THE MONKEY TRAP

Posted on January 25, 2012 by from the Preachers PC

Native hunters in the jungles of Africa have a clever way of trapping monkeys.  They slice a coconut in two; hollow it out, and in one half of the shell cut a hole just big enough for a monkey’s hand to pass through. Then they place an orange in the other coconut half before fastening together the two halves of the coconut shell. Finally, they secure the coconut to a tree with a rope, retreat into the jungle, and wait.  Sooner or later, an unsuspecting monkey swings by, smells the delicious orange, and discovers its location inside the coconut. The monkey then slips his hand through the small hole; grasp the orange, and tries to pull it through the hole. Of course, the orange won’t come out; it’s too big for the hole. To no avail the persistent monkey continues to pull and pull, never realizing the danger he is in.

While the monkey struggles with the orange, the hunters simply stroll in and capture the monkey by throwing a net over him. As long as the monkey keeps his fist wrapped around the orange, the monkey is trapped.  It’s too bad-the poor monkey could save its own life if it would let go of the orange. It rarely occurs to a monkey, however, that it can’t have both the orange and its freedom. That delicious orange becomes a deadly trap.

The world sets traps for you that are not unlike the monkey trap. You hear constantly that if you just have enough money, enough stuff, enough power, and enough prestige – then you’ll be happy. Under that illusion people spend their whole lives thinking you must have it all – the result, Satan throws a “net” over you, and you are his. Paul warned, “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Tim. 6:9-10).

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SERMON ON THE MOUNT #2

Posted on January 23, 2012 by from the Preachers PC

SERMON ON THE MOUNT #2

Connection Between The Beatitudes And Faith

(Matthew 5:3-12)

INTRODUCTION

A. The Sermon on the Mount is actually a series of challenges
to man’s concept of God, himself and others.

1. It challenges the idea of personal character

2. It challenges the concept of man’s purpose

3. It challenges the concept of obedience to God

4. It challenges the concept of righteousness

5. It challenges the concept of communication with God

6. It challenges the concept of piety and dedication

7. It challenges the concept of life values

8. It challenges the concept of trust in God

B. Jesus started by talking about blessedness through what we
know as the Beatitudes

1. Matthew 5:3-12

2. This morning we will look at an overview of the
beatitudes

DISCUSSION

A. THE IDEA OF BLESSEDNESS

1. “Blessed” comes from makarios

a. The basic idea is “happy” but means much more

b. Greeks used it to describe the “state of the gods”

c. It carries the idea of health and well-being in all aspects
of life

2. This blessedness is based on three things

a. The sovereignty of God – i.e. God must rule

b. The proper view of satisfaction – spiritual versus worldly

c. ©   The proper view of security – faith in God

3. When Jesus said, “Blessed is …” He was giving essential
elements that go together to produce an overall healthy life
in which a person receives all that makes life pleasant,
enjoyable, rewarding and fulfilling.

B. THE NEGLECTED “MIDDLE-GROUND” OF
THE BEATITUDES

1. Each statement of blessedness contains three parts

a. The statement “blessed” – which is the result or reward

b. The essential element to achieve (the middle ground)

c. The specific stated blessing that results from the
essential element

2. Why is the middle ground neglected?

a. The idea of blessed is appealing

b. The specific rewards mentioned are inviting

c. It is easy to forget that the emphasis in each beatitude is
in the middle part of the statement

d. This is what Jesus was telling people to be

3. The challenge of the beatitudes is that they are
presented in paradoxes

a. A paradox is a seeming contradiction

b. The contradiction is found in the fact that what Jesus
says will result in blessings goes against worldly
thinking and wisdom

4. Three specific challenges are found in each beatitude

a. A challenge to our idea of truth

b. A challenge to the way we think and make decisions
about life

c. A challenge to accept God’s way over the ways of the
world

C. THE BEATITUDES AND FAITH

1. The Beginning of Faith  …  Matthew 5:3-5

a. Three elements of life are noted here:

1) Spiritual poverty

2) Mourning

3) Meekness

b. Three blessing are noted as well:

1) Kingdom of heaven

2) Comfort

3) Inherit the earth

c. Notice how the three elements relate to the beginning
of faith:

