An introduction to the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-2 (part 2)

We should distinguish blessings from happiness.  The word translated "Blessed" can also be translated "happy" for sure.  But I think there is wisdom in retaining the word "blessed" instead.  Consider this, not all happiness is a result of God's blessings.  Many people are "happy" in sin, and because of that they are far removed from His blessings.   God’s blessings are bestowed upon us according to His goodness and mercy, and these can be detached from happenings or events or circumstances, whereas happiness always relates to happenings.  It is wonderful to be blessed of God.  And everyone who is blessed of God is truly happy in the proper sense of the word.  We desire His blessings even when it goes against our own fleshly happiness.

An introduction to the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-2

Matthew 5:1-2
(1)  And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
(2)  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

     This passage belongs to what is commonly called the "Beatitudes" which means a declaration of blessings.  And what a blessing it is indeed that the Lord Jesus Christ allows us to peer into the heart attitudes which are concomitant with those who are made ready for the Kingdom of God.  What great blessing it is indeed that God through His Word, and in here through His Son, would even speak to us.  He could have left us alone to fend for ourselves.  But in His grace and mercy he speaks to us.  Another blessing is that when He speaks to us, He speaks a word of blessing.  Again, he could have spoken words of condemnation.  But the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).  And we are blessed because of this.

A good place to get a copy of the Holy Bible (KJV)

The Christmas season is upon us and many people are thinking of gifts to give to loved ones and friends.  You can't go wrong giving somebody (or anybody) a copy of the Holy Bible (KJV).  A great place to get them from is Local Church Bible Publishers.  This ministry is directed by Dennis Deneau of Parker Memorial Baptist Church in Lansing, MI.  We gladly support Mr. Deneau as a "missionary" in our church.  The Bearing Precious Seed Local Church Bible Publishers team is an outstanding independent, fundamental, Baptist printing ministry, and there is no better way to show support than to patronize them and their "products."  Anyway, I received an insert in their mailer today that highlights an anniversary edition of the KJV.  It is limited and numbered, and it is selling fast, so you may want to order soon.  It is a classic hand size Bible with C.I. Scofield's notes removed ($65.00).  There website is informative for any other books that they sell.  You can click on that website link above of call them at (517) 882-2112.

John's beatific vision of God

Revelation 4
 ¶1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
 2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
 3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
 4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
 5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
 6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
 7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
 8 ¶ And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
 9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
 10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
 11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

    In Chapter 4 of Revelation we are ushered by John's vision to join in the Heavenly worship of God.  What Heavenly sights and sounds do we see and hear about?  There's the door, the voice as clear as trumpet, the Heavenly throne, the one who sits upon that throne, the precious stones, the emerald-like rainbow, 24 seats (also thrones), and 24 elders, powerful voices come from the throne accompanied by thunders and lightnings, seven lamps of fire burning, the crystal sea, and the four beasts.  With all that was going on it isn't a mystery how we may perhaps miss the forest for the trees.  God is worshiped.  Heaven is occupied with the worship of God.  If you took the time to read the Scriptures above (as you should), you would know that Heaven was just scaled back for us.  And what were they doing over there?  Worshiping God.  It is all about God.  Are we concerned about God's worship?  What are we about?  What are we occupied with?  There's a lot going on down here on Earth, you know.  Many things, people, and events can easily persuade us to give of ourselves over to them (our time, talents and treasures for instance), but there is only but one who is truly worthy.  We could say, now that we have the Bible in its entirety, that John saw what Isaiah and Ezekiel saw.  How wonderful it must have been to be there to see all this.  But we have a more sure word of prophecy.  God is so gracious to let us in on this.  We may not see the vision that John saw, but we can see it through the pages of Scripture, the sufficient Word.  What are we going to do about this Heavenly vision?  We can humbly join in the worship (as we should), or we can just go on living for ourselves.  Let's determine to remember that God is the center-piece of our lives, and let us worship Him personally first, with our families second, and then thirdly, from that heart attitude of surrender to God, corporately through our church.  Have a happy Thanksgiving!  Worship Him, and Him alone, for He alone is worthy.  Amen.

