Friday, July 27, 2018


WEEKLY SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
An international Sunday school lesson commentary
For Sunday July 29, 2018

Over 168,000 readers worldwide
larrydalexander.blogspot.com

STORY OF THE GREAT FEAST
(Salvation is for all who come by faith)
(Luke 14:15-24)

   In Luke 14, verses 15-24, we see JESUS presenting the invited guests at the home of a leading Pharisee, with yet another parable. This time HE turns our attention to the most important of all invitations. It is “the invitation to salvation” that HE HIMSELF had come into the world to deliver.
    After hearing a man who was sitting at the dinner table exclaim to HIM, “What a privilege it would be to have a share in the Kingdom of GOD! “, JESUS responded as only HE could. Here HE gives the illustration of a man who prepared a great feast for which he would send out many invitations.
    When the time of the feast came, the man sent his servants out with a “live invitation” to notify all of his people (the Jews) that the time had come. One by one they all begin to make “lame excuses” as to why they could not attend. Anything from, “I can’t. I need to stay here and inspect the field I just purchased” to “I just got married, so I’ll have to decline your invitation”. 
    When the servants returned and told their master what had happened, in his anger, he sent them back out, instructing them to go into the streets and the alleys of the city, and invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. After they had done this, he sent them back out, this time into the country places, to ask everyone (the Gentiles) that they might see, to come to the feast, so that his house would be filled.
    This parable serves to show us that GOD invites all people to enter into “the salvation feast”, which will take place in HIS wonderful and glorious Kingdom. However, only those who are willingly accept HIS invitation, through CHRIST, HIS SERVANT, will be able to attend. Salvation is for all who are willing to, first, recognize that they need GOD, then, humble themselves enough to repent, and, last but not least, willingly accept the invitation to salvation, based solely on your faith in CHRIST.
    Ironically, this passage of Luke 14 was the text of the last sermon preached by the highly respected minister, D.L. Moody in Kansas City, Missouri, way back in 1899, only one month prior to his death. But it is a message of salvation that was first delivered by CHRIST JESUS from the house of an unbelieving Pharisee, somewhere in the midst of the city of Jerusalem, way back in the first century A.D..
    And JESUS had no doubt, through HIS teachings that day in Jerusalem, from across the spans of time, inspired a hope in Moody that was similar to hope that HE had previously inspired in HIS original disciples. It is a hope (“the Christian Hope”) that each generation would take advantage of the opportunity to share in the coming “Kingdom Feast”, that can only be attended by those who are willing and humble enough, to accept the “free invitation”.

A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander





                                 
LARRY D. ALEXANDER- Official Website








Friday, July 20, 2018


WEEKLY SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
An international Sunday school lesson commentary
For Sunday July 22, 2018

Over 167,000 readers worldwide
larrydalexander.blogspot.com

ENTERING GOD’S KINGDOM
(The narrow door)
(Luke 13:22-30)

