Irvington Bible Baptist Church: Recent Episodes
Paul Mahler
In first Corinthians chapter number three, we’re going to look at some, of what I expect to be pretty familiar verses and passages, for you Christians. But I want to take a look at this here as we are transitioning from, Thanksgiving into, the Christmas season. Now, I know Walmart and Kroger and all those folks, you know, they already transitioned to the Christmas season about two months ago. But in reality, that’s that’s what we’re we’re heading into. So just some things to encourage you through this season because people get awfully discouraged,this time of year. And it’s easy to get discouraged. I understand it, I mean, I fall under the same, you know, pressures and everything as everybody else, you know, and all that as far as, you know, wanting to do good and do things for people and and all that. And that requires, you know, money and then, you know, it’s the end of the year. So money is always tight at the end of the year anyway, just because it is what it is. And,it can get stressful and depressing for some people because they can’t do all that they want to do, for other folks and things like that.
people get awfully discouraged,this time of year
And, you know, I mean, I agree, you know, right? Christmas has become way too materialistic and all that. But, it’s not even for me really about that so much. It’s just you like to do things for people and stuff now, I always I never Christmas shop until like, Christmas Eve. Anyway. because that’s when you get the really good deals. Now. I’m kidding. You don’t get any good deals when you wait that long. but it’s because I. I can’t buy something in, like, not give it to people. Right? Like, I bought something for the preacher, and I couldn’t wait to give it to him. And after I gave it to him, I was like, I should have waited till Christmas. So give it back and I’ll regift it. So, as we transition into that, some things I want to encourage you, with.
1 Corinthians 3:9–15
9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
the melting point
And what I want to talk to you this morning is about the melting point. The melting point. He says here, and he has a list of some things that are going to represent your life at the judgment seat of Christ. That’s what’s being dealt with here. So, as Christians, when the Lord comes back to rapture out the church, we’re going to go to the judgment seat of Christ.
two different classifications
And that’s where these things are going to be judged. The works that you have performed since you have been saved are going to be judged at that, at that judgment. And if they make it through that judgment, through that fire, then you’re going to receive a reward. And if not, then they’re going to amount to nothing for you. And so he gives a list of some things, that he is associating with those works here in verse number 12 he says, if you build on your foundation, I mean, first and foremost, you got to have that foundation set or else none of the rest of it even matters. But if you build upon that foundation, gold, silver, precious stones and then he says wood, hay or stubble. So it’s two different classifications of types of things that he’s dealing with here. And I’m going to take the latter first and talk about the wood, hay and stubble. You know, they all burn. They all burn. And if you want to have a campfire or something and you need some kindling, that’s the kind of stuff that you want to get together. And in order to light it up, if you apply a flame to it, it’s going to catch on fire and it’s going to provide some heat and some light For a while, but then it’s going to burn up. And is going to be gone.
You know, if you’ve ever been at a campsite or even if you have a fireplace at the house, I don’t mean, you know, those gas ones that are fake and those are the electric ones that everybody has now that are all fake. I mean, a real fireplace that you put wood in and you actually have an actual fire. I think they still put those in houses. Every house that I’ve ever had that had a fireplace had a gas insert. In it instead. But, if you’ve ever done that or you had a wood stove of any sort or something like that, you know that you have to keep feeding the thing because the wood and, the hay, the stubble, the straw, all that kind of the paper, all that stuff you put in there, it burns up and it burns really hot. Really good for a while, but it’s going to burn down and it’s not going to last. It’s not going to last. That’s what he’s talking about here.
What kinds of things are you building in your life?
What kinds of things are you building in your life? What kinds of things are you pursuing in your life? Are they going to matter for something? are they just going to make you feel good for now, for a little while? And, and then they’re just going to pass away and, and they’re going to fade away, and they’re going to be for nothing.
I mean, how many times in your life have you gotten something in your mind that you just couldn’t live without? Something, whatever that thing is or was? It might be a car, it might be a toy, it might be a relationship for all that matters. Whatever it is, it’s something that you just think you just can’t live without this thing. And you do everything you can, and you dream about it, and you daydream about it and everything, and you just plan for it and everything else, and you finally acquire that thing, whatever it is. And then it’s like eh! Well and all that great after all. I guess you know wasn’t any better than the last one I had. It doesn’t last.
That’s that wood, hay, and stubble and things. So what kinds of things are you? Are you, Pursuing in your life? The trials that come in life, are going to consume the worthless parts of our character and our activities and our spending habits and all that stuff. It’s just going to melt away. It’s just going to burn up.
But on the flip side, he says, here you got, gold and silver and precious stones. Now, if you put enough heat and enough fire on gold, silver, and precious stones, they don’t just burn up.
reveal the real beauty that’s inside them
They don’t burn up. They change like gold and silver. Both work similarly. you heat them up. And the dross, all the impurities rise to the top, and then they’re able to knock the impurities out. And then you’re you’re left with either pure gold or pure silver. Precious stones work similar to that, but they don’t really actually melt down and, create a dross or anything but what they do. Usually precious stones when you get when they get all heated up, they fracture. They fracture, they split and stuff, and then they reveal the real beauty that’s inside them. And if you build the right things into your life and you concentrate on the right things in your life beyond all the distractions, all the wood, hay, stubble, all the stuff that’s trying to pull you away, it seems like it’s the thing that’s going to draw you to it. You’re going to keep you warm and satisfied, but it’s not going to last. Instead, concentrate on the things that are going to help to remove that stuff out of your life and concentrate on those things, and on what the Lord would have you to do and stay encouraged through this Christmas season.
Because if you’re not intentional about staying encouraged during the Christmas season, you’re not going to stay encouraged.
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
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Let’s do an encouraging word today out of Proverbs chapter eight. Take a look here in Proverbs chapter eight and Look at this here in relationship to seeking God.
Proverbs 8:1–17
1 Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?
2 She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths.
3 She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.
4 Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.
5 O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.
6 Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.
7 For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.
9 They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.
10 Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.
11 For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.
12 I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.
13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.
15 By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.
16 By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.
17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
those that seek me early shall find me
And that’s what I want to talk just for a couple of minutes this morning about that verse right there where it says, I love them, that love me, and those that seek me early shall find me.
Hide and Seek
Did you ever play hide and seek as a kid? Play hide and seek and your buddy or your, you know, brother or sister, whoever you know, they maybe sometimes they get a really good hiding spot and, it’s hard to find them, but you just don’t want to give up. You want to keep looking and looking and looking until you finally can find them. And, sometimes people feel like that’s the way it is with the Lord. Maybe. But the thing is, the Lord’s not hiding from you. The Lord is not hiding from you.
Now. I’m always complaining, about my wife’s cat. And it is her cat. Make no mistake, no qualms about it. It’s her cat. 150%. I almost got rid of it when we moved. I’m not going to do any harm to the cat on purpose with witnesses, right? but, you know. Hey, you know, Kirk left the door open, and we thought that the cat ran away, and I was like, oh, darn. Kirk’s like, I think your cat ran away. And I’m like, really? My wife wasn’t too happy about that. And then I was over there a couple of days later cleaning up and everything. Even though the apartment complex says that I didn’t clean up afterward and wanted to charge me, you know, a ridiculous amount of money to clean what I’ve already cleaned. I’m a professional cleaner. That’s what I do. But anyway. Neither here nor there, in there, cleaning up and everything. I go to grab something and clean it up around the bottom of the stool in the bathroom. And that stinking cat is hiding behind the toilet. And I thought for a second. I thought for a second maybe I didn’t really see that be somebody else’s problem. But then I was like, I just can’t do it. I just can’t do it.That cat is really good at playing hide and seek, but I found it.
Can’t seem to get away from it
I found it and I complain about it all the time. I was actually complaining about it this morning because it doesn’t matter what. I have a closet. I hang my suits and stuff up in there. It doesn’t matter what I do. This cat, somehow its fur always finds and clings to me no matter what I it’s it’s a conspiracy. It’s a cat conspiracy fur everywhere. No matter what her cat; Does she have fur on her jacket? Of course not. Just me. Just me.
It’s always there
It’s always there. I can’t seem to get away from it no matter what. And that’s something I want to get away from. And that’s probably a really terrible analogy. But the Lord’s word is like that. You’re not going to get away from the Lord’s word. It’s always there. It’s always available. He’s always trying to show you things. He’s always trying to speak to you about things. He wants to be found. Unlike the stupid cat that doesn’t want to be found. Right. Your friends when you’re growing up that really didn’t want to be found until it was too long. Then they got nervous and then they decided they wanted to be found.
The Lord wants to be found
The Lord wants to be found. He wants you to find him. He wants you to understand him. He wants you to know him. And that’s why we have his word.
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
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Thank you for joining us for today’s encouraging word, turn in your Bibles to the Book of Psalms, chapter number 55. And then we will also be going to look at something in First Peter as well. So you might get that primed and ready to go. But I want to start off here in Psalms chapter 55. Here’s a psalm that David wrote and it says:
Psalm 55:1
1 Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.
It’s good for us to recognize it for what it is
It’s good to serve a God who inclines his ear unto us. Who doesn’t hide himself from our requests and the things that we need. It’s good to know that, but it’s also good, as David does here. It’s not like God was not going to listen to David, that God was going to hide himself from David’s supplications. But oh, but David asked me not to, so I guess I won’t. That’s not what’s going on here. It’s just David recognizing the fact that the Lord was going to listen to his prayers, that the Lord doesn’t hide himself from his requests, from his needs. And that’s David making a recognition of that fact. And it’d be good for us to recognize that when we pray, we’re not just praying to the ceiling that’s just bouncing off the ceiling. It’s it’s not a speech that we say just with our eyes closed or something like that. It’s a conversation that you’re having with the Lord. He gives us that opportunity. He gives us that blessing that we’re able to do that. But it’s good for us to recognize it for what it is. It’s not just something that we do. It’s not for nothing.
He goes on here in verse two he says:
Psalm 55:2–6
2 Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;
3 Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.
4 My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.
5 Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.
6 And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.
First, a little story
Now go ahead and turn over to First Peter chapter five. But before we get to First Peter chapter five, I want to tell you a little story. It is not so much of a story, because stories have the implication of something that I’m getting ready to tell you is something that’s make-believe. You know, a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. That’s my favorite fairy tale. My wife’s favorite fairy tales usually start with Once Upon a Time, but this story isn’t so much a story as something that actually occurred.
So there were these two people and at some point early in their marriage. They decided it’s not me and Catherine, so just don’t. Don’t be distracted. Sometime early in their marriage, they had two little boys and they decided that they didn’t want to live in the big city anymore, instead they wanted to live out in the quote-unquote country.
So they built a house out in the suburbs, and they built the house. They bought property and they built a house, and they put that house up, and they raised their boys in this house. And the boys, you know, got married and moved out and all this kind of stuff and everything.
The man and wife stayed in the house. For all these years. And over the course of time, they accumulated. Some things. Right, and they didn’t accumulate them all at once. It was just a little, little something here, a little something there. And it just slowly but surely piled up. They have a two-car garage that you can’t walk through. They have an outbuilding that you can’t walk through. And more importantly, to this discussion, they have a specific room in the house that used to be at one point in time, their eldest son’s last place where he was allowed to sleep before he moved out the front door. He got kicked out of the bedroom because I think there was a dark room or something in there, I don’t remember. I mean, somebody doesn’t remember. Anyway,, over the course of time, the wife, ended up being the president of the Indiana Lupus Foundation. And so they made this room into what we reverently referred to as the Lupus room.
Not because if you go in there, you’ll get bit by a wolf. That’s why they call that disease lupus. Because it looks like a wolf bite. The blotches on your skin and stuff looks like a wolf bite. Okay. Anyway, Eventually The foundation dissolved. They no longer have an Indiana Lupus Foundation, so the organization was dissolved so that room was no longer needed for office space.
Holding on onto all this stuff, all this burdensome stuff.
So then whenever the kids moved 15 different times into 28 different houses or whatever it is that they’ve done, and the kids grow up and this and that and all this stuff ends up over at Grandma and Grandpa’s house or whatever. And it’s like, well, we got this room we’re not using, so we’ll put a little bit of it in here and we’ll put a little bit of it over here. We’ll put a little bit of over here until eventually over the course of time. And this took years for this to occur. But over the course of time it became where this entire room that was a living room at one time, you could not even put one foot into this room. It was packed wall to wall, almost all the way up to the ceiling, all the way through. There’s no way that you could even know what was in the back of this room. Just packed full of stuff. Just sat there for years and years and years. Just holding on to all this baggage. Holding on onto all this stuff, all this burdensome stuff.
Just holding on to it. Just keeping it there. Just letting it sit there and letting it reside there and not doing anything with it and seeing that it’s an eyesore and just kind of acting like we don’t see it, and we just kind of move along and everything else. Well, eventually, for whatever reason, they decided, you know what? It’s time to empty that room out. So they proceeded. Over a few days time of going through, they got a huge, big, gigantic roll-off dumpster out in the front yard and everything else, and they’re just going through and to throw everything out.
Now me. Some of you have moved with me or helped me move. Help me move. Some of you have moved with me, but most of you haven’t. We know this because we’re still friends. Me? I’m like, if I don’t know what’s in that box. And if I don’t know what’s in there, I’m not going to miss it if it’s gone. Just get rid of it. I just, throw it out. Kirk about has a heart attack Every time he helps me move. He’s like, just let me know when you’re ready for stuff to go in the vehicle. I’ll show up. I don’t want to know. I don’t want to be involved in the decision-making process.
Just wanted to hold on to some stuff
Not so with the wife of this couple, though. She has to go through every single box, every single envelope, in every single box to see what it is, to see whether it’s his keep or throw out.
So it’s a long process and everything else because she just wanted to hold on to some stuff. And I know you’re wondering to yourself, what does this have to do with Psalms chapter 55 or First Peter chapter five? I’ll explain it real soon. Real soon. Okay. They were holding on to all this stuff. Didn’t want to let it go, or Whatever. Finally, she gets rid of the majority of the stuff.
There was so much burden on that floor
Well, here’s the thing. So all this stuff was piled in this room for years and years and years and years and at least 20 years, at least 20 years, maybe longer. Now you go to walk into that room and you step in there and you almost fall down to the crawl space because there was so much burden on that floor that the floor joist was actually broken underneath. You’re looking at me like you think I’m making this up. I’m not making this up. I got there and they would say, hey, come on in here or whatever. And I’m like, what’s the trick? And well just come on in. And I stepped in and It was like a big hill of a roller coaster. I was like, whoa, whoa, what is going on? The floor joist is cracked under all that pressure.
Okay, so David, back here in Psalms chapter 55, he’s talking about all these burdens and everything that he has. And if I could just grow wings and be like a dove and I could just fly away and get away, then I would be at rest. Well, here’s the thing. You don’t have to grow wings to be like a dove to get rid of the burden. And you don’t have to let the burden break you down and tear you up and ruin your foundation. You don’t have to allow that to happen. You can just simply follow the prescription that we have over here in First Peter chapter five starting in verse six. Where the Bible tells you:
1 Peter 5:6
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
Humble yourself. Don’t ever ask the Lord to humble you. He can and he will. You don’t want anything to do with that. Take my word for it.
Verse seven is what I want you to notice for the encouraging word today:
1 Peter 5:7
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
You don’t have to hold on to those burdens, and you don’t have to allow them to keep tearing you down and weighing you down and putting all that pressure on you.
Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you! So you don’t have to let all those burdens build up and pile up. You don’t have to hold on to them, and you don’t have to allow that just to be tearing up your foundation and tearing you down and weighing you down and putting all that pressure on you. It doesn’t have to be that way.
All you need to do is pray and cast those burdens. Cast all those cares upon the Lord because he cares for you.
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
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This morning we’ll be in Ephesians and chapter number three. And really. Going to key in on, this morning, verse Number 20. But I’m going to start up here. In Verse 11. And work our way down to verse. 20 and 21, really down to the end of the chapter. But what I want to speak to you this morning about is just going above and beyond, going above and beyond. Here in verse number 11. Apostle Paul is building up, down, through here. And he says:
Ephesians 3:11–12
11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
We have boldness and access,
- not because we’ve done more right than wrong,
- not because we’re good people and we follow all the rules,
- not because we came to church this morning or any of those other reasons.
But we have access and boldness because of the faith that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.
In verse number 13 he says:
Ephesians 3:13
13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
Tribulations with an “S”
He’s just reminding the believers here that you will go through tribulations. That’s within an “S” tribulations. You’re going to have tribulations in your life. You’re not going through the great tribulation. You know, if you read a lot of things, you see that a lot of folks say:
Well, you know, the Christians are going go through the Great Tribulation because the Apostle Paul said, in lots of places, this being one of them that you know, that he was going through tribulation. And that’s not at all what it means.
Of all the promises in the Bible
He just means that you’re going to go through some trouble in this life. And really, of all the promises in the Bible that we love to cling to, that’s one that we don’t like so much, but it is a promise of the Bible. You’re going to go through some tribulation and things, and I don’t even know why that’s such a surprise to Christians and things. I don’t know, some way. Somehow, at some point in time, Christians decided that they deserve better in their life than the Lord Jesus Christ had in his earthly ministry.
And that just doesn’t make any sense. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He went through tribulation, didn’t he? He went through troubles and all that, and he did it all for us. He could have. He could have gotten out of it any time that he wanted to. Which just makes it even more miraculous that he didn’t. If you think about it, but, you know, we don’t deserve to have a better way of going and to go through life without enemies and without people lying about us and twisting everything that we do and say.
We don’t deserve better than that than the Lord Jesus Christ had. This is ridiculous to even think. We don’t deserve better. And we’re going to go through some tribulations. In verse 14 he says:
Ephesians 3:14–19
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
Those are the things that the Apostle Paul was praying for these folks here. And these are good things to be prayed for. But then he says here in verse number 20:
Ephesians 3:20–21
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
The Lord is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.
He says there that the Lord is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.
That’s how great our God is. He’s able to do abundantly more. So much more than we can ask or think. And some people are thinking, I don’t know. I can think of an awful lot. Right?
He’s able to do more. He’s always able to do more. He always goes above and beyond. And his word promises us that he not only can go above and beyond but that he is willing to go above and beyond.
So whatever tribulations and whatever troubles and trials and all that that you might be going through in your life, just know this and be encouraged by this, that the Lord can do abundantly more than you could ever ask him.
Brother James said that you have not because you ask not.
James 4:2
2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Now, I’m not saying that you’re going to get everything that you ever ask for. Because a lot of things that we ask for, we ask, we ask for, for the wrong reasons, for the wrong motives. But if you’ll do your best to have a close and personal and intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will ask things according to his will, he promises you those things. You’ll have the desires of your heart. If your heart’s right. You will have the desires of your heart.
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
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Blessed is the man. The encouraging word today is from the Book of Jeremiah. We’re going to look at a couple of verses here that will hopefully be encouraging to you this morning. Turn to Jeremiah chapter 17, and we will pick up here in verse number seven because I just love it when it says blessed is the man.
Any place I can look in the Bible where it tells me how to be blessed of the Lord. That’s someplace I want to pay attention to, whether it’s in the Old Testament or New Testament or anywhere… I guess there’s really not anywhere in between, but either one, Old Testament or New Testament to tell me how to be blessed, I want to pay attention to it. So it says here, verse seven:
Jeremiah 17:7
7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
It’s good to be able to put your hope in something that is steadfast. It’s good to be able to put your hope in something that is worthy of you, putting your hope in it. You know the government and the systems of the world are not worthy of your hope, because they’re going to let you down whenever it meets their purposes. But the Lord will never let you down.
Jeremiah 17:7–8
7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
Think about a garden
It says it spreads out its roots by the river. The heat won’t bother it. It says the leaf shall be green and it won’t be careful. In the year of drought that just means full of care. Because if you have good roots, even in a time of drought, those roots still hold that moisture that you need. And I was looking at this and it just caused me to think about a garden.
Now, if you know me, you know that typically you do not want to take gardening advice from me. I tried to grow a garden a few times. We have a backyard again now, so maybe I’ll try again. Maybe. But I’m not really good at gardening and things and I don’t know why. I’m just not. I’m really good at killing things; Just not really good at growing things.
Know the principles
So anyway, having said that, I do know the principles behind gardening and I do know what you’re supposed to do. But like most things in my life, just because I know what I’m supposed to do doesn’t mean that’s what I actually do, right? And that’s probably really my main problem with gardening is I know what I’m supposed to do, but it’s a lot of work.
You know, you got to prepare the ground and you have to pull the weeds and you have to water it appropriately. And that’s what I want to key in on here this morning for, a few moments, is that watering aspect.
The watering aspect
Because watering your garden seems like one of the easy parts, right? You just go out and you just water the garden. That’s what’s so hard about that. And but a lot of people, do it wrong. And I may even be one of those people who’s done it wrong. I don’t know, but a lot of times people will go out there and they will water their gardens incorrectly.
You may be thinking, I didn’t know there was a correct or an incorrect way to water your garden other than to do it or not. But there is. There’s a right way and there’s a wrong way. And if you do it the wrong way, then you’re going to you’re going to train those plants, and you’re going to train the roots of those plants to grow incorrectly.
There’s a right way and there’s a wrong way
So in other words, if you just go out in the evening and you just sprinkle a little water on each plant for a few minutes and things, and that’s all you ever do, what you’re doing is you’re teaching and training those roots that in order to get water where they get all their nutrition from, their sustenance from the minerals and everything else that they need, you’re training that plant what it needs to do in order to get all that stuff is they need to stay up close to the top. And then when they’re up close to the top, that’s when the sun can beat down and dry them out and cause all kinds of problems. If there is a drought or you’re like me and you just forget to go out and water them one night, then they don’t have any moisture because they’re just looking for moisture up here.
Why you want to use something like a soaker hose
But if you’ll use something like a soaker hose. I never understood what the purpose of a soaker hose was. I’m like, aren’t you just wasting a bunch of water? The soaker hoses make a lot of sense with gardening because you put a soaker hose out there, and that just continuously puts some moisture into the ground, and that moisture goes deeper and deeper and deeper.
And then the roots know that they need to go down deep to get that water. Then those roots will grow deep. And then when there’s a drought or what have you, it’s not going to affect them because they’re not getting their minerals. They’re not getting all the things that they need to survive from the top. That’s why you want to use something like a soaker hose.
God’s word is your soaker hose
What does it have to do with anything? Well, God’s word is your soaker hose. This is your soaker hose. You need to soak yourself into God’s words.
Not just at a high level where you skim through here or there. Or you hear somebody talk about the Bible on the radio by accident while you’re flipping through the channels, or maybe you come to a church service, you know, even weekly, even multiple times a week. That’s great. And that’s awesome. And you ought to do that.
But that should not be the only time that you expose yourself to God’s Word. If you do, your roots are never going to grow deep. And you need those deep roots. Those deep roots will provide you the stability, nourishment, the refreshment. and the foundation that you need. And if you don’t spend time reading and studying the Word of God, you’re going to miss out on that.
