FORSAKING ALL OTHERS, JESUS, I WANT YOU
May 7, 2000 am
MF Blume
Esther 2:1-3 After these things,
when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased, he remembered Vashti, and
what she had done, and what was decreed against her. Then said the king's
servants that ministered unto him, Let there be fair young virgins sought
for the king: And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of
his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto
Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hege
the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification
be given them:
Esther 2:12 Now when every maid's turn was
come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months,
according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications
accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months
with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the
women;)
Esther 2:15 Now
when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai,
who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she
required nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the
women, appointed. And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that
looked upon her.
In a nutshell, the story of Esther begins with the King's wife, Vashti,
behaving herself unseemly before all the kingdom, in complete disrespect
for her husband.
-
She is put away by the king and he searches for a new queen.
This reminds me of Israel rejecting Christ with no respect for Him as King,
and Christ puts Israel away and turns to the rest of the world, and any
Jews who might believe, for His Bride.
But notice that in the choosing of a virgin among all the virgins gathered,
each is told to request what she would desire in order for her to be presentable
to the king, that he might choose her.
-
They are given anything they desire.
-
Anything that they think would make them more pleasing to the King.
But Esther is different.
-
She did not seek to gather what she felt would be best for her,
but knew that the King had desires.
-
So she asked the chamberlain what he recommended, because the chamberlain
knew what the king really wanted, due to his close relationship with the
king.
While all the others did what they felt they should do, Esther knew
that if she would win the King's heart, she must do what the King
would desire her to do.
-
She dare not assume anything.
-
She dare no presume to do what she felt she should do.
And we read that the King loved Esther above all the others.
That reminds me of many denominations in the world.
-
You can see them perform their rituals and watch them carry out traditional
things that are not in the New Testament texts as recommended by the Word
to be what God desires.
-
They ASSUME that they can devise anything they wish, and hope it will please
the King.
-
They take it upon themselves to do this ritual, although the King never
recommended it.
That is the reason they have a form of godliness, but do not have the power
thereof.
-
They will tell you that what they do is not in the Bible, but they will
say the Bible does not speak against it, either.
Actually the Bible does speak against it.
-
Esther's story itself teaches that we should not assume anything.
-
Let us rather seek what God desires, Himself.
-
Get a chamberlain.
-
A true preacher, and ask that person what the King wants.
-
And the preacher, who knows the Bible, will be able to show you what God
desires.
-
And you will be part of His Bride!
It does not matter what we assume God wants.
-
It matters what His word says He wants.
-
Preachers are supposed to be like the Chamberlain in Esther's day, to inform
people who want to be in the Bride of Christ, as to what God desires.
-
And what they say had better be in the BOOK!
In a marriage ceremony, part of the vows we give to a couple are, "Forsaking
all others, I pledge my troth (or, Love) to thee."
-
When we truly love God we won't assume anything, anyway.
-
True love gives one the common sense that in order to please another, you
need to know what that other is pleased with.
-
You want to know what that other is pleased with.
-
And nothing is too much for you to do, when you learn it is what the one
you love desires.
People who try to get away with as much carnality and worldliness that
they can, simply never fell in love with God.
-
Those who truly love Jesus, cannot do enough for Him.
-
Quite a difference from those who try to get away with murder!
In Matthew 19, Jesus was challenged about the issue of marriage and divorce.
-
I referred to this chapter back in January 23, but it comes back to me
again today.
-
The challengers tried to make Jesus look stupid by posing questions they
felt He could not answer, in hopes of leaving themselves to appear the
wiser.
-
But Jesus always left them looking silly.
Matthew 19:1-5 And it came to pass,
that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee,
and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan; And great multitudes
followed him; and he healed them there. The Pharisees also came unto him,
tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his
wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read,
that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall
cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
Jesus responded by saying a married couple are ONE FLESH.
-
God joined them together.
-
Putting someone away is wrong.
Matthew 19:6-9 Wherefore they are no
more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let
not man put asunder. They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give
a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses
because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives:
but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall
put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry
another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away
doth commit adultery.
Upon asking why Moses allowed divorce, the challengers heard Jesus respond
that it was never God's intention for divorce to occur.
-
Moses only allowed it for the hardness of the people's hearts.
-
In Genesis, the beginning, it was not so.
-
In the beginning, God never intended man to sin.
-
Divorce is a result of sin, because sin caused men's hearts to be hardened.
Notice that the issue is being made one flesh with another of the opposite
sex.
