Beholding His Glory ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh: Recent Episodes
Bill Slabaugh
Beholding His Glory is the Bible teaching ministry of Pastor Bill Slabaugh. You can contact Pastor Bill at pastorbill@beholdinghisglory.org.
When Jesus was walking on this earth, all the power of Hell was launched against Him. There was no other time in human history when the demonic activity was more actively at work and furiously engaged against the Kingdom of God. (Incidentally, the world will experience a similar unleashing of the powers of Hell during the Tribulation Period described in the Book of Revelation).
But nevertheless, whether we realize it or not, as believers in Jesus Christ we are engaged in constant spiritual warfare as well. How are we to fight these spiritual battles today and what does it all have to do with the physical battles we wage?
John Wesley, the leader of the Methodist Revival in 18th Century England was once asked how he knew if his preaching was successful. He responded, “I know my preaching is successful if some are angered and some are saved.” Wesley’s ministry revealed something of the same kind of rejection, anger, and denunciation that descended upon our Lord when He first brought God’s message to His people. Their response? They tried to throw Him off a cliff.
In the account of when Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness we discover the essence of every temptation we experience as well. In every temptation we face, whenever we have a crises or need, or whatever trial we go through, the question we face is: “Am I going to trust God and obey Him or am I going to do something else?” The temptation is always to get our needs and desires met outside of God and His will. We want our needs met our own way, with our own resources, and to accomplish what we want apart from the will of God. The Lord Jesus Christ shows us how to stand fast and resist temptation.
Since Alex Haley's best-seller— “Roots: The Saga of an American Family” – and blockbuster television miniseries aired in 1977, a new genealogy craze has swept the nation. Genealogy is the second most popular hobby in the U.S. after gardening. It's a billion dollar industry that has spawned television shows, scores of books, and a cottage industry in DNA ancestry testing.
But the most important genealogy, as well as the most exciting, is the genealogy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
In Luke chapter 3:21-22, the Gospel writer gives us a sketchy description of the baptism of Jesus. And it raises the question, “Why would Jesus be baptized by John the Baptist?” John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus was sinless and did not need to repent. So why did he come to be baptized by John?
Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist (Matthew 11:11)!” From this great man, there is much we can learn about preaching the gospel in such a way that people repent and are forgiven of their sins.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, . . . and we were all made to drink of one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:12).” Paul uses a great word picture here. He says that when we are baptized in the Spirit, when we are immersed in Him, we were made to drink of the one Spirit. The Spirit of God permeates every aspect of our being. It’s like a man drowning in water. At some point the person under water gasps for air. At that moment, water and not air, fills his lungs and he is made to drink. At the moment you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, you were made to drink of the Holy Spirit.
Preparing the way for the coming of the Lord Jesus, John the Baptist came preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke 3:3). John makes it very clear that repentance is necessary to be forgiven and to be saved. But how can we know that we have truly repented of our sins and how do we do that? How can we tell the real thing from that which is shallow and therefore false? One’s eternal destiny depends on the answer to these kinds of questions.
It was against the backdrop of political and religious darkness that “the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness” (Luke 3:2b). John the Baptist came on the scene preparing the way of the Lord when politically there was wickedness, intrigue, and conspiracies. And religiously there was a degenerate priesthood that had aligned itself with Rome for its own power and wealth. But there was Good News in the bad times and it is the same Good News in the bad times we are going through today.
YouTube and social media is filled with the performances and the amazing accomplishments of child prodigies. We are amazed at a six year old who plays the piano at Carnegie Hall or a seven year old who performs surgery in India. Then there is the two year old toddler who is a pool wizard and is already a member of the American Pool Association. But what are we to make of the child named Jesus?
In Luke chapter 2, verses 39-52, we have the only recorded incident and description of Jesus’ life from the time He was born and presented at the Temple as an infant until He began His ministry at about the age of thirty. Luke’s description of Jesus going to the Temple in Jerusalem at the age of twelve is wonderful and insightful glimpse into the Man who is God.
The days following Christmas can be a bit of a letdown. The gifts have been unwrapped and enjoyed. The left overs have been eaten. The daily routine begins to set in. And on top of all of that, the difficult year of 2020 is coming to end without the difficulties and struggles coming to an end. So what do we look forward to now? The answer is found in Luke chapter 2:21-38.
In the TV program, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” Charlie Brown asks in frustration, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” Linus responded, “Sure Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.” And Linus took the stage and recited Luke 2:8-14. This is what Christmas is all about.
In the early days of WWII, Winston Churchill told the people of Britain that they were in their “darkest hour.” Now we the people of America are in a “dark winter.” When we come to Zacharias’ song of praise in the first chapter of Luke, we see the end of a long extended darkness. We see the promise in which “the Sunrise from on high will visit us" (Luke 1:78)
Concerning the birth of John the Baptist, who would prepare the way for the coming of Jesus into the world, the Gospel of Luke records,
“Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.” (Luke 1:57-58)
There had been promises and prophecies. Now there was an actual baby and Luke is careful to tell us that this is a sign of God’s great mercy. God displayed His great mercy toward Elizabeth. It is a wonderful example of how God bestows His tender mercy on us as well.
We most often think of giving God thanks and glorifying Him for His mercy and what He has done for us. But how often do we think of giving Him thanks and glorifying Him because He is a God of judgment? According to the Virgin Mary’s Song of Praise in Luke chapter 1, the coming of Jesus Christ into the world at Christmas is not only about extending mercy and grace and lifting up the humble. But it also about scattering into the wind those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts and bringing down rulers from their thrones.
At that first Thanksgiving celebration in the Plymouth Colony, half of the chairs were empty. More than half of the pilgrims had died the previous winter and half of those where children. The Thanksgiving Holiday is borne out of extremely difficult times in history. History tells us about a time of severe religious persecution, of insurmountable adversity, and extreme physical deprivation. That’s our history. That’s early American History. But it is in history and in the God’s Word that we find the biblical reason for the Thanksgiving Holiday; why God would have us celebrate the holiday and what its true purpose is.
Detrick Bonhoeffer said of Mary’s song of praise in the first chapter of Luke, “God is not ashamed of human lowliness but goes right into the middle of it, chooses someone as instrument, and performs the miracles right there where they are least expected. God draws near to the lowly, loving the lost, the unnoticed, the unremarkable, the excluded, the powerless, and the broken. What people say is lost, God says is found; what people say is ‘condemned,’ God says is ‘saved.’ Where people say No! God says Yes!’”
Mary, the young mother of Jesus, is a good example of how God confirms His Word to us. It was going to be hard for Mary but God, with whom nothing is impossible, is going to confirm it. Along the way, He is going to give confirmation and assurance in Mary’s humble obedience. Along with the greatest task that takes the most determined obedience comes the greatest joy and the greatest assurance and confirmation that this is of God and that He will perform it.
Martin Luther remarked, “[The angel] might have gone to Jerusalem and picked out Caiaphas’ daughter who was fair, rich, clad in gold embroidered raiment and attended by a retinue of maids in waiting. But God preferred a lowly maid from a mean town.”
When we come to the announcement of the angel to Mary that she would conceive and bear the Son of God, we must accept the essential spiritual fact that the Lord comes to needy people. The Lord comes to those who realize that without Him they cannot make it. The Lord comes to those who acknowledge their weaknesses and their spiritual lack. The Good News is not for the proud and self-sufficient because they are unable to receive it.
All of us who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior have experienced doubt. We believe, but we get our eyes off the Lord and onto the trial that looms before us. It’s like putting a penny close to your eye. It blocks out the brilliance of the sun. If you let problems and trials consume your vision, they block the glorious power of the Almighty God and we forsake certain blessings.
Someone has said that God is predictable in His unpredictability. This is a pattern that we see in the pages of the Gospel of Luke as he writes the account of the events leading up to the birth of Jesus. God shows up as it were in unexpected places. In Luke 1:8-17, the aged priest Zacharias was fulfilling his priestly duty of burning incense in the Holy Place of the Temple. The incense represented the prayers of the people ascending to God. Zacharias fully intended to burn the incense and leave the Holy Place where outside he and the other priests would pronounce the Aaronic Blessing and everyone would be on their way home. But suddenly, before he could leave the Holy Place, an angel of the Lord appeared to Zacharias and told him that his petition to God had been heard. Unexpectedly, God answered his long standing prayer.
In Luke chapter 1, verse 5-17, we see how God is at work in the unexpected. We see how God works extraordinarily in the ordinary circumstances of life. And how He works in the all-to-often difficult and troubled, yet, commonplace situations.
