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Old Paths For A New Year

12/31/2020

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     The Bible says in Jeremiah chapter six, verse 16:  “Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.” 
 
     Please note the admonition to "ask for the old paths" found in this verse.  My friend, we need to seek the old paths, where is the good way, and walk in them.  In so doing we shall find rest for our souls in the New Year.

     There are several initial observations we should take note of from our text.  First, Jeremiah the prophet is quoting the Lord.  Jeremiah’s message is not his own.  His calling as a prophet of God required him to deliver the Word of God to the people. 

     It is interesting to note when God called Jeremiah, he told the Lord he could not speak.  He told the Lord he was nothing more than a child.  Jeremiah shrunk back from the thought of standing before his nation or any other group of people to speak for the Lord. 

     But the Lord said unto him, “Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.”  Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched Jeremiah’s mouth and the Lord said unto him, “Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.  See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.” 

     And so Jeremiah accepted the call of God to carry the Word of God to the people.  Our text is an example of Jeremiah speaking the word God put in his mouth.  And so Jeremiah says, “thus saith the Lord.”  

     I must warn you today.  It is a grave mistake to ignore the Word of God.  When the Word of God is proclaimed, we are declaring “thus saith the Lord.”  Only the foolish and short-sighted and unbelieving continue on their frivolous way upon hearing the Word of the living God!  Don’t be among them my friend.

     Next, the text contains a very specific admonition from the Lord.  It is the Lord who instructs us to “ask for the old paths.”  Not new paths, but old paths!  I must warn you today of a common temptation that wields great power over rising generations.  It is the temptation to depart from the old paths as Satan casts them in a bad light. 

     He does so by insisting the old paths are not the sole way to truth.  In fact, he will insist the old paths are just the dogmatic proclamations of bigoted fanatics.  Satan howls with disdain against the idea everyone must travel the old paths.  He clamors for new paths that supposedly lead to a better world. 

     But alas my friend, his new world is a world without God.  He promises greater light, but only increases darkness.  He promises new paths that produce greater freedom, but the naïve discover too late the new paths are a web of deceptive bondage that drags the soul down to the depths of hell!

     My friend, we need the old paths of the Lord in this New Year.  David said, “Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.”  Indeed, that needs to be our prayer as well.  Let us “ask for the old paths” wherein is the good way and let us walk in them and we shall find rest for our souls.
 
     Notice again that we should “ask for the old paths” because therein lies the “good way.”  The old paths are good because they lead to the fear of the Lord and because they are the paths of righteousness. 

     These paths show us the way of life itself.  Sadly the Lord says of the children of Israel in the book of Isaiah, “I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walks in a way that was not good, AFTER THEIR OWN THOUGHTS” (Isaiah 65:2). 

     In like manner, there are many in our day doing exactly what the children of Israel did those many years ago.  They walk after “their own thoughts.” 

     Let me say it this way:  if you are not walking in the old paths, that is, if you are not following the Word of God, then you are following after the thoughts of mere men.  The old paths speak of the Word of God. 

     Those who refuse to ask for the old paths are choosing rather to follow the words of mere men.  Unfortunately, the words of unbelieving men carry far more weight in America today than does the Word of God.  We have strayed from the old paths.  For example:
 
    Isn’t it true that our nation was not always a nation overrun with idolatry?

    Isn’t it true that our nation once honored God, Christ, and His Word in our schools?

    Isn’t it true that our nation once embraced the basic definition of marriage as one man for one woman for a life time?

    Isn’t it true that our nation did not always allow no fault divorce?

    Isn’t it true that our nation once held the expectation that men and women would marry before having children?

  Isn’t it true that the proliferation of pornography was once unheard of in our nation?

    Isn’t it true that the murder of the unborn child was unthinkable at one time in our nation? 

  My friends, we have forsaken the old paths and our nation has embraced a supposed new progressive way of thinking.  But the new paths are nothing more than the old lies of Satan himself.  And the ways that seem right to the unregenerate minds of modern day Americans will at the end prove to be the ways of death.

    Listen to these words from Jeremiah and let me apply the last verse of this reading to our own nation:
 
“1 Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.

2 And though they say, The Lord liveth; surely they swear falsely.


3 O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.


4  Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God.

5 I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the Lord, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.

6  Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.


7 How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses” (Jeremiah 5:1-7).

 
   America is guilty of the same unfaithfulness found in verse 7.  As the Lord continues to allow material prosperity in America (I have feed them to the full),  what has she done to the Lord in return?  She has been unfaithful and rebelled against the Lord.


     Now let me show you one final thing in our text.  Jeremiah preached in a day when the dark clouds of God’s impending judgment could be seen off on the horizon.  Jeremiah would live through the heartbreak of that judgment. 

     He saw his nation ravaged by a foreign power.  He saw many of his people die.  He watched as his nation lost her sovereignty and her freedom.  Jeremiah says in the book of Lamentations, “mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.”  His heart was broken. 

   The devastation was overwhelming.  But know this, at the heart of Jeremiah’s message to the people was a very real invitation.  In spite of their backslidings the Lord said to the people in our text, “Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths.” 

   In effect, the people to whom Jeremiah ministered stood at a crossroad.  They could either continue down the path of rebellion, or they could ask for the old paths.  That is, they could repent and travel the old paths again.  The Lord implores them to “ask for the old paths!” 

    Then the Lord proceeds to give a powerful promise declaring, “and ye shall find rest for your soul.” 

    The invitation was real.  The promise was real.  Instead of judgment, the nation could enjoy “rest.” 

     However, the people said “we will not walk therein.”  The decision to refuse the old paths finally brought judgment upon the people.
 
     In this New Year will you choose the old paths?  Or do you believe the Bible is out of date and no longer relevant in our day? 

     I must say that the old paths are quite narrow.  The old paths reject the idolatry of multiculturalism.  They reject the lie of marco-evolution. They reject the pagan concept of millions of years.  They reject the lie mankind is basically good in his nature, and they reject the lie of universal salvation apart from the blood of Christ.

     You see, the old paths bring you to the knowledge of the Creator/Redeemer, the only true God and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.  The old paths teach you to respect the authority of God’s Word.