-
The physical act of sexual relationship actually unites two people.
-
God never intended for them to be disunited.
Let me say that the modern day church accepts divorce far too readily.
-
We are supposed to be brought back to the way God had it in eden.
-
We are baptized with God's Spirit now, and there should be no problem with
a hard heart, for we have LIFE once again, as Adam had access to the fruit
of life before he sinned.
-
Now, let me say that if a spouse is serving God and the other, serving
God or not, commits sexual sin, the innocent party is free to divorce that
one and be married again.
-
The term for FORNICATION, in verse 9, is the Greek word PORNEIA, and is
defined as follows:
porneia {por-ni'-ah}
AV - fornication 26; 26
1) illicit sexual intercourse
1a) adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, intercourse
with animals etc.
1b) sexual intercourse with close relatives; Lev. 18
1c) sexual intercourse with a divorced man or woman; Mk. 10:11,12
So it covers any sexual sin.
-
"Fornication" in today's culture is limited to sexual sin before marriage.
-
But the New Testament Greek word includes Adultery in the definition.
-
And a believer who commits adultery can repent, and make things right again
in one's marriage.
-
But woe to the one who commits adultery and seeks not to make things right,
but to simply look for another person in the Church.
-
SIN!!!
Think of this.
-
It is the sexual act that unites two people as one.
1 Corinthians 6:16 What? know ye not
that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall
be one flesh.
In God's eyes, the most casual sexual relationship that people can think
of, that of sex with a harlot, may seem casual and completely without commitment
in the eyes of the perpetrators, but in God's eyes it is not so casual.
-
In His eyes it is serious.
-
In God's eyes, it is UNION AS ONE FLESH.
-
People may thing their flings were one-night stands.
-
But God sees them much more seriously than that.
-
Those acts made them one flesh with that person, even if it was a harlot.
Secondly, notice that the same act that unites two people as one, is also
the same act that impregnates the female to bear children.
-
Why did God arrange things like that?
-
He could have made it so that women bear children spontaneously every few
months.
-
He could have created us so that women do not need the male to be impregnated.
-
Why did He plan it like He did, though?
Imagine Eve bearing a child without having the relationship with Adam and
Adam's love.
-
There were no hospitals in the Garden.
-
No Nurses to take the baby after it is born and care for it like the mother
cannot do.
-
Imagine Eve having a child and Adam no where around.
God created us in such a way that the same act in which we come into physical
union with someone is the act that brings reproduction.
-
Man is spirit, soul and body.
-
God intended us to be united in spirit, soul and body with another of the
opposite sex.
-
Union in spirit means that both love God and serve Him.
-
Union in soul is emotional love.
-
And union in body is sexual relationship.
-
God never intended people to unite sexually without the union of spirit
and soul FIRST.
-
Outside of a vow of responsibility, one cannot truly even say they LOVE
another.
LOVE is NOTHING without commitment and responsibility.
-
When a young man tells his girlfriend that he loves her, and wants to be
physically intimate with her, but is not willing to lay down his life and
marry her, he is a liar.
-
Love means laying down our lives for the one we love.
-
Love means committing ourselves for that person.
-
And the vows of marriage before God and a true man of God imply a true
commitment and confirm our love to that person.
God created us so that the union of flesh also is accompanied by union
of soul and spirit.
-
An experience accompanied by true commitment.
-
And the same experience will reproduce.
-
That is because the children born require the balance of both a father
and mother to care for the child.
-
They need to be born into a loving atmosphere.
-
Their existence must be the result of true love.
-
And children born without two parents married to one another are children
who are ripped off by life, at the decision of silly people who don't know
any better.
Thank God that if you are a mother, but are single and made a grave mistake
while in sin, its all under the blood now!
-
Your past is crucified with Christ and buried.
-
It cannot even be resurrected, because God alone resurrects, and He certainly
wills not that our old lives be resurrected.
Thank God that even the divorce you may have experienced while in sin,
is under the blood now and no longer a part of you.
-
We still have responsibilities with children we parented in sin before
we were saved.
-
But we need not feel guilty about that divorce, for that was all buried
forever with Christ.
-
We are truly new creatures.
-
Refuse to let those pasts haunt you.
(And if you sinned and divorced while a believer, yourself causing the
divorce, God can forgive you, too. It is not the unpardonable sin).
And with all of that in mind it is wonderful to see that after Jesus
speaks about union in marriage, and being made one flesh, he then Speaks
about children.