We see how God is at work in our own lives and how God was at work in the lives of an ordinary couple by the name of Zacharias and Elizabeth.
The Gospel of Luke shows us that our faith in Jesus Christ is rooted in history. In the same way that history can verify something of the life of Caesar Augustus, Cleopatra, Winston Churchill, or Abraham Lincoln, Luke wrote an accurate, orderly, historically true account of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Therefore, it can be believed with confidence. What Luke writes is both historically and theologically true.
Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?
With all this talk these days about social justice, what does it really mean biblically “to do justice and love kindness?”
In the introduction to this message, Pastor Bill presents God’s plan of redemption and His plan for the ages in the form of a picture book. You will discover a vivid way to both understand and describe God’s plan of redemption from the fall of humankind to the second coming of Jesus Christ. (The picture book illustration has been adapted from Pastor Gerard Hemmings).
A Symphony of Praise to God
A.W. Tozer wrote, “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which one must individually bow.”
“So one hundred worshipers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become “unity” conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.”
How can we keep on holding on and hoping when everything seems to be crashing in around us and sometimes right on top of us? When you compare your circumstances and lifestyle to what it was just eight weeks ago, what were you counting on then that you can’t count on now? And how much hope have you lost? It is important to understand what Romans 15:4 has to say about this:
“For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope”.
How to Build Up One Another
Just like when you remodel an old home, every believer in Jesus Christ is a remodeling project. There’s a lot of the old that has to go, that has to be torn out and ripped out, before we are conformed to the image of Christ. There’s a lot of demolition that has to take place. But the Christian life is also a building project. It’s out with old and in with the new (cf. Ephesians 4:22-24).
However, as we see in Romans 15:1-3, as believers in Jesus Christ, we must never be involved in the demolition of the life of another believer. We should never tear them down. Rather we are in the building business. We are to build them up we are to edify them.
1 Thessalonians 5:11
Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.
When God Is Left Out of a Nation
Pandemics, protests, violent demonstrations and riots, looting, murders, abortion, racism, political polarization at every level of the culture: Is there any hope amid this cultural chaos and devolution of America? Is this the judgment of God or is it something else? God’s word in 2 Chronicles 15:1-7 diagnoses the problem and also offers God's solution.
Kingdom Living in a Fallen World
We are citizens of the United States of America to which we pledge our allegiance. But according to Philippians 3:11, “our citizenship is in heaven” as well. Plus we live in a world that is fallen, corrupt, and in chaos. So how should we as believers in Jesus Christ live in this world that is not our true home and how should we live as citizens of God’s Kingdom? The answers to these kinds of questions are found in Romans 14:16-19.
Romans 14:10-13 (NASB)
But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
For it is written,
"AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD,
EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME,
AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD."
So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this-- not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way.
Romans 14:5-9 "Living for the Lord with Conviction in Spite of Our Differences"
In our polarized nation, where many Christians are on opposite sides of so many issues and have their own strong opinions, how we go about living for Christ in spite of our differences? How do we live for the Lord with conviction? How do you live in such a way that, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God? (1 Corinthians 10:31)
Getting Along in Spite of Our Differences:
In this day of polarizing opinions—whether they are related to politics, pandemics, or protests—how do we get along in the church in spite of our differences? How do we handle our difference of opinion so that the Gospel is fully preached? So that God is glorified with one voice? How do we handle our differences so that which threatens to tear apart our nation does not tear apart the Church of Jesus Christ?
The Bible teaches that as Christians we belong to the light, not the dark. We should be awake and alert, behaving as those who have seen the light of the Gospel. We also need to get up, lay aside the deeds of darkness, and get dressed for the day by putting on the armor of light. In Romans 13:11-14 the apostle Paul tells us how we are to dress as those who walk in the light.
The Lord Jesus said to His followers, “You are the light of the world. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14, 16). So we are not in darkness. We are not night people. We are not people of the night. We don’t live in mental darkness; we know the truth. We don’t live in moral darkness; we live the truth. As day people we live in a completely different sphere of life than those who live in darkness and don’t know the truth. Therefore we are able to “Love for the day is Dawning.”
John MacArthur said, “God’s own love is the inexhaustible well from which, as it were, we can draw the supernatural love He commands to live by.”
As a Christian, the love of God has been poured out within your heart (see Romans 5:5). The moment you received Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, the Holy Spirit came to live in you and He poured out the love of God into you. You see, you don’t have to pray for God to give you more love for someone. What you should pray for is for God’s help in letting it out. The love of God is in you, you just need to let it out. This is how you pay the debt of love.
A mother’s love is one of the most strongest and most mysterious forces in the world and that is why it is one of the clearest pictures of God’s love for us. And it’s one of the clearest pictures of how we are to love one another in the church of Jesus Christ. We are to love one another as Christ has loved us and gave up his life for us.
We love our moms for the good we have seen in them and received from their hands. We love them for the many way they have nurtured and cared for us. We love them for the ways they have been faithful to us, protected us, and sacrificed for us.
And we thank them that even if might be unaware of it, mothers have provided us with a real tangible picture of God’s love for us.
God’s Purpose for Government: Romans 13:3-7
In these days of a global pandemic, where we all live under governmental restrictions related to physical distancing, sanitation protocol, and the Center for Disease Control’s guidelines, it is essential that we know what God’s Word has to say about the government’s God-given authority and His purpose for government. And we also need to understand how we should respond to its authority as Christians.
From Romans chapter 13, we learn that there are only two legitimate biblical reasons for Christians to disobey the governing authorities: 1) They command you to do something that is in disobedience to God’s Word, 2) They try to prevent you from obeying God’s Word.
So how do we apply these principles in a Covid-19 world devastated by a pandemic and where we are required to follow strict governmental guidelines? What is the Christian’s responsibility to the government?
"How to Have Intimacy with God"
Have you ever wondered why God created mankind to begin with? Why would God create a creature who would turn on Him, reject Him, and try to live life without Him? Why bother? God created us for one reason: to know Him, to love Him, and have fellowship with Him so that He might be glorified. Put another way, we are created in the image and likeness of God so that we can have an intimate relationship with Him forever. And that brings God glory. This sermon answers the question, “How can I have and intimate loving relationship with God?”
"He Has Risen"
In order to fully grasp the amazement of that first Easter morning there is one precondition: we must realize that no one expected Jesus to rise from the dead—no one. The women who were eye witnesses to the death of Jesus went the tomb to anoint a dead body. They had zero expectations that He would rise from the dead. Then when the women reported to the other disciples that the angels had told them, “He has risen,” the male disciples called it “nonsense.” In Luke chapter 24 we see how the resurrected Christ brings his disciples to believe what He had promised: “the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again (Luke 24:7).”
The Anchor is the symbol of Christian hope. The anchor became a key Christian symbol during the period of Roman Persecution in the first century. The Christian singer Michael Card wrote in his album, Soul Anchor, “The first century symbol wasn’t the cross; it was the anchor. If I’m a first century Christian and I’m hiding in the catacombs and three of my best friends have just been thrown to the lions, or burned at the stake or crucified, and set ablaze as torches at one of Nero’s garden parties, the symbol that most encourages me in my faith is the anchor. When I see it, I’m reminded that Jesus is my anchor.”
“God Is Our Refuge and Strength”
In this message from Psalm 46, Pastor Bill Slabaugh shows us how to lay hold of the sufficiency we have in God who is our refuge and our strength—even if we panic. This is the audio podcast of the live-stream of the worship service of Grace Baptist Church in Emmett, Idaho. The live-stream audio quality was poor but you can hear the message clearly here.
Psalm 56: “I Shall not Be Afraid – Grateful Trust in God”
This message is part of our first live-stream worship service from Grace Baptist Church in Emmett, Idaho. Like thousands of other churches around the world, we live-streamed our worship service to the homes of the members of our congregation and to others around the world. God has provided wonderful technology to help connect and minister to one another during the Corona Virus pandemic.
From Psalm 56, we learn that God has given us two spiritual tools to handle very difficult and fearful things like the Corona Virus. The first spiritual tool to deal with our fears is prayer. And the second tool is to trust God and His Word.
