Fritz's world

Sunday Sermonette

2012-02-12T04:39:00.000-08:00

The Golden Scepter
February 12, 2012

"And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near and touched the top of the sceptre." (Esther 5:2)

Queen Esther knew she was risking her life when she came unbidden into the presence of the mighty king of Persia in his throne room. Even though she was his favorite wife, he did not know she was a Jew nor that she was hoping to get Haman's terrible order for genocide of the Jews reversed. She knew that it was a capital offense for even a queen to go into the throne room without authorization, and that only the king--by holding out to her his golden scepter--could save her life. But she also knew that she had "come to the kingdom for such a time as this," and so she said: "If I perish, I perish" (4:14, 16). The king, however, did extend his golden sceptre to her, and even said: "What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee" (5:6).

In a beautiful way, this is also a picture of our own coming to Christ, the King of kings. One does not have to be a queen, however, for "whosoever will" may come (Revelation 22:17), if he has the courage to die to the world and the faith to believe that Christ can save. The Lord Jesus Christ graciously says, to those who come to Him in faith, believing: "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do" (John 14:13).

The invitation is to "whosoever" and the promise is for "whatsoever"! "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). None dared enter the court of the Persian king without being called, but we have been called by our heavenly King, for "a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom" (1:8). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2012-02-05T04:49:00.000-08:00

Working by Faith
February 5, 2012

"So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first." (Matthew 20:8)

This parable has long caused perplexity, not only among the workers in the parable, but also among readers ever since. Why would the Lord teach that wages paid for a given type of work should be the same for one hour’s work as for twelve? His only explanation was that it was the owner’s right to do what he wanted with his own money, and that "the last shall be first, and the first last" (v. 16).

He also pointed out to the complaining workmen that he had completely fulfilled his contract with them. Early in the morning, this group of laborers had negotiated their own terms with him, and "he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day" (v. 2). Those he hired later in the day had said nothing at all about pay, being glad merely to work and willing to trust the lord of the vineyard to treat them fairly. This most probably means that the owner had first approached the early morning workers on the same basis, but they were unwilling to work without a contract, negotiated on their own terms.

This is the difference. The first group insisted on a firm contract, and the owner therefore insisted on honoring it. The others worked by faith, trusting in the lord of the vineyard, knowing him to be a man of integrity and justice. Furthermore, they would have been willing to work all day long on this same basis, but they had no opportunity. They needed the job, and the owner, knowing their needs and their willing hearts, decided to pay them on the basis of what they would have done, had they had the opportunity.

In any case, the parable surely teaches us that our heavenly rewards are not based on quantity of services rendered, but on quality, with full account taken of opportunities, motivation, and trust in the Lord. HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2012-01-29T04:52:00.000-08:00

The Christian's Partnership
January 29, 2012

"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God." (Ephesians 2:19)

Prior to salvation, we are called "aliens . . . and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now" we are part of the "new man" and the grand partnership that has been made possible between Jew and Gentile, Old and New Covenant saints, and the operative impact and purpose of the "household of God" (v. 12-13, 15, 19).

We are "made nigh" and made "one." The enemy has been abolished, with the "middle wall of partition" that was between us broken down (vv. 13-15), making us "one body," with common "access by one Spirit unto the Father" (vv. 16-18).

Therefore, we are "fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God . . . built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets"; "fitly framed," growing unto a "holy temple . . . for an habitation of God through the Spirit" (vv. 19-22). Now displayed in a fellowship of past and present, bond and free, male and female--all new "partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel" (3:1-6; Galatians 3:22-29).

And God has "created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (vv. 9-11).

God has designed His salvation for us in such a way that we cannot fail to achieve His plans for us! We should humbly thank Him for what He has accomplished in us through Christ Jesus. HMM III

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

Sunday Sermonette

2012-01-22T04:49:00.001-08:00

The Christian's Position
January 22, 2012

"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world." (Ephesians 1:4)

The search for identity and meaning can drive one to great successes or tragic failures. For the Christian, however, the question is answered throughout Ephesians.

We are chosen! We are selected as a favorite out of "many |who| are called" (Matthew 22:14) "out of the world" (John 15:19). What a privilege! We are God's choice to bear His name, represent His cause, and share His glory throughout eternity.

In fact, we are "predestinated |previous boundaries set| . . . unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself" (Ephesians 1:5). And "if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:17).

Furthermore, we have been "accepted in the beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). That word, "accepted," is a specialized form of the word most often translated "grace." We have been "graced" by almighty God, who has set absolute boundaries around our lives and made us His children. We were purchased "through his blood" (v. 7) "that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar |that is, 'precious'| people, zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14).

Moreover, we are forgiven (Ephesians 1:7)! Our sins are "covered" (Psalm 32:1); "cast" behind God's back (Isaiah 38:17); removed "as far as the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12); "remember|ed| . . . no more" (Jeremiah 31:34); and cleansed "from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

Hallelujah! Since we are God's children, we should have no identity crisis. We are a chosen, predestined, accepted, redeemed, forgiven, and holy people. Finally, we are predestined "to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Romans 8:29). HMM III

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

Sunday Sermonette

2012-01-15T04:44:00.000-08:00

The Mercy Seat
January 15, 2012

"And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat." (Exodus 25:21-22)

In the "holy of holies" of the tabernacle, God would meet with Israel’s high priest once a year to commune with His people at a meeting place called the "mercy seat." The Hebrew word was derived from the word for "atonement," which in turn meant essentially a "covering" for the Ark of the Covenant. On the great day of atonement each year, the high priest was commanded to sprinkle the blood from the sin offerings on the mercy seat (Leviticus 16:14-15) to make an atonement for all the people.

This annual ceremony, of course, merely prefigures the full atonement which Christ would make one day when "by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us" (Hebrews 9:12). Since this blood has been sprinkled once for all on the heavenly mercy seat, as it were, we are now "justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God" (Romans 3:24-25).

In this verse, the word "propitiation" is the Greek word for "mercy seat" (and is so translated in Hebrews 9:5). That is, Christ Himself, with His atoning blood, is our mercy seat, where we can meet with God. Thus, the golden, blood-stained mercy seat becomes the very throne of God Himself, where He meets with those who believe on Him for salvation. "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (4:16). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2012-01-08T04:47:00.000-08:00

Fountain of Life
January 8, 2012

"The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death." (Proverbs 14:27)

This beautiful phrase, "fountain of life," is used several times in the Old Testament, serving as a metaphor to illuminate a number of important aspects of spiritual faith and experience. Our text stresses "the fear of the Lord" as providing deliverance from death to life, picturing this new life as flowing from a heavenly spring.

A very similar verse is Proverbs 13:14: "The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death." Thus, the fear of the Lord is somehow tantamount to "the law of the wise." Those who are wise will fear the Lord, and thus receive living water from "the fountain of life."

King David penned the wonderful truth of Psalm 36:9: "For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light." "God is light" (1 John 1:5), so "the fountain of life" becomes the source also of all true light, whether physical or spiritual. "In him was life; and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4).

The same word translated "fountain" is rendered as "well" in Proverbs 10:11: "The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked." Thus, when a believer has received life from the divine fountain, his testimony becomes a fountain of life to others.

The Lord Himself is the fountain of life in Jeremiah’s prophecy, but the supposed people of God have refused to drink. "For my people . . . have forsaken me the fountain of living waters" (Jeremiah 2:13; 17:13).

Nevertheless, this fountain is still there for all who will come. The very last promise in the Bible has to do with this great fountain. That fountain yields "a pure river of water of life, . . . proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. . . . And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely" (Revelation 22:1, 17). HMM

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

Christmas Sunday Sermonette

2011-12-24T22:10:00.000-08:00

The Gifts of the Wise Men
December 25, 2011

"And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh." (Matthew 2:11)

These wise men (or Magi) were of great eminence in the Parthian Empire at that time, and it is unlikely that the caravan from the East consisted of only three men. They more likely had a large entourage as they came searching for the future King of Israel, so it was small wonder that "all Jerusalem" was "troubled," along with King Herod (Matthew 2:3). The Parthians (i.e., Persians) had never been conquered by the Romans and at that very time were posing a significant threat along the eastern boundary of the extended Roman Empire.

When they found the young child and His mother in Bethlehem, the Magi "fell down, and worshipped him" (Matthew 2:11). But why did they offer Him just three gifts--and why these three gifts? Somehow they seemed to have sensed, possibly from meditating deeply on the ancient prophecies of Balaam (Numbers 24:17), Daniel (in Daniel 9:24-26), and David, concerning the priesthood order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4) that this young child whose birth had been announced by a star was destined not only to be the King but would also become the Messianic Sacrifice to "make reconciliation for iniquity" (see Daniel 9:24 , 26) and then eventually become our eternal High Priest who "ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25). Thus, the gold would acknowledge His right to reign, the frankincense would speak of the incense to be offered in the heavenly tabernacle, and the myrrh (John 19:39) would testify that His crucified body would be so anointed as it entered the tomb for a very temporary burial. HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-12-18T04:47:00.000-08:00

This Great and Wide Sea
December 18, 2011

"So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts." (Psalm 104:25)

The oceans of the world are indeed great and wide and comprise essentially one sea, in contrast to the Seas of the pre-Flood world (Genesis 1:10), which were probably relatively narrow, numerous, and distributed more or less uniformly around the globe, as inferred from the marine fossil deposits laid down in those basins by the Flood. The present oceans, however, now contain the vast reservoirs of water poured out through the fountains of the great deep--all of which were broken up in one day--plus the torrents coming from the windows of heaven, which were opened that same day (Genesis 7:11).

The Flood not only destroyed everything on the land (Genesis 7:22), but also great numbers of marine organisms. After the Flood, however, with the vastly enlarged oceanic environments available, the surviving marine organisms quickly spread and proliferated, so that the oceans now indeed harbor innumerable creeping things as well as both small and great beasts.

Some whales, for example, are even larger than the great dinosaurs, which had mostly been drowned and buried in the waters and sediments eroded by the Flood. Even the fearsome Leviathan (possibly something like a giant plesiosaur or sea serpent) plays there (Psalm 104:26). Those men who now "do business in great waters" do indeed "see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep" (Psalm 107:23-24).

In the coming New Earth, however, there will be "no more sea" (Revelation 21:1). All the innumerable sea creatures will be gone as well. There will still be an abundance of water, however. There will be "a pure river of water of life, . . . proceeding out of the throne of God" and "whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely" (Revelation 22:1, 17). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-12-11T04:45:00.001-08:00

There Shall Be No Night
December 11, 2011

"And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever." (Revelation 22:5)

In the account of the creation, we read that the first word from God was, "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3). He did not actually create or make light, as He did everything else, since God is light (1 John 1:5). He did create darkness, however (Isaiah 45:7), and then divided the light from the darkness. "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night" (Genesis 1:5).

Although the darkness of night can be a time of blessing through rest and sleep, it also soon came to symbolize spiritual darkness. Most evil deeds are done at night, and Christians are warned to "have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness" (Ephesians 5:11). God has called us "out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9).

In that wonderful age to come, when we go to dwell in our eternal home in the Holy City, the city gates "shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there" (Revelation 21:25). "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof" (Revelation 21:23).

The sun and moon will still be functioning in the heavens, however, for "he hath also stablished them for ever and ever" (Psalm 148:6). In fact, all the stars will also shine for ever and ever" (Daniel 12:3). Our God is the Creator, not an un-creator. As wise Solomon noted: "I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever" (Ecclesiastes 3:14).

The sun and moon will still be there, but their light will not be needed in the Holy City where we shall live, for the Lamb of God will also be the Lamp of God. He is the Light of the world and where He is, in His eternal glory, there can be no night. HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-12-04T08:21:00.000-08:00

Salvation vs. Assurance of Salvation
December 4, 2011

"But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him." (1 John 2:5)

The New Testament is emphatically clear that we are saved entirely by the grace of God through faith in Christ. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; . . . it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8).

But how can we know for sure that our professed faith in Christ is genuine and we are really saved? Many who claim to be Christians are not truly saved, for Christ said: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 7:21).

Now, note that John’s main purpose in writing his gospel was to win people to saving faith in Christ. "These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name" (John 20:31). Then the ultimate purpose of his first epistle was to assure them they were saved. "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life" (1 John 5:13).

His epistle, in fact, gives us several tests to prove our faith. One is in our text--we keep (literally "guard against loss") His Word. Also: "Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments" (1 John 2:3). Then: "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren" (1 John 3:14).

Thus, we can not only have salvation, but also assurance of salvation if we love and guard His Word, seek to keep His commandments, and love all others of like precious faith. Finally we have the indwelling witness of the Spirit. "Hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us" (1 John 3:24). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-11-27T04:51:00.000-08:00

The Devil Never Rests
November 27, 2011

"And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it." (Job 1:7)

This remarkable scene in heaven provides us a striking picture of Satanic activity. The devil, in his opposition to God and His program of salvation, evidently never rests. He is not omnipresent, like God, because he is a finite (though very powerful and brilliant) created being. To accomplish his goal, therefore, he is never at rest, but keeps going from place to place and working deception after deception, bringing everyone he can under his influence.

Therefore, God urgently warns us: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8).

The same is true of the demonic spirits who have followed the devil in his rebellion against God. They never rest until they can take possession of some person's body and mind and then control that person's behavior. "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out" (Matthew 12:43-44).

This restlessness that characterizes the devil and his demons often also manifests itself in the unsaved, and this will be the ultimate state of those who yield to the pressures of these evil spirits. "They have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name" (Revelation 14:11).

True rest of soul is found only in Christ, with His forgiveness and cleansing and guidance. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden," Jesus says, "and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls" (Matthew 11:28-29). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-11-19T21:20:00.000-08:00

Let God Be True
November 20, 2011

"For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written. That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged." (Romans 3:3-4)

Many Christians are so intimidated by the arrogant unbelief of the supposed intellectuals of the world that they either reject or compromise or ignore the difficult teachings of Scripture. This is a grievous mistake, for all of God's "sayings" are "justified" and He will surely "overcome" all those who presume to "judge" Him and His Word.

The only reason to believe in evolution, for example, is the fact that most such intellectuals believe it. There is no real evidence, either in the Bible or in science, for evolution or any other form of unbelief, yet many professed believers in Christ seem to have "loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:43). Therefore they assume that God does not really mean what He says in His Word, thereby making faith in His Word "without effect."