1) They fit a person for an initial response to God and
His word

a) Spiritual poverty eliminates pride

b) The ability to mourn makes it possible for a person
to  respond to his or her true state in life

c) Meekness produces humility and gentleness and
eliminates arrogant resistance to God’s will

2) Notice how worldly attitudes prevent faith:

a) Pride keeps a man from admitting his needs God

b) The inability to mourn cause one to ignore the
problem of sin and how it effects his relationship
with God

c) And arrogant rebellion fights against God

2. The Progress of Faith  …   Matthew 5:6

a. Faith is designed to continually move a person
further away from the world and closer to God

1) Human life is developed, grows and is sustained by
built-in responses of hunger and thirst

2) If you never eat of drink, or stop eating and drinking –
you will die

b. Faith progresses by hungering and thirsting after
righteousness

1) Faith progresses by craving the things of God

2) Hungering and thirsting after righteousness is the
desire that moves a person closer to God as he takes in
the things of God

c. How does this element relate to faith?

1) Jesus promised that one’s hungering and thirsting
would be satisfied

2) Just as big meals satisfy our physical requirements, so
will our spiritual requirements be met as well

3. The Perfection of Faith  …  Matthew 5:7-9

a. Faith perfected is when man develops the ability to
reflect the character and attributes of God in his life

b. Jesus identifies three elements that summarize the
character of God:

1) Mercy … if we have mercy we will receive mercy

2) Purity … if we are pure we will see God

3) Making peace … if we are peace makers we will be
called sons of God

c. What a difference a person could make in the world if he
grants mercy to others, lives purely, and makes peace
where ever he goes!

d. How do things relate to faith?

1) Mercy given produces mercy received – this is what
all of us need

2) Purity of life is a life resisting sin – which is God’s
will for us

3) Being a peacemaker is the healing. soothing work of
God in putting the world back together after Satan’s
destructive work

4. The Trial of Faith   …  Matthew 5:10-12

a. Persecution and suffering as a follower of Jesus will
test and prove the validity of our faith

1) The temptation is always to try to revert to the ways of
the world

2) Under pressure – can you maintain the qualities
identified in the Beatitudes?

b. Without persecution and suffering anyone might be
able to practice the things Jesus taught

c. But what happens when it seems as though things
will not work out?

1) Here is where faith is proven

2) In times like these ask yourself – who and what are
you going to trust?

3) There is a lot of difference in the claim and the walk

CONCLUSION

A. God wants us to experience a deep happiness in life –
But it must be on His terms and not ours

B. The very first words of this sermon are not simple, sweet
nourishment – Jesus challenges the kind of person you are

1. What kind of person are you?

2. Do the qualities of your life demonstrate your faith in
God?

3. Are you willing to risk violating the wisdom of the world
to be happy?

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SERMON ON THE MOUNT #1

Posted on January 20, 2012 by from the Preachers PC

HE BEGAN TO TEACH THEM

(Matthew 5:1-2)

INTRODUCTION

A. This evening I want to begin a series of sermons, all based
on the Sermon on the Mount.

1. It is my belief that this sermon by Jesus is one of the most
complete discourses on God’s will for man found in the
Bible.

2. It certainly isn’t the only information we must know,
but it covers two very important areas:

a. It shows the necessity of getting around the trappings
of vain or false religion – and tells us the need to be
what God wants us to be

b. It shows the importance of forming the inner man
versus wearing an external righteousness

B. The setting for the Sermon on the Mount

1. Matthew 4:23-5:2

2. Notice the atmosphere of the times in which this sermon
was preached

a. Jesus was conducting his ministry, preaching and
performing many miracles

b. A great multitude was following Him

c. It seems that there was an air of excitement and
anticipation on the part of those who went to hear Him
preach

d. It may be important to know that the people wanted
hear Him

C. This evening I want to talk about some introductory
matters, then on subsequent weeks we will study this sermon
section by section

1. Prepare to be challenged

2. Prepare for a spotlight to shine on the inner man

DISCUSSION

A. TIME AND PLACE OF THE SERMON

1. Matthew 5:1 says that Jesus went up on a mountain

a. This was probably near Capernaum

1) He settles in Capernaum (Mat. 4:13)

2) He entered Capernaum (Mat. 8:15)

b. The gospel accounts are not always chronological, but it
does seems that Jesus was in the area Capernaum.

2. Tradition says that the mount that Jesus went up to was
called the “Horns of Hattin”

a.  Located west of the Sea of Galilee

b.  The way that the peaks were located in that area made a
natural amphitheater

3 The time was early in His ministry, when great crowds
followed and prior to the time of organized opposition

B. THE AUDIENCE

1. In Matthew 5:1 we learn that there were crowds of people
that have been following Him – along with His disciples

2. Matthew 7:28-29 … they were astonished at His
teaching

3. Disciples are followers

a. These were disciples in the general sense – listeners and
learners

b. Some, though, would later turn away, and others would
follow for the rest of their lives

C. THE PREACHER

1. Jesus is sometimes called the “Master Teacher” –
WHY? …

a. He understood so well those He taught

b. He always used the best method of teaching

c. What He taught was always targeted to the greatest need

2. Consider the following verses

a. Luke 6:40 … a student is not above his teacher – thus he
is to be in a learning frame of mind

b. 1 Corinthians 11:1

c. 1 Peter 2:21

3. Consider the following things about Jesus’ teaching

a. Jesus taught God’s word and God’s law

1) John 4:34

2) Everything we teach and preach must be based on the
same thing

3) We must never allow preaching and teaching to
become nothing but our opinions and agenda

4) Thus the Bible says … 1 Peter 4:11

b. Jesus always considered the needs of His listeners

1) Jesus told the Samaritan woman about true worship
(Jn. 4) … note especially John 4:24

2) Luke 18:22 … Jesus challenges the rich young ruler
with one thing that he lacked – the ability to give
material possessions

3) In Matthew 23, Jesus challenged the scribes and
Pharisees about their emphasis on external appearances
instead of inner purity

4) Notice John 2:24-25

5) We need to strive to know one another so that we can
tell people what the need to hear – which will not
always be what they want to hear

4. Jesus’ preaching and teaching was easy to understand

a. He spoke in familiar terms – broad and narrow gates,
birds, flowers, lamps and building houses

b. His purpose was to communicate to people – not impress
them

c. I once heard a man who preached a meeting and another
preacher and I made lists of the number of words that he
used that we didn’t understand the meaning of – where is
the communication in this kind of sermon?

d. Would you understand a sermon on:

1) “Eschatology” or to preach about final things (the
same subject)

2) “Parousia” or to preach on the coming of Christ (the
same subject)

4. Jesus harmonized His living with His preaching

a. When Jesus instructed the people, it was difficult to
challenge Him because He practiced what He preached.

b. We often do just the opposite

1) We preach and teach that God and His church come
first, then live in ways that show the opposite

2) We advocate love with our words but practice
indifference, spite of prejudice

3) We advocate forgiveness, but practice holding grudges

4) We advocate generosity, but practice stinginess

c. Jesus was the model of consistency

CONCLUSION

A. The teaching of Jesus are hard and demanding

1. Do you think that the Sermon on the Mount is just fluff?

2. The Sermon on the Mount is deep and challenging

3. This Sermon on the Mount will make you see your need
for God in a clear and compelling way

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WHEN GOOD MEN DO NOTHING

Posted on January 19, 2012 by from the Preachers PC

Edmund Burke once said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” An inspired penman portrays this same thought in this fashion, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (Jam. 4:17; KJV). That is, he is guilty of sin if he does not do good. We should adopt this as a principle of action, “that the ability to do good in any case imposes an obligation to do it.”

Beloved, knowledge without practice is imputed to a man as a great and presumptuous sin. Nothing is more injurious to the souls of mankind than wasted impressions. Nothing is more harmful to the Lord’s blood-bought church than for good men to do nothing in the combating of error and evil. Feelings exhaust themselves and evaporate, if not embodied in the practice of fighting for right.  As we will not act except we feel, so if we will not act out our feelings of right, we shall soon cease to feel.

John said, “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 Jn. 5:19; ESV). Paul declared, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth” (1 Tim. 4:1-3; NKJ). Thus, it is easy to perceive that there are many errors in our day that need to be addressed by good and faithful men of God.

Will we sit idly by while liberalism creeps into the church, or will be “stand in the gap.” “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one” (Eze. 22:30; NKJ). Will the Lord find such a man among us? Will the Almighty find a man that will stand in the gap and hold his ground on truth – and the truth alone? Will we, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Tim. 4:2; KJV).

Will good men “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3; ASV)?  Will good men stop the mouths of those “who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain” (Tit. 1:11; NKJ)? Will good men “rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith” (Tit. 1:13; NKJ)? Will good men speak “the things which are proper for sound doctrine” (Tit. 2:1; NKJ)? Will good men in all things show ourselves to be “a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity” (Tit. 2:7; ESV)? Paul said, “These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee” (Tit. 2:15; KJV), and to “speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15; KJV).

Friends we must “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses” (1 Tim. 6:12; KJV). Will good men like Paul be able to say, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:7-8; KJV)?

Shake or Nod!

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IS THERE A MAN AMONG US?

Posted on January 19, 2012 by from the Preachers PC

The Almighty declared, “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none” (Eze. 22:30). The Lord is looking for the same type of men today – those who will not allow the church to be destroyed, those who will stand and fight. The great God of heaven is looking for men who will “make up the hedge” and who will “stand in the gap.” The question is, Will there be any to fulfill this charge?

The Lord is looking for men who will be faithful examples to the church in their attendance, in their dress for worship, in leadership, in sound doctrine, and in courage. He is looking for men who will be “an example of the believers” (1 Tim. 4:12). God is looking for those who will be an example of “good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you” (Tit. 2:7-8). Will the Lord find such a man among us? Are you this kind of man?

The Creator is looking for men who bring up their children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). He is looking for men who will be the head of the home (Eph. 5:23), and men who will demand that their family be faithful (Gen. 18:19). The Lord is looking for men who will teach their children concerning their duties to the Lord (Deut. 6:7), who will train them in the ways of the Lord (Pro. 22:6), who will discipline them (Pro. 13:24), who will control them (1 Tim. 3:4), and who will provide for them (2 Cor. 12:14). Will the Lord find this kind of man among us? Are you this kind of man?

Jehovah is looking for men who will be sound in doctrine and who will oppose that which is false. He is looking for men who will “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3, ASV), for men who are “set for the defense of the gospel” (Phil. 1:17), and for men who will sharply rebuke false teachers, “that they may be sound in the faith” (Tit. 1:13). The Lord is looking for men who will speak “the things which become sound doctrine” (Tit. 2:1). Will the Lord find this kind of man among us? Are you this kind of man?

God is looking for men who will be leaders in His church. He is looking for men who will prepare themselves to be faithful elders in the church (1 Tim. 3:1-7), for men who will prepare themselves to faithful deacons (1 Tim. 3:8-13), and for men who will prepare themselves to be bold and faithful preachers of the word of God (2 Tim. 2:2). Will the Lord find this kind of man among us? Are you this kind of man?

The Lord’s church needs men – real men who are truly concerned about the beautiful bride of Christ. Men who want to keep the church pure and undefiled. The church has too many “sissy boys” who will not take a stand for truth and faithfulness.

David on his deathbed gave his son, Solomon, some very important instructions, he said, “I go the way of all the earth; be thou strong therefore, and show thy self a man” (1 Kgs. 2:2), in other words, BE A MAN! David then tells Solomon how to be a man, “keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself” (1 Kgs. 2:3). If you want to be a real man – KEEP THE COMMANDS OF GOD!

The Lord is looking for real men to be leaders in His church and in the home. Will He find any? Are you that kind of man – a real man of God? Will you prepare yourself to be a real man of God? Will the Lord find a real man of God among us?

Shake or Nod!

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Hello world!

Posted on October 8, 2011 by from the Preachers PC

Welcome to WordPress.com. After you read this, you should delete and write your own post, with a new title above. Or hit Add New on the left (of the admin dashboard) to start a fresh post.

Here are some suggestions for your first post.

  1. You can find new ideas for what to blog about by reading the Daily Post.
  2. Add PressThis to your browser. It creates a new blog post for you about any interesting  page you read on the web.
  3. Make some changes to this page, and then hit preview on the right. You can always preview any post or edit it before you share it to the world.
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