Overcomers:
As I am writing this, the White House just announced that they are recommending that no groups meet that are larger than 10 people and that all restaurants and bars are to be closed. It’s a nationwide ban. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are not exempt from the Corona Virus epidemic and it’s far reaching effects. But the Bible teaches that as believers we are “overcomers.” So how do we overcome? What does victory look like? And most importantly, what was the Apostle Paul’s aim when he was horribly mistreated and suffered physically? Our aim should be the same, “that Christ be exalted in our bodies” (cf. Philippians 1:20).
“Don’t Despair”
Several years ago, a missionary was sitting at her second-story window when she was handed a letter from home. As she opened the letter, a crisp, new, ten-dollar bill fell out. She was pleasantly surprised, but as she read the letter her eyes were distracted by the movement of a shabbily dressed stranger down below. He was leaning against a post in front of the building.
She couldn’t get him off her mind. Thinking that he might be in greater financial stress than she, she slipped the bill into an envelope on which she quickly penned, “Don’t despair” and she threw it out the window. The stranger below picked it up, read it, looked up, and smiled as he tipped his hat and went his way.
The next day she was about to leave the house when a knock came at the door. She found the same shabbily dressed man smiling as he handed her a roll of bills. When she asked what they were for, he replied, “That’s the sixty bucks you won, lady. Don’t Despair paid five to one.”
Swindoll, Charles R.. The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart (Swindoll Leadership Library) (p. 274). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
Psalm 116:12
What shall I render to the LORD
For all His benefits toward me?
The word translated “render” means to repay or give back. “What can I can give back to God for everything He has done for me?” And what the Psalmist is saying is, “I can’t think of thing one that would be equal to what He has done for me.” Fortunately God doesn’t expect us to return in equal.
So motivated by all God’s benefits toward him, the Psalmist says, “OK, this is what I will do:”
Psalm 116:13-14
I shall lift up the cup of salvation
And call upon the name of the LORD.
I shall pay my vows to the LORD,
Oh may it be in the presence of all His people.While I was giving this message on a Sunday Morning, I gave the people in the congregation the opportunity to share what God had done for them—to testify in the presence of God’s people and to vocally express His benefits toward them. Before you listen to the message, take some time to recount what God has done for you.
While in the Upper Room with His disciples the Lord Jesus told them, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34).
The old commandment was to “love our neighbor as ourselves.” Whatever we do for ourselves in meeting our own needs, we are to do for others. But in giving the new commandment, Jesus raised the bar big time. It doesn’t make the old commandment null and void, but we are love one another as Jesus loved us. In a word, we are to love others “sacrificially.” The supreme demonstration of Jesus’ love was when He went to the cross and bore God’s wrath on our behalf.
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
How to Know Your Spiritual Gift:
In Romans chapter 12, verses 6-8, the Apostle Paul lists seven spiritual gifts that are given to Christians. These gifts have been called the motivational gifts because it is apparent that every believer has one of these gifts as their primary gift of the Spirit. These are certain passions and certain drives that God has given to you. God will use your motivational drive to open up to you where and how you are to serve in the Body of Christ. If you listen to the message and work through the worksheet, you will have a really good idea which one is your motivational gift
A Great Example of the Spiritual Gift of Faith:
Dr. Howard Hendricks gave an excellent example of the gift of faith working in the life of Dr. Harry Ironside. Shortly after the seminary (Dallas Theological Seminary) was founded in 1924, it almost capitulated. It came to the point of bankruptcy. All the creditors were going to foreclose at 12 noon on a particular day. That morning, the founders of the School met in the President’s office to pray that God would provide and in that prayer meeting was Harry Ironside.
When it was his turn to pray, he prayed in his characteristically refreshing manner, “Lord, we know that the cattle on a thousand hills are thine. Please sell some of them, and send us the money.”
While they were praying, a tall Texan with boots on and an open collar came into the business office and said, “I just sold two car-loads of cattle in Fort Worth. I have been trying to make a business deal go through and it won’t work and I feel God is compelling me to give this money to the seminary. I don’t know if you need it or not, but here is the check.”
A secretary took the check and knowing the criticalness of the hour financially, went to the door of the prayer meeting and timidly tapped. When she finally got a response, Dr. Chafer took the check out of her hand and it was for the exact amount of the debt. When he looked at the signature of the check, he recognized the name of the cattleman from Fort Worth. Turning to Dr. Ironside, he said, “Harry, God sold the cattle.”
Dr. Ironside was a man gifted with faith. He knew God’s Word and claimed its age-old promises for current needs while the other men possessed faith and hoped God would do something. Dr. Ironside expected God to provide the need.
If you have ever driven your car when the fog is thick, you know how dangerous it can be when you can’t see clearly. Maybe you have even had a close call or two. Now God gave certain spiritual gifts to believers in Jesus Christ to help the Church penetrate the fog of the deceit and delusion of the age in which we live; as well as our natural inability to “see it as it is.” To see things as they really are, the Holy Spirit provides the gifts of the Word of Knowledge, the Word of Wisdom, and Discernment.
Think about this before your next post on Face Book:
When talking about spiritual gifts, the Apostle Peter writes, “Whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God (1 Peter 4:11). Here we see the absolute importance of the Word of God, the Bible, in all that we say or write. This doesn’t just apply to those who are gifted speakers and writers, but it applies to all of us who name the name of Christ. In that we should never give counsel, advice, or an opinion apart from God’s Word. When we speak, we shouldn’t be voicing our own opinions and philosophies about life. We should be speaking the utterances of God.
When you speak for Christ and about Christ, base your words on Scripture not on your own opinions. You will be forever relevant if you do. And you will never lack for a message, whether it’s in teaching a Sunday School class, or coming along side to give encouragement to someone who is hurting or struggling, or even posting on Face Book. And who wouldn't want to be relevant on Face Book?
Some months after Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph are settled into a home there. And some visitors arrive, Magi from the East, and they came bearing gifts for the child. I wonder what Mary and Joseph thought as they opened each treasure. The Magi gave Gold, a gift fitting for a king. The parents had never seen such a gift, but on behalf of the Child, they receive it anyway, almost embarrassed. It seems too much. Then the Magi give them frankincense. And Mary and Joseph understand that it is a gift fitting for the Son of God come in the flesh. But then the Magi pull out the last gift and Mary doesn’t know what to say, “Oh myrrh. Embalming fluid.” And she feels a pang in her heart as she knows this is a gift fitting for a sacrifice.
When the Magi saw the Christ Child, they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11). Frankincense is a gift fit for God. In the Bible, the burning of frankincense pictures our prayers as going up to God as a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to Him. Frankincense pictures the worship of God. It pictures that unique gift—that fragrance that rises out of the human heart to the living and glorious God.
This and the next two messages will be an in-depth look at the significance of the three gifts presented to the Christ Child by the Magi: The Gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. What does each particular gift say about its recipient Jesus Christ? What does it say about who He is and what He has done? This message is about Gold: A Gift Fit for a King.
When it comes to the holiday season, those with the spiritual gifts of Hospitality, Giving, and Craftsmanship are in their element. They are in their grove as it were in their service and blessing to others. Even though it’s not just during the holidays that that bless other with their giftedness, the holidays give them a wonderful opportunity to uniquely serve and minister.
With music, God has given us a wonderful and powerful gift. It’s a gift that not only provokes significant memories but it also gives expression to the deepest feelings and desires of our hearts. When God gives something to the whole world, as He does music, it’s called a common grace. For example God’s gracious provision for His creatures is seen in the giving of the seasons—of seedtime and harvest. That’s a common grace, a gift from God.
Music is also a gift of common grace to the world. But for believers in Jesus Christ, music is so much more. It’s an expression of a worshiping and thankful heart. For us as Christians, music is a gift of God to allow us to give expression of gratitude to God. The company of the redeemed sing. That is what we do.
This message considers those spiritually gifted believers in Jesus Christ who are willing to pick up a corner of a stretcher in order to help someone do what he or she can’t do for themselves. It looks at those who are willing to take hold of someone and help them do what needs to be done. And it looks at those gifted believers who work quietly behind the scenes so that other believers can do what God called them to do. These are the believers who have been given the spiritual gifts of mercy, helps, and service. These are the gifted believers “Who Lend a Hand.”
As “Living Stones” in the building that Jesus builds, each one of us fit perfectly into a particular niche. How do we know where we fit and where we are to serve Christ and His Church? Stated as a formula, this is how we know:
Your Spiritual Gift + Your Area or Sphere of Ministry = Your Niche as a Living Stone
The purpose of the ministry of Evangelists and Pastor-Teachers is to support the rest of the ministries of church – for the equipping of the saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12). Evangelists deal with the beginning of the Christian life while the Pastor-Teacher is involved with the development and growth of that life. Evangelists are much like obstetricians helping to bring new Christians into the world. Teaching Pastors are like pediatricians seeing that these Christians have a healthy spiritual diet so that they will be nourished, healthy, and grow.
