Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Brainerd: Oh, That I May Never Loiter On My Heavenly Journey!
Do view this series of videos, going to the upper left hand corner at the end of each video and clicking on the next video to continue on in this series. Part 7 is the final video in the series...
choosing rather to suffer
go here to listen to Leonard Ravenhill's message.
Rejoice and Give God Glory
Monday, December 26, 2011
Walk in the Light
If we walk in the light as He is in the light . . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin —1 John 1:7
To mistake freedom from sin only on the conscious level of our lives for complete deliverance from sin by the atonement through the Cross of Christ is a great error. No one fully knows what sin is until he is born again. Sin is what Jesus Christ faced at Calvary. The evidence that I have been delivered from sin is that I know the real nature of sin in me. For a person to really know what sin is requires the full work and deep touch of the atonement of Jesus Christ, that is, the imparting of His absolute perfection.
The Holy Spirit applies or administers the work of the atonement to us in the deep unconscious realm as well as in the conscious realm. And it is not until we truly perceive the unrivaled power of the Spirit in us that we understand the meaning of 1 John 1:7 , which says, “. . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” This verse does not refer only to conscious sin, but also to the tremendously profound understanding of sin which only the Holy Spirit in me can accomplish.
I must “walk in the light as He is in the light . . .”— not in the light of my own conscience, but in God’s light. If I will walk there, with nothing held back or hidden, then this amazing truth is revealed to me: “. . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses [me] from all sin” so that God Almighty can see nothing to rebuke in me. On the conscious level it produces a keen, sorrowful knowledge of what sin really is. The love of God working in me causes me to hate, with the Holy Spirit’s hatred for sin, anything that is not in keeping with God’s holiness. To “walk in the light” means that everything that is of the darkness actually drives me closer to the center of the light.
Oswald Chambers
1874-1917
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Do we really worship God?
"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" - John 4:24
I am working my way through the Gospel of John; when I came to this verse, it caused me to stop and think. As I pondered on it, I wanted to find out the meaning of the word worship. What does it truly mean, do we even know? In the church I attend, parents bring drinks and snacks into the sanctuary for their kids and themselves as well to partake of during the worship service. Children play video games on hand held electronic devices during the service, or they lay under the pews and color or play with toys; can we not teach children what reverence means? Perhaps not, especially if we do not comprehend it ourselves. I do not believe one can worship God if you have no reverence and awe of Him, this is where it starts.
I got out my Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary and looked up the word 'worship', here is what I found; from the Greek word proskyneÅ, meaning to fall down and/or worship. I also went to blueletterbible.org and got this definition, ' in the NT by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance {a gesture of respect, as a bow} whether in order to express respect or to make supplication.' So I wonder, when we gather to worship God, do we fall down prostrate? Do we even kneel? It would appear, at least in my church, reverence and awe are sorely lacking, so worship is not done respectfully. There is no inward worship, no giving of heart, mind and soul to the adoration of a God who is worthy, holy, sovereign, mighty, merciful, loving, faithful, trustworthy and full of grace. To worship in spirit is to worship with 'the disposition or influence which fills and governs the soul of any one, the efficient source of any power, affection, emotion, desire, etc.' {from blueletterbible.org}, this is inward, as opposed to outward religiosity which fills churches all across this globe. Here is commentary from Matthew Henry, "The stress is not to be laid upon the place where we worship God, but upon the state of mind in which we worship him. Note, The most effectual way to take up differences in the minor matters of religion is to be more zealous in the greater. Those who daily make it the matter of their care to worship in the spirit, one would think, should not make it the matter of their strife whether he should be worshipped here or there. Christ had justly preferred the Jewish worship before the Samaritan, yet here he intimates the imperfection of that. The worship was ceremonial, 10. The worshippers were generally carnal, and strangers to the inward part of divine worship.
