3/22/98, AM, Pastor McDearmon

Wisdom is the ability to deal with real life by making oral judgments with discernment.  much of what the preacher reveals is about wisdom, and how, for a while, he thought wisdom was equivalent to much book learning.

II.  Reign of Solomon
D.  His building of the temple
   1.  David's charge to Solomon
   2.  David's provisions for the temple
      a.  Survey various elements of David's provision

• Means of securing materials for its construction
• By charging the leaders of Israel to construct it
• The Levites that were to serve there were organized
• The other leaders were organized
• Final charge about the temple

     b.  The final charge to Solomon
     c.  his offerings of gold and silver
     d.  The nation's offering
     e.  David's prayer of thanksgiving

Some practical matters:

1. David demonstrated a next-generation concern for the work of God.  We ought to be concerned about 3 specifics
1. Second-generation leadership
2. Second-generation membership - conversions among the young in our midst
3. The viability of this area
2.  David expressed the primary elements of a sanctified masculinity.
3. David provided his son a sense of direction and destiny for life.

-  We see in Solomon's temple a picture of Jesus Christ.  We have New Testament warrant for seeing in Solomon's temple a picture of Christ.  He is the chief cornerstone.
-  We see in Solomon's temple a picture of teh church of Christ.  The church, thus, is the locale of God's presence.  David looked for skilled men out of reverence for God's house, to work on the temple.

3/15/98, PM, Pastor McDearmon

D.  His building of the temple 1 Kings 5-8, 2 Chron. 2-7
1.  The charge
   a.  The nature of early piety

• The knowledge of God
• A relational, experimental knowledge of God that motivates how we think and act
• It consists of cheerful responses to God.

   b.  The motives of early piety
Be thankful you have fathers who know God, and they care that you know God. 

• Filial considerations
• The rightness of early piety
• Because of God's omniscience
• The encouragement of the promise, "If you seek Him, He will let you find Him."  Matt. 7:7
• The fearfulnes of the warning:  "But if you forsake it, He will reject you forever."

   c.  The evidence of manly piety - To act, be courageous

3/15/98, AM, Pastor McDearmon

Life of Solomon
2 Viewpoints

I. The natural man - man is considered supreme, and mortal life is considered final.  The conclusion from this viewpoint is "All is vanity."  This viewpoint is often characterized by the phrase "under the sun."

II.  with God in proper perspective

I. Rise of Solomon
II.  Reign of Solomon
    A.  His first marriage --> He started well
    B.  Solomon's prayer --> for wisdom
    C.  His statesmanship
1 Kings 4:1-34, 9:10-10:29; 2 Chron. 8:9

"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people."  Prov. 14:34  Another observation - The Judean region had only one deputy, the remaining were all for upper Israel.  Taxation is a powerful part of government.  As was the case there, so in American history.  Taxation triggers revolution.  1 Tim. 2:2 
God gives wisdom on two cases:
1.  One must fear Him
2.  One must receive His Word

7 aspects that he built after God's house

1. The building of cities
2. The enslaving of his enemies
3. He built a queen's palace for his wife
4. He offered sacrifices unto God  (The identity of David is "the man of God.")
5. He built a fleet of ships
6. He multiplied his wealth
7. He buitl up his military --> though at peace, he was still prepared for war.

Prosperity would become Solomon's worst enemy.

3/8/98, AM, Pastor Brackett

2 Kings 9
God works out everything to happen according to His Word.  Whatever God gives us to do, He wants us to do to serve Him and for His own glory.  Indeed, the Word of God is true. 

1. Do not be so foolish as to be forewarned of God's judgment, and yet keep in your ungodly ways.
2. Do not assure yourself that there are no immediate judgments on you--that all is well.
3. Do not follow in the sins of your fathers.

3/8/98, SS, Pastor Brackett

I.  The Biblical warrant for praying for pastors
Acts 4, 12; Phil. 1:19; Rom. 15:30; 2 Cor. 1:11; Eph. 6:19; 1 Thess. 5:25; 2 Thess. 3:1; Heb. 13:18
Sometimes extraordinary prayer [with] particular fervency is needed.  Other times it is just in our ordinary prayer with regular focus, frequency and fervency needed to pray for our pastor. 

II.  The fundamental concerns
    A.  Their preservation from the enemies of God
    B.  Their proclamation of the Word of God

1. The issue of deliverance
2. The issue of contrition
3. The issue of divine enablement
4. The issue of courage and right manner
5. The issue of the Word of God needing to run and have free course

III.  Several motivations for praying for pastors
    A.  It is our obligation to pray
    B.  It is both essential and effectual in its instrumentality.  "You have not because you ask not."
    C.  Because of the vital necessity of their work.  Eph. 4
    D.  Because of the exceptional difficulty of their work
    E.  Because of the frailty of the men themselves
    F.  Because of the indirect ministry of their work for us

If you do well, it is because your pastor is praying for you and preaching to you, so when you pray for him, you are praying for yourself.

1/7/01, AM, Pastor McDearmon

Ecclesiastes 10:8-11
IV.  D. 4. To Method

method - the procedure that we lay out adn follow.  A systematic process for doing something.

• The primary lesson is that the use of the mind is the major difference between the wise and the foolish. 
• The passage identifies 6 actions which were common to the original mindset, and they all involve risk (which should be anticipated) and they are representative of our life's labors.
• The key is vs. 10b.  "Wisdom has the advantage of giving success."  
• This wisdom involves planning, preparing and promptly performing.  1 Kings 5:17

Poetic Justice - when malicious men are punished in an ironic way.  Most commonly, a man in Solomon's day would dig a pit for the purpose of capturing wild animals.  If you dig pits, remember where the pit is.  Be wary; think ahead.  Wisdom is not knowing everything about wood or arcs, it is applying what you know.  Doing things God's way brings success.  When it comes to snake charming, you must use your skill before you are bitten.  A wise man uses the proper time and procedures. 
Prov. 26:27; Ps. 7

Conclusion

• We are reminded that our minds are among those talents with which God has entrusted us.  Mental laziness is evil.
• We are reminded of a wise man's manner of thinking.
• We are reminded that life is filled with endeavors that demand our attention.  Discipline your child while there is hope.

12/24/00, AM, Pastor McDearmon

Portraits of Manhood:  Simeon
Luke 2:22-35
1.  Person of Simeon
"Simeon" - "one who hears and obeys"
He is only mentioned here in the Bible, although other Simeons appear in the Old Testament. 
-  He was an ordinary man (not a priest, rabbi, or leader of the Jews).  He lived at a time when true religion was at a low point in Christendom.
-  He was a godly man.  He was "righteous and devout," obeying God because he loved God.  He was far more than just churchly.  He was a godly man from the inside out.

2.  Passion of Simeon
Passion - An ardent, fervent desire for something.  vs. 25 "looking for the consolation of Israel."  The "consolation of Israel" describes the coming Messiah.  Is your supreme passion Simeon-like?  "If you seek Him, He will let you find him."  Ps. 63:1; Jer. 29:13

3.  The Power of Simeon - that which moved him. 
Simeon was directed, influenced, guided and taught by the Holy Spirit.  "The Holy Spirit was upon him."  (vs. 25.)  Simeon, as all other true believers, was a man who knew the presence of God with him.

12/24/00, PM, Pastor McDearmon

Portrait of Simeon

4.  The prayer of Simeon
4 Truths

• It reveals that salvation is to be found in the person of the Child Jesus.
• It reveals that salvation is offered to all kinds of men.  "God so loved the world . . . "  John 3:16  "For whoever will call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."  Salvation is offered to all, therefore all men are obligated to come.
• It teaches us that salvation prepares people to die.  Simeon prays all these things.  Acts 4:27

5.  The proclamation of Simeon
It's quite different from what most proclaim right now.  He proclaimed the Lord's death.  He said that Jesus would prove to be the ruin of many and the rise of many.  There is no neutrality with Jesus.  "He who is not with Me is against Me."  Luke 18:9

12/17/00, PM, Pastor McDearmon

"He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty..."  Eccl. 10:4-7

Prefacing Comments

1. The primary lesson of verses 4-7 is that of wisdom applied to our passions.
2. Vs. 4-7 are being viewed as a unit of thought despite the paragraph break.  Verses 5-7 are a continuation of vs. 4, calling for the same thing.
3. The section recalls these previous sections:  Eccl. 4:14-16; 5:8-9; 7:7; 8:1-9
4. Vs. 4-7 are an example of one primary way the fool demonstrates to everyone he is a fool.

IV.  4th Discourse
D.  Vanity dispelled by wisdom applied
3.  To anger
    a.  Provocation #1:  vs. 4
When you're dealing with a hotheaded superior, remain composed.  Panicking, resigning, quitting will only make things worse.
"Do not abandon your position" - don't walk away in a huff.
Reason:  composure allays great offenses.
Composure - signifies a calm, controlled, clear-headed response.  Angry passions only incite angry passions.  Wisdom leads to this kind of composure.
   b.  Provocation #2:  vs. 5-7
Fools an incompetence are often in high places and this can make a good man irritated.  Don't look upon the wise with envy but as people from whom you can learn.  The idea is dissidence. 

Summary 
This can provoke wise and good men to anger.
-  Beware of the provoking nature of such reversal
-  Beware of the temptation to quit
-  When we are ruled by fools, we need to remember that God is truly sovereign over the land and the peoples.

12/17/00, AM, Pastor Dutcher

"Religion begat prosperity, and the daughter consumed the mother." - Cotton Mather, about the decay of religion in the Plymouth Colony. 

