Sermons from 2023

5. Effective training is realized in two ways: 1. A positive aspect of bringing children to maturity through good example and advice. 2. A negative aspect of enforcing order when there is unwillingness to cooperate with parental rule. D. The mark of a godly man is that he “...ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity” (1TI 3:4). 1. Mind that “rule” in the...

Daniel In The Lion’s Den (Daniel 6) vs. 1-3. A. Daniel had been made third ruler in the kingdom of Babylon, but God promoted him even higher among the Medes. PRO 22:29; 1SAM 2:30. B. Daniel was an old man by this time, having lived through the entire captivity, and yet was still blessed to have good use of his faculties. DEU 34:7. C. Blessed indeed is the person who does not out...

H. Here is a list of things that need to be trained into children. 1. Train the fear of God. ECC 12:13; HEB 12:28-29. a. The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. PRO 1:7; 9:10. b. The fear of God is to hate evil. PRO 8:13. c. The fear of God should be greater than the fear of anything else. ISA 8:13; LUK 12:4-5; EXO 1:17. d. Teach them the omniscience and justice of God, that not...

Overcomers A. Christ’s apostles, assured by His plainness of speech, believed. JOH 16:29-30. 1. Solid faith is thus built in God’s children. 2CO 3:12; 1CO 2:4-5; 14:9. 2. Weak faith may be owing to lack of learning from plain speech. 2PE 3:16-17. 3. Faith is critical to overcoming. 1JO 5:4. B. Christ went on to encourage the apostles by His own overcoming. JOH 16:31-33. 1. Mind the contrast, “...in me ye migh...

I. Bringing up children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord includes training by punishment, which is the painful consequence of a misdeed. 1. Initial observations. a. This is an area of child-training which can be both a challenge to the wisdom of men and also of your faith. b. Dr. Benjamin Spock (pro-abortion pediatrician) integrated the philosophies of Sigmund Freud and John Dewey into his errant ...

The Contents Of The Ark (Hebrews 9:4-5) A. Paul briefly summarized the ark of the covenant. HEB 9:4-5. B. There was a golden pot that had manna in it. c/w EXO 16:32-36. 1. The manna was a miraculous provision from God for their life. EXO 16:15. 2. The word “manna” means “what is this?” 3. It was angels' food. PSA 78:24-25. 4. It normally putrefied when stored but did not...

Negative Preaching I. If one preaches the Bible, he will preach a lot of negatives. His ministry will be characterized by liberal doses of Vitamin “N.” A. Note the negatives in the Ten Commandments. EXO 20:3-17. B. Note the negatives in Christ's preaching. MAT 6:1-2, 5, 7-8. C. Note the negatives in Paul's preaching. EPH 4:17, 25-30; 5:3-7. II. Christianity is a religion of controversy. ...

2 Timothy 2:11-13 A. This is one of four “faithful sayings” of Paul. The others are found in 1TI 1:15; 4:8-9; TIT 3:8. 1. faithful: Full of or characterized by faith, believing. 5. Of persons and their actions: That may be believed or relied upon; trustworthy, veracious. Also of things: Reliable. 6. True to the fact or original, accurate.” 2. This saying is loaded with faith, reliability, accuracy. B. Thes...

Some Bad Marriages I. Scripture warns against and sometimes forbids the joining together of certain things. A. 2CO 6:14-17 lists a number of things which are to be kept separate. B. Flesh and spirit are contrary. We cannot be led by both nor blend them. GAL 5:16-17. C. Evil and good are contrary. We cannot do evil that good may come. ROM 3:8. D. God and mammon are contrary. We cannot be the servant of both. M...

Belief: Its Power and Limitations I. Definitions. A. power: Ability to do or effect something or anything, or to act upon a person or thing. B. belief: The mental action, condition, or habit, of trusting to or confiding in a person or thing; trust, dependence, reliance, confidence, faith. Const. in (to, of obs.) a person. b. absol. Trust in God; the Christian virtue of faith. 2. Mental acceptance of a...

Cyrus A. The name of Cyrus (ca. 600-530 BC), king of Persia, is mentioned 23 times in 19 verses of Scripture. He is spoken of without being named in many other verses. Historical and secular observations: 1. Primary written record of him is from Herodotus and Xenophon, ancient Greek historians. a. Xenophon, student of Socrates and a military leader, wrote Cyropaedia, a semi- historical reco...

Communion and Fellowship I. Definitions. A. communion: Sharing or holding in common with others; participation; the condition of things so held, community, combination, union. B. fellowship: Partnership; membership of a society. Participation, sharing (in an action, condition, etc.); 'something in common', community of interest, sentiment, nature, etc. II. Believers can and should have fellowship...

In Defense of Esther A. Esther, and the Book of Esther, have been the objects of strong disagreement over the centuries. 1. Martin Luther objected to the Book of Esther, doubting its canonicity. He also had issues with Jonah, James, Revelation and was critical of Chronicles, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Isaiah, Hebrews and Jude. 2. Some modern professing Christian critics malign the Book and Esther. She has eve...

E. That man’s unbelief thwarts the will of God in such examples as given above must be qualified. 1. The thwarting is not of God’s sovereign will to do as He pleases on His own terms. In that regard, God’s will is never thwarted. ISA 46:10-11. 2. The thwarting is only of God’s promises of favors towards men which are conditioned upon their belief. Such promises carry with them a caveat that God...

VI. Consider some things that God’s word says about Jesus Christ and ask yourself whether man’s belief or unbelief of these things has any bearing on their reality. A. He is of the seed of David. ROM 1:3. B. He was conceived by God in the womb of the virgin, Mary. MAT 1:18-20. C. He is therefore the Son of God, uniquely so. LUK 1:35; JOH 1:18. D. He is God Incarnate. JOH 1:1-3, 14, 1TI 3:16. E. He is fully man, the Son of man: this is t...

A Prophet In His Own Country A. MAT 13:53-58; MAR 6:1-6; LUK 4:16-31; JOH 4:43-46. B. (MAR 6:4) But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. C. The words of these passages were not to the credit of those in Nazareth who were offended. 1. The offence that they took to Jesus is connected with their unbelief, a sin. JOH 16:9. 2. Their contempt of Jesus&#...

IX. Because many assume that the faith/belief of the sinner is the means to procure eternal forgiveness of sin and also to procure everlasting life (combined = eternal salvation), undue significance is therefore assigned to both belief and to unbelief. A. This system usually consists of two camps: those who hold that belief is always indispensably necessary to procure eternal salvation, and those who hold that belief is only necessary to procure e...

Predetermination v. Predestination I. Did God prior to creation ordain that Adam must sin and he thus could do no other? Did God predestinate Adam’s fall? Or, did God make Adam a sinless, responsible agent under law whom God knew beforehand would sin and therefore planned a saving remedy from the effects and punishment of his sin? Who is the efficient cause of sin, the responsible actor? II. Sin could not exist without God yet He is ...

X. The eternal salvation of sinners is a covenant salvation ordered by God and faithfully performed by God. HEB 13:20 c/w 1PE 1:2-5. A. This covenant is secure in spite of the beneficiary’s flaws (2SAM 23:2-5), analogous to the named heirs of a man’s will which cannot be changed after his death. GAL 3:15. B. God made an enduring covenant with the earth and mankind that He would never again destroy either by a global flood. GEN 8:21; 9:11. ...

Perspective: Walking by Faith I. Introduction A. The purpose of this message is to remind us of the truth (JOH 14:6) that we are prone to forget in the normal course of life by way of distraction. MAT 13:22; LUK 21:34; MAT 7:13-14 B. We tend to think about the things that we are currently experiencing with our natural senses, but we need to be reminded of spiritual things that God has revealed, to keep our focus in the right ...

Capital Punishment: The Bible Position Introduction This short paper deals with capital punishment and the Biblical position on this topic. Capital punishment deals with the putting to death or execution of an individual who has committed one or several of a number of crimes. The Bible is clear in setting forth the fact that capital punishment is commanded by God in the case of certain crimes. I Definition Capital - Relating to the head. 1. Of or pertaining t...

Tolerance, Charity, Compassion, Forbearance I. O.E.D. definitions. A. tolerate: To allow to exist or to be done or practised without authoritative interference or molestation; also gen. to allow, permit. B. charity: Christian love: a word representing caritas of the Vulgate, as a frequent rendering of ἀγάπη in N.T. Greek. With various applications: as a. God's love to man. (By early writers often i...

