Author: Stan Cox
Mining the Scriptures: Mark 1:35-39
Here we see a pattern of Jesus during his adult life, seeking solitude to pray to His Father in heaven. It shows us the importance of such conversations with God, which help to sustain us and provides comfort and strength to handle whatever comes our way.
As the pattern begins here, near the beginning of his Galilean ministry, it took the followers by surprise. Their teacher had disappeared! We are told that when they finally found the Lord, they said, “Everyone is looking for You.”
Instead of apologizing (He was not sorry for His prayerful preparations, Jesus told them it was time to go to the next towns to continue his ministry. Verse 39 tells us that he went throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out demons.
Understand the significance of his words, “for this purpose I have come forth” (38). This is the central truth of the entire New Testament, Him coming to establish His covenant for sinful man.
A Fool is Counted Wise
Back in 1979 the funny Peter Sellers starred in a movie called Being There. It is a story of an uneducated gardener who is thrown into society for the first time and by his simple, cryptic allusions to gardening is taken to be a wise man. He eventually becomes a major advisor to the President of the United States, and is touted by some to replace him in the next term.
It turns out he was a fool. Inscrutable, but a fool. I don’t think I have seen the entire movie, but excerpts I saw showed a masterful performance by Sellers. The movie comes to mind when I read Proverbs 27:27-28, “He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.”
A knowledgeable, but humble person sees no reason to flout his knowledge. His words are few. Reticence does not indicate ignorance as in the movie. But, conversely a man can be construed as wise if he keeps his mouth shut.
What doesn’t work is a fool, through his words, trying to convince someone he is wise! As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 5:3, “…a fool’s voice is known by his many words.” Something to think about next time before we speak up and show our ignorance!
Sermon: 7 Keys to Raising Godly Children
Every Christian parent wants to raise their children to be faithful disciples of the Lord. Here are 7 things we can implement that will help to ensure that eventuality.
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Sermon: Jesus’ Walk on the Water
Some observations we can make and learn from taken from the miraculous walk of Jesus in Matthew 14:22-33
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Old Fashioned Punishment
The Old Testament taught a harsh form of justice, especially under certain circumstances. For example, if two men fight, with the pregnant wife of one man losing her child, Exodus 21:23-25 states, “then you shall give life for live, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”
Things are different under the New Covenant. That doesn’t mean that the civil government does not have a responsibility to impose punishment (sometimes harsh) upon the evildoer. “Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake” (Romans 13:2-5). Continue reading “Old Fashioned Punishment”
Mining the Scriptures: Matthew 2:19-23
After Matthew records the departure of the young Jesus to Egypt (a fulfillment of Hosea 11:1), the massacre of the infants in Bethlehem, and finally the death of Herod; an angel appeared to Joseph to return with the child and His mother back to Israel.
However, Joseph was afraid to return to Judea because the son of Herod, Archelaus was reigning the place of his father. Apparently Joseph’s fear was legitimate as God warned him in a dream about the danger there, and Joseph instead turned to Galilee.
The city of Nazareth was where Joseph settled, and where Jesus was raised. In fact, he was often referred to and known as Jesus of Nazareth in the New Testament. Nathanael, in John 1:46 asked about Jesus, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Indicating the city did not have a good reputation in Israel at the time.
This was also a fulfillment of a prophecy concerning the Christ. “He shall be called a Nazarene”, which was written hundreds of years previously, in Judges 13:5.
The Collection
In 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, Paul wrote, “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.”
Nothing is surprising about this text. It relates an obligation that we have to support the Lord’s work in a systemic and regular way. It denotes the Lord’s day as the day when the collection will be taken. We know this to be the day that Christians came together to worship the Lord (cf. Acts 20:7). I states an obligation that we help those in our number (other Christians) who have a physical need (cf. Galatians 6:10).
This is the only place in scripture where there is a pattern established for this financial obligation we as Christians are given toward the Lord’s work. There are other places which give authority to practice benevolence, to support efforts of evangelism and to edify the church, but here alone is the passage that tells us how money is to be gathered in the local church.
What remains is for us to do our duty in a manner that the Holy Spirit prescribes. “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).
Sermon: “Yet You Say” (Malachi 1-3)
A discussion of the first of the prophet Malachi where God admonishes the Jews, and they respond inappropriately to His chastisements.