     The old paths lead you by the way of the cross of Calvary and on to a borrowed, empty tomb.  The old paths will lead you to an altar of personal repentance where you can call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. 

​     Ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and you shall find rest for your soul!     
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God Sent His Only Begotten Son Into the World

12/13/2020

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 Sunday Sermon delivered on 12/06/20


     I am speaking today on the subject, “God Sent His Only Begotten Son into the World.”

     It is interesting to note the apostle John expounds upon the birth of Christ in the first chapter of his gospel.  In so doing he clearly sets forth the theology central to Christianity.  He sets forth the magnificent person of Jesus, the Christ, the unique Son of the living God. 


     While Matthew and Luke record the earthly details of the birth of Christ, John begins in heaven itself.  He does not discuss Mary, or Joseph, or the manger, or the heavenly hosts, or the shepherds, or even the wise men from the East.  Rather, his inspired text takes us immediately into heaven and eternity past.  He says in John 1:1,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

     John expands upon verse one as he goes on to say,
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

     Thus, John reveals the eternal Word was made flesh, that is, he took to himself human nature. This miracle occurred the moment of the virgin conception whereupon Mary was found with child of the Holy Ghost. This taking of human nature by the eternal Word is what we commonly refer to as the
incarnation.  

     John’s teaching makes it abundantly clear the child Mary gave birth to was
Immanuel, God with us.  In particular, he identifies the distinct personality within the Godhead who came to dwell among us in the person of Jesus the Christ.  The eternal Word (another title for the eternal Son) came to us in the person of Jesus. 

     Brother John MacArthur calls our attention to this essential truth with these words,
“If we could condense all the truths of Christmas into only three words,
these would be the words: “God with us.”  We tend to focus our attention at Christmas on the infancy of Christ.  The greater truth of the holiday is His deity.  More astonishing than a baby in the manger is the truth that this promised baby is the omnipotent Creator of the heavens and the earth!”

     Amen!

 
     Now I come to the text for this message from 1 John 4:9 which says, “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.”
 
     The apostle John states in our text, “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.”

     The wonder of Christmas is contained in John’s statement,
“God sent his only begotten Son into the world.”  John repeatedly states in his gospel that the Father “sent the Son.”

     For example, Jesus states in John 6:38,
“For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”  Again, we read in John 17:3, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

     Numerous times in John’s gospel it is said that the Father
sent his Son into the world.  The point is this:  the eternal Word (the eternally begotten Son of God) was sent to accomplish his Father’s will.  The Son “came down from heaven.”  The virgin conception clothed him with a human nature. While he remained intrinsically God as a member of the Triune Godhead, the incarnation veiled the glory he had with the Father before the world began (John 17:5).

     Elsewhere Scripture states it pleased the Father that in him (Jesus) should all the fullness of the Godhead dwell in bodily form.  In the book of Colossians, the Word of God reveals
“it pleased the Father that in him (Jesus, the Christ) should all fullness dwell . . . For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 1:19; 2:9).

    
Joseph Pipa, Jr. speaking of Jesus said, “These two simple phrases - "sent forth" and "born of a woman" - sum up the mystery of the incarnation.  The eternal Son of God was sent into the world through a process of taking a human nature in the womb of the Virgin Mary.  As a result, he was one person existing with two distinct natures.  Luther captured the mystery in his advent hymn, "All Praise to Thee, Eternal Lord":
 
Once did the skies before thee bow;
A virgin's arms contain thee now:
Angels who did in thee rejoice
Now listen for thine infant voice.
 
     Look again into the Bethlehem manger. The helpless child lying there wrapped
in swaddling clothes was heaven’s child.  Although he was God from all eternity past, he humbled himself.  He made himself of no reputation, took upon himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men (Phil. 2:7). 
 
     But why—why did our Creator humble himself in this way?
 
     The Bible says in the book of Hebrews that “he was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death . . . that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Heb. 2:9).

     This passage in Hebrews goes on to say,
“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil” (Heb. 2:14).

     The latter part of Hebrews 2:14 reaches back to the beginning of earth history.  You may recall in the Garden of Eden God promised Adam and Eve that in time the promised Seed of the Woman would
“bruise the head of the serpent” (Genesis 3:15).  However, in the process of doing so he would suffer a “heel wound.” This language spoke of the future death of Christ and the victory he would win over Satan on our behalf.

     My friends, God sent his only begotten Son into the world to free us from the power of death and bring the promise of eternal life. To do so required his death as a sacrifice for the sin of the world. Thus, he took upon himself human nature to die as the great sacrifice for our sin.

 
     Think about this for a moment:  the Son of God stepped down from his throne with a passion to free you from bondage to sin and death.

     The Scripture reveals Jesus understood the Father prepared for him a body to be offered in sacrifice for sin.  Hebrews chapter ten says,
“Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering you did not want (in other words the Son understood that the Father could never be satisfied by the offerings made under the Old Covenant), but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast found no pleasure.  Then said I (the Son is speaking), Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.”

     This means Jesus understood his great sacrifice was necessary to fully propitiate the Divine wrath against sin.  He fully understood his death on our behalf was necessary to reconcile us to God.


     Consequently,
“for the joy that was set before him” he endured the cross. (Heb. 12:2).  With joy he looked beyond the cross knowing his sacrificial death would purchase freedom for a world held in slavery to sin and death.  Moved by a passionate desire to save us from our sins, he took upon himself human nature for the suffering of death.  Do you fully understand this?

     In light of the Savior’s deep desire to deliver his own from the power of Satan, the message of the angel to the shepherds that holy night should fill our hearts with overflowing joy: “
for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord!”

    
“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him!”

     That we might live through him!  How glorious this is!  And all we need do is receive the gift of God’s love.


     I finish now with these familiar words from the gospel of St. John:


“He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:  which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God”
(John 1:10-13).
 
     Do you believe upon his name?  I believe it breaks the heart of God when any man rejects his love manifested through the gift of his Son.
 
     And how do men reject that love?  Many refuse to accept the overwhelming testimony of Holy Scripture that Jesus is the Son of God.  All who refuse to confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God are rejecting the love of God in Christ.