Righteous Suffering A. Definitions. 1. righteousness: Justice, uprightness, rectitude; conformity of life to the requirements of the divine or moral law; virtue, integrity. 2. suffer: trans. To have (something painful, distressing, or injurious) inflicted or imposed upon one; to submit to with pain, distress, or grief. 3. persecution: The action of persecuting or pursuing with enmity and malignity; ...

IV. Christ’s perfect model of brotherly relating before a pure and holy God helps us in ministry and in Christian life. A. Although Paul would not compromise truth and its implications, he modeled his ministry after Christ’s dealings with His fellows. 2CO 10:1; 1TH 2:4-8. B. As brethren, Christ’s model regulates our tempers and sense of justice in consideration of the foibles of human frailty. ROM 12:10; EPH 4:2, 32; COL 3:12; GAL 6:1. V. ...

VI. The law of Christ which governs thought and conduct in His kingdom, the church, establishes the supreme order of what should be tolerated for community fellowship. A. An ungodly world may or may not agree with these principles. 1. 1CO 5:1 is an example of a moral infraction which even the heathen rejected. 2. The world will generally separate from murderers. 1PE 4:15. 3. But an unbiblical culture will permit, condone, even cele...

Increasing And Abounding In Love (1Thessalonians 3:12) I. Paul here prays for both increasing and abounding in love. See “increased” in GEN 7:17-18. A. Compare the prayer of 1TH 3:12 with 1TH 4:9-10. B. We should abound in love, but divine enablement must be sought to do this. EPH 3:16-17. C. God teaches us to love one another; this is a prayer for God to strengthen what He has ...

The Wicked Husbandmen I. This parable and its application is recorded in MAT 21:33-46; MAR 12:1-12; LUK 20:9-19. II. This parable speaks of the forfeiture of the kingdom of God by natural Israel because of their cumulative sin of rejection of God’s messengers. The kingdom would be given to spiritual Israel. A. It speaks of the longsuffering of God towards the disobedient. B. But it also speaks of the limitations of His lo...

VII. Tolerance may be virtuous or not virtuous. It must be qualified by distinctions of good and evil. A. Consider these wise axioms: 1. “If we continue to teach about tolerance and intolerance instead of good and evil, Tolerance, Charity, Compassion, Forbearance 4-23-23 Page 5  we will end up with tolerance of evil.” (Dennis Prager) 2. “You will be ruled by what you tolerate... If you tolerate co...

E. Never underestimate the power of false love since whatever you love you give power to over yourself to some degree. The greater your love for someone or something, the greater the power he/she/that has over you. 1. There is the false love of self which idolizes oneself. 2TI 3:2. 2. There is the false love of pleasure which substitutes for love of truth. 2TH 2:10-12. 3. There is the false love of money. 1TI 6:10. 4. There is the false love of the wo...

IX. A fundamental error is when personal desire, need, weakness, pain, struggle, poor self-image, deficiency, poverty, etc. is not processed through a biblical grid. A. God may not even be a consideration, an awful harbinger. JOB 22:15-17. B. One may have improperly set affections which disorder the heart, the seat of thoughts and emotions. MAT 6:19-21; COL 3:1-2. C. One may reverse the order of MAT 6:31-33, a very common disorder. D. One...

Manna A. Definitions. 1. manna: The substance miraculously supplied as food to the Children of Israel during their progress through the Wilderness. (See Exodus xvi.) 2. omer: A Hebrew measure of capacity equal to the tenth part of an ephah, or 5.1 pints Imperial measure. B. The first giving of the manna is detailed in EXO 16. 1. Here all other passages in Scripture where the word “manna” appe...

1 Peter 1:8-12 v. 8. A. Believers do not now see the person of Christ in this world. 2CO 5:7. 1. Note the verb tenses: “having not seen...” and “now ye see him not.” a. These believers had never personally seen Christ but were not disadvantaged. b. They would not have been of those whom Peter elsewhere described as “...these men which have companied with us all the time th...

Justification By Christ, Faith and Works A. Definitions. 1. justified: Made just or right; made or accounted righteous; warranted; supported by evidence. 2. made: Artificially constructed or produced, artificial as opposed to ‘natural’. 3. artificial: Made by or resulting from art or artifice; contrived, compassed, or brought about by constructive skill, and not spontaneously; not natural. 4. just: That do...