A reply to a YouTube video called "Untangling the church music debate"

      I realize this video is satiric.  I like satire, even when the shoe is on the other foot.  This video made me laugh, angry, and jealous.  There are people who have legitimate questions about church music.  Though not everyone approaches the topic with a sincere desire to know the truth from God’s Word, there are those who do.  Often the answers to their questions are just as hollow as the answers from the character purported to represent the conservative.  The stupidity of certain responses made me laugh.  What made me angry is the serious tone (that aspect of satire) that is supposed to reveal the folly of its recipient.  Basically, godly music advocates are ridiculed.  I could have easily dismissed this video as a time waster.  Perhaps I should have, and perhaps it is.  But then as I thought about how I would respond towards a serious seeker about godly music, I would hope that I could give a more substantive answer than what was portrayed.  This is where my jealousy kicked in.  Not that I am a spiritual giant of any kind, but I am jealous for God’s holiness.  God is gracious in giving us His Word.  His Word is the substantive answer that I would hope to ever give.  Therefore, If no one else benefits from this reply, at least I have gotten a little more exposed to His Word.  Naturally, some would say His Word is vague, and that what I present is merely my opinion on the Bible.  Anyone looking at the evidence can conclude that these responses are quite objective.  The Bible is simple and clear on the topic of music.  I do not intend to transform my blog into something like Religious Affections (which has terrific information about godly music, and many would do well to consult).  I only wish to reply ever so briefly, hopefully even more ephemeral than my introduction.

1.  About those drums

     Rhythm is a part of music.  Melody, harmony, and rhythm are what constitute music.  The Bible speaks of melody directly (Isa. 23:16; 51:3; Amos 5:23; Eph. 5:19) harmony (2 Cor. 6:15), but doesn’t refer to rhythm at all.  We shouldn’t infer that rhythm is bad (even if it causes our foot to tap), what we should infer is that rhythm isn’t priority in the musical component of godly music.  The problem with bad music is its emphasis of rhythm.  Contrary to the video, the Bible doesn’t say anywhere to praise God with the drums.  Instruments are regulated in the Bible.  For example, in the Old Testament out of several instruments only four instruments are sanctified for direct corporate Temple worship.  The "backbeat" is the main characteristic of the rock genre.

2.  About holding the microphones

     Moot.  I would take more issues with the message of the music and how a song or a piece is performed.  I prefer not to hold a microphone, but that’s just me.

3.  About sensual music

     Sensual pertains to the flesh as opposed to the spirit or the soul.  The Bible recognizes that wisdom can be characterized as sensual in James 3:15.  People can also be characterized as sensual (see 1 Cor. 2:14; Jude 1:19).  Musically speaking, sensual music is flesh-gratifying, rhythm-driven music.  Godly music is similar to godliness in the Christian life, it isn’t dominated by the flesh, rather it is dominated by the Spirit which is ever opposing the flesh (Galatians 5:16-26; 1 Pet. 2:11; 1 John 2:16-17).

4.  About those standards

     The issue of standards relates largely to one’s hermeneutics.  Faulty and liberal hermeneutics result in disaster.  Our standards (conventional walls) are in place to protect our convictions (Bible-based beliefs).  While standards change, convictions don’t.  We believe the Bible gives a number of principles about music; therefore we apply them to today.  The principles (though I am not going to enumerate them at this time) are plainly laid out in the Scriptures.  This would be a worthy blog article for sure.  Many books reiterate the Scriptures here.  (like "The Battle for Christian Music" by Tim Fisher,  "Sound Music or Sounding Brass" by Pastor Kent Brandenburg).

5.  About majoring in music at a Christian College

     You don’t need to major in music to speak about music.  The Bible isn’t a textbook.

6.  About music which is godly and not just what we are accustomed to

     Music has a natural or inherent distinction in its message.  This can be conventional or communal, but isn’t just limited to one’s tradition or culture.  The American Flag has some colors that are conventionally recognized, largely in this country.  A foreigner may not associate the colors red, white and blue with the American flag.  The colors carry a conventional meaning.  But if you place anyone in the middle of a brewing storm, and the dark clouds signal to all, that it is about to rain.  The dark clouds carry a natural meaning regardless of convention.  Basically, you can tell whether music is good or bad through listening to its distinguishing element or message. 

7.  About the saxophone

     We dealt with instrumentation on point number one.

8.  About classical and jazz music

     Many people don’t "get" Classical music.  I don’t particularly care for it.  It seems obvious that Classical music is an expression of excellent and beautiful music.  We can listen to secular music as long as it isn’t worldy.  The issue of jazz relates more towards the question of association, and I have not thought through that topic as of yet.