     It matters not if you are Jew or Gentile.  Nor does it matter what tradition you grew up in.  Once confronted by the witness of the Word through the work of the Spirit you have a decision to make.  Perhaps you must give up a misdirected loyalty that denies Jesus as the unique Son of God, God come in the flesh for your salvation.  Or perhaps you must once for all turn your back on the love of the world as it pulls your heart away from the Savior.

 
     But know this—you are making a decision.  And your decision will seal your eternal fate.  Will you be among those who refuse to receive the gift of salvation?  He came unto his own and most of them rejected him, but are you any different?
 
     Those who say Jesus was “a son of God” refusing to confess him as the Lord who came down from heaven are tragically lost!
 
     Those who say he was only a prophet are likewise in denial of his unique person.  As John says in his first epistle, “he that denies the Son, the same has not the Father.”  However, John declares, “whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him, and he in God.”
 
     As well, those who strip Christ of his Deity and proceed to set him up as some spiritual guru who came to show us the way to some kind of “Christ consciousness” are in terrible spiritual darkness!  Unless you repent and turn from such folly soon you will slip into outer darkness where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

     I beg you!  Turn to the Lord Jesus Christ!  Give up your idols.  Give up the wicked imaginations of a rebellious heart and bow the knee to the Son of God.  He is the only Savior of the world who came down from heaven to redeem you by the work of his cross and by the power of an endless life!  It is time to turn.  It is time to bow at his feet and cry out for mercy and grace.

 
     Hear me:  Jesus Christ will save you.  He will forgive you.  He will deliver you from darkness.  He will wash you in his own precious blood.  He will raise you out of death and into life.  If you will come to him, he will under no circumstance cast you out.  He will not reject you.  But you must confess he is the Son of God.  You must confess he is the Lord who came for your salvation.

     I leave you with the words of the apostle John who said,
“And we know that the Son of God is come . . . and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ.  This is the true God, and eternal life.”

​     Hear our text one more time:
“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.”
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A Sign to Israel and the World

12/5/2020

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​Sunday sermon delivered on 11/29/2020
 
 
     Please open your Bible to the OT book of Isaiah and turn to chapter seven.  I begin today with a reading of verses one through sixteen as I share a message entitled, “A Sign to Israel and the World.”  Isaiah 7:1-16.
 
     I pause to remind you of the importance of Israel in the sovereign plans of the living God.  The Lord’s eternal plan to bring a Savior into the world of necessity included his plans to form a nation through whom the Savior would come.  Israel is that nation and is pictured in Revelation chapter twelve as the woman who brought forth a man child, who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron.

     I remind you also the Scripture refers to the one true, living God as “the holy One of Israel” or “the God of Israel” some 233 times with two of those references in the New Testament.  The God of our salvation is the God of Israel. 

     Upon the birth of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began.”

     Indeed, blessed be the Lord God of Israel who raised up a Savior for both Israel and the world as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets since the world began!
 
     Now may we read the text from Isaiah 7:1-16 . . .
 
     Couched in this message to King Ahaz, the king of Judah at that time, is the famous prophecy concerning the future birth of Immanuel.  Verse 14 says, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign.  Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”  We will come back to this verse in a few minutes, but first a review of the historical setting in which the Lord gave this mighty prophetic word is necessary.
 
      Ahaz was of the house of David and reigned in the Southern Kingdom of Israel following his father, Jotham.  To place some emphasis upon the house of David bear with me a moment while I read the names of the Kings who reigned over the Southern Kingdom of Israel leading up to King Ahaz. 

     Of course, King Saul was Israel’s first king, and he was followed by David.  Most of you are probably familiar with the covenant God made with King David.  The Lord determined that he would send the Savior through the house of David.  By the Lord’s design, the promised Messiah would be a physical descendent of David.

     So, let us pick up again.  Following David, King Solomon ruled the nation.  And as you may recall, following Solomon’s reign the nation was troubled by a civil war.  The war divided the nation into a Northern and Southern Kingdom.  The house of David reigned over the Southern Kingdom.  Rehoboam was the first to do so.  Succeeding sons of the various Kings proceeded to reign as follows:  Abijah—Asa—Jehoshaphat—Jehoram—Ahaziah—Joash—Amaziah—Uzziah—Jotham—and then King Ahaz.

     Unfortunately, King Ahaz was an ungodly king.  He did evil in the sight of the Lord.  2 Kings 16 states, “But he [Ahaz] walked in the way of the kings of Israel (the Northern Kingdom), yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel.  And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.” 

     So, Ahaz practiced sordid idolatry.  He did not honor the Lord at all.  Any reference he makes to the Lord should be understood in the context of just placating the prophet.  He pretends to be pious when in fact he is practicing open rebellion against the Lord.

     Of course, the Lord was very patient with the house of David.  Despite the behavior of Ahaz, the Lord sent his prophet with good news for the king.  Rezin King of Syria and Pekah King of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) would not prevail against Ahaz.

     Note verses one and two again . . .
 
     So, the Lord sent Isaiah and his son to King Ahaz to say that the plans of those two men to capture Jerusalem and overrun the Southern Kingdom would not stand and would not come to pass (v7).

     Now look with me at verse 9 again . . . If you will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.  This was the Lord’s way of saying to Ahaz, “you must trust me, and you must not look for help from another nation (whether Egypt or otherwise).”

     Now look again at verse 10 and 11 . . . 

     This is interesting.  In his grace the Lord extends to Ahaz the opportunity to ask for a sign that he would deliver the King from the impending threat.  In context, it seems to me the Lord is doing so because Ahaz is not a man of faith.  He really was not walking with the Lord and he had no personal confidence in the Lord.  The Lord knew he needed some confirmation, and in his grace, he offers it.     I should quickly add that by design the Lord is setting the table for the great prophetic word found in verse 14.

     You see, it may seem at first glance the famous prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 comes out of nowhere as the Lord deals with this king.  However, the Lord uses the occasion to draw special attention to the central focus of his relationship with the house of David--namely that the Messiah would come through the house of David. 

