Lesson 78
ST. PAUL SCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (I Corinthians 11:1) (With Frank Eiklor, Eileen Young and Walter and Cecilia Contreras)
WINNERS AND LOSERS THE BOOKS OF OBADIAH, JONAH AND MICAH
INTRODUCTION Only a few more lessons and we shall complete our study of Old Testament winners and losers. How important are the Hebrew Scriptures-that which we call the "Old Testament"? Most important! When Jesus and the apostles pointed out various scriptures, they were referring to the first 39 books of our Bible.Christians are warned by the Holy Spirit to learn from the Old Testament examples of those who were victorious in God and those who were defeated by Satan-winners and losers. We now continue to view those examples in three more books from the Minor Prophets-Obadiah, Jonah and Micah.
Obadiah |
| 1:1-3, 10-18 | Example
of God’s judgment against nations that commit or encourage evil done
against the Jews. Centuries of human history prove this prophecy to be
true—including the Nazis and Soviet Union in modern times. | | | Jonah - Disobedience | | 1:1-3, 8-10, 16
| Example of running away from God’s call. | 1:17-2:3, 7, 10 | Example of extreme stubbornness being broken. | | | Jonah - Reluctant Obedience | | 3:1, 2
| Example of reluctant obedience. (Better to just say, "Yes Lord” when God speaks). | 4:1-3 | Example of a servant of God foolishly thinking he knows more than his Master.
| | | Micah | | 2:1-3, 11, 13
| Example of religious hypocrisy.
| 3:2, 5 , 7, 11, 12
| Example of the cost of religious leaders’ hypocrisy—loss of a nation.
| 7:2-10, 13, 18-20 | Example of the utter unfaithfulness of man versus the total faithfulness of God.
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Jesus said many would come in His name and deceive the hearts of the simple, sinful and proud. Eastern mysticism and meditation is a big thing in the gullible West. And one day a “world leader” will appear on the scene with the persuasion of a god and the heart of a devil. Jesus warns His children to know the Scriptures, live in obedience to the Father’s will, and stay alert to the signs of the times. They laugh no more. Now God’s description of how He will destroy the old earth and create a
new one makes perfect sense. The splitting of the atom turned many skeptics into believers.
After all, look what man himself is capable of doing with the atom and hydrogen bombs. Now
the fear is that nuclear weapons are being placed in the hands of madmen who wish to annihilate
their enemies. God has blessed man with incredible genius. We stand in awe as we watch men and women in a room full of computers and high-tech instruments guiding and landing spacecraft on distant planets. At that moment, we appear invincible. But then a mammoth tornado comes—or a terrifying hurricane—or rains that flood whole regions and never listen to our shouts to “Stop!”—or the shake that removes from under our feet any confidence or pride we carry, and leaves us numb with hardly enough breath to even utter the paralyzing word “EARTHQUAKE!”. And man is helpless in the face of it all! |
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