So I want to encourage you today. Just simply don’t miss out.
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
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Take your Bible and turn to the Book of Psalms, Chapter 119. And we’re going to read. Versus 97 Down through verse 105. Psalm chapter 119. Of course, the biggest book in the Bible. found in the middle of the Bible, and. It’s all about the Bible. So we’ll take a look at this here and these verses specifically for the encouraging word here today:
Psalm 119:97–105
97 MEM. O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
98 Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.
100 I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.
101 I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.
102 I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.
103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
105 NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
And that’s the verse that I really want to talk about here for a few moments.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
As you go through life and you’re just minding your own business, doing your own thing, change is going to happen. Change is just a part of life. A lot of folks say they don’t like change, and that’s because we get accustomed to things, we get used to things, and they’re comfortable for us. And when we get comfortable, we just assume to stay comfortable. Right. You wake up in the morning and maybe it’s in the middle of the winter or what have you, and maybe the house or wherever it is that you’re staying is a little nippy in the morning, and you’re nice and snug like a bug in the bed under the covers and everything else. And then you just really don’t want to change that situation because that’s very comfortable. Right? And you just really don’t want to get up out of the bed. Maybe that’s just me. I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s just me. We like to be comfortable. We like to stay comfortable. We don’t like to be uncomfortable. And change is unsettling. Change isn’t very comfortable. It doesn’t matter who you are. If you’re old or young, rich or poor if you’re married or single. Change can be unsettling for you. Not only that, but change can also be exciting. It can be exciting because it brings with it the unknown.
Change is unsettling
Although that could be a little unnerving, that could be a little scary sometimes it could also be exciting just seeing what is coming around the bend. We all face changes. And as we’re facing changes, we’re facing decisions. And we’re just living our lives. We’re going through these things. A lot of times the path ahead looks dark and twisted. It’s dark. It’s hard to see. You can’t really see the end of the path, so to speak. We squint and strain to see down the road. We just can’t see it clearly. But the truth is, we don’t always need to see into the distance. We don’t always need to see into the distance. Now, I saw this Facebook meme this last week. A whole bunch of times. And so a lot of you probably saw it too. It says something like this:
It says I’m really tired of all these LED headlights. Right? I mean, I’m glad that you can see 92 miles down the road, but now I’m blind!
Thanks, but no thanks. Right. Because we think we need to see as far into the distance as we can go. But we don’t really need to see that far in the future. We just need to take it one step at a time. We need to take one step and then another step and another step.
The Bible is my roadmap
When the path is obscure, you can turn to God’s Word. His word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. That’s how you’re going to see where you’re going to go. You don’t have to stumble around the dark and step on Legos. I don’t even have kids living in my house anymore. And somehow I still step on toys. Well, they leave their little, little, little surprises around the house for me so that I can find them in the middle of the night. And things, You don’t have to fumble through life that way, though, because we have a light source. We have a light source, and the Lord is going to show you what you need to see. The Lord is going to show you what you need to know. His word will light your way. He may not tell you exactly what’s going to happen a year from now, or even a month from now, or a week from now, or later today, necessarily. But if you depend on it and you follow the guidance he’s given, his word will act as a roadmap for the path ahead.
There’s a song that’s called The Bible. I’m using the Bible for my roadmap. Don’t worry, I’m not going to sing it. That makes me think of that. Using my Bible for a roadmap.
Mac Weisman: Lyrics:
I’m using my Bible for a road map Ten Commandments they tell me what to do The twelve disciples are my road signs And Jesus will take me safely through There’ll be no detours in heaven No rough roads along the way I’m using my Bible for a road map My last stop is heaven some sweet day
We have God’s word so that we can have that roadmap. When you follow a map, it allows you to see the lay of the land. It allows you to see and expect some things that are going to be coming down your way. It may not. The map is not going to show you the chuck hole that’s in the middle of the road. I mean, that’d be a really updated map if it did. Right, but it’s going to show you the way to go. It’s going to show you the direction you need to be moving in. They’re still going to be obstacles. They’re still going to be pitfalls here and there. But it’s going to get you going in the right way. It’s going to get you in the right direction.
That’s what the Bible will do for you.
That’s what the Bible will do for you. It’ll keep you from stepping off the cliff. It’ll keep you from falling over the edge. When we rely on His word and follow it, we can trust. The goodness of God. Even when the future is unclear, even when changes are coming, and maybe some of the changes we’re looking forward to, maybe some of them were not. But we can still move ahead with confidence, knowing that the Lord will lead us. To the best place for us. And his goodness will stick with you and stay with you every step of your journey.
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
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Today’s encouraging word will be taken from the Book of Esther. Esther, in chapter number four, we are really only going to read a couple of verses here to get to the point of the encouraging word. But you remember roughly the book of Esther.
THE significance of the Book of Esther is that it testifies to the secret watch care of Jehovah over dispersed Israel. The name of God does not once occur, but in no other book of the Bible is His providence more conspicuous. A mere remnant returned to Jerusalem. The mass of the nation preferred the easy and lucrative life under the Persian rule. But God did not forsake them.
C. I. Scofield, Ed., The Scofield Reference Bible: The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments, (New York; London; Toronto; Melbourne; Bombay: Oxford University Press, 1917), 558.
The Book of Esther is basically broken up into seven parts: in chapter one you have the story of Vashti, the Persian queen, the Gentile queen, if you will, and she gets taken out of the way. And then they begin the process of finding a new queen. And of course, Esther ends up being that queen, being a Jew. So the Gentile queen is replaced by a Jewish bride. And we won’t get into all the types and things about all that stuff. We don’t have time for that in an encouraging word, but then you have the conspiracy of Haman, and that’s here in chapter four.
Haman wanted to kill all of the Jews
That is what we have here with Haman, he was jealous of the Jews. He was more specifically mad at Mordecai, which was Esther’s uncle; because he wouldn’t bow down to him and give him the honor that he felt he deserved and had actually received a royal writ for, that he was supposed to receive. Mordecai wouldn’t bow down to him. But, you know, it was more than just that, because Haman wasn’t just trying to take out Mordecai, he wanted to take out all the Jews. That’s what you have going on here. And of course, back in these times, you know, you couldn’t just come up and talk to the king just because you wanted to. You know, you see all these shows now, you know, they have you know, the king sits in his big room and all these people come in, you know, with their chickens and their sheep and their goats and, and their complaints and, and all this stuff and everything. But, you know, you couldn’t just approach the king without being summoned to the king. If you did, then he could quite literally take your head off. So it was a big thing. So Mordecai gets wind that Haman has talked the king into writing this decree out that on a specific day, they were going to have everybody in every province across the kingdom, and they were going to attack, obliterate, and kill the Jews.
Mordecai got wind of this and Long story short, he ends up getting a message to Esther. And tells Esther what she needs to do is she needs to go and speak up for her people to the king. And of course, she was afraid to do that, and she was afraid to do that because of the reasons that I just mentioned. She hadn’t been called to stand in front of the king or to be in his audience, so to speak, for quite some time. And she couldn’t just show up just because she was a queen. She couldn’t just show up and just say, well, I’m the Queen. I’m going to do whatever I want. You know, she wasn’t Cersei Lannister. Couldn’t just do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. She had to be called. And she hadn’t been.
Esther was afraid to approach the King
So she was afraid to do that. So she’s like, you know, I don’t know about all that, Mordecai. I mean, I mean, you’ve never steered me wrong before. You took care of me my entire life and raised me like your own daughter and gave me good counsel and everything. And I ended up in the position that I’m in now. All because of your counsel and everything. All right. You got wind that somebody was going to try to kill the king, and you got that message through, and. And you saved the king’s life. And I know all these things about you, Mordecai, but this time I’m not so sure. And that’s where we find ourselves here in Esther chapter four. And we’ll look at verses 13 and 14 specifically here this morning.
Esther 4:13–14
13 Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews.
14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: …
So he’s saying, well, you know, if you keep quiet and you don’t do what God has is commanding us for you to do, and you don’t do what his will is in your life, the Lord will find another way to get it done. But you’re going to pay a price for not doing what you were supposed to do. Okay. That’s what he’s telling her in a nutshell here.
And then he says this. And this is what I really want to key in on here for a few moments:
Esther 4:14
14 … and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
A challenge for us all
Mordecai’s reply to Esther’s was straight to the point. It was straight to the point. She’s not going to escape when the rest of the Jews were slain, if she were to keep her mouth shut, even though she was a queen if she refused to act, somebody else would be lifted up to deliver the people. But she would still have to suffer those consequences. And maybe this is why she was put in the place that she was put in in the first place.
And those words in verse 14 should challenge each and every single one of us, because who knows whether we are come For such a time as this. Who knows if whatever it is that you’re going through in your life. You weren’t put into the position that you’re in, whether it’s a leadership position, whether it’s you’re talking work or you’re talking relationships or you’re just talking about situational whatever situation you find yourself in. Who knows? If you weren’t put into that position just for such a time as this.
Providence of God
And that’s really the question. Look, it’s easy to tell other people not to worry about their circumstances. You tell people, don’t worry about things. You know, God’s in control, and God will take care of you and all those things. It’s really easy to tell other people that. It’s easy to tell ourselves that too, when things are going good. But when things aren’t going so good, it’s really easy to lose sight of that. It’s easy to get all bogged down and and just just quite honestly, just to be fearful about some things and be worried about some things.
Proverbs 29:25
25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.
We worry and we fret and we complain about different financial situations or work situations, health situations, whatever it might be. Whatever storm that we happen to be going through. We get all discouraged and worried and just wish that there was just some way that the Lord would just miraculously just transport us out of this, this situation now out of this time and and transport us to a different time and just pull us out of this storm and things.
Can’t wait for the Rapture
A lot of Christians say that they’re happy and they can’t wait for the rapture. But the problem is, the reason they’re happy and can’t wait for the rapture is because they’re looking at that as their escape plan. They just want to get out of this mess. They’re not looking forward to the rapture because of what it actually means and what it actually represents and what it actually is going to allow to occur. That’s not why they’re looking forward to the rapture.
They’re not looking forward to the rapture because the Lord’s going to call his believers out, and he’s going to be able to set up and prepare for him to be able to take the kingdom which is rightfully his, which is the actual theme of the entire Bible. You know, the theme of the Bible isn’t your salvation. The theme of the Bible isn’t Gentiles. The theme of the Bible is the fact that the Jewish king is going to get the kingdom and rule and reign in the kingdom.
The main theme of the Bible
That Jewish king, of course, being the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s the main theme of the Bible. And that’s why we should be looking for the rapture and seeking for his return, not just so that we could get out of our mess. But that’s most of the time because we’re selfish. That’s what we’re thinking, you know, why can’t the rapture happen, you know, in the next couple of seconds? Because I want to get out of this mess. Well, first of all, yeah. Please, Lord. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. But understand what that is and what you’re praying for. And don’t forget the fact that you know, as soon as you are together with him in the Lord in the air, and shall so forever be with the Lord in the air and all that, you’re going to the judgment seat of Christ. Okay?
I’m not trying to scare you away from the rapture. I’m just telling you, we want the Lord to transport us out of here and get us out of the mess. But maybe we’re in this mess. Whatever that is, for such a time as this. So that we can stand up and we can accomplish something that the Lord puts in front of us to accomplish. So instead of looking for a way out of the mess all the time, how about we look for how it is that the Lord is working through that mess? And how can we join in the fight?
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
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For today’s encouraging word, we will be in Joshua, chapter one. We will read about the first nine verses You see something here in these first nine verses, and specifically at the end of verse eight, there in Joshua chapter one, we’ll build up to it and get down there to it, But here you have where the Lord tells Joshua: then thou shalt have good success.
the idea of being successful
People are. Overly preoccupied with the idea of being successful. And I mean, you go to the bookstore and you get reams and reams and reams of books on how to be successful and what success means and all those types of things. I have numerous books that I have. I have one shelf of my bookcase, maybe two. I think it’s this one, though, right now, but I have another bookcase in my office at work. It’s got stuff on it too, about how to be successful, you know, in business and how to lead people properly and, and all these kinds of things. And I’ve read books, you know, that are mostly, you know, allegorical or whatever. And I’ve read books that are, just like, you know, basically like reading a textbook or what have you, and all this stuff. It’s a success, success, success, success. We, as people, are just overly occupied with success and how to become successful, and what it means to be successful.
Success comes up once in the Bible.
I’ll just tell you that, you know, God’s not all that concerned about your success. You say? Well, what do you mean by that? I mean. He mentions it once in the entire Bible. Success comes up once in the Bible. That’s it. One time. Now I’m going to talk about what it’s going to take for you to be successful. Having said everything that I just said. But my point is, that the overreaching theme of the Bible is not, how you can be successful. The bottom line is if you want to be successful, you need to follow the book.
Spoiler Alert!
Spoiler alert, If you follow the book, you’ll be successful. You can go home now. You can’t, That was a joke. You can’t go home. We’ll chase you. I won’t chase you because I don’t run. I have other ways of making sure you don’t get away. But somebody will chase you. But my wife Catherine was watching this goofy show yesterday over at my mom’s house. Maybe my mom was watching, and Catherine was just a victim, but I don’t think so.
There’s some, Christmas story about some old guy who had a Christmas tree farm, but he doesn’t actually sell the trees. He gives them away for free because his dearly departed wife thought that everybody in the world should have a free Christmas tree. So they got millions of trees on this farm.
And there’s this family that’s down and out. This dad lost his job, got another job, lost that job, lost like 3 or 4 jobs. He’s just like a loser. You know, lost everything. Homeless doesn’t have anywhere to go. And this tree farm guy, you know, invites them onto the property and into his house and all this stuff. And early on in the show, I said, look, here’s what’s going to happen. The old guy is going to give them the house. He’s going to give them the farm. The only thing they’re going to have to do is they have to continue giving away Christmas trees for free. Change the channel. But oh no, we have to watch the whole thing. And what happens? The old man dies. He leaves them the farm. They have to continue to give away Christmas trees for free. I could have saved her two hours of her life, Spoiler alert. But, The journey is fun.
Joshua 1:1
1 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying,
That’s something good to be remembered for, being the servant of the Lord. There are lots of things that Moses could have been remembered for, that the Lord could have remembered Moses for, and not all of them good. But the way the Lord puts this and leaves it is that the thing for him to be mostly remembered for is that he was a servant of the Lord.
Joshua 1:2
2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
Maybe. The politicians the UN and the media. All of them ought to read that verse.
Joshua 1:3–9
3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
We are already victors in the Lord Jesus Christ.
God clues Joshua in on a few things here and by extension, he clues us in on a few things here as well. He clues Joshua into some things that Joshua needed to know because he was now the leader of God’s people. And there are some things he needed to know about that. The Lord tells Joshua that everywhere that he would walk, everywhere that he would step whatever land his foot touched, that God had already given it to him. He tells him that in verse three.
Now we know today to to apply this to ourselves. Devotionally or what have you? We know that we’re already victors in the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that if we put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, we trust him and only him for our salvation, that we are saved. We have Heaven as our home. Is done. It’s finished. Jesus said when he was hanging on the cross, it is finished. He didn’t say it is started. Tag in. It’s your turn. It’s not a tag team championship. He said it is finished. It’s a done deal.
You have everything that you need to be successful.
God tells Joshua here that he can’t be defeated. And sometimes You might feel like you’ve been defeated, but you can’t be defeated. You already have the victory. Christians all the time walk around like they’re just beat up and torn down and oh, life is so awful. Life is so terrible. And you look at their Facebook posts and their Twitter or “X” posts, I don’t even know what you’re supposed to call it anymore. Everything is just so awful and terrible and my life is just in ruins and life isn’t fair. And my boss is mean to me and I’m not making what I should be making and join the club. Big deal.
But you know what? we’re supposed to be presenting To the world that we have something that they don’t have. But most Christians don’t. Most Christians social media posts, and conversations with their coworkers friends, and everybody. Show that they are no different than anybody else.
We’re supposed to always be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies within us. But nobody can ever see that there is any such hope that they’re going to ask us where it comes from, because you forgot that you have everything that you need to be successful.
You forgot that you can’t be defeated. You forgot that you already have the victory. So I just want to remind you of that today. God said in order to have success. You need to speak, think about, and obey God’s Word. And if you do those things, you will have success.
Are you going to have success the way the world measures success? Maybe. Or maybe not. But if not, just hold on because they’re going to change their definition in a few weeks anyway. Because they have to change their definition.Because their definition of success isn’t based on a final authority. It’s not based on anything solid. It’s based on society, and it’s based on all these feelings and how much money is or isn’t in the bank and all those kinds of things.
Our success is based on a final authority. And if we will follow that, if we’ll read it, if we’ll meditate upon it, we’ll think about it. If we’ll obey the things that it says. Be doers of the word, not hearers only. What James said, if we’ll obey it; Then the Lord will show you His definition of success. And at the end of the day. That’s the only one that matters.
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
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The encouraging word today is found in the book of Isaiah in chapter number 55. Let’s look at what The Word of God has to say over here in Isaiah, and hopefully, it will be an encouragement to you, a blessing to you. It’s funny how the Lord has already kind of laid the foundation, so to speak, today. So I think the Lord really wants us to talk about water today.
The Lord Jesus Christ likens His word to things that we need in our lives
Water, You know that wet stuff? Because the band they sang that song is out of Psalms chapter one and talks about the waters and things along those lines. I’m really thirsty right now. So that’s a reason, number two, that we should be talking about water. Reason number three, and maybe the reason I’m really thirsty right now is because Sister Henrietta was kind enough and a blessing, enough to provide us with two new jugs of water. And I saw brother Pearl carrying those in. So thank you for that. I went back there to get the first, you know, fresh cup of water, but it’s not ready. So I couldn’t have it. And then we have this here in Isaiah chapter 55, speaking of water. And really the Lord Jesus Christ likens His word to things that we need in our lives. One of those things is water.
And here in Isaiah chapter 55,the Bible says:
Isaiah 55:1–2
1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
Now you can’t buy salvation. Salvation is a free gift. We aren’t saved from our sins because of good works that we’ve done, the Bible says you’re saved by grace through faith. That not of yourselves. It’s a gift of God. It’s not of works lest any man should boast. We know that. We understand that. We appreciate that. And that’s what this is talking about here. You can’t buy it. And he’s saying here that you can’t buy this water that you need that is really going to delight your soul is not for sale. You can’t buy it anywhere. In Revelation Chapter 21 and Verse six, the Bible says:
Revelation 21:6
6 … I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
It’s free water
It’s free water. You imagine yourself, you’re out there, you know, cutting grass or just working, doing the things that you do, and a really hot, sunny day and all that. And then you just get so thirsty. You’re just so parched. You would give almost anything for some water. You would pay almost anything for a glass of water or a bottle of water. And if you try to go buy a bottle of water today, you would pretty much almost have to give everything you got to get a bottle of water somehow.
The thing that’s the most plenteous in the entire world is, you know, $5.99 for a couple of ounces of it, I don’t know. But the Lord’s water isn’t that way. It’s free.
We can’t live without water
Jesus is well aware of our basic human needs, and he likens his message to water. The fountain of the water of life. We can’t live without water. We can’t live without water. We have to have water in these physical bodies. We have to have water. If we go too long without water, we will cease to exist. We will die. You have to have water. If you’re lacking enough water and hydration in your system, it causes all kinds of problems. You end up with heat stress, heat stroke, and cramps. Cramps all over the place and everything else, you know. Nothing satisfies a cramp quite as much as just a good glass of water. Because your body is craving that. It needs that.
your spiritual body needs the spiritual water
And just like your physical body needs that water, your spiritual body needs the spiritual water that you can only get out of the Word of God. And if you go too long without that water, then, your spirit is going to start cramping up. It’s not going to work the way that it’s supposed to work. It’s not going to do the things that it’s designed to do and it’s going to affect you. So, Drink up. Leave your money at home and get ready to drink some pure water.
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
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The encouraging word today is going to be found in Second Samuel chapter 16 and I want to help you to see something here that will hopefully be an encouragement for you through whatever it is that you may be going through at this point in time in your life.
I would encourage you to pray
We all go through things, whether they’re health issues, financial issues, relationship issues, or anything in between. And it’s it’s easy to get discouraged as you’re going through those things. And it’s common just to pray and ask, Lord, you know, to just take all that stuff away. We like him just to rescue us from all of it and everything. And I pray that way too. And I would encourage you to pray that way if you’re going to get out of it, that’s the best way to get out of it. But sometimes it’s just not his will for us to get out of it.
Sometimes we need to go through some things and by going through some things, that’s going to build some character in us. It’s going to build our spirit and it’s going to build our faith. Unfortunately, if you don’t ever go through anything, anything like that, then those things aren’t going to be built up. And so the struggle is just part of the process.
So as you’re going through that process, I don’t want to just stand up here and say, well, tough stuff. Suck it up, buttercup. That’s what my grandson likes to say all the time. I think maybe because his mother says it a lot, he says, suck it up, Buttercup. That applies to everybody but him, though. And I’m not saying that that applies here. This goes for me as well as for you. But I’m not saying, you know, suck it up, buttercup.
I’m saying be encouraged as you go through those things and look for where it’s driving you and where it’s taking you and how it’s benefiting you. So here in Second Samuel chapter 16, verses one through two, we have here where it says there in the opening phrase, and when David was a little past the top of the hill. And that’s what I want to concentrate on today, he was a little past the top of the hill.
David had a lot of things that he had to go through
Now, David had a lot of hills to climb in his life, and some of those hills were self-imposed and some of them weren’t. But, you know, David had a lot of things that he had to go through. Now, of course, we know about his great sin that he committed with Bathsheba. You find that in Second Samuel chapter 11. Prior to that, of course, he had all the trouble and things when Saul was trying to take him out and do everything he could do to kill him and wipe him out.
But second Samuel chapter 11, he has his great sin with Bathsheba. And concerning Uriah the Hittite, who was one of his mighty men. Then you have there in chapter 12, where Nathan the prophet calls David out. Chapter 13 you have where David’s son basically rapes one of his daughters. And David didn’t handle that properly. And chapter 14, you have Joab, David’s military right-hand man, who tried to restore Absalom, David’s son Absalom, because Absalom was mad at David for not handling, the Amnon and Tamar situation properly. And then chapter 15 you have here where Absalom revolts against David and tries to take the kingdom away from David and usurp David as as the king.
David flees Jerusalem
And then David flees Jerusalem. And you think, well, wow, I thought David was this great, mighty warrior. And he fought. You know, Goliath, everybody knows about, you know, David and Goliath and all these great, you know, victories and all this stuff that David had and all that is true. But there are a couple of things to keep in mind here in regards to Absalom. Number one, it was his son and he loved him and he didn’t want to kill him. And number two, David knew that if he stayed in Jerusalem, that’s where the battle was going to occur, and a lot of innocent people were going to lose their lives. So David decides, you know, to get out of dodge, so to speak, and to leave.