Matthew 19:13-15 Then were there
brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on
them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer
little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the
kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.
Keep in mind that the same experience that unites two as one flesh, impregnates
the woman to bear children.
-
Children are the fruit of the womb.
-
The offspring of a relationship saturated with committed love.
With that in mind, we then read of the rich young ruler who sought eternal
life by the means of good works.
-
When we see the flow of thought before this young man came to Jesus, and
then think about this man's discussion, we realize a mighty truth!
-
The good works that the young man referred to are physical acts.
-
But eternal life is a spiritual entity.
-
How can anyone earn a spiritual thing like eternal life through physical
acts?
-
And good works, in the true picture, are supposed to be the OFFSPRING OF
A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS.
-
Those who are in UNION with Jesus, should bring forth spiritual children...
fruit of the Spirit.
1Corinthians 6:16-17 What? know ye not
that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall
be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
The union of flesh between a man and woman is like the union of a believer
and God's Spirit.
-
We were united to Christ on the cross.
-
He said that if He be lifted up, He would draw all men unto himself.
-
That is speaking about DYING WITH HIM through UNION with His death on the
cross.
-
We are united in a kind of marriage to Christ, by dying with Him.
-
From that point onward, His history is our history.
-
We are buried with Him, and resurrected with Him and seated with Him in
heavenly places.
-
We become part of HIS BRIDE.
And the marriage to Christ not only unites us to the Lord, but is the means
of reproducing!
Romans 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren,
ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should
be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead,
that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
What are the children we bear?
-
FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.
-
GOOD WORKS.
Notice that children are a little bit like their fathers and a little bit
like their mothers.
-
Appearance and even actions and behaviour are combined in the one child.
-
That is like Paul's writings and Peter's writings in the Bible.
-
You can actually tell a style variation between the two Apostles' writings.
-
There is a bit of Paul in his writings and a bit of Peter in his.
-
And yet THEY ARE BOTH WRITINGS OF GOD'S WORD.
-
God is in them, too.
And hear this!!
-
As much as a man and woman can be careless and casual about their
sexual union, and not take it seriously, when God does, a person can be
united to Christ in His death, married to Him, and not take it seriously
WHEN GOD DOES!!
You see these believers all the time.
-
They dilly-dally into Church service, and never take the service and worship
seriously.
-
They do not take the preached word seriously.
-
They go out and live unclean lives and come to Church and casually worship.
-
They have one-night stands with God.
-
BUT GOD TAKES IT SERIOUSLY.
-
They get baptized into His death by immersion in water in Jesus' name.
-
They receive His name as a woman receives her husband's name.
-
Their pasts are considered dead and buried, BUT THEY TAKE IT SO CASUALLY,
and leave and then FLIRT WITH THE WORLD.
Spiritual adultery is when you are married to Christ in His death, and
you live like the world afterwards.
-
Anything that comes between you and God is an adulterer, breaking God's
heart as you indulge in it.
-
People who would rather watch a hockey game than come to the church service
and hear God's word are adulteresses, spiritually speaking.
Forsaking all other, JESUS I WANT YOU!
-
When we are espoused to Christ, we FORSAKE ALL OTHERS.
-
We commit to Him.
-
In a day when no body wants to take any responsibilities, and make no commitments,
God's Word still stands sure.
-
When you marry Christ, you forsake all others and commit to love Him.
-
Vow to love Him.
-
Forsake all others, to love Him.
-
Houses, lands, family members will not hold you back from your commitment
to Him.
-
You will not backslide because of what others will do.
-
YOU MADE A COMMITMENT!
-
YOU TOOK HIS NAME.
If you love Jesus, it is the natural thing to commit all to Him and put
Him first.
-
Esther had no problem with anything the chamberlain recommended, because
she knew it was what the KING, WHOM SHE LOVED, WANTED.
-
Nothing is too much to ask, when its for HIM.
Jesus saw that the rich young ruler claimed to have kept the commandments,
but Jesus told him that in order to be complete, or to go all the way,
he must sell all his possessions and follow Jesus.
-
You want the eternal life that God gives?
-
Be married to Him.
-
Forsaking all other, Jesus I want you.
-
It is not that rich people cannot be saved, but that THEIR LOVE for their
riches has to go.
-
They must forsake anything that would stop them from loving God first,
or at least render those other loves as simply things you can do with or
without.
-
You can be rich, but hold your riches as though you had none.
