Do Not Delay..

This morning I am reading a sermon by Charles Spurgeon entitled The Lamb of God in Scripture.  There is a portion I just must share regarding people who have heard the gospel putting off receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, their own salvation, delaying for one reason or another.  I speak of my own brother who says that he will "think about these things over the summer".  Here is the portion:

"Now behold Him, each one of you for yourself.  I know what someone will say, 'I hope to do that by and by."  I hope you do not so deceive yourself.  I have heard that there was once a great meeting in the den of the arch-enemy and he was stirring up his myrmidons to seek the destruction of men.  One of them said 'I  have gone forth, and I have told men that there is no God, and no hereafter, and no difference between sin and righteousness and that they may live as they like"; and there was considerable approbation among the evil spirits.  But Satan himself said, "thou hast done small service, for man has a conscience, and his conscience teaches him better; he knows that there is a God, he knows that there is a difference between sin and righteousness he knows that there must be future punishment; you have done but little."  Then anther stood up, and said "I have done better, I think, most mighty chieftain, for I have told them that the Bible is a worn-out book, that it was a fable at the first, and that they need not believe it."  There was a round of cheers, for they said that he had done splendid service for the cause of darkness; but Satan said "It is in vain that you meddle with the old Book, it has taken care of itself, and it can still do so  There is no shaking, it is like a rock.  Thou hast done service for a time, but it will soon pass away."  And scarcely did anyone of the fallen spirits venture to bring forward his boasting in the presence of the terrible master who sat in the midst of them; but at last, one  said "I have told men that they have souls, and there is a God, and that the Bible is true.  I have left them to believe as they will, but I have whispered in their ear that there is plenty of time to consider all this."  Then there was a hush, and the great master of demons said "Thou hast done best of all.  This is my great net in which I take more souls that with any other, this net of procrastination or delay."  Therefore say I to you, my hearers, disappoint the fiend.  Fly to Jesus at once.  Behold not tomorrow, but tonight, behold the Lamb of God, each man for himself."

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.  Do not delay!

_________________________________

Portion from The Lamb of God in Scripture. C.H. Spurgeon,
On Lord's-Day Evening, August 25, 1889

link to complete sermon:  The Lamb of God in Scripture

Daily Bible Reading: John 12:20-50 - Jesus Begins His Discourse

Much of this section of John 12, that want to see Jesus,  is Jesus speaking to his disciples.  I am posting highlights of what he said to them, but we start with a group of men who wanted to see Jesus:

V21-22 "and there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: the same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying Sir, we would see Jesus.  Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus."

In John chapter 10, Jesus speaking of himself as the Good Shepherd, tells of "other sheep" which would be brought into the fold.  In the verses above, we have Greeks (Gentiles) seeking Jesus.  These are an example of the "other sheep".  Those in authority wanted to kill Jesus, but here we have Gentiles seeking him.

Daily Bible Reading: John 10: The Good Shepherd

For Christians, the gospel of John, chapter 10 is surely one of the most comforting and encouraging chapters in the bible for here we have the security of the believer.  Here also are Jew and Gentile coming together into one fold.  And here we have proof positive that the Lord Jesus lay down his life for his sheep, those that are and will be his.

In chapter 8 and chapter 9 Jesus presented himself to be the "light of the world" and he healed a man born blind.  After the healing Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees and he continued to do so as chapter 10 begins.  And as Jesus often did, he begins this new teaching with a parable, which is putting a great truth into things that happen to everyone.  In this case Jesus spoke of the shepherd and his sheep and of those who did not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbed up some other way, this person is a thief and a robber. But the person who entered by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  The sheep heard the voice of the shepherd because the shepherd called them by name and led them out of the sheepfold.  The sheep followed him because they knew his voice.  They would not follow a stranger.

Those who heard the parable did not understand what Jesus was saying to them.

Then Jesus began his great teaching:

V7 ...verily, verily (truly, truly) I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.  (the sheep arehis own, those given him by the Father, those who will be saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus)
V8 "All that ..came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them". As Jesus said in a previous chapter, "I am the light of the world".  The thieves and robbers are those who taught that the people should follow the law rather than follow Jesus.
V9 "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture."  Jesus is the only way to salvation.   In John 14:6 we have these words: "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
V11 "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."  This verse foretells Christ's death on the cross, shedding his precious blood and taking upon himself the penalty for sin for his sheep, for all those who would be saved.  Many people believe that Jesus died for all people, but this verse clearly states that Jesus would give his life for the sheep, for those who belong to his flock.

