Demas has Forsaken Me
Timothy 2 4:10 I: Demas a fellow laborer. Philemon 24 1. A new convert happy in the work of the Lord. 2. Gladly sharing the burdens of the Lords work. 3. He was so busy following the lamb that he forgot to follow the goat. II: Demas is with me. Col. 4:14 1. Idleness is one step between service and forsaking. 2. “They lean to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.” Tim. 1 5:13. 3. “The idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” III: Demas has forshaken me. Tim. 2 4:10 1. The devil has been successful. 2. The devil worked on him while he was idle. 3. The majority of Church trouble comes from idle members. 4. His love for Christian labor gave...
Covenant for A New Year
Hebrews 8:1- The word Covenant is used over 260 times in the Bible. I: What is Covenant and How is it Made? 1. “Covenant is a contrast between Man and God or between Men and Men.” A Covenant is a promise made and received. 2. A Covenant is made by: a. Joining of hands. Ezekiel 17:18 (Abraham by an Oath). Genesis 21:31 (Abimaleck) b. A heap of stones. Genesis 31:46 (Jacob and Laban) c. A feast. Genesis 26:30 (Issac). d. Eating of salt. Numbers 18:19 3. Gods covenant with men: a. Ratified by signs, smoking furnace, or a burning lamp. b. By the shedding of blood. c. By the crucifixion of Christ. II: Gods covenant with Abraham. Gen. 12:1-3 1. “I will make of thee a great nation.” 2. “I will bless thee and make thy name great.” 3....
Counting the Cost
Luke 14:25-35 I: The Spirit of Seperation: 1. Ready to sacrifice all. 2. Not to hate our relatives, but to love Christ more. 3. When the Claims of Relatives, and the Claims of Christ are in conflict. 4. We must choose rather to displease relatives than our Lord. 5. Experience shows that often the greatest hinderance to a Disciple serving Christ comes from Relatives. 6. The Line of Duty ought to be clear. 7. It can never be true love to Relatives to do wrong in order to please them. (Thousands will be thankful for those that refused to compromise). II: Count the Cost! 1. It does cost something to be a Christian To be a nominal Church going Christian is cheap and easy work. 2. Jesus had no desire to enlarge his followers witn potential backsliders, (A backslider is...
Confessions of Sin
Prov. 28:13 I: Covered and unconfessed sin: 1. Covered sin keeps us rid of God. 2. Unconfessed sin keeps us from mercy. 3. There is no promise of who is the one that covers sin. II: Confessing but not worshiping. 1. Pharoah the hardened sinner: “I have sinned.” Exodus 9:27 2. Balaam the double minded: “I have sinned.” Numbers 22:34 3. Doubtful confession of Achan: “I have sinned.” Josh 7:20 4. Confession of dispair: Judas. Matthew 27:4 III: Confessions and forsaking. 1. The prodical son. “I have sinned.” Luke 15:18 2. The Samaritan woman. 3. Saul or Paul. The soul that refuses to confess and turn from his sin will not find mercy at the judgment seat of...
Clean Hands and Pure Heart
Psalm 24:3-4 Through God’s Laws we learn what pleases and displeases God. Things that were displeasing in the Days of Moses are still displeasing. The Standards of Acceptable Behavior are still the same. Clean hands and pure hearts are still required of Gods People. I: The Requirements of Justice. 1. Integrity: Justice and only Justice. Psalm 16:18-20. No respect of Person before the Law. No taking of gift to blind the Judge. 2. Necessisity for Respect of the Law. Psalm 17:8-13. Contempt of Law was punished by death. He that acted in disrespect of the Law sows Anarchy. Law and order must have the coroperation of all the people. 3. Obligation of Truth and nothing but Truth. Psalm 19:15-21 a. 2 witnesses required. b. False witness to be punished. vs. 18-19 c....
Christ Interprets Life
John 6:22-44, 10:10, and Cor. 2 4:8-18 I: The day following. 1. The feeding of the 5,000. 2. The attempt to make him king. 3. He walked on the sea. II: The crowd was in quest of life. 1. They saw no life in the miracles. 2. They failed to see life in Christ’s teachings. 3. To them life was a full stomach. 4. They placed life in the material. To place life on the material is to meet heartache, disappointment, and eternal death. III: Christ was there to impart life. 1. The fundamental difference was in the interpretation of life. 2. Real life is the eternal spiritual. 3. Christ came to redeem man and to satisfy the longing heart. IV: Labouring for the eternal bread. 1. Read the bible like digging for hidden treasure. 2. Wrestle in prayer as though you...
