Sunday Sermonette

August 18, 2013 Follow Righteousness "Follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." (2 Timothy 2:22)   The word "follow" is frequently translated "persecute" in other passages. Jesus used the word this way: "The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20). The connotation of the Greek term includes a dogged and relentless effort.   Anyone who wants to serve the Lord Jesus faithfully must be determined to pursue righteousness. Those who "hunger and thirst after righteousness" are promised both happiness and fulfillment (Matthew 5:6). Those who seek "first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness" have the promise that God will supply all their earthly needs (Matthew 6:33).   Perhaps a quick review of some of the passages that require "pursuit" of a godly lifestyle would be helpful. "Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another" (Romans 14:19). "Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy" (1 Corinthians 14:1). "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14). "See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever followthat which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men" (1 Thessalonians 5:15). "But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow afterrighteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness" (1 Timothy 6:11). "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). Even this short list should keep all of us on our knees asking both for forgiveness and for strength to obey. HMM III h/t: HENRY M MORRIS III, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday Sermonette

August 11, 2013 Things to Flee "Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." (2 Timothy 2:22)   There are times to stand and there are times to flee. There are some things so fearful and deadly that it is foolish to try to face them at all. The only rational course, when confronted by them, is to flee!   The most obvious of all such enemies is the wrath of God, for His judgment is terrible and eternal. Therefore, His message to all unsaved men and women is to "flee from the wrath to come" (Matthew 3:7—the first occurrence of "flee" in the New Testament) by receiving Christ as Savior.   It is wise to refrain from all kinds of sin, but certain sins have such deadly consequences, even in this present life, that the Scriptures warn us to flee from them. "But thou, O man of God, flee these things" (1 Timothy 6:11). In context, the apostle Paul is here warning against "the love of money" (v. 10) and those who suppose "that gain is godliness" (v. 5). Those who desire to be rich, he says, "fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition" (v. 9). Therefore, flee from this temptation!   He also warns us to "flee from idolatry" (1 Corinthians 10:14)—that is, from worshipping and serving any part of the creation "more than the Creator" (Romans 1:25). This warning is especially appropriate today when there is such a wide resurgence of evolutionary pantheism.   Also, we must "flee fornication" (1 Corinthians 6:18). This is a deadly danger to the Christian in this day of amorality. Finally, as our text says, young believers (and old believers need this admonition, too!) should "flee also youthful lusts," if we are to be able to "call on the Lord out of a pure heart." HMM h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday Sermonette

August 4, 2013
The Name of the Lord
"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." (Exodus 3:14)

 

This unique name of God was given to stress the truth that He is timeless. The name "LORD" (Hebrew YHWH = Yahweh, or Jehovah) is essentially the same, conveying the truth that He is the eternal, self-existing One.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ appropriated this divine name to Himself when He told the Jews: "Before Abraham was |i.e., 'was born'|, I am" (John 8:58). Correctly assuming that this statement was nothing less than a direct claim to identity with God, the Jews immediately (but unsuccessfully) attempted to stone Him to death as a blasphemer.

 

As the I Am, the Lord Jesus Christ is, indeed, everything, and He has revealed Himself to us under many beautiful symbols. It is well known that there are seven great "I am's" in the gospel of John, each of which is rich with spiritual depth of meaning. They can be listed as follows:

 

"I am the bread of life . . . the living bread" (John 6:35, 51).
"I am the light of the world . . . the light of life" (John 8:12).
"I am the door of the sheep" (John 10:7).
"I am the good shepherd . . . |who| giveth his life for the sheep" (John 10:11).
"I am the resurrection, and the life" (John 11:25).
"I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).
"I am the true vine" (John 15:1).

 

It is well known that this magnificent self-assertion of the Lord permeates the whole Bible, from its first use in Genesis 15:1, "I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward," to its final occurrence in Revelation 22:16, "I am . . . the bright and morning star." And all these beautiful figures help us to pray more fervently "that God may be all in all" (1 Corinthians 15:28). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

July 28, 2013
Remember the Day of Rest
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates." (Exodus 20:8-10)

 

The Hebrew word for "remember" actually means to "mark" or "set aside." The Israelites didn't need to be told to "remember" the sabbath, because all nations had been keeping time in weeks ever since creation (Genesis 2:13). (Note the references to the sabbath in the sending of God's manna, prior to the giving of this commandment |Exodus 16:23-29|.) But they did need to be reminded to mark it as a holy or rest day, as God had done in that first week.