Then there is this from gotquestions.org, "True worship is God-centered worship. People tend to get caught up in where they should worship, what music they should sing in worship, and how the worship looks to other people. Focusing on these things completely misses the point. Jesus tells us that true worshipers will worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). This means we worship from the heart and the way God has designed. Worship can include praying, reading God's Word with an open heart, singing, participating in communion, and serving others. It is not limited to one act, but is done properly when the heart and attitude of the person are in the right place. Worship can be public praise to God (Psalm 22:22, 35:18) in a congregational setting, where we can proclaim through prayer and praise our adoration and thankfulness to Him and what He has done for us. True worship is felt inwardly, and then comes out through our actions. "Going through the motions" out of obligation is displeasing to God and is done completely in vain. He can see through all the hypocrisy, and He hates it.
If one's understanding of God is shallow or superficial, their worship will reflect that; weak preaching compounds the problem. Worshiping God is an inward action that reveals itself in outward adoration and action, this worship is rooted in a proper understanding of the *attributes of God which results in deep reverence and awe. Only when we comprehend God's attributes can we have such reverence and awe, which leads to proper biblical worship. Sadly, this is more the exception than the rule in the visible church. May the Lord work in our hearts proper reverence and awe, may we understand and desire to know this God so we can worship Him just as His word says, 'in spirit and truth'.
* For those who may be interested, you can download Paul Washer's study on the attributes of God entitled "The One True God" by going here.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Learning Contentment
Here is a snippet...
We must be content, not only when God gives mercies, but when He takes away. If we must "in every thing give thanks,"1 Th. 5. 18 then in nothing be discontented.
Perhaps God hath taken away the cistern, that he may give you the more of the spring; he hath darkened the starlight, that you may have more sun-light. God intends you shall have more of himself, and is not he better than ten sons? Look not so much upon a temporal loss, as a spiritual gain; the comforts of the world run dregs; those which come out of the granary of the promise, are pure and sweet.Your child was not given but lent: "I have, saith Hannah, lent my son to the Lord;"1 Sa. 1. 28 she lent him! the Lord hath lent him to her. Mercies are not entailed upon us, but lent; what a man lends he may call for again when he pleases. God hath put out a child to thee a while to nurse; wilt thou be displeased if he takes his child home again; O be not discontented that a mercy is taken away from you, but rather be thankful that it was lent you so long.
The Doctrine of Repentance
To discover what true repentance is, I shall first show what it is not. There are several deceits of repentance which might occasion that saying of Augustine that `repentance damns many'. He meant a false repentance; a person may delude himself with counterfeit repentance.
1. The first deceit of repentance is legal terror
A man has gone on long in sin. At last God arrests him, shows him what desperate hazard he has run, and he is filled with anguish. Within a while the tempest of conscience is blown over, and he is quiet. Then he concludes that he is a true penitent because he has felt some bitterness in sin. Do not be deceived: this is not repentance. Ahab and Judas had some trouble of mind. It is one thing to be a terrified sinner and another to be a repenting sinner. Sense of guilt is enough to breed terror. Infusion of grace breeds repentance. If pain and trouble were sufficient to repentance, then the damned in hell should be most penitent, for they are most in anguish. Repentance depends upon a change of heart. There may be terror, yet with no change of heart.
continue on here...
Friday, December 23, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
looking forward to January...
This sums up my sentiments concerning this wildly man-centered time of year...
I took the hand of my toddler son (it was several decades ago now) as we made our way into the local shop on the small and remote Scottish island where earlier that year I had been installed as minister. It was Christmas week. The store was brightly decorated and a general air of excitement was abroad.
Without warning, the conversations of the customers were brought to a halt by a questioning voice from beside me. My son’s upraised index finger pointed at a large cardboard Santa Claus. “Daddy, who is that funny-looking man?” he asked.
read on here...
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Godliness
The meaning of the Lord's supper
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
How do we acquire faith to believe?
For a deeper look, let's go to Ephesians 2:8-9 for an explanation of this dilemma. You must go into the original language to understand and unpack these verses; for that, we turn to Jim McClarty...
Our Best Day is Our Last Day
Revelation 14:13, "Blessed are the dead who die in
the Lord." Why? "They will rest from their labor!"
A believer's last day is his best day! Death brings
the soul to a state of eternal rest. Death is . . .
a rest from the trouble of our labors,
a rest from afflictions,
a rest from persecutions,
a rest from temptation,
a rest from sin, and
a rest from sorrow.
