His birth fulfilled Isaiah 7:14 “Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” The King, then, was a Jewish male who was also the divine Son of God. But, did anybody acknowledge His Kingship? Yes, the Magi from the East came and worshipped him. We find in v.16 the “of whom” is a feminine relative pronoun, clearly indicating that Jesus was the physical child of Mary but not of Joseph. Fact number two, the homage give to the King (2:1-12). The wise men were specialists in astronomy. There were enough of them to trouble all of Jerusalem (2:3). The wise men were Gentiles. Jesus came to be the Savior of the world. They were scholars. No scholarly person who follows the light that God gives can miss worshipping at the feet of Jesus. Many feel the Magi reflected a knowledge of Balaam’s prophecy concerning the “star” that would come out of Jacob (see Numbers 24:17). The Magi were seeking the king; Herod was opposing the king, and the Jewish priests were ignoring the King. Herod the great was a ruthless murderer. He killed his wife and her two brothers. He wanted to kill Jesus because he bore the title King of the Jews. Also, Herod was a descendant of Esau. He knew if someone was a rightful king, it could cost him his throne. Herod understood that the King was Christ (see Matthew 2:4). Matthew cites a second fulfilled prophecy (2:5). How, He was born of a virgin, and where He was born, Bethlehem. Bethlehem means “house of bread.” This is where the “Bread of Life” came to earth. Bethlehem in the Old Testament was associated with David who was a type of Christ in his suffering and glory. Fact number three, the hostility against the King (2:13-18). Of interest is, stars typically travel east to west, this one went north to south. A person is identified by his friends, and by his enemies. Herod pretended that he wanted to worship the King (2:8). God warned Joseph to flee to Egypt. This fulfilled another prophecy (see Hosea 11:1), “I called My Son out of Egypt.” The gift of the Magi paid their expenses. Herod’s anger was evidence of his pride (2:16). Herod killed the body babies two years of age and under. Bethlehem is very small, about 20 babies died. Satan is a liar and a murderer. Herod lied to the Magi and murdered the babies. This fulfilled Jeremiah 31:15 “Rachel weeping for her children because they were not.” The first mention of Bethlehem was the death of Rachel. She named her son Benoni “Son of my sorrow.” Jacob renamed him Benjamin “Son of my right hand.” Both titles relate to Jesus. Rachel’s grave is near Bethlehem. Jeremiah’s prophecy was given about 600 years before Christ. Very few think of Bethlehem as a burial place, we think of it as a birth place of Jesus Christ. Fact number four, the humility of the King (2:19-23). After a period of time in Egypt God spoke to Joseph in a dream, and he took his wife and her Son to Nazareth (2:19-20). Even this act fulfilled prophecy (v. 23). The term Nazarene was one of reproach. “Can there by any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Many Old Testament prophecies speak of the Messiah’s lowly life of rejection. Our Lord grew up in Nazareth. Who ever heard of a King being born in a humble village and growing up in a despised city? The humility of the King is certainly something to admire and imitate. Nazareth housed the Roman garrison for Northern regions of Galilee. Most Jews would not associate with that city. This is one reason Jesus was despised. Don’t be surprised that as you follow the King, you will also be despised. However “great is our reward in heaven.” Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

