GOAT

 

A new concept has popped up on the cultural radar and is the concept of GOAT, Greatest of All Time. There are also some truths in God’s Word that are connected with goats. Some of the goats in Scripture are godly and some are sinful and ungodly.

 

The sinful and ungodly GOATS:

 

Genesis 37:31-33

Then they took Joseph’s robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son’s robe or not.” And he identified it and said, “It is my son’s robe. A fierce animal had devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.”

 

This is the GOAT of Deceit.

 

The greatest of all time deceiver is Satan. Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He does this with us just as he did with Eve by deceiving us. We have to turn to God’s Word. We have to know, believe, and obey God’s Word.

 

Genesis 38:15-17

When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” She said, “If you give me a pledge, until you send it.”

 

This is the GOAT of immorality.

 

When we live our lives based on lies and deceit, it will lead to immorality. When we live our lives based on truth, it will lead to righteousness.

Immorality leads to death.

Righteousness leads to life.

 

Leviticus 17:7

So, they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they whore. This shall be a statue forever for them throughout their generation.

 

This is the GOAT of false gods.

 

When we live based on lies and deceit, it will lead to immorality which then leads us to worship false gods like wealth, position, power, religion, or pride.

 

When we live based on truth, it will lead to righteousness which will then lead us to worship the one true God, Jesus.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living based on truth, not lies; living in righteousness, not immorality; and worshiping the one true God, Jesus.

 

The godly and righteous GOATS:

 

In Genesis 15 God establishes a covenant with Abraham. God seals the covenant when Abraham takes five animals, one of which is a goat, cuts them in half and puts them on altars.

 

This is the GOAT of relationship with God.

 

Jesus came to die for our sins, to provide eternal life, and establish the relationship with God that we were created for.

 

Leviticus 16:15

Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat.

 

The is the GOAT of forgiveness.

 

We are forgiven through the blood of the perfect sacrifice that takes away our sin, Jesus. There is no other way of forgiveness of sin other than Jesus. When we confess our sins to Jesus, He forgives our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

 

Having a relationship with God through Jesus brings forgiveness of sin and a cleansing of all the unrighteousness that sin causes.

 

In Leviticus 16 God commanded the Israelites to have a day of Atonement. They were to take two goats, one as a sacrifice and one as a scape goat to carry the sins of the people away.

 

This is the GOAT of freedom.

 

Jesus came to make us free, free from the penalty of sin, free from the power of sin, and free from the presence of sin.

 

When we enter into a relationship with God through Jesus,

we receive forgiveness of sin and cleansing from the unrighteousness of sin and freedom from the slavery of sin.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing forgiveness, cleansing, and freedom through a relationship with Jesus.

 

Letting Jesus be the Greatest of All Time,

Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

Joe

Filthy Clothes for Clean Clothes

 

I am a visional learner. I learn and retain information best when I can see it. I love the word pictures that God places all through His Word. 

 

One of those word pictures is found in Zechariah 3.

 

Zechariah 3:1-2

Then He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire.”

 

God shows Zechariah a vison. Joshua the high priest was standing before the angel of the Lord. And to the right of Joshua, Satan was standing and Satan was accusing Joshua. God rebuked Satan.

 

This is a picture of what is true spiritually of all of us as followers of Jesus.

 

According to 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 and 6:19 we, our bodies, are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are in God’s presence all the time because, through the Holy Spirit, God indwells us.

 

Satan is always standing ready to accuse us. He condemns us and accuses us to God. He wants us to feel separated and isolated from God. He wants God to reject us.

 

Zechariah 3:3-4

Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.”

 

Joshua is standing before God with clothes on that are filthy.

 

This is a picture of what we were like before we surrendered our lives to Jesus.

 

Paul describes us before knowing Jesus in Ephesians 2:1-5. Paul says that we were:

Dead in our trespasses and sins

Walking in the values and attitudes of the world

Following Satan

Disobedient to God

Giving in to the emotions and passions of our bodies

Children of wrath

Being like those who have no faith in God

 

We were living in spiritual filth.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is recognizing that we are dirty with sin without Jesus.