The foundation is the most important structural element of a building. If the foundation is faulty, the rest of the building will be faulty as well. Jesus said that He would build His Church and the gates of Hades would not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). Jesus could make this claim because the Church that Jesus builds is built on a firm, solid foundation: the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. If a church is built on any other foundation, it will be a faulty church.
When a man is called to vocational pastoral ministry, there is both an inward call and an outward call. The inner call is the result of the continuing drawing or the eliciting power of the Holy Spirit which in time brings an individual closer to the church’s outward call to ministry. So there is both an inward call of the Holy Spirit and an outward call by the Church. My hope is that this message will help the man who is sensing God’s call and considering pastoral ministry as a vocation--as well as the church who is prayerfully considering calling a pastor.
This message is an architectural view of the “House that Jesus Builds,” His church. The Lord Jesus is the Divine Architect and Builder of the church. He has designed it to function perfectly to fulfill His intended purpose and plan. It is being fitted together and built together into a dwelling of God. It’s the actual place where God dwells—where God lives. It is the place where each one of us as believers is being fitted together as a “living stone” so that we might offer up spiritual sacrifices to God.
Each one of us a believer in Jesus Christ is a masterpiece in the making. We are being crafted and sculpted into the masterpiece God wants each one of us to be. But God doesn’t transform us into the image of Christ just to make us into a beautiful work of art to be displayed in a museum, or to put on a shelf, or placed in a vault. He shapes us into what He wants us to be for the work of service, as a tool, to the building up of the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit gives us spiritual gifts so that we might serve God and serve one another as a tool in the hand of the Master.
The One who created all that there is—the One who created you—desires to do an Extreme Makeover for every single person on this earth. As amazing as it is to see the transformation of a house on the reality show Extreme Makeover Home Edition, God wants to do a relational, spiritual, emotional, internal transformation in every man, woman, and child. He wants re-creation. He wants to take the old and put it away. He wants something new to come in. He wants to take the old and cleanse. And He wants to put your past behind you. You will discover in this message from God’s Word that you are God’s Masterpiece in the Making as you are transformed more and more into the image of Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 1:3-4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.
The phrase “in Christ” is used eighty-nine times in the New Testament. This great truth to be “in Christ” means that when you trust Jesus as your Lord and Savior a union is established between Christ and you. This union is established between Christ and you in such a way that everything in Christ that can be shared will be shared with you. Only Christ’s deity and it’s unique God-defining attributes like omnipotence and omniscience cannot be shared. But everything else that Christ is and has is yours in Him.
For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. (Romans 12:3)
Paul shows us in Romans 12:3 that you are not to think too highly of yourself. But he also shows us that you are not to think too low of yourself. Godly humility is not thinking too low of yourself, but to think as to have sound judgment. If you are a believer you are a recipient of God’s Grace—not only the grace that saved you, but the grace by which God has gifted you for service. Our spiritual gifts differ according to the grace given to each one of us. But each one of us does have gifts. You are not nothing. You are not someone who can’t do anything or incapable—not at all.
Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; (Romans 12:6)
God’s goal for you as a Christian is for you take the same form as His Son, Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul taught that before time began God chose to save believers so that they might come to have the same form as His Son (Romans 8:29).
This expresses the glorious goal of Christlikeness—of becoming like Jesus in our actions, in our behavior, in our thinking, motivations, compassions, love, and in our service to others. It’s everything that it means to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2). In this we “prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God,
to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,
acceptable to God,
which is your spiritual service of worship.
Romans 12:1
As we offer our bodies as living sacrifices on the altar of God, we are dead to sin and alive with Christ. So the living sacrifice of the believer doesn’t demand the destruction of the sacrifice as it did in the Old Testament. But it projects the full energy of life that is in Christ Jesus—the fullness of life, the abundance of life, all that it means to live the positive and dynamic life of Christ.
At the end of Romans chapter 11, the apostle Paul drops to his knees in praise and adoration for God. Before moving on his letter to the practical conclusions which flow from the grand and distinct doctrines of the Gospel, the apostle pauses to marvel at the ground which he had trekked. And looking back on the whole of Romans 1-11, Paul must exalt his Sovereign. God is worthy to be praised for God knows what He’s doing even when we do not. God is control of all of history even when we don’t get it. Therefore, Paul falls down before God and worships by bursting into a marvelous doxology.
Romans 11:28-32 shows us that God is control of all of all of history, even when He is disobeyed. The apostle Paul’s lifts up Israel as the prime example. Israel is now at enmity with God because they have rejected Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, God has made irrevocable promises of blessing which He will fulfill. Therefore, we should stand in awe of God because He designs and controls all of history to display His faithfulness to His promises and the glory of His mercy to sinners.
Romans 11:25-26a
For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery-- so that you will not be wise in your own estimation-- that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved;
In using the analogy of the olive tree in Romans 11:11-15, the apostle Paul shows us that in the Christian church, there is no place whatsoever for anti-Semitism or looking down upon the Jews. We are blessed as Gentile believers in Christ only because we are blessed by being connected to an Abrahamic root. We are blessed by becoming people of an Abrahamic covenant through spiritual heritage. We are blessed because we have been grafted into the stock of Semitic blessing. We are blessed because we are grafted into the covenant of salvation that God made with Abraham.
What is it about the tiny nation of Israel, historically and even now, that makes it incur the wrath and hatred of most of the peoples of the world? The Bible gives us the reason why Israel’s Arab neighbors and the Muslim word are intent on wiping Israel off the face of the earth. We see the reason for the Nazi Holocaust, the reason for the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, the reason for Islamic terrorism and Jihad, and in the Bible we also see the reason for the Palestinian problem today.
This message takes back to the beginning, back to Genesis, and takes us back to Abraham, the father of faith where the whole problem began.
When it comes to the gospel of salvation, why don’t some people get it? Upon hearing the gospel, why don’t they believe? The answer to these kinds of questions lies in the reason that Jesus spoke in parables. And the reason Jesus spoke in parables might be a surprise to you. It might not be what you have thought or have been taught. Listen to the message to see the insightful reason as to why Jesus taught in parables.
If you pay any attention to the news, you’ve no doubt felt at times that the world is out of control and that the bad guys are winning. You see the horrors of terrorism, war, and natural disasters that wipe out thousands. You hear about school shootings and all kinds of shootings. And you hear about terrible crimes toward little children. You read about corruption in government both here and abroad. You hear about the horrible persecution of Christians throughout the world. The list goes on and on.
Sometimes it can be discouraging and depressing to the point that you wonder whether God is really in charge of world events. But in spite of all these things, Romans chapter 11 shows us that God is in charge and that His promises and His purpose will not fail.
Why Some Are Lost
Why is it that some people believe the Gospel message and are saved; and some do not believe it and are not saved? Why so some receive Christ when they hear the Gospel and why do some reject Him?
Romans chapter 11:18-21 deals with these questions and also shows us what the excuses are for unbelief.
Why is it that some hear the gospel and believe, but many hear the gospel and do not believe?
As you listen to this message think about this quote from Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones, “All hearing of the gospel does not lead to faith. You can hear the gospel and still have no faith. The offer made to all is not effective or efficacious to all.”
Everyone likes to hear good news. Romans 10:11-15 is built around three wonderful statements that show the massive extent of the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
- Whoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ will not be disappointed.
- Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
- How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things.
In Acts chapter 16, the desperate Philippian jailer asked the most important question a person could ever ask, “What must I do to be saved?”
The jailer's question raises a series of other questions that need answers: What does a person have to believe to be saved? What is saving faith?
The answers are found in Romans 10:9-10.
The main questions that are answered in Romans chapters 9-10 are: Is Israel really God’s chosen people, and if so, what went wrong? It seems that God is done with them, so why should that matter to us today? Why should we care about an ancient people in Bible times? And why should we care about Israel and the Jews today? Listen to the message to hear the answers to these kinds of questions.
Every false religion and cult seeks to establish their own righteousness and they go about it with their own particular set of rules. But they all have in one thing in common: they try to reach God—or please Him, or be saved, or become righteous—by their own good works and good deeds. It’s all about keeping certain rituals, or doing the right things, or trying to be a better person.
