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October 26, 2008
John 12:32
Exordium: This appears to be a time to worry. It has become a national reaction to the strange turns of the world in these days. But Christ calls His own people away from that anxious place. We are different from our neighbors, because we learn from Scripture that worry is a sin against the loving care of the Heavenly Father.
Worry has an active imagination-we are continually crossing streams that do not exist. Worry over money is as fatal to spiritual fruitfulness as is gloating over wealth.
There is a holy freedom for cares. This is not the light-minded carelessness of those who do not think about tomorrow. There is a Christian care that impels us to prayer and at the same time moves us to effort. We want to find that middle path between anxious care and over-negligence. The goal is a holy freedom from care-and only Christ can give us that!
Explication: Where does worry come from? Its root is fear. That is why Jesus says to us here “Fear not, little flock it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Have any warmer, more encouraging words been spoken than these from the lips of our beloved Lord Jesus?
I. CHRIST CUTS THE ROOT OF FEAR
By His command. Here is the Lord of Heaven telling us, “don’t go there.” Over and over again He warns His own about being afraid. He said this even before He was incarnate when He appeared as the Angel of the Lord to Old Testament people. His first words would always be, “don’t be afraid.”
Then when He walked among us in the days of His flesh he kept repeating “Fear not, don’t be afraid.” As His disciples struggled against the storm, He came to them walking on the water. “It is I, be not afraid.”
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October 12, 2008
Habakkuk 3:17-20
Exordium: What shall we do when familiar supports and circumstances are taken from us? David asked that question as he wrote Psalm 11. “If the foundations are destroyed, what shall the righteous do?” They are to go on being righteous, “because the Lord is in His holy temple. His throne is in the heavens and He is righteous altogether.”
Explication: The prophet Habakkuk also wrote a Psalm on this theme for our times of trouble. Daniel Webster called it the greatest poem in the Word of God. It is before us this morning:
“Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vine. Though the labor of the olive may fail and the fields yield no food. Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
This virtue is rare in our day, to rejoice when material things fail or familiar faces are no more to be seen, to joy in desolation, barrenness or sorrow. See how the prophet emphasizes “I”, others may not rejoice, but I do!
I. WHAT IS THE KEY TO HABAKKUK’S CALM HEART and JOY WHEN EVERY THING HAS FALLEN APART FOR HIM?
The joy is based on trust-It grows out of it. The key to having confidence in difficult times is trusting in God. He loves to be trusted, so that there is a significant connection between the trust of the human heart and the ability of God to receive trust and revel in it.
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September 28, 2008
2 Peter 1: 19-21
Exordium: It was very early on a Saturday morning in ancient Greece; the sun was just coming up when the Jewish residents of the town saw a small company of travelers descending from the top of the mountain toward the city. Who were they? What is their business here? Are they friend or foe?
The little town of Berea was waking up – the lovely green of the city sparkled with the morning light. The Jewish folk had been up for a while. They were the first ones up on Saturday. It was their Sabbath – the queen of the all the days. They were preparing to go and worship at the synagogue.
As they went they saw that the visitors were also directing their steps toward the small flat building where the Jewish people met each Sabbath. When the strangers entered and introduced themselves, they offered to the go ahead of the congregation to speak from the Scripture about the Messiah promised to Israel and eagerly awaited. “We have come to tell you that He has come to Palestine.”
They were welcomed and the folk heard them and many believed the words of the strangers, Paul and Silas. When Luke described the people of Berea he said that they were “noble” folk. Nobility here does not mean aristocracy as it means in the worldly sense. Here is means a tender receptive heart toward the Word of God and an independence of spirit that will search the Scriptures to see “if these things are so.”
Explication: This experience may have been in Peter’s mind when he charged his Christian friends before his departure. He wants this kind of nobility for them, this kingdom nobility – a nobility that will last after he is no longer on this earth. He has already told them of his personal sight of the majesty of Christ on the mountain and of the voice from Heaven he heard, “This is my beloved son. Hear Him.”
And now he comes to other part of his legacy for them – A “noble” interest in the Word of God. In this last section he is focusing our attention on the written word of God that we, like the Bereans, might have a kingdom nobility in the Word as well. Read the rest of this entry »