God's truth is not determined, however, by taking a vote, or by the opinions of skeptics, or by metaphysical speculation. It is determined by God Himself, and none other, "for the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth" (Psalm 33:4).

Therefore, as our text commands: "Let God be true, but every man a liar." The very criterion of truth is the Word of God. It is good to explain God's Word to those open to its truth, but never to explain it away, by some compromising accommodation to current scientism. "Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever" (Psalm 119:160). The Lord Jesus confessed, unreservedly, "Thy word is truth" (John 17:17), and so should we. HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-11-13T04:47:00.000-08:00

Keeping the Law
November 13, 2011

"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." (James 2:10)

The law of God, centered in the Ten Commandments, is "holy, and just, and good" (Romans 7:12) and expresses perfectly the will of God for holy living. "The man that doeth them shall live in them" (Galatians 3:12).

The problem is that no man can possibly do them all. A man may keep most of the commandments most of the time, but he will inevitably fail in some of them some of the time. Since the law is a divine unit, breaking any commandment--as our text reminds us--breaks the whole law, bringing the guilty one under God's curse of death. "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them" (Galatians 3:10). "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight" (Romans 3:20).

All men, having sinned against God's law, are therefore lost and in urgent need of salvation. This is where God's wonderful grace comes in. "But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, . . . Even the righteousness . . . which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe" (Romans 3:21-22), "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13). He kept the law for us, and bore its curse for us: Thus we are saved through trusting Him.

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid" (Romans 6:1-2). We now desire to keep His commandments, because we love Him. "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous" (1 John 5:3). We are now able to keep them, because His Spirit now lives in us, and we are "strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man" (Ephesians 3:16). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-11-06T04:47:00.000-08:00

Jesus and the Fact of Hell
November 6, 2011

"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matthew 25:41)

How can it be that Jesus Christ, who taught so strongly the importance of love and forgiveness, could speak such words as these? Actually, Jesus had more to say about hell and eternal punishment than any other speaker or writer in the Bible. Since He is the Creator (Colossians 1:16), the coming Judge (John 5:22), and the only man who has died and risen permanently from the dead (2 Corinthians 5:14-15), we would do well to believe and heed His warnings. He knows whereof He speaks!

Listen to these prophecies, for example: "So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 13:49-50). "If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:47-48). There are other such warnings from Christ, but how can we reconcile such threats of everlasting doom with His own nature of love?

The fact is, however, that hell was prepared for the devil and his angels, not for people. The devil has been a rebel against God since the beginning, wanting to be his own god. When people follow the devil in this same rebellious path, rejecting God's Word, they are showing they would be more comfortable with Satan than with Christ in eternity. Therefore Christ, because of His great love, has repeatedly warned them of what is coming, and so should we. "Of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire" (Jude 22-23). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-10-30T04:46:00.000-07:00

The Joyful Sound
October 30, 2011

"Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance." (Psalm 89:15)

Many have been the Christians who have joined in singing "We have heard the joyful sound: Jesus saves; Jesus saves!" Not all have known, however, that this beautiful phrase comes from a great psalm extolling God's marvelous works of creation and then His promises of redemption.

"The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. The north and the south thou hast created them" (Psalm 89:11-12). Earlier verses note that "the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD" (v. 5), speaking of the angels, "the sons of the mighty" (v. 6), literally, "the sons of God." It is exciting to realize that the very first "joyful sound" was heard when God "laid the foundations of the earth." Then it was that "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy" (Job 38:4, 7).

There was also a joyful sound when Christ was born, and the angel came bringing "good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born . . . a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. . . . And suddenly there was . . . the heavenly host praising God" (Luke 2:10-11, 13).

Whenever a soul is saved, there is another joyful sound: "Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth," said Jesus (Luke 15:7). Finally, there will be a most wonderful sound of joy on earth when the Lord comes again. "And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (Isaiah 35:10). Therefore, even now, "my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation" (Psalm 35:9). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-10-23T04:46:00.000-07:00

Fellowship
October 23, 2011

"And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." (Acts 2:42)

Much goes on in Christian churches today under the name of "fellowship." Usually this consists of coffee and donuts, or church socials, or sports. As delightful as these functions may be, they should not be confused with biblical fellowship.

Nowhere in the New Testament do any of the Greek words translated "fellowship" imply fun times. Rather, they talk of, for example, "the fellowship of the ministering to the saints" (2 Corinthians 8:4) as sacrificial service and financial aid. (See, for example, 1 Timothy 6:18.)

Elsewhere, Paul was thankful for the Philippian believers' "fellowship in the gospel" (Philippians 1:5), for he knew that "inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers |same word as fellowship| of my grace" (Philippians 1:7). This sort of fellowship may even bring persecution.

We are to emulate Christ's humility and self-sacrificial love (Philippians 2:5-8) through the "fellowship of the Spirit" (Philippians 2:1). In some way known only partially to us, we have the privilege of knowing "the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" (Philippians 3:10), and even "the communion |i.e., fellowship| of the blood" and "body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:16).

As we can see, this "fellowship" is serious business. As in our text and subsequent verses, fellowship should be accompanied by teaching, prayer, and ministry to the poor (Acts 2:45).

This kind of fellowship will be in "favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved" (Acts 2:47). JDM

h/t: J D MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday Sermonette

2011-10-16T04:49:00.000-07:00

This Generation
October 16, 2011

"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." (Matthew 24:34)

This exciting prediction by Christ climaxes His great prophetic discourse on the Mount of Olives. He had given His disciples the signs they had requested, then discussed the coming great tribulation and finally His glorious return in the clouds of heaven. And "all these things" were to be fulfilled before "this generation" would pass away.

And what generation would that be? Many commentators have taken it as the Jewish "race," but that would be redundant, since many other passages had already promised that the nation of Israel would never pass away (Jeremiah 31:37-40; etc.). Furthermore, the Greek word for "generation" (genea) is never used elsewhere for any meaning but that of a particular age generation. A similar word genos sometimes means "stock" or "kind," but never genea.

Thus, the generation which Christ was predicting probably meant the generation that would see the events He had prophesied. "When ye shall see all these things," He said, "know that it is near, even at the doors" (Matthew 24:33).

And what are some of "these things"? World wars, accompanied and followed by "earthquakes in divers places," as well as "famines, and pestilences" (v. 7), worldwide spread of the gospel witness (v. 14), many false Christs and false prophets (v. 24), widespread wickedness and spiritual indifference as in the days of Noah (vv. 37-39), and the budding of the fig tree, Israel (v. 32).

The word for "this" in verse 34 is the demonstrative adjective, so Christ seems to be referring to "that" generation which sees "these things begin to come to pass." That generation will see all these things fulfilled! To that generation He says: "Lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh" (Luke 21:28). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-10-09T04:50:00.001-07:00

Absent from the Body
October 9, 2011

"We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." (2 Corinthians 5:8)

This wonderful phrase of hope--"absent from the body, present with the Lord"--was the most appropriate inscription we could think of to place on the gravestone of our youngest son when he died many years ago. He was a solid Christian young man with a good Christian testimony, so we are indeed "confident" that he has been "present with the Lord" ever since sudden cancer temporarily conquered his body, leaving a beautiful wife and three young children behind.

Therefore, though we all miss him deeply, we "sorrow not, even as others which have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Sadly, however, there are many others who are "without Christ, . . . having no hope, and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12). Although Christ has paid the full redemption price on the cross to have their sins forgiven and to give them eternal life, they spurn His love and so Jesus has to say, "And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life" (John 5:40).

The times of judgment are coming, when they learn that "whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:15). Right now, however, all who know Christ as their Lord and Savior can know, with Paul, that "to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).

Furthermore, when Christ returns, "them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him" (1 Thessalonians 4:14). And then He will change our old body, whether in the grave or still living, "that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body" and "we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (Philippians 3:21; 1 John 3:2). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-10-02T04:40:00.001-07:00

In His Steps
October 2, 2011

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way." (Psalm 37:23)

There is nothing more satisfying to a believer than to be living in the will of God for his life. And it is good to know that God actually delights in leading us along that way which He is laying out for us. There are numerous Bible verses to this effect. One of the most familiar is "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:6).

That verse gives us a basic principle for knowing His way. We need to seek His leading in everything! Of course, it may not be an easy path. "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps" (1 Peter 2:21).

Even if the path seems difficult at times, it is a good path, because it honors Him. "He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake" (Psalm 23:3). He is the good Shepherd, and if we lose the way for a time, He can bring us back. As the prophet said: "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jeremiah 10:23).

An important check to be sure we are not drifting far off the path is to be sure we don't disobey or question His written Word. "Order my steps in thy word," we should pray each day (Psalm 119:133). Then He promises: "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left" (Isaiah 30:21).

It may not be an audible voice, but we can hear. Jesus promised: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27). Then we can say, as the ancient servant testified: "I being in the way, the LORD led me" (Genesis 24:27). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-09-25T04:01:00.000-07:00

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 Sermonette

2011-09-18T04:47:00.000-07:00

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 Sermonette

2011-09-11T04:45:00.000-07:00

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 Sermonette

2011-09-04T04:42:00.000-07:00

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-08-28T04:48:00.000-07:00

Modern Science in an Ancient Book
August 28, 2011

"Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?" (Job 12:9)

The book of Job is one of the oldest books in the world, yet it contains numerous references to natural systems and phenomena, some involving facts of science not discovered by scientists until recent centuries, yet recorded in Job almost 4,000 years ago.

A good example is in 26:7. "He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing." While ancient mythologies may imagine the earth to be carried on the shoulders of Atlas or on the back of a giant turtle, Job correctly noted that it is suspended in space. The force of "gravity" is still not understood, and it is quite reasonable to believe that God Himself holds it in the assigned place in His creation.

There is a reference to the rotation of the earth in 38:14. "It is turned as clay to the seal." This speaks of the smooth turning of the globe to receive the sun's daily illumination.

"The springs of the sea" are mentioned in 38:16, even though it has only been discovered in recent decades that there are springs of water emerging from certain parts of the deep ocean floor. The fact that mountains have "roots," consisting of rocks of the same nature and density as the mountains themselves, is noted in 28:9.

The infinite extent of the stellar heavens, contradicting the ancient pagan notion of a vaulted sky with stars affixed to a sort of hemispherical dome, is suggested in 22:12. "Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!" (see also Isaiah 55:9, etc.).

There are many other scientific insights in this remarkable book and no scientific errors. The logical conclusion, as our text says, is that "the hand of the LORD hath wrought this." HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-08-21T04:58:00.000-07:00

Sealed by the Holy Spirit
August 21, 2011

"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." (Ephesians 1:13-14)

From very ancient times it has been the custom to confirm and guarantee an agreed-on purchase by sealing the contract with a seal which could only be broken by the buyer when he was ready to take possession of his purchase.

The marvelous transaction seen by John at God's throne in heaven was in reference to this practice. There, only the Lamb is found worthy to open the seven-sealed scroll on which is recorded the title to the whole creation. "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the |scroll|, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood" (Revelation 5:9). The purchase price had been paid on Calvary, and the resurrected Lamb had come to claim His possession.

And we are part of that possession! The price has been paid for our redemption from sin's bondage, but we have not yet entered on the inheritance which our great Redeemer has promised us. In the meantime, our individual title deed, as it were, has been sealed by none other than the Holy Spirit. He is not only the seal, but also the "earnest"--that is, the down payment, the earnest money--who guarantees the total "redemption of the purchased possession."

His personal presence in our lives is our assurance that the full promise will be fulfilled, and we are urged to "grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30). He "hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts" (2 Corinthians 1:22). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-08-14T04:45:00.000-07:00

Questioning God
August 14, 2011

"Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?" (Romans 9:20)

Whenever one begins a question with "why," he should realize that the answer must necessarily be theological, not scientific. Science can deal with the questions of "what" and "how," sometimes even with "where" and "when," but never with "why"! The "why" questions have to do with motives and purposes, even when dealing with natural phenomena. ("Why does the earth rotate on its axis?" "Why do we have mosquitoes?") Even though we can partially explain such things by secondary causes, we finally encounter a "first cause," and then the "why?" can be answered only by God.

The wise thing to do is simply to believe that He has good reasons for everything, whether we can discern them now or not. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25). God the Creator "worketh all things after the counsel of his own will" (Ephesians 1:11), and it is our high privilege simply to trust Him, not to question Him.

On the other hand, He often asks us: "Why?" "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" Jesus asked His disciples when they thought they were in great peril (Matthew 8:26). "If I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?" (John 8:46) He would say to those who question His Word.

Then to those who doubt His deity, the apostle Paul, speaking in His name, asks: "Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?" (Acts 26:8). As the popular chorus goes: "God specializes in things thought impossible!" Our God is omniscient and knows what's best; He is omnipotent, so He can do it. He is all-loving and will surely do what's best for those who trust Him. HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-08-07T04:42:00.000-07:00

He Knows Our Hearts
August 7, 2011

"Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men)." (2 Chronicles 6:30)

Eight times in Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple, he beseeches God to "hear from heaven" (vv. 21, 23, 25, 27, 30, 33, 35, 39) when His people confess their sins and pray for deliverance. It is marvelous that God, whose "dwelling place" is in heaven (vv. 21, 30, 33, 39) can actually hear the prayers of people here on earth, but we remember that He is omnipresent through His Holy Spirit.

Even more marvelous, if possible, is the fact that He can hear prayers uttered only in our hearts. But He is also omniscient, and thus knows the very thoughts of our hearts.

Then, as we read of Jesus' wrath at the desecration of the temple by those who would commercialize their religion there, it was said that He "needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man" (John 2:25). This is direct confirmation that Jesus is God, for only God knows the thoughts of our hearts.

It is a wonderful day when we realize that God knows our hearts. It can be frightening, of course, if our hearts are not right with God, but it can also be of great comfort and exhilaration--it all depends on the thoughts and motivations of our hearts. As David wrote long ago: "Thou understandest my thought afar off" (Psalm 139:2).

