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Slave!

Posted on September 14, 2017 by bibleteacherorg

1_Corinthians_7_20-24_Amazing Grace

Sermon Notes: 1 Corinthians 7:20-24 (KJV) Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. 21 Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. 22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant. 23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. 24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.

The Bible defines what is and is not sin. God gives us an extensive list of what He considers to be sin, and declares:

Ezekiel 18:4 (ESV) ….. all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.

Our text today speaks of the calling of God unto salvation:

1 Corinthians 7:20 (KJV) Let every man abide in the same calling
wherein he was called.

God calls people to Him from all walks of life.
He calls the rich, the poor, the red, yellow, black, or white.
He calls educated people and illiterate people.

God calls whosoever will to hear the Gospel, receive Christ as both Lord and Savior, and then to follow Him.

The unspoken question Paul answers today is …

“If I am a SLAVE and am called to serve Jesus, what should I do?”

The word “SERVANT” in verse 21 is the Greek δοῦλος doulos, which means “SLAVE”. It doesn’t mean “Servant” like a maid or a butler is a servant. It means someone who has lost their freedom, and who now MUST do as a master says. So what should a slave who is saved by the Grace of God do? The Apostle says:

1 Corinthians 7:21-22 (KJV) …. care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. 22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant.

The Apostle says “Don’t worry about it. If you are able to become free, do that. He who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord’s freeman; and he who was called while free is Christ’s slave.”

The Apostle tells those who are in slavery that they are not to worry, but to serve Jesus where they are called. Now I ask you a loaded question:

Does God Define Slavery As Sin?

I’m not talking about human emotion here. People are having battles and riots over statues of people who owned slaves. Personally, I could never own a slave. I believe that every person is made in the image of God. God did not create us to be enslaved. The Bible declares:

Genesis 1:27-29 (NASB) God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and SUBDUE IT; and RULE OVER the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you …

Humanity was created to rule over creatures and plants, not to dominate other humans. As God ruled us, we were to rule creation for God. Slavery was not in God’s original intent in creation. However, God allows certain types of slavery.

God Forbids Chattel Slavery

What is “Chattel Slavery”? Chattel slaves are people who are conquered, kidnapped, and forced into slavery as property. Chattel slaves are owned forever. Their children, and children’s children are automatically enslaved at birth.

This was a common form of slavery in the ancient world, and the slavery that was shamefully prevalent in early America. Presidents ….

George Washington^{1st President}

Thomas Jefferson^{3rd President}

James Madison ^{4th President}

James Monroe ^{5th President}

Andrew Jackson ^{7th President}

Martin Van Buren^{8th President}

William Henry Harrison^{9th President}

John Tyler^{10th President}

James K. Polk^{11th President}

Zachary Taylor^{12th President}

…. all owned slaves, though George Washington freed his slaves following the Revolution. Slaves were captured from Africa, stacked like cordwood on slave ships, and brought into America for sale. All human rights were suspended.

This type of slavery is forbidden in Scripture as “kidnapping” of as the King James puts it “menstealing”. The Bible says:

Exodus 21:16 (CSB) Whoever KIDNAPS a person must be put to death, whether he sells him or the person is found in his possession.

People were not to be stolen, nor their will taken from them. God made us in His image to rule the earth, not to be enslaved against our will. Kidnappers were put to death in ancient Israel for forcing people into slavery. God told His people:

Deuteronomy 24:7 (CSB) If a man is discovered kidnapping one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the KIDNAPPER MUST DIE. YOU MUST PURGE THE EVIL FROM YOU.

In the New Testament the Bible declares kidnapping or chattel slavery to be equal to the sins of murder, patricide or matricide, homosexuality, and lying:

1 Timothy 1:9-10 (CSB) We know that the law is not meant for a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral and homosexuals, for SLAVE TRADERS, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching …

John Newton, the writer of that glorious hymn Amazing Grace was a former slave ship master. After he received Christ as Lord and Savior and ceased this horrible practice he wrote about it.

“There are three lodging-rooms below deck {of the slaver ship} (for the men, the boys and the women). The slaves lie close to each other, like books upon a shelf. The poor creatures are cramped for room and chained, two together, by their hands and feet. This makes it difficult for them to turn or move, to attempt to rise or lie down, without hurting themselves, or each other. Sometimes the weather keeps them below deck for a week and they have to breathe hot and corrupted air. Diseases often break out and I believe nearly half of the slaves on board have sometimes died. On one trip the ship, in which I was mate, left the coast with 218 slaves on board; and though we were not much affected by disease, 62 died on the journey.”

None of God’s creatures should be treated this way. Chattel slavery is still practiced today. According to the Walk Free Foundation there are some 30 million chattel slaves in the world today:

forced laborers
forced prostitutes
child soldiers
child brides

The West African nation of Mauritania has one out of every 25 people enslaved.
In Haiti and Pakistan more than 1% of the population lives in slavery.
In India there are 14 million slaves.
You could equate this to forcing all of Pennsylvania into slavery.

Chattel slavery is evil, and forbidden. The 13^th Amendment to our U.S. Constitution states:

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

The Bible makes allowances for BOND Slavery. Bond slavery is not based on skin color nor is it forced on anyone. In the book Hard Sayings Of The Bible (Kaiser, Davids, & Brauch) we are told:

“A fellow Israelite who needed to raise money to pay for debts (could) … sell the only asset he possessed: his labor power. However, there were strict rules that governed his or her treatment during the maximum of six years that such a relationship could be entered into with another Israelite. Should any master mistreat his slave with a rod … the owner forfeited his whole investment (Ex 21:20–21, 26) and the slave was immediately released, or if the master caused the slave’s death, the master was subject to capital punishment.”

The Bible allowed “Bond Slavery”, where a person willingly sold themselves to another to work off a debt. The Bond Slave entered into a contract with another, promising to labor for that person until the debt was paid.

If you’ve ever been in the United States Military you were a type of bond servant. I remember one young man telling the Sergeant that he wasn’t going to do what he was told to do. The Sergeant replied:

You’ll do what I say NOW, or take an all expense paid holiday to For Leavenworth

The young man did what he said. Every four years I signed a contract with the US Air Force, raised my right hand, and swore to obey all lawfully given orders. When I was newly wed I was sent to Saudi Arabia for 90 days, minus my wife. The Commander told me when I complained:

The Air Force didn’t issue you your wife!

I’ve been all over the world, worked in sub zero temperatures and in heat up to 140 degrees. No one asked me if I wanted to go or not. No one asked my preferences. I was a bond slave to America, and would do it all over again if I could. I loved doing what I did, though it was harsh and hurt my body. But it was my choice.

The Bond Slave makes the choice.

In Israel the Bond Slave could only serve up to 6 years, then was released on the year of Jubilee. The Bond Slave could decide to “join up again” or could “Put his ear against the post” (see Exodus 21:6) and have an awl placed through the ear id he wanted to be “slave for life”. This was a person’s choice.

Bond Servants were not abused. God told His people:

Leviticus 25:38-41 (CSB) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God. 39 If your brother among you becomes destitute and sells himself to you, you MUST NOT FORCE HIM TO DO SLAVE LABOR. 40 Let him stay with you as a hired worker or temporary resident; he may work for you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 Then he and his children are to be released from you, and he may return to his clan and his ancestral property.

Brothers and sisters in the faith were not to treat one another as slaves, but as children whom God has saved. No one saved by the Blood of Christ is to treat another brother or sister as anything but precious in the sight of God. Dead people do dead things, but believers consider every life to be precious.

A man was feeling terribly sick, so he finally went to the family doctor. “Doctor, I just feel terrible. What’s wrong with me?” The doctor examined him, took some blood samples, and the next day called him into the office. “Were you bitten by an animal lately?” the doctor asked. “Why yes, about a month ago a stray dog came in my yard. He bit me as I was trying to run him off.” The doctor said, “I have some really bad news. You have rabies. If you had come in earlier, I could have helped you, but it’s now in your blood stream. You’re dying, and will be gone in perhaps another week.” The man though about this for a minute, pulled out a pieces of paper and a pen and started writing. “What are you writing?” the doctor asked. “I’m making a list of everyone I want to bite before I go.”

This man is a slave. Facing eternity, he is a slave to his hatred and grudge carrying. He willingly sells himself into this type of slavery, just as the addict willingly enslaves himself to the pill or needle, or the alcoholic to the bottle. These are willing slaves, bond slaves.

God Wants The Christian To Be
The Bond Slave Of Christ

1 Corinthians 7:20-22 (KJV) Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. 21 Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. 22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant.

Paul tells those who were enslaved or in bad or less than desirable situations to:

1 Don’t worry or obsess about your situation. “Care not for it” or better “Don’t let it overwhelm you”.

2 Seek betterment, or an upward path from where you are if you can. “If you mayest be free, use it” or better “if you can become free, by all means take the opportunity”.

3 Remember WHOSE you are. Not WHO you are, but WHOSE you are. I am Christ’s slave.

These are three goods pieces of advice. Dear Christian – if you are a Christian –

1 Corinthians 7:23 (KJV) Ye are bought with a price;

You were the slave of sin and of Satan. You used to belong to his evil kingdom of darkness. But you are now translated because of the Blood of Christ. Jesus died on Calvary for you. He purchased your salvation. He knew who you were when He called you to salvation. He said to you:

Ephesians 2:12-15 (CSB) At that time you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been BROUGHT NEAR BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. 14 For he is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In his flesh, 15 he made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations, so that he might create in himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace.

The Bloods of Jesus Christ shed for us purchases us from Satan and this evil, fallen world. We were the devil’s chattel but are now Christ’s Bond Servants. The Blood of the animal sacrifices saved no one, but the willingly shed Blood of our Savior brought us to God.

Hebrews 9:13-15 (CSB) For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow, sprinkling those who are defiled, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works so that we can serve the living God? 15 Therefore, he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

We are not defined by our life status, but by our God. We belong to God. Does your situation look bad? Look up. God owns you. He purchased you, not with silver or gold, but with the Precious Blood of Christ. This makes you precious to Him. Christian, you belong to God.

1 Peter 1:18-19 (CSB) For you know that you were REDEEMED from your empty way of life inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb.

Whatever your situation, it is not bleak because you belong to God. Do not become overwhelmed by what faces you, but serve Him in all that you do. If God opens a door of opportunity to better yourself, then take it. But do not forget that:

Colossians 3:23-24 (CSB) Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, 24 knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. YOU SERVE THE LORD CHRIST.

