Sunday Sermonette

April 19, 2015
Fear Not, Little Flock
“But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Luke 12:31)

 

In these days of financial worries and rampant materialism, it does us good to reflect on Christ’s teaching concerning our priorities. In this passage, He was teaching His disciples not to be troubled over temporal things (v. 22), but to rest in the fact that He will supply our needs. “If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?” (v. 28). We are not to have our mind set on material things (v. 29), neither are we to be “of doubtful mind” wavering between hope and fear of the future.

 

We are to be different. We are children of the King and are in His care. The “nations of the world seek after” (v. 30) these things. Our Father knows that we have need of certain things, and since He loves us and has our best interests at heart, we have nothing to “fear” and can be assured that “all these things shall be added unto [us]” (v. 31).

 

But more is involved. It is not enough simply to avoid improper fixation on the things of the world; we are to seek rather “the Kingdom of God”; we are to be about His business. His priorities should be our priorities. We must strive to know Him and His Word so well that we naturally conform our actions to His desires. If we do so, He not only will take pleasure in supplying our physical needs (v. 31), but also “it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (v. 32).

 

It is our privilege to participate in His work on Earth as He enables. Our part may be to give: “Sell [what you] have, and give alms,” thereby storing up “a treasure in the heavens that faileth not” (v. 33), or to pray, “for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (v. 34). If our primary desire is to enhance the work of the Kingdom, then He will give us that desire, and we will see fruit which lasts for eternity. JDM

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

Sunday Sermonette

April 12, 2015 An Early Confession “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” (1 Timothy 3:16)   One of the specific reasons Paul wrote this letter to Timothy is contained in our text. The church is to guard and declare the “mystery of godliness.”   A “mystery” in Scripture is something which was previously hidden, but which is now revealed. Here the mystery is the blessed truth that God is in the business of producing godliness in the lives of men and women; in this context, it is through the work of the church (v. 15). This ministry of the church in proclaiming this mystery was augmented by a doctrinal confession, or hymn, which was presented in:   “God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit.” “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), and was “declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness” (Romans 1:4). This couplet relates Christ’s human/divine nature. His humanity was evident to all; His divinity was declared through the Spirit.   “Seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles” (or nations). Angels observed, and to some degree participated in, Christ’s earthly ministry, but the salvation and godliness He offered was only to men, “which things the angels desire to look into” (1 Peter 1:12).   “Believed on in the world, received up into glory.” Other teachers have gained a following, but only Christ ascended directly into heaven following His resurrection.   Doctrinal confessions or hymns can be an aid in learning and remembering truth, but the goal of each is godliness—“this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you” (Colossians 1:27). JDM h/t:  J D MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Resurrection Day, Sunday Sermonette

April 5, 2015
I Will Ever Be True
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)

 

The concluding verse of our song, “The Old Rugged Cross,” contains a commitment to follow Christ in this life and looks forward to life with Him in eternity.

 

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true,
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.

 

When coupled with the preceding scriptural verse, our text mirrors these thoughts: “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (v. 1). In this life, we have both the victorious examples of many that have gone before (Hebrews 11), and Christ Himself. Both He and they have suffered joyfully, and so can we: “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, . . . But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye” (1 Peter 4:12-14).

 

Once Christ fully “endured the cross,” He rose from the dead in victory over death to take His rightful place “at the right hand of the throne of God.” He now calls us to be “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20), “in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7). He’ll call us some day to Himself, where we shall “sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6), “and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross. JDM

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

Sunday Sermonette

Zechariah's Strange Prophecy

by Henry Morris, Ph.D. | Mar. 29, 2015

“All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.” (Matthew 21:4-5)

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on an unbroken donkey colt on that momentous first day of the week, just a week before His resurrection, the multitudes quickly recognized that He was fulfilling an ancient prophecy and thereby specifically claiming to be their long-awaited Messiah. The prophecy was that of Zechariah 9:9, and the people in turn began to fulfill David’s even more ancient prophecy, laying palm branches in His path, and crying out: “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD” (Psalm 118:26).

This is one of the few events in the life of Christ that are recorded in all four gospels, though only Matthew notes it as the fulfillment of prophecy. And what a strange prophecy it was! One would think that the anticipated King would come riding on a great white horse, ready to put down all His enemies (and indeed He shall do exactly that some day—see Revelation 19:11).

But here He comes riding on a colt, the foal of an ass, not high and mighty, but meek and lowly! Ah, but as Zechariah prophesied, He comes “just, and having salvation” (Zechariah 9:9). And the salvation He was bringing was not deliverance from Roman subjugation but eternal deliverance from sin and its awful wages.

