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Eleven Days From Destiny

Posted on January 3, 2019 by bibleteacherorg

Deuteronomy 1:1-8 (KJV) These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab. [2] (There are eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadeshbarnea.) [3] And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the LORD had given him in commandment unto them; [4] After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei: [5] On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,[6] The LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount: [7] Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates. [8] Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.

God’s people are people of purpose. God never saves a person then ignores that person, or allows that person to ignore Him.

God not only saves His people from – but He saves them to.

God saves His people from condemnation, from death, from slavery, from Satan, from defeat and despair, and from hellfire. God also saves His people to glorify Him, to tell others about Him, to win the land for Him, and most importantly to be like Him.

Look at Abraham. The son of unbelieving parents, God called Abraham out of ancient Babylon. God told Abraham “If you follow Me I will use you to bless this entire world”. Abraham was saved from the pagan gods to worship the Living God. He was saved from childlessness to become a great nation. Through Abraham the Christ was given. God blesses those who trust Him.

Let us consider Moses. Moses was supposed to be aborted and murdered. But God saved Moses from death and moved him to the palace of the one who ordered his execution. Moses murdered a man, and ran away from home. God saved Moses from exile to raise him up to lead Israel, the nation God promised Abraham. God saves a person to use them for His glory. You are always saved from so that you can go to.

Let us consider David. David was a shepherd, considered the runt of his father Jesse’s offspring. God saved David from the shepherding to raise him up as supreme leader over Israel. God saved David and trained David to be the greatest mortal king Israel would ever know outside of Jesus Christ.

God’s people are always people of purpose. The unbeliever – like the firefly – dances from leaf to flower, bobbing in the breeze of whim and fancy. God has a greater purpose for His people than to be will ‘o wisps. We were not saved to be carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, by the cunning craftiness of those who lie in wait to deceive (Ephesians 4:14).

God saves us from sin to serve Him, to bring Him glory.
We are to conquer the world through God our Savior.

1. God’s People Are Purposefully Saved By God

Deuteronomy 1:6 The LORD our God spoke unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount:

Beloved, this world is lost, just as Canaan was lost. God saved Israel from Egypt to take the land of Canaan. Why? Because that land was lost. Sin had so imbedded itself in Canaan that child sacrifice abounded.

When sin is uncontested it grows and spreads like a rot.

This world is sick. God came as a Physician to call sinners – those that are sick – to repentance. Jesus said:

Mark 2:17 … They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Israel was given a command by God: “Go into Canaan, and take the land for Me. Do as I say! You are My People. “The Lord our God SPOKE UNTO US in Horeb”.

God did not speak to Canaan. In fact, God did not speak to Israel until after Israel was saved from Egypt.
What principle does this show us from Scripture?

God does not speak to the unbelieving and the defiled. God does not speak to those who are not His by faith. God spoke to US at Horeb – to US at the Mountain of God. Horeb is the same as Mount Sinai, the place where God gave the Law to Israel.

God never speaks to the unbelieving,
nor to the believer living as an unbeliever.
He speaks to the obedient saved,
To the Seeker in need,
To those who dwell in the shadow of His Presence.

God offers salvation to the lost, and bids that all repent and turn to Christ Jesus as both Lord and Savior. Yet to those who reject Him so that they might wallow in sin God says..

Psalms 50:16-21 But UNTO THE WICKED God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? {17} Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee. {18} When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. {19} Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. {20} Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son. {21} These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.

And again,

Proverbs 15:29 The LORD is FAR FROM THE WICKED: but he HEARETH THE PRAYER OF THE RIGHTEOUS.

God wants His people – people who are saved from this world, from the slavery of Egypt – those who are Christ’s – to go forward into Canaan and tell others they can be freed too!

TELL THEM that Jesus Christ loved us before we ever loved Him. Tell them that God sent His Son to be the payment – the atonement – for our sins (1 John 4:10).

TELL THEM that Jesus Christ was manifested – brought to this earth – to take away our sins (1 John 3:5).

TELL THEM that God will forgive no man’s sin unless they call upon the Name of Jesus. Our sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake (1 John 2:12) – not because we have worked our way into God’s good graces.

TELL THEM that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God (John 1:29) Who takes away the sin of the world. The sin of failing to believe in Jesus, of failing to surrender the life to God in Christ, is the chief sin that will send every soul unto eternal damnation. What is Christ’s promise to all who believe?

John 6:35-40 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. {36} But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. {37} All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. {38} For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. {39} And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. {40} And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

God saved Israel to follow Him. God saved the Church to follow Him. We are purposely saved by God. God’s People are also …

2. God’s People Are Purposefully Set Apart By God

Deuteronomy 1:6 The LORD our God spoke unto us in Horeb, saying, YE have dwelt LONG ENOUGH in this mount:

When God saved Israel from Egypt He did not immediately send them into Canaan. He led them to Mount Horeb – also called Mount Sinai – where the Lord instructed them and made them into a cohesive nation. Israel had to grow in their faith before they stepped out into Canaan. The Lord does the same thing to the Christian.

The Lord gives you and I times of peace and prosperity so that we can grow in our faith. We abide in the shadow of the Mount of God to grow – then when the time is right we move outward to do as our Lord has commanded.

The Grace you are saved by is not
the Grace you move forward by.

What do I mean by that? Believer, you are to GROW IN GRACE AND IN KNOWLEDGE. The Scripture says:

2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.

The world cannot understand the things of God – but they can see your life, and what God has done in it. You are to grow in grace, to grow in faith while you dwell in the relative peace of God’s Mountain. God has a goal for each and every Christian’s life. His goal is not that we wander in the wilderness of this sinful land, nor is His goal that we live defeated lives. The Bible tells us that each Christian is:

Romans 8:29 … predestined to be conformed to the image of God’s Son, {that Jesus} might be the firstborn among many brethren.

On the day that God saved you He predetermined that He wanted each and every one of you to be conformed to the image of Jesus. God wants us to be like Jesus! He wants us to be like Jesus in the way we love others.

God wants us to be kind like Jesus ..
To be giving like Jesus ..
To be worshipful like Jesus ..
To go out and be like Jesus in a non-Jesuslike world.

You come together and assemble together because Jesus commanded it. You worship together because – like Jesus – we who are saved by His shed Blood are kings and priests unto God (Revelation 1:6). We are kings and priests because God made us so (Revelation 5:10) – not because we made ourselves. You who are saved by faith in Him:

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Were saved to be greater than you naturally are. You are predestined by God to be like Jesus just like Israel was predestined to enter the Promised Land. The Almighty God Who

Philippians 1:6 … hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

The first generation of saved Israel refused to enter the land of Canaan as God commanded. They died off … then the second generation went in. God will get His way. It is far better to follow the Lord and be blessed. If you choose to refuse the Lord Who saved you, I am certain that God will not mind taking you to glory where there you can meet your destiny!

God’s people, changed by faith in Christ, should be world changers. We should expect change. We should not expect to stay in the same place at all times. You have dwelt in this mountain long enough. There is no water more bitter than stagnant water. The Christian way of life is about change. What saith the Lord?

Matthew 4:19-20 … Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. {20} And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

Immediately the disciples left their nets and followed Jesus.
Abraham left his home and followed Jesus.
Moses left the Desert of Midian to follow Jesus.
David left his sheep to follow Jesus.
God’s people follow Jesus to the glory of the King!

God’s people are not rooted to this earth, but our ultimate inheritance is in Heaven. You must leave the Mountain of God and go about your Father’s business. There’s an old song that truly says:

“This world is not my home,
I’m just a passing through.
My treasures are laid up,
Somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me,
From Heaven’s open door.
And I can’t feel at home,
In this world anymore.

Jesus said the same thing in the prayer He said for His Church before He was crucified. He said:

John 17:15-18 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil {one}. {16} THEY ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, EVEN AS I AM NOT OF THE WORLD. {17} Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. {18} AS THOU HAST SENT ME INTO THE WORLD, EVEN SO HAVE I ALSO SENT THEM INTO THE WORLD.

Those who belong to Jesus by faith are no longer of this world. We are here – but we are changed creatures. We are no longer of the sons of Adam, but we are sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus (John 1:12). We are agents of change. God changed us, and embraces us daily. He equips us – through prayer and the study of His Word – to go into all the world.

Israel complacent would not enter the Promised Land.
So the land stayed in pagan hands.
The Church complacent allows the land to fall to Satan.

Grow in Him. Pursue your faith, because …

3. God’s People Are Purposefully Sent By God

Deuteronomy 1:2, 6 (There are eleven days journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadesh-barnea.) … {6} The LORD our God spoke unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have DWELT long enough in this mount:

If you are saved, you are saved for a greater purpose. Israel was not saved from Egypt so that she could bivouac or mark time in the shadow of God. God does not save His people just so they can huddle together in the meetings of their local Church, safe and content, protected by four walls. His people are saved so that they can go out and win others to Christ. We are, like the early Church, to “give testimony unto the Word of His Grace” (Acts 14:3) – to tell others what Jesus did for us in our lives.

What is the significance of the statement: “there are eleven days journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir unto Kadesh-Barnea”?

The most profound statements in God’s Holy Word are often ignored or overlooked because we don’t carefully examine them. For instance, in this text we read “There are eleven days journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir unto Kadesh-Barnea”. You might read this and say “So what – who cares how far it is between those two areas?” Yet that eleven days journey is very important. You see, God’s Israel came to the Mountain of God – a place where they were to grow in their relationship to the Almighty – in the third month following their amazing departure from Egypt. Israel dwelt in the shadow of God’s Mountain for nearly a year – eleven months – as God lovingly trained them in what He wanted them to do. God fed them bread from Heaven. The Lord prospered them. He gave them their meat in due season (Psalm 145:15), quail for meat and water to drink. Israel grew fat in the shadow of God’s Mountain. Then one day …

God told His people “It’s time to move. Go and take the Promised Land. Leave this Mountain and do what I trained you to do. Trust Me. Have faith in Me. Though My mountain will be left behind you

I’ll be with you every step of the way”.

Israel should have believed the Lord. Israel sent spies into the Promised Land to see what was there. Those spies brought back huge clusters of grapes and other bounty. These men said “It’s exactly as God said. The land literally flows with milk and honey. It is a great land.” But then ten of the men said “we can’t go into this land. We feel that we just won’t be able to go, regardless as to what God has said (Numbers 13:27ff).” These men, because of their negative feelings, led the rest of Israel to rebel against God. God’s Israel – eleven days from promise, eleven days from God’s blessing – ended up spending forty years dying in the wilderness.

I have met many Christians who – I am certain they were saved – yet nonetheless live defeated lives.

Why? Because they would not trust God and DO what He said. Jesus commanded us to not only HEAR but DO what He said. I don’t know about you, but when I enter glory I want to hear my Master say:

Matthew 25:21 …Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.

Let us be a doing people for the Lord. Pray for me, as I pray for you. May God touch your hearts with His Word!

Posted in Deuteronomy, Sermons Preached | Tagged obedience, obey God, Trusting God | Leave a comment

Pride And Worry Go Away

Posted on January 1, 2019 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by James Wainscoat on Unsplash

1 Peter 5:5-9 (KJV) Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

When I was a little boy running around outside playing and rolling in the grass with my friends I dreaded the thunder storms. When the skies got dark and the clouds rolled in I and my friends would chant:

Rain, rain, go away,
Come again some other day!

