Bless The Lord

 Temple Baptist Church - 7-31-2022

Psalm 103

 

Introduction:

 

A.  Psalm 103 is one of the great Psalms of Praise.  From the beginning of our salvation experience all the way to our going home to be with our Lord, God cares for His children!

 

B.  Oft times, we tend to look at the bad things of life and ignore the blessings. 

 

1 Thessalonians 5:18  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

 

C.  God has made our lives so easy and comfortable today.  We are so blessed to live in this great nation!  We can say in a good way, “I have need of nothing!”  God has been so good to everyone but especially to those of us who are saved.

 

D.  Is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord!  Psalms 92:1  A Psalm or Song for the sabbath day. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:

 

E.  Notice that the Psalmist writes that thanksgiving begins within:  “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” 

 

F.  True gratitude verses gratitude. 

 

1.  I have no doubt this evening that we are a grateful people.  The economy is not good as inflation is rising to record highs while salaries remain, for the most part, constant.  Especially those who are on fixed incomes and Social Security.  Yet, we are all doing well or so it seems.

 

2.  Are we grateful with all that is within us?  “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”  I THANK GOD TONIGHT FOR ALL HIS BENEFITS!

 

G.  Bless the LORD!

 

1.  Bless the LORD for forgiveness – vs. 3, 12

 

2.  Bless the LORD for good health – vs. 3

 

3.  Bless the LORD for Divine protection – vs. 4

 

4.  Bless the LORD for His loving kindness – vs. 4

 

5.  Bless the LORD for bountiful provision – vs. 5

 

6.  Bless the LORD for Divine intervention – vs. 6-7

 

7.  Bless the LORD for His mercy – 8-17

 

A Fool

 Temple Baptist Church - 7-17-2022

Psalm 53:1; Psalm 14:1

 

Introduction: 

 

A.  The Bible says it is a dangerous thing to call anyone a fool (Matthew 5:22), but I think that we can biblically identify what a fool is.  FOOL, n.  [Heb.] (Interesting that the word FOOL is a Hebrew Word!  The word “fool” (stupid) is found 73 times in the Bible; “foolish” (to do something vile or stupid) 52 times; “foolishness” (silliness) is found 20 times.

 

1.  One who is destitute of reason, or the common powers of understanding; an idiot. 

 

2.  In common language, a person who is somewhat deficient in intellect, but not an idiot; or a person who acts absurdly; one who does not exercise his reason; one who pursues a course contrary to the dictates of wisdom.

 

3.  In scripture, fool is often used for a wicked or depraved person; one who acts contrary to sound wisdom in his moral deportment; one who follows his own inclinations, who prefers trifling and temporary pleasures to the service of God and eternal happiness.

 

4.  A term of indignity and reproach.

 

5.  One who counterfeits folly; a buffoon; as a king's fool.

 

B.  When God calls a man a fool, he is a fool!  The Bible definitions of a fool:

 

1.  A Fool Rejects God.

 

Psalms 14:1  The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

 

Psalms 19:1-4  To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.  (2)  Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.  (3)  There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.  (4)  Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,

 

Romans 1:19-22  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.  (20)  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:  (21)  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  (22)  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

 

2.  A Fool Will Not Receive Instruction.

 

Proverbs 10:8  The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall.

 

Proverbs 17:10  A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.

 

Proverbs 23:9  Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.

 

3.  A Fool Pretends To Be A Friend And Then Slanders

 

Proverbs 10:18  He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.

 

Proverbs 12:15  The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.

 

4.  A Fool Is A Person Full Of Wrath.

 

Proverbs 12:16  A fool’s wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covereth shame.

 

Proverbs 20:3  It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.

 

Proverbs 27:3  A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.

 

5.  A Fool Has No Fear Of God.

 

Proverbs 14:16  A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.

 

Numbers 12:11  And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.

 

6.  A Fool Will Not Hear The Instruction Of His Parents.

 

Proverbs 15:5  A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.

 

Proverbs 10:1  The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

 

Proverbs 19:13  A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.

 

7.  A Fool Cannot Control His Tongue.

 

Proverbs 18:6  A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.

 

Proverbs 18:7  A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.

 

Proverbs 19:1  Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.

 

Proverbs 29:11  A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.

Ecclesiastes 5:3  For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.

 

Ecclesiastes 10:12  The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself

 

Ecclesiastes 10:14  A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him?

 

Job 1:22  In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

 

Proverbs 9:13  A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.

 

8.  A Fool Never Learns A Lesson.

 

Proverbs 26:11  As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.

 

Proverbs 26:3  A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back.

