Tag Archives: Following Christ

O Lord, O Lord, Help Us!

Posted on January 17, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

What is the background to Jeremiah 10? God’s Judah had rejected the God Who saved them. In fact, Israel began to walk away from God during the reign of Solomon’s son Rehoboam. After the 41 year old Rehoboam took the throne, the Ten Northern Tribes of Israel asked him to lower their tax burden.

Rehoboam glorified himself, not God.
His pride caused civil war in Israel.

The Ten Northern Tribes (also called Ephraim) established their own capital city (Samaria) and their own King (Jeroboam).

Why did this happen? To understand it, you need to go back to Solomon’s reign. Solomon started out as a good King, but in 1 Kings 11:1-13 Solomon disobeyed God by intermarrying with women that did not know God. After Solomon married these women he began to build shrines to the Moabite and Ammonite gods. Solomon robbed God of His glory, and the Lord told him:

1 Kings 11:11-13 (NKJV) Because you have done this, {marrying many wives and worshiping false gods to please these wives} and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 12 Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen…. Continue reading →

Posted in Jeremiah, Sermons Preached | Tagged Christ, Following Christ, God Is Faithful, Jesus Christ, salvation | Leave a comment

God Will Bring Thee Into Judgment

Posted on January 10, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

No matter how old you get to be before you pass from this life, this life always seems too short a time. The Apostle Paul said in:

Ephesians 5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Colossians 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, {outside of God’s Kingdom}redeeming the time.

Life is so very short. We think it to be long, but the older I get, the faster the years seem to go. The Apostle realized – as James said:

James 4:14 … what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

In the Book of Ecclesiastes we read the words of the wisest man who ever lived outside of Jesus Christ, a man named Solomon.

Solomon asked God to give him “wisdom” so that he might rule Israel. God told Solomon (1 Kings 3:12):

“I have given you a wise and understanding heart. There was never anyone like you before, nor shall there be anyone like you after you are gone”.

That’s a fantastic promise! We think people like the late Steve Jobs were genius’, or the current Bill Gates. They are nothing compared to Solomon. Solomon was given divine wisdom and divine knowledge. If we should listen to anybody, we should listen to Solomon. Solomon looked back over his life, and offers words of wisdom to… Continue reading →

Posted in Ecclesiastes, Sermons Preached | Tagged Following Christ, God Is Faithful, Jesus Christ, love, prayer, salvation | Leave a comment

Behold Simeon (After Christmas Message)

Posted on December 31, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

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

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

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

Posted in Christmas, Christmas Sermons, Luke, Sermons Preached | Tagged Christ, Faith, Following Christ, God Is Faithful, gospel, Jesus Christ, love God, salvation | Leave a comment

Where Will You Fill Your Cup?

Posted on December 14, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted in Romans, Sermons Preached | Tagged born again, Following Christ, fornication, gospel, Jesus Christ, salvation, sexual sin | Leave a comment

Tommy Hanvy’s Memorial Service (Homecoming)

Posted on December 14, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

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

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

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

Jesus told His disciples – those who lovingly followed Him:

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

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

Posted in Funeral, Memorials, Sermons Preached | Tagged Following Christ, Funeral, gospel, holiness of God, loving Jesus, memorial, salvation, sinners | Leave a comment

Come Join Our Team

Posted on December 2, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

Once saved, you are members of the Family of God. As such, you are expected to DO what God tells you to do. You are to obey His commands, rain or shine, mountaintop or valley, good days or bad days.

Are you His? Do you know Christ as your Lord and Savior? If so, bless the Lord, O my soul! If not, today give yourselves to Jesus! There is only one place that you will discover peace with yourself, and peace with God. That is in the arms of Christ. Run to Him. Give your lives to Him not just once, but daily and forever. For in Christ is power and glory…. Continue reading →

Posted in Psalms, Sermons Preached | Tagged Faith, Following Christ, God Is Faithful, gospel, Jesus Christ, love God, team, together | Leave a comment

Rightly Dividing God’s Word Part 3

Posted on November 29, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved {δόκιμος dokimos} unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing {ὀρθοτομέω orthotomeō} the word of truth.