   The events of Luke 13:22 through 17:10, all take place in “Perea”, the area described in the New Testament as being “beyond the Jordan”. The name “Perea” is the Greek term that means, quite literally, “Transjordan”, and it describes the region between the Jabbok and Arnon rivers, east of the Jordan.    
    As JESUS was passing through this area, and pressing on toward Jerusalem for the final time, someone stopped HIM and asked HIM this question; “LORD, will only a few be saved?” Here JESUS replies in no uncertain terms saying, “The door to Heaven is narrow. Work hard to get in, because many will try to enter, but when the HEAD of the House has locked the door, it will be too late. Then you will stand outside knocking and pleading, “LORD, open the door for us!” But HE will reply, “I do not know you”. You will say, “But we ate and drank with YOU, and YOU taught in our streets”. And HE will reply, “I tell you, I do not know you. Go away, all you who do evil”.
    This passage is seen by most scholars as a direct prophesy against the Jews who have rejected, or will reject the complete doctrine of JESUS CHRIST. This prophecy, however, in conjunction with what JESUS says in Matthew 7:21-23, can also clearly be seen as a warning to any and all “so-called” Christian denominations (those who call themselves by HIS name, but do not adhere to HIS complete doctrine and concepts), or whose man-made doctrines are only similar to, or partly in compliance with the Word of GOD. To be partly in compliance with the Word of GOD is to not be in compliance at all.
    Any such groups that does not adhere completely to “the Word of GOD”, as it comes to us from “the mind of GOD”, will be ultimately rejected by CHRIST, whether or not they claim to represent HIS cause here on earth, or not. Here JESUS says that all those groups and individuals and their works will be deemed by CHRIST as “unauthorized” (Matthew 7:21-23), and also as, “evil” (Luke 13:27).
    In fact, here’s exactly what JESUS says about the subject in HIS, now famous, “Sermon on the Mount”: “Not all people who sound religious are really GODly. They may refer to ME as LORD, but they still won’t enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey MY FATHER in Heaven. On judgment day many will tell ME, “LORD, LORD, we prophesied in YOUR name and cast out demons in YOUR name and performed many miracles in YOUR name”. But I will reply, “I never knew you. Go away; the things you did were unauthorized” (Matthew 7:21-23 – NLT).
    And just as many Gentiles, who come from all over the world, will be grafted into the Kingdom replacing many Jews, so too, will many people come from all over the world, who are not associated with any of the main-stream “so-called” Christian denominations today, who will take the places of the “avid Church-goers” of this age, in the Kingdom of Heaven. And it will be because they assembled together, and lived personally, adhering only to the Word of GOD, just as it comes from the mind of GOD, while they were here on earth. And so, “some who are despised now, will be greatly honored then, and some who are greatly honored now will be despised then” “(Luke 13:30 - NLT).
    I teach my bible students that they should stop declaring themselves “saved”, and instead, adhere to the attitude that they are on the “road to Salvation”. It is a process, and JESUS says that “those who endure until the end “will” be saved” (Matthew 24:13). Salvation is not “a foregone conclusion” for anyone who is still living in this physical life facing all of the challenges of the human experience.
    One’s entry into the Kingdom of GOD can never be thought of by humans as being “automatic”, but rather, it is the result of overcoming “a great struggle with satan” in this world. In fact, the struggle to enter the Kingdom is so intense that it is described in Scripture as an “agony of soul and spirit”, and JESUS says that we must “work hard to get in” (Luke 13:24).
    Because of false teaching, it becomes easy to assume that once we make a pledge to CHRIST JESUS, we have reached the end of our struggle and can now sit back and do nothing until JESUS returns. Somehow, we begin to feel as though our goal has already been achieved. Unfortunately, there is no such finality in the Christian life, and, unless we continue to move forward in CHRIST in this new physical life, we face the inevitable risk of falling backwards, into the old life from which we came, or into a life of complacency.
    Those who JESUS speaks about in this passage, who, in the end, will be “weeping” and “gnashing their teeth”, are those who have altered the doctrine of GOD to shape it into a way that best fits their own wicked lifestyles, and then, sought to teach those wicked ways to others. Just like the Jews of the first century, main stream “so-called” Christian denominations in this century, each, consider themselves to be “first” in every way.
    However, because they do not adhere strictly to the Word of GOD, and indeed, do not sincerely believe that they have to, they, in the end, much to their own surprise, will be “ultimately left out” of the Kingdom of Heaven. And the words of our LORD and SAVIOR, as they ultimately must, will, ring true in the end; “Some who are despised now will be greatly honored then; and some who are greatly honored now will be despised then” (NLT). Ultimately, people don’t fail to get into Heaven because they didn’t work hard at their own, various religious applications, they fail to get into the Kingdom because “their” religious applications don’t, and can never, align with GOD’s. 

A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander





                                 
LARRY D. ALEXANDER- Official Website



   

Friday, July 13, 2018


WEEKLY SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
An international Sunday school lesson commentary
For Sunday July 15, 2018

Over 166,000 readers worldwide
larrydalexander.blogspot.com

THE WIDOW AND THE UNJUST JUDGE
(Persist in prayer and confidence in GOD’s justice)
(Luke 18:1-8)

