Sermon Summaries

Luke 18.13 Five things about the man going to heaven

Sun, 08 Oct 2006 22:37:20 +0100

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In the parable the Pharisee never did pray though he said much, but the Publican truly prayed though he said little.
One went home a child of Satan, the other a child of God. One went home a religious man, the other a spiritual man. One went home on the narrow way that leads to life the other on the wide road that leads to destruction. Here, then, we have five great marks of those on the way to heaven.
1st A Sense Of Our Own NECESSITY:
2nd A HEART-FEAR Towards God:
3rd A FELT SHAME of what we are and what we have done Before God:
4th A Felt EMPTINESS Before God:
5th A SINGULAR HOPE Before God:
In v13 we read, And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner… and who stands afar off, and who would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, and who comes to smite upon his chest, and who cries out, “God be merciful to me a sinner”, but a man, before God in his Temple, that has come to look to Jesus alone!
It is God be propitious to me the sinner; viz., God let me, the alone sinner, lay hold on the alone sacrifice for sin; IT IS TO SAY GIVE ME JESUS OR I DIE!

Titus 1.1 - Six Things about True-Hearted Christian Faith - James Frew

Sat, 09 Sep 2006 10:21:40 +0100

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Titus 1.1 – Six Things about the Christian Faith – Read Titus 1 or Heb 11.
Praises: Ps.4.1-end, Ps.251st version4-9, Ps.103.17-22.

1st The FACT/Reality of true-hearted Christian Faith
We raise this point because some seem to speak of faith as something unreal, something at odds with verifiability, something like myth, something that belongs to the world of the fairy and the hobgoblin and not the world of absolute reality! Now let us be confident in the certainty of the Christian faith.
1Ti 1:4 commands us, …Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith… and 1Ti 4:7 says, …But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness… and 2Ti 4:4 speaking of apostates says, …And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables… and Tit 1:14 says …Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth… and Peter in 2 Pet 1 addresses this very point saying, …For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty…
Now, be assured that true-hearted Christian faith is a faith founded on fact.

2nd The FOUNDATION of true-hearted Christian Faith
And what is the foundation of true-hearted Christian faith but Jesus Christ himself. As Isaiah said in Isa 28:16 …Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation:… And as Jesus said to Peter in Mt 16:18 …And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it… and again in 1Co 3:11 …For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ… or as Paul says in Eph 2:20 …And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone… and again in Ac 4:12 …Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved… Thus, Jesus and his finished work is the foundation of true-hearted Christian faith!

3rd The FOUNTAIN of true-hearted Christian Faith
Heavenly – for in Eph 2:8 says …For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God… viz., faith is included in the salvation of God as a gift to the chosen of the Lord and this is its heavenly fountain! And again in Ezek 36.26-28 …A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God…
Humanly – as Paul writes in Rom 10 v9 …But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;… and again v9 …That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… and again v10 …For with the heart MAN believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation…
Thus true Christian faith comes from God as a gift of truth and power to man.

4th The FUNCTION of true-hearted Christian Faith
[1] Intellectual function – viz., involved in faith is our knowing. Now, Liberalism speaks of faith as a ‘leap in the dark’, and Atheism/Evolutionism requires faith in what is both unreasonable and non-factual, and Romanism demands faith in what is impossible and unknowable [eg. Transubstantiation] and all of these are species of fanaticism. The function of true-hearted Christian faith on the other hand is to know the truth. Thus we read of the …truth of the gospel… and of the …word of truth… and Jesus calls himself …the way the truth and the life…!
Now, saving faith demands knowledge and if we are to entrust our soul to a person we must know he is alive, that he has conquered the grave and death, that he has authority to atone, able to save and able to keep!
[2] Apprehending function – viz., faith lays hold of all the gifts and graces promises and powers of God in the gospel! John says, …To as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God…
[3] Approving function – viz., true-hearted Christian faith always agrees with God. Look at any doctrine of the Word of God, be it ever so contrary to modern thinking; be it ever so unpopular with the masses; be it ever so divisive with our families – every true-hearted Christian agrees with God!
[4] Relying function – viz., true-hearted Christian faith trusts in God and Christians are called them that …trust in the living God…!
[5] Obeying function – viz., true-hearted Christian faith obeys the Lord!

5th The FORTITUDE of true-hearted Christian Faith
Paul writes of this in 2Th 1:4 writing …so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:… and again in Php 1:29 he says, …For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake… and again in 2 Ti 2:3 he says, …Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ…
Now, behold the true-hearted Christian – fire and water may come upon him; sufferings and sorrows may overwhelm him; evils many may encompass him; but the Christian endures to the end and is saved!

6th The FAME of true-hearted Christian Faith
So we read in Ro 1.8 …I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world… and Ro 16:19 …your obedience is come abroad unto all men… and 1Th 1:8 …in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad… as Mt 24:14 says …And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come…

Joshua 2 - "Rahab the Harlot Considered" - James Frew

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 19:00:14 +0100

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Joshua 2 - Rahab the Harlot Considered

1st Rahab’s Sin
vv4-6 …And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were: And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof…
Now, here is Rahab’s lie – she told the king I do not know where the men came from and I do not know where they went except that they went out the city gate – pursue them you may catch yet them. Thus Rahab lied to her countrymen and her king and this is her sin.

2nd Rahab’s Faith
Now, Rahab’s faith has been canonized. So Heb 11:31 says of her, …By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace… Now, she had faith; faith that Jehovah of the Israelites was the true God of heaven and earth; faith that he was Jehovah the God of judgment about to judge the heathen; faith that Jehovah had given the a promised land to his believing people; and faith that he was Jehovah a Father to all who trust in him!
Thus Paul says of her, …By faith the harlot Rahab perished not…

3rd Rahab’s Service
Now, look at Rahab’s service and obedience. She receives the men on the reconnoiter; she shows them kindness; she lies to the king’s men; she saves their lives; she sends them out by a safe way; and she advises them how to avoid the Canaanites!
Now, so notable was Rahab’s service that it is written of her in Jas 2:25 …was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?… And here is Rahab a woman of God, a young convert, and yet a woman full of service for the cause of God and truth! And the lesson is this, if we will honour God and if we will glorify him then we must have a spiritually living; spiritually serving and spiritually up and doing Christianity!

4th Rahab’s Salvation
Thus in Jos 6:17 we read, …And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house… and again in Jos 6:25 …And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day… and friends, Joshuah is the same name as Jesus, and so we might say spiritually Jesus saved Rahab alive and she dwells in Israel, the land of promise unto this day… And so we, if we are to be saved, and if we are to be blessed, and if we are to be used of God, THEN WE TOO MUST TRUST IN THE TRUE JOSHUA – Jesus Christ our Lord. Yes, like Rahab, we may have been guilty sinners. Yes, like Rahab, we may have been in the world without God and without hope. Yes, like Rahab, we may not have been able to save ourselves. But yes, like Rahab, if we will trust in Jehovah of Israel, if we will hope in him, then, like Rahab, we too will be saved!

5th Rahab’s Celebrity
Now, whatever men may speculate about her we can say that Rahab the harlot is remembered as a heroine of the gospel! Yes, she is famous for her FAITH; and yes, she is famous for her WORKS; but yes also she is famous for being the mother-in-law of Ruth and of our Lord's line, for Mathew says of her, … And Salmon begat Boaz of Rachab; and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth…!

1 Timothy 4.10 - God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially those that believe - James Frew

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 08:44:42 +0100

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1 Tim 4.10, God The Saviour Of All Men

1st A Summary of Varioius Views;
[1] God an actual saviour to all in that ultimately he actually saves all. However, especially those who believe excludes some/many of the all men and so the verse would make no sense. [2] God an actual saviour to all kinds of men. However, here those who believe includes all kinds of men and so again the verse would make no sense. [c] God a potential saviour to all but an actual saviour to some. The problem here is that especially those who believe excludes some/many of the all and so the verse would make no sense. [3] God a intending saviour to all but a successful saviour to some. However, the Word of God is intolerant to any idea that God’s intentions are frustrated by men’s. [4] God is able to save all but only believers are saved. However, the verse does not address God’s ability to save for it says, …God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe… What then will we say of our verse?

2nd God is the Saviour of ALL Men;
That is what the verse actually says, …God, who IS the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe…
The first part of the verse is not saying that God is the Saviour OF ALL KINDS of men; nor that he is the POTENTIAL SAVIOUR of all men; nor that he will ULTIMATELY BE the Saviour of all men; nor that he WOULD BE THE SAVIOUR of all men if only they would allow him! No the verse says, …God, who IS the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe… It is what God IS, not what God might be, or shall be, but what he is!
So what is it then that God is the Saviour of all men? Well friends, God is the Saviour of all men in the sense that HE HAS BESTOWED COMMON GIFTS AND GRACES UPON ALL men in all ages, sorts and places!
Thus, here "to save" means to be beneficent towards; and if there ever was a text that plainly teaches God’s common grace it is this text! Says the Psalmist, …Good unto all men is the Lord: O'er all his works his mercy is…Yea. thou thine hand does open wide, And ev'ry thing dost satisfy That lives, and doth on earth abide, Of thy great liberality…
And so when we read, God is the Saviour of all men it means that God is the helper of all men; for upon all men God has bestowed common gifts and graces and helps of every kind!

3rd God is the Saviour of ESPECIALLY of SOME Men in Temporalities;
The verse says, …God, who IS the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe…
The verse is telling us that God is a helper to some men not in an ordinary and temporal way but in a special and eternal way. He is a Saviour especially to some men viz., those that believe!

4th God is the Saviour of ESPECIALLY of SOME Men in the sense of Eternal reality;
The verse says, …God, who IS the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe…
There we leave our subject for today. AMEN, AMEN.

Mark 2:1-12 Five Men and Five Blessings - James Frew

Sun, 10 Sep 2006 22:27:28 +0100

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Mark 2.1-12 Healing the paralytic – Five Men and Six Blessings

1st Great acknowledgement of a Great Problem
v3 …And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four… viz., it appears this man was a quadriplegic. He had to be carried by four. And in v11 when Jesus says …I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house… he seems to be addressing his legs and his arms. You see they came to Jesus with this great need.
Oh there is no recovery and there is no cure unless and until you truly acknowledge you are ill and need to come to Jesus!

2nd Great Expectations From a Great Saviour
You see, this man and his friends would not rest until they brought him to Jesus. Indeed, all through the account we see five men with great expectations. These men had great expectations from a Great Saviour. You see, they expected that if they could only get near to Jesus they would get the blessing, and so v3, …And they come UNTO HIM, bringing one sick of the palsy… and again in v4 …And when they could not come nigh UNTO HIM for the press, they uncovered the roof where HE was:…
Now, we do not read that they came to the Temple, or to the Priests, or even to the Disciples! No! we read that they came to Jesus. And here is a great lesson, that it is to Jesus we must come!
And how many have made do with coming to temples and to churches; and others still have made do with coming to Priests and to Disciples; others again have come to Creeds and Confessions; but my reader, you must come to Jesus! And you must COME TO HIM PERSONALLY!

3rd Great Faith in a Great Saviour
v5 says, …When Jesus saw THEIR FAITH, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee… viz., Jesus saw that all five of them had faith in him to heal. And friends, what a response collective believing may bring. They had great faith in the great saviour. And so Heb 11:6 …But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him…

4th Great Obstacles Overcome
Now from a human point of view these men had little chance of success. v3 their friend was heavy – borne of four; v4 they could not get near for the crowd; they had to carry him up to the roof; they had to dig through; they had to lower him down; and all this was hardly socially acceptable! And yet they were all out to overcome all obstacles only to get near to Jesus!

5th Great Power from a Great Saviour
Look at vv11-12, Jesus says, …I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.… Now, Jesus is an all-powerful saviour. So wonderfully powerful, that a quadraplegic stands up at the word of his command; he picks up his bed, and walks happily away; and again so wonderfully powerful that even unbelievers are constrained to say …We never saw it on this fashion… Well do we read, …And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen… Now, is there trouble at home – Jesus says all power is given unto me! Is there hardship through work – Jesus says all power is given unto me! Are there unsaved family – Jesus says all power is given unto me! Are there shrinking congregations – Jesus says all power is given unto me! Has the enemy come in like a flood – Jesus says all power is given unto me!
Let the true-hearted Christian never forget that it is to Jesus Christ the almighty Saviour we come.

6th Great Consequences from a Great Saviour
And here we see two things; great forgiveness and great glory!
[1] Great Forgiveness; for we read in v10-11, …But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house…
[2] Great Glory; for we read in v12, …that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion… Now friends, five believing men saw five great things; a great problem; great expectations; great faith; great power; and great consequences. I wonder friends, do we see our great problem; and do we have great expectations; and so we excercise great faith; and do we lay hold of Jesus’ great power; and therefore do we see great consequences?