Grace grace: Favour, favourable or benignant regard or its manifestation (now only on the part of a superior); favour or goodwill, in contradistinction to right or obligation, as the ground of a concession. I. God’s grace towards sinners is the basis of every good thing in this life and the life to come. A. When God in the fulness of time became incarnate, He was described as “...full of grace and truth” (JOH 1:14). H...

V. (JOH 1:17) For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. A. Certainly, the concept of God’s grace towards man may be found in the O.T. and Moses himself recorded such a personal case. EXO 33:12-23. 1. Mind the significance of v. 19 which shows grace and mercy to be the province of God. c/w ROM 9:11-16. 2. Even in this intimate, close encounter with God, man in his corrupt nature ...

VI. That there is a true grace (1PE 5:12; COL 1:6) presupposes that there are perversions of grace. A. Here are some facts about the true grace wherein believers stand. 1. It is rooted in God’s elective purpose in Christ. 1PE 1:2; ROM 11:5; 2TI 1:9. 2. It actually produced eternal forgiveness of sins. EPH 1:7 c/w HEB 9:12. 3. It is justification by Christ, not by the law of Moses. ACT 13:38-43. 4. It is free (giv...

Promises, Proverbs, Prayer, Patience A. We ought to be a praying people who not only confess our faults to God but also petition Him with requests. PHIL 4:6. 1. Jesus spoke of asking which is answered. MAT 7:7-8; JOH 16:24. 2. We distance ourselves from benefits by not asking. JAM 4:2. 3. It is important to know how to pray, what to pray for, and what to expect. LUK 11:1; ROM 8:26; JAM 4:3; 5:16. 4. Withou...

Self-Love and the Celebrity Trap I. Man by nature does not suffer from a lack of self-love. EPH 5:29. A. It is to be admitted that one cannot love neighbor as himself (GAL 5:14) if one has NO love of self or who is at least so self-deceived as to act in such a way. B. It may also be observed that if one has a perverse love of self which glories in self- destructive conduct that he cannot biblically love his neighbor as...

The Deity of Jesus Christ believe: To have confidence in (a person), and consequently to rely upon, trust to. I. Jesus Christ bids His followers to place trust in Himself just as they place trust in God. JOH 14:1. A. If Jesus Christ is only a man, and not God, then in commanding us to trust Him He is inviting us to a curse. JER 17:5-7. B. If Jesus Christ is only a man, and not God, then to trust Him is to violate the...

God’s Other Angels A. “Angel” in Scripture often refers to the fiery, ministering spirits of God. HEB 1:7. 1. They are God’s chariots of fire. PSA 68:17; 2KI 6:16-17. 2. They are extremely powerful. PSA 103:20; 2KI 19:35. 3. They have more power/authority than any earthly dignity. 2PE 2:11. 4. They are innumerable. HEB 12:22. 5. They have no authority to marry. MAT 22:30. 6. They are arranged into pri...

Jesus At God’s Right Hand A. PSA 110 is one of the richest Messianic psalms. It prophesies (directly or implied) of: 1. the deity of Jesus Christ. 2. the dual nature of Jesus Christ: God and man. 3. the superiority of Jesus Christ over King David and the Levitical priesthood. 4. the sufferings and glory of Jesus Christ. 5. the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. 6. the coronation and reign of Jesu...

Isaiah 53 Pastor Chad Wagner PastorWagner.com/sermons/isaiah-53/ I. Isaiah 53 is arguably the greatest and most vivid prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ in the entire Bible. 1. With the light of the New Testament (2Pe 1:19), this prophecy, along with others, provides us with inestimable insight into the sufferings and work of Christ (1Pe 1:10-11). 2....

Philistines and Pickles (1 Samuel 29) I. 1SAM 29 finds David still an outcast from his own nation where the government (King Saul) and even the sentiments of the people had turned against him even though he had given Israel great victory over their oppressive occupiers, the Philistines. 1SAM 17:49-54. A. God had made Saul king as a judgment against Israel which rejected God as their ...

The Circumcised Saint I. circumcise: trans. To cut off the foreskin or prepuce of (males); chiefly as a religious rite of Jews and Muslims. Also in Surgery. II. Here are some observations from Scripture about fleshly circumcision: A. It hurts. GEN 34:25. B. It is bloody. EXO 4:25-26. C. It mutilates a natural state, doesn’t grow back like a fingernail, but continues genetically. 1. There...