The Christian develops, because of his religion, a good character that often produces prosperity.  Yet prosperity must not let us forget religion.

It's better to do less with more - examine your lives to see if you can eliminate non-essential activities in order to spend more time in devotion to God.

1.  Martha's Perspective
Martha's spirit is self absorbed.  If we are preoccupied with ourselves in our service of Christ, we are really serving ourselves.  We spoil our service when we overestimate its loftiness.  Martha fell into an unbelieving expectation.

2.  The Lord's Perspective
It's more important to listen to Christ.  Martha allowed the means to be the ends.  Our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.  We know we have yielded to Martha's inclination when we don't sit at the feet of Jesus, listening to His Word. 

Demas was a fellow worker with Paul.  But he went on to forsake Christ in order to gain the world.  How came this?  Jesus tells the men who said, "Lord, Lord . . .", "I never knew you."  If they had sat at Christ's feet every day, he would have known them.  Do less - cut back on all the Martha-like busyness.  Christ must come first.  Pray.  Perfectionism is not conducive to productivity.

Luke 21:34; John 11; Rev. 2, 3:1, 14-22; Col. 4:14; Phile.:23-24; 2 Tim. 4:10; Matt. 7:22-23; 1 Cor. 7

12/10/00, AM, Pastor McDearmon

The wise and the foolish speak, think and act differently.  Ecc. 10:2-3

IV 4th Discourse
D.  Vanity dispelled by wisdom applied
   2.  To competence
        a.  The root
Heart - refers to the inner nature of man.  Synonym-soul.
Used:

• Ecc. 3:11 "there is no annihilation of the heart"
• Ecc. 5:20 heart relates to affections
• Ecc. 7:2 One learns with the heart
• Ecc. 7:3 Contrast  heart : face :: spiritual : physical
• Ecc. 8:11 Signifies will
• Ecc. 9:3 Men's hearts are thoroughly depraved
• Ecc. 9:1 Thinking and analyzing
• Ecc. 11:9 Desire, will

Heart then signifies the spiritual, the inward affections and volition.

Here we have wisdom contrasted with folly.  Here "heart" has an emphasis on the mind and reason.  The foolish man's heart is governed by its own notions.  His mind is largely given to the fleeting--listless vacuity.  His reasoning powers are nto governed by God's truths.  Matt. 7:24-25  Your mind matters.  Thus beware of what goes into it.  2 Tim. 3:15
 
       b.  The routes
The condition of a man's heart has real bearing on the course of a man's life. 
-  "The right" signifies

• blessing on someone
• strength, ability or competence

-  God strengthens the hand of skill
-  Hand of power
-  The left hand signifies loss, dishonor, disfavor (sheep on teh right, goats on the left)
Matt. 25:33; Is. 51:13; Ps. 21:8; Judges 3:15
 - exception - left-handed men of high competence

Comments
-  The text bears upon our temporal interest in the world.
-  The text reminds us of things spiritual--if you want to make it to heaven, you've got to live like Christ.

"Nature of Repentance", 12/10/99, Pastor Martin

1.  Source
Repentance is a gift from God, even though it is the sinner that has to repent.  The repentant sinner and the preacher are not to be praised, but God is.  Evangelism is not a con job on sinners, but eh hope of God's imparting His grace. 
Acts 5:30-31, 11:18; 2 Tim. 2:24-26; Ez. 36

2.  Soil
- Spirit-wrought conviction of sin
- Spirit-imparted grasp of Christ
If your mouth has not been shut against excuses and equivocating, you have not known true conviction.  You need nothing more than a crucified Christ to save you, and nothing else will do. 
Rom. 3:19-20; Luke 15:17-19

3.  Substance

The Christian in the Workplace, 5/28/00, Pastor Thompson

"A Passion for Excellence," part 2

II.  A Passion for a Biblical Work Ethic  Luke 16:9
We all are called to be conformed to Christ in every aspect of life, including the workplace.

A.  A Biblical work ethic is Christocentric (Christ is in the middle of it)
We must spend time gazing at our Lord's perfection.  Christ had established Himself as a craftsman rather than as a rabbi.  He worked as a carpenter for 30 years before He took up His preaching ministry.

1. Our Lord's example.  He worked.  His carpentry was a part of His mission to save His people from their sins.  John 17
• One's career should be viewed as a divine calling
• Our career brings us into contact with the world
• Our career must leave us unpolluted by the world.  We are to have separated involvement.  It comes from understanding "degree of association"
• We must be in the world but not of the world 1 Cor. 10:14-21.  We're told not to be unequally bound together with unbelievers.  A closeness and intimacy with them is forbidden.  This speaks to marriage, friendship, and how you do things.  Seek counsel not of your peers but of someone older and experienced.  A Christ-like work ethic will bring opposition.
• Investment of our money.  Make friends and help others with your money, but do it with your accountability in mind.  "Be on your guard against every form of greed."  Matt. 6:19-21; Luke 12:13; Matt. 25:14  The discharge of our stewardship, regardlses of its scope, reveals our character.
• Rules for Guys [i.e. potential husbands]
• A relatively mature Christian proven in a church
• A leader
• A gentleman
• Proven faithfulness in a vocation or raining for a vocation.  Beware of a divided heart, trying to serve both God and Mammon.  Matt. 5:13
• Christian witness in the workplace:  Living the life, then speaking for Christ
• Sexual purity:  you must keep both your eyes and your heart and body pure.  Christ died for your body as well as your soul.  1 Cor. 6:15-20
• Kingdom priorities:  we have few needs but many wants.  Matt. 6:19
2. Our Lord's teaching.  All of our Lord's teaching has relevance to the workplace, but some are particularly helpful.  Stewardship/accountability. 1 Cor. 4:1-6; Luke 16:1-13 Surely you sense in your soul the reality that you are a steward.  Are you prepared to give an account now?  Our Lord calls us to a practical wisdom in the discharge of our stewardship.  Much of wise stewardship comes from experience and maturity.  Be inquisitive and observant.  

B.  A Biblical work ethic is essentially spiritual
It is wrought by the Holy Spirit.  In and of yourself, you are doomed to failure.  You need power to live for Christ in a dark, hostile environment.  You need truth.  You need love.  It is first and foremost.  The starting point of love is God's first love for us.  John 14:16-17

The Christian in the Workplace, 5/28/00, Pastor Thompson

"A Passion for Excellence", part 1

We must plug this passion into a passion for the glory of God.  That's what we're here for.  Eat, drink, or whatever--all must be to God's glory.  How do I accomplish such a lofty goal--to have a passion for excellence in work by glorifying God?  You must have:

I.  Passion for the Purposes of God in Relationship to our Work
There is no interest in truth in our culture today.  The passion is from the beginning.  Gen. 2:8 

A.  Labor as a significant element of our humanity
God gave Adam a career at the very beginning.  Remember, God made man in His own image.  Your career is designed to reflect the glory of God.  you are who and where you are because God made you thus and put you thus.

B.  Significance of labor unchanged by the fall
Man's labor is not changed in its duty because of Adam's sin.  The peculiar arena of difficulty because of sin is, especially in man, in his labor.  The curse brought hardship to it, yet labor itself was not part of the curse.

C.  The glory of labor restored in redemption
God's saving activity has a profound effect upon our minds.  Those who are not Christians have their thinking veiled.  2 Cor. 4:1-6  We must understand our labor in its Biblical framework.

3 Applications
- If you're to have any passion for the dignity and necessity of labor, you must go back to Genesis and think "My career has dignity because it is a portrait designed by my Father to illustrate His glory and power."

- A healthy, Biblical realism will be provided you from your work.  That's because you'll have aggravation, temptation, and shattered dreams.  EVEN in a vocation you love.  Psalm 62:10, Prov. 23:4-5, Rom. 8:20

What is the ultimate and final end for which we work?
- It is ultimately to stack up all our works at the feet of the King.  Our retirement plan is the laying up of treasure in heaven.  You don't naturally think like that, either.

The Son of Man: A Ransom for Many, Pastor Bill Hughes

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  Mark 10:45

1. Greatness of Who He is - "The Son of Man" - Jesus' favorite way of referring to Himself.  The Jewish people couldn't understand it.  He has an eternal glory and has been with the Father and the Holy Spirit from eternity.  He made Himself of no reputation by becoming one of us.  We are so often very proud.
2. Greatness of What He did - "to serve" He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.  He was obedient to His Father.
3. Greatness of What He accomplished - "ransom" - the price paid to redeem someone/something.  Christ did not simply come to make people saveable; He came to save them.  Christ is dealt with as if He was guilty.  Barrabas was guilty.  Yet he is released.  There are many people who are condemned already, because they were born that way.  Your sins are either on your own head or on the head of Christ.

"David's Mighty Men," Pastor McDearmon

"No man is an island." - John Donne
Everyone's life is interwoven with the lives of other men.  Primary application:  We ought to identify the mighty men God has provided us. 

1. Men who gave a hand (helping, supporting and cooperating with others).  David possessed the presence of God.  What course is being advanced by us giving our support?  They selflessly helped their righteous king.
2. Men of guts - courage and valor.  They faced and overcame their fear of death.  Evident self-exposing bravery.  They're called the "mighty men."
3. Men of gift - these were competent men; of skill; who had cultivated their God-given ability.  These men must have drilled and practiced and trained.
4. Men of "get up and go" (initiative and action).  Men of mighty deeds.  That's a rare commodity in our day.  They must have the willingness and the energy to do something.  Opposite of procrastination, delay, lethargy, "let someone else do it" mindset.  "Mere talk leads only to poverty."

