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Articles from Pastor Jon's Blog

Sunday Quotes 09.16.07 2007-09-16 00:00:00 Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. -- Unknown "Don't ask the Lord to guide your footsteps unless you are willing to move your feet." - Unknown The true expression of Christianity is not a sigh but a song. - Unknown Living the Christian life is like shaving - no matter how well you do it today, it needs to be done again tomorrow. - Unknown Christianity is not just Christ in you, but Christ living His life through you. - Unknown Periodic Christianity is perpetual hypocrisy. - Unknown God has delegated power to His creatures, but being self-sufficient, He cannot relinquish anything of His perfections and, power being one of them, He has never surrendered the least iota of His power. He gives, but He does not give away. All that He gives remains His own and returns to Him again. Forever He must remain what He has forever been, the Lord God omnipotent. -- W. Tozer, "The Knowledge of the Holy," p.72<:))))><< ...

John 7:14-18 2007-09-15 00:00:00 John 7 - At the Feast of Tabernacles B. Jesus answers objections and teaches. 1. (14-18) Objection: Jesus isn’t educated; He is His own authority. Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?" Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. "If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him." a. Jesus went up into the temple and taught: Though Jesus avoided a grand entrance, He now teaches boldly. He never shrank back from proclaiming the truth. b. How does this Man know letters, having never studied: The Jewish leaders knew that Jesus had not studied or been a disciple under a prominent ...

John 7:10-13 2007-09-14 00:00:00 John 7 - At the Feast of Tabernacles 3. (10-13) Jesus goes up to a  Jerusalem that is abuzz with rumors concerning who He is. But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?" And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him. Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people." However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews. a. Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary": Then as well as now, Jesus divides people. Those who heard Him and knew Him couldn’t remain neutral. They decided one way or another regarding who Jesus was, either good or a deceiver. Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is taken from the New King James translation of the Bible.<:))))><< ...

John 7:6-9 2007-09-13 00:00:00 John 7 - At the Feast of Tabernacles 2. (6-9) Jesus’ reply: we are of different worlds. Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil. You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come." When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee. a. I am not yet going up to the feast: Some compare this statement with what it says in John 7:10 (He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret) as if they caught Jesus in a lie. Schopenhauer, the German philosopher of pessimism, pompously said: "Jesus Christ of set purpose did utter a falsehood." But Christians have observed for centuries that if Jesus said He would not go publicly as to attract attention (as His brothers wanted), but that did not preclude Him from going up privately. b. My time has not yet come, bu ...

John 7:1-5 2007-09-12 00:00:00 John 7 - At the Feast of Tabernacles A. Jesus goes up to Jerusalem in secret. 1. (1-5) The contempt of the brothers of Jesus for Him. After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world." For even His brothers did not believe in Him.a. He did not want to walk in Judea , because the Jews sought to kill Him: It was not a lack of courage that made Jesus stay in Galilee , but an awareness of the Father’s perfect timing - and it was not time yet. b. The Feast of Tabernacles was a joyful, weeklong celebration, when families camped out in "booths" to remember God’s faithfulness to Isr ...

John 6:66-71 2007-09-11 00:00:00 John 6 - The Bread from Heaven 8. (67-71) The disciples stand as examples of willingness to follow even if they don’t understand it all. Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?" But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?" He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve. a. Do you also want to go away? What a scene! Scores of disciples after the flesh leave Jesus, and He asks the twelve if they will go also. He searches the motives of all that follow Him, including the twelve. b. Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life: Peter does much in the gospels to make us sigh; but here, as he speaks for the twelve, he shines brightly. His ...

John 6:60-66 2007-09-10 00:00:00 John 6 - The Bread from Heaven 7. (60-66) Many disciples turn away. Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?" When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father." From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. a. This is a hard saying: This refers to that which is hard to accept, not to what is hard to understand. No doubt, they did find Jesus’ words somewh ...

Sunday Quotes 09.09.07 2007-09-09 00:00:00 The humble Carpenter of Nazareth was also the mighty Architect of the universe. - Unknown "I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the US congress." -- Ronald Reagan "A dear little friend of mine, not four years old, facing one day some difficulty to her little heart, with a very wise shake of her head, said, 'I'll go and tell my papa.' Presently she came back, this time with every fiber of her little body strutting with the pride that shone in her eye, `Now, my papa's coming!' Presently her papa came, she clasped her little hands and screamed with delight, and danced round about him, unspeakably confident in her papa. Child of God, does something face you that terrifies your heart? Say, `I'll tell my Father.' Then come back `boasting' in the Lord, `Now my Father's coming.' And when He comes, you too will clasp your hands with laughter, and you will be like one that dreams, when your Father com ...

Romans 13:11-14 2007-09-08 00:00:00 Romans 13 - A Christian'??s Obligation to Government 2. (11-14) The urgency to love and walk right with God. And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. a. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: Because we know the danger of the times and we anticipate the soon return of Jesus, we should be all the more energetic and committed to a right walk with God instead of a sleep-walk with God. i. How important it is to awake out of sleep! We can do many Christian things and essentially be asleep towards God.  What a difference it makes when we ar ...

Romans 13:8-10 2007-09-07 00:00:00 Romans 13 - A Christian’s Obligation to Government B. The Christian’s obligation to his neighbors. 1. (8-10) The obligation to love. Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. a. Owe no one anything except to love one another: On a personal level, the only “debt” we are to carry is the “debt” to love one another - this is a perpetual obligation we carry both before God and each other. i. Some take this as a command to never borrow, but Jesus permitted borrowing in passages like Matthew 5:42. That isn’t the sense of what Paul is say ...

Romans 13:5-7 2007-09-06 00:00:00 Romans 13 - A Christian’s Obligation to Government 3. (5-7) The Christian’s responsibility towards government. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. a. Therefore you must be subject: We must be subject to government; not only because we fear punishment, but because we know it is right before God to do so. i. For conscience sake: Christian obedience to the state is never blind - it obeys with the eyes of conscience wide open. b. You also pay taxes . . . Render therefore to all their due: We are also to pay the taxes due from us, because there is a sense in which we support God’s work when we do so. i. By implication, Romans 13:6 also says that the taxes collected are to be used by gov ...

Romans 13:3-4 2007-09-05 00:00:00 Romans 13 - A Christian’s Obligation to Government 2. (3-4) The job of government: to punish and deter evildoers. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. a. Do what is good, and you will have praise: Paul’s idea is that Christians should be the best citizens of all. Even though they are loyal to God before they are loyal to the state Christians are good citizens because they are honest, give no trouble to the state, pay their taxes, and - most importantly - pray for the state and the rulers. b. He is God's minister: Paul describes government officials as God’s minister. They have a ministry in the plan and administration of God, just as much as church leaders do. ...

Romans 13 Audio 2007-09-04 18:54:09 The audio of Sunday's teaching on Romans 13 is on the Springfield Calvary web site. ...

Romans 13:1-2 2007-09-04 00:00:00 Romans 13 - A Christian’s Obligation to Government A. The Christian and government. 1. (1-2) Government's legitimate authority and the Christian’s response. Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. a. Subject to the governing authorities: The connection between Romans 12 and Romans 13 is clear. If the Christian is not to seek personal vengeance, it does not take away the government's authority to punish wrongdoers. b. Every soul certainly includes Christians. Paul simply says that we should be subject to the governing authorities. This was in contrast to groups of zealous Jews in that day who recognized no king but God and paid taxes to no one but God. c. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointe ...

John 6:47-59 2007-09-03 00:00:00 John 6 - The Bread from Heaven 6. (47-59) The true bread from heaven. "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?" Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and ...