Hello Project Ezra, and welcome to our new members! Our project founder Tony posted information regarding
the project to his Facebook page, and we got a number of new member
requests. Thanks Tony! For those of you who are new, here’s a little
background on the group. Our focus is
encouraging and equipping believers in Christ to share the gospel through
public scripture reading. Each week I,
or one of the other administrators, pick a chapter from a different section
scripture, based on a Bible reading system from Professor Grant Horner (the
link is below). Then I give some suggestions
on how you can use the reading of that passage to transition into a gospel
presentation. I will also occasionally
share videos, pictures, and testimonies of other member’s experiences with
their Project Ezra readings. Members
also frequently post them on our Facebook page.
So, for an idea of what the project looks like in practice, check out our
group wall, or take a look at our last participation report here:
Grant
Horners Bible Reading System (I use this system for my own reading, and it
is excellent!)
This week our suggested reading is Proverbs chapter 1. We visited this chapter just over a year ago,
and it is certainly worth visiting again.
And once again, our focus will be on the character and nature of God,
and its consistency. There are many
chapters in the Bible where the gospel is not addressed directly, and it would
be difficult to find it there without wrenching the chapter out of context. However, God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow,
and if we look at what His word tells us about who He is, and who we are, both
truths naturally lend themselves to sharing the gospel. In particular, I will be focusing on the fear
of the Lord being the beginning of wisdom.
Everyone is happy to remind us that God is love, but what about the fear
of God? It is vital that we have a full
understanding of His character and that we share this when we preach the
gospel.
All for His glory,
Dan
INTRODUCE YOURSELF
AND THE PROJECT
READ PROVERBS 1
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This phrase appears several times in God’s
word.
Have you ever thought about that?
We always hear that God is love, and that is very true. He is love.
But His word does not show us that His sense of morality is
one dimensional. Nor should we expect it
to be.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
We should fear God.
We should fear Him because of His holiness, and His glory.
Even the greatest heroes of the Bible fell on their faces, trembling,
at the smallest glimpse of who He truly was
We should fear Him because of His power and majesty. He spoke the world into existence, and was
and is His to command.
But power is not a fearful thing, unless you are at odds
with it.
This is where our greatest fear should lie. God is good, and we are not.
The
fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They
are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
there
is none who does good.
The
LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to
see if there are any who understand,
who
seek after God.
They
have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there
is none who does good,
not
even one. (Psalm 14:1-3 ESV)
Because God is good, He is also just, and will see that
justice is served.
Because He is good, He will not leave the guilty unpunished.
(Exodus 34:7)
And we are all guilty, rebels against God and His law.
Hear what this passage says about men
It says their feet run to evil
It says they make haste to shed blood
Another passage tells us that we are by nature children of
wrath
And you were dead in the trespasses
and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world,
following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in
the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our
flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature
children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
(Ephesians 2:1-3 ESV)
And because of our rebellion, our love for our own sin, we wait
for our own blood, and set an ambush for our own lives.
Look at yourself in light of God’s law, and you will see
that this is true
SPEND SOME TIME OPENNING UP GOD’S LAW. THE 10 COMMANDMENTS ARE A GOOD, SIMPLE PLACE
TO START, ALTHOUGH THERE ARE OTHER PASSAGES (Revelation 21:8, 1 Corinthians
6:9-10) THAT AREA ALSO USEFUL. CHALLENGE
PEOPLE. BE COMPASSIONATE, BUT BE
DIRECT. DON’T SOFTEN THE MESSAGE.
HAVE YOU TOLD A LIE?
EVEN A SMALL ONE? TOLD A
HALF-TRUTH? IF IT’S HALF THE TRUTH, WHAT
IS THE OTHER HALF? LITTLE WHITE
LIES? ITS EASY TO CALL THEM SMALL IF
THEY’RE NOT TOLD TO YOU.
HAVE YOU EVER STOLEN?
EVEN IF IT’S SMALL? A PEN FROM
WORK? ANSWERS FOR A TEST FORM THE CHILD
NEXT TO YOU? MUSIC FROM THE
INTERNET? CANDY FROM YOUR BROTHER OR
SISTER’S EASTER BASKET? (THAT GETS
ALMOST EVERYONE!)
HAVE YOU USED GOD’S NAME IN VAIN? THIS MEANS USING IT LIGHTLY OR
DISRESPECTFULLY, OR IN PLACE OF A CURSE WORD.
IF SO, YOU HAVE TAKEN THE NAME OF THE GOD WHO GAVE YOU LIFE, AND BROUGHT
IT DOWN TO THE LEVEL OF A FOUR-LETTER FILTH WORD TO EXPRESS DISGUST. THIS IS ALSO CALLED BLASPHEMY.
EVER LOOKED WITH LUST?
JESUS HIMSELF SAID THIS WAS THE SAME AS ADULTERY. DEPENDING ON THE VENUE, YOU CAN OFTEN REMIND
PEOPLE THAT THEY HAVE LIKELY LUSTED IN THE LAST FEW MINUTES. WITH MEN IN PARTICULAR, THIS IS ALMOST ALWAYS
TRUE.
IF SOMEONE THINKS THEY’VE NEVER DONE ANYTHING REALLY BAD,
LIKE KILLING SOMEONE, REMIND THEM THAT THE BIBLE SAYS ANYONE WHO HATES HIS
BROTHER IS A MURDERER, AND NO MURDERER HAS ETERNAL LIFE IN THEM.
These are hard words, but so important. If you don’t see the
truth of your own sin, you will not see your need to be saved from them.
And that is what we need, to be cleansed of our sins.
That is what happened when Jesus Christ died on a Roman
cross 2000 years ago
In fact, that is what the Bible is about. It is about God being glorified in our
salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
The cross is the perfect demonstration of both God’s mercy
and His love.
Because God is just and righteous he poured out all His
anger and wrath and hatred toward sin on Jesus Christ
Jesus, fully God and fully man, and more valuable than the
rest of creation combined, could pay the infinite price for our infinite sin.
And by that act of love, we can be cleansed of our sins and
be seen as right before God.
But Jesus Christ did more than die. Three days later He rose again, as He had prophesied
He would, and the Bible says He is now seated at God’s right hand, as our
advocate, our lawyer for the Day of Judgment.
So if we will do as scripture tells us, if we will repent,
turn from sin, and trust Christ alone, then we will be seen as righteous,
morally right, before God when we stand before Him on judgment day.
This passage of scripture says that God’s wisdom calls for
us
It tells us to turn at His reproof and He will pour out His
spirit on us, and will save us.
But many will not. This
chapter also describes those who will not listen to God’s wisdom calling them
to repentance and the terrible consequences.
It says we refused to listen, and would have none of His
reproof
Because of this terror strikes like a storm
Calamity comes like a whirlwind
Distress and anguish come upon you
They will call and there will be no answer
Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of
the Lord, they despised His reproof
They will eat the fruit of their way. The simple are killed by their turning away,
the complacency of fools destroys them.
Do not be simple and foolish. Be wise and fear the Lord. But more than that, trust in the Lord.
Turn from your sin and turn to Jesus Christ. Only through Him can you be saved
And time is short.
None of us is promised tomorrow.
Turn to Christ today while He has graciously given you time!
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