Different Meanings of a Rainbow

 

What does a rainbow bring to your mind?   My first thought is of Genesis 9:13-16, where the LORD God establishes his covenant between God and “every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth”  and what is this covenant?  V13-16 “I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.  And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.  And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.”


In this passage, the rainbow is the sign of God’s covenant that no more would the earth be destroyed by a flood as it was in the days of Noah and the ark.  How many of us since then have looked upon the rainbow and marveled at its beauty.

Then there is the old Sunday School song, Mr. Noah Built An Ark.  I wonder if children still sing this song in these days?  The latter part of the song says “whenever you see a rainbow, remember God is love.”  But of course, God is so much more than love.  When I shared this song with my granddaughter when she was little,  we used to sing “whenever you see a rainbow, remember God loves you.”  So the rainbow  had special meaning for me because my granddaughter still remembers that God loves her when she sees a rainbow.  Here is a rainbow as I like to think of it, the rainbow in the clouds, the sign of God’s covenant and his love.

But now there is a new meaning for the rainbow, and this saddens me.  The rainbow has become a symbol of the gay community.   I have no clue why they chose a rainbow and I wonder, as time passes, how many people will remember that the rainbow was originally a sign of the covenant God made, or may have heard the Sunday School song and remembered that God is love?  or will they more remember what it is a symbol for now?
It’s not my purpose in writing this piece to say anything more regarding the gay community,  except to say that  I am saddened that this beautiful rainbow has become a symbol of something which God does not approve of, enough said.

I would just like to quote the final verse from the song Mr. Noah Built an Ark..

Jesus died upon a tree
Jesus died for you and me
Go into the ark and you will be
Safe for all eternity.
Whenever you see a rainbow, whenever you see a rainbow, whenever you see a rainbow, remember God is love.

And what do these words mean?  The Lord Jesus was crucified upon a cross, shedding his precious blood and taking upon himself the punishment for sin, dying on the cross, being buried and then rising from the grave.  He is the one and only risen Saviour, the Son of God.  Go into the ark means this:  all have sinned, and you know in your heart that this means you too.  Believe that the Lord Jesus was crucified, that he shed his precious blood and took the punishment for your sins upon himself.  Trust in Jesus to save you, and you will be saved for all eternity.

So if you have followed the tag “gay community” and planned on berating me for making this post about the rainbow, I hope that instead, you have realized your need of the Saviour, and that you have trusted in him.

vcg/June 2016

Salvation Simply

John 3:1-19
 
In the darkness Nicodemus stands listening to the Lord Jesus.  This deeply religious man has been told by the Lord that to see God's kingdom he must be born again.  To enter God's kingdom Nicodemus for all his religion, must be the recipient of a spiritual birth brought about by God, the Holy Spirit. V5 "..verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Jesus taught this religious man that true religion is being born again.  Jesus teaches that the true religion is being born again.  Jesus teaches Nicodemus that God initiates this new birth, and Jesus teaches Nicodemus that to be born again is absolutely essential.  It is not an optional extra experience that some Christians have and others don't.  You must be born again or you cannot see God's kingdom. 

We must remember that Jesus is talking to this man who is a religious pharisee.  The pharisees liked to be in complete control of their religion.  That is why Jesus says in V8 that Nicodemus has as much control over being born again as he did over the wind. V8 "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."    You must be born again.  Jesus says that in V7 "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again."  did you know that this Greek verb means that it is an action completed in the past..it is a passive verb.  You don't do it.  To be born again is something that God does to you.  To be born again is of God.  John 1: 12-13 "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:  which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."    Born of God.  The new birth is of God.  Nicodemus is astounded and he says "how can these things be"

To be born again is hard to understand:    This religious man cannot understand the kingdom of God because he is not born again.  He doesn't have spiritual life.  The person who is not born again is a natural man (1 Corin 2:14) who receives not the things of the spirit of God, they are foolishness to him, neither can he understand them because they are spiritually discerned.   Jesus says in V10 "..Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?"   Master means teacher.  Of Israel means renowned in Israel.  Jesus tells Nicodemus that he is a renowned teacher among God's people and yet  he was ignorant in these matters.  

Nicodemus should have had a knowledge of what it says in Ezekiel 36:26 "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."   God is going to take way hearts of stone and give living hearts of flesh.  That is God in the old testament talking about the creation of spiritual life within people being born again.   Nicodemus was a spiritual leader who was unacquainted with the basics of spiritual life.  In V9-13 Jesus goes on to say that these things are real, they can be explained.  People being born again change from the inside out.  How these things originated in heaven in God's plan and purpose, Nicodemus doesn't understand.  Jesus said that he was in heaven and that he had planned it all.

