Weekly Sermon

This sermon is a companion to a previous sermon:  Rich in the Realm of Faith (Part 1) - James 2:5 

James 2:5 reads, “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?”

James 2:5 indicate that those from the poor class in relation to this world who place their trust in Christ as Savior are chosen by God to be rich in relation to His kingdom.  Regardless of their poor status in the realm of this world, they possess an abundantly rich status in the realm of faith.  Indeed, every one of us who are the children of God through faith in Christ is spiritually rich in the realm of faith.  These spiritual riches may be considered from two perspectives.  First, we may consider our spiritual riches in the realm of faith in relation to our eternal salvation.  Second, we may consider our spiritual riches in the realm of faith in relation to our daily walk.  Already in first part of the message, we considered the first of these truths.  Now, in this second part of the message, let us consider the second of these truths.

Thought for Meditation

Why do so many of God's own people today 
seek after psychological and pharmaceutical solutions 
to their emotional, mental, and behavioral problems, 
rather than follow after Biblical and spiritual (Holy Spirit directed) solutions? 

Weekly Sermon

Psalm 119:25-29 reads, “My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.  I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes.  Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.  My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word.  Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously.”

In Psalm 119:25-29 the psalmist, this young servant of the Lord, presented a series of requests unto the Lord.  Then in Psalm 119:30-32 he presented a series of commitments unto the Lord.  However, it is important that we understand the circumstances and context out of which the psalmist expressed these requests and commitments.  Even so, the psalmist cried out in the opening line of Psalm 119:25, “My soul cleaveth unto the dust.”  Again in the opening line of Psalm 119:28, he cried out, “My soul melteth for heaviness.”  The psalmist, this young servant of the Lord, was suffering under a great trial of affliction.  Yea, he was suffering so much that his soul, his inner man, was pressed down unto the lowest point, to the very level of the dust.  Yea, he was suffering so much that his soul, his inner man, was melting away with grief and sorrow, possessing no strength to go forward.  In like manner, we ourselves may also suffer under such a great trial of affliction.  That great trial of affliction may come through opposition and oppression, through trouble and tribulation, or through discouragement and depression.  At such times we may also find our inner man pressed down to such a low and weak condition, to such a condition of hopelessness and helplessness.  At such times, what can we do?  At such times, we should follow the psalmist’s example by looking up unto our Lord in prayer.  So then, for what did the psalmist, this young servant of the Lord, pray in his time of hopelessness and helplessness; and for what should we pray in our times of such hopelessness and helplessness?

Thought for Meditation

The Lord our God is not seeking to bless us
because He views us as having some powerful ability that He can use.
Rather, the Lord our God is seeking to bless us
with the abundance of His almighty power because we have no useful ability in ourselves.

Thought for Meditation

The Lord our God will not pour out His grace upon us
to deliver us as He would or to use us as He could,
until we humble ourselves before Him as we should.

Outlines in Psalms

Praise the Lord as Our Enabler.

     Psalm 144:1a – “Blessed be the LORD my strength.”

     Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

1.  For His Personal Guidance

     Psalm 144:1b – “Which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.”

2.  For His Helpful Goodness

     Psalm 144:2a – “My goodness, and my fortress.”

3.  For His Almighty Deliverance

     Psalm 144:2b – “My high tower, and my deliverer.”

4.  For His Trustworthy Protection

     Psalm 144:2c – “My shield, and he in whom I trust.”

5.  For His Victorious Grace

     Psalm 144:2d – “Who subdueth my people under me."

Posted in Outlines in Psalms, Praising Our Lord, Spiritual Enablement, Lovingkindness of the Lord, 
Deliverance of Our Lord, Faithfulness of Our Lord, Refuge of the Lord

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Outlines in Psalms

A Psalm of David.

   I.  The Praise of the Lord for His Enablement (Psalm 144:1-2)
  II.  The Place of Man in Himself (Psalm 144:3-4)
 III.  The Prayer to the Lord for His Deliverance (Psalm 144:5-8)
IV.  The Praise of the Lord for His Deliverance (Psalm 144:9-10)
 V.  The Prayer to the Lord for His Blessing (Psalm 144:11-14)
VI.  The Peace of Those with the Lord (Psalm 144:15)

Weekly Sermon

Genesis 14:18-20 reads, “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.  And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.  And he gave him tithes of all.”