 

Proverbs 27:22  Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

 

9.  A Fool Trusts His Own Heart.

 

Proverbs 28:26  He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.

 

10.  A Fool Puts His Trust In Temporal Things.

 

Luke 12:20-21  But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?  So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

 

11.  A Fool Injures His Own House.

 

Proverbs 14:1  Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.

 

Proverbs 11:29  He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.

 

John

 Temple Baptist Church - 7-13-2022

John 1:6-8

 

Introduction: 

 

A.  Last week, we saw that the Word was Life, and the Life was the Light.   The Bible ties these three words together because they are one and the same.

 

1.  Verse 1.  Jesus Christ is the Word of God.

 

2.  Verse 4.  Jesus Christ is the Life of God.

 

3.  Verse 4.  Jesus Christ is the Light of God.

 

B.  We also saw that the breath of God, infused into mankind, “lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”  Verse 9. 

 

1.  Once again, I want us to see the “eth” ending on “lighteth.”  This ending gives the word a present perfect condition: the Light of God lite Adam and every other person who has ever lived.

 

2.  If every person has the “Light of God” inherently, then every person is accountable to that Light.

 

C.  The Old Testament ends with a curse while the New Testament ends with a blessing.  The Book of Malachi began what is called the “400 Silent Years,” which ended with the coming of Messiah, the Anointed One – the Christ of God in the Book of Matthew.

 

1.  These were the years between Malachi and Matthew where there were no “inspired” writers.  The Old Testament Cannon was complete and the Messiah long awaited. 

 

2.  But Israel had quit looking for a sacrifice and was now looking for a King to deliver them once again from the bondage of Rome.  Throughout the Old Testament, the blood of animals was applied to the Mercy Seat as an Atonement until the Lamb of God would come and take away the sin of the world.

 

3.  Religion had replaced salvation; the Pharisees and Sadducees had replaced the prophets; and the people, for the most part, had lost hope.

 

D.  John!  There have been many important people in the Bible, but the entrance of John the Baptist was one of the most significant!  For 4,000 years, mankind had been awaiting the coming of Messiah.  John the Baptist was the forerunner of the First Advent, the birth of the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

I read this and do not know who to credit:  John’s coming heralded a new day.  As the herald of Jesus Christ, he was the connecting link between the Old and new Testaments.  John closed out one era and ushered in another.  Shadow would become substance; prophecy would become fulfillment; the focus would shift from Sinai to Calvary; the Gospel, salvation and the church would come front and center; and the Gentiles would be included in the family of God.

 

Matthew 11:11  Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

 

1.  The Witness was Prophetic.  Prior to the First Advent of Christ.

 

Isaiah 40:3-8  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  (4)  Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:  (5)  And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.  (6)  The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:  (7)  The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.  (8)  The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

 

2.  The Witness was Past.  At the First Advent of Christ.  “There was a man!”  The Book of John was a witness to John the Baptist.

 

Matthew 3:1-3  In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,  (2)  And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  (3)  For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

 

Mark 1:1-3  The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;  (2)  As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.  (3)  The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

 

a.  John was a Purposed Man.  Isaiah 40:3-8  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

 

b.  John was a Preaching Man.  Matthew 3:1-2  In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,  (2)  And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

 

c.  John was a Peculiar Man.  Matthew 3:3-4  For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.  (4)  And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

 

d.  John was a Powerful Man.  Matthew 11:7-11  And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?  (8)  But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.  (9)  But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.  (10)  For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.  (11)  Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

 

e.  John was a Persistent Man.  Matthew 14:8-12  And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.  (9)  And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.  (10)  And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.  (11)  And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.  (12)  And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.

 

3.  The Witness is now Present.  Prior to the Rapture of God’s Church.  We are the voice that bears witness to Christ, the Life and Light.

 

Matthew 28:18-20  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  (19)  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  (20)  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

 

Hebrews 12:1-2  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,  (2)  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

4.  The Witness is again Prophesied.  Prior to the Second Advent of Christ.  Elijah will be one of the two witnesses in the Book of Revelation.

 

Malachi 4:5-6  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:  (6)  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

 

Revelation 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

 

Conclusion:  John was that “Voice” of whom John, chapter one spoke.  But God always had and always will have a “Voice of One” (united and preaching the same Gospel) crying in the wilderness of this world.

Complaint or Confidence?

 Temple Baptist Church - 7-10-2022

Psalm 3

 

A.  Tonight, we see another beautiful Psalm of encouragement. 

 

1.  The Psalms were stories of the lives of God’s people just like the old hymns of today.  Songs about people just like you and me.  People who share the ups and downs of this life together. 

 

2.  I pray that it will be of help to both those who are having a rough time in their personal valley and those who are enjoying the mountain top just before they endure the same.

 

B.  Let us just break this Psalm down tonight with this thought in mind:  “Complaint or Confidence?”

 

1.  Verses 1-2.  David states his Plight. I find no complaint here, just a statement of fact.  David, a man after God’s heart, spent most of his life either on the run or in troubles otherwise.

 

a.  David was a young man who kept his father’s flocks until God chose to have him anointed to be the King of Israel

 

b.  It was then that David’s life changed for both the better and for the worse.  Better as God had an important work for David to do, establish an everlasting throne upon which our Saviour would one day sit!  The worse, from shepherding sheep to shepherding the Nation of Israel.  What a chore to shepherd this nation of “stiffnecked” people.  That is what God said about them!

 

c.  From the beginning, David spent time, months – or years on the run until King Saul died.  Sleeping in caves or living in other countries because of Saul’s hatred for him. 

 

1 Samuel 27:1  And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul …

 

d.  In this Psalm, he is on the run again because of a sorry son who undercut his authority with the people of Israel and now the rebellion is strengthening as the people along with most of David’s counselors and military men are turning to Absalom and against David. 

 

e.  Befitting for a King?  I think not but it is God who holds our future in His hands!  We may not always like it but suffering of one sort or another is a way of life.

 

f.  We suffer also because of our faith that is inclusive, whosoever will, and exclusive, most do not want it!

 

“Complaint or Confidence?”

 

2.  Verse 3.  David’s Confidence.  “But!”  The world tells us that we have no hope in God because they reject both God and what God can do.

 

a.  God is our Shield!

 

b.  God is our Glory!

 

c.  God is the Lifter Up of our Heads!

 

3.  Verse 4.  David’s Reliance.  I cried … He heard!  Selah – pause to meditate upon it.  You rely on self, you will always reach a breaking point, you rely upon God—you will always find help and endless power.  Just “Call unto me and I will answer thee.”  Simple enough?  His eyes are always on His children and His ears open to their cry.

 

4.  Verse 5.  David’s Peace.  Rest in the Lord with peace in your heart and you will awake refreshed and assured.  The meaning of “sustain” is two-fold: To rest oneself and to stand fast.  It is He who sustains by giving us the peace of heart to rest and the strength of God to stand fast.

 

5.  Verse 6.  David’s Courage.  With God on our side, we have nothing to fear but fear itself.  The people feared where no fear was.  God has it all under control.  He is neither surprised nor limited in His knowledge and ability to do all things.

 

6.  Verse 7.  David’s Remembrance.  God helped him as a shepherd (a lion and a bear), God helped him with a giant (Goliath), God helped him with a tyrant (Saul), and God would help him now.  Satan has not devoured any of us at this point.  As we look back on life, God has always carried us through the valleys.

 

8.  Verse 8.  David’s Praise.  Salvation – deliverance through or removal of our trials.  Blessing despite all that this world can throw at us.  I am blessed; I am blessed; every minute of every day or night.  God is good all the time.

 

“Complaint or Confidence?”  The choice belongs to us individually.  I want to choose confidence!

 

Knowing The Unknowable

 Temple Baptist Church - 7-10-2022

Ephesians 3:17-19

 

Introduction: 

 

A.   Ephesus:  a wicked city of commerce, permeated with open sin.  Ephesus: noted for idolatry where the Temple of Diana, the “goddess of the Ephesians,” stood.  Paul had to leave there.

 

B.  Ephesus: where Paul fought the “beasts. 1 Corinthians 15:32  If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.

 

C.  Paul feared that the Ephesian believers would faint because of both the report of Paul’s trials and the reality of their tribulations.  Therefore Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, wrote the Book of Ephesians, often called the “Highlands of Faith” to stabilize the people. 

 

D.  Ephesians has a two-fold breakdown: chapters 1-3 are Positional, anchoring the Ephesian believers in their salvation; chapters 4-6 are Practical, showing them how to walk with God in persecution and hard times. 

 

E.  As Paul came to the end of the first 3 chapters, heprayed a three-fold prayer that ended in a doxology of praise. 

 

1.  Verse 16.  A Life That Is Strengthened By The Indwelling Spirit – “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;” – (To rely on the strength of the Holy Ghost, and not the arm of flesh)

 

2.  Verse 17.  A Faith That Is Rooted And Grounded In Love – “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,” – (To experience His abiding presence and sweet communion in love)

 

3.  Verses 18-19.  A Comprehension Of The Eternal Love Of Christ – “And to know the love of Christ” – (To know our Savior’s love which constrains us to love and serve Him)

 

F.  It takes all three of the above to bring about the doxology of praise in tribulation.  The strength of God in verse 16; the communion and fellowship of Love in verse 17; and the knowledge that whatever comes, God’s undiminishing love is always there with you.

 

Ephesians 3:20-21  (1) Now unto him that is able to do (2) exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, (3) according to the power that worketh in us,  (21)  (4) Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus (5) throughout all ages, world without end. (6) Amen.

 

G.  This morning, I want to look at these two verses which speak of the love of Christ.  The love of Christ cannot be known in its entirety, but it can be comprehended!  (Two words are used here:  comprehend and know)

 

1.  To Comprehend with all saints – to understand or to be taught, either through hearing or experiential. 

 

2.  To Know the love of Christ – to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel  1a) to become known  2) to know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of  2a) to understand  2b) to know  3) Jewish idiom for intimacy between a man and   a woman  4) to become acquainted with, to know

 

3.  To Know, not just to know about!  This makes the verse experiential as well as educational.

 

H.  You see:

 

1.  When Hard Times Come – you had better know the love of God so that you can trust Him.

 

2.  When You Cannot See What Is Ahead – you had better know the love of God so that you can trust Him.

 

3.  When You Do Not Understand And Things Look All Wrong – you had better know the love of God so that you can trust Him.

 

TO COMPREHEND WITH ALL SAINTS

 

I.  The Incomprehensibility Of God’s Love

 

1.  The Breadth Of God’s Love – 1 John 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.  (His love is from Pole to Pole.  His love is from the East to the West.  His love is from Wall to Wall.  The Love of God covers every man, woman, and child.  There are none exempt and there are none excluded!  There is not a race, color, or creed rejected!  His love is for the whole world!  I cannot understand it, but I believe it!)

 

2.  The Length Of God’s Love – Psalms 86:15  But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.  (God’s love is not only universal in its scope; it is longsuffering in its forbearance.  God is compassionate, gracious, longsuffering, and merciful.  I did not deserve to receive it nor do I deserve to keep it.  The Lord has been far better to me than I deserve and I am eternally grateful for it.  I cannot understand it, but I have seen it!)

 

3.  The Depth Of God’s Love – 1 Timothy 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.  (The wickedest man in the world is a candidate for His great salvation.  It matters not what you have done; it matters not what you have thought; it matters not where you came from!  His love goes to the deepest in sin and despair.  I cannot understand it, but I have received it!)

 

4.  The Height Of God’s Love – Romans 5:20  Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:  (His wonderful love is far greater than all of our sin put together.  God’s gracious love is always there, and you cannot sin your salvation away.  He will forgive 70 times 7 and never exhaust his love or forgiveness.  I cannot understand it, but I have experienced it!)

 

II. The Knowledge Of God’s Love

2 Timothy 1:12  For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

 

1.  Knowing the love of Christ comes from knowing Him in an intimate, personal relationship - John 13:25  He then lying on Jesus’ breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?  (He walks with me and talks with me, He tells me I am His own!)

 

2.  Knowing the love of Christ comes from knowing the joy of sins and failures forgiven - Mark 16:7  But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.

 

John 21:15   So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

 

Psalms 51:12  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.  (I am so glad that God not only loves but also, in His love, forgives.)

 

3.  Knowing the love of Christ comes from knowing His companionship and comfort in the trials of this life - Hebrews 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

 

a.  He Stood By Paul In The Storm - Acts 27:23  For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,

 

b.  He Stood By Joshua In Battle - Joshua 5:14  And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?

 

c.  He Stood By Stephen In Persecution And Death - Acts 7:55  But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

 

d.  He Stood By Paul When All Else Forsook Him - 2 Timothy 4:16-17   At my first answer no man stood with me, but all me forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.   Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.  (He has stood with me in my darkest hours!)

 

4.  Knowing the love of Christ comes from knowing His abiding presence through each day of this life - 1 Samuel 30:6  And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.

 

Hebrews 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.  (He is always there!  There is never an hour of the day when the child of God is alone.)

 

5.  Knowing the love of Christ comes from knowing that no matter what comes, you will live eternally with Him - Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God. (I am His and He is mine is more than just a catch phrase.  It is a reality.  I may never fully understand the love of Christ in this life, but I do know it.  He loves me; He loves me; He loves me this I know.  He gave Himself to die for me because he loves me so!)