   In Luke chapter 18, verses 1-8, JESUS relates the, now famous, story of “the persistent widow”, as HE needed to illustrate the importance of “constant prayer to GOD”, to HIS disciples. Here HE gives us a vivid depiction of a pagan judge who is residing in a secular courtroom setting, perhaps, in Jerusalem. We can surmise this because, in the Jewish community, all ordinary disputes between the Israelites, such as this one, were always settled privately before a panel of Jewish elders, and not in a public forum.
    Under Jewish law, even those disputes that were taken to arbitration had to be heard by a three-member panel, as one man could not constitute “a Court”. Three elders had to be chosen, one by the plaintiff, one by the defendant, and one would be appointed independently by a neutral, uninvolved source.
    The judge in this particular parable, was one who would have been a “paid magistrate”, that was appointed, either by Herod, or, by some other Roman government official. These particular judges often had very unsavory reputations, and were often referred to as “Dayyaneh Gezeloths” in the Hebrew language, which translates to “Robber Judges” in the English.
    The widow who is depicted in this parable is symbolic of all those people who were very poor and lacking in financial means or skills, to mount a decent courtroom defense. She represented those who had very little hope of getting justice from judges of this character. In the Roman courts, the more riches you had access to, the better your chances were of being successful in your litigations in a public forum.
    This story serves to teach us “perseverance” and “patience” in our prayer life with GOD. GOD is not the “human judge” in this parable, who can be totally indifferent to the needs of the people. GOD cares very deeply about providing justice and provisions for HIS followers, and therefore, we can keep on praying, with confidence, whenever there is a “waiting period”. And we can be sure that GOD will deliver to us, justice and provisions, in the timeliest manner possible.
    However, this does not mean that GOD will grant us everything that we “want” or ask for. The things that we pray for must also be within HIS Will. Oftentimes, GOD has to refuse our requests, because HE knows that, by granting it, it would do us more harm than good. That is why, when we say that “we want GOD’s Will to be done in our lives”, HE will test us with “a waiting period” so that we can gather our thoughts, which can help us to see, whether or not our requests, or petitions, are even GODly. Oftentimes we pray only in “an emergency situation”, and just as often, those prayers may not even be something GOD, in HIS holiness, will grant, because the prayer itself isn’t GODly.
    Only GOD is able to see the whole of our lives in an instant, and only HE is able to know what’s good for us in the short run, and, in the long run. That is also why JESUS says that we must never be discouraged in our waiting for our prayers to be answered. We must first grow within our faith before we can be able to withstand the waiting, and understand whether or not our prayers are something that a holy GOD can grant to us, and still be holy. And, it would be good if we always remember that, the end to a perfect prayer has always been, “LORD, THY Will be done”.

A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander





                                 
LARRY D. ALEXANDER- Official Website




     
   
  




Friday, July 6, 2018


WEEKLY SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
An international Sunday school lesson commentary
For Sunday July 8, 2018

Over 166,000 readers worldwide
larrydalexander.blogspot.com

JESUS CRITICIZES UNJUST LEADERS
(Practicing justice, mercy, and faithfulness)
(Matthew 23:1-4 and 23-26)