We need, therefore, to guard our thought-life just as much as our social life, "for he knoweth the secrets of the heart" (Psalm 44:21). May God help us to be "casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). It is a good thing if our thoughts please Him. HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-07-31T04:44:00.000-07:00

Charity or Love?
July 31, 2011

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal." (1 Corinthians 13:1)

It is well known that this word "charity" (Greek agape) is translated as "love" in most modern translations of the Bible. In fact, even in the King James Version, it is translated "love" more than three times as often as it is rendered by "charity." One wonders why these scholarly translators of the seventeenth century did not translate agape by the word "love" here in this very familiar "love chapter," as it has been called. They certainly knew the word did not mean giving to the poor, for they translated verse 3 thus: "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, . . . and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." How could anyone exhibit greater charity than to give everything he owns to the poor?

They evidently knew well that agape did not mean "charity" as we think of charity today. But neither does agape mean "love" as we think of it today. People today usually are thinking of romantic love, or erotic love, or brotherly love, or perhaps even a sort of happy feeling (e.g., "I love a parade!") when they speak of love.

Actually, the original English concept of "charity," meaning a genuine and unselfish concern for others because of their own intrinsic worth in the sight of their Creator, is the true meaning of agape in its biblical usage. "Charity" may not be the best word to express this attribute today, but "love" is so common and so misused that it seems even less appropriate.

In fact, no single English word today really seems to fit, perhaps because we have almost lost the very virtue which the word "charity" used to express. Well, no matter how we say it, our lives desperately need to show agape, for God Himself is "agape" (1 John 4:8). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-07-24T04:46:00.001-07:00

When the Rivers Run Dry
July 24, 2011

"The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness." (Joel 1:20)

After the Flood of Noah, God set a boundary for the waters, "that they turn not again to cover the earth" (Psalm 104:9). There is a time coming, however, when even such a mighty river as "the great river Euphrates" will run dry, and "the water thereof |will be| dried up" (Revelation 16:12). Instead of covering the earth, the life-giving waters will be withheld as one of God's coming judgments on the rebellious world of the last days. His prophetic witnesses will be given power to "shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy" (11:6). Furthermore, the atmosphere will be so restrained that "the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree" (7:1), yet the sun will burn so intensely that "men |will be| scorched with great heat" (16:9).

All of this will generate great fires and famine around the world. The prophet Joel places all this in the context of the coming "day of the LORD . . . as a destruction from the Almighty" (Joel 1:15). The pastures will burn up, and the rivers will dry up, "for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?" (2:11). "Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left" (Isaiah 24:6).

Yet there is also a time coming when the judgments are past and "the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: . . . And the ransomed of the Lord shall return . . . they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (35:7, 10). In that day--as in this--it is all-important to be among the ones ransomed by the Lord. HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-07-17T04:50:00.000-07:00

Partakers of the Promise
July 17, 2011

"That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel." (Ephesians 3:6)

There are many Christians who regard themselves as almost exclusively New Testament believers, arguing that the Old Testament was for the Jews under the dispensation of law and thus not applicable to Christians today.

Nothing could be further from the truth. While the old animal sacrifices, temple rituals, and Levitical priesthoods have indeed been superseded by Christ's "one sacrifice for sins for ever" (Hebrews 10:12), there are many "exceeding great and precious promises" (2 Peter 1:4) of the Old Testament that can be properly and joyfully appropriated by Christians. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable," wrote Paul (2 Timothy 3:16), speaking particularly of the Old Testament Scriptures.

In the context of our verse for the day, Paul is stressing that his own new revelations, given in connection with the Christian gospel, actually involved bringing Jew and Gentile together as one body in Christ. The "dispensation of the grace of God . . . by revelation he made known unto me," he wrote, but in previous ages, it had not been "made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit" (Ephesians 3:2-5).

And what was it that had not been made known? The hidden mystery was simply "that the Gentiles should be fellowheirs" with the Jews, and therefore "partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel" (Ephesians 3:6).

Thus Gentile believers can now share in all the gracious promises of God in the Old Testament (e.g., Psalm 23; Isaiah 26:3; etc.), except those directly dealing with the future of Israel as a nation, "that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ" (Galatians 3:14). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-07-10T04:38:00.000-07:00

How Does God Hear?
July 10, 2011

"Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive." (2 Chronicles 6:21)

No less than eight times in Solomon's prayer of dedication for the temple does he beseech God to "hear from heaven" (see 2 Chronicles 6:21, 23, 25, 27, 30, 33, 35, 39). But the obvious question is just how can God hear our prayers, especially those uttered only in silence?

The answer is in both God's omniscience and His omnipresence. Although God is indeed on His heavenly throne, He is also right here! "O lord," David prayed, "thou hast searched me, and known me. . . . thou understandest my thought afar off" (Psalm 139:1-2). He can, and does, hear our prayers. "He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?" (Psalm 94:9).

In a manner of speaking, He hears the prayers of redeemed children today even more directly than in David's day, for we who trust in Christ have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit. "God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them" (2 Corinthians 6:16). "The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers" (1 Peter 3:12).

God can indeed hear our prayers. But there are times when He refuses to hear! "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" (Psalm 66:18). "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God . . . that he will not hear" (Isaiah 59:1-2).

Yes, but if we ask anything according to His will (and this implies first living according to His will), "he heareth us: and . . . we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him" (1 John 5:14-15). HMM

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

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-04T08:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day! Happy Birthday America! Thank you Lord, for the gift of freedom we've had all these years despite the efforts of some without and some within who spend all their time trying to destroy this gift You gave! Christ is King!

Independence Day-Thoughts for Today and Tomorrow

2011-07-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

When the Boughs Break
July 4, 2011

"When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favor." (Isaiah 27:11)

Like a mighty tree towering over the forest, God raises up a mighty nation from time to time, with a great leader, to accomplish some purpose in the divine plan. He "hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation" (Acts 17:26).

But when that nation and its leaders become proud, and its people become lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, it becomes like a tree whose branches wither and whose core becomes riddled with insect-caused decay. Finally, the boughs break, the kingdom will fall, and down will come that nation, its leaders and all!

That happened even to God's chosen nation, Israel, though only for a time in her case, since God's promises cannot fail. One after another, the mighty nations that God used to chastise His wayward people--Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Rome, etc.--have in turn been judged for their own rebellion against the God who "made them" and "formed them." God has warned that "the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God" (Psalm 9:17).

Is that about to happen to our beloved USA as well? The signs of self-seeking power and pride among our leaders and moral decay and spiritual rebellion among our people are widespread and growing worse. Our prayer should be that of the ancient prophet. "O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, . . . in wrath remember mercy" (Habakkuk 3:2). "Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?" (Psalm 85:6). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-07-03T04:45:00.001-07:00

Early Risers
July 3, 2011

"And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed." (Mark 1:35)

One of the best ways to meet the Lord is to rise up early in the morning, before activities of the day can interfere. This apparently was the practice of Jesus Himself.

There are also many other occurrences in the Bible: "Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD" (Genesis 19:27). In order to set up an altar, "Jacob rose up early in the morning" (Genesis 28:18). When Moses gave the people the laws of God, he "wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill" (Exodus 24:4). Later, when he was to receive the commandments a second time, "Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto Mount Sinai" (Exodus 34:4). "Joshua rose early in the morning" to lead Israel over the Jordan, and then to capture Jericho; and to take Ai, "Joshua rose up early in the morning" (Joshua 3:1; 6:12; 8:10).

During the time of the Judges, Gideon "rose up early on the morrow" to prove God's will through putting out the fleece (Judges 6:38). Hannah and Elkanah, in praying for the son who would later become Samuel, "rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD" (1 Samuel 1:19).

No doubt there are justifiable exceptions, but late sleeping is in general not a good thing. "How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? . . . he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame" (Proverbs 6:9; 10:5). It is good to seek the Lord early each day. "I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me" (Proverbs 8:17). "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up" (Psalm 5:3). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-06-26T08:43:00.000-07:00

The Meek of the Earth
June 26, 2011

"Seek ye the LORD all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD's anger." (Zephaniah 2:3)

This phrase, "the meek of the earth," occurs three times in the Bible (see also Psalm 76:9, which promises their salvation; and Isaiah 11:4, which assures them justice). Our text promises deliverance from God's wrath.

"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5), said Jesus, referring to the promise of Psalm 37:11: "But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."

There are many other similar promises: "The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way" (Psalm 25:9). "He will beautify the meek with salvation" (Psalm 149:4), so we need to put on "the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price" (1 Peter 3:4).

That meekness is not weakness is made clear from the first use of the word in the Bible. "Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth" (Numbers 12:3). Moses was strong and courageous, but also deeply humble and self-sacrificing; a man of prayer and trust in the Word of God, willing to defend it at all costs. The Lord Jesus defined meekness in terms of His own human character: "Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart" (Matthew 11:29).

A meek spirit enables a Christian to maintain composure in the face of opposition, to accept adversity without complaint; promotion without arrogance; demotion without resentment. It produces a peace which no trouble can disturb and which no prosperity can puff up. Therefore, as our text commands: "Seek meekness!" HMM

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

Father's Day-Sunday Sermonette

2011-06-19T04:44:00.000-07:00

Peace of Thy Children, The
June 19, 2011

"And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children." (Isaiah 54:13)

This prophetic verse has its primary fulfillment still in the future. Nevertheless, it states a basic principle which is always valid, and which is especially relevant on Father's Day. The greatest honor that children can bestow on a father is a solid Christian character of their own, but that must first be his own gift to them. Before sons and daughters can experience real peace of soul, they must first be taught of the Lord themselves, and the heavenly Father has delegated this responsibility first of all to human fathers.

The classic example is Abraham, "the father of all them that believe" (Romans 4:11). God's testimony concerning Abraham was this: "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment" (Genesis 18:19). This is the first reference in Scripture to the training of children and it is significant that it stresses paternal instruction in the things of God. Furthermore, the instruction should be diligent and continual: "When thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up" (Deuteronomy 6:7).

The classic New Testament teaching on child training has the same message: "Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4).

Not wrath, but peace, as our text suggests. Great shall be the peace of our children when they know the Lord and keep His ways. Great, also, is the joy of a godly father when he can see the blessing of the Lord on his children, and then on his grandchildren. "Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers" (Proverbs 17:6). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-06-12T04:40:00.000-07:00

Demonic Discouragement
June 12, 2011

"Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly: How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?" (Job 4:18-19)

This was the strange message delivered to Eliphaz, the first of the three friends who proved such "miserable comforters" to Job in his sufferings, by "a spirit" that "stood still, . . . an image . . . before mine eyes" (vv. 15-16). This "thing was secretly |literally 'stealthily'| brought to me," said Eliphaz (v. 12), and there is little doubt that its original source was Satan himself, in his efforts to discredit and destroy Job. The "spirit" who instructed Eliphaz was not sent from God, as he may have thought, but was one of those angelic servants who had been "charged with folly," when they followed Lucifer in his primeval rebellion.

Still smarting with wounded pride that God would make His angels mere "ministering spirits" (Hebrews 1:14) to Adam and his children, whose own bodies were mere "houses of clay," built out of the dust of the earth, these demonic rebels hate human beings--especially those who love and serve God--with great passion. If Satan could not destroy Job by tempting him into moral wickedness or rebellion against an "unjust" God, perhaps he could lead him into discouragement, using his self-righteous "friends" to cause him to lose faith in God's love and care.

But he failed! Job said: "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him," and "I know that my redeemer liveth" (Job 13:15; 19:25).

Such defeatism is one of Satan's most effective weapons. When he strikes with it, we must, like Job, "resist stedfast in the faith" (1 Peter 5:9), knowing "the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy" (James 5:11). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-06-05T04:41:00.000-07:00

The Holy One of Israel
June 5, 2011

"So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel." (Ezekiel 39:7)

This wonderful name of God, "the Holy One of Israel," was often used during the days of the later kings of Judah. It occurs three times in the book of Psalms (Psalm 71:22; 78:41; 89:18) and then no less than 27 times in Isaiah. The name then occurs three more times (Jeremiah 50:29; 51:5; Ezekiel 39:7), with the final one being our text above (where the preposition is translated "in"). This unusual pattern can be written sequentially as 3 + 33 + 3 = 33, perhaps reflecting a divinely ordained design to suggest the Holy Trinity.

The strong emphasis on this particular name during the later period of Judah's kingdom probably was because of the prevalent unholiness of the nation during those years, finally culminating in the captivity of Judah itself. God stressed again and again that He was the Holy One, and that "ye shall be holy; for I am holy" (Leviticus 11:44).

This theme is prominent in most of the 33 passages where this majestic name is used, but it is especially emphasized in its final occurrence, as recorded in our text. The context of this latter passage is the prophesied invasion of Israel by "Gog, the land of Magog" who will "come up against my people of Israel . . . in the latter days" (Ezekiel 38:2, 16). At that time, says the Lord, "there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; . . . and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD" (Ezekiel 38:19, 23). Then at last, His people will never pollute His holy name any more and "the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward. . . . for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD" (Ezekiel 39:22, 29). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-05-29T04:44:00.000-07:00

Worship of Idols and Demons
May 29, 2011

"They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not." (Deuteronomy 32:17)

This terrible indictment was in the farewell song of Moses, written just before the tribes of Israel prepared to enter the Promised Land. Perhaps Moses was thinking mainly of the golden calf fashioned by Aaron, who had told the people: "These be thy gods, O Israel" (Exodus 32:4).

Aaron and the people certainly knew that the man-made calf was not "gods," but they knew that there were many invisible spirit beings in the world and that these "devils" (actually fallen angels) could indwell images made by men as objects of worship. These evil spirits do possess certain powers, which can be used to impress their worshippers with the magical insights and abilities of the images.

This was also a problem in the early church. Paul warned his converts at Corinth: "The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils" (1 Corinthians 10:20). John's closing word to his own flock was: "Little children, keep yourselves from idols" (1 John 5:21).

And it is a serious problem today--not only in those lands where images and animalistic spirits abound, but even in the "Christian" West, both in the proliferating New Age cults and in those "mainline" churches that have diluted sound Bible teaching with humanism and ritualistic pantheism. And remember, too, that "covetousness" (that is, coveting money, or power, or anything more than the will of God) "is idolatry" (Colossians 3:5). When the prince of these devils himself sought the worship of Jesus, the Lord answered: "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve" (Matthew 4:10). We need to remember and follow His example. HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-05-22T04:46:00.000-07:00

Fear of Fire
May 22, 2011

"And others save with fear; pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." (Jude 23)

This exhortation refers both to attempting to "save" unbelievers by warning them of hell and to warning believers against the influence of apostates.

