2 Kings 4:38-41
You’ve all heard the expression, “One bad apple spoils the barrel”; the origin of this idiom dates all the way back to the 1300’s. According to one source, the bad apple metaphor was first recorded in 1340 in the form of an English proverb, “A rotten apple quickly infects its neighbor”. There is a Biblical counterpart to this idiom which goes like this; “...a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” (1 Cor. 5:6).
In this sermon, an urgent call goes forth for us to make search for any traces of leaven in our lives. With God’s help and grace, I pray that this sermon will be of help to your soul.
Luke 10:38-42
Do you have a quiet place with Jesus your Lord? You’ve placed priorities on things — they may be good things/noble things/godly things but have they become a distraction in your life? Are they taking you away from that one thing that is needful — sitting at the feet of Jesus? In the busyness and clutter of life, can you hear the Master calling you aside to spend time alone with Him? May God minister to your heart through this sermon.
Matthew 14:22-33
For the third consecutive week, I have the privilege of ascending the stairs of this pulpit to bring a word in season on how to stand in the midst of trial!! Brothers and Sisters, believe me when I say, it was not my planned intention to labour this point, but as I waited upon the Lord as to what He would have me to say, I felt Him call to my remembrance another facet of suffering that I had been thinking hard upon but for the moment had forgotten.
Brothers and Sisters, God is speaking to His people!! Through the trials that we are passing through; God is at work, refining us so that we might be able to stand, not only in the present hour, but in the coming days ahead. But you say, Pastor, it’s hard and I’m weary!! The battle is fierce, the pressure intense, and the fire is hot; what am I to do? If I’m honest, I feel like I’m going under!! Brother/Sister, it is my heart’s desire to encourage you this morning — hold on!! You’re not going under!!!! The word of encouragement to your heart is — KEEP YOUR EYES ON JESUS!!!
1 Peter 3:3-7
As painful as it is to undergo trial — to be put into the furnace of affliction — It’s the only way by which one’s faith might be tried!! A man can boast all day about his faith; it is not until he is placed into the fire that one will see the quality of his faith! Far from diminishing faith, fire will always purify a man’s faith!
It was the Roman philosopher and historian, Pliny the Elder who wrote: “GOLD is the only thing that loses no substance by the action of fire. Indeed as a matter of fact it improves in quality the more often it is fired, and fire serves as a test of its goodness....”
Mark 4:35-42
“And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side” (Mk. 4:35). Note the circumstances of the hour. The evening had come upon them after what must have been a long drawn-out day. Jesus waits until the evening, when darkness is fast approaching, to put to His disciples His desire — “...Let us pass over unto the other side”. Jesus immediately takes His disciples from the classroom of academic learning to the classroom of application. First the theory then the practical!! Note, that the academic learning takes place close to shore, in a safe and controlled environment, but the practical lesson is going to take place out at sea, amidst the volatile atmosphere of a storm!!
Some of us want a trialless Christianity; a Christianity free from trouble, but listen, if the Lord while upon the earth led His disciples into conflict, how shall the risen ascended Saviour not even now, lead His people into the same? But fear not, the One who bids you pass over says “…Let us pass over”.
Psalm 51:6
For many within the remnant Church, love of truth is all about acquiring factual knowledge. As long as every doctrinal t is crossed, and every theological i dotted, all is well!! Yet, in the verse before us in this sermon, David prays to God, “Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom” (Ps. 51:6). The truth that David here speaks of is not the pursuit of academic truth but the desire for sincerity and honesty of the heart! Are you a person in whom there is no guile? May the Lord minister through this sermon.
Proverbs 9:10
Woe betide the man or woman that dispenses of the knowledge of God. We live in an era in the evangelical Church where experience trumps knowledge! Everyone wants to experience God!! Away with boring theology (they say) — let it perish with the seminaries!! Give us a fresh encounter!! Let us feel God!! Let us experience His divine touch!! I’m all for experiencing God, but again I go down on record to say, “THEOLOGY MATTERS”. How you understand God will determine how you relate to Him!! What you know about God will affect how you live for God.
In this sermon, we look at two of God’s divine attributes and how through the knowledge of God it ought to move us to fear.
James 1:5-8
Behold the man who wavers in his faith. James likens him to the sea's great waves on a stormy day, driven by the wind and tossed (Jms. 1:6). Contrast this with the stillness of those same waters on a calm summer evening. What’s the difference? Stability!! Albert Barnes in commentating upon James 1:5-8, states the following:
“The wave of the sea has no stability. It is at the mercy of every wind and seems to be driven and tossed every way. So he that comes to God with unsettled convictions and hopes, is liable to be driven about by every new feeling that may spring up in the mind. At one moment, hope and faith impel him to come to God; then the mind is at once filled with uncertainty and doubt, and the soul is agitated and restless as the ocean”.
If you find a man who is unstable in the area of prayer and faith, you will find a man who is unstable everywhere! The burden of this sermon is for God’s children to put away from them the double mind. This sermon is a call to serve the Lord with singleness of mind, with wholeness of heart, in all sincerity and truth.
Acts 20:33-35
Ministry properly defined has nothing to do with being a preacher. It identifies not the words spoken, but the act of service involved, and this can be transposed across the board — waiting on tables, opening a door for another, prayer, giving (the list is endless). “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:4-8). Can I say; that the giving of our Lord’s life was not only the greatest act of love ever known, it was the greatest act of service!
This sermon is an appeal to servanthood!
Session 7 of 7
The Sanctuary Conference 2023@Cloverley Hall
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