Gospel of John: The Marriage in Cana

John 2:1-11

The Lord Jesus was with his disciples among the other guests at the marriage in Cana of Galilee. As the invited guests arrived there would have been servants at the door, and on either side of the door there were 3 great big stone waterpots. As the guests filed in, the servants would splash water on the hands and feet of every guest. After a short ceremony the wedding feast would begin.

This passage concerning the marriage in Cana teaches us that Jesus is God and he has great power. In this account of this wedding feast, the apostle John, inspired by the Holy Spirit, furnishes us only with the essential details. When: it was on the third day. Where: Cana of Galilee Who: Jesus, his mother and some of the disciples.. Why: they were at a wedding.

The teaching on marriage: V1-2 Marriage is honourable. One of the first public events of the Lord’s ministry was to attend a wedding because marriage is honourable and good or else Jesus wouldn’t have been there. Those who lightly esteem marriage have not the mind of Christ. Marriage is hallowed because Jesus was there. This an important point because marriage is lightly esteemed in these days. But in this passage, marriage is honourable. It’s all too common nowadays to hear even believers saying to a young couple who are engaged and who are so close, “it will all end once you are married” it happens all the time. Marriage sometimes becomes the butt end of jokes. There is always some one to comment. But the bible says that marriage is honourable in all. The closeness of engaged people does not end once you are married, but it becomes stronger as the years go by. A properly cultivated marriage grows as the years go by. God ordained marriage. Christ graced marriage by his presence at Cana of Galilee. When somebody starts to make jokes, the question to ask is this: Was God wrong? was Christ wrong on the area of marriage? of course he wasn’t.. so why do some Christians make fun of something that God has ordained? The flippant attitude concerning important things comes from worldly attitudes towards serious things. Unbelievers do not hold marriage as God does. How does a Christian make sure they are not worldly? Be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. It’s a different mindset. Let this mind be in you which is also in Christ Jesus. A Christians outlook to life and all important things including marriage is the same as Christ’s outlook, not the worlds. Christ was invited to the wedding in Cana and he agreed with the wedding, and he came to the wedding.

But God Made You Alive

Christian, how were you saved?  God Made You Alive

Ephesians 2:1-5

Before our conversion there was nothing in us to commend us to God, we were spiritually dead in trespasses and sins.  Not only that but we were worldly.  Our life was governed by the plan or the mold of this world.  This is humanity without God.  We were also disobedient, we were willfully disobedient to the word of God.  We were lost creatures.  This manifested itself in physical and intellectual desires.  By nature, by physical birth we were also damned, we were under God's wrath.  But that was in time past.  It was before we were saved that we were like that.  But Christians are no longer dead (in sin), or worldly, or disobedient, or under wrath.  You were that before conversion but it is all finished now. 

But (you might say) "what about so and so, they profess Christ but they disobey Christ all the time.  They don't have any spiritual hunger."  There is one answer, that person was not truly converted.  Ephesians 2:2 "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."  Note the important words "in time past"  A past completed action is now over and finished permanently, it doesn't happen anymore.   If these things are not past then you are not converted.  You can't be. 

Christians before their conversion were in a terrible state and could do nothing to change it.  Was there any hope?  Is there any hope?  If there is any hope it is not in you or me.  There is not one shred of hope in humanity, not one.  But there is hope and there was hope and we are going to find out about it.
But God: V4 "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,"  the little word But means nevertheless, you were dead, you had no hope and you were much more, But God, nevertheless God, in spite of what you were, God.  This the But of difference and the But of hope.  But God.  

Please note the verse does not say that you were dead, you were damned, "but human free will" does it?  It doesn't say you were bound in sin "but a wee bit of religion" It doesn't say "but good works"  It doesn't say "but human free will" because your will was a slave and a servant of sin before you were saved. Ephesians 2:2 "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."     Your will was not free.   It doesn't say "but religion" because religion doesn't make any difference.  It doesn't say "but good works" because before you were saved you didn't have any saving good works..  there is no good saving works before God.  It doesn't say any of those things because it was nothing in us.  It says that we were all those wretched things in V3 "Among whom also we all.....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."  But God.  In spite of what you were, God did something.  But God.  Those two words are the difference between biblical Christianity and every other religion in the world. 

