Tag Archives: Following Christ

Blessed And Prosperous

Posted on January 31, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

The “wicked” find their blessings in the things of this world. This is the Hebrew rāšāʿ {pronounced raw-shaw’} which means “the ungodly, the one guilty of sin, the morally wrong (as judged by God)”. Righteous Abraham called the Sodomites “rāšāʿ” (Genesis 18:23). Those who disrespect life and murder others are “rāšāʿ” (Numbers 35:31). We are told in:

Job 18:5 Yea, the light of the wicked {rāšāʿ} shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine.

To be “wicked” is not to be just immoral, but to approach
life without God in view!

We are told in Solomon’s writings:

Proverbs 21:4 An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked {rāšāʿ}, is sin.

When I think of WICKEDNESS, or UNGODLINESS, I do not think about tilling your garden. But God says that very act of tilling the garden for the godless is sinful. The Psalmist said:

Psalm 10:4 the wicked {rāšāʿ}, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

To violate the Ten Commandments is wicked. But to live your life without a thought to God is also wicked. Our Lord Jesus spoke the parable of the wealthy farmer in:… Continue reading →

Posted in Psalms, Sermons Preached | Tagged Christ, Faith, Following Christ, love God, prayer, salvation | Leave a comment

Following Christ

Posted on January 31, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

Will you follow Jesus when the world hates you?
Will you stand with Jesus, and declare the Scripture true?
When they call you”homophobic” or “demon possessed”, will you walk with Him?
Or will you sleep soundly in Gethsemane?
Or hide in the crowd while He’s being nailed to the Cross?

Jesus gave up EVERYTHING in order to save us and to bring us to God.

Romans 5:12 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: … 17 … if by one man’s offense 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.

Before you can be saved, you must be lost. If you come to Jesus lost… Continue reading →

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

His Eye Is On The Sparrow

Posted on January 22, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

As this is Sanctity of Life Sunday the question I want to address today is, How Much Is A Life Worth? The the wake of the overturning of Roe vs Wade – and the devil screamed about that – the question of abortion went back to the states. Many were FURIOUS over the Supreme Court decision, and many states are now passing laws that even allow for partial birth abortion. What is a life worth? When our Lord Jesus was ministering on this earth, He said every life is valuable.

Matthew 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Luke 12:6-7 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? 7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Word Study on Sparrows: When Jesus wanted to show the value of a human life, He turned to the sparrow (Greek στρουθίον strouthíon, [pronounced stroo-thee’-on]. The word “sparrow” is only found six times in the King James text. Jesus said in Matthew that “two sparrows {were} sold for a farthing”, and in Luke “five sparrows {were} sold for two farthings”. So if you bought 4, you got the fifth one free. Sparrows were very cheap. The word “farthing” is the Greek {ἀσσάριον assárion, [pronounced as-sar’-ee-on]}, which Dr Thomas Constable notes is 1/16th of a laborer’s daily wage. That would be about $3.63 in America for a minimum wage worker ($7.25 per hour) – very little. … Continue reading →

Posted in Acts, Sermons Preached | Tagged Following Christ, gospel, love God, no works no salvation, salvation, the saved obey God | Leave a comment

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 →