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    People...God's Answer to a Problem
    People...God's Answer to a Problem
    People...God's Answer to a Problem
    Ebook228 pages3 hours

    People...God's Answer to a Problem

    By Dr. Martin G Tharp PhD

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    About this ebook

    Situations often arise which require God to send a person into your life who will either be able to give you the answer or will act as a catalyst which will harden the iron in your will, stiffen your backbone and inspire the courage in you which may have been allowed to lie dormant in you for too long. Join me as we learn that people have always been God's answer to a problem!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDr. Martin G Tharp PhD
    Release dateMar 8, 2013
    ISBN9781301183845
    People...God's Answer to a Problem
    Author

    Dr. Martin G Tharp PhD

    Dr. Martin Tharp has been an avid student of the Bible for many years and holds a Bachelor, Master and eight Doctorates, one honorary and seven earned, including a Doctor. of Literature and two PhDs. He has been in full time ministry for over fifty-seven years and has authored forty-nine books to date, many of which are being used as curriculum in Bible colleges around the United States and abroad. He has also penned a number of gospel songs and recorded thirty-three albums as well as being actively involved in a school ministry to Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom for the past thirty-eight years, and Dr. Tharp has been honored twice by members of parliament in Ireland for their work in the Protestant and Catholic schools. He and his wife, Sharon, along with Maranda Howells, travel extensively across the USA and the whole of the British Isles holding evangelistic crusades in the churches of both countries.

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      Book preview

      People...God's Answer to a Problem - Dr. Martin G Tharp PhD

      People

      Gods Answer To A Problem

      By Martin G. Tharp, Ph.D.

      Copyright 2013 Martin Tharp Ph.D.

      Smashwords edition

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes; This ebook is licensed for your own personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.. Scripture quotations identified KJV are from the Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible, King James Version. Copyright 1984, 1991 by AMG International, INC and the Living Bible Copyright 1971, 1986 by Tyndale House Publishers INC

      Table of Contents

      Introduction

      1. Jesus; Fast Asleep

      2.The Peacemaker

      3.Abraham; The Deal Is Still On

      4. Moses; The Deliverer

      5. Elijah; And There: Who Has Been Sent To Whom?

      6. David; An Everlasting Legacy

      7. Jeremiah; A Prophet To The Nations

      8. Isaiah; Prophet Of Deliverance

      9. Paul; The Apostle To The Gentiles

      10. Think; The Battle Is In The Mind

      11. Pot-bound

      12. Network

      13. The Blessing In The Wound

      Questions

      Bibliography

      About The Author

      Introduction

      This manuscript began much like all the other thirty books which I have written, a sudden thought that burst into my mind which refused to go away! The major difference in this book is the fact that I have not taken a single person as the primary basis for my thought patterns like most of my books, nor have I attempted to write a biographical composite of each of the various men whom I have used to comprise the chapters in this book.

      Instead, I have endeavored to use events and situations that they found themselves in and for the lions share of my subject, it will center around the specific times and events which could have destroyed them and has indeed destroyed many good men and women down through the centuries.

      Desperation has knocked on the door of millions of individuals as well as families over the past four thousand years, but unlike many of the men which I have highlighted in this book who did not have the benefit of the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit and yet discovered that desperation often can and does bring consolation, we do have the power of a risen Savior who left us empowered at the day of Pentecost with an inner strength, providing us with the capability of withstanding ALL the cunning and deceitfulness of the devil!

      It is my sincere prayer that the images which I have tried to paint for you of men and women which God has used to bring His will to pass and who have proven that God is faithful, over and over again, will inspire you to recognize that desperation is not always an enemy which needs to be dodged or avoided! Situations sometimes arise which requires God to send a person to into your life who will be able to either give you the answer or will act as the catalyst which will harden the iron in your will, stiffen your backbone and inspire the courage in you which may have been allowed to lie dormant for far too long!

      Trust me, if the Biblical characters which are in this book were capable of withstanding the onslaught of their enemies, as well as members of their own families and still be victorious, then so can we!

      Chapter One

      Jesus

      Fast Asleep!

      A vast segment of America, and especially our government, seems to have forgotten that we have been established as a nation, on the firm foundation of Judeo Christian principles, not on the concept of what is often referred to as being politically correct, which is nothing but nonsense!

      There is an unfounded assumption that we should embrace and accept all religious beliefs, including those whose lifelong dedication is the destruction of all who ascribe to and recognize the Democratic or Theocratic style of Government. That is like asking the Jews to embrace Hitler while they are watching the gas chambers being prepared!

      The problems that dominate our news channels every single day is overwhelming! The earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods and tornados which are ravishing the earth only serve to take our attention away from the real problems that face us as a nation. The moral profligacy of our younger generation is no doubt, a cause for dismay, yet nobody seems to be alarmed! Our political system is undergoing a firestorm of disagreements on practically every single issue facing America and none of our elected politicians seem concerned enough to recognize that we are in the midst of the most devastating storm of fiscal irresponsibility in the history of our country!

      The problem is not that we are destitute of men with character or expertise, our government is filled with men of astounding oratory skills, magnetic personalities and the most educated men and women of the past two hundred years since the founding of our nation, all seemingly filled with their own sense of destiny. Unfortunately, the storm has been allowed to spiral out of control while we are still far from a safe haven!

      Since we are all in this ship together, is it possible that a sense of desperation might just drive us to our knees as a nation, and perhaps cause us to remember the motto, In God We Trust, which has been printed on every coin and currency used for legal tender for over two hundred years and dare to awaken the sleeping giant which has been waiting patiently in the shadows to bring us the consolation we so critically need? There is a story in the book of Matthew which concisely illustrates my point.