     Consequently, the Lord proceeds to reveal in unmistakable terms the Messiah, coming through the house of David, would have no earthly father.  This unique and most unusual circumstance would serve as a sign to the nation and to the world.

     Now look again at the response of King Ahaz in verse 12 . . . 

     This response was deceitful.  King Ahaz responded this way because he did not want to be bothered with the Lord!  How do I know?  Look again at verse 13 . . .

     The Lord knew exactly what was in the heart of this King and he was not pleased.  His false piety veiled his unbelief, and it wearied the Lord!
 
     However, the Lord uses this occasion to say to Ahaz and to the whole house of David, and for that matter the whole world, I am going to give you a sign anyway.  “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
 
     It was over 700 years later when this great sign appeared during a quiet night in a little town called Bethlehem as a young virgin girl named Mary gave birth to heaven’s child.  She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.

     About the time the little baby Jesus was settled from his birth and nestled warmly in the humble garment of his swaddling clothes heaven could not contain itself any longer.  In the fields just outside Bethlehem suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to shepherds as they kept their flocks by night.  They came with news of the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14 as the angel said,

     “Fear not, for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”
 
     Please carefully take note of the exact wording of the angel’s announcement.  The angel said a Savior was born who is CHRIST THE LORD.  The infant child asleep in that manger was “the Lord!”  This is Immanuel.  This is God with us.  The fruit of the virgin’s womb is the God-man.  This is the Son of the living God and it pleased the Father that in him should all the fullness of the Godhead dwell in bodily form.  This is the eternal Son made a little lower than the angels in the sense that he took upon himself human nature in the person of Jesus the Christ.  This is God’s perfect lamb.  Is it any wonder heaven could not contain itself? 

     Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

     Hear me today:  Christmas remains a sign to the entire world.  All men everywhere need to take heed to this sign.  God has in these last days spoken to us by his Son.  Yes, a virgin did conceive miraculously and proceeded to give birth to the only begotten Son of God.  Do you believe this good news?

     Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ the unique Son of the living God?  Do you believe he is Immanuel?  Do you understand that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself?  Do you believe Jesus came for your salvation?

     I close with the words of Isaiah 7:9 one more time: “If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.”  God required King Ahaz to believe his word.  Likewise, God requires that you believe the word spoken concerning his Son.  The birth of Christ remains a sign for the whole world.
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Celebrate with Great Joy!

11/28/2020

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     Long ago on the night of our Savior’s birth the angel said to the shepherds abiding in the field, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”  What a glorious announcement the angel brought to the shepherds that night.
 
     The occasion of our Lord’s birth was cause for great joy because the Father’s unspeakable gift had come into the world.  The passing of many years since the time of his humble entrance into our world has not served to lessen the joy of reflecting upon the first advent of Christ.  Each Christmas season serves to remind us the eternal Word participated in our humanity living among us in the person of Jesus the Christ.  His birth forever remains good tidings of great joy!  We should rejoice he was born for our salvation.  Truly his birth is still cause for great joy to all people!
 
     I believe it is appropriate for us to celebrate the birthday of the most important person ever born.  Those of you in the Christian community that think it wrong to celebrate his birthday most certainly would not celebrate the birthday of anyone else, right?  If we are not allowed to celebrate the birthday of the most important person in history, then it follows that all birthday celebrations must be avoided.  Now, we are not commanded in Scripture to celebrate his birthday, but neither are we forbidden to do so.  And although we may not know the exact date of his birth, a traditional date like December 25th has served well.
 
     Surely if there was great excitement about his first Advent it only follows that believers continue to rejoice with good tidings of great joy to this very day. However, with that said, we Christians must be careful to avoid the spirit of the world around us.  Many people in the world can celebrate Christmas without one thought about Christ.  We must guard our own hearts from the influence of a world that still has no room for Christ.  With that said, let me offer a few simple suggestions that may help you celebrate Jesus during this Advent season.
 
     Let me begin today by quoting from John chapter one where the scripture says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” (John 1:1, 14) During advent we should reflect upon the awesome reality that God came to earth in the person of Jesus the Christ.
 
     This is a wonder that both thrills the heart and escapes comprehension.  We rejoice at Christmas time, not because we know the exact day of Christ’s birth, rather we celebrate because we know God came to us in the person of His Son.  You can make this season a time of rejoicing if you meditate on the gift God gave to you when His Son was born that first Christmas morn.
 
     Next, we should worship and exalt the Lord Jesus Christ in our decorations, in our music, and by making His house a priority during the season.
 
     We will see many different decorations throughout our communities during the Christmas season.  And in the context of celebrating the joy of the birth of the Savior it can be wonderful.  But if His name is not mentioned, or if the manger is nowhere to be seen, then you and I have failed!  You and I are a part of the Christian community.  It is up to us to provide the lead when it comes to the true meaning of Christmas.  Consequently, you and I need to take care that our decorations draw attention to Christ.  For example, in the past I have seen an interesting decoration that has Santa Claus kneeling in front of a manger scene.  That speaks volumes!
 
     Another important part of our celebration each year is music.  Again, there are many Christmas songs, but not all of them honor the Lord Jesus Christ.  I’m not saying that a happy Christmas song is wrong, but I am saying you cannot enjoy the presence of the Lord in music that says nothing of Jesus Christ.  And I will say this without apology: keep Christ in your music and your heart will thrill again and again at the wonder of the birth of God our Savior!
 
     Also, you and I should exalt Christ by making his house our priority.  How can Christians celebrate Christ if they get so busy they have no time for church during the Christmas season?  I am looking forward to our worship opportunities during this Christmas season.  Shouldn’t our children grow up with the tradition of being in church during the Christmas season?  And when Christmas Eve or Christmas day happens to fall on our normal days of worship, shouldn’t we simply teach our children the joy of putting Christ first?  After all, it is his birthday!  If you ever let yourself drift into a state of mind such that church is in the way of your Christmas celebrations, then you have totally lost the meaning of the season.
 