The ultimate hell (Greek gehenna) is not the same as the present hell (Greek hades), although eventually all those lost souls now in the latter will eventually be "cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:15). Both are fearsome places of real fire. The inhabitants of Sodom, for example, have been "suffering the vengeance of eternal fire" (Jude 7) for thousands of years, though not yet in that ultimate hell. Also the rich man mentioned by Jesus was in Hades and yet was being "tormented in this flame" (Luke 16:23-24).

Both "hells" have literal fires, but it is hard to understand how material fires could torment non-material souls. There is a clue in James 3:6, which calls an unbridled human tongue "a fire, a world of iniquity: . . . set on fire of hell." Since the tongue is not literally on fire, but can be extremely destructive in human relationships, the implication is that hell itself is a "world of iniquity."

This aspect of hell makes it even more fearsome than literal fires could ever be. The existence there of billions of unredeemed souls, eternally separated from the holiness and love of God, where all who are "unjust" and "filthy" will continue forever to increase in their unrighteous and filthiness (Revelation 22:11), and in the constant presence also of the devil and his angels, is unspeakably appalling. Yet that was their choice when they rejected or ignored the infinite love of Christ.

No wonder that Jude urges us to warn them of such awful fire and seek to save them with fear if they won't respond to the compassionate love of Christ. HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-05-15T04:42:00.001-07:00

Present with the Lord
May 15, 2011

"We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." (2 Corinthians 5:8)

This verse has proved of great comfort to many a sorrowing believer who has just lost a loved one. Especially if they know that the parent or child or friend was also a believer in the saving work and person of Christ, then--although they sorrow--they "sorrow not, even as others which have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

For that loved one, though no longer in that old body which had perhaps been filled with pain, is now with the Lord. That is, he or she has been given a somewhat indescribable spiritual body in which to function in heaven until the coming resurrection day. Although that may not yet be the wonderful life that awaits them in their glorified, resurrection bodies in the ages to come, they will be "with Christ; which is far better" than this present life (Philippians 1:23).

There are a number of sincere believers who argue that dead Christians will simply "sleep" until He comes again to raise the dead. While a certain case can be developed for this "soulsleep" concept, it is hard to see how that could be "far better" than this present life. Paul said that he had a "desire to depart, and to be with Christ" and also that "to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:23, 21). But what "gain" could there be for him in simply "sleeping" instead of continuing to live in Christ?

The Scriptures do not reveal much about that "intermediate state," as it has been called. But there is that intriguing verse about being "compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses" who perhaps are somehow watching us as we "run with patience the race that is set before us" here on earth (Hebrews 12:1). That possibility can be a real incentive to do just that. HMM

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

Mother's Day Sermonette

2011-05-08T04:57:00.001-07:00

Two Mothers
May 8, 2011

"And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." (Luke 1:46-47)

Two Jewish ladies, each carrying children recently conceived, met to discuss their circumstances. Perhaps billions of mothers, before and since, have had similar encounters, but since this meeting between Mary and Elizabeth was so special and precious, perhaps we can all profit by its study.

The first thing we notice is that their conversation turned immediately to God, to praise of Him for His goodness and grace. No doubt each one experienced all the common difficulties and discomforts of these months, but chose instead to dwell on their blessings and the greatness of God.

Mary especially, in the discourse introduced by our text, burst forth in a torrent of praise, singing of the virtues of her Savior and reveling in His grace (vv. 46-55). He had chosen her despite her unworthiness. Her present misunderstood circumstances were not in view at all, just her precious communion with her Lord and His gracious dealings with mankind. In all these things, she "rejoiced."

Note that there is no hint of doubt in her song, neither is there a shrinking back from His holiness. In these verses are no fewer than 15 quotations from the Old Testament. Mary knew God's Word well, and sang it back to Him. Furthermore, she sings in humility, not calling herself "mother of God," as some do today, but sings of "God my Saviour."

These two mothers provide a model for each of us, especially those blessed with childbearing. May each encounter focus on Him, not just on temporal events. May our fellowship be centered in Him and in His word, not just with friends or family. May prayer and praise burst forth from our lips, not just idle conversation. May we know all the joy and confidence of Mary, and join in her song. JDM

h/t: J D MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday Sermonette

2011-05-01T04:01:00.000-07:00

Bruising the Devil
May 1, 2011

"And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen." (Romans 16:20)

This is an intriguing promise, suggesting that believers can somehow inflict bruises on the devil, who is perpetually seeking to "devour" them (1 Peter 5:8). This promise is a clear allusion to the primeval assurance of Genesis 3:15, when God promised that the unique "seed" of "the woman" would eventually "bruise" (actually "crush") the head of the old serpent, the devil. This prophecy will finally be fulfilled in Christ's ultimate victory, when Satan first will be bound for a thousand years in the bottomless pit and then confined forever in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:2, 10).

In the meantime believers, who also in a sense are the woman's spiritual "seed" (Revelation 12:17), can repeatedly achieve local and temporary victories over Satan and his wiles by resisting him "stedfast in the faith" (1 Peter 5:9). If we resist him as Jesus did, with relevant Scripture, then God promises that he will "flee from you" (James 4:7). Such local victories can be obtained over these dangerous teachers whom Satan is using (note Romans 16:17-19, just preceding today's text) "shortly" in this manner, but we need to be continually alert against his recurrent attacks. The ultimate victory over Satan, of course, will be won only by the Lord Jesus when He returns, and we must "be sober, be vigilant" (1 Peter 5:8) until that time.

Whether we are aware of it or not, we must perpetually "wrestle . . . against the rulers of the darkness of this world" (Ephesians 6:12), who will be casting "fiery darts" (v. 16) against each believer. Finally, with the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God (v. 17), we can even by God's grace inflict spiritual wounds on Satan himself! HMM

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

Easter Sunday- Resurrection Day Sermonette

2011-04-23T23:00:00.000-07:00

Risen with Christ
April 24, 2011

"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." (Colossians 3:1)

The wise believer revels in the fact of Christ's resurrection. Some things in Scripture may be easier to identify with and apply, including Christ's substitutionary death, but it is the resurrection which gives us power to live victoriously. "Like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4).

We have been "crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed" (Romans 6:6). Nevertheless, we are risen with Him, as our text and elsewhere (Romans 6; Ephesians 2:1-10; etc.) clearly teaches. This resurrection is an inward one, of course, but our bodily resurrection is also guaranteed by Christ's bodily resurrection, should we physically die. "Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus" (2 Corinthians 4:14).

Power to serve Him effectively comes through His resurrection, for we have access to the "exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead" (Ephesians 1:19-20). We have authority over all human and demonic institutions through Him who even now operates as head of the living church of His followers.

Perhaps the most precious of all benefits of the resurrection is that "we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens" who is sympathetic to "the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:14-16). JDM

h/t: J D MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday Sermonette

2011-04-17T04:54:00.000-07:00

The First Day of the Week
April 17, 2011

"And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight." (Acts 20:7)

Given the fact that everything about God's Word was specifically inspired by its Author, it is appropriate that this important phrase, "the first day of the week," occurs exactly eight times in the Bible. The first six of these (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19) all stress the fact that it was on this day that the greatest event in history (since the creation) had taken place. The creation of the universe had taken place on the first day of the week, and now its Creator had conquered sin and death itself on that day. In the Bible, of course, the number "seven" represents completeness, so "eight" represents a new beginning--a new creation, a resurrection.

The last two references tell us just how the early Christians remembered this day. Our text verse tells us this was a day on which the disciples assembled together, had a preaching service, and then "broke bread." This was not a special assembly called just for Paul, for he had already been waiting there six days (see previous verse). This was about 25 years after the resurrection itself and the Jewish believers were evidently still observing the seventh day as a rest day, but then they also observed the first day of the week as the time to commemorate the Lord's death in "breaking of bread" to celebrate His resurrection, and especially to hear the preaching of His Word. The final reference tells us one other vital thing they did: "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him" (1 Corinthians 16:2). The first day of the week should always be a time of remembering Him in these joyful ways, for He is our living Lord and Savior. HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-04-10T04:44:00.000-07:00

Flesh and Bones
April 10, 2011

"Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." (Luke 24:39)

One of the speculations of modern liberals who deny the resurrection is that the disciples saw some kind of apparition, or even were having hallucinations, when they "thought" they saw Jesus alive after His death. But a supposed "hallucination" is never seen by an entire group of people at the same time, as Jesus was seen, again and again.

Jesus Himself answers those who say it was a "spiritual" resurrection. His spirit never died, so His spirit could not be resurrected. At first the disciples did, indeed, think they were seeing His "ghost," but then He showed them the scars of the spikes that had pierced His hands and feet, and He also ate part of a fish and a honeycomb before them (vv. 37, 40, 42). They could no longer doubt the reality of His bodily resurrection. It is sobering to realize that He will always bear those scars, even in His glorified body. The Scripture says that when He comes again, "they shall look upon me whom they have pierced" (Zechariah 12:10). "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him" (Revelation 1:7).

It is also significant that Christ did not use the more common phrase "flesh and blood" when He spoke to the disciples, but "flesh and bones." His blood had been shed on the cross as the price of our redemption (1 Peter 1:18-19).

In our own future resurrected bodies which shall be like His (1 John 3:2; Philippians 3:21), blood will no longer be needed. Blood is essential now for "the life of the flesh is in the blood" (Leviticus 17:11), but in that day "the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:52) to be like Him forever. HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-04-03T04:46:00.000-07:00

The Father of Spirits
April 3, 2011

"Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?" (Hebrews 12:9)

Human parents transmit physical characteristics to their offspring, but our spiritual attributes come from God, for He is "the Father of spirits." Paul recognized that all men are "the offspring of God" (Acts 17:29), and that each man is still "the image and glory of God" (1 Corinthians 11:7).

Thus our spirit/soul nature, as distinct from our body of physical/mental flesh, has come from God, who created it and united it with our body, evidently at the moment of physical conception in the womb. It is obvious that the "image of God," man's spirit/soul nature, could not be transmitted genetically via the "genetic code" and the DNA molecules, for these are simply complex chemicals programmed to transmit only the physical and mental attributes of the ancestors to the children. Nevertheless, the spirit/soul attributes of each person also seem to be associated inseparably with the body from conception onwards, continuing so until separated again at death, when the spirit goes "to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8), leaving the body behind.

In the meantime, however, the "image of God" in man is marred by its incorporation in man's "sinful flesh," for "the body is dead because of sin" (Romans 8:3, 10). By this union of flesh and spirit, man inherits Adam's fallen nature as well as his mortal body, and both are in need of salvation. Christ "gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity" (Titus 2:14). Therefore, we, like Paul, can pray that our "whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:23). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-03-26T20:24:00.000-07:00

He Knows
March 27, 2011

"I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first." (Revelation 2:19)

Seven times in the letters to His seven representative churches in Revelation 2 and 3 the Lord Jesus says: "I know thy works" (Revelation 2:2, 9, 13, 19; 3:1, 8, 15). Whatever we are doing--or not doing--He knows!

Sometimes such knowledge can bring--or at least should bring--great consternation. He knows, for example, all our hypocrisies: "I know . . . that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead" (Revelation 3:1). He also knows when our outward display of religious activity masks a real heart-attitude of compromising self-interest. "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot" (Revelation 3:15).

Yet He also knows when our service is genuine and our testimony is God-glorifying and faithful. "I know . . . thy labour, and thy patience. . . . I know . . . thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith" (Revelation 2:2, 13).

Of these seven testimonies of His knowledge, the central one is in our text. He knows when we really love Him, for the "charity" mentioned is nothing less than agape, or unselfish love. He knows all about our sincere "service" and true "faith" in His Word, as well as our "patience" of hope.

Perhaps the most precious of His assurances, however, is that to the suffering church at Smyrna. "I know thy . . . tribulation, and poverty" (Revelation 2:9). When He says that He knows, the sense is that He understands, because He has been through it all Himself. Therefore, "we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:15-16). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-03-19T21:56:00.000-07:00

The Price of Sparrows
March 20, 2011

"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father." (Matthew 10:29)

This fascinating bit of first-century pricing information, seemingly so trivial, provides a marvelous glimpse into the heart of the Creator. Of all the birds used for food by the people of those days, sparrows were the cheapest on the market, costing only a farthing for a pair of them. In fact, they cost even less in a larger quantity, for on another occasion Jesus said: "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?" (Luke 12:6). The "farthing" was a tiny copper coin of very small value, so that a sparrow was all but worthless in human terms.

And yet the Lord Jesus said that God knows and cares about every single sparrow! God had a reason for everything He created; each kind of animal has its own unique design for its own intended purpose. Modern biologists continue to waste time and talent developing imaginary tales about how all these multitudes of different kinds of creatures might have evolved from some common ancestor. Even some evolutionists have started calling these whimsical tales "just so" stories. They would really be better scientists if they would seek to understand the creative purpose of each creature, rather than speculating on its imaginary evolution.

The better we comprehend the amazing complexity and purposive design of each creature, the better we realize the infinite wisdom and power of their Creator. Then, all the more wonderful it is to learn that their Creator is our Father! He has placed them all under our dominion, and we need to learn to see them through His eyes, if we would be good stewards of the world He has committed to us. We can also thank our heavenly Father that we "are of more value than many sparrows" (Matthew 10:31). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-03-13T04:48:00.000-07:00

Seven Mountains
March 13, 2011

"His foundation is in the holy mountains." (Psalm 87:1)

It is fascinating to study God's selection of several key mountains to mark key events in human history. Mount Ararat was the first great mountain of Scripture where God's Ark of safety would rest (Genesis 8:4). Then, when the first nations failed and God had to form a new nation, it was on Mount Moriah that Abraham passed the great test with his son, Isaac, and became "the father of all them that believe," testifying that "in the mount of the LORD it shall be seen" (Romans 4:11; Genesis 22:14). When the time came for God's law to be revealed, "the Lord came down upon mount Sinai," and gave Moses "upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God" (Exodus 19:20; 31:18).

"Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion," where the holy city was built and where Christ will reign in the great age to come. For God has promised concerning Christ: "Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion" (Psalm 48:2; 2:6).