Salvation Comes to Zacchaeus

Luke 19:1-10

The Lord Jesus is going on his journey to Jerusalem, he is going to the feast of the Passover and on the way  he comes to Jericho.  It's a six hour walk from Jericho to Jerusalem and as Jesus is passing through Jericho (which was a fertile and prosperous city) he was surrounded by a throng of people.  V3  There are two main characters in this story, Jesus and Zacchaeus.. 

V1 Jesus was coming up through Jericho through a large crowd of people.  He is now a very famous and controversial person who has healed many sick people, exorcised demons, performed miracles, and most important he has been teaching and preaching for 3 years.  Crowds follow him everywhere he goes, but they say he is an old testament Prophet returned.  The powers that be in Israel, the religious authorities and leaders, hate Jesus because during his 3 year ministry he has exposed their sin and hypocrisy of religion.  He has unmasked their disobedience to God and their love of human ideas.  He has shown that the leaders are sinners just like everybody else and they hate him for it because the religious always think that they are better than everybody else.  They have tried to trick Jesus and he not only refutes them but he makes them look foolish.  All these leaders want Jesus dead and they are willing to stoop to any level and use any means to accomplish their goal of murder.  So much for their religion.  But in doing all this, these leaders are exactly fulfilling the plan that God had ordained before the world was even made.  So here is Jesus coming up the main street of Jericho.

And here is Zacchaeus V2-4  "And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was very rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.  And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way."   Zacchaeus doesn't have the credentials of Jesus, the common people hate Zacchaes because he is a tax collector (publican) and not only that but (V2) he was the chief tax collector, the boss of all the tax collectors.  Tax collectors in Israel were known as traitors because they worked for Rome and hated by the common people.  Zacchaeus was rich (abundant in his wealth) but this day Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was coming, he must already of heard of Jesus.  He wants to see Jesus, he had a casual interest and wanted to see who he was.

How God Reveals Himself

Psalm 8:1-4, Job 38:1-7,33-37

The word "revelation" means revealing, God has revealed himself.    Something that you wouldn't have found out by your own methods, that is what revelation means.  The doctrine of revelation is the doctrine that tells us that God reveals himself.   This revelation of God is absolutely essential for without God revealing himself to us we would never come to know him.  Man by his own abilities can never find out God.  By our own mind or intellect, we could never know or discover God because God is not subject to our tests and our methods.  God does not put himself under our microscope to be investigated.  He is not an object to be inspected by great men, he is above and beyond us.   By nature an object to be inspected must be lower than the one inspecting it.  That is why you can inspect an ant but the ant can't inspect you.   Without God revealing himself to us in two main ways, we would be completely in the dark about God.  But Praise the Lord, he has condescended to reveal himself to humanity.   It is general revelation and special revelation.  Let us not forget that for God to reveal himself is needed  Isaiah 40:28 "Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding."  Man cannot come to understand God without revelation.  Job was asked in Job 11:7 "Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfections?"  No.  Humans are completely shut in to what God reveals.  Everything we know about God we know because he has revealed it to us.

General Revelation:  God reveals himself generally, in a general way to everybody, to all mankind.  Externally and internally.  External revelation is this:  God has seen fit to leave his fingerprints upon the creation, like we do if we are making something of wood or metal.  The creation of the world, the planets, God has left his fingerprints in the creation.  The detail and complexity of the universe is amazing.  So complicated, man could not make a leaf because these things call for a designer.  God tells us that from the creation, the outward creation,  people can see that there is a God.  This is external revelation. Psalm 8:3-4 "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him?....."   When the psalmist studied the sun and the moon, it made him think naturally about God, when, not if.  It is taken for granted that God's people would be interested in his creation.  The heavens declare the glory of God, the earth shows his handiwork.  There is a creator, there is a designer.  There is no human being that has any excuse for not believing in God.  Romans 1:20 "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.."  Created beings fully and clearly see and understand that there is a God, and so they are without excuse. 

Internal revelation: man has built in religion, he is God conscious by nature, God has placed eternity in the heart of man.  Everybody knows that there is a God.   But it's not enough to lead us to a saving knowledge of the true God, because even man with his intellectual capacity cannot find the true God.  They need special revelation.  When Paul was preaching on Mar's hill (Acts 17:19-31) he spoke of the unknown God, the true God.  Human knowledge admits that there is a God, but true knowledge of God, has to be specially revealed.    

