Good evening, and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Genesis.  Tonight is study #23 of Genesis, chapter 28, and we are continuing to read Genesis 28:15:

And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

We have been spending some time looking at this wonderful truth that God will not leave us nor forsake us, and He will always be with the one He has saved.  We cannot have that assurance regarding the people of the world.  Even when people are with us physically, they are “outside” of us.  You know, it is nice if you can find someone to love and if you have family members you are close to, and that is good and nice.  But there is still a “distance,” because we are very much creatures of the soul.  Our inner being is an important part of us.  Yes -through words and sharing, we can express some of that, but there is no real way for another person to know us fully, and we cannot know them fully. 

But that is not the case with God.  He knows us perfectly because He indwells us, so we do have a friend, indeed, “who sticketh closer than a brother.”  In 2Timothy, the Apostle Paul was moved to write this, and I will read the first few verses so we can see this has some relationship to the end and to judgment.  It says in 2Timothy 4:1-11:

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; reach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.

Demas had forsaken him – he loved this present world.  And that is the character of the inhabitants of the world.  They love the world.    If it comes down to a choice between the world and upholding a brother or upholding the doctrines of the Word of God, someone of the world will opt for the world.  But we read a bit further down, where it says in 2Timonthy 4:14-18:

Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words. At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

He said, “but all men forsook me... Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me.”  God is our refuge and strength.  He is our help in time of time.  He is the One that we can trust with all our heart and who we can lean upon and hope in, and He will not disappoint us.  He will not forget us nor forsake us and leave us or abandon us.  God will never do that.  And reading the Bible, it tells us that.  We, of course, are etched upon His hands.  We are in His thoughts, which are more than the sand of the sea.  And He had thought about us before the foundation of the world all throughout eternity.  And all throughout the history of the world, He has considered us and pondered us in His infinite mind.  He has cared for us and prepared the world for us.  He prepared our parents.  He prepared the situations of our life.  He prepared the Gospel to come to our hearing at the appointed time, in “the fulness of time.”  He has done all these things, and since then He continues to orchestrate events and work all things for our good, for our benefit and for our welfare. 

Everything is designed, ordered and determined by God for His elect, and He is with us and He will remain with us even in the “depths of hell,” we could say.  The nations have been “turned into hell” and the earth has become “hell.”  It has entered into the condition of “hell” on the date of May 21, 2011.  It is the equivalent of the grave, and we are here, and it is in this “graveyard” that the world has become that we offer up our prayers to God, and that we trust in God and have faith in Him.  And that is how He is glorified in the fires and how God will receive honor and glory from His people.  We faithfully endure (and He is the cause of our faithfulness) through the prolonged judgment period to the end.  To God be the glory!  We have been proven.  We have received chastisement, as with every “son.”  Now it is time to bring them up to glory and make that declaration, “Behold, my sons in whom I am well pleased,” just as He said to Christ, and Christ was declared to be the Son through the resurrection from the dead.  And we, likewise, will receive that status with the completion of our adoption on the last day in the resurrection and the Rapture.  And, actually, since we are in the condition of hell, the Rapture is like a resurrection because we will be coming out of a world that has been turned into hell or the grave, just as someone is resurrected from a physical grave.  And we are all following in the like manner to the Lord Jesus and the pattern He established.  And we have been “positioned” at this point in the “grave,” and we will experience a like resurrection.

Before we go back to our verse in Genesis 28, let us go to a verse in Hebrews 13, a wonderful chapter, and it says in Hebrews 13:4:

Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

This can be applied to an earthly marriage.  That is true.  But, more importantly, it has to do with spiritual marriage to Christ and also, unsaved mankind that are married to the Law of God and who are the whoremongers and adulterers that God is now judging because in that marriage to the Law they have transgressed.  They have not been faithful.  They have committed spiritual fornication and adultery, and they must pay the penalty for adultery, which is death.

But God’s elect are “dead to the law” and married to another, and that other we are married to is Jesus, the bridegroom, and we are the bride.  And that marriage is honorable in all or in everything.  Then it says in Hebrews 13:5-6:

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Let us be content.  And let our conduct and behavior be without covetousness, desiring what our neighbor has and lusting.  And be content with such things as we have.  And what do we have?  What do we have?  Forget whatever physical riches you have and whatever material things you have because you do not really have them.  They are sort of a mirage that is here today and soon gone.  But what we have, by God’s mercy and grace if we are an elect child of God is eternal life.  We have a new heart and a new spirit, and we have the Spirit of God indwelling us.  We have the promise of life for evermore.  We have the promise of the new heaven and new earth.  And having these things, we are to be content.  And, certainly, if man were a rational creature that was not desperately wicked, and if man were not fallen in his human nature and a rebel against God, it would make a good creature content.  It would satisfy one who has a right mind and who has had his sanity restored.  He would realize, “I have everything I need, and abundantly more, because I have salvation that I do not deserve, and I did nothing to earn it.”  You know, honestly, there is no reason that God should have saved me.  He should have destroyed me.  I am as wicked – if not more wicked – than others.  There is no difference between them and me and, yet, I have this treasure in a corrupt earthen vessel that is deteriorating and dying, which is sort of releasing that wonderful treasure.  The spirit goes to be with the Lord and awaits the last day and the resurrection of the body, and so forth.  So it is a wonderful, beautiful and glorious salvation that God has given to each one of His saved people equally, whether it is a little baby that only lived a few days, like David and Bathsheba’s child, or whether it was an old man that lived hundreds of years like some of the Old Testament saints, as well as everyone in between.  Whatever amount of time we have on the earth and whatever we have done, it is an equal portion of salvation.  The reward is the same for you and for me and for this one and that one.  No one gets more.  No one gets less.  It is eternal life for all, equally.  We have just the most wonderful blessing anyone could ever want and, therefore, be content with such things as you have.

