Be Ye Transformed
(A Collection of Exhortations by G. V. Growcott)
Volume One
A
Brother Beloved
(Paul's Letter to Philemon)
There are many lessons in wisdom and courtesy we can learn from this very
brief letter from friend to friend.
By Love Serve One Another (The Epistle To The Galatians)
(Song of Solomon, Chapter 4Go Forth To Him Without The Camp
(Heb. 13)Grace, Mercy and Peace from God
(The First Epistle to Timothy)He Must Increase: I Must Decrease
(The work of John the Baptist)I Will Return To My First Husband
(Hosea)Not Ashamed To Be Called Their God
(Light and Shade In the Life of Jacob)Our Old Man Is Crucified With Him
(Romans 6)She Openeth Her Mouth With Wisdom
(The Book of Proverbs)Volume Two
Yahweh's Appointed Times
The Mosaic yearly cycle - new moon months;
Feasts, appointed times; Seven yearly Sabbaths; Feasts with purposes; The
number 7; Animal sacrifice; Other offerings; Passover; Feast of
Weeks/Pentecost; Trumpets, Day of Atonement; Feast of Tabernacles;
Sabbatical year.
Thou Puttest Thy Nest in the Rock
Kenites; Reuel, Zipporah, Moses; Reuel/Jethro -
true priest of God; Hobab continues with Israel; Ethipoia/Cush/Arabian area;
the Gentile bride; Balaam’s parable; Kenites and conquest of the Land;
Separate at Jericho; During time of the Judges-Jael; During the Kings of
Israel; Jeremiah and the Rechabites; Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the
wall.
Yahweh Elohim of Israel Liveth
Elijah - Elisha parallel with John - Christ;
Elijah the reformer; Condemns Baal worship; Similarities with today; The
widow of Zarephath; Mt. Carmel to Jezreel; Discouraged; Weak made strong;
God in control “in the still small voice”; The seven thousand faithful.
Self
Examination - An Exhortation
Critically judge ourselves; Men of “unclean
lips”; We fall short; Devotion - sustained effort necessary; Choose God or
the world; A “desire” to serve; Love casteth out fear; We need not a “thus
saith the Lord to follow goodness; Freedom from sin’s bondage; The temple of
God.
A Woman on David's Throne
Athaliah; Background; Jehoshaphat’s
righteous reign; “If thou shalt hear in one of thy cities…”; Jehoshaphat
fails; Jehoram/Athaliah - Ahab/Jezebel; Jehoram slays his brothers; He that
soweth to the flesh reaps corruption; Ahaziah reigns one year; Athaliah
reigns, kills all the royal seed; Dark days for the faithful; History mixed
with prophecy; A light and hope; Jehoash, a type of Christ; New Covenants;
The preparation time for our King…He whose right it is.
Consider the Heavens
Heavens declare God’s glory, the beauty and glory of God’s goodness; Light
has come into the world; The Sun and Moon symbols, compared to the
Candlestick and Shekinah-glory of the Most Holy; The Stars, comets, and
meteors; The Firmament showing God’s handiwork; Life dependant upon cycle of
water; Faith and mountains; The Seas, making them “dry”; The Clouds in
symbol; The Rainbow, its association with the clouds; The magnitude of His
work; The Wind; The Rain; Treasures of the snow; The NEW heavens.
But Where Shall Wisdom Be Found
Wisdom = Divine education, Spiritual training; Fool, folly =
self confidence, motivated by natural thinking; One path to Life; Righteous
scarcely saved; World’s wisdom not of God; True wisdom given by God; The
example of Solomon; The fear of the Lord; Our time is short; Great peace;
Singleness of eye; Acknowledge the Lord and be directed; Seek wisdom and
understanding; Folly endures but a fleeting moment, Wisdom gives life
evermore; Seven pillars of the Temple.
Sorrow is Better than Laughter
The Bible portrays joy, happiness, rejoicing, good fellowship, but
not humor; Humor is malicious; Undisciplined mind of the flesh; Life is no
joke; Life can be joyful - in the goodness of God; Jesus, a man of sorrows,
acquainted with grief.
The
Prince of Peace
Prophecies during the wicked reign of Ahaz; Judah at an all time low; Isaiah
brings hope; A sign; Ahaz rejects; By his folly he is chastised; The waters
of Shiloah in Jerusalem, waters of life; The waters of the River (Euphrates)
- the ravaging Assyrian; Come out, be separate; The Christ-sanctuary; Wait
in patience; Watch in faithfulness; Isaiah’s sons - signs; “To the law and
testimony…”; The Word essential daily food; Those who reject “stumble”;
Darkness covers the Land; The King enthroned upon the Holy Hill; The child,
the son, the King - God with us; Our counsellor; The Prince of Peace.
Lift
Up Your Eyes On High
The
purpose of life; God’s greatness - Creator of the ends of the earth; The
present but a fleeting, insignificant moment; We must be wholly given to
better, heavenly things; Supplying our minds with the wholesome Word of God
brings great comfort; Live in patience and hope, creating balance; Think of
these things.
The
Living Creatures and the Bow
God-manifestation (He who shall be Mighty Ones)
and Everlasting Covenant; Ezekiel’s prophecies during the darkness of
captivity and fear; The Cherubim, manifestation of God’s glory, ruling
powers of Age to Come; An army, a host of good fighting evil; Evil must and
will be vanquished; God’s eternal and joyful family - the Saints - the
Immortals; Cherubim of the Most Holy; Only those of like traits shall be
numbered among them; “Four Spirits of the heavens”; Clouds of glory;
Chariots of salvation; God inhabits the Cherubim; Edenic Cherubim;
Four-sided; Feet straight, burnished brass; Four Faces - four standards of
the Camp of Israel; Four Gospels; All connected in Christ; Four wings;
Wheels within wheels; The Bow in the cloud; The colors of Light; Tabernacle
of God with men.
I Did as
I was Commanded
Ezekiel,
Son of Man - A man of sign; His chronicle divided - The Glory removed,
promise of Glory to return; Chapters 1-7 from glorious Cherubim to enacted
siege; 8-19 vile abominations, destruction of Jerusalem, Shekinah-Glory
begins to leave the Temple, and complete removal shown, Zedekiah captured,
the vine, the baby girl, the foreign eagles, Israel cedar, judgment of
nations, the lioness and her cubs; 20-23 the judgment of the regathered,
Pray not for this people, “I will overturn, overturn, overturn…” , Christ
the Priest and King, Aholah and Aholibah; Ch. 24 the final siege, cauldron,
Ezekiel’s wife dies - no mourning, Obedience - “I did as I was commanded”;
25-32 prophecies of punishment upon Israel’s enemies; 33-39 Attention
returns to Israel, Promise and hope; 40-49 The glorious future Temple - The
Lord Is There.
Prophesies in the Captivity
The Book of Ezekiel: prophesies divided - 5th year, chapters 1-7;
6th year, chapters 8-19; 7th year, chapters 20-23; The final siege begun,
Ezekiel’s wife dies, he obeys, becomes mute - chapter 24; Punishments on
Israel’s enemies - chapters 25-32; (Prophesies against Tyre - chapters
26-28; Against Egypt - chapters 29-32;) Prophesies in the 12th year of
captivity - chapters 33-39; In the 25th year of captivity - chapters 40-49;
The New Temple, the new city - The Lord is there.
The
Hand of Our God is Upon Us
Stalwart
examples of men of faith in troublous times; Daniel and his 3 companions,
Ezra, etc.; Discouraged, they carried on for the hope set before
them; We must continue especially when in the face of failure or
abandonment; Faith related to temporal prosperity is precarious; Faith built
upon fixed and eternal things is sure, and carries ones through times of
darkness; “God is our refuge and strength….”
Destroyed for Lack of Knowledge
Wasted
opportunity; Israel holy and chosen, failed; Wisdom is learned by the
experiences of those who succeed AND those who fail; Self-deception and
neglect; We must look to the end of our course, view the
consequences; Weakness of our sin nature (the flesh) is no excuse; A small
remnant shall be saved - those who put God FIRST is all things; The Bible,
an affectionate, personal message from the caring Father; Righteousness
slips away very gradually, imperceptibly if God is not the FOCUS of life;
The people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; Transgression is ignorance
and self-destructive; Knowledge is the KEY; Nothing new under the sun;
WATCH and REMEMBER!
Seek Ye the Lord and Ye Shall Live
Principle
purpose for studying Scripture is guidance and instruction; Prosperous
times; Judgment prophesied; Pure, righteous heart necessary; A
gentle-mannered man; Amos proclaimed the coming judgments unsparingly;
Personal holiness, obedience, righteous judgment are essential; Salvation -
SEEK GOD AND LIVE - the message of the Scriptures; Judgments of surrounding
nations; Judgments upon Israel for injustice, mercilessness, corruption, and
luxury; God’s punishments JUST; The “called” have a tremendous
responsibility; “Can two walk together except they be agreed?”; We must be
agreed with Deity - a life long process; ALL things of God; Spiritual
dangers; God’s blessings to be shared; Guard against selfish,
self-justifying way of the flesh; “Prepare to meet thy God”; Amos pleads for
mercy for Israel; The plumbline; Basket of summer fruit; Take heed!; HIS
will and service; We are not our own; In that day.
What
Shall We Have, Therefore?