Deconstructing Jacob's prayer

Gen. 32:9-12
(9)  And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:
(10)  I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.
(11)  Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.
(12)  And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

1.  Jacob addresses God by acknowledging his personal relationship with God. (v.9a)

2.  The basis for Jacob's prayer is God's promises. (v.9b; 12 cf. 31:3, 13) - see also Ps. 119:49.  The key to effective prayer is claiming the promises of God in His word.  This is also another reason why we want to be students of the Holy Bible.

3.  The attitude of prayer - humility (v.10).  In the N.T. the Lord Jesus was moved by people who approached Him with humility of heart (example:  The centurion in Matt. 8:8;  the woman of Canaan in Matt. 15:27-28).  Praise God for His mercies (see also Lam. 3:22).

4.  Jacob was direct and specific in his prayer (v.11).  He expressed to God his request for deliverance from his brother, Esau.  Through prayer, Jacob was able to speak to God about his fear.  God is really interested in hearing all about our trials.  In Jacob's case his was "greatly afraid" and "distressed." (see also Phil. 4:6, Heb. 4:15 and 1 Pet. 5:7).

Lots of good lessons and more we can learn about prayer through Jacob's prayer.

A USA TODAY article on church music

Here is an article in the USA TODAY newspaper.  The topic is basically traditional music vs. contemporary "Christian" music, and styles of worship.  The article I would say is quite objective.  Both sides of the coin are presented.  Ms. Grossman (journalist) even quotes David Cloud (which Bro. Cloud never said - come to find out there are some inaccuracies with the article.).  The article explained that 50% of Protestant churches (of the 14,000 which was surveyed) now use electric guitars and drums in worship, which was a jump from 35% in 2000.  Here are some of the reasons used by the CCM proponents in the article, and what follows are my own reflections.

1.  "Just because you don't like the tunes, doesn't mean it is theologically incorrect." -  Music isn't simply a matter of taste.  Yes, there is room for preferences, but when the music crosses Scriptural boundaries it becomes sin, and to indulge in it is sinful.

2.  "The Bible doesn't have an official soundtrack." - I wish it did.  It would make all of our lives easier.  The Bible does have guidelines, plenty in fact, and some of them relate to music both directly and indirectly.

3.  "...we don't worship music, we worship God." - I am not calling into question his motives.  I like it when people worship God.  God deserves our worship.  The Heavenly host is occupied with God's worship (Rev. 4-5).  The question is, does God receive the worship we give to Him?

4.  "...as long as people are worshipping [sic] in spirit and in truth, we can worship in any way that reaches our hearts." -  Worship isn't about reaching our hearts.  It just isn't about us period.

Music, as an artistic medium, communicates.  A song is controlled by the music, not the lyrics.  It really doesn't matter what the lyrics say because the music itself presides.  Bad music with good lyrics makes bad music.  Just like with mathematical integers a negative times a positive will always result in a negative.

Disciplines for New Believers (paperback)

"Disciplines for New Believers" ($5.00 + s&h) is now available in the paperback format besides the Kindle format.  If you would like to place an order please feel free to email me at "hardecker-at-google-dot-com"  please include your name, address and qty.  I will do my best to get it out to you a.s.a.p.  or you may use PayPal if you wish:

A short study of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts (part 2)

The Person of the Holy Spirit in Acts:

                It cannot be true in any stretch of the imagination that the Holy Spirit is merely an influence or a force, as taught by some cult.  A person is a being who has intellect, emotion, and will.  Although the Holy Spirit is incorporeal, He still possesses intellect, emotion and a will.  We readily see this as He administrates church affairs (Acts 1:2).  He told Philip what to do (Acts 8:29), He told Peter what to do (Acts 11:12), He called and appointed Barnabas and Saul to the ministry (Acts 13:2), they were acknowledged as being “sent forth by the Holy Ghost” (Acts 13:4).  The Holy Spirit exercises volition in forbidding Paul and the missionary team to preach in Asia (Acts 16:6) and also forbid them to go to Bithynia (16:7).  He also exercises His will in choosing pastors (Acts 20:28).