If a storm came in Momma would make us come into the house and lay on our twin beds “so the lightening won’t get you”. At least, that’s what Momma said. I today believe it was because Momma knew if we came inside to play we would wreck the house! So I and my brother chanted, “Rain, Rain, Go Away, Come Again Some Other Day!” over and over hoping the rain would stay away and we could keep on playing.

As an adult I now know that it is God Who “sends the rain in due season, and causes the ground to yield its crops and the trees their fruit” (Leviticus 26:4). God causes the “sun to shine on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). The rains come for our blessing just as the sunny days come for our blessing. Our God is a God Who loves, and who blesses those who love Him.

The more I learn of God, the more I want to draw near to God.

Don’t you? I particularly want to be near God not just on the mountaintops of life, but also in the valleys. No one knows what tomorrow may bring. The weatherman can give a good guess as to whether it will be rainy or sunny, but only God knows if tomorrow that day will be happy and bright or gloomy and overcast. Solomon – the wisest man who ever lived – said …

Ecclesiastes 7:14 (KJV) In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.

Proverbs 27:1 (KJV) Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

We all need to be near God.
We need Him not just on the happy days,
But in the sad.

To Be Near To God We Must Not Be Prideful

1 Peter 5:5 (KJV) Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

The phrase “God resisteth the proud” should cause every one of us a thrill of fear, to pause and consider. The word translated “resisteth” is the Greek ἀντιτάσσω antitassō which means “to stand in opposition to, to range in battle against”. Pride causes God to be at war with us. God does not condone pride. Pride is to make yourself above God.

Pride is what the Chief Archangel Lucifer did one day in Heaven. God made Lucifer – his name means “A bearer of light” or “morning star”– and put him in charge of the other angels. The Bible tells us that one day Lucifer, looking at himself, became inflated with pride. The Bible says that “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18). In arrogance Lucifer stood against God, and with a five “I will” revolt said:

Isaiah 14:13-14 (KJV) For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: [14] I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

With these five “I wills” Lucifer stood against his Creator. The Lord told him “you are fallen from Heaven – you are cut down to the ground! You shall be brought down to the grave, and cast into the pit of hell.” Lucifer became a devil, and this devil became an accuser of the brethren and chief tempter that we call Satan. We see in our text that this fallen angel is no longer an angel of God, but he is a hungry lion. The Apostle warns us …

1 Peter 5:8 (KJV) .. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

When the devil comes he comes as a beautiful creature. He came to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden tempting, enticing. He came to Eve as a serpent, hissing, roaring, getting her attention. Ezekiel tells us that it was Lucifer in that Garden:

Ezekiel 28:13-15 (KJV) THOU HAST BEEN IN EDEN THE GARDEN OF GOD; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. [14] Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. [15] Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

It was pride that the devil appealed to. “Has God really said you shall not eat of every tree in the Garden?” The devil implies that God is witholding the best from Adam and Eve. How dare God forbid even one thing to you, dear Eve. Then Eve departs from the Word of God. “God has said we may eat of every tree, but we are neither to touch nor eat of the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden or we will die!” God never told our foreparents they could not touch the tree. He just asked that they trust Him and not eat that which was forbidden. But then the devil says, “You shall not surely die. God has told you a lie” is his implication. “When you eat of this tree you will become like God, like the Triune God! God wishes to keep the best from you.” With those words Eve eats, and gives to her husband with her, and he eats (the full text is in Genesis 3:1-7). And with this:

Romans 5:12 (KJV) Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Romans 5:19 (KJV) For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners …

Satan like a roaring lion sought out Adam and Eve, and enticing them, devoured them. What made our foreparents vulnerable to the devil’s attack? Pride. Pride, terrible pride. Putting myself first above all others.

It was PRIDE that caused Adam to eat the forbidden, locking us out of Eden.
It was PRIDE that led Cain to kill Abel, receiving a mark that would plague him the rest of his life. (Genesis 4:1-16)
It was PRIDE that led Joseph’s brothers to sell him into slavery. (Genesis 37:18-36)
It was PRIDE that led Pharaoh to kill all the male babies born among the Israelites. (Genesis 1:15-22)
It was PRIDE that led King David to take another man’s wife, then murder the husband. (2 Samuel 11-12)
It was PRIDE that kept Israel as well as Moses from the Promised Land. (Deuteronomy 32:52)
It was PRIDE that cost Samson his strength and ultimately his life. (Judges 16)
It was PRIDE that caused Herod to kill all the children two years old and younger in Bethlehem. (Matthew 2:16ff)
It was PRIDE that cost the lives of Ananias and Sapphira. (Acts 5:1-11)

Peter himself – the Holy Spirit inspired writer of this beautiful text – told Jesus “Lord, I am ready to go with Thee, both into prison, and to death”. Jesus told Peter that “the cock shall not crow this day before thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest Me” (Luke 22:34). Jesus told Peter – arrogant Peter –

Luke 22:31-32 (KJV) …. Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: [32] But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and WHEN THOU ART CONVERTED, strengthen thy brethren.

Peter had to be broken and his pride laid aside before Christ could draw near to him. So Peter speaks from experience when he tells us that the way to draw near to God is to:

1 Peter 5:5 … all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

We who wish to be close to God are to be “clothed with humility”. That is an interesting phrase. To be “clothed” is to cover yourself so that others do not see your nakedness. If you are “clothed with humility” then that is what people will see when they look at you.

We are to submit to one another. The wife is to submit to the husband (Ephesians 5:21-23), but the husband is also to submit to the wife. The child – the younger – is to submit to the elder, knowing that the elder has more experience and knowledge for living. In the Church we submit to God and submit to one another in obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ. He commanded us, saying:

Matthew 20:25-28 (KJV)… Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. [26] But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; [27] And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: [28] Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Our Jesus set the standard for “being clothed with humility”. See Him Who made Heaven and earth laying there in a manger.

“Away in a manger, no crib for a bed;
the little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head.
The stars in the sky look down where He lay;
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay!

Our Lord Jesus entered this life in a humble estate. He was raised in a humble town by humble parents. He lived His life without bank account or home. Our Jesus …

Philippians 2:8-9 (KJV)… being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. [9] Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name:

The way to power with God is the Way of Jesus. As we live our lives let us always be “looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). The prideful need not expect a blessing from the Master!

I heard a story once wherein a great King decided to parole one prisoner because of the holidays. Going into the prison he interviewed inmate after inmate. Every inmate he talked to had the same story. “I’m innocent. I don’t deserve to be here, dear King. Let me go!”. Finally the King interviewed one man who was different. “Why are you in this cell young man” the King asked. The man with tears running down his face replied: “Dear King, I am ashamed to say I deserve to be where I am. I broke your law, and knew I was breaking your law when I did it. If I die in this place then I deserve it. I am not worthy of parole!” The King turned to the guard. “Release this man immediately. He doesn’t need to be locked away with all these other good fellows!”

To be blessed of God you must humble yourself. You humble yourself before the surgeon, allowing him to operate on you. You humble yourself before the police officer. Oh Beloved, you must humble yourselves before God. Only in humility can God bless you. Only in humility can God save you!

To Be Near To God We Must Not Be Worryful

1 Peter 5:6-7 (KJV) Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Worry is the first cousin to Pride.

When we worry – and we all worry at times – at heart we are saying that we do not trust the faithfulness of God. Hasn’t God said that we are His? Has He not shed His dear Son’s Blood for us? Doesn’t God promise …

Hebrews 7:25 (KJV) {Jesus} is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

We are to cast our every cares upon our God. To throw that weight upon our Lord and Savior. Our Lord Jesus told us how unproductive worry is. He declared:

Matthew 6:27-33 (KJV) Which of you by taking thought {worrying} can add one cubit {even one inch} unto his stature? [28] And why take ye thought {worry} for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: [29] And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [30] Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? [31] Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? [32] (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. [33] But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Worry keeps us from stepping out on faith. Worry is non-productive. Rather than worry, which does nothing, pray. In fact, pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Do the right thing. Let all that you do be done for the glory of God. God tells us:

Psalms 37:3 (KJV) Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

You cannot draw near to God while you are worrying. If you are worried do as He says. Cast yourself into His arms. Confess your fear. Tell Him your heart. Draw near to Him in faith.

Psalms 73:28 (KJV) But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.

Psalms 115:11 (KJV) Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.

Psalms 118:8 (KJV) It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

The devil like a roaring lion roams about seeking whom he may devour. If he cannot rob you of your blessing from God by feeding your PRIDE, he will rob you of your JOY in Christ by making you worry. Author Max Lucado wrote in his book Come Thirsty:

“Worry is an option, not an assignment. God can lead you into a worry-free world. Be quick to pray. Focus less on the problems ahead and more on the victories behind. Do your part and God will do his. He will guard your heart with his peace…a peace that passes understanding.”

When I was growing up I never worried that we would have dinner on the table. I knew my daddy loved me and worked hard to make a living for us. I trusted him. Our Heavenly Father is more powerful than anyone anywhere. When He promises to look after us, then he will keep His promise. Jesus tells us:

John 16:33 (KJV) These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

If you are a saved believer in Christ then you were purchased by the Blood of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:19). You belong to God now. You are of countless worth to the Savior, and are cherished by the Father. Cast all your worries on Him, for He cares for YOU! Remember the ancient words:

Romans 8:28 (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.

God left you on this earth for a purpose. Dear believer, He did not save you to destroy you. Our God is faithful! If you do not know Christ as your Lord and Savior I beg you – REPENT, and turn to Him today. Receive Christ as He is – both Lord and Savior. Trust Him. Do not fear God, but fear hell if you will not trust Him. Call upon the Name of the Lord believing, and you shall be saved!

Posted in 1 Peter, Sermons Preached | Tagged close to God, God Is Able, God Is Faithful, pride, worry | Leave a comment

Faith Changes Things

Posted on December 27, 2018 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by lee bernd on Unsplash

2 Peter 1:1-4 (KJV) Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: [2] Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, [3] According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: [4] Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Faith in Jesus Christ changes things.
Faith in Jesus Christ is the only thing that will change your life.

The Bible tells us that:

John 1:17 (KJV) For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Now this doesn’t mean that the Law had no truth in it, nor does it mean that God did not extend grace and truth to the Old Testament Saint. But the Law was external. It was written on tablets and scrolls, but not on the human heart. God loves His Israel just as much as He now loves His Church. But Israel had the external law to guide them. God promised that a greater day would come. He spoke through the Prophet saying:

Jeremiah 31:31-33 ^(KJV) Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a NEW COVENANT with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day [that] I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33 But this [shall be] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I WILL PUT MY LAW IN THEIR INWARD PARTS, AND WRITE IT IN THEIR HEARTS; AND WILL BE THEIR GOD, and they shall be my people.

The Law was written on tablets and scrolls, but not on the heart. Jesus Christ introduced Himself as the Messiah, the One Who would bring in the NEW Covenant. When He gave us the Lord’s Table He said of the Cup:

Luke 22:20 (KJV) ….. This cup [is] the new testament (New Covenant) in my blood, which is shed for you.

Moses was a great man, and a great saint. The Law that God wrote through Him was pure and holy and right. The Law was not a burden. But the Law could only diagnose sin, it could not fix it. Jesus fixed sin by dying for us.