Insignificant in size, but preeminent in importance, is the small hill outside Jerusalem that has come to be called Mount Calvary. There a "stone was cut out of the mountain" which "became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth" (Daniel 2:45, 35) when Christ died there and conquered death. He arose from the grave and then ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives, to which one day He shall "so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11).

Finally, in the new earth, "every mountain and hill shall be made low" (Isaiah 40:4), and the only mountain will be "a great and high mountain," the beautiful city of God, towering "twelve thousand furlongs" (Revelation 21:10, 16) over the fruitful plains of the eternally new earth below. HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-03-06T04:50:00.000-08:00

Breaking Bread
March 6, 2011

"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body." (Matthew 26:26)

This is the first of twelve specific references to the "breaking of bread" in the New Testament, each reminding the participants of Christ's sacrificial death. Although Paul had not been present at the Last Supper, he had evidently received a special revelation concerning it. "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed |literally, 'while he was being betrayed'| took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:23-24). Similarly, drinking of the cup recalled to them His shed blood. All of this helped them remember and appreciate the great reality of eternal life imparted to them through His death, for He had said, "Whoso eateth my flesh, and d rinketh my blood, hath eternal life" (John 6:54).

For a while after His resurrection and their empowering by the Holy Spirit, "they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house" (Acts 2:46), seem to have combined each day this remembrance of the Lord's supper with their own evening meals. Sometime later, it seems to have been "upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread" (Acts 20:7).

There is no specific instruction in Scripture as to how often this breaking of bread should be observed, but when it is observed, the implied actions of "discerning the Lord's body," giving thanks to Him for His sacrifice for us, and "|judging| ourselves" (1 Corinthians 11:29, 31) are far more vital than the physical act of eating the broken bread. HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-02-26T20:18:00.000-08:00

The Firstborn of Every Creature
February 27, 2011

"Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature." (Colossians 1:15)

A widespread cult heresy based on this verse claims that Jesus Christ was not eternal, but merely the first being created--perhaps an angel--before becoming a man. Note, however, that the verse does not say He was the "first created of every creature," but the "first born of every creature," and there is a big difference. In fact, the very next verse says that "by him were all things created" (v. 16). He was never created, for He Himself is the Creator. "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3).

He is "born" of God, not "made," the "only begotten Son" of God (John 3:16). "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him" (John 1:18). The eternal Father is omnipresent, and therefore invisible, inaudible, inaccessible to the physical senses. The eternally existing Son is the "image" of the invisible Father, the One who declares, reveals, embodies His essence. Although He is always "in the bosom of the Father," yet He is eternally also "the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person" (Hebrews 1:3). He is the eternal, living Word, which was "in the beginning with God" (John 1:2), and which "was God" (John 1:1).

Thus the phrase "firstborn of every creature" in our text can be translated literally as "begotten before all creation." The eternal inter-relationship of the Persons of the Godhead is beyond human comprehension in its fullness, and the terms, "Son" and "begotten" are the best human language can do to describe it. Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, is the only begotten, eternally generated, Son of the Father, forever shining forth as the image of the otherwise invisible God. HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-02-20T04:54:00.000-08:00

Fear of Witnessing
February 20, 2011

"And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus." (Acts 4:18)

Every Christian knows that he or she should witness for Christ, but most are very reluctant to speak in His name very often. The most obvious reason for this hesitancy is fear. Sometimes we may be actually forbidden, as were the apostles, to teach of Him, but their courageous answer was: "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29), and so they prayed: "Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word" (Acts 4:29).

More common than fear of physical persecution or personal harm, however, is fear of ridicule, or loss of prestige or position. Such fear is out of character for real Christians, "for God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). If we love the Lord and those for whom He died, we must learn to conquer our fear of men.

One of the saddest rebukes that could come to a Christian is the indictment lodged against those believers who, because of their high position, refused to take an open stand for Christ: "Among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:42-43). How often do modern professional and business men--even theologians--compromise their stand for Christ and His inerrant Word because of fear of peer pressure in what should be their spheres of influence and testimony?

May God give us the courage of Paul. "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ," he wrote, "for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth" (Romans 1:16). HMM

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

My absence

2011-02-17T12:18:00.000-08:00

My apologies for the absence for the past few weeks. Both my computers toasted and I just today received a new laptop. I will be back on this following Sunday, and will attempt to bring in some more items of interest as well. Thank you all for your patience. God bless you all.

Sunday Sermonette

2011-01-30T04:47:00.000-08:00

Treasure in Heaven
January 30, 2011

"Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth." (Luke 12:33)

The Lord Jesus frequently warned us against trying to accumulate wealth here on earth. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth," He said. Rather, "lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven" (Matthew 6:19-20). In our text above, He even says to sell what we have and give it away. To the rich young ruler, He said: "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven" (Matthew 19:21).

God's Word cannot contradict itself, however, so this teaching must also be balanced against a man's responsibility to "provide . . . for his own, and specially for those of his own house" (1 Timothy 5:8). Similarly, "the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children" (2 Corinthians 12:14).

We are also encouraged to "give to him that needeth" (Ephesians 4:28) and to sow "bountifully" as "a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:6-7). Such instructions imply that by faithful labor in the vocations God has given us, we shall have the wherewithal to do such things. Ananias and Sapphira were punished, not for retaining part of their possessions for their own needs, but rather, because they lied about it (Acts 5:1-10). Our giving should be done "with simplicity"--that is, with "singleness" of heart (Romans 12:8).

All we have is of the Lord and should be used in ways that honor Him, in accord with His Word and His providential leading. We should provide judiciously for the needs of those dependent on us, but our own personal needs and wants should be kept minimal, so that more can be used in His service and to meet the needs of others. HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-01-23T04:45:00.000-08:00

Thy Light and Thy Truth
January 23, 2011

"O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles." (Psalm 43:3)

This old troubled world desperately needs light to find the way out of its darkness and truth to rightly plan its future. But they must be God's light and God's truth, not the seductive lights and humanistic philosophies of man's fabrications.

God has, indeed, already sent out His light and His truth, but "men loved darkness rather than light" (John 3:19) and, although they profess to be "ever learning," they yet are "never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" and, in fact, "turn away their ears from the truth" (2 Timothy 3:7; 4:4).

That was true in the psalmist's day, and perhaps even more so in our day, although we surely have far more light and access to truth today than the psalmist ever had. We now have, for example, God's complete written Word (Genesis through Revelation). Another psalmist had promised: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105), and also had promised, "For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light" (Proverbs 6:23).

God's truth surely is what we need--in fact, all we need--for our faith as we look to our future. This also is revealedin the light of His Word, both His inspired written Word and His incarnate living Word. The Lord Jesus not only claimed "I am . . . the truth" (John 14:6), He also prayed for us, saying: "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth" (John 17:17). And for all who believe His revealed truth; "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-01-16T04:48:00.000-08:00

Father of Believers
January 16, 2011

"And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness." (Genesis 15:6)

The key New Testament doctrine of imputed righteousness, received through saving faith in the Word of God, is foreshadowed beautifully in the life of Abraham. Because of his strong faith, demonstrated again and again in difficult acts of obedience, Abraham has been called "the father of all them that believe" (Romans 4:11). Our text verse is quoted four times in the New Testament (Romans 4:3, 22; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23) and is made the basis of the great gospel theme of salvation and righteousness. This is obtained, not by one's good works, but by imputation, and is received through faith in the gracious promises of God through Jesus Christ. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

"Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure . . . to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all" (Romans 4:16). Just as "Jerusalem which is above . . . is the mother of us all" (Galatians 4:26), so faithful Abraham is "the father of us all." Spiritual Jerusalem speaks of salvation by grace, rather than by law, and Abraham testifies of righteousness through faith, rather than by works. And yet, 12 of the 40 verses of Hebrews 11, the great "faith chapter," deal with the outward evidences of Abraham's inner faith.

There is still another reference to Abraham's spiritual seed: "Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham" (Galatians 3:7). As Abraham's spiritual children, therefore, we also ought to believe God's Word at whatever cost, demonstrating the reality of our faith to the world--as did father Abraham--by obeying God. HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-01-09T04:43:00.001-08:00

Creation in Praise of God
January 9, 2011

"For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." (Isaiah 55:12)

Every now and again, the biblical writers were so lifted up in spirit as they contemplated the glory of God and His great works of creation and redemption that they could sense the very creation itself singing out in happy praises. "The heavens declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1) is one of the most familiar of these divinely inspired figures of speech, but there are many others. "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: . . . Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. . . . Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth" (Psalm 98:4, 7-9).

Often these praises are in contemplation of God's final return to complete and fulfill all His primeval purposes in creation, as in the above passage. This better time is also in view in our text, which looks forward to a time when "instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off" (Isaiah 55:13). God has triumphed over evil!

And this all points ahead to the eventual removal of the great curse which now dominates creation because of man's sin (Genesis 3:14-19). For the present, "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now" (Romans 8:22). One day, however, the groaning creation "shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption" (Romans 8:21). Therefore, "let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; . . . Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice" (Psalm 96:11-12). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2011-01-02T05:10:00.000-08:00

The Golden Rule
January 2, 2011

"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." (Matthew 7:12)

This command of Christ is the famous so-called "Golden Rule" of conduct. As He said, it succinctly summarizes and crystallizes all the instructions given in the Old Testament Scriptures dealing with human interrelationships. In fact, somewhat similar guidelines can be found even in certain ancient extra-biblical writings.

It should be stressed, however, that this maxim is not meant to be a prerequisite for salvation. No mere human being ever obeys this rule perfectly, any more than one can keep perfectly the Ten Commandments.

It was included by Christ as a part of what is known as the "Sermon on the Mount," which the Bible clearly states was a series of instructions given only to believers--that is, to people already saved through personal faith in Christ. At the very beginning of this "sermon," it says clearly that, "seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them" (Matthew 5:1-2).

Thus the "Golden Rule" is only for Christian believers. It is a standard by which we should seek to order our personal lives, not to be saved, but because we are saved. "Be ye therefore perfect," said the Lord, "even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). Not one of us--except Christ Himself, in His humanity--has ever perfectly kept the Golden Rule or been sinlessly perfect (note 1 John 1:8, 10). Nevertheless, our standard can be nothing less. "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect," said the apostle Paul: "but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12). And so should we. HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2010-12-25T23:14:00.000-08:00

The Trinity in Ephesians
December 26, 2010

"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Ephesians 4:4-6)

Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus is surely one of the most profoundly doctrinal--yet intensely practical--books of the Bible, and it is not surprising that the doctrine of the tri-une God breaks into his message so frequently. For example, note Ephesians 2:18: "For through |Christ| we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father."

More often, however, it appears not in a succinct formula like this, but rather in interconnected references to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, always implying that each is deity, but never that they are three different "gods." Paul prayed that "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him" (Ephesians 1:17).

He also prayed "unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, . . . That he would grant you, . . . to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith" (Ephesians 3:14, 16-17). Thus the believer is "filled with all the fulness of God" (v. 19).

We are exhorted to "grieve not the holy Spirit of God, . . . even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:30, 32). And "be filled with the Spirit; . . . Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:18, 20).

There are others, but note especially our text, speaking of our unity in Him and His tri-unity in us. "There is . . . one Spirit . . . One Lord, . . . One God and Father of all, who is above all |i.e., the Father|, and through all |the Son|, and in you all |the Spirit|." All this is a magnificent mystery, but a wonderful reality! HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2010-12-19T04:46:00.000-08:00

Science--True and False
December 19, 2010

"And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil." (Genesis 2:9)

It is significant that the first reference to "science" in the Bible is in connection with the tree of the "science" of good and evil. The English word "science" comes from the Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge." In both Old and New Testaments, "science" and "knowledge" translate the same Greek and Hebrew words respectively. Science--properly speaking--is what we know, not naturalistic speculation (as in evolutionary "science"). Adam and Eve knew a great deal about God and His creation, and all of it was "very good" (Genesis 1:31); they did not need to have a knowledge of evil, and God warned them against it (2:17).

But they partook of the evil tree anyway, and therewith evil knowledge entered the hearts and minds of mankind. Throughout the long ages since, true science has been of great good in the world and false science has wrought great harm. The apostle Paul has warned us against it: "Keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called" (1 Timothy 6:20). In the context of the times, Paul was specifically warning against the evolutionary pantheism of the gnostic philosophers.

In contrast, the final climactic reference in the Bible to knowledge is Peter's exhortation to "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7), and in Jesus Christ "are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3). Therefore, let us resolve to eschew the knowledge of evil and grow in the knowledge of Christ! HMM

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

Saturday Sermonette

2010-12-18T09:04:00.000-08:00

Fringe Issues
December 18, 2010

"And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient." (2 Timothy 2:24)

One of the plagues of modern-day Christendom is that many take up side issues and deem them all-important--a point of separation between them and other Christians. Health foods, dress codes, and church constitutions are not unimportant, but Christians can hold different opinions and still be walking with God. Note the scriptural admonitions: "Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace |i.e., primary issues|; not with meats |i.e., fringe issues|, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein" (Hebrews 13:9); "foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes" (2 Timothy 2:23).

On the other hand, there are many scriptural commands to hold "fast the faithful word" (Titus 1:9); to "keep that which is committed to thy trust" (1 Timothy 6:20). Many of these points of "sound doctrine" (Titus 1:9) are absolutely essential, such as the deity of Christ, the authority of Scripture, salvation by grace, the resurrection of Christ, and many others clearly and specifically taught in Scripture. Perhaps the rule might be, if it's an essential doctrine, teach and defend it at all costs; if it's a secondary doctrine, teach it in "meekness" and love (2 Timothy 2:25). But if it's a fringe issue, avoid strife over it, allowing brothers to exercise their freedom.

Is creationism a fringe issue? No! Few doctrines are so clearly taught in Scripture. Is it crucial to salvation? No! But it is essential to adequately understand the great primary doctrines for it is foundational to them all. Furthermore, it is the subject of origins which the enemy has identified as a major battleground, vowing to destroy Christianity over this issue. Here we must stand, if we are to guard our faith. JDM

h/t: J D MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday Sermonette

2010-12-11T21:31:00.000-08:00

How to Keep from Falling
December 12, 2010

"For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?" (Psalm 56:13)

Once a person receives Christ as Savior, he must begin, then continue, in the Christian life. There will be many temptations along the way, however, as well as many pressures to recant, many sorrows, many difficulties. How is the "babe" in Christ to keep from stumbling and falling?