Now while we are here in this present world, the soul
is in a perpetual agitation. The godliest man in the world,
who is highest and clearest in his enjoyments of God--
either lacks some temporal mercy or spiritual mercy--and
will do so until his soul is swallowed up in the everlasting
enjoyments of God!
Death brings a man to an unchangeable rest!
Death is a believer's coronation-day, it is his
marriage-day! Death is an eternal rest . . .
from sin,
from sorrow,
from afflictions,
from temptations.
Death to a believer is an entrance into
paradise--into the joy of his Lord.
A believer's dying-day is his best day. The day
of his death better than the day of his birth!
"I desire to depart and be with Christ, which
is better by far!" Philippians 1:23
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Pre-Trib Rapture?
Does Theology matter in our Gospel presentation?
Listen to this...
Friday, December 16, 2011
The hand of God
this is from Grace Gems ...
It is the same hand!
(J.C. Ryle)
Are you a distressed believer? Is your heart . . .
pressed down with sickness,
tried with disappointments,
overburdened with cares?
To you I say, "Behold the cross of Christ!" Think whose hand it is that chastens you; think whose hand is measuring to you the 'cup of bitterness' which you are now drinking. It is the hand of Him who was crucified! It is the same hand which, in love to your soul, was nailed to the accursed tree! Surely that thought should comfort and hearten you. Surely you should say to yourself, "My crucified Savior will never lay upon me anything that is not for my good. There is a needs be. It must be well."
How God uses Suffering
Go here for part one, and here for part two.
You Go Voddie!!!
Thanks Linda for bringing this to my attention!!!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Be Blessed...
As the gospel of Christ crucified cannot be attained through the religious works of sinful men, nor can be attained through the logical thinking of sinful men, neither can it be more effective, more persuasive or more savingly executed through the eloquent proclamation of sinful men.
To suggest such a thing would certainly contradict what the apostle stated prior to his telling the Corinthians that he determined to know nothing among them except the gospel truth of Christ, and Him crucified:
And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 1 Corinthians 2:1
Neither excellent speech nor cunning wisdom was used by Paul in declaring the gospel truth. It is the work of the Holy Spirit alone regardless of whether one is on the receiving side or the delivery side of the gospel. Why? God tells us in a verse just prior to what we’ve read in 1 Corinthians 2:1-2,
That no flesh should glory in his presence. 1 Corinthians 1:29
GLORY IN THE CROSS
God receives glory from the work of Christ’s crucifixion and He also receives glory from proclamation of Christ’s crucifixion, in those to whom God is saving, and in those by whom God is using to preach His truth. Therefore, if man’s chief end, ultimate goal and reason for existence is to glorify God, then we glorify God when our boast is in the crucified Christ, as it is written,
But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. Galatians 6:14
*When we can boast in anything apart from the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, by His righteous life lived, His prophetic word taught, His heavenly declarations proclaimed, His obedient servitude exemplified, His perfect substitutionary death, etc., we sin, straying from the gospel, departing from its glory and its power.* [star emphasis mine]
But we proclaim Christ crucified,
Offensive to the Jews,
And unto Greek minds foolishness:
Rejected by both views.Yet, for all those whom God has call’d,
Both Jews and Greeks alike,
Jesus Christ, the great pow’r of God
And wisdom from on high.For God’s apparent foolishness
Is wiser than all men;
And what seems to be God’s weakness:
Stronger than all heaven.For, brethren, won’t you bring to mind,
God’s calling, ye can see,
Not many wise or strong are call’d,
Noble, too, not many.But God had chosen from this world
The foolish things to stun
The wise; and weak things He chose too,
Confounding those things strong.And the lowly and despis’d things,
The world considers base,
God has valued and has chosen;
The lofty He laid waste.The reason God has done these things:
That no flesh should glory
In His presence― for God’s Word
Knows no other story.[1]
[1] Jon Cardwell, Christ and Him Crucified [Anniston: Vayahiy Press, 2011], 56-58.