Hebrews 9:14-15^(KJV) …. offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the NEW TESTAMENT (New Covenant), that BY MEANS OF DEATH, for the redemption of the transgressions [that were] under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

Why did God through Christ usher in a New Covenant? Because the Old Covenant couldn’t change who we were. It did not effect our hearts.

God Wants Us To Be Like His Son

2 Peter 1:1 (KJV) Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ ..

If you were to read this Epistle and not know that Peter was a fisherman then you would think that this was written by someone with a great deal of education. You would expect this person to have an alphabet of letters following his name. Peter had no seminary training, but he was surrendered to God in all that he did.

When God made Adam and Eve the Bible says that God made them in His image.

Genesis 1:26 (KJV) … God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the … earth.

God made us like Himself. But when Adam fell into sin he departed from God. The Bible said in Romans 5:21 … “sin hath reigned unto death”. Sin reigned so heartily that eventually God had Noah build an Ark, and through RAIN destroyed all but eight. As Noah and his family repopulated the world and over time Abraham was born, God promised through Abraham to bring man back to Himself. The Old Testament is the story of how God prepared the world for the coming of Christ. The reason Christ came:

As a Child in a manger
As a Boy in the Temple
As a Shepherd to His people
As a Sacrifice for our sins
As a Conquerer of the grave
As a Victor at God’s right hand

..was so that we could receive the Divine Nature. God wants us to be like Him.

The Peter that first met Christ was not
The Peter who wrote this book

This letter starts simply with “Simon Peter”. This is the only New Testament letter where the Author uses a double name. Before he met Jesus the Apostle was “Simon”, a name that means “to listen”. It’s almost comical because Simon often acted without thinking. But the name “Peter” means “a Rock”. This was the name that Jesus gave Simon (Matthew 16:18) when he told Jesus “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God”.

As Peter drew nearer to Christ he became more Christlike and less Peter-like. God wants this for you and I as well. Peter writes:

2 Peter 1:4 ^(KJV) …Whereby are given unto us EXCEEDING GREAT AND PRECIOUS PROMISES: that by these YE MIGHT BE PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

God wants you to be like Jesus. Jesus Christ died to make you more like Himself.

The writer of Hebrews wrote:

Hebrews 2:9-10 (KJV) But WE SEE JESUS, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. [10] For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in BRINGING MANY SONS UNTO GLORY, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

God wants to bring you to glory, to make you like His dear Son. The Apostle said:

Romans 8:29^(KJV) 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.

God the Father wants you to be just like Jesus. God the Son wants you to be just like Jesus. The indwelling God the Holy Spirit wants you to be just like Jesus. This is the target that you should shoot for, the goal that the Almighty wants to see you reach.

2 Peter 1:3 ^(KJV) According as his divine power HATH GIVEN UNTO US ALL THINGS that [pertain] unto life and godliness…

God has given us ALL THINGS that are necessary to bring to us a Divine Nature.

God has given us His Word.
God has given us His Spirit.
God has given us His Son.
God has given us His promises.

2 Peter 1:4 ^(KJV) Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious PROMISES:

To Be Like Jesus We Need More Than Faith

If God has given us everything we need to be like Jesus then why is it that there are some who never approach this “Divine Nature”? Because faith alone in Christ saves – but once you are saved you are to ADD TO that faith. When Simon Peter introduces himself at the beginning of this letter, how does he do so?

2 Peter 1:1 (KJV) Simon Peter, a SERVANT and an apostle of Jesus Christ …

The first word he uses is not APOSTLE but SERVANT (doulos). Many Christians think that God is their servant, but that’s not true. If you are a Christian then YOU are GOD’S SERVANT. Faith saved us, but our faith, if genuine, will go on to serve our Savior. The stepbrother of Jesus warned us:

James 2:19-20 ^(KJV) Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also BELIEVE, AND TREMBLE. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

A faith that does not work for Christ is a faith that will ultimately not work for Heaven! It is out of order.

Peter tells us that in order to become more like Christ we are to diligently add to our faith:

2 Peter 1:5 (KJV) And beside this, giving all diligence, ADD TO your faith VIRTUE; and to virtue knowledge;

Virtue is the Greek ἀρέτη arétē, (pronounced ar-et’-ay) which means moral goodness. We are not to be like the fallen world. We are to be obedient to our God in all that He commands. His commands are not a burden to the believer:

1 John 5:3-5 (KJV) For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and HIS COMMANDMENTS ARE NOT GRIEVOUS. [4] For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. [5] Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

The Christian is not to be swept up in the sinful fads of this world, no matter how “politically correct” they may be. Jesus never “slept around”. Jesus never lied or cursed. Jesus was never mean spirited. Though He rejected sin in all forms, He offered to bless anyone who would repent and come unto Him in faith. We are warned by James:

James 4:4 (KJV) Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

James 4:8 (KJV) Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

We cannot be possessors of the Divine Nature and the fallen nature at the same time. You must choose.

2 Peter 1:5 (KJV) And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue KNOWLEDGE;

Add to virtue KNOWLEDGE. Learn of Christ. Study Him. Focus on Him. You cannot read and study your Bible enough. You cannot read and study what Christ said enough. Jesus said:

Matthew 11:28-29 ^(KJV) Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

We usually read the comfort part of this text without reading that “and learn of Me”. Jesus said “come to Me and learn from Me. Do what I did. Follow My examples. Walk in My shoes.” Little kids love to dress up and be like their parents. My sons always walked around the house in my shoes when they were little. Walk around in Jesus’ shoes. Reach out in love to others, letting God be your guide. Be like Him.

2 Peter 1:6 (KJV) And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

Add to knowledge TEMPERANCE (ἐγκράτεια enkráteia, eng-krat’-i-ah), also known as SELF CONTROL. The word “temperance” refers to how you control your body, your passions and your expression of passion. Christians are to be self controlled as temperance is within the Fruit of the Spirit. Jesus was self controlled. He controlled His anger, His tongue, and His appetites in a way that glorified God.

Add to temperance PATIENCE. We are impatient people, but God is patient. He allows the world to make bad decisions day after day without dropping the hand of judgment on the earth.

2 Peter 3:9^(KJV)The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is LONGSUFFERING to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

God waits because He wants as many saved as possible to enter into His family of faith. James saw patience as a worker in our lives when he wrote:

James 1:2-4 ^(KJV) My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing [this], that the trying of your faith worketh PATIENCE. 4 But let patience have [her] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

God uses trials to form us, to mold us. So we must be patient, trusting the Lord as we go through this life. Never give up, never give in, but always give God the glory! Learn the art of silence & waiting.

Psalms 27:14 ^(KJV) Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

Add to patience GODLINESS. To be godly is to seek to please God.

We are saved Sons of God who should want to please our God. Godliness means to have a personal attitude toward God that asks before doing “will this make my Father happy?”

2 Peter 1:7 (KJV) And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

Do that which pleases your Lord God.

Add to godliness BROTHERLY KINDNESS. Be kind to others. When they mess up, be kind. If you must correct someone, be kind. To be kind is to be gentle.

Ephesians 4:32 ^(KJV) And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Proverbs 15:1-2 (KJV) A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. [2] The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.

Jesus was always kind – though He could be harsh. If a kind word would do, this was His way. And finally, to our faith we are to add one more ingredient.

Add to brotherly kindness CHARITY. Love all. Let love rule your lives.

Hebrews 10:24 ^(KJV) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

The faith that May God touch your hearts with His Word!

Posted in 2 Peter, Sermons Preached | Tagged Faith, gospel, living for Jesus, truth | Leave a comment

The Christmas Story Part 3

Posted on December 26, 2018 by bibleteacherorg

Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Photo by Pro Church Media on Unsplash

God is not usually found in the bright lights of man, in the fanfare, in the casinos, nor on the pinnacles of human achievement. The Bible tells us that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all“.(1 John 1:5). The Light of God is not found in the supposed glories of man. It is Satan that will take you up into a high mountain, and show you all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. and ask you to fall down and worship him. (Matthew 4:8-10). God is not in that. The Son of God was born of a virgin, cloaked in humanity, born just as you and I were born. He did not come in a palace, but in a manger. He did not come of rich parents, and even today the rich rarely regard Him. He was born of lowly parents, though to be born He had to lower Himself from glory – true glory.

There are three things we will see in the Scripture today. We will see what it means that Jesus is the firstborn. Once we understand this, we will prove that Jesus Christ must be loved and cherished. And finally, we will see why the cherished and loved Jesus brings glory where He dwells. First,

God Is In Control

Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son

Our God is an awesome God. It is He that created all things. The Bible says:

Psalms 90:1-2 (KJV) … Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

God made all things. It did not evolve of accident, but was purposefully made. From the beginning of Genesis we see God “bringing forth” life. God is in control of all things. Why are Joseph and Mary in a little town of Bethlehem? Because God is in control. God turned the heart of the king.

Proverbs 21:1 (KJV) The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

When …

“it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.” (Luke 2:1)

this did not happen by accident. This was no coincidence. But God is in control. God brought forth Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem because this is where God wanted them to be. The Bible tells us ..

“she brought forth her firstborn son”

The text does not say “Mary brought forth THEIR firstborn Son”, but it says that HER firstborn Son was born. I admire the humility and composure of Joseph. He is nearly ignored in the birth of Christ yet, good man that he was, if he had not been faithful Mary probably never would have brought this Child forth. The Child born is born of the Holy Spirit of God.

Matthew 1:18 … When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

The Bible tells us that Joseph was …

Matthew 1:19-21 (KJV) … a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

God would work through Mary to “bring forth” His Son onto this earth. Just as God brought forth life in the beginning, God now brings forth eternal life through His Son Jesus. This God born Son has within His frame …

Colossians 2:9 … all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

In Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead. Perfect God and Perfect Man meet in Christ. As the Son of God Christ will please the Father, doing His business. This little Baby – the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world – will stand between God and Man. He is the Mediator of the New Covenant. He is the One Who will bring peace between God and Man. Mary ..

Luke 2:7 … brought forth her firstborn son

So that God could enter His own creation. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him..” Jesus Christ is Mary’s firstborn Son, but He is God’s only Begotten Son. Man has been at war with God for many years. Sin has brought a breech between man and God. Now God lowers Himself to become Man so that He can reach Man.

It is through Mary that the Son of God …

Philippians 2:7 … took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men..

Why is this Baby born in this place at this time? Because God in His love wants to reach the world with love. He wants to destroy death and the power of evil. How will He do this?

Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

God the Son left eternity to come to us. The God Who is the Great I AM – who revealed himself to Moses at the burning bush – (Exodus 3:14; Psalm 90:2; John 8:58) would now reveals Himself to humanity in a manger. That fascinates me that God loves us this much!

Jesus is more than just a Rabbi, and Christmas more than just a holiday. It is at Christmas that we recognize God became Mary’s Firstborn so that we could be born again. Jesus is the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29) so that we who receive Him can become the children of God.

No Room For HIM or THEM

Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger…

Look at the love that Mary had for Jesus! The Lord Jesus, born of a virgin, is not cast from His mother, but is tenderly wrapped in swaddling clothes and carefully laid in a manger. This is the Savior of the world, she knows that she must take care of Him. Though Mary may not know at this time that He will be the Lamb of God Who taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29), she does know His importance. Do all see this importance? No, because:

Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

I’ve seen a lot of commentaries that explain the phrase “no room for them at the inn” in a variety of ways. Some say that this is because during the order of Caesar there were so many in Bethlehem that there was no place for Joseph, Mary, or Jesus but a stable. But I want us to look at this another way.