The answer, of course, is that we are kept by the same grace that saved us in the first place! The Lord Jesus died to save us from eternal death in hell; surely we can "be saved by his life" from falling while living (Romans 5:10). Our beautiful text verse anticipates this great New Testament truth. If the Lord can deliver my soul from death, surely He can keep my feet from falling! Other wonderful verses in the psalms give the same assurance. For example: "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand" (Psalm 37:23-24).

It is important, of course, that each person professing faith in Christ be sure that his faith is real, founded on the true Jesus Christ as Creator, Redeemer, and Lord, not a sentimental faith in "another Jesus, . . . or another gospel" (2 Corinthians 11:4). As Peter urges: "Give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall" (2 Peter 1:10).

And then, in the last words of the New Testament before the book of Revelation, we are directed again to Christ. "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen" (Jude 24-25). What a blessed assurance is this! HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2010-12-05T04:46:00.000-08:00

Faithful Stewards
December 5, 2010

"Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful." (1 Corinthians 4:2)

God's Word reminds us that "every one of us shall give account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12), "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10).

These and similar verses apply specifically to Christians and relate to rewards for faithful service, not to salvation. At this judgment, "the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is" (1 Corinthians 3:13). The test of our works is not one of quantity, but quality.

As stewards of Christ we have been entrusted not only with various material possessions, but also with time, talents, and opportunities, as well as all the blessings of His glorious gospel. We are in fact "the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God" (1 Corinthians 4:1).

"Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?" asked the Lord. "Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing" (Luke 12:42-43). But He also warned: "If ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?" (Luke 16:12).

The Greek word for "faithful" means essentially "believable." Can our Christian profession be trusted? Are we true to our word? This is what will really count when the Lord comes "to give every man according as his work shall be" (Revelation 22:12). The greatest reward, of course, will be simply to hear Him say: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord" (Matthew 25:21). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2010-11-28T04:40:00.000-08:00

Inspired Words
November 28, 2010

"Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away." (Luke 21:33)

The doctrine of plenary verbal inspiration, wrongly considered antiquated by many modern neo-evangelicals, is actually essential to the Christian faith. "All scripture |that is every word written down or inscribed| is given by inspiration |literally 'breathed in'| of God," not man! (2 Timothy 3:16).

We acknowledge, of course, that problems of transmission and translation exist, but these are relatively trivial in the entire context. We also acknowledge that the process of inspiration may have varied, but the end result is as if the entire Bible had been dictated and transcribed word by word.

This is the way Jesus Christ--the Creator, the Living Word, the Author of Scripture--viewed the Scriptures. "The scripture cannot be broken," He said (John 10:35). "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (Matthew 5:18). "Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: . . . And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke 24:25, 27). The Bible therefore, every word of it, is divinely inspired, verbally without error, infallibly true, and of absolute authority in every area of our lives. The words of Christ who taught these truths are forever "settled in heaven" (Psalm 119:89) and "shall not pass away."

It is mortally dangerous, therefore, "unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book" to "add unto these things" as the cultists do, or to "take away from the words of the book of this prophecy" as the liberals do (Revelation 22:18-19). Would it not be much better to say with the psalmist, "Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors" (Psalm 119:24)? HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2010-11-20T21:58:00.000-08:00

Those Who Pass By
November 21, 2010

"Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger." (Lamentations 1:12)

This heartbroken lament, uttered by Jeremiah, the "weeping prophet," personifies the devastated city of Jerusalem after the Babylonian invasion. She who had been "beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, . . . the city of the great King" (Psalm 48:2), now lay in ruins, and neither the triumphant armies who had ravished her nor the careless peoples living around her cared at all that this was the city of God being chastised for her unfaithfulness.

Many Christians have, at times, felt alone and confused, longing for someone who would care, saying with the psalmist: "There was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul" (Psalm 142:4). But no one has ever been so alone or has suffered so intensely and so unjustly as the one who was the very "man of sorrows" (Isaiah 53:3). He was "smitten of God, and afflicted" in the day of God’s fierce anger, for "the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:4, 6).

Just as there were those who passed by suffering Jerusalem, some gloating and others unconcerned, so there were those who passed by and viewed the suffering Savior as He hung on the cross. "And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads" (Matthew 27:39).

There are multitudes who still pass Him by today. Some revile Him; many ignore Him, altogether uncaring that He loved them and even died to save them. Soon, however, "every eye shall see him, . . . and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him" (Revelation 1:7). Their indifference will be turned quickly into mourning in that day. "Is it nothing to you?" the Lord would ask. HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2010-11-14T04:42:00.001-08:00

This Grace Also
November 14, 2010

"Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also." (2 Corinthians 8:7)

The "grace" of which Paul was writing in our text is the grace of giving! Many Christians may show diligence and love in their Christian life, but are still very reluctant to give sacrificially to the work of the Lord.

Many follow what they consider the "law of tithing" (most Christians don’t even do that!) and consider this to be meritorious. The fact is, however, that giving for the Christian is not a law to be obeyed, but a grace to be cultivated.

The motivation cited by Paul for abounding in this grace was not the Old Testament ordinance, but the New Testament example in the church at Philippi. Consider, he said, "the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality . . . beyond their power they were willing of themselves." And the real secret of their motivation was that they "first gave their own selves to the Lord" (2 Corinthians 8:1-3, 5). An even greater motive for abounding in this grace is the example of Christ: "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich" (2 Corinthian s 8:9).

This grace of giving is thus displayed when one gives liberally (even in times of affliction and poverty) out of wholehearted devotion to the Lord and for the spiritual enrichment of those who are spiritually impoverished.

"God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2010-11-06T20:34:00.000-07:00

Biblical Sarcasm
November 7, 2010

"And Job answered and said, No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you." (Job 12:1-2)

It is remarkable that the Bible, with its great variety of literary forms and numerous personal conversations and discourses, contains very few examples of sarcasm or satire.

Nevertheless, the few examples of biblical irony are well worth noting, with one of the most notable being Job's response as above to the self-righteous platitudes of his three philosophizing "friends." In their intellectual and moral arrogance and with no real understanding of God's purposes, these critics were far out of line and well deserved Job's cutting sarcasm. Examples of such combined spiritual ignorance and intellectual arrogance are not hard to find today and, occasionally perhaps, a satirical commentary may be effective in changing them or preventing their effect.

One other well-known case of biblical sarcasm is Elijah's taunting monologue to the prophets of Baal: "Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked" (1 Kings 18:27). Jeremiah also had a word to say about the ineptitude of false gods and the foolishness of those who put their faith in them, and who were "saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: . . . But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble" (Jeremiah 2:27-28).

Much more foolish than those who believe that sticks and stones can generate living beings, however, are those modernday idolaters who worship "Mother Nature," believing that her "natural processes" can evolve hydrogen atoms, over billions of years, into human beings. The examples of Elijah and Jeremiah as well as Job may warrant an occasional touch of sarcasm when discussing such notions! HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2010-10-30T23:53:00.000-07:00

Seducing Spirits
October 31, 2010

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." (1 Timothy 4:1)

This very cogent warning by the Holy Spirit, spoken "expressly" (or "with special clarity") for those living in the latter days, predicts an unusual outbreak of seductive demonism--not just in pagan, idol-worshipping, or animistic cultures, but in "Christian" nations, where they can lead many to "depart from the faith" which their forefathers once professed. Christians, therefore, should not be taken by surprise at the vast eruption of witchcraft, New-Age mysticism, Eastern occultism, rock-music demonism, drug-induced fantasies, altered states of consciousness, and even overt Satan-worshipping cults that have suddenly proliferated in our supposedly scientific and naturalistic society. Behind it all are the "seducing spirits" and "the rulers of the darkness of this world" (Ephesians 6:12).

It should be obvious that Christians must completely avoid all such beliefs and practices. "I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils" (1 Corinthians 10:20). "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing" (2 Corinthians 6:17). Even "innocent" fun (Halloween parties, ouija boards, dungeons-and-dragons games, etc.) and well-intentioned (but many times superficial) exorcism of apparent demon-possession by Christian workers have often led to dangerous demonic influences in the lives of Christian people, as well as in Christians who have sought supernatural experiences or revelations. In anything that even touches on occultism or demonic influence, the advice of Peter is relevant. "Be sober, be vigilant; becau se your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith" (1 Peter 5:8-9). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2010-10-23T23:45:00.000-07:00

The Wisdom Mine
October 24, 2010

"Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?" (Job 28:20)

In one of his monologues, the patriarch Job compares his search for spiritual understanding to man's explorations for metals and precious stones. "There is a vein for the silver," he said, "and a place for gold. . . . Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone" (vv. 1-2).

These all are easier to find than true wisdom. "It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold" (vv. 16-19).

Neither have animals discovered it. "The fierce lion passed by it. . . it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air" (vv. 8, 21). "The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me" (v. 14).

"But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?" (v. 12). Job is driven to ask: "Where must one go to find and mine the vein of true wisdom?"

It is certainly "not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought" (1 Corinthians 2:6). The mine of evolutionary humanism which dominates modern education and scholarship will yield only the fool's gold of "science falsely so called" (1 Timothy 6:20).

Job found true wisdom only through God, and so must we, for only "God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof . . . unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding" (Job 28:23, 28). The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the ever-productive mine, "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2010-10-16T20:43:00.000-07:00

The Third Firmament
October 17, 2010

"And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above." (Ezekiel 1:22)

The English word "firmament" in the Bible is a translation of the Hebrew raqia, meaning "expanse." Its meaning is not "firm boundary" as biblical critics have alleged, but might be better paraphrased as "stretched-out thinness" or simply "space."

Its first occurrence in the Bible relates it to heaven: "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. . . . And God called the firmament Heaven" (Genesis 1:6, 8). This firmament obviously could not be a solid boundary above the sky, but is essentially the atmosphere, the "first heaven," the "space" where the birds were to "fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven" (Genesis 1:20).

There is also a second firmament, or second heaven, where God placed the sun, moon, and stars, stretching out into the infinite reaches of space. "And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth" (Genesis 1:17).

The firmament in our text, however, is beneath the very throne of God, and above the mighty cherubim (Ezekiel 1:23) who seem always in Scripture to indicate the near presence of God. This glorious firmament, brilliantly crystalline in appearance, must be "the third heaven" to which the apostle Paul was once "caught up" in a special manifestation of God's presence and power, to hear "unspeakable words" from God in "paradise" (2 Corinthians 12:2-4).

All three heavens "declare the glory of God" and all three firmaments "sheweth his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1). Therefore, we should "praise God in his sanctuary" and also "praise him in the firmament of his power" (Psalm 150:1). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2010-10-09T21:50:00.000-07:00

The Deceitfulness of Riches
October 10, 2010

"And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful." (Mark 4:18-19)

There is currently a widespread teaching among evangelicals that material prosperity is a right which accrues to the Christian who will do certain things. This "prosperity gospel," however, is merely a false front for the old-fashioned sin of "covetousness, which is idolatry" (Colossians 3:5).

The Lord Jesus, in His parable of the sower, warned that this "deceitfulness of riches" along with "the cares of this world" and then "the lusts of other things" could soon choke out whatever place the Word of God might once have had in the believer's life. In no way does the Lord ever promise material wealth to a Christian, but the desire for money and its power has surely crushed the spiritual lives and testimonies of multitudes. "They that will [i.e., desire to] be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts. ... For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Timothy 6:9-10). If, by His grace, the Lord does enable a Christian to acquire wealth, it should be regarded as a divine stewardship and opportunity for ministry.

The apostle Paul, who died penniless in this world but with great treasures laid up in heaven, expressed it thus: "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come" (1 Timothy 6:17-19). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2010-10-02T20:04:00.000-07:00

Lovers of Self
October 3, 2010

"For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy." (2 Timothy 3:2)

One of the dangerous teachings of the "New Age" movement which has spilled over into modern evangelicalism is the notion of "self-love." Many psychologists--even Christian professional counselors--are attributing society's ills, especially among young people, to the supposed lack of a "positive self-image" or "self-esteem" on the part of those exhibiting anti-social behavior. What they need, we are told, is to learn to love themselves more, to appreciate their own self-worth. The problem with this idea is that it is both unscriptural and unrealistic. People do not hate themselves. The Bible says that "no man ever yet hated his own flesh" (Ephesians 5:29).

Instead of learning to esteem ourselves, the Scripture commands us each to "esteem other better than themselves" (Philippians 2:3). Even the apostle Paul, near the end of his life, considered himself so unworthy that he called himself the chief of sinners (see 1 Timothy 1:15).

We are told by some Christian leaders that the measure of our great value in the sight of God is the fact that Christ paid such a high price--His own death--to redeem us. The fact is, however, that His death is not the measure of our great value, but of our terrible sinfulness. "Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6).

In fact, as in our text, the rise of this self-love idea is itself a sign of the last days, when men shall be "lovers of their own selves." It is the main characteristic of "New Age" humanism which is based squarely upon evolutionary pantheism.

Christ died for our sins because He loved us, not because He needed us. We should live for Him in thanksgiving for the "amazing grace, that saved a wretch like me!" HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2010-09-26T00:18:00.000-07:00

Be Patient
September 26, 2010

"Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." (James 5:8)

Many of us have been looking for the return of the Lord Jesus for a long time. This writer has kept a simple little plaque on his office wall for over 50 years. It reads: "Perhaps today," and serves as a daily reminder that today might indeed be the day when He comes again. We do long for His appearing, and as things seem to grow worse in the world year by year, it is easy to become impatient--or perhaps even despondent--when He doesn't come.

Yet day by day "the coming of the Lord draweth nigh!" as our text teaches. "For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry" (Hebrews 10:36-37).

Even the first-century Christians had to learn patience as they also anxiously were awaiting Christ's return to deliver them out of their tribulations--tribulations which were so great they seemed to fit "end-time prophecies."