Life is short.

Psalm 102:11-12 (CSB) My days are like a lengthening shadow, and I wither away like grass. 12 But you, Lord, are enthroned forever; your fame endures to all generations.

Whatever is today shall not be forever. Serve the Lord. Praise His name when you move into the valleys of life, and He will light your pathway. God called you to salvation for a reason. He left you where you presently are for a reason. Serve Him.

I have been in many miserable jobs in my lifetime. I choose to serve Him and glorify Him where ever I may be.

Psalm 145:14-21 (CSB) The Lord helps all who fall; he raises up all who are oppressed. 15 All eyes look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. 16 You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. 17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all his acts. 18 The Lord is near all who call out to him, all who call out to him with integrity. 19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry for help and saves them. 20 The Lord guards all those who love him, but he destroys all the wicked. 21 My mouth will declare the Lord’s praise; let every living thing bless his holy name forever and ever.

The Lord looks after His people. We belong to Him.

1 Corinthians 7:24 (KJV) Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called,
therein ABIDE WITH GOD.

There is an old saying:

Bloom where you are planted.

Do all things WITH God. Abide IN Christ. Trust God, and serve God with all your heart. God will bless you in due season. God can and will change your situation, but serve HIM in what you do. Let others see the Gospel worked out in you. This is the greatest witness that you have, the life witness of Christ in you.

1 Peter 1:23-25 (CSB) …. you have been born again—not of perishable seed but of imperishable—through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this word is the gospel that was proclaimed to you.

God will transform the world through His Gospel, but it must be seen in us first. Let us live for our Jesus!

Posted in 1 Corinthians, Cross of Christ, Sermons Preached, Slave For Christ | Tagged amazing grace, grace, serving christ, slavery | Leave a comment

Charlottesville Wake Up Call

Posted on September 11, 2017 by bibleteacherorg

Great post, sweet Sister!

BeautyBeyondBones

I didn’t want to write this post.

A topic of this magnitude, and the tragedy that befell our nation on Saturday was something that I cannot find the adequate words to describe.

I was asked by numerous readers to write about Saturday’s Charlottesville terrorism, and truthfully, I’m sick to my stomach thinking about the grossly pathetic and ignorant behavior displayed by the white supremacist group. And it shocks and saddens me to think that this benighted ideology is still present in our 2017-America.

And as I sat there, gape-mouthed, in horror at what I was watching on TV, the only thing I could think about was one word:

Evil.

There is evil in the world.

img_7231-2

This is not going to be a fun post. I’m telling you that right now. And frankly, I’m getting heart palpitations thinking about the direction I feel the Holy Spirit leading me, but Saturday…

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Go Out With Joy, Be Led By Peace

Posted on September 11, 2017 by bibleteacherorg

Audio of 8:30 AM Sermon:

Audio of 11 AM Sermon:

Sermon Notes: Isaiah 55:1-11 (KJV) Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. [2] Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. [3] Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. [4] Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. [5] Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. [6] Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: [7] Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. [8] For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. [9] For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. [10] For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: [11] 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, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Isaiah 55:12-13 (KJV) 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. [13] 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.

You were given a lot of literature when you came to Church today. In addition to your weekly bulletin, you received the 2017 Prayer Guide for the Tennessee Golden Offering for Missions. You also received a “Cowboy Up” Suicide Prevention handout. Today is also the day before the Anniversary of 9/11, a terrible time in our country’s history.

Cowboy Up focuses on Suicide Prevention and Education. In my ministry I have had to bury the remains of several suicides. In every case I had people tell me “They said they were going to kill themselves, but I thought they were just fooling around”. They weren’t. These precious souls spoke out to those around them, telling others that they thought their lives were no longer worth living. They were wrong, but no one shared why they were wrong with them. What a terrible waste this is!

The Golden Offering for Missions focuses on reaching Tennesseans with the “Good News of Christ”, sharing the love of God with our neighbors. Every life is precious to God. People need to know that God loves them, and that God has a plan for their lives if they will only listen to Him.

And the horror of 9/11 happened because at least 19 terrorists from al-Qaeda heeded a false god, committed suicide and in so doing murdered 2997 innocent citizenswhile causing billions of dollars in damage.

In our text today God addresses the horrors of suicide and murder, and reaches out in love to everyone who will hear.

The suicide believes that no one cares.
God cares.
Jesus Christ cares.
God so loved the world that He sent His Son Jesus to tell us that.
Jesus became man to walk among us, to show us the love of God.

God Did Not Make The Thorns – We Did And Do

At the end of our text today we read this together. Let’s read it again:

Isaiah 55:12-13 (KJV) 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. [13] 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.

What does God – the God of the Bible, not that false god the confused follow …. The God that sent Jesus – want for us?

To Go Out With JOY.
To Be Led FORTH With PEACE.

Joy and Peace are what God wants for us all. And yet it seems at times that life is filled with thorns and briers. Bad things seem to happen all around us. Bad things happen to those we know. We hear it on the news. Hurricane Harvey has just destroyed a lot of Texas and damaged Lousiana. Hurricane Irma is due to hit Florida this morning – perhaps even now – and destroy much of that state. Bad things are coming, have come, and will come. Is that what God wants for us?

Absolutely not. The Bible tells us that when God made creation:

Genesis 1:31 (ESV) God saw everything that he had made, and behold, IT WAS VERY GOOD. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

God is GOOD, and everything He made was VERY GOOD. It was the best that God could make. It was beautiful. It was a Garden called Eden, and in it there was no sickness, no sadness, no death. The trees grew fruit, and there were no weeds, nor thorns, nor briers nor thistles. It was pure Paradise. The weather was perfect, so perfect that clothing was no invented. No one got up with a head cold or allergies. It was P.A.R.A.D.I.S.E. It was gorgeous. Man and woman lived at peace with one another and with God.

Then the Serpent came into Paradise.

Quit thinking about God.
Think about yourself.
Quit obeying God.
Do what you want.
It’s your body, do what you want.
Take, eat, enjoy the forbidden.
Ignore God and become your own gods.
It will be all right.

But it wasn’t. When Adam and Eve walked away from God the Lord:

Genesis 3:16 (ESV) …to the woman He said …. “in pain you shall bring forth children ..”

Genesis 3:17-19 (ESV) … to Adam He said … “cursed is the ground because of you;

in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

With God there was Paradise. Without God Eve found pain in childbearing, and Adam found thorns and thistles. God did not make the thorns and thistles but man did. The thorn and thistle, brier and bane are the children of the curse. We are born under sin and in a fallen and broken world because of what we did and do. Though we blame Adam for the initial sin that caused the Fall of Creation, the Bible is quick to point out:

Romans 5:12 (ESV) …. sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men BECAUSE ALL SINNED

Sin was brought into the world by Adam, but we ALL sin, we ALL are under the curse, and we ALL have done wrong. That’s the bad news. But there is good news.

God wants us to be blessed.
God wants us to go forth with peace.
God wants to bring about a spiritual transformation in every person.

Isaiah 55:13 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.

Instead of the useless and damaging thorn God wants to bring up the useful fir tree. Instead of the vain and vulgar brier God wants to bring the blessing of the myrtle tree. How can this change come to us?

We Need To Invest Ourselves In God

The promise of blessing is at the end of this chapter, but we cannot get to the blessing unless we heed what comes before it. God said:

Isaiah 55:1 (KJV) Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

If you are thirsty, come to the waters. Quit trying to satisfy your thirst yourself. You were made in the image of God. You were made by God for a purpose. Come to Him to satisfy your thirst. Jesus told a woman at a well one day:

John 4:13-14 (my paraphrase – MP) … whoever drinks of this well water shall thirst again … but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst …

Jesus calls to the thirsty, calls us to Himself. He cries out:

John 7:37 (MP) … if anyone thirsts, let them come to Me and drink …

John 6:35 (MP) … I am the Bread of life. The one who comes to Me shall never hunger, and the one who believes on Me shall never thirst…

The Lord will transform our lives from thorns to fir trees and from briers to myrtle trees if we would come to Him. The Lord says:

he that has no money, come, buy and eat

The Lord has provided the way of blessing and salvation in Himself. We cannot earn it. We do not deserve it. None are worthy in themselves, but it is the free gift of God. The Lord says:

Romans 5:15-17 (ESV) But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. [16] And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. [17] For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Adam brought thorns and briers into the world, hunger and want. But Christ came to give us life and purpose. He came to bring us into union with God, to give our lives purpose. We do not have to purchase what Christ has purchased – we just need to come to Him and invest ourselves in Him. To trust Him, to believe in Him. God asks:

Isaiah 55:2 (KJV) Wherefore do ye SPEND MONEY FOR THAT WHICH IS NOT BREAD? and your LABOUR FOR THAT WHICH SATISFIETH NOT? hearken diligently unto Me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

Why do we spend money seeking happiness, spending money for that which is not bread – and yet find no happiness there. The life without Christ is an empty life. The life without God is purposeless. People frantically search for happiness in …

Sex
Money
Power
Employment

But the life without God is unsatisfying. God says “listen to Me, let Me lead you to the good, and your soul will delight itself in the overflow”. Oh, how horrible the empty life is! But if you fill your life with Christ and His Word and Work, how blessed you will be!

God Calls Us Into Partnership With Him Through Christ

Isaiah 55:3-4 (KJV) Incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. [4] Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.

The Lord calls out to whosoever will. He says “incline your ear, and come to Me”. Not lower your ear but lift UP your ear. Listen to God, not man.

Stop listening to the world and its foolishness, and focus on the call of God in Christ. We are all broken, but God can fix us. We are born wandering, but God can take us into the Promised Land. God says:

If you’ll hear Me and come,
I will make an EVERLASTING COVENANT with you.

Jesus said in John 3:16-17 (KJV) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have EVERLASTING life. [17] For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Life with God is EVERLASTING. He calls us to come to Him, to trust Him, to turn from being our own gods and follow Him as Lord God.

John 3:35-36 (KJV) The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. [36] He that believeth on the Son hath EVERLASTING life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Oh how God wants to covenant with you, to make a contract with you. How God wants to be part of your life. The life in Christ, receiving Him as Lord and Savior, is a life of purpose and joy. Christ was given by the Father to be …

I have given Him for a WITNESS to the people,
a LEADER and COMMANDER to the people

Christ is the Witness of God. We are told in:

Revelation 1:5 (KJV) … Jesus Christ, WHO IS THE FAITHFUL WITNESS, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

Jesus came to tell us that God loved us.
He told us – then He showed us.
He went to the Cross for our sins.
He ATONED for our sins so that we can be AT ONE with God.