God is in control.

If God had wanted Mary to have her Baby and our Savior in a five star motel, then it would have happened. If our awesome God wanted Jesus to be born in a place where Mary’s every need was met by a servant, then this is what would have happened. It was God Who caused them to enter Bethlehem and stay not at an inn, but in a stable. Why? Why would God treat His Son this way? The great Evangelist Dwight L. Moody preached:

“He might have been ushered into this world with ten thousand angels; yea, legions upon legions of angels might have come to herald his advent. He might have been born in a palace or a castle. He might have been born upon a throne, if he had chosen to; but he just became poor, for your sake and mine. He passed by mansions and thrones and dominions, and went down into a manger. … When the Prince of Heaven came down, what kind of a reception did he meet with? There were no hallelujahs from the people. He found that there was no room in Bethlehem for him; there was no room in Jerusalem for him. When he arrived at Jerusalem not only the King, but all Jerusalem was troubled. When the wise men told Herod: “He is King of the Jews, for we have seen his star in the East,” not only the King upon the throne, but all Jerusalem was in trouble; and every man that had been looking for him seemed to be troubled, and the whole city is excited. … has the world grown better? Is not this world about like that little town in Bethlehem? There is no room for him? What nation wants him to-day? Does this nation want him? Suppose you should put it to a popular vote, I don’t believe there is a town in the whole republic that would vote for him. … I am ashamed to say that there are many of our churches that really would not want him. There would be a different state of things in the Church of God, to-day, if Christ should come. A great many church members do not want him; they say: “My life is not right.” There are very few families in the whole city of New York that would make room for him. They would make room for the greatest drunkard in New York, rather than make room for him. Don’t think the world is better if it don’t make room for him. If he should go to Washington, do you think they would make room for him there?”

There was no room for Christ. Neither Christ nor His family were wanted by the fallen world. Though He came to save the World:

John 3:17 (KJV)17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

1 Timothy 1:15 (KJV) … Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Here He is, but there is no room for Him. He is the Suffering Servant of whom Isaiah said:

Isaiah 53:2-3 (KJV) For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Oh that we would love Him as He loves us. But when we love Jesus as He loves us then we become cast outs together. “There was no room for THEM at the inn”. Those in Christ’s family will not be loved by the world. Jesus told us that. He said:

John 15:18-19 (KJV) If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

Oh how I love Jesus, and Oh how I hope you love Jesus! But if you love Jesus know that the world will not love you either. But we must keep loving Jesus. We must not compromise with the world. We must not ourselves ever forget that there is no room at the inn for them. We are strangers and foreigners on this earth. We belong to God.

Now let me get personal.

Are you making room for Jesus in your daily life? Do you live for Jesus at home, in the midst of your family, when you are away from this Church house? Is there room for Christ in your private conversation when the preacher cannot hear you? Do others at work know that you are a Christian, that you are saved by faith in Christ, or would they be surprised to discover you at Church on Sunday morning? We make room at the inn of our hearts for hurt and dismay over others, so much so that many times we hold grudges for years over what others have or have not done to us. Yet is there room at the inn of your mouth – do you refer to Christ in your conversation, and speak as Christ would speak before a lost and dying world? Do your children see Christ in you? He must be brought forth, Beloved, if you have believed in Him. You must lay Jesus tenderly before the world, wrapped in swaddling clothes, cherished – the focus of your attention.

When unbelievers heard that Paul and Silas were coming to their town they said, “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also” (Acts 17:6), and they troubled the people. They had no room for them at the inn. But that is all right. God is in control. God will triumph. The world will always say there is no room at the inn for them, yet:

1 John 4:4 (KJV) Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

If you have made room for Christ in your heart and life, then God is able – through you – to make a difference. Just remember that this is normal for Christ’s Beloved. Live a life of surrender, loving Christ with all your hearts. Look unto Jesus.

Jesus Christ surrendered Himself to Mary to enter into this world.
Jesus Christ surrendered Himself to suffering, deprivation, and pain.
Jesus Christ surrendered Himself to the horrid death of the Cross.
Oh how He loves you and me!

Shall you say to Him, “There is no room at the inn – I have no room for you in my life“? Or shall you do a sad thing, the saddest thing of all, and send Him into the smallest part of your life, into the manger, into the areas you care little about. No Beloved, make room for Him! He is worthy. Surrender to Him if you would be blessed.

Glory To God In The Highest!

Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Jesus in the manger lay in a place where the beasts were fed. The Bread of Life (John 6:48) would lay in a feed trough. Though the animals would not feed on Him, He would one day compare Himself to bread and drink, the very foundation of life.

While Jesus lay in that manger, the glory of God was in that place.

Jesus transforms what He touches. The Bible tells us that when our Lord was laid in this Manger that …

Luke 2:8-14 (KJV) And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

These common shepherds – forgotten people watching their flock while others slept – meet an angel of the Lord. The Messiah has come! Where is He?

Is He in Herod’s Palace?
Is He at the High Priest’s home?
Has He a guard of soldiers round about Him?
Is He waited on by nanny and butler?

No, here you find Him.
In a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes.

Jesus is in the lowest place He can be so that the lowest and least among us can reach Him. Later wise men shall bring Him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But now God brings Him the shepherds. He will bring Jesus to you as well – if you but receive Him.

Posted in Christmas, Christmas Sermons, Luke, Sermons Preached | Tagged Baby Jesuis, Christ, Christmas, salvation | Leave a comment

Unto The Hills

Posted on December 20, 2018 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Waranont Wichittranont on Unsplash

Psalms 121:1-8 (KJV) A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. [2] My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. [3] He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. [4] Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. [5] The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. [6] The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. [7] The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. [8] The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

I have noticed an epidemic of unexplained young deaths in the obituaries of our town Columbia over the last few years. I saw a few young babies pass away, and that is always sad. But I have seen a number of people in the 20-40 year range pass away “at home”. Some may have been cancer, but I suspect something else is at work.

My suspicions were rewarded when I came across an article from the Colson Center, a Christian ministry that produces the radio show “Breakpoint”. The article was called “The So Called ‘Deaths Of Despair’”. John Stonestreet reported that for the 3^rd year in a row the Centers for Disease Control said that American life expectancy has dropped. What caused this? The last time our life expectancy dropped was back in the early 1900’s during World War 1 and the outbreak of the “Spanish Flu” pandemic. What caused the drop in life expectancy this time? Was it Cancer or some other disease for which we have no cure? No. It was ..

Drug Overdoses and Suicides

Breakpoint reported “In 2017, more than 70,000 Americans died from drug overdoses, and approximately 45,000 people intentionally took their own lives.” Researcher Anne Case stated “Your family life has fallen apart, you don’t know your kids anymore, all the things you expected when you started out your life just haven’t happened at all.” These deaths have been labeled “Deaths of Despair”. Why are people despairing? I believe it is because they are putting their faith in the wrong thing. They need the LORD.

Look To The Right Lighthouse

Psalms 121:1 … I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

I have heard “despair” defined as a type of sin.
Despair comes about because
we focus our faith on the wrong thing.

You can liken despair to the Captain navigating his ship by night. In the distance he sees what he thinks is the shine of the lighthouse and, believing what he sees is the light, he adjusts the ship’s course accordingly. When he hits rock and the ship begins to sink it is then that he realizes he was seeing a reflection of the moon on the water. What he thought was safe was not safe. He was focused on the wrong thing, and navigating lives based on error. Now the Captain and his crew are shipwrecked. Shipwreck is despair.

We all suffer.
The saved suffer and the unsaved suffer.
The moral and the immoral suffer.
The Christian and the atheist both suffer.

This world is a fallen place, a broken toy. Yet the Christian is called not to despair but to hope. We have a God Who loves us and a God Who has promised us exceedingly great promises.

Hebrews 6:17-19 (KJV) Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: [18] That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: [19] Which HOPE WE HAVE AS AN ANCHOR OF THE SOUL, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;

The hope of the believer in Christ is sure and steadfast. It is this anchor that keeps us from becoming shipwrecked on the shores of life. Let me be plain – it is possible to be a Christian and fall into despair. But despair is counter-productive. When the Apostles were attacked for trying to share the Good News of the Gospel they did not despair. Paul said:

2 Corinthians 4:5-10 (KJV) 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. [7] But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. [8] We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, BUT NOT IN DESPAIR; [9] Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; [10] Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

The Apostle did not despair for he believed that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Paul saw the harsh treatment that life gave him to be something under the hand of an All Mighty God. He saw the trials as things that were ultimately for the good of himself, and for the promotion of the Gospel. God is in control, and God has promised good to us. Paul said:

2 Corinthians 1:20 (KJV) For all the promises of God in {Christ} are yea, and in {Christ} Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

The Apostle focused on Christ, on Him and not on the trials that came their way. Each trial, each bullying, each imprisonment or beating was for the glory of God and the good of the believer.

When Paul and Silas were called of God to go into Macedonia they immediately went. In . As they spread the Gospel the Bible tells us that the devil attacked, sending a demon possessed woman to hinder their ministry. The Scripture says:

Acts 16:18 (KJV) … Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

What happened to Paul and Silas? “The magistrates laid many stripes upon them and cast them into prison” (Acts 16:23). Can you imagine these men, beaten with whips, locked away into a dark underground prison filled with rats and excrement? Listen to them. Do you hear them moan? Do you hear them driven to despair? No.

Psalms 121:1-2 … I WILL lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. [2] My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.

When you are in a bad spot focus your will on God. Say “I will” to God.

“I will” occurs 1533 times in the Scripture

The very first “I will” in Scripture is found in the Garden of Eden:

Genesis 2:18 (KJV) And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I WILL make him a help meet for him.

At the very beginning of Scripture God was lovingly concerned for those whom He made. What is the very last of the “I will’s” found in the Bible? We read:

Revelation 21:6 (KJV) And {Jesus} said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I WILL give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

God made Heaven and Earth, and all that is in it.
But God’s loving concern is directed to US!
God loves us! Honestly He Does!
If God called the Apostles by an Angel to go to Macedonia,
Then it was His Love that sent them there.

Paul and Silas’ eyes and hearts are focused not on where they are, but on Christ and on our faithful God. They are in the inner prison, fastened by the feet to stocks (Acts 16:24), the place where only the greatest sinners are interred. The Apostle saw this not as a moment of despair, but as an opportunity to witness the glory of God in Christ.

Acts 16:25-31 (KJV) And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. [26] And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. [27] And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. [28] But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. [29] Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, [30] And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? [31] And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Why did God allow Paul and Silas to be beaten and imprisoned? Because He wanted that Jailer to hear the Gospel. God wanted those hardened prisoners to hear the Gospel. Had the Apostles despaired they would have done nothing for God or His glory. Our God is faithful! Our God is in control! Our God has a plan, and bids us to all look unto Him.

When Darkness Comes Make Yourself Look Up

Psalms 121:1-3 (KJV) I will LIFT UP mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. [2] My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. [3] He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

When you are in a deep valley and the darkness seems to be all about LOOK UP. Grab the Scripture, find His promises, and preach to yourself. Remind yourselves what God has said. That’s what David did. Listen to David as He preaches to himself:

Psalms 43:5 (KJV) … Why art thou cast down, O MY SOUL? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

David speaks to his soul. He has a conversation with himself, reminding himself that God is ever faithful. Bring to remembrance all the times that God was faithful, blessing your life. Look up! David did this quite a bit. Listen to his conversations with himself:

Psalms 16:1-2 (KJV) … Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. [2] O MY SOUL, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;

Psalms 25:1-2 (KJV) … Unto thee, O LORD, DO I LIFT UP MY SOUL. [2] O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.

