Sunday, December 29, 2013

Sunday Sermonette

December 29, 2013
Negatives to the Unsaved
“Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)
 
How good it is to experience victories in spiritual warfare, to see God’s values triumph, and to see an ungodly scheme thwarted! We especially rejoice if we somehow participated in the process.
 
The prophet Elijah saw “big” victories over the forces of evil—the defeat of hundreds of Baal’s prophets, and the bold confrontation of wicked Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 18). Elisha did likewise in the stunning and overcoming of Syria’s army (2 Kings 6:8-23). Yet many of Elisha’s victories would be ranked “little” by modern newspaper journalists, like rescuing an ax (2 Kings 6:1-7), curing a pot of stew (2 Kings 4:38-41), and helping a poor widow’s cashflow crisis (2 Kings 4:1-7). God works out spiritual victories in “big” crises, but He also works in seemingly “little” problems.
 
God even cares about the artistic details of each snowflake, the inner structure and workings of each humble pine needle, and the edible seeds needed by desert-dwelling songbirds. Much more so, He cares for our “big” and “little” needs and problems (Luke 12:22-31). Yet our most basic need was to be created in the first place, and our greatest problem was (and is) our sin. Both of these are solved in Christ! He is our Creator (John 1:3) and He is our Redeemer (John 3:14-16). To be “in Christ” is always our main cause for rejoicing; its victory hangs on the Lord Jesus alone, not on changing circumstances or the outcome of our latest earthly skirmish. Put today’s problems in perspective. Rejoice when a victory is won; thank God with promptness. However, prioritize appreciation for Christ creating us, and for His greatest victory for us, saving our souls forever (1 Corinthians 15:57). JJSJ

h/t: JJSJ, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Sunday Sermonette

December 22, 2013
A Lesson from the Stork
“Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.” (Jeremiah 8:7)
 
The migratory behavior of birds is fascinating. If it only occurred once, we would call it a miracle. Yet we see bird migrations twice a year, so we are desensitized to the Creator-designed magnificence of these journeys.
 
Geographically, Israel sits center stage among the great continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Many birds migrate from European and Asian winters to Africa, with the migrations reversed prior to summer. Yet which bird is famous for its early return home? The stork! So faithful is the stork that its very name (Hebrew chasidah) means “faithful one”!
 
Jeremiah lamented the ignorance and unfaithfulness of God’s people, and during his lifetime Israel was called to exhibit faithfulness to God. Except for a faithful remnant, Israel refused to repent, bringing the prophecy of judgment. Sadly, most of Israel stayed in the path of oncoming judgment, neglecting their opportunity to escape the just consequences of their sin. God chastised Israel’s unfaithful and ignorant behavior, contrasting their failure to “return” to Him with the wisdom and faithfulness of the returning migratory birds.
 
God’s people need to learn a lesson from the early-to-return-home stork, for our true and safe home is none other than God Himself. When we drift away from Him, distracted by the world (or ourselves), let us be quick to recognize that it is time to admit our wrong (1 John 1:9) and return to Him, our true refuge. JJSJ

h/t: JJSJ, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Sunday Sermonette

December 15, 2013
Doing Righteousness
“Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.” (1 John 3:7)
 
Every genuine Christian knows that part of the salvation gift is the promise of being made “unblameable in holiness” (1 Thessalonians 3:13). We sometimes have trouble, however, with the concept of present-tense holiness in our everyday lifestyles.
 
John speaks of the abiding Christian who “sinneth not” (John 3:6). Indeed, such a Christian “doth not commit sin” (John 3:9) because, John notes, the “seed” of God “remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” Furthermore, “whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not” (1 John 5:18).
 
It’s accurate to translate those passages with the “continuing” implication of the Greek structure (i.e. “does not continue in [the practice of] sin,” etc.). However, the emphasis is on an obvious, continuous, clearly embraced lifestyle of righteous living!
 
The visible transformation from a worldly conformity (Romans 12:2) begins with a desire for “the sincere milk of [God’s] word” (1 Peter 2:2), fashioning ourselves after God’s holiness “in all manner of conversation” (1 Peter 1:14-15). Neither are we to let sin reign in our bodies, but we are to yield ourselves as “instruments of righteousness” (Romans 6:12-13). Since we are “risen with Christ,” we are to “mortify” the fleshly appetites, “put off” emotional outbursts that reflect an ungodly nature, and “put on” godly attributes so that whatsoever we do is done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:1-17). HMM III


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

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Sunday Sermonette

December 8, 2013
The Seventh Day
“For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” (Exodus 20:11)
 
God’s word is omnipotent, and He could just as well have created an entire universe, fully populated and functioning, in an instant of time. Instead, He chose to do it in six days, with a seventh day to be set aside as a day of rest and remembrance of His completed, “very good,” creation. Since that time, it has been the universal practice among monotheists—those who believe in one Creator God—to measure time in seven-day weeks, with one of those days observed as a day of rest and worship of the Creator.
 
This divine assertion was inscribed with “the finger of God” on a table of stone (Exodus 31:18), clearly settling, once and for all, the ancient question of the age of the cosmos, at least for those who really believe in the inerrant perspicuity and authority of the Holy Scriptures. Not only did the Lord precisely equate the six days of man’s work week with the six days of His own work week, He then pronounced it all “very good” and “sanctified” the seventh day (Genesis 1:31; 2:3). This would have been an unthinkable thing for Him to say if there were, at that time, a great mile-deep graveyard consisting of the fossil remains of dead animals from the so-called geological ages extending all around the globe. These fossils must all be dated as post-Eden, after human sin and God’s curse brought death into the world (Romans 5:12).
 
Today, those who believe in God and creation should certainly continue to remember Him by observing every seventh day as a day of rest and worship in honor of their Creator, who has now also become their Redeemer and who will soon come again to reign as eternal King. HMM


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

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Sunday Sermonette

December 1, 2013
Proofs of the Pudding
“If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.” (1 John 2:29)
 
The little book of 1 John provides a treasure trove of “proofs” that demonstrate the reality of the invisible spiritual change brought about by the new birth.
 
There are two emphases: proofs based on personal experience and proofs based on intellectual awareness.
 
Here is a short list of proofs we experience:
Here are proofs we have intellectual confidence in:
These evidences are primarily for the believer—that is, they are intended to assure the believer’s heart and mind of his security in Christ. John’s list is not intended to be complete but only to focus our thoughts on the obvious. When you count your blessings, remember these. HMM III

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