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Christ Preaching His Kingdom (with audio)
Christ Preaching His Kingdom
“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.” – Matthew 4:23
There are three actions words that stick out. They are: teaching, preaching, and healing. These three actions are different and yet they purposely come together in the Kingdom ministry of Jesus Christ.
First, teaching. The Jewish synagogue was the central place for the community to worship God and to teach about God. The synagogue is where King Jesus showed up to teach about His Kingdom.
Next, King Jesus went about preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom outside of the synagogue. Preaching is different from teaching. Preaching is declaring abroad what has already been taught. Teaching passes on information about God, while preaching proclaims God with an impassioned cry out to the people declaring God’s truth – whether people want to believe it or not. Understand that King Jesus is the example that there is never preaching without teaching and there is never teaching without preaching. That’s why the churches who do both are usually fewer in number. Obviously, we can get a large numbers of people in church buildings with games, give-aways, programs, pot-luck dinners, and music-laser shows. However, if you follow the simple example of Jesus and teach and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom sadly there is little interest.
Lastly, we read that King Jesus came healing every kind of sickness and disease. Obviously He had compassion upon the people. However, the healings first of all confirmed that His message of the Gospel of the Kingdom has come down from heaven. The healings were signs proving that what He was teaching and preaching was true, and that He is the King of this Kingdom. Understand that miraculous healings are not everyday occurrences. That’s what makes it a miracle. Yet we have these self-proclaimed healers taking the name of God in vain. If they were authentic then why don’t they walk the halls of the nursing homes and the children’s cancer ward? Why don’t they go out into the community like Jesus did teaching, preaching, and healing? Only God heals, if He chooses to do so, but it is not in the quality and quantity as in the first century, and there is a reason. It is because those were signs for that day confirming the Gospel of the Kingdom.
Understand that teaching is true information about the Kingdom. Preaching is the true declaration about the Kingdom. Healings are the true evidence that the Kingdom has come (Matthew 12:28). King Jesus’ message was and is very simple. In His Kingdom, there is forgiveness of sin, salvation from hell, mercy for the guilty, grace for the needy, hope for the hopeless, and love for the unlovely, and that He takes the guilty, needy, hopeless, and unlovely sinner and makes them a beautiful child of the Majestic God (1 John 3:2). Yes, He makes the believer royalty (1 Peter 2:9).
David C. Hale, pastor
Published in the Marshall County Tribune, Lewisburg, TN
Christ Preaching His Kingdom (Audio)
How do we explain the different RACES?
From the beginning of creation it was God’s will for man to populate the whole earth, but in Genesis chapter 11 we read the historic account that human society was of one language and determined with one mind to stay together (Genesis 11:4). Due to their disobedience to the LORD, He confused (or confounded) their language, so that they could not understand one another. In doing so, the Lord “scattered them upon the face of all the earth” (Genesis 11:5-9). As a result of the different languages, people married those whose language they could understand. This arrangement produced separate INBREEDING groups.
Over a few generations these inbreeding groups produced specific characteristics, including different color eyes, different shape of ears and nose, along with different shades of skin color. What most people do not know (and the media along with academia will not inform so as to continue racial strife) is that there is only on color of skin. It is called melanin. Some who are darker have more melanin, and those who are lighter have less melanin. Nevertheless, despite different characteristics, different languages, different shades of skin color, we all have blood flowing through our bodies, we all are given a soul, and we all are created in the image of God according to (Genesis 1:27).
As foreign as this may seem to this generation, “racial barriers” are broken down by the preaching of the gospel of God’s love and grace and not by Political Correctness. Political Correctness is based upon tolerance while Biblical Correctness is based upon love. Now let me ask you