2 Samuel 23, 1 Chronicles 11

Uriah the Hittite was one of David's mighty men.  "The thirty" yet there are thirty-six in 2 Sam. and 52 in 1 Chron.

8/29/99, Pastor McDearmon

4.  Titus at Corinth
He is a man of selfless concern committed to the welfare of this church.  Titus was a man of initiative acting for his own accord.  3John:14  "I have no greater joy than this, but to hear my children walking in the truth."  Strive for an exemplary Christian life.  Come to Christ while you are young. 
2 Cor. 8; 1 Cor. 16:1-3; Rom. 15:25-28

5.  Titus at Crete
Titus' job at Crete would notbe an easy one.  What lesson arises for us? 

• Titus is plainly a pastor here:  We need young men in the ministry.  Would you not consider it?
• Living the Christian life is full of trials.  Consider it all joy to bear them!

1 Thess. 3:3

6.  Titus at Dalmatia
Here is our last glimpse of Titus.  We can assume that Titus has gone to Dalmatia for the cause of the gospel.  Here we learn the necessity of persevering.  He had pressed on for 20 years.  We, too, must hold fast until the end.  We have need of endurance.

8/22/99, PM, Pastor McDearmon

Portraits of Manhood: Titus

He is referred to by name 13 times in the New Testament.  Paul clearly regarded Titus as a very capable and honest co-worker.  He appears to be much more aggressive than Timothy.  It is believed by some that, due to the absence of his name in the book of Acts, Titus was Luke's brother who authored the book of Acts and omitted both names due to family modesty.
"Titus, my brother" - Paul - "my partner," etc.   2 Cor. 2:13; Tit. 2:5; Gal. 2; Acts 15

I.  Titus at Syrian Antioch
Paul submitted his message to the scrutiny of the Jerusalem elders.  Peter and James are among the leaders in the Jerusalem church.  We can conclude that Titus was a very young man when he came to Christ.  Why?  He was a member of the church of Antioch, then 20 years later he is still designated by Paul [as] a "young man."  It is logical to think that he came to Christ in his teenage years.  Titus could say with David, "Thou art my confidence from my youth."  May he have a posterity of eminent disciples of Christ here. 
Acts 11:19

II.  Titus at Jerusalem
The gospel of grace plus nothing is what will save us.  They selected Titus because they knew he was converted and trustworthy.  They knew they could count on him.  Titus had made early significant progress in his walk with Christ. 
1 Tim. 4:2; 2 Cor. 8

III.  Titus at Ephesus
Titus was not merely on a trip in Ephesus, but was an active part of preaching the word.  His life at Jerusalem bids you to live for Christ.

8/15/99, PM, Mr. Maiella

Psalm 15
IV.  A second negative couplet

1. He does not put our his money at usury.  Usury, which means interest, basically, in the original is a very strong word meaning to bite.  This does not apply to business.  It means going beyond the rate of interest in the law.  We must deal honestly and equitably with all men.  
2. Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.  Bribe or bribery is a present given to one to avert punishment or pervert justice.  The taking of a bribe was often prohibited in the Bible.  Our pastor has to make many judgments.  But what about us?  We can get bribed in school, by family members, or we can even bribe them.  Don't do it!  

He who does these things will never be moved.

Matt. 25:27; Ex. 22:25; Deut. 23:19; Lev. 25:35-37; Ez. 18; Neh. 5; Gal. 6:10; Prov. 3:27; Ex. 23:8; Deut. 27:25; Prov. 17:23; Deut. 16:18; 1 Sam. 12:1-5; Prov. 15:27

END OF BOOK II!

2/22/98, AM, Pastor McDearmon

"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."
Who wrote this book?  Solomon most probably.  Because:

1. The author calls himself the son of David, king over Jerusalem in Israel.  He was the best qualified son of David to write this book, anyway.
2. The description of the author's experiences with pleasure, wealth, women and wisdom are just like Solomon's.
3. there is an obvious similarity between the proverbial sayings of Ecclesiastes and Proverbs.

So it was Solomon, and he wrote it late in his lifetime.  We'll be studying Solomon's life in 1 Kings and 1&2 Chronicles.  3 purposes:

1.  To acquaint us with the facts of Solomon's life
2.  -
3.  To point out why it was Solomon [who wrote Ecclesiastes]

I.  Rise of Solomon
    A.  His beginnings
    B.  His ascension to the throne
    C.  David's charge to and prayer for Solomon

II.  Reign of Solomon
III.  Decline of Solomon
IV.  Duality of Solomon

2/22/98, SS, Pastor McDearmon

Love by Nature

A.  It is self-giving
B.  It is a realistic love
C.  It is purposeful
D.  It is an exclusive love - Christ loves the church as He does not love the world, sot he husband loves her better than anyone else on the earth.
E.  It is a nourishing and cherishing love.

IV.  The antithesis of this command
A.  The relationship of the prohibition to verse 19a.
While she needs his love, she often gets his bitterness.

B.  The exposition of the command
What exactly is bitterness?  Pointed, sharp, caustic or stinging.  Words or actions that are meant to hurt someone.  Prov. 27:7; Ps. 64:3; Matt. 26:75; Acts 8:23; Rom. 3:14; Eph. 4:31; Heb. 12:15; James 3:11,14, etc.

C.  How do husbands express such bitterness?

1. With words
• sarcasm
• course joking
• direct insults, accusations, and profanity
2. By their silence
3. In rudeness
4. By their domineering tyrannical ways
5. By refusing to help with the little chores
6. By their ingratitude
7. By grudge-bearing, not forgiving
8. By physical assaults on their wives

2/15/98, PM, Pastor McDearmon

I.  The object of this waiting:  the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Mercy is not getting what you deserved.  Grace is getting what you don't deserve.  Justice is getting what you deserve.  The King will have mercy to those on His right.  Those who slight Christ now can only expect justice then.

II.  The nature of this waiting - what kind?  It is an eager, expectant, excited waiting.  Waiting anxiously.  The wicked wish this day would never come.  They don't want to hear it or talk about it.  Some even scoff about it.  2 Pet. 3:10 "We are looking for a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells."  (:13)

III.  The end of this waiting - to eternal life
This is primarily qualitative.  The worship of God is a primary quality of which eternal life consists.  Eternal life consists of a fulness of joy.  "He who hears my words and believes in Me, has eternal life."

IV.  The effects this waiting ought to have on us
    A.  Purging out sin
    B.  Quickening our zeal
    C.  It puts in proper perspective this world and our things on earth
    D.  It reminds us there is more to come

2/8/98, PM, Pastor McDearmon

A husband's love for his wife should be:
I.  A self-expending love
II.  A realistic love
III.  A purposeful love
IV.  An exclusive love
V.  A solicitous love

Eph. 2:4-5, 3:18-19, 4:2, 15, 5:1, 25; Heb. 2

I.  How did Christ love the church?  By means of humbling Himself to take on flesh and blood, and become human.  He was without sin.  He loved her by His patient teaching of dull, hardened sinners unwilling to learn, like ourselves.  Above all was His laying down His own sinless life for the church.  Like Christ's love for the church, the husband's love for his wife ought to be tender and self-sacrificing. 
"Love does not seek its own."

A.  No man can understand this duty, or practice it, if he is ignorant of and a stranger to Christ's love for the church.
B.  This self-giving love is exercised from a position of headship

II.  Not a dreamy-eyed infatuation.  It sees the faults and ugliness of his wife, and loves her anyway.  He loved His bride ("He" being Christ) in spite of her corruption and wickedness.

III.  The love of Jesus Christ for teh church had in view the total maturation and sanctification of His ugly bride.

IV.  The husband is to love no other human being on earth as he loves his wife.  He (Christ) loves the church in a way that is different from the way He loves the rest of the world.

V.  This is to be an intensely solicitous, nourishing and cherishing love.

2/8/98, AM, Pastor McDearmon

Verses 22 and 23 remind us

1. Of the possibility of brethren in the church declining or falling away in teh faith
2. They remind us of the accountability of church membership, not only to the office-bearers, but also member to member.
3. They remind us of the lure, or seduction of antinomianism.

Heresy is not the same as a mistake; it will damn your soul.  Antinomianism is a heresy.

The greatest peril on this side of heaven is being left to yourself, without anyone to warn you.  This triple description in the NASB fits Jude's style, as he often describes people in groups of three.  3 groups that need dealings:
I.  Those who need to be dealt with compassionately
II.  Those who need to be dealt with urgently
III.  Those who need to be dealt with cautiously

Everyone is not at the same place on the road to apostasy.  All three groups are at different places.  The first group is doubting, not in their life yet, but in their heart.  "But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating was not in faith."  Apostasy is in its very beginning stages, but it must be checked.  Have mercy on them; you too had questions in the past.  Peace, gentleness, being reasonable.  These are associated with mercy, and be so to those beginning on the road to apostasy.  Those that raise questions on our given standards on church-life are not necessarily departing from the faith.  Have mercy on them.

II.  "Save others, snatching them out of the fire."  In other words, take them by force.  Amos 4:11 ; Gen. 19:16

III.  Those who need to be dealt with very cautiously.  "And on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh."  Have mercy on them (for you are likely disgusted with them) but with fear, for their sin is just like leaven.  Do not associate with immoral people.  So while you warn the impure, keep them at a distance, lest you be put under temptation to do the same.