These same multitudes which hailed Him soon were following their high priest in clamoring for His crucifixion. Nevertheless He someday will fulfill Zechariah’s later prophecy: “They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him” (Zechariah 12:10). Then, finally, indeed, “the LORD shall be king over all the earth” (Zechariah 14:9). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

March 15, 2015
In Time of Trouble
“For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock.” (Psalm 27:5)

In this psalm of praise, David expresses his confidence in the Lord, even though “the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh” (v. 2). In spite of the danger, he looks to God for safety. “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (v. 1). Why did God preserve David? The answer is at least twofold.

First, David had a heart for God. “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple” (v. 4). “Thy face, Lord, will I seek” (v. 8). “Teach me Thy way, O LORD” (v. 11).

The second reason is the nature of God Himself. God, by His very nature, hates evil and extends grace toward His own. He is pictured here as a warrior conquering the evil enemies of David. His laws forbid their actions; His gospel robbed these evildoers of their grip; His final kingdom will be rid of them. Until God’s justice, His gospel, and His purpose all fail, we can be sure that He will act.

In our text, David is hidden in the Lord’s “pavilion.” The word, which literally means a protective covering, was used for the tent of the commander-in-chief. Here, with the commander-in-chief, is the most fortified, guarded, and safe area of the battleground. If the pavilion falls, the battle is lost and God has failed. Hidden in His pavilion, we are as safe as He. He sees to it that we are not frightened (v. 13) amid the din of battle, and we shall share in the ultimate victory.

In this world, we have tumultuous war; in the next, unbroken peace. Assured of the outcome, we can “wait on the Lord: [and] be of good courage” (v. 14). JDM

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

Sunday Sermonette

March 8, 2015
Apostasy and Prosperity
“And 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)

 

One of the most tragic movements in Christendom today teaches that God promises to make each Christian prosper in material wealth. Suffice it to say, the Bible teaches no such thing, as seen in our text and elsewhere, but this false teaching is not new and is associated with apostasy.

 

Consider chapters 17 and 18 of the book of Judges, which describe a period of rampant apostasy and confusion. The chapters provide character sketches of an itinerant Levite, the tribe of Dan, and a man named Micah. First we see that Micah steals 1,100 shekels of silver from his mother, who then places a curse on the unknown thief. Micah, fearing the curse, confesses the crime. His mother tries to lessen the curse by dedicating all the money to the Lord and converts 200 shekels into an idol. Micah places the idol with his others and consecrates his son as priest, even though they are of the tribe of Ephraim. Later, he hires the Levite to be his priest and exclaims, “Now know I that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest” (Judges 17:13).

 

In the next chapter, spies of the Danites go to the priest for God’s blessing on their efforts to find land that they can conquer. When the marauders return, they recruit the Levite to a more prosperous position. He joins them, having stolen Micah’s idols, and etablishes the tribal priesthood.

 

Each one in this story was confident that God would bless them materially because they had the trappings of religion. The common denominator was greed. Their desire for personal prosperity led them to a prostitution of the true worship of God. But whenever religion is “used” to justify the “love of money,” it suffers degradation. “Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). JDM

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

Sunday Sermonette

March 1, 2015
Signs and Seasons,
Days and Years
“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.” (Genesis 1:14)

 

The subject of “time” is enigmatic. Everyone seems to know what is meant by time, but no one can define it. We may complain about time going too slow or too fast, but time doesn’t go anywhere. But neither does it “stand still.”

 

At least we can measure time intervals—seconds, hours, centuries, etc. This is because of God’s gracious forethought in providing means for doing this. He was not a “blind watchmaker,” as some evolutionists have called Him. He actually created time “in the beginning” (Genesis 1:1).

 

Then He set the sun and the moon in the sky, and made the earth to assume a global shape and to rotate on an axis, making the measurement of time in “days” possible. Next He placed stars in the far heavens in various locations and combinations and the earth to orbit around the sun, enabling us to tell how many “days” make up a “year.” Then, once the earth’s rotational axis was “tilted,” that made “seasons” measurable. So we can at least identify time durations in days and years with their seasons, and we can subdivide or combine these in whatever ways we find convenient (minutes, decades, summer, winter, etc.).

 

But what about the “signs”? Although this is a controversial question, certain ancient Jewish scholars believed that God named the stars and their groupings (Isaiah 40:26; Job 38:31-32; etc.) and then revealed their prophetic meanings to patriarchs Seth and Enoch in order to record His great plan and purpose in creation permanently in the heavens. If so, it is no longer needed, since the written Word of God, “for ever . . . settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89), has now been transmitted “unto the fathers by the prophets” (Hebrews 1:1) and “shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). HMM

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