God's Merciful Compassion--a Study

Gods merciful compassion is seen everywhere in the Old Testament. 1. His compassion carries on in the New Testament as well, where we see: He is the One from whom all things come and for whom we live ( 1 Corinthians 8:6). We see He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3-10), sealing us with His Spirit (2 Cor. 1:21-22; 5:5) and effecting our rescue from Satan's domain (Col. 1:13-14). He Himself does not tempt us (Jas. 1:13), and He moderates every temptation we experience ( 1 Cor. 10:13). He is able to keep us from falling (Jude 24-25), but even when we do fall, He confronts us in our troubles (2 Cor. 1:3-4) and continues to work all things for our good (by conforming us to the image of Christ; Rom. 8:28-30). He works in us (Phil. 2:12-13), enabling us to grow (1 Cor. 3:7) and to do the works He has already prepared for us (Eph. 2:8-10). 2. The believer's responsibilities towards God. In light of the revealed character of our loving, merciful, compassionate Creator, what is our response? The following suggestions provide the framework as seen in the Old Testament. We are to enjoy the Eternal One forever. (1). We are to delight in God's Law (Ps. 1:2; 19:8). (2). God Himself is the source of joy and delight (Ps. 21:6; 45:7). (3). We take joy in: a. His protection (Ps. 5:11; 16:8-11). b. His salvation, forgiveness, and consolation (Ps. 35:9, 51:8). c. His provision of material possessions (106:5; 113:9). d. His victory, judgment(s), deliverance (21:1; 35:27; 145:7). E. His creation (48:1-2; 111:2). (4). We express our delight through: a. Song (Ps. 9:2; 31:11). b. Worship (Ps. 34:1-3; 42:4; 47:5; 118:15; 122:1). we are to pursue the Holy One. Throughout the Bible are commands to seek God (1 Chron. 16:10-11; 2 Chron. 14:4; Ps. 77:2; 105:3-4; Isa. 55:6; Hos. 10:12; Amos 5:4-6; Zeph. 2:3; Matt. 6:33; 7:7; Luke 11:9 and 12:31). We are promised that if we seek Him, we will find Him (Deut. 4:29; 1 Chron. 28:9; 2 Chron. 15:2; Prov. 8:17; Jer. 29:13). He will hear us and forgive (2 Chron. 7:140; we will understand justice (Prov. 28:5) and lack no good thing (Ps. 34:10). Indeed, God seeks after those people who seek to know Him (Ps. 14:2; 53:2). We are to praise the Worthy Master. God's quest to be glorified and our quest to be satisfied reach their goal in this one experience: our delight in God which overflows in praise. For God, praise is the sweet echo of his own excellence in the hearts of his people. For us, praise is the summit of satisfaction that comes from living in fellowship with God. Piper, Desiring God, p. 41. (1). We praise God for: a. His deeds (Ps. 9:1, 21:13). b. His character or attributes (Ps. 7:17; 107:1; 146:10). c. His law (119:7, 62, 108, 164, 171, 175). (2). One significant avenue of praise is song (30:4, 69:30; 147:1,7). (3). The rest of the Creation also praises God (19:1; 148:1-8). (4). Psalm 150, the last Psalm, is a delightful summary of praise: Praise the Lord. "Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power, Praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, Praise him with the harp and lyre, Praise him with tambourine and dancing, Praise him with the strings and flute, Praise him with the clash of cymbals, Praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD. We are to worship the Glorious King of Kings. The fuel of worship is a true vision of the greatness of God; the fire that makes the fuel burn white hot is the quickening of the Holy Spirit; the furnace made alive and warm by the flame of truth is our renewed spirit; and the resulting heat of our afflictions is powerful worship, pushing its way in our confessions, longings, acclamations, tears, songs, shouts, bowed hearts, lifted hands and obedient lives. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

What Are You Looking At

The following passage pictures David walking toward the temple for the purpose of worship. As he walks he looks to Mount Zion and thinks of the Lord. This inspires him to pen these words. “[A song of ascents.] I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”- Psalm 121:1-2. Help implies someone doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Our help does come from the Lord! That's David's view of life expressed in this passage. The Psalmist draws our attention to the God who never tires of being our Keeper. He doesn't sleep and He never grows weary of watching over His children. Like the Psalmist, the Lord often gives us opportunity to express, both to ourselves and to others, our faith in a God who is actually intervening in our affairs. We needn't live out our lives resigned to fatalism. Our thoughts don't have to be disturbed by anything that would even hint of God being oblivious to our needs and trials. God is present and He acts on our behalf. I have a friend who was cheated out of a great deal of money (several million dollars). The fact that he was cheated by a close friend made the wounding a great deal more difficult to bear. I have seen him go from praising the Lord for His goodness to being despondent and on the verge of suicide. The only way he can deal with having been brought to the brink of abject poverty is to focus on the Lord and His faithfulness. For us as believers the promises of the Word begins to live when we begin living the Word. David reminds us the Lord is "The maker of heaven and earth." The God who is powerful enough to create is able to wisely distribute that which belongs to Him. This Psalm calls us to actively put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Messiah is all that David pictures Him to be in Psalm 121, and He is a great deal more. Will you trust Him with everything today? Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Father Still Knows Best