Cheating is too Costly
Matt. 7:24-27, Cor. 1 3:10-15 Cheating brings you failure in the hour of real testing. Cheating will paralyze the heart throb of your conscience. I: Cheating gives temporary relief. 1. Cheating says get it the easy way. 2. Cheating makes us want something we have not earned. 3. Cheat wants to dance without paying the fiddler, a good time at your expense, and a growing church without growing members. 4. Cheating wants the fruit of faithfulness without being faith-full. II: Cheating is the crown of hypocrisy. 1. It wants to be respected by good people while living like the devils children. 2. Cheating carries the constant fear of exposure. (John, I’m here). 3. Cheating causes us to lose respect for ourselves and project our failure to others. 4. Cheating...
By the Law is the Knowledge of Sin
Romans 3:19-31, Exodus 20:1-19 “I do the best I can, live by the Golden Rule.” We set our own laws of right and wrong! I: God gives laws to Moses. 1. 3rd month out of Egypt. 2. At foot of Mt. Sinai. 3. Majestic conditions. 4. Deadly seriousness. II: Law was to reveal sin. 1. Exceeding sinfulness of sin. Rom. 7:13 2. Showed man what he was like a mirror let down from God, like plume line, lamb, ray of sunlight in dusty room. 3. Law had no power to impart to man that he might overcome sin. III: The law tells me. 1. 4 commandments concerning God. a. No other gods before me, anything that is between. b. Graven image. c. Gods name in vain. d. Keep sabbath. 2. 6 laws to govern relationship of man. a. Honor father and mother. b. Shall not kill. c. Commit not...
Burying the Past
Rom. 6:1-13 I: Jesus said: “They that be whole need not a physician but that they are sick.” 1. “These people would not repent of their sins, they couldn’t even blush.” Jeremiah 8:5-7, 12. 2. Isaiah 1:1-6, 18 3. God has made a way to busy the past, the old life, the old desires. II: Blotting out our sins. 1. Have mercy upon me, O God according to thy loving kindness, according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Psalm 51:1 “Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine inquities.” Psalm 51:9 “Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me.” “I have blotted out as a thick cloud, thy transgressions and as a cloud thy sins return into me for I have...
“Blessed be the Name of the Lord.”
Job 1:13-22 I: Satan contended that Job served for wealth. 1. There was a hedge about all that he had. 2. There was a hedge about him. 3. There was a hedge about his cattle. 4. There was a hedge about his barns. 5. There was a hedge about his children. II: God removed the hedge a little. 1. Satan destroyed all that he had with joy. 2. He is truly named the destroyer. 3. He takes joy in afflicting the Christians. 4. At every opportunity he hinders the work of God. 5. He is a master at using what he has at hand, sinner, backslider, or circumstances. III: Job turns to the Lord. 1. In sorrow he rented his mantel, shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground. 2. “And worshiped.” Tim. 1 6:6-7 3. He acknowledged that he brought nothing into this world. 4....
Altars of God’s People
Gen. 8:20-22, 15:1-20, and Malachi 1:6-14 Altar means a place where sacrifices are offered. I: God’s people erected altars wherever they went. Noah erected an altar immediately after the flood. Abraham erected an altar as soon as he reached Canaan. 1. God’s people erected altars and sacrificed wherever they were. 2. Elijah erected the broken altar when he called fire from heaven. 3. Solomon made many sacrifices upon the altar of the great temple. Chron. 2 7:1-7 4. The New Testament Christians continued a spiritual altar where prayer and supplication were made. America could never have been blessed with the family altars of our forefathers. II: God’s blessings have been withdrawn when the altar had been abused. 1. Saul the 1st king of Israel made...
Adjustment to Hard Situations
I: “Behold I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.” 1. To stay meant death by sword, famine or pestilence. 2. To go meant life as a captive. II: Jeremiahs stand was not popular. 1. He made it clear that the one who marches when the bugal blew is not always the true patriot. 2. The true citizen is one who does what he thinks is best for his beloved country. 3. This kind of courage is not always popular. 4. The future showed that the nation would have been wise to have listened to Jeremiah. III: Jedikiah respected his preacher. Chpt. 37:3 1. He was not sure of his own ability to reach the ear of God. 2. He wanted Jeremiah to use his influence to get God to remove the Chaldeans. 3. Jedekiah and the people did not want to seek Gods will,...
