down and sees all mankind; 14  from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth— 15 Articles 1-7 Article 1: God’s Right to Condemn All People Romans 5:12-14 - Mis-Markmanship Deuteronomy 28:15 -20 - Not A Tame Lion Genesis 2:15-17 - Or Else Luke 15:11-16 - Prodigious Deprivation Psalm 143 - Aggressive God’s Eternal Decree Isaiah 45:21-25 - Irrevocable Ezekiel 36:24-27 - A Whole New Reality Romans 9:15 Authority 10 The LORD foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 15

Articles 1-9 Article 1: God’s Right to Condemn All People Romans 5:12-14 - Mis-Markmanship Deuteronomy 28:15 -20 - Not A Tame Lion Genesis 2:15-17 - Or Else Luke 15:11-16 - Prodigious Deprivation Psalm 143 - Aggressive God’s Eternal Decree Isaiah 45:21-25 - Irrevocable Ezekiel 36:24-27 - A Whole New Reality Romans 9:15 -21 - God's Mercy, Not Your Effort 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 - Love The Truth Psalm 81 - Call To Worship Today: Hebrews 2

Don't let the comforts in this world distract you from the true Comforter. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 53 Q. What do you believe concerning “the Holy Spirit”? A. First, he, as well as the Father and the Son, is eternal God. Second, he has been given to me personally, so that, by true faith, he makes me share in Christ and all his blessings, comforts me, and remains with me forever. Summary It might seem odd in the midst of a week in which we've been focused on the person and work of the Holy Spirit to read from a passage that doesn't seem to mention the Holy Spirit at all. Paul here certainly makes reference to God the Father, as well as the Lord Jesus Christ, but he seems to just ignore the third member of the Trinity. Earlier this week we noted that the Holy Spirit is often referred to as the 'shy' member of the Trinity, since His role is to often focus our attention on the work of the Father and the Son, and in doing so the Spirit often stays in the background. So it's not all that surprising that the Spirit seems set to the side in this passage. But we also were reminded that the Holy Spirit really isn't all that shy, since He's the member of the Godhead we hear from the most, in that every word of the Bible was breathed out by Him. In fact, the verses we read today are all about the Spirit! We read one reference to the Father, three references to the Son, and at least six references to the Holy Spirit! The reason you didn't notice Him right away is because He's camouflaged: He was never directly referred to, but He was described with the repetitive use of the Greek word paraklēsis, the word Jesus often uses to refer to the Holy Spirit, which is translated here as comfort. The Holy Spirit is the "God of all comfort (v3)." Dig Deeper You probably think of 'comfortable' as being a condition in which you have no pain or discomfort. The chair you fall asleep in is comfortable, whereas the one that hurts your back is uncomfortable. One dictionary defines comfort as 'freedom from pain or constraint." So when hearing that the Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as the Comforter, you might be tempted to think He's not really present in your life because of how many uncomfortable aspects there are. A life filled with the Comforter ought to be filled with comfort, right? But keep in mind the literal meaning of the Greek word paraklēsis: the para part means alongside (like a parapro, paralegal, and paramedic work alongside a teacher, lawyer and doctor), and klēsis means to call out. So the Holy Spirit is the one who comes alongside you in "in all your troubles" and calls out to you words of "comfort and salvation." The reason people like us don't feel like we're experiencing the Holy Spirit as often as we'd like is because we're so distracted by the comforts we have in this world that we don't feel a need for "the God of all comfort." Make a habit of pushing those distractions away, so that that you can hear the Holy Spirit coming alongside you reminding you that your only comfort in life and in death is that you belong to your faithful Savior, Jesus Christ (keep reading v8-11 to see how the Holy Spirit brought this comfort to Paul when he "despaired of life itself"). AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort (v1) ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for the physical comforts He's given you, but pray that they don't distract you from the Holy Spirit coming alongside and calling out to you. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Romans 3

Articles 1-14 Article 1: God’s Right to Condemn All People Romans 5:12-14 - Mis-Markmanship Deuteronomy 28:15 -20 - Not A Tame Lion Genesis 2:15-17 - Or Else Luke 15:11-16 - Prodigious Deprivation Psalm 143 - Aggressive God’s Eternal Decree Isaiah 45:21-25 - Irrevocable Ezekiel 36:24-27 - A Whole New Reality Romans 9:15 -21 - God's Mercy, Not Your Effort 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 - Love The Truth Psalm 81 - Call To Worship (Matt. 20:15). 

