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<2019.08> The Living and Active Words of the Bible

2005 European Bible Study Meeting
March 25, 2005 Evening Lecture
Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another,
and the Lord listened and heard them;
so a book of remembrance was written before Him
for those who fear the Lord
and who meditate on His name.
Malachi 3:16
Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another,
and the Lord listened and heard them;
so a book of remembrance was written before Him
for those who fear the Lord
and who meditate on His name.
Malachi 3:16
Those Who Fear The Lord
A different amount of time is granted to each of us individually, but Christians who are born again all need to examine their lives to see how much they have sacrificed before God for the sake of the gospel, and ask themselves if God has ever used them for anything. The Bible says clearly that when those who fear the Lord talk with one another, the Lord listens and hears them. The Bible says that when the saints hear news of the gospel being spread, talk together about the work of spreading the gospel, and make plans for the sake of this work, God listens and hears them. 
Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name.  Malachi 3:16
We usually say we need to have fellowship together, and the answer as to why we need to have fellowship is contained within this verse. 
It also says here, “Those who fear the Lord and who mediate on His name.” What is His name?
He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  John 1:11-13
“His name” is the name of God who who came in the body of a man to take upon Himself the sin of the world. If we talk to one another without glorifying His name or meditating on His name, that fellowship is dead. When close friends gather to socialize, it is no more than a religious activity. 
Even when God created the world He had a purpose. It was not that one thing just led to another, and He came up with the sun and the earth; the relationships between the sun, the moon, and the earth have been established in such a way that their relationship is centered on the sun. If that relationship were to be broken, life would not be able to exist on this earth. This is also the case in the relationship between God and us. 
As we read the Bible, we can see that born-again Christians are to receive the light of God’s word and reflect it onto the world, just as the moon reflects the light of the sun. 
You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:14-16
One day as I was reading this passage, I felt a tremendous sense of responsibility. It says this in the Bible, and I asked myself if I could live my life ignoring these words. This applies to every one of us. 
The Bible says to “let your light so shine before men.” The moonlight that shines into the dark night is not the light of the moon. The moon receives the light from the sun and reflects it onto this dark world. There is the sun that presents an image of God who is the Light, while the moon revolves around the earth receiving and reflecting the sun’s light. This relationship is maintained continuously with the sun at the center. 
This is a image of the fellowship of Christians as they continue their lives after coming to know the gospel. This world cannot wander far away from the sun that provides the light that shines upon it. This is why the apostle Paul wrote in the letter to the Romans, “His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead” (1:20).
When Jesus was in this world, He said a prayer for His disciples right before He was crucified. 
Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. … I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. … As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.  John 17:11, 14, 18-20
“These” refers to the disciples who were with Jesus at that time, but He also said here, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.” He was talking about all the Christians who have been born again through the words of the Old and New Testaments and have lived their lives in this world with faith in Jesus whether they lived in the past or are still alive today. 
And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.  
John 17:22-23
He said they were to make this love known to the world. Jesus had a definite purpose in mind when He asked the Father that
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