Psalms 42:5 (KJV) Why art thou cast down, O MY SOUL? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

Psalms 62:5 (KJV) MY SOUL, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

Psalms 103:1-4 (KJV) …. Bless the LORD, O MY SOUL: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. [2] Bless the LORD, O MY SOUL, and forget not all his benefits: [3] Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; [4] Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

Psalms 104:1 (KJV) Bless the LORD, O MY SOUL. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honor and majesty.

I could go on and on. Preach to yourself. Encourage yourself to look up to God, to remember all the good He has done in your life. If there is a valley, God knows all about it. Trust Him, and lean not on thy own understanding. Know that God loves you, dear Christian. Trust His love.

Psalms 121:2 My help cometh from the LORD…

The One Who loves you and wishes to bless you is the LORD – all capitals in the King James. The One Who helps His Children is the Great YAHWEH, the Great I AM. He is able to turn whatever circumstance we are in to be for our good.

Psalms 121:3-5 (KJV) … He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. [4] Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. [5] The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.

Our God is never far away from us. Has He not promised:

Hebrews 13:5 (KJV) … I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

And hasn’t Jesus promised:

Matthew 28:20 (KJV) … lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Our God does not get distracted. He watches over His Children. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. The Psalmist says that “He that keepeth Israel (His people) shall NEITHER slumber nor sleep”. The word “slumber” means “to daydream, to doze off”. The Lord never takes His eye off of His Child. He watches, and cares. When trials come God oversees that trial insuring that the Child grows through the test. We are told that “We are His workmanship” (Ephesians 2:10). God is not a sloppy Carpenter. He watches over you! You belong to Him!

God Will Preserve His Children

Our God keeps us. He puts a hedge about us. He encircles us. God preserves His Children, those who have received Christ as Lord and Savior.

Psalms 121:7-8 (KJV) … The LORD shall PRESERVE thee from all evil: he shall PRESERVE thy soul. [8] The LORD shall PRESERVE thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

The word “Preserve” is the Hebrew שָׁמַר shamar, and it is used three times in our current focal text. Shamar means “to keep or stand guard over something treasured”. You are treasured, dear Christian – so love the Lord. The Lord promises His Children that He will stand guard over me …

1. Keeping me from all evil.

2. Keeping my soul, and

3. Keeping my body as I go about His business.

When I am in a valley I “Lift up my eyes unto the hills”. I remember that hill called Calvary. God paid the ultimate price for me on Calvary when His Son was crucified. Having paid that much for you and I, God will not abandon us now. We are His Treasure, and He is our Treasure. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

Posted in Psalms, Sermons Preached | Tagged God Is Faithful, God Loves You, God's provision | Leave a comment

She Could Waterski, But She Couldn’t Swim

Posted on December 18, 2018 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Simon Matzinger on Unsplash

As I get older I have started reading the obituaries. I read “She could waterski, but she couldn’t swim”. I read this tribute, and was totally blessed by it. I hope it blesses you.

“Carolyn Benefield, born January 29, 1938 in South Fulton, KY was perfectly described by that amazing characteristic. Who can do that? Who will ski when they can’t even swim? Only someone with the ability to totally place their faith in what they’ve been told and subsequently believed. Carolyn was told that if she kept her ski tips up, held on and let the boat do the work—she’d ski. She believed what she was told and she skied. That she could do nothing to save herself if she fell was not a factor. She had faith and let the boat pull her. She skied and never swam. That ability to trust and believe defined her life. She believed in and trusted the people around her. But it was the faith she placed in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior that allowed the family and friends she leaves behind to rejoice when she joined her Lord on December 14, 2018. Carolyn knew there was nothing she could do in life to save herself other than believe; her faith in Christ assured her salvation. Carolyn was an active member of Riverview Baptist Church where she loved serving in multiple roles over the years.”

This tribute to Carolyn says so very much, and it’s a perfect description of that which we call “Faith”. The Scripture defines “faith” this way:

Hebrews 11:1 (KJV) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith can only come to those who are humble and willing.

A person who believes they can do all things in their own strength does not have faith. They have pride. They have self assurance. They have perhaps arrogance. But this thing we call “Faith” is something that only comes to the humble. Carolyn did not know that she could ski, but humbled herself, and trusted in the love of those who were trying to teach her. That’s faith. That’s how you learn to ski before you learn how to swim.

Faith trusts in something outside yourself. Carolyn was a woman of faith. She worked beside her husband, trusting and loving Billy for over 60 years. Billy showed her how to work with cattle. She loved him, had faith in him, and worked cattle alongside of him. Billy told me that Carolyn drove a tractor, raked hay, and did everything but bale hay. She loved and trusted his her husband, and he loved her very much.

Faith trusts in Someone greater than yourself.

Like she trusted the ones who taught her how to ski, and like she trusted her husband enough to learn how to drive a tractor, she trusted the Lord Jesus Christ. When Carolyn heard the bad news that …

Romans 3:23 (KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God …

She realized that there is a God Who loves her and made her, but she, like we, all fall far short. But she heard that this wonderful Creator loved her so much that He came and gave His life for her. She heard and believed …

John 3:16-18 (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. [18] He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Carolyn believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.
She lived her life of faith believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The text that God laid on my heart today is about faith. In the Book of Hebrews chapter 11 the Lord speaks of a number of people who had faith in the Lord.

The text speaks of a man named Abel who trusted God, though his brother Cain killed him (vs 4).
The text speaks of Enoch who loved and walked with God so much that he never died, but walked right into Heaven (vs 5).
The text speaks of Noah who loved God so much he built an Ark before he ever saw a raindrop fall. (vs 7).
And the text speaks of Abraham who followed God looking for a city which hath foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God.

The Bible talks of this and a mighty cloud of witnesses who went before. Their faith was not in what they had, but in the God Who promised them eternity.

They did not look backwards but looked UPWARD.

Hebrews 11:15-16 (KJV) And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. [16] But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

Faith believes that God has prepared a city for His people.
We have not seen that city yet, but will see it one day.
God is faithful.

1 Corinthians 1:9 (KJV) God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

We have not seen that city, but Carolyn walks in that city this very day. Absent from the body, she is face to face with her Lord (1 Corinthians 5:8). Our Lord Jesus promises us that if our earthly home dissolve to dust, we have a building of God, a house made not with hands, eternal in the Heavens (2 Corinthians 5:1). The child of God – safe in the arms of Christ – now suffers no more. We all who have confessed the Lord Jesus and believed in our hearts that God hath raised Him from the dead are saved, and have this promise from Him. (Romans 10:9-10). Carolyn is safe in the arms of Jesus.

After speaking of faith and giving us examples of faith lived out we are told in:

Hebrews 12:1-2 (KJV) Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, [2] Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

There are a great cloud of witnesses watching us.
Those who went before us watch.
The world around us watches us.
And the Lord watches us.

If we are Christ’s possession by faith, if we are children of God by faith, the Lord tells us to “run with patience the race that is set before us”. Carolyn ran her race. Her race was not easy, nor will yours be. In any race the beginning is easy. But Christ Jesus did not call us to sprint, but to run a race. Life is a race where some days you are on the mountaintop, and you coast. There are easy days. But then, there are hard days. There are the days you are in the valley, and trying to run up a mountain. This is why the Bible tells us to “run with patience”.

We are not to give up, but to look up.

We are to trust the Lord Who saved us. The Lord tells us to put aside every weight – and keep on running! Do not worry. Do not be depressed. Jesus tells us to “Have faith in God”. Trust that He has your wife, your mother, your grandmother, your aunt. Trust what the Lord tells us.

Romans 8:35, 37-39 (KJV) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?… [37] Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. [38] For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, [39] Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God loves Carolyn – and every person that receives His Son Jesus by faith – as His own Child. Carolyn ran the race set before her. When Parkinson’s struck I never heard Carolyn complain. Each time I visited I’d ask “How are you doing?” and her reply was “I’m all right” or “I’m fine”. As she ran her race she got more and more tired. The things that she used to do, she could no longer do. But she ran with patience that race, doing what the Scripture tells her.

She kept looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of her faith.

Beloved, I beg you to do as she did. Life is unexpected. We never know what tomorrow may bring. As we age the grass withers, the flower fades away, but the Word of the Lord abides forever. The promise that Christ makes to them that believe in Him is very simple.

John 11:25-26 (KJV) …. I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: [26] And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

To LIVE and BELIEVE is to have faith.

“Believest thou this?”. Carolyn along with others believed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God Who came into the world. He came to be believed. He came to seek and to save all of us. Because Carolyn received Him as He is, though her earthly race has ended, her eternity has just started. She is now in a place where:

Revelation 21:4 (my paraphrase) Her God has wiped away all tears from her eyes. She shall feel no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Her race has ended, and she is in her reward. (Revelation 21:7 paraphrased) She who overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be her God, and she shall be my child.

We will miss her, but we will see her tomorrow – if Christ is ours. We have that promise of the Father. I end with this special text from God:

Psalms 121:1-8 (KJV) … I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. [2] My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. [3] He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. [4] Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. [5] The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. [6] The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. [7] The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. [8] The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

May God touch your hearts with His Word.

Posted in Funeral, Sermons Preached | Tagged Faith, Faithfulness of God, Funeral, Homegoing | Leave a comment

The Christmas Story Part 2: The Virgin

Posted on December 17, 2018 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Greg Weaver on Unsplash

Luke 1:26-27 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, [27] To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

What would you do if God came to you and told you He was going to shape human history through you? Many people would become arrogant. They would think “God really needed me to do this!” and would probably bragg to everyone they knew about it.

Mary was not that kind of person.

Mary Was Not Perfect

Now Mary was not perfect. But in a sexually charged world as Rome was she was faithful to God and not swayed by man. She was “espoused to a man whose name was Joseph”. The word espoused (μνηστεύω mnēsteuō) means “to be promised in marriage to”. Ancient Rome was as sexually sinful as America is today, but Mary remained faithful to her intended and her God. She was a virgin.

Mary was not perfect, but she was perfectly forgiven. She loved the Lord, and the Lord loved her. She was saved by grace, just as all are saved. Mary was a sinner saved by Grace. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) the Scripture says. All means all in the Scripture. All need a Savior. The Angel Gabriel told Mary:

Luke 1:28 (KJV) … Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

Gabriel told Mary two things. He said:

Mary, you are HIGHLY FAVORED

This is the Greek χαριτόω charitoō which means “have been given abundant grace blessings”. Grace is that which saves us, dear Christian. The Scripture says:

Ephesians 2:8-10 (KJV) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast. [10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

God also told Mary “The Lord IS with thee”. If you are saved by grace and living in fellowship with Him the Lord is with you.

Grace is both a GIFT as well as a STEWARDSHIP.
We are saved to live in Grace to the glory of God.
Mary lived with God for the Glory of God.

When we honor the Lord with our lives God may offer to use us for something greater. This is what He did with Mary. Mary was not perfect, but she loved the Lord and was perfectly forgiven.