Sadly, like the Christians in the Apostle Paul’s day, many professing Christians can get caught up in this legalistic way to try to obtain righteous. It broke the Apostle Paul’s heart and it should break ours today as well .
At the end of this sermon, Pastor Bill gives some helpful pointers on how to share your faith with those caught up in these kinds of false religious systems.
1 Peter 2:6-8
For this is contained in Scripture:
"BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE,
A PRECIOUS CORNER stone,
AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL
NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."
This precious value, then, is for you who believe;
but for those who disbelieve,
"THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,
THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,"
and,
"A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE";
for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word,
and to this doom they were also appointed.
It was unthinkable to the Jewish mind of the apostle Paul’s day that Gentiles, who were considered unclean and who were pagan idolaters, would be called “Sons of the Living God.” Yet, in Romans 9:25-29, the Apostle Paul gives us the scriptural basis, prophesied in ages past, for why Gentiles can cry out to God, “Abba, Father”—how Gentiles have been adopted into God’s family and are God’s children.
If you are still struggling with the scriptural truth that God has mercy on whom He desires and He hardens whom He desires (Romans 9:18), you need to hear the reason for this that the apostle Paul gives in Romans 9:18-24. In short, it has to do with God’s glory. The final and deepest argument Paul gives for why God acts in sovereign freedom is that this way of acting displays most fully the glory of God—including His wrath against sin and His power in judgment.
In the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, God’s Word shows us that God uses evil and evil men to bring about His predetermined purposes. Each time Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he refused to let God’s people go, it resulted in a further display of God’s power so that God’s name would be proclaimed throughout the whole world. When Pharaoh, or anyone else, chooses to reject the right, he will be hardened in the wrong. That’s what sin and rebellion against God does. It hardens the heart more and more against God.
The second part of the message contains a remarkable insight into how the hearts of the enemies of Jesus were hardened leading up to the cross. Whereby Jesus was delivered over by the predetermined plan of God and was nailed to the cross by the hands of godless men (cf. Acts 2:23).
Is God Unjust?
Romans 9:15-16
For [God] says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
It’s a question of God’s fairness. If He only chooses some to be heirs of the promise and not others, people say that God is unfair. Yet Romans 9:16 teaches that people are not chosen or rejected because of who they were or what they had done or even would do. How can God elect one person and reject another before they were even born? God’s Word gives us the answers to these kind of questions.
In Romans 9:6-13, the apostle Paul continues to answer objections to what he has been teaching. This time, the God’s word is called into question, “Has the Word of God failed?” Paul answers the basic question, “If the Jews have rejected and crucified Jesus, the Son of God, does that mean God’s purposes were frustrated and His plan defeated?” Has God’s Word failed?
Paul answers literally, “And it is not possible that the word of God has failed.”
In Romans 9:1-5, the apostle Paul answers questions that would have been raised in opposition to what he has been writing in his letter to the Romans.
The first question is, “If God offered salvation to the Gentiles (non-Jews), does that mean that God has forsaken His ancient people Israel?”
The second question is, “If salvation is from the Jews and is first of all to the Jews, why did Israel, including her highest religious leaders, reject Jesus as their Messiah, Savior, and King?”
What about Israel today? Does God still have a plan and purpose for the State of Israel?
Before you listen to the message, rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10:
Then listen to the message to move up the scale!
Romans 8:29-30 is the clearest and most explicit presentation of the truth that a person who is genuinely saved is eternally saved; that is, he or she cannot lose their salvation. In these two verses Paul reveals the unbroken pattern of God’s sovereign redemption from His eternal foreknowledge of a believer’s salvation to its ultimate completion in glorification.
How do you know you are called according to God's purpose (Romans 8:28)?
How do you know that you are one of God's elect (Romans 8:30)?
How do you know that you were chosen before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4)?
The answer is so simple that it might very well surprise you!
Romans 5:5 reads, “The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
When you receive Jesus Christ and trust in Him for the forgiveness of your sins, the Holy Spirit comes to live on the inside of you. Romans 5:5 says that when the Holy Spirit indwelt you, the love of God was poured out within your heart. You enter into a spiritual love relationship with God that lasts throughout all eternity.
The phrase “poured out” refers to the lavish outpouring to the point of overflowing. Someone has said that, “Our heavenly Father does on proffer His love in measured drops, but in immeasurable torrents.”
All the love of God is lavishly poured out within your heart when you receive Christ.
And we know that God causes all things to work together
for good to those who love God,
to those who are called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28
Someone has said, “That if the Bible is a great feast for the soul, then Romans chapter 8 is the main course.”
I would add, “Romans chapter 8, verses 28-30, is the main dish.” Without a doubt, these verses are the most glorious of all of Scripture. They are a summary, an encapsulation, of the whole of the Bible, the whole of the Gospel.
"The Magnificat:" Mary’s Hymn of Praise
Luke 1:46-55
And Mary said: "My soul exalts the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 "For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
49 "For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
50 "AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION
TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.
51 "He has done mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
52 "He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.
53 "HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
54 "He has given help to Israel His servant,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants forever."
A young virgin by the name of Mary was told by the angel Gabriel that by the Holy Spirit she would conceive in her womb and bear the Son of the Most High. Mary’s responded to the angel, “Behold, I am the bondslave of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word.”
Think about what Mary’s obedience could potentially cost her. She was betrothed to a carpenter by the name of Joseph. Her reputation in the community would be damaged beyond repair. What would her parents think and how would they treat her? What would Joseph think and how would he treat her? What would Mary’s relationship with Joseph and her family be from here on out?
This was going to be hard for Mary, but God with whom nothing is impossible, is going to confirm it. Along the way, He is going to give confirmation and assurance in Mary’s humble obedience. Along with the greatest task that takes the most determined obedience comes the greatest joy and the greatest assurance and confirmation that this is of God and that He will perform it.
Luke 1:26-38
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." 29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 30 The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." 34 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" 35 The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. 36 "And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 "For nothing will be impossible with God." 38 And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
This message contains practical ways to tell your own stories of faith. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are commanded in Scripture to tell the stories of how God has worked in our lives in a way that we declare His mighty works (See Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 78:1-8). We are to tell stories of who He is and what He has done so that faith might be passed on to the next generation.
Did you know that during that first winter in America, half of the Pilgrims died and half of those who died were children? Also, fourteen out the eighteen wives who came to these shores died as well.
The story of the first Thanksgiving is the story of a people of the Book. Listen to the message to hear how their commitment to the Word of God affected their faith and their lives in the worst conditions possible.
Why do we study and teach history? Why do we tell the stories of the Bible and stories of faith from history?
Romans 15:4 gives us the biblical purpose of history, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
This is the first message Pastor Bill’s expository preaching series: “The Power of Stories of Faith.”
Many polls show that the vast majority of young adults who are reared in Christian homes are now turning their backs on Christianity. Recent surveys indicate that seven out of every ten Christian kids are leaving their faith after high school.
According to the research from the PEW Research Center, each successive generations of American includes fewer Christians. Older generations of Americans are not passing along the Christian faith as effectively as their forebears. It’s not as if young people today are being reared in a way completely different from Christianity, but as adults they are simply dropping that part of their identity.
This message from Luke chapter 10 shows how to keep our children from being a statistic by helping them to develop a love for Jesus with their heads and their hands.
Rearing our children is not rocket science, because rearing our children is much more complex than rocket science. With rocket science the drawings and calculations are done by dozens of scientists for each component of the rocket. Then over a period of months or years, each component is tested separately over and over again and necessary changes are made to the design.
The child come pre-assembled at birth with God-given bents, personality, and gifts already built in. Plus, the baby is already in motion. With children, there is no set science. Each child is different with millions of different variables. So how do we target the development of our children as they growing? This message focuses on helping our children learn to love Jesus with all their heart. If they learn to love Jesus with all their heart and soul, they will pretty much stay on track.
What is the promise of Proverbs 22:6? That our children will drift or go away from their Christian faith for a time, but if they have been reared correctly they will find their way back? Or is it a promise that they will not depart?
Proverbs 22:6 can be translated this way:
Adapt the training of your child
so that in keeping with his or her
God-given tendencies
--when he or she comes to maturity--
they will not depart from the training
they have received.
How do we know that when our children grow up and leave home, that they will be loyal to God? How do we know that when they face the giants of life and experience struggles, temptations, and suffering, that they will put their confidence in God? How do we know that they will not forget the works of God and that they will obey Him in spite of their circumstances?
