Hymns of the Church – Draw me Nearer – 8 October 2019, Anno Domini

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O  man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. ⁴⁶ Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. ⁴⁸ I am that bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ⁵⁰ This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. (John 6:44-51)

            This is an old Gospel Song written after the traditions of the evangelistic movement of the late 1800’s. The lyrics are the composition of that prolific blind hymn writer, Fanny Crosby in 1875. Miss Crosby has written more than 9,000 hymns. The musical score is the work of William H.. Doane, also a prolific hymn writer having written some 2,000 hymns plus musical scores for many others. The hymn was written late at night following a discussion of Hebrews 10:22 – “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” Miss Crosby, being blind, seems to have had a better view of our Lord in Heaven than anyone else with whom I am familiar.

Draw me Nearer

I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice, 

and it told thy love to me; 

but I long to rise in the arms of faith 

and be closer drawn to thee. 

Refrain

Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, 

to the cross where thou hast died. 

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, 

to thy precious, bleeding side.

Consecrate me now to thy service, Lord, 

by the power of grace divine; 

let my soul look up with a steadfast hope, 

and my will be lost in thine.

            Refrain

O the pure delight of a single hour 

that before thy throne I spend, 

when I kneel in prayer, and with thee, my God, 

I commune as friend with friend!

            Refrain

There are depths of love that I cannot know 

till I cross the narrow sea; 

there are heights of joy that I may not reach 

till I rest in peace with thee.

            Refrain

I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice,  and it told thy love to me; but I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer drawn to thee.. We all belong to some spiritual entity – either God or the Devil. If God, then we will do the works of God, but if to the Devil, then we will do his works which our Lord so clearly defined: “Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” Whose works do you do? It is saving grace that instills the faith which draws us ever closer to God our Father in Christ. Unless we are drawn by the Father, we cannot come to Christ. (John 5:44)

Consecrate me now to thy service, Lord, by the power of grace divine; let my soul look up with a steadfast hope, and my will be lost in thine. Doesn’t this verse open the essence of Christian living before our eyes and even the blind eyes of Fanny Crosby? If we have been called to the service of the Lord, we have also been consecrated by Him to that service. We were named and called before we were conceived in our mother’s womb – indeed, before the pillars of the earth were laid before Eden. Cyrus the Great was named and called to set the Hebrew children free from Babylon 200 years before he was born. The gates of the city of Babylon would be left open by Belshazzar’s drunken guards during his last feast: “Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;” (Isaiah 45:1)  Isaiah wrote those lines in 700 B.C.. Cyrus conquered Babylon in 537 BC. Cyrus was called and anointed ever before he knew the God of the Hebrews. To read the prayer of Cyrus, see Ezra 1:1-4. Fanny’s hymns are always pleading for us to “look up” which is where her intense vision was focused, We must reject our own wicked self-wills (read free wills) and take upon us the mind that was in Christ. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”  (Philippians 2:5) Do you have that Mind?

O the pure delight of a single hour that before thy throne I spend, when I kneel in prayer, and with thee, my God, I commune as friend with friend! How many hours do we spend before the Throne of God? Is our pitiful moments sufficient to commune intimately with the Lord? Do we both express our petitions and wait for His response?  There is no friend who has ever died guiltless in your stead. Has any friend shown himself to be more friend than our Lord? “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24)

There are depths of love that I cannot know till I cross the narrow sea; there are heights of joy that I may not reach till I rest in peace with thee. To know God is to know God; but the depths of His love is of such tremendous magnitude that it is beyond our mortal comprehension.  How could any of us send our only Begotten Son to die at the hands of those who hate us and are our sworn enemies? The Banks of old Jordan Waters lie just ahead for some, and at greater length for others; but, young or old, we know not the moment when the sand beneath our feet begins to shift, the thunder calls out to us from on high, and we are cast forward to those murky waters. But the Christian does not have to cross Jordan alone – He has a Friend who made Jordan Waters at his side. He will see us across with a mighty outreached arm. On that far shore shall be experienced a greater joy than we ever believed possible. The battle will be over, the enemy of our souls vanquished, And a host of familiar faces will greet us there. But, as Fanny always says, the Face of her Lord will be the first that a poor blind lady will see there.

            Refrain

Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to the cross where thou hast died. Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to thy precious, bleeding side. How near to Christ does your love draw you? It drew the Apostle John (the Apostle of Love) to the very foot of the Cross. John would even have mounted the cross with Christ had compassion made it possible. Mary, the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and a host of other women braved the hate of the Jewish rulers and of Rome in standing at the foot of the cross while the remaining disciples hide in the distant bushes. Until we come, individually, to the Cross, we cannot begin to know the depth of His love; and it is His love that draws and compels us there.

Are you so drawn there, my friends?

AOC Sunday Report - Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity

The AOC Sunday Report is RIGHT HERE!

Sermon Notes - Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity - Saint Andrew’s Anglican Orthodox Church - 6 October 2019, Anno Domini

The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity.

The Collect.

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 LORD, we beseech thee, let thy continual pity cleanse and defend thy Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without thy succour, preserve it evermore by thy help and goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

See how the Anglican Prayer Book directs all scripture for the day to relate to the same Gospel Truth, even the Collect!

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 LOVE the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. ² Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. ³ The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. ⁴ Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. ⁵ Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful. ⁶ The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me. ⁷ Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee. ⁸ For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. ⁹ I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.  (Psalm 116:1-9)

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HEN said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. ²² But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. ²³ Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. ²⁴ Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. ²⁵ Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: ²⁶ And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? ²⁷ She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. ²⁸ And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. ²⁹ As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him. ³⁰ Now Jesus was not yet come into the town but was in that place where Martha met him. ³¹ The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. ³² Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 

     ³³ When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, ³⁴ And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. ³⁵ Jesus wept. ³⁶ Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! ³⁷ And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? ³⁸ Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. ³⁹ Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. ⁴⁰ Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? ⁴¹ Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. ⁴² And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. ⁴³ And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. ⁴⁴ And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. (John 11:21-44)

Martha is perturbed at the Lord’s delay in coming to the side of Lazarus.

He loved Jesus. Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary. 

Lazarus had suffered from a grave illness, yet Christ did not come immediately to his side. Lazarus finally died and, yet, Jesus again delayed in coming. For you or I to delay in rushing to the side of a friend or family member would be a serious discourtesy.

But for Christ, it was the proper thing to do in exact detail. WHY? Because you or I can only render comfort and compassion. But Christ has the power to undo the tragedy. Christ can heal that which is afflicted.

Christ can make alive again that which is dead. So His delay is beneficial for our faith. Our delay would be offensive because we can offer nothing but our immediate solace in being present.

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OR the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: ¹⁵ And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.  ¹⁶ Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. ¹⁷ Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Cor 5)

All things are made new in Christ. The old Jerry Ogles must die to himself and be made alive for Christ.

Look at Martha’s doubts: ²³ Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. ²⁴ Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. ²⁵ Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: ²⁶ And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Look at this question…its depth…the challenge of it…the convicting power of the question itself….

The issues that depend upon the answer to this question of my text may be summed up, if I may venture to say so, by taking the words of our Lord Himself and converting them into their opposite. He said, ‘He that believeth... though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth on Me shall never die.’ That implies, He that believeth not in Christ, though he were living, yet shall he die, and whosoever liveth and believeth not shall never live. These are the issues — the alternative issues — that depend on your answer to this question.

This is the crux and turning point of faith itself. Do we believe THIS?

 “Jesus wept!” How sad this makes me to see Jesus so sorrowful. He did not weep when He was mercilessly beaten. He did not weep at the trial before Pilate. He did not weep on the cross of torture…but strangely here he weeps. 

Christ does not weep for Lazarus for He knows that He certainly will restore his life to him.

So why does Christ weep?

For the same reason that we daily may cause Him to shed tears of disappointment. Martha knew that Jesus loved Lazarus. She knew that He was the Son of God. Yet she doubted that Christ could restore life to Lazarus. Martha doubted the very identity of the fullness of Christ. 

When Jesus asked, “Where have ye laid him?” He was saddened to learn that they had laid him in the tomb. Why not lay Lazarus in the porch or some other convenient place for his rising from the dead?

When you bury a person, this means that you have no more hope of their living. Martha sold her best friend, Jesus, short. And so do you and I daily.

By this time he stinketh……….certainly so, but no amount of decomposition can stay the power of God to raise the dead! Still unknowing of the great power and personage she called her friend.

⁴⁰ Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

If you will listen to Me, and believe, you will learn that the Glory of God knows no stink! No corruption! No death!

Here is the greatest drama of all time. 

A body lies in a stone-cold tomb. The eyes are closed in permanent (?) sleep. Death has locked the jaw and limbs. The heart is resting in silent stillness. The body is tightly wrapped in linen clothes so stout that even the living could not move about. The ears know no music, no sweet and loving voice. They are just as blocked in death as the stone that covers the tomb.

But Jesus will show is a cause to know Him. 

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HEREFORE, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. ¹⁵ Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? ¹⁶ Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding? (Isa 29:14)

The voice of the Lord penetrates time and distance. The voice of the Lord reaches to the very depths of the sea and hell. The voice of the Lord can penetrate pride and selfishness. The voice of the Lord can penetrate stone and earth. The Voice of the Lord can break through the dead and stinking tissues of our hearts and sink into the depths of it.  The Voice of the Lord will make alive!

The Father always knows our thoughts and prayers whether uttered or not. 

Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. ⁴² And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

Christ, being God, need not pray for miracles. He can perform them of His own power as God, but He sets the example for us.

⁴³ And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 

Would it not have been the most exceptional and glorious event you have ever observed…to have been there when Christ voice penetrated that stone and masonry, the cold, dead ears of flesh, and the hidden chambers of the heart of Lazarus? Christ Words found an echo in the heart of Lazarus and, immediately, the dead cells uncongealed, the ears were no longer deaf, the eyes no longer blind in death. The blood, reconstituted itself after the summons of its Creator, and Lazarus rose up from the stone slab and came forth from the Tomb.

There is something you need to know about death. It binds you hand and foot. It makes you blind. It stops your ears. And death is the life of the sinner. The sinner is walking dead.

A

ND you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; ² Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: ³ Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.    ⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, ⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) ⁶ And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: ⁷ That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in hiskindness toward us through Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.  (Eph 2:1-9)

Now, we have all been dead in times past in our sins. And some of us still are dead and do not know it. But when the voice of God breaks through the dawning of your new day, you shall arise and live!

⁴⁴ And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

I

F ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; ³² And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:31-32)

Are you free? Or are you still slaves to self, to mammon, to the vain riches of this world? Let the Voice of Christ penetrate your dead ears, heart and soul. Let Him quicken your heart and make you alive forevermore!

Joseph is yet Alive – 4 October 2019, Anno Domini

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ND God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. ²³ And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: ²⁴ And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.  (Genesis 30:22-24)

            Notice it was God who opened the womb of the beautiful Rachel so that she could conceive a son; and this son was a very special son who would come to be an example of Christlike living and salvation for his brothers. Lest we forget, EVERY child conceived in a mother’s womb comes by the gift of God. This is true even of the animal kingdom. God made the beautiful Creatures of Eden just as He made you and me to have dominion and care of them. Our beautiful pets are creatures made by God at Eden. At conception, the DNA stamp of every creature (including humans) immediately determines its personality, its talents, its physical dimensions, it tastes, and every other detail of its existence. To murder a child in its mother’s womb is to co-opt the very Will of God Almighty.

            Rachel was the beautiful daughter of Laban. She was the second daughter which presented a problem. Jacob fell in love with Rachel at first site. He sought the hand of Rachel in marriage of her father, Laban. Laban was a conniving man. He said that Jacob could have Rachel’s hand in marriage if he would work for Laban for seven years. Jacob immediately assented to purchase his bride for seven years of labor. When the seven years were up, the marriage was arranged. His bride appeared in a veil, and Jacob married her – only it was not Rachel, it was the older daughter Leah. Jacob had been tricked in the same way that he had tricked his father, Isaac, in granting the favored blessing. Even today in the East, it is a disgrace for the younger daughter to marry before the elder. This was Laban’s purpose in tricking Jacob. Jacob then agreed to work another seven years, which he did, for the hand of Rachel.  Rachel was his FIRST LOVE which we must never forget. Christ spoke to the Church at Ephesus in these terms, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 

            Not all churches today conform to the model of First Love. I hope the reader does not belong to any such church that has not remained faithful to the Word of God.

            Now the Lord opens the womb of Rachel and she gives birth to Joseph – a type of Christ in his faithful example.  Joseph was a shepherd somewhat after the example of the Good Shepherd. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. (John 10:11)  Joseph, like Christ, was a willing and obedient son. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:8) He was especially loved of his Father just as Christ was the dearly beloved Son of the Father. Joseph was hated by his brothers just as Christ was hated by his brothers. 

            After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him. They knew death awaited the Lord in Jerusalem, yet, they urged him to go there.

            Joseph was hated by his brothers without cause. So was Christ. Christ did only good to all with whom He had any dealings, but they hated Him without reasons. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.  (John 15:24-25)

            In spite of Joseph’s witnessing to his brothers they hated him more. They envied and slandered him. 

            One day, after his brothers had been gone for what seemed too long a period for their labors, the father, Jacob, sent Joseph to seek their well being. And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.  And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.   (Genesis 37:12-13)

           I will briefly review the events that follow. Joseph finds his brothers wearing the coat of many colors. The color of the robe of Christ is WHITE. White is all colors of the rainbow combined. So that coat of Joseph represents the Robe of Righteousness Christ offers to all who believe. The brothers were outraged with jealousy. Most desired to kill him, but Reuben resisted. He suggested they throw him into a well and was later sold as a slave into Egypt. They intended this for evil for Joseph, but God was right in the middle of that decision for good to Joseph. When events of great sorrow happen in our lives, just remember: God is right in the middle for you if you believe. And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; (Genesis 37:23) Likewise, they stripped Christ. Please consider the burning shame Christ felt in being stripped naked before the multitudes. Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. (John 19:23)

            The brothers sold Joseph into bondage to a passing caravan of Ishmaelites. He was taken into Egypt. He suffered many injustices, falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife of seduction. He was imprisoned which was, again, in total accord with God’s plan. He gained release by interpreting the dream of Pharaoh. Pharaoh appointed Joseph the second ruler in Egypt.

            In the meantime, Jacob believed Joseph was dead just as the disciples believed Christ was dead in the Tomb when He came among them in the Upper Room.

            Joseph’s brothers were sent by Jacob into Egypt during Joseph’s prophesied famine. They were given provender by Joseph. In the provender of grain was a hidden cup belonging to Joseph. It was used to bring the younger brother of Joseph, Benjamin, down to Egypt for a total salvation of the Tribes of Israel. 

            Joseph knew his brothers, but they did not yet know Him. There are souls about us everyday whom we consider to be lost; however, our Lord knows those with whom He has kinship and they know it not presently. He will, in time, reveal Himself.

            Christ is our Savior, our Redeemer, our Lord, our King, and, also, our Elder Brother. When He considers our plight, He may weep tears of compassion; yet, He knows what He will do to open our eyes to His presence. It was by way of the Cup (Blood of His sacrifice) and the GRAIN (Bread of His Body) that we are made aware of that Presence. 

            All people were compelled to bow the knee to Joseph in Egypt. So, to Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. (Romans 14:11)

            Joseph became savior to the full and physical House of Israel just as Christ is Savior to Spiritual Israel today. By the way, those who are of the flesh are no necessarily of Israel – only those who have believed the promise made to Abraham – these are the true Israel of today.

            Egypt is a simile for sin, or the land of sin. After 430 years, there arose a king in Egypt whose memory of Joseph was non-existent. He placed hard burdens on the Hebrews. This, too , was God’s will to get them out of that land of sin and into the Promised Land. We suffer in bondage to sin, but Christ came to set the captive free from Egyptian-type bondage to sin. So, we must likewise ‘get out’ of Egypt just as God’s people did millennia ago. God will not leave our souls in Hell. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Psalm 16:10) The Christian does not want to leave anything in the Egypt sin. We depart that wretched life without a gaze back. Even our bones shall not remain there for God will have use of them in centuries to come for He will raise them up from the grave. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you. (Exodus 13:19 Joseph had requested that his bones be carried back to Canaan. So, He was buried in Shechem. Gods Word continues to speak of Joseph in the present tense for all who believe in me while they yet live shall never die.

Do you so believe?

The Way of Separation – 3 October 2019, Anno Domini

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 YE Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. ¹²  Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels. ¹³  Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged. ¹⁴  Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? ¹⁵  And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? ¹⁶  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ¹⁷  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, ¹⁸  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6:11-18)

            Perhaps the greatest challenge facing the Church today is that of separation from the world. Instead of going into all the world preaching and teaching the Gospel once delivered to the saints, the Church has invited the world with its immodest dress, sensuous and irreverent music, and health-and-wealth gospel into the church. 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. (Matthew 28:19-20) As I have said many times, the Church is like a ship designed to navigate the ocean seas. It carries its merchandise of truth and hope from shore to shore. As long as the ship is in the sea, all is well; but if the sea gets into the ship, tragic consequences follow. Today, the world has gotten into the Church rendering it sterile to preach salvation and repentance. 

            Good Christian men and women may have lingered too long in the fertile plains toward Sodom. They see the great horror and sin of that city which is encroaching on their church, but they believe, with little justification, that things will improve. Please let me caution you: Once the smallest stream of water breaches the ship’s hull, the penetration can only enlarge. I beg serious Christians to please get out of those compromising churches whose glory is money and whose obedience is not to God and His Word, but to the latest fad and satanic philosophy.

         What is biblical separation? There are primarily two types of biblical separation: 1) Separation of the wicked and worldly persons or churches from the righteous; 2) separation of the righteous from the wicked. God could not brood sin in His wonderful Garden at Eden. When Adam and Eve sinned, and brought suffering and death upon the whole Creation, God separated them from the Garden of Paradise and moved it to His High Heaven.  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7) The Holy Place of God is not the place for sin and disobedience. Cain, too, being a murderer, was separated from his righteous brethren to come in Seth. Churches have drifted far from taking church discipline seriously but God does not! Today, any sensuous attire is acceptable, and any violation of the marriage institute of God is tolerated – adultery, whimsical divorce, homosexual marriage, and even homosexual ministers standing in the Holy Place. 

         And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. (Daniel 11:36-38)  Please read this passage in context with the warning by our Lord Jesus Christ: When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:).  (Matthew 24:15) 

            I understand the preterist[1] view on this subject but reject it in part due to the obvious deplorable immorality we view in our midst today. 

            The type of separation that is most common to us is that of separation of the righteous from the wicked. Abraham presents an excellent example of the proper, and improper, means of that separation. God had said to Abram (Abraham), Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: (Genesis 12:1)  God is always quite clear in His commands. Did Abram obey? Yes, and no. He did get out of the country, but he did not leave behind his kindred (including Lot). This mistake would prove grievous to Abram in his struggle to serve the Lord in obedience in time to come. Partial separation in churches today ALWAYS leads to grief and compromise. 

            Read how Abram obeyed, and disobeyed, the counsel of the Lord: So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. Genesis 12:4-5 (KJV) Abram’s obedience can be summed up in the first phrase, So Abram departed. Everything that follows is disobedience. Total obedience always is rewarded by joy and ease of conscience. Remember the wars of the cities of the plain in which Abram had to take part to save Lot and his family and fellow residents of Sodom.  Remember, too, how Abram’s servants and those of Lot contested each other over the water sources for their flocks. Abram had to divide the land by giving Lot his choice of which land to occupy. 

            How did Lot end up as a judge in the gates of Sodom? And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.  (Genesis 13:10-13) It was compromise with the world that placed Lot in the gates of Sodom. Churches today are doing the same. They are pitching their tents toward Sodom. They have placed themselves in the presence, and in union, with abject sinners.

As Eve walked to the Tree; stopped before the Tree, conversed with the Tree; and was seduced thereby; so was Lot seduced by the contemptable and immoral life of Sodom; so are churches doing the same today. They have taken a light view of the Word of God by allowing their congregants to be deceived by false Bile versions and ungodly preaching. Denying the sex-designation made by God in the DNA before birth of boys and girls, they now claim God made a mistake and some boys are actually girls, and vice versa. We are all born with proclivities to sin in many ways owing to the blood disease of sinful natures we inherited from Adam. We may be inclined to lie, cheat, steal, or commit disgusting sexual sins. The proclivities to commit these sins does not constitute sin until acted upon. But even the dwelt-upon desire to commit them is sin if we entertain the notion with a secret wish to commit them. Temptation is no sin. But succumbing to that temptation is sin.

Only fifty years ago, abortion was a serious sin in the eyes of the governments of men. So was homosexuality. The sodomite could end up with prison time. But prayer and Bible reading was removed from schools and every public forum – even in violation of the guaranteed rights of the 1^st Amendment; and with what result? Promiscuity, alcoholism, homosexuality, drug abuse, and crime increased phenomenally. Public modesty has almost disappeared. Our society is in ruins with no honor or self-respect to be discovered among our youth. The murder of innocent babies is no longer limited to a given period before birth, but even up to, and after., birth of live babies. 

It is high time for the Christian to separate himself, or herself, from apostate churches. Sophistication, public acclaim, and political correctness will never get you into Heaven. God is not INCLUSIVE – He is completely EXCLUSIVE. There is only One Way to the Father, and that is through the Son. He is the ONLY WAY, ONLY TRUTH, AND ONLY LIFE.

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[1] Preterism  interprets some (partial preterism) or all (full preterism) prophecies of the Bible as events which have already happened. This school of thought interprets the Book of Daniel as referring to events that happened from the 7th century BC until the first century AD, while seeing the prophecies of Revelation as events that happened in the first century AD. Preterism holds that Ancient Israel finds its continuation or fulfillment in the Christian church at the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

The term preterism comes from the Latin praeter, which Webster's 1913 Dictionary lists as a prefix denoting that something is past or beyond. Adherents of preterism are commonly known as preterists. Preterism teaches that either all (full preterism) or a majority (partial preterism) of the Olivet discourse had come to pass by AD 70.

Trust and Obey – 1 October 2019, Anno Domini

W

HITHER shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? ⁸  If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. ⁹  If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; ¹⁰  Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. ¹¹  If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. ¹²  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.  ¹³  For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.  (Psalm 139:7-13)

In the routine life of the Christian, there are two values that must coexist together, and in the order given in the title of this song – Trust and Obey. Obedience makes no sense if we do not first TRUST the Master; and TRUST without OBEDIENCE is a non-starter.

This Gospel Song ws written by John H. Sammis and Daniel Brink Towner in 1887. The refrain expresses the summary meaning of the entire text and was first revealed at a DL Moody Evangelistic Meeting in Brockton, Massachusetts. The tune, unnamed, is the composition of Towner. 

Trust and Obey

 When we walk with the Lord

In the light of His word

What a glory He sheds on our way

While we do His good will

He abides with us still

And with all who will trust and obey

 [Refrain]

Not a burden we bear, 

not a sorrow we share, 

but our toil he doth richly repay; 

not a grief or a loss, 

not a frown or a cross, 

but is blest if we trust and obey. 

[Refrain]

But we never can prove 

the delights of his love 

until all on the altar we lay; 

for the favor he shows, 

for the joy he bestows, 

are for them who will trust and obey. 

[Refrain]

Then in fellowship sweet 

we will sit at his feet, 

or we'll walk by his side in the way; 

what he says we will do, 

where he sends we will go; 

never fear, only trust and obey. 

[Refrain]

Trust and obey

For there's no other way

To be happy in Jesus

But to trust and obey

            When we walk with the Lord In the light of His word What a glory He sheds on our way While we do His good will He abides with us still And with all who will trust and obey. The first step in following the Lord is to WALK with Him through TRUST. He says to His disciples, “Follow me” and we must. He bears an ugly cross, and so must we in following.  Whatsoever thing the Lord commands, we must do in obedience and trust. His Word is our light of navigation: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”  (Psalm 119:105)  The Lord is an intimate friend who abides (lives) in our hearts always. He never leaves nor forsakes. We see glorious beauty in our walk with the Lord, but we cannot walk with Him unless we first trust, then obey. “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.” (Isaiah 43:1-3)

            Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share, but our toil he doth richly repay; not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross, but is blest if we trust and obey. A good parent will reward a child tenfold for small gifts of wildflowers or some other small gift of a paper doll that expresses love. Our Father in Heaven is no different. Every pain and hardship we face, for His sake, is rewarded with ebullient blessings from on high. He shares our every burden. Even the crosses we bear are blest by the Lord.  If we follow in the steps of Jesus, we shall have the perfect example of obedience: “ . . . . he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:8) 

         

The very catalyst of obedience is expressed by our LOVE: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15 (KJV) Our degree of obedience is directly proportional to our Love for Him.

            

But we never can prove the delights of his love until all on the altar we lay; for the favor he shows, for the joy he bestows, are for them who will trust and obey. If you lay all of your gold and silver upon the altar, this will not satisfy the offering law. Even if we sell all and give to the poor, the offering law is not even moved a point. So, what do we lay on the altar of God – All that we are – our being – our hearts. God wants no more than our all. He cares not for money or riches, for He has all of those. He wants our hearts. If He is given our hearts, all else will follow in order. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1)  

            Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at his feet, or we'll walk by his side in the way; what he says we will do, where he sends we will go; never fear, only trust and obey. Trust and obedience leads to joys unmentionable in our future Paradise with the Lord. Just as He walked with Adam and Eve eastward in Eden, so shall we be privileged to walk with the Lord day by day in the Paradise of God. There are tremendous rewards beyond expression that follow in trusting and obeying: “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”  (Genesis 22:18) “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:” (Exodus 19:5)  “But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” (Luke 11:28)

Refrain

Trust and obey. For there's no other way. To be happy in Jesus  But to trust and obey. Once we acknowledge there is no other way, because we have come to know He is the Only WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE, we shall have a freedom we could never have imagined before. The will of the Christian heart is always to do things pleasing to the Lord. We have rejected our own self-will (in bondage to sin) and received his golden-sealed will in our hearts. Trusting and Obeying our Lord is the summary of the Christian living.