So, that’s kind of where we find ourselves here in chapter number 16. So let’s read verses one and two and see what the Lord has for us here with this passage, chapter 16, verse one again says:
2 Samuel 16:1–2
1 And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine.
2 And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses be for the king’s household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as be faint in the wilderness may drink.
You’re not going to get the blessing without going through the struggle
You may be thinking, what in the world is going on here? And what in the world are you talking about? But what I’m talking about here is, look, we all are going to go through some struggles, but as we go through the struggles, we can reap some blessings. And in order to reap those blessings, as I’ve mentioned already, we have to go through said struggle.
You’re not going to get the blessing without going through the struggle. In other words, David is leaving Jerusalem here and he’s got to climb this great mountain, right? And he’s climbing this great mountain and everything. But once he gets a little past the top of the mountain, that’s when the blessings occur.
He had to go a little bit further.
That’s where Ziba is. Ziba wasn’t halfway down, right? It wasn’t like a marathon race where they got all the little tables and the little cups of water and everybody saying, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go. And all that. He didn’t have any of that. He didn’t receive any of the blessings until after he got a little past the top of the hill. He had to go a little past the top. He didn’t just have to climb the hill, you understand? He had to go a little bit further. And once he went a little bit further, then the blessings came.
People are great quitters
And if you’ll go through the struggle, if you’ll stop trying to avoid going through the hard stuff, then you can also receive the blessing from the Lord. But that’s what you’re going to need to do. You have to go a little bit further, right? We always want to quit. People are great quitters. People want to quit everything, right? Whenever something gets hard, they quit, right?
- They quit diets because they’re hard.
- They quit exercising because it’s hard.
- They quit reading the Bible because it’s hard.
- They quit going to church because I guess some people think it’s hard,
I don’t know. But people quit stuff all the time.* People quit their jobs. * People quit friendships. * People quit marriages. * People quit everything because it got hard.
But if you’ll just go a little bit further past the top of the hill. You can receive the blessings. And that’s what I want to encourage you with here this morning.
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
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when we recognize what he has done for us, then we can be storytellers of his faithfulness, like the Psalmist were. We're supposed to be storytellers.
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Sometimes the Lord wants your to take a step in faith, and they he will make the your path clear, So trust and obey Him today.
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If you find yourself in a Spiritual Wilderness, don't view it as a punishment but rather as an opportunity to grow closer to the Lord
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You're not flying solo. Sometimes when we think about doing God's work, self-doubt can get the better of us, right? Who am I to work for God? What can I do for God? I didn't even pray every day. I didn't read my Bible every day. , so I'm not worthy to do any work for God. And there's nothing that he could do with me and anything that I did do for him, I'm probably going to mess it up anyhow and everything. I'm just not equipped. I'm just not good enough. I just can't do it. Well, you can't do it on your own, but it's not you doing it anyhow. It's him doing it through you. You just have to be willing.
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God will comfort you in all of your trouble, so that you can in turn comfort others who are experiencing trouble
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The Bible was written so that we could learn that even through our trials, we might have hope and encouragement
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Walk in the Light so that you can invite others into that Light
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Passwords identify the user and keep all others out, do you have the correct password?
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Psalm 34:8 says to: Taste and see that the Lord is good, you don't have to take my word for it, check Him out for yourself. listen to the encouraging word to see Five ways to challenge yourself with this verse.
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What will your dash represent? Be known to make Christ known!
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You could do a Google search for the will of God and you're going to get all kinds of results for how it is that you can find what God's will for you is. Okay Well, according to Romans chapter 12, there are three aspects to the will of God, The good will of God, the acceptable will of God, and the perfect will of God. So what I want to share with you here are seven things that God wills for you. I'm not going to expound on these things. I'm just going to give you a list, a few thoughts, a few references, and, something for you to springboard off of, and to seek this out because you should be concerned about what God's will is for your life. And, nobody else is gonna be able to tell you, specifically what, what God's will for you is in a specific situation that's between you and the Lord. But there are some things in the Bible that we know, beyond a shall of a doubt that God does will for you that he does want you to do or be involved in...
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Today’s encouraging word is from the book of Jonah, most of you are acquainted, I think with the story of Jonah. Of course, the story of Jonah is one of the most contested places that people want to argue about, they say things like, you know, well, a whale couldn’t possibly swallow a person and, I would say first off, there are certain types of whales that could but regardless of this fact, I don’t really care.
God prepared a whale to do business with Jonah
The Bible says that God prepared this whale specifically to do business with Jonah. if God decided just to miraculously make it so that, that one whale, one time ever could swallow a man. That’s fine. What’s the problem? he’s God! As most of you know, Jonah was a prophet and he was a real man. He was a real prophet that we find reference to in Second Kings chapter 14 and verse 25, where he is mentioned as a prophet of God.
2 Kings 14:25
25 He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gathhepher.
Jonah’s commission
God came to Jonah and told him that he was supposed to go preach against Nineveh, he wasn’t even supposed to give him any good news. He was just supposed to preach against them and, and tell them that, within 40 days they’re done. God was going to wipe them out and that was it. But Jonah knew God and Jonah knew that God was merciful and gracious and that if they would dare to repent after getting this bad news, that this despicable God of his would forgive him and he would stay his execution.
Jonah’s Response
So Jonah decided he didn’t want to go. And so, the Bible says that Jonah went down and found a ship going to Tarshish, and he paid the fare. Notice that the Bible keeps saying that he went down, down, down, down; it will always cost you when you go against God and when you try to run from God, it’s impossible. You can’t run away from God. You’re going to get caught every time. Maybe you’re going to get caught because of something silly or stupid that you did and maybe you’re just going to get caught because the eyes of the Lord are every place, beholding the evil and the good (Proverbs 15:3). But you’re never going to get away with it, with God. And most of the time, to be honest with you, you’re not going to get away with it with men either. You’re not going to get away with it. But what I really want to key on here is to pick up here in chapter one in verse 17 and move on into chapter two a little bit here.
The Result of Jonah’s Response
Jonah tries to run away from God. Obviously, it didn’t work out. He gets on the ship. The ship gets out there in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea out there and God sends a great storm and, it was bad enough that the Mariners, the professional sailors, were scared. I mean, that’s a bad storm! I mean it wouldn’t take too bad of a storm for me to get a little nervous out in the middle of the ocean. Ok. Just to be honest about it, I’ve been out on a lake on a little ski boat in a bad storm and that was bad enough for me. I’ve never even been on the ocean. I mean, I’ve been to the ocean, but I’ve never actually been out in the Ocean, I mean, I’ve gone out about as far as waist deep. That’s about as far as I’ve ever been out in the ocean because… I’ve seen Jaws.
When you are in trouble with God,
it’s not just going to cost you
But this storm was so bad that these Mariners were scared to death. And they’re casting lots and they’re doing all this stuff to try to figure out what in the world is going on, which one of the gods is mad at us and all this kind of stuff. And they finally narrowed it down to Jonah and Jonah says, ok, yeah, it’s my fault. He owns up to it, right? He owns up to it, and you want to give Jonah some props for owning up to it and everything else. And then he says, hey, you guys ought to just like throw me overboard, right? In verse 12: he said unto them, take me up and cast me forth into the sea. So shall the sea be calm unto you for I know that for my sake, this great Tempest is upon you. Notice a couple of things when you, run from God, when you don’t do, right. When you’re not doing what you’ve been called to do, it’s not just going to cost you, it’s going to cost other people that are around you. But, notice that Jonah didn’t all of a sudden just get this big, bravery button or anything and decide Ok, well, it was my fault here. Watch out, guys. I’m going to do a cannonball off the stern, right? He said, hey, well, I mean, if you guys want to, you guys can throw me overboard, but I am not jumping. So, they go ahead, they go ahead, and they throw him overboard.
The sign that Jesus said that he was going to give
Now look at verse 17 here. Now, the Lord had prepared a great fish, now over Matthew chapter 12 and verse 40 the Lord Jesus Christ, the creator of heaven and earth and everything that you have ever seen. The physical manifestation of the word of God and, the one who penned these words in the first place, said that it was a whale. So you don’t need to be worried about that. It was a whale. I don’t care what your third-grade teacher has to say about it. It was a whale. The Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.
One of the reasons that the book of Jonah is contested so much with folks is because this is the sign that Jesus said that he was going to give over there in Matthew chapter 12.
Matthew 12:40
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Jesus was crucified, died, was buried for three days and three nights, and rose again from the dead. So if Jonah was going to be a sign and a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. That means, Jonah died when he was in this whale’s belly and then the Lord resurrected him. That’s what happened. And that’s what we’re dealing with here. So, the Lord prepared the great fish to swallow him up. He after he was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.
Jonah 2:1
1 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly,
Verse one chapter two says, then after Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale. After that, Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly. And here’s the encouraging word. The encouraging word is about what do you do and how should you pray when you get in trouble with God.
What you ought to do when you get in trouble with God
This is going to show you what you ought to do when you get in trouble with God. Look back to The Book of Revelation chapter two really quick.
This is where you will find the method if you will, the steps, if you will, of what you ought to do when you’re in trouble with God. And then back over here, Jonah chapter two is going to show you how that played out.
Revelation 2:1–2
1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
sounds pretty good so far
Revelation 2:3
3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
Still sounding pretty good
Revelation 2:4
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
here it is. Here’s what you do when you get in trouble with God. This is what you do.
Revelation 2:5
5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
Back to Jonah
All right. Look back to Jonah now. I’m just going to read through this. I’m going to show you how this played out with Jonah. The Lord said in Revelation, that you need to remember, you need to repent, and you need to return. That’s what you do when you find out that you’re on the wrong side and you’re in trouble with God. That’s what Jonah did.
Jonah 2:2
2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
The Lord will hear you no matter where you are, no matter what you’ve done, no matter how, how deep you’ve gotten into it, the Lord will hear you,
Jonah 2:3–4
3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
Look again to the Lord
Remember: I’ll look again; Look again to the Lord when you find yourself in that trouble when you find yourself in the middle of having to pay the price. Remember the Lord, that’s what Jonah did.
Jonah 2:5–8
5 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.
7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
You have to repent. You have to get right.
When you find that you’re in trouble with God. It’s not all over, you don’t cash in your chips and you’re not done. You don’t pack your toys up and go home. There’s nowhere to go.
Remember how good and merciful the Lord is and repent; whatever it is. Just get it right, and return to the Lord.
Jonah 2:9–10
9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.
10 And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
You remember you repent and return to the Lord.
You remember you repent and return to the Lord. If you find yourself in trouble with God, that’s it. That’s how you fix it. Now, it’s not all going to be good and, it’s not that you won’t be any worse for the wear or whatever. You’re still going to have to… look, If you sow corruption, you will reap corruption. The Bible said, that the fish vomited him out, The whale didn’t beach himself and just open up his mouth and let Jonah walk out. Jonah was vomited out.
The effects may still be around but the Lord can still use you.
If you’ve ever been fishing, you know, you can’t even go fishing without smelling like fish, just imagine what it was like if you were in the belly of a fish for three days and three nights, all them acids and everything else and God knows what all else that it had eaten and all that and then, he’s vomited out and then it doesn’t say that Jonah went to the YMCA and took a shower, right? No, He walked into town, to start preaching. The effects may still be around but the Lord can still use you.
just follow the pattern
So, if you have found that you have gotten yourself in trouble with the Lord, just follow the pattern that we are given in Revelation chapter two, and the pattern that we see that Jonah followed:
- Remember
- Repent and
- Return to the Lord
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and helped you develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
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I want to talk to you this morning briefly about cravings. If you ask somebody what foods, they crave. Most people are going to be able to tell you. I mean, they don’t even have to think about it. They already know what they crave, now for me, my name is Paul Mahler and I’m a Carboholic. I crave Carbs. I love carbs. Any kind of carbs, potato chips, potatoes, mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, French fried potatoes, potato, potatoes. It doesn’t matter. Bread, pasta, I crave all that stuff. But the only thing that I crave more than carbs and it’s also a carb, but it falls into different classification. And that would be Reese’s Peanut Butter cups. Reese’s Peanut butter cups are the best thing in the world.
I saw this thing last October because you know, everybody’s going to hand out these candy corns and all this other type of candy. I don’t know why anyone likes candy corn. I don’t think people do actually like candy corn. They just think that since they’re from Indiana and it says corn. So, they think they ought to have to eat it. It doesn’t even taste like corn;
the best way to eat candy corn
Do You know the best way to eat candy corn? This will change and revolutionize your life. Here’s how you eat candy corn. You take the bag of candy corn; you very carefully open it up because you don’t want to lose any of it and you don’t want to spill it and you take that bag and you dump it upside down into the trash can and you go get yourself a Reese’s.
Craving
To crave something is that you just feel like you can’t live without it. It’s something that you think about. You fantasize about it, you dream about it, and you can’t wait till the next opportunity that you have to participate. That’s what a craving is.
Ok. Now, I’m going to kind of flip things around a little bit on you and I’m going to talk about something that somebody craved in the Bible that you’re going to find over here in the Gospel of Mark. Ok? We spend a lot of time typically in churches talking about the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the sacrifice that he made in our place. And we spend a lot of time talking about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the fact because he resurrected from the dead, he’s not dead today. He’s not hanging on a tree somewhere today. He’s not in a grave somewhere today, but he resurrected victoriously over death and sin and therefore can offer us eternal life. We spend a lot of time talking about that, but we don’t spend a whole lot of time talking about the burial. And I want to spend just a little bit of time talking about the burial today.
The Burial
Mark 15:42–43
42 And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,
43 Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.
Now, you may be thinking, what in the world does that have to do with Craving stuff? Well, hopefully, that’s going to be clear here real quick. OK. this is after the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Joseph craved for the body of the Lord Jesus Christ; The burial is not just the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ descended into the lower parts of the earth that we read about over in, in Ephesians chapter four or the fact that he spent time in Abraham’s bosom, as we see in Luke chapter 23. But it’s also the fact that he was buried physically, and Joseph craved the body of Jesus.
most people don’t really pay much attention
Now, if something is mentioned one time in the Bible, any time whatsoever, it’s important or else the Lord wouldn’t have put it in the Bible. Amen? if it’s in there two times. It’s a little bit more important if it’s in there three times, or more you will want to pay close attention, this situation is explained in all four gospels. So, it’s something that we might want to pay attention to, but most people don’t really pay much attention to it.
Now, here in Mark, he says that he craved the body of the Lord Jesus Christ and, in the other gospels it says things such as he besought the Body or he beseeched the body, But here, he says that he craved the body of the Lord Jesus Christ; again, as I said, this is mentioned in Matthew 27 here in Mark 15 and over in Luke 23 also in John chapter 19.
To crave something means, to call for it for gratification, to long for something to require or demand to have a passion or an appetite for something. And here Joseph Arimathea, He had an appetite for the body of Jesus and we ought to have an appetite for the Lord Jesus Christ.
We ought to have an appetite to be in and around the body of Christ
We ought to have an appetite to be in and around the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, the body of Christ. So, everybody needs the Lord Jesus Christ, and everybody needs to have an appetite for him it doesn’t matter what state or status you find yourself in.
We see here that Joseph, he was a rich man. He owned his own tomb. It tells us as much in Matthew 27:60, and over in Mark 15:46, It says that he bought the fine linen, and over in John 19:39 we see that Joseph and Nicodemus together, brought over 100 pounds worth of spices to prepare the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- He was a rich man. Being rich. Doesn’t make it where it is that you don’t need the Lord Jesus Christ. He still needed him.
- He was a religious man. He was part of the Sanhedrin and he waited for the kingdom of God.
- The Bible says he was a man of reputation in Luke 23, It says that he was good, and he was just, it also says it says that he was honorable.
The Bible says that he was part of the Sanhedrin, but he didn’t give in and consent to their counsel to what they decided to do with the Lord Jesus Christ. He was an honorable man, but none of that matters without Jesus, none of that matters without the Lord. It Doesn’t matter if you’re rich, it doesn’t matter if you’re religious, it doesn’t matter if you’re honorable, it doesn’t matter if you have a good reputation or not; without Jesus, It’s all for nothing.
secret disciple
Now, Joseph, he started off as a secret disciple.
Matthew 27:57
57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple:
John chapter 19:38 says that Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews,
John 19:38
38 And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.
He started off being a secret disciple, but he couldn’t keep it a secret. Once you experience the Lord Jesus Christ, you’ve been around him and around his people, you can’t keep it a secret any longer. Nothing else will satisfy. He went out publicly and boldly asked for the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. He craved the body of Jesus Christ. He publicly proclaimed that he needed the body, he craved it, he needed it.
Don’t ruin your appetite
You must have an appetite for the Lord and just like you tell your, kids, that they can’t eat popsicles 24/ 7 or cupcakes or what have you. You always need to tell them that they have to eat their dinner first. Why do you have to eat your dinner first? Because you’re going to ruin your appetite. If you fill yourself up with all that junk food and all that nonsense, then you’re going to ruin your appetite. And if you have not been craving the Lord Jesus Christ, you haven’t been craving to be around the body of Christ, then I would submit to you that maybe you need to check your diet.
You need to get the junk food of the world, out of your life so that you don’t ruin your appetite for the Lord Jesus Christ and for his people.
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and helped you develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
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Psalm 119:162–166
162 I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.
163 I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.
164 Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.
165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.
166 LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments.
I rejoice at thy word
The Psalmist is talking about the faith that he has and the enjoyment that he has in the words of God. And as Christians that we ought to be able to look at verse 162 and we ought to be able to say that verse applies to us, it says I rejoice at thy word as one that finds great spoil.
To rejoice over something is, is to have joy. Rejoicing and joy are inseparably connected with the life of God’s people in the Bible, In both the Old Testament and the New Testament.
We should have joy and rejoicing. Rejoicing and joy is characterized in the heavenly host before the throne of God in Revelation chapter 19:6-7
Revelation 19:6–7
6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rejoicing characterizes the consecrated life of a Christian here on earth with the hope of future glory. According to First Peter chapter four and verse number 13,
1 Peter 4:13
13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
Rejoicing is quite often demonstrated with loud shouting and clapping and sometimes even dancing. Oh no! A Baptist preacher said something about dancing, David danced to the Lord because of his excitement and his joy and his rejoicing in his worship of the Lord.
God is the source and object of our rejoicing and we ought to have rejoicing and joy in our lives.
The Psalm says I rejoice at thy word. He rejoiced at the word as one that finds great spoil. You know what spoil is.
Spoil is like booty and plunder, you know, that’s something that you got, that you didn’t really earn. That’s what spoil is; unfortunately, most Christians approach the word of God and rejoice in the word of God as one that finds great spoil, But, they have a little different take on what the word spoil means.
Leftovers
For instance, I don’t like to have leftovers at the house, first of all, because if there’s still food to be eaten, I just like to eat it. But mostly it’s not because I’m too good to eat leftovers. I’ll eat, leftovers, you know what? if you have some leftovers you want to give me, especially if it’s a leftover rib-eye steak. I’m game. But I don’t like leftovers because my wife has this bad habit of using butter bowls to hold leftovers in. And then I think it’s a bowl of butter. Now I think it’s a bowl of butter And then I’m like, oh, I don’t need butter today, so I don’t open it today and I don’t open it tomorrow but sooner or later I decide I’m going to make grilled cheese or something. And I go to open the butter bowl and it’s a science project. Oh, that’s where the green bean casserole went.
You ought to rejoice at God’s word
That’s how most Christians approach the word of God as one that finds great spoil. They act like it’s something that’s spoiled. Something that they don’t want, something that they want to avoid. It ought not to be that way. You ought to rejoice at God’s word as one that finds great spoil, in other words, as something that you find some great treasure you don’t deserve. But the Lord has given you anyhow.
It’s the thrill of discovering a hidden cache of treasure. Have you ever been geocaching? I like to geocache. You get this GPS coordinate, you go out in the woods and, you go and you try to find something that somebody hid out in the woods. It’s fun to find that stuff. There’s nothing worth anything in there, you know, usually like little, matchbox cars or something. But, it’s fun anyway. It’s fun. I like to go gold prospecting too. Not because I ever think I’m going to get rich with whatever gold that I end up finding. But it’s just the fact that I found it. It was there. Nobody could see it. I found it. It’s exciting.
That’s how you ought to approach the word of God, it should be exciting. It’s not just, I have to read my Bible today. Or I have to check off my reading list. You know, the preacher might ask me if I read my Bible this week, So I better make sure I read my Bible today so that I could say yes, without lying this week. That’s how most Christians approach the word of God; instead of approaching it the way the psalmist does. I rejoice at thy word as one that findeth great spoil. It should be exciting, and thrilling to us because the word of God teaches us some things.
the word of God teaches us some things.
The next verse says I hate in abhor lying. But thy law do I love. The word of God teaches you the things that you ought to love and the things that you ought to hate. And if you’re in line with the word of God, and if you rejoice in His word as one that findeth great spoil, then you’re going to hate and abhor lying and lies because God hates lies.
There are things in the Bible that God hates. The book of Proverbs says that there are six things that God does hate yet One is an abomination. There are things that you’re supposed to hate. You’re not going to know what those right things are. If you’re not spending time in the word of God, because if it’s just up to you to decide what to hate, you’re going to hate all kinds of things that aren’t any good for you. You’re going to hate things that aren’t, patting you on the back. But that doesn’t necessarily line up with the things that God doesn’t love, the things that God hates. You learn that through his word here.
praising God all the time
He says seven times a day, Do I praise thee, because of the righteous judgments? Seven is the number of perfection in the Bible. So it’s not just like, OK, well, I have to remember, I better write these down. I praise God seven times a day. that’s not really what he’s saying. What he’s saying is, He was completely and wholeheartedly praising God all the time for His righteous judgments. That’s how we ought to approach the word of God.
discovering the hidden treasures in the word of God will bring you real peace in your life.
Psalm 119:165
165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.
That doesn’t mean that you won’t ever be offended by anything. It doesn’t mean that nothing bad will ever come your way. It just means that as you go through those things, you can have peace, discovering the hidden treasures in the word of God will bring you real peace in your life. But if you don’t, if you don’t rejoice at the word of God, like one that finds great spoil, then you’re not going to realize and be able to experience that peace.
I have hoped for thy salvation
And then finally, he says, Lord, I have hoped for thy salvation and done thy commandments. Salvation comes first and works come second. That’s why we can have This peace, If you’ve accepted Jesus Christ, as your personal Lord and Savior, you’re saved, and you have eternal life. You have heaven as your home.
There’s nothing that can change that, but you’re still stuck in this body and your body hasn’t been redeemed yet. And that’s what we’re looking forward to. That’s what we’re looking for. And that’s why we can have peace through all that trouble and all, all those offenses and everything else. We can have peace through all that stuff because we know what God’s word says about it, because we rejoice in his word.
Have you rejoiced in his word this week?
Have you rejoiced in his word this week? Not have you just read it, not just have you done your duty and completed your weekly bible reading, but have you rejoiced at his word?