      The answer to an overwhelming problem which spiraled totally out of control had totally captured the minds of all those on board the ship which Jesus had chosen to use as a means of crossing the Sea of Galilee.

      The Disciples should have paid closer attention to the words of the Master, for He was crystal clear in articulating their exact destination!

      "Let us pass over unto the other side" (Mark 4:35).

      What happens between the beginning of our journey and the desired destination may at times bring about dire circumstances which appear to eradicate or eliminate the expected success of reaching our intended objective. That concept may be a valid possibility, provided you fail to take into consideration who made the statement and set the sail of our ship at the start of the journey!

      "And his Disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm" (Matt. 8:25-26).

      In this first chapter please allow me to set the stage for much of the remainder of this book. No one in their right mind ever expects to be in a situation that is beyond their control because the average person who is happily engaged in a longstanding occupation of any kind, and especially one whose entire life has been engaged in the same trade, lives in a sense of well being, never suspecting that one day their lifelong occupation would suddenly threaten to annihilate them!

      Since the largest percentage of the twelve Disciples who followed Jesus were fisherman by trade, it is certain that they were experienced, competent, fishermen, who were well acquainted with the idiosyncrasies of the seasonal ebb and flow of the Sea of Galilee. These men had not begun their fishing career a few days prior to their first meeting with the Man who now lay fast asleep in the hold of their small ship. There is little doubt that the culture of that particular region of the world assures us that the sons followed in the footsteps of their fathers, making it very likely that they had not only spent their entire adulthood pursuing this occupation, but their childhood as well.

      These fisherman needed no one to explain to them the necessary steps to take in order to insure their survival in situations that were similar to what they were now facing, making it a certainty that they had done everything possible to save themselves before desperation set in!

      They were probably just as tired as Jesus was, but were either too knowledgeable of the possible consequences of relaxing for even a few moments or they were far too afraid to sleep. Their reaction to the situation they found themselves in tells us that their desperation was not predicated on a childish fear or a sense of needless panic, but was rather a desperate reaction based on a well-founded knowledge of the power of the storm which engulfed them and had now in their minds become a certainty that all was lost without the miraculous power they had witnessed in the short amount of time they had followed Jesus.

      Simon Peter and his brother Andrew were two of the occupants of the boat, along with two boys (later to be called the sons of thunder) who were still very likely in their teens because James and John were in the ship helping their father Zebedee mend their nets when Jesus called them, they immediately left those nets and their father to answer His call. `

      "And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him" (Matt.4:18-22).

      According to the book of Matthew, immediately after the call of these four men, the miraculous ministry of Jesus was propelled into a new dimension. He went about teaching, preaching and healing all manner of diseases as they moved throughout all of Syria. It is certain that these men who had spent their entire lives fishing had never witnessed or imagined they would ever be witnesses to the miraculous power of God as Jesus not only healed the sick but cast out devils, much less be considered a part of it as followers of Jesus!

      "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan" (Matt. 4:23-25).

      They had not only watched Him heal all manner of sickness, and cast out demons, but they listened to Him expound the beatitudes in Chapter Five of the book of Matthew. He then taught them how to pray (the Lord’s prayer) in Chapter Six, along with the near multitude of wisdom in which He expounded on the value of understanding the fact that laying up treasures in this life would serve no lasting purpose, but laying up treasures in Heaven would reap untold benefits, especially if they could then understand the fact that they could not serve two masters;

      "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matt. 6:19-24).

      They could not help but to have been astounded by the huge crowds of people who came from so many cities far and near, plus they had personally observed the additional miracles He had performed when they came down from the mountain.

      "When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed" (Matt. 8:1-3).

      In Capernaum, they had listened to the exchange between Jesus and the centurion who assured him that he was not worthy of His presence under his roof, but if He would only speak the word his servant who was sick of the palsy would be healed, then the following statement from Jesus;

      "Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour" (Matt. 8:10b-13).

      Perhaps the most astounding miracle to these fishermen would have been the ones which Jesus performed when they had arrived at the home of Simon Peter, where Jesus had not only healed his mother-in-law, but many who had appeared at his door seeking Jesus.

      "And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick" (Matt. 8:14-16).

      It was precisely the multitudes of people who came searching for Him that prompted their departure to the other side of the Sea of Galilee! This scenario which I have attempted to point out to you was not events which happened over months or years prior to their panic in the midst of the Sea of Galilee, caught in severity of the storm. The Bible is clear that all these events listed in these few chapters of the book of Matthew had been in a span of three to five days!

      In their obvious realization that all was lost, desperation suddenly gripped them like a vise, forcing them to recognize they were in a hopeless situation with only one possible exception, the Man who was now sleeping peacefully in the hold of their boat! They had nowhere else to turn but to Jesus and were exactly where God wanted them to be!

      There are times when the Lord has to allow us to arrive at a point of absolute desperation before He can get our attention! The Disciples, whose boat was in the process of being swamped or torn to pieces, had run out of human solutions and were only left with one single possibility! In their desperation perhaps it dawned on them that the One who could cleanse lepers, restore sight to the blind and heal every other sort of disease, also had power over the wind and the sea!

      Fear was suddenly mixed with a glimmer of faith as they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying,

      "Save us, Lord; we are perishing!" (Matt. 8:25).

      If they had the confidence in Jesus at that point which He had in His Father, they would have been as calm and unconcerned as He apparently was.

      Like the Disciples, many people still only turn to the Lord when every other resource have been exhausted. When sickness, death, loss of job, or some other tragedy comes, they cry out to God just as

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