“Sell
all, follow me”; The disciples - “We have forsaken all….”; The first last
and the last first; Cease from desire for position; Pride must be denied;
SelfLESS and godliness must be nurtured, brought to fruition; No authority
over one another; Servants; Parable - A penny a day; Mosaic and Christian
dispensations; God’s rewards - all GIFTS - to all who are granted those
gifts; Rejoicing in the good fortune of others is fulfillment of the Law to
“Love thy neighbor as thyself”; Willing sacrifice; Grow in grace
and knowledge; Humble yourselves.
The Purpose
of the Law
Acceptable walk before God; Spirit of the Law; Israel mechanically
obeyed and failed; The hidden meaning more fully revealed; Type and Shadow;
Meditation a MUST; THINK on these things; Nature verses Spirit; A
living sacrifice; Jesus, for the JOY of that which was perfect, endured the
cross, despised the shame; A pearl of great price; The evil cast out must
be replaced by Spiritual things; rid ourselves of pettiness; Bread,
natural and spiritual sustenance; Seed, sheaf, flour, bread - THINK
on these things; Oil; Wine; “Take, eat, this is my body - The New Covenant
in my blood”; “Drink ye all of it.”
Tempted in All
Points
Count it joy when ye fall into trial, temptation;
We must train ourselves to see a deeper meaning; We must wait for God to
provide; “Get thee behind me, Satan”; Scriptures able to make one wise; Be
filled with the bread (Word) from heaven; “It is written”; Impossible to
satisfy the desires of the flesh; Take responsibility; The flesh is weak -
strengthen it by God’s Word; To him that OVERCOMETH; Failure to PREPARE lead
to sin, and sin to death; Jesus not a substitute - he opened the way, we
must walk in it; CONTINUE IN HIS GOODNESS.
What Doth The Lord Require Of Thee?
Promise only to those who love enough to give
their ALL; Service must be total; Learn and believe the Gospel of the
Kingdom; Reject all teachings of men; Search the Scriptures yourself;
Be baptized by complete immersion in water, a total burial and rebirth;
God’s Word for guidance and mental transformation; Do everything to the
glory of God; Eliminate everything not to His glory; Overcome the flesh,
crucify it, and put it to death; Develop the fruits of the Spirit by
constant prayer, study, effort.
He
Found Nothing But Leaves
“Lowly and riding upon an ass”; No man can serve
two masters; Separateness; Colt found where two ways met; The Royal entry
into the Holy City; Many rejoiced, not the Lord; The people would reject and
seal their fate; Journey to the Temple; Jesus curses the fig tree; It
withers; Jesus’ judicial power shown, and authority shown in the Temple;
Faith, hope, love; Forgiveness from the heart; Bring forth fruits - love,
joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness.
Yahweh
Elohim
He Who shall be Mighty Ones; No Trinity; Truth
about God vital to salvation; ONE God; The Father of the Lord Jesus; The
Trinity a fusion of theology and philosophy; Mosheim and the Council
of Nice; The Holy Spirit ‘added’; Trinity established by force; Scriptures
teachings on God; Jesus separate, distinct; A man; Jesus eternally subject
to God; God manifestation in angels, in Christ, and finally (and in the
future) the Saints; God has “form”, body; The Memorial Name; Holy Spirit a
power, THE power and source of everything; God’s law alone determines what
is right and wrong for man; God alone knows what is best, happiest, and most
beneficial for man; Obedience essential; “Be ye holy….”; “Love the Lord thy
God….” ; The Peace of God.
The
Smitten Rock
All the fathers under the cloud, passed through the sea, were baptized, ate
the spiritual meat, and drank the spiritual drink; Smitten by the rod of
Moses; The brook from the mount; Living waters from the House of God.
The
Treasures of Egypt
These things our examples; Blessings betrayed by the Israelites; Lust for
the ‘good’ things of Egypt; Christ, greater riches; Idolatry; Fornication;
Tempting, speaking against God; Murmuring, restlessness, dissatisfaction are
evil; Be content; Take care lest ye fall.
Sorrowful,
Yet Always Rejoicing
Background II Cor. 1-7; Trouble, an opportunity to seek comfort, to give
comfort; Paul’s love for them; A messenger of life and death; Preached not
from self-glorification; Comparison of the Old and New Covenants; Treasure
in earthen vessels; Inward man renewed; Be not concerned, present life
nothing; A new life in Christ; Devotion - “what communion hath light with
darkness?”; The grace of God received in vain? The high calling; Patience;
Afflictions; Necessities; Distresses; Stripes; Imprisonment; Tumults;
Labors; Watchings; Fastings; Characteristics of the Spirit of Christ;
Unrestrained love; Separation; From glory to glory; Perfecting holiness;
Brother’s keeper.