Luke 1:30-32 (KJV) … Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. [31] And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. [32] He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

Mary “hast found FAVOR with God”. This is the Greek χάρις charis which means “Grace”. The Bible says that:

Genesis 6:8 (KJV) But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

And God used him to build an Ark to save whosoever would believe and receive. The entire world was destroyed by flood – whosoever rejected Noah’s message. Now God is using not a man and a wooden Ark to offer salvation to the world, but a faithful virgin woman. God told Mary:

THOU SHALT CONCEIVE in thy womb

No human man would be involved in this Ark. God promised the serpent (which I believe represents the fallen satan or lucifer. The devil is called “that old serpent” in Revelation 12:9,14,15; 20:2) in the Garden of Eden:

Genesis 3:15 (KJV) {the seed of the woman} … shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Who is this “Seed of the woman” promised? It is the Christ, our Lord Jesus!

And bring forth a Son, and shalt call his name JESUS

It was prophesied by Isaiah that God would enter humanity through a virgin.

Isaiah 7:14 (KJV) Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name IMMANUEL.

Emmanuel or Immanuel means “God with us”.
“Jesus” means “God our Savior”
God would be with us to save us.

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest

The Child that Mary would bear would be not the son of Joseph but the Son of God. God would enter humanity through a believer at the time He wanted to. The Scripture says:

Galatians 4:4-5 (KJV) But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, [5] To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

The Son of God would come to earth so that we could be saved and made sons of God. He would be born the Lamb of God, sinless, blameless. He would come to be born for us to die for us who would believe on Him.

the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David

God in Christ will fulfill the promise He made to David in …

2 Samuel 7:16 (KJV) And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

God was not only coming to humanity, but God the Son would be the fulfillment of God’s promise to David. Christ’s Kingdom is forever. Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Those who believe on Him believe that He came to give us life.

1 Corinthians 15:21-22 (KJV) For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. [22] For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

What a wonderful Gift God gave Mary – and we who believe – the promise of Life. The bad news of Christmas is that we are all sinners. But the good news of Christmas is that God came for us through this miraculous virgin birth.

Matthew 1:21 (KJV) {Mary} shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

With God Nothing Is Impossible

When Mary hears the pronouncement of Gabriel she asks:

Luke 1:34 (KJV) … How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

She was not doubting the Lord’s announcement. But she was after all a virgin who had remained faithful to Joseph and to herself. So how would a virgin become with child? Gabriel told her:

Luke 1:35 (KJV) … The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Jesus Christ would become Perfect Man through the power of God. God the Holy Spirit would intervene and make this happen. The Bible says of Christ:

Colossians 1:15-17 (KJV) {Jesus Christ} is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: [16] For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: [17] And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

How can the Infinite God be placed inside a finite Mary?
How can the Eternal Son of God be placed in a mere human body?
The answer is in God.
How can God the Holy Spirit inhabit a sin prone human?
How can I stand right and righteous before God?
The answer is in God.

The answer is not in me, but in God. God is able. God is always able. Gabriel told Mary:

Luke 1:36 (KJV) And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

Mary, not only will you bring forth the Messiah, but your barren older cousin will bring for the Herald of the Messiah. The answer is in God. Mary did not disbelieve God, but hearing this good news replied:

Luke 1:38 (KJV) … Behold the handmaid of the Lord;
be it unto me according to thy word.

The Angel Gabriel gave Mary two BEHOLDS. He said:

BEHOLD, thou shalt conceive in thy womb (31)
BEHOLD, thy cousin Elisabeth has conceived in her womb (36)

Now Mary returns a BEHOLD to the Angel. “BEHOLD, the handmaid of the Lord”. Lord, I will present myself to you. Lord, do with me as You will. Lord, I love You, and surrender my life to you. Mary entrusted all that she was and all that she hoped to be to the Lord. If she appeared to Joseph pregnant on their wedding night it would appear that she had been unfaithful to him. According to the Law of Moses the adulterer was to be stoned with stones until they were dead (Leviticus 20:10). Mary was willing to be used of God. She did not question what the Lord wanted to do, but trusted Him with all her heart. The Bible says:

Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV) Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. [6] In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Trust God.

Trust In God Is Rewarded With Joy

That same day Mary went to her cousin Elisabeth’s home. She didn’t go there out of unbelief, but went so she could share her joy with another believer. The Bible tells us that:

Matthew 18:20 (KJV) For where TWO OR THREE are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

The Christian faith is born of love. It takes at least two or three to love the way that God wants us to love. When Mary entered Elisabeth’s home

Luke 1:41 (KJV) … when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

According to the Law “in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word is established” (Matthew 18:16):

Deuteronomy 19:15 (KJV) One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

Elisabeth and John the baby in his mother’s womb were the two first witnesses to the miracle of the virgin birth. I love this text because it shows our fallen world that the baby in the womb is not just tissue, but LIFE.
John knew the Messiah even while inside of Elisabeth!

Elisabeth had not been told that Mary was with child of the Messiah. And yet because of John Elisabeth cried out:

Luke 1:42-43 … WITH A LOUD VOICE, and said, BLESSED art thou among women, and BLESSED is the fruit of thy womb. [43] And whence is this to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Again we see an affirmation that the Baby in the Womb is INDEED A LIFE. Elisabeth called Mary:

“The MOTHER of MY LORD”

Mary had just been told that she would conceive a child – yet she is ALREADY the MOTHER OF MY LORD. That child inside her is not tissue, but life. Though her egg is just now fertilile, she has the LORD inside. Oh Beloved, I so wish that we as a nation would stop this terrible mockery of death that is called ABORTION. It should be spelled MURDER. That fertile egg is life. Elisabeth said:

Luke 1:44-45 (KJV) For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. [45] And blessed is she that believed …

A piece of tissie cannot “leap for joy”. That child in the 6^th month of pregnancy is a BABY. Period.

Note also that Elisabeth called Mary “Blessed” (the Greek εὐλογέω eulogeō) which means “to celebrate with praises, to joyfully praise God”. Mary was indeed blessed, as we are blessed by the Fruit of her womb. Mary knew this. So Mary began to praise the Lord:

Luke 1:46-55 (KJV) … My soul doth magnify the Lord, [47] And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. [48] For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. [49] For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. [50] And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. [51] He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. [52] He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. [53] He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. [54] He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; [55] As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

Throughout her praying praise of the Lord Mary magnified God and diminished her role in the birth of Christ. She was the very picture of humility. Mary was not “Immaculate” as our Catholic cousins like to say. Mary recognized the power to have Christ came of God. She recognized that she needed God my Savior. She recognized herself as from a low estate, and praised the Lord for ministering to her. Mary said:

Luke 1:50-53 …. his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. [51] He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. [52] He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. [53] He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

Throughout her prayer of praise Mary emphasizes that it is only the surrendered and willing that God will bless. May I ask you, do you have joy in your life? Is the joy of God in you? If it is not, then you are not living as God wants you to live. Turn to Christ. Believe on Him. Enter into the Covenant of Grace, surrendering daily to the Lord. As you give of your life to Him, He gives of His life to you.

The power of life is in Christ.
May God touch your hearts with His Word.

Posted in Christmas, Christmas Sermons, Luke, Sermons Preached | Tagged Christmas, grace, virgin Mary | Leave a comment

Protos

Posted on December 15, 2018 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by JOHN TOWNER on Unsplash

Mark 12:28-31 (KJV) And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

A Scribe was someone who copied Scripture back in the days when there were no Xerox machines, no copiers, no computers, and in many cases no paper. Scribes worked within the Temple to take a copy of Scripture – usually in a large scroll – and make a copy of that Scripture as perfectly as possible. Scribes worked with primitive writing instruments and primitive inks, often making both ink and paper themselves. And Scribes were taught to be meticulous about copying Scripture. I have been told that Scribes often checked other Scribes work and, if any error was found, the entire scroll was destroyed. Scribes were methodical, careful, and through repetition had memorized large sections of Scripture.

A Scribe came to test our Jesus. He had listened to Jesus being questioned by the Sadducees and,

..perceiving that {Jesus} had answered (the Sadducees) well

decided to ask Jesus a question, to put the Lord to the test. So the Scribe asked Jesus:

Which is the first commandment of all?

The Scribe was not asking what the FIRST of the TEN Commandments were. He was asking what was the πρῶτος prōtos – the very first Law that God ever gave mankind. What was the Law that was binding on Adam and Eve, and that our foreparents broke bringing sin into the world (Genesis 2:17)? What was the Law that caused Noah to build an Ark, the Grace of God saving him and his family from the flood (Genesis 6:8)? What was the Law in the heart of Enoch who walked with God until he entered eternity (Genesis 5:21-24)? What was the Law that Abraham followed, leaving his family and friends? This Law is:

Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God …

This Law is the most ancient of Laws. This Law is also the Law from which all other Laws grow. Jesus called this Commandment GREAT because from it all other laws are formed. From out of this First Commandment comes the Second:

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Treat your neighbor the way that you wish to be treated. Why? Because you love the LORD your God. My God told me to do this. Am I to love only my friends or to love only those who do good to me? No. Jesus said:

Matthew 5:46-47 (KJV) For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

The hated Tax Collectors portrayed a false love, doing good for those who would benefit them. But if I love the Lord my God then I will recognize that God created each person with purpose, and made each person in His image and after His likeness (Genesis 1:26-28). Every person is my neighbor. Every person has worth because my God demands it so. How shall I love my neighbor? Jesus said:

Matthew 5:43-45 (KJV)43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. 44 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.

God shall one day judge the wrong done to His children. But if I love the Lord my God then I will do as He says, trusting that He will cause all things to work together for my good (Romans 8:28). I am to do love – God is to judge.

The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel;
The Lord our God is one Lord:

This love that I am to have is to be to the ONE Lord our God. I am not to compromise with the foolish darkness of this world. The world declares things like:

“There are many ways to God”, or
“We are all children of God”

This is not true. When Jesus started His reply with Hear, O Israel He was quoting the Holy Bible, a text which reads:

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (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. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

The God Whom we worship is not revealed in the Qumran, the Rig Veda, the Apocryphal writings. The God Whom we worship is revealed in the Holy Bible. This is the God Whom we love. We obey Him and His Word – this Scripture – because He says so. We are not …

… children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, by cunning craftiness …(Ephesians 4:14)

One of the preeminent tests of our love is to ask ourselves “What has the Lord our God said by His Word?”. If it is clearly written in His Word then we are to do it – that is, if we love God.

What Is The Quality Of This Love?

We live in a day when the word “Love” is tossed about like candy at a parade. What is the quality of love that God demands of us?

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart

I may be passionate about many things for God has made me so. But my chief passion is to be for the Lord my God. I should not have to be forced to love God, but I should love Him passionately because He first loved me. As an unsaved man I loved many things and many people, but never did I love God. Yet one day God opened my eyes. He showed me how much He loved me on the Cross of Calvary. It was to that terrible Cross that …

John 3:16 (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.

Jesus was no mere man, but He was the very Son of God. Numerous times God spoke saying of His Son:

Matthew 3:17 (KJV) …. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

The Father was well pleased with His Son, but not well pleased with the world. The world …

1 John 5:19 (KJV) … the whole world lieth in wickedness.

And yet the Scripture declares that the Father sent His Beloved Son to die for the sins of the world.

1 John 2:2 (KJV) And {Jesus} is the {payment} for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

The Bible says that (Romans 5:8) God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

And that (1 John 4:19) We love him, because he first loved us.

