The Kingdom

Scripture

“But truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

~Luke 9:27, NRSV

Quote

The kingdom of God is being built in the hearts of those who have surrendered their allegiance to the KING of kings.

~William Franklin Graham

I mentioned in the Mid-week service on February 3, that I thought God had revealed an answer to me regarding Luke 9:27; I think I was premature in my judgment. There are companion verses found in Matthew 16:28 and Mark 9:1 and they read just a tad differently which throws my interpretation under the bus. Mark 9 reads… “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.” Matthew 16 reads…Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

There are three aspects of a kingdom: [1] King [2] Subjects [3] Domain. Two thirds of the KINGDOM are in place–Jesus is our KING and we are His subjects. The only thing we await is the domain or the realm. Actually, there are two things yet to come: the visible presence of Christ and the kingdom [domain/realm].  

There is no question that Jesus inaugurated the kingdom when He was here on earth and the church is beginning of the kingdom. If Luke’s account was all we had, I would say that Jesus could have been talking about the day of Pentecost and the miraculous birth of the church. If Luke and Mark were our only sources, I would say that Jesus could have been talking about HIS resurrection which is very powerful but Matthew relates the consummation of the kingdom with the appearance of Jesus. Although Matthew does not use the common word for coming [parousia], the Greek verb used does mean to appear such as in an arrival. So we are right back where we started: we don’t know how to interpret this verse.

I am comfortable with this mystery: If I could figure out the God we love and serve, He would not be big enough to worship.

• My plan for yesterday was to stay in and study but I couldn’t. I think the LORD was prodding me to visit and He laid some names on my heart and I knew I couldn’t study until I obeyed. I went as far as Tennessee and I had a very good day.
• Mary Wilbourn {Debbie Gilliland and Charlie’s mom} passed away yesterday. I have no arrangements at this time.
• In my opinion, our sick folks are about the same but again, that is my opinion. My nephew has had 7 good days in a row, PTL. Gary Garner was resting when I was there but Larry said he ate a good dinner.
• Regular Schedule today: Deacons @ 8:15, LCBS @ 9:15, CELEBRATE JESUS IN WORSHIP @ 10:15 and 6:15. AWANA and Visitation @ 5:30. LORD willing, you will have a special Valentine Day treat today.
• We need to sale some SWAMP JOHNS’S tickets today: we have to pre-sale 200 or they will not come. We lack 175 reaching the mark. If we meet the quota, they will come April 3.

At The Feet Of Jesus

SCRIPTURE

The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message. And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to Him, grasped his feet, and worshiped Him.

~Matthew 28:8-9, NLT

QUOTE

Worship is always an act of giving: you cannot divorce giving from worship–it’s impossible.

~Ya’akov

Remember what Paul said about the Macedonian Churches–They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do. [2 Cor.8:5] Mary of Bethany {Martha’s sister} is mentioned in three different passages and in each one she is at the feet of Jesus.

• John 11:32–When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
• John 12:3–Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.
• Luke 10:39– Mary sat at the LORD’s feet, listening to what He taught.

What is the significance of posturing yourself at the feet of Jesus?

1. It is an act of worship.
2. It is an act of submission.
3. It is an expression of adoration.
4. It is a place to pray.
5. It is a place to learn.
6. It is a place to rest.

Understand the truth: The Macedonians first gave themselves to the LORD but then they gave a large offering, much more than they could afford. Mary was not just a sponge soaking up the teaching of Jesus; she gave Him the most precious thing she had, a bottle of perfume that was worth a years wages. For me, that would be $60,000.00. How does that compare with our giving? I would call her gift extravagant, wouldn’t you? Worship is always and act of giving and giving should always be an act of worship.

SONG

“We Fall Down (My Jesus I Love Thee)”

We fall down, We lay our crowns,  At the feet of Jesus

The greatness of Mercy and love… At the feet of Jesus

We cry holy, holy, holy;  We cry holy, holy, holy;  We cry holy, holy, holy Is the lamb.

My Jesus, I love you, I know thou are mine
To thee all the follies of sin I resign
My gracious redeemer
My savior, art thou
If ever I’ll love you
My Jesus tis now

[If this doesn’t move your spirit, you need reviving]

• Tracey Hill should get to come home today is all goes well.
• Gary Garner is fully awake but he still need our prayers: don’t let up.
• Kane Hogan: I got this report from Michelle at 8:00 PM [Sept.10]….He is better. Blood suger is still up and down but treating it with insulin. Staying in the hospital till Saturday. Then to Ronald McDonald House for 4 to 6 weeks.
• Pray for Judy Davis: she is one of our best Shepherds. We need Judy! Those senior adult women respond to her.
• I have a Uncle [Daddy’s baby brother] and an Aunt who are battling cancer. I pray for Revival daily and sometimes more than once a day and I also pray for a cure for cancer. I don’t have any long range plans for this sin cursed earth, it is not that: I just hate cancer and what it does to people. I loathe it with every bone and breath.
• The Stripers finally showed up and showed out: the kid who runs the machine is 25 years old and he doesn’t slow down. He was trained my his dad but he got so good his dad realized that he was better and gave him the reins. Our parking lot looks great. We need to seal-coat in next July during the break. He and his helper are both believers: we had good fellowship.
• Sunday schedule: Biscuits and donuts at 9:00, LCBS at 9:15, worship at 10:15 and 6:15. AWANA and VISITATION at 5:30.
• I will be in REVIVAL @ Belleview Sunday through Wednesday.
• Joe David and Lori had 27 at the Thursday night college Bible Study.

The Condescension

SCRIPTURE

But I am a worm and not a man. I am scorned and despised by all!

~Psalms 22:6, NLT

QUOTE

“In comparison to God, people are maggots; we mortals are mere worms.”

~Bildad the Shuhite

Psalms 22 is one of the Messianic Psalms that prophecies Jesus condescension, incarnation and death on the cross. Isaiah referred to Jacob as a worm which seems demeaning but not really. Both Jesus and John the Baptist referred to the unrepentant Pharisees as snakes [Matt. 23:33, Luke 3:7]. The worm will not retaliate when hurt but a snake strikes back. Jesus said in John 3:14, “And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.” Peter said, “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right.” In His life and ministry, Jesus was a Lamb, not a snake but on the cross He became a snake because He took on our sins and sinful nature. Jesus became a snake to save the snakes. Would you become a snake to save the snakes? Not me, I don’t like snakes. I’m not sure we will ever understand how low Jesus stooped to save us. Amazing love, how can it be? That you, my King would die for me. Amazing love, I know it’s true, and its my joy to honor You.

TODAY WE PRAY FOR MINISTERS AND MISSIONARIES

• God is good, more than we know. What a blessing to get to preach the word and feel the Spirit in the praise and worship. Your singing gets better and better. On that last song when David stepped back, I took that as a cue to listen to you and you sounded like a choir of angels. I was blessed in both services.
• April is practically gone which means 1/3 of 2015. Mother’s Day a week from Sunday. One more week to get those Roses ordered.
• Church directories are in, at least the hard copies. We should get the phone apps soon.
• GOLDEN GIRLS this Saturday at Cracker Barrel, 9:30 am.
• Miss Clara is sick: Don Fields is going to have surgery. Heart related but I don’t know the date. Chloe Bug will have a surgery on Tuesday morning; removing adenoids.

Give Me New Wine

SCRIPTURE

“But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old wine is just fine,’ they say.”

~Luke 5:39, NLT

QUOTE

“You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.”

~Timothy Ray Keenum

Jesus was uniquely refreshing, a breath of fresh air, totally unlike any rabbi the Jews have ever encountered. He is the only person in history who fulfilled or could fulfill all the qualifications of the Messiah and yet the Jews as a whole rejected HIM. He offered them something new and exciting but they choose to cling to the old and familiar. In Philippians 3 Paul tells how he let go of the old to embrace the new: he turned his back on the law and legalism to embrace Christ and grace. Things Paul once treasured became rubbish to him because he had a new love, a new passion that compelled him to let go of the old.

Judaism was the seed from which Christianity sprang but the flower {Christ} is more glorious than the seed {Judaism}. Jesus told the religious Jewish establishment, “You are trying to put new wine in old skins and it will not work; you will lose both the wine and the skins.” Jesus words have been fulfilled: The Jews clung to a religion that has become a faint shadow of Old Testament Judaism. They have no Temple, no sacrifice, no High Priest, and no atonement because they rejected the SAVIOR.

Are there some things you need to let go of; things you need to stop clinging to so you can embrace the new. If you don’t make a break with your past, you will miss the joy of the present. Let go of your trespasses and the trespasses against you. Embrace Jesus and live in the freedom of His grace. O Hallelujah, O What A Savior… Haley and Charity are going to sing that for me someday.

• Today we pray for those having TRIALS and TRIBULATION. I appreciate you praying for my friend Kenny. He has been feeling a little better lately. Thank you for praying for Jaxson, Lela’s Hazel’s son, he is better. I have some friends that are going through a rough time and you do too…let pause and pray for them right now!
• SENIOR ADULT CHRISTMAS PARTY at Cracker Barrel Friday at 9:30 am.
• I think we were down again last night: my group is holding it’s on but overall we were down: I would guess 150 or so. It is hard to recover from these breaks.
• Mandy put a sheet in your LCBS notebooks last week about sponsoring children for Christmas. Charles class always leads the field in this: they took four. Our class is doing two and Jason’s two. We can get more names from the school if you want a Christmas project for your class.

Angels

SCRIPTURE

And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.

~Luke 1:11, NASB

QUOTE

Believers, look up – take courage. The angels are nearer than you think.

~William Franklin Graham

Have you noticed, Angels just appear? They don’t walk up or walk away: they appear and disappear and they usually frighten us when they appear. It seems like the first thing that an angel says is “Don’t be afraid.” Angels are spirits who have the ability to take on the human characteristics when it suits their Creator. Angels are like radio waves, they are in the air; they are everywhere; they are very near but rarely do they appear.  I have never seen an angel that I know of but I do believe in angels. There are many things we cannot see yet we believe to be real. I believe germs but I’ve never seen a single one. I believe in pain but I’ve never seen pain; well I have seen what you call a pain in the neck. Pain, like an angel can appear in human form.  Seriously, I believe in angels, there very well could be one near me this instant. Hey, we can learn from them: They worship God unceasingly and they obey instantly.

• Marathon today but Holiday weekend coming!
• Senior Adults: see you at 11:30 in the Parlor.
• 5th Quarter tonight after game.
• Today we pray for FAMILY.

Who Provides For The Birds

SCRIPTURE

Stop being afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Luke 12:7, Williams

QUOTE

How sweet the name of Jesus sounds, In a believer’s ear! It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, And drives away his fear.

~John Newton

THOUGHT

I think most of us would agree, our greatest problem is insecurity. We are afraid!   We are afraid of the truth being made known, afraid to die, afraid of being forgotten, afraid of being unloved; some worry that God will not provide. We have more insecurities than Carter has liver pills. Jesus mentions two unappreciated birds in Luke 12 and He uses them as illustrations to reassure us that we are loved and will be provided for. Sparrows are unattractive, practically worthless and many people hate them because they make a big mess and yet not one can fall to the ground without our heavenly Father noticing.  The ravens are also dirty birds. They hang out at land fills. Look at these two birds: do you want one in a cage in your den? If you are like me, you don’t want them hanging out in your back yard.  As worthless and filthy as these two birds are God cares for them. They will not go hungry and they are not forgotten. Jesus said, Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! 

• A little artic blast coming through the Tennessee Valley and my dear friends in central Mississippi told me that it was hitting them also. The good news is: it is supposed to be gone in 36 hours. The Bradfords are blooming and so are the Yellow Bells. I am ready for spring. Believe it our not, Big Mama and I have been eating tomato sandwiches for two weeks: the tomatoes came from Grand Bay, Alabama. They are hot-house tomatoes and they are delicious.
• Another good supper last night. We have one more before Spring Break which is March 24-28. There will be no mid-week services during Spring Break.

Count The Cost

SCRIPTURE: For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? [Luke 14:28-30, NKJV]

QUOTE: What does it cost to follow Jesus? Everything: your selfish ambition, your dreams, the favor of the world, your material possessions…whoever does not forsake all cannot be His disciple. ~Anonymous

COMMENTARY: Verse 30 really jumped out at me yesterday. I really have a deep desire to finish and I am haunted by the fear that I may not. I’ve never been first in anything but I do like to finish. My good friend Morris Hill use to remind me [because I have a competitive nature] before every 10K meet, “Jack, remember, to finish is to win.” Sometimes we bite off more than we can chew. A dream can become a nightmare. My rule of thumb is don’t go to Kroger’s when you are hungry; eat before you go and you will spend less. Jesus gave good advice, “Count the cost.”Can you sustain the pace or payment over a long period of time? Jesus was honest–He even told His disciples to count the cost and then He said, “Whoever does not forsake ‘all‘ that he has cannot be My disciple.” Of course when you get old, you will be like Paul or myself, ‘all’ will seem like nothing.

EXTRA: Every time I think I’ve made my last visit, I think of another that I have missed and I am running out of time. Sam, if you read this blog, send me your address [jack@danvillebaptist.org]. I want to visit with you and Brenda. Eddie made it home last night safe and sound. 

Day 73 for Seth–16 to go until graduation

Sadie Kate Don’t Be Late

Importunity

LUKE 14-14 FEAST…NOTHING LIKE IT!

SCRIPTURE: But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” [Matthew 15:23, NKJV]

QUOTE: God loves importunate prayer so much that He will not give us much without it. ~Adoniram Judson

COMMENTARY: The word importunate means to be overly persistent in a request or demand. Jesus not only taught us to be persistent in prayer [Luke 18] but He also responded to importunate or persistent people. The Syrophenician woman is a good example. Her first prayer is “Have mercy upon me O Lord, Son of David. My daughter is severely demon possessed.” To that prayer, Jesus made no response. It is as if she said nothing. He basically ignores her but she does give up. She followed Jesus and the disciples and continues to cry out for mercy. The disciples get so annoyed that they ask Jesus to send her away. Jesus tells her, “I came to save the Jews and you are not a Jew.” [JEV] Once He stopped and spoke in her direction, she took that as a cue and was at his feet in a flash worshipping Him. Now she makes another petition, “LORD, help me.” Then Jesus said, “It is not good to take the children’s food and throw it to the little dogs.” You know that statement would have offended most but not this woman: she said, “That is true LORD but even the little dogs get to eat the crumbs that fall from the Master’s table.” Wow, what incredible persistence and faith and she got what she ask for: Jesus healed her daughter. At the very least she prayed three times but it is likely that she prayed a dozen times or more and each time asking for the same thing. We don’t know how long she followed them crying out to Jesus–could have been ten minutes or two hours. Jacob the Patriarch had this same spirit of importunity but the question is–do we have it?

EXTRA: Deacon’s meeting Sunday at 7:45. No women’s Breakfast: it has been moved to December. Christmas Shoe Boxes are due Sunday morning. Place them on the altar. Luke 14 Sunday Night at 5:00. We have not been able to get our frequent attendee’s [not members] to attend our suppers as our guest: why don’t we try a new approach and ask them to help us feed the Children’s Home and Milestone Ministries. I have another idea I want to share with you Sunday Morning. Don’t let me forget!

A day I have been waiting on–Day 40 with 49 to Go