Enduring the B.L.o.M.S.
Enduring the B.L.o.M.S.
To testify under trial
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Alright,
Naming The Trial
SPEAKER_00this Blom's report I'm going to title To Testify Under Trial. Um it uses I'm I've had to look up and use different verses all through the Bible and um different versions of those verses. So
Pharaoh And The Hardened Heart
SPEAKER_00I'm going to read it to you and uh maybe I'll think of what we can talk about to testify under trial Exodus chapter eight But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go Exodus chapter fourteen The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh King of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites who were marching out boldly. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. Depter six Before our eyes the Lord sent miraculous signs and wonders great and terrible upon Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. But do not be afraid of them. Remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the miraculous signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm with which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you know you now fear chapter eleven The signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh King of Egypt and to his whole country.
Saul’s Torment And David’s Music
SPEAKER_00Samuel chapter sixteen But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. But the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented and troubled him. At that very moment the spirit of God left Saul, and in its place a black mood sent by God settled on him. He was terrified. Now the spirit of Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. Now the spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and the Lord sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear. But the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him. Now the spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. Saul's attendants said to him, See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our Lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better. So Saul said to his attendants, Find someone who plays well and bring him to me. One of the servants answered, I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem, who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine looking man, and the Lord is with him. David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor bearers. Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him. Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play, then relief would come to Saul. He would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.
Psalms Of Silence And Darkness
SPEAKER_00Psalms chapter thirty nine. I said to myself, I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say, I will curb my tongue when the ungodly are around me. But as I stood there in silence, not even speaking of good things, the turmoil within me grew to the bursting point. My thoughts grew hot within me and began to burn, igniting a fire of words. Psalms eighty eight. You have put me in the lowest pit and the darkest depths. Your wrath lies heavily upon me. You have overwhelmed me with all your waves. You have taken from me my closest friends, and have made me repulsive to them repulsive to them. I am confined and I cannot escape. My eyes are dim with grief. I call to you, O Lord, every day I spread out my hands to you. Do you show your wonders to the dead? Do those who are dead rise up and praise you? Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in destruction? Are your wonders known in the place of darkness or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion? But I cry to you for help, O Lord, in the morning my prayer comes before you. Why, O Lord, do you reject me and hide your face from me? From my youth I have been afflicted and close to death. I have suffered your terrors, and am in despair. Your wrath has swept over me, your terrors have destroyed me. All day long they surround me like a flood, they have completely engulfed me. You have taken my companions and loved ones from me. The darkness is my closest friend.
When Truth Makes Enemies
SPEAKER_00Jesus' brothers said to him, You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world. For even his own brothers did not believe in him. Therefore Jesus told them, The right time for me has not yet come. For you any time is right. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I testify that what it does is evil.
Joy In Trials And Blessings
SPEAKER_00James chapter one Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds. Because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double minded man unstable in all he does. The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position, but the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wildflower. Matthew chapter five. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you, when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. James chapter one Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say God is tempting me, for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. Luke
Jesus Tempted In The Desert
SPEAKER_00chapter four. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread. Jesus answered, It is written, man does not live on bread alone. The devil led him up to the high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours. Jesus answered, It is written worship the Lord your God and serve him only. The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. If you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down from here. For it is written, He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully. They will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Jesus answered, It says, Do not put the Lord your God to the test. When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. Hebrews chapter four for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin.
Temptation Starts Inside Us
SPEAKER_00James chapter one When tempted, no one should say God is tempting me, for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. Let no one say, When he is tempted, I am tempted from God, for God is incapable of being tempted by what is evil, and he himself tempts no one. Don't let anyone under pressure to give into evil say God is trying to trip me up. God is impervious to evil and puts evil in no one's way. When tempted, no one should say God is tempting me, for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. And remember, no one who wants to do wrong should ever say God is tempting me. God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else either. Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when by his own evil desire he is dragged away and enticed. But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire lust, passions. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering seducing flare up of our own lust. But each one is tempted when by his own evil desire he is dragged away and enticed. Temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desires, but each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Romans chapter one. When they refuse to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their evil minds and let them do things that should never be done. Ephesians chapter four. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity with a continual lust for more. You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. James chapter one but each one is tempted when by his own evil desire he is dragged away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived it gives birth to sin, and sin when it is full grown, gives birth to death. Romans chapter seven. The law is good then the trouble is not with the law, but with me, because I am sold into slavery with sin as my master. I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it, instead I do the very thing I hate. I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good. But I can't help myself because it is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things. James chapter one Don't be deceived, my dear brothers, every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth to the world of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of all He created.