The Apostle tells us that we are to prove the genuineness of our salvation through study of God’s Word. But we are not to just take scriptures singularly or out of context. We are to “rightly divide” the Scripture, a word that means “to handle aright, to teach the truth directly and correctly”. When the Scripture is not “rightly divided”, when Bible verses are read out of Scriptural or historic context, problems occur. Continue reading →

Posted in Dispensational Truth, Genesis, Sermons Preached | Tagged Following Christ, homosexuality, LGBTQ2S, marriage, Men and Women, transgender | Leave a comment

Let Us Be Light

Posted on November 27, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

Isaiah was raised up of God to do His will, to preach repentance to a people that would not repent. Yet God wanted Israel to know that He was not done with His people. But before He could assure Israel, God had to assure Isaiah. Isaiah’s ministry was very discouraging. The words we see above are not addressed to Israel, but to Isaiah. Though the TBC {Tennessee Baptist Convention} only quoted part of the text, let’s read the WHOLE text:

Isaiah 49:6 And {God} said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth…. Continue reading →

Posted in Isaiah, Sermons Preached | Tagged continuing onward, Faith, Following Christ, keep on keeping on, look unto Jesus, never give up, salvation, trust God | Leave a comment

Joy Not In Things, But In God

Posted on November 18, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

People today find their joy in all the wrong places. In Psalm 100, one of my favorite, we see the Scripture telling us over and over to rejoice, to praise, to be happy, to be glad. The entire Psalm, meant to be sung in the Temple of God by a Cantor or Worship Leader, is one long praise. The song begins by telling us to give a cry of victory over the trials of life, then commands us to rejoice as we serve our God. Yes, the entire Psalm is about being happy, rejoicing, being satisfied beyond belief. Read with me:

Psalm 100 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Only The Saved Know Where Joy Comes From

C.H. Spurgeon wrote in his sermon “The Claims of God”:

BRETHREN, it is a trick of Satan to distract us from the most important and vital matters by the suggestion of trivial considerations. {That old Devil} will fill our eyes with dust to prevent our looking to the bronze serpent for healing; from the preaching of Jesus he endeavored to distract human attention by debates upon the tithing of mint, and anise, and cumin; the making broad of the borders of one’s garments; the wearing of phylacteries … {Satan} followed this method at Jacob’s well. When our Lord spoke to the {Samaritan} woman about living water, and the salvation of her soul, the evil spirit prompted her to {say,} “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and You say that in Jerusalem men ought to worship.” With this same art Satan still works!

The devil tried to do the same thing with our Lord Jesus Christ in the wilderness. The devil offered Jesus food, prestige, and power as avenues to joy. Jesus’ simple reply was, “It is written”.

Oh that we would learn from Jesus. Satan is destroying our nation through trivial and godless things, distractions from the most important truths. I am told that one political party made great gains in this last election because they capitalized on the anger generated by the Supreme Court overturning Roe vs Wade. Thank God it was overturned! People are upset because the Supreme Court has sent the question of legalized abortion back to the states, where it should have always been. One party has said that they will codify abortion into U.S. Law. Even if they do, people will not find joy in this. There is no joy in evil and selfishness. There is no genuine joy to be found in things…. Continue reading →

Posted in Psalms, Sermons Preached | Tagged Following Christ, joy, joy in God, joy unspeakable, love God, salvation, things | Leave a comment

Rightly Dividing God’s Word Part 2: God, Stewardships, & The Age of Innocence

Posted on November 15, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

Salvation is not by our works, but by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. He died for our sins, and rose again to lead us as believers, His Church. As we study the Scripture, we are always aware that:

All Scripture Is Written TO The Believer, But
Not All Scripture Is Written FOR The Believer

The Social and Ceremonial portions of the Mosaic Law found in the Old Testament are written not FOR the Gentiles nor the Church, but FOR Israel. We did establish this: Whether OLD or NEW Covenant, no one has EVER been saved by their works, but by faith in God. Once saved, however, the believer is to follow the commandments of God…. Continue reading →