 

The Hebrew word for "sabbath" does not mean "Saturday" any more than it means "Sunday." It means, simply, "rest" or "intermission." The institution of the sabbath (that is, one day out of every seven days to be "set aside" as a day of rest, worship, and remembrance of the Creator) was "made for man" and his good (Mark 2:27). It was even of benefit to the animals used by man (note the mention of "cattle" in the commandment). It had been a pattern observed since the completion of God's six days of creation and making all things at the very beginning of world history (note Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 20:11).

 

It is still appropriate today, as well. "There remaineth therefore a rest |that is, 'a sabbath-keeping'| to the people of God" (Hebrews 4:9). All men have a deep need to remember their Creator and His completed work of creation at least once each week, as well as His completed work of salvation—especially in these days when both of these finished works are so widely denied or ignored. HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday Sermonette

July 21, 2013 Why Did Christ Die? "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)   This passage is often considered the defining passage of the gospel, stating the great truth that Christ died for our sins, then was buried (thus stressing that His resurrection was a physical resurrection, not just spiritual), and then rose again. As such, it is interesting that verse 1 which introduces it ("I declare unto you the gospel") contains the central mention of the more than 100 times the Greek word for "gospel" occurs in the New Testament.   However, it does not say why Christ died for our sins. It was not just to pay for our salvation and make us happy. There are, in fact, numerous references to His substitutionary death which do give us further insight into just why Christ died for us and our salvation.   For example, "he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again" (2 Corinthians 5:15). And consider Galatians 1:4, in which Paul tells us that Christ "gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world."   Peter's testimony and explanation was that the Lord Jesus "his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness" (1 Peter 2:24). John said: "|God| loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another" (1 John 4:10-11).   There are many other verses to the same affect. Christ did not die merely to save our souls, but to empower us to live in a way that would glorify God right here on Earth. HMM h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

Sunday Sermonette

July 14, 2013

Son of Man

"And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle." (Revelation 14:14) This is the last of some 87 New Testament references (84 in the four gospels, one in Acts, none in the epistles, two in Revelation) to Christ as the Son of man. Here we see the Son of man coming on a white cloud from heaven (just as He had ascended into heaven after His resurrection) as the conquering King of all the earth. What a contrast is this to the first New Testament reference to the Son of man. "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20). From humility and poverty on Earth to power and riches in heaven, and for all eternity—this was His journey when Christ left His heavenly glory to join the human family. In between the poverty and the power lay the whole human experience, for He "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). Finally, as Son of man He must die for man's sin, for "the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again" (Luke 24:7). Even in heaven He is still the Son of man, for Stephen saw Him thus: "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God" (Acts 7:56). There is, indeed, a great man in the glory! Christ called Himself "the Son of man" much more often than "the Son of God," though He will eternally be both, the God/man. He delights to identify with those whom He has redeemed, for He "is not ashamed to call them brethren" (Hebrews 2:11). "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" asked Jesus. Then we say, with Peter, "Thou art . . . the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:13, 16). HMM

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

Sunday Sermonette

July 7, 2013 Eternal Life ". . .that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." (1 John 5:13) Although this powerful, five-chapter letter from the apostle John is full of vital insights into the Christian life, it is written to "little children" (1 John 5:21) so that they might "know" the majesty and wonder of eternal life. John begins his epistle with a reminder that he "knew" this Jesus from whom the promise of eternal life came (1 John 1:1-3). John was an eyewitness to Christ's resurrection (John 20), which is the most powerful proof of the claims and promises of the Lord (Acts 17:31). Much of that which is applied in John's epistle is based on the precise teachings of the Lord Jesus Himself, heard by John and recorded in John's gospel under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (John 20:31). Those who believe will "not perish" (John 3:15-16). The "water" of Christ springs up to "everlasting life" (John 4:14). Whoever has everlasting life "is passed" from death to life (John 5:24). Those who come to Christ will "never hunger" (John 6:35). No one is able to "pluck" the believer out of the Father's hand (John 10:28-30). "Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die" (John 11:26). Based on the Word of God, John gives us several experiential tests by which we can know that we "live": We love and keep His commandments (1 John 2:3). We know and love the truth (1 John 2:20). We love the brethren (1 John 3:14). We have God's Holy Spirit (1 John 4:13). HMM III h/t: HENRY M MORRIS III, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH