Monthly Archives: December 2022

Behold Simeon (After Christmas Message)

Posted on December 31, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

Luke 2:25-26 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. (26) And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

Throughout the Scripture there are times when God gives us a STOP sign. He puts a “behold” (the Greek ἰδού idoú, [pronounced id-oo’]) in the text. When Joseph discovered Mary was with Child, he slept, and

Matthew 1:20 … behold (idoú) the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost…. Continue reading →

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You Have Free Will (A Christmas Message)

Posted on December 27, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

Adam and Eve have both free will and the image of God. God told Adam that he was free to choose to eat of any tree in the Garden BUT the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). Someone asked me once, “Why did Adam have ONE tree that he could not eat of? Why did God even put that tree there?” Again, this is a fair question.

Free will assumes a person has a choice.

If I went to the market to buy bread, but say, only one type of bread – white Wonder Bread – was the only bread available. If that’s all you can get, there is no free will. Free will means a choice. If you had a Garden where absolutely everything is edible, you have no opportunity to exercise your free will. Free will would just be a blank concept, but would never be practically expressed. God gave man free will, then gave humanity a choice. Choose to do your job, and never suffer. Choose to disobey God and do the forbidden, then choose death over life (Genesis 2:17).

You know the story. Adam chose to disobey God. When you disobey God you lose His blessing. God has free will too. Humanity could enjoy the Garden while they obeyed the Owner of the Garden. But once they chose to reject God’s directive, they lost God’s blessing. God said to Adam:

Genesis 2:17-19 … cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground…

Man was creation’s caregiver. Because Adam fell into sin, creation fell into sin. The ground previously brought forth only fruit bearing plants. Now the ground is cursed – thorns and thistles along with other weeds come up. Man never had to use his sweat glands…. Continue reading →

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Mary said …

Posted on December 20, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

We have always lived in a world that has two views of God. The first view is the Subjective View of God. This is the most popular concept of God. In the Subjective View we believe that God exists for our benefit. This view creeps into the pulpits of many different Churches, even Baptist Churches. I have heard preachers say,

“God created Adam because God was lonely and needed a companion. After creating Adam, God saw that “it is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18), so he made Adam a helper called Eve.”

What is foolish about this statement is that God has never been alone. In Genesis 1:26 God – the Hebrew Elohim – said “Let US make humanity in OUR image, after OUR likeness”. God has never been alone. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is complete in Himself. God created angels. He did not create out of a need for us. God created us for another reason, a reason the antichrists hate. God did not create us because He somehow had to do so or else He would suffer.

The Second View of God is the Objective View. In the Subjective View we say that God created us because He somehow needed us. In short, God exists because we exist. But the Objective View of God is that God created us because we need Him. We are incomplete without God. God made us in His image and in His likeness so that we could worship Him as God, and glorify Him for Who He is.

When we walk away from God we rip a hole in our very lives. We are made in the likeness, the image of God. We are not gods, but we were made to imitate and glorify Him.

Humans were created by Grace and Love flowing from God – but God does not need us to complete Himself. God lacks nothing. Our creation is an extension of God’s goodness…. Continue reading →

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Fearing God Is The Beginning Of Knowledge

Posted on December 16, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

2 Corinthians 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear {phobos} of God.

Fear of God is not an antiquated notion. It is the bedrock upon which the Christian faith is built. Let us put God in first place in our Church, our homes, our communities, and our country. Only then will we experience the the blessings of God Almighty. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12). May God the Holy Spirit guide you in understanding this great truth. Amen and Amen. … Continue reading →

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Where Will You Fill Your Cup?

Posted on December 14, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

If you value your life based only upon the things that you possess, then you will be apt to commit suicide if you lose your stuff. To elevate STUFF above the SOUL is foolish. When Job lost all his stuff he said, “the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD”.

It is not what you POSSESS, but
WHO POSSESSES YOU that matters!

Word Study: “maliciousness” (Greek kakia) is “evil or wicked actions that the doer perceives without shame”. When the Sorcerer Simon sought to purchase the power of the Holy Spirit from the Apostles, Peter told him

Acts 8:22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee

There is no evidence Simon ever repented – though he asked the Apostles to pray for him.

Word Study: “full of envy” (Greek mestos phthonos) means “to desire what another has”. The Pharisees delivered Jesus to Pilate for judgment because they envied His following (Matthew 27:18; Mark 15:10). It is interesting that phthonos or envy of another precedes MURDER (Galatians 5:21), FIGHTING (1 Timothy 6:4), HATE CRIMES (Titus 3:3) and BACK BITING or SLANDER (1 Peter 2:1). We are not called to envy or desire what another person has. We as Christians are called to love and uplift others to the love of Christ. … Continue reading →

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A Virgin Named Mary

Posted on December 14, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

“Behold, Thou Shalt Conceive In Thy Womb, And Bring Forth A Son”. Jesus will come into the world through Mary as a boy, a man. Mary would conceive Jesus totally apart from any man’s intervention. This will be a fulfillment of the first prophecy of the Messiah. God told Satan in the Garden of Eden:

Genesis 3:15 (NASB) And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.

A woman does not produce SEED, but the EGG that the man fertilizes. Yet God said that the Avenger that would one day come and destroy Satan – that Old Serpent (Revelation 12:9) will be the “Seed of the Woman”. Later on in Scripture the Prophet would tell us in:

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel…. Continue reading →

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Tommy Hanvy’s Memorial Service (Homecoming)

Posted on December 14, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

As cancer returned to Tommy and he began to go down physically, I asked Tommy “Are you ready to meet Jesus?” He told me that yes, he was. This is the greatest question each and every one of us needs confront and answer before we reach death’s door. Tommy’s journey is over now. This chapter of his life is over. But Tommy’s life is not over.

One day Jesus sent His disciples out with the power to heal the sick. They came back elated, saying:

Luke 10:17 (ESV) “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”

Jesus told His disciples – those who lovingly followed Him:

Luke 10:19-20 (ESV) I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

How can your name be written in God’s Book? It is only through Jesus Christ that you can be saved. You must… Continue reading →

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A Biblical Examination Of The Hymns Of Christmas

Posted on December 9, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

I love Christmas and the Christmas Carols. So it’s not my intent to be a “Scrooge” tonight. This past Sunday Jerry mentioned “We Three Kings” as being one of the most theologically incorrect songs in our hymnal. That kind of peaked my interest, so I thought tonight we’d examine a few of the Christmas songs we sing and see if they are Scripturally accurate.

Away In A Manger

Away In A Manger is a beautiful song that focuses on the birthplace of our Lord Jesus. The song is supposed to reflect the Scriptures in:

Luke 2:4-7 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

The first four stanzas are:
Away in a manger, No crib for a bed.
The little Lord Jesus, Laid down His sweet head.

The stars in the sky, Look down where He lay.
The little Lord Jesus, Asleep on the hay…. Continue reading →

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Do You Love Jesus?

Posted on December 5, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

I was reading an article on “The 3 Misconceptions That Many Muslims Have About Christianity” the other day. I love to read, and learn much by it. One of the largest problems in witnessing Christ to Muslims is that they believe the West is “Christian”. Muslims regard their faith – Islam – as both a religion and a state. If I had never been exposed to Christianity and was told “America is a Christian nation”, I’d have some serious problems with that. If you brand America as “Christian”, then you must believe that sexual immorality, shedding of blood, and celebration of drug and alcohol use are endorsed by Christ. That’s not true. Neither America nor the West are Christian. The bloody “Christian” Crusades endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church are not “Christian”.

Do you know what “Christian” is? It is to love Jesus. It is to obey His Commands, regardless as to what anyone thinks. That’s “Christian”. Anything else is fake.

Being “Religious” does not make you “Christian”. You can know all the songs in the Baptist hymnal by heart and be lost. Jesus’ greatest critics were the Pharisees, who were extremely religious. God turned the tables on the Pharisees when He knocked down the one called Saul of Tarsus (Acts 23:6 & Philippians 3:5) on the Damascus Road, converting him to Christianity. After Saul of Tarsus became Paul the Apostle he often spoke against those who …

“had a form of godliness, but denied the power of God”
(2 Timothy 3:5).

Illustrate: Have you ever seen a Rubik’s Cube? I owned one years ago. The Rubik’s Cube has 43 quintillion (a quintillion has 18 zeros), 252 quadrillion, 3 trillion, 274 billion, 489 million, 856 thousand likely patterns that you have to overcome to unscramble it. I figured out how to unscramble a Rubik’s Cube in about 10 minutes. I peeled off the little paper colored squares, and re-pasted them where they were supposed to be…. Continue reading →

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A Word For America Today

Posted on December 5, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

God speaks to ALL of His Church in Rome. Though madness has gripped the land, God is STILL in control. How can we say this? Well, look at the first two verses of our text:

Romans 1:1-2 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)

Let’s consider first the Messenger

When we read the Scripture, we are reading text written by – as Peter said – by

2 Peter 1:21 … Men who spoke from God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit

So Paul must have walked with Jesus while our Lord walked this earth. Did he? Absolutely not! God has a great sense of humor. He could have chosen anyone to go and spread His Gospel to the Gentiles. But who did God choose? Jesus chose someone who described himself as:

Acts 23:6 (ESV) … a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees …

Paul was at one time Saul, “an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin” (Romans 11:1). As all Pharisees did, when Paul was Saul he hated the Gentiles. Paul was “circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law of Moses, a Pharisee” (Philippians 3:5). Saul hated Gentiles, but the thing he hated most was the Church of God.

Starting at the execution of the Deacon and Evangelist Stephen, Saul “breathed out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the High Priest and asked for warrants for Damascus, so if he found any following Jesus, he could bring them bound to Jerusalem” (Acts 9:1-2). It was on the Damascus Road that this racist and hateful man found Jesus – or rather, Jesus found him. And – miracle of miracles – Jesus chose Saul to be Paul the Apostle. His calling was… Continue reading →

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