Proverbs 21:22
There are many names given to us in the Holy Scriptures to describe the enemy of our souls. Before ever Satan was revealed as a dragon, he was first revealed as a serpent. That’s why in Revelation 12:9 we read, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him”. Note the title given to him by John, “that old serpent”. How old? As old as sin itself!! I don’t know how long the enemy planned and schemed the ruinous, murderous downfall of mankind, but within minutes, he had executed his plan to perfection!! How did he do it? As a dragon? That would have been too obvious!! So he came into the garden as a serpent. Hear the Word of God your hearts and take note!!
1 Peter 3:3-8
The word “joy” appears in some sixty verses in the New Testament of the KJB, and that’s not including the 40 additional occurrences of the same root derivatives “joyful”, “joyfully”, “joyfulness” “joying”, “joyous” and “rejoice”. This simple three-letter word “joy” is like buried treasure, everyone’s searching to find it but they're looking in all the wrong places! The world you see deals in what is called “fool’s gold”. To the naked eye, it bears some resemblance to the real thing, but when you run it through a few simple tests, it’s shown to be a fraud! Happiness is just like this; a superficial counterfeit for joy. You say, what’s the difference? Happiness is, the agreeable feeling of pleasure that one experiences when circumstances work in one's favour!! When circumstances are not working in one’s favour? Then you have the opposite of happiness, sorrow!! Christ has a better way for His people, which is the way of JOY!!
2 Chronicles 34:14-21
I lament the deplorable days of biblical ignorance that pervades so much of the professing Church today Ministers in God’s pulpit without a Word from God because they don’t know the Word of God themselves — blind leaders of the blind! Can I suggest to you, that it’s not through lack of education that men’s knowledge of the Bible is so meagre in this hour, literacy rates in the Western World are better than they’ve ever been in the history of the English-speaking world? Nor is it through want of material, the tramp on the street has better access to the Word of God today than most of history has ever had. We’ve translations coming out of our nostrils, Bible Apps galore...NO the problem facing the Christian is not one of lack of opportunity, but one of desire and appetite. He delights in the things he enjoys doing most. Don’t get me wrong, he’ll give a precursory glance over a verse or two just before hopping into bed, but dig into the Bible? No thank you, I’ll leave that to Pastor! The problem is, the Pastor’s not digging in either! Where have all the pulpits gone, where giants of old once stood trembling to deliver a burning word from heaven because it first burned in their hearts?
Brothers and Sisters, it is TIME to get back to the Word of God!
Matthew 21:28-32
In commenting upon James 1:22-25, Albert Barnes noted the following which we must take to heart:
“It is implied here, that by merely hearing the word but not doing it, they would deceive their own souls. The nature of this deception was this, that they would imagine that that was all which was required, whereas the main thing was that they should be obedient. If a man supposes that by a mere punctual attendance on preaching, or a respectful attention to it, he has done all that is required of him, he is laboring under a most gross self-deception. And yet there are multitudes who seem to imagine that they have done all that is demanded of them when they have heard attentively the word preached. Of its influence on their lives, and its claims to obedience, they are utterly regardless”.
May the Lord move your heart to action through the hearing of this sermon so as not to be a hearer only, but a doer of His Word.
Proverbs 14:14
Adam Clarke in his famous commentary, asks the question: “Who is the backslider?”, he then answers it in three points: 1. The man who once walked in the ways of religion, but has withdrawn from them. 2. The man who once fought manfully against the world, the devil, and the flesh; but has retreated from the battle, or joined the enemy. 3. The man who once belonged to the congregation of the saints, but is now removed from them, and is set down in the synagogue of Satan”
This sermon is a warning against drifting and an exhortation to recover again the ground lost in our Christian walk.
Mark 15:21-47
If I was to say to you the words, “Carmen Christi”, there’s probably very few of you if any, who would understand what I’m on about. “Carmen Christi” is Latin, which being interpreted means “Hymn to Christ”. Now while you most likely are unfamiliar with the language, you ought be very familiar with the content. You may better know this hymn as Philippians 2:5-11. It is believed by scholars and historians that this passage in Paul’s letter to the Philippians pre-existed Paul’s letter itself in that it was an old Christian hymn rich in theological beauty! One author wrote: “The Church which sang this hymn proclaimed for the first time the three 'epochs' in the existence of Christ: he is hailed and confessed first as pre-existent, then as incarnate and humiliated and finally as triumphant”. Now, whatever its historical background, one cannot cast their eyes upon this text of Scripture without being deeply impacted. It’s theological depth is almost unrivalled, it’s Christological content is scarcely without comparison.
Join us as we survey the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, first from earth’s prospective and then from heaven’s.
Matthew 27:24-26
First before the Jewish courts and then before the Roman courts — they lied point blank and accused Him to His face. Twice accused falsely? Nay thrice!! Before Herod also, “...the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him” (Lk.23:10). What would you have done? What would have I? Surely we would have been quick and ready to plead our case and prove our innocence, but not the lowly Galilean. In the presence of His enemies, HE HELD HIS PEACE! This is so alien to us and yet, to this end we have been called to suffer and to follow His example.
Matthew 26:36-46
It is my conviction, that it is in Gethsemane more than in any other place, that light is cast upon the full humanity of God our Saviour, Jesus Christ. In Bethlehem we see His birth, in Gethsemane we see His travail of His soul; in the manger we hear the cries of the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes but in the garden we hear the groans of the anguish of agonising prayer. Consider with me, the great sorrows that His soul endured that night. If the name Gethsemane (Lit. oil press), means anything historically, it was for this hour that it was named!
This message is a call for God’s people to watch and pray in the hour of their vulnerability.
John 6:60-69
When our Lord walked the earth, some 2000 years ago, without apology, He laid down the cost to any potential would-be disciple!! You see, it’s one thing to have intent and it’s another thing to follow through on that intent with an well-informed decision. Both of these together will carry a man a long way, but these alone will never keep the disciple in the day of trouble. There has to be something MORE!!! What’s the more you ask? A decision wrought in conviction born out of divine revelation.
Hebrews 12:1-2
I’ve watched a number of races in my time from 100m to 10,000m. I’ve seen runners fall unexpectedly and get back up to win gold! I’ve seen runners have their dreams shattered by an injury mid-way through the race — I’ve seen them get back up and hobble the final lap to cross the finish line. For sure, I’ve seen disappointments and setbacks on the track, but there’s one thing that I’ve never yet witnessed and that is a runner running back to the starting line!! Yet what is considered an absurdity in the natural is sadly a common reality in the spiritual. I see Christian athletes turning back all the time. Running in the wrong direction!!
This sermon is a call to self-denial, to pick the cross and to follow Christ!