I put stars before and after Jon's statement {*When we can boast in anything apart from the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, by His righteous life lived, His prophetic word taught, His heavenly declarations proclaimed, His obedient servitude exemplified, His perfect substitutionary death, etc., we sin, straying from the gospel, departing from its glory and its power.*} because I wonder, if people claim to invite Jesus into their heart, if they make their decision, or if they choose Jesus, are they not boasting, are they not robbing God of glory due only to Him? Let's compare two scenarios; 'I accepted Jesus into my heart', and 'Christ has redeemed me from the pit of hell thru His death, burial, and resurrection'. Which statement best glorifies God? God forbid any should dare to take credit for something they have no ability to do...
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
For the Remnant
The longer a redeemed sinner lives--the more he will want to know Christ.
The brighter the revelation of Christ to his soul--the blacker SELF will be in his apprehension.
The more his heart is warmed with a sense of the love of his God--the more he will mourn because of his coldness and deadness.
This is a paradox which no hypocrite or mere professor can understand. As the child of God grows in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and . . .
sees more of His beauty,
enjoys more of His bounty, and
feels more of His blessedness--
the more he is brought into a true conception of what he is in himself--as a wretched, ruined, undeserving, and Hell-deserving sinner!
Yet he discovers something else--a heart, yearning, longing, panting and desiring after communion with a glorious God, and fellowship with a precious Christ! As he grows in grace, Christ is exalted--and Self is abased!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Mortifying Ungodly Emotions
Saturday, December 10, 2011
The Battle is the Lord's
This sermon is worthy of a listen, it is delivered through Dr. Steve Lawson. Here is your link...
For Ladies Only!
The Doctrine of Limited Atonement
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Matthew 13:45-46)
We live in a culture that demands immediacy. We like things quick and easy and when we don’t get what we want when we want it, we grow impatient. One sociologist, has coined the term “The McDonaldization of society” which describes a culture that takes on the characteristics of a fast food restaurant. Sadly, we see this influence in the evangelical church where short, entertaining messages have replaced biblical and doctrinal preaching. For those who are convinced that Christ is all, there is no sacrifice too great for the immeasurable prize of knowing Christ. That is the message of Jesus in the above parable. When we pick up our Bible’s and we diligently search and examine the doctrines of our faith, when we labor and pore over the word of God, sacrificing time and precious energy, God promises that we will find a pearl of great value.
continue on here...
Consider your ways
Consider your ways
There is a generation of Christians in this age who grieve me to the heart. They make my blood run cold. I cannot understand them. For anything that man's eye can see, they make no progress. They never seem to get on. Years roll on, and they are just the same — the same besetting sins, the same infirmities of disposition, the same weakness in trial, the same chilliness of heart, the same apathy, the same faint resemblance to Christ; but no new knowledge, no increased interest in the kingdom, no freshness, no new strength, no new fruits, as if they grew. Are they not forgetting that growth is the proof of life — that even the tree grows, and the snail and the sloth move? Are they not forgetting how awfully far a man may go, and yet not be a true Christian? He may be like a wax figure, the very image of a believer, and yet not have within him the breath of God — he may have a name to live, and be dead after all.
Brethren, these are the reasons why I write so strongly. I want your Christianity to be unmistakable. I want you all to grow really, and to do more than others. Let us all henceforth remember Sardis and Laodicea — let us resolve to be more holy and more bright. Let us bury our idols. Let us put away all strange gods. Let us cast out the old leaven. Let us lay aside every weight and besetting sin. Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, and perfect holiness in the fear of God. Let us renew our covenant with our beloved Lord. Let us aim at the highest and best things. Let us resolve by God's blessing to be more holy, and then I know and am persuaded we shall be more useful and more happy. I name some things for prayerful consideration.Let us believers take more pains to edify others! It is incredible and sad to see how Scripture speaks on this matter, and then to observe the conduct of many of Christ's people. Paul tells the Corinthians, that the members of Christ "should have the same care one for another." He says to the Thessalonians, "Edify one another, even as also you do." He says to the Hebrews, "Exhort one another daily, lest any be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin;" and again, "Consider one another to provoke unto love and good works; exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching." Brethren, I fear we fall very short of the New Testament Christians in this respect. We are sadly apt to lose sight of this edifying one another when we are in the company of believing friends. Prayer, and the Word, and godly conversation are not put in the foremost place, and so we separate, being nothing the better, but rather worse. Far too often there is so much coldness, and restraint, and reserve, and backwardness, that a man might imagine we were ashamed of Christ, and that we thought it proper to hold our tongues, and not make mention of the name of the Lord.
the entire sermon is available here...