He died for me and died for you before we ever knew Him. Should we not love Him with all our heart? Should we not be passionate about our Lord? Yes, we should. But there are times when we neglect Him. We eat without thanking Him. We live our lives without remembering Him throughout the day. Oh, but when we remember Him we should also become more passionate. Though we forget Him at times has the Lord our God not said:

Hebrews 13:5-6 (KJV) … I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Deuteronomy 31:6 (KJV) Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul

We should not only love God passionately, but our entire identity should be focused on loving Him. The Soul is that which gives us life. God made the human soul, and every soul belongs to God. The Bible says:

Ezekiel 18:4 (KJV) Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

You belong to God, and to God you will return one day. You do not belong to yourself. Jesus says of the Redeemed:

1 Corinthians 6:20 (KJV) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

You belong to God, dear Christian. It is amazing to me how some believers will acknowledge this, but knowingly and willingly reject the clearly written command of God in order to please others. You, dear believer, are to live your life as to please the Lord. I belong to God. You belong to God. The unbeliever as well as the believer belong to God.

Hebrews 9:27-28 (KJV) And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

We all have an appointment with our Maker one day soon. Let us make certain that our hope is firmly placed in the sin bearing Jesus. Let us live for Him, for He died for us. I saw a sign the other day that said:

Jesus died for you. Shouldn’t you live for Him?

I like that. Especially because it is scriptural.

2 Corinthians 5:15 (KJV) {Jesus Christ} died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind

The Mind is what drives our bodies. We are to serve the Lord and love Him with all our understanding. As we seek Him in prayer and meditate on His Word we let Him influence what we do, where we go, and what we say. No believer should be ignorant of God. The Lord has given us of His Spirit and of His Scripture. Jesus said of the Spirit:

John 16:13 (KJV) Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength

My efforts should be expended in loving the Lord my God. “Strength” speaks of DOING. Many people say that they love God, but are you doing for Him? If not, then you are missing the mark.

Our God is good. He preserves us, and loves us, and saves us. God expended effort – great effort – in coming to this earth. He left the glories of Heaven to become incarnate, a baby in a manger in Bethlehem long ago. God became man. The Son of God became the Son of Man so that we who believe on Him can become Sons of God. What a glorious Savior we have. I fail Him daily, but He loves me still. Thank You, dear Father, for loving a wretch like me.

Posted in Mark Sermons, Sermons Preached | Tagged Commandments, love, Loving God | Leave a comment

The Christmas Story Part 1

Posted on December 10, 2018 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Mike Labrum on Unsplash

Luke 1:18-20 (KJV) And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. [19] And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. [20] And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

Christmas is a special time of the year for me. It is the time we as a people are reminded of the Birth of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ was uniquely and singularly
born into humanity.

He did not come into BEING when He was born, for the Bible tells us that Jesus is “God With Us”. As God Jesus existed with both Father and Spirit from eternity past (see John 1:1-3). “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word WAS God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.”

When Jesus was born His birth brought the immortal into mortality. God fulfilled His Promise to send a Redeemer (Genesis 3:15; Revelation 12:7-9). God fulfilled His promise to Abraham in Christ (Genesis 12:3). God would step down from Heaven to be with us (Matthew 1:21-23; Isaiah 7:14). When we could not touch the face of God, God will come down so He can touch our face and our lives!

Before God as Jesus enters humanity He will need a herald, someone who will go before Him. He will need a Special Messenger, a mortal Man who is uniquely anointed of God. This Messenger was prophesied and promised of God as “The Voice” and “The Messenger”:

Isaiah 40:3 (KJV) THE VOICE of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Malachi 3:1 (KJV) Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

This Messenger was prophesied 700 years before the coming of Christ. During the 400 years that God was silent between the Old and New Testament God’s Israel looked for this Messenger daily. When would the Messenger come? In the fullness of time – about 6 months prior to Christ’s supernatural birth.

Christmas Reminds Us Jesus Came For The Broken

If God is going to come to the earth to minister to the broken, who do you think He entered humanity through? The broken.

When God told Abraham that he was going to have a child and ultimately the Messiah would come from that child, God was speaking to a broken man. Neither he nor Sarah had children, nor were they likely by human standards to have children. But God promised this broken man and his wife that He would heal them, and give them a child. God keeps his promises if we but believe in Him. God loves to bless the broken and the hopeless, changing the Abrams of this life into Abrahams. God has no use for the prideful:

Proverbs 3:34 (KJV) Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.

James 4:6 (and 1 Peter 5:5) (KJV) … God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

God loves to lavish grace on those in need.
To the humble seeker the Lord gives His greatest treasures.

The Old Covenant started with a childless couple – Abraham and Sarah – whom God would bless with a child. The New Covenant begins in the same way with Zacharias and Elisabeth, two believers who were childless.

Luke 1:6 (KJV) {Zacharias and Elisabeth} were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

They were believers who loved the Lord our God. Look at how they were described.

Both RIGHTEOUS before God
WALKING in ALL the commandments
WALKING in ALL the ordinances of the Lord.

They placed their faith in God. Do YOU love the Lord? Do YOU put Him first even if life has not worked out the way you plan? If you are of Christ’s Household you are – as the Prophet Habakkuk said (2:4) … the just shall live by his faith.

Zacharias and Elizabeth were broken, but loved the Lord and His Word. Though challenged they did not give up. They put their faith in God and walked according to His Word one day at a time. They praised God with their forefather David:

2 Samuel 22:2-4 (KJV) … The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; [3] The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. [4] I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

God will use a broken person to do His will, but will not use a person unwilling to walk with Him.

Luke 1:7 (KJV) And they had NO CHILD, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now WELL STRICKEN IN YEARS.

Though in apparent hopelessness they did not despair. Zacharias kept honoring the Lord by his life.

Luke 1:8-10 (KJV) And it came to pass, that while {Zacharias} executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, [9] According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. [10] And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

Many people were watching Zacharias and how he dealt with his suffering. Had he let depression and despondency rule he would have quit the priesthood. He kept honoring God with his life – and the fruit of this was a multitude of God’s people praying while Zacharias lit the incense of the holy place.

Psalms 141:1-3 (KJV) …. LORD, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee. [2] Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. [3] Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.

We need to learn from this dear Christians. What you do in your life effects those around you. Perhaps you are broken. Perhaps weak. Perhaps you struggle with sickness. Continue to do God’s will. What you do will effect others. What you do TODAY will effect others TOMORROW.

If You Are Broken Use Your Lips To Pray And Praise

Luke 1:11-13 (KJV) And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing ON THE RIGHT SIDE of the altar of incense. [12] And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. [13] But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

The Altar of Incense symbolized to prayers of the faithful going up to God. Notice that the Angel of the Lord appears to Zacharias on the right side of that altar. The right hand in Scripture is symbolic of the place of favor with God. God heard Zacharias’ pleas.

Psalms 16:11 (KJV) {You, O Lord} wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Luke 1:12-13 (KJV) … when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. [13] But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

God has heard your prayers Zacharias. The child you have long waited for is coming through Elisabeth. This should have caused Zacharias to jump for joy. God heard your prayers. Praise Him! Praise Him!

Oh that we would praise God in the dark, and praise God in the light. Praise Him in the valley, and praise Him on the mountaintop.

We are frail creatures subject to failure ands breaking, but we have a God Who loves us and will be faithful to us. As a priest Zacharias was familiar with the Law which promised:

Deuteronomy 7:9 (KJV) Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, THE FAITHFUL GOD, WHICH KEEPETH COVENANT AND MERCY WITH THEM THAT LOVE HIM and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

God will not be unfaithful to His people. He watches what we do. He had watched Zacharias for years as both he and his wife aged. God watched their faithfulness in service, and came to offer a child to Zacharias at a time when only God could have made a difference. Why did God wait?

Isaiah 42:8 (KJV) I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

Faith believes in a faithful God.
Faith trusts God and God alone.

It is not faith to move forward when you have a road map. It is not faith to do a thing when you have all the resources at hand. Faith is to trust God no matter what. Faith is to believe that God is able.

Romans 14:4 (KJV) … God is able to make him stand.

2 Corinthians 9:8 (KJV) And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

God is able to enable John and Elisabeth to have a child. “Fear not John. You and Elisabeth shall have a child, and his name shall be John”.

“John” means “God is Gracious”!

Zacharias, name the baby “John” to remind yourself daily that I the LORD am “gracious”, filled with mercy. I love to fix the broken. I love to reach out to those in need.

This baby would grow up to be special. When God is Gracious, He doesn’t just give a little grace, but a magnificent Grace.

Luke 1:14-16 (KJV) And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. [15] For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. [16] And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

The baby John would bring a blessing to those around him, and would grow up to be blessed and bless others. John would be the greatest Herald ever known.

John would be “filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb”. This shows us that the filling of the Spirit is not something we earn or deserve, but it is a gracious gift from God.

Luke 1:17 (KJV) {John} shall go before him {the Messiah} in the spirit and power of {Elijah}, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

John would be as great in ministry as was Elijah, one of the few people in the Scripture that never experienced death.

Confess With Your Mouth The Power Of God

Things were going quite well up to this point when Zacharias did something God cannot stand. He disbelieved God. He should have praised God for this wondrous answer to prayer, but instead said:

Luke 1:18 (KJV) And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an OLD MAN, AND MY WIFE WELL STRICKEN IN YEARS.

Your mouth reflects what is in your heart. Though Zacharias had been praying for years for a child his heart hid doubt against God. He did as Abraham’s wife Sarah did. God will not bless doubt. Some might excuse Zacharias for he had been a valley a long, long time. Yet the Bible tells us as believers:

Hebrews 11:6 (KJV) But WITHOUT FAITH IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE HIM: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

God calls on us to believe Him, believe that He is faithful, believe that He is a rewarder of those who DILIGENTLY seek Him. When Abraham was told that God would bless him with a child and a nation Abraham did not baulk at the promise, but BELIEVED. Zacharias did what so many other believers have done.

Zacharias looked at the size of the problem,
and not at the size of God.

When David stood before Goliath he saw a big man but a bigger God. With that in mind he killed Goliath.
When Daniel stood before a lion’s den he saw lots of hungry lions but a bigger God. He rested on the blanket of their fur.
When Israel stood before the Promised Land they saw a big people but a little god. They could not enter.
When Zacharias stood before his wife he saw big barrenness and made God to be little.

But God is faithful.
God will keep His Word.
The Herald must come so that the Messiah can come.

The path of faith is to believe that God is able.
To magnify Him.
To speak praise and honor of Him.

Luke 1:20 (KJV) … And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, BECAUSE THOU BELIEVEST NOT MY WORDS, WHICH SHALL BE FULFILLED IN THEIR SEASON.

The believer loses his voice when faithlessness reigns. The Church loses its audience when it will not speak life and light to a dying and dead world. Many Churches today do not have a Voice because they do not speak God’s Word but a twisted version of it. God will remove your Lampstand and your Light if you will not speak Christ.

God took Zacharias’ voice away so that he could not minister in the Temple until John was born. Yet God was gracious. Zacharias repented of his unbelief, and named his boy John just as God decreed. God could have taken Zacharias’ life but instead just took his voice.

2 Timothy 2:13 (KJV) If we believe not, yet HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL: he cannot deny himself.