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Sermon: Bad Things Happen
In life, catastrophes and trials happen often. One argument skeptics make: “If God is good, why do these things happen?” We seek to answer this question, and point out what we can do to help.
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Walking in Wisdom
Consider these words from Paul’s pen, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15-17).
The first consideration in this passage it to determine what is wisdom! Remember the following words, “…the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25). This is not to say that you can’t gain wisdom from men, you can. However, it is easy to be duped into thinking that someone or something is wise when that’s not the case! Any time anyone tells you that wisdom dictates what is a violation of God’s will, they are wrong. They are as the false teachers of Peter’s day, “But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption” (2 Peter 2:12). Continue reading “Walking in Wisdom”
Mining the Scriptures: Revelation 1:17-20
The text refers to John’s reaction seeing Jesus, “I fell to his feet as dead” (17). It must have been an awesome and overwhelming vision.
But, Jesus quickly assured Him, identifying Himself in this first vision, not as a foe, but as God the Son. The eternal being who had directed this, and subsequent visions, for John to record through the written word. The visions had reference to the past, present and future and were designed to give Christians faith and confidence despite their present trials.
Christ also began to explain what it was that John was seeing. The seven stars were the seven angels (or messengers) for the seven churches of Asia, to which Christ wrote letters in the next two chapters. The context makes it difficult to know whether these angels were divine or men associated with those churches. The seven lampstands were the churches themselves, the number seven indicating a full representation of such congregations.
God’s Plan for Sexuality
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). A simple statement, in this context indicating their need for avoiding fornication, and exercising self control.
For most, the sexual drive is very strong. This is how God designed men and women. The urge to procreate facilitates God’s instructions to mankind from the beginning to “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28).
However, God in his wisdom limited such an intimate thing to the marriage bed. “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4). Some wonder, if God does not want us to have sex, why did he make us this way? The answer is, He does want this for us, but He wants us to be blessed, not cursed by such actions.
If sex is limited to a healthy marriage, there is the assurance of love, faithfulness and protection. There is a wholesome environment for raising children in the “training and admonition of the Lord” (cf. Ephesians 6:4).
But fornication brings regret, disease, abortion, rejection, objectification, and a host of other untenable problems.
God’s way is best. Men may think that they can ignore His directives. But, they do so at their own physical and spiritual peril!
Sermon: True and Righteous are Your Judgments
A discussion of Revelation 16:4-7, showing the glory and preeminence of God, along with His justice and mercy. And the punishment of ungodly men.
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The Priest of God Most High
A wonderful lesson is taught in Hebrews 7, concerning our priesthood under the New Covenant. It surpasses in greatness the priesthood of the Jews, which existed as a type of what would come in the last days. The Hebrew writer argues this truth in a very interesting way. By using Melchizedek, the king of Salem.
Who was Melchizedek? We know his title and significance, but nothing of his life. In fact, he is described in the text as being “without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life…” (7:3). This does not mean that Melchizedek was more than a man, it is simply noting that Melchizedek exists in the narrative of the Old and New Testaments to teach something about Christ. We don’t know or need to know anything about where he came from. We don’t know when he was born, or when he died. We just know him to be both the king of Salem and a priest of the Most High God. Because of this lack of information regarding Melchizedek in the pages of the Bible, it is as if he, “remains a priest continually”, thus foreshadowing the eternal nature of Christ’s priesthood. Continue reading “The Priest of God Most High”
Mining the Scriptures: 1 John 2:15-17
A Christian is not to have affection for anything characterized as worldly. It constitutes a conflict of interest. Worldliness and a love for God are antithetical. Hence John’s statement, “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (15).
The threefold manner in which the Devil entices is through the lust of the flesh (an illicit desire to satisfy physical appetites), the lust of the eye (an illicit desire that reacts to beauty, sensuality, or anything that is alluring to the sight or imagination), and pride (of position, money, influence, race, etc. Whatever pertains to self-glorification).
The question that must be answered is are you interested in the passing pleasures of sin? Or the greater joy of eternity? It seems a simple question to answer, but too many get it wrong. What this life has to offer, no matter how enticing, is but for a moment and then passes away. However, this life should be understood by every child of God as a life lived in preparation for eternity!
