Daily Bread 5-14-16
Matthew 11:13,14
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
ref. - Mal 4:6 - And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Mal 4:5 - Behold, i will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
Matt 17:12 - But I say unto you, that Elias has come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
Luke 1:17 - And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
John 1:23 - He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
John was the one who was sent to prepare the world for the actual appearance of Christ. He knew the time was drawing near and he was pleading with the people to get ready. All prophets had spoken of Jesus and also of John but none was ever able to see either of them. Everything that God had given them in prophecy led up to the one who would pave the path to Jesus. He preached repentance, he taught the people to get ready. He was the one voice crying in the wilderness. Today we have many who are trying to prepare us for Christ to come but do we listen? Just as the people refused John and Jesus both they are refusing them today. We must believe that Christ has got men who are filled with the Holy Ghost to lead us, guide us, and prepare us, for our own baptism of the Holy Ghost. That is, Christ coming to live within our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls. If we cannot or do not believe the words that are being given to us through the men of God then we will never be prepared. If we have never come to repentance and never received forgiveness of our sins how can we cleanse ourselves from unrighteousness? If we don't think it's broke, we aren't going to try to fix it. If, once we have become forgiven, or saved, we do not follow the teachings of Christ and his Apostles how are we going to reach a level of sanctification good enough for Christ to dwell? If we do not make an effort and have any drive to improve our lives he is not going to just clean us up. We will never be able to maintain what he has given us. So, what it boils down to is this; If we do not believe what we are being taught through the word of God, and if we do not believe that these men are called by God to give us instruction, rebuke, exhortation, and also praise, then why do we expect to reap the benefits that they speak of? John was Elias that the prophets spoke of, Christ has come! He has called men that he uses to give us the will of God(prophets)! And if we can stop looking at the men and listen to what God puts in them we will soon realize........the hearts of the fathers have been turned to the children and God is with us!! Have a great day!!!