When you receive Jesus as Lord and Savior – as Commander and Leader – God promises to come be with you. He enters your life through faith and His Spirit.

BUT WE CANNOT SERVE GOD AND SERVE THE GODS!

Isaiah 55:6-7 (KJV) SEEK YE THE LORD WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND, CALL YE UPON HIM WHILE HE IS NEAR: [7] Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and HE WILL HAVE MERCY UPON HIM; AND TO OUR GOD, FOR HE WILL ABUNDANTLY PARDON.

When we come to God we forsake the other gods. We seek Him while He is near. We forsake wickeness, forsaking the ways we used to walk. We come to Him by faith trusting Christ, knowing that Jesus paid for my sins, and that God forgives me for Christ’s sake.

I am pardoned because of Christ.
I am now a Child of God because of Christ.
My purpose is no longer myself, but found in God’s Word.
I am no longer a useless thorn or brier.
I belong to God!

I forsake the thoughts of the world.
The world says “You are useless. Your life has no meaning.”
God says “You have meaning in Me. I love you, and make an everlasting covenant with you. You are mine, and I am yours.”

When we started in verse 1 God called the THIRSTY to Himself. Now He says:

Isaiah 55:8-11 (KJV) For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. [9] For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. [10] For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: [11] 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, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Words come from thoughts. Thoughts are the clouds that words come from. Rather than fill our heads with the world, let us drink in the Word of God. His Word is life. His Word satisfies our thirst. His Word “accomplishes what God pleases”. Just as God gave us rain and snow that waters the earth, God gives us His Word. Please hear His Word. Please receive Christ to yourselves. Please hear the Word of God, and know that God saves by it.

Titus 3:4-7 (KJV) But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, [5] 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; [6] Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; [7] That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

God loves you and wants you in His family. Receive Him today. Live for Him. Your life is precious – do not waste it, but live it in Him.

May God lead someone to Christ through His Word.

Posted in Isaiah, Sermons Preached | Tagged Christian, life, obey God, salvation, saviour jesus christ | Leave a comment

It Shall Be Well

Posted on September 11, 2017 by bibleteacherorg

Audio of Sermon:

Sermon Notes: Isaiah 3:10-11 (KJV) Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. [11] Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

When we find divisions among mankind we divide along the lines of economy, or skin color, or gender, or persuasion. But when God looks at humanity He divides according to His Kingdom:

The Righteous
The Wicked

God’s People Are To Be Righteous Like God Is Righteous

Not long after Adam lost the Garden we find two brothers, one righteous and the other wicked. Cain was wicked. His brother Abel was righteous. Abel was righteous because he sought to please God, whereas Cain was wicked because he sought to please himself. When Cain brought his offering to God the Lord refused it. The Lord spoke to wicked Cain saying:

Genesis 4:6-7 (ESV) … “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? [7] If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

The righteous “do well”.
The wicked “get by”.
The righteous seek the image of God in their lives.
The wicked seek their own image.
The righteous do what God says because they love God.
The wicked do what they want to do.

The Scripture declares in 1 John 3:10-12 (KJV) In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. [11] For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. [12] Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

Cain refused to do righteousness, and refused to love his brother.
Cain was of the wicked one, a child of the devil.

Rather than repenting and aligning himself with God he murdered his brother Abel. The wicked despise the righteous. The darkness hates the light. And yet the darkness cannot silence the light, for the Light lives on forever with God Who is light. We are told in …

Hebrews 11:4 (KJV) By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

Even though Cain took Abel’s life, Abel lived on with Christ. Why? Because God has made a precious promise to those that are His:

It Shall Be Well With The Righteous

Isaiah 3:10 (KJV) Say ye to the RIGHTEOUS, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

In all of our lives – whether righteous or wicked – we have times where we are in the valleys. Pain takes the child of God and the child of Satan. We age. We hurt. We have times that are bad along with the good times. But God has promised to those who are His:

… It SHALL be WELL with him …

God watches over His people, those made in His image. Though a Great Flood takes all of the earth Noah and his family rise above the disaster. Why? Because Noah was righteous. The righteous “shall eat the fruit of their doings”. The righteous DO righteousness. God looked over the world and throughout all the world He found only Noah. The Bible says:

Noah found Grace in God’s eyes (Genesis 6:8)

Noah was made in the image of God, and though all around him people chased after their own image Noah loved God. God came to Noah.

“Noah, build Me a boat.”
“Noah, make it this size.”
“Noah, do exactly as I say.”

How did Noah reply?
If he were WICKED he would have said:

“Lord, that seems a little too much for me.”
“Lord, my friends will laugh at me”
“Lord, does it need to be that big?”

Noah didn’t do any of those things.
Noah did not argue with God.
God’s Word came to Noah, and God bestowed Grace on Noah.

Genesis 6:22 (KJV) Thus did Noah; according to ALL that God commanded him,
SO DID HE.

Noah was righteous, and enjoyed the fruit of his righteousness. When the rains came, the world died, the wicked drowned, but Noah and his family rose above the disaster.

Say ye to the RIGHTEOUS, it SHALL be well with him!

God had told Pharaoh to “Let My people go, so that they can worship Me in the wilderness”. Pharaoh refused. He is the King of Egypt, a God unto his people. He will not let them go. So God’s Word came to His people.

“Take a lamb without spot or blemish.”
“Bring it in your home the 10^th of this month.”
“Kill it on the 14^th of the month.”
“Put it’s blood on the doorposts and lintel of the home.”
“Eat the lamb roasted, and prepare unleavened bread”
“Be ready to go, for the Destroyer is coming”

How did Israel respond?
If Israel were WICKED they would have said:

“Why does it need to be without spot or blemish?”
“Any lamb will do.”
“Why keep the lamb in the home?”
“Blood is messy – let’s not put it on the doorway”

No, Israel did not debate with God. The righteous do as God says do.

Exodus 12:23 (KJV) For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

Isaiah 3:10 (KJV) Say ye to the RIGHTEOUS, that it shall be well with him:
for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

Though it may seem at times as if the wicked is winning, God has promised those who love Him that it “shall be well with them”. There is a crimson line that stands between the righteous and the wicked. The righteous have faith in God. The wicked have faith in themselves, in their abilities, in what they can do. The Bible says:

1 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV) PURGE OUT therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

God’s people realize that they are made in God’s image, and realize that only God can give light and life.

2 Corinthians 4:3-6 (KJV) But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: [4] In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. [5] For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. [6] For 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.

Jesus Christ is the very image of God. When we see Him, we see what God wants us to be. We were saved the day we realized we were wicked sinners, deserving of eternal damnation. But then we saw Jesus. We saw Jesus perfect and holy. We saw Jesus born of a Virgin, entering into humanity for us. We saw Jesus, Eternal God made flesh, coming to earth to save us because God loved us. We saw Jesus high and lifted up, suffering and bleeding on Calvary’s Cross. Jesus died, not because He had sinned, but because we had sinned. We had departed from the image of God but Christ, the expressed Image of God, died for us.

1 Peter 3:18 (ESV) For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God …

The Image of God became the Image of Man so that He might bring us to God. The Righteous died for the unrighteous, the Christ for the wicked.

Romans 5:6-10 (CSB) For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. 8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 How much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath. 10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.

It Shall Be Well With The Righteous ALWAYS

There are times when darkness threatens us. Our loved ones may betray us, as Joseph’s brothers betrayed him. But is SHALL BE well with the righteous. Thrown into prison, Joseph was enslaved in Egypt. Falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife because he would not sleep with her, Joseph was thrown into prison for 13 years. I am sure those were dark and terrible years. Yet Joseph knew that God loved Him. God loves His Children. God protects His Children. When the time was right, God brought Joseph out of prison, and made him vice-ruler of Egypt.

The darkness may come, but God has promised us that it SHALL be well with the righteous.

It shall be well in sickness.
It shall be well in suffering.
It shall be well in betrayal.
It shall be well though the darkness toss us in a pit of lions,
Or in a fiery furnace.
It shall be well.

It may not seem well now, but it shall be well. Has not God said:

Romans 8:28-32 (KJV) And we know that ALL THINGS work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. [29] For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. [30] Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. [31] What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? [32] He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

If you have received Christ as Savior and Lord, all things work together for good.
If you love God, all things work together for good.
The Bible does not say that all things are good,
but that they all WORK TOGETHER for good.

God delivered His Son to death for you, dearly Beloved – how shall He not freely give us ALL THINGS.

Lazarus may lie on a dunghill and eat the crumbs that fall from the table of the master. He may lay in dirt, with only the tongues of the dogs nursing his wounds. But when Lazarus dies the angels carry him to Heaven, to where he rests in the arms of Abraham. The rich man who had not Christ lifted up his eyes in hell, being in torments.

Oh Beloved, you may suffer now, but look up and trust Him Who loves you. It SHALL be well with you. Though Job suffered he trusted God, saying ….

Job 5:19-27 (KJV) {God} shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. [20] In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword. [21] Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. [22] At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth. [23] For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. [24] And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin. [25] Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth. [26] Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season. [27] Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.

The Bible tells us that Job’s ending was more blessed than his beginning.
What a great testimony this is! Praise Him forever!
Walk WITH God, IN God, and FOR God. Don’t be as the wicked.
Do NOT be a pebble in God’s shoe!

It Shall Be Well With The OBEDIENT Righteous

Salvation is all of God. Disobedient Jonah cried out from the belly of the Great Fish:

Jonah 2:9 (KJV) But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. SALVATION IS OF THE LORD.

He was in the belly of the fish because, though righteous, he behaved as if he were wicked. God called, and he ran. Salvation is a free gift of God, but once saved you must do as He says if you wish to be blessed. The Bible tells us who are His that we are

Romans 8:29 … predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son …

We are to be like Jesus. We are to be like the One Who saved us.

Romans 12:2 (KJV) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Our text tells us:

Isaiah 3:10 (KJV) Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him:
for they shall eat the fruit OF THEIR DOINGS.

The word “DO” is found 416 times in the New Testament.
Those who are righteous – saved by faith – DO as our Lord says.
Israel was in a bad state because they were NOT DOING what God told them to do.

