The Rapture

Temple Baptist Church - 11-22-2015

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

The Prophesy of His Coming – “not…ignorant”  Acts 1:11  Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

The Period of His Coming – “ignorant”  1 Thessalonians 5:5-7  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.  (7)  For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.  (Apostasy)

The Preceding of His Coming – “asleep in Jesus”  1 Corinthians 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

The Person of His Coming – “the Lord himself”  John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

The People of His coming – “the dead in Christ shall rise first:  (17)  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds” 

The Performance of His Coming – “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  (17)  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

The Permanence of His Coming – “and so shall we ever be with the Lord”  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.

The Peace of His Coming – “Wherefore comfort one another with these words”  Isaiah 26:3-4  Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind isstayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.  (4)  Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

Bless The Lord, O My Soul - Thanking God For A Hedged Life

Temple Baptist Church - 11-22-2015

Psalm 103:1-4

Introduction:

A.  We have been preaching on these verses for several weeks now.  What a blessing it is to sit back and take a look at the whole picture of our lives and know that we are blessed!  David had his share of problems, setbacks, disappointments, and failures but know that God had blessed his life from beginning to end.  Too often, we find the bad times the focus of our attention instead of the big picture.  Life is hard and short!

B.  David tells his soul, the seat of his affections, to bless the Lord.  In Bible College, we often said, “Bless the Lord anyhow!”  It may not be good English but it is good theology and advice.  God is good.

C.  David blessed the Lord for all of His benefits which included, up to this point, his great forgiveness of sins along with his good health.

D.  This morning, I want to look at verse 4: “Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies.”  There are two things that I want you to notice in verse 4:

1.  The Lord Redeemed David’s Life from the destruction of sin.

2.  The Lord Replaced David’s Life with something far better.

E.  Here we find the wonderful results of God’s salvation.  I want to use a New Testament story to show what David is talking about.  In Mark 5:1-20, we find the story of the maniac of the Gadarenes.  The story of how the Lord saved a wretched, devil possessed social outcast.  What a beautiful picture of what our Lord did for us when we were saved. 

A.  A Pitiful Condition – The man in our story was in a terrible shape.

1.  His Place Of Residence – “tombs”  He dwelt in the land of the dead.

2.  His Spiritual Condition – “with an unclean spirit”

3.  His Social Standing – “no man could bind him, no, not with chains”  He was an outcast; a social misfit.

4.  His Fierce Countenance – “neither could any man tame him” 

5.  His Restlessness – “always, night and day…crying”

6.  His Self-destruction – “cutting himself”

7.  His Desire For Change – “when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him”

B.  A Providential Confrontation

            1.  Jesus Came To Where He Was – The Tombs

2.  Jesus Came To Him In Spite Of What He Was – Helpless, Hopeless, Hapless

3.  Jesus Availed Himself To Him As He Was – He Changed Him After Salvation

4.  Jesus Came Just For Him And Then Left Without Doing Anything Else – vs. 18

C.  A Personal Conversion

            1.  He Saw Jesus – He Knew Who He Was

            2.  He Came To Jesus – Ran, He Greatly Desired Him

            3. He Worshipped Jesus – He Knew What Was To Be Required Of Him

D.  A Prolific Change – vs. 7-18

1.  The Change Was Immediate – 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

2.  The Change Was Drastic - 1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

3.  The Change Was Evident To Others - Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven

.

                        a.  He Caused The Unclean Spirit To Depart

                        b.  He Caused Him To Sit At The Master’s Feet

                        c.  He Caused Him To Put On His Clothes

                        d.  He Caused Him To Be In His Right Mind

                        e.  He Caused Him To Have A Desire To Follow

E.  A Purposed Commission – vs. 19-20 

            1.  He Was Told To Go To Those He Knew

            2.  He Was Told To Tell Of His Conversion

            3.  He Was Obedient To The Command

Conclusion:  The Lord saved him, changed him, and then filled his life with a new purpose!  The Lord never empties us with filling us.  I do not know where I would be had I not come the Christ but I do know that my life has never been the same thanks of Calvary.

Bless The Lord, O My Soul - Thanking God For Good Health

Temple Baptist Church - 11-15-2015

Psalm 103:1-3

Introduction:

A.  Psalm 103 is one of my favorite portions of Scripture because it so vividly describes the goodness and grace of God to His children. 

1.  We took a look at David “Blessing The One Who Blesses.”  What a wonderful thing it is to bless the Lord who blesses us daily in so many ways.  Blessing the Lord is something that we determine to do in spite of our circumstances.

