Hidden Treasure - by Pastor Ricky Kurth

 Hidden Treasure

Pastor Ricky Kurth

“In Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3).

Everyone knows that when God told Solomon He would give him whatever he asked (II Chron. 1:7), Israel’s king asked for “wisdom and knowledge” (v. 10). However, in the parallel passage in I Kings 3, this account says that Solomon asked God for “an understanding heart to judge Thy people” (v. 9). Far from a contradiction, the variance in these parallel accounts is God’s way of giving us a fuller understanding of that for which Solomon asked, and a definition of wisdom and knowledge. Anyone possessing these two virtues would by definition have an understanding heart to judge or rule God’s people. When Solomon was given this, he became a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, “in Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” i.e., an understanding heart rich in its ability to judge God’s people.

But those who acknowledge the Mystery that Paul mentions in the previous verse (Col. 2:2) know that God has an earthly people (Israel) and a heavenly people (the Body of Christ). It was “the glory of God” that He was able to “conceal” the Mystery for 4,000 years (Prov. 25:2) in the “unsearchable” heart of the King of kings, “the heaven for height, and the earth for depth” (v. 3). Thus Paul speaks of “the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God,” and declares “how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out” (Rom. 11:33) when he says he wants us to understand the mystery of Israel’s blindness (v. 25), and how God’s plan to rule His earthly people would undergo a postponement that has now lasted 2,000 years. But when he speaks of the Mystery in Ephesians 3, he prays that we might understand the “depth and height” of it (v. 18). That is, he is praying that we might also understand that God has a plan to rule His heavenly people, the Body of Christ (v. 1-17), in “the heaven for height.”

Thus in God’s plan to rule His people Israel on earth we find some of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and in His plan to rule His heavenly people, the Body of Christ, in the heavens, we also find some of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, but unless we acknowledge both we do not understand “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” that are hid in the Lord Jesus Christ

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Ministry Of Comfort - by Pastor Paul M. Sadler

 

Ministry Of Comfort

 by Pastor Paul M. Sadler

Scripture Reading:

    “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.”
    — II Corinthians 1:3

Since the entrance of sin into the world, the way of man has been anything but easy. Job seemed to have his finger on the pulse of the matter when he wrote, “… man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.” It is interesting though, that when calamity strikes, men are quick to blame God, or to ask why He allows such occurrences in their lives. But shall we blame God for what man has brought upon himself? God forbid! Man is a product of his own folly.

    “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” (Romans 5:12).

Some claim that if they had been back in the garden everything would have been different. I certainly have no reason to doubt them. In all probability, they would have pushed Adam aside to reach the forbidden fruit before he did! You see, God saw the entire human race in Adam, as only He could do. So when Adam stretched forth his hand to partake of the forbidden fruit, each of us were reaching for it as well — we are his posterity, thus we share in his guilt. God could have condemned the whole human race to the Lake of Fire and have been perfectly justified in so doing.

Thankfully, we did not receive what we justly deserved, for “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy” (Psalms 103:8).

HOW GOD COMFORTS US

    “Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God” (II Corinthians  1:4).

Here, of course, the Apostle refers to believers. Our heavenly Father knows that we are frail creatures of dust, overwhelmed with sorrow, sickness and even death; not to mention the spiritual upheavals that come our way. Always sympathetic to our plight, He walks with us every step of life’s journey comforting us in all our tribulations. The tribulation cited here by the Apostle Paul is not a reference to the Tribulation Period known as The Time of Jacob’s Trouble. Paul is speaking of the personal tribulations he had encountered due to spiritual conflicts and poor health. Personal trials come in all forms: criticism, rejection, financial setbacks, sickness, bereavement, etc.

When sorrow overwhelms us like an ocean tide the Lord in His goodness is always present to comfort us in our time of need. But exactly how does God comfort us in the dispensation of Grace? We know for instance that the heavens are silent and that neither the Lord nor any of His angelic host visibly appear to minister to the saints today. During the administration of Grace the Lord, first of all, comforts us through His Word.

For example, some years ago death took my great-grandmother. She always held a very special place in my heart and even to this day I get choked up sometimes when I think of her. My sense of loss would be difficult to bear except for the consolation I have received from the Word of God. The Lord has shown me that I need not sorrow as others who have no hope. Some day soon the trump will sound and the dead in Christ will be raised. Then we will be caught up together with all those departed loved ones who were saved, and so shall we ever be with the Lord! Little wonder Paul says, “Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

Another way the Lord comforts us is by bringing someone into our lives at just the right moment to encourage us in those times of despair. Surely we have a precedent for this in the life of Paul himself. The intensity of the spiritual warfare at Ephesus and Macedonia had taken its toll on the Apostle, both physically and spiritually. “Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus” (II Corinthians 7:5-7). The arrival of Titus was a direct result of Divine intervention to not only encourage Paul, but also that he might lend assistance in the work.

Finally, God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but rather that we might comfort others. It has been given to us to carry on a ministry of encouragement to those who are in any trouble. Think of it, having already been the recipients of God’s consolation, He uses us to put our arm around that dear Christian friend who is perhaps facing his first surgery and tell him, “we too had this same surgery a few years ago and the Lord saw us through it.” With hope we can face any thing. That’s why God has revealed to us the Blessed Hope that one day soon we shall be with Him. Truly He is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. AMEN!

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St. Paul And The Resurrection - by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

St. Paul And The Resurrection  

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

The Apostle Paul, in discussing the resurrection of the dead, came to the simple and valid conclusion: “If there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen” (1 Cor. 15:13).

But the Apostle does not stop here. Hear him as he presses a further argument home: “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain” (Ver. 14). And this leads to yet another conclusion: “If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (Vers. 17,18).

These are frank words about stern realities. If there is no such thing as the bodily resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised from the dead, and if such is the case we have no living Savior.

But granting all this, can we believe in what is palpably impossible? Ah, but is resurrection palpably impossible? Paul answers this question quite simply in this same discussion, in I Corinthians 15:

“But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” (Ver. 35).

Mark well, this is not an interested inquiry, but a challenge, meant to prove that resurrection is impossible, and the Apostle answers it as such:

“Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die” (Ver. 36).

What a devastating reply! We may point out all the reasons why resurrection is “impossible,” but after all is said and done we are still surrounded by overwhelming evidence that it is a fact. Every blade of grass, every ear of corn, every beautiful flower bears witness to the fact of resurrection from the dead.

Yes, Christ is alive from the dead, and “able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him…” (Heb. 7:25).

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The Kaiser's Surprise - - by Pastor Ricky Kurth

The Kaiser's Surprise 

 by Pastor Ricky Kurth

In his comments on Isaiah 57, Dr. Harry Ironside shares this story:

Years ago, before the First World War, Professor Stroeter, a well-known prophetic teacher in Germany, used to go through the country giving lectures, and using charts to unfold the dispensations. His lectures attracted the attention of the German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm, who in spite of his many idiosyncrasies, was quite a Bible student, and used to preach in the palace chapel on many occasions.

The Kaiser invited Professor Stroeter to his palace to give him an idea of what he was lecturing upon. The professor was taken into the library and spread a roll of his charts out on the table. The Kaiser followed him as he pointed out various thing sin the dispensations until the Second Coming of the Lord. After a lengthy conversation the Kaiser said, "Do I understand you aright"? Do you mean to say that Jesus Christ is coming back literally, and that when He returns all the kingdoms of the world are going to be destroyed and He will set up His kingdom on the ruins of them all?

And Professor Stroeter said, "Exactly, your Majesty...."

"Oh, no," said the Kaiser, "I can?t have that! Why that would interfere with all my plans!"

We don't know if Professor Stroeter understood the dispensations well enough to have expressed to the Kaiser that the coming of our Lord to rapture His church must come before the wrath of the Tribulation and the Second Coming of Christ (I Thesalonian 1:10; 5:9). Regardless, what a frank admission from a man who professed to be a student and teacher of the Word of God!

How about you, dear reader? If you are not saved, you will be left behind when the Body of Christ is "caught up" to meet the Lord in the air? (I Thessalonian 4:17). While we believers will ever be with the Lord in heaven, the seven years of Great Tribulation that will follow on earth will surely interfere with all that you have planned. Why not trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior by believing that His death, burial and resurrection paid for all of your sins. Then you too can look forward to being a part of all that the Lord has planned for His saints.

 But we close by asking Christians if the Rapture will interfere with your plans, or be the triumph of His grace in your life? When John Wesley was asked what he would do the following day if he knew the Lord were coming, he replied that he would rise at his usual hour, spend time in his regularly scheduled morning devotions, and arrive promptly at his first speaking engagement of the day. In other words, he would not have to change a thing in his life to prepare for the coming of the Lord. May this be true of us too!

  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

Read the KJV BIBLE in large print (Click Here)

(A 10 Minute Video)

Jesus is JEHOVAH The One True GOD (Click Here)

 

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The Lord and the Canaanite Woman - by Pastor Ricky Kurth

 The Lord and the Canaanite Woman 

  by Pastor Ricky Kurth

“In Matthew 8:5-7, the centurion asked the Lord to heal his servant and He offered to do so. However, in Matthew 15:22-26 the woman from Canaan asked for her daughter to be healed, but He answered her not a word. I assume both were Gentiles. Why did our Lord give one response to the centurion but another to the Canaanite woman?”

During our Lord’s time here on earth He was “a minister of the circumcision” (Rom. 15:8). That’s why He initially declined the Syrophenician woman’s request, saying, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 15:24). He would have responded to the centurion in the same way if it weren’t for what we read about him in the parallel passage in Luke 7:2,3:

“And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die.
“And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto Him the elders of the Jews, beseeching Him that He would come and heal his servant.”

Here we see that rather than approaching the Lord directly as the Syrophenician woman did, this Gentile knew his place under the kingdom program and knew that he had to come to God through Israel. Furthermore, we know that he complied with the terms of salvation for Gentiles under the kingdom program, for Luke goes on to tell us how the elders of the Jews besought the Lord on his behalf:

“And when they came to Jesus, they besought Him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom He should do this:
“For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue” (v. 4,5).

Under God’s kingdom program for Israel, if a Gentile blessed the seed of Abraham, he could count on the blessing of God in return (Gen. 12:1-3). It was on these grounds that the centurion approached the Lord, through the elders of Israel, and it was on these grounds that he found the Lord eager to bless him.

  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

Read the KJV BIBLE in large print (Click Here)

(A 10 Minute Video)

Jesus is JEHOVAH The One True GOD (Click Here)

 

 Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
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