Mortify the Deeds of the Body
Two ways; The “natural” lead to death; The “spiritual” leads to life;
Development of the Christ character; Works (deeds) necessity; We must bear
“fruit”; Love - first and greatest; Joy (rejoice) in everything - good and
bad; Peace - rejoicing, gentleness, casting cares upon God, prayer, and
thanks- giving bring about Peace of God; Longsuffering - patience toward
others; Gentleness - mildness of character, never harsh; Goodness - complete
devotion to truth and righteousness; Meekness - tame, consistent kindness;
Temperance - self-control of mind over all desires.
Straight Words to the Colossians
Our name; A faithful few; must bring forth fruit; God’s record; Spiritual
Patience - Christ the example; Joyfulness - Paul joyfully sang praises in
prison; Depression is self-pity; Meditate upon God and His blessings; Holy,
Unblamable, Unreprovable - a very lofty goal; Let us not be fools; ALL must
work, do his/her share in the vineyard; Each day a Sabbath; Through baptism
we are dead to the world; Put on the New Man; “Thy way, not mine, oh Lord;
Speech seasoned; Elect of God; Peace with God - How do we find it?
The Mission of
Jesus
Approach to the great and terrible majesty of God -
sacrifice; Perfection in Christ Jesus after the order of Melchisedec; The
Jews difficulty, the New Covenant; No short cuts to knowledge; The WAY
opened, the veil of the flesh rent; Law of Moses vs. the Law of Christ;
Christ takes us out of the flesh; “But if any man draw back….”; Go on to
perfection; Fruits of the Spirit vs. Works of the Flesh; Bering every
thought into captivity; Christ in our hearts, the Word in our minds.
By Himself
The Old Covenant ended; “Heir of all things”; The truth concerning Christ;
The brightness of God’s glory; Grace and truth; “The exact engraving of His
substance” - “Be YE perfect”; Christ endured and suffered; THY will be done;
Took away sin by conquering and destroying it; His sacrifice-work done; Made
a little lower than the angels…having become so much better; “We have such
an high priest”.
Grow in Grace
The body of Christ (the ecclesia) is a unity; Compliance
with “Thou shalt”, “Thou shalt not” failure to recognize great battle within
each heart; Fleshly tabernacle always at war with mind of the Spirit;
Sanctification; Peace; Grace; Joyful in Faith, Hope, Love; Nothing can
separate us; Mercy; Rebirth needed; Hope in the resurrection; Heirs;
Unworthy wedding guests; Prepare ourselves; Earthly sorrow and Heavenly joy;
An inner state of mind; Trial, our light affliction; Tried faith, until he
comes; Girding up the loins of our minds; Our citizenship; Obedience,
casting off former lusts; Grow in grace and knowledge a MUST; Be
holy; Sojourn in fear; Many to be rejected; According to works; Entire
devotion - still unprofitable servants; Love one for another with a pure
heart; The Word endureth for ever.
The
Last Terrible Forty Years
Bro. Thomas’ sound teaching; Eureka; Israel’s history the KEY to
prophecy; 40 years, complete renovation; Great impending judgments, will
appear natural; Resistance to Christ and the Saints; The Jewish “battle ax”
and “war horse”; “Yahweh came from Sinai”; Midian and Cushan blessed first -
the desert shall blossom; World wide blessings, gradual; World wide concern;
The Tarshish power protecting; All nations gather against Jerusalem; Papacy
cries “Anti-Christ”, Russia heads the alliance; A remnant from Egypt; Time
of Trouble; Bozrah, first battle; Victory, Christ advances toward Jerusalem;
“Lift up your heads…” - call at the approach to the city gates; Joy turns to
National remorse, mourning; Israel purged; Russia laid waste; Original Eden
area restored; Proclamation of the Everlasting Gospel - a 10 year period;
“Goat” and “Sheep” nations; The False Prophet - Papacy - Idol Shepherd;
Degrees of order and reaction of nations.
Other Exhortations by G. V. Growcott
Blessed is He that Watches and Keepeth his Garments
Cast the Unprofitable Servant Into Outer Darkness
Every Man Perfect in Christ Jesus: Colossians 1
Fear God and Keep His Commandments
Filled with all the Fullness of God
Give Thanks unto the Lord (Psa. 105)
Hezekiah
Kings 18-20
2 Chronicles 29-32
He
Hasted To Go Out
2 Kings 15; 2 Chronicles 26-27
In the Image of God Made He Him
Jeremiah – Prophet of Judgment and Glory
Made Perfect Through Suffering
Paul's Letter to the Ephesians
Samuel, a Special Child
I Samuel 1-3
The Household of Faith in the Latter Days
The Last Great
Passover – Josiah
2nd Kings 22 & 23
2nd Chronicles 34 & 35
We Know that the Law is Spiritual
