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
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Sunday Sermonette
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
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, March 13, 2011
Sunday Sermonette
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
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, March 6, 2011
Sunday Sermonette
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
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
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Sunday Sermonette
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
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, February 20, 2011
Sunday Sermonette
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
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
Thursday, February 17, 2011
My absence
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.
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