Do These Verses Contradict James
SPEAKER_00Alright, that was a lot of stuff right there. Um and I I read from uh Exodus, Deuteronomy, first Samuel, um let's see. Let's get some Psalms. I read from uh I read a lot from Psalms. Read from John, of course James, Matthew, um, Luke, Hebrews, James again, Romans, Ephesians, um, Romans again, James again. I read quite a bit, all kinds of different verses from different books, and looking at it in the light of James, because that's what my Bible study was recently with a group, it looks like some of these other books, previous books, and after contradict some of what James says. But that's just how it seems. Doesn't necessarily mean that's really the situation. But it is hard to to notice the difference, and it's usually the difference or the the one thing that conforms to the word of God is a very small detail. And um it's very specific. So you have to when you look at James, yes, look at it in the light of the rest of the Bible, but pay attention to the little details because that's the only way you might find a resolve in the scriptures where you're not seeing so much contradiction. Um it was interesting, you know, it says God can't be tempted, basically, because you know, and temptation comes from our evil desires. And and God it even says God can't do evil, or evil can't come from God, or whatever, but but then there's scripture that that shows where God sent a tormenting spirit. I mean, he sent and and then it's ref that tormenting spirit is referred to as an evil sent from God. That's one of the big contradictions there. And then there's other scriptures in the Old Testament where where God hardened the hearts of people. Um but if you look at it carefully, the chapter before, the Pharaoh had already hardened his heart. And it's like God only increased that a little bit later. Um but the the the funniest thing is is how God got David his job, basically. Um he first sent Saul a tormenting spirit, and then he gave David this ability to do music that calms him down. I mean, okay, uh I guess that's not considered evil. Um it sure is deceptive, though. And there's other cases like that too. Old Testament where people have been deceptive, and these people were like patriarchs, like like, you know, the major people that God set his covenant with, and they would be deceptive. I mean, there's a lot of examples of that in the Old Testament, too, and God still chose them, even though they were dis deceptive. Um it just it's it's puzzling.
Was Jesus God During Temptation
SPEAKER_00The the only way that some people or m have resolved the fact that um Jesus was tempted, but God can't be tempted, is they believe that Jesus wasn't God as of yet. He was the Son of God. But when he was man, they believed that he was all man, he was all human. He wasn't God at that time. You know, um some believe that he didn't become God until after his resurrection. But while he was on this earth, before he died as a mortal, he was a human being. So he was subject to the same kind of temptations that humans are subject to. And um, and after he had resisted all that temptation and paid the price and died and rose again, then that's when he had he was able to uh be placed in in a godhood status. Um that's how some people have resolved those two things. Uh which makes sense to me. Uh that's how I believed, but I wasn't sure because you would have to say, well, Jesus wasn't God when he was human, and that was what was such a controversy or a debate, and most Christians would not even attempt to accept such a thing. But you know, realistically, it makes sense that yeah, he was all human when he was human, but he wasn't God. Um but he became God afterwards, after he did his job. Oh well, it's i it's interesting, controversial the stud studies, you know. I mean, even Jesus' brothers didn't believe in him. Uh some believe that his brother James uh well actually there's been like three uh two James uh characters, possibly three, um that existed. But it wasn't Jesus' brother James who wrote the book of James. That's what scholars have concluded because uh when it says uh that uh even Jesus' brothers didn't believe in him, then it's not possible for James to have written the book when he didn't believe in Jesus yet. But some scholars uh say that James became a believer after Jesus' resurrection. Um suggested that he wrote the book of Hebrews during that time, but some say Paul did that.
Paul’s Ongoing Fight With Sin
SPEAKER_00Anyways, and then you got the whole situation with Paul where he speaks in present tense, not in the past tense, he speaks in present tense how sin is his master. Uh but he still wants to do right, but he ends up sinning even when he knows it's wrong. That's in Romans chapter 7. Uh but that's all spoken in present tense. So Romans chapter 8, which shows how Jesus has saved us and paid that price, didn't necessarily put an end to sinful desires that Paul had. He just added more desires. He added a desire to do good rather than being a slave to doing bad. Um so anyhow, it's uh there's a lot of debate that James can stir up. And all I did was read as much as I could and tell you about what I've heard, but you kind of have to figure it out for yourself.
Read It Yourself And Closing
SPEAKER_00So take the time and read it for yourself. So that's the end of my Blom's report for today. I'll see ya another time.