Sanctified Vessels

Our verse this morning was 2 Timothy 2:22 which says, Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. In regards to this verse, Wiersbe says that in order for God to be able to use us as vessels, we must be empty, clean, and available. He will take us and fill us and use us for His glory. But if we are filled with sin or defiled by disobedience, He will first have to purge us; and that might not be an enjoyable experience. In the "great house" of the professing church, there are true believers and false. We must exercise spiritual discernment and be careful that we are vessels sanctified unto honor.

Hast Thou No Scar?

I read Matthew 5:10 in preparation for my Bible study next Sunday night and it says, Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. It reminded me of what Amy Carmichael once wrote.

"Hast thou no scar?  No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?  I hear thee sung as mighty in the land, I hear them hail thy bright ascendant star, Hast thou no scar?  Hast thou no wound?  Yet I was wounded by the archers, spend, Leaned Me against a tree to die; and rent, By ravening beasts that compassed Me, I swooned: Hast thou no wound?  No wound, no scar?  Yet, as the Master shall the servant be, And, pierced are the feet that follow Me; But thine are whole: can he have followed far Who has no wounds nor scar?"

 

A Call to Ministry

After a church service on Sunday morning, a young boy suddenly announced to his mother, "Mom, I've decided to become a minister when I grow up." "That's okay with us, but what made you decide that?" "Well," said the little boy, "I have to go to church on Sunday anyway, And I figure it will be more fun to stand up and yell, than to sit and listen."

Universe of Nothingness

"When man makes himself and his reason, god over creation, he destroys all meaning in creation and leaves himself a chained and gibbering baboon, sitting in terror on a wired electric chair in the midst of a vast universe of nothingness." - R.J. Rushdoon

One of My All-Time Favorite Songs

A New Name

One of our texts this morning was Revelation 2:17 which says, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.

Now we have the part of the letter where Jesus promises salvation to the over comer.  And not only that, but He will give them some of the hidden manna to eat. What is manna?  In Exodus 16, the people of Israel were in their wilderness wandering, and complained that there was no food.  Exodus 16:4 tells us, Then the LORD said to Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you...  So, they awoke to the next morning and it was all over the place.  Exodus 16:14-15 says, When the layer of dew evaporated, behold, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground. When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, What is it? For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat."  In other words, God will be that "hidden manna" for us.  This speaks of eternal life!  Just as it sustained the children of Israel in the desert and gave them life, so too, we have life in Christ.  Jesus said in John 6:48-51 "I am that bread of life.  Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.  This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."  So, He Himself is the hidden manna and eating of Him means life eternal.  Jesus referred to this also in John 6:54-56 when He said, "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.  For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.  He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him."  Of course, he was speaking spiritually, not physically.

Notice in this verse that it says that those who overcome will also receive a "white stone" with a "new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it."  Without going into much detail; in the Old Testament when there was a decision of innocence or guilt, two stones would be placed in a bag: one white and the other black.  The white was an indication of innocence and the black, an indication of guilt.  There are many that feel these stones were the Urim and the Thummim.  We see them referred to in Numbers 27:21 where it says, "And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation."  They are also referred to in Deuteronomy 33:8, Ezra 2:63, Nehemiah 7:65, Exodus 28:30 and Leviticus 8:8.  Do your own study.  So in giving you a white stone, Jesus could be saying, "you're innocent, I have made you not guilty."

There is also another historical white stone.  It was a piece of pure white marble that was given to the winners of the first Olympics as a trophy.  One day Jesus will also declare us to be winners.  But what about this new name carved on it?  One day Jesus will give me a name that only he and I know.  This new name is also referred to in Revelation 3:12 where it says, "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name."

Can you imagine getting a name that only you and God knows?  How many Dwayne's are there in this world?  I'm sure that there are literally thousands.  However, this promise says that one day when we get to Heaven, God is going to give those of us who have accepted His Son, a new name that only He and the person He gives it to knows.  I remember when I was just boy out in the neighborhood playing with my friends and my Grandmother would yell out, "Herbert Dwayne Spearman!"  You probably have memories like that too.  She did that to distinguish me from all others.  So too, our Heavenly Father is going to give us a name to distinguish us from all others!

Threefold Remedy

Our text this morning came from Revelation 2:4-5 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. (5)  Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. Unfortunately, we all tend to stray away from the things of God for one reason or another from time to time. However, it's never too late to come back and the remedy is threefold. First, you must remember from where you have fallen. You need to remember what you were doing when you knew for sure that you were in the perfect will of God. Second you must repent. Tell God you're sorry and turn away from your sin. Remember, it's always our sin that causes us to forsake our first love. Third, we need to go back and do the things that we were doing before we forsook our first love.

Modern Youth Ministry

Youth-ministry reformers booted (OneNewsNow.com)

I've been saying this for years, but no one wants to hear it. Modern youth ministry is going the wrong way. Not sure about everything these guys are saying because I haven't seen the movie yet though.

 

As the Deer

In the devotion this morning, we looked at Psalm 42:1-2 which says, As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? The word used for pants in this verse is the word "bray" which means "to cry". We see it similarly used in Joel 1:20 when it says, Even the wild animals pant for you; the streams of water have dried up and fire has devoured the open pastures.

The word properly means "to rise; to ascend; and then, to look up toward anything; to long for." It implies that the animals of the field cry out to God in a time of drought and need. The Psalmist said in Psalm 104:21 The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God. The question for us today is, "If even the animals know to look to God during their time of need; shouldn't we also?"

Junk Food

Our devotion this morning came from 1 Peter 2. Here are a few things that was shared. Verse 1 says, Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. When we see "therefore", we must ask, "What's it there for?"In other words, in lieu of all that I have said in chapter one, we need to do these things.

Verse 2 says, Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation. This verse is contingent upon the first verse. If we don't lay aside the things in v.1, then we will not be able to enjoy the Word here in v.2. However, if we don't enjoy the Word, we will not have the strength to lay aside the things in v.1. Remember we talked about how that sitting under the teaching of the Word of God is like sitting under a shower?

 

One pastor compares the things in v.1 to junk food. No matter how good the home cooked meal is that is waiting for us at home; if we eat junk food on the way, we will not be interested. The same is true of us and the Word of God. When we stop studying the Word (the home-cooked meal), it's because we're eating the junk food (the things the world has to offer).

Funny Story: A candidate for church membership was asked, "What part of the Bible do you like best?"  He said: "I like the New Testament best.  Then he was asked, "What Book in the New Testament is your favorite?"  He answered, the Book of the Parables, Sir."  They then asked him to relate one of the parables to the membership committee.  And a bit uncertain, he began... "Once upon a time a man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves; and the thorns grew up and choked the man. And he went on and met the Queen of Sheba, and she gave that man, Sir, a thousand talents of silver, and a hundred changes of raiment. And he got in his chariot and drove furiously, and as he was driving along under a big tree, his hair got caught in a limb and left him hanging here! And he hung there many days and many nights. The ravens brought him food to eat and water to drink. And one night while he was hanging there asleep, his wife Delilah came along and cut off his hair, and he fell on stoney ground. And it begin to rain, and rained forty days and forty nights. And he hid himself in a cave. Later he went on and met a man who said, "Come in and take supper with me." But he said, "I can't come in, for I have married a wife." And the man went out into the highways and hedges and compelled him to come in! He then came to Jerusalem, and saw Queen Jezebel sitting high and lifted up in a window of the wall. When she saw him she laughed, and he said, "Throw her down out of there," and they threw her down. And he said "Throw her down again," and they threw her down seventy-times-seven. And the fragments which they picked up filled twelve baskets full! NOW, whose wife will she be in the day of the Judgment?" The membership committee agreed that this was indeed a knowledgeable candidate!

The bottom line is that we need to study the Word of God. It is the real deal. It is the home cooked meal. Everything else is simply junk food!