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
The Gospel
I just finished reading Paul Washer's '"The" Gospel' in the latest edition of Heartcry magazine. This edition {volume 69} should be available soon for download here.As I read this I thought, are there two different Gospels? Is there a 'free will' Gospel and a Gospel based on grace thru Christ because man is totally depraved and unable to come to Christ apart from regeneration? It can't be, there is only ONE Gospel, not two. Yet, all across this nation, we hear men beckon sinners to invite Jesus into their heart, or to make their decision. Maybe this is so hotly debated because we do not even know what the true, biblical Gospel is.
Here is a sample of that Gospel...
"Paul did not have "a" Gospel that was peculiar to him. His was not a 'Pauline' Gospel as opposed to a 'Petrine' or 'Johannine' Gospel. Though something of the personalities of these apostles is evident in their presentation, the Gospel they shared was the same. They would know nothing of the frequent language of our day that speaks of different variations, versions, and flavors of the Gospel as though there could be more than one. It is clear from Scripture that there was an unbroken continuum between what Jesus did and communicated to His followers and what Paul believed and preached.
In the Gospel of Jesus, genuine conversion is always accompanied by sincere and costly discipleship. Jesus frequently culled the large crowds that followed Him by making radical demands upon them: "if anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple". He even warned His own disciples, "if anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me..." In the Gospel of Paul, the same radical demands of discipleship are found.
In the Gospel of Jesus, men are taught that a mere profession of faith alone is no sound evidence of salvation. Jesus warned that not everyone who says to Him, "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those whose lives are marked by obedience to the will of God.
Finally, the Gospel of Jesus abounds with warnings about future judgment and the terrors of hell. The matter was so crucial to Jesus that He gave the following warning even to those whom He considered to be His friends: "I say to you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!"
There is but one Gospel, which stands above the editor and the censor, and which must not be changed, adapted, or repackaged. Any attempt to do so, regardless of the reason or motivation, will result in a different Gospel, which is NO Gospel at all!' - Paul David Washer
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Loving Christ
1. If we love a person, we like to think about him.
We do not need to be reminded of him. We do not forget his name or his appearance or his character or his opinions or his tastes or his position or his occupation. He comes up before our mind’s eye many a time in the day.
Continue reading here...
Saturday, December 3, 2011
True Missionaries
What an absolutely awesome God we serve...
Friday, December 2, 2011
The Unquenchable Fire
J.C. Ryle, 1878
"He will gather His wheat into the barn — but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire!" Matthew 3:12
This text describes in words, that which should make our ears tingle — Christ shall "burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire!"
When the Lord Jesus Christ comes to purge His threshing floor — He shall punish all who are not His disciples with a fearful punishment. All who are found impenitent and unbelieving — all who have held the truth in unrighteousness — all who have clung to sin, stuck to the world, and set their affection on things below — all who are without Christ. All such shall come to an awful end! Christ shall "burn up the chaff!"
Their punishment shall be most SEVERE. There is no pain like that of burning. Put your finger in the candle flame for a moment, if you doubt this, and try. Fire is the most destructive and devouring of all elements. Look into the mouth of a blast furnace — and think what it would be to be there. Fire is of all elements most opposed to life. Creatures can live in air, and earth, and water — but nothing can live in fire! Yet fire is the portion to which the Christless and unbelieving will come. Christ will "burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire!"
Their punishment shall be ETERNAL. Millions of ages shall pass away, and the fire into which the chaff is cast, shall still burn on. That fire shall never burn low and become dim. The fuel of that fire shall never waste away and be consumed. It is "unquenchable fire."
Continue here...
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Wouldn't this be a great reminder
This sign is found in Iloilo. The City of Iloilo is a highly urbanized city in the Philippines and the capital city of Iloilo province. 
How wonderful would it be to find this sign at the exit gate of every church. To be read as you got out of the church building. Nice!
And [Jesus] said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” – Mark 16:15