If you read Isaiah 3 – the rest of the text – you’ll find it to be quite dark. For instance:

Isaiah 3:1-4 (KJV) For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, [2] The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, [3] The captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. [4] And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

Jerusalem is the city of David.
Judah is the tribe of David.

But God has said to His Beloved:

I will take away your bread.
I will take away your water.
I will take away your military leaders.
I will take away your law enforcement.
I will take away your preachers.
I will take away the wise, and the talented.
And I will put babies in charge of your nation.

Why was God not blessing His people? Their DOINGS were against God! God will support NOTHING that is not in His character.

Isaiah 3:8-9 (KJV) For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and THEIR DOINGS ARE AGAINST THE LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory. [9] The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for THEY HAVE REWARDED EVIL UNTO THEMSELVES.

God promises to bless the righteous. He said “it shall be well with them … they shall eat the fruit OF THEIR DOINGS.”

The righteous are to DO righteousness, not evil. The righteous are to follow the Lord our God, to heed His Word, to lift His banner high. As C.H. Spurgeon said:

“The Christian has a bank that never breaks … the believer has an arm to lean on that is never weary, never feeble, never withdrawn …”

God loves us, but calls us to love Him, to commit to do for Him. What we sow we shall reap. The Scripture says:

Galatians 6:7-10 (KJV) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. [8] For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. [9] And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. [10] As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Salvation is all of Christ, but once in Christ we are to DO for Christ. We are to be light in the Lord. Though we have not touched upon it, let us look at the second part of our text:

Isaiah 3:10-11 (KJV) Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. [11] Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

The righteous who do well will eat the fruit of their doings. You will one day be with Jesus in glory forever. But the wicked it shall be ill with them, for the reward of his hands will be given him. God gives to each person according to their doings. If you do wickedly, you will receive the curse of wickedness. The unbeliever may seem to prosper now, but it SHALL BE ILL with him. Judgment day is coming. When the righteous die, we receive the fruit of our doings.

If you did little, you will receive little.
If you did much, you will receive much.
If you did nothing, you will receive nothing.
If you did wickedness, you will receive wrath.

Oh Beloved, come to Christ. Give yourselves to Him. Live for Him, and let Him live through you. There will be a payday someday. Live for HIM!

Posted in Belong To God, Blood of Atonement, Communion, Cross of Christ, Isaiah, Law Of God, Living God, Love One Another, Sermons Preached | Tagged bad behavior, Christian, christianity, God In Control, love, truth | Leave a comment

I Am Part Of God’s Symphony

Posted on September 7, 2017 by bibleteacherorg

Audio of Message:

Sermon Notes: 1 Corinthians 6:12 (KJV) All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

We live in a country of unprecedented freedoms. You can go where you want, when you want. You can do what you want as long as it is LAWFUL.

You can LEGALLY be a cross-dresser.
You can LEGALLY date a man if you are a man.
Or a woman if you are a woman.
In many states, you can LEGALLY marry someone who is the same sex as you are.
You can LEGALLY go to nightclubs, and “pick up” someone.
You can LEGALLY be sexually immoral, and ruin someone’s marriage.
You can LEGALLY go to Las Vegas and hire a prostitute.
You can go to Colorado and LEGALLY smoke marijuana.
You can LEGALLY go to Oregon and help someone kill themselves.
You can LEGALLY drink alcohol until you are unable to stand.
You can LEGALLY go to the local Walmart, buy a U.S. Flag, and desecrate it.
In many states you can LEGALLY murder an unborn child.
You can LEGALLY despise another person’s color as long as you do not act on it.
You can LEGALLY destroy public monuments because of their history.
In Florida you can LEGALLY enter this country illegally.
And in certain cities illegal immigrants LEGALLY use healthcare facilities.
You can LEGALLY use foul and blasphemous language.
You can LEGALLY record a song that glorifies rape and gangsta life.

We have unprecedented freedoms in our country. The Apostle Paul had unprecedented freedoms as well. He said:

All things are LAWFUL unto me

Paul was in a unique position. Rome ruled the world, and Roman citizens had unprecedented freedoms. Most Roman households owned more than one slave, and Roman citizens had access to all kinds of free slavery. Every conquered people were subject to enslavement. The Romans could do just about anything they wanted to do. The Jews were enslaved, in bondage as a nation.

Paul was a Jew. Paul said “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city” (Acts 21:39). Before Paul was Paul he was SAUL, a high ranking Jew. He testified:

Philippians 3:5 (NLT) I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law.

Saul was a full member of Israel, a ruling elite, a man with power. But Paul was also a Roman Citizen. Paul told the Centurion Commander in Acts 22:28:

“I was BORN a CITIZEN of Rome”

Paul was born in the city of Tarsus in the Province of Cilicia. Tarsus was one of the few cities of Rome that was considered a “Free City”. Those born in that city – even if Jewish – were considered Roman Citizens with all the rights of the Roman citizen.

Paul was a free man. He was free to enter the Temple, free to go where he wished as a free man. He was free as a Roman citizen. A mere Jew could be conscripted to carry a soldier’s pack, and his home could be commandeered and taken over. The Roman citizen could not be commanded. The Roman citizen had freedom to move about the empire unhindered. When Paul said:

“all things are LAWFUL unto me”

he wasn’t boasting, but being truthful. Paul could do ANYTHING a Jew or a Roman could do. EVERYTHING was LAWFUL to him. Yet Paul said:

All things are lawful unto me, but ALL THINGS ARE NOT EXPEDIENT:

The word translated “EXPEDIENT” is the Greek συμφέρω sympherō, a very interesting word. The word means “to bring together so as to make beautiful”. If you listen to the word you’ll note it sounds like “Symphony”, and there’s a reason for that. The word “Symphony” comes from the Old French “Symphonie” which came from the Latin “Sumphonia” which means “to be harmonious”, which the Romans took from “Symphero”. Our word “Symphony” comes from this Greek word. Paul said:

All things are LAWFUL to me, but not all things ARE IN HARMONY

If you’ve ever seen a Symphony you know that it is PLAYED by a collection of musical instruments operated by skilled musicians. No one musician follows his own path, but each member of the Orchestra follows the Conductor. Every musician has the ability and the right to play his or her instrument any way they want to – but not as part of the Orchestra or as a contributor to the Symphony. If you would be part of the Orchestra and thus part of the Symphony you must follow the Conductor. To not follow the Conductor is to play out of tune, and such playing not only DISTRACTS but DESTROYS the Symphony that is being presented. It is much like it was when I marched in the military. If I did not keep time with those around me, I caused the entire flight to stumble.

All things are LAWFUL, but all things do not make a SYMPHONY.
I can do what I want, but I detract from what God wants, and ruin what He is doing.
No member of the Orchestra wants to ruin the Symphony.
The Corinthians were ruining God’s Symphony.

The Corinthians Were Not Showing The Love Of Christ To A Watching World

The Apostle said 1 Corinthians 6:1-5 (KJV) Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? [2] Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? [3] Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? [4] If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. [5] 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?

The Church is called by Christ to be a body of believers who glorify God. Jesus said:

John 13:34-35 (KJV) A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. [35] By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Someone once said that God gave Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai, but Jesus gave the eleventh commandment to His Church on Mount Calvary. Jesus said that a lost world would see the validity of the faith of Christ through the love that we show to one an other. God expects us to love our enemies. Jesus said:

Matthew 5:44-45 (KJV) But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; [45] That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

We are to love those who do evil to us. But in the Church we must ESPECIALLY love one another. The Corinthians were not doing this. When they got into arguments among themselves (and this will happen) they began to bring civil law suits against one another. They carried their cases before unjust or unrighteous judges, worldly men in worldly courts, who saw the battles going on in the Church.

You say “But I would never do that”! Maybe not. But how many of us have been in Church fights or disagreements where we went home, got on the phone, and told our unbelieving friends about it? Then we later invite them to Church and wonder “Why won’t they come to Church?” Perhaps it is that you have played out of tune and ruined God’s Symphony, hitting sour notes or going off on your own score.

The Symphony of Grace is only beautiful when it is in one accord
and under One Conductor, Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Bible says of Jesus:

1 Peter 2:23 (NIV) When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

Jesus focused on staying in tune with God’s Order and God’s Orchestra. By carrying their dirty laundry out of the house the Corinthians made the Grace of God seem to be nothing but vain wishes and hopeful thinking. The Apostle told them:

1 Corinthians 6:7-8 (KJV) Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? [8] Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.

If someone in the Orchestra plays a sour note, do not step away from the Orchestra nor follow that person. Instead keep your eyes on the Conductor. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Though it may be LAWFUL to take a fellow believer to court, it is not in harmony with God’s Symphony. Suffer (or allow) yourselves to be defrauded, trusting God. God will sort it out. God will fix the problem. Just love, and keep loving. Serve, and keep serving. Do not become part of the problem, because you then rob yourself and your Church of the blessing.

There is a blessing in following God.
But there is a curse in NOT following God.

The Apostle warns: 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (KJV) Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, [10] Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Those who do evil – as God defines evil – SHALL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD. Those who reject the Law of God which is the Law of Love will be cast away from God’s Presence at His Judgment. Who shall not enter Heaven?

Fornicators – the sexually immoral
Idolators – worshippers of false gods
Adulterers – those who destroy marriages
Effeminate – those who prostitute themselves
Abusers of Mankind – those engaged in same sex
Thieves – those who steal
Covetous – the stingy or greedy
Drunkards – abusers of drugs or alcohol
Revilers – troublemakers
Extortioners – hold up artists

God knows who these people are, and will lead them to conversion or will remove them from the Orchestra. God will fix the problem. We are not to be part of the problem, though we are legally able to do so. Of everything listed above as sins that damn a soul, most of this list was legal in Rome and is legal in America today.

Yet these things bring bondage.
Sin binds the soul.
Sin harms the body.

Though it might be LEGAL, it is not part of God’s Symphony.
We should not play with it.

The Apostle said: 1 Corinthians 6:11 (KJV) And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

God indwells His Children. He washed us from His sins in His own Blood. He sanctified us, setting us apart as His people. He justified us, making us right with Him. We are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus. He is or Lord, our Conductor, our Leader, our King.

I Am To Be Christ’s

Corinth was the capital city of the so called goddess Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love. The prostitutes worked in that temple gathering funds for their goddess. Greek Geographer Strabo wrote around 20 AD:

“The temple of Aphrodite was once so rich that it had acquired more than a thousand prostitutes, donated by both men and women to the service of the goddess. And because of them, the city used to be jam-packed and became wealthy. The ship-captains would spend fortunes there, and so the proverb says: “The voyage to Corinth isn’t for just any man.”