                His divine nature can also be seen in Acts.  In dealing with Ananias, Peter declared the nature of the Holy Spirit in Acts 5:4 – “…thou hast not lied unto man, but unto God.”  The Holy Spirit demonstrates omniscience in Acts 1:16 concerning Judas’ betrayal.  The Holy Spirit demonstrates supernatural powers with Philip in Acts 8:39.  In Acts 10:19 the Holy Spirit told Peter about the three men looking for him in order to take him to Cornelius.  These accounts prove that the Holy Spirit is divine.  He is also a distinct person from the Father (Acts 1:4) and the Son (Acts 1:1-2). 

Isaiah 40:12-17

Isa 40:12-17  Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?  (13)  Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?  (14)  With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?  (15)  Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.  (16)  And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.  (17)  All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.

These verses demonstrate the magnificence of God.  V.12 tells us of His power to create. V.13-14 speaks of His infinite wisdom, and omniscience.  V.15-17 talks about His greatness.

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Three online tools to learn more about Mt. Zion Baptist Church

1.  Our church website.  Obviously, this is the most elaborate tool.  It contains everything you would want to know about MZBC.  You can look at current events and calendar items, read our doctrinal statement, a succinct background on our Pastoral Staff, see the various ministries and so much more.

2.  sermonaudio.com/mzbc.  This online tool archives our audio and video sermons.  We also live stream our Sunday morning service at 10:45am EST.  If you are like me, you like listening to the preached Word, then help yourself to some good old fashioned preaching.

3.  Follow us on Twitter @mtzbc.  If you would like to receive announcements, updates, and more information about MZBC, then feel free to follow us on Twitter.  Send us a request, and if we determine that you aren't a spammer, we will gladly add you to our Twitterverse.

Fall Shepherd's Retreat at Mt. Zion Baptist Church

Tomorrow begins our 2011 Fall Shepherd's Retreat ("SR").  We have invited two men to speak on the topic of Legal issues facing Pastors and Churches (in PA).  Attorney Jeff Conrad, and Pastor Mark Montgomery.  We look forward with excitement not only because of the interesting but vital topic, but also to be around some of God's finest servants, Pastors and their wives.  The SR is designed to encourage, equip and enrich Pastors of like faith and practice.  Some of the previous materials from the past SR is found in the SR blog here.

A short study of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts (part 1)

               This series of articles is a personal study concerning the person and work of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts.  In systematic theology, the study of the Holy Spirit is called “Pneumatology.”  It is taken from the word “pneuma” which is translated “Spirit.”

                First, the terms “Spirit” and “Ghost” bears no definite distinctions, and are interchangeable.  Second, there is a ministry of comfort that the Holy Spirit is involved in, this is found in Acts 9:31.  He is the Comforter as Christ said in John 14:6.  This important point is referenced only once in the book of Acts.  The baptism with the Holy Spirit was a historical event that occurred once on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit took over the administration of the church, and initiated a saved people group into this present New Testament dispensation.  When this dispensation was opened to the Gentile believers, the Spirit was once again “poured out” or “given” in the same fashion “as the beginning” (Acts 11:15).  This happened in Acts 2:4 for the Jewish believers,   for Samaritan believers (Acts 8:15), to believers in Caesarea (Acts 10:47; 11:15-16), to the Gentile believers (15:8), and the Ephesian believers (Acts 19:6).  Baptism with the Holy Spirit is no longer repeatable because both Jewish and Gentile believers are corporately initiated into this new dispensation.

                We must use the Scriptural term “baptism with the Holy Spirit” because this eliminates confusion when compared to the false doctrine which is usually referred to as “baptism of the Spirit” which term does not even  appear in the Bible.  The agent of “Spirit baptism” (if I may refer to it as such) is not the Holy Spirit, but Christ (see for example Mark 1:8b).  The Holy Spirit is the medium, not the agent, of baptism.  It is Christ who collectively baptized all believers with the Holy Spirit upon the day of Pentecost.  This event was remarkable, prophetic, dispensational, and occurred only once for each people group starting with the Jews, then the Samaritans (which were half Jews), and then the Gentiles (which are non-Jews).

More excerpts from "The Pastor in Prayer"

"Lord, convert our friends that still remain unsaved.  Oh mighty power of God, let none come into this house even accidentally and casually without receiving some devout impression.  May the Spirit of God work mightily by our ministry and the ministration of all His servants now present, whether in the Sabbath School, or in the streets, or in the lodging houses, or from door to door, or when they privately speak to individuals.  Oh, glorify Thyself in us."  (Chapter 2, Jesus Interceding for Transgressors, page 17)

"May those of us who bear in their body the marks of the Lord Jesus be solemnly concerned that our baptism should be no fiction, but that we should be really baptized into the death of Christ with all the fullness of the deadening power that is about the sacred burial by fellowship with Him." (Chapter 6, Sitting Over Against the Sepulchre, page 38)

hardecker.blogspot.com

New blog address: hardecker.blogspot.com.  I am working on a few things, and this is one of them.  Thanks!