Romans 9:15-16 15  For God says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election Point 2 - Limited Atonement Point 3 - Total Depravity

God has said yes to you in Christ, He means yes, and He will not change His mind! Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 49 Q. How does Christ’s ascension to heaven benefit us? A. First, he pleads our cause in heaven in the presence of his Father. Second, we have our own flesh in heaven— a guarantee that Christ our head will take us, his members, to himself in heaven. Third, he sends his Spirit to us on earth as a further guarantee. By the Spirit’s power we make the goal of our lives, not earthly things, but the things above where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Summary While it's difficult to determine precisely, it's estimated that God makes well over 5,000 promises in the Bible. What an astounding number, showing the love, care, compassion and mercy of our Father! All of those promises were stamped FULFILLED when Christ ascended into heaven. It's no wonder that the angels that suddenly appeared to the stunned disciples were surprised that the disciples were longingly looking up rather than celebrating victory! Yet we often wonder right along with the disciples where Jesus went and when will He return. As human beings, our reality is best defined by what we see, touch, taste, smell and feel, and as it is, we don't experience God in those ways. That often leaves us, just like the disciples, feeling deserted and alone. But this week's passages have reminded us that we are very much not alone. Psalm 139 reminded us of God's omnipresence, and that even though Jesus' body is in heaven, in His divinity, majesty, grace, and Spirit He is not absent from us for a moment. Now today we read that not only is God always with us, He - though the power of the Holy Spirit which he put in our hearts as a deposit - makes us stand firm in Christ. In other words, although you will be rocked over and over by challenges, disasters, trials, and losses in this sad world, nothing will ever completely knock you down and out of Christ's hands. So, yes, all 5,000 promises of God are all fulfilled in Christ, but there are many that we're still waiting to see exactly how they've been fulfilled. But as you wait, be comforted that God has guaranteed those promises by sending you His Holy Spirit, so make every effort to come to know and recognize Him more and more. Dig Deeper Psalm 24 is a Psalm David wrote about 1,000 years before Jesus ascended into heaven that describes what Jesus' ascension was like from the perspective of the other side of the cloud which hid Jesus from the disciples' sight. Jesus is the one with clean hands and a pure heart who may ascend the holy mountain of the Lord. Jesus is the King of glory, the Lord, strong and mighty! What a celebration unfolded in heaven as the angels welcomed Him home! David writes, "He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God His Savior." Blessing and vindication. In other words, as Paul puts it, God looked at Christ and said "Amen" to the promises He made. Remember, the New Testament's favorite expression for your relationship to God is that you are in Christ, so since Jesus received these blessings and vindication from His Father, so have you. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who has fulfilled every one of the thousands of promises He's made; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that as you set your mind and heart on things above that you will recognize more and more how God has fulfilled His promises in Christ. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Matthew 22

A psalm. 1  You, Lord, showed favor to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. 2  You forgave to Condemn All People Romans 5:12-14 - Mis-Markmanship Deuteronomy 28:15-20 - Not A Tame Lion Genesis 2:15-17 - Or Else Luke 15:11-16 - Prodigious Deprivation Psalm 143 - Aggressive Prayer Pattern ​ Article God’s Eternal Decree Isaiah 45:21-25 - Irrevocable Ezekiel 36:24-27 - A Whole New Reality Romans 9:15 -21 - God's Mercy, Not Your Effort 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 - Love The Truth Psalm 81 - Call To Worship

to Condemn All People Romans 5:12-14 - Mis-Markmanship Deuteronomy 28:15-20 - Not A Tame Lion Genesis 2:15-17 - Or Else Luke 15:11-16 - Prodigious Deprivation Psalm 143 - Aggressive Prayer Pattern ​ Article Article 3: The Preaching of the Gospel 1 Timothy 2:1-7 - God Our Savior Isaiah 52.7 - Good News! God’s Eternal Decree Isaiah 45:21-25 - Irrevocable Ezekiel 36:24-27 - A Whole New Reality Romans 9:15 -21 - God's Mercy, Not Your Effort 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 - Love The Truth Psalm 81 - Call To Worship

Articles 1-14 Article 1: God’s Right to Condemn All People Romans 5:12-14 - Mis-Markmanship Deuteronomy 28:15 -20 - Not A Tame Lion Genesis 2:15-17 - Or Else Luke 15:11-16 - Prodigious Deprivation Psalm 143 - Aggressive God’s Eternal Decree Isaiah 45:21-25 - Irrevocable Ezekiel 36:24-27 - A Whole New Reality Romans 9:15 -21 - God's Mercy, Not Your Effort 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 - Love The Truth Psalm 81 - Call To Worship The Sovereign & His Servant Deuteronomy 29:29 - The Secret Things Psalm 96 - Soli Deo Gloria Article 15

Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.” 15  For this is what the high and exalted One says Articles 1-11 Article 1: God’s Right to Condemn All People Romans 5:12-14 - Mis-Markmanship Deuteronomy 28:15 -20 - Not A Tame Lion Genesis 2:15-17 - Or Else Luke 15:11-16 - Prodigious Deprivation Psalm 143 - Aggressive God’s Eternal Decree Isaiah 45:21-25 - Irrevocable Ezekiel 36:24-27 - A Whole New Reality Romans 9:15 Today: Galatians 2