Psalm 78:7 says that the answer to these kinds of questions is the main goal of parenting. That when our kids leave home, “That they should put their confidence in God; And not forget the works of God; But keep His commandments.”
Pastor Bill’s message on "Arrows in the Hand of Warrior" is a must listen for every parent.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers in the 19th Century, said, “When home is ruled according to God’s Word, angels might be asked to stay with us and they would not find themselves out of their element.”
It could be added to that, “Where Christ is Lord in the home, angels might be asked to stay with us and they would find themselves right at home.”
Both of these statements are the result of a Spirit-Filled marriage. The secret of harmony and unity in the home is the fullness of the Spirit. It is power from within not pressure from without that holds the home together. And the fullness of the Spirit is how a home becomes a godly home of influence for the Kingdom of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
When I love my wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, I serve her and minister to her a servant of Jesus Christ. When my wife respects me as her husband, she ministers to me as servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The first thing required of every wife, required of every husband, is a servant’s heart toward one’s mate; to be submissive to one another in the fear of Christ, to minister to one another as Christ would minister to your mate if He were physically present in the home.
Husband, God gave you your wife so that you might be a minister of Jesus Christ to her.
Wife, God you your husband so that you might be a minister of Jesus Christ to him.
The Apostle Paul’s teaching on marriage creates a head-on collision with the beliefs and practices of our culture. A congressman once argued, “We need to get past the medieval ancient concept of marriage between a man a woman.” Much misunderstanding concerning marriage occurs today because we fail to understand the great mystery of marriage that Paul reveals in Ephesians chapter 5.
The “great mystery,” as Paul calls it, is that marriage was designed by God to be a living illustration of the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Church. The question if not what same-sex marriages and unions say about our culture and society, but the question is, “What do same-sex unions communicate about the relationship of Jesus Christ to His Church?” That is why we don’t mess with the institution of marriage because in doing so, we miscommunicate and profane the spiritual reality. It takes what is holy and makes it unholy.
This is the introductory message in a new expository sermon series on Psalm 127 by Pastor Bill Slabaugh. He takes his experience as a licensed architect and applies it to our understanding of God's Word as to what it means when the Lord Builds the House.
Part One of the series is based on Psalm 127:1-2 and is called. "The Lord: the Architect of the Home." In Part One we will look at God's blueprint for a godly home in Paul's Letter to the Ephesians. What is God's pattern for husbands? For Wives? For Children? Psalm 127:1 says, "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it."
Part two of the series is based on Psalm 127:3-5 and is called, "In the hands of the warrior." How do we rear our children to be godly men and women of influence who will impact their community and world for the Kingdom of God? The goal of parenting is not just that our kids will survive, or that they are educated, or they will thrive. The goal of parenting is to rear children who are holy and make a difference in this world with gospel of Jesus Christ.
“It’s Better Higher Up”
The famous preacher D.L. Moody told about a Christian woman who was always bright, cheerful, and optimistic, even though she was confined to her room because of illness. She lived in an attic apartment on the fifth floor of an old, rundown building.
A friend decided to visit her one day and brought along another woman -- a person of great wealth. Since there was no elevator in the building the two ladies began the long climb upward. When they reached the second floor, the well-to-do woman commented, "What a dark and filthy place!"
Her friend replied, "It's better higher up."
When they arrived at the third landing, the remark was made, “Things look even worse here."
Again the reply, "It's better higher up."
The two women finally reached the attic level, where they found the bedridden saint of God. A smile on her face radiated the joy that filled her heart. Although the room was clean and flowers were on the window sill, the wealthy visitor could not get over the stark surroundings in which this woman lived. She blurted out, "It must be very difficult for you to be here like this!"
Without a moment's hesitation the shut-in responded, "It's better higher up." She was not looking at temporal things. With the eye of faith fixed on the eternal, she had found the secret of true satisfaction and contentment.
Why is there suffering in the world?
Will it ever get any better?
What does it mean that all creation groans?
The Apostle gives us the answers to these important questions
in Romans chapter 8.
Be forewarned. The answers might surprise you.
As parents, we try to do everything that we can to protect our children from suffering. We try to alleviate their pain whether it is physical or emotional.
So if God is our all-powerful and all-loving Father, then why doesn’t He do the same with His children?
Several years ago, Rabbi Harold Kushner wrote a bestselling book called, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.” Kushner proposed that God cannot be both all-powerful and all-loving. Because if He is both, a loving God would certainly do something about our suffering. Because it was more comforting to him personally, Kushner chose to believe that God is all-loving so He can’t be all-powerful. He believes that God just can’t do anything about our suffering.
In contrast to Kushner’s popular view, in Romans chapter 8 we learn that our suffering in this world is not at odds at all with God’s love for us as His children.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time
are not worthy to be compared with the glory
that is to be revealed to us.
Romans 8:18
When we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are immediately adopted into God’s Family. J. I. Packer has a wonderful chapter in his book Knowing God which is called “Sons of God,” where he writes on the subject of our adoption as children of the Father.
Packer writes,
You sum up the whole of New Testament teaching in a single phrase if you speak of it as a revelation of the Fatherhood of the holy Creator. In the same way, you sum up the whole of New Testament religion if you describe it as the knowledge of God as one’s holy Father. If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father.
If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. For everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new, and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian as opposed to merely Jewish, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God. “Father” is the Christian name for God.
When we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live on the inside of us. He indwells us, He empowers us, He fills us, and He transforms us more and more into the image of Christ. But by the Holy Spirit, we also have a responsibility to put to death the deeds of the flesh (Romans 8:13). This is called the mortification of sin. How exactly does mortification take place? How do we put the deeds of the flesh to death?
Life is full of important questions that need to be answered such as: “Who will I marry?” “What will I do for a living?” “Where shall I go to college?” “Should I even go to college?”
Questions like these are important, but what is the most important question of all? If you don’t get the right answer on the most important question, then the answers to many of life’s other questions are difficult to find.
The most important question of all is, “Do you belong to Jesus Christ?” because if you belong to Christ, then you are indwelt by the Spirit of God and you are led by Him.
Romans 8:5-8 explains why the Lord Jesus sent His Holy Spirit as He promised. This is it in a nutshell: The Holy Spirit is the way that Jesus lives His life in us and through us for His Glory. That’s why Jesus sent His Spirit.
This passage of Scripture also answers the question, “What does it mean to walk in the Spirit?” To walk in the Spirit is to live moment by moment in dependency upon Him, sensitive to His voice, and in obedience to Him.
To live any other way is to live in rebellion against God and to cut one’s self off from the blessings of God.
The Christian’s Independence Day
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free
from the law of sin and of death.
Romans 8:1-2
Romans chapter 7 paints a portrait of a struggling Christian who cannot do what he wants to do and he does the very thing that he does not want to do. The apostle Paul shows us that this person has a problem with self. He is self-absorbed and he would say, “It is all about me.” When we are self-absorbed and it’s all about “me,” sin gets the better of us every time. When we try to do it ourselves in our own way and in our own strength, sin wins every time. Paul shows us a better way to live in the Spirit.
Based on Bruce Wilkinson’s comparison of The Three Chairs, this message answers the all-important questions:
“What can we do to ensure that our faith in God abides and flourishes in the next generation?”
“What can we do to ensure that our children will put their confidence in God and will be men and women of faith who will not turn their backs on God?"
As you listen to this message, keep asking yourself, "Which chair do I sit in and what do I have to do to move into the first chair of faith?"
Romans chapter 7 contains one of the thorniest, most hotly debated, issues in Christianity. What is the believer's relationship to the Old Testament Law? Are Christians required to keep it or not? It is essential that we understand what the Apostle Paul is writing in these verses.
Why did God create Adam and Eve and what was their purpose? In what ways are we made in the image of God and why did He make us the way He did? There are three distinct ways that we bear His imprint on our souls. We discover these in the first two chapters of Genesis.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
In the New Testament, the Christian life is often described as “putting off” and “putting on.” If we are to live as new creations in Jesus Christ, then we need to understand exactly how to put off the old self and put on the new self which has been recreated in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:11-14 tells us exactly how to do this.
President John Adams said, "Facts are subborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.
In Romans 6:4-9, we discover four breathtaking facts about Jesus' resurrection from the dead: Christ rose from the dead; Christ will never die again and He reigns triumphant over death; Through faith, we are united to Christ and die with Him; and We shall rise like He rose and live with Him forever.
"He is Risen!" "He is Risen Indeed!"