The Corinthians had fallen prey to this evil. The Apostle wrote:

1 Corinthians 6:13-17 (KJV) Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. [14] And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power. [15] Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. [16] What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. [17] But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

It was lawful and even encouraged to visit the Temple of Aphrodite. But Paul said “though it be lawful, it is not part of God’s symphony”. It is darkness, and evil. The day the Christian becomes a Christian God indwells our bodies. We are in union with God. Therefore we are no longer to be in union with darkness. We are:

Colossians 1:13-14 (KJV) Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: [14] In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

We no longer belong to the devil, but belong to God. God lives inside us. We are to live with Him and with one another, glorifying Christ.

1 Corinthians 6:18 (KJV) Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

Sexual immorality – called “fornication” in our above text – is a sin that destroys our bodies. The sexually immoral contract diseases that the sexually righteous do not. The Bible says:

Proverbs 6:32 (NKJV) Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; He who does so destroys his own soul.

Sexual immorality is winked at in America today, but it is destroying our society. It is destroying families. It is destroying Churches. The Apostle encourages the Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (KJV) What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? [20] For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Your body belongs to God. Though it may be LEGAL, ask yourself “Is it part of God’s Symphony?” If not, put it away. Love Him Who loves you. Glorify God in your Body and in your Spirit, because we who are saved belong to God. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. He is our Conductor, our Lord, our God!

May Jesus touch your hearts with His Word.

Posted in 1 Corinthians, Belong To God, Blood of Atonement, Sermons Preached | Tagged bad behavior, unChristlike | Leave a comment

FIVE SIMPLE STEPS TO SHARE THE GOSPEL.

Posted on September 5, 2017 by bibleteacherorg

great article from a wonderful Christ follower

jesussocial

Like the early church we still have have the momentum of the Holy Spirit in us to keep flying the flag of Christ high by continuing in their prompt willingness to share the Gospel.
Irrespective of the age we find ourselves in, ie in terms of the technologies available today we can still keep up and share the Gospel with those around us beginning with family and friends. What great joy and privilege to share the greatest gift of love with people around us, on a personal one on one basis. Here are some five (5) simple steps to follow.
1. ASK PERMISSION
It could be on a bus, train, mall or even on a picnic, and you can start a simple conversation with a smiling ‘Hello’ , be polite and ask , ” Can I share a GoodNews with you? Just five minutes of your time please” or ,”…

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Walk In The Light Of The Lord

Posted on September 4, 2017 by bibleteacherorg

Isaiah_2_2t5_Walk_In_The_Light

Audio of Sermon:

Sermon Notes: Isaiah 2:2-5 (KJV) And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. [3] And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. [4] And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. [5] O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Audio of Message:

Israel was in bondage because she had drifted from God. Northern Israel had fallen to Assyria, and Southern Israel was about to fall to Babylon. How did God encourage His people?

He told them of better days to come. He spoke of the Coming Millennial Reign of Christ, a time when peace would rule on the earth.

Let’s meditate on what our Lord said:

Isaiah 2:2 (KJV) And it shall come to pass in the last days,

the latter days, at the end of the Age
when the old passes and the New King reigns

that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills;

the “High Places” will be reserved to our God.
In the Millennial Reign of Christ God will not be incidental, but the focus of our lives.

and all nations shall flow unto it.

God will be revered under the Leadership and Throne of Christ.
Those of His Church shall receive glorified bodies at the Rapture
So that we are able to glorify our God forever!

The Bible speaks of the coming of our Lord and His Rapture of His Church:

1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 (NKJV) For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:51-53 (NKJV) Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

What a glorious day that will be! In those coming days of glory the world will be changed.

Isaiah 2:3 (KJV) And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob;

People will want to gather together in love, glorifying God.

and he will teach us of his ways,

During the Millennial Reign of Christ people will want to hear the Word of God.
They will be taught of God.

and we will walk in his paths:

During the Millennium people will not walk in the paths of darkness nor sin.
We will walk in HIS paths, where our God leads.

for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

And Jesus will rule from Jerusalem.

How will the world be during that wonderful time? The Lord tells us:

Isaiah 2:4 (KJV) And He {Jesus Christ our Lord} shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people:

Jesus said in John 5:22-23 (NKJV) For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, 23 that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

All Judgment belongs to the Son. He will rule the world.
What is the result of His righteous rule?

and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

War will be ended during the Millennial Reign of our Lord.
Israel was in bondage, first to sin, then to the sinful pagan.
But where God reigns there is nothing but peace.
Where God rules there is fairness.
Where God rules racism is gone.

Looking forward to this great day, God issues a command to His people. He says:

Isaiah 2:5 (KJV) O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

If during the Millennial Reign Christ brings peace,

If in Heaven there is no domination of sin nor or hatred,

If these things are true because we walk in the light of the Lord,

Then let us NOW walk in the light of the Lord.

IF what blesses the world THEN is obedience to the Lord,
THEN what blesses the world NOW is obedience to the Lord.

God’s People Are To Walk In LIGHT, Not Darkness

On Wednesday nights we are working our way through the Book of 1 Corinthians, one of my least favorite books of the Bible to preach through. I didn’t say I didn’t wholeheartedly agree with it – and love it – because My Lord wrote it. But it is a hard book to preach.

The Church in America today is like Corinth, and no one wants to hear the truth.
That makes it hard to preach. But I’ll preach it anyway.

The Corinthian Church had gotten away from Walking in the Light of the Lord and began to let worldliness creep into the Church. The Apostle told Corinth – and the Church today …

1 Corinthians 5:9-11 (NKJV) I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with SEXUALLY IMMORAL PEOPLE. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or COVETOUS, or an IDOLATER, or a REVILER, or a DRUNKARD, or an EXTORTIONER—not even to eat with such a person.

Sexual immorality is darkness. God calls His people to one man – one woman marriages, just as it was with Adam and Eve. His people are to walk in LIGHT, not darkness. God calls His people away from homosexual, lesbian, transgender, or promiscuous heterosexual relationships. These things are darkness, not light. Come, let us walk together in the light of the Lord.

No believer is to be SEXUALLY IMMORAL – a violation of the 7^th Commandment.
No believer is to be COVETOUS – greedy, a violation of the 10^th Commandment.
No believer is to be IDOLATROUS – worshiping false gods,
a violation of Commands 1&2.
No believer is to be a reviler – hateful to others. This violates the Law of Love.
No believer is to be a drunkard – a misuser of alcohol or drugs.
And certainly no believer is to be an extortioner – manipulating others for gain.

You say “But truly no believer would do these things”. Believers have, and did. The Corinthians did so. A famous Old Testament example of such things was God’s own King David. David was “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22). And David is a perfect example of why we do not walk in darkness.

David COVETED.
He saw another man’s wife.
David EXTORTED.
He took that man’s wife.
David was SEXUALLY IMMORAL.
He slept with that man’s wife.
David was IDOLATROUS.
He worshiped himself and his power.
He did not glorify God.
Then David MURDERED the man from whom
He coveted, extorted, took.

But God punished David.

2 Samuel 12:10 (ESV) Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.

the Lord told David.
If you walk in darkness, you will stub the toe of your soul.
If you walk in darkness, you will hurt yourself.
If you walk in darkness, it will hurt others around you.
Remember what you learned in Bible School, that precious Song …

O be careful little eyes what you see
O be careful little eyes what you see
There’s a Father up above
And He’s looking down in love
So, be careful little eyes what you see
O be careful little ears what you hear
O be careful little ears what you hear
There’s a Father up above
And He’s looking down in love
So, be careful little ears what you hear
O be careful little hands what you do
O be careful little hands what you do
There’s a Father up above
And He’s looking down in love
So, be careful little hands what you do
O be careful little feet WHERE YOU WALK
O be careful little feet WHERE YOU WALK
There’s a Father up above
And He’s looking down in love
So, be careful little feet WHERE YOU WALK

Worldliness has crept into many Churches today.
Worldliness has crept into many of our beloved Baptist Churches.
Worldliness has crept into our beloved Convention.

The world has taught the Church how to compromise with the darkness, and the Church has listened. Oh Beloved, if you do darkness you will reap darkness. If you do light, you will reap light.

The Church – just like Israel – is called to look forward, to be prophetically minded.
The Church – just like Israel – is called to walk in the light of the Lord.

If we will THEN rule and reign with Him, we must NOW walk with Him.

Walking In Light Is The Normal State Of The Believer

Isaiah 2:5 (KJV) O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

As someone once said:

There is a big difference between an EMPTY profession and a GRACIOUS reality!

The dangerous “hope so” salvation is often prompted by the double minded person. God tells us:

1 John 1:6-7 (NKJV) If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

God saves us from the dark world to walk in His world. We who are His are translated beings.

Colossians 1:13-14 (NKJV) {God} has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

The Redeemed are Translated, and the Translated are Redeemed.

And we who are His are Redeemed to walk with Him. “Let us WALK in the Light of the Lord”. Walking implies activity and union. If we walk in the Light we walk WITH GOD and WITH OTHER BEINGS OF LIGHT. As we walk with God, we walk with God TOGETHER.

He said “Let us WALK”. Walk implies continuous activity. The Bible does not say “let us SIT in the Light of the Lord”, but “Let us WALK in the Light of the Lord”. Jesus said “My Father works, so I work”. We walk – we work – with our Father.

We Walk ONWARD With Light There may be times when darkness and depression come in our lives, but we do not live in darkness. Children of light may have times of sorrow.

Psalm 30:5 (NKJV) …. Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.

The believer is not to focus on the darkness, but on Christ, our “Dayspring from on High” (Luke 1:78). We lose loved ones. We all suffer the pangs and sorrows of death. But those of ours who have gone on ahead into His Presence are not lost, but held in the arms of Christ. We do not sorrow as the unbeliever does who has no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13), but our focus is on Christ. Jesus told us:

Matthew 6:22-23 (NKJV) The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

Where is your spiritual “eye” focused? If on the darkness, you will be in darkness. “Come, let us walk in the Light of the Lord”. Has He not promised

John 11:26 (NKJV) And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.

Then asks …

“Do you believe this?”

If you believe this, then focus on this. Let your life be all of

Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV) … 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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We Walk Onward In The LIGHT OF GRACE And LOVE

Isaiah 2:5 (KJV) O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

The unbeliever is in the state of darkness.