1 Corinthians 7:29-31 But this I say,
brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have
wives be as though they had none; And they that weep, as though they wept
not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that
buy, as though they possessed not; And they that use this world, as not
abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.
In Paul's day, tribulation was so drastic, and Jerusalem was ready to be
destroyed as Christ predicted, that Paul recommended men to remain single.
-
Taking the responsibility of a loved one in marriage upon oneself was not
the best idea in those days where adherence to christianity might mean
death.
-
This is a statement in verse 29 that dealt with that day of persecution
-- read verse 26 - present distress.
-
But the principle applies to anything we own.
-
Rich people ought to not let riches own them, but to own the riches.
-
Do not be put under the power of anything so that it controls you.
-
Hold it as though you could live without it.
-
Do not be like Lot's wife who looked back to something in Sodom that she
felt she could not do without.
When Jesus told the rich young ruler to do that, he walked away sorrowful.
-
That man loved his money, and that is why Jesus told him to let it go.
-
If a rich man does not love his money, he need not let it go.
-
But Jesus wants to hit our soft spots where we love something too much.
-
Because we cannot truly love and service Him if we love something else
that much.
-
We have to let that other thing go.
-
AND THEN FOLLOW JESUS.
Matthew 19:21-22 Jesus said unto him,
If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to
the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow
me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for
he had great possessions.
The man wanted God's blessing, but did not want God.
-
Only Jesus can give LIFE, but the man would not FOLLOW JESUS, though he
wanted eternal life.
-
That was like a woman saying saying, "Man, I want your name and your possessions
and your gifts that you reserve only for the one you will love, but I do
not want YOU."
JESUS is the one whom we must love!
-
The man had everything backwards.
-
Good works do not save us, but they are the CHILDREN of our relationship
with Jesus, which relationship saved us.
I have seen many believers PRETEND to have children from God.
-
That is, they were like the young ruler.
-
They accomplished good works in hopes of saving themselves.
-
They had no relationship with Jesus, and you could tell due to their evil
actions and words and attitudes.
-
Legalists!
-
You can tell a legalist by the evil attitudes they have.
-
You shall know them by their fruits.
-
Sharp thorns and thistles (sharp attitudes that condemn), or figs and godly
fruit.
Matthew 7:15-20 Beware of false prophets,
which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or
figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but
a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth
evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every
tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the
fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
These people pretend they have a relationship with God, but their CHILDREN,
so to speak, are sharp tongues and attitudes that condemn others.
-
Jesus came NOT TO CONDEMN THE WORLD.
-
So His offspring will not be sharp attitudes that condemn others.
(Condemnation comes to those who reject the truth of Jesus, but that is
after He gave them words of life, not condemnation, and they rejected it.)
John 3:18 He that believeth on
him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because
he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
The same experience of UNION TO JESUS will also produce children, or good
works.
-
Salvation PRODUCES good works, NOT VICE VERSA.
Jesus repeated the key thought again to His disciples after the young ruler
left.
Matthew 19:28-29 And Jesus said
unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the
regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory,
ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father,
or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive
an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
The whole point is to FOLLOW HIM.
-
My wife took my name, and followed me in my ministry, and worked with me,
in three provinces of Canada.
-
She did it willingly, because she loved me and we were one.
-
My ministry was her ministry, and vice versa.
Forsaking all others, JESUS, I WANT YOU!
-
It won't be hard to follow wherever he leads, if WE LOVE HIM.
Somewhere down the road, someone is going to offend you.
-
Are you going to stop following Jesus?
-
Was it Jesus that offended you?
When I was a child, my brother made me angry, and I did not want to look
at him.
-
(We always made up after).
-
But did I leave dad's house because my brother offended me?
-
Of course not!
-
Dad did not do that.
-
And why do people leave church fellowship and service because a brother
or sister offends them?
-
Why leave God's House?
-
(Not the building, but the family of believers, a temple of God in people).
-
THEY DID NOT LOVE GOD ANYWAY.
-
You do not have God in mind when someone offends you and you forsake God.
-
You have no love for Him at all.
-
Because LOVE FOR GOD FORSAKES ALL OTHERS AND YOU CLING TO HIM.
-
There is nothing THEY can do to break your union to Jesus.
-
YOU LOVE JESUS.
-
But if you are separated from God due to someone's offense, then you never
really were united to Jesus anyway, or at least you never KEPT your love
for Him strong.
Forsaking all others, JESUS I WANT YOU..