Good evening, and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Genesis.  Tonight is study #43 of Genesis, chapter 24, and we are continuing to read Genesis 24:48:

And I bowed down my head, and worshipped JEHOVAH, and blessed JEHOVAH God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son.

We used this verse as a jumping off point to see what the Bible has to say about “the right way” and all the other ways out there that come under the heading of the broad way that leads to destruction.  We have found that it is typical for the right way to be evil spoken of, and this is important for us to know deep down because we have experienced it over the last decade or two.

For example, when the Lord led His people out of the churches, I cannot tell you how many times I was called a heretic, as well as other associated with EBible Fellowship, because we were once a church and then we realized the church age had come to an end.  It was only by God’s grace, and I am very thankful to the Lord for opening our understanding to this fact, and we stepped down (from being a church).

I still remember what happened prior to this, and I think it was 2001.  Yes, I remember it was the day after 9-11 in 2001, and we disbanded and became just a fellowship group.  I remember that we were studying this whole topic (of the end of the church age) after going to a Tuscarora Bible Conference.  At that time, I did not see it, and I was disputing it with Mr. Camping as much as I could in between his Bible studies and in the Q & A sessions.  It got to the point where he said that I was “desperately trying to prove” the thing I was trying to prove.  And it hit me when he said that.  It was the next-to-the-last day of the conference, and he said that to me during a Q & A, and it hit me because I had heard him say that so many times to callers on the Open Forum, and I had agreed with him every time that they were desperately trying to prove every doctrine or gospel they held onto that was not true.  So it just kind of “struck me,” and I quieted down and went back to my room, troubled.  I really prayed and, by God’s grace, I determined that when we got home, we would start studying the issue as objectively and honestly as we could to see what the Bible had to say.  We already knew that God was taking away truth from the congregations and we could not find a faithful church, and that is why we started our own. 

Our idea had been that although 99.5% of the churches out there were unfaithful, there could still be a faithful congregation.  With that in mind, we determined to start a church without the “high places,” and that is why I thought, “Here we are, and we are not holding onto any high places, so how could God be judging our church as well?”  But, again, it was only by the mercy of God that we did start to study it for the next couple of months, and we began to look at one particular thing: How complete was God’s judgment on Old Testament Israel or Judah when He judged them?  We began to look at that very closely, and we saw verses that said that all had to go into captivity.  You are familiar with those verses by now.  Those that went into captivity were likened to “good figs” and those that remained behind were like “evil figs,” so that was one thing that got our attention.  There seemed to be no exception.  They could not refuse to go into captivity, according to the commandment of God.  They had to go to Babylon.  And for those that tried to stay under the Babylonian governor, typically, evil things happened to them, and it just got worse and worse. 

Also, we saw that the city would be without an inhabitant.  I am not sure we understood it back then, but now we understand that it means they would be without God the Holy Spirit.  So we had just began to get to the point of a decision, and then September 11, 2001 came, and it was really a shock, a time when everything just turned so serious.  I remember talking to Robert Daniels and saying, “Robert, I think we have to make a decision.”  It was the day after September 11.  And he said, “I agree.”   You know, the Biblical information we were looking at was conclusive, and it wall all pointing to 100% judgment on Israel and Judah, without exception.  It was not like God judged Judah, except for one little section of the nation or one little section of Jerusalem, saying, “My judgment is on these, but you can remain over here.”  No – it was complete judgment.  And that is why faithful men like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego all went to Babylon.  The judgment of God was clear, and by God’s grace, we already had understanding that the nation of Israel was a type and figure of the New Testament churches, so we got to the point and made the decision.

But the reason I was telling you this was that up until that point I was getting messages and e-mails from all kinds of people telling me to stand firm and remain a church.  They were speaking well of me…and I am sorry, but it has happened so often over the last twenty years that this makes me feel uncomfortable when people speak well of me.  I probably should not be saying that because now no one will ever do it. [Laughter]   But it goes back to these kinds of situations where they were telling me good things about how I study the Bible and how I do this and how I do that, and they said, “We know you are going to stand firm.”  But as soon as we decided to disband and become a fellowship, it was like night and day, or I should say, “day and night,” because they began to lash out at me and the fellowship, and so forth. 

You see, this is what the ungodly do when we start getting on “the right way,” and I cannot tell you the blessings that God has blessed us with at EBible Fellowship over the last 19 years or so, since 2001 when we made that decision.  Prior to that, we had a website and we tried to reach out electronically, and there was just a very small response.  Very small.  We were offering materials and whatever we could do, but just a tiny number of people seemed to be finding us.  But not long after that, it was like an explosion by November 2001.  We had a “free bible” offer on the website and we had maybe given out five Bibles up to that point.  But, all of a sudden, we were receiving hundreds of requests and then thousands of requests.  I think that over the course of time leading up to May 21, 2011, I think we eventually gave out 200,000 or 300,000 Bible – and many of them to people in foreign lands.  They were finding us.  Why?  When we were a church, we were under the wrath of God, and God was not operating within any congregation to bless them.  We were going the wrong way, and if we had continued, I am sure we would have ended as a church that people never heard of, and we would have been just another church out there that just a few people attended and which would have had no value or impact because God’s Spirit would not have been with us.

