Merciful Kindness and Enduring Truth - Part 2

 Temple Baptist Church - 9-24-2023

Psalm 117

 

Introduction:

 A.  Last week, we looked at “Merciful Kindness.”

 

1.  Merciful in that we do not get:

 

a)   What we deserved (past tense).  There were a lot of things in my past that I choose not to talk about, but I thank God every day because my sins are gone!

 

b)  What we deserve (present tense).  God’s mercies are new every morning and as we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

c)  What we will deserve (future tense).  God’s mercy follows us all the days of our lives according to Psalm 23:6.  His compassions, they fail not!

 

2.  Kindness is the manner in which God gives mercy.  He does it in a loving, gentle fashion. 

 

a)  As a Father to His son.  He is not harsh with His children but as a father pitieth his child, God the Father has pity upon His children.

 

b)  As a Shepherd with His sheep.  He left the 99 in the fold and found that which was lost, put it upon His shoulder, and carried it back to the fold.

 

B.  Tonight I want to look at two phrases, “the truth of the Lord” and “that endureth for ever.”

 

C.  Live in days of:

 

1.   “purported truth” – something that is told as truth that may or may not be truth.  Purported: alleged, claimed, reported, or implied. 

 

2 Timothy 3:13  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.  (Two types found here:  a)  Those who are deceiving (intent) and b)  Those who are being deceived.)

 

a)  We live in the days of theories that are put forth as truth.  A theory is an unproved hypothesis or an assumption.  Their theories continue to evolve or change because true science or knowledge continues to expose their error. 

 

b)  The perfect example of this is the “science falsely so called” mentioned in 1 Timothy 6:20.  Two thousand years ago, things were called science (knowledge) which were not correct.

 

1 Timothy 6:20  O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:

 

c)  We are continually bombarded by scientists (so-called). 

 

1)  Scientist - a person who is studying or has expert knowledge of one or more of the natural or physical sciences: "a research scientist" They thrust their evolutionary principles upon us as facts and not the theories that they are. 

 

2)  I just on the news that they have found a molecule that shows the possibility of life on a planet 220 light years away (720 trillion miles).  A molecule carried by a light beam!  Right?

 

2.  Perceived Truth.  Something sensed, or seemingly felt. 

 

a.  Because someone thinks something is true does not mean that what is believed is right.  People once believed that the world was flat, and some that Atlas held it upon his shoulders. 

 

b.  In the religious world, there are people who ignore clear, concise Scripture while twisting what Bible they use and think that they are right.  Just because someone thinks  they are right does not make them right.  They read the Word of God and then speak contrary to it.  Perceived truth can be self-deception which is the worst deception.

 

c.  Never tell the Bible what to say, just read what it says!

 

3.  Here in verse 2, we find Perpetual Truth.  If something is true, will always be true.  Truth never changes.

 

a.  The promise of Truth.  “The truth” God’s truth is based upon His omniscience and veracity.  God is always right!

 

b.  The Person of Truth.  “of the LORD”  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life!”  God has truth because God is Truth.

 

c.  The Perpetuality of Truth.  “endureth for ever”

 

Conclusion:  The promise of the LORD’s enduring truth is found in our text.  Though attacked throughout the millenniums, God’s Truth has and will continue to prevail.

 

Be Ye Steadfast

 Temple Baptist Church - 9-24-2023

1 Corinthians 15:58

Introduction:

A.  The Corinthian Church was a carnal (fleshly) church and spent both their time and resources upon their natural, temporal desires. 

 

B.  The Holy Ghost admonishes the church to be heavenly minded in verse 58 because the real treasures are those that are eternal, not temporal.  The therefore ties this verse to the preceding verses and is a summation or conclusion.  His plea is based upon our blessed position in the body of Christ and hope of His soon return in the rapture. 

 

C.  “My” denotes ownership.  “Beloved” denotes our dearness to both the Apostle and our Saviour.  “Brethren” denotes a family relationship which is important because our dependence is not only upon the Saviour but also upon each other!

 

1.  Steadfastness – deals with the possibility of quitting - Galatians 6:9  And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.  (People are quitting on every hand.  Pastors, missionaries, evangelists, SS teachers, soul winners, church workers, etc.)

 

2.  Immovability – deals with the possibility of being swayed - 2 Thessalonians 2:15  Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.  (We are in the midst of the “falling away.”)

 

3.  Abounding – deals with possibility of sitting down instead of serving - 2 Corinthians 9:8  And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.  (The closer to the end of the church age, the more we should labor.  Unfortunately, it is just the exact opposite is true.)

 

4.  Knowledge – deals with the understanding that our labor is not in vain - Matthew 10:40-42  He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.  He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.  And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. (Though we are in the gleanings stage or the Days of Noe, God is still in control of the harvest)

 

5.  Reward – God will certainly reward us with fullness - 2 John 1:8  Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. (full reward) for our labors (Parable of those who labored through the heat of the day for a penny while others entered the fields much later and received the same.)

 

ALL OF THIS IS GOING TO TAKE TWO THINGS:

 

1.  It Takes A Real Conversion – 1 John 2:19  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

 

2.  It Takes A Real Conviction – Jesus is coming again just like He said!

 

SOME THINGS WE NEED TO CONTINUE IN:

 

1.  We Need To continue In One Accord - Acts 1:14  These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

 

2.  We Need To Continue In Prayer - Acts 1:14  These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

 

Colossians 4:2  Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;

 

3.  We Need To Continue In Doctrine - Acts 2:42  And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

 

1 Timothy 4:16  Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

 

4.  We Need To Continue In Fellowship - Acts 2:42  And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

 

5.  We Need To Continue In The Grace of God  (Salvation’s Message) - Acts 13:43  Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.

 

6.  We Need To Continue In Encouragement - Acts 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

 

7.  We Need To Continue In Soul Winning (Both at home and abroad) - Acts 26:22  Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great.

 

8.  We Need To Continue To Live Godly - Romans 11:22  Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

 

9.  We Need To Continue Contending For The Faith - Galatians 2:5  To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

 

10.  We Need To Continue In Service - James 1:25  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. 

Merciful Kindness and Enduring Truth - Part 1

 Temple Baptist Church - 9-17-2023

Psalm 117

Introduction: 

 

A.  The shortest Psalm.  “Dynamite comes in small packages” is an old saying.  This Psalm is power packed!

 

B.  Once again, we find a Jewish Psalm that includes ALL people. 

 

1.  If the Jews would have just read with understanding, it would have changed their attitude concerning non-Jews. 

 

2.  God’s promise to their father Abraham was that his seed would permeate the earth and that Israel would be a blessing to ALL people.

 

C.  Two types of Praise are found in the opening verse:

 

1.  National Praise: “O praise the LORD, all ye nations!”  Psalms 33:12  Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

 

2.  Individual Praise:  “praise him, all ye people!”  Revelation 7:9  After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

 

D.  The first verse shows the extent of the second verse.  It is written to all nations and all people. 

 

1.  I am glad that the LORD is inclusive and not exclusive!  “He included me!” 

 

2.  I know that I “ride this horse” often, but I want God’s people to know that the doctrine of Calvinism, also called Reformed Theology, is a wicked – heretical doctrine that denies these verses that we read tonight. 

 

3.  Why should all people praise Him if only the elect know Him?  Why would the “NON-ELECT” have anything to praise Him for?

 

E.  There is no way to rightly divide the Word of Truth by preaching on the Psalm for one night only, so I will break it down into two messages.

 

F.  “For his merciful kindness is great toward us” is one of the most wonderful phrases found in the Bible!  Not just “Merciful” but “Merciful Kindness!”

 

G.  Now, I will divide the phrase.  “The Lord’s Mercy … is great toward us!”

 

1.  Mercy defined:  Compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one’s power.  A blessing that is act of divine favor or compassion.  Compassionate treatment for those in distress.  1 Chronicles 16:34  O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.

 

2.  Merciful defined:  “Mercy Full”  Providing relief to one guilty or distressed.  Psalms 23:6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.  (Merciful is Mercy in a continuing sense or state.)

 

 

3.  “God has been better to me than I deserve” has been my life’s story from birth until now!  There are those who I grew up with that died young and probably without ever being saved.  That could have very well be me as I lived 28 years without Christ!

 

4.  The First Mention of Merciful if found in a Temporal Sense – Genesis 19:15-16  And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.  (16)  And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.  (If a man ever needed to be whipped, Lot did!  The last mention of Lot is found in 1 Peter where we see how God saw him instead of how we perceived him.)

 

2 Peter 2:6-9  And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;  (7)  And delivered just Lot (a saved man), vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:  (8)  (For that righteous man (imputed righteousness of God) dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)  (9)  The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly (as if Lot had never sinned) out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

 

5.  The Last Mention of Merciful is found in an Eternal Sense – Hebrews 8:12  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

6.  The LORD is Merciful to us in this life.  The Lord will be merciful to us in the life to come.

 

Lamentations 3:22-23  It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  (23)  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

 

7.  Thus we find that God’s Mercy toward us in enduring as well as overlooking.

 

8.  Not just mercy but “Merciful Kindness”  Kindness defined:  the quality or state of treating people with kindness and respect.  Affection; grace.  Interesting that one synonym of “kindness” is “grace.”

 

Psalms 23:6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

 

1.  In these two words, “Merciful Kindness,” we find God’s kindness (goodness) in both Mercy and Grace!  You can have mercy on someone without being kind to them.

 

2.  Mercy – not getting what we deserve; Grace – getting what we do not deserve.

 

3.  That is the very definition of the Love of God for both the world (all mankind – “all people”) and the saints (His children by faith – “His people”).

 

Ephesians 4:32  And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

 

Conclusion:  Psalms 117:1-2  O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.  (2)  For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.

John the Beloved Walked With God In Expectancy

 Temple Baptist Church - 9-17-2023

John 21:20-23 

Introduction:

 

A.  John the Beloved was a very special man and Apostle.  He, through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.), wrote John’s Gospel, 1, 2, 3 John, and Revelation.

 

B.  John got his name, John the Beloved, because of the way that the Holy Ghost referenced him in John’s Gospel.  Though John is not mentioned in John’s Gospel by name, three times he is referred to as “whom Jesus loved” and once as “whom he loved.”

 

1.  It was John who leaned on the breast of our Lord and heard His heartbeat.  John 13:23  Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.  (I can only imagine the closeness between our Lord and John.)

 

2.  It was John to whom our Lord placed His earthly mother in His absence for safekeeping.  John 19:26  When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!  (What a confidence our Lord had in John when He gave His mother to John for the rest of her lifetime.)

 

3.  It was John who outran Peter and was the first apostle to see the empty tomb.  John 20:2-5  Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.  (3)  Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.  (4)  So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.  (5)  And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.  (How John ran when the news came of our Lord’s resurrection.  His disbelief turned into excitement.)

 

4.  It was John who recognized our Lord in His first appearance to the desciples.  John 21:7  Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.  (When Peter did not recognize our Lord, John did!)

 

C.  From that time when the Lord said, “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me,” there can be little doubt that John ever stopped expecting the Lord’s coming.

 

D.  John’s expectation found its fulfillment on the Ilse of Patmos where he received the Revelation of Jesus Christ. The Book of Revelation (Apocalypse- apokalupsis – to disclose, to take off the cover, a revealing or revelation), the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

 

Revelation 1:9-10  I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.  (10)  I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

 

E. John the Beloved was a beautiful type of God’s church prior to the Rapture and Tribulation Period.  He endured much tribulation before Patmos but, as probably a 95-year-old man, he once again saw his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

 

F.  To those of us who love God, God expresses His love to us!  I am so glad that Jesus loves even me!  This statement is important because whom God loves, He makes Eschatology (the study of things to come) an open book!  People who are filled with God’s Holy Ghost are able to discern the signs of the times.

 

G.  Before John saw the Lord, he had to endure.  We, as God’s church, will have to endure much before Jesus Christ comes again for us.

 

1.  We will have to endure encroaching darkness.  1 Thessalonians 5:1-6  But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.  (2)  For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.  (3)  For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.  (4)  But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.  (5)  Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.  (6)  Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.  (The farther we get, the darker it becomes.  The darker it becomes, the more tendency to sleep.)

 

2.  We will have to endure spiritual peril.  2 Timothy 3:1-7  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  (2)  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,  (3)  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,  (4)  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;  (5)  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.  (6)  For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,  (7)  Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.  (The professing will have less and less possessing.  They become more like the world because they are of the world.)

 

3.  We will have to endure moral decay.  Luke 17:26-30  And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.  (27)  They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.  (28)  Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;  (29)  But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.  (30)  Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.  (What we see and hear today should cause us to blush.  The filth that was once hidden in darkness has permeated our society in the day.  People have no shame.)

 

4.  We will have to endure falling away (apostasy).  2 Thessalonians 2:1-3  Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,  (2)  That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.  (3)  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;  (People we once walked with, we will walk with no more.  It is they who have changed and not us.)

 

1 John 2:18-19  Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.  (19)  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

 

5.  We will walk in expectant times.  Romans 13:11  And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

The Mission’s Psalm

 Temple Baptist Church - 9-10-2023

Psalm 67

 

Introduction: 

 

A.  I find this Psalm one of interest because, as the general rule, Jews neither accepted nor affiliated with non-Jews. 

 

1.  The Canaanite Woman – Matthew 15:22-27  And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.  (23)  But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.  (24)  But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  (25)  Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.  (26)  But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.  (27)  And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.  (The Lord did not look down upon her but fully understood her position in life caused by the rejection of the Jews.)

 

2.  The Samaritan Woman – John 4:7-9  There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.  (8)  (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)  (9)  Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

 

3.  The Good Samaritan – Luke 10:29  But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? (33)  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

 

4.  Cornelius – Acts 10:11-16  And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:  (12)  Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.  (13)  And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.  (14)  But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.  (15)  And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.  (16)  This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.

 

5.  The Gentile Believers – Galatians 2:11-14  But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.  (12)  For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.  (13)  And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.  (14)  But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?

 

6.  The Jewish Proselytes.  The Court of the Gentiles – The outermost court of Zerubbabel’s Temple where the Gentiles had to remain.  Gentiles, foreigners, and those counted impure had to worship there.  It was where Jesus found the money changers and sellers of impure sacrifices when He cleansed the Temple.

 

B.  Our Lord died for the sins of the Whole World!  Not just for the sins of the Jews.  In this prophetic Psalm, we find the heart of God for sinners.

 

1 Timothy 2:4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

 

C.  The Psalm of Missions!

 

1.  Verse 1.  The Preparation of Missions. “God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.”  (Missions begins with the hearing of God’s commandment to His people.)

 

a.  The Hearing of Missions.  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.

 

b.  The Heart of Missions.  Lamentations 3:48-51  Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.  (49)  Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission,  (50)  Till the LORD look down, and behold from heaven.  (51)  Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city. (Mission ignorant people do no missions; Mission minded people think missions; Mission hearted people do missions.)

 

Acts 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 

 

2.  Verse 2.  The Performance of Missions.  That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. 

 

a.  Those who go.  “Go ye”  Isaiah 6:8  Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

 

b.  Those who send.  “ye shall be witnesses unto me BOTH in Jerusalem (Laurens), and in all Judaea (South Carolina), and in Samaria (America), and unto the uttermost part of the earth (The World).”

 

3.  Verses 3-5.  The Praise of Missions.  “Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.  (4)  O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.”

 

a.  Praise the Lord for every soul won.

 

b.  Praise the Lord for every church established.

 

c.  Praise the Lord for every indigenous preacher raised up.

4.  Verses 6-7.  The Product of Missions.  “Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.  (7)  God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.”

 

a.  Verse 6.  The Fruit of God.  1 Corinthians 3:6-7  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.  (7)  So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

 

b.  Verse 7.  The Fear of God.  Revelation 7:9  After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;