DON’T LOOK BACK, KEEP YOUR EYES ON GOD Luke 9:61–62 Another said, “I’ll follow you, sir, but first let me tell my family goodbye.” Jesus said to him, “Whoever starts to plow and looks back is not fit for God’s kingdom.” A person must not look back. Note three things. a. This man offered himself to Jesus. He was willing to follow Jesus. Something about the Lord touched his heart or else the Lord’s teaching and ministry appealed to him. He saw the enormous benefit to men and to society as Christ ministered to the needs of men. In either case, he made a decision to follow Jesus. He was willing. b. The man had a double allegiance. Note the words but and first. The man had thought through his decision and concluded that he was willing to follow Christ, but something else needed to be handled first: a family affair, a business affair, an employment affair, a financial affair—some other concern was put first (as is the case with so many). Something else could have been concerning the man. He may have wanted his family’s counsel and advice, to see how they felt about his decision. Perhaps he felt their approval was needed. Then again, he could have been putting his love for family before his love for Christ. Perhaps he was attached to his family more than he was attached to Christ. Family should be our first attachment after our attachment to Christ. Christ is to be first in our lives. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Mt. 6:33). “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Lu. 16:13). “Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth” (Jos. 24:14). c. Jesus’ judgment was descriptively stated—stated in such a way that once heard or read, it would be difficult to forget: “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” The man got the point, and he probably never forgot it. It more than likely pricked his conscience and disturbed him often as the saying flashed across his mind. He had willed to follow Christ, but he “had looked back”; therefore, he was not fit for the Kingdom of God. The idea is this. A man who begins to plough and then looks back … • ploughs a crooked row. No row (person) is ever straight, not like it should be. (Each row or person receives only partial teaching.) • ploughs an inconsistent field. The field under his care is never matured; it never receives consistent work • ploughs in a spirit lacking total commitment. He may turn away at any time, leaving a job unfinished • ploughs but allows distractions and disruptions which affect the crops (the plants are not cared for) “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Mt. 7:21). “And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it” (Mt. 7:26–27). “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him” (He. 10:38). “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (Js. 1:8). “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Ro. 14:12). I HOPE YOU RECEIVED GREATLY FROM THIS QUICK STUDY. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
SOME OF THE PROMISES OF GOD ARE: God promised that His love will never fail (1 Chronicles 16:34). He is faithful in every way. God promised blessing for all who will delight themselves in His Word (Psalm 1:1–3). Simple faith has its rewards. God promised that all things will work out for good for His children (Romans 8:28). This is the broader picture that keeps us from being dismayed by present circumstances. God promised new life in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Salvation is the beginning of a brand-new existence. God promised to supply our needs (Matthew 6:33; Philippians 4:19). Not that we get everything we want, but our needs will be taken care of. We are more valuable than the birds, and our Heavenly Father feeds them (Matthew 6:26). Jesus promised eternal life to those who trust Him (John 4:14). The Good Shepherd also promised to hold us securely: “No one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). WE CAN DEPEND ON THE PROMISES OF GOD. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
Go to God, Not Just Church My friends, it is one thing to go to church or chapel; it is quite another thing to go to God. Psalm 145:18 The LORD is near to everyone who prays to him, to every faithful person who prays to him. Jeremiah 29:12–13 Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will hear you. When you look for me, you will find me. When you wholeheartedly seek me, Hebrews 4:16 So we can go confidently to the throne of God’s kindness to receive mercy and find kindness, which will help us at the right time. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Never stop praying. DON’T JUST GO TO CHURCH, GO TO GOD. THINK ABOUT IT. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