 

Zechariah 3:5

And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by.

 

Clean clothing was put on Joshua. This turban and clothing represent that we have been clothed with righteousness and holiness.

 

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that for our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

 

Then Paul says in Ephesians 1:4 that even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.

 

We are declared by God to be righteous and holy.

 

God takes off our filthy clothing of sin and puts new clothing of righteousness and holiness on us.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is recognizing that we have been clothed by God with righteousness and holiness.

 

Zechariah 3:6-7

And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured Joshua, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in My ways and keep My charge, then you shall rule My house and have charge of My courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here.”

When we allow God to remove our sin by accepting Jesus’ death on the cross to pay for our sins, and then God declaring us righteous and holy, we then live under the power and authority of God. We also have direct access to God. We know that we are never separated from God and His love.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing that out of God’s grace we are saved, connected with God, and that we will never be separated from God.

 

This passage is a picture of us before God: filthy in our sin, and God’s grace removing our sin and making us righteous and holy by His grace.

 

We are never to forget that it is by God’s grace, not our goodness, that we are righteous and holy. That way we can be humble because it is not about us; it is all about Jesus.

 

By God’s Grace Making Us Righteous and Holy,

Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

Joe

Jesus' Resurrection

 

In Acts 2:22 Peter says, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by Go with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know.”

 

Peter says that there was no doubt that Jesus had His claims verified by mighty works and wonders and signs. Peter also says that Jesus did these miraculous acts in public and the people saw them. There is no excuse for the people of Israel not believing. They saw and heard the truth.

 

Acts 2:23 says, “This Jesus, delivered up according to definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”

 

Even though the people of Israel saw overwhelming truth that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, they refused to believe it and wanted Him crucified and killed Him. The Father used the hatred of the people and their rejection of Jesus to provide salvation for us through the death of Jesus.

 

Acts 2:24 says, “God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death because it was not possible for Him to be held by it.”

 

The world rejected Jesus and crucified Him.

The Father raised Jesus up.

 

The resurrection of Jesus shows us five truths that are essential for us to believe if we are to experience eternal salvation and earthly peace.

 

Truth #1: Jesus was loved and accepted by God the Father.

 

Philippians 2:8 says that Jesus humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

 

Because Jesus humbled Himself to die on the cross Philippians 2:9-11 tells us that God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

Jesus was God the Father’s one and only beloved Son and Jesus was loved by the Father and accepted by Him and, because of His obedience, God raised Him from the dead.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is acknowledging Jesus as Lord of all.

 

Truth #2: Jesus by His resurrection was victorious over sin.

 

Sin brought death to the world. Jesus by dying and rising from the dead won the victory over sin.

 

Romans 6:11 says that we are to reckon (live based on the truth) ourselves dead unto sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living under the power of Jesus, not under the power of sin.

 

Truth #3: Jesus by His resurrection was victorious over death.

 

The grave or death could not hold Jesus because Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth. When we surrender our lives to Jesus, death will not have the last word in our lives; Jesus will.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is Jesus, not death, having the last word in our lives.

 

Truth #4: Jesus by His resurrection was victorious over Satan.

 

Satan wants to be God. He wants to sit on God’s throne and reign over all creation.

 

Satan rebelled against God’s rule and Satan was defeated.

Satan tried to kill Jesus at His birth and Satan was defeated. 

Satan tried to tempt Jesus to disobey the Father and Satan was defeated.

Satan tried to kill Jesus through the cross and Satan was defeated.

 

Remember 1 John 4:4 says that greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. Jesus is greater than Satan.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is trusting and living in the power and authority of Jesus.

 

Truth #5: Jesus’ resurrection is a guarantee of our future resurrection.

 

Jesus is returning and we as His followers, dead and living, will rise from the dead and go be with God forever with a new and perfect resurrected body.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living each day with the expectation of Jesus’ return and our rapture.

 

Christ Is Risen!

 

Because Jesus Has Risen Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                               Joe