There is a related statement in 1Timothy 6:6:

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

In order to have true godliness, you need God.  Therefore, you need the indwelling Spirit of God and His presence, and if you have that, you have godliness.  You will have the spirit of God and the fruit of the spirt, and you will begin showing that forth as the Spirit moves you to will and to do of His good pleasure.  You will begin to reflect that glorious image of the new creature you have begun, so “godliness with contentment is great gain.” 

It is really something how some people are so discontent.  And I will raise my hand because most of my life I had been discontent, so I am very familiar with what it is like to be discontent and dissatisfied with what I had.  And I think many of you can relate, as you have experienced that, too.  It was how we were taught and brought up in the world.  You have to make something of yourself.  You have to get a career.  You have to get a family.  You have to get money.  You have to get things.  You need to get honors in school and be recognized on the job.  You have to climb the ladder of success.  It is always something “in front of you.”  The contentment, happiness and peace is always something “pursued,” and nothing you can ever really capture or hold.  It is like the analogy of “a carrot on a stick” and the rabbit is chasing the carrot and never catches it because it is tied to his back, and he just keeps running and running and running and running. 

And that is what happens in this world.  It promises you everything if you buy this new thing or if you make this much money, or if you get this girl or this boy, or if you get this house and a family, and so forth.  And once you get one thing, you have to get another, and then a third and a fourth, and it never ends.  The lust of the eyes and the pride of life – people are never satisfied with what they have.  Why is a millionaire not satisfied with his millions?  Why must be go for ten million?  And why is a billionaire not satisfied with one billion?  He has to have five and then ten, and then he sees there is another billionaire with 50 billion, so he has to get 51 or 60.  It is always something.  Nothing will fulfill the lust and emptiness of this creature that had been created in the image of God to serve God and, yet, rebelled against that part of his being, denying it is even there.  So he will not serve God.  He will serve himself.  He will serve his own desires, his own lusts, and his own wants, and he will get what he wants to get, and never is there satisfaction.  Never is there contentment – not even for the littlest bit.  Some people will say they are (content), but what they are trying to “fill up” is an emptiness that only God can fill.  Only when the relationship between the Creator and the creature is properly restored and the creature is with His creator once again, then there is a connection and a re-energizing of the spirit in the restoring of his soul, and the creature can finally begin to receive satisfaction.  He realizes that the answer is not “out there” in this world.  It is not climbing a mountain.  It is not scuba diving or some other adventure.  It is not an exciting career.

The answer is in a book that is right there in your own home, a Bible on the shelf.  You take it down and you can read it for however long you want, and you set the Bible down, and you think about it, and then you pray and you speak to the God of all, the God of creation and your Creator.  Then slowly over time, as God instructs us and causes us to grow in grace and knowledge of God, He gives us inner peace: “Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”  All of those things you will not find in the world.  You are not going to find it anywhere in the world.  You find it in God and the Word of God.

So, after telling us that godliness with contentment is great gain, it says in 1Timothy 6:7-8:

For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

Yes, on one level, it can be physical food.  We need physical food to stay alive, and we need clothing.  But this is the Bible, and the more important meaning is always on the spiritual level.  Having “food,” or Christ, who is the bread of life, and having the Word of God to spiritually feed and nourish us.  And our raiment is the righteousness of Christ, the cloak of His righteousness that covers over our sins and iniquities.  Having the salvation of God, we have all that is necessary, and all this is needed.  It was the thing that Mary understood, while Martha was anxious about much serving, and Christ admonished her.  Mary had that one good thing that could not be taken from her as she sat at the feet of the Lord Jesus, and there is the contentment.  It is not: “I need to find a wife.  I need to find a husband.  I need to start a family.  I need to get a career going.  I need to have a master’s degree and then a doctorate.”  But it is none of that.  It is in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word, the Bible.  It is there in that “still, small voice,” in the quiet as God speaks to us through the Scriptures.

But it goes on to say in 1Timothy 6:9-12:

But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

(All these things listed in verse 11 point to Christ: righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.)  And may the listener to EBible, the elect that are drawn to listen to the Word of God through this ministry, fight the good fight of eternal life, by God’s grace.  May we lay hold on it, and may He direct our steps and lead us forward down that lighted path that is shining more and more unto that great day.  And through the revealing of His judgment program, may He help us and cause us to bring Him glory during this time period.