     Next, we should rehearse the history of Christ’s birth to our children and grandchildren.  With all due respect, Christmas is not about Frosty the Snowman, or Rudolph the red nose reindeer, or other mythical cartoon figures.  Our children need to understand that Jesus is a real person of history.  We need to carefully teach them the details of the life of Christ as contained in the Word of God. 

     If we are not careful, the history of his birth will become trivial to our children.  Because they do not know it well, and because there are so many other distractions at this time of year, the real reason for the season will be lost.  Instead of giving our children a Christian heritage, they will come to view the season as just a time for another party.  Make your Christmas celebration a time of careful instruction for your children.  If you do so, it will bring greater joy to your heart as you see your children grow in their faith.
 
     Next, we should make Scripture reading a part of our family gatherings.

This is a tradition we would be wise to establish.  A good idea might be to read the story of the birth of Christ before you open gifts on Christmas day and then offer a prayer of thanksgiving for all of God’s goodness, especially for the unspeakable gift of His Son.
 
     By the way, this should be the reason we exchange gifts.  The giving of gifts at Christmas should be a celebration of the fact our heavenly Father gave us the gift of His Son.  The giving of gifts can be an expression of joy and a celebration of God’s goodness to us through His Son.  (You might like to read Esther 9:20-23 for an example of giving gifts in celebration of God’s mercies)  This year if you choose to exchange gifts, why not do so with joy and in celebration of God’s unspeakable gift?
 
     Speaking of gifts, that brings me to the next point in this message:  We should worship Christ with our giving during the Christmas season.  Another aspect of gift giving at Christmas should be this:  All of our gift giving during the Christmas season should be done in the spirit of Christ who said, “it is more blessed to give than it is to receive.”  Those who enjoy Christmas the most are those who learn the joy of giving! 

     Gift giving can certainly serve the purpose of meeting needs in our own families and in the lives of our neighbors.  What joy there is in giving to bless others!  And the gift could either meet a legitimate need or simply bless the recipient with a good thing.  All giving done during the Christmas season can certainly be done in worship of Christ if done with prayer and with an aim to please him.
 
     But there is another important point here.  How strange it is that at Christmas time we would fail to give a special offering to Christ himself.  I challenge you to worship Christ in your giving by putting him at the top of your “gift list.”  I believe, like the wise men who visited the young Christ child, that we should worship him with gifts from our treasures.  Don’t forget this important part of your celebration.
 
     Next, we should celebrate Christmas by touching others with the love of Christ.
What an opportunity the Christmas season provides to reach out to others with the love of Christ.  There are many needs in our world.  Why not make it your business to help meet the needs of others who are facing difficulties.  You may know a single mom who is struggling, or a family facing unusual medical expenses, or a family in transition as the husband is temporarily unemployed.  My friends, if we are to truly celebrate Christmas, then we are compelled to model the love of the one born on Christmas day.
 
     And finally, we should celebrate Christmas by sharing the hope that Christmas gives.  Can I ask you a question: who are you building a relationship with in the interest of winning them to Christ?  There are people all around you that desperately need the hope that can only be found in Christ.  Let’s celebrate with great joy by sharing the good tidings of a Savior who can bring peace and healing to a broken heart.
 
     Make merry this Christmas season.  Merry Christmas!


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Ohio is a Decisively Pro-Life/Pro-Family State

11/20/2020

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One encouraging result coming out of our recent election lies in the fact Ohio is clearly a pro-life/pro-family state.  It has now been three election cycles in a row in which pro-life candidates swept the state, both in the General Assembly and Statewide.

Citizens for Community Values (CCV) says Ohio's future is bright.  The bottom line is that if you want to win Ohio, you have to oppose the gruesome destruction of unborn lives. 

Additionally, CCV says the organization has big plans to expand educational opportunities for families and fundamentally rethink how we raise up the next generation in our state.

I encourage both individuals and churches to connect with CCV to stay up on important issues effecting our families and churches in Ohio.  You can follow them at ccv.org

A recent example of my interaction with CCV was an Action Alert about the Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity (SOGI) House Bill 369.  This bill was a threat to the safety of women, children, and religious freedom in Ohio.  Thankfully the action of many who responded has pushed this radical legislation to the back burner for now.

It really doesn't take that much time to stay informed and to participate with others to make our voice heard.  We simply must be involved and supporting a group like CCV is a way for me (and other believers) to stay informed and work in concert to push back threats to our families and religious freedom in our State.

The intense spiritual battles in our State and nation demand that we be strong in the Lord and the power of His might.  Let us pray boldly for deliverance from evil and may we all take our stand as we stand in faith to see the salvation of the Lord!

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Bread for Believers

10/11/2020

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The Deity of Jesus Christ
 
1 Timothy 4:12-16
 
    Please open your Bible to the book of 1 Timothy chapter four.  We are building upon verses 12 through 16 as I share a message entitled, The Deity of Jesus Christ.

     Perhaps like me, you have crossed paths with various surveys of the professing Christian community in America.  Various surveys are conducted by Christian researchers from time to time which attempt to assess where professing Christians stand on essential doctrine and important issues.  I must say reading these surveys over the past decade indicates that the professed church in America is in a mess.

     For example, a new survey released this past week conducted by Ligonier Ministries (the teaching fellowship of R.C. Sproul) reveals alarming attitudes of many who claim to be evangelical Christians.  Every two years, Ligonier Ministries releases a new survey titled the “State of Theology,” and the 2020 results were published recently. And they are shocking, to put it mildly.

     Survey respondents were asked whether they agreed (strongly or somewhat), disagreed (strongly or somewhat), or were not sure about a variety of statements. Here is how those who are considered evangelicals responded to the following statements regarding basic beliefs about the person and work of the Godhead:
 
32% agree: Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God (such professed Christians are at best confused or unlearned, and at worst they are not Christians at all)
.
46% agree: God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. (Surely even a baby Christian understands God does not accept the worship of those who deny His Son)
 
56% agree: Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God. (An additional 11% are not sure!)  This is shocking and is a blatant denial of the deity of Jesus Christ.  I will speak to this subject in a moment.  I suggest you listen well as your salvation depends upon it.
 