There is always hope because God doesn’t just make us better, He makes us new. When God begins a work, He finishes it. You and I may write people off as hopeless, but God never does. You might write yourself off as hopeless, but God never does. If you are in Christ, you are a new creation.
A businessman once put a warehouse up for sale. As he took a prospective buyer around the warehouse, he pointed out the building’s flaws. “The place has been vacant for a while,” he said. “Vandals broke out the windows and kicked in the doors, but we’ll make those repairs. Don’t worry about the roof, we’ll take care of those holes. Oh, and we’ll clean up all this trash and paint over the graffiti and—” ...
“Don’t say another word,” said the buyer. “You don’t have to fix the place up. I don’t want the structure. I just want the site. I’m going to remove this warehouse and put up a brand-new building.”
That’s what God does in our lives. He doesn’t patch us up, fix us up, or paint us over. When He comes in, the old is gone and He makes everything new.
Why did God give His Law? According to Romans 5:20, one of the purposes of the Law is so that sin increases. Knowledge of the Law actually causes more sin. But the good news is that where sin increased, God’s grace abounded all the more. Donald Grey Barnhouse put it this way, “Where sin reached a high-water mark, grace completely flooded the world.” The abundant and sufficient grace of God is the answer to the evil in the world and the sin of our own lives.
Death is God’s penalty for Adam’s sin, imposed on all his posterity. Death reigns if you are still "in Adam." So how do you escape the curse? You must be "in Christ!"
If someone came to you and said they are having trouble in their marriage, how would you encourage them to be reconciled? If someone came to you and said that he was estranged from his parents, what would be your counsel? If someone came to you and said that they are far from God, what would you say? Romans 5:9-11 tells us how we can be actively involved in the ministry of reconciliation that God has entrusted to each one of us as believers in Christ.
Are you in anyway unsure that God really loves you? Because of your circumstances and situation, do you ever doubt His love? Paul’s letter to the Romans is packed deep with heavy theology. But in these verses in Romans 5:6-8, Paul wants you to feel and know and experience the great love of God that He has for you. You really can experience and feel the love of God.
How can we be sure of God’s love? How do we really know, not just in our heads, but in our hearts the love of God? These are important questions because the surety of God’s love is the major secret of joy, peace, freedom, hope, confidence, and a sense of well-being.
When we think of doctrine, particularly the doctrine of justification by faith alone, we tend to think of something that is dry, boring, maybe even irrelevant. But understanding and experiencing the Doctrine of Justification is the key to our peace, our perseverance, our ability to stand, and even our hope. In other words, we actually experience the blessings that are ours on account of being justified by faith.
What is a Christian? Another way to put it is, "What exactly does a person need to believe in order to be saved? Search the Web and you will find a variety of answers. But what does the Bible say about it? That is the question that the apostle Paul answers in Romans chapters 4 and 10.
There has been a rumor spread abroad in the human race for centuries that entrance into Heaven can be obtained by good works. But it's not true. It's a great hoax. In Romans 4:16-22 the Apostle Paul explains what authentic saving faith looks like. How do you know you possess the genuine article? How do you know that what you have is not a hoax? What is it's true worth? How do you obtain it? Listen to find out.
In Romans 4:9-15, the Apostle Paul shows us that the blessing of salvation does not come through keeping religious rituals nor by keeping the Law of God, but the blessing of salvation comes through God crediting righteousness to us through faith alone.
According to recent surveys, fewer than half (46%) of Protestants agree with the Protestant Reformation that faith alone is needed to get into Heaven. 72% of people surveyed believe that it is possible for someone to earn their way into Heaven by their good behavior. Sadly, most Americans disagree with Romans 4:5, "But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness."
Romans 3:28 says, "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law." The sad thing is that most American's who say they believe in God, don't believe what Romans 8:28 teaches. Human nature likes to think that we have something to do with our salvation and being in right standing with God. But it's not a Law of Works, but a Law of Faith.
We are very much aware that Jesus died on the cross for men, for sinners. We are much less aware that Jesus also died on the cross for God, for the sake of God. How exactly was God satisfied with the death of Christ? That is the message of Romans 3:23-26 and the Glorious Gospel.
Reformation 500! “After Darkness Light”
After centuries of darkness the light of God's Word shown into the world. Outside of the Book of Acts, there has never been a greater movement of the Holy Spirit than the Protestant Reformation.
The great question of the Reformation was, “How can a person be right with God?” How would you complete the sentence, “I am right with God because ............"
We all need to get the answer right because our eternal destiny depends on it. When we couldn’t do thing one about our situation and salvation God intervened. After Darkness Light.
REFORMATION 500!
What was life like in Europe 500 years ago on October 17, 1517? What was it in Martin Luther’s life that led him to finally understand that, “The Just Shall Live by Faith?”
There are only two ways to live. One is right and one is wrong. Martin Luther tried to live the wrong way until he discovered the great truth from Paul's Letter to the Romans.
Remember that famous line from the movie Apollo 13? There has been a explosion of some kind and the spacecraft was shaking and twisting through space and Jim Lovell got on the com and said, "Houston, we have a problem."
Humankind also has a problem. The whole human race is under sin. It's a problem so severe and so horrible, that if the problem is not correctly diagnosed and if the problem is not solved, then we are under the wrath of God for all eternity and destined to live the horrible consequences of our sin. "Man, we have a problem."
People raise all kinds of objections to Christianity and the truth of God's Word, but in the end God always wins. We must be careful not to use our questions and objections as an excuse for not submitting ourselves to God, repenting of our sin, and trusting in Christ.
How do you know you have the real thing when it comes to your relationship with the living God? How do you know you are trusting the right things? How do you know that you are right with God now and that you will be in right standing with Him on judgment day? The apostle Paul gives the answers to these questions in Romans chapter 2:25-29.
Is the fact that God will judge everyone justly and without partiality a good thing or a bad thing? What about those people who have never had the chance to hear about Jesus who said, "No one comes to the Father except through me?" What will happen to them?
John 5:28-29 "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9)
Has God abandoned America? The aposlte Paul would respond with a resounding, "Yes." This message from Romans 1:24-32 tells us why and what can be done about it. What is the great reversal?
Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
This message from Romans 1:18 could also be called, When God Abandons a Nation or What's Wrong with America? The answer to what is going on in our country is sin and God's justified wrath.
All of Christianity can be boiled down to two verses: Romans 1:16-17. James Boice wrote, "[These] are the most important in the letter and perhaps in all literature. They are the theme of this epistle and the essence of Christianity." This expository message is one that you will want your friends and family to hear.
In this expository message from Romans 1:8-15, we see how God has called each one of us who believe in Jesus Christ to be "Serving Saints." God has given every Christian a spiritual gift to serve others and share in the mutual benifit of the gospel ministry.
Did you know that God does not call everyone nor does He love everyone the same? But in this expository message in Paul's Letter to the Romans, you will discover the riches that God has for you when you respond to His call and come to exerience what it means to be beloved of Jesus Christ.
By God's grace, God has a will and a purpose for each one of us who believe in Christ. The Holy Spirit has given every believer a spiritual gift by which he or she servesChrist and His church in the greasted building project in redemptive history: participating in building Christ's Church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
With the all the bad news that we hear every day on the TV and on our phone apps, we are in desperate need of Good News. This sermon is about the Good News (Gospel) of God. We also discover in this study from Paul's letter to the Romans why the Gospel is true and why we can believe it.
The Apostle Paul's Letter to the Romans has rightfully been called the "Greatest Letter Ever Written." This Sermon begins an expository series on the book of the Bible that has changed people's lives and, on more than one occasion, has sparked reformation and revival in the Church of Jesus Christ.
In our study of Revival in Nehemiah chapters 8 and 9, we discover that God's Word must be preached in His prescribed way in order to achieve His prescribed result. Ezra the Scribe in our example of effective Expository Preaching of God's Word.
The 20th Century was the only century in America's history where God did not visit our nation with Revival and Awakening. Whether it be on a local level, in a church or in a community, or on a national level, this sermon from Nehemiah chapters 8 and 9 shows us what true Revival looks like as the Word of God is preached and God's people are mobilized.
When we do the Lord's Work the Lord's way, we can expect obstacles and severe opposition from the world and from Satan. It goes with the territory. Nehemiah is our example of how those obstacles are overcome and how opposition is conquered.
How do we exercise "mustard seed" faith that moves mountains? What does it look like? Nehemiah is our example of how each one of us can experience what it means to move mountains.