2.  We took a look at David blessing the Lord for His great forgiveness.  God is a God of mercy and grace; He is a God of loving-kindness.  We thanked God for the forgiveness of sin, both positionally (which is eternal and produces salvation) and practically (which is continual and produces fellowship). 

3.  This morning, I will preach on a subject that I have never used for an entire sermon: good health!  I want to take a short look at one of the greatest blessing that you can ever expect to have in this life: good health!  The word “health” is found 17 times if you have the right bible, the King James Bible. 

a)  The word “health” is found only 14 times in the Revised Version.

b)  The word “health” is found only 11 times in the ESV, the so-called bible that so many people now hold dear. 

c)  The word “health” is found only 11 times in the American Standard Version. 

d)  The word “health” is found only 9 times in the Modern King James Version.

e)    Notice with me that in the modern versions from the Catholic Text (Wescott-Hort Text), the number of references decline. 

B.  I guess, to the liberal scholar, the Word of God is in a transitional state!  Good health is not quite as important to the liberal as it is to the conservative?  I am going to let it go at that because this is not a study on the travesty of the new versions.  Let me say that Good Health is important to God as well as to the believer.

C.  Our bodies are the Temple of the Holy Ghost and, as we respect the church house, we should respect our bodies. 

D.  Five lessons concerning good health:

1.  Good Health is a blessing.  Good health is the will of God for the most part.  I understand that some people are born with health problems and that is the will of God for their lives but most of us were born with good physical bodies.  I watch our little children and every part of their bodies work right.  As you get older, they do not work as well.  If you have good health and your body reasonably works right, you are blessed! 

3 John 2  Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.  (The key words of this verse are “prosper” and “”prospereth.”  It means to do well and to be so progressively.  To continue in good health.)

1.  God wants you to prosper spiritually – “even as thy soul prospereth”  I want to look at the last part of this verse first because of the words “even as.”  Spiritual prosperity brings about the first two prosperings. 

2.  God wants you to prosper materially – “that thou mayest prosper”  God wants us to prosper financially.  Not to be rich but to have sufficient to eat, drink, and to enjoy the things of life.  I am not preaching a Prosperity Gospel but God wants us to enjoy life.  Ecclesiastes 2:24 There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.

3.  God wants you to prosper in physically – “and be in health”  God gave us our bodies to take care of.  These vehicles must carry us for many years and, as any good automobile or tool, must be maintained.

2.  Good Health can be taken for granted.  Never let a day that is good go by without blessing the Lord for your good health and a body that has little pain.

Psalms 71:9  Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.  (Growing old is not for wimps!  As you get older, you do not take good days for granted.) 

3.  Good Health is fragile.  Sickness, disease, accidents, and foolishness can change how your body performs.  David said that there was but a step between him and death.  There is just a breath between having good health and declining health.  One step between having a body that works and having something break through accidents or sickness that makes life more miserable physically.  “Life is fragile, handle with care!”  That saying was on a reflective sticker on my hard hat when I worked in the mines because so many things underground could change things.

Philippians 2:27  For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.  (Our health can change with one beat of the heart.  I have pastored a long time and have buried them from a still birth up to old age.  Sickness, accidents, and death are no respecters of persons.)

4.  Good Health can be enhanced.  Through proper diet and physical exercise, we can strengthen our bodies.  There are things that we can do to, as much as lies within us, enhance our quality and quantity of life. 

a.  Our mental state is important.  Proverbs 16:24  Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.  (Poor mental health will ruin good physical health!  “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” makes a good application here.  Mental health and physical health go hand-in-hand.)

b.  Our diet is important.  Acts 27:33-34  And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing.  (34)  Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you.  (If God made it, we can eat it.  It is not the food that eat that so often hurts us but rather the amount.  I hear of all of these crazy diets, all of which are extreme in nature: low fat, low carb, etc. which tell you that you can lose weight fast do not work well.  In grade school, we took a Health Class which told us that all food groups were necessary each day for good health.  Now, eating meat is a cause of cancer?  Get a life!  Leave my grill and smoker alone.) 

c.  Our exercise is important.  1 Timothy 4:8  For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.  (I know that we zero in on the last part of this verse but the first part says that bodily exercise profits.)

5.  Good Health can be destroyed. 

Galatians 6:7-8  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  (8)  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.  (So many people, saved and lost alike, shorten their lives  because of sin.  This principle of sowing and reaping brings about a blessed life or one of corruption.)

a.  Sin can destroy one’s health - 1 Corinthians 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. (Young people expect to feel good and every part of their body work right but, too often, even their health and well-being fail.  Accidents, sickness, or abusing the body can be costly and permanent!  The old saying, “If I knew I was going to get this old, I would have taken better care of myself,” stands true.  Obesity, drinking, smoking, doing drugs, sexual impurity, etc. destroy these marvelous bodies that God has given to us.)

b.  The Word of God can prosper one’s health - Proverbs 4:20-22  My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.  (21)  Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.  (22)  For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

Conclusion: 

1.  The first mention of health is found in Genesis, the Seed Bed of the Bible:  Genesis 43:27-28  And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Isyour father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?  (28)  And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.  (Abraham lived a long, fruitful life and was in good health.)

2.  The last mention of health is found 3 John 2  Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.  (God’s will for our bodies has never changed!)

Them Which Are Asleep

Temple Baptist Church - 11-8-2015

1 Thessalonians 4:13

Introduction:

A.  There are many times when Paul addressed the possible ignorance of God’s people on certain subjects. 

1.  Paul’s desire was “I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren.”  I would never presume for a moment that the saints of Temple Baptist Church would ever be ignorant in these areas but, as our children grow up, they must be biblically taught just like you and me. 

2.  Our taking certain biblical doctrines for granted can lead to those subjects no longer being preached upon and us raising a new generation that is ignorant on biblical doctrine.  There is nothing actually wrong with ignorance as the word refers to someone who has not been taught. 

3.  I think it was Will Rogers who said, “Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.”  I may have the quote wrong but the precept is right. 

B.  Paul, in verse 13, deals with an event that we will all face if the Lord has not returned in our lifetime.  I will not use a lot of verses on death because it is a subject all too real to us older folks.

Genesis 2:17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Genesis 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Romans 5:12  Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Hebrews 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

C.  The question must be answered: Does man have only temporal life or does man have life after death?  There are several different viewpoints that I want to address in this introduction:

1.  There is the viewpoint of the atheist or agnostic that man dies as the dog dies (never more to have a conscience state) and the body goes back to dust.  Their reasoning is that everything came into existence through the Big Bang and Evolution.  Their perspective is that man is just an animal of higher intelligence instead of Divine design.  This is the fool of Psalms 14:1 which says, “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.”

2.  There is the viewpoint of the unsaved man who believes that there is a God but chooses not to place his/her faith in Him.  This individual is not a fool but is certainly foolish!  Their perspective is that of “no hope.”   They understand that they will never see their loved one again and mourn with great loss.

3.  There is the viewpoint of some who believe that, if you are not one of their number, your body goes back to dust and your soul is annihilated by God. 

4.  There is the viewpoint of some that when man dies, their soul sleeps in the grave until such a time as God resurrects both it and the body. 

5.  There is the biblical viewpoint (which is the correct one) that, when man dies, the body goes to the grave and the spirit back to God who gave it.

Ecclesiastes 12:7  Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

D.  There is much misunderstanding concerning the subject of death.  The words “sleep” and “asleep” found in the Bible are confusing to the casual reader as the answer can only come through rightly dividing the Word of Truth.  We read here that the lost have no hope but those of us who are saved have a living hope that is eternal.

1.  Every person who has ever been on this earth has eternal existence.  God breathed eternal life into the body of Adam.  That life that God gave to Adam came from God and will never cease.  It was not just physical life as the Bible says that Adam became a living soul.

Genesis 2:7  And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.  (Living means to preserve, revive, or to keep alive.  Our life is derived through the life that God gave to Adam.  God does not need to breathe the breath of life into each of us.  The word “breathed” means to inspire or inspiration.  God breathed out, which is expiration, and breathed in to Adam, which is inspiration.  Inspiration means to infuse.  As God once inspired or infused life into the Bible, it remains inspired to this day through preservation.  Thus it is with man, God infused life into Adam and it remains infused in mankind through preservation.)

2.  As the soul and spirit of the saved will always be alive with the Lord, the soul and spirit of the unsaved with always be alive in hell.

3.  To be absent from the body for the saved is to be present with the Lord.  2 Corinthians 5:8  We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

4.  To be absent from the body for the unsaved is to be present in hell.  Luke 16:22-23  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;  (23)  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

E.  In our verse for tonight, we find several things:

1.  The Surety of Death.

Ecclesiastes 12:7  Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

1 Corinthians 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Romans 5:12  Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Hebrews 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

2.  The Sorrow of Death.  Notice the difference between the death of two of David’s sons.

a.  The sorrow of those who have hope – “that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.”  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.

b.  The sorrow of those who have no hope – “which have no hope”  Hebrews 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

3.  The Sweetness of Death.

a.  Sweet to the Lord - Psalms 116:15  Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

Job 14:14-15  If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.  (15)  Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.

b.  Sweet to the Saint - Philippians 1:21-23  For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.  (22)  But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.  (23)  For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

Bless The Lord, O My Soul - Thanking God For His Great Forgiveness

Temple Baptist Church - 11-8-2015

Psalm 103:1-3

Introduction:

A.  Psalm 103 is one of my favorite portions of Scripture because it so vividly describes the goodness and grace of God to His children.  Last week, we saw David “Blessing The One Who Blesses.”  The expression of a man’s soul towards our loving Lord.

B.  This morning, I want to begin preaching on our thankfulness for all of His benefits.  Benefits could be described as extras.  On a secular job, these would be family insurance, retirement benefits, holidays and personal days off, or extra pay for working one’s birthday.  The Lord has given us many “benefits” to go along with a future in heaven with Him.

C.  The first benefit that David mentioned is that of the forgiveness of sin.  How wonderful it is to have experienced the forgiveness of sinfulness that brings about a settled peace in the heart.  David knew much about forgiveness!  He knew where he was when the Lord found him and how greatly that he had failed the Lord after being saved. 

D.  I want to look at forgiveness in two different areas that we need to be familiar with.

1.  The Greatest Love that we can ever know: The forgiveness that brings salvation.

2.  The Greatest Longsuffering that we can ever experience: The forgiveness that brings restoration.

1.  The forgiveness that brings salvation. 

a.  Like all men, David was a sinner that needed to be saved.  Though he came from the family of Jesse, a godly man, his being born into a good family was not enough to save him.  Nothing is said concerning when David was saved but, somewhere in David’s childhood or youth, he placed his personal faith in what the Messiah would one day do for him. 

b.  In the 23rd Psalm, David referred to the Lord as “my Shepherd.”  The forgiveness of salvation is eternal!  He ended that Psalm with the words, “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.”

c.  Salvation has always been the “goodness and mercy” of God.  There has been a heresy preached for years that salvation was faith plus works in the Old Testament and also after the Rapture of the Church. 

d.  Salvation began in the Garden of Eden when the goodness and mercy of God came to Adam when Adam would not come to Him.  Adam and Eve’s salvation came through God’s sacrifice of atonement and the promise of the coming seed of the woman, the Messiah—the Christ of God.

e.  Ephesians 2:4-10  But God, who is rich in mercy (The Mercy of God), for his great love wherewith he loved us (The Love of God),  (5)  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)  (6)  And hath raised us up together (The Power of God), and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:  (7)  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.  (8)  For by grace are ye saved through faith (The Grace of God through Faith Exercised); and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  (9)  Not of works, lest any man should boast.  (10)  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works (The Change that God makes in the Saved), which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

2.  The forgiveness that brings restoration.  As we all do, David failed the Lord greatly.  Sinfulness breaks our fellowship with the Lord and brings about our chastening.  When I think of David’s sinfulness, confession, and restoration—my mind goes to Psalm 51: David’s penitent prayer after his sin with Bathsheba and against Uriah the Hittite.  These verses confession, forgiveness, and restoration correspond with the New Testament.

Psalms 51:2-4, 7-12  Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.  (3)  For I acknowledge my transgressions : and my sinis ever before me.  (4)  Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest,and be clear when thou judgest … (7) Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  (8)  Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.  (9)  Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.  (10)  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.  (11)  Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. (12)  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

a.  The confession of sinfulness.  “I acknowledge my transgressions”  Before the forgiveness of restoration can come, openness and confession must be made.  “IF we confess our sins!”

b.  The forgiveness of sinfulness.  “purge me … wash me”  When we ask for God’s purging of sinfulness, He is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  What a blessing to have the load of sin taken away and restoration made full. “He is faithful and just to forgive our sins.”

c.  The results of restoration.  “Clean … whiter than snow … to hear joy and gladness … a clean heart … a right spirit … restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.”  What a blessing to have a right relationship with our wonderful Lord!  “And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Conclusion:  The first benefit is forgiveness!  Thank you, Lord, for loving me enough to give to me the forgiveness that I need.