51% agree: The Holy Spirit is a force but is not a personal being. This is gross error and reveals a lack of understanding or perhaps a straight-forward rejection of the Triune Nature of the one true, living God.
 
54% disagree: Even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation.  This attitude reveals many in the professed church lack an understanding of God’s holiness; there are no small sins; all sin is an afront to God’s holiness and leaves us in a lost condition in need of God’s saving grace offered on the merits of his Son’s substitutional death and victorious resurrection.
 
80% agree: God counts a person as righteous not because of one’s works but only because of one’s faith in Jesus Christ.  This is encouraging assuming professed believers understand who Jesus Christ is.  Faith in a Jesus who is less than God has no saving efficacy.  God only honors faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, not a false Christ who is less than God-incarnate.  This is exactly why Jesus will one day say depart from me I never knew you to some who thought of themselves as his disciples and even prophesied in his name, cast out devils in his name, and did many wonderful works in his name.

     There are several observations we need to draw from this research.  First, pastors must make sound doctrine the priority of their preaching and teaching ministry.  There is no way such a large portion of this part of the visible church is so unlearned about the nature of God and his Son except too many Pastors are neglecting sound doctrine.

     Next, there is the very real possibility that some pastors are not rooted and grounded in sound doctrine themselves.  It follows that those sitting under their ministry will be weak if they are Christians at all.  Pastors need to be rooted and grounded in the doctrine of Christ in preparation for ministry and continually deepening their own faith if they are to properly disciple those whom they serve.

     Next, it is obvious too many churches are no longer built around preaching.  Said another way, too many churches do not give the Word of God preeminence in the life of the church.  Most of our services need to give the most time to preaching, teaching, and exhortation from the Word of God.  That would be true in every service offered by the church.  In at least some of those services spiritual leaders should preach or teach through the books of the Bible verse by verse.

     Another observation that comes to mind is a great many professed Christians simply are not attending church enough.  In many cases they have a faithful pastor, but do not see the need to be in church where they can be fed the Word of God.

     Beyond a faithful church life, it also seems obvious to me many professed Christians are not reading and studying the Bible in their personal lives.

     Furthermore, most of the youth in our churches are not receiving consistent instruction at home, at church, and at school in the Scriptures.  Such youth grow up and become part of the statistics in these surveys.  Thankfully, there are exceptions to this neglect with children receiving consistent instruction from the Word of God at home, at church, and at school.  However, this is the Achilles heel of the church and until we get serious about raising our children in the faith, we are not going to see this picture change very much.

     May I ask you a question:  do you accept the record God gives of His Son in Holy Scripture?  Do you believe Jesus Christ is God incarnate?

     Let’s explore this essential element of our faith for a few minutes and I begin with our text.  Look at 1 Timothy 4:12-16:
 
“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.  Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.  Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.  Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.  Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”
 
     Please note Paul’s reference to “the doctrine” in verse 16.  In his two letters to the young pastor Timothy, Paul references doctrine a total of 13 times.  For example, in verse three of chapter one of this first epistle to Timothy the apostle says, “As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine.”  Clearly there was and still is a body of doctrine which defines the Christian faith, and which is to be guarded with fear and trembling.

     Paul goes on to warn Timothy and each of us today that the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.  Satan is quite busy supplanting the truth with false doctrines and like the slithering snake he is, he subverts the truth very cunningly through those in the church who deny the Lord who bought them. 

     I would remind you that Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

     Again, Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine.”  My friends, we must build our faith upon the clear teaching of the Word of God.  Our doctrine, or teaching, about the person of Christ must be true to Scripture.  Otherwise, our supposed Christianity is nothing more than a false hope. 

     In just a moment we are going to look at just a few passages that clearly set forth the eternal deity of our Lord Jesus Christ.  We shall once again revisit the cornerstone of our faith and allow the Scriptures to both correct and rebuke those who slanderously reduce our Savior to a mere deceiver who has no power to save anyone.

     Now, just before we visit those passages please take careful note of the absolute necessity of preserving the doctrines that define the faith once for all delivered to the saints.  Paul says in verse 16, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”

     If we are to be saved we must receive the teaching of Scripture concerning the unique person of Christ and his saving work for us upon the cross as the Son of God.  We must take heed to the gospel, which is defined by the person and work of Jesus Christ.  We must turn to him in repentance and confess him as our Lord and Savior.

     Like Timothy and those who listened to him, we save ourselves by taking hold of God’s provision for our salvation.  Strictly speaking we cannot save ourselves, however, we save ourselves in the sense that we take hold of the lifeline God has provided for us through the gift of His only begotten Son. 

     For instance, if I were drowning in Lake Erie but someone through a life preserver to me, then it could be said I saved myself when I took hold of the life preserver.  Of course, it is the life preserver that saved me.  However, if I refused to take hold of it then I would drown.  So it is with the doctrine of the gospel.  The doctrine of Christ has the power to save those who take hold of it by faith.  I ask you, have you took hold of Christ for your salvation?  Amen!

     My friends, the very heart of Christian doctrine, the very heart of the gospel, is the unique person of Jesus Christ.  The Bible very clearly teaches the deity of Christ.  This means that in the person of Jesus the Christ God came to earth to dwell among us.  Jesus Christ is the unique Son of God.  His title, Son of God, is a title of deity.  True Christians confess that Jesus is the God/man.  He is the Lord from heaven.

     In fact, the Bible makes that exact statement about Jesus in the book of 1 Corinthians where we read, “The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.”  My friends, there is only one Lord in heaven and that is God himself.

     Both the Old Testament and the New Testament are unified around the person of Christ.  The classic passage in Isaiah we are so familiar with from the Christmas season says, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”  As you well know, the title Immanuel means, God with us.

     You would think this verse alone is enough to establish the deity of Christ.  It certainly is no sign for a virgin to become pregnant in natural course from a husband, however, if a virgin who has not known a man is found with child a miracle has occurred. Such a circumstance would be a sign to the whole world a special child has come.

     And so it was, in the fullness of time the Holy Spirit came upon Mary who conceived miraculously in her womb and was found with child. That child born of Mary is the Son of God.  It is in this supernatural conception the eternal Word took to himself human nature in the person of Jesus the promised Messiah.