1. We must discern the ways of declining brethren and approach them accordingly
2. We must remember that there is no sin in their lives but what is in us by nature
3. the duty of receiving and giving rebuke, admonition and warning

"Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me.  It is oil upon my head.  Do not let my head refuse it."

1/25/98, PM, Pastor Christianson

Isaiah 58:1-12
Judah was the only place in the whole world where there was salt and light.  We see here an essence of humbleness.  the world in which we live today is "5th Avenue" in New York City.  This is the post-modern age, and it is the day in which you are living.  What is our self-evaluation this evening?  Do we see ourselves as the most doctrinal literates?  Are we viewing ourselves as the most sincere worshipers of Jehovah on the earth?  Do we pray and labor to see Christ's name exalted above all other names in the world?  Have you shed tears over the church, nation, and ourselves?  Are you a profitable servant or an unprofitable servant?  god's faithful few.  God is saying, in a sense, "If you want to see revival come, then God has a few things to say to us all--correction!"  How do Reformed people see themselves? 

Sins of the Judeans

1. Self-righteousness not pleasing to God
2. Unjustly treating others
3. Sin of thinking the buyer gets too good a deal
4. Sin of letting too many needy people go without help

All of us in the reformed faith are extremely obscure.  God doesn't want our good works to be so sanitary.  Do we ever teach our children about service to the unlovely?  Do you realize how unlovely you once were in the eyes of God?  How do you spend time with the poor?  Maybe it doesn't take a long time to write the list out.  You don't have to be an elder or a deacon to find a poor person.

1/25/98, AM, Pastor Christianson

Matthew 5:1-16

Those who are persecuted are those described as peacemakers.  Those who are persecuted are not withdrawn from society.  Why would anyone persecute a peacemaker?  What lasting good can poor, meek, mourners, merciful, peacemakers do?  They are the salt of the earth and light of the world.  It is you who are the salt of the earth.  If the Pharisees had been present, they probably would have been offended, because the Jewish Rabbis were often referred to as "The lights of the world."  Christians are the lights.

I.  Two metaphors:  salt, light
II.  There is a caution
III.  Two observations.

I.  Metaphors are used to clarify.  He was talking to the peasants and fishermen.
    A.  Salt
Probably 2000 years ago, salt would have jumped into our minds as a preservative
    B.  Light   does 2 things

1. It exposes the darkness for what it really is
2. It exposes that which the darkness conceals.

Metaphors are meant to clarify and not complicate.

II.  Cautions
    A.  Salt without saltiness
Can salt lose its saltiness?  No - Jesus is showing the ridiculousness of salt losing what it is - salty.  You can only ruin salt by mixing it with something else.  Then it must be thrown away, or out in the streets as people did then, to be walked on.
    B.  Light which is hidden from view
What constitutes light?  Good works.  Not good words.  "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."  People will respond to your salvation with unkind words.  If the world is confused, what they're going to notice is salt and light.  How can one be the light of the world and not let their life shine?  Many camouflage their identity to fit right in.  If you are a Christian, you must let your light shine.

III. 
   A.  The Christian life is not some mystical thing. 
There is nothing so useless as a merely formal Christian.
    B.  The bearing of the people of God in the real world is not as a hostile force bent upon the overthrow of existing structures.  Paradise will never be restored.  The church is not a sub-culture speaking "Christianese" no one else can understand.  Neither is the church to be an army.  It is not swords and gunpowder.  America was not and is not a Christian nation.  The idea of a "christened" society has absolutely no power.  World evangelism is not a world conquest.

1/25/98, SS, Pastor McDearmon

Psalm 139:13-18
We must understand that man is an image-bearer of God.  "And God created man in his own image."

1. Man's rationality - capacity to think
2. Man's morality - conscience
3. Man's spirituality - never dying soul

Bring up your child in the instruction of the Lord.  You answer to your child's spirituality by answering to his soul.  By evangelizing.

1 Sam. 16:6-7; Gen. 5:1, 9:6; Gen. 2:19,20; Eph. 4:17-19, 24; Col. 3:10

C.  Man is created by God as male and female.  Teach your sons and daughters to be content with their manhood and womanhood.

II.  A child's accurate self-assessment is dependent on what a child represents to the Lord.  We can develop a sense in that child by using his/her name, developing eye contact, etc.

1/18/98, PM, Pastor Christianson

Eph. 6:5-20
I.  What faith shields
II.  How faith shields
III.  Why faith shields

II.  7 directions
A.  When faith is active, it enables the believer to see things as they really are.  [It helps you to] fight or flee. 
B.  Perceiving God's faithfulness
D.  True saving faith is the shield which manages well the true promises of God
E.  When the shield of faith is rightly handled, it rightly handles the Word of God

1.  To realize that...
2.  To believe that...
3.  To exercise that...
4.  You must see your need for that...
"all things work together for the good of those who believe, and those who are called according to His purpose."

III.  Because it is the one-sided eternal faith that takes care of the believers feet.  You must keep that shield up by the grace of God.  Grace is the reason that faith shields.  the smile of God will and must incur the frown of man.  We must not have a soft religion that shuns opposition.  Rather, we must take out the shield of faith and be salt and light.  "Take care that you return with your shield or upon it."

1/18/98, AM, Pastor Christianson

I.  The apostle's alarm
II.  The apostle's precision
III.  The apostle's boldness
IV.  The apostle's discipline

I. A. By the fact of their removal
Who are they removing themselves from?

1. From Jesus Christ
2. From Paul
3. From God the Father

B.  By the swiftness of their removal
The things that show us how:
"quickly" in Greek "taca hoss"[sp?!]

C.  By the agency of their removal
D.  Three observations

1. How susceptible men are to change
2. We are so enamored with participation that we will participate in our own salvation even if it will mean no grace
3. How fragile is the true church to the world.

II.  A. Those who want to "get back to the red letters" except the semantics or "we probably agree, it's just the semantics."
"Anathema" means accursed, and Paul meant for those men to be placed before God for judgment. 

1. Paul is intolerant
2. Paul was equally intolerant of himself
3. Paul was consistently intolerant, and all this is good.

IV.  He says if he was pleasing men, he would not be a child of God.
A.  That which is most characteristic of churches in America is "If men are pleased, God is pleased."  Many have decided that people are more important than truth.

1/18/98, SS, Pastor McDearmon

2 Dangers of Self-Assessment  Rom. 12:3
1.  Pride  Gal. 6:3-4
2.  Sinfully and faithlessly underestimating your self-ability or worth  Ex. 4:10-17; Jer. 1:4

Parental Agency in Cultivating a Child's Accurate Self-Assessment:
I.  Noting that a child's accurate self-assessment is founded on his creatureliness.  "It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves."
What are the aspects of this relationship between God and man that must be used for a child to understand his/her accurate self-assessment?
    A.  Man is the workmanship of God
We must be content with and grateful for the native features of our physiology.  We must beware of fostering such quarreling with God by manifesting the world's view.

1/11/98, PM, Pastor McDearmon

Jude:21

C.  By eagerly anticipating the return of Christ and the blessings which shall attend His return

How does such an eager anticipation go with anxiously waiting?  This assures the believer that the Father has even more to give His children.  The love of the Father has more good things yet to come.

D.  By keeping ourselves in evangelical obedience. 
[This] is dutiful, careful obedience toward the God who has loved me adn saved me.

E.  By maintaining the spiritual sense that God does love me when I love the brethren. 
"No man has seen God at any time" but we know God loves us when we love the brethren.

F.  By spending time with God.
What are we waiting for but the mercy of Jesus Christ?  "Mercy" is withholding what is deserved.  eph. 2:3  The nature of this waiting -- anxiously -- that of an earnest expectation. 

The end or goal of this waiting--to eternal life.  the effects this kind of waiting ought to have upon us:  it will quicken our zeal for the things of God.  It will help draw our hearts from this world, etc.

1/11/98, AM, Pastor McDearmon

Phil. 2:12-13 "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure."

One way to keep yourself in the love of god is to maintain a vital prayer life.  Another is to maintain a forward look.

1. What Jude means by "The Love of God"
2. What Jude means by "Keep Yourselves"
3. Practical considerations of [those phrases]

1.  Many say [it is] your love for God.  But is it God's love for me?  4 considerations

1. Understanding it is God's love for me is consistent with Jude:1
2. In this verse is a symmetry with reference to the love of God and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ which is broken when looked at as God's love for me
3. The light of several parallel texts:  2 Thess. 3:5; 2 Cor. 5:14; John 15:10
4. It fits the prepositional phrase "in" the Love of God

 2.  1 John 5:3 Avoid all that would diminish a keen consciousness of God's love for me, and to enhance a keen consciousness of God's love for me.  John 15:10  "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love."  The parent's love is instinctive. Prov. 3:32  Pay close attention to yourself, especially when it comes to God's law.

3.  How do we keep ourselves in the love of God?
    A.  By Christ-like character building.  Why?  When He appears, we shall be like Him.
    B.  By praying in the Holy Spirit  Galatians 4:6  Praying with awareness that we can, as children of God, draw near to God with faith.

1/4/98, PM, Pastor McDearmon

"There is nothing a natural man hates more than prayer."  "Prayer is the sweat of the soul."
Prayer is a work too hard for us without the Holy Spirit.  Praying in the Holy Spirit involves praying with direction from the Holy Spirit as to the substance or matter of our prayers.  Rom. 8:26  We pray, but the Spirit helps our weakness for we do not know how to pray as we should.  2 Cor. 12:7-9 Beware of praying rashly.  Pray with an open Bible.  It is the matter of praying with confidence wrought by the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is eminently the spirit of prayer.