That’s what I want to encourage you to do. Rejoice at his word like one that finds great spoil. Like if you found a treasure of buried gold in your backyard this afternoon, as exciting as that would be, You should rejoice after God’s word even more.
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and helped you develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
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Ezekiel 34:1–6
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
Who are these shepherds that are being addressed?
Ezekiel here receives a message that is for the shepherds. Now, you may think about this and look at this and doctrinally, I know what’s going on here and what’s being talked about. But even devotionally a lot of times, we look at the word shepherds and we immediately think, oh, ok; So we know the pastors are under-shepherds, the Lord Jesus Christ, of course, is the good shepherd. And so this just applies to preachers. So I’m off the hook, but that’s not the case. You’re not off the hook here, and I will show you why…
It is true, that Ezekiel received a message for the shepherds here, or you might call them the leaders and rulers of Israel. A lot of times In the Bible, Kings were referred to as shepherds. You see that in multiple places in the Bible:
Numbers 27:16–17
16 Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation,
17 Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd.
2 Samuel 5:1–2
1 Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.
2 Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.
Isaiah 44:28
28 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
So that just shows you an example there where a king and he, wasn’t even a Jewish king, a gentile king. The Lord referred to him as his shepherd, So, we see here that a lot of times Kings or, those who are leading, the people are referred to as Shepherds.
Watchman have also been compared to shepherds.
I’m just showing you real quick. Some, different classifications of people that have been referred to as Shepherds, just, to kind of show you how, devotionally anyway, this passage can apply to us. And it’s going to offer us some challenges here of some things that we ought to make sure that we’re doing, maybe it will be an encouragement if you have been doing these things. But, also a challenge for you to pick up the slack if, you’ve been missing the mark here a little bit.
Ezekiel 3:17
17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
Watchmen have also been referred to as Shepherds and a watchman is just simply that, a watchman. You know what watchmen were back in the day, they were the guys that would be up in the watch towers or up on the walls and, they’re supposed to be looking for danger and whenever danger would present itself, and they’re supposed to sound the warning and warn folks that danger was coming. And that’s what we as Christians are supposed to do. We are supposed to be watchmen.
3 Reasons that God was displeased with these shepherds
If you look, back at Ezekiel chapter 34, we see here three reasons that God was displeased with these shepherds and some responsibilities that they had that they weren’t following through on. And I see as a whole, so-called Christianity; People who claim to be saved, people who claim they put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. I see some things here that the church has, largely been deficient in, compared to our responsibilities that we have to the world at large.
Selfishness
The first thing that we see there in verse number two is that they were, busy and worrying about feeding themselves rather than the people. They were more concerned with themselves. In other words, they were being selfish, they were more interested rather in providing for themselves than they were in providing for the people whom the Lord put under their care.
We need to make sure that, we aren’t just solely focused on ourselves and what’s good for us and what we want, what we think is going to get us to where we want to be. And, we need to make sure that we’re caring for those that the Lord puts in our lives.
Failure to restore others
The second thing that you see here, it kind of goes hand in hand with the first one a little bit. But the second thing you see there in verse number three is that they weren’t caring for the needy. They had not restored the sheep that needed restoring and they hadn’t sought those that wandered away and needed to be found.
They weren’t concerned about those who, at one time, were part of the flock and had wandered off and gotten lost and they weren’t going after them. They weren’t trying to pull them back in.
The primary responsibility of a leader is to care for the needs of the people that he leads. Even if that requires sacrificing of the leader’s own wishes and wants and desires and hopes and plans and goals and aspirations and everything else.
The, first and foremost thing on, a leader’s mind ought to be the care for those that have been put under his supervision, so to speak.
Negligence
The third thing we see here in verse number five is just simply that they were negligent, they were just negligent. He just says that the flock got scattered away because nobody was paying any attention. The people got scattered away and there was nobody to seek them out.
Now, the Lord here uses the three staple products, that the flock, the sheep, would provide here as a metaphor. He talks about the milk, the fat, the sheep’s wool, the meat, and all these things, what he’s showing here is that these leaders, these shepherds back here, they were gleaning all the benefits from the flock, but they weren’t fulfilling their responsibilities.
So, what are those responsibilities? What, what, what responsibilities do we have in this context?
Well, look with me real quick over to 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, And here in this passage, we see that we are to be ambassadors for Christ. That’s our responsibility. If you’re saved today, if you put your faith and trust the Lord Jesus Christ, you’re trusting him and only Him for your salvation, then you’ve been given the responsibility of being an ambassador.
2 Corinthians 5:16–21
16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
We are supposed to be ambassadors for Christ. We are supposed to be leading people to the Lord. That’s our responsibility. We’re supposed to be leading people to the Lord.
Some quick challenges that go alongside with the three problems that the Lord was talking about.
The first issue that the Lord said that they had was they were taking all the, benefits for themselves and they weren’t sharing it. We, need to share what the Lord has shown us.
- Don’t hoard it for yourself. Share it, share the good news.
- You know, there’s enough good news to go around,
- there’s enough gospel to go around.
- There’s enough forgiveness to go around.
You don’t have to, hoard it away. You don’t have to act like You know, it’s your own little personal gold claim that nobody else can have you don’t want anybody else to know about. We’re supposed to share it. We’re supposed to care for those in need.
Secondly, Seek for those who’ve gone astray and try to bring them back into the fold. Don’t give up on people, try to bring them back into the fold
Thirdly, ensure that you don’t neglect your responsibility as a watchman. We’re watchmen. We’re supposed to be warning people, about the judgment to come and how it is that they can escape that judgment.
All around us are people who are lost and separated from their heavenly father. And we have a responsibility to tell them about the Heavenly Father. And we have a responsibility to share the gospel with them.
Billy Graham
That’s our responsibility as leaders in the community. You ought to be a leader in the community. You ought to be a change agent for all those that you come into contact with and share the gospel with them.
That’s our responsibility.
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and helped you develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
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Genesis 13:10 (KJV)
10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.Lot began looking …
Lot’s problem started with what he was looking at
Be careful about what you allow to get your attention.
Lot was not careful.
Genesis 14:12 (KJV)
12 And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.Next Lot began to live there….
Eventually, you will start living where you have been looking
So be careful about what you are looking at
Genesis 19:1 (KJV)
1 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;Lot was lifted up there…
He became a partner with the world.
When you find pleasure in the fellowship of the world, you will soon find yourself a partner with the world.
Lot lingered because:
We are always slow to obey God when entangled with the world.
- What has your affection today?
- What has your attention today?
Lot lost a lot, but he did not have to, and neither do you!
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and helped you develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
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Don't miss out on what the Lord is doing
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You don't have to do life alone
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How do we react when our plans are interrupted?
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Has it ever occurred to you, that nothing has ever occurred to the Lord?
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Follow the example of the Apostle Paul in these things..
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These three things will enable you to protect your relationship with the Lord
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If you fail to prepare, you are preparing to fail!
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Gods pardon does more than just set you free:
His pardon set's you free from the penalty of sin
His pardon leads you to holiness
His pardon offers eternal life
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He can do even more
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The Apostle Paul has a lot to say about your Christian Walk
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If you are passionate about the work
If you believe in the cause
You will persevere through the distractions
You will keep your eyes on the work.
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Jesus is your Representative.
Satan stands there as the accuser of the brethren (Zech. 3; Rev. 12:10)
Christ stands there as your Advocate He pleads on your behalf!
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The circumstances that we wish the Lord would just take away..are actually an expression of his care for us.
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Do this one thing. Break the power of the past and live for the future.
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With the Lord, Every day is a Good Day!
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God will renew us day by day, but It is easy to forget when the trouble starts.
Unless you keep these four things in mind...
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As you study God’s word, you’ll see that few things in life are as important as friendship
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Joshua chapter 5 is a turning point for Israel.
430 years they were in slavery in Egypt.
40 years they wandered in the wilderness.
Joshua Chapter 5 marks a change in the story where God put away old things.
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It is not enough to run hard and win the race; the runner must also obey the rules. In the Greek games, the judges were very strict about this. Any infringement of the rules disqualified the athlete. He did not lose his citizenship (though he disgraced it), but he did
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Without the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ - Nothing Else Matters
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It’s possible to get to the point that y our conscience no longer stands as a barrier between doing the right thing and sinning.
Paul tells us that sinning against a “good conscience” leads to spiritual “shipwreck.”
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The nature of progress (vs. 5–7). In order to emphasize his admonition, Paul used several vivid pictures to illustrate spiritual progress.
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Baptist Distinctives: Part Two 1. BIBLICAL AUTHORITY 2. AUTONOMY OF THE LOCAL CHURCH 3. PRIESTHOOD OF THE BELIEVER 4. TWO ORDINANCES 5. INDIVIDUAL SOUL LIBERTY • Every individual has the God-given privilege of free will • ability (liberty) to choose what to believe John 3:36 AV 36 He that believeth
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Baptist
When looking for a church start with the word “Baptist.”
It is more than a useless label.
It indicates that the church holds to eight Biblical truths known as the Baptist Distinctives.
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BIBLICAL AUTHORITY
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AUTONOMY OF THE LOCAL CHURCH
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PRIESTHOOD OF THE BELIEVER
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TWO ORDINANCES
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INDIVIDUAL SOUL LIBERTY
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SAVED, BAPTIZED CHURCH MEMBERSHIP
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TWO OFFICES
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SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
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Good decision making is grounded by a close relationship with the Lord 1 Kings 3:3–4 AV 3 And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. 4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for
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The trials of life will build your Christian Character if you will keep the right perspective as you go through those trials.
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Romans 5:1–5 AV
1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Justification Does Not Inoculate you from the Trials of this Life.
John 16:33 AV
33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Trials work FOR the believer not AGAINST the believer
• No level of suffering can separate us from the Lord
Romans 8:35–39 AV
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Trials bring us closer to the Lord
Psalm 119:66–72 AV
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.
68 Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes.
69 The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart.
70 Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in thy law.
71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
72 The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.
Trials should make us more Christ – Like
1 Peter 4:12–16 AV
12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.
16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
Experience builds Character
Romans 5:3–4 AV
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
Experience: To know by practice or trial; to gain knowledge or skill by practice or by a series of observations
Knowledge derived from trials, use, practice, or from a series of observations
Proper Sequence 1. Tribulation 2. Patience 3. Experience (Character) 4. Hope
If you remove any of these steps the result will be a loss of hope
Evidence of the Chrysalis of Christian Character
1 Peter 5:6–11 (AV)
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Without the Struggle your character would be too weak to survive
• Stop asking the Lord to remove the struggle
• instead, ask him to use the struggle to
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Today we are going to look at the Four Anchors of the Faith, that we have as demonstrated by the life of the Apostle Paul, that will keep us rooted and grounded as we journey through this life.
Acts 27:6–29 (AV)
6And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy; and he put us therein.
7And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone;
8And, hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called The fair havens; nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea.
9Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them,
10And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.
11Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul.
12And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice, and there to winter; which is an haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south west and north west.
13And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete.
14But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.
15And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive.
16And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat:
17Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven.
18And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship;
19And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship.
20And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.
21But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.
22And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship.
23For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,
24Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.
25Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.
26Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island.
27But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country;
28And sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms.
29Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.
Four Anchors of the Faith * The Presence of God * Faith * Purpose * Hope
The First Anchor – The Presence of God in your Life
Acts 27:23
23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,The Gospel makes this possible
1 Corinthians 15:1–4
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:Nothing can seperate us
Romans 8:31–39
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Second Anchor – Faith
Acts 27:24–25
24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.
25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.I believe God – You can believe HIS words
2 Peter 1:16–21
16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.HE has preserved HIS word
Psalm 12:6–7
6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
7 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever.
The Third Anchor – Purpose
Acts 27:24
24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.There is a Purpose
Acts 17:6b
…These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;
The Fourth Anchor – Hope
Acts 27:25
25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.Hope = A desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it – Hope differs from a wigh or a desire because it implies some expectation of possesing it. Hope gives pleasure or joy. A wish or desire only produces anxiety and pain.
- Without God there is NO hope
- Ephesians 2:11-13
- Proverbs 11:7-8
- Acts 27:20
- Only the Lord can calm your storm
- Psalm 107:23-31
- Colossians 1:13-27
- The Christian has the hope of the resurrection
- 1 Corinthians 15:51-58
- The Christian has the hope of a new glorified body
- Romans 8:18-25
- 1 John 3:1-3
Don’t sail the turbulent seas of this life – without your Four Anchors
The post The Shipwreck of Life first appeared on Irvington Bible Baptist Church.
Atonement:
81X in the Bible
Extinguishing of the guilt; satisfaction or reparation made by giving an equivalent for an injury, or by doing or suffering that which is received in satisfaction for an offense or injury.
When it comes to the cost of sin • the average person probably thinks in terms of
• “What can I get away with?”
• rather than “What does this cost me and other people?”
Jonah 1:1–5 AV
1 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
4 But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
• These calculations aren’t made in terms of life and death, but that is literally the case when it comes to sin.
The Day of Atonement is an illustration of this:
It takes three innocent animals to deal with the people’s sin: * one to purify the high priest and his family * one to be a sin offering to the Lord + that purifies the place where He symbolically dwelt (the holy of holies) * one to be sent into the wilderness to remove the people’s transgressions (Scapegoat).
The blood of the first two animals is spilled on the Day of Atonement— demonstrating the purification of God’s people
—the final goat demonstrates God’s desire to completely rid the people of their sin.
Leviticus 16:21 AV
21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
The Day of Atonement symbolized God’s desire for His people: That one day, sin would no longer stand between God and His children.
Like the goat, Jesus takes the people’s iniquities
Isaiah 53:12 AV
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
• Jesus fulfills this prophecy, by becoming the ultimate ransom; no other sacrifice is ever needed.
Hebrews 10:11–12 AV
11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
We need to take our Sin more seriously that we do We know that the Bible promises us:
• Forgiveness
1 John 1:9 AV
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
• Eternal Security
1 John 5:13 AV
13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
- but that does not negate the cost(s) associated with our Sin.
- The Lord is very serious when it comes to how we present ourselves to Him.
- We should be very serious as well
The price of sin is great
The price has been paid for you…
In what ways do you take Jesus’ sacrifice for granted?
What can you do differently?
The post The Reality of the Atonement first appeared on Irvington Bible Baptist Church.
Psalm 33:13–22 AV
13 The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.
14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
15 He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.
16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.
22 Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.
- Rest in Hope
Psalm 33:16–20 AV
16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.
Rest in hope for deliverance
He is our help
Psalm 63:7 AV
7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
Psalm 146:5 AV
5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:
He is our shield
Psalm 3:3 AV
3 But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
• He is the true source of our protection
• Never loose sight of your hope
Romans 12:12 AV
12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
Hope = confidence in a future event
• Our hope is the future promised by God
Colossians 1:5 AV
5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
That future can be trusted because God views those promises from the perspective of eternity
Psalm 33:14 AV
14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
• The place of his habitation
• Heaven
• 1 King 8:30
• 2 Chron 6:21, 30, 33, 39.
• 2 Chron 30:27.
• Ephesians 1:21.
• Hebrews 8:1.
• Hebrews 12:2.
• Eternity
Isaiah 57:15 AV
15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
• Since HE views them from eternity
• they have already been fulfilled!
• That hope will help you to persevere in tribulations
Romans 5:3–4 AV
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
New Testament hope is not merely what is wished for
but what is assured to happen!
- Rejoice in HIM Psalm 33:21 AV
21 For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.
Rejoice = to experience joy and gladness in a high degree
• Experience joy because you know the truth
Titus 2:13 AV
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
The word of truth The word of truth came from God
The word of truth can be trusted
John 17:17 AV
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
• There are many messages/ideas that could be called true
• Only Gods word IS truth
John 14:6 AV
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Everyone has faith in something
Faith is only as good as the object which a person puts their trust
John Selden (1584–1654) was a leading historian and legal authority in England. He had a library of 8,000 volumes and was recognized for his learning. When he was dying, he said to Archbishop Ussher: “I have surveyed most of the learning that is among the sons of men, and my study is filled with books and manuscripts on various subjects. But at present, I cannot recollect any passage out of all my books and papers whereon I can rest my soul, save this from the sacred Scriptures: ‘The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men’ (Titus 2:11).”
- Rely on HIS Mercy Psalm 33:22 AV
22 Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.
All of our hope rests in HIS mercy
Titus 3:4–5 (AV)
4 … the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
1 Peter 1:3 AV
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Results of HIS mercy
• We also show/offer mercy to others
Ephesians 4:32 AV
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
The post Three ways that your faith is demonstrated first appeared on Irvington Bible Baptist Church.
There are paths everywhere
but not all paths are good paths
Have you ever been lost?
Unsure which way to go?
If you have, then you know the importance of finding the “GOOD PATH”
Proverbs 2:1–9 AV
1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.
It’s that good path of verse 9 that I want to discuss today.
How do you find the good path?
How do you stay on it once you have found it?
Psalm 119:105–117 AV
105 NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
106 I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
107 I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD, according unto thy word.
108 Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me thy judgments.
109 My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law.
110 The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.
111 Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
112 I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway, even unto the end.
113 SAMECH. I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.
114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
115 Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.
116 Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.
117 Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.
You Need a Lamp Without a Lamp * You can’t see where you are going * Stumbling around in the dark + Falling into danger
Gods Word is your Lamp
You Need a Light for your Lamp * A Lamp without a light is worthless * Lantern without fuel or mantels * Flashlight without batteries * Worthless (MasterCard commercial in reverse ){PRICELESS}
The Holy Spirit is that Light
John 14:21–26 AV
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
- To receive help/guidance
- you MUST receive the Light
- The light is necessary to use the Lamp properly
1 Corinthians 2:10–16 AV
10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
A lighted Lamp
will guide every step
your feet take
Psalm 40:1–3 AV
1 I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
This brings us back to that GOOD PATH
- The Word of God gives clarity to locate the GOOD PATH Light for Clarity Psalm 119:106 AV
106 I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
Righteous Judgments • Referring to the decisions that you make
- Decisions should be Guided by Scripture
Psalm 119:9 AV
9 BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
2 Timothy 3:16–17 AV
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
- Decisions should be guided by Prayer
James 1:5–6 AV
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
- Decisions should be Guided by Faith in HIS plan
Romans 8:28–30 AV
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
d. Through Faith in HIS Promise
Psalm 32:8–9 AV
8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
9 Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
John 16:13 AV
13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Don’t Blindly Follow a GPS (someone else’s Path) * See where you are * See where you want to be * Look at the Map * Follow the GOOD PATH
- The Word of God gives light in times of heartache
Psalm 119:107–109 AV
107 I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD, according unto thy word.
108 Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me thy judgments.
109 My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law.
When Life Happen’s Gods Word restores your hope
Heartache can lead to Bitterness If left unattended
Personal circumstances can lead to bitterness
Job 10:1 AV
1 My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
External Circumstances can lead to bitterness
Ezekiel 3:14 AV
14 So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.
• Ezekiel was filled with righteous anger over the sins of the people and over their attitude towards God The Lord reminded him To warn the people
• Don’t wallow in Bitterness
Failure can lead to Bitterness
Matthew 26:75 AV
75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
Avoid Bitterness
Ephesians 4:31 AV
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
•
Avoid bitterness with Forgiveness
Ephesians 4:32 AV
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Avoid bitterness with knowledge that it will pass
Psalm 37:1–2 AV
1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
- The Word of God gives light in battle
Psalm 119:110–111 AV
110 The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.
111 Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
You WILL face battles
The Battle is Spiritual
Ephesians 6:12 AV
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
2 Corinthians 10:3–4 AV
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
The Battle is Personal
Romans 7:23 AV
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Galatians 5:17 AV
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
The Battle is Persistent
2 Timothy 2:3 AV
3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
You are called to Fight the Battle
Fight the battle with Courage
1 Corinthians 6:13 AV
13 Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.
Fight the battle with Determination
1 Peter 5:9–10 AV
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
Fight the battle with Prayer
Ephesians 6:18 AV
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Fight the battle with Gods Strength
Ephesians 3:16 AV
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
Ephesians 6:10 AV
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
No matter what you may face on your Path: You can locate the GOOD PATH • If you will seek after Gods Wisdom
• If you will allow HIS Word to Light the PATH for you
Psalm 119:112 AV
112 I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway, even unto the end.
The post How to Find the Good Path first appeared on Irvington Bible Baptist Church.
Ecclesiastes 3:1–14 AV
1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
Time is found 29 X in eight verses
• 1 Neutral reference
• 14 Negative Examples
• 14 Positive Examples
- Expect Change
- Accept your Limitations
- Enjoy Life
The Lord does not want you to be Miserable
He wants us to live with joy
1 John 1:3–4 AV
3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
• Will you acknowledge HIS timing today?
• or are you trusting in your timing?
• Won’t you put all of your trust in his timing in 2022
The post Three Things to Notice about Gods Timing first appeared on Irvington Bible Baptist Church.
Ezekiel 47:1–12 AV
1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.
4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.
7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
9 And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.
10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
11 But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.
12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
Cubit = 20.5 inches
1,000 Cubits = 1/2 a Sabbath’s Journey
approx 1700 feet or a 1/3 of a mile
River of Living Water The Source The threshold of the temple • The river flows from the Father
Revelation 22:1–2 AV
1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
• As does the Holy Spirit
John 15:26 AV
26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
Holy Spirit Described as Life-Giving Water
John 7:37–39 AV
37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
Ezekiel 36:25–27 AV
25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Holy Spirit Brings Spiritual Life
John 3:5–8 AV
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
John 6:63 AV
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
The Course The waters are only available by way of the Altar • only waters that originate from the altar are living waters
Ezekiel 47:11 AV
11 But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.
The Force
Ezekiel 47:3–5 AV
3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.
4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
• The waters grow in power and abundance
• That is what I want to key on this morning:
A growing experience Made possible only through obedience
He brought me through REPEATED THREE TIMES
This shows that each of these levels of experience and obedience
• were not final conditions
• but the way to go further and deeper with the Lord
- Ankle Deep
Ezekiel 47:3 AV
3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.
Shallow acquaintance with Faith • You are in the river
• but just barely
• You are what is called in the Bible
• “Babes in Christ”
1 Corinthians 3:1–3 AV
1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1 Peter 2:1–3 AV
1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
- Knee Deep
Ezekiel 47:4 a (AV)
4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees.
The only way to experience the deeper water • is to go farther (another 1,000 cubits)
Going Knee Deep is getting acquainted with Prayer • The more that you go through with the Lord
• The more you will rely on Prayer
Ephesians 6:18–20 AV
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
- Loin Deep
Ezekiel 47:4 b (AV)
4b Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
Loins = Strength
Job 40:16 AV
16 Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.