     So, the apostle John writes in his gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . And the Word was made flesh (that is, he took to himself human nature) and dwelt among us.”  John goes on to say, And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth.”

     How can anyone confuse the doctrine of the incarnation?  Jesus is Immanuel, God with us.  He is both God and man in one person.  He is the unique Son of the living God, sent by the Father for our salvation.

     That Jesus is equal with the Father and thus God-incarnate is the whole theme of the book of St. John.  Furthermore, the entire New Testament sets forth the deity of Jesus Christ.  Thus, it is inexcusable for any professed Christian to resist correction on this matter.  To persist in the denial of the deity of Christ proves you are no Christian at all.  Furthermore, for any Pastor to deny the deity of Christ identifies such a one as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.  As Jude says in his epistle to the church, “there are certain men crept in unawares (secretly) who . . . deny the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”
    
Conclusion

     I must close this message, but there are so many other passages to look at.  I conclude with one other passage that clearly calls Jesus God.  It is another verse from I Timothy in which the Holy Spirit says, “And without controversy (that is, by common confession or beyond any question) great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest (or revealed) in the flesh (that is, in the person of Jesus the Christ) and justified in the Spirit (that is, declared to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead).

​    You will recall the experience of Thomas following the resurrection of Jesus (John 20:28).  Fully convinced of his bodily resurrection Thomas confessed, “My Lord and my God.”  Amen!  The confession of Thomas remains the confession of true Christians today.  Jesus is our Lord and God.  To him be glory now and forever!
 

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Bread for Believers

8/22/2020

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How to Build a Walk with God​     
(Please take the time to read the passages referenced below)


     The words of two hymns I learned over the years came to mind as I was preparing this message and I want to quote them as I begin.  The first says, In Times Like These:
 
In times like these you need a Savior,
In times like these you need an anchor;
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!
 
In times like these you need the Bible,
In times like these, O be not idle;
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!
 
This Rock is Jesus, Yes He's the One,
This Rock is Jesus, the only One;
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!
 
 
     Friends, I don’t know what will happen tomorrow in our beloved nation, but I know this:  I’m anchored to Christ and His word, how about you?
 
     And then the words of this great old hymn are a blessing.  It says, Just A Closer Walk with Thee:

I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I'll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.
 
Refrain
Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
 
Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.
 
When my feeble life is o'er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o'er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.
 
Refrain
Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
 
     My friend, do you have a walk with the living God?  Do you know him and do you walk with him?
 
      Here are seven things connected to your walk with God.

 
Honor your Creator in the days of your youth (days of your strength):  How?
 
1) set your heart to seek the Lord; 2) respect His will with obedience; 3) allow Him to correct you.
 
 
Learn to spend time alone with God: 
 
1) worship him in private; bow down to him; offer daily thanksgiving; practice the confession of sin daily
 
 
Love the house of God (stay connected to your local church):
 
1) by love serve the whole body of Christ; 2) stay focused on the cause of Christ; deny yourself and take up the cross
 
 
Forsake the world:
 
1) Example of Moses (its Jesus or the world, not both) – Hebrews 11:24-27.
 
Avoid compromise with the world:
 
1) Example of Lot . . . 2) Separate from the ungodly; you are “not of this world”
 
 
Expect persecution from the world:
 
1)  Jesus on persecution – Matthew 5:10-12
 
 
Remain Faithful:  conclusion – Rev. 2:8-11.  
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Bread for Believers

6/22/2020

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The Offence of the Cross
Galatians 5:1-13
 
 
     In preparation for this devotional I encourage you to read Galatians 5:1-13.
 
     You will notice Paul’s reference in verse eleven to the "offence of the cross."  Sadly, many of Paul’s countrymen were offended by the message of the cross.  But what is the offence of the cross?
 
     Think about this: the offense of the cross occurs when the truth of the gospel confronts loyalty to a false hope.  Once confronted those loyal to a false tradition are offended by the idea of giving up what they thought to be true.

     In the case of the Jews in Paul’s day, they fell prey to the spiritual deception of self-righteousness.  They failed to learn of Christ from the Law.  They failed to see the Old Testament sacrifices as pictures of the work of Christ on the cross.  Furthermore, they moved away from the Old Testament verity that says, “the just shall live by faith.” 

     Genuine faith in God’s mercy and grace provided through substitutional sacrifice was lost as the basis by which they were to approach the living God.  In the place of faith, outward obedience to the law created a works-based righteousness, a self-righteousness, by which the people hoped to have standing with God.  There was no excuse for this misunderstanding.  Clearly the Lord gave the blood upon the altar to atone for sin and no amount of self-righteousness can atone for sin.

     Consequently, the message of the cross offended the sensibilities of those self-righteous Jews who refused to be corrected.  But alas my friends, the offence of the cross has not ceased in our own day.  Here are several more thoughts to consider connected to the offence of the cross:
 
     The cross exposes our lost condition as sinners:  the natural man is offended at the notion he is not good.  My friends, Christ came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15) and it is through the work of his cross he can do so.

     The cross exposes our own brand of self-righteousness:  men are offended with the idea personal effort to attain to righteous behavior leaves them no better off than the vilest sinner.  Think about that.  As the old hymn says so well:  Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.

     Furthermore, the cross offends the world because it requires men to give up their various forms of idolatry.  I ask you:  who is it that died upon the cross?  The answer, of course, is the Son of the living God.  The message of the cross is set forth in John chapter three where Jesus says:
 
     “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:16-18).

     The world is offended as we preach the cross because it tears down all false spirituality.  There is only one true, living God and he gave His Son to save us.  The cross is the only way to the Father.  The preaching of the cross tears down the idols of this world.  In that regard, the authentic church in the earth today is like Gideon of old.

     For my purposes I pick up the narrative of the Lord’s dealings with Gideon in Judges chapter six where we read:
 
25And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:
 
26And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.
 
27Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
 
28And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.
 
29And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.
 
30Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it.
 
31And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.
 
I read that history just to illustrate this point:  The Lord still has his people tearing down idols.  We do so through the preaching of the gospel!
 