Ephesians 4:18 (NKJV) … having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;

This is where you were, dear believer, but no longer are.

Ephesians 5:8 (NKJV) For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

2 Corinthians 4:6 (NKJV) For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

We no longer hesitate between two opinions, but we desire to walk with our God in His light.

We are to walk loving one another as Christ has loved us.
We are to walk in love with our God, praising Him, magnifying His Name.
We glorify Him, not ourselves, but Him.

We know that the Lord’s Prayer:

Matthew 6:9-13 (KJV) …Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. [10] Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. [11] Give us this day our daily bread. [12] And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. [13] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

The Kingdom of God cannot come while His people are walking in darkness. We must walk in the light of His love, caring for one another, loving one another. We are a forgiven people. We are purchased by the Blood of His dear Son. We are His Children. Sin to us is a horror, a killer, a murderer of the innocent, a terror that we will not walk by. As C.H. Spurgeon once said:

“We are no longer bound to this earth! We are borne along by the irresistable force of eternal love. God has achieved His purpose in our blood washed souls; walking in the light we are now in harmony with His master purpose, and we cry,

Father, glorify Your Son!

May the Spirit of God bring you to know the joy of walking in His Light. May God bless you all!

Posted in Belong To God, Cross of Christ, Holiness, Love One Another, Sermons Preached | Tagged cross, Light of God, love, Millinnial Reign | Leave a comment

Come Now!

Posted on September 4, 2017 by bibleteacherorg

Isaiah_1_18_Come_Now Sermon Notes (Audio at end of text): The message of Isaiah is seen in his very name. Isaiah means “Yahweh Will Save”. God will save. God loves to save. When Christ came, where did we find Him? When He was young we found Him in the Temple teaching the Rabbis and Elders. His mother said:

“Son, did You not know You were worrying us. We have looked all day for You?”

To which Jesus replied:

“Luke 2:49 (NKJV) … “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”

Jesus came to do the Father’s Business. He started in the Temple, but moved outward to the people. Jesus came to correct His Church first, to get worship back on track. But the Church – God’s Temple – does not exist just for itself. It exists to point the world to God. It exists to rebuke sin, and to draw others to salvation in Christ.

Who were those most often about Christ but the sick, the sinful, the separated from God?

Sin is a terrible thing, for it draws God’s Creation away from God.

In Isaiah’s day Israel, a nation founded by God, had drifted from God. The nation was divided. Northern Israel was in captivity to a pagan nation, and Southern Israel was not far behind.

In our nation, our Blessed America, we have wandered far from God. The nation is divided. We are in captivity to pagan forces. We are in utter confusion, having to “define” bathrooms, to “redefine” marriage. What has led us to this?

Just as it was with Israel, we have wandered from God. What is the solution to our national problems? God calls out:

Isaiah 1:18 (KJV) Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

God calls out to whosoever will “Come now! Come to Me. Come reason with Me. I am the Almighty, the YAHWEH, the Eternal God Who made you.”

Come Reason With God Concerning Sin

Are we better under the reign of sin than we were under the reign of God?
No, I do not think so.
Our country has become confused and convoluted.

People are revolting in the streets, destroying public property, racists abound on both sides, and love is no where in sight. There is no longer any discussion, but shouted worldliness on all sides. There is no longer any rational or reasonable discussion, but whoever shouts the loudest is deemed the victor. The Bible says:

1 Corinthians 14:33 … God is not the Author of Confusion, but of peace …

That which grips our country is not REASON but UNREASON.

Kathy Griffin holding up the bloody head of a seated President, giggling, but later unrepentant and angry because she was rebuked for it.

Senators openly calling for the assassination of a Seated President.

Federal courts not following the Constitution, but the whim of the people.

God calls out. Come, let US reason ..

Come to God and discuss the matter. How shall we get from confusion to peace? We need to come to the Almighty God. To REASON with Him. We’ve tried reasoning with the world, and with Satan. Several years ago the then seated President Barak Obama stood with the redefinition of marriage. For two hundred years our nation believed marriage to be one man, one woman. We believed the Bible, which says:

Genesis 1:27 (NKJV) So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

The world reasoned. “Get rid of the Defense of Marriage Amendment. Give marriage a broader definition. It will not effect anything but just those predisposed to this lifestyle. Compromise with what God has written in His Word, and it will be fine.”

So we reasoned apart from God and His Word. Has it effected others? Absolutely. Bakers and Florists are being told that they must cater to weddings outside of their faith. Churches are being told they must cater to what God has not said is right or true. The religious rights of citizens are being trampled, all in the name of “tolerance”.

Sin is destructive.
It is sinful to do what God says not to do.
It is also sinful not the love and share God’s call to the sinner.

Sin Robs Us Of Our Design And Potential

Isaiah 1:2 (KJV) Hear, O HEAVENS, and give ear, O EARTH: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

When God cries out, notice that He cries out to the Heavens and the earth. The Heavens are in the hands of God. He controls the Heavens:

Psalm 19:1-2 (ESV) The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.

The Heaven and the earth declare there is a Creator, a Designer, a Loving Father Who made all things. We are told in:

Job 12:7-10 (ESV) But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; 8 or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. 9 Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? 10 In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.

There is the hand of the Creator in all of creation. We see God’s hand in the intricacy of every living thing. God created a self sustaining world, an amazing Sun, and populated this world with wide varieties of amazing creatures. God cries out to Creation itself which testifies of Him, saying:

I have nourished and brought up CHILDREN, and they have rebelled against ME.

Sin is rebellion against God. Sin makes us less than the animals. Sin makes us not animalistic, but WORSE than the creature. We were created in God’s image to rule and reign over creation. We were created by God to be over the animals, to have dominion for God’s sake.

Yet sin makes us dumber than the ox or the jackass.

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

America is America because of the faith of our Fathers.
We were founded on the basis of Christ.

The ox knows his owner, and sin has made us forget our God. The jackass knows his master’s barn, and if released in the wild will return to it for blessing. But sin has coarsened us to where we do not know God, nor the blessedness of God. When God said

My people do not consider

The word “consider” is the Hebrew בִּין biyn which means “to have understanding, to discern”. The lowly ox and jackass have the basic understanding that they do not belong to themselves, but to another …. and yet sin has caused us to think that we belong to ourselves. We do not. We belong to God. We were made by God. We were made to be not animals, but loved of Him and loving toward one another.

Sin drags a people down.

The world says “What does it matter? What is the harm? As long as you’re happy!”

But God says:

Isaiah 1:4 (KJV) Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

Sin does several things if unrepentant of.

Sin is a burden that weighs us down. God said:

Isaiah 1:4 (KJV) “a people LADEN with iniquity”.

Sin is a weight that gets heavier with time. I can pick up a 40 pound bag of concrete, but I sure wouldn’t want to carry it around. Sin is HEAVY. Sin is AWKWARD. Sin is COMPLICATED.

Sin stops even the believer from following Christ. Sin will destroy your ministry!

Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV) Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and SIN WHICH CLINGS SO CLOSELY, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Sin caused God to send His Only Begotten Son to the Cross. Sin hurts us. C.H. Spurgeon said:

“Say to a man, “You are not to be punished for your sin, and you may live in it”, what worst thing could you do to him? … Here is a bleeding wound in my arm; the surgeon says he will allow it to bleed, but he will remove my sense of faintness and pain; he will leave the mortal injury, but take away its attendant inconveniences so that I may bleed to death and not know it?”

Sin Is A Leaven That Grows, A Rash That Spreads. God said:

Isaiah 1:4 (KJV) “a SEED of evildoers”

When you go to the store you can find all kinds of SEED in different, brightly colored packages. The SEED rarely produces the beautiful picture on the outside of the package. Such is it with sin. Sin like other SEED comes in seemingly attractive packages, but when sown NEVER LOOKS AS GOOD AS PROMISED!

The Lord said: Matthew 16:6 (KJV) …. Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

It is sinful to be self-righteous. It is sinful to be holier than thou. It is sinful to be a hypocrite. “Beware the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy, to be two faced” (Luke 12:1). Do not be a hypocrite nor self righteous. Come to Him. Christ came to give Himself for sinners, and we are all sinners.

Romans 3:10 (KJV) As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

This is why God calls us to Himself. “Come, let us REASON together” is what God says. Come to Christ. Come knowing you are a sinner. Come knowing that God is willing to be gracious, willing to restore, willing to lovingly bring you from darkness into light. Sin unrepentant is sin spreading. Many Churches have winked a blind eye at sin. The Corinthian Church winked a blind eye at sexual sin. The Apostle told them:

1 Corinthians 5:6-11 (KJV) Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? [7] Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: [8] Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. [9] I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: [10] Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. [11] But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

If someone hears the Word of God and comes to Him to reason with Him, that person must repent of sin. Sin is no plaything, but a tool of the devil to enslave God’s Creation.

Sin destroys the children. God said:

Isaiah 1:4 (KJV) children that are corrupters

Sin takes the children far from God. God commanded His Israel to teach the children of God. He said:

Deuteronomy 6:4-7 (KJV) Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: [5] And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. [6] And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: [7] 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.

When the children are exposed to sin, it makes them corrupt, and the next generation of corrupters. As the twig is bent, the tree will grow. The child must be taught that he himself is not the center of all things, but that God is. Sin makes self the most important thing, but God is most important. The child to love the Lord, to sit at His feet, to hear His instruction QUIETLY, to submit to Him is the child that will grow to be a stable and honest adult. The child taught that he is the center of the universe will give us more of Charlottesville, more rioting, more instability, more idiocy.

When I was young my mother and grandmother taught me about

David and Goliath,
the three Hebrew Children,
Daniel in the Lions den,
Joseph and his coat of many colors.

Sadly many adults today have no concept of these Bible stories for
they were raised in a household where God’s Word was not spoken.

Is it any wonder that godlessness prevails in their lives now?

Sin Invites The Anger Of God. The Lord said:

Isaiah 1:4 (KJV) they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger,
they are gone away backward.

Sin brings the anger of God upon a nation. The Psalmist wrote:

Psalm 38:1 (ESV) O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! 2 For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me.

Sin brings with it sickness and loss of blessing.

Psalm 38:3-4 (ESV) There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. 4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

When 9-11 happened the nation cried out “Where is God?” The better question would be “Where are we in relationship to God?” Sin provokes God to anger. Our God is Holy, Just, Righteous, Pure. He despises to look upon sin. When God sees sin, He is prompted to judge sin.