When you are Loin Deep
• There is less of you Showing
Wading loin deep requires some power The river of living waters is the source of power to:
• Heal
Ezekiel 47:8 AV
8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
• Revive
Ezekiel 47:9 AV
9 And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.
• Provide Fruit
Ezekiel 47:12 AV
12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
- Swimming Deep
Ezekiel 47:5 AV
5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
Swimming depth signifies • that you have gone beyond your own depth
Instead of wading through • You rest on the waters
This experience cannot be passed over • there is nothing better
Move away from the shallow waters
Launch out into the Deep Waters with the Lord Today!
The post Have you experienced the depth of the River? first appeared on Irvington Bible Baptist Church.
Christmas time is full of decisions * What do you buy for your wife? * What Color? * What Size? * What Style? * What do you buy for the Kids/Grandkids? * When do you start? * How much do you spend?
Decision after decision after decision
Life is full of decisions
Eternity is no different The Choice is yours
Luke 2:8–20 AV
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
Three things to notice about this Christmas Announcement 1. The Message 2. The Messenger 3. The Decision
- The Message
Luke 2:10–14 AV
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Three things about the Message: 1. The Message is all inclusive (Vs 10)
To All People
- No matter:
- your history
- your heritage
Who will have all men to be saved
1 Timothy 2:3–6 AV
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
Salvation is available to all men
Titus 2:11 AV
11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
- The Message is Powerful to save (Vs 11)
Romans 1:16 AV
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
We all have a Problem : We are all sinners
Romans 3:23 AV
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
We were all exiled from God
Ephesians 2:11–12 AV
11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
We are separated from God
• God does not want us to remain separated from him
2 Peter 3:9 AV
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
God said that he would come to us * Isaiah 7:14 + Immanuel = God with us * Isaiah 9:6-7 * Micah 5:2 + So we could be in his presence
Being in the presence of God is a BIG DEAL
In the old testament, only one person (high priest) was allowed to approach the presence of God and then only once per year. This was not something to take lightly • When they were in God’s presence, They were afraid that they would die, so they tied a rope around their waist and sewed bells in the hem of their garment. That way if they stopped moving for too long (known by the absence of the ringing from the bells), then they could pull the priest out by utilizing the rope.
- The Message is a Peaceful Message (Vs 13-14)
• The shepherds were afraid enough over one Angel appearing to them
Luke 2:9 AV
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
• Imagine how they felt when the entire Heavenly Host showed up!
Luke 2:13 AV
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Suddenly… that would be enough to scare anyone
not only did they all appear, but it was sudden
They came with a peaceful message
Luke 2:14 AV
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
The message starts with Glorifying God
The message starts by recognizing HIS * Greatness * Power
The message ends with * Peace on Earth * Good will Toward Men
Not peace with each other • Peace with God
Romans 5:1 AV
1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
God wants to have peace with you • That peace was purchased for a price
1 Peter 3:18 AV
18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
- The Messenger
The message is worthless without a messenger
When was the last time that you shared the Message? * To Family * To co-workers * To Acquaintances
What if the Angel treated the message • with the same urgency as most Christians do?
The Hitchhiker
Roger Simms, hitchhiking his way home, would never forget the date—May 7. His heavy suitcase made Roger tired. He was anxious to take off his army uniform once and for all. Flashing the hitchhiking sigh to the oncoming car, he lost hope when he saw it was a black, sleek, new Cadillac. To his surprise the car stopped. The passenger door opened. He ran toward the car, tossed his suitcase in the back, and thanked the handsome, well-dressed man as he slid into the front seat. “Going home for keeps?” “Sure am,” Roger responded. “Well, you’re in luck if you’re going to Chicago.” “Not quite that far. Do you live in Chicago?” “I have a business there. My name is Hanover.”
After talking about many things, Roger, a Christian, felt a compulsion to witness to this fiftyish, apparently successful businessman about Christ. But he kept putting it off, till he realized he was just thirty minutes from his home. It was now or never. So, Roger cleared his throat, “Mr. Hanover, I would like to talk to you about something very important.” He then proceeded to explain the way of salvation, ultimately asking Mr. Hanover if he would like to receive Christ as his Savior. To Roger’s astonishment the Cadillac pulled over to the side of the road. Roger thought he was going to be ejected from the car. But the businessman bowed his head and received Christ, then thanked Roger. “This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.”
Five years went by, Roger married, had a two-year-old boy, and a business of his own. Packing his suitcase for a business trip to Chicago, he found the small, white business card Hanover had given him five years before. In Chicago he looked up Hanover Enterprises. A receptionist told him it was impossible to see Mr. Hanover, but he could see Mrs. Hanover. A little confused as to what was going on, he was ushered into a lovely office and found himself facing a keen-eyed woman in her fifties. She extended her hand. “You knew my husband?” Roger told how her husband had given him a ride when hitchhiking home after the war. “Can you tell me when that was?” “It was May 7, five years ago, the day I was discharged from the army.” “Anything special about that day?” Roger hesitated. Should he mention giving his witness? Since he had come so far, he might as well take the plunge. “Mrs. Hanover, I explained the gospel. He pulled over to the side of the road and wept against the steering wheel. He gave his life to Christ that day.” Explosive sobs shook her body. Getting a grip on herself, she sobbed, “I had prayed for my husband’s salvation for years. I believed God would save him.” “And,” said Roger, “Where is your husband, Mrs. Hanover?” “He’s dead,” she wept, struggling with words. “He was in a car crash after he let you out of the car. He never got home. You see—I thought God had not kept His promise.” Sobbing uncontrollably, she added, “I stopped living for God five years ago because I thought He had not kept His word!”
Why Christians Sin, J. Kirk Johnston, Discovery House, 1992, pp. 39-41
How will they hear if we don’t tell them?
There is an absolute need for Messengers who will share the Gospel
- The Decision We cannot force people to accept the Message
The Choice is Yours Jesus came to offer you forgiveness
but the Choice is Yours
Isaiah 55:7 AV
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Will you make the decision to accept the pardon today?
Will you make the decision to share the Message today?
The Choice is Yours!The post The Choice is Yours first appeared on Irvington Bible Baptist Church.
The Blessings of Being a Blessing The average emphasis of the Christian is to get a blessing when it should be placed on being a blessing
Hebrews 13:1–3 AV
1 Let brotherly love continue.
2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.
Just in these three verses, I see that we are to be a blessing to:
A. The Saints – vs. 1 – “…brotherly love…” – this is referring to other believers.
B. The Strangers – vs. 2 “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers…”
C. The Sinners (or slaves) – vs. 3 “Remember then that are in bonds…”
D. The Suffering – “…and them that suffer adversity…” (put yourself in their place.)
This is the essence of the GOLDEN RULE:
Matthew 7:12 AV
12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
Example of Onesiphorus
2 Timothy 1:16–18 AV
16 The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain:
17 But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me.
18 The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.
Paul never mentioned how he had ministered to the house of Onesiphorus. • He didn’t give us a list of “how many things he ministered” unto them while he was in Ephesus.
• He didn’t detail all the prayers, the messages, the hours studying, teaching, training.
Instead, Paul focused on the blessing that Onesiphorus was to him. • He was thrilled to have a fellow believer that went out of his way to “refresh” him.
Let’s look at the Three blessings that come with being a blessing:
John 11:1–3 AV
1 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)
3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
I. The Relationships that are Cultivated
John 12:1–2 AV
1 Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
2 There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.
People that sacrificially give of themselves enjoy the blessing of wonderful relationships.
There was a special relationship between Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and Jesus.
• Could it be because they opened their home and prepared meals for him?
Paul loved being around people that were a blessing! He enjoyed and longed to be with those that “refreshed” him
Romans 15:30–32 AV
30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;
31 That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints;
32 That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed.
II. The Record that is Circulated People hear about you – one way or the other! Bad Records
2 Timothy 1:15 AV
15 This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.
Good Records
2 Timothy 1:18 AV
18 The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.
Timothy had heard about the many ways that Onesiphorus had been a blessing to Paul Why? Because when you are a blessing to people, they share that with others!
People that are a blessing are known for being a blessing.
2 Corinthians 8:1–6 AV
1 Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;
2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
3 For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves;
4 Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.
5 And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.
6 Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also.
And
2 Corinthians 9:1–3 AV
1 For as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you:
2 For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many.
3 Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be ready:
In case you’re not motivated by a record of being a blessing,
notice this KEY word in verse 2.
· …and your zeal hath provoked very many.
Notice what Paul said in Hebrews 10:.
Hebrews 10:24 AV
24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
**PROVOKE**: *an inciting, incitement* (in other words, start something!)
III. The Reward that is Commended
2 Timothy 1:16–18 AV
16 The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain:
17 But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me.
18 The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.
Twice in this passage, Paul prayed for Onesiphorus to be rewarded for being a blessing. • Vs. 16: The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus…
• Vs. 18: The Lord grand unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day:
Jesus promised His disciples this:
Matthew 5:7 AV
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Matthew 10:40–42 AV
40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
It truly is a blessing to be a blessing
Instead of looking for a blessing ask yourself • Are you a blessing to other people?
• How can you be even more of a blessing to other people?
• Have you been good enough of a blessing
or
• could you do more?
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
The post Three Benefits of Being a Blessing first appeared on Irvington Bible Baptist Church.
Christians can beat the B-L-U-E-S if they: 1. B-elieve the Positive Philippians 4:8 AV
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
• Too many Christians believe negatives rather than positives.
• They look for, listen to, and concentrate on all the bad things that happen.
• Contrarily, we should dwell on positives
• looking for the good in others and circumstances.
- L-ook for the Purpose 1 Peter 5:10 AV
10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
• God has a purpose
• for his people in all he allows.
• We win over discouragement
• by looking for his purpose.
• Sometimes Christians are tested
• to strengthen and increase their faith.
• God promised to “strengthen.”
- U-tilize the Promises Romans 15:4 AV
4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
• Christians lack victory
• because they neglect God’s promises
• thus forfeiting many benefits promised in God’s Word.
• We must utilize God’s promises
-
by reading them,
-
remembering them,
-
and referring to them often.
-
E-ncourage Other People 2 Corinthians 1:3–6 AV
3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
• Many people fall into discouragement
• because they fail to help those who are in need.
• They are too involved with selfish pursuits.
• We should encourage others
• by reaching out to help them with their problems.
• This often enables us to solve our own difficulties.
- S-ing God’s Praises Psalm 59:16 AV
16 But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.
• Most Christians fail to praise the Lord enough.
-
Praising God brings hope.
-
It helps lift us out of despair.
Psalm 71:14 AV
14 But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.
If you want to beat the blues: 1. Believe the Positive
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Look for the Purpose
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Utilize the Promises
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Encourage Others
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Sing God’s Praises
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
The post Five Ways to Beat the Blues first appeared on Irvington Bible Baptist Church.
A while back I read a story of a visiting pastor who attended a men’s breakfast in the middle of a rural farming area of the country. The group had asked an older farmer, decked out in bib overalls, to say grace for the morning breakfast.” Lord, I hate buttermilk”, the farmer began. The visiting pastor opened one eye to glance at the farmer and wonder where this was going. The farmer loudly proclaimed, “Lord, I hate lard.” Now the pastor was growing concerned. Without missing a beat, the farmer continued, “And Lord, you know I don’t much care for raw white flour”. The pastor once again opened an eye to glance around the room and saw that he wasn’t the only one to feel uncomfortable. Then the farmer added, “But Lord when you mix them all together and bake them, I do love warm fresh biscuits. So Lord, when things come up that we don’t like, when life gets hard when we don’t understand what you’re saying to us, help us to just relax and wait until you are done mixing. It will probably be even better than biscuits Amen.”Within that prayer, there is great wisdom for all when it comes to complicated situations like we are experiencing in the world today. Stay strong, my friends, because our LORD is mixing several things that we don’t really care for, but something even better is going to come when HE is done with it.
In the Bible there are only two things that will move you: 1. Afflictions
1 Thessalonians 3:3 AV
3 That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.
- Holy Spirit
2 Peter 1:21 AV
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Do not allow afflictions (hardship) to move you away from the Lord
1 Thessalonians 3:1–5 AV
1 Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone;
2 And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith:
3 That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.
4 For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.
5 For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.
Afflictions or Trials are necessary They are a form of discipline Discipline is not just negative • Discipline is a sign of Love
Proverbs 3:12 AV
12 For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
• Discipline is a sign of belonging
Hebrews 12:7 AV
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
• You don’t discipline strangers
• Discipline is helpful
Hebrews 12:11 AV
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Afflictions are part of our calling
1 Peter 2:18–25 AV
18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.
19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.
20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
It is better to suffer for doing good than evil
• That is what you are called to do:
1 Peter 2:21 AV
21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
Taking unwarranted suffering with patience The suffering that Joseph went through was Gods purpose for his life
Genesis 50:20 AV
20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Two views of trials Human (carnal) Joseph’s suffering was due to:
• injustice
• ingratitude
Spiritual View Joseph’s suffering was permitted for the purpose of
• training
• preparing
• him for the work ahead
All that Joseph went through was Gods purpose
Genesis 45:3–8 AV
3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
Four things that are produced through hardship 1. Hardship proves the reality of your faith
1 Peter 1:6–7 AV
6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Hardship will force you to consider what you really believe
- Hardship provides opportunity to comfort and encourage others
2 Corinthians 1:3–6 AV
3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
Hardship gives you the ability to relate to other people
- Hardship promotes Character
Romans 5:1–4 AV
1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
• Character is not developed in ease and quiet
• Character is what rises to the top during trials
• want to see someones character?
• give them adversaries
- Hardship purges impurity from your life
Job 23:10 AV
10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
Impurity is removed by testing and afflictions
Psalm 66:10–12 AV
10 For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.
11 Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins.
12 Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.
To test the purity of precious metals, they are tested by placing them under intense heat
Fire Assay – is widely considered to be the most accurate way to test for gold purity.
First, the sample is mixed with lead oxide and a few control substances are melted together at about 1650 F.
The lead in the mixture binds with the gold in the sample. This mixture is poured into a mold and cooled.
Because the lead is so dense, it sinks to the bottom of the mold, where it is chipped off and placed into a cupel (a small container made of bone ash) and reheated.
The cupel absorbs the lead, leaving only precious metal behind.
This is measured against the size of the rest of the sample being tested to determine its purity.
Sometimes the thing that we need to keep us close to the Lord is adversaries and afflictions.
• Do not run from the very things that will draw you closer to the Lord Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
The post Four things that are produced through hardship first appeared on Irvington Bible Baptist Church.
› When running a race (which is what this life is) most athletes want the best starting position possible. Whether it is a foot race or an auto race, all the competitors do their level best to qualify at the front. Starting in the front doesn’t guarantee a win; however, starting in a good position increases your chances of having a strong finish. It is easier to stay in the front rather than starting in the rear and needing to overcome all the obstacles required to get to the front. In Matthew 21:28-32, Jesus tells us a parable that shows this reality.
Matthew 21:28–32 AV
28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
The two sons took different approaches. The first started bad, but finished strong, while the second looked to start good but quit before he arrived at the finish.
Other Examples • let’s look at the First King of Israel, Saul. According to 1 Samuel 9:2, Saul started off good, but then we read in 1 Samuel 15:17-26 where Saul did not obey the voice of the Lord and made it even worse by attempting to justify his sin; therefore we see that he didn’t finish strong.
• Another example that we have is the Apostle Paul (Saul of Tarsus) Read Acts 26:1-19. Here we see that Paul started off as an enemy of the Lord, but repented and finished strong (2 Timothy 4:6-8).
It is better to start strong and finish strong; however whether you start strong or weak, the most important thing is to stay in the fight and don’t quit!
Why do People Quit? There are numerous reasons why People Quit. Everywhere that you look, you can find people who have quit something or another.
Some quitting is good; if you are quitting something that is “bad” for you then that would be a good thing;
however, we find many more people quitting good things than bad things. Why is that?
If we come across someone who is trying to quit a bad habit; such as smoking, drinking, or the use of foul language, etc. we as a community tend to encourage those folks;
However, we fail to encourage people when they are doing “good” things.
We focus on the negative As a society, we key on the negative all too often. It has been said that is a strange thing for someone to go out of their way to tell someone else that they have done a good job, but it is all too common for us to point out their shortcomings in rapid succession.
Cleaning Industry I work in the cleaning business, we travel from business to business and offer cleaning solutions for their restrooms, and flooring.
A continual issue in the cleaning industry is that customers often decide to quit. They site many reasons including but not limited to the following:
• We did a bad job (missed something)
• They don’t see a big difference
• they need to save Money
• they can do it themselves
• the Boss told them too
The bottom line is that they no longer can see value in the service that is being provided.
If they saw the value, none of the above reasons would keep them from continuing service.
Seconds that Count People often forget what the conditions were before service was implemented.
• We utilize several tools (check-lists, Dirty Jug, signage, table tents, etc.)
• to demonstrate the value of our service to the customer.
The same holds true for the Christian life. Too many times believers just quit on the LORD.
Thankfully he abides faithful even when we fail
2 Timothy 2:13 AV
13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
The problem is that we allow ourselves to get entangled in the affairs of this life
2 Timothy 2:4 AV
4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
It is all too easy to have a narrow focus on what we are battling with on a day to day basis, all the while forgetting all the benefits of the LORD.
Psalm 116:1–12 AV
1 I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
4 Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.
6 The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.
7 Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.
8 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.
9 I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
10 I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:
11 I said in my haste, All men are liars.
12 What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?
Read verse 12 again. You see, we tend to get all tied up in the thought that we don’t deserve whatever trial, or struggle that we find ourselves in
• forgetting that we deserve much worse.
• We are egotistical, and if not careful can begin to fall into the trap that we deserve to be blessed because of “all” that we have done for the LORD.
• When in reality, we could never out-give the LORD.
According to verse 12, we could never give enough to repay the LORD for all the benefits that he has already given to us.
The reason that people quit can be summed up into one of three categories: Perpetrator’s of Evil
(Psalms 37:1-9)
Personal failure
(Psalms 37: 23-24)
Paying little to no attention to the benefits of service
(Psalms 103:2)
(Psalms 116:1-12)
(Psalms 68:19)
- Perpetrator’s of Evil (Evildoers). In the cleaning industry, these would be those that don’t do a good job.
They don’t follow the prescribed cleaning protocol that we have laid out to ensure that each customer receives the level of service that they expect.
The Bible tells us in Romans 3:10,23 that we have all fallen short of God’s will.
We do not follow the protocols (righteousness)that he has put into place.
That is why we need to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour.
Once we assure our relationship with the Lord
Romans 5:1 AV
1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
we are told in Psalms 37:1-9 to not be worried about the evildoers.
They will not get away with evil in the end.
We are to concentrate on our walk with the Lord.
Do not allow the evildoers to derail you.
It is tempting to see the “world” not living right and seemingly getting away with it, and not suffering the same trials that we suffer by doing right.
But 1 Peter 3:17, as well as the parable that Jesus told in Matthew 7:24-27 tells us that troubles will come to both the wise and the foolish.
You will suffer in this life because we live in a fallen world which is run by the Prince of the power of the air (2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 2:2).
Jesus said in John 16:33 that we will have trouble in the world, but be of good cheer, because he has overcome the world.
Don’t quit because of evildoers. 2. Personal Failure Personal failures are much like the Perpetrators of Evil that we looked at above.
We will mess up, and sin.
Romans 7:15–25 AV
15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Two Natures the Apostle Paul explains to us the struggle of the two natures that we now have that we have become a new creature in Christ Jesus
2 Corinthians 5:17 AV
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
The old sin nature is not eradicated once we come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is why we need to receive new bodies at his coming,
see 1 Corinthians 15:51-58, Romans 8:22-23,1 John 3:2-3.
This is also why John tells us that we must confess our sins to maintain a close relationship with him.
1 John 1:7–10 AV
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
John wouldn’t have told us that we need to keep our sins confessed if we didn’t have any;
Also, the Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:17-32, Colossians 3:5-17 that we need to live after the spirit and not after the flesh.
Galatians 2:16 AV
16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
reminds us that we are not justified in the eyes of God by living right and following the golden rule,
but rather by putting our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Don’t quit because of Personal Failure. 3. Paying little to no attention to the benefits of service There are more benefits to serving the Lord than I could possibly mention.
• They are loaded onto us daily
Psalm 68:19 AV
19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
• They are plenteous
Psalm 103:2 AV
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
• They could never be repaid
Psalm 116:12 AV
12 What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?
Before/After Photos
In the cleaning industry, we take before and after pictures of the areas that we have cleaned
• to remind the customer of what the conditions were before we cleaned versus how it looks afterward.
• We do this because the tendency of humans is to forget how bad things really were.
We do the same thing when it comes to our relationship with the Lord.
• We forget how bad things really were before we came to saving faith.
• We tend to take the benefits of service for granted,
• We tend not to spend any time reminding ourselves of all the good things that the Lord continues to do for us.
We allow ourselves to fall into the trap of just looking at the negative in life,
• forgetting that without the Lord things would be much worse.
Take the time to think about all the blessings and benefits.
Don’t quit because you have forgotten how good it is to be able to serve the Lord.
Finish Strong
Don’t find yourself in the same place as the second son
Matthew 21:30 AV
30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
Starting strong is preferable, but Finishing Strong is required.
My prayer is that at the end of your life you too can say:
2 Timothy 4:6–7 AV
6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Don’t be weary in well-doing
Galatians 6:9 AV
9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
But rather Finish Strong.
1 Corinthians 15:58 AV
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
The post Actions speak louder than words first appeared on Irvington Bible Baptist Church.
We as a society, mostly keep to ourselves. We have all heard the saying: that “Good fences make good neighbors”. You tend to mind your own business and do not interact with people that you don’t know
You don’t know who your neighbor is, because you choose to keep them at a distance.
Luke 10:25–37 AV
25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37 And he said, He that shewed
- What must I do to inherit eternal life? First question asked by this Lawyer Lawyer = A religious leader, an expert in the law of Moses
He stood up to feign respect He was attempting to set Jesus up
Luke 20:20 AV
20 And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.
Reporters still employ this technique when questioning a politician that they don’t agree with
He asks an odd question
Luke 10:25 (AV)
25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
What do you do to inherit something?
• You get born into the right family
• You don’t DO anything
• Inheritance is not a payment for services rendered
His question shows a fundamental misconception about the Grace of God
Do you have to earn Eternal Life?
• A lot of People think so
• If I’m good enough etc…
Jesus answers his question with a question of his own Answering questions with questions is a good way of maintaining a dialogue
• You are not just lecturing – You are engaging
• You are asked…You don’t really believe that everyone that doesn’t believe what you believe is going to Hell do you?
• You ask…Do you think that no one should go to hell?
• When they answer – Maybe some people should (Hitler etc)
• you have just opened the door to talk about final authority
• Who gets to decide?
• Based on what?
Jesus responds: You are the expert what do you think?
The Lawyer’s reply:
Luke 10:27 AV
27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
The impossible commandment:
Deuteronomy 6:5 AV
5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Jesus said: Do this and live
Luke 10:28 AV
28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
• This is not saying how to become a Christian
• This is showing why we need to become a Christian
• It can’t be done without the Lord
- Who is my Neighbor?