     In as much as Christianity is not compatible with the false belief systems of the world it is an offence to the world.  Thus, the message of the cross will remain an offence to a world lying in darkness.  Like Paul, we can expect persecution for the sake of the gospel from both the world and apostate elements of the visible church.  However, in spite of the world's rejection we will always cherish the old rugged cross.  As the old hymn says,
 
Oh, that old rugged Cross so despised by the world
Has a wondrous attraction for me
For the dear Lamb of God, left his Glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary

 
So I'll cherish the old rugged Cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged Cross
And exchange it some day for a crown
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Bread for Believers

5/17/2020

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Have Faith in God
 
     The current coronavirus pandemic is certainly cause for concern and practical steps to slow the spread and protect the most vulnerable in society are under say. Of course, this situation has caused a great deal of fear in our nation.  However, I submit to you we must face the future with faith instead of fear. 

     Facing the future with faith instead of fear does not mean we throw caution to the wind and proceed to live recklessly.  Thoughtful concern for others by maintaining good hand hygiene, at times wearing a mask, and paying attention to the formation of small groups in confined areas makes sense while we work our way through this problem.  Proceeding to protect the most vulnerable from unnecessary exposure to potential carriers makes sense as well.

     However, unnecessary fear ends up paralyzing society and creating a host of other problems as bad or worse than the pandemic.  Consequently, we must move about to work, carry on essential services, and get the economy going again.  We can do so with full confidence the Lord will help and protect us.  Remember, most individuals can deal with this virus.  It is not life threatening to most individuals (including many who are older). 

     Thankfully, the nation has fought back the horrible possibility of overrunning our national health care system.  Now that we can fight this battle with sufficient resources in our hospitals, we must move forward.  The only real enemy now becomes fear itself.

     Our Lord certainly encourages us to have faith in God.  In fact, this must be our response to the whole of life (pandemic or no pandemic).  Life throws many trials our way and the proper response is always faith in our heavenly Father.  As the Psalmist so aptly puts it, “what time I am afraid I will trust in thee” (Psalm 56:3).
 
     Indeed, we will trust in the Lord and exercise faith in him.  Consider these powerful words from Jesus as recorded in the gospel of Mark and let them build your response to problems as they come:
 
“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:22-24).
 
     Our Lord expects us to face the future with great confidence in him.  He says, “Have faith in God.”  While there are obstacles in life, faith in God moves mountains!  We can choose to face the future with faith instead of fear as we engage our battles with prayer.  The coronavirus is one of those battles.

     My word of exhortation to you today is simply:  have faith in God!  Pray over your needs and cast your cares at his feet.  Remember, what things soever ye desire when you pray, believe you receive them, and you shall have them.  Amen!

 

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Bread for Believers

5/9/2020

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Lessons From a Desperate Mother

2 Kings 4:1-7:

1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.
2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.
3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.
4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.
5 So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.
6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.
7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.

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     Now let’s meditate upon this situation.  In verse one we discover a wife has lost her husband who himself feared the Lord and evidently served along side Elisha in the ministry himself.  Elisha certainly knew him and knew his testimony for the Lord.  As time past this dear man died and left his wife and two sons on their own.

     Unfortunately, the family found themselves in debt and now with the husband and father gone creditors came to take the only asset available to them—namely her two boys.

     How many of you know when trouble comes God is still on the throne?  This mother is faced with a great trial.  Her heart is troubled at the thought of her two boys going into servitude for an extended period of time.  Already bereaved of her husband soon her boys would be gone as well. 

     So, she cries out to Elisha.  She makes him fully aware of her situation with the hope he can help her.  As Elisha listens to her plight he first makes it plain that he cannot help her.  He says, “What shall I do for thee, or how can I help thee?”

     Like Peter in the New Testament who said to the lame man, “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.”  So, Elisha cannot help this mother by his own means, but he knows the Lord will help her.  So he says, “Tell me, what do you have in the house?”

     As we see from the text, the only thing she had in the house was a pot of oil.  As soon as Elisha became aware of the pot of oil, the Lord quickened to his heart the answer.  What confidence the prophet had in the Lord!  He proceeded to tell this mother to borrow as many vessels as possible from her neighbors and once in possession of those vessels she was to shut herself and her boys in the house.

     Elisha then instructed her to take the pot of oil and pour from it into each vessel.  Once one was full, they were to set it aside and take another and fill it.  They were to continue this way until all the vessels were full.

     The Bible says, “so she went from him,” and she obeyed Elisha.  Now I trust you see the faith of this dear mother.  As she moved about the neighborhood borrowing vessels, she is embracing the word of the Lord from the prophet.  She is moving in faith.  She is trusting the Lord for the miracle Elisha is clearly speaking of.

     Once in the house with her boys I believe they had quite the church service!  She started pouring from her pot into a vessel perhaps two or three times the size of her pot, but as she poured the oil kept coming.  She topped that one off and had one son move that one aside as her other boy put the next vessel in front of her.  She began to pour again, and the oil kept flowing until that vessel was also filled. 

     About right there I think some excitement was building in the house.  Mom had to say, “Boys, look what the Lord is doing,” as she kept filling those vessels.  Finally, mom said, “bring me another vessel.”  But her son said, “mom, that was the last one.”  I mean, she was ready to keep pouring!

     Now let me remind you of something.  This miracle illustrates to us the limitless supply of the living God.  We can exhaust our resources, but we can never exhaust His!  When he supplies our needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus there is as much remaining as when he first started.  There will never be a run on the bank of heaven because His riches can never be depleted!

     Now look again at verse seven . . . God’s provision paid her debt and the remainder was enough for them to live on. 

     Do you know something?  God’s provision has also paid my debt.  The debt I owed left me in bondage to sin and death.  I was destined to eternal servitude facing a debt I could not pay, until God opened a fountain that still flows from a hill called Calvary.  My friend, the work of Christ upon the cross is sufficient to pay all our sin debt and set us free!

     Do you know something else? Not only is God’s provision enough to pay my sin debt, but I live on the rest of it.  Christ is my Savior, but Christ is also my life!

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