Salvation From Sin: How It Works I. This is an exploration of God’s salvation by Jesus Christ in a simple question and answer format. II. What is sin? A. Sin is the transgression of God’s law. 1JN 3:4; JAS 4:12 c/w ISA 33:22 III. Why is it a problem? A. Sin brings death. ROM 6:23; ROM 5:12 B. The sin nature is passed from father to child through the seed. GEN 5:1-3 C. All men have sinned. ROM 3:23; 1JN 1:8 D. Men who die in their sin...

Some Comfort of the Scriptures (Romans 15:4) A. Paul wrote two pastoral epistles to Timothy who oversaw the church at Ephesus for a season. 1TI 1:3; 3:15. B. Timothy was a notable man of God who had the scriptures to perfect him. 1TI 6:11; 2TI 3:16-17. 1. He could be all that God intended for him without talmuds or commentaries. 2. With an understanding of word definitions and grammar (NEH 8:8;...

On Old Age A. Scripture teaches us to honor and respect the elderly. LEV 19:32 c/w ISA 3:5; 1TI 5:1. 1. This must be instilled early in children in home life. EPH 6:1-3. 2. Among adult peers, respect may need to be earned. But this is not the case with little children: respect, honor and reverence is normally a parent’s due. Do not not allow your children to disrespect you without consequence. B. The gre...

Clean Hands and Blood-guilt A. The importance of having clean hands is underscored by PSA 24:3-5. 1. God rewards according to righteousness, the cleanness of the hands. PSA 18:20, 24. 2. One’s strength increases accordingly. JOB 17:9. 3. It may be observed that one’s hands may be clean because of avoiding defilement or clean by having defilement washed away. 4. The Jews turned this spiritual/moral principle...

Successfully Fighting Sin Through Submission (James 4:7) I. Sin is a reality in all men except Jesus Christ Who had to be legally made to be sin to save us. ROM 3:23; 2CO 5:21. A. Sin is imputed to all of Adam’s posterity. ROM 5:12. B. Sin is a genetic spiritual law working in us. ROM 7:23. C. All sin, no matter how good they are. ECC 7:20. D. To deny this is to com...

The Porter A. porter: One who has charge of a door or gate, esp. at the entrance of a fortified town or of a castle or other large building, a public institution, etc.; a gate-keeper, door-keeper, janitor. 1. This was a lowly but important station in the O.T. tabernacle or temple. PSA 84:10 c/w 1CH 9:21; 2KI 12:9. 2. During a transitional period there were “...doorkeepers for the ark” (1CH 15:23-24). 3. ...

IV. By submission to God, resistance of Satan and sin is an attainable reality. JAM 4:7. A. A major advance in this warfare is the abandonment of all forms of self-righteousness in favor of submission to the righteousness of God. ROM 10:3-4. Successfully Fighting Sin Through Submission 9-3-23 Page 2  1. One cannot be a victor over Satan and sin when living a lie that sinners have the power of mustering the ...

V. Do not confuse knowledge of truth or the acknowledgment of the truth with IQ levels. Satan can capture both the learned and the unlearned. ISA 29:11-12. Successfully Fighting Sin Through Submission 9-3-23 Page 4 A. Satan himself is “...full of wisdom...” (EZE 28:12-14). 1. Do not be deceived into thinking that a high IQ makes one superior in the war against sin. Worldly wisdom is rather commonly a barrier to submission ...

Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement) I. atonement: spec. in Theol. Reconciliation or restoration of friendly relations between God and sinners. II. Details of this annual high day are found in EXO 30:10; LEV 16; 23:27-32; 25:9; NUM 29:7-11. A. On the tenth day of the seventh month each year, Israel’s high priest alone was to enter the most holy place in the tabernacle/temp...

Good Borders A. border: A side, edge, brink, or margin; a limit, or boundary; the part of anything lying along its boundary or outline. 1. Borders are necessary lines of demarcation in this life. They establish how far one’s influences or ventures may go, and what influences or ventures should be stopped from entry. c/w JER 5:22. 2. God establishes national borders for men’s good but antichrists reject ...

VI. Remember that we must not only acknowledge (confess) our sin, we must forsake (renounce) it; we must give it up. PRO 28:13. A. Renunciation is done with words. JOB 34:31-32; HOS 14:1-3. B. Renunciation is also done with deeds. ACT 19:18-19; 26:20. 1. Evil behavior must be replaced with good behavior. EPH 4:24-32; ROM 12:21. 2. Destroy the things that were links to your sins like books, e-mails, letters, pictures, re...

The Resurrection Theme A. resurrection: The rising again of Christ after His death and burial. 2. The rising again of mankind at the Last Day. 3. The action or fact of rising again from sleep, decay, disuse, etc.; revival; restoration to previous status or vogue. B. Resurrection (life from death) is the grand theme of revelation, salvation and history. 1. It is the general hope of the very creation. ROM 8:20-23. 2. It is the ...

VII. Beware of making a false god of riches since this opens a trap door of temptation. 1TI 6:9-10. A. This is a warning against covetousness, which is idolatry. COL 3:5. B. Justly acquired riches are only evil when they displace God. 1TI 6:17-18 c/w LUK 12:21. C. Work, earn, save, enjoy and share your wealth but don’t make it your first love. D. Steer between “gain is sin” and “gain is godliness.” 1TI 6:5. E. Even our thoughts about money need to ...

Names A. God has an interest in names. 1. He names the stars. PSA 147:4; ISA 40:26. 2. His angels have distinct names. LUK 1:19; JUDE 1:9. 3. His children are known by name. EXO 33:17; JOH 10:3. a. God relates to us personally; we are not mere numbers to Him. b. Our names are in heaven in the book of life. LUK 10:20; HEB 12:23; REV 13:8. c. The Beast system is impersonal, nume...

The Sheaf of the Firstfruits (Leviticus 23:10-11) A. Remember that the O.T. tabernacle service and the Levitical priests' work served “...unto the example and shadow of heavenly things” (HEB 8:1-5). 1. The Levitical service was under the bondage of corruption: sinful men making offerings of sin-burdened creatures for sinful men and for the very place of sacrifice. EXO 29:36-37; L...

Fear I. Definitions. A. fear: The emotion of pain or uneasiness caused by the sense of impending danger, or by the prospect of some possible evil. B. dread: Extreme fear; deep awe or reverence; apprehension or anxiety as to future events. Rarely in pl. II. Fear is an emotion and, like other emotions, must be regulated by faith and knowledge. A. Christ’s disciples were hinder...

vs. 26-29. 1. “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (v. 26). A. Mind that this chapter shows that the Abraham’s faith preceded the Law and was associated with the inheritance of promise. vs. 6-8, 16-18. (1) Not only did Abraham’s faith precede the Law, it preceded circumcision (the unnecessary ritual that was being imposed upon the Galatian saints for justification). ROM 4:10-11. ...

Hebrews 6:4-6 I. The key to understanding this controversial passage is the sole, once for all, sufficient sacrifice of Christ which is never to be repeated. HEB 7:27; 9:25-28; 1PE 3:18. II. In these verses Paul leaves the principles of the doctrine of Christ to go on to perfection. HEB 6:1-3. A. Christians must progress beyond the infant stage of the principles of the doctrine of Christ. HEB 5:11-14. ...

b. It is especially the property of believers (v. 22): they demonstrate rightful claim on the covenant of promise on the basis of their faith, not of circumcision or law-works justification, even as Abraham was shown to be righteous without circumcision or the Law of Moses. The promise of life is not in law but in Christ. v. 21 c/w 2TI 1:1. ...

The Inconvenient Jesus I. It is a universal observation that if something requires little or no effort to produce or obtain, it cannot justify a high price of purchase. A. By contrast, if one values something very highly, he will spend time, effort and/or money to produce or obtain it. B. If one loves something or someone superficially, the value of that thing or person will be reflected...

The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) I. Like the statements of Christ which precede it, the parable of the ten virgins teaches us to watch and be ready for Christ's coming which will catch the foolish unawares and undo them. MAT 24:42-51. A. This is another parable describing the nature of the kingdom of heaven, the church. The bridegroom is obviously Christ. MAT 9:15. B. Church members are as virgins ...