OUR GOD SPEAKS TO US ABOUT SERVICE What God expects of Christians is made clear throughout the NT. Nearly forty exhortations appear in Rom. 12 alone. The apostolic creed found in Tit. 2:11–14 outlines the Christian life as the denial of ungodliness and worldly lusts, accompanied by self restraint, righteousness, godliness and the expectation of the return of Christ. Another such outline in Heb. 10:19–25 calls for prayer, public testimony, a good example to others and assembly for worship. It is reasonable, or spiritual, RV, to present one’s body to God as a living sacrifice to serve Him, Rom. 12:1. This service must be exclusive, Luke 16:13; given with the spirit, Rom. 1:9; rendered with reverence and godly fear, Heb. 12:28; motivated by love, Gal. 5:13. It calls for following Christ, John 12:26, whom all Christians serve, Col. 3:24, as they serve God, Acts 27:23. Believers are described as persons who have turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 1 Thess. 1:9. This service may take the form of fasting and prayer, Luke 2:37, or ministering to the poor and needy, or giving oneself to prayer and the ministry of the Word as did the apostles, Acts 6:1–4. When Christian service is rendered in righteousness, peace, and joy, the believer is acceptable to God and approved of men, Rom. 14:17, 18. THERE IS A LOT TO RECEIVE FROM THIS QUICK STUDY. IT IS A GOOD REFRESHER, ALLOW IT TO BE A GUIDE UNTO YOUR LIFE. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
A WORD FROM GOD Romans 12:18-19 GNB Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody.Never take revenge, my friends, but instead let God’s anger do it.For the scripture says, “I will take revenge, I will pay back, says the Lord.” DON’T START TROUBLE, LIVE IN PEACE.DON’T ALLOW ANYONE TO CAUSE YOU TO GET INTO TROUBLE. LET GOD FIGHT YOUR BATTLES. GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF IT. John 18:17 GNB The girl at the gate said to Peter, “Aren’t you also one of the disciples of that man?” “No, I am not,” answered Peter. JUST BECAUSE A PERSON SAY THEY LOVE YOU, JUST BECAUSE A PERSON HANG OUT WITH YOU EVERYDAY, DON’T THINK THEY WON’T TURN THERE BACK ON YOU. THINK ABOUT IT. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
SALVATION AND REWARDS A number of clear contrasts between the two appear in Scripture. Salvation is for the lost, Matt. 18:11, while rewards are for the saved, Prov. 13:13. The salvation offered to all who believe is the same for everyone, Acts 16:31; Heb. 10:39, while rewards will differ, Rev. 22:12. Salvation is a free gift, Isa. 55:1; Rom. 6:23, but rewards are earned, 1 Cor. 3:8. Salvation is received in the present, John 5:24; rewards are to be received in the future, Matt. 16:27. When the day for rewards has come, fire will test every man’s work. All that survives will be rewarded, and salvation will not be affected, 1 Cor. 3:11–15. Every man will have praise of God, 1 Cor. 4:5. Keeping the precepts of Scripture has always brought great reward, Psa. 19:11. Christ spoke of rewards as being in Heaven, Matt. 5:12. He will bring them with Him at His return, Rev. 22:12. A reward is to be given even for the offering of a cup of cold water, Matt. 10:42. God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, Heb. 11:6. It is a worthy motive to serve Him with the promised rewards in view. Even Moses “had respect unto the recompense of the reward,” Heb. 11:26. All believers are encouraged to have full confidence in the fulfillment of everything God has promised, Heb. 10:35–37; Prov. 11:18. LIVE GODLY AND RECEIVE THE REWARDS. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
CHILD OF GOD, OR CHILD OF SATAN Love reveals a person’s true nature; love shows that a person is either a child of God or of the devil. Note who it is that is not of God. ⇒ The person who does not live righteously is not of God. The person who does not live a pure and holy life is not of God. ⇒ The person who does not love his brother is not of God. The person who mistreats, abuses, ignores, neglects or takes advantage of his brother is not of God. This is easily seen: God is holy, righteous, and pure and God is love. Therefore any person who does not live a holy, righteous, and pure life and who does not love could not be of God. His life stands opposed to all that God stands for. The things that he does are not of God; they are not of the nature of God. Now, of whose nature are they? Whose nature is unholy, unrighteous, impure; and whose nature is unloving? Not God’s nature, but the devil’s nature. This is not a pleasant thought, but Scripture declares emphatically that we are either a child of God or of the devil. What determines whose child we are? Our lives reveal exactly whose child we are. ⇒ The person who lives a righteous life and who loves his brother takes his nature from God. ⇒ The person who lives an unrighteous life and who mistreats his brother takes his nature from the devil. We can look at our nature and tell whose child we are. If we live righteous, pure, and holy lives and love one another, we have the nature of God. If we live unrighteous, impure, and unholy lives and mistreat one another, we have the nature of the devil. It is that clear: there is no middle ground. God’s nature is not that of unrighteousness and hate. God is righteous and loving; therefore, the person who lives a righteous life and who loves his brother is of God. Now, note a significant fact: John defines righteousness as love. This is what he is really saying in this verse: the person who does not do righteousness is the person who does not love his brother. Righteousness is love, and unrighteousness is failing to love. This is seen by scanning this passage: ⇒ Note verse 12: Cain did not love his brother so he murdered him and did an unrighteous deed. ⇒ Note verse 14: the proof that we have passed from death to life is our love, our righteous behavior toward our brother. ⇒ Note verse 15: love is not unrighteous acts, hate, or murder. ⇒ Note verse 16: love is the righteous act of God in giving His Son to die for us. ⇒ Note verse 16 again: love is laying down our lives for our brother. ⇒ Note verse 17: love is compassion