What angers God most about sin is how it destroys His creation.
God made us to dominate, not be dominated.
God made us to be His Children, not Satan’s playthings.

Isaiah 1:5-7 (KJV) Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. [6] From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. [7] Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

Sin untreated brings sickness to a nation. From the bottom of the foot to the top of the head sin causes

wounds
bruises
putrefying sores

A nation without God becomes desolate

burned with fire
devoured by strangers

Beloved, this is our nation. The Church of God must stand against sin and with God. God has a remnant who lovers Him and stands with Him. Praise God for His Remnant! Praise God for the righteous in Christ. The Lord said:

Isaiah 1:9 (KJV) Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

God Will Make A Difference With A Faithful Remnant

The “Lord of Hosts” stands with His people. He tells us that it’s not too late. God’s Church can make a difference. God still calls with His Gospel. God still saves by His Christ.

We are not called to RELIGION, but to a RELATIONSHIP with our God. The Lord said:

Isaiah 1:13-15 (KJV) Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. [14] Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. [15] And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

The sinner need not expect to be heard of God. The Pharisees had ritual, but no relationship with God in Christ. God does not hear the prayer of the sinner, unless it be the prayer of repentance. God said:

Isaiah 1:16 (KJV) Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

Surrender your sin to God.

1 John 1:8-9 (KJV) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Repent of sin. Hear God. Come, let US reason, says the Lord. Ask God to purge you of anything that is unpleasing to Him, and live for His pleasure. God does not save us so that we can more freely sin, but saves us so that we might be His people, His light in this present evil age.

If you are Christ’s, then as Christ did the good, YOU do the good.

Isaiah 1:17 (KJV) Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed {correct oppression}, judge {more accurate, bring justice to) the fatherless, plead for the widow.

Isaiah 1:17 (ESV) learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.

Help someone in need. BE THE LIGHT of God. Tell someone that God calls to them. Play the Golden Trumpet of the Gospel.

Isaiah 1:18 (KJV) Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Christ came for everyone. His Blood was shed for whosoever will. Share this beautiful song with all who will hear. If the sinner dies in his sins he will go to a devil’s hell. This is not God’s fault, but the sinner’s fault. God is ready to forgive, to bestow Grace, to lovingly forgive sin for Christ’s sake.

It is each person’s choice.

Isaiah 1:19-20 (KJV) If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: [20] But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

May Christ lead someone to repentance and new life through this message!

8:30 AM Service:

11 AM Service:

Posted in salvation, Sermons Preached, sin, sinners | Tagged Christ, christianity, evil, salvation, sin, sinners | Leave a comment

Natural Or Spiritual?

Posted on August 31, 2017 by bibleteacherorg

Audio of Sermon:

Sermon Notes: 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 (KJV) But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. [15] But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. [16] For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

**There Is A Natural Man And There Is A Spiritual Man.**

The word translated “natural” in our text is ψυχικός psychikos which means “sensual or fleshly”. The Psychikos person is focused on the flesh, on logic, on the five senses – touch, taste, smell, hear, see. The Psychikos man will not receive truths from anything higher than his five senses. His attitude is “show me, then I’ll believe”.

The Psychikos or Sensual person is self focused. The ME is the center of the universe. This person is said to be “in the flesh”. The Apostle spoke of the fleshly person in:

Romans 8:5-8 (ESV) For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

The lost person – the person without Christ – lives according to the flesh.

They live according to the thought patterns that Jesus spoke against.

Our Lord said: Matthew 6:24-33 (ESV) No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. 25 Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles {the unbelievers} seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

The Psychikos or Sensual person is the person continually making self the center of all things.
This is natural for the lost – but UNnatural for the saved.
God calls His Children NOT TO BE FLESHLY – living according to the five senses
– but to be SPIRITUAL.

The word translated “Spiritual” in our above text is πνευματικός pneumatikos, which means “Spirit led”. Psychikos means to be “led of the senses” but Pneumatikos means to be “led of the Spirit”.

You can be Psykikos – from which we get our word Psychotic or Psychosis,
or you can be Pneumatikos – Spirit filled and at peace with God.
You can be flesh oriented, approaching life from feelings and senses,
or you can be Spirit oriented, approaching life with God at your side.
A locomotive engine on the tracks stays steady and strong,
But a locomotive engine off the tracks goes no where.
The Christian is called to be God oriented, Spirit led, and Bible fed!

It Was The Spirit Of God Who Led You To Salvation

If you are saved, born again, then you are saved because you heard the Gospel, and the Spirit revealed the Gospel to you. The Apostle writes:

1 Corinthians 2:2-5 (KJV) For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. [3] And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. [4] And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: [5] That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

And then states:

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (KJV) But as it is written, EYE hath not seen, nor EAR heard, neither have entered into the HEART {FEELINGS} of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. [10] But GOD HATH REVEALED THEM UNTO US BY HIS SPIRIT: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

It is the Gospel that is the very power of God unto salvation. But how can the Psychikos or sensual person hear the Gospel? They cannot. But God reveals them to us by His Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit Who opens the eyes, who enables the lost to see Christ as Lord and Savior. We who are saved have …

1 Corinthians 2:12-14 (KJV) … received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. [13] Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost {Pneuma – Spirit} teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. [14] But the NATURAL MAN RECEIVETH NOT THE THINGS OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Those who are in the flesh – Psychikos – CANNOT RECEIVE THE THINGS OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD. The lost cannot understand God. But the Holy Spirit opens the eyes as the Gospel is preached. It is not I nor you that save a soul, but the Spirit of God Who saves. What did Jesus say?

John 6:63-65 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

If you are saved, you are saved because God opened your eyes to the Gospel.
The Spirit enabled you.
He lifted the fog of flesh.
Those who are saved are not saved because of their works,
but because of the Spirit’s work and the Son’s work.

It Is The Spirit Of God Who Indwelt You At Salvation

1 Corinthians 2:12 (KJV) Now WE HAVE RECEIVED, not the spirit of the world, BUT THE SPIRIT WHICH IS OF GOD; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Once a person hears the Gospel – through the Spirit – and receives the Christ – the Spirit of God indwells that person. The Bible is very clear on this. We read:

Romans 8:9-14 (ESV) You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLS IN YOU. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. 12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Only those who are led by the Spirit of God are the Sons of God. The Holy Spirit saves the believer by opening our eyes to the Gospel. But then the Holy Spirit indwells the believer so that we can walk with God.

If you are born again you are to be Spirit led. The Christian is commanded to …

Galatians 5:16-25 (ESV) walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

It is normal for lost people to live abnormally and sinfully, but it is abnormal for a believer to live this way. The Spirit of God indwells the believer so that we – submitting to Him – will follow the pathway of righteousness and love.

The Holy Spirit is given to the believer to lead us in the truths of God’s Word. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50). Those who are saved by Grace are REGENERATED – made new – born again. The Scripture declares:

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV) … if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

If you are in Christ you are a new creature. We may live in the human race, but we run according to our Christ and His Spirit. We live for Him.
We are to be Pneumatikos, Spiritual.

In the previous chapter the Corinthian believers began to fight among themselves as to who was the more perfectly converted. They debated among themselves, arguing …

1 Corinthians 1:12 (KJV) … every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.

Some came to Christ under Christ’s preaching, and felt they were superior to the other believers. Some came to Christ under Peter’s preaching – that’s who Cephas was – and felt they were superior because of it. Some came to Christ under Apollos preaching, a famous Evangelist of that day. They felt they were superior. And some felt superior because they came to Christ under Paul’s preaching.

The truth is, it did not matter who preached,
but it was the Holy Spirit who in every case made the difference.
The Apostle preached the Cross of Christ,
but it is the Spirit of God that opens the eyes of the lost.

The Holy Spirit Is Given To Us
To Guide Us In God’s Truth

1 Corinthians 2:15-16 (KJV) But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. [16] For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

When the Apostle said “We have the mind of Christ” he was not speaking of the Corinthian Church. He was speaking of the Apostles, including himself. The reason that Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to His Church was …

John 16:13-14 (ESV) When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

The Holy Spirit – also called “The Spirit of Truth” – came to guide God’s people “in all truth”. What is truth? Jesus prayed prior to Calvary for His Church, saying…

John 17:14-17 (ESV) I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

The Holy Spirit came to guide the Church in the Word of God, His Bible.
The Corinthians were not God focused nor living by the Spirit.
If we are walking together in TRUTH there will be NO division.

1 Corinthians 3:1 (KJV) And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto SPIRITUAL, but as unto CARNAL, even as unto babes in Christ.

This is amazing. The Apostle said:

I cannot speak to you as if you were PNEUMATIKOS {Spiritual}
But I have to speak to you as you are SARKIKOS {Fleshly}
As if you were BABIES in Christ

Paul doesn’t call the Corinthians Psychikos – a word reserved for the sensual and lost, but he calls them Sarkikos or Fleshly. What is the difference? The Christian is saved by God the Holy Spirit to walk in the Spirit. We are saved to be above the petty things of this world. We are saved to be world changers, to live for Him. We are not saved to be PART of the world, but to be God’s Light IN the world. We are to put off the old man – that old dead way of life – and put on the New Man, to be like Christ.

How did Paul know that the Corinthians were Sarkikos and not Pneumatikos, fleshly babies and not Spirit led believers?

Because they were divided.
They were like babies playing in a sandbox.
Fighting over the Tonka toy.
Tossing sand.
As babies mess on themselves,
They messed on themselves.
And they even stunk to the world.

1 Corinthians 3:3-5 (KJV) For ye are yet carnal: {SARKIKOS} for whereas there is among you …

envying,
and strife,
and divisions,

are ye not carnal, and walk as men? [4] For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? [5] Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

It is God Who saves the soul. It is God Who receives the glory. The Apostle said:

1 Corinthians 3:6-7 (KJV) I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. [7] So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

God must give the increase.

To God be the glory, great things He hath done,
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life our redemption to win,
And opened the life-gate that all may go in.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear His voice;
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the people rejoice;

Oh, come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory; great things He hath done.
Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer the promise of God;

The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done,
And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
But purer, and higher, and greater will be
Our wonder, our transport when Jesus we see.

Where there is disruption and division, God is not. But where God’s people gather to cherish His Word, to heed His Spirit, there is unity and peace. We glorify Christ. We follow the Spirit’s lead. It is all of God, and none of my strength. All glory to Him!

1 Corinthians 3:21-23 (KJV) Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; [22] Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; [23] And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.