God is faithful! So how is your faith? Remember that God will not bless faithlessness. He that wavers is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. Let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord! (James 1:6-7). Do not be double minded. Be single minded for God. Or as Joshua said:

Joshua 24:15 (KJV) … choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

I choose the Lord Jesus. I choose my Heavenly Father. I choose the blessed Spirit. I choose to believe God is able, regardless as to the state of my life.

What do YOU choose?
May God touch your hearts with His Word.

Posted in Christmas, Christmas Sermons, Luke, Sermons Preached | Tagged Brokenness, Christmas, God Is Faithful | Leave a comment

The Gift Of God

Posted on December 3, 2018 by bibleteacherorg

1 Peter 4:10 (KJV) As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

Thanksgiving has passed, and we have all enjoyed the particular blessings of God and His mercy. Not everyone was as blessed as we were. There are homeless people, poverty stricken people who did not have a great Thanksgiving. But by and large throughout America we gathered around the table and ate a little too much. We celebrated. Hopefully you all thanked God for His great bounty, His blessings upon us.

Psalms 9:1-2 (KJV) .. I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. [2] I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.

Following Thanksgiving many went out on “Black Friday” looking for a bargain. All I have ever found on Black Friday was a crowd of people, dangerous traffic, and heartburn. But people are flocking to every store that Friday and throughout the weekend. Why? Because Christmas is upon us, and we MUST give people we love a Christmas present.

Why must we? Because it’s Christmas. Where was this tradition established? Not to be a Scrooge, but Christmas Present Giving is not particularly Scriptural. If you look up the origin of Christmas gift giving on the internet you’ll find a variety of guesses as to where this tradition started. One place I looked said that Christmas gift giving began with the celebration of the Winter Solstice in Rome. As Christianity became more widespread it began to be done in the name of Christ. Another site stated that Christmas gift giving began with the Wise Men who brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh to Jesus (Matthew 2:11). What is interesting about Christmas and gift giving is that the early Pilgrims (our founding fathers) celebrated Thanksgiving but would not give gifts on Christmas. In 1659 the Massachusetts Bay Colony banned Christmas and gift giving, a ban that stayed in effect for 20 years.

Is it wrong to give Christmas presents? I don’t think so. I think generosity is a Christian virtue. We shouldn’t let Christmas be just about gift giving, but should let our focus be on Christ. The Apostle Paul said:

Acts 20:35 (KJV) I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Christians should be generous and giving. Not just at Christmas, but at all times. But let’s not just give a temporal gift this year. Let’s share Jesus with others, and explain that HE is the reason for this blessed season.

Have You Received The Gift?

1 Peter 4:10 (KJV) As every man hath received the gift …

Have you received “THE Gift”? I’m not talking about some electronic gadget, a game console, shoes and clothing, or jewelry. I’m not talking about something that will perish and fade away, a thing that will end up in the landfills of America in just a few short years.

Have you received “THE Gift”?

This Gift is eternal, and never fades away. This Gift is from God Himself. It is the only Gift that changes a life and makes your life worth living. Jesus spoke of this Gift to a Samaritan woman one day. He said to her:

John 4:10 (KJV) …. If thou knewest THE GIFT of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

The Gift of God is Jesus Christ.

When Christ is received to oneself then He brings with Him forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit of God. The early Apostles preached of The Gift:

Acts 2:38-39 (KJV) …. Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive THE GIFT of the Holy Ghost. [39] For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

To receive this Gift you must put down all other gifts. You must REPENT, turn from following the god of mammon and the gods of human prosperity. You must REPENT and come empty handed to the Master, laying your life down for Him.

This Gift cannot be purchased with money

During the Spanish-American War a number of Teddy Roosevelt’s “Rough Riders” fell sick from undernourishment. Teddy heard of a local lady by the name of Clara Barton who had opened her home to nursing wounded soldiers. He went to Clara and asked, “Will you sell me some supplies for my men. We are desperate need!”. Clara refused. Teddy then asked “Well how then can I get these things. I must have proper food for my sick men.” Clara said “Just ask for them, Colonel”. When he asked, he got all that he needed.

The Gift of salvation is not for sale at any price. Salvation is purchased by the Blood of our Lord Jesus. When you receive Him, believing He died for you and rose again, then you are born again. The Holy Spirit comes to you and you become one of God’s children. This is why the Scripture calls salvation:

the manifold Grace of God (vs 10)

Too many people think that the Grace of God can be purchased. It cannot be, because it has already been purchased. Some come to God with a pledge to turn over a new leaf, to live better, to give more. A confused man named Simon the Sorcerer sought to purchase that great Gift from the Apostles. Peter told this confused man:

Acts 8:20-23 (KJV) … Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. [21] Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. [22] Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. [23] For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.

The Gift cannot be purchased with money, but it is freely given of God. Yet this Gift was not free to God Himself.

In order for God to offer us this Gift – this marvelous and unparalleled Gift – He had to give up His only Begotten Son. The Apostle summarizes what happened to secure this gift with the words “sent forth”:

The Son of God was “sent forth” from Heaven. He was not born in a palace, but in a manger. He was not born in the Temple, but in a small town called Bethlehem. There was no room at the inn, so Christ was sent forth to the lowest place possible. On the night of His birth into humanity the angels of God marveled. Here is the Gift of God! Who shall attend this great moment? Lowly shepherds.

Luke 2:9-14 (KJV) And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. [10] And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. [11] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. [12] And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. [13] And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, [14] Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

The Gift that God gave would change human history forever. Through this tiny Baby God would offering Himself to humanity. The Gift of God offers salvation to all who will believe.

The music group Casting Crowns does a beautiful song about the coming of the Gift of God. Called “While You Were Sleeping” part of the lyrics say:

Oh little town of Bethlehem
Looks like another silent night
Above your deep and dreamless sleep
A giant star lights up the sky
And while you’re lying in the dark
There shines an everlasting light
For the King has left his throne
And is sleeping in a manger tonight
Oh Bethlehem, what you have missed while you were sleeping
For God became a man
And stepped into your world today
Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history
As a city with no room for its King
While you were sleeping
While you were sleeping

God the Son lowered Himself to come to this earth for you and I. The first Adam was made of the dust of the ground, was kissed of God, and placed in a Paradise. Yet the first Adam sinned and brought sin and death into the world. Given the gift of life and peace the first Adam chose instead the temporal pleasures of life. Rather than love God’s gift the first Adam stole a gift – a forbidden fruit – and brought us all into misery. God could have wiped us out and started fesh, but He did not.

God promised a Great Gift.
That Gift was His Son Jesus.

The Apostle speaks of this free Gift:

Romans 5:15-21 (KJV) But not as the offence, so also is THE FREE GIFT. For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and THE GIFT BY GRACE, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. [16] And not as it was by one that sinned, so is THE GIFT: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but THE FREE GIFT is of many offences unto justification. [17] For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of THE GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) [18] Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one THE FREE GIFT CAME UPON ALL men unto justification of life. [19] For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. [20] Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: [21] That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Gift that matters is the FREE Gift that God offers to us all. It is Jesus Christ His only Begotten Son. Christ was born of Mary, birthed in Bethlehem, ministered throughout Israel, and crucified for our sins. Jesus died for our sins to take us away from sin.

Ephesians 2:8 (KJV) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is THE GIFT of God:

When you receive Christ as Lord and Savior you receive Heaven in place of hell, God’s kingdom in place of a temporal kingdom, and eternal life in place of temporal life. You receive all of the benefits of Heaven along with the companionship of God the Holy Spirit Who dwells within you. What a blessed Gift God has given us in Christ!

The Gift Given Is Meant To Be Re-Gifted

Have you received the Gift of God? If so, then the rest of the sentence applies to you. We read:

1 Peter 4:10 (KJV) As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

I’m 60 years old this year, and over the years I have received many gifts that were not exactly what I wanted. I remember one Christmas the youth of the Church I was in gave me a Spongebob Squarepants tie. Preachers receive a lot of ties. I supposed I have about 150 pounds of ties handing in my closet. I’ve worn most of them – but I draw the line at a Spongebob Squarepants tie. Actually I did wear that tie one time while I was preaching, but so many people were focused on the tie it became a distraction to God’s message. I re-gifted that tie to a young lady years ago who loved Spongebob Squarepants.

Have you ever re-gifted anything?

I’ve heard stories of people receiving something they didn’t want who accidentally re-gifted that present back to the original giver. That would be embarrassing. Yet this is exactly what God tells us to do with the Gift that we have received from Him. He said:

1 Peter 4:10 (KJV) As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

If you have received The Gift of God’s Grace you have not received it just for yourself, but you have received it to share with others. You are to share this Great Gift by how you behave towards others in the Family of God. We read:

1 Peter 4:8 (KJV) And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

The word translated “charity” is the Greek ἀγάπη agapē which means “to love as God loved”. We are to fervently (ektenēs) or without ceasing to have the same love for our brothers and sisters in the Lord as Christ had for us. We neither earned nor deserved what God offered us in Christ. Jesus went to the Cross of Calvary not for His sins, but for yours and mine. His Blood was spilled for the whole world:

2 Corinthians 5:15 (KJV) And that {Christ} died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

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.

His free Gift is offered to all, whether the “All” receive it or not.
You are to love OTHERS as He loves YOU.
Love the UNDESERVING for you did not deserve His love.
Neither did I.
Love your enemies, do good to them.
You were once an enemy of God.
His love ministered to you.

Jesus died for the blasphemer, the sinner, and yes, even for you and I. What does the Scripture say?

Romans 5:8 (KJV) But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

His love to us came to us without strings. We received His great Gift of Grace through His suffering. We are therefore to – without limits – love one another. Christ said:

John 13:35 (KJV) By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

You are to re-gift His gift.

Have you been sinned against by a professing brother or sister? Was not Christ sinned against? Have you not sinned against Christ this past week, this past month, this past year? Has He not forgiven you for His Blood’s sake? Then forgive others, and have unceasing love – loud and outrageous – toward one another.

1 Peter 4:9 (KJV) Use hospitality one to another without grudging.

The phrase “use hospitality” is only found here in the New Testament. It is the Greek “φιλόξενος philoxenos” which means “to be generous to others – to make them feel at home”. We are to do this “without grudging”. Not because we are forced into it, but because the Spirit within us wishes it. Jesus said:

Matthew 5:46-48 (KJV) For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Love is the mark of perfection. As we have been loved, let us love. Jesus put it simply when He listed the great Two Commandments of God:

Matthew 22:37-39 (KJV) … Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. [38] This is the first and great commandment. [39] And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

To those who come to your home, Church, or Business make it your business to treat them with love. Give them your best, as if they were valuable – for they are. That which wins others to Christ is the love of God manifested through His people. You were given a great and gracious Gift in Christ, a Gift you did not deserve. Love others as God has loved you!

1 Peter 4:11 (KJV) If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

You – dear Beloved Believer – are God’s representative on the earth. Speak as if God were speaking through you. Guard your tongues:

1 Peter 3:9-10 (KJV) Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. [10] For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:

Let God be in your speech. Let God be in your hands. You were given the great Gift of Christ so that you can be His hands and feet on this present earth. As the late Billy Graham once said:

“It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict,
God’s job to judge, and my job to love”.

Do all things to the glory of God. Let your lives share the Gospel of salvation to all who will hear. This is the Gift that keeps on giving.

That God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ,
To Whom be praise and dominion forever and ever.
Amen!