"Occupy till I come" (Luke 19:13) is His admonition to all who await His second coming. "Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing" (Luke 12:43). But rather than hoping the Lord will come quickly to free us from our tribulations, we should "count it all joy when fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of faith worketh patience" (James 1:2-3). We need patience, and "tribulation worketh patience" (Romans 5:3). For God will render "to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life" (Romans 2:7). We should "be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises" (Hebrews 6:12). "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord" (James 5:7). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2010-09-19T04:50:00.000-07:00

Adam and the Animals
September 19, 2010

"And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof." (Genesis 2:19)

This event occurred on the sixth day of creation week, between the formation of Adam’s body and that of Eve (note Genesis 1:26-31; 2:7, 22), and there is no reason not to take it literally. Nevertheless, modern theistic evolutionists, including many seminary professors, have found two imaginary problems which they argue prevent taking it literally.

The first quibble finds a "contradiction" with Genesis 1:21-25, which says the animals were all made before Adam--not afterward. This supposed problem vanishes when the text verse is translated as follows: "The LORD God had formed every beast of the field." This is a legitimate--in fact, preferable--translation of the Hebrew original.

The other alleged difficulty is the supposed inability of Adam to name all the animals in one day. But in reality, he only had to give names "to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field" (Genesis 2:20)--that is, those nearby birds, cattle, and other mammals that might be seen as potential candidates to be a "help meet" for Adam. No marine animals, reptiles, insects, or "beasts of the earth" (Genesis 1:24; i.e., living far away from Eden) were brought to him. Furthermore, he did not need to name every species, but only each relevant "kind"--possibly each "family" (i.e., dogs, horses, eagles, etc.).

Finally, his divinely created mental abilities were not yet limited by the disease of sin, so that he could appropriately name each kind much more rapidly than we could do. Thus, no sincere Bible student should be tempted to doubt Genesis by any such "difficulties" as these. HMM

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

Good News Tuesday

2010-09-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

Thou Shalt Be Saved!
September 15, 2010

"And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." (Acts 16:31)

This was Paul's answer to the trembling jailer's question: "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" (v. 30). To our modern sophisticated ears, such terms as being "saved" may sound strange and oldfashioned, but there is no more accurate term than this to describe the miracle that happens when a person becomes a real Christian and is "born again."

Before being saved, he is under God's condemnation because of sin, destined for hell; but when he believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, he is "saved from wrath through him" (Romans 5:9). Not only is he saved from eternal wrath, he is saved to eternal life. Christ is "able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).

This great salvation is not achieved by good works of any kind or number, "for by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Titus 3:5).

Although being saved is God's gift to man, its cost was infinite to Christ. "If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life" (Romans 5:10).

The price of our salvation was the shed blood of Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and the greatest of all sins--the one for which there is no forgiveness--is that of rejecting Him. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). He is our great redeeming Savior, and only He can save! HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2010-09-12T04:48:00.000-07:00

Understanding the Times
September 12, 2010

"And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment." (1 Chronicles 12:32)

This chapter lists the numbers of men from each of the tribes of Israel who cast their lot with David in his conflict with King Saul. All these numbers are given except those of Issachar, but of these it was said that all their brethren followed their 200 leaders in turning to David. The reason for their unanimity in this decision was that these leaders "had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do." It was time to "turn the kingdom" to David, "according to the word of the LORD" (1 Chronicles 12:23). God had given them a Benjamite, Saul, as king for a time, but now David had been anointed, and it was the time to give "the sceptre" to Judah, according to the prophecy of their father, Jacob, given over 600 years before (Genesis 49:10).

How desperately we need leaders today who are spiritual "sons of Issachar," understanding these times! Christ told the apostles: "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons" (Acts 1:7); it was more urgent that they proceed to witness for Him "unto the uttermost part of the earth" (v. 8).

Nevertheless, He would return to the earth in some generation, and that generation should be expected (when they would see all these things) to "know that it is near, even at the doors" (Matthew 24:33). They could understand the signs, and even though they should never attempt to guess the date, they could "look up, . . . for your redemption draweth nigh" (Luke 21:28), when they would see "these things begin to come to pass."

The signs are everywhere, yet few of our leaders--Christian politicians included--seem to understand the real meaning of these times. Christ is "even at the doors!" HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2010-09-05T04:44:00.000-07:00

Father to Son to Grandson
September 5, 2010

"That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged." (Deuteronomy 6:2)

The Lord often has emphasized in His Word the vital importance of not only obeying His commands but also of diligently instructing our children therein--and so on from generation to generation. "And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up" (v. 7).

These instructions were given originally to the children of Israel, but can surely be applied also in our day. To carry them out requires real dedication and discipline in their own lives on the part of fathers. "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget . . . but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons" (4:9).

The Israelites did forget all too often, but so do many Christian fathers today. Our specific command today is: "And, ye fathers . . . bring up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4). Our whole American culture once was structured on biblical principles, but no more. We can blame the schools and activist courts, but a more basic cause is parental (especially paternal) failure. We again need to remember and apply in our own homes God's testimony to ancient Israel.

"For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them . . . and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments" (Psalm 78:5-7). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2010-08-29T04:51:00.001-07:00

His Master's Crib
August 29, 2010

"The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider." (Isaiah 1:3)

What an indictment this is--not only against the people of Israel, but against men and women everywhere. All were created and made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) for fellowship with Him, but even His own chosen people rejected Him, and most people everywhere all but ignore Him in their daily lives.

"Crib" is the same as "manger," and when God became man, His human parents "laid him in a manger" (Luke 2:7), as there was no room for Him anywhere else. The animals knew Him, and so did the angels, but His people were unconcerned. "He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not" (John 1:10).

When He came into Jerusalem offering Himself as King of Israel, He rode on an unbroken colt, "whereon yet never man sat," and the little "foal of an ass" (Luke 19:30; Zechariah 9:9) willingly submitted, knowing his divine Master and Maker. But the people of Jerusalem as a whole joined in clamoring for His crucifixion just a few days later.

The indictment against Israel could be lodged with even greater justification against America today. "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: . . . I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me" (Isaiah 1:2). The morals of our people seem to have been turned upside down, and God would say to us also: "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness" (Isaiah 5:20).

Yet--in modern America, as well as in ancient Israel--"as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name" (John 1:12). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

2010-08-29T04:51:00.000-07:00

Sunday Sermonette

2010-08-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

To The Looking Glass
August 22, 2010

"For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." (James 1:23-25)

The Word of God is not a magic mirror, but if we seek real truths concerning ourselves, the biblical looking glass can bring great blessing. He who reads or hears the word, but does not believe or obey it, is "a forgetful hearer" (v. 25) who is deceiving himself. It is these who merely "behold" themselves in the Word. The Greek word used here for "beholding" and "beholdeth" means "looking from a distance"--standing erect, as it were, while posing before the mirror. The man who "looketh into" the Word, on the other hand, "and continueth therein," being an obedient doer of its work, is the one who receives eternal blessing. The Greek word here for "looketh" conveys the idea of intense scrutiny, requiring the one who is looking actually to stoop down in order to see. In fact, it is often translated "stoop down."

As we allow the mirror of God's Word to evaluate and correct our lives, "we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Yet this is only a token of what we can experience in the future. "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known" (1 Corinthians 13:12). Now we can see ourselves in the written Word. When we see the living Word, "we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). HMM

h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research

Sunday Sermonette

2010-08-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

The Scattering Hammer
August 15, 2010

"Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?" (Jeremiah 23:29)

One of the most picturesque of the figures used to describe the Holy Scriptures is that of the hammer striking and shattering a rock. In this text, however, the "rock" is literally a mighty rock mountain.

Furthermore, the effect of the hammer is to "break in pieces." This phrase actually is a single Hebrew word which normally means "disperse," or "scatter abroad," usually used in describing the worldwide dispersion of the children of Israel. It was used even earlier for the first dispersion at Babel: "So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth" (Genesis 11:8). Perhaps most significantly of all, it is used in the prophecy of Zechariah 13:7: "Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered."

This verse was quoted by the Lord Jesus just after the last supper and applied to Himself: "All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad" (Matthew 26:31). Combining all these themes, our text really seems to be saying: "Is not my word like a mighty hammer from heaven that shatters the great mountain and scatters it abroad?"

Our text is inserted in the midst of a stinging rebuke by Jeremiah of Israel's false prophets, contrasting their lies with the mighty power of God's true Word. Perhaps it is also a parable of the living Word, who is also the great Rock of ages, as well as the loving Shepherd. When the Rock was shattered, the living stones were ejected from the Rock. The sheep that were thus scattered from the Shepherd became the spreading fire of the written Word, and "they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word" (Acts 8:4). HMM

h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research

Sunday Sermonette

2010-08-08T04:49:00.000-07:00

A Nail in a Sure Place
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.
"And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house." (Isaiah 22:22-23)

This prophecy was originally applied to Eliakim, the keeper of the treasuries in the reign of King Hezekiah. The wearing of the key to the treasuries on his shoulder was symbolic of authority. Isaiah, in fact, had used this same symbol in his great prophecy of the coming Messiah, saying that "unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder" (Isaiah 9:6).

Eliakim thus became a type of Christ in his capacity to open and shut doors with his special key. The Lord Jesus quoted from this passage in His promise to the church at Philadelphia: "These things saith . . . he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name" (Revelation 3:7-8). This strong assurance has been a great bulwark to many who were trying to maintain a true witness during times of opposition and suffering.

But Eliakim was also called "a nail in a sure place," and in this also he becomes a wonderful type of Christ. Eliakim was trustworthy in his office, and so is Christ. The nail in a sure place speaks of stability in time of trouble, as Ezra later said: "Now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the Lord our God, . . . to give us a nail in his holy place" (Ezra 9:8). Eventually, of course, Eliakim’s nail had to be removed (Isaiah 22:25), but never that of Christ, for He is "an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast" (Hebrews 6:19) who will never fail. HMM

h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research

Sunday Sermonette

2010-07-31T23:09:00.000-07:00

Those Whom God Calls Fools
August 1, 2010

"Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?" (Deuteronomy 32:6)

This rebuke was by Moses, as he warned the people of God just before their entrance into the Promised Land. It contains the first use of the Hebrew nabal (translated "fool" or "foolish") in the Bible. Here it is applied to God's chosen people after they had been redeemed out of Egyptian slavery by God. This implies that the most foolish of all people are those who have known about God and His great salvation and yet have turned away from His Word.

Paul writes in similar scathing terms of those who had known of God's great deliverance of their fathers from the evil world before the Flood, and yet then abandoned Him for idolatry. "When they knew God, . . . their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" (Romans 1:21-22).

David used the same word about those who decide they can explain things without God, just as do so many intellectuals in modern America. "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. . . . Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God" (Psalm 53:1, 4).

Even prophets and preachers can become fools if they follow their own wisdom instead of God's Word. "Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!" (Ezekiel 13:3).

Jesus similarly rebuked even those He dearly loved, because they were surprised and discouraged when He was crucified. "O fools," He said, because they had been "slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken" (Luke 24:25). God help us to maintain believing hearts, not foolish hearts, as we serve Him! HMM

h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research

Sunday Sermonette

2010-07-24T22:09:00.001-07:00

With the Rich in His Death
July 25, 2010

"And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth." (Isaiah 53:9)

It is generally recognized that the amazing 53rd chapter of Isaiah, written over 500 years earlier, is the most explicit and complete exposition of the substitutionary suffering and death of the Lord Jesus Christ in all the Bible, including even the New Testament accounts. And this prophecy that His death and burial would be with both the "wicked, and with the rich" is surely one of the most remarkable. How could such a prediction possibly come to pass?

Yet it did! Unjustly condemned, not for any violent or deceitful acts, but only for telling the truth, Jesus was crucified between two wicked criminals, yet He was buried in a garden tomb lovingly built by a rich member of the council that had condemned Him to death.

Furthermore, that elaborate tomb had almost certainly been personally designed and built ahead of time by Joseph in specific anticipation of using it to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy. That wealthy owner of the tomb lived in Arimathea and would never have built a tomb for himself or his family near Calvary, the place of crucifixion. But he and a friend on the council (Nicodemus) had somehow come to believe in Jesus and His gospel and decided they were the ones that should render this service.

Perhaps, as they looked up at the body of the Lord on the cross just before removing it for burial, they remembered His words to Nicodemus three years earlier, when He had said: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:14-15). They had indeed believed, no doubt suffering severe loss, but they had done what they could for Christ. HMM

h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research

Sunday Sermonette

2010-07-17T22:30:00.000-07:00

The Pure Word
July 18, 2010

"Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him." (Proverbs 30:5)

When the inspired writer of Proverbs testified here that God’s Word was "pure," he did not use the usual word for, say, moral purity or metallic purity. Instead, he asserted in effect that every Word of God had been refined and purified, as it were in a spiritual furnace, so that any and all contaminants had been purged out, leaving only the pure element.

The same truth is found in the great psalm of the Scriptures (Psalm 119). "Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it" (Psalm 119:140). David used the same word in another psalm, where it is translated "tried" in the sense of "tested for purity." "As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him" (Psalm 18:30). The word for "buckler" in this verse is the same as for "shield" in our text. Thus God equips with a perfect shield against the weapons of any foe, because "His way is perfect" and "every word" in Scripture has been made "pure" before the Spirit of God approved its use by the human writer.

This surely tells us that the human writer of Scripture (that is, Moses or David or John or whomever), with all his human proneness to mistakes or other inadequacies, was so controlled by the Holy Spirit that whatever he actually wrote had been purged of any such deficiencies. Thus his final written text had been made perfectly "pure," free from any defects. This control applies to "every word," so that we can legitimately refer to the Scriptures as verbally inspired and inerrant throughout.

As the apostle Paul stressed, our spiritual armor in the battle against evil is "the shield of faith" and "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:16-17). HMM

h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research

Sunday Sermonette

2010-07-11T04:52:00.000-07:00

The Shame of Entropy
July 11, 2010

"I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?" (1 Corinthians 6:5)

The word for "shame" in this verse is the Greek entrope, meaning "turning inward" or "inversion." It is used only one other time, in 1 Corinthians 15:34: "Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame." Evidently this special variety of shame is associated with taking controversies between Christian brethren to ungodly judges and also with failing to witness to the non-Christian community. Instead of bringing the true wisdom of God to the ungodly, such "entropic Christians" were turning to worldly wisdom to resolve their own spiritual problems. This inverted behavior was nothing less than spiritual confusion!

The modern scientific term "entropy" is essentially this same Greek word. In science, entropy is a measure of disorder in any given system. The universal law of increasing entropy states that every system tends to disintegrate into disorder, or confusion, if left to itself. This tendency can only be reversed if ordering energy is applied to it effectively from a source outside the system.