The Way to Heaven

John 14:1-6 "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.  Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither you goest; and how can we know the way?  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

In this passage the Lord Jesus teaches us about heaven.  How do we get there? What is the way to heaven?  We have to ask that question because there is a way to heaven.  In our modern western world people just assume heaven.  It is assumed that we will go to heaven when we die.  People assume that they will arrive in heaven after death, this is an almost universal idea.  People who have no interest in God, no interest in Jesus Christ, no interest in His church, no time for the bible, somehow still think it's fitting and  natural that they will end up in heaven after they die.  If their destiny is questioned, they are hurt and offended. "They are looking down upon us now from heaven", that is what they say about people who had no interest in God their whole life.  "They are in a better place now."  Wake up.  Heaven is assumed because the people in the world don't seem to understand one of the facts of life: if you are going to end up somewhere, you need to be on the way to that place.  If you are not on the way to that place you are not going to end up there.  That is a fact of life.  Everybody knows that.  

Does there need to be a way to heaven?  Of course there needs to be a way.  There is a connection, a logical connection, a factual connection, an unquestionable connection, no one can deny it, between the way you are on and the destination at which you will arrive.  If you want to go to somewhere, you need to be on the road to get there.  If you are not on the way to a certain destination, you will not end up there.  There is an undeniable factual connection between the way you are on, and the destination at which you will arrive.  You don't get to a place by doing nothing.  Modern people assume they will get to heaven by sitting in their living room and doing nothing.  They assume that there is no connection between the way and the destination.  They assume heaven because modern people are illogical and irrational in this area.  The bible says they are foolish.  Jeremiah 5:4 "Therefore I said, Surely these are poor, they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God." 

Why Study Heaven?

This is Part 1 of a series by Paul Dowling  on the subject of Heaven.

Why Study Heaven?

Rev 22:1-6  

Glory, Paradise, or Heaven..  we are not studying the atmosphere, the universe or space, but God's dwelling place.  Why study heaven?  Because life in this world distracts us and blots out thoughts of heaven.  Things closer to us are seen to be bigger than eternity but they are not.  

Another reason is that through misunderstanding heaven it doesn't appeal to as many people as it should.  You may say "How could heaven not be appealing"?  Some may find it boring, they suppose it to be like a church service that goes on and on, while sitting on a marble seat.  Such a view has limited appeal and is childish.  Some are apathetic about heaven, clumsy at understanding its beauty.   But that is not the biblical view and that is another reason why believers should study heaven from the bible and look at the true biblical portrait.

Another reason is because we can know about it.  1 Corin 2:9 "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him"  Some people use this text to say we don't know about heaven, you can't picture it, you can't hear it, you can't imagine it so why consider it.  But they need to read the next verse, 10 .  "But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."   Natural man can't imagine the things that God has prepared, but God has revealed them to believers by his Spirit through his word, the bible.  That is the limit that God has told us about heaven and we can know what he wants us to know.   We are duty bound to study heaven because God has revealed it and whatever God has revealed, we are to study.  

We should study heaven because it is a powerful evangelistic weapon.  Look at the world around you, there is a dis-satisfaction with materialism.  Look at people's faces, are they happy?  They are not happy at all, most of them.  There is no joy in materialism, it does not bring happiness or contentedness.  If this life is it, and all we have and we live and then we die and it is over, that is depressing.   How appealing in that situation is heaven..  time is just a vapor but your soul lives forever and can live forever with God securely in heaven, satisfied in a place of indescribable beauty.  A new Paradise where every lie, deceit and wrong has been purged.  What a powerful evangelistic weapon therefore, heaven is.  God offers sinful human beings an eternity of happiness, what a glorious possibility. 

What Is It to be Sealed With the Spirit?

Ephesians 1:9-14; Romans 10:14-17

The child of God is blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ.  It doesn't matter whether the child of God feels or understand the blessings or not, Christ hath blessed us V3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ."  Its something that Christ has done and we don't do it.  We are blessed in mind-blowing ways, in that we have been chosen in Christ from before the created order, we are blessed in that we are chosen to be holy and blameless before God.  In that we are adopted as God's beloved children and we are blessed in that it has been predestinated that we would inherit the inheritance of Christ.  We are blessed in that by grace we have been made acceptable in the presence of God, in that we have been bought by the blood of Jesus, all our sins are forgiven.  What blessings.  To do these things for us, God has abounded in his mercy and grace.  And more than that God has illuminated the saved, revealed his will to us and also the true believer has true unity in Christ presently.  One in Christ.  The body of believers is united.  We have been predestinated to bring God praise and glory.  

Another blessing is after we believed:  the sealing of the Holy Spirit.  Christ's people are sealed with the Holy Spirit.  V12-14 "That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."
 
You trusted when you heard the gospel, you were sealed after you believed, and what is it to be saved by the Holy Spirit?

