"But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us." (Luke 19:14)

In this parable, the nobleman who had gone into a far country to receive his kingdom is a picture of Christ in the interim between His first and second comings. The "citizens" of His kingdom, however, refuse His Kingship. Nevertheless, He is the King, and when He returns, those "enemies, which would not that I should reign over them" (v. 27) will be slain. How much better to accept Him now!

The first title ascribed to Him was King of the Jews. Long before that, however, He was King of creation. "For God is the King of all the earth, a great King above all gods.The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land..

He is also King of redemption, providing salvation for the world He created. For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. The Father hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.

He is not only King of all the worlds, but also King of all the ages.

"And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights." (Genesis 7:12)

There are nine forty-day periods in Scripture, but on only five of these the notation "and forty nights" is added. On the other four occasions (the spies in Canaan, Goliath's challenges, Jonah in Nineveh, and the post-resurrection ministry of Christ) we can assume that the activity ceased at night. But on these five it continued unabated.

The first of these was the great Flood. The most intense rains ever experienced on the earth poured torrentially, night and day. One can visualize the stress-filled nights for Noah's family, with the cries of the dying outside, and no light of the sun or moon to pierce the outer darkness. But, of course, they were all safe in God's specially designed Ark.

Many years later, Moses twice spent forty days and forty nights in the awful presence of God on Mount Sinai, receiving the divinely-inscribed tablets, with the Ten Commandments and all the laws of God. The mountain was intermittently quaking and breathing fire and smoke while he was there, and the nights were surely more awesome even than the days, but God was there!

Elijah spent forty days and forty nights traveling back from Beersheba to Sinai, even though this relatively short journey would not normally require forty days. Evidently Elijah experienced great hardships and obstacles along the way and many sleepless nights, but God met him again at Sinai, and it was worth it all.

"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 3:11)

The only sure and lasting foundation, for either a Christian institution or an individual Christian life, is the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is vital, therefore, to build on the foundation that Christ Himself has laid. This is laid in three courses, each of which is essential for its permanence. First of all, we must acknowledge with the apostle that: "Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands. He is the Creator of all things, and therefore Lord over all.

Second, we must acknowledge with Peter that we have been "redeemed by the precious blood of Christ . . . Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world. His foreordained work of redemption thus was foundational even to the foundation of the world!

Then there is the Word of God, which is foundational to everything beyond creation and redemption. "Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them.

"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." (Ephesians 3:20)

This amazing assurance of God's unlimited ability to answer our prayers is related to a unique "power Greek dunamis that worketh in us." Paul had used the same word twice before in this same epistle, speaking of "the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe," and "the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Effectual working" in the original is one word, energeia, from which we get our word "energy."

Such power working in us is actually nothing less than the presence of God Himself. Its very first occurrence is in the model prayer. "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever." It is this "power of God unto salvation" which is received when we first believe on Christ through the gospel . It has been so ever since the fulfillment of Christ's promise when He told His disciples that "ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you".

This remarkable power of God is thus imparted to us and energized in us by the Holy Spirit. Because of this, we can be filled "with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost

"How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God" (Hebrews 9:14).

There are a number of significant references to the work of all three Persons of the Trinity in the great work of salvation. Note the implicit reference to the Trinity in our text: "The blood of Christ . . . through the eternal Spirit offered . . . to God.: "For through Christ we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father."

The promise of Christ to send the Holy Spirit is a high point of the Gospel of John. "I will pray the Father," said the Lord Jesus, "and he shall give you another Comforter" (Greek parakletos, meaning "one called alongside"), "that he may abide with you for ever. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.

It seems very clear from such Scriptures that all three--Father, Son, Holy Spirit--are each distinct persons. Yet that the three together are one God is also clear from the fact that they are identified by name as One. Converts are to be baptized "in the name |note the singular--one name| of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost"

"And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?" (Luke 17:17)

Ten lepers, hopeless and incurable, had come to Jesus, begging for His help, and He had miraculously healed them. All ten should have fallen down to worship and thank Him, but only one praised God and thanked Jesus for His marvelous deliverance, while the others rushed away.

We are at first amazed at such ingratitude, until we realize that not more than 10 percent of even those people who know about Christ ever stop to give Him thanks for His innumerable blessings--life, freedom, food, shelter, health, family, and especially easy access to the Bible and His gracious offer of salvation--far greater in value than the gift of special healing received by the ten lepers.

The thankful leper received a much greater gift than all the others. "Thy faith hath made thee whole". They had received an outward cleansing of the body, he an inward cleansing of the soul! These words spoken by Christ are found four other times in the New Testament

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine." (2 Timothy 4:2)

Paul's "charge" to young Timothy, just before the great apostle's martyrdom, was urgently needed by Christians in those early days of persecution and incipient apostasy, and his words are even more appropriate today.

The admonition to "be instant" is worth special note. The Greek word ephistemi is translated in various ways . The main idea is simply to be there, doing what needs to be done at the time it is needed. In this particular context it is stressing the Christian's responsibility to be there with the right words from  God words of exhortation, of doctrine, of reproof if needed, yet words given patiently, even when rebuffed by the hearer. "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man".

The apostle could rightly issue such a charge because he had set such an example. "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience"

"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7)

This precious promise is rooted in the "garrision guard" that God will set around our hearts and minds through His peace. Imagine the war circle of angels "full of horses and chariots of fire round about" that Elisha spoke of..

And it is a war! "But I see another law in my members," Paul wrote, "warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." Were it not for the peace that exceeds human comprehension, we would quickly succumb to the fact that "in the world we shall have tribulation;" but Jesus also said, "be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

The "peace of God" is a supernatural peace, not a false calm of meditative hypnosis or a denial of the turmoil that surrounds the "roaring lion" who seeks to devour. This peace is from our Lord Jesus and "not as the world giveth." It comes through the "things I have spoken unto you," Jesus said, "that in me ye might have peace."

"Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." (1 Corinthians 1:10)

The days of the early church were the days of its greatest power because they were days of its greatest unity. "They, continuing daily with one accord and singleness of heart." "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: and great grace was upon them all.". It was not long, however, before divisions, contentions, and schisms crept in. Therefore, the New Testament contains many exhortations toward a restoration of the unity and thus the power of the early church. Note the following examples:

Be of the same mind one toward another. "Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God." "Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. Stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous."

"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." (Romans 8:9)

As we see, the Holy Spirit indwells in man or woman who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior is a true believer, or is also known as a child of God. Each believer is born again through "the engrafted word, which is able to save our souls", for "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."  My Father's word tells that his word shall not return to him void, so if you and I will just believe he said he would take care of the rest. God tells you and I in Revelation that he is standing knocking at the door of your heart, want you let him? He tells me in Matthew to bring my burdens to him and he will give me His burden for they are lite. So the real work that we have to do is believe. Yes you read it right, just believe that Jesus Christ is exactly who he said he was and that he died for your and my sins and that he is not in fact in the grave but sitting at the right hand side of the Father.  If you believe this he promises you eternal life, and that in heaven their shall be no more pain, and that he will wipe away every tear drop.  Funny we will sit in a chair and believe it will support our weight, we will fly in a plane and believe it want crash. Yet Jesus offers a guarantee off that if you but believe, their is on guarantee with that chair or the plane or that you will leave to see another day.

Oh men of God let the spirit of God shine through you daily, in the words you speak and the deeds you do. Let his love shine so brightly through that your face would be like Moses that you will have to wear a veil. "Be filled with the Spirit", in the same sense that a drunkard is filled with and controlled by wine, and to "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom." These two entities equip us to be effective representatives of Him here on earth.