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Pull for the Shore

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Take up your Cross

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?


"Take Up Your Cross"

True Discipleship

Matthew16:24-26

"Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth."
Psalm73:25-26


 Title: Take Up Your Cross
Subject: True Discipleship
Text: Matthew16:24-26

 24) Then Jesus said to His disciples - At that time Jesus, (after foretelling of His death), begins to teach a lesson about the cost of discipleship; to the crowds, to His disciples, or any desiring person, like you and I. The principal lesson: discipleship is on Jesus' terms; "he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me."

Disciple: Greek trans; mathetes, phonetically 'math-ay-tes', (noun/m). a learner, disciple, pupil. Greek: mathētḗs; from math, "The mental effort needed to think something through." Properly, a learner, a disciple, a follower of Christ who learns the doctrines of scripture and the lifestyle they require; someone catechized with proper instruction from the bible with its necessary follow-through, life applications. (Strong's Concordance).

 “If anyone wishes to come after Me, - His invitation is open to anyone who wishes to come. It is a calling for, that certain-someone, who has a desire to be a disciple, who is willing to make a life-changing decision and commitment. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus met three hopeful people who desired to follow Him but, when He said follow me, they declined His invitation. The reason they declined was because they wanted to follow Him on their terms, Luke9:59-62. My sheep hear My voice, John10:27.

he must deny himself, - Jesus said if you wish to become My disciple this is your first step, to deny yourself. It is to deny my will and desires and obey Jesus as King and Ruler of my life. It is not I who would be captain of my ship, but it is God who will decide the direction and destiny of my life. Thy will be done, not my will.

Deny: Greek trans; aparneomai, phonetically, ap-ar-neh'-om-ahee, verb. To deny, repudiate or disown; either another person or myself. (Strong's).

and take up his cross - It means a disciple will suffer pain and persecution that can also lead to death as a martyr, for the exceeding joy of his faith and preaching the Word. For Jesus and His disciples the image of cross bearing would have been familiar; At that time, death by crucifixion was a form of capital punishment used by the Roman government. They would have known that a convicted criminal was forced to take up his cross as he was being led to the place of execution. To take up my cross means I can anticipate suffering for Christ in some way or form. "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ lives in me." Most Christians would agree with the following quotation, "The crown without the cross equals easy Christianity."

and follow Me. We should be imitators of Christ, "It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master." Matt10:25. To follow means to walk in the Masters steps, "the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked." 1John2:6. To be a disciple means to follow Him in respect to obedience to His word, John8:31

 25) For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. To save your life for what the world can give but deny Christ means you will die in your sins; but to lose your life for Christ has benefits for this life and the next.

 26) For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul. If it were possible to own the entire world, how can all of that stuff, pay for your sin or redeem someone's soul; it cannot - Jesus Christ has redeemed us. Galatians3:13



Conclusion: Jesus' final words are a theological paradox that should be cause for much thought. 1). The first half of His statement is comparing a life that is lost, with a life that is saved, and the wisdom of following Christ. 2). The 2nd half is proof that what He said is true. 

Application: It is never too late to be a disciple of Jesus Christ - dust off your old bible and read on today.

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Saturday, November 29, 2014

A Prayer Tip





"As the deer pants after the water brooks 

so my soul thirsts for Thee, O God"

                                                      Psalm42:1

             

   




"A Prayer Tip" - from Charles Spurgeon


Sermon by: Charles Spurgeon

I like to open the Bible and pray, "Lord God, let the words leap off the page into my soul; make them vivid, powerful, and fresh to my heart."

"How are we to handle this sword of 'It is written'? First, with deepest reverence. Let every word that God has spoken be law and gospel to you. Never trifle with it; never try to evade its force or change its meaning. God speaks to you in this book as much as if he came to the top of Sinai and lifted up his voice with thunder.

I like to open the Bible and pray, 'Lord God, let the words leap off the page into my soul; make them vivid, powerful, and fresh to my heart.'

Our Lord Himself felt the power of the Word. It was not so much the devil who felt the power of 'It is written" as Christ Himself. The manhood of Christ felt an awe of the Word of God, and so the Word became a power to Christ. To trifle with Scripture is to deprive yourself of its aid. Reverence it, and look up to God with devout gratitude for having given it to you.


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Streams of Water

Psalm 1:1-6

Johnathan's Run Falls, Ohiopyle state park, PA.
1"How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2But his delight is in the Law of the Lord and in His Law he meditates day and night. 3He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yeilds its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers. 4The wicked are not so they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish."   


 


  "Streams of Water"

Psalm 1:1-6
Topical Outline: Psalm 1:1-6
The Righteous: Verses 1-3
The Wicked: Verses 4-6

 Intro: “How blessed is” - Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount opens in the same likeness - “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Matt 5:3.The subject of this psalm is; the righteous and the wicked contrasted. The theme of this psalm is: The blessed life and the not blessed life. The setting of this psalm sounds as if a father is speaking wisdom to his son. The timeline is possibly 971-931 BC; during King Solomon’s reign.

1) How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! - The blessed man does not accept or follow advice that contradicts biblical wisdom. He is not hanging out with the wrong crowd and is not on the same path as the wicked. Nor does he sit and socialize with people who mock and say offensive things about God.

2) But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law he meditates day and night. - His delight is in the law of the Lord which would be all of God’s word at that time including the law of Moses. Christians today take delight in the complete revelation of God’s Son Jesus Christ by reading, studying and meditating on God’s word day and night, when time permits.

3) He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does he prospers. - This is a wonderful metaphor of a Christian who is growing in the grace of his Savior Jesus Christ. His love for God is evident by the fruit of the Spirit in his life and the leaf of the tree does not wither because he does not live a life of sin.

4) The wicked are not so, but they are like chaff which the wind drives away. - The opposite is true of the wicked concerning God’s blessings. They do not delight in the word of God, they do not walk in the wisdom of God’s word, instead they stand in the path of sinners and sit in the seat of people who mock God. The wind will blow them away like chaff.

5) Thus the wicked will not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. “For our God is a consuming fire.”Heb12:29 The wicked will not stand in judgment because what chance does chaff stand against a consuming fire--none. God is full of mercy and grace for the sinner who repents but the wicked have no place in the Church.

6)For the Lord knows the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked will perish. The sheep know Christ’s voice and He knows them and they follow Him-Jn10:27. And when our Master returns He will say to His faithful slaves, “Well done good and faithful slave enter into the joy of your Master-Matt25:23. But the wrath of God remains on the wicked.Jn3:36

 Conclusion/Application:

To be a blessed man or woman our life should be planted next to the source of Living Waters which is Jesus Christ our Savior. And we should read, study and meditate on all of God's word day and night - when time permits - the path of blessings.


A Bible study by: Glenn Faurot




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Sermon on Mars Hill

Sermon on Mars Hill


Acts 17:16-34


Athens, Greece: The Areopagus 


   The Apostle Paul is on his second missionary journey along with his chosen companions Silas and Timothy. They are on a divinely appointed mission, Acts15:36. They have already passed through the region of Galatia and have now arrived in Philippi where they were stripped beaten and thrown into prison for preaching the word of the Lord. From Thessalonica they were sent to Berea and from there Paul was finally escorted to Athen but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea.

The timeline when Paul gives his Mars Hill sermon is approximately mid way through his second missionary journey about 51AD. His audience are Stoic and Epicurean philosophers including foreigners and we know that Paul spoke both Hebrew and Greek languages. The location of his sermon, The Areopagus, was well known for its public debates on philosophy and religion. Today Paul's sermon on Mars Hill is used around the world on how to effectively preach the Gospel.

Paul is preparing to throw three Javelins' in this public forum and each one will exceed the mark of the previous throw. He is going to deliver three truths about God to his audience like a highly trained olympic athlete. He is very distressed to see that the city was full of idols. A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him and they said, "what is this babbler trying to say?" - "then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus." Acts17:18,19.

"The Olympic flame has been lit"




"Paul then stood up and said, ' People of Athens! I see that in every way
you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at
your objects of worship I even found an alter with this inscription: To
an unknown God. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship
and this is what I am going to proclaim to you."Acts17:2


God's Omnipotence:The first truth Paul wants his audience to understand about God is that He has unlimited power. "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather, He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else."

The God - Greek transliteration; refers to the supreme being who owns and sustains all things.
who made the world - Greek transliteration; kosmos; the universe; an ordered system; the stars.
and everything in it - Greek translation; panta; viewing each part of the whole in terms individual parts
is the Lord - Greek transliteration; kurios; master; a person exercising absolute ownership rights.
of heaven - Greek transliteration; ouranos; the visible heavens; the root word meaning to encompass.
and earth - Greek transliteration; ge'; the physical earth; which God uses to prepare us for eternity.
and does not live in temples built by human hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if
He needed anything. Rather, He gives everyone life and breath and everything else. V24,25.

God's Omnipresence: The second truth Paul wants his audience to understand; God is present everywhere at the same time. "From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. For in Him we live and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, We are his offspring,V26

God's Judgment: The third truth Paul wants his audience to understand; one dayGod will judge the world by His son Jesus Christ."Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone an image made by human design and skill. In the past God has overlooked such ignorance but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day where He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to every one by raising Him from the dead." V29-31

Conclusion: Historians tell us today that the Golden age of Greece has brought many benefits to our post modern world, eg; The Grecian desire for freedom from foreign rule has brought us democracy. Their passion for learning brought us higher education and the college academy; Athens was home to philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. The first ancient Olympic games can be traced back to 776BC. But Paul told his Athenian audience that, "you are ignorant of the very thing you worship." The Epicurean and Stoic philosophers did not believe that the world was created by one omnipotent God. But thanks to God and His servant Paul for a clear presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ some of the people did believe. "At that, Paul left the council. Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed." V33,34.

Application: Become a believer and follower of Jesus Christ--if you are already a Christian praise the Lord!


A Bible study by: Glenn Faurot



Definition of terms:
Epicureanism - stanford.edu/epicurus; was a complete system, involving the goal of human life: happiness; resulting from the absence of pain and mental disturbance; nature based on atomistic materialism; a naturalistic evolution of the world.​
Stoicism - stanford.edu/stoicism; was one of the new philosophic movements of the Hellenistic period. They taught that virtue is sufficient for happiness. Stoicism and Epicureanism were both eclipsed by Christianity.
Omnipresence - present in all places at all times; from Latin; omni, all - present, everywhere.
Omnipotent - unlimited power - or - all powerful.
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