In Genesis 13 we find that Abram and Lot had both become rich in flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.  Yet this created a problem; the land was not able to support both sets of flocks and herds.  Thus a strife arose “between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle.” (Genesis 13:7)  In order to solve this strife, Abram offered for Lot to separate himself in whatever direction he would choose and then for himself to go in the opposite direction.  Even so, we read of Lot’s choice in Genesis 13:10-13 – “And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.  Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.  Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.  But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.” 

Yet eventually Lot moved himself and his family into that wicked city of Sodom.  Now, over time Sodom, Gomorrah, and the other two cities of the plain entered into conflict with Chedorlaomer king of Elam and the four kings that were confederate with him.  Thus we read in Genesis 14:10-12, “And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.  And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.  And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.”

When Abram received news of this matter, he gathered a force in order to deliver Lot from captivity.  Indeed, the Lord granted Abram a great victory.  Even so, we read in Genesis 14:13-16, “And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.  And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.  And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.  And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.” 

Then in Genesis 14:17-20 the account continues, “And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale.  And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.  And he [Melchizedek] blessed him [Abram], and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.  And he [Abram] gave him [Melchizedek] tithes of all.”

Now, in Genesis 14:18-20 the Lord our God is called “the most high God” three times.  In Genesis 14:19 Melchizedek, the priest of the most high God, described Abram as being “of the most high God.”  Abram was a servant of the most high God.  In like manner, we believers are also the people of the most high God.  He is our eternal Savior, and we are His chosen ones.  He is our heavenly Father, and we are His dear children.  He is our Lord, and we are His servants.  He is the most high God, and we are His peculiar people.  In 1 Peter 2:9-10 God’s Word declares, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”  Again in 2 Corinthians 6:16 God’s Word declares, “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?  For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”  Yet again in 1 John 3:1 God’s Word declares, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”  Indeed, we are the people, the children, the servants of the most high God.  So then, what can we learn from Genesis 14:19-20 concerning this relationship?

Weekly Sermon

This sermon is a companion to four previous sermons:  Consider Your Priorities - Haggai 1:5    
                                                                                        Consider the Lord's Pleasure - Haggai 1:8      
                                                                                        Consider Our Lord's Purpose - Haggai 2:10-19    
                                                                                        Consider Our Lord's Promise - Haggai 2:18-23    

Haggai 2:1-5 reads, “In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the LORD by the prophet Haggai, saying, Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory?  And how do ye see it now?  Is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?  Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.”

The Book of Haggai is an Old Testament book of only two chapters.  Five times in those two chapters, our Lord instructed His people of that time to consider (in 1:5, 7; 2:15, 18).  They were to consider their self-centered priorities and to reestablish their priority on the things of the Lord.  They were to consider the Lord’s pleasure and to return unto the way of the Lord’s pleasure upon them.  They were to consider the Lord’s purpose in chastening and to receive it with meekness unto fruitfulness for the Lord.  Finally, they were to consider the Lord’s promise and to set the faith and focus of their hearts upon the Lord. 

In particular, the Lord promised that if they would reestablish their priority on His work, and would return unto the way of His pleasure, and would receive with meekness the purpose of His chastening, then He would be with them in the fellowship of His presence and would pour out upon them the enabling of His Spirit.  In fact, these very two promises are given in Haggai 2:4-5 – “Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.”  In like manner, in the New Testament the Lord our God has also promised the fellowship of His presence and the enabling of His Spirit unto us who are His people today.

Yet these promises were not and are not to be an end in themselves.  Rather, these promises were then to move and motivate God’s people unto the work of the Lord for that time; and these promises are now to move and motivate God’s people unto the work of the Lord for this time.  Yea, in Haggai 2:4-5, on the grounds of our Lord’s promise to be with them in fellowship and to place His Spirit upon them for enabling, He gave a three-fold instruction unto His people.  Brethren, through these three things we are to be claiming our Lord’s presence.

Weekly Sermon

This sermon is a companion to three previous sermons:  Consider Your Priorities - Haggai 1:5    
                                                                                         Consider the Lord's Pleasure - Haggai 1:8      
                                                                                         Consider Our Lord's Purpose - Haggai 2:10-19    

Haggai 2:10 gives the report, “In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying.”  Then in Haggai 2:18-19 we come to the conclusion of that message where our Lord declared through His prophet, “Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD’S temple was laid, consider it.  Is the seed yet in the barn?  Yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.”  Finally, in Haggai 2:20-23 our Lord delivered a second message on the same day through His prophet Haggai.  There we read, “And again the word of the LORD came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying, Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; and I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.  In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts.”

In Haggai 2:15-17 the Lord had instructed His people at that time to consider His hand of chastening against them and to consider His purpose in that chastening.  Yet in Haggai 2:18-19 the Lord instructed them to consider another matter.  In these two verses, the Lord gave promise to reverse their situation.  Until that time His hand of chastening had been against them, but from that time forward He promised to open His hand of blessing upon them.  At the end of verse 19, the Lord proclaimed, “From this day will I bless you.”  He had confronted them and chastened them for their sinful priorities and ways, and they had repented of those sinful priorities and ways.  Thus from that day of their repentance forward, the Lord promised to bless them.  Even so, the Lord instructed them to consider His promise.  In like manner, we ourselves also need to consider our Lord’s promise to those who will repent of their sinful ways and return unto the Lord.

Weekly Sermon

This sermon is a companion to a previous sermon:  Consider Your Priorities - Haggai 1:5    

Haggai 1:1-8 reads, “In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD’S house should be built.  Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?  Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.  Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.  Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.”

In the time of Haggai the prophet the Lord’s people were neglecting the Lord’s work.  The specific work to which they had been called was to rebuild the Lord’s house, the physical temple in Jerusalem.  Yet they were allowing the Lord’s house, the Lord’s temple, to lie waste.  They had a problem in their priorities.  They had set their priorities upon their own interests rather than upon the Lord’s work.  In the use of their time, they claimed to have no time for the Lord’s work.  Yet the Lord indicated that they seemed to have plenty of time for their own interests.  In Haggai 1:2-4 the Lord confronted them, saying, “Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD’S house should be built.  Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?”  Also in the work of their effort, they completely disregarded the Lord’s work while they ran with all effort after their own interests.  In Haggai 1:9 the Lord confronted them, saying, “Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it.  Why? saith the LORD of hosts.  Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.” 

Because of their wrong priorities, the Lord brought His hand of chastening against them.  In Haggai 1:6 He declared, “Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.”  Again in Haggai 1:9-11 He declared, “Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it [to blow it away].  Why? saith the LORD of hosts.  Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.  Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.  And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.”

Yes, the Lord confronted them for their wrong priorities, chastened them for those wrong priorities, and challenge them to consider the sinfulness of their wrong priorities.  Haggai 1:5 proclaims, “Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.”  Again Haggai 1:7 proclaims, “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.”  Yet then the Lord counseled them on how they might correct their wrong priorities.  In Haggai 1:8 He declared, “Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.”  First, they were to consider their priorities.  Then they were to consider the Lord’s pleasure.  The Lord’s hand of chastening was against them because of their wrong priorities.  Yet the Lord was willing to place His hand of pleasure upon them if they would correct their wrong priorities.  So then, brethren, what about us today?  Do we at all desire that the Lord our God should take pleasure in our lives?  Do we at all desire that the Lord our God should take pleasure in our work and service for Him?  Would we rather have our Lord’s hand of chastening against us or His hand of pleasure upon us?

Meditations in Jeremiah

In Jeremiah 30:10-11 the Lord our God proclaimed unto His people Israel, “Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.  For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.”

Although the Lord our God made promise to His people that He would never completely disown them and forsake them, but that He would eventually deliver them and restore them, yet He indicated that He certainly would correct them “in measure” and would not leave them “altogether unpunished.”  Even so, in Hebrews 12:5-8 God’s Word declares unto us New Testament believers, “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.”

Meditations in Exodus

In Exodus 3:9-10 the Lord God called Moses unto Himself that He might send Moses to serve as the deliverer of His people Israel from their affliction and oppression under the hand of the Egyptians.  Therein the Lord God declared unto Moses, “Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.  Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.”  In Exodus 3:11 we find Moses’ response to the Lord God’s call – “ And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?”  Herein Moses expressed his humility, and even his hopelessness, concerning his own ability to fulfill the Lord’s call.

Meditations in Exodus

In Exodus 3:9-10 the Lord God revealed His purpose to Moses, saying, “Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.  Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.”

In Exodus 3:7-8 the Lord God had revealed that He knows the sorrows of His people and that He is moved to deliver His people from their sorrows.  As He continued His message unto Moses from “the burning bush,” He further revealed unto Moses His purpose and plan for the deliverance of His people.  Indeed, the Lord God expressed His call upon Moses to send Moses as His instrument of deliverance.  Even so, we find so often that when the Lord our God moves on behalf of His people, He does so by calling and sending a man through whom He might accomplish His work.