Sunday, May 31, 2015

Are Your Laboring In Van? - By Pastor Ricky Kurth




Are Your Laboring In Van?  
Pastor Ricky Kurth


“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (I Corinthians15:58).

What wonderful words of assurance! Who among us has not felt, at sometime or another, that our labor for the Lord is in vain? At such times,what a comfort it is to rest in this unconditional, unqualified, God-given guarantee that our labors for Him are not in vain!

But how could Paul say such a thing, in light of his words to the Galatians, where he said,

“I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain” (Galatians 4:11).

Here the apostle seems to fear that his labors to establish the Galatians in the doctrines of grace would be in vain if they continued to hanker after the Law.

And what about Philippians 2:16, where Paul exhorts the Philippians to be:

“Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.”

Here it sounds as if Paul’s labor would be in vain if the Philippians failed to hold forth the word of life, and follow his other instructions in this passage.

Then to top it off, there is also I Thessalonians 3:5 to consider, where Paul told the Thessalonians,

“…I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be invain.”

Here again, Paul appears apprehensive that all of the labor he had bestowed upon God’s people might be in vain if the temptations of the tempter succeeded in luring the Thessalonians away from the faith.

In view of statements like these, how could Paul state so categorically that the labor of the Corinthians was not in vain? Did they do better work than he did? Surely not! We feel the answer lies in the assurance Paul gave them that their labor was not in vain “in the Lord.” While twas possible that the labor of even the great apostle Paul might be in vain in the Galatians, in the Philippians, and in the Thessalonians, it is not possible that any of our labors are in vain in the Lord.

Why is that? Well, remember that Paul says of the Judgment Seat of Christ that “every man shall receive his own reward according to disown labour” (I Corinthians 3:8). Notice that we are going to be rewarded according to our labor, not according to the fruit of our labor. That is, God intends to reward us based upon our faithfulness, not on the faithfulness of those upon whom we bestow our labor. If this were not so, even Paul’s rewards would be few, for after all of the labor he extended in Asia, all in Asia turned away from him (Vitim. 1:15).

And so if the unfaithfulness of the ones upon whom you bestow your spiritual labor has you thinking that all of your efforts have gone forethought, remember that your labor might be in vain in them, but your labor is not in vain in the Lord. You have God’s Word on it!

Of course, if there isn’t going to be a Judgment Seat of Christ, then your labor for the Lord is in vain. If the reader is wondering why we might say something like that, remember that some among the Corinthians were insisting that there is no such thing as the resurrection of the dead (I Corinthians 15:12). And if there is no resurrection,there will be no Judgment Seat to follow, and if there isn’t going to be a Judgment Seat, then our labor is in vain! This progressive faulty reasoning was threatening to bring all labor for the Lord in Corinth to a screeching halt! No wonder the apostle begins this resurrection chapter by first assuring the Corinthians that their faith was not “invain” (15:2,14,17), then moved on to assure them that their labor was not in vain.

While some spiritual leaders avoid teaching doctrine because doctrine is, in their minds, not very practical, the apostle Paul was of another mind. Disbelief in the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead was threatening to put a stranglehold on the faith and labor of the saints at Corinth, but the airtight case Paul made for the resurrection in this blessed chapter explains why he could say we “therefore” have all the incentive we need to be “always abounding in the work of the Lord.”

And so if sometimes it feels like you are just spinning your wheels and getting nowhere with people as you labor for the Lord, we close with yet another unconditional promise from the apostle of grace:

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9).



A Special Announcement: Transformed by Grace, the new weekly television program produced by the Berean Bible Society, has begun broadcasting across the United States. Visit the Transformed by Grace page on our website to find your local station.
 




How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
ead Acts 16L31 Romans 1:16, and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4


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AND THE BODY OF CHRIST - By Pastor Robert E. Hanna


 Having accepted the free gift of eternal life by grace through faith, we become members of the Body of Christ. The significance of this distinctive position is clearly defined in God’s Word but seldom recognized or appreciated by the reader. Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Ye are all the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. For as many of you as have been baptized (Not by water, but by the Spirit-into His death) into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female for YE ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS” (Galatians 3:26-28

 “And He (Christ) is the Head of the Body, the Church; who (Christ) is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18).

 “For as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one Body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many…Now ye are the Body of Christ, and members in particular (1 Corinthians 12:12-14,27).

 To fail to realize our position as members of the Body of Christ, is to miss much of the joy of our salvation. “Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

 (Ephesians 4:7). “Rejoice evermore! For we are members of His Body of His flesh, and of His bones!”





How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4


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Friday, May 29, 2015

SO GREAT SALVATION! - By Cecil Argetsinger



SO GREAT SALVATION!
Cecil Argetsinger


THE TERM salvation means deliverance, rescue, and being saved. In the Bible it indicates a work of God for man, not something man must do for God. In this present dispensation of grace it applies to the individual believer, the one who is trusting Christ as his Savior. 

 Included in that salvation are various positions and blessings freely bestowed on "all who believe." No one word could fully describe those benefits; they are too abundant and wonderful. So God uses different words, each one given the assignment of revealing a different facet of the truths of "so great salvation." Justification, faith, redemption, forgive. ness, propitiation, reconciliation, grace and glorification are but some of the words thus used.

 Particular aspects of salvation will be dealt with in future articles. For now, some of its more general features will be considered. These will be viewed under three headings: the three-fold principle of salvation; a change of citizenship; salvation-past, present and future. 

A Three-Fold Principle

There is a three-fold principle in the salvation of the believer in Christ. Though these may not all be mentioned at the same time, salvation is represented as being given by the grace of God, based on the blood of Christ (that is, His death on the cross), and received through faith on the part of the individual. That three. divisioned rule is well set forth in Romans 3:23.25. It is by grace (verse 24), based on blood verse 25), and through foith verse 25).
1. By Grace

To say that salvation is by grace Is to say that salvation, in its entirety, is a work of God for man. It indicates man's helpless and hopeless condition, the fact that he has neither the ability nor the inclination to save himself. Even a casual examination of Scripture reveals that there was, and is, no merit or good in man that would obligate God to act in his behalf. Romans 3:10.18 is a merciless and damning indictment of all mankind. It, along with other Scriptures, reveals man's utterly corrupt and sinful condition (Genesis 6:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 7:18). If man is to be saved it must be from without himself. 

Just as the Bible clearly asserts that man has neither the means nor the desire to accomplish his own salvation, so does it clearly depict that, from start to finish, it is all of God. He is its Author and Finisher of our faith. Hebrews 12:2). "For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast"  Ephesians 2:8.9).
2. By Christ's Blood

Here is something that fallen man refuses to accept, that is, ". . . without the shedding of blood is no remission" Hebrews 9:22). But the Scriptures are saturated with the teaching and statements that we are saved by the blood of Christ. The blood, of course, represents His life that was given on Calvary's cross - not the life that He lived on earth, much though that might mean to us. His death is the grounds of our redemption. (Examine closely Romans 3:24-25; Acts 20:28; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:18, 2:24; II Corinthians 5:21.)

God does not forgive sin in our sense of the word, that of overlooking it. The Bible teaches that when Christ died on the cross the justice of God was satisfied as far as the sin-question was concerned. All the claims of His holy law against the sinner were settled in that death. He became the believer's substitute, One Who was provided by God Himself to take the sinner's place. In Christ's death God could vindicate .His righteousness and yet save the sinner.

Nor would any other sacrifice do. "The blood of bulls and goats (the Old Testament sacrifices) could never take away sin" (Hebrews 10:4). God did not arbitrarily appoint the death of Jesus Christ as the sole means of salvation. This would have been an unnecessary and exceedingly cruel act had there been any other way. Christ was sent; He came and died, because nothing else could solve the sin problem. Salvation is not just by blood; it must be by His blood.
3. By Faith

That salvation is by faith and faith alone is the clear teaching of the New Testament Scriptures. At least 135 times do they state that believe (have faith) is all that a sinner must or can do to be saved. "For by grace are ye saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8-9) and "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved ... " (Acts 16:31) present this truth as plainly as words can. In addition to these are numerous other Scriptures which teach that no self. effort or good works can ever save. It is "not by deeds of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us ... (Titus 3:5); "For by grace are ye saved through faith ... not of works lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

However, faith is not some act or quality which makes its possessor worthy of salvation. Faith is simply the channel through which it comes, the hand that receives the gift. All too often an unwarranted emphasis is placed on believing or faith, making it seem some sort of work for God and thus marking out the one with faith as deserving of salvation.

But faith cannot save. Only Christ can do that. It is not our faith but the blood of Christ that forever settled the sinquestion. Faith Is resting in God, depending on what He has done for us, not what we do for Him.
A Change in Citizenship

Salvation is far more than just deliverance from the guilt and penalty of sin. It means rescue from the power, the control and the government of Satan. It means being brought into relationship with God, coming under His control, and a transfer of citizenship into His Kingdom. All humanity dwells in one or the other of two camps, either God's or Satan's. There is no middle ground, no alternative. "We know that we (Christians-believers) are of God and the whole world (all others-unbelievers) lieth in the wicked one" (l John 5:19 NASV). This change in leadership and citizenship is no small thing, necessitating as it did the death of Christ for its accomplishment (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Two passages of Scripture relating to that remarkable change are here quoted. "Giving thanks unto the Father ... Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son" (Colossians 1:12.13). "And you hath He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in times past ye walked according to the course of this world; according to the prince of the power of the air (Satan) ... Among whom we all had our manner of life in times past ... and were by nature the children of wrath ... But God. Who is rich in mercy ... hath made us alive together with Christ ... and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 2:1.6). And this is only part of it. Indeed the Christian can sing, "What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought .
Three Time Periods

There are three time periods in the salvation of the believer-past, present and future. He has been saved, is being saved, and will be saved.
1. Salvation Past

Salvation past takes in all that God has done for His child when He saved him from the guilt and penalty of sin. That he has thus been saved there can be no doubt. "There is therefore now no condemnation judgment) to them that are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, has everlasting life, and shall never come into condemnation judgement); but is (already) passed from death into life" (John 5:24)
2. Salvation Present

In this aspect of salvation the keeping power of God is evidenced. Scriptures are clear to the effect that the one who has once been saved can never be lost. Once he has been justified (declared righteous) his glorification (entrance into heaven) irrevocably follows (Romans 8:30). The Holy Spirit of God has sealed (preserved) the believer until the day of his final redemption (Ephesians 4:30). "He shall never perish, neither shall any (one or thing) pluck him out of the Father's hand" (John 10:28) and there is absolutely nothing that can separate him from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:37-39). The believer is "kept by the power of God" (! Peter 1:5), not by his own efforts or goodness.
3. Salvation Future 

  Under this heading would be included all the matchless and unfathomable blessings and positions which the child of God under grace will one day inherit and possess. When it is considered that the glorified Christ is the pattern to which the believer is ultimately to be conformed, the imagination is staggered and faith is taxed to its limit. But this is the sure Word of God. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is" (! John 3:2). "For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile (lowly) body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body . . ." (Philippians 3:20.21). 

It is no wonder that it is called "so great salvation."




How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4


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FROM MILK TO MEAT - By M.Stanford


"By people who live on milk I mean those who are imperfectly acquainted with the teaching concerning righteousness. Such persons are mere babes" (Hebrews 5:13.

Promises and blessings have mainly to do with the milk of the Word. In order for a believer to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus, he must fellowship with Him in the Word. There is general Bible study, and there is feeding upon the Lord Jesus in the Word of life. The former serves for foundation, the latter is needed for growth.

"People may receive 'blessings' and temporary 'deliverances' in answer to prayer, for God is merciful to His children and His Spirit refreshes and blesses us even apart from the real walk of faith. But it is of greater benefit finally to us, and much greater glory to God, if we simply accept His Word and learn to walk in the power of it by naked faith; which asks no longer certain ecstasies, but being sure of God's truth because it is His truth, maintains an attitude of faith therein; attitude --- a fixed heart.

"Faith, when once we see the truth, consists of a believing attitude of the will toward God. This involves a negative attitude toward all doubt of His promises or anything that would raise a doubt; and it also involves a continued refusal to rest upon appearances or feelings, even though these may come in great abundance. It is God's written Word that supplies strength to the heart of faith." - W.R.N.

"It is an easy thing to set sail and get fairly out into the ocean; but when many days have passed and no land is in sight, one is apt to weary. If the heart is not fully occupied with the Lord in the Word, something is taken on board to fill up the void."

"Nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine" (1 Timothy 4:6).



Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4


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Thursday, May 28, 2015

THE RESURRECTION DAY - by C. R. Stam

 

THE RESURRECTION DAY 

 by C. R. Stam

Some thirty years after the death and resurrection of Christ, St. Peter wrote to the believers of the Jewish dispersion:
“Unto you therefore which believe He is precious; but unto them which be disobedient, the Stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,“And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient…” (I Peter 2:7,8).
It is true that Israel’s builders, 1900 years ago, “disallowed” Christ as the cornerstone for their building, and that when He became the “Head of the corner,” according to Psalms 118:22, it was for them an occasion for stumbling and embarrassment.

But Christ is a “stone of stumbling” to all who reject Him. In Rom. 9:33 St. Paul quotes from several Old Testament passages:
“As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence; and whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.”
In Peter’s day and in Paul’s, those who looked upon Christ as their Cornerstone were never given cause to be ashamed. It was those who disallowed and refused Him who kept stumbling over Him and were constantly embarrassed by Him.

So today, those who put their trust in the crucified, risen Christ are eternally secure and will never be put to shame for having done so. But those who reject Christ keep forever stumbling over Him. They hear Him preached over the radio, they see Him offered as the One who died for their sins, they are constantly confronted with His claims and they are embarrassed. They keep forever stumbling over Him.

Moral: trust Him now as your personal Savior, for “whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.”


Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4


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Wednesday, May 27, 2015

The Hope - By John LaVier



The Hope of the Sinner

In Ephesians 2:12 the unregenerate man is described as "having no hope." However, though the unsaved man is hopeless, yet there is hope. But his hope of heaven and eternal life is not in some fancied worth or work of his, but is found alone in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Many have a false hope. Some trust to their character, morality, honesty or good deeds, but none of these will suffice, for God says, "We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." The man who hopes to find favor in the sight of God because of any merit of his own is doomed to disappointment.

Others realize in some measure their sinful condition, but turn to some system of religion to afford them a standing before God. To Israel of old God said, "And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering." To all who trust in any religious effort, or put confidence in anything other than the blood of Christ, God still says, "Not sufficient." A man may perform a multitude of rites and ceremonies; he may be baptized, partake of the bread and wine, and observe holy days and Sabbath days; he may hope that any or all of these will save his guilty soul, but all is to no avail. The Word declares: "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Titus 3:5).

There is only one hope for any sinner, and that is in the One who died on Calvary's cross for the sin of humanity, Who was buried and rose again, Who now lives as the one and only Saviour at God's right hand. If the sinner will trust in Jesus Christ and rely alone on His precious blood and finished work, then he will have a hope. The hope of the believing sinner is "the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due season." All that the sinner needs is Christ. Nothing more than Christ is needed, but nothing less than Christ will suffice. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for their is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).



The Hope of Israel

We see Israel today as a people scattered and peeled, but is there yet hope for this once-favored nation? Romans 11:1 provides the answer. First comes the question, "Hath God cast away His people?" This question is followed by the divine answer, "God forbid." Then comes the statement of the following verse: "God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew." Though now for a season they have been blinded and forsaken of God, there is still for them a glorious future.

Israel's hope is expressed in the words of the Spirit-filled Zacharias, who prophesied, saying, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David ... that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant; the oath which He sware to our father Abraham" (Luke 1:68-73).

The above words of Zacharias were uttered by him at Christ's first coming. The nation, though, did not receive Christ. Therefore, the fulfillment of Israel's hope was postponed, and now awaits the second coming of the Christ. When He appears again the second time He will come as Israel's Deliverer, to save them from their enemies and from the hand of all that hate them. "There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob" (Rom. 11:26). All Israel will then be saved. They will be planted again in their own land, and Christ Himself will be in their midst on David's throne ruling and reigning in righteousness.


The hope of Israel is the kingdom of the heavens established upon earth, with Israel in a place of supremacy. The nations today are in confusion because they are headless, but when the kingdom is here Israel will be at the head, and no longer the tail, and Israel's Messiah will be King over all the earth.

No fact is more clearly taught in the Scripture than that of Israel's regathering and restoration. "Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock" (Jer. 31:10). Just as surely as the scattering was literal, so surely will the gathering be literal. Israel will be gathered out of all the nations whither the Lord has scattered them, and will yet dwell in the land promised by God to Abraham and his seed after him.

Israel must first go through the awful time of great tribulation foretold by the Saviour, during which God will purge out their dross. Thus they will be prepared for the place of headship and responsibility which is to be theirs in the kingdom. They will be saved out of this time of Jacob's trouble when Christ returns as the Rider on the white horse. They will then look on Him whom they pierced and the nation will be converted. Israel's conversion will result in the conversion of the world. All nations will be blessed through Israel. "In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you; for we have heard that God is with you" (Zech. 8:23). Then the fulfillment of the prophetic Word: "Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee ... And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." This is Israel's hope.


The Hope of the Church

While Israel's hope awaits fulfillment, God is calling out the Church, the One Body of Christ. Israel has the hope of the coming kingdom, its center to be Jerusalem and its King the coming Messiah, and even beyond that they have the better hope of the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, with the names of the twelve tribes on the gates thereof. There is, however, reserved for the Church an even more glorious hope. Already God sees us, as members of the One Body, seated in the heavenlies in His Son. "He hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." We are already there insofar as God is concerned. We are there positionally in Christ our Head, and some day we will be there actually. "For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body." We look for the Saviour, and to be conformed to His image; to have a glorious body like unto His, a body sinless, deathless, incorruptible, clothed with beauty and splendor. This is the hope of every saint of God: "Christ in you, the hope of glory."

In the opening verses of Colossians 3 we are told: "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." Israel's hope is in things on the earth. The Church's hope is in things above. We have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ, and these heavenly places are "far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come."

The Church is "looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of the great God, our Saviour Jesus Christ." We wait to hear His voice, to be caught up to meet Him, to be like Him, to be for ever with Him. When Christ our life thus appears, we shall appear with Him in glory. Who can tell what is in store for the Church, then all glorious, and without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing? Then we shall be with Christ far above, at God's right hand where there are pleasures for evermore. Then in the ages rushing toward us, and to worlds as yet unborn, God will show forth in us, the Church, the exceeding riches of His grace. We will have an eternity of bliss in which to magnify His Name and to be to the praise of His glory. Even now as we contemplate the realization of our hope, it should make us sing above all the trials of life, knowing that any sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.



Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4


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Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Where Do You Stand? - By C. R. Stan


“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went unto him, and said unto him. Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? 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?” (Josh. 5:13,14).
God had appointed Joshua to lead the people of Israel into the land of Canaan. It was just before the battle of Jericho that the great leader looked up to see a man with a drawn sword facing him. His sudden appearance must have startled Joshua, but he showed no trace of fear — not Joshua!

Advancing toward the man Joshua demanded: “Art thou for us or for our adversaries?” No wonder the answer brought him to his knees! He had been standing face to face with the captain of the Lord’s hosts, no doubt Michael, the angelic prince of Israel (See Dan. 10:21 and 12:1).

The question was not whose side was the angel of God on, but whose side was Joshua on! Was he himself in harmony with God’s will?

What a lesson to learn! In the constant battle over truth and error there is a tendency for Christians to demand of other Christians: “Whose side are you on? Are you for us or for our adversaries?”

If this is as far as we have gotten in our service for the Lord we still have much to learn, for the great question is not: “Are you on my side?” but “Am I on God’s side?”

God’s truth will prevail. His purposes will be carried out, and even though we might be on the side of the most powerful and influential of men, we will surely be driven to defeat if we are not in harmony with God’s Word and will.


Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4


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A Good Job - by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


A GoodJob

Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

 As Loren stood with his father, gazing at a beautiful Minnesota lake, the little four-year-old asked: “Daddy, who made this lake?” “God made it,” replied his dad, “and God made those trees and all this beautiful scenery.”

There was a moment’s silence. Then, placing his hands on his hips, little Loren said: “He sure did a good job!”

Yes, He did, yet this scenery was nothing compared with the glory this earth will know when Christ returns to reign. If earth’s rivers and lakes, its mountains and valleys, its landscapes and seascapes can now be so breath-taking, so awe-inspiring, what will be its beauty when prophecy is fulfilled and the curse removed!

    “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them [God’s people, Israel] and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

    “It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.”

    “…for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

    “And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water…”

    “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isa. 35:1,2,6,7,10).




 


How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4


(A 10 Minute Video)
Jesus is JEHOVAH The One True GOD (Click Here)




  Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
https://www.facebook.com/cecil.spivey

   

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