1/4/98, AM, Pastor McDearmon

I.  Praying is what Jude commands
II.  The manner of doing our praying

I.  A.  What is prayer?
It is not the display of someone's religious vocabulary in the setting of worship.  James 4:3
It is the believing, intelligent, and heart-felt outpouring of the soul to God through God the Son, aided by God the Spirit.  It is the lifting up of the heart to God.  "Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out fo teh soul to God through Christ in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit." - John Bunyan
Prayer largely consists of praise and gratitude.  Prayer includes our adoring confession of His affection and works.  Prayer takes the form of thanksgiving.  Phil. 4:6  The needs of the people of God are to be on the minds and hearts of other people of God.  All of this is done in true faith.  "All things you ask in prayer, believing, you may receive."

II.  "In the Holy Spirit"
our prayer is to be prompted by the Holy Spirit.  In view of our settled aversion to true prayer, and it being perhaps the most wearisome labor of the soul, praying in the Holy Spirit is a manner of prayer for tearing up that aversion.  Prayer requires us to come out of the world.  It is a labor to think upon our shameful sins.  It is a labor to think of the needs of others.  The Spirit of God has come to move us to overcome our sinful aversion and to get on with our supplication.  It is our duty to pray without ceasing.

1/4/98, SS, Pastor Johnston

IV.  Will the believer's sins be unveiled on that day?
     A.  The day of judgment should stir believers to godly fear.  Matt. 10:28  This is not just a reverent fear, but an afraid fear.
     B.  The day of judgment should stir believers to godly joy and eagerness.  1 Kings 15:4-5

The godly do not have to fear exposure of sins on the day of judgment:

1. Because in Christ, God has justly and mercifully blotted out forever the sins of His people
2. Because it is their deeds of righteousness which will be publicly revealed Matt. 12:36-37
3. Because that will be a day of divine praise for the righteous
4. Because that will be a day of reward for the believers
5. Because God will praise and reward His people according to the just assessment and usefulness of each one

12/28/97, PM, Pastor McDearmon

3rd building block:  self control
This is the condition wherein our several passions are subject to knowledge and reason.  1 Cor. 9:25  "Everyone who competes in the games exercises self control in all things."  "The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience . . . self control."  Gal. 5:25  "He who restrains his lips has knowledge, adn he who has a cool spirit, understanding."  Mark 13:13; Tit. 2:1, 5, 6, 12.  "Like a city that is broken into, and without walls, i s aman who has no control over his spirit."  Prov. 25:28  Self control is one of the first and primary characteristics of a converted person. 

4th:  perseverance
"The one who endures tot eh end, he shall be saved."  James 1:3 "Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience."  Tribulation, to some degree, will be our lot in life.  This is not a utopia. 

5th:  godliness - a fundamental God-centeredness in life.  The moral excellence is not moralism.  A man who is out of control cannot have a supreme love for God.

These building blocks have social dimensions, and the first concerns the family of God.

6th:  brotherly kindness.  "philadelphia"  "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love."

7th:  love or sometimes "Christian love."  This is different from brotherly kindness in that it is indiscriminative, love to brethren, and love to neighbor, converted or not.  Not originating in what we like about object loved, but originating in the lover.  "Love one another, just as Christ also loved us, and gave Himself up for us."

12/28/97, AM, Pastor McDearmon

"Supply" or contribute generously.  2 Peter 1:5-7
"Keep yourselves in the love of God."  Jude: 20,21
[These] can be done by 1.  "building yourself up in your most holy faith" and more to follow.  Heb. 12:1

I.  The foundation
II.  The building up upon this foundation
now --> the manner of our building on this foundation.  Jude intends that we add to this foundation the Christ-like virtues of moral excellence, knowledge, self control, perseverance, godliness, kindness and love.  Why might one link 2 Pet. 1:5-7  to Jude 20?  There is a close relation between 2 Peter and Jude.  Jude was written after Peter's prophecy had been fulfilled.  The sense of Jude:20 and 2 Peter 1:5 is the same.  The Christian, by means of grace, is a wealthy man, and ought to expend himself energetically.  Jude is not advocating a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps salvation.  Jude probably had 2 Peter 1:5 in his mind because both verses begin with faith.  Faith is the sure, solid, and stable foundation on which all our lives are built.  A faith that does not produce moral passion born out of love for God and His law is a poor counterfeit.  We need to be aware of the numbing, dulling effect of the world.  We might find ourselves going along to get along with the world which would be utter and absolute opposite of moral excellence.  We gain knowledge by studying God's Word in our closets.

12/28/97, SS, Pastor Johnston

III.  He will judge our works
    A.  What works will bej udged
    B.  How will our works be judged
    C.  Why will our works be judged

A.  1.  Generally
           a.  In terms of the extent of our sinfulness or our faithfulness
           b. In terms of the extent of our influence upon others
           c.  In light of what we have not done
      2.  Particularly
           a.  Our words will be judged
           b.  Our response to the gospel
           c.  Our loyalties, allegiances
           d.  Our practical love or the absence thereof to the people of God
           e.  Our thoughts and motives

C.  Why?
Because our works define who we really are.  Faith can never live alone; it is always accompanied by love of Christ, His laws, and His people.

Prov. 24:12; Matt. 16:27; Rom. 2:6; 1 Pet. 1:17; Rev. 20:12, 13; Matt. 18:6-7, 12:35-37, 10:28; 2 Thess. 1:6-8; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rom. 2:16; 1 Cor. 4:5; Matt. 7

12/21/97, PM, Pastor McDearmon

Zechariah 6:9-15; Ezra 4,5; Isaiah 4:2, 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5, 33:13; Matt. 16:18

I.  This actual historic event
II.  The meaning of this event
III.  The whole Christ

II.  What was the significance of putting a crown on a priest?  Joshua would surely be perplexed at this coronation.  Why BRANCH?  "Branch" refers to, and this is a prophecy of the coming Christ.  The temple is the church.  Christ would be a priest on His throne.  What no other man ever was, a priest and a king.  The Messiah.  "Even those who are far away shall come and build the temple of the Lord" means His salvation includes Gentiles like us.

III.  A.  Christ as priest
Our high priest is no man or class of men, but the Messiah Himself, and He now appears in the presence of God for us.  "Christ died once for all delivered to the saints.  The just for the unjust . . . "

B.  The whole Christ as king
He pardons as a priest but also rules as a king.  He does not forgive those who buck under His government.  We bow to a king, not a priest.  "Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord."

C.  He is a prophet
John the Baptist was the last Old Covenant prophet, but Christ does not keep silent.  Acts 3:22 - "The Lord God shall raise up for you a prophet like me, from your brethren.  Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you."  To this prophet we must come if we would know the truth.

12/21/97, AM, Pastor McDearmon

Jude:20
I.  The foundation
II.  The building up upon this foundation

The foundation is "your most holy faith."  In what sense are we to understand "faith?"  Maybe subjectively, personal faith, or objectively, the Christian faith.  This signifies faith objectively, the Christian faith.  This is equivalent to what Paul says, "The word of His grace which is able to build you up."  What is true of the church, believers collectively, is true of every member of that household.  By this faith a man is justified and sanctified.  Everyone is building a life, and on something.  There are only two kinds of foundations, that which is man-made, and that which is God-made.

12/21/97, SS, Pastor Johnston

I.  The particulars of the judgment
    A.  Who will judge?
          1.  It is most appropriate that Christ shoudl judge because
               a.  He made us
               b.  He redeemed His people
               c.  He humbled Himself
               d.  He obeyed even unto death on the cross
          2.  God the Father will judge
          3.  The angels will help judge
          4.  Saints will help, too
    B.  When will the judgment take place?
          1.  It is unknown
          2.  It is delayed
          3.  It is near  James 5:8
    C.  Who will be judged?
          1.  Fallen angels
          2.  Humans
    D.  According to what standard will God judge?
          1.  According to their knowledge of God
          2.  According to their conscience
   E.  All will be revealed
   F.  What will be the outcome of that day?
         1.  People will go into everlasting punishment or
         2.  Everlasting life

II.  The Purpose
The ultimate purpose of the day of judgment is to publicly display the glory of God. 
Our attention will be drawn to the sovereignty of Jesus Christ.
The motivational purpose of the day of judgment for the unconverted is to warn them of what is about to happen.

12/14/97, PM, Pastor McDearmon

These divisions were being effected by carnal loyalties.  These happen when the people would separate into personality sects of "Paul," "Apollos," "Cephas," and Christ.  Does this mean that a church should not benefit from the different personalities of the diverse preachers?  No.  God has gifted each man, and they are all His servants.  A church can be divided by sinful partiality.  Partiality means favoring one party over another.  Sinful partiality implies not all partialities are sinful; [in] many instances fairness is evil.  But sinful partiality was directed in Jude's day, to the rich.  James 2:1-8.  Divisions are effected by fractured personal relationships.  Divisions are effected by an undisciplined tongue.  "Where there are many words, transgression is unavoidable."  Why do these men divide churches?  Because they are worldly minded.  Unity of the church is a heart-deep church.  may we, as Christ prayed of His disciples, be perfected in unity.

12/14/97, AM, Pastor McDearmon

Divisions - to draw a line or make boundaries.
"though" - from or off.  To separate.

1. What was divided?
2. How were these divisions effective?

The churches in which these men were found were divided.  Division was being effective by false doctrine as some in the church embraced the false teaching while others, to their credit, were refusing it.  Rom. 16 "Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissentions."  Two occasions for false doctrine:  1.  smooth and flattering speech, 2. --. 

The members can[not?] be in doctrinal agreement if the members are not in consistent attendance.  They can be in doctrinal unity if they remain teachable.  The membership can be in substantial doctrinal agreement if the members remain honest.  We must remain vigilant to the rising of doctrinal disagreement.  These divisions were also being affected by false living.  False living and false doctrine are related.  Where you find loose living, you're going to find false doctrine.  Rebellion against the church's leadership could be another cause for division.  Unity in the church is a heart issue.

12/14/97, SS, Pastor McDearmon

10.  We are to read with faith, believing the Word to be of God.
     a.  Internal Evidence
         -  The subject matter
         -  The effects upon people's lives
    b.  External evidence.  Heb. 4:3

11.  We are to value the Scriptures, prizing the book above all other books.

12.  We are to "get an ardent love for the Word"
     "prizing" - relates to our judgments
     "love" - relates to our affections

13.  Come to the reading of the Word with honest hearts.
    a.  To come with a heart that wants to know the whole counsel of the Word
    b.  To read the Word unto the end to be made better by it

14.  To learn to apply the Scriptures to ourselves
    "A medicine will do no good unless it is applied to the patient."

15.  We are to observe the preceptive part of the Word as well as the promises.

16.  Let your thoughts dwell upon the most material pats of Scripture.  Such as Ephesians in comparison with 1 Chronicles 1-9.  Both are inspired, but genealogies are not as important as the directives of the New Testament.

17.  Copmpare yourselves with teh Word.

18.  Take special notice of those Scriptures which speak directly to your face.

19.  Take special notes of the examples of good to yourself or if of bad, an example to avoid.  Nothing draws God's judgment more quickly than hypocrisy.

20.  Leave not off reading in the Bible, till you find your hearts warmed.  Psalm 119:25,28,37,40,50, etc.

21.  Set upon the practice of what you read.

22.  Make use of Christ's prophetic office.

23.  Tread often upon the threshold of the sanctuary, or "go to church!"

24.  Pray that God will make you profit.  Content not yourselves with the bare reading of Scripture, but seek and labor that you may understand it.  You may profit by reading the Scriptures even if you do not have a good memory.

12/7/97, PM, Pastor McDearmon

James has spoken to the false.  Now with the true. 

I.  The True Origin of Temptation and Sin
Each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed.  Entice - to lure with bait.  To entice was often thought of as 1.  fishing or 2.  the harlot.

II.  Temptation's Development
What impregnates lust in order to bring forth sin?  Man's will unites with lust.  For from within, out of the heart of men proceed temptation and sin.  Every good thing bestowed comes from God, and supremely, the new birth.  Learn that sin develops by degrees, and remember the last consequence of sin, death.  We do not live in the same lusts as those of the false teachers.

12/7/97, AM, Pastor McDearmon

In this world, corruption in the hearts of men and women is not from money and nice things, but from incorrect desires for money and nice things.  Corruption is in the world by lust.  Sin knows no mother but man's own heart.  "God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts."  Rom. 1:24.  "Flee youthful lusts."  "The grace of God instructs us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts."

Lust - "a heated desire toward something" 
Lusts are evil because either the object is evil or the desires are excessive.  To live according to your own lusts is destructive and downright pitiful.  Outward trials have the potential to become inward temptation.  Men are very prone to blame God.  "We sin simply because we choose to sin."

Why God cannot tempt us to sin

1. The nature of God precludes Him from being the origin of sin
• His perfect sufficiency
• His perfect holiness
2. His character renders the conduct of being unable to tempt anyone.

Sinners strangely resists facing their own culpability to sin.

11/30/97, PM, Pastor McDearmon

One primary application

We must be committed to the discipline of daily devotions in communion with Him through His Word.  "Remember the words spoken by the apostles."  (Jude)  "Some people's bible reading is characterized by perpetuated dipping and picking." - J.C. Ryle

A suggestive format for the use and reading of the Word of God:  The systematic reading of the Word of God Genesis through Revelation in a fixed period of time.  That period of time can be 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years or any other amount of time.  This is recommended by many godly writers of yesterday and today. 

1. A time period is established
2. Each day has a designated old and new testament portion to be read
3.  OT objectives:  understanding, applying
• Read the OT portion seeking to understand its meaning, being mindful of the concept and of what you are reading
• Apply what is read and accurately interpreted to myself.  Ask questions like "How does this relate to me?  what should I learn?  What should I repent of? etc."  Meditate upon it.
• We must worship God through prayer.  We give thanks to God. 
4. Read NT portion with same procedure
5. Do not be frustrated if a portion remains unclear.  Try a Bible Dictionary, Commentaries, or another's counsel.
6. It is good to read other books, but your focus is to read the Bible.
7. Meditate on a few selected verses.
8. Memorize at lest one verse a week.

What can be offered to this approach?  What are biblical indications concerning this point?

1. The nature of the Bible itself.  "All Scripture is inspired . . . and profitable."  We must expose our souls to all Scripture.
2. Our need for the entire Bible points in this direction.  Matthew 4:4.  "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which proceeds out of the mouth of God."  
3. Christ being the them of the entire Bible.  The Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms all point to Him.  The gospels tell of Him, the epistles promote Him and the Revelation also testifies to Him.
4. The unity of the entire Bible points in this direction.  It is one unified whole. 

Hebrews 1:1-2, Hebrews 8.  "I will put my laws . . . "

Dangers of this plan:

1. Danger of formality
2. Danger of self-righteousness
3. Danger of careless reading

Advantages:

1. The whole Bible read through consecutively
2. Time not wasted in choosing topic matter
3. Parents having regular subject matter with which to converse with children
4. Pastor will know what people are feeding on/matters to pray about
5. Production of symmetry/balance in our understanding and experience

Suggestions

1. Add to OT and NT reading each day 1 Psalm.
2. Read a Proverb a day according to calendar day.
3. Add a bit of devotional reading.  Even a few pages of a well-chosen book.

"You, beloved, ought to remember the words which were spoke of you by the apostles."

11/30/97, AM, Pastor McDearmon

Our minds are to dwell on those truths and realities concerning God, God's works, etc.  Phil. 4:8  Jude had been speaking of the bad guys.  The focus has very definitely changed. 

I.  The address that Jude uses:  "But you, beloved"
    A.  Denunciatory warnings are very much in agreement with Christian love
II.  The command.  Gal. 2:10, Heb. 13:3, Ex. 20:8
    Remember!  Like Remember Lot's Wife.  Where are there passages of Scriptures like these?
    What is a mocker?  Well, something a sensible man would esteem, a mocker scorns.

Concluding thoughts

1. It is evident Jude recognized the divine authority and inspiration of the writings of the apostles.
2. He teaches them that teh Scriptures are the only reliable and authoritative guide for living.
3. He's teaching them the Scriptures are to be used.

Application
If we are to remember the words of the apostles so as to have them to use in a moment of need, then we must begin to renew our knowledge and daily communion with God through the Word.

11/23/97, PM, Pastor McDearmon

II.  What is it to follow after (or walk after) your own lusts?  Jude :16

    A.  It includes a willing subjection to lust
    B.  It involves a customary practice of our lusts
    C.  And a fond indulgence of our lusts

This above described person is not a carnal backslidden Christian in declension, but an unconverted man.  The grace of God teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts.

III.  7 basic directives toward mortifying lusts
    A.  Identify the lusts that arise in yoru body, soul, and the world.
    B.  Identify the occasions predictably conducive to the rising of your lusts
    C.  Bring teh teaching of Scripture to bear upon your lusts
    D.  Consider the consequences of yielding
    E.  Consider the benefits of denying your lusts, or of a disciplined moderation
    F.  Solicit the warnings and rebukes of others unto the end of waking you up and warning you to stop indulging lusts.
    G.  One's response to lust is a central issue in our lives

They speak arrogantly
Or big, swollen words.  These men talk big to impress others, and to gain a following.
I.  Claiming a superior knowledge of God and the Bible.
II.  Censuring thsoe who dared to disagree with them.  Ps. 73:9
III.  To speak big words of others and about themselves

We ought to, yes, speak with passion, but also with humility, giving gratitude to God for our knowledge.

Flattering people to gain Advantage
The advantages of this - gaining people to their side, and to gain worldly treasure. Flattering people to gain something is patently evil.  Commending other in order to learn from them is right.

11/23/97, SS, Pastor McDearmon

The man of God consciously denies himself of all unnecessary worldly desires.  Jude:16

Following after their own Lusts
One who is an all-around complainer is one governed by his own lusts.

I.  What are lusts?
Most literally, "lust" in the original means "a heated passion focused on a particular thing."  Not always bad - Luke 22:15; Phil. 1:8; Matt. 13:17; Luke 15:16; 1 Tim. 3:1; 1 Pet. 1:21
Most frequently, the term is used in a bad sense.  Gal. 5:16; Eph. 2:3; 1 Pet. 2:11; 2 Pet. 2:18; 1 John 2:16; Matt. 5:28; Acts 20:33; 1 Pet. 4:2; 1 Cor. 10:6; Tit. 2:12; 1 Thess. 4:4;

II.  What is it to follow after one's own lusts?

11/16/97, PM, Pastor McDearmon

Finding Fault  Jude:16

I.  What is meant by finding fault?
II.  With what do complainers find fault?
    A.  The kind and portion of what they have
    B.  What they have as compared to what others have.  They forget . . .

1. Their actions have consequences
2. In the end, it's God's prerogative to make rich.

    C.  Having to expend themselves and their goods
    D.  About their circumstances of all sorts

1. Where they live
2. The condition of their living, etc. Num. 14:1-4

"Grass is greener on the other side of the fence."
    E.  About one's role in life Num. 16:1
    F.  About what other people do Luke 5:30
    G.  Other people --> their superiority
    H.  The recognition other people get John 7:11
    I.  About adversity

1. For what we want
2. For what we have gotten
3. For what we have in comparison to what others have

III.  Why are men complainers?
    A.  Pride
    B.  Self-love
    C.  Impatience
    D.  Presumption of merit
    E.  Carnal affection
    F.  Unbelief   Ps. 106:24-25

IV.  Some truths to mortify complaining
    A.  A little is enough, and too much is a snare.
    B.  The government of our lives in every detail belongs to God.
    C.  God sees what is most fit for us.  Jer. 29:11
    D.  God disposes all for the ultimate good of His people

If we have an accurate view of our dessert, we may wonder at what we do have.  If it is ill for the present, unbelieving men think it will not get better.  Without faith, man is a complainer.  Those who want to get rich want much - riches are a snare for the soul.  Count your present estate the best.  "Murmuring or complaining is a sin that pulls God off His throne."  Thomas Manton

11/9/97, PM, Mr. Ryan

Isaiah 53:11a "He shall see the travail of hsi soul, and be satisfied." 

I.  The nature of this satisfaction
   A.  Abundantly full Is. 66:10
   B.  Exceedingly joyous
Christ sees his sufferings and does not regret them, but is full of joy.

1. Application to the Christian.  We would hold a warped description if we believed that thought Jesus was satisfied with His travail, He is no longer satisfied and full of joy with us as Christians.  Ought we not to do what He asks us with joy?
2. Application to the Unconverted.  Do you not see that He has joy in saving sinners?  You don't hae to be perfect; you can't be. 

Does Jesus Christ find His satisfaction with the travail itself, or is He satisfied with something else?  his joy is in what He knew this travail would produce.

II.  The elements of His satisfaction. 
   A.  He is satisfied with the justification of many.

1. His seed shall be justified
2. Those whom He shall justify shall be many

He will justify many.  Man cannot do it for Himself.  He shall be satisfied - not pacified; there is a big difference.
   
   B.  He is satisfied with the ongoing victories of His justification.
   C.  He is satisfied with the exaltation and glory of Himself.
   D.  He is satisfied into bestowing of the glory and honors upon His people.

The only reason why we overcome is because He enables us.  Final application:  for the Christians:  He is satisfied with us.  Yes, we are not perfect yet, but when we stand before Christ, He looks before us just as if we had never sinned - justification.  Before we start getting bitter adn dissatisfied with each other, remember, Christ is satisfied with him/her.

11/9/97, AM, Mr. Ryan

"Blessed" conveys a sense of envious desire.  Blessed means that the one whose transgressions are forgiven is the most happy, blissful, to be envied, etc. 

The Blessed Man described
I.  Negatively
   A.  One whose life manner resists the ungodly or wicked.  Wicked-->one whose life misses the mark.
   B.  One who avoids the company of open blasphemers of God.
   C.  One who stays away from the path of the sinners.

II.  Positively described
   A.  He delights in God's Word
   B.  He meditates on the Word of God
   C.  He is a steadfast, fruitful child of God.

11/9/97. SS, Mr. Ryan

The Christian's Perspective on the Punishment of Crime

I.  The Area of the Punishment of Crime
    A.  What our perspective is not to be

1. not the world's perspective Eph. 4:17-18
2. not a well-meaning but Biblically warped Christian perspective
• those who hold to an imbalanced view of the person of God.  Predominating view:  "God is love."
• those who hold a warped perspective on the unity of the covenants.  Theonomy.  

    B.  What our perspective is to be governed by

1. Romans 13  We need to realize God establishes and empowers civil governments.
2. Rulers are established to do not their own will, but His will.  He has put them there for our good.  1 Tim. 2:2.  that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and reverence.
3. This is achieved by the punishment of evildoers.

II.  2 Critical Things Must Occur
    A.  These justices must be performed
    B.  The intended effect of the punishment meted out is actually realized

1. They are to cause fear and terror in the criminal
2. You must use swiftness and certainty in order to accomplish the goal of peace

    C.  What guidelines ought to be used in our societies?  An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

11/2/97, PM, Pastor McDearmon

You can preach salvation by grace and justification by faith and you are called licentious; you preach teh holiness of God, and you are called legalist.  Jude:16 This is the final description of these false teachers:

A.  These are grumblers
Grumbl[ers] are quiet, behind-the-scenes complainers who have come to distrust their leaders. 
Matthew 20:11-12; Luke 5:30; John 6:35; Acts 6:1; Phil. 2:14; 1 Cor. 10:10
The Jews led out of Egypt were grumbling not only to Moses, but at teh same time, to the Lord.  Grumbling is most directly aimed at God's appointed leadership.  the intent of grumblers and complainers is to overthrow authority. 

We must identify and deal with our grumbling.

We must beware not to listen to our have anythign to do with grumblers. 

Jude says of these libertines, "these are grumblers."

11/2/97, AM, Pastor McDearmon

I.  The Prophet
II.  The Prophecy
Review:  Enoch walked with God consistently for a minimum of thee hundred years.  He obtained the witness that before he was taken up he pleased God.

II.  introductory matters

1. The sense of the prophecy is applicable to the men Jude was describing.
2. This prophecy is as good as accomplished.  

    A.  The manner of our Lord's return
He is described as surrounded by thousands or a myriad of "holy ones" either glorified saints, or more likely, His angels.  The angels shall accompany the returning Christ.

1. The doctrine of the day of judgment is as gold or ancient as the day of Enoch.
2. "Behold" grabs our attention.  He's coming!

    B.  The purpose of our Lord's coming

1. To execute judgment - general
2. To convict all the ungodly - specific

Notice in verse 15 "all" is stated 4 times!  No one will escape.  All our secrets shall be exposed.  Sinners will be convicted of every careless word.  "The Lord weighs the hearts."  The execution of judgment shall involve the omniscient Judge.  The ungodly are men who are not dominatedly devoted to God.  It does not matter how religious you are.  Enoch was devoted to God and that's what makes him godly.  When the Lord returns to execute judgment, He will convict the ungodly or "lay bare" their true heart.  In the judgment, the nature and character of a man shall be exposed.  Solomon said, "The ploughing of the wicked is sin."  For the wicked man ploughs with the wrong motives.  "These are grumblers, finding fault." 

We ought to put in mind that conviction now may lead to salvation.  Conviction in this life, as painful and/or shameful as it is, leads to salvation.

10/26/97, PM, Pastor McDearmon

I.  The Prophet                                                             Jude:14-15
II.  The Prophecy

I. 
    A.  The character of the age or era
It was primarily the proccupation of worldly activities that took away any thought of God.
    B.  The character of the man, Enoch

1. Enoch was a man of faith.  He believed that as a child of Adam, he had received a sin nature and was guilty as Adam and Eve.
2. Enoch was a man of persevering godliness.  "How can two walk together unless they be agreed?"  They can't.  Enoch was God's own child, and walking with God signifies
• Communion with, and
• Obedience to God.  He was not a man too busy to pray.  He communed with God so as to know God, and to commune with God.  Enoch's walking with God was precisely what the false teachers in Jude's day had failed to do.
3. Enoch spoke to his generation for God.  He prophesied about their ungodly deeds.  
4. Enoch was a man who pleased God.
5. The end of Enoch.  He was taken up into heaven without the ordinary experience of death, or the unique experience of the second coming of Christ. 

10/26/97, AM, Pastor McDearmon

Jude uses 5 metaphors taken from nature to describe those who would turn the grace of God into licentiousness.

I.  Hidden Reefs - in a love feast - sea .  Take heed of luxury.  This signifies selfishness.

II.  Clouds without water - sky
Do I find holy living improved by their teaching?  That is the question one should ask of teachers like this.

III.  Trees without fruit - land
These men are doubly dead.  First by their original state, dead again by apostasy.  Uprooted.

IV.  Wild waves - sea
You think of the waves washing up shells, sand, seaweed, and in the Northeast, medical waste.

V.  Wandering stars - sky
Shooting stars sometimes refer to fallen angels who will be doomed forever, like these libertines, to eternal darkness.

It does make a very big difference as to whose ministry you depend upon.  And there ought to be serious scrutiny of the fruits of these teachers.

10/19/97, PM, Pastor McDearmon

There is no such thing as new.  Anything and everything goes back to Genesis.  God did not intend men to live on the level of animals.  Men who live by appetite rather than by reason are a man's body with a beast's heart.  Cain, Balaam, and Korah are the men who are warnings from the Old Testament.  Jude :11

-  "Woe to them" is an expression of both denunciation and doom.  the man who used this phrase most is Christ Himself.  We ought to be passionate about the preaching of the gospel.
-  The predictive parallel text 2 Peter 2:15.  Peter predicts what Jude condemns, but Peter only puts in Balaam; Jude adds Cain and Korah.

I.  Cain "For they have gone the way of Cain."  (a manner of living or thinking)
Cain is depicted as a selfish, hateful brother whose offering was not acceptable because he did not have faith.

II.  The error of Balaam "have run greedily in the way of Balaam for profit" (or pay, money)
The gain they wanted was not only money, but popularity, a gratifying ego, followers, etc.  What was the error of Balaam?  The Old Testament narrative does not tell all that Balaam did, but there are other passages that fill us up in the rest of the story.  Balaam is willing to be a preacher for hire.  Balaam should have told Balak to get out of his sight, but he wanted the money.  The error of Balaam is that of getting others to sin.  the error of teaching others that sin doesn't matter, where sin abounds, grace super-abounds.

III.  The rebellion of Korah
A.  Korah rebels
B.  Moses' response to Korah
C.  Moses' summoning Korah's freinds
D.  The people gather around the tabernacle
later...
The earth swallows them up.

Though the scene be shifted and the actors replaced, the plot is the same.

10/19/97, AM, Pastor Austin Walker

John 18:11 "Then Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword in the sheath.  Shall I not drink the cup which my Father has given Me?" 
2 objectives
I.  Those of you who have not put your trust in Christ will be saved this morning
II.  Those who have already been freed from your sins will be encouraged by a fresh view of Christ crucified.

See Christ in His sufferings:

1. He is in total control of it.  He is not a martyr.
2. He is under divine judgment.
3. We see Him in His obedience.

It is in obedience to His Father that He drinks this cup.  All the sorrows, experiences, and death are from His Father.  And the son obeys.

10/19/97, SS, Pastor Savastio

The word "sin" in many places nowadays is used only as a joke.  Galatians 2:21

What is the sin?
I.  The sin of self-righteousness
    A.  The nature of self-righteousness
    B.  The evils of self-righteousness
    C.  A few antidotes to self-righteousness

More people believe they are going to heaven than believe there is a heaven.  Most people believe that "Whatever God requires of me, I will be able to accomplish."  Grace speaks of undeserved or unmerited favor.  Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Cor. 1:30-31  if you can become righteous in and of yourself, then Christ died in vain.  Without holiness, no one shall see the Lord.  But remember, these things do not save you.  What are the cures for self-righteousness?  You need to change your view of God.  Nobody has their own view or convictions about gravity, and you cannot have more than one view of God.  The cross of Christ is all about salvation.  We need to embrace God's grace and God's provision.

10/12/97, PM, Pastor Hill

I.  The details of the event
II.  Apply certain points

Mary is identified as the one who anointed Jesus' head/feet.  This was very expensive perfume of pure nard, a very costly root from a remote region of the world.  Judas did not really care for the poor, but wanted the money it could have been sold for.  "She has done what she could.  She has prepared my body beforehand for the burial."  God's purposes may often be brought out n men and women who do not know what they are doing.

II.  A.  In Mary, we have the lesson of generous self-sacrifice.  She wasn't calloused to the poor, but not all of them put together, benefited by her money, did she love as much as Christ.  Christ deserves it all.  Proverbs 3:5-6; Psalm 116:12-14
     B.  What is really spent in honoring Christ can never be waste.  Luke 6:38
     C.  Let us not expect that the world will be impressed by our devotion to Christ.  They won't be.  They will call you a fool, legalist, Jesus freak, etc.
     D.  We ought to take a passing note, at least, of what it is to confess Christ.  Mark 14:9
     E.  The reason most people do not confess Christ is because they so little realize what God has done for them.

10/12/97, AM, Pastor Sarver

Spiritual Declension

The one thing the devil tries to keep us from is prayer.  2 areas of declension in prayer.

A.  Declension in the spirit of prayer
B.  Declension in the habit of prayer

Prayer is said to be an offering, an incense, the lifting up of the soul.  It is absolutely essential to pray from the heart.  God hears only the prayer that the heart prays.

--> Meditate on those realities which are most likely to kindle your desires.  We never struggle hard for something unless we want it badly.  Without desire, we will never pray from the heart.  1 Samuel 1  Without desire, there is no burden upon our hearts.  God has no more respect for lukewarm prayer than for lukewarm persons.  Psalm 10:17  All such desires must come from God.  Our minds must lead our hearts.  How can we pray like Elijah did?  After praying so, Elijah's thoughts would be turned to the great world within him, the great world before him, and the great world above him. 

Meditate on

1. The great world within you.  "We are beggars, that is true."  This is what made Luther mighty in prayer.  What do you see when you look at yourself?  Do you see that you are very poor and needy without Him?  Do you see how desperately you need God's guidance to get you through that day?  The Lord brings us to our knees that we might pray.  We say, "Lord, please take this thorn away."  The Lord says, "No, but I will give you grace."
2. The great world before us.  The state of this world ought to stir us up and drive out weeping for the poor, wicked nations.
3. The great world above us.  We should also think of the world beyond.  Every step the Christian makes is another step toward heaven.  Every step the sinner takes is another step toward damnation.

10/5/97, PM, Pastor McDearmon

The work of God's grace.  Titus 2:14
I.  The connection of verse 14 with the rest
II.  The fact of Christ's substitutionary death
III.  The reason for Christ's substitutionary death

The very purpose of Christ's redemptive acts is that we would desire to live sensibly, righteously and holy in the present age.  "Who gave Himself for us."
    A.  The giver
Yes, God the Father gave the Son, but it was also a voluntary act of the Son.  Christ is the One who gave.
    B.  The gift given
He gave Himself.  He laid down all His glory and majesty to become a man. 
    C.  Those for whom the gift is given. 
For us.  For poor, perishing, elect sinners that wanted nothing to do with God.  "In that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

III.  "That He might redeem us from every lawless deed."  Matt. 20:28  "The son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give Himself a ransom for many."  Christ emancipated us from the against-law mindset.  We are no longer beaten from our try against sin before we start.

10/5/97, AM, Pastor McDearmon

"Libertine Christians shall share as bad as stubborn Jews."
These false teachers spoke evil of the angels, as they had immediate contact with the law and Mount Sinai.  If the highest angel was guarded with what he said, how much more should we, as mortal men, be careful with our speech!

I.  Describe them in terms of what they do not know
What does "revile" mean?  Defaming, derisive speech with the purpose of ruining the reputation of another.  "Hurling abuse."  Even in the presence of the devil, the archangel refused to give a railing judgment.  The reviler is a bitter, resentful person, and who is just trying to get even.  The president is no more wicked than the devil, so we are not to revile the president.  What is it that these men reviled?  They revile the things that they do not understand.  The angels are the servants of God and promptly do His will.  In what sense are these men ignorant of the angels?  1 Corinthians 2:14 "But a natural man."  This is an unregenerate man who lives under the influence of his passions and profusions.  He can mentally process Biblical truths but he does not really understand them.  No amount of theological decrees will give you an enlightening understanding of the Spirit of God.

"You are my friends if you do what I tell you."

II.  Describe them in terms of what they do know.
Their self-indulgence relative to their lusts, passions, appetites and pleasures.  And these are the things that they hold in common with animals.  God shall hold that one to account that was created a man, but acts like an animal.

9/28/97, PM, Mr. Ryan

Psalm 11
I. The temptation encountered  (verses 1-3)
    A.   The abiding disposition of a godly man - trust

1. The place of David's trust - the Lord.  God and God alone.
2. The nature of David's trust - a particular steadfast trust.  Perpetual and permanent.

    B.  The counsel and arguments of the tempters.
          What do they base their arguments on?

1. Self-Preservation
2. Self-Trust

II.  The response given
The Lord reigneth.  Let the people rejoice, let those who hate Him flee before Him.
    A.  God is in control
    B.  He is an informed sovereign
    C.  He is a ___

God never tests the wicked, because there is nothing to test.

9/28/97, AM, Mr. Ryan

Luke 8:22-25
God honors faith at

I.  The Journey Undertaken
II.  The Calamity Encountered
III.  The Calamity Addressed
IV.  The Results Observed

I.  Jesus, as a man, was spent, for head had been ministering all day.  He did have a goal; instead of saying "let's go for a ride," He said, "Let us go over to the other side of the lake."

II.  twofold nature
    A.  It was sudden and unexpected - no plan B
    B.  It was violent in its nature - like an earthquake in teh sea.  They were in real peril;  it was a 911 situation.

III.  It was addressed by both the disciples and by Jesus. 
These experienced, professional fishermen realized they could do nothing, and they went to Jesus.  What prompted them to go to the Lord?  They were sailors, not Him.  Faith brought them.  They go to Him as God.  If He can't get them out, no one can.  And that's faith.  Faith is very simple.  The calamity addressed by the Lord:  This is important and violent.  He responded to the cry of faith.  He undertook for His disciples.  He rebuked the wind and waves.  "Rebuke" in its original form is very strong.  he not only corrected but showed righteous anger.  He is not still sleeping when we cry out to Him.  He hears the meekest little whimper.  The object in the extent of His rebuke.  Why did He rebuke the water?  It could have calmed down after the wind stopped, but He takes care of the whole situation.

IV.  The Results:
The disciples were driven to two things: 
A.  Sober self-examination
B.  Worship and adoration
Their failure is that they forgot the former promises of God.  It is not possible to lose your salvation.  He didn't mock, He didn't chide the one who cried out.  Great answers to prayers of little faith ought to increase your faith.

9/28/97, SS, Mr. Ryan

The elect lady and her children could be a church and the members.

I.  All true Christians love the church.
You cannot love Christ without loving the church; you cannot love the church without loving Christ.  All of those who have known the truth, not "a" truth; there is only one.   They love it:
    A.  Generically - people they don't know
    B.  Specifically - people they do know
    C.  Sincerely - in truth

II.  All true Christians love the church because of the truth.
God is gracious and merciful to all people, and so we know peace.

Do we truly love the church?
Why do we love the church?