It's That Time Again

It’s that time again, the yearly salmon run.  We live close to the Cowichan River and as it was a lovely sunny day yesterday, we went for a walk on the path that borders the river, with little paths here and there that go down to the water.   The air is filled with the sound of the gulls that are flying all around, whether or not they are trying to get the fresh eggs, or are feeding on the dead salmon, I do not know, probably it’s both.  Some of the salmon are still jumping although they are in the minority, most are near the shore swimming very slowly, soon to join their dead fellow salmon.

Seeing these salmon up close, I always find the sight to be very sad and think about their lives.  Further down the river path there is a little pond where last year’s salmon babies are swimming around with not a care in the world.  At some point they will enter the river and go downstream to Cowichan Bay and then on to the ocean where, if they are lucky enough to escape being eaten by a predator or caught by a fisherman,  they will live until the point where they are driven to come back to the place of their birth where they struggle to go upstream, and finally die a slow death.  Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.  A time to be born, and a time to die:……”

I tried to look at this from my human point of view, and thought about being a Christian going through life, going through trials and tribulations along the way.  For a Christian, always that old devil is going about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”  By the grace of God, as we trust him, he will bring us through these trials.   And then we reach our final years.  No longer strong, moving much more slowly.  And then in God’s time for us, we leave this earth, sometimes peacefully, sometimes plagued by illness and suffering. Psalm 116:15 “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” The Christian at death is absent from the body and present with the Lord, awaiting the resurrection.  2 Corinthians 5:8 “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

What about the person who goes through life, eventually reaching the end of their days and dying without ever having believed the gospel, choosing rather to  put salvation off or rejecting it outright, rather “I’ll do it my way”.    Unlike the salmon who dies and is gone, the unbeliever at death goes to a place of torment.   Luke 16:16-31 is the story of the rich man and a beggar named Lazarus.  When the beggar died he was “carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom”, the place of rest but the rich man “also died and was buried.  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom”.  The  rich man calls for mercy, and says that he is “tormented in this flame”

And so, dear reader, what will happen on that day when you leave this earth?  You won’t be like the salmon, for you have a soul and that soul belongs to God, whether you be Christian or not.  Will you believe the gospel? will you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and then when you leave this earth you will be in the place of rest? or will you be in torments.

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God“.
John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
John 3:16-18 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world though him might be saved.  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
1 Timothy 3:16 “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory”

Below is a photo of the Cowichan River at this time,  the sky above the river filled with seagulls looking for a meal.

The Days of Noah Part 6: The Aftermath of the Flood

Genesis 7:24 - 8:1-5

In the previous posts, we looked at the historicity of the flood, it was a real event, Noah was a real person, a man of God.  We have looked at Noah's world, a sinful, pleasure-seeking world.  We have looked at the ark and the heart of God that provided a way of salvation from judgment and we have looked at the world-wide catastrophic terrible reality of the flood.  Today we look at the aftermath.  

The Long Long Time.  7:12 "And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights."  V24 "And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days."  8:3 "And the waters returned from off the earth continually and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated."  It was a very long time, 40 days of rain, a further 110 days of the water deepening, and then 150 days as the water receded.  It was over a year before Noah and his family got off the ark.  It was a long time.  During that whole year there was no further word from God.  God had not spoken to Noah since he closed the door (of the ark)  A year of silence from God.  Noah's family must have asked him every day "Is there any word from God? Is it nearly over?" and Noah didn't know because he had no word from God.  It was a long time.  

Many of the great men in scripture ask the question "has God forgotten me" and perhaps Noah asked the same thing, "has God forgotten me?"   And you don't know the answer.  But in Genesis 8:1 "And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged" God remembered Noah.  Remembered means Noah was in the mind of God, God hadn't forgotten Noah, and Noah was a man of faith and in that long time and those long dark days of judgment when there was no apparent communication from God, Noah had only one thing to cling to, the sheer faithfulness of God.  The integrity of God.  God had been faithful in instructing him thus far.  Trust in that.

The Days of Noah: The Ark and the Heart of God

Genesis 6:3,5-7,13-22

Noah and the flood were both historic, Noah was a real person, a man of faith, a preacher of righteousness, a family man.  His world was a real world, a sinful world that was characterized by certain things: an evil mind-set, the thoughts and imaginations were only evil continually.  It was a foul society, a violent society.  It was also characterized by perverted religion that had corrupted the true religion.  This society was characterized by materialism and pleasure.  Those are the conditions for calamity.  That is the type of lifestyle that brought the flood.  In the light of those things, it all led to something.