If you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s, then you are God’s. You belong to Him. Live for Him. Read His Word. Seek His face. Glorify Him. This is the Way of the Christ.

May God touch your hearts to know Him as He is.

Posted in Sermons Preached, Spiritual | Tagged carnal, fleshly, Holiness, Spirit Led, Spiritual, unity | Leave a comment

The Obedience Of Faith

Posted on August 27, 2017 by bibleteacherorg

Matthew 28:8-10 (KJV) And they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. [9] And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshiped him. [10] Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

Audio of Sermon:

Sermon Notes: The first person to see Jesus in the Garden of Eden was Adam. Adam was formed of the dust of the ground. God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life. God gave Adam the command to not eat of the forbidden. Adam disobeyed God, and “by one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned”. Eve was made later, and suffered because of Adam.

The first to see the resurrected Jesus was not men, but women.

Why is that?

It is because these women loved Jesus.

God told Israel:

Leviticus 26:21 (NKJV) … if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins.

But also,

Proverbs 8:17 (NKJV) I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.

The two Marys loved Jesus very much. A Mary anointed His feet with a broken Alabaster Box before the nails ever pierced them. Though Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathaea sought the body of Christ and helped with His preparation for burial, it was the Marys that washed His wounds, and rose early on the first day of the week to finish His preparation.

Though these women were not Apostles nor Pastors – and would never be so – they teach us a great deal about the type of faith that God wants us to have.

God Expects Our Faith To Be Obedient To Him

A Faith that is not OBEDIENT does not please God.

Hebrews 11:6 (KJV) But without faith it is impossible to please {God}: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

The Marys came to the Tomb and did not find Jesus, but found an Angel of God. I suspect this was Gabriel, the same Angel that announced the birth of Christ. Gabriel told the Marys:

Go QUICKLY, and tell His Disciples He has risen from the dead (vs 7)

You must GO QUICKLY and TELL.

What you saw, you share.

They were to GO QUICKLY.

When God tells us to GO we are to GO QUICKLY. This is the way of true faith. What is the main example of faith that God gives us in the Scripture but our Father Abraham. God told Abraham:

Get out of your country, leave your family and your father’s house.

Go to a land I will show you.

And I will make you great, and bless the world through you.

Abraham Moved Quickly, But Not Perfectly

Abraham moved immediately. He followed God without hesitation, but he did not follow God perfectly. He took some of his family with him, and because of that Lot brought trouble into his life.

The Marys faith was more obedient than Father Abraham’s. The Angel commanded “Go Quickly”, and they went quickly. They obeyed. They did not add to what he decreed. They went.

They also did not debate the Angel, nor think of reasons why they were not qualified.

God told them “Go”, and they went.

Moses Moved After Much Debate

When God came to Moses and told him – worthy and humble man that he was –

I have heard the cry of My people Israel.

Go to Pharaoh and tell Him “Let My people Go!”

Moses immediately began to argue with God.

Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, that I should bring Israel out of Egypt?

God said “You are My Messenger. I chose you. Now go!”

But Moses continued to argue.

I am not eloquent. I am not worthy.

I am slow of speech, and slow of tongue!

But God said I have chosen you, and I made your mouth.

But if you fear Aaron your brother can speak for you.

He can be your spokesman.

It would had been better that Moses heed God. Making Aaron his spokesman led to trouble, to idolatry, to rebellion.

The two Marys lived in a time when women had few rights, and were treated poorly by men. When the Angel said “Go Quickly” they, like Moses, could have debated God. “Who are we but women, lowly, disrespected by society? We are not Apostles – who are we to tell them?” But they did not debate God. God bless them, they did as the Angel said and went when God said GO.

To Honor God Is To Go When He Says

So many blessings have been lost because of delayed obedience. The Angel told the Marys “Go quickly”. Not to choose when they FELT like going, but to GO when God said go.

Israel Refused To Go When God Said Go

I am reminded of that fateful day when Israel stood at the bank of the Jordan River. Joshua and Caleb told Israel to cross as God had decreed, but Israel refused to listen.

We are as grasshoppers in the sight of those people.

Oh that we had died in this wilderness!

Why did God bring us to this place to be victims, to fall under the sword?

Let us revolt and return to Egypt!

When God says “Go quickly” He means us to do so. When God says “come” He means right now, not later. God told Israel:

Numbers 14:29-31 (NKJV) The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. 30 Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. 31 But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised.

At this point Israel chose to go forward, but it was too late. The people said:

We will rise up and go NOW, for we have sinned against God.

But it was too late. They did not go when God said GO, and now they could not go. So they wandered 40 years until all that God said came to pass.

Oh, blessed are the Marys who went when God said GO. They did not wait. Waiting can rob you of the blessings of God. There are many who will never cross the Jordan of faith, and so will never enter Heaven.

2 Corinthians 6 (NKJV) We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you,

And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

The Bible says “Come to Christ. Come today.” But some say “Not today. I will go another day.” I know a young man that I spoke to of Christ, a young man dying of cancer. I begged him to get his affairs in order. Cancer is a blessing as it gives you time to make your salvation sure. He spent his days living evilly, hatefully, and unrepentant. Now his heart is hardened, and His Maker calls. Will He see Christ?

1 Timothy 1:15 (NKJV) This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

Go quickly. Do not allow your emotions to hold you back.

Matthew 28:8 (KJV) And they departed quickly from the sepulcher with FEAR AND GREAT JOY;

The Marys were not hampered by their emotions. Fear has kept many from making an open profession of Christ. Fear has kept many from sharing Christ with others. They departed quickly, both fearful and joyful.

They left the Tomb joyful – but their joy will soon increase!

Why? Because …

The Obedience Of Faith Brings Us Jesus

Matthew 28:9 (KJV) And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, ALL HAIL.

I have often heard people say “I’d love to go to the Holy Land”. I’ve often said it myself. But do you know the “Holy Land” is where Jesus is – and Jesus is where His people are obedient!

Please note that the Marys did not meet Jesus at the Tomb. The text tells us:

as THEY WENT to TELL HIS DISCIPLES

This is when they saw Jesus. I have had people tell me:

I do not meet Jesus nor feel His presence in my life.

Alright then – are you being OBEDIENT to Him?

Are you doing what He says?

Are you reading His Word daily?

Are you seeking to worship Him and glorify Him?

Do you do as He says in Church attendance?

Do you do as He says in giving?

He has commanded your Baptism – Have you been Baptized?

Do you follow Jesus, or expect Jesus to follow you?

Have you forgiven and shown love to your enemies?

Are you in a state of prayer, living for Him?

Or are you more concerned about what others say?

Salvation is a free gift of God, but obedience is expected.

The Marys heard the Word of God, and moved to obey that Word.

It was then that that met Jesus. Or actually,

Jesus met them!

Word Study When Jesus met them the King James text says He said “All hail!”. That’s not correct. Jesus said χαίρω chairō, which means REJOICE or BE FILLED WITH JOY. This is the same word that the Angel Gabriel said to Mary, the Mother of Christ:

Luke 1:28 (NKJV) … “REJOICE (χαίρω chairō), highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

The Virgin Mary was to REJOICE because the Savior was coming. God would come to this earth through her. The two Marys were to REJOICE because death, the devil, and sin have been defeated. How do we know? HERE IS THE SAVIOR! He has risen, just as He said. REJOICE.

Obedience brought the Marys to a place of rejoicing. Someone once said:

The joy of the Lord is the gladness of heart that comes from knowing God, abiding in Christ, and being filled with the Holy Spirit.

The Bible tells us in Galatians 5:22 (ESV) … the fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness. The obedient believer is the joyful believer.

We are commanded:

Philippians 3:1 (ESV) … Finally, my brothers, REJOICE in the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 (ESV) … REJOICE always,

We rejoice IN CHRIST. In Him death is defeated. In Him life is eternal. Jesus says:

Rejoice, for I do not call you SERVANTS, but I call you FRIENDS

A FRIEND Who will never forsake you

A FRIEND Who will never leave you

Matthew 28:9 (KJV) … Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshiped him.

Thomas would doubt the Risen Christ. Why? Because the message Jesus went to His disciples was:

Matthew 28:10 (KJV) … go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

“Go into Galilee, and THERE YOU SHALL SEE ME”. Not at the empty tomb. Not sitting at home watching Charles Stanley or Joel Osteen on television. GO TO GALILEE. The obedient went to Galilee … all but Thomas.

I don’t know where Thomas was.

People are always asking me:

Where is so and so. I haven’t seen them in a while?

I’m sorry, I don’t know where Thomas is. I didn’t know it was my day to watch him. Thomas missed the meeting, the Church service in Galilee. He stayed at home. He wasn’t there. Everyone looked around and said:

Where’s Thomas?

The Bible just tells us:

John 20:24-25 (NKJV) Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, WAS NOT WITH THEM WHEN JESUS CAME. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

Thomas, we were at Church the other night when Jesus came. We have seen the Lord. Thomas replies:

Nuh Uh!

I don’t believe it!

Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails,

and put my finger in the print of the nails,

and put my hand into His side,

I will not believe!

Well Thomas, you didn’t believe in the first place. If you had believed in the first place you would have already seen Jesus. You would have touched Him when the others touched Him. Obedient faith touches Jesus. Go back to the Marys once more.

Matthew 28:9 (KJV) … Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and HELD HIM BY THE FEET, and worshiped him.

The Marys touched Jesus before any of the Apostles did. They HELD HIM BY THE FEET and worshiped Him. They felt Jesus’ body. He was not a ghost, a spirit, a hoo doo. They worshiped Jesus because God is to be worshiped. Christ is the God Man – God become Man to save us from our sins.

So we worship Him.

We glorify Him.

We honor Him.

We love Him.

So Thomas saw Jesus last. Had Thomas never been obedient he would have never seen Jesus at all. So Thomas finally showed up – and Jesus came just as He said. This was the SECOND time Jesus appeared in Galilee. But Jesus is gracious. He told the Marys to tell the Disciples:

Matthew 28:10 (KJV) … go tell MY BRETHREN that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

Thomas was a chucklehead, but he was still a child of God. Jesus did exactly as He said. Though we be faithless, He is faithful. He loves us, though we misstep. He came to Thomas and said:

John 20:27-29 (NKJV) “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

When we obey the Lord quickly, we are rewarded for our faith. When we delay in obeying we lose our blessing. Let us go quickly, obeying Him in all that He commands.

May God touch your hearts with His Word.