This universal scientific law has a striking parallel in the spiritual realm. A person turning inward to draw on his own bank of power, or seeking power from an ineffective outside source, will inevitably deteriorate eventually into utter spiritual confusion and death. But when Christ enters the life, that person becomes a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). Through the Holy Spirit and through the Holy Scriptures, "his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3). The law of spiritual entropy is transformed into the "law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:2). HMM

h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research

Sunday Sermonette-Independence Day

2010-07-04T05:05:00.000-07:00

The Law of Liberty
July 4, 2010

"So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty." (James 2:12)

On Independence Day, Americans should give thanks to the Author of liberty that we have been privileged to live in this "sweet land of liberty," where we can worship God freely, in accord with His Word. Liberty is not license, however, and the essence of the American system is liberty under law. Fundamentally, that law is "the law of nature and of nature's God"--the natural laws of God's world and the revealed laws of God's Word. Within that framework we do have liberty--but not liberty to defy either the physical law of gravity or the spiritual "law of liberty." The latter is formulated in Scripture and has been applied over the centuries, in the English common law and later in our system of constitutional law, both of which are based on Scripture.

Some today, seeking license rather than liberty, might recoil at the very idea of "the law of liberty," calling it an "oxymoron," or contradiction in terms. But Jesus said that only "the truth shall make you free!" (John 8:32). "Sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4), and "sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death" (James 1:15), not freedom!

No one can be saved by the law, but those who are saved--by grace through faith in Christ--will love God's law, for it is "holy, and just, and good" (Romans 7:12). We should say with the psalmist: "So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever. And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts" (Psalm 119:44-45).

There is, indeed, a law of liberty, and whoever will walk in real liberty will find it only in God's law of life, through His revealed Word. For "whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed" (James 1:25). HMM

h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research

75th Anniversary(1938) of Battle of Gettysburg

2010-07-03T17:43:00.000-07:00

Sunday Sermonette

2010-06-27T06:25:00.000-07:00

The Two Ways
June 27, 2010

"For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish." (Psalm 1:6)

This verse outlines the inescapable truth that there are only two roads and two destinations to which they lead in eternity. The word "way" (Hebrew, derek) means "road." There is only one way leading to heaven--the way of the righteous; and one way leading to hell--the way of the ungodly.

This is a very common word in Scripture, but it is significant that its first occurrence is in Genesis 3:24, referring to "the way of the tree of life." Once expelled from the garden of Eden because of their rebellion, Adam and Eve no longer could travel that "way" of life, and began to die.

The equivalent Greek word in the New Testament is hodos, also meaning "road," and it, too, occurs quite frequently. Its literal meaning--that of an actual roadway--lends itself very easily to the figure of a style of life whose practice leads inevitably to a certain destiny. Since there are only two basic ways of looking at life--the God-centered viewpoint and the man-centered viewpoint--there are only two ways of life, the way of the godly and the way of the ungodly. The one leads to life; the other to death. There is no other way.

The Lord Jesus taught: "Enter ye in at the strait |i.e., 'narrow'| gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:13-14).

"There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25). But what is the way of the righteous, that leads to life? "I am the way," said the Lord Jesus: "no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). "This is the way, walk ye in it" (Isaiah 30:21). HMM

h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research

Sunday Sermonette-Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T01:03:00.000-07:00

Love of the Father for the Son
June 20, 2010

"The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." (John 3:35)

The Gospel of John, in a special sense, emphasizes the love in the divine Trinity of the heavenly Father for the Son. The words "love" and "Father" and "Son" occur more in this book than in any other book of the Bible, and there are at least eight references to this love in John’s Gospel.

The first is in our text above, revealing that the Father has entrusted the care of the whole creation to the Son whom He loves. He has also shown Him everything in creation: "For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth" (John 5:20).

The Father also loved the Son because of His willingness to die for lost sinners. "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again" (John 10:17).

Then in the upper room, as Christ prayed to His Father, it was revealed that this divine love had existed in eternity, and therefore must be both the root and the measure of all forms of true love ever since. "Father . . . thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world" (John 17:24). Parental love, marital love, filial love, love of country--all types of genuine love--are derived ultimately from this eternal love of the Father for the Son.

And it is this love that can also be in us, if we will have it. "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. . . . If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love" (John 15:9-10).

It was thus He prayed (and still prays) for us: "That the world may know that thou . . . hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. . . . And . . . that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them" (John 17:23, 26). HMM

h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research

Sunday Sermonette

2010-06-13T07:52:00.000-07:00

Adam and Mrs. Adam
June 13, 2010

"Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created." (Genesis 5:2)
... See More
In these days of sensitivity concerning sexism, it is important to focus on God's own evaluation of the two sexes and their respective roles in the divine plan. As Creator of both, He alone can speak authoritatively about this matter.

Both man and woman were created in God's image (Genesis 1:27), and thus, in the categories of salvation, rewards, and eternal fellowship with their Creator, both are surely equal. "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. . . . There is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:26-28).

At the same time, when God created them, He named them both "Adam," as our text notes. This is actually the same word as "man," as in Genesis 2:7 ("the LORD God formed man"), etc. Thus it is biblical to use the word "man" generically, when referring to the human race in general. When the woman was formed out of Adam's side, Adam said, "She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man" (Genesis 2:23). Here a different Hebrew word is used for "man" (ish), and "woman" is isha.

Adam also gave his new bride a personal name. "Adam called his wife's name Eve |'life-giver'|; because she was the mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20).

There is, therefore, nothing demeaning in using "man" as a generic term for both men and women, for this usage is sanctioned by God Himself. Nevertheless, each individual has his or her own distinctive personal name, and God deals with each of us individually on that basis. Our obedience and faithfulness to the divinely ordained role each of us is called by Him to fill, is God's criterion by which He measures us for eternity. HMM

h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research

Tea Party Member Stuns Crowd

2010-06-06T04:57:00.000-07:00

Sunday Sermonette

2010-06-06T04:52:00.000-07:00

The Thoughts of God
June 6, 2010

"How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!" (Psalm 139:17)

The motivating inspiration for the greatest scientists of the past (Newton, Kepler, Maxwell, etc.) was often expressed by them as seeking to "think God's thoughts after Him." The great achievements of these God-fearing men of science have enabled us to understand just a little portion of God's infinitely great and complex creation, but never can any group of men ever manage to think all His thoughts after Him. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD" (Isaiah 55:8). "How great is the sum of them," our text says. "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it" (Psalm 139:6).

Yet it is surely right to try, for God has commanded man to "have dominion" over the earth (Genesis 1:26), and this implies understanding its processes and systems. We are to seek also to incorporate His thought patterns into ours, for He said to "let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5).

In fact, our whole mission, in one sense as summed up in 2 Corinthians 10:5, is to be "casting down imaginations |or 'reasonings'|, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." We should, indeed, strive to think God's thoughts after Him, not only in our scientific research, but in every area of our lives.

There is one thing certain, of course. God's thoughts will never contradict His revealed Word, so this is the place to start. God surely "understandest my thought afar off" (Psalm 139:2), and He desires our thoughts to conform to His. For if we are truly Christians, "we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16). HMM

h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research

Memorial Day 2010

2010-05-31T17:49:00.000-07:00

Sunday Sermonette

2010-05-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

The Eternal Cosmos
May 30, 2010

"He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass." (Psalm 148:6)

In this central psalm of the last five psalms comprising the "Hallelujah" epilogue to the book of Psalms, the entire physical creation is exhorted to praise the Lord, as all the universe is restored to its primeval perfection. All the people of the earth, all the angels, even all the animals, will praise the Lord.

Furthermore, in some way which can only be understood by faith, the entire inorganic creation--sun, moon, stars, mountains, winds, everything--will be able to praise Him. Even the primeval waters above the heavens (Genesis 1:7-9) will have been restored, and they will praise the Lord (Psalm 148:4-5).

And all of this will continue forever and ever! The new heavens and new earth--that is, the renewed heavens and earth, with the curse removed (Revelation 22:3)--the sun and moon and stars, with the eternal throne of the Lord Jesus established on the earth in the New Jerusalem, in the midst of all the redeemed men and women of all the ages--all of these will forever be a praise to God.

God is not capricious, and He does not fail. He will not "uncreate" what He has created. "Whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever" (Ecclesiastes 3:14). The earth must yet be purged by fire (2 Peter 3:10), but it will be renewed in righteousness (v. 13) and without any evidences of the former regime of decay and death.

And then it will last forever. "And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath established for ever" (Psalm 78:69). "|God| laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever" (Psalm 104:5). "And they that turn many to righteousness |shall shine| as the stars for ever and ever" (Daniel 12:3). HMM

h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research

Sunday Sermonette

2010-05-23T07:05:00.000-07:00

Created and Made
May 23, 2010

"These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens." (Genesis 2:4)

There are two accounts of creation in Genesis, with the above text marking the dividing point. In the first (Genesis 1-2:4), the name used for the Creator is "God" (Hebrew Elohim), and its termination is the summarizing "signature," as it were: "These are the generations (Hebrew toledoth) of the heavens and the earth when they were created."

The second account (Genesis 2:4-5:1) normally uses the name "LORD God" (Jehovah Elohim) in chapters 2 and 3 (except where the serpent and Eve used Elohim when she was being tempted) and then simply "LORD" (Hebrew Jehovah) in chapter 4. This second creation account ends with Adam’s signature: "This is the book of the generations |i.e., toledoth| of Adam."

Critics claim that the two accounts are contradictory. Actually they are complementary, the second merely giving more details of the events of the fifth and sixth days of creation week. The Lord Jesus (who was there as the Creator!) used them both, quoting from each (Matthew 19:4-6) at the same time in the same context.

Note also that "create" (Hebrew bara) is used seven times in Genesis 1, never in Genesis 2-4. In that second account, "made" and "formed" (Hebrew asah, yatsar) are the words used. Genesis 2:3 stresses the fact that "create" and "make" are different, when it tells us that God rested "from all His work which God created and made." Evidently the verb "create," which always has the Creator as its subject, refers to His work in calling entities into existence; "make" refers to systems constructed (by either God or men) out of previously created entities. The heavens and the earth were both "created" and "made" (see our text). HMM

h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research

Sunday Sermonette

2010-05-16T08:14:00.001-07:00

Ascending Vapors
May 16, 2010

"He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries." (Psalm 135:7)

This striking verse is practically identical with Jeremiah 10:13 and Jeremiah 51:16, suggesting the possibility that the prophet Jeremiah may have written the otherwise anonymous Psalm 135. The two Jeremiah passages do preface this statement with the note that there is "a multitude of waters in the heavens" in connection with the processes described in the verse.

In any case, this thrice-mentioned mechanism beautifully summarized what we now call the hydrologic cycle, and it did so over 2,000 years before the cycle began to be understood by modern scientists. In order to provide rain to water the earth, there must be vapors ascending all over the earth (that is, evaporation from the world's great oceans), winds then blowing from God's unseen treasury (actually the global atmospheric circulation), and, finally, lightnings for (or "with") the rain (electrical discharges associated with the condensation and coalescence of the particles of water vapor in the atmosphere). All of this repeatedly transports purified waters from the ocean back over the lands to fall as rain and snow, there finally to run off back to the oceans after performing their life-sustaining ministries on the lands. "Unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again" (Ecclesiastes 1:7).

Not only does this hydrologic cycle sustain physical life on earth, but it also is a type of the spreading of God's Word, giving spiritual life. "For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, . . . So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please" (Isaiah 55:10-11). HMM

h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research

Sunday Sermonette

2010-05-09T07:31:00.000-07:00

The Faith of Our Mothers
May 9, 2010

"When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also." (2 Timothy 1:5)

The "dearly beloved son" (v. 2) of the apostle Paul was a young disciple whose strong and sincere Christian faith was due, more than anything else, to the lives and teachings of a godly mother and grandmother. As Paul wrote to Timothy in his last letter, "from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 3:15).

Timothy's mother was a Christian Jew (Acts 16:1), but his father was a Greek who evidently was not a believer. In the ideal Christian home, the father is to assume spiritual leadership (Ephesians 5:22, 25; 6:4), but countless fathers, for some reason, are either unable or unwilling to do this. Many have been the homes where a mother or grandmother, usually by default, has had to assume this all-important responsibility, and the Christian world owes these godly women a great debt of gratitude. The writer himself was raised in such a home, and much of his own concern for the Word of God is due to the concerned dedication of a Christian mother and two Christian grandmothers.

It is significant that the fifth of God's Ten Commandments requires children to honor their parents, and it is the only one of the ten which carries a special promise: "Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth" (Ephesians 6:2-3). Every godly parent is worthy of real honor, every day--not just once each year. And when a Christian mother, like Timothy's mother, must assume all the responsibility for leading her children in the ways of God, she deserves very special praise. HMM

h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research

Sunday Sermonette

2010-05-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

Wondrous Things in the Word
May 2, 2010

"Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law." (Psalm 119:18)

The word "law" (Hebrew torah), as used in the psalms, actually refers to all the revealed Scriptures. We may well understand it today to mean the entire Bible. And we can indeed behold wondrous things in the Word if we have eyes to see and hearts to believe by the grace of God.

The adjective "wondrous" is often used to describe God's mighty miracles in Egypt and elsewhere (e.g., Psalm 106:22 "Wondrous works in the land of Ham"). This would indicate that there are many evidences of divine origin that can be gleaned from the Scriptures, if our spiritual eyes are open to discern them as we search.

This 119th Psalm itself illustrates this truth. It has 22 stanzas (keyed in turn to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet), each with eight verses (the number eight representing new life, since eight suggests a new beginning after the "completeness" represented by the number seven). In each stanza, each verse begins with the same Hebrew letter--aleph, the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet, in the first stanza, beth in the second stanza, etc.--and the 176 verses (i.e., 8 times 22) of the psalm (the longest chapter in the Bible) have 176 references to the Holy Scriptures.

The great theme of the psalm is, therefore, the wonder and power of the life-giving, written Word of God. As the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead on the "eighth day," and as there are eight other instances of the dead being restored to life in the Bible, there are eight different Hebrew words used for the Scriptures in the psalm.

Life through the Word! This is also the testimony of the gospel of Christ, revealed in "the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 3:15). HMM

h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research