What did it lead to?
Gen 6:6 "And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart."    grieved means to suffer pain in one's own heart.  It grieved God at his heart, that is what it led to, grief.  God is not sitting up there in heaven uncaring about the people he created, he is grieved at their behaviour and their lifestyle like you are when your little children grow up and they scorn and mock and throw off the standards that you have tried to teach them..  Don't think less of God, it grieved him at his heart.  It also led to judgment pronounced and carried out.  Gen 6:7,13 "And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.  And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth."  There are consequences for sin and rebellion and the consequences taught in this passage teach a very important lesson, a lesson that is largely forgotten today even in churches where they have a view of a God that has just one attribute and that is love.  That is a heresy.  Sin leads to consequences.  This passage teaches us the consequences.  God is warning mankind of the limitation of his mercy and grace.  

This passage teaches that human beings through their willful sin and willful neglect of salvation can put themselves beyond grace.  Beyond God's mercy.  By gross willful rebellion you can put yourself in the place where God says, "it is now over for you, there is no possibility of recall.  Beyond grace, mercy and redemption forever.  Where the only thing is judgment.  Noah's world was in precisely that position.  120 years and that is it, God says "enough"  There is a limit to God's mercy and grace.  And how much grace has been poured on you week by week, unbeliever.  How many times has God spoken to you in grace and mercy.  But you have scorned his love, rejected his forgiveness.  The lesson this passage is teaching is very simple, you need to be aware that the grace of God is not everlasting.  If God's grace was everlasting the flood would not have come.  If you are not a Christian, one day, if you continue rejecting the gospel, one day you will be one day too late.

The Days of Noah Part 4: The Flood

This is the 4th in a series of the series called The days of Noah, this being The Flood.  This is one of the most powerful sermons I have ever heard, and it moved me to tears.  I know that it will be a blessing to you, and I beseech you to either read the whole of the notes (which are long) or take the time to listen to the sermon at Sermon Audio which is linked below. 

As a background, prior to Noah building the ark, God spoke to Noah, who "found grace in the eyes of the LORD" (Gen 6:8) and instructed Noah to build the ark to the LORD's specifications (Gen 6:13-16) and told Noah that he, the LORD would bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, and every living thing that is in the earth would die, but with Noah he would establish his covenant. In Gen 6:3 the LORD said "My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years."  Noah with his wife, his sons, and his son's wives, would be safe on the ark.  This is the background, and following are the notes from the sermon:

The Days of Noah - the Flood

Genesis 7:1-24

Between the end of Gen 6 and Gen 7:1 almost 120 years had passed during which Noah continued working and building the ark.  And when the ark was finished, God speaks to Noah Gen 7:1-4 "And the LORD said unto Noah, come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.  Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.  Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.  For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth."    God speaks after 120 years and tells Noah to bring his family and the animals and the birds into the ark for the time of judgment had come.  120 years had passed since the first warning, since the preacher of righteousness was instructed by God to begin building the ark.  Now God says there are seven days left, the time has come.

Seven more days of grace V4. The door of grace, of salvation on the side of the ark would be open for another seven days.   Didn't God give the people in the world of Noah's day every opportunity.  He gave them the preacher, he gave them 120 years, and now a further 7 days of grace.  The bible tells us that Noah gathers his family into the ark.  His wife, his sons and his son's wives.  But note that Noah's sons had not been born when God had last spoken to Noah.  When God told Noah that the flood was coming 120 years ago, Noah's sons were not born, because it tells us that Noah's sons were born when Noah was 500 years old (Gen 5:32) and the flood came when Noah was 600 (Gen 7:6) but God had told Noah 120 years previous that the flood would come, 20 years before Noah's sons were born.  So Noah's sons had grown up when their father was building the ark and preaching righteousness.  God had not directly spoken since, Noah's sons had never heard the message direct from God, just from their father the preacher.  But when they were 100 years old, they and their wives went into the ark.  They believed the preacher, they believed the flood was coming, but the ungodly did not and yet both groups had heard the same message from the same preacher.  It saved some and condemned others.  Because some people, when they hear the gospel, the gospel saves them.  But some people, the gospel hardens.

The Days of Noah Part 1: Noah was a real, historic person

Are you one that doubts the reality of the man called Noah, and the flood that God brought upon the earth?  This is the first in a 7 part series of in-depth articles on Genesis 6 to 9 based on the King James bible.

The Days of Noah Part 1

The Proofs that Noah was a living, historic person and the flood was an actual, historic fact.