Luke 10:29 AV
29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?
Second question asked by the Lawyer A feeble attempt of self-Justification
Justification:
The act of God declaring you to be just (innocent)
Based on what Christ has done for you
• He started to squirm
• realizing he has failed he tries to justify himself
Romans 3:20–24 AV
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
The opposite of Justification by God is Self-Justification
Proverbs 21:2 AV
2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.
Justifying yourself by making excuses goes all the way back to the first book of the Bible:
Genesis 3:9–15 AV
9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
The lawyer attempts to justify himself by asking “who is my neighbor?”
• Jews believed that only fellow Jews were neighbors – outsiders were called strangers.
• It is easy to be good to those who are like you
The Good Samaritan
The Lord responds with the Good Samaritan
Luke 10:30–36 AV
30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
The Samaritans were despised by the Jews
• Mixed Jew/Gentile
2 Kings 17:24 AV
24 And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.
• Wrong religion
• Assyrian religion mixed in with Judaism
2 Kings 17:26–28 AV
26 Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.
27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.
28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.
2 Kings 17:41 AV
41 So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children’s children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.
Picture of a lost man • robbed
• stripped
• beaten
• left for dead
Ephesians 2:1–5 AV
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Religion and/or the law won’t help
Scribe (law) passed by on the other side
• Justifying himself using the Law
• Not allowed to touch a dead body – he might be dead already – a lost cause
Leviticus 21:10–12 AV
10 And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;
11 Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;
12 Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.
Priest (religion) passed by on the other side
Religion won’t save you
Remember it’s about being born into the right family
› John 3:3
› Galatians 4:5-7
› Galatians 3:26
- The Answer to both questions
Eternal Life is NOT earned
• by the stuff WE do
This Lawyer is quoting to Law of Moses in his attempt to justify himself
• Deuteronomy ends with Moses not going into the promised land
• because of his disobedience at Meribah-Kadesh
› Deuteronomy 32:48-52
James 2:10 AV
10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
The Good Samaritan is Jesus He comes by your way When no one else can help
• He does
• He carries you
• He pays your debt
He expects his followers to do just that – follow his steps
1 Peter 2:21 AV
21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
We are to pick up the torch of the Good Samaritan
• The church has both Jews and Gentiles (Samaritans)
• But we have the correct relationship
Eternal Life can not be earned By doing good
by loving God with all your Heart, Mind and Soul
by loving your neighbor as yourself
It’s an impossible commandment
Galatians 3:24 AV
24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Eternal life is only available through the Lord Jesus Christ
He is the only one that can pay the debt
As Christians, we are commanded to share that good news
remembering, not to get distracted with results
Luke 10:17–18 AV
17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
The reward is knowing that
• you are where you are supposed to be
• you are doing what you are supposed to be doing
• and knowing that you are saved if you have put your faith and trust in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ
1 John 5:13 AV
13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
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Paul gives Timothy Three encouragements to stay in the fight.
- Don’t give in to fear Paul reminds Timothy
- that his faith is in the Lord
- of the gift of God that he had received (ability to minister)
1 Timothy 4:13–16 AV
13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.
16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
Three facets of his public ministry 1. Read the Scriptures Publicly – 2 Kings 23:2
- To Exhort the Scriptures
a. explanation and application of the text – Nehemiah 8:7-8
- To Teach the Scriptures – Acts 28:30-31
Paul reminds Timothy not to give power to fear
2 Timothy 1:7–10 AV
7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
Timothy may have been experiencing fear due to the “afflictions of the gospel”
Afflictions of the Gospel Nero was on the rampage against Christians, It was dangerous and illegal to be a Christian in Rome:
Nero’s Persecution of Christians Accused Christians of burning Rome (A.D. 64)
Nero’s Methods of Persecution:
• Crucifixion
• Tied in animal skins and thrown into the arena to be eaten by dogs
• Thrown to the Lions
• Tied to stakes in Nero’s gardens
• Covered in Pitch
• Lighted on Fire
• To be used as torches for the Gardens
Paul’s Circumstances • Acts 28 closes with Paul in prison in Rome (A.D. 62)
• Looks like he gets released
• Returns to Greece and Asia Minor
• Goes to Spain (Romans 15:24,28)
• Get’s re-arrested and taken back to Rome
• This time as a criminal not just due to the Jews
• Under sentence of Death
• in prison called Mamertinum
• Reserved for important state prisoners
• consisted of two vaulted chambers
• one above the other
• lower chamber called Tullianum (believed to be where Paul was kept)
• only access to the lower chamber was through a hole in the upper chamber floor.
• AKA “The Sepulcher” because people were strangled and/or eaten by Rats while in this prison
• Executed around 66-67 A.D.
You can see why Timothy would be fearful of these “afflictions”
2 Timothy 1:12 AV
12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
Paul reminds Timothy that even though he suffered these things Afflictions did not change his marching orders
• He was not ashamed
• He was still appointed to be
-
A Preacher
-
An Apostle
-
A Teacher
Don’t let real or imagined afflictions paralyze you with fear
instead, rely on and remember who it is that you are serving and why
-
Exercise the Power of God Paul reminds us of the power of God
-
He is the God that saved us
- He is the God who called us – When we did not deserve it
According to his Purpose and Grace
Ephesians 1:4–5 AV
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
His Purpose is to adopt individuals as sons His grace was to • give the undeserving sinner
• a path to Heaven
• by accepting the free gift
Romans 6:23 AV
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Power of God will enable you to: Endure the afflictions
as Paul did
Because of his knowledge in the Lord
2 Timothy 1:12 AV
12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
Paul’s knowledge was based in Confidence on him who saved and called him
He knew who he believed in • He was persuaded
• He was committed
• He was not afraid
• He was not ashamed
- Fulfill your calling
2 Timothy 1:13–14 AV
13 Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
14 That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.
Hold fast the form of sound words
Hang on to the words that God has given you
2 Peter 1:16–21 AV
16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
2 Peter 3:16 AV
16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
John 8:47 AV
47 He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
John 14:23 AV
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Keep that good thing that was committed unto you Good Thing = The Gift – Your Calling
Acts 1:8 AV
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
You are called to be a witness
You are called to be an ambassador
2 Corinthians 5:19–20 AV
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
In the face of opposition – we are to “stir-up” the gift of our calling • not because the flame is dying out
• but to make it burn even hotter!
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
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A lot of things happen in Mark chapter six. But one of the predominant things and more well-known popular, whatever you want to call it, things that Jesus had just done here in Mark chapter six is he fed the 5,000. Storms can be scary Sometimes. A rain shower can be one of the most peaceful things in the world, My wife has this app or something and it plays the sound of rain all night while she’s sleeping, all night, and now I’ve got to the point that, I can’t go to sleep without some noise in the background. So I gotta have on, the music playing in the background or just TV on or something.
I’m really good at sleeping while I’m really supposed to be watching programs and things like that. And that’s, where I get my best sleep. So she has, the sound of rain, and it’s calming. Anyway, sometimes a nice little rainstorm is very calming and relaxing. And usually like if it’s stormy and things, I mean, I can hardly stay awake.
The sound of rain Is just very peaceful and calming. And you can understand how it is, that time, back there, I think it was Mark chapter four, where Jesus was just sleeping in the boat while they’re going through the storm and all that kinda stuff. It’s, its really calming, especially if you’re in a boat, you know, it’s kind of rocking, it would be really easy to fall asleep, but other times storms are actually really scary.
Like storms with tornadoes and all that kind of thing. Now, I’m, weird and I’m different than most people when there’s going to be a tornado. And there are tornado warnings and all the tornado sirens are going off. I’m running out to the porch to see the tornado. Everybody else is hiding in the bathtub or going in the basement. I just figure that I’ll go up in the whirlwind, I guess, anyway. It can be scary. It can be downright scary. In Mark chapter six, we’re going to see a storm that the disciples are going through here. And it’s a scary storm.
It’s not one of the calming, little rain showers it’s a scary storm. Many of the disciples came from the area where they’re located and they were fishermen. They made their living and grew up, and cut their teeth on the sea of Galilee. And this storm was bad enough that it scared them all.
They were all, concerned about it. So it was a bad storm and sometimes, storms are bad. So we’re gonna look at this storm and we’re going to see some things about this storm and kind of relate them to the storms of life That we’re going to undoubtedly go through and a lot of times are necessary for us to go through.
Mark 6:45–52 (AV)
45And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people.
46And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.
47And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land.
48And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.
49But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out:
50For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.
51And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.
52For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.
Brief outline of the events of Mark chapter six So what has all transpired here in mark chapter six? Because it all builds up and it leads to this lesson that they need to go through here at the end of the chapter and the storm that they are going to go through. Now, the beginning of Mark chapter six, verses seven through thirteen, that’s where the Lord Jesus Christ separates them two by two, and he sends them out to minister without him, without him overseeing them. I mean, you don’t ever minister without the Lord. But he wasn’t, physically standing over their shoulders. He wasn’t micromanaging their ministries. He told them what they were going to go do. He gave them instructions. You don’t take any script or anything with you. You go in and stay with people, that will let you stay. If they reject you, wipe the dust off your feet, leave the town. All, those commands that he gave them.
And so that’s what they did, they went out in this ministry and they were ministering to people two by two. And as they were out doing all that stuff and they were healing, sick people, the Bible says they were, being a blessing to people and all these different things that they were doing, and as they were doing all that; Herod gets wind of it. And he thinks of John the Baptist has resurrected from the dead. And that John, the Baptist is out here doing all this stuff and everything. Because he had heard that Jesus was baptizing people and that’s what John, the Baptist was doing. That’s why they called him John, the Baptist. So Herod is freaking out and everything. So, then you have a little section here in Mark chapter six, where it gives you the outline of what happened to John, the Baptist with Herod and, and, Herodias which ultimately, culminates in John’s head being on a silver charger.
Then we pick back up in verses 30 and 31 of Mark chapter six. This is when the disciples come back. from their ministry trip, they come back and they’re giving a report to Jesus about everything that happened and they were all excited and everything else, and they’re, just bringing their report back to Jesus.
Your body just can’t keep going non-stop 24/7 all the time. At some point, you need to get some rest.
And then in verse number 31, Jesus says, okay, well, lets, go to a desert place and find some rest because after, ministry and everything, you really do need some rest. I mean, a body just can’t keep going non-stop 24/7 all the time. At some point, you need to get some rest. And it says there that they had no rest where they couldn’t even take time out and have a meal.
They were so busy and there was so much going on and everything else that the Lord Jesus said, okay, well, let’s, go. And find a someplace. To rest, but in verses 32 to 33, you see that all the people that they were needing to rest from, knew where the rest area was located. and They got in a hurry and they got there before for Jesus and the disciples. Now, if you cross-reference with Luke chapter nine, verse 10, you’re going to find that this rest area, this desert place that they went to is, Bethsaida. That’s where they were going. Now there are two towns called Bethsaida. But they were going to Bethsaida to find some rest.
But when they got there, all the people were already there. As I said, there are two cities with the name of Bethsaida. One was on the west shore of Galilee and the other one was, on the east of the Jordan in Northeast of Galilee. So to give you a picture of the geography, you have the Sea of Galilee, and you have the Jordan river that comes down and it dumps into the sea of Galilee. And then on the south of the sea of Galilee, the Jordan river comes back out again and it continues to flow down ultimately down to the Dead Sea. So where, where the Jordan river comes down and enters into the sea of Galilee, from the North, just east of that location is where Bethsaida was located. Now, the sea of Galilee is an important place in the Bible, and it is mentioned 197 times. In the Bible, the sea of Galilee has been given several different names.
It is known as the sea of Galilee. Of course, the sea of Chennerith, the sea of Gennesaret, and the Sea of Tiberias whenever you see those Sea’s come up in the Bible, they’re all talking about the same body of water.
Chennerith may have gotten its name from the Hebrew word kinnôwr which means harp. And they say that the sea of Galilee is shaped like a harp. The name may also have derived from the town of Chinneroth Later the name was changed to Gennesaret because the city of Gennesaret was located on the site of Chinnereth. Obviously, Galilee is a region that is, there to the west. So that is how this Sea received those names It was called the Sea of Tiberius because Herod Antipas the son of Herod the Great, made a city there, that was called Tiberius after the emperor. And so, the Romans a lot of times called it the sea of Tiberias. So it’s called all of those things. In the Bible, the sea of Galilee is located below the headwaters of the Jordan River as it flows downhill, Some of the towns surrounding it are Capernaum, Bethsaida, Chorazin, Magdala, Gennesaret, Tiberias, and a few others as well.
It’s about 60 miles north of Jerusalem. That’s where the Sea is located. So that’s where they are. The sea of Galilee is about 13 miles long and six miles. Wide, the deepest, it goes is about 200 feet. It’s not some little man-made lake somewhere. it’s surrounded by mountains, and it was prone to bad storms because of the mountains and everything, and the way the winds would swirl in there and all that kind of stuff.
And so that’s where they’re at and they are at Bethsaida, and they get there and you would think, but this, goes back towards kind of what we were talking about last week about the Lord Jesus Christ and how he considers others more than himself, because he’s like, Hey look, we got to get out of here. We got to go find someplace where we can rest. And then they get there and they don’t get any rest. There’s a bunch of already there. The Bible says 5,000 men besides women and children. There’s a lot of people, there were probably 20,000 people. You know, hanging around, wanting something from Jesus all the time. Wanting miracles and wanting him to heal people. We want him to do all these different things. So you would think that Jesus would be a little irritated with that, but don’t forget he is God. It’s not like he didn’t know, Hey, we’re going to go to this place, and to get some rest, but the jokes on you guys.
The Miracle of the loaves
Cause I know that, when we get there, there is not going to be any rest happening. This did not take him by surprise, but he didn’t have a negative reaction when all the people were there. He had compassion for them. The Bible says, he had compassion on the people he taught them, and then it got late. It got late and none of them thought to, you know, because they were in such a hurry to beat Jesus there, that they forgot to pack a sack lunch and they didn’t have any food. So then, of course, the disciples, said, you need to send all these people away and get rid of them. All of these people need to eat. . We can’t afford to feed all these. You need to send them away. So then, of course, Jesus, asked them what they have. And they end up finding the two fish and the five barley loaves. And he ends up feeding the 5,000 people plus, and then they had 12 baskets leftover at the end. A huge, huge, huge, huge, huge miracle that the Lord performs. Huge miracle. I mean, it’s, recorded in all four gospels.
It’s a huge miracle and it was Jesus. Presenting himself and showing himself to the people. And, and the people got it. They understood that he was the Messiah. He was the bread that came down from heaven. he took two fish and five barley loaves, and he fed over 5,000 people with that. And they had, food leftover. Great miracle. Awesome miracle. And then you kind of think to yourself.
For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.
So we already know verse 52 said that the disciples didn’t really consider that miracle and didn’t really think too much about it. I mean, how cold and callous do you have to be that you see Jesus take two fish and five barley loaves and feed over five thousand people. And you don’t even think about it just like yeah, well, whatever. It’s just what he does. It’s not that big of a deal. He will probably do it again tomorrow. Just callous don’t even think about it, but the people they were, thinking about it. They were thinking about it because the question that you have to ask yourself, at least I asked myself as I’m reading through things, I asked myself questions; why this, why that what’s going on here? What happened there? And I am just inquisitive that way.
Constrained to leave So, because verse 45 says and straightway, he constrained his disciples to get into the ship. And to go over the other side to Bethsaida. So my next question is, so why did he constrain the disciples to leave? He constrained them to leave and it’s like, he almost forced them to leave. He had, he had to make them leave. They didn’t want to leave. They wanted to hang out with Jesus. They didn’t want to leave Jesus.
First of all, we’re in a desert place. If we take the ship that we got here in and we take the ship and we go out and you’re here; you are kind of going to be stranded Jesus, you probably haven’t thought this all the way through, but if we take the ship, and there are no other ships. We know that from cross-reference and from the other gospels and everything else, there were no other ships that was the only ship they had the only.
They are on the ship. And they’re like, you know if we leave you, I mean, I don’t know what you think is going to happen here, but it’s a long walk Jesus all the way around from Bethsaida, all the way over here to Genesarett, where we’re going to end up going. According to verse 53, that’s a long walk. Jesus. I mean, I don’t know if you have quite thought this through. They didn’t want to leave Jesus. They want to hang out with Jesus, but Jesus needed to constrain them to leave. So the question is why was it so important that the disciples had to leave?
They had to leave and it also says that Jesus sent the people away, but notice that he sent the disciples away first, and then he dealt with the crowd. Then he dealt with the other people. So the question is:
Why did he send the disciples away at all? And why did he send them away first?
Well, when you compare scripture with scripture, you look at here, it is, it looks like the people likely would have not left. If the disciples were still there. If the disciples were still there, because, Jesus was going to go away and he was going to pray. Right? He’s going to go up to the mountain. He’s going to pray.
He’s removing himself from the situation. We will see here in a second? Why? But he’s removing himself from the situation. But if the disciples were still hanging around, the people were going to hang around because they’re like, Hey, we know Jesus is going to come back to the disciples. So, you know, we’re not leaving. We’ll just hang out. We’ll just wait for Jesus to come back. So he had to get the disciples out of there. That’s one thing that he had to do. But another thing is if you cross-reference and you look over at John chapter six, verses 14 and 15, you’re going to see verses 14 and 15. You’re going to get a glimpse into this here. And you’re going to see why it is that Jesus needed to send the disciples away. Why it was so important. He had to constrain them. He had almost forced them to get into the ship and tell them, no, you guys, got to go! This is why:
John 6:13–15 (AV)
13Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.
14Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
15When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
That Prophet Now, remember Moses, prophesied, and taught that there was going to be a prophet like unto him. that was going to come. And Jesus was a prophet like unto Moses. The first miracle that Moses performed for the nation of Israel. I mean, the first thing that the Lord did was he had him put his arm in his cloak or whatever, and then it comes out in his leperous and he sticks it back in and it’s clean again. . And that was the Lord just showing Moses. But the first public miracle that Moses performed was he turned the water into blood and in the Bible, wine is grape juice and is a type of blood. And the first public miracle that Jesus performed was he turned water into wine. He’s a prophet like, unto Moses, these people got it. They got it. They didn’t get it at the wedding, but they got it here.
They understood that he was that prophet that should come into the world. They understood at that moment, those people that were there, they understood that they were in the presence of the Messiah. Now they had a misunderstanding about the Messiah. All the Jews had a misunderstanding about the Messiah. They completely miss and gloss over the whole. Everything about the Messiah having to suffer and die for the people. They just saw the ruling and reigning and kicking, Rome out and all a hoorah hoorah stuff, all the patriotic stuff. And so when they realized that this is the Messiah, because who else could do that?
I mean, you contrast that with the disciples that we see there, Mark chapter six, and the disciples didn’t even consider the miracle of the loaves are just like, yeah, whatever the people were like, oh, we just, we just experienced something awesome. And this has gotta be the Messiah. So we need to make him the king, like today. That’s what they were wanting to do. Look here, in John chapter six, verse 15, when Jesus, therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force to make him a King. He departed again into a mountain himself alone.
So he had to send the disciples away so that ultimately the people would go away, but he also wanted to send the disciples away because of all the success that they’ve had in the ministry and everything that they’ve seen coming up to this point. And the fact that their attitude was still political, you know, that all the way up there and acts chapter one, but you now restore the kingdom to Israel. That’s what they were thinking about. And that’s okay. That’s okay for them to be thinking that because it’s going to happen, but it just wasn’t time yet.
It wasn’t time for Jesus to be made the king because he had to suffer first. He had to suffer first now, after he suffered, after, he died on the cross was buried and rose again on the third day and all that, at that point, after he suffered, he paid for the sins of the world, then he could be king. And that’s why he continued to offer the kingdom to the nation of Israel at that point.
But they kept rejecting him as a whole. . But at this point, they’re ready to make him king, but it wasn’t time yet. It wasn’t time for him to be king yet. So he had to constrain the disciples to leave. They weren’t ready to face this sort of a test yet because they were still thinking nationally, and politically.
So he told them to go to the other side of the lake and Jesus sent the people away and he says he went up to a mountain and prayed. So the big question is what did Jesus pray about? Well, we don’t know because the Bible doesn’t tell us, but some possibilities are: he could have just been praying for the disciples. He told them to go to the other side, go across the sea. Now, Jesus is God, and nothing is hidden from God. He knew that there was a storm coming. He knew it didn’t matter if the clouds look stormy or not, or anything else if it was a pop-up storm, whatever, it might’ve been, it doesn’t matter. He’s God, he knew that there was a storm coming. The disciples may or may not have known that there was a storm coming, but Jesus definitely did know.
Jesus seperated himself to pray Because He is God, and there’s nothing that he doesn’t know. And he sent them anyway. So maybe he was going up to pray for the disciples so that they would have faith as they went through the storm. As you’ll notice through the gospels, every time Jesus separates himself from the disciples, they, have a crisis of faith. They continue to go through a crisis of faith after a crisis of faith, after a crisis of faith, whenever Jesus, steps aside. And we do too. We have a crisis of faith. We, forget who he is. And what He can do.
Maybe he was praying for the disciples. Maybe he was praying for strength for himself to fight off the temptation to go ahead and take the kingdom because that is the main theme of the Bible is him getting the kingdom. It is his kingdom. He does own it. It belongs to him. It’s rightfully His. But if he would’ve taken it the wrong time, he couldn’t. have accomplished everything that he came to accomplish. So I’m sure it was, in the flesh, a great temptation for him. Maybe he was praying about that.
Lessons from the storm We don’t really know, is all we know is he went to the mountain and prayed, and the disciples, he sends out into the storm here. So, we have this storm, and the disciples are needing to go through the storm. The Disciples were in the sea. They’re going through the storm. Jesus is alone on the land. He’s not seemingly anyway in the storm with the disciples physically, they’re physically in a storm, rowing, and toiling and against the waves and everything else and Jesus is on dry land.
- Sometimes we need to pass through a sea of trouble Basically three things we’re going to see about this storm. Sometimes we have to pass through trouble. Christians may and probably will experience trouble in the very act of being obedient to the Lord. In the very act of being obedient, the disciples were being completely obedient here. He had to constrain them, but they did it. They got in the ship and they were headed to where they were supposed to be headed, they were doing what they were told. They’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing. Their heart probably wasn’t in it, but they were doing it.
Jonah got into a storm because he disobeyed the Lord and disciples got into the storm because they obeyed the Lord either way. The storm came.