Mt. Zion on Twitter

Follow us @mtzbc

Disciplines for New Believers (Kindle)

Writing Disciplines for New Believers ("DfNB") was a wonderful experience.  If you are interested in "discipling" a new convert, then this is one book that you may want to consider.  DfNB is an eight week devotional booklet with a special emphasis on Baptist Distinctives covering a wide range of topics:  Baptism, Communion, Tithing, Witnessing, and so much more.  I also included a summary of several recommended basic Bible study tools for the serious student of the Bible.  You can read a little bit more about my book here.  I trust this will be a blessing to many who are interested in learning more about God and His Word.

Remembering Lorna Trump

I used to call her "Ms. Trump."  She was a shut-in.  Couldn't go anywhere.  Wanted so bad to be in church, she reminded me of this every single time I went to visit her.  My wife and I, and now my son (who is 1) will miss her dearly.  We are so glad that she is at rest in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.  At her funeral (Monday, Oct. 3) Pastor Starr said, and this is so true, we are better [Christians] for having known Lorna.  Amen!

***

AIRVILLE Lorna H. (Miller) Trump, 83, died on Thursday, September 29, 2011, at York Hospital. She was the wife of Myrl W. "Tiny" Trump, who passed away on September 20, 1978. The couple had been married for 29 years. A celebration of life tribute service will be 10 a.m. on Monday, October 3, 2011, at Life Tributes by Olewiler & Heffner Funeral Chapel & Crematory, Inc., 35 Gotham Place, Red Lion, with Pastor Randy Starr officiating. Viewings will be from 7 to 9 p.m. on Sunday and 9 to 10 a.m. on Monday, both at the funeral home. Burial will be in Susquehanna Memorial Gardens. Mrs. Trump was born on June 29, 1928, in Lower Chanceford Twp., a daughter of the late Andrew W. and Sarah (Moore) Miller. Lorna was a housewife. Mrs. Trump was a member of Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Her family and church were most important in her life. Mrs. Trump is survived by a son, Rick Trump and his wife, Tamara of Brogue; two daughters, Joyce Kline and her husband, Michael of Airville, and Beverly Trump of Dallastown; five grandchildren, Scott, Michele, Kerry, Troy, and Heather; eight great-grandchildren, Darian, Kelby, Courtney, Faith, Brenna, Colton, Talia, and Kendyl; a brother, Ronald Miller and his wife, Nancy of Red Lion; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by a brother, Daren Miller. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society , 924-N Colonial Ave., York, PA 17403. Send Condolences at BestLifeTributes.com

Excerpts from The Pastor in Prayer

As I said in my review, here are some of the quotes I like that didn't quite make the Twitter standard of 140 characters, but are nevertheless good, and you wouldn't get it if it was "twitterfied."  More to come, for sure.  Enjoy!

 "We make no excuse for unbelief, but confess it with detestation of it that we should ever have doubted the truthful, the mighty, the faithful God."

"But we do confess that if there be anything acceptable in these our offerings, they are all first given us of Thee.  No praise comes from us till first it is wrought in us."

"Qualify each one of us to be vessels fit for the Master's use, then use each one of us according to the measure of our capacity."

"for Thee we will cheerfully labour while strength is given; but, Oh, send prosperity, and not to us only, but to all workers for Jesus, to all missions in foreign lands, and missions in the heathendom at home."

"Bible.is" is a niffty app

I downloaded this app and found it to be a delight.  Really neat.  I hope you can enjoy it too on your smartphone or ipad.  FYI, I would only use the KJV since it is the only English version faithfully translated from the received originals [MT and TR].

Church tonight in the annex building

Our evening church service will be held in the annex building (since we have a generator over there).  No choir, or orchestra rehearsals.  Service will begin at 6:30pm EST, which is our regular evening church service hour. Thank you and be safe.

David Cloud's helpful article on repentance

David Cloud did a good job elaborating on some aspects of the issue of repentance and "quick prayerism" within IFB circles.  Please, if you haven't done so, read his article here.  Have a great rest of the week!

Summer Break

The H blog will be back after the first week of Aug.  Have a great summer!  If you are in the Red Lion, PA area, please stop by our church booth and meet us at the Red Lion Street Fair (on Sat., Aug. 13).

God's way is the perfect way (part 3)

God’s ways are revealed not discovered.

Romans 11:33

(33) O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

God reveals His will for our lives through the Bible.  If He did not reveal Himself, we would certainly have not known anything about Him.  The word “depth” suggests profundity, and mystery.  The words “unsearchable,” and “past finding out” are telling us that He is beyond the scope our finite minds.  How could we possibly come to the knowledge of God had it not been for the Bible?  Thank God for His self-disclosure.  He intends for us, as His children (being saved by the merits of Christ alone), to live by His words.  We do not have to be ignorant of God’s will and way for our lives.  Any good thing that we posses, comes primarily from God, He is gracious enough to reveal His Word to us.  His word is clear, infallible and sufficient.  Are you careful to obey the truths that you see in God’s Word?

God's way is the perfect way (part 2)

A consideration of God’s way:

Isa. 55:8-9

(8)  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

(9)  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

First, God’s way is not naturally the way we would choose.  Just read the Bible and you will notice how different, how opposite God does things from the way we would do things.  This is a very important consideration.  God is different from all of His creation.  And because of sin, we have a propensity to go our own way, apart from God - the very God who created us.  Rebellion is the height of ingratitude and stupidity.  If you truly desire to go God’s way in every area of life, you must first understand there will be a struggle.  Our sinful nature, our carnal desire, our way is not God’s way.  We must go to God and ask Him to strengthen us to go His way.  A Confession or acknowledgment of this truth is vital, and must be professed repeatedly until we reach our glorification in Christ.

Second, God’s way is the best way.  Our reasoning or circumstances will at times oppose God’s ways, but by trusting God and obeying Him, we bring God to bear upon our situation.  With humble dependence upon Him, we can pray to God with confidence, claim His promises, and know His presence is with us.  It is best to go God’s way.

Vacation Bible School 2011 in Brogue, PA

The Gospel Train Express

Come and journey with us all week on the Gospel Train Express.  As we go through life’s railway we will learn that the Lord Jesus Christ is our life’s conductor and in His hands, we are safe.

Timetable:  July 18-22 (Mon. - Fri.) at 9:00am-11:30am

Station:  Mt. Zion Baptist Church Annex Building (across the Chanceford Township Building)

Passengers:  Ages 4 and up (Teens also)

Fare: FREE!

Ticket Options:  You may register online at www.sermonaudio.com, or check us out on the web at www.mtziononline.org.

Bus Transit:  A free bus ride is available in the Red Lion area only.

Trip information office: 717-927-9227 ext. 3

God's way is the perfect way (part 1)

Psalm 18:30-32

30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

31 For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?

32 It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.

 

A closer look:

Perfect - integrity; turth, without blemish, complete or whole.
Tried - pure; tested;
Buckler - a shield
Gird - give; to bind (or compass) about

 

The Bible teaches us that God's way is perfect.  His doings, His wisdom, His judgments, His character, indeed everything about Him is perfect.  Since God is our Creator, He has a perfect way that He desires for us to walk.  When we compare our ways against His ways, it looks pretty obvious that our ways are not perfect.  We don't always do good and right.  Is there not a desire in your heart to live a perfect life?  Not that you can live entirely sinless or without flaw, but the idea of perfect in this Scripture passage, and in many others is that we are lacking or wanting in nothing.  God has a perfect will and way for each and everyone of us.  He has a perfect marriage partner for many. He has a perfect career or job or vocation for you.  He has a perfect church, which is what we all need to be a part of.  He has a perfect home that He desires for all to have.  When we look at verse 32, we can see that although our way isn't naturally perfect, if we forsake our way, or turn over our way to go God's way, then He can make our way perfect.  God can give us the marriage that we ought to have.  God can give us the church life, and work, and everything else so that we can confidently say...that He makes my way perfect.  I am glad that if I walk the path that God has revealed to me in the Bible, that I can live the perfect life that God intended for me to live.

Wesley's song: Soldiers of Christ Arise

This is one of my favorite songs.  I love being reminded of the spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:10-18).  Last night, my Pastor preached on the spiritual warfare.  He spoke on the two imperatives: Be strong in the Lord, and put on the whole armor of God.  In Charles Wesley's song, the word "panoply" is transliterated (meaning, taken from the Greek and put into English).  The word means "full armor," emphasizing the entirety or the completeness of the Christian's divinely given armor.  Wesley's lyrics captures so many lessons about the spiritual warfare, based from the Bible, and put in such eloquent poetry.  Enjoy, and have happy and blessed Memorial Day.

Soldiers of Christ, arise, and put your armor on,
Strong in the strength which God supplies through His eternal Son.
Strong in the Lord of hosts, and in His mighty power,
Who in the strength of Jesus trusts is more than conqueror.

Stand then in His great might, with all His strength endued,
But take, to arm you for the fight, the panoply of God;
That, having all things done, and all your conflicts passed,
Ye may o’ercome through Christ alone and stand entire at last.

Stand then against your foes, in close and firm array;
Legions of wily fiends oppose throughout the evil day.
But meet the sons of night, and mock their vain design,
Armed in the arms of heavenly light, of righteousness divine.

Leave no unguarded place, no weakness of the soul,
Take every virtue, every grace, and fortify the whole;
Indissolubly joined, to battle all proceed;
But arm yourselves with all the mind that was in Christ, your Head.

But, above all, lay hold on faith’s victorious shield;
Armed with that adamant and gold, be sure to win the field:
If faith surround your heart, Satan shall be subdued,
Repelled his every fiery dart, and quenched with Jesus' blood.

Jesus hath died for you! What can His love withstand?
Believe, hold fast your shield, and who shall pluck you from His hand?
Believe that Jesus reigns; all power to Him is giv’n:
Believe, till freed from sin’s remains; believe yourselves to Heav’n.

To keep your armor bright, attend with constant care,
Still walking in your Captain’s sight, and watching unto prayer.
Ready for all alarms, steadfastly set your face,
And always exercise your arms, and use your every grace.

Pray without ceasing, pray, your Captain gives the word;
His summons cheerfully obey and call upon the Lord;
To God your every want in instant prayer display,
Pray always; pray and never faint; pray, without ceasing, pray!

In fellowship alone, to God with faith draw near;
Approach His courts, besiege His throne with all the powers of prayer:
Go to His temple, go, nor from His altar move;
Let every house His worship know, and every heart His love.

To God your spirits dart, your souls in words declare,
Or groan, to Him Who reads the heart, the unutterable prayer:
His mercy now implore, and now show forth His praise,
In shouts, or silent awe, adore His miracles of grace.

Pour out your souls to God, and bow them with your knees,
And spread your hearts and hands abroad, and pray for Zion’s peace;
Your guides and brethren bear for ever on your mind;
Extend the arms of mighty prayer, ingrasping all mankind.

From strength to strength go on, wrestle and fight and pray,
Tread all the powers of darkness down and win the well fought day.
Still let the Spirit cry in all His soldiers, “Come!”
Till Christ the Lord descends from high and takes the conquerors home.

Frustration - some Blogger hate and love

I am frustrated...with Blogger, and my inability to get the pictures inserted in the proper order.  I don't exactly know when I started meddling with my blog template, but somehow or another I must have messed up some details in the html code (this would be like the DNA of webpages) and as a result, my postings (including pics) are not as smooth or swift as I would like for it to be.  To my well meaning friends (who are tech savvy, and have offered their aid) thank you, but I really don't want to spend much more time with this aspect of blogging (Maybe I will scrap this old blog and start over again, I don't mind that - no more will I try to customize - I have learned my lesson) - please do not offer any help. 

So if you look at the pictures (if you can see them, that is) just read the captions and you will hopefully get what I am trying to convey.  If anything else, at least I get to update my blog today.  Even if it is a minor note of Blogger hate.  And please don't suggest Wordpress, I think that one is worse than Blogger - now there is some Blogger love.

My trip to the Philippines (part 2) - I got to visit three cities



Downtown Olongapo City



Subic Bay - formerly a US Naval Base, now an Economic Zone in Olongapo

 


Makati City (reminds me of Chicago...of course, that's just me)  









Makati City (one of the cities that makes up Metro Manila, the Capital of the Philippines).



Olongapo City Public Market (just people everywhere!)



  This is downtown GMA in Cavite, south of Manila.

   

My trip to the Philippines (part 1)

First of all, meet my mom and dad (Tess and Bill Hardecker).  They housed me for a good portion of my survey trip.  I am so thankful to God for giving me loving parents.

