"I will cut off them that worship and that swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham." — Zephaniah 1:5

Such persons thought themselves safe because they were with both parties: they went with the followers of Jehovah, and bowed at the same time to Malcham. But duplicity is abominable with God, and hypocrisy His soul hateth. The idolater who distinctly gives himself to his false god, has one sin less than he who brings his polluted and detestable sacrifice unto the temple of the Lord, while his heart is with the world and the sins thereof. To hold with the hare and run with the hounds, is a dastard's policy. In the common matters of daily life, a double- minded man is despised, but in religion he is loathsome to the last degree. The penalty pronounced in the verse before us is terrible, but it is well deserved; for how should divine justice spare the sinner, who knows the right, approves it, and professes to follow it, and all the while loves the evil, and gives it dominion in his heart?

My soul, search thyself this morning, and see whether thou art guilty of double-dealing. Thou professest to be a follower of Jesus—dost thou truly love Him? Is thy heart right with God? Art thou of the family of old Father Honest, or art thou a relative of Mr. By-ends? A name to live is of little value if I be indeed dead in trespasses and sins. To have one foot on the land of truth, and another on the sea of falsehood, will involve a terrible fall and a total ruin. Christ will be all or nothing. God fills the whole universe, and hence there is no room for another god; if, then, He reigns in my heart, there will be no space for another reigning power. Do I rest alone on Jesus crucified, and live alone for Him? Is it my desire to do so? Is my heart set upon so doing? If so, blessed be the mighty grace which has led me to salvation; and if not so, O Lord, pardon my sad offence, and unite my heart to fear Thy name.

"The trial of your faith." — 1 Peter 1:7

Faith untried may be true faith, but it is sure to be little faith, and it is likely to remain dwarfish so long as it is without trials. Faith never prospers so well as when all things are against her: tempests are her trainers, and lightnings are her illuminators. When a calm reigns on the sea, spread the sails as you will, the ship moves not to its harbour; for on a slumbering ocean the keel sleeps too. Let the winds rush howling forth, and let the waters lift up themselves, then, though the vessel may rock, and her deck may be washed with waves, and her mast may creak under the pressure of the full and swelling sail, it is then that she makes headway towards her desired haven. No flowers wear so lovely a blue as those which grow at the foot of the frozen glacier; no stars gleam so brightly as those which glisten in the polar sky; no water tastes so sweet as that which springs amid the desert sand; and no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity. Tried faith brings experience. You could not have believed your own weakness had you not been compelled to pass through the rivers; and you would never have known God's strength had you not been supported amid the water-floods. Faith increases in solidity, assurance, and intensity, the more it is exercised with tribulation. Faith is precious, and its trial is precious too.

Let not this, however, discourage those who are young in faith. You will have trials enough without seeking them: the full portion will be measured out to you in due season. Meanwhile, if you cannot yet claim the result of long experience, thank God for what grace you have; praise Him for that degree of holy confidence whereunto you have attained: walk according to that rule, and you shall yet have more and more of the blessing of God, till your faith shall remove mountains and conquer impossibilities.

by Matt Slick

"For God is faithful through whom you were called into Fellowship with His Son Christ Jesus."

Have you ever wondered why you are here? Why God created you?

Was it to satisfy a hidden need in Him? Was it because God was bored just hanging around forever in empty space doing nothing. Maybe it was because He was just curious and wanted to know what would happen if He made a bunch of people and put them on a planet in the middle of nowhere. The Bible doesn't specifically say why God made us, but it does say that he created us.

Rev. 4:11 says, "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

But, why are you here?

