Episodes
Sunday Jul 23, 2017
JESUS IS WORTHY OF MY WORSHIP (Revelation 5:6-14)
Sunday Jul 23, 2017
Sunday Jul 23, 2017
God has placed into the hands of men the decision as to whether or not they will accept Christ as Savior, but the decision as to whether or not they will acknowledge Him as Lord is not theirs to decide. The supreme tragedy of a lost eternity will be to know that there, shut out from the glory of heaven, sentenced to spend eternity in the burning fires of hell, all those who rejected Him as Savior, will still have to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord.
He will be praised at the center of heaven by the sinless sons of light and by the redeemed of all ages with joy unspeakable and full of glory. And He will be praised from the depths of the lake of fire by every damned and outcast soul with sobs and tears and choking cries.
Isa 45:23
23 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
KJV
Click the link to hear a sermon on how Jesus Christ is exclusively worthy of our worship. There is none other. He is exceedingly worthy because of Calvary, because of creation, and because of conquest. He is eternally worthy forever and ever.
Sunday Jul 16, 2017
JESUS IS EXCLUSIVELY WORTHY (Revelation 5:1-5)
Sunday Jul 16, 2017
Sunday Jul 16, 2017
Let me begin this post with a few personal questions.
1) Do you have a cause worth living for?
2) Is what you are living for, worthy of Jesus’ dying for?
3) When you get where you are headed, where will you be?
When you put our short, mortal, lives in the context of eternity, many of us are shoveling smoke and plowing water. When this world is done, much of what we have done will make no difference whatsoever. Think about it, how much of what we have worked so hard for in this life, will extend beyond the grave, or will even exist after Jesus Christ destroys this world and creates a new heaven and a new earth?
Years ago, Reader’s Digest had an article that said in order for a person to have a meaningful life, they need three things. First, they need someone to love. Second, they need something to do. Third, they need something to hope for. I think Reader’s Digest is right, but they did not say who or what that something was. That something is Jesus Christ. He is the One we love, the One we serve, and One in whom we hope. Jesus Christ is the only One worthy of my love, my life, my all, and yours.
The fifth chapter of Revelation talks about the One who is worthy, Jesus Christ. And it brings home the fact that each of us will never have satisfaction and fulfillment, or understand why God created us, until we come to worship Him.
Click on this link to hear a sermon on just one of three things that this chapter says about why our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is worthy of our worship.
Sunday Jul 09, 2017
GOD'S THRONE, GOD'S JUDGMENT (Revelation 4:3-11)
Sunday Jul 09, 2017
Sunday Jul 09, 2017
The last couple of weeks, our emphasis has been on the rapture, and what a wonderful event that will be for those of us who are prepared for the coming of our Lord Jesus. With the beginning of chapter 4, we turn the page from the things which are, meaning the church age, to those things that are to come. The thing that is most prominent in the rest of this book, is the judgment of God. God has said that vengeance, or judgment, is His, and we are about to study a whole series of judgments where God will judge all of humanity that has lived from the creation of Adam and Eve to the last born person before the consummation of all things. God will judge the earth, and all of His creation. He will judge Satan, and all of the fallen angels, the antichrist, the false prophet, and all of the demons of Satan. He will judge both the saved and the lost of humanity. No one, and no thing, will escape the coming judgment. God’s judgment is real and it is coming soon.
Heb 10:30
30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
KJV
In chapter four of the Book of Revelation, the Lord is setting the stage for the multiple judgments that are coming, and the very symbol of God’s judgment, is God’s throne.
Click on this link to hear a sermon on the throne of God and how His judgments will be viewed by all who kneel before Him.
Sunday Jul 02, 2017
WHO IS THE RAPTURE FOR? (Revelation 4:2-4)
Sunday Jul 02, 2017
Sunday Jul 02, 2017
Certainly, the word rapture is full of meaning for Christians today. The single event that declares the church age has come to an end, is the rapture of the church. The church is defined as all those who accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior during the church age, or that time from Pentecost until the rapture occurs. The rapture is that event when, at the midnight cry, Jesus will come for His own. But the question that many ask is who is in that select multitude that will be taken up in the rapture?
Our churches are filled with those who look religious, act religious, pray religious, and even teach and preach religious, but they are lost. As you look across the worship service, there are those who know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and there are those who only say they do. As we look at the whole crowd, they all look the same, but if we had the eyes of Christ, we could look into every heart and see a completely different picture.
And that is what separates the saved from the lost, those who are ready for Jesus Christ to come, and those who are not. At the rapture, the person sitting next to you at the dinner table will go and you will remain. Or you may go and that person will remain. Two will be sitting in church. One will be taken and the other left. There is a select multitude, and the deciding factor in whether you will go or not, is whether you have been twice born as a new creation in Christ. Only the saved will be going. If you want to be one of these select multitude, then make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior today, and then you can know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air.
Click on the link below to hear a sermon on who the Lord is coming to get at the time of the rapture. Listen to what the Word of God says about who the rapture is for. Amen.
Sunday Jun 25, 2017
WHAT IS THE RAPTURE (Revelation 4:1-3)
Sunday Jun 25, 2017
Sunday Jun 25, 2017
If I were to ask you to describe the rapture in two words or less, how would you respond?
For me, it would be heaven-bound. At last, I am heaven-bound. That is what the rapture means to me.
The single event that declares the church age has come to an end, is the rapture of the church. The church is defined as all those who accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior during the church age, or that time from Pentecost until the rapture occurs. The rapture is that event when, at the midnight cry, Jesus will come for His own.
Those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, and are still living, will be miraculously transformed with glorified bodies and caught up, or raptured, into the air to meet the Lord. Those whose bodies sleep in the earth will be raised from their sleeping place to meet their heavenly spirits that are coming down with the Lord, and they will be joined together in the air. Each New Testament believer, dead or alive, will rise up to meet the Lord in the air. This is the event that is called the rapture.
The Bible calls this the blessed hope. And you need to be ready, but you don’t have to be fearful, about the coming of the Lord to catch us up in the rapture. Remember that sorrow looks backward, worry looks all around us, but hope looks upward. We are on a collision course with destiny, and we cannot afford to be ignorant.
Click on the link below to hear a sermon on what the rapture is and when it will occur. Jesus is coming again, the question is, are you ready? Amen.
Sunday Jun 04, 2017
A CHURCH WITH AN OPEN DOOR (Revelation 3:7-13)
Sunday Jun 04, 2017
Sunday Jun 04, 2017
What is a church with an open door? Is it a church that opens its doors to all people? Certainly, in today’s vernacular, that would be the meaning most of us thinks of. However, if the Lord told you that He was setting before your church an open door, what would that mean to you? Would it still mean that He was putting an open door that would welcome all people?
In 1915, Dr. R. A. Torry conceived of a church that was to be non-denominational, but evangelical. Its purpose was to reach the lost people of the city of Los Angeles, and it was called the Church of the Open Door. The name was chosen based on words from these two verses:
Rev 3:8
8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
KJV
John 10:9
9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
KJV
The Church of the Open Door is still alive today, although not in its original building. Some of its famous pastors have been Dr. Louis Talbot (1932-1948), and Dr. J. Vernon McGee (1949-1970). The church was known for its iconic sign that stood on top of the building, that said “Jesus Saves”, and could be seen from across the city. During the time that Dr. McGee was pastor, several thousand people attended the church, and if you know anything about Dr. McGee, you know that it was a church that focused on the teaching of the Word of God.
Click on the link below to hear a lesson about a different church that the Lord told, because they were faithful, He would set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it. It is the church of the city of Philadelphia, in Asia Minor.
Monday May 08, 2017
A WORLDLY CHURCH (Revelation 2:12-17)
Monday May 08, 2017
Monday May 08, 2017
A worldly church is one that has compromised its doctrines to be acceptable in the world around it. A church that says they don’t want to preach a message on sin that might offend people. It is a feel-good church. A church that doesn’t teach about the importance of the soul cleansing power of the blood of Jesus Christ, because it is too graphic. A church whose message about Jesus is that He just wants to be your best friend, not your Savior, not your Master and Lord, but your best friend?
Today’s lesson is about a church that had compromised with the ideas and morals of the world around it. It is about a church, like many of our churches today, that no longer feels the great commission of winning souls for Christ is the most important mission they have, but it is one of entertaining the members, and getting along with everyone.
Click on the link below to hear a sermon on what the Lord Jesus thinks of a church that has turned away from the absolute truths about right and wrong found in the Bible, to the social ethics of the world.
Sunday Apr 23, 2017
A BUSY CHURCH (Revelation 1:20-2:5)
Sunday Apr 23, 2017
Sunday Apr 23, 2017
How busy is your church? Do the ladies have a Bible study on Thursdays? Are there bus trips to special places for the older generation? Are there programs to entertain the youth, as well as develop them? Is there a divorced support group that meets on Tuesday? Do the men meet once a month for a learning breakfast? Do the children have Bible study, vacation Bible school, and Awanas?
Now, don’t misunderstand me, all of these things are good and we absolutely should be doing them, but their focus is on ministering to the saints within the walls of the church, and that is certainly one objective of the church. We must develop the saints into well-developed spiritual warriors who can lead victorious Christian lives. However, is that where the busyness of the church stops? What do all of these well-developed warriors do with that information and learning? How busy are they?
So, let me ask the question again in a slightly different way, how busy is your church at winning souls for Christ? That is what all of that training of spiritual warriors is for, right? So how busy is your church at winning souls for Christ?
This is the primary objective, task, mission, and duty of our church, or the members of the church. Let me be clear here, it is not the primary duty of our pastors to do all the soul winning. A shepherd does not make sheep. He cares for them, he provides for them, he feeds them, but he does not make sheep. It is the work of the sheep to make more sheep. It is the primary work of the members of the church to be soul winners. So, how busy are you?
What is the main characteristic that is the driver for a person to want to reach others for Christ? Love. Love for Christ, which drives a desire to be obedient to His command to share the gospel. Love for your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ as we meet each other’s needs. It is love for the lost people of this world that makes us want to reach them with the gospel message. An agape type love is the missing ingredient in many of our churches today. We are so busy focusing on the things inside the church that we forget about the dark world in need of Christ that is standing on the outside of our church.
Click on the link to hear a podcast lesson about a busy church that has lost its first love. Its passion for Christ.
Sunday Apr 09, 2017
A ROAD MAP OF THE END TIMES (Revelation 1:19)
Sunday Apr 09, 2017
Sunday Apr 09, 2017
Many people ask if there is a key to understanding the Book of Revelation? The answer is yes! God’s purpose is not to conceal, but to reveal. This golden key is hanging right on the front door in verse 19 of the first chapter of Revelation. It is John’s commission to write the Book of Revelation. In fact, John got his commission from the Trinity Book Publishing company. Jesus Christ, one of the three partners in the Trinity Book Publishing company, tells John,
Rev 1:19
19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
KJV
Now, contrary to what some will tell you, the Book of Revelation is primarily a prophetic book. It tells us about the things which shall be hereafter, it is not a history book. Revelation is a book of prophecy, and only God knows the future. God alone can prophecy what will occur in the future. Satan cannot prophecy at all.
Today, I want to give us a panoramic view of the prophecy we find in this book so we can use it as a guide to what we are seeing in these prophecies. I am not going to go into them deeply, because we will be doing that over the next several months, years, or however long it takes us to get through this wonderful book of prophecy. But I do want you to have a roadmap to work from in our study.
Click the link to hear a podcast on the major branches of prophecy that will occur in the future. Jesus Christ is coming to judge the world, and God wants you to know what is going to happen so you can be ready.
Sunday Apr 02, 2017
THE JESUS WHO STANDS BEFORE US TODAY (Revelation 1:14-18)
Sunday Apr 02, 2017
Sunday Apr 02, 2017
We talked last week about a few things we could surmise about what Jesus looked like the first time He came, and compared that to the one portrayed in the paintings that we see, pictures, movies, and books today. The best example of this image is found in the painting of the last supper by Leonardo Da Vinci, showing Jesus with long hair, long white robes, and gentle in nature. If there is a picture of Jesus hanging in the church, it will be of this Jesus, the one man created because the Bible does not give us a clear description of what Jesus looked like the first time He came. Certainly, this is the image that people have in their minds when they think of Jesus today. When they use the name of Jesus in vain, this in the Jesus they are thinking of. When they declare that Jesus was nothing more than a good man, a prophet, or a teacher, this is the Jesus that they are thinking of. This is a Jesus that you can choose to ignore, or to reject, make fun of, or even deny that He ever existed, because there is nothing intimidating about Him.
However, even if this movie image of Jesus was correct, and I don’t believe it is, it was what Jesus looked like before the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of our Lord. The Jesus that stands in heaven today as the High Priest in the Holy Tabernacle of God, does not look anything like that Jesus. That Jesus was approachable, almost indistinguishable from everyone else. He looked like a common man, with nothing desirable about His appearance to draw our attention to Him. The one that stands before us today, retains the humanity of that Jesus, He has the scars of the nails in His Hands, but everything else about Him speaks of His deity, His glory, and His almighty power as the Creator of all things. The Jesus that stands before us today, is in the full glory of God. There is nothing meek or gentle in His nature or appearance, and when the world sees Him as He is, they will fall to their knees in worship and awe. No one will deny that this Jesus exists, nor will they ignore Him, or curse Him.
Click on the link and learn about the Jesus that stands before John as he hears a voice that sounded like a trumpet, and he turned and saw a vision of the resurrected, risen, glorified, Lord Jesus Christ. This is the Jesus who stands before us today.