This is the new Shepherd's Baptist Church building (which houses the academy and church congregation).  It is wonderful to know that the good people of Shepherd's Baptist is carrying on.  I was able to spend sometime with Pastor Joey Andrew Guerrero, and his family, and they gave me a couple of preaching opportunities.  We even went street preaching (although I didn't preach, I was able to help pass out some Gospel tracts, while the Bible students proclaimed God's Word with great boldness).

These are the Bible students who took turn street preaching.

This is the choir that sang Sunday morning.  The church was meeting on the third floor of the new building.  They have a huge building project which will totally revamp the old auditorium.

Meet Pastor Joey Andrew Guerrero.  I surveyed a city about an hour southwest of Angeles City (called Olongapo).  I am so thankful that Pastor Guerrero and his staff was a huge help and a blessing to me.

A break for now

Dear Blogdom,
I apologize for not connecting with you in the past few weeks.  I took a survey trip to the Philippines and now my attention is focused on catching up with emails, snail-mails, phone messages, and various other miscellanies.  I am also working on a report to Mt. Zion Baptist Church about the trip, and when that is done, I will be able to return to blogging (and when I return, I will also update my blog about the trip - details, pics, and all).  I believe I will be back into Blogdom no sooner than after Easter.  This doesn't mean that I don't read other blogs, I do.  I just am not going to be posting any of my own until then.  So, for now, have a great rest of the month, and advanced "Happy Easter!" and for those who associate Easter with the pagan thing, "Happy Resurrection Sunday!"

"Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead;)" (Galatians 1:1)  Praise the Lord, we serve a risen Savior!

He is Able (part 2)

"Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:25)

The Lord Jesus is able to save.  No one else can do this.  Throughout history there have been great men who have accomplished extraordinary things.  Abraham, that great man of faith, founded the nation of Israel.  Moses, an equally great man, was used by God to liberate Israel from Egyptian slavery.  In American History, great men like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin went though extraordinary measures to secure a new and free nation.  Then there were men of renown religious courage and strength who stood for Bible truth; men like John the Baptist, the Apostles, Paul and Silas, Mark and Luke.  Then there were men of more modern times like William Tyndale, C.H. Spurgeon, and a host of other strong men who stood for God.  But all in all no man is able to save.  They maybe able to do many great things, but they cannot do the greatest things: secure the Salvation of mankind; satisfy the just and righteous wrath of God; and reconcile a holy God with sinful man.  Only Christ can do this.  Mankind in all his glory cannot save one soul from eternal retribution.  Only the Lord Jesus Christ can do so.  Isaiah 59:1 says this "Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:"  Praise God, He is able to save.

He is Able (part 1)

"Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them."  (Hebrews 7:25)

He is able - that simply means that Christ alone is able to save.  Not a minister, not a church, not an ordinance, nor a religious ritual can save.  Only the Lord Jesus Christ is able to save a soul.  There was a time when I relied on my religious works for salvation.  I thought I had to do things in order to gain points with God.  It was pitiful.  One day, I was doing good (at least I thought that way in my mind); the next day, I was miserable because of sin.  But when I finally came to the point where I realized that Christ was all I needed, that His work on the cross was the only work that could pay for my sins, then  I rested in the fact that Christ alone was able to save.  Not my works, but His work saves.  Not my merits, but His merits gained salvation.  Indeed, He alone is able.

The Homily - Illustrations

I like a good steak.  For me, medium-well please.  The steak should be juicy, full of flavor, savory, hot, and complimented with creamy mashed potatoes, grilled vegetables, and something like a simple salad.  This steak illustration illustrates what good preaching is like.  The meat of the matter is God's Word.  The Word is the main course of good preaching.  Unfortunately, in our day and age many aren't interested in the meat of the Word.  Rather, they are scrounging around for the illustration.  The story replaces the Scriptures as the main thing.  Experience is elevated to a higher plane than doctrine.  When the speaker tells either a "tear-jerker" or a humorous one the sermon review is "a good one," and that almost instantaneously.  When stuff like this goes on, it's like going to a steakhouse to by-pass the steak and enjoy the salad instead.  Illustrations are important. They have their proper place in the sermon,  but when the illustration becomes the main thing, the sermon loses its potency.  Part of the problem is the misguided speaker.  The other problem is the listener who lacks discernment listening for the story instead of listening to the Scriptures.