and giving to meet the needs of our brother. The point is this: love is action—righteous deeds in action. And righteousness is love—loving deeds in action. This is exactly what John declared earlier. “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him” (1 Jn. 2:10). This is also what Paul declared in that memorable passage of Romans, a passage that we should live in and preach and teach as long as we live upon earth. “Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Ro. 13:8–10). How do we know if we really love God? We can look at love and tell. Do we love our brothers? Or, do we hold things within us toward others? Do we think evil thoughts about them? Talk about them? Criticize, murmur, grumble, gossip, or backbite them? Do we do evil against them? This is the nature of the devil—to tear down and destroy—not the nature of God. Therefore, if we do these kinds of things, we are revealing that we are not the children of God, but children of the devil. Love reveals whose child we are. “Blessed are the peacemakers [an act of love]: for they shall be called the children of God” (Mt. 5:9). “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Mt. 22:37–39). “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (Jn. 13:34–35). “Let love be without dissimulation [hypocrisy]. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good” (Ro. 12:9). 1 John 3:10 This is the way God’s children are distinguished from the devil’s children. Everyone who doesn’t do what is right or love other believers isn’t God’s child. I HOPE YOU FOUND THIS QUICK STUDY TO BE HELPFUL. DO YOU ENJOY THE QUICK STUDIES? SHOULD I CONTINUE THESE QUICK STUDIES? Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
LIFE AND DEATH Only in the Bible can any satisfying light be found on the mysterious and baffling subjects of life and death, Deut. 30:19. In the beginning God breathed life into the nostrils of the man He had created, Gen. 2:7. That breath was the spirit of man. “The body without the spirit is dead,” Jas. 2:26. The normal life span is 70 years, Psa. 90:10. Those who keep God’s precepts ordinarily live longer than those who do not, Prov. 3:1, 2. Life is likened to a shadow, Psa. 144:4, and a vapor, Jas. 4:14. “A sound heart is the life of the flesh,” Prov. 14:30. “The life of the flesh is in the blood,” Lev. 17:11. By one man came death through disobedience, Gen. 2:17; Rom. 5:12. Under the permissive will of God, Satan has the power of death, Job 2:6. The fear of it brings men into bondage, Heb. 2:14, 15. Death is an enemy which will finally be destroyed, 1 Cor 15:26. Christ has the keys to it, Rev. 1:18. It will be banished from God’s new order, Rev. 21:4. For believers, “to die is gain,” Phil. 1:21. For all others, after death there is judgment, Heb. 9:27. Like Enoch and Elijah, believers who are living at the time of the translation of the church will never die, 1 Cor. 15:51, 52; 1 Thess. 4:14–18. All unbelievers will ultimately experience the second death, Rev. 20:14, 15. I HOPE YOU FOUND THIS QUICK STUDY TO BE A GREAT REFRESHER. DO YOU ENJOY AND RECEIVE FROM THESE QUICK STUDIES? Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
Things the Sinner Cannot Do 1. Cannot reverse what God does. “I cannot go beyond the Word of the Lord” Num. 22:18 No one can straighten what is bent. No one can count what is not there. 2. Cannot find God by Himself. “I cannot perceive Him” Job 23:8, 9 However, if I go east, he isn’t there. If I go west, I can’t find him. If I go northward, where he is at work, I can’t observe him. If I turn southward, I can’t see him. 3. Cannot supply what is lacking. “What is crooked cannot be made straight” Eccles. 1:15 No one can straighten what is bent. No one can count what is not there. 4. Cannot please God—Rom. 8:8 Those who are under the control of the corrupt nature can’t please God. 5. Cannot see or enter the Kingdom of God—John 3:3, 5 Jesus replied to Nicodemus, “I can guarantee this truth: No one can see God’s kingdom without being born from above.” Jesus answered Nicodemus, “I can guarantee this truth: No one can enter God’s kingdom without being born of water and the Spirit. 6. Cannot be where Christ is. “Whither I go ye cannot come” (John 8:21, 22, 43 Jesus spoke to the Pharisees again. He said, “I’m going away, and you’ll look for me. But you will die because of your sin. You can’t go where I’m going.” Then the Jews asked, “Is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means when he says, ‘You can’t go where I’m going’?” Why don’t you understand the language I use? Is it because you can’t understand the words I use? 7. Cannot pass the gulf which divides the saved from the unsaved in the next life—Luke 16:26 Besides, a wide area separates us. People couldn’t cross it in either direction even if they wanted to.’ I HOPE YOU FOUND THIS QUICK STUDY TO BE INTERESTING AND HELPFUL. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
SEEK GOD, AND LIVE GODLY Matthew 6:33, NLT Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. WE MUST LIVE OUR LIFE SEEKING GOD FIRST. WE MUST LIVE A RIGHTEOUS LIFE. IF WE WILL DO THOSE TWO THINGS GOD WILL BLESS US WITH ALL THAT WE NEED. Proverbs 2:8 GNB He protects those who treat others fairly, and guards those who are devoted to him. IF WE WILL TREAT PEOPLE FAIRLY, AND DEVOTE OUR LIFE TO GOD, GOD WILL PROTECT US AND GUARD US. ALLOW THESE VERSES TO BE A GUIDE UNTO YOUR LIFE. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