They’re being obedient. And sometimes, because you know, people get this idea. Well, if you’re going through struggles, or you’re going through trouble. or You’re going through a storm. You must have sinned. You must’ve done something wrong, you must deserve it. And maybe you do, you should check that with the Lord internally for yourself, but don’t ever think that when you see other people going through storms like, oh, they must be this and they must be that. Or they must be the other thing. You have no idea. They might be completely obedient to the Lord and have to go through that storm. Jesus was. Jesus gets baptized by John the Baptist again, he had to constrain John, the Baptist, to baptize him, because, John, the Baptist is like, what are you talking about? You should be baptizing me He gets baptized comes out of the water. The Lord says my beloved son whom I’m well, pleased. And immediately he was led into the desert to be tempted by the devil by the spirit. He was completely in obedience, never sinned. But somehow people get this idea that, well, if you’re going through something, you know, you must deserve it.
Well, I mean, if it’s you yourself, I would suggest you check that with the Lord and make sure you’re good. But beyond that don’t ever make that assumption. Sometimes you just need to go through storms here. It looks like the Lord was testing the faith of these disciples here.
He knew the storm was coming. Look, Jonah got into a storm because he disobeyed the Lord and disciples got into the storm because they obeyed the Lord either way. The storm came. It’s like Jesus taught over there. And Matthew chapter seven, right? The wise man, the foolish man, you know, rains, come down the floods, come up you know the verses The point is it happens to everybody.
The Lord causes the rain to bless and fall on everybody. Everybody goes through storms, Jonah. He was being disobedient, had to go through a storm. Disciples were being obedient and had to go through a storm. Sometimes we just have to go through storms and when this happens. Don’t think it’s a strange thing.
1 Peter 4:12–16 (AV)
12Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
13But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
14If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
15But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.
16Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
Don’t think it’s strange but boy, people do that all the time. Don’t they? it’s like they’re trying to school, the Lord, or something. I don’t understand, Lord.
I did everything you told me to do. First of all, that’s a lie. Nobody outside the Lord. Jesus Christ has ever done everything. The Lord told him to do at any moment in time in their entire life. Nobody you haven’t done everything the Lord told you to do anyway. But we’ll give you a pass on that. Okay. Even if that were true people, like, I don’t understand, I’ve done everything you told me to do the Lord, and now this is happening.
Like, they feel like they’re owed a paycheck from the Lord, For everything that they have done for the Lord, what do you mean done for the Lord? Whatever you’ve done for the Lord. It’s because he allowed you to, and he gave you the gifts and talents and abilities and opportunities to do so. And even if you did do something for the Lord, big air quotes, that still pales in comparison to what he’s done for you.
It’s not like, well, I’ve done this for you. So you owe me, no, you got it backward, you got it backward, you do what you do because of what he’s already done for you and what he’s promised to do for you in the future. We do it because it’s our reasonable service is reasonable. It’s reasonable. In other words, it’s unreasonable. If you don’t!
Don’t think it’s strange when you have to go through a storm don’t think it’s some strange thing that happened to you and you’re going through this storm and you’re all alone and you’re in this all by yourself and you just don’t understand what’s going on. You don’t understand why the Lord won’t intervene on your, part and pull you out of this storm and rescue you from the storm and all that kind of thing.
And we get to a point a lot of times in the storm where we forget who Jesus is, and we forget that he is sympathetic. To us. And we do forget that he does see everything that is going on, but if you look back at Mark chapter six, we see here that the Lord saw what was going on here with the disciples.
- The Lord sees and sympathizes with us in our trouble
Mark 6:47–48 (AV)
47And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land.
48And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them:…
The Lord saw their struggle at even that’s evening time that’s sometime between sunset until it’s actually dark out. That’s even. The disciples’ boat was out in the midst of the lake. It doesn’t mean it was out all the way out in the middle of the lake. It was just far enough away from shore. And it was, in the midst of the lake and they were struggling and Jesus saw all that stuff happened at even it says while Jesus was alone on land.
It appeared to the disciples that he was absent in their storm. And if we’re not careful, sometimes we get the idea that the Lord is absent in our storm. He’s not there with us that he doesn’t see what’s going on. He just doesn’t understand everything that we’re going through, but he does, He saw what was going on.
The next thing that you see about the storm that we’re going to look at here as the Lord sees and sympathizes with us in our trouble, verse 48, says that Jesus came to them in the fourth watch of the night. The watch according to Mark chapter 13 in verse 35, the Nightwatch was broken up in new Testament times into four segments they’re listed as even midnight, cock-crowing, and morning.
Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
Mark 13:35
Even went from six first watch. 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Okay. There are three-hour segments. So, then you have 9:00 PM to midnight. You have midnight to three, and then you have 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM.
That’s the fourth watch. That’s when the Lord comes to the disciples in the fourth watch, he didn’t come immediately. He didn’t immediately come in and, whisk them out of their troubles while they were struggling the storm. They didn’t realize that the eye of Jesus was watching them, but he was and he is. He still does, he is watching. He knows what you’re going through. He’s acquainted with your griefs. He understands the temptations that you have to deal with. He had the same temptations and even more so because he could have stopped them at any point, but he didn’t, he understands, he sees what’s going on.
He sees what the disciples are going through here. He’s trying to teach them a lesson of faith as they’re going through the storm. When you’re going through the storm, you just need to be faithful. Like I said when the storm comes up yeah. You need to check and make sure that you’re actually in the right place doing the right thing and going in the right direction. Once you figure that out and you know that you are, you just need to be faithful and you just need to toe the line.
If you’ll do that at the conclusion here, what we’re going to see. The third thing that you see as you’re going through this storm is that the Lord will bring comfort and peace.
- The Lord will bring comfort and peace into your storm The Lord will bring comfort and peace. Verse 48 there says that he would have passed them by. It says that he saw them toiling and rowing for the wind was contrary to them about the fourth watch of the night.
He comes up onto them walking upon the sea and would have passed by them, like why in the world, So, the Lord sees them struggling, and he’s just gonna be like, oh man, sucks to be you, and just keep walking? I don’t think that’s what that means. I think he was going to pass by them, he was going to pass next to them.
He’s going to walk up next to them and let them know that, Hey, I’m still here. I’m in control. He’s in control. There’s a huge storm going on They and get the ship going in the right direction. They ended up going in the wrong direction. They can’t even get the ship to go in the right direction and everything else.
The storm is so bad and Jesus walking across it like it was nothing. And he was going to pass by them. It’s kind of like the Theophanies that you have back in the old Testament. When the Lord passed by Moses showed him that he was there. He was, going to pass beside them. Now you see here that when the Lord shows up, it initially scares the disciples.
They were scared. They’re freaked out. They’re freaking out during the storm and everything else. And Jesus is walking next to the ship. All of a sudden we’re did he come from? And they thought it was a ghost, they thought it was a spirit or something because they completely missed the point of who Jesus is.
Through everything that they’ve been through so far in the ministry with the Lord, Jesus Christ, and more specifically with the feeding of the 5,000, they completely missed it. They didn’t get it. They still didn’t really understand that Jesus was God. They knew that he was the Messiah. They knew he was the son of God, but they didn’t really, comprehend the fact that he was God manifested in the flesh. They didn’t really comprehend the fact that they were standing there talking to their creator. They never got that. They didn’t understand that.
And no matter how much he showed them through the miracles, in the other things that they were able to experience and, witnessed and all those things, they just didn’t quite get it. So they see, Jesus walking on the water and they think it’s a ghost. So it says the old cried out, all of them, all of them, they’re all in the boat together.
At this point, they’re all in the boat, and they’re all freaking out. They’re like, there’s a ghost out here. And the Lord has to tell them to be of good cheer. It is. I be not afraid, but initially, they were afraid because they hadn’t considered who Jesus was. They hadn’t considered it. They didn’t consider the fact that he had command over the elements and everything else, even though he had demonstrated it before Mark chapter four.
They’re in the storm and this time he’s in the boat with him and he says, you know, peace be still and the storm went away and they still here. They’re still don’t, don’t quite get it. They don’t understand that he has this power and this control over the elements, and everything else. I mean, how do you think that he turned two fish and five barley loaves into enough food for 5,000 men besides women and children and had food leftover? Because he had power over the elements.
They didn’t recognize Jesus in the midst of the storm, because they weren’t looking for Jesus in the midst of the storm
The appearance of Jesus here though first terrifies them. And then, it consoles them. Again, the disciples were shocked because they didn’t understand the miracle of the loaves. They didn’t understand what Jesus was showing them. I mean, something happened the previous day with the miracle of the loaves, that should have affected how they reacted on this day, but it didn’t.
I mean, they, they witnessed him, like I said, feed 5,000 men with two fish and five barley loaves. He has this awesome, great power. He can do anything. He’s calmed storms before he heals people. He’s raised people from the dead.
All those experiences and all those things that they witnessed, he gave them the power to heal people. They had just done it themselves. He gave them the power to cast out devils. They saw him doing it, he gave them the power to do it. They were able to do it too! All that power that he had, and they just didn’t consider it.
They got cold to it. They got callous to it. It’s like just the way things. They didn’t consider who Jesus was. The things that they had witnessed and experienced. It should have increased their faith as they’re going through this storm. Yeah. We’re going through a storm, but no matter what we know Jesus is going to get us through.
And we say that a lot of times, but how do we actually act when we are going through the storms? We act like we’re not going to make it through this one. We act like Fred Sanford. This is the big one. Not gonna make it through. That’s how we act a lot like the disciples were acting and we say, well, they shouldn’t have acted that way. I mean, they saw everything that Jesus did.
I mean, it should have been obvious to them that Jesus could control everything. He told us to go over here. We don’t know how it’s going to work out, but we know what’s going to work out. All things work together for them. that love God, to them that are called according to his purpose.
We know it’s going to work out. We don’t know how, but we know it’s going to work out. They lost focus. They’re there in the storm. They’re looking at the waves. They’re looking at the water, filling up the boat.
We do the same thing, a lot, they didn’t recognize Jesus in the midst of the storm, because they weren’t looking for Jesus in the midst of the storm. They see this body figure, you know, coming by the boat, they think it’s a ghost or something. They didn’t even make the connection that, oh, Hey, that’s Jesus. Okay. Everything’s cool. Now, guys, Jesus is here when he was there all along.
They didn’t make that connection though, because they weren’t even looking for Jesus. They weren’t looking for Jesus to help them in the storm. They weren’t looking for Jesus to get them out of the storm. They weren’t looking for Jesus or rescue him in the storm at all. They were trying to do it themselves.
They were, doing the things that they knew to do as being professional fishermen and living their entire life on the sea of Galilee. They were focused on that and they weren’t even thinking about Jesus. And a lot of times you get in the midst of the storm, and that’s what happens you don’t even consider Jesus.
You don’t even think about Jesus. We go through these storms of life that we’re going through the storm that we just call life. Basically, it’s one storm after another you’re either in a storm or you just came out of one or you’re getting ready to go into one that’s life. And as you’re going through those things a lot of times, people completely, forget about Jesus. And then when he presents himself and manifests himself. The first, reaction is it scares them. It scares them. And that’s what happens a lot of times when you’re going through the storms of life because you forgot about Jesus.
You weren’t even thinking about Jesus. You weren’t looking for Jesus. You weren’t looking for him for help from him. You weren’t asking for help from him. You weren’t praying, you weren’t reading your Bible. You weren’t doing any things that you know, that you should be doing. You were completely ignoring Jesus and everything else.
And then all of a sudden he shows up and he does something for you in initially it scares you. Why? Because you realize at that point who he is and how you failed him.
But he doesn’t leave you there. It says not only were they afraid but then they were comforted. The Lord comforts them. He calms the storm and gives them some comfort.
For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.
Mark 6:50
And he came into the ship and immediately the storm stopped. Once they realized who he was, they were comforted when we lose sight of who Jesus is and what he can do. We get fearful. But when we remember the Lord, we are comforted. We’ll get some comfort. the Bible says that they were amazed. They were shocked here. It says they, they were sore amazed within themselves beyond measure and wondered.
Why? Because they never caught on to the miracle of the loaves. That’s why they were amazed. They were amazed when he gets on the ship and the storm goes away and everything else, they were still like shocked. Asking, How did that happen?
Because they were spiritually Imperceptive. They didn’t perceive the spiritual things that he was showing them. They didn’t perceive those things. They’re just thinking about physical things all the time. And if we’re not careful we’re going through these storms, that’s what we do. We just get focused on the physical things and we don’t pay enough attention to the spiritual things.
That’s what I mean by, are you cold? The disciples got cold. They got cold to the Lord, they got cold to the spiritual things. They were callous. They didn’t think about them. They didn’t even consider them. As I said, they just figured that that’s just the way things are. It’s no big deal. And Christians. If we’re not careful, we get callous.
We get cold. We don’t realize the miracles that the Lord performs on our behalf. We don’t realize the blessings that we receive from the Lord. We don’t realize those things cause we’ve gotten cold. We’ve gotten accustomed to them. We’ve gotten spoiled. Don’t realize the blessing that it is, that the Lord made.
Sure. That you were born in this country. I know the country has all kinds of issues and problems our leaders are off the rails and everything else, but you’re free. You’re free. Now, freedom is not free. There was a price that had to be paid for that, but people, they don’t, appreciate it.
They don’t appreciate what the Lord has done for them. Don’t appreciate the fact that, the Lord has given you breath in your lungs. He makes your nerves work, we always want to complain, got headaches, body aches, and everything else and all that kind of stuff. And it’s not fun. And if you look forward to pain, then there’s something wrong with you.
But at the same time, how about being thankful that all your nerves still work? Because how bad would it be? If you couldn’t feel anything, that would be awful, your nerves and all that stuff still work because he makes them work.
We get callous to what the Lord’s doing. we Get used to the way things are. But we know that we have this church building, we know that the lights work and the air works. And we have soft seats and we have someplace to come and we have other people to come with and we have a Bible and, and you know, a preacher and a song leader and a band and different people that, that help with the kids. And we have kids that come and we have all this stuff and we kind of get cold to it. And seem to think, like it’s, just the way it is. It’s just not that big of a deal, but it is, it is a big deal.
Some lessons to pick up as we’re going through the storm. This chapter Mark chapter six is an encouragement to us to continue to obey the Lord, just because there’s a storm in the midst of you obeying the Lord doesn’t mean that you throw the oars over the side of the boat and quit. Continue to obey, continue to do what he’s called you to do. Don’t let fear take control.
This chapter also shows us assurance that the Lord does sympathize with us. He does see the storms that we’re going through. It may not look like he’s standing next to you. It may look like he’s not in the boat next to you. But he sees what you’re going through, and he has compassion for what you’re going through.
Be grateful for that. You’re not alone. You’re not in this storm all by yourself, all by your lonesome. Sometimes it feels like it. Sometimes you feel that way, but you feel that way because you’ve forgotten who the Lord is. You have forgotten that the eyes of the Lord or every place beholding the evil.
You’ve forgotten that the Lord has put a hedge of protection about you. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like there’s a hedge of protection. It feels like there’s an awful lot of stuff that gets through, but you just have no clue as to, what’s not getting through. Be grateful for that
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
The post Lessons Learned in the Storm first appeared on Irvington Bible Baptist Church.
Unity in the Body of Christ In Philippians chapter two, the apostle Paul is talking about unity, about how important unity is to us in the body of Christ. And he went through the first few verses and was making his case to the church at Philippi as to why it is that they should desire unity.
Philippians 2:1–4 (AV)
1If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
2Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
3Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
4Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Because we have Consolation in Christ because we have the comfort of love and fellowship of the spirit and bowels and mercies. Because we’ve, we’ve received those things from the Lord. Then the, natural response to that should be that we would want to portray those things outwardly as well, and to share those with other people, it’s not that we’ve, found these things in the Lord, and then we want to hoard them all to ourselves and keep them to ourselves and, and have a secret society and a secret hand shake and, and secret passwords and, all that kind of a thing and not let anybody else around.
We’re not like the gold prospectors of old times that, wanted to keep their claim safe and secure from everybody else. But instead, we want to share these things. And we want to reciprocate what we’ve received from the Lord towards others. As a Christian, that’s what we ought to desire to do. As a matter of fact, he, the Lord said over in John chapter 13, that the way that people would know that we were his disciples is for our love for the brethren and our love for one another. That’s how people would know whether you’re a disciple of the Lord or not.
Not everybody, Who’s a believer is a disciple
Now, not everybody, who’s a believer is a disciple; some people get that all twisted up and messed up. They’re like, well, if you’ve come to saving faith and knowledge, of the Lord Jesus Christ. That means you’re a disciple. And you know, to be a disciple, requires some discipline.
To be a disciple is somebody who, truly follows after all the commands of the Lord. And once you continue to grow closer to Him and become more like him every day, of course, every Christian ought to be that way. And every Christian should be and has the opportunity to be a disciple, but not all Christians are disciples.
A matter of fact, unfortunately, very few. Actually are, but the way that people would know whether you’re his disciple or not is for your love for the brethren and so that’s, sort of a litmus test, so to speak as to whether you’re a disciple or not. To be a Christian means to be like, or as Christ. People throw the word Christian around so loosey-goosey these days, even, real quote-unquote Christians call people, Christians all the time based on, I don’t even know what. I don’t even know what they base it on. They say when speaking of these folks…Well, they’re good Christian people. What does that mean? Does that mean that they just simply didn’t tell you that they were an atheist and if they didn’t tell you that they were an atheist or they didn’t tell you that they were Muslim or something like that, then that automatically means that they must be a Christian?
Now that’s how Christians approach it. That’s not what it means to be a Christian. And in order to be a Christian, you have to put your faith and trust and nothing, but the Lord Jesus Christ. And of course, the biblical definition of a Christian is to be like, or as Christ, we all fall short of that. For all have fallen short of the glory of God. But it’s something that you’re pushing towards, something you’re aspiring to. But when I say Christian that’s what I mean. I mean, somebody who has put their faith and trust, in the Lord Jesus Christ and trusting him and nothing but him for their salvation, because Jesus said that he was the way the truth and the life that no man comes to the father, but by him, period, and it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks about it.
So that’s what we mean by Christian. Not just that. Well, somebody didn’t tell me to shut up when I talked about, church or something and unfortunately, a lot of Christians that’s what they think, well, they’re good Christian people. No, they’re probably not. And it’s actually a very dangerous assumption to make.
That’s a very dangerous assumption to make that people are Christians. If you don’t know for a fact that they are, because if you’re gonna make that assumption. You just figured that they must be a Christian because they’re not completely opposed to the things that you do. And that just may mean that they aren’t in the mood for an argument today.
That doesn’t mean anything unless you know what their testimony is. You have to presume that they’re not saved. Unless they’ve given you a testimony that says that they are trusting the Lord Jesus Christ and nothing, but the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, then it is safer to presume that they’re not. It really is. And maybe, you’re wrong. if you make that presumption, maybe they are saved. They just haven’t vocalized it, that’s possible. And that’s fine, but I would much rather error on the side of sharing the gospel with people who are already saved, than to assume that they are saved, and not sharing the gospel with them and have to be standing up in glory one day and watch them being cast into the lake of fire because that’s, what’s going to happen to a lot of Christians.
Well, the people that you think are Christians based on, I don’t even know what, cause they’re nice people. That’s not, what we’re dealing with here. If you’re, truly a Christian, if you put your faith and trust in the Lord, Jesus Christ, then you ought to, as you grow closer to him and the longer that you’re saved, you ought to want to grow closer to him. You want to grow In the knowledge and admonition of the Lord and you, you would want to get to know him even more and you would want to be like Him even more. This is what I’m going to speak on in this article. The example of the Lord, Jesus Christ in humility, the example of the Lord, Jesus Christ. There, are lots of things that we can learn from the Lord Jesus Christ here. And we find this here in Philippians chapter two, probably the greatest chapter in the Bible on humility and we all need to be more humble. The Bible says to humble your selves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. And we’re supposed to humble ourselves in the Lord.
Humility Jesus Christ has given us the perfect example of what it is to humble yourself. And what that truly looks like now, Paul is telling us here in Philippians chapter two, that we need to have unity with one another. We all need to be fighting for the same, cause we all need to be rowing the boat in the same direction.
When you’re on a canoe trip with somebody you’re in a canoe. Usually, you’ve got two people in the canoe, right? You got two people in the canoe. You got to be rowing in the same direction or else it doesn’t go well. I’ve been on multiple canoe trips with my lovely wife. Who I love dearly. And you know that I love her dearly because she survived the canoe trips, even though at least on one occasion, I switched partners and got into a different canoe and I’m like, I’m done.
Because you just can’t seem to get the thing rolling in the right direction, doing the right thing at the same time. And all that kind of thing. If you’re not rowing the canoe together, you’re not paddling the canoe in the right direction in unison together. Then you’re just going to go around in circles. You’re not going to get anywhere. You’re not going to accomplish anything. You’re going to be frustrated and get upset and you’re going to be mad. Or at least I am, maybe I’m alone. But if you get in unison, Then you can actually accomplish something and you can actually get to where it is that you are trying to go. The same thing holds true in the body of Christ.
If we’re in unison, if we’re in unity with one another, if, we’re in the same mind, in one accord. We can actually be busy about the cause for Christ instead of all the internal turmoils and strife and everything else that would go along with that. And then the Apostle Paul doesn’t just tell us, this is what I love about the Bible. So many people always, bad mouth the Bible and stuff because they don’t know the Bible.
Having a submissive mind and having lowliness of mind, then will enable us to work in unison with one another.
They are not going to spend time to actually read and study the Bible and see what the Bible actually has to say for itself. They’re trusting somebody else, they trust what somebody on YouTube or something has to say about the Bible. I’ll give you a free tip. Don’t pay attention to what people on YouTube say about the Bible. because they don’t know what they’re talking about.
So I love the Bible because the Bible doesn’t just leave you hanging. Right? The Bible doesn’t just say, Hey, you need to live in unity. You need to get along with one another. You need to be of one mind. You need to be in one accord. Just do it. “Swoosh” the Bible doesn’t do that. The Bible tells you how! It’s such a blessing. So that’s what we’re going to look at.
How can we live in unity? How can we all together fight for the cause of Christ? How can we accomplish that? First and foremost, the thing that you have to do is, you gotta be saved. If you’re not saved, then you’re out. You need to get saved. You need to put your faith and trust in the Lord. Jesus Christ. Trust him and nothing but him for your salvation. That’s it. That’s all it takes. Jesus said in John chapter three and verse number 18, that people are condemned in their sins for one reason. And one reason only. And that’s because they have not believed on the only begotten son of God. That’s why people are condemned in their sins.
Not because they committed murder its not because they are a thief or a liar or anything else. It is because they’ve rejected the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says he,that hath the Son hath life, and he, that hath, not the son of God hath not life. but the wrath of God abideth on him. That’s it.
The first step is you have to get in the family. You must be born again that’s what Jesus said, once you’re born again, then you have the opportunity and the ability, now you belong and you are part of the body of Christ that you can work in unity with others in order to do so. You need to follow what he tells us down here in Philippians chapter two, verses three and four.
Philippians 2:3–4 (AV)
3Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
4Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
He says, let nothing be done through strife or Vainglory, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves. Look, not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others, verse five, let this mind be in you, which was also in. Christ Jesus. And he’s going to go through, and he’s going to explain what he’s talking about and if we’ll follow the example of the Lord Jesus Christ in this, having a submissive mind and be a lowliness of mind, then that will enable us to work in unison with one another.