F. The order of the O.T. was that of a servant but the order of the N.T. is that of sons, a position of excellence which shall not be abrogated but perfected eternally. EPH 3:21. (1) Remember Jesus’s words: “And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever” (JOH 8:35). (2) This agrees with what Paul addresses later in this chapter: the casting away of false cl...

vs. 12-16. 1. Paul here assures them that the bond betweem them and himself has not been broken, though it has been stretched, and he rhetorically asks them what changed their minds. A. Paul shows himself to be a longsuffering dresser of the vineyard. c/w LUK 13:6-9. B. God is wont to preserve something largely decayed for the sake of a small amount of good still in it. GEN 18:32; ISA 65:8. C. That some churches survive is owing more to Go...

Jannes and Jambres A. Paul wrote of two men who withstood Moses: Jannes and Jambres. 2TI 3:8. 1. Both names are of Egyptian origin. Jannes means “he vexed” and Jambres means “foamy healer.” 2. These were the magicians who challenged Aaron and Moses with rival but false miracles to discredit their message from God which had profound implications for the Egyptian government. EXO 7:11, 22; 8:7. 3. ...

Seven Spirits I. Scripture speaks of seven Spirits of God. REV 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6. A. There is literally only one Spirit of God. 1. He is the Holy Ghost, the Third Person of the Godhead. 1JO 5:7. 2. He is also known as the Holy Spirit, Comforter and Spirit of truth. JOH 14:15-17, 26. B. The “seven Spirits of God” in Revelation refers to the sevenfold ministry of the Spi...

The Promised Land I. The doctrine of the promised land is best understood through the teachings/writings of the N.T. A. The apostles of Jesus Christ under the Holy Ghost’s direction are the final judges of truth. 1JO 4:6. B. The O.T. prophecy must be understood through their word of prophecy. 1PE 1:10-12; 2PE 1:19-21. C. One does not need to choose between the O.T. prophets and the N.T. apostles...

The Better Sacrifice I. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is superior to the sacrifices of the Law. A. Christ's sacrifice puts away sin. HEB 10:4, 11-18. B. It perfects the sanctified whereas the law made nothing perfect. HEB 10:1, 14; 7:19. C. It purges the conscience for full service. HEB 9:9, 13-14; 10:2. 1. Our works apart from the blood of Christ are dead works, of no effect. 2. ...

Satan and Devils A. Unlike God, Satan is not omnipresent. But he has conscripted a number of subordinate evil spirits (rebel angels) to duplicate omnipresence. REV 12:4. 1. Satan was an angel, now the Devil as a result of rebellion. 2. Thus, we deduce by parallel that the devils are likely the rebel angels. 3. These devils are also the unclean spirits. MAR 3:26, 30; LUK 4:33-36. B. The resurrection of Christ dealt a ...

D. The parable of the pounds accords with Gill’s analysis. LUK 19:12-14. 1. Christ came unto His own nation but they rejected Him. JOH 1:11. 2. He went to heaven to secure a kingdom for Himself. REV 12:5-10. 3. He left His servants/ministers with gifts and orders. EPH 4:8-12. 4. His own nation continued their vitriol against Him by their rejection and persecution of His ministers of His ...

V. There was an overarching spirit in Israel which animated it against Christ, the apostles, and the church: the spirit of unbelief which accorded with death in sins. JOH 8:24. A. The spirit of deep sleep/slumber accords with blindness as does unbelief. ISA 29:10 c/w ROM 11:7-8; 2CO 4:3-4. B. This stood in contrast to the “...spirit of faith...” (2CO 4:13). C. Unbelief forbade them from recognizing Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah and Son of God ...

E. Satan can affect the thoughts of a man's heart. 1. He can put thoughts into a heart. 1CH 21:1; MAT 16:23; JOH 13:2. 2. He can fill a heart. ACT 5:3. 3. The heart of man by nature is a receptive vessel for Satan's ideas. JER 17:9. 4. When we mentally embrace Satan's ideas and make them our thoughts, we will invariably act them out. LUK 6:45; JAM 1:14-16. 5. This emphasizes the need for us to make our thoughts captive to Christ...

The Better Way To Honor Christ’s Birth I. Consider the birth of Jesus Christ. A. “For unto us a child is born...” (ISA 9:6). 1. He was a child prior to birth. ISA 7:14 c/w MAT 1:23; LUK 2:5. 2. This shows personhood in the womb. Christ’s prenatal state defies abortion. B. God used an imperial tax to bring Joseph and Mary to the prophesied city of Bethlehem. LUK 2:1-5 c/w MIC 5:2. C. The birt...