1. To find out why God made you we have to look in the Bible. And a good place to start is The Garden of Eden
   1. God walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden (Gen. 3:8).
      1. What does it mean for God to walk with them.
         1. It means closeness, intimacy, communion.
         2. Picture this. Adam and Eve and God literally walking next to each other in perfect harmony.
      2. Why did God walk with them?
         1. Because He loved them.
         2. Because He wanted fellowship with them.
   2. When Adam and Eve sinned, what did they do?
      1. They hid themselves: Gen. 3:8 "And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden."
      2. Who came looking for who?
         1. God came looking for them: Gen. 3:9 says, "Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, 'Where are you?'"
   3. Who was the first to shed blood?
      1. Gen. 3:21, "And the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them."
      2. God made an atonement for them.
      3. Jesus is the first to shed blood, because the Father is never seen in the Bible: John 6:46. But Adam and Eve were with God, God the Son.
   4. They had been cast out of God's presence.
2. But, that isn't the end. God sought His people again.
   1. From the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve went out and had children who had children, etc.
      1. They filled the earth
      2. Eventually, after the tower of Babel, after Noah's Flood, God called a Abraham to go to a new land.
      3. Abraham became the first of God's chosen people who multiplied on the earth.
      4. They became enslaved in Egypt and eventually were freed by Moses.
   2. After leaving Egypt and after the 10 commandments had been given to the Jews, God said something most interesting to Moses in Exodus 25:8, "And let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them."
      1. There is more physical space in the Bible devoted to the subject of the tabernacle than any other subject even heaven, hell, Jesus, or the cross...anything.
   3. If you remember, God sought Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Here in the Wilderness He sought them again.
   4. Why did He tell them to build a sanctuary?
      1. He needed a holy place to dwell.
      2. He wanted to be among His people in a special way.
   5. The tabernacle
      1. It was a movable tent.
      2. One hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide (about 150 feet long by 75 feet wide)
      3. It had many furnishings, but the most important was the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.
         1. In the Holy of Holies is where the ark of the covenant was
            1. Aaron's Rod, a jar of manna, and the ten commandments)
            2. The Mercy Seat was a top made of pure gold with 2 angels fashioned in them. This was on top of the Ark of the Covenant.
      4. The Tabernacle was where the yearly offering of atonement would be made by the High Priest
   6. After the tabernacle was built, the Temple was built and the Holy of Holies was moved in there along with the Ark of the Covenant.
   7. This was with Israel up until the time of Jesus.
3. In the N.T. God still seeks to be with His people.
   1. In John 1:1,14 it says, "In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God...and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
   2. The Greek word there for "dwelt" is skanae. It means to tabernacle.
   3. Again, God is seeking His people, but this time, instead of dwelling in a temple, he was then walking around among the people.
      1. Jesus, who was God in flesh, was again walking with His people, just like the Garden of Eden.
4. But we know what they did to Jesus. They killed Him. They crucified Him.
   1. But God was not surprised by this. In fact, it was part of his plan. Instead making a sacrifice by a high priest, once a year, in the holy of holies, Jesus became that sacrifice once and for all by dying on the cross so that we can believe in Jesus and be forgiven of our sins.
   2. That is why it says in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
   3. The nature of Love is to give
   4. What is the best thing God could give? - love.
   5. What is the best thing YOU can give? - love...
      1. Love people by showing them Jesus, by being honest, good, and true.
5. 1 Cor. 1:9, "For God is faithful through whom you were called into Fellowship with His Son Christ Jesus."
   1. He wants to have fellowship with you because He loves you.
   2. Fellowship in Greek is the word koinonia. It means intimacy, communion, and fellowship.
      1. It is also translated into the word, "communion" when referring to the communion supper.
      2. The communion supper is the place of intense intimacy between God and the Christian.
         1. Describe what happens there.
   3. This fellowship with God the Father, MUST be through God the Son: Jesus. There is no other way.
   4. You HAVE to go through Jesus. You cannot make yourself right before God by what you do, by what you think, or by being sincere.... You can only be right before God by trusting in what Jesus did on the cross, by the sacrifice of Himself so you could be forgiven of your sins...... and then be able to be with God.... forever.
      1. Only through Jesus..... which is why God made you to be with Him, forever.
      2. God wants to have fellowship with you, through His Son.
      3. God wants to love you forever.

Conclusion

God wants fellowship with you not because of what you are but because of what He is.

• He is loving
• He is giving
• The best He can give is Himself.
• He has given you the Holy Spirit so that you might have God living within you. Not in a desert sanctuary or a stone temple, but in a living intimate way.
• You can know Him, experience Him, and feel Him.
• He made the universe for you.
• He created you for Him.

Enjoy Him.