Genesis 6:1-14 "And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.  And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.  There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.  And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.  And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.  But Noah found grace  in the eyes of the LORD.  These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.  The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.  And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.  And God said unto Noah, the end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.  Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch."
 
About 5,000 years ago, around 3,000 BC there lived a man called Noah.  Noah was a man who was very different from the generation in which he lived.  We read about Noah mostly in the book of Genesis.  The book of Genesis is the book of beginnings and it is a history book.  Genesis contains real, actual, literal history.  Genesis is the foundation of the whole bible and all the major doctrines of scripture can be traced in their foundation to the book of Genesis.  The author is God, the writer is Moses.  The first 5 books of the bible are called the books of Moses, the Lord Jesus says so in John 5:46 "For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me."  2 Chron 35:12 "......as it is written in the book of Moses" 2 Corin 3:15 "But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart." Romans 10:5 "For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law..." 1 Corin 9:9  "For it is written in the law of Moses..."   To disagree on this is to disagree with the bible.  Noah and the events recorded about his day are real history.  These things happened and these things are recorded for us that we may learn from them.  1 Corin 10:11 "Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come."  There is a stark lesson for the new testament church to be found in Noah and his day as recorded in the book of Genesis 6.

He Bled for Us

He Bled For Us 

1 Peter 2

1 Peter 2:20-25 "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.  For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 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. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls."

A lovely section of scripture is 1 Peter 2.  What is the context of verse 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"  Well, who was the letter written to? It was not written to everybody in the world.  According to chapter 1:2, "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."  This letter was written to the elect, those set apart by the Holy Spirit unto obedience, for those who are sprinkled with the blood of Jesus, that's who this letter is for.  It is addressed to believers, those who are redeemed by the blood of Christ.  If you are not saved, this letter is not for you, and the blessings of this letter are not for you.  But if  you are saved, redeemed by the blood of Jesus than these promises are for you.

In Chapter 2 Christians are told to be good in their life, (V1) be hungry for spiritual food (V2-3)  because you are God's spiritual house (V5-8) you are priests (V9)you are to be  holy (V11-16) be respectful (V17-18) patient in suffering (V19-21) and Christ is your example (V22-25)  Addressed to Christians, to the saved, to the born again blood-bought obedient believer.
V24 "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." This verse contains gospel truths, contains the good news of the gospel, and what happened on the cross of Christ.  Here is salvation in a person.

What Does the Bible Say About: Salvation

The bible is very clear that salvation is of the Lord, man cannot save himself. 

From Websters 1828 dictionary:

Salvation:   Appropriately in theology, the redemption of man from the bondage of sin and liability to eternal death, and the conferring on him everlasting happiness. This is the great salvation

Bible Verses that show that salvation is of the Lord (King James)

Genesis 49:18 "I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD."

1 Samuel 2:1 "And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation"

1 Chronicles 16:23 "Sing unto the LORD, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation"

1 Chronicles 16:35 "And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise"

Psalm 35:9 "And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation"

Psalm 37:39 "But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble"

Psalm 85:7 "Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation"

Jonah 2:9 ".......Salvation is of the LORD"

Acts 28:28 "Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it."

2 Thess. 2:13 "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:"

Hebrews 5:9 "And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him"

Hebrews 12:2 "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God"


 

What Does it Mean to be Saved? It Means to Have Faith

Romans 1:15-17  "So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.  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.  For therein is  the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith."
 
There are certain things that a Christian believes and does and if you don't believe and do those things you are not a true Christian.  The gospel defines what a Christian is.    A profession does not define a Christian, nor does love, but truth. God's word defines a Christian.  Salvation is what God says it is, salvation is God's way of saving sinners.  Previous in this series are the topics of being born again, conviction of sin and confession of sin, and then repentance, how important it is to turn away from sin and to God.  These are the minimum you must believe to be a Christian.

Faith follows repentance. 
"Repent and believe"  Salvation is like  a wonderful cake made of different ingredients but when they are all put together you have one cake.  There are certain parts of salvation that affect our lives: being born again, conviction of sin, confession of sin, repentance, faith, holiness, perseverance, these affect our lives. And there are parts that affect our legal standing:  justification, sanctification, reconciliation, atoned for, these are the things of salvation.  Its because salvation is so wonderful that so many words are needed and used to describe it because salvation does so much for us.  You can't describe it in one word.  There is the legal aspect: we are declared righteous, there is relationship: we are adopted into God's family, there is the comfort angle: we are forgiven, there is the sense of value angle: we are so precious that we were redeemed and purchased by the blood of Christ, God's son.