The will of God is always an interesting subject. Any seminar on the will of God will draw a crowd. I had a friend in college who was praying about who he would marry, he told the Lord he wanted to know as soon as possible. He said if God would show him who his life's partner would be, he thought he could figure the rest out on his own. I believe he and his wife have learned a great deal since those days. The following verse tells us a great deal about the will of God. "This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”- Isaiah 48:17. According to this verse the Lord unfolds His will to us as we walk with Him. I believe the Word of God is the will of God. The Lord has revealed much of what He wants us to know through the Word. I don't have a specific verse telling me which car to purchase. However, I have principles in the Scriptures that give me direction. A principles would be "Would this decision cause my brother to stumble?" Can I afford it? Do I really need this much vehicle? What do godly counselors say about this decision? Does my family approve? etc. Much of God's will is set out for us each day. We get up in the morning, go through our routine of getting ready for work, eating, reading the Word, driving (hopefully) like a Christian on the way to work. While at work we are to do our assigned tasks as unto the Lord. We are to submit to authority with a right attitude. We are to make time for the Lord, family, sleep, others, ministry, etc. We know all these things are to be done in a balanced way. As we are walking with the Lord He will direct our steps, open doors of opportunity and give us peace concerning decisions we make. In time you will begin to sense when the Lord is active in a situation. I always ask the Lord for wisdom at the beginning of the day and through out the day as I worship, walk with and work for Him. As we desire God's best, He will give us His best. Many times He will have us wait for His best. I have noticed the Devil often offers his best first. Look at all he offered our Lord in the wilderness temptations. However Jesus knew the cross would precede His crown, and He choose His Fathers best. God makes no mistakes, He is the Master Teacher and He has promised to teach us what is best for us as we commune with Him. Like the name of an old T.V. show, Father still knows best. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

The Problem With the Familar

In the book of Exodus 33:7-8, we learn that "Moses took the tabernacle and pitched it without the camp, far off from the camp and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of the congregation which was without the camp." We also must pitch our tent a good distance from the camp, the camp of familiarity. When Jesus told His disciples to follow Him, He called them to leave the familiar pattern of their lives for extended periods and be alone with Him (Matthew 19:27; Luke 14:33). The Lord knows that men, by nature are unconsciously governed by the familiar. In I Corinthians 3:3, Paul rebuked the church at Corinth because they walked "like mere men." Most people pass through life umbilically tied to the familiar. Where have you pitched your spiritual tent? Hebrews 13:12-13 says "Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach." If we are going live holy, productive, spiritual lives, we must sever the chains and restraints of the bondage of desiring just an average life. We must choose to leave the camp of familiarity and place our tent in the Presence of God. The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you. We serve Adonai, He is the one who must be obeyed. The name implies that all those who submit to Him can enter Christ's perfect rest, expecting to receive God's direction, supervision, and provision. Walking with Him will take you outside the camp of the familiar. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Prayer as Worship

Many people do not pray. The self-sufficient do not pray, they merely talk to themselves. The self-satisfied will not pray, they have no knowledge of their need. The self-righteous cannot pray; they have no basis on which to approach God. In contrast note the words of the Psalmist “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice,”- Psalm 95:6-7. Psalm 95 is a model for approaching God in prayer. It begins with praise and thanksgiving. The apostle Paul seldom mentioned prayer in the New Testament without conveying an attitude filled with gratitude. "I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers" (Ephesians 1:16) "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6). The Bible speaks of three levels of communicating with God in prayer. Each level is saturated with praise and thanksgiving. At the beginning of our Christian walk, we tend to make prayer lists and present our requests to God. There is certainly nothing wrong with this. The leaves of my first Bible are filled with hand written prayer requests. James 4:2-3 says, "You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." David expands this point by saying, "If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened" (Psalm 66:18). We come to the Lord with confession, praise, worship and petition. We will struggle in prayer if we do not get beyond level one. This is the level at which the communication is only one way. The second level of prayer is a level of personal and two way communication. Have you ever tried to build a relationship when you did all the talking? Prayer is the language of our relationship with our heavenly Father. We need to hear His voice as we personally and humbly approach Him. The word hear means to listen so as to obey. Knowing God's ways leads to His rest. There is no rest in a hardened heart. "Learn from me and you shall find rest in your souls" (Matthew 11:29). God's prayer list will probably not be the same as ours. The first items on God's list are issues that concern our relationship with Him. So if there are unresolved moral issues that we have never confessed to God, rest assured they will be at the top of His list. That is why the psalmist cautions us not to harden our hearts. We should actively deal with whatever comes to our minds during prayer. There is nothing we can't talk to God about because He already knows the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts. When prayer becomes personal, we begin to pray more. Intercessory prayer, the third level of prayer, then becomes possible. There is a great need for true intercessors. Intercessors are Christians who are intimate enough with God to hear His voice and obey. Intercessors hear from God, sense the burden to pray and continue in prayer until the burden lifts. Seldom, if ever, is intercessory prayer undertaken in public. Intercessors usually pray in the privacy of their homes. often late at night, sometimes praying through the night. God accomplishes much of His work through these dear saints who know how to intercede for others. I believe God wants us all to intercede on behalf of one another. Consider asking the Lord to "teach you to pray." Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.