Lowliness of Mind That will enable you to actually fulfill the call that God has placed upon your life. So verses five through 11 here in Philippians chapter two, the apostle Paul here is showing us the picture of humility and what it means to have a submissive mind, what it means to be lowliness of mind to consider yourself a more lowly again, humility Isn’t thinking poorly of yourself. It just simply not thinking of yourself. And that’s a problem that everybody has. We all think of ourselves too much. We think about and worry about what other people think about us and that is what most Christians need to be saved from there’s a lot more to be saved from than just hell you understand.
Humility Isn’t thinking poorly of yourself. It’s just simply not thinking OF yourself.
And one thing that Christians need to be saved from is public opinion. And what I mean by that is so many Christians. They, keep their, lips closed and their tongue silent, because they’re worried about what people are going to think about them. And we need to be more concerned with what the Lord thinks than what the other people think.
Now the apostle Paul did tell us that we’re supposed to if at all possible live peaceably among other people we’re not supposed to bring an offense intentionally. However, the preaching of the cross is an offense. So people get offended because you’re preaching the truth that’s on them. That’s not on you.
Now, there are plenty of people that are out there then intentionally offend people. So they can have some kind of, you know, a badge of honor or something and say that they suffered for the Lord Jesus Christ or something, which they’re not going to qualify for that reward if that’s what they’re doing and why they’re doing it.
So we don’t go out of our way to offend people and be offensive to people. But if they’re offended by the truth then they’re offended by the truth. That’s between them and the Lord but, we need to be thinking of ourselves less than we do. Not less of ourselves, but just think of ourselves less and think of the Lord, Jesus Christ more.
And the example that we have to follow in this thing is the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And that’s what we’re going to see here. The first thing that I want you to notice here is that the Lord Jesus Christ willingly laid aside his Glory. He willingly laid aside the Glory that he had as God. He put on the form of a servant.
He did not ever stop being God. He was still God. He was fully God. And he was fully man at the same time, he just simply laid down his glory. He laid down the independent use of his Godly attributes. He willingly did that. He laid that down. And he, no longer exercised his attributes as God as an independent agent as he did prior to him coming to the earth. Prior to his coming to the earth, he exercised his attributes independently of the rest of the Godhead. But once he came in flesh, which he did, then he was no longer independent of that. He then submitted himself under the father.
John 8:29 (AV)
29And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
Jesus did all things that pleased the father. He stopped independently exercising in his Godly attributes and he submitted himself under the father. So we have some characteristics here that we’re going to see in the life of the Lord, Jesus Christ here in these, these next few verses, and we’re going to see those things that not only apply to the Lord Jesus Christ, but they are going to apply to a person who is living in lowliness of mind or who is living with a submissive mind.
The Mind of Christ Submissive, people don’t like to be submissive, they don’t like to submit to anything, they don’t like to be told what to do. I don’t like to be told what to do either. I hate being told what to do. That’s natural. It’s not right, but it’s natural. We don’t like to be told that we need to do things and people usually put up their defenses and everything when you start telling them what it is that they have to do, or what have you, but we need to be submissive. We need to be submissive to the Lord first and foremost, and we need to be submissive to one another. And the Lord Jesus Christ. here is our example. Let’s look at verses five and six, to begin with.
Philippians 2:5–6 (AV)
5Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
The apostle Paul says that we need to have the mind of Christ verse five, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. So this is the mind of the Lord, Jesus Christ. In other words, this was his attitude. When we say that you need to have the mind of Christ we don’t mean that all of a sudden you’re going to know everything that he knows.
That would blow some circuits that would blow all the circuits. If we knew everything that he knew, if you could see everything that he could see, I don’t even know how he functioned. I really don’t. Because we’re blind to most things that are going on. We only see what we see, which is very little regarding the spirit world and everything else going on.
Jesus could see all that stuff. I don’t know how he concentrated. I can’t concentrate when I don’t see all that stuff. But he could, but I don’t mean when you’re going to have the mind of Christ that you’re going to know everything that he knows. You’re going to see everything that he sees.
One day that’s going to be true, One day, according to first, John chapter three, we’re going to be just like Him. We’re going to see him and we’re going to know him because we’re going to be just like Him. That’s going to happen after the rapture, but right now that’s not the case, according to the book of first Corinthians we’re looking through a glass darkly.
1 Corinthians 13:12 (AV)
12For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
We’re looking through, a dirty glass. We can kind of see stuff and we think we can see fine. People do that all the time. They have eyeglasses or something and your eyeglasses get all dirty and fingerprints and dust and whoever knows what all else, and you kind of get used to it and you don’t even notice it for a while.
People say I got 20, 20 vision, big deal. That’s nothing. You still don’t see everything going on. You have no, idea. To have the mind of Christ means to take on his attitude, the way that he thought about things, not the things that he knows, not all the things that he knows.
We can have the mind of Christ in as much as the things that motivated Him, the way that he thinks about things. That is the thing that we can adopt.
We don’t know everything that he knows. The Bible says that his ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. We can’t wrap our minds around the thoughts of the Lord and the things that the Lord knows.
Psalm 139:1–6 (AV)
1O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
2Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
3Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
5Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high. I cannot attain unto it. We can’t attain unto it. We can’t, even fathom the knowledge that the Lord has. But, we can have the mind of Christ in as much as the things that motivated Him, the way that he thinks about things. That is the thing that we can adopt.
We can have the mind of Christ. That’s what Paul is talking about here, back in Philippians, chapter two, let this mind be in you, which was in Christ Jesus. Now he is not going to leave you hanging again, right? You don’t have to take my word for it. We’re going to continue to go on down through here and he’s going to explain what it is that he just said.
This is why you always want to read the scripture in context. So you want to see what the Lord has to say. You don’t want to just be picking out verses here or there, and then just try to make up your own interpretation and decide what you think. I think that it means right.
Peter said that no, scripture is of any private interpretation. So we’re going to continue going down through here. What’s he talking about? Let this mind be in you. Also, which was also in Christ. Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.
Consider others more than ourselves The example that we have of him as far as a following in the mind of Christ is that he thinks of others, not of himself. He was thinking of others, not of himself. He was God, he is God, he’s in glory with the father and with the Holy Spirit. And he willingly lays all that down because he was thinking of others, he submitted himself to the father while he walked the earth because he was thinking of the father, not of himself.
We think a lot of times it’s hard for us to humble ourselves. It’s hard for us to submit ourselves to other people, but he’s the creator and he did it. He’s the creator and he humbled himself. He existed before anything else ever existed. According to the Bible, he’s the one who created it all. nothing existed outside of him, he is the creator. He became flesh. He dwelled among us.
John says over there in first, John, he was manifested unto us. Our eyes have seen him, our hands have handled him. He wasn’t some spirit, he was an actual Human being, he became a human being. He humbled himself. Why? Because he was putting others above himself. No one else deserved to be above him. We can all look and say, yeah, well we should submit ourselves Because there are plenty of people that know more than we do. And have been places that we haven’t been, and they know things that we don’t know and all that sort of a thing. The Lord can’t say that.
Who could be his counselor? Paul said nobody who’s his instructor. Nobody. He asked Job those questions. Didn’t he? Where were you? When I laid the foundation on the earth? Where were you when I did this? Where were you when I did that? Where were you? You were nowhere. I was there. You weren’t, shut up and Sit down.
I’m paraphrasing, but he thought of others instead of thinking of himself because he deserved the glory. He deserved the glory because of who he is, not because of what he’s done. Just simply because of who he is, he deserved the glory. He deserved everything that he laid down. He deserved. that. He deserved to be in glory.
Consider others more than ourselves.
He deserved to be sitting on the throne and have all the Seraphims and everything else singing and praising him day and night, night and day. He deserved all that, but he willingly laid it down. Why? Because it was better for other people, it was better for us, for him to lay that down and to humble himself. And to make himself of the form of a servant, a form of a servant, you understand?
He didn’t even just lay down his glory and then come down and be born into the Royal family and, and all that. And had people praising him on earth, ever since he was born. No, he made himself a servant as low as he could make himself. Because he thought of others, not of himself.
According to Romans chapter 12 and verse number 10, we are supposed to prefer one another. We are supposed to prefer one another above ourselves. This is how we exercise the mind of Christ, right? The Lord Jesus Christ. He deserved glory and honor and accolades and everything else.
Romans 12:10 (AV)
10Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
We don’t deserve any of that stuff. At all, no matter how good of a job we’ve done, or no matter what we’ve accomplished in our lives, we don’t deserve any of it, but people are unwilling, to prefer other people above themselves. Well, then you’re not living in the mind of Christ.
We are commanded to prefer one another. Not only that, but first Thessalonians chapter five and verse number 11, it says that we are supposed to Edify one another. We’re supposed to build one another up.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 (AV)
11Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
So many Christians out there. They’re doing everything they can to tear each other down, people do that in the world all of the time. You kind of understand it when the world does it. But Christians do it all the time. They tear each other down and everything else. It’s like, well, I’m not really better than them. And I can’t, get to where I want to be on my own merit. So I’m going to tear this other person down so I can make myself look better.
And that’s what people do all the time. That’s not what we’re supposed to do. We’re supposed to be thinking of others more than ourselves. Stop trying to build ourselves up and instead be thinking about what the Lord wants. And what’s best for others.
We’re supposed to Edify one another Galatians chapter six, and verse two says that we’re supposed to bear the burdens of one another. Instead of putting our foot on people’s necks and keeping them down while they’re down and spreading their History all over the place and everything else.
Galatians 6:2 (AV)
2Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
We’re supposed to bear the burdens. The Lord Jesus Christ. Didn’t tear people down. As he walked the earth and all that look, the people that he had issues with, you have to admit they weren’t the sinners, they weren’t the publicans and the lepers and the harlots. And that crowd, the sinners, the people he had an issue with were, were the fake religious crowd. The fake religious people, you know, they got their standards, they got their rules and everything else. But they missed the entire point of those things, according to Romans chapter 14 in verse 13, we’re not supposed to sit around judging one another all the time.
Romans 14:13 (AV)
13Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.
We’re not supposed to be judging one another, but we need to understand and realize that we’re going to be judged at the judgment seat of Christ.
Romans 15:14 (AV)
14And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
To admonish somebody means to warn them or notify them of a fault. That’s not the same thing as judging them for something. It’s more like this… Hey, I see this going on. This is where it goes. This is what is going to happen. This is how you get it fixed.
Instead here’s what people do, because they think of themselves more than they do others. They, let people go down the wrong path and they let people do the wrong things that way they say, okay, that’s fine because that’s going to come out at some point. And then that’s going to make me look better. We’re not to be that way. That’s not the mind of Christ. The Lord, Jesus Christ. Didn’t do that. He had the right to do that. He could have exposed everything in the world but He didn’t do it. We are Supposed to have the mind of Christ. We’re supposed to consider others more than ourselves. That’s what Jesus did. He considered others more than he considered himself? He laid down everything that he had.
He walked out of the pearly gates left all that behind and came down and placed himself in a womb, which, I mean, I can’t even figure all that out anyway, place himself in a womb, inside a person that he created, in the womb that he created and everything else. And he did that and was born in a manger, nasty, dirty circumstances, everything else, poor family. He preferred others above himself. He thinks of others instead of thinking of himself, the next thing that we’re going to see here, we’ve seen verse number seven not only did he consider others and think of others More so than himself, but here in Philippians, chapter two, verse seven says, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. He serves a person who is of submissive mind, a person who is exercising humility. They, serve.
Servanthood They serve other people instead of trying to serve themselves and their own interests and all that, they serve other people. He emptied himself. He laid aside all of his attributes as God. He became a man. He wasn’t acting like a man. He wasn’t acting like a servant. He literally became a man and became a servant.
He came to serve. Others, you remember, he washed the feet of the disciples and things along that nature, he came to serve and then he took that body that he placed himself in and he served all the way to his death, the ultimate service that he could provide his sacrifice of that body. He willingly died for others. His entire being was to figure out how he could serve other people. He was trying to serve them. He was trying, to be a blessing to them.
A person who is of submissive mind, a person who is exercising humility, they serve.
He was trying to bring them back to himself, back to the father. He was trying to reconcile the world unto himself by serving them and showing us the example, a person who is. Living with a submissive mind is a serving person, a person who is looking for opportunities to serve other people, to be a blessing, other people, to help other people serving we’re to be servants.
We are servants; people don’t like to be called servants. But we are servants. We have a master. the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says that we were bought with a price. We are bought out of the slave market of sin, but we were purchased by the Lord. Jesus Christ. Our body is not our own. We have a master we’re supposed to serve him.
We need to submit ourselves to be servants, stop looking for ways to be served. And instead look for ways that we could be the server.
Sacraficial The next thing that we have here, I guess it would be the third thing. We find in verse number eight, he says, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death Even the death of the cross.
Philippians 2:8 (AV)
8And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
A person who lives a submissive life. Not only do they consider others more than themselves? Not only are they looking for ways to serve other people but they sacrifice, too many Christians are willing to serve others only if it doesn’t cost them anything. They’re willing to think of other people and to serve other people as long as it doesn’t cost them anything.
Cheap crosses for sale!
I read a story. I don’t know the missionaries name, but there was a missionary that was in Brazil and he was in Brazil and he was going through one of the city markets and they had all the different things that they sell in the city markets. Of course, you know, they had meat that was hanging out there for like three or four days who knows how long and all this other stuff out there. And people were selling their wares and their little trinkets and stuff like that. they had clothing and all that other kind of stuff.
And he comes up to this one booth, and in this booth, there were a bunch of handmade, carved things out of wood and stuff. And on this one side of the whole booth and everything across the entire wall, there’s a bunch of crosses, a bunch of wooden crosses that they had made handmade.
And the sign above the crosses, it said cheap crosses. And the missionary said, that’s the problem with most Christians, they’re looking for a cheap cross. They’re looking for a cheap one. The Lord didn’t have a cheap cross. His sacrifice cost him something. The submissive mind does not avoid sacrifice. They live for the glory of God. That’s what the apostle Paul demonstrated. He didn’t have a cheap sacrifice. He was willing to sacrifice anything and everything that he needed to sacrifice.
He said I have become all things to all men. And that by all means, I might save some. He was willing to give up anything and everything that he had to give up. He was willing to humble himself anyway, that he needed to humble himself if he needed to go to prison. So be it, if he needed to get kicked out of town. So be it, if he needs to be stoned to death and dragged outside of the city gates. So be it, if he had to humble himself underneath the Jews, and take a vow and go through all that stuff. Even though he didn’t believe in any of that anymore, he was willing to do it. Why? So that he could reach some people, he was willing to sacrifice anything and everything that he needed to sacrifice for the cause of Christ.
And if we’re living submissive mind, we’re going to have that attitude. We need to be willing to sacrifice. Too many Christians, they’re not willing to sacrifice anything. King David said at one point he was going to buy the threshing floor from Araunah, he wanted to pay for the threshing floor. AndAraunah said, Hey, I’ll tell you what man, you’re the king. I’ll give it to you. No problem. Matter of fact, I’ll tell you what, I got a bunch of cattle over here. I’ll give you the cattle too. So you got all that stuff you can sacrifice to the Lord, everything else, you know free and David, rejected it. David said that the offering would be worthless if it did not cost him anything. (2 Samuel 24).
Too many Christians. We’re not willing to sacrifice anything because we’re not willing to humble ourselves and sacrifice. We don’t want sacrifice. We want an easy life. A lot of people were, quote-unquote won to the Lord, with that promise. It’s going to be an easy life. All your problems are going to go away. Everything is going to be great.
Everything is going to be great. And all your problems are going to go away, just not today. But whatever problems that you’re going to go through, you’re much better off to go through them with the Lord than without the Lord. There’s still going to be better. They’re just not going to go away. I wish I could tell you that all your problems are going to go away and you’re not going to have any problems. You’re not going to have migraines anymore. You’re not going to have aches. You’re not going to have pains. You’re all going to have sore ankles.
I wish I could tell you that. No more disease, no more sadness. No more tears. You know all the other stuff that Joel Olsteen says that you can have today, he’s a liar. That’s not what the Bible teaches at all, but you’re much better off when you go through those things with the Lord, rather than without him.
The submissive mind, doesn’t avoid the sacrifices we need to be willing to sacrifice for the Lord. It’s our reasonable service. Present your bodies, a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto the Lord, which is your reasonable service. It’s reasonable. It’s Romans chapter 12, reasonable written to Gentiles by the apostle to the Gentiles.
We are supposed to present our bodies, a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto the Lord, which means if you don’t present your body as a living sacrifice, you’re not holy and acceptable unto the Lord. And we do it because it’s our reasonable service. It’s just reasonable. You don’t get, you don’t get a bozo button. You don’t get a pat on the back. You don’t get a promotion. You don’t get a trophy. Don’t even get a promise of a reward. It’s just reasonable. We get irritated with people when they don’t do the reasonable thing, Like use their turn signal on the interstate.
We get irritated when people don’t do the reasonable thing, like say, thank you when you hold the door open for them, or when you say good morning or hello or whatever other greeting it is, and they completely ignore you. We figured that’s unreasonable and that’s irritating. And that’s very minor after everything that the Lord has done for us it’s just reasonable that we would sacrifice for him.
We would sacrifice our wellbeing. We would sacrifice our opportunities. We would sacrifice anything that he would have us to sacrifice for him and for his cause it’s worth it. And it’s just reasonable.. It’s the minimum. People. We want to talk about the good servant and all that stuff.
Well, I’m a good servant because I do everything the Lord tells me to do that. Doesn’t make you a good servant. That just makes you an average servant. So what, okay, so you go to work and you do what your job parameters say that you have to do every day. And then you expect a pat on the back for that. That was your job. You didn’t go above and beyond. You didn’t do anything extra. That doesn’t make you a good employee. It doesn’t make you a good servant.
You just do the bare minimum, what the Lord tells you to do. And you think that that means one day, he’s going to say, well done, good and faithful servant. No, that was the minimum. That was just reasonable. That was just reasonable. That’s not going to get you those accolades from the Lord.
We need to be willing to sacrifice. He was willing to sacrifice his life. We should be willing to sacrifice anything up to and including our lives for the cause for Christ, plenty of people in history have had to do it. We’re blessed enough. That, as terrible and awful and despicable as this country has become. It’s still the best one to live in right now.
The gospel still goes out of this country, more so than any other country on the globe. Right now, this country still puts out more missionaries than anybody else does. So the Lord’s continuing to bless us in as much as that much goes, right. We need to be willing to sacrifice it all though, we need to be willing to sacrifice and go to one of those other places. If that’s where the Lord has called you to be, we need to be willing to sacrifice whatever it is that we need to sacrifice for the cause of the Lord, he was. We don’t have to worry about losing our lives right now.
Like I said, this country is pushing the gospel and I mean, it tries to push everything else too. It is getting worse and worse. It’s trying, it’s really trying to, muffle the gospel as much as it can get away with these days, it is going to continue getting worse and worse and worse. It’s not going to get better.
It’s called entropy. The people who always want to stand on science somehow completely miss the, the law of entropy. They don’t understand it. It’s going to continue getting worse. It may come down to a fact where we’re going to have to sacrifice our freedom, sacrifice our very lives. Look, it’s not that far removed.
There are preachers in Canada right now, that are being thrown into prison for having church services. The law just shows up at the church and comes and puts the shackles on them and carts them away because they’re having church in the midst of COVID.
It’s not that far away. It’s not that far removed. We need to be willing to sacrifice, sacrifice and service. They go together. If you’re going to serve and you need to be willing to sacrifice.
Glorify the Lord The last thing that we see here, a person who lives with a submissive mind Is it that that person glorifies God.
Philippians 2:9–11 (AV)
9Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The entire purpose of the humiliation and sacrifice of the Lord. Jesus Christ was to bring glory to God. That’s what Jesus said in John chapter 17. Jesus said that everything he did, that he did it to glorify the Father and the person that lives with a submissive mind. That is what enables you to live in the humility of mind and to be submissive to the will of God and to the cause for Christ is because the purpose that you’re doing it is so that you may glorify God.
That’s what makes it all worth it? No matter what it is that you have to go through, no matter how bad it is and no matter how awful it is. And sometimes it is bad and very awful. I’m not going to lie to you and say that it’s not, I’m not going to sugar coat it and act like the things that you’re going through aren’t really that big of a deal, they are! But they’re worth it because if you do it appropriately it’s going to bring glory to God. And that’s our entire purpose is to bring him glory.
The submissive mind lives for others. It expects service and sacrifice. And in the end, it will all lead to the glory of God. That’s the example of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And that’s what it means to be a disciple.
We have the example of the Lord, Jesus Christ, how it is that that we ought to conduct ourselves and live our lives in submission. Again, he submitted himself, he humbled himself and if God, the creator can humble himself for the betterment of others. Who are we to refuse to do so?
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
The post The Mind of Christ first appeared on Irvington Bible Baptist Church.
The word of God is compared to Bread, Milk, Meat, and Honey. Honey is sweet…The word of God should be sweet to you. It should be something that you crave, something that you desire, something that you take delight in. The word of God should be something that you cannot wait to get your hands on, something that you long after daily.
Exodus 16:11–21 (AV)
11And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
12I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God.
13And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.
14And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.
15And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
16This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.
17And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
18And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.
19And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
20Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
21And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
Two Principles to Apply Gather your own bread each day You need to gather your own bread each day. Most Christians today, rely on someone else to gather the bread for them, and to tell them what the word of God has to say. You need to gather the bread for yourself.
You need to put forth the energy and effort to collect the bread for yourself
The gathered bread was only good for that day They had to gather the manna each day, they had to repeat the process each day.
Manna is connected with the word of God
Matthew 4:1–4 (AV)
1Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
**Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy 8:3:**
Deuteronomy 8:1–3 (AV)
1All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers.
2And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
3And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
The point is that we need more than just physical nourishment, we need Spiritual nourshiment.
The word of God is to us, what the manna was to the Israelites – Life-sustaining nourishment
We need to set aside time to be spiritually nourished from the Bible each and every day. The Bible provides all of the Spiritual nourishment that we need. The word does the work in our lives.
- The word sustains us – Hebrews 1:3
- The word Discerns for us – Hebrews 4:12
- The word brings the new birth that we need – James 1:18
Bible Reading Plan Reading random scriptures will not provide solid Biblicl growth anymore than eating random foods out of your pantry will provide solid physical growth.
You need an effective Bible reading plan. There are many to choose from we have provided a bible reading plan, which is called 15 Minutes in the Bible. It is available as an audio and/or a video and is posted each day, 7-days per week. By following this plan, you will read through the entire Bible by spending just an average of 15 minutes with us per day.
The audio/video of 15 Minutes in the Bible can be found here
Our Bible reading schedule can be found here
Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
The post How to Hear from the Lord first appeared on Irvington Bible Baptist Church.