      From the time the written Word of GOD was first handed down to man through Moses until now, man, through his own human ingenuity, has always tried to twist it to fit his own chosen denominational lifestyle. Man has constantly sought a way that we can make a god in our own “distorted spiritual image”, instead of humbling ourselves in obedience, under the GOD, WHO made us in HIS.
    And as we continue to offer up to GOD our own various versions of what we think Christianity should be like in our minds, GOD will continue to sit back and let us spank our own selves with mortal doctrines that cannot possibly govern us into anything near righteousness, or eternal life with HIM.
    Throughout JESUS’ three-year ministry here on earth, HE was constantly challenged by Church leaders who had incorporated their own private doctrines ahead of the principles and concepts of “the GOD” in Heaven, WHOM they say they desire to follow, worship, and adore. These Church leaders lived in the most blessed generation of all time, because many of them got to actually see and hear JESUS’ teachings, and see HIS lifestyle examples, first hand, up-close, live, and in person.
    JESUS already understood what most religious leaders fail to understand, even in this day and age, and that is the fact that no human being is capable of compiling a list of rules and regulations that every human being can totally and perfectly benefit from by observing. Man, because of his own mortalities and imperfections, will never be able to spiritually rule over another man. In fact, it is because we are human that it is impossible for us to concoct such a system of rules and laws that will perfectly avoid all the pitfalls in a church, or, in a secular society.
    In short, man, who is, in every sense, created by GOD, and for GOD, needs the CREATOR in order to exist and survive in continued peace, joy, and prosperity. GOD, in HIS advance wisdom, has already made it impossible for man to unite in perfect harmony under himself. For we, who were created by GOD, can only unite under HIM by being in perfect agreement and obedience to HIS Word. GOD has never needed, nor been interested in incorporating our “human ingenuity” in HIS plans, especially for “The Church”. He only requires “our obedience”.
    Taking up at verse 1 of Matthew chapter 23, JESUS cautions both, HIS disciples, and the crowd who had gathered before HIM that; “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the Scriptures. So practice and obey whatever they say to you, but don’t follow their example. For, they don’t practice what they teach. They crush you with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to help ease the burden”.
    The Scribes and the Pharisees were big on “ceremonial law”, those denominational decrees which they manufactured themselves, through their “human ingenuity” and cleaver thinking. They laid upon Israel, literally hundreds of laws, called “customs of the elders”, that weren’t even written down until hundreds of years after the crucifixion of JESUS (circa A.D. 400).
    These rules and regulations often had nothing to do with the Word of GOD, but rather were only presented to people as if they were “bible”. That is why JESUS HIMSELF did not observe, nor respect them. These regulations were “humanly impossible to obey” anyway, because they found their origins in satan, and satan always wants us to think that “it is impossible to obey GOD”.
    These religious leaders would simply take one of GOD’s laws, and through their human ingenuity, they would exaggerate it many times over, to make it sound completely impossible to achieve unless, of course, you were “one of them” (a Pharisee or Scribe).
    In verse 23 of this chapter, JESUS shines the spotlight on another one of the Pharisees many flaws in the way that they operate under GOD, disregarding “justice”, “mercy”, and ”faith”. Here HE points out the distorted way in which they regarded tithing and giving. Even though they were teachers of the law of GOD, they did not completely comprehend the true reason as to why GOD institutes and emphasizes the importance of “giving”.
    Giving trains us how to address and practice applying justice, mercy, and faith in our lifestyle. We are to be just and merciful toward our fellowman, just as GOD is just and merciful to each of us, and, by doing this, we show our faith in GOD to take care of all of our needs, because we care for the needs of others.
    When sin entered into the world, one of GOD’s judgments on man was that HE “cursed the ground” (Genesis 3:17). Everything that we see existing in the world originates from that “now cursed” ground, and therefore, everything man makes or raises from the ground also contains that curse.
    However, GOD, through HIS boundless mercy and grace, instituted “giving” (tithing, sharing, and reacting positively to the human need all around us), as the only method by which we can overcome the curse of the earth. Giving, which is the sharing of one’s possessions and one’s self (unselfishness), is “the only way to counteract the curse on the produce and products of the earth that was brought on by the “selfishness” of Adam and Eve, which brought sin into humanity.
    When we give at least 10% of our earnings, and we are willing to share our time, talents, and prosperity with those who are in need, we take the curse off of that which we give, and, off of all that which we retain for ourselves and our family’s need. In addition, JESUS says in effect that, “through our generosity here on earth, we store up treasures for ourselves in Heaven!” (Luke 16:9). It is a formula that, if used, would, quite literally, mean death to “greed”, selfishness, and “poverty” in the world.
    In verse 25-26, JESUS warns the religious leaders of how terrible it will be for hypocrites who are so careful to “clean the exterior of the body” or, maintain a good outward appearance for others to see, but the inside is filthy and full of greed and self-indulgence. HE then suggests that they clean the inside (the heart, soul, and mind) first, and then, the outside will become clean also.
    What JESUS is saying here to the religious leaders is that, “what came first to us as human beings” is the inside, not the outside, and that, the part of us that is the most important to our existence once we are born into this world, is the inside, the “eternal parts”.
    GOD actually constructed our “innermost being” first, our core layers, which are, “our heart” (the center of our thoughts, where GOD must be kept), “our soul” (the human spirit, where GOD placed HIS “nature” and the “compassion” to regulate it with), and, “our mind”, (our self conscience, which was made to be dictated to by our heart and soul). The mind is the center for our self-conscience, pattern of thought, moral compass, and decision making.
    The final part of our being is the “human flesh” (the only part that is not “eternal”), the outer part, the only part which can be seen, or “sensed” (seen, heard, felt, smelled, or even tasted) by others. What’s inside of us, the unseen spiritual part, actually determines what we do in the physical. In other words, our innermost spiritual make-up is actually manifested outwardly through our behavior, which can be seen and felt by others.
    And so, since man always, 100% of the time, does that which is in his heart, GOD uses our heart (the center of our thoughts) as “the barometer” by which HE judges us. It is an absolute “fool proof” system. That is also why JESUS teaches that we attack sin in “the thinking stages” where it can be brought under control without consequences. That is also why JESUS says here that, if we clean the inside first, placing our thoughts on the things of GOD, our actions, the things that we do in the physical with our bodies, will also be GODly.

A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander  
   




                                 
LARRY D. ALEXANDER- Official Website