Sunday, September 25, 2011

Sunday Sermonette

My Lord and My God
September 25, 2011

"And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God." (John 20:28)

Thomas has been called "doubting Thomas" because of his initial reluctance to believe in the Lord's resurrection, but neither the Lord nor the other disciples ever viewed him in such a light. His later ministry, as the first missionary/martyr to India, speaks clearly of his great faith.

It is only in John's gospel that we have any specific insight into Thomas' character. When the other disciples sought to dissuade Jesus from returning to Jerusalem, it was Thomas who urged, "Let us also go, that we may die with him" (John 11:16). Thomas understood the dangers awaiting them, but was ready to go wherever Jesus desired him to go. In the upper room when Jesus spoke of going away, Thomas, still willing to go with Him anywhere, was the only one to ask, "Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?" (John 14:5). Then, just a few hours later, the Lord had been crucified, and soon "the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews" (John 20:19) as they hid themselves in the upper room.

But Thomas was not hiding! The Scriptures do not say where he was when Jesus appeared in their midst, but he was not hiding there like the others. He may well have been out working or witnessing, doing whatever he could to follow the Lord, but he (like the others) had failed to understand Jesus' promise that He would rise again.

When the other disciples reported that they had seen the resurrected Lord, Thomas, realizing the tremendous significance of such a miracle if it were true, insisted he must see the proof firsthand. Then, when he saw the Lord, he showed a higher comprehension of what had taken place than any of the others, as he whispered in awe: "My Lord, and my God!" HMM

h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Sunday Sermonette

Our God Is Everywhere
September 18, 2011

"The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." (Proverbs 15:3)

The God who created and made all things is not only omnipotent, He is omnipresent. "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him" (2 Chronicles 16:9).

David's insightful 139th psalm is certainly one of the most striking affirmations of God's omnipresence. "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee" (Psalm 139:8-12).

God's omnipresence, however, should not be understood in a pantheistic sense. Although He sees everyone and everything, that does not mean He is in everyone and everything. The creation did not create itself!

But since God is everywhere, He Himself cannot be seen anywhere. Jesus said concerning the Father, "Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape," but He also said, "I am come in my Father's name" (John 5:37, 43). "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9).

It is also a wonderful revelation that the Holy Spirit of God now indwells every Christian believer, so this is another way in which God is everywhere--that is, wherever there are true Christians, God is there. "Therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Corinthians 6:20). HMM

h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Sunday Sermonette

How Long?
September 11, 2011

"And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" (Revelation 6:10)

This poignant cry has often been raised by suffering believers anxious to see the Lord work on their behalf. It was often recorded in Scripture under such circumstances, first in Psalm 6:3 and last of all in our text above (see also Psalm 74:10; 90:13; Zechariah 1:12; etc.).

The cry in our text is from "the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held" (Revelation 6:9). The context would indicate that these souls are of those who will die under future persecutions, but the principle surely applies to the martyrs of every age. When they were slain, it was only their physical bodies which died, while their souls live on in heaven, aware of events on earth. This truth, in fact, applies to all who die trusting in Christ as their Savior.

All of these men and women, both while yet alive in the body and also later when "absent from the body, and . . . present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8), have longed for the day when Christ will come to complete "the redemption of the purchased possession" (Ephesians 1:14) and when finally God will answer the age-long prayers of His people as they prayed, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10).

For several generations now, Christians have been asking (even singing!) the great question of our text, "How long, O Lord?"

The signs of His soon coming multiply, yet we still wait. Nevertheless, He has promised to return, and His Word is true and sure. He will come--perhaps today! "For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry" (Hebrews 10:37). HMM

h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Sunday Sermonette

The Doctrine of the Few
September 4, 2011

"The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people." (Deuteronomy 7:7)

Modern people--even Christians--tend to measure success in terms of bigness. God's measure, on the other hand, is based on quality, not quantity. There were undoubtedly millions of people on the earth, for example, when the Flood came in the days of Noah, but only "few, that is, eight souls were saved" as the waters lifted up the Ark (1 Peter 3:20).

A few centuries after the Flood, populations had again increased, and great nations had developed in Egypt and Sumeria and elsewhere. But God called one man, Abraham, to establish a new nation, and Abraham obeyed. A number of great nations (Arabs, etc.) came from Abraham, but again God chose only one--Israel, to inherit the promise. Israel did grow, but as our text shows, even this chosen nation was nearly always insignificant compared to other nations.

In Israel's history, many instances are recorded when God used just a few to battle many. God used Gideon's 300 men to defeat 135,000 Midianites (Judges 7:7; 8:10). Similar deliverances occurred in the days of David, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and others.

In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus told His disciples that "where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). He also said to them: "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).

God's criterion is that of motivation rather than multiplication. "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:14). But those few will be faithful servants and will someday hear Him say: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord" (Matthew 25:21). HMM

h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH