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Quotes from Sunday's Sermon

January 10, 2009

Satan Unmasked . . . God’s People Equipped

“I am certain that one of the main causes of the ill state of the church today is the fact that the devil is being forgotten – we have become so psychological in our attitude and thinking. We are ignorant of the existence of the devil, the adversary, the accuser, and his fiery darts.” (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

Surprisingly, even people who profess to be Christians are confused. About 70% of American Catholics disbelieve in Satan, while 65% of mainline Protestants likewise reject the biblical teaching. And worse, nearly 50% of those who claim to be evangelical in their faith disbelieve in a personal devil.

I’m reminded of the story of the boxer who was being badly beaten in a boxing match. Battered and bruised, he leaned over the ropes and said to his trainer, ‘Please, throw in the towel! This guy is killing me!” But the trainer replied, “Oh, no he’s not! He hasn’t even hardly laid a glove on you.” The boxer answered, “Then you better keep your eye on the ref, cause somebody is sure beating the daylights out of me!”

“Till we sin Satan is a parasite; but when once we are in the devil’s hands he turns tyrant.” (Thomas Manton)

“If Satan wants to accuse us, any page of our history, any hour of any day will furnish him material for his charges. Yesterday you were impatient, the day before you were proud, another day you were slothful, on another, angry. If the old accuser wants reasons for accusation he may indeed find as many as he wills, and continue to accuse as long as ever he pleases, for we are altogether as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” (C.H. Spurgeon)

Nearly 70 years ago, in the middle of the night, Lt. Matsumura got out of his bunk aboard the aircraft carrier Hiryu and put on a flying suit. Then he trimmed his nails and cut a lock of hair to leave his family. Up on the flight deck, a bomber was waiting for him to board. The Zeroes took off first that day, then the bombers, then the torpedo planes. For two hours they flew southward above the clouds. Then patches of blue sky opened over Diamond Head. Lt. Matsumura nosed his plane over – and roared toward Pearl Harbor. George Campbell, a 25 yr. old petty officer on the U.S.S. Medusa, recalled what happened next:

“I had just come up topside and had a cup of coffee in my hand and was getting ready to read the paper. All of a sudden these planes came in, but we were used to that because our own planes were always making mock raids. We took a good look at the planes and saw the red-sun emblem, and we knew it was the real thing. With the first attack that hit us, we really didn’t fire back that much. By the time they came back a second time, we did put up a few shells. Then they made the third attack. By that time we gave them a little resistance. The feeling at the time of any attack – I was under a few others in the Pacific – was that you don’t have time for feelings. But afterward you realize it, especially when you look around and see what happened.”

What happened? On Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor killed more than 2,000 Americans and crippled the Pacific Fleet. Why was it so devastating? Because it was a surprise attack! Peter warns us to ‘be on the alert’!

“The devil shapes himself to the fashions of all men. If he meets with a proud man, then he makes himself a flatterer; if a covetous man, then he comes with a reward in his hand. He has an apple for Eve, a grape for Noah, a change of clothes for Gehazi, a bag of coins for Judas. He can dish out his meat for all palates; he

has something to please all conditions.” (William Jenkyn)

Martin Luther had a dream one night that Satan brought him a scroll which he told him to read. Luther saw in his dream that these scrolls contained the record of his own life and of ALL his sins, and that it was written in his own handwriting. Then Satan said to him, “IS THAT TRUE, DID YOU WRITE IT?” And the poor stricken monk had to confess it was all true. Scroll after scroll was unrolled, and the same confession was forced from him. Finally, the evil one was ready to leave, having brought Luther down to the depths of misery. And there came upon him in his vision, like a flash, that upon which his whole soul was saved. He turned to the Tempter and said, “IT IS TRUE, EVERY WORD OF IT, BUT WRITE ACROSS IT ALL: “THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST, GOD’S SON, CLEANSES FROM ALL SIN”

“If you are to be a soldier in this army, if you are to fight victoriously in this crusade, you have to put on the entire equipment given to you. That is a rule in any army. And that is infinitely more true in this spiritual realm and warfare with which we are concerned. After all, your understanding is incomplete. It is God alone who knows your enemy, and He knows exactly the provision that is essential to you if you are to continue standing. Every single part and portion of this armor is absolutely essential; and the first thing you have to learn is that you are not in a position to pick and choose.” (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

“God provides armor to defend the Christian while fighting, not to protect him while retreating. Stand, and the day is yours; flee or yield, and all is lost. I have read of great captains who purposely cut off all avenues of retreat so their soldiers would fight to the death. William the Conqueror, as soon as his army set foot on English soil, sent away his ships in full sight of his men. Similarly, God makes no provision for cowardice. In His armory, there is not a piece to be found for the back.” (William Gurnall)

January 3, 2010

God’s Portrait Gallery of the End times

“Chapters 12-22 are but a further explanation of this passage. The passage embraces everything involved in the completion of the whole mystery of God. It overspans everything this side of the completed redemption. The vintage and the harvest of the earth: the pouring out of the seven last bowls of the wrath and judgment of God; the great final battle of Armageddon; the personal appearing of the Lord Christ and the establishment of His kingdom in the earth; the great final white throne judgment of the dead; the re-creation of heaven and earth and the descent of the new Jerusalem, our final and ultimate home, into this re-created earth: all of these things in their wonders ad in their stupendous, miraculous, marvelous proportions, are encompassed in the days of the voice of this seventh and last angel.” (W.A. Criswell)

We’ve yet to encounter a righteous ruler. When we finally had a great leader, his reign hardly lasted! Abraham Lincoln was assassinated when he was only 56, as the Civil War had finally ended. Listen to how he was eulogized:

“Chieftain, farewell! The nation mourns thee. Mothers shall teach thy name to their lisping children. The youth of our land shall emulate thy virtues. Statesmen shall study thy record, and from it learn lessons of wisdom. Mute though thy lips be, yet they shall still speak. Hushed is thy voice, but its echoes of liberty are ringing through the world, and the sons of bondage listen with joy. Thou didst not fall for thyself. The assassin had no hate for thee. Our hearts were aimed at; our national life was sought. We crown thee as our martyr, and humanity enthrones thee as her triumphant son. Hero, martyr, friend, farewell.”

On June 2, 1952, Elizabeth II was crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey. The Archbishop of Canterbury presented her before the large assembly and asked, “Do you take Elizabeth to be your true and lawful liege lord?” From the assembled multitude rolled back a single word, ‘AYE!’ She then took the coronation oath, received a Bible, celebrated Communion, and was seated on the coronation chair. She was anointed, clothed in a cloak of gold, given a crown, a ring, and a scepter, and pledged the homage of her people. The guns of London fired a salute, and the new monarch left the abbey in grand and colorful procession for a banquet of state. But from that day until this, Queen Elizabeth II has never made a single decision affecting the government of her kingdom. The Prime Minister of England and the member of the Parliament do that. All she does is sign their decisions into law. That is a constitutional monarchy – a monarchy in which the king is such only in name and in which all the real power is in the hands of the people. That is not the kind of monarchy God will have. He will be LORD of all!

In 1741, a package came in the mail to George Frederick Handel, just as he was going through a severe depression. He’d been rebuffed by England’s nobility, he was on the edge of financial ruin, and at 57 years of age, tired of composing music that failed to bring him the finances he needed, he’d retreated into seclusion. The package was from a poet friend, Charles Jenners, and contained a collection of biblical excerpts entitled “A Sacred Oratorio”. As Handel leafed through the manuscript, his eyes fell on these words:

“He was despised and rejected of men. . . He looked for someone to have pity on Him, but there was no man; neither found He any to comfort Him.”

Handel certainly could identify with these words! Handel grabbed a pen and started writing. Music for the biblical words began to flow through his mind with such swiftness that he could scarcely write the words fast enough. For 24 days, the composer remained in his room in London. Food was brought to his room daily, but it was often untouched. Sometimes he’d take a piece of bread, start to eat, then let it drop from his hand, as some new inspiration called forth expression. His servant watched in astonishment as his master’s tears dropped on the page and mingled with the ink. At times he would jump up and run to the harpsichord, waving his arms in the air, singing aloud, “Hallelujah! Hallelujah!” Later Handel confided, “I think I did see all heaven before me, and the great God Himself”!

In one early performance of the cantata in London, as the “Hallelujah Chorus” was being sung, the king was so moved that he rose to his feet. The audience followed his example and remained standing until the end – a practice that has continued to this day.

December 27, 2009

The Best and the Worst of Times

As I stated at the beginning of our study back in April, I have arrived at the futurist view in how I interpret Revelation, which means that much of what we read has not yet taken place, but remains ahead of us. As futurists, we also are rather literal in our interpretation, rather than allegorizing much of the book. Quoting from J. P. Lange:

“The literalist is not one who denies that figurative language, that symbols, are used in prophecy, not does he deny that great spiritual truths are set forth therein; his position is, simply, that the prophecies are to be normally interpreted – that which is manifestly literal being regarded as literal, that which is manifestly figurative being so regarded.” (J. P. Lange)

Two Talmudic schools near this site have been teaching students the elaborate details of Temple service. Many of the ritual implements needed have been made, along with the ark and the menorah, and this past summer began construction of the altar for burnt offerings. Temple Institute Glick said in a recent interview:

“Unfortunately, we cannot currently build the altar in its proper place, on the Temple Mount, so we are building an altar of the minimum possible size so that we will be able to transport it to the Temple when it is rebuilt."

December 20, 2009

The Shining Light of the Cross

Simeon tells them that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed through this Child, of course, in light of His life and death on the cross. A man who took a friend on a tour of Paris. They went to the Louvre and looked at all the great paintings there. That night they went to a concert hall and heard a wonderful symphony. At the end of the evening, the man asked his friend, “Well, what do you think?” And the friend replied, “I wasn’t all that impressed.” In response, the man told his friend, “If it’s any consolation to you, the museum and its art were not on trial and neither was the symphony. You were on trial. History has already determined the greatness of these works of art and of this music. All that your attitude reveals is the smallness of your own appreciation.”

December 13, 2009

The Inextinguishable Light

“The evangelical Church today is replete with tricks, gadgets, gimmicks, and marketing ploys as it shamelessly adapts itself to our emptied-out, blinded, postmodern world. It is supporting a massive commercial enterprise of Christian products ... and is always begging for money to fuel one entrepreneurial scheme after another, but it is not morally resplendent. ... There is too little about it that bespeaks the holiness of God. And without the vision for and reality of this holiness, the Gospel becomes trivialized, life loses its depth, and God becomes transformed into a product to be sold.” (David Wells)

“The Bible is not principally concerned with organizing our schedules, giving us tips for winning in life and business, or with guiding us into self-fulfillment... It is not about us, and it is not about our daily lives. It is about God and His redemptive activity... Many intend a high view of Scripture when they insist that it is a manual for life, but in fact, treating the Bible as a manual ends up leading to a low view of Scripture by trivializing the message. (Michael Horton)

“The very instrument of disgrace and death by which the hostile forces thought they had Him in their grasp and had conquered Him forever was turned by Him into the instrument of their defeat and captivity. As He was suspended there, bound hand and foot to the wood in apparent weakness, they imagined they had Him at their mercy, and flung themselves upon Him with hostile intent. But, far from suffering their assault without resistance, He grappled with them, and mastered them, stripping them of all the armor in which they trusted, and held them aloft in His mighty, outstretched hands, displaying to the universe their helplessness and His own unvanquished strength.” (F.F. Bruce)

“Satan has nothing left him now wherewith he may attack us. He may attempt to injure us, but wound us he never can, for his sword and spear are utterly taken away. In the old battles, especially among the Romans, after the enemy had been overcome, it was the custom to take away all their weapons and ammunition; afterwards they were stripped of their armor and their garments, their hands were tied behind their backs, and they were made to pass under the yoke. Now, even so has Christ done with sin, death, and hell; he has taken their armor, spoiled them of all their weapons, and made them all to pass under the yoke; so that now they are our slaves, and we in Christ are conquerors of them who were mightier than we.” (C.H. Spurgeon)

The Gaithers composed a song called The Church Triumphant a few years back:

God has always had a people, a people who believe by faith, who trust and obey His Word, a people whose God is the Lord. Many a foolish conqueror has made the mistake of thinking that because he had forced the Church of Jesus Christ out of sight, He had stilled its voice and snuffed out its life. But God has always had a people; He has always had a people who believe; that believe His Word, a people whose God is the Lord. The powerful current of a rushing river is not diminished because it is forced to flow underground. The purest water is the stream that bursts crystal clear into the sunlight after it has forced its way through solid rock. There have been charlatans, like Simon the magician, who sought to barter on the open market that power which cannot be bought or sold. But, God has always had a people … men who could not be bought, and women who were beyond purchase. God has always had a people — people who believe by faith! There have been times of affluence and prosperity when the Church’s message has been diluted into oblivion by those who sought to make it socially attractive, neatly organized, and financially profitable. It has been gold-plated, draped in purple, and encrusted with jewels. It has been misrepresented, ridiculed, lauded, and scorned. These followers of Jesus Christ have been, according to the whim of the times, elevated as sacred leaders, and martyred as heretics. Yet, through it all there marches on that powerful army of the meek — God’s chosen people who cannot be bought, flattered, murdered, or stilled! On through the ages they march! God has always had a people — the Church, God’s Church triumphant! God has always had a people, followers of Jesus — chosen people. A people who believe by faith, who trust and believe His Word, a people whose God is the Lord. God has always — always had a people!

November 29, 2009

The Sunrise From on High

In the first week of June, 1944, the German general Rommel was strengthening the fortifications of the beaches of western France against the imminent Allied invasion. Rommel was convinced that if the Allies gained a foothold in France, that Germany would lose the war. He’d done everything he could to prepare his troops, and now as the first week of June drew to a close, and the weather off the Atlantic coast drew worse, Rommel felt he could spare a few days away from the troops. His wife’s birthday was June 6, so he left the front on the fifth of June and travelled to Berlin to celebrate the big day. That’s where he was when the Allied invasion came the next day. D-Day, now known as one of the greatest military invasions in all of history, was missed by this great general. He was busy with other things.

But of far greater importance than D-Day was when God sent His Son to be born, just over 2000 years ago, in a small, insignificant little village in Israel known as Bethlehem. Most everyone on the planet missed it. Even though Israel’s prophets had predicted and promised the Savior or Messiah’s coming 400 times throughout the OT, most of the Jews missed it!

“We are in an age of religious complexity. The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us. In its stead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart. The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we, in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all. If we would find God amid all the religious externals we must first determine to find Him, and then proceed in the way of simplicity.” (A.W. Tozer)

Earth’s crammed with heaven and every common bush

afire with God; and only he who sees, takes off his shoes –

The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

(Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

Years ago Lutheran J.A. Seiss wrote these beautiful words about the heavenly Jerusalem: "That shining is not from any material combustion--not from any consumption of fuel that needs to be replaced as one supply burns out; for it is the uncreated light of Him who is light, dispensed by and through the Lamb as the everlasting lamp, to the home, and hearts, and understandings, of His glorified saints. When Paul and Silas lay wounded and bound in the inner dungeon of the prison of Philippi, they still had sacred light which enabled them to beguile the night-watches with happy songs. When Paul was on his way to Damascus, a light brighter than the sun at noon shone round about him, irradiating his whole being with new sights and understanding, and making his soul and body ever afterward light in the Lord. When Moses came down from the mount of his communion with God, his face was so luminous that his brethren could not endure to look upon it. He was in such close fellowship with light that he became informed with light, and came to the camp as a very lamp of God, glowing with the glory of God. On the Mount of Transfiguration, that same light streamed forth from all the body and raiment of the blessed Jesus. And with reference to the very time when this city comes into being and place, Isaiah says, "The moon shall be ashamed and the sun confounded,"--ashamed because of the out-beaming glory which then shall appear in the New Jerusalem, leaving no more need for them to shine in it, since the glory of God lights it, and the Lamb is the light thereof"

November 22, 2009

A Divine Intermission

“Since man’s beginning, there is no village and there is no hamlet without sin’s raging, and there is no human heart without its dark backdrop. There is no life without its tears and its sorrows. There is no home that ultimately does not break up, and there is no family that does not see the circle of its home dissolve in the depths of the grave. There is no life that does not end in death. The pages of history, from the time of the first murder until this present hour, are written in blood, tears and death.

For these thousands of years, God has allowed Satan to wrap his vicious, slimy, filthy, cruel tentacles around human life and around this earth. Is He indifferent to it? Is He not able to cope with it? Oh, the mystery of the delay of God! That mystery has brought more stumbling to the faith of God’s people than any other experience in all life. The infidel, the atheist, the agnostic and the unbeliever laugh and mock us, and God lets them mock and laugh. The enemies of righteousness and the enemies of all we hold dear rise and increase in power and spread blood and darkness over the face of the earth, and we wonder where God is. Our missionaries are slain, our churches burned to the ground, people in this earth by uncounted millions are oppressed, living in despair, and God just looks. He seemingly does not intervene; He does not say anything, and He does not move! Sin keeps going on and on. Oh, the mystery of the delay of the Lord God!” (Criswell)

“We can rightly conclude that the cosmos will be renewed, not annihilated, on the basis of Christ’s conquest over Satan on the cross. As Christ has liberated His children from death and disease, so too He will liberate His cosmos from destruction and decay. As Paul puts it in Romans 8, ‘the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the One who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay”. This liberation, which begins with the conquest of the cross, will be completed at Christ’s Second Coming.” (Hank Hanegraaff)

Menelik II was emperor of the African nation of Ethiopia from 1889 until his death in 1913. Historians credit him with having brought Ethiopia into the twentieth century by introducing public education, telephone and telegraph service, and railroads to his country. However, this forward-thinking monarch had one rather backward and superstitious eccentricity. He believed that whenever he felt ill, all he needed to do to feel better was to eat a few pages from the Bible. Menelik practiced this form of self-medication for years, and it did him no apparent harm. Then, during the last few years of his life, he suffered a series of strokes that left him partially paralyzed. After one such stroke in December 1913, he was feeling very weak and ill. He asked his aides to tear the book of 1 Kings and feed it to him, page by page. It was later reported that he died about the time he was consuming the story of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba!