As I contemplate the things going on in the world, the thought often comes to my mind, "I am glad I live where I do!" Then I get a little reminder from God that His hand can reach here too! There are wars in the Middle East; Israel is still being troubled; Our troops are facing danger and death daily; terrorist threats plague our cities; a new flu epidemic seems in the offing; hurricanes and floods destroy a large segment of our nation, even as the world still reels from a tsunami.
Recently, after congratulating myself on our choice of retirement locations, I found myself sitting smugly and safe in an evening service. A visiting missionary was telling of the work he was about to undertake in one of our major cities.
Then it happened; It was like my mother thumping me on the head and telling me to pay attention. It was like the boot camp D.I. cracking the top of my pith helmet with his swagger-stick and yelling, "Listen up, boot!" A small earthquake made the walls creak, and the people to gasp. No one moved: We are used to such occurrences here. I gave out with a loud "Amen"; the pastor chuckled, and the services continued without a hitch.
Why the ‘Amen’? It seemed to me that God was letting us know that however safe we think ourselves to be, we are not beyond His reach. The same comforting thought, concerning His protecting arms, should also give pause to those who consider themselves beyond His reach in judgment!
Oba 1:4 Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.
Come to think of it, the only truly safe place to dwell today, as it has ever been, is IN CHRIST!
1 Cor 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
Be ever aware of the world around you, but keep your eyes on Christ!
Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
freddie
7.10.05
Inspiration Chapter 4
THE BIBLE PROVEN BY PROPHECY
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
The Prophecies both warn those against whom they are made and reassure us that His Word is sure. Had the Bible NOT been the ‘sure word of prophecy’ that it is, it would have been discredited many times over.
How can you tell if the prophet is of God? Deu 18:20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
Deu 18:21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
Deu 18:22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
I. The Law of Chance as it relates to prophecy.
To announce an event which will eventually happen is NOT prophecy. Many warned of the possibility of storm damage to New Orleans, this was NOT prophecy. If one had given the date, height of the storm surge, wind velocity, death toll and flooding from a broken levee and the chaos which followed, this might have been considered prophetic.
If one draws a random line on a blackboard and someone draws another that intersects it, the point of convergence might well be accidental. If a third line crosses at the same point, the chances of accidental convergence lessens, For each additional line the argument for purposeful design increases. So it is with God’s prophecies. Consider the prophecy concerning the City of Babylon;
I. An Improbable Prophecy. Jer 50:1 The word that the LORD spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.
Jer 50:2 Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.
Jer 50:3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
A. Consider the size and magnificence of this city.
1. Two great walls encircled the city. The outer wall made a circuit of about fifty miles.
2. Many of the houses were of two or three stories.
3. It was the world center for the worship of Bel and other false deities with many great temples.
4.The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the seven Wonders of the ancient world.
5. The River Euphrates ran through the center of the city and was traversed by a bridge a thousand feet long.
6. It was the seat of Government for at least four successive empires. Hammurabbi, Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Alexander.
B. Consider these ‘Converging Lines’ of Prophecy concerning Babylon.
1. It was to fall during a surprise attack. Jer 51:31 One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end,
.
2. It was to take place during a time of feasting and revelry
Jer 51:39 In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD.
3. Their conquerors were to be the Medes and Persians.
Isa 13:17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
Isa 13:18 Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.
Isa 13:19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
4. It will never more be inhabited. Isa 13:20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation:
a. Beasts of the desert will lie there. Isa 13:21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.
Isa 13:22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
b. Arabian shall not pitch tent there Isa 13:20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
c Shepherds will not make their fold there.
Isa. 13:20 neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
d. will become pools of water for wild fowl.
Isa 14:22 For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD.
Isa 14:23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.
History records the step by step fulfillment of these converging lines of prophecy.
The Medusa and the Persians, under Syrups, in 539 B.C., conquered the city without a fight by surprising it during the drunken orgy of Belshazzer. Alexander the Great added it to the Grecian Empire and after his death the Seleucids abandoned the city following the division of his empire in order to found the new capitol city of Seleucia. They stocked Babylon with wild game and made it a royal hunting ground. As the buildings fell into decaying ruins venomous serpents so multiplied among the ruins that even the bold Arabian nomad would not pitch a tent there. Because of the wild animals, the shepherd kept his flocks away.
C.The prophecy concerning Tyre.
1. I will scrape the dust from her- Ezek 26:4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.
2.She will become a place for fishermen to dry their nets.
Ezek 26:5 It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations.
3. Even the name of the conqueror is given. Ezek 26:7 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.
History records the fulfillment. Because of his fear of the Babylonians, the king of Tyre moved his government to an island just off shore. Nebuchudnezzars army used the debris of the old city and all the soil to build a causeway to the island. The site was later used by fishermen as a place to spread their nets on the rocks to dry.
Prophecies of other cities and nations could be multiplied and you might like to pursue some of these in independent studies. Do not fail to follow the fulfillment of prophecy in the daily news concerning Israel and Jerusalem!
Next: The Bible and Astronomy
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
The Prophecies both warn those against whom they are made and reassure us that His Word is sure. Had the Bible NOT been the ‘sure word of prophecy’ that it is, it would have been discredited many times over.
How can you tell if the prophet is of God? Deu 18:20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
Deu 18:21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
Deu 18:22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
I. The Law of Chance as it relates to prophecy.
To announce an event which will eventually happen is NOT prophecy. Many warned of the possibility of storm damage to New Orleans, this was NOT prophecy. If one had given the date, height of the storm surge, wind velocity, death toll and flooding from a broken levee and the chaos which followed, this might have been considered prophetic.
If one draws a random line on a blackboard and someone draws another that intersects it, the point of convergence might well be accidental. If a third line crosses at the same point, the chances of accidental convergence lessens, For each additional line the argument for purposeful design increases. So it is with God’s prophecies. Consider the prophecy concerning the City of Babylon;
I. An Improbable Prophecy. Jer 50:1 The word that the LORD spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.
Jer 50:2 Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.
Jer 50:3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
A. Consider the size and magnificence of this city.
1. Two great walls encircled the city. The outer wall made a circuit of about fifty miles.
2. Many of the houses were of two or three stories.
3. It was the world center for the worship of Bel and other false deities with many great temples.
4.The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the seven Wonders of the ancient world.
5. The River Euphrates ran through the center of the city and was traversed by a bridge a thousand feet long.
6. It was the seat of Government for at least four successive empires. Hammurabbi, Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Alexander.
B. Consider these ‘Converging Lines’ of Prophecy concerning Babylon.
1. It was to fall during a surprise attack. Jer 51:31 One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end,
.
2. It was to take place during a time of feasting and revelry
Jer 51:39 In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD.
3. Their conquerors were to be the Medes and Persians.
Isa 13:17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
Isa 13:18 Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.
Isa 13:19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
4. It will never more be inhabited. Isa 13:20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation:
a. Beasts of the desert will lie there. Isa 13:21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.
Isa 13:22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
b. Arabian shall not pitch tent there Isa 13:20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
c Shepherds will not make their fold there.
Isa. 13:20 neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
d. will become pools of water for wild fowl.
Isa 14:22 For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD.
Isa 14:23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.
History records the step by step fulfillment of these converging lines of prophecy.
The Medusa and the Persians, under Syrups, in 539 B.C., conquered the city without a fight by surprising it during the drunken orgy of Belshazzer. Alexander the Great added it to the Grecian Empire and after his death the Seleucids abandoned the city following the division of his empire in order to found the new capitol city of Seleucia. They stocked Babylon with wild game and made it a royal hunting ground. As the buildings fell into decaying ruins venomous serpents so multiplied among the ruins that even the bold Arabian nomad would not pitch a tent there. Because of the wild animals, the shepherd kept his flocks away.
C.The prophecy concerning Tyre.
1. I will scrape the dust from her- Ezek 26:4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.
2.She will become a place for fishermen to dry their nets.
Ezek 26:5 It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations.
3. Even the name of the conqueror is given. Ezek 26:7 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.
History records the fulfillment. Because of his fear of the Babylonians, the king of Tyre moved his government to an island just off shore. Nebuchudnezzars army used the debris of the old city and all the soil to build a causeway to the island. The site was later used by fishermen as a place to spread their nets on the rocks to dry.
Prophecies of other cities and nations could be multiplied and you might like to pursue some of these in independent studies. Do not fail to follow the fulfillment of prophecy in the daily news concerning Israel and Jerusalem!
Next: The Bible and Astronomy
The Trumpets Sure Sound
THE TRUMPET’S SURE SOUND
The power of positive thinking and preaching.
Remember the little choo-choo --- I think I can, I think I can --I KNOW I can!
Bible illustrations: Abraham, Jonah, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah etal
The power of positive preaching - - - Peter , Paul, John etc.
A. As to the sinfulness of man
Acts 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
The preaching of Jesus and John the Baptist
Luke 13:2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
Luke 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Luke 13:4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
Luke 13:5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Mat 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
Mat 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
B. As to the ONE plan of salvation
Acts 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.
C. Concerning the doctrines of the New Testament
Gal 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed
.Gal 1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
II The power of positive belief
2 Tim 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
A. It enables men to suffer for the truth
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
B. It convinces others (of the truth and of your sincerity)
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
C. It makes service worthwhile. (the substance of things hoped for)
Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
III Power of positive action
James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.
James 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
(Picture the bugler lying in the shade as he sounds the charge!
Speak for Christ, but also LIVE for Him!
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Don’t pray for rain and then leave the house without your umbrella!
IV He did something positive for you
2 Cor 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
V. Be positive in your faith
James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.James 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:James 1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.James 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
Note: Christianity is not just a system of 'don'ts'
The power of positive thinking and preaching.
Remember the little choo-choo --- I think I can, I think I can --I KNOW I can!
Bible illustrations: Abraham, Jonah, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah etal
The power of positive preaching - - - Peter , Paul, John etc.
A. As to the sinfulness of man
Acts 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
The preaching of Jesus and John the Baptist
Luke 13:2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
Luke 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Luke 13:4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
Luke 13:5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Mat 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
Mat 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
B. As to the ONE plan of salvation
Acts 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.
C. Concerning the doctrines of the New Testament
Gal 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed
.Gal 1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
II The power of positive belief
2 Tim 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
A. It enables men to suffer for the truth
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
B. It convinces others (of the truth and of your sincerity)
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
C. It makes service worthwhile. (the substance of things hoped for)
Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
III Power of positive action
James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.
James 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
(Picture the bugler lying in the shade as he sounds the charge!
Speak for Christ, but also LIVE for Him!
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Don’t pray for rain and then leave the house without your umbrella!
IV He did something positive for you
2 Cor 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
V. Be positive in your faith
James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.James 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:James 1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.James 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
Note: Christianity is not just a system of 'don'ts'
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