5/25/19 

Matthew 5:2-12

² And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵ “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The first Scriptures I memorized were the 23^rd Psalm and the Beatitudes.  I don’t remember when I did the Psalm, but I do remember when I memorized the Beatitudes.  It was in VBS and I was nine years old.  I can no longer quote them, but they are clear in my memory.

There is another passage that identifies the “Blessed” person with equal precision. That is Psalm 1.  And when I read Matthew 5 my understanding connects these two passages.  You have to go through Psalm 1 to get into the Psalms, and they are all about that “Blessed “person.  So to enter the New Testament you have to go through Matthew 5.  And the New Testament is about that same “Blessed” person.  This person is identified and set apart by his description.

There are two facts to understand:

1.       This person identified is the one who is the concern of the New Testament writers.  He alone is the subject of Christ’s concern, and he alone receives the benefit of His mediation.

2.      This person is described and he alone is blessed, blessed now, and blessed forever.  He alone has the nature and character to be “Blessed.”  The full description in Psalm 1 applies to this New Testament “Blessed” person.  All the promises apply to him.

Remember and rejoice.  “All things work together for good because he and the Church love God.”

Amen!  Come Lord Jesus.

5/23/19 

Revelation 22:20

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

There were two supremely important Old Testament promises, the coming of the Messiah and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  These were both poorly understood, but no less the hope and comfort of Israel.

The request of John in verse 20 above I take to be that of the Church catholic.  It is the desire for the promise in Acts 1:11 to be fulfilled.  It is the single solution to the Church’s defeats, failures and unfulfilled responsibilities.  Jesus’ return will quicken, sanctify, and complete God’s work in this world.

Daniel 9, in the 70 weeks prophecy, gives adequate information to have an understanding of the agenda in His first appearance.  And just as good men see such a diverse meaning in this passage and others relating to it, men now have different expectations of events around Christ’s return.

Do not let this discourage you.  We, one and all, have this singular hope of His return.  He will come and we welcome Him.  “Amen!  Come Lord Jesus!”

5/22/19 

II Thessalonians 1:10­­­­

 When He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed.

I don’t remember when it was in the distant past this statement caught my attention, but I do remember the occasion I was for the moment overwhelmed with the meaning of this statement.  And the awe it raised in me at that time has continued.  Of all the great wonders that will occur at the Lord’s return, that which will most bedazzle the myriads of the elect, “all who have believed”, is the glory and beauty of the Savior.

Why is this so?  This seems to me to be the natural and appropriate question.

1.       We will see Him. Out of all the wonders of the moment, all eyes will be drawn to this single individual.  This could not be so if He did not have a real existence.  The reality of His person in His resurrected glory is a certainty.

2.      We will see that which Isaiah saw in Isaiah 6, but magnified to the point of a marvel.  John 1:18 explains this to us.  “No one has seen the Father at any time.”  It is that unique ,greatly loved Son who reveals Him.  The revelation,

All the words we have so much difficulty defining--love, grace, peace, joy, compassion, and rest we will see when we see Him and it will be a marvel to behold.

5/21/19 

Jeremiah 15:16

Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.

“Your words were found.”  The writer expects that we will understand that this is more than a casual discovery.  And his description as he continues he directs to the importance he places on this discovery.

1.       This word is “eaten”, or it is digested as his food is in his daily existence.  And as his food is necessary to his existence the “eaten word” is necessary to the existence he describes.

2.      “For I am called by your name”, or I am called to your name or to you; or even your name is called up on me (by your call I belong to you); or you who are the Lord God have called me.  Whatever you choose this is the Old Testament equivalent of the “call” in Romans 8:28-29.

This is found in Jeremiah 1:4-5.  We are to recognize that Jeremiah’s salvation and vocation were both a result of the “call of God.”  The theologian Bible student knows that conversion is not always prior to vocation, but he knows as well that it should be.  But just as salvation is a gift, vocation is also.

The found word, the eaten word, and the joyful heart are all a result.  For, or because, you have called me O, Lord God of armies.

5/20/19 

James 4:14

¹⁴ whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

“What is your life?”

This is a question all should answer.  The evaluation and answer the writer James gives is so apt that we should attend with a desire to apply what he writes.

His answer is “Your life is a vapor”.  We can think of those fluffy clouds that drift in and out of sight with no affect on us.  But I like to think of the first kettle in morning.  As it began to boil the vapor would rise.  It was visible and it certainly had a meaning no matter how limited.  We could see the steam.

The writer has caught our attention with this analogy.  He follows with the reasons why he makes the analogy.  “It appears for a moment.”  There is to any life, whether 100 years or an infant in birth, a brevity that cannot be denied.  I heard this morning of a friend who died and I thought “he was so young.”  But he was 88 years old, a mere watch in the night.

Then James finishes his reason for the analogy, “Then it vanishes.”  I must admit somewhat guiltily I don’t know my great grandparents name on either side, and I know of no one who does. They have vanished.  And you will too.

5/17/19 

Psalm 1:1-6

Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
² But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.
³ He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

⁴ The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
⁵ Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

⁶ For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

This Psalm describes what is expected of a believer.  He is expected to have a peculiar character, vs1, a particular interest, vs 2, a protected growing spot, a guaranteed production and a promised place of rest.

Admitted this is a homiletical outline but it does take through the life and experience of any and every believer.  There are not believers who are not identified by these marks. It is a student who is less than familiar with Scriptures who thinks that one can be a servant of God and not have a defined character and a love for God’s Word.

Believers are fruitful, some more, some less, but all bear fruit in God’s garden.  Remember the cumber ground tree.  Treat it carefully this year and then it if doesn’t bear fruit, “cut it down”.

All who claim to be Christians want the promise of the blessed ending.  But this blessed ending belongs only to the blessed one of vs 1, the informed one of vs 2, and the planted one of vs 3.  You get into the Psalms through Psalm 1 and all that comes after is written to and for this blessed one.

5/16/19 

I Thessalonians 4:3

³ For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;

The prayer of the Lord Jesus gives His disciples begins “Your kingdom come, your will be done.”  This is the form of prayer that is to be always before us.  God’s will for us is to a primary interest.

That being so, if our sanctification is the will of God for us, and we are told plainly that it is, then that should begin and end our day as we seek our days to be spent following out the will of God. Personal holiness should be our chief concern.  But how do we accomplish this?

First there is Psalm 1:2.   But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.

The law of God is to govern our activity.  Here it is helpful to remember the summary of the Law and to love God and our neighbors.  Because loving our neighbors is so much more present and difficult we often forget what it is to love God.  Yet if we do not love God we neither can nor will love our neighbor.  But how do we love God?  The Scriptures alone inform us how this is to be done.

Second in John 17:17 we are directed to truth to order our sanctification. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. And sanctification and truth is identified, the Word of God or the Holy Scriptures.  God’s Holy word alone can direct us in His Law and in our holiness.  We are informed in Hebrews 12:14 (NKJV) the importance and end of holiness.

¹⁴ Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:

5/15/19 

Christians Pray!

1.       The Christian Church in Nigeria has laid the foundation for success in its blood.  This is one of the most severely persecuted Christian churches in the world.  The Moslem state leadership is determined to destroy this church.  But God!  It is His purpose to save His church, deliver His elect, cast down the opposers, and glorify His great and Holy name. Even so come Lord Jesus and deliver these poor suffering saints.

2.      The church throughout Africa, in Turkey, Iran, Syria, and in Egypt are without interruption persecuted by the Moslem majority.  In some a conversion is a death sentence on both the evangelist and the convert.  Still the church grows in these different places.

Lift your hand O our God and smite the opposers.  Deliver your church and get glory to your Holy name.

3.      There is, in our day, no church which has suffered longer, more grievously and with no darker outlook than the church in communist China, communists if they are consistent with their confession must be atheists. China’s leadership is consistent in their hatred for God and His church.  Remember the story of the Revelation.  At the darkest, bloodiest hour of man, the White Horse comes to deliver.  Even so, come Lord Jesus!

5/14/19 

Augustus Toplady was  a very respected Christian leader in 18^th century London.  He was an outstanding Gospel preacher in the Church of England, a reputed historian, an acknowledged theologian, and an accomplished poet.

It is from his poetry that the hymn Rock of Ages is taken.  From soon after it was added to the hymnology of the Church until late in the 20^th century this was the most popular Church hymn, and it still ranks #1 with me.  I have included the poem today.

Hymn 23.  A Prayer, living and dying, The Works Of Augustus Toplady, B.A.

1. Rock of Ages, cleft for me, 
Let me hide myself in thee; 
Let the water and the blood, 
From thy riven side which flow’d, 
Be of sin the double cure; 
Cleanse me from ita guilt and power

2. Not the labors of my hands 
Can fulfill thy law's demands; 
Could my zeal no respite know, 
Could my tears forever flow, 
All for sin could not atone; 
Thou must save, and thou alone. 

3. Nothing in my hand I bring, 
Simply to the cross I cling; 
Naked, come to thee for dress; 
Helpless, look to thee for grace; 
Foul, I to the fountain fly; 
Wash me, Savior, or I die. 

4. While I draw this fleeting breath, 
When mine eye strings break in death, 
When I soar to worlds unknown, 
See thee on thy judgment throne, 
Rock of Ages, cleft for me, 
Let me hide myself in thee. 

5/10/19 

Judges 16:20

²⁰ And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.

This is one of, if not the most sorrowful statements in the Bible.  Yet at the same time it is so full of instruction.

Let us look at the two most instructive truths in the statement.

1.      I Thessalonians 5:19

¹⁹ Quench not the Spirit.

The loss of God’s presence is a danger we seldom mention or even think of happening to us.  But it is a very real danger.  Let us admit David might have had the example of Sampson before him when he wrote Psalm 51:11.

¹¹ Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Samson had transgressed mightily prior to his haircut.  Yet he had not progressed past the point of no return.  But, then he did; and though he did not know it, “the Spirit departed”.

2.      Joshua 7:4-5

 So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. ⁵ And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.

Samson’s experience is not unique.  Neither his defeat nor his failure to recognize prior to defeat, his weakness.  One of the worst results of the Holy Spirit departing is the failure to realize the absence of His presence.

The church wails and flails with apparent powerlessness and seems ignorant of the reason.  When was the last time we really took seriously Zechariah 4:5-7.

⁵ Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.

⁶ Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.

⁷ Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.

 The prevalence of Pelagianism is to the Gospel a haircut.

5/9/19 

Romans 1:32

³² Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

When there are no absolutes governing morality, one person’s opinion of right or righteousness is as good as any other.  It is alright if in one bed you have medical science spending thousands of dollars to save a child, while in the other bed across the aisle, it spends hundreds to take away the same life.

It doesn’t take the rational cynic long to figure that out.  It is cheaper, therefore more expedient, to take the life than to save it.

Medical science has long known there is no difference in the person in the womb and the person who is taken out of the womb. If the life of the person in the womb is taken because it is expedient, why is the person on the knee to be treated differently?  This is rationally undesirable,  they are no different.  Having no moral argument how can you defend the life of the unwanted, ill, or costly child on the knee?  You can’t.  The slope is no longer slippery.  It is all downhill.

The only argument for life is the moral law.  Nothing else will suffice.  But the moral law does not conclude with only murder.  The law that has, “you shall not murder” also has 1, 7 and 10 plus the others.  God does not give the privilege of cherry-picking with the Law.

5/8/19 

Romans 1:32

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

²⁴ Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

²⁶ For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; ²⁷ and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

²⁸ And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

³² Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

After having read the preceding verses beginning with verse 18 this is a chilling statement.  Everytime I read it I think of the entertainment media. TV, movies, comic strips, and radio, bases it’s popularity on what is described in this verse.­­­­ Shame on me.

Looking at the list as it is in vss 18-32, it is overwhelming to think of the change, not in Christian thinking only but in the ordinary moral attitude.  What began as “I don’t do it, but if they do that’s their affair” has changed to a modern day defense of the very unrighteousness Paul condemns.

How does this particularly apply to us today?  The church and the moral community, which in the past to some extent supported it, has become intimidated by a powerful organized agenda led by radical feminist and the LGBT organizations.  These two entities have found it to be their political and practical advantage to unite in their attack on anything moral.

It is a truth of certainty that morality must have a standard.  This standard of long acceptance is the Law of God, the Ten Commandments.  A turning point of civilization was when the standard of morality was declared to be a religious symbol and thrown out of court.  Now murder is a legal right.

5/7/19 

Ephesians 4:11-12  

¹¹ And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

¹² For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Continuing in an examination of the transition of the Church from its character in the Old Testament to its character in the New Testament, there are three distinguishable features to be noted.  The first was the coming of the Holy Spirit in the sense which Joel described, a Church-wide freedom and with an empowered witness.

The second was an inspired teaching leadership.  This leadership had a twofold responsibility.  One was to witness to the resurrection of Christ.  The second was to teach the Church.  This again was a twofold task.  They were to set out plainly the doctrine of Christ and the Church, and secondly they were to organize the Church’s government.

In Hebrews 2:4 NKJV, this leadership is described with how it was accredited.

⁴ God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will

The third factor of the transition was “gifts of the Holy Spirit” according to His will.  In this transition period, while the Church was without a canon, there was the Holy Spirit ever present to instruct and enlighten, there was the inspired prophets and Apostles, and there were the gifts of the Spirit that are named and described in different places in the New Testament.

But a transition at some point is complete and when the transition is complete the temporary measures cease. When the active exercise of the transition team’s activity ceases it does not mean that leaves no permanent fruit.