When Nehemiah prayed and wept before the Lord for months on end, God began to reveal to Nehemiah how he would be specifically used as an essential part of the answer. From Nehemiah's prayer, we learn how we collaborate with God in what He is doing. Prayer is how we stay in step with God in our families, in our churches, and in our communities. Prayer is spending time in God's presence, waiting on Him, until we know what to do.
When you begin to see a severe need; when you see the devastation and rubble in someone's life or maybe a ministry need that concerns several troubled and "rubbled" people, how can you begin to discern that God wants you to be specifically involved? How do you know when God is calling you to a ministry or to serve in a particular way? With Nehemiah as our example, we will see three particular principles from God's Word that will give you insight and direction.
There's a lot of talk about walls these days: The building of the wall along our border with Mexico; The walls that divide people or prevent them from opportunity. Are walls a good thing or a bad thing? And what happens when walls continue to be breached and a toehold of the enemy becomes a stronghold and then a stranglehold?
How do we experience the Holy Presence of God in our own lives much like Isaiah the prophet did? How do we experience His cleansing and receive what He has for us as His dear children? If you do not feel close to God or as close as you want or need to be, then listen to this life-changing message on the Holiness of God.
The Prophet Isaiah live in a time when: A nation which at one time at sought the Lord and loved Him, turned its back on God. It was a nation which was threatened by many enemies and was decaying morally and spiritually from within -- a nation whose heart was far from God and whose worship was just going through the motions. SOUND FAMILIAR? How can we experience God and know that He is in control when everything seems to be falling apart around us?
Why is it, when it comes to spiritual matters, that most people just don't get it? Why can't they understand the Bible and the things of God? How do we as believers get the truths of God's Word into our hearts and minds so that we experience Christ?
The prophet Isaiah's prayer was, "Lord, show us the awesome things You do in Your Presence." When God comes down, He makes known His inescapable presence. The cry of Isaiah was answered when Christ came to earth as a man. It will be answered at Jesus's coming again. Isaiah's cry was answered on the Day of Pentecost. And it is also answered in each one of us who are filled with the Spirit of God. We should expect to see God do awesome things when we are aware of His presence.
While I was preaching this message, we were interrupted by the sound of a violent hail storm outside the church. God gave us a pertinent object lesson. I had talked about how at Pentecost there was the sound of violent rushing wind and the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit. As I was talking about how Scripture is God-Breathed and men were carried by the Holy Spirit in writing Holy Scripture, we heard the noise of the wind and the hail storm.
This message begins the series on what it means to be a Spirit Led Church. How does the Holy Spirit lead us by the Word, in our Worship, Service, Evangelism, Fellowship, and in our Prayers? This is a base camp level orientation for the exciting Christian Walk.
The presidential candidates are promising to "Make America Great Again." But no politician ever made America great nor can he or she make it great again. Likewise, a government cannot make a nation great. America's greatness can be traced solely to the work of God through His Church. And when we discover how, each one of us will also discover what our individual roles need to be if America is to be great again.
America's Best Citizens! It is true biblically and historically that when Christians sanctify Christ as Lord in their hearts, they are the best citizens any nation has--including Rome and the United States of America. This timely message will give you hope in this unfair world.
How are we to respond when we are treated unfairly or harshly? The apostle Peter shows us that if we truly want to make a difference in this world for Jesus Christ and His kingdom, it depends upon our godly response. And in one word, that response is to "submit." "Submit yourselves for the Lord's Sake."
With the political season in full swing, we need to understand the Christian's response and responsibility in politics and government. Of all things, according to the apostles of Jesus Christ, it begins with suffering. Greg Foster has written, "To this day the church remains an institution designed to serve a politically persecuted religion." This message is the first in a series about Christianity and politics.
Who were the Magi and what can we learn from them? These Wise Men teach us five important lessons that we can apply today as we seek to worship the Lord Jesus Christ.
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," wrote Charles Dickens in a Tale of Two Cities. We also live in that kind of time where there is dismal darkness and all the news seems bad. But the message of Christmas is that that the Good News always dispels the bad news like light dispels the darkness. The prophet Isaiah wrote, "The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them" (Isa. 9:2).
Just this week, the Rev. Billy Graham warned American churches, "Prepare for Persecution." This message begins a new series in Peter's first letter called, "Hope in Shaky Times." What ever your shaky times and circumstances are, "What does it mean to have a living hope?" When we face trouble and distress, what does it mean to have a hope that is fully grounded in Jesus Christ? Peter is uniquely qualified to speak of hope in a way that instills hope and confidence in Christ, no matter what we are going through.
How do we survive and remain faithful even in these last days? What do we have to do in order to be effective servants of Jesus Christ?
What is it that motivates us to be determined and deliberate in our Christian lives? What is the prize that God has for us at the end? What causes us to run with endurance?
It has been said that the path of the Christian walk has a dangerous ditch on each side. Plus, Satan has littered our path with what could be called landmines. How do we avoid the ditches and how do we successfully navigate the path?
Did you know that God only reveals His ways and His works to His friends? So what does it mean to be a "friend" of God? And how does it affect our intimate close relationship with Him?
Today's world can be a frightening place: ISIS and what is happening in to Christians and others in the Middle East; What Planned Parenthood does to babies; the potential of a nuclear Iran who sponsors terrorism all over the world; Borders open to terrorists and murders. From the experience of those who feared the Lord, we learn that we tend to fear who what we fear the most. Yet when we fear the Lord, we don't have to fear anything or anyone else but the Lord.
"Friendly Fire" - As Christianity is less and less tolerated in our culture and more and more criminalized, it's a sad fact that some of those who profess to be Christians take it out on other Christians. They mistakenly think that they are doing the work of God when they tear down other Christians in order to build themselves up. The "cure" for being judgmental and condemning is submitting to the Lordship of Christ.
You are as close to the Lord as you choose to be. Based on the experience of Joshua, learn how you can draw ever closer to Him--even into His inner circle.
This message begin our new sermon series on How to Live the Victorious Christian Life. From the Books of Joshua and Judges we discover that the Christian life, as it ought to be, is: Conflict and Victory, Faith and Obedience, Spiritual Riches and Rest. Most of all, it's a life trusting and resting in Jesus Christ, our "Joshua."
In light of the recent Supreme Court Decisions and the rapid decay of American Culture, if we are going to be effective servants of the living God, we must understand the thinking or mindset of Post-Modern / Post Christian America. How did America come to this place and what is our responsibility as believers in Jesus Christ?
What are the qualifications for an effective servant of God? After you are saved, what is God's number one goal for your life?
How do people respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ when we share it? Success may not be what we expect: it may be a "successful failure."
How does the Holy Spirit lead us in service and ministry? When it comes to God's will, what is His responsibility and what is ours? How we view spiritual warfare makes a vast difference in whether we are fruitful in ministry or a spiritual casualty.
What is it about the whole Christmas thing that makes it full of anticipation and excitement? What was it that made Zacharias sing of his Redeemer?
How can we give thanks when we have so many troubles? How can we give thanks when I am in poor health, have financial difficulty, or maybe even out of work. The key is learning both how to give thanks and live thanks.
Christmas is not about what we can get done or not get done, Christmas is about what God has done and how we respond to Him.
What makes the gospel too incredible not to be true? What does the Ascension of Jesus Christ have to to with our motivation to serve Him? What does the Ascension of Jesus Christ have to say to groups like ISIS?
Are believers turning the world upside down or is the world turning us upside down? What gives us the confidence we need to proclaim Christ in the present world reality in which we live?
This message begins a study of the Book of Acts which can be described as: The Continuing Words and Deeds of Jesus by His Spirit through His Apostles."
How can we as Christians and Churches be assured that God will supply every one of our needs? What are we lacking when we lack the assurance of God? Why do some churches seem to always be lacking in the blessings of God?
How can we experience the peace of God that He has promised? What does lifestyle have to do with experiencing God's peace?
How do you develop a Christian thought life? How do we take every thought captive to obedience to Jesus Christ? How do we renew our minds?
Why does worry take such a toll on us? How can we keep from being anxious when so many bad things are happening? What is the cure for worry?
What do most people want to be known for? When it's all said and done, what do you want to me known for? Did you ever think about being known for your gentle spirit?
How do we hold on and continue to rejoice when so much seems to be against us? What do our emotions have to do with our ability to rejoice in the Lord?
What does it mean to agree in the Lord? How do we settle differences in the Church? What does it mean to be "in the Lord?"