But, again, by the grace of God, we decided we needed to obey God on that doctrine, and start going the right way.  And, immediately, the enemies of truth and the enemies of God and the truths of the Bible (and I say that very emphatically) were no longer our friends.  They were no longer our friends, and they spoke evil of us and reviled us.  I became “lower than the lowest” to them and worse than a worm.  There were even some people that had been in our church that stuck around for a month or two after we became a fellowship (and they were very good friends of mine), but they left and never spoke to me again.  So there is a cost.  There is a price we pay when we do things God’s way.  We lose our friendship with the world, and we become the offscouring and trash heap of the world.  We are despised and lowly esteemed.  Their opinion of us plummets.  That is all true and, yet, at that point God starts favoring us.  He starts blessing us.  He starts helping us.  We lose the help of man, but we gain the help of God.  We lose the favor of man, but we gain the favor of God.  Is there any comparison?  No -  and I thank God, I truly thank God that He had mercy upon me and upon those of us that had started that church and remained as a fellowship.  He guided us to go the right way in order that we would suffer for His sake, for righteousness’ sake, for Christ’s sake and for the Word of God’s sake.  Yes – we have suffered in a small way by being labeled with these things and all the things the enemies of God say, and we have lost esteem and friendships from them, but that is just a tiny, tiny thing.  Remember what it says in 1Corinthians 4:1:

Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. 

The “mysteries of God” are the deep spiritual meaning of the parable of the Bible.  And we are stewards, but those in the churches that were carnal or in the flesh could not be stewards because they never understood them.  Only God’s elect are true stewards of the mysteries of God.  It says in 1Corinthians 4:2-3:

Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.

You see, that is really what it is.  That’s the threat that man holds over those who would look at “the right way” of the Gospel: “Watch out now!  Watch out!  If you confess Christ, we will cast you out of the synagogue.”  That is what they said in Christ’s day.  Many believed on Him, but they would not confess Him for fear of being judged by man.  So too, the churches said, “If you follow that Harold Camping and you follow that teaching about the end of the church age, we will cast you out and remove you from the rolls.  We will cut you off.”  It is the judgment of man.  It is the wrath of man.  They will think less of you.  They will think evil of you.  They will think you are heretic, or that you are this or that negative label.  And we would say, “Okay, is that all?  Is that all?  Is that your opinion which is not based on the Bible?”  (Actually, it was often based on a misinterpretation of the Bible.)  “That is what you think?  You think I am involved in heresy and I am an active heretic?  Very well, but I am much more interested in what God says and in God’s judgment.”  And God’s judgment is upon a whole world of Christendom that number almost two billion people.  The wrath of God has come down upon the churches and congregations for their high places, erroneous doctrines, and false ways that are the broad way that leads to destruction.  They have added works to grace and perverted the right Gospel of the Bible.  And are they thinking that God’s elect – who have been spared by the grace and mercy of God and granted undeserved eternal life – care even in the slightest bit that the churches have judged us?  No, no, no – it is a small thing to us.  It is not even worth mentioning in comparison to the judgment of God that began at the house of God and bundled the multitudes of professed Christians as tares for the burning, and now judgment is upon the world. 

But God’s people have been spared.  We have been delivered.  And all we are called upon to do is to keep walking – one foot in front of the other – and pressing toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.  Move on!  Go forward, as the Red Sea parts to the left and to the right with walls of water, and we walk across on dry ground until we reach the other side.

So we are despised.  So we suffer the hatred of man.  Well, okay, we can live with these things.  Even if that hatred were to get to the point of them putting us to death physically, we could still “live” with these things because we have eternal life.  They can kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul, and we will live in the presence of God forever and ever.  This is what He has done for us, so who are we to fear man or to serve man and cower before him: “Oh, men are going to judge me and think badly of me and evilly of me.”  Who cares?  Who cares, especially when we look at the condition of the world?  Look at all the philosophies and ideologies that are so outright despicable and horrible and contrary to the commandments of God.  Look at all the world’s religions and the boldness their adherents have in proclaiming their falsehoods.  And look at the errors of those that say they have the true Gospel, and they are bold in their errors.   They are bold in standing up for their high places.  And we are not to be bold for the truth?  Are we not to have boldness in the Day of Judgment and openly proclaim the things the Bible says because we have some sort of fear of man?  No way, not by God’s grace.  The Lord would have us to profess Him before men.  It says in Matthew 10:25-28:

It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Then it says in Matthew 10:31-33:

Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Do you see how it all leads in to confessing Christ?  Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.  He is the Word, and when we confess the truth of the Word of God, the Bible, we are confessing Him.  But He is hated.  He is despised, and when we confess Him, there will be a negative reaction from those that hate and despise Him.  And we will become hated and despised.  That is the test that we are all going through right now.