The permanent results which remain are:

1.       The New Covenant work of the Holy Spirit. This continues in His work of convicting the world of sin, righteousness and the world to come.

2.      The inspired leaders have left us an inspired canon.  This canon requires no additions or deletions.  It is perfect for its task.

3.      The Church should continue to function by the gifts of the Holy Spirit which are given for the Church’s need in its present dispensation.

Ephesians 4:11-12 and following give the purpose of what gifted leadership means to the Church.  But these gifts must be desired, nurtured, and respected by the person who receives them. And they are to be used by the Church in its witness and sanctification.

5/6/19 

Ephesians 4:11-12

¹¹ And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 

Among Bible students there are marked differences of their understanding of the Old Testament church and the New Testament church.  No matter where you identify yourself there are differences.  One pertinent question is “how did we get from there to here?”  What comes between the Old Testament revelation and the New?

The Scriptures above point us to the transition team.  The transition is completed in those offices in 4:11.  From the time of Acts 2 until the canon was complete and whole final revelation of God was finished, what guided the church?  There are three distinct entities in the transition team.

1.       The first was the Holy Spirit who came in new fullness upon the church.  There are two errors to correct.

a.       That the Holy Spirit was not active in the Old Testament.  The triunity of God is a guarantee that God is not different and does not change.  The Holy Spirit in Genesis 1:2 is the same as the Spirit in Acts 2 and the same today.

b.      That the believers of the Old Testament were not “born again”, that they believed in God and obeyed the Law for salvation.

More tomorrow….

5/4/19 

Psalm 73:2

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
    my steps had nearly slipped.

I have too many Psalms I love to say that this is my favorite Psalm.  But this is one of the first places I go when I need the comfort of God’s word.  It is worthy to note that the Psalmist begins with his conclusion.  Whether it needs to be said and when everything is said, God is truly, only, always good to Israel, those with a renewed heart.

Now that being cleared up he has a confession. He had almost by his reckoning fallen from his place of the Goodness of God.  But he didn’t.

Let us look at three reasons he didn’t fall.

1.       Vs 23-His companion in all places and at all times holds his hand so that he has the support he needs to continue upright.  He is never without the support he may need.

2.      Vs 24-His guide is ever there to see that he follows the direction and that his path is a safe one.  In Romans 8:14 Paul writes “as are led by the Spirit of God” to assure us our guide is ever with us.

3.      Vs 28-Though he may forget and fear, the fact remains the Lord God is his refuge.  He is never in a slippery place.

The Psalmist came to realize the very things he envied in the wicked were in reality the slippery places.  Psalm 73:18

¹⁸ Truly you set them in slippery places;
    you make them fall to ruin.

5/2/19 

Psalm 97:10A

O you who love the Lord, hate evil!
    He preserves the lives of his saints;
    he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

“You who love the Lord, hate evil!”

This is plainly a requirement for a particular named class.  This class is those who "love the Lord".  The single requirement in this verse is “hate evil”. It is not the only thing required of them.  In verse 12 they are to “rejoice and give thanks.”

There are three words in verse 10A that require definition, “love, hate, and evil”.  There is not room to define these words here. The one word that is most necessary is “evil”.  It is a simple term which represents those who practice opposition to God and His law in their thoughts, motives, and deeds.  This in total is to be the subjects of God-lovers hatred.  This hatred is at the least to be disapproval and avoidance.  God-lovers are never to be supporters of evil.

Psalm 5:5B and 11:5B are the Divine side of the same truth.  We are to hate what God hates, evil.  This evil is never neutral, overlooked, or forgotten.  It is to be hated, avoided, and to be condemned by God-lovers.  Neither time nor place can excuse it.  Baptism into churches will not cleanse it, nor will acceptance by Christians change its character.  Evil is evil and God-lovers hate it.

4/30/19 

Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

“let us run with endurance the race”

This is an example from the track competition then, but it is equally relevant today for there is no track winner who does not finish the race.

“Once saved always saved” is a bitterly debated doctrine among believers.  But once the definition of saved is determined there is much less conflict.  Those who are truly converted will “run with endurance”.  They will complete the race in which they are entered.  It is certain about any race that not everyone is going to be first.  But the responsibility that is even more important is to give the effort the race requires and finish.

One example of this is the Boston Marathon.  There is a large financial prize for the man and for the woman who are first.  Yet there are hundreds who enter and have no expectations of doing anything but finishing.  A Christian never has to be the best at anything.  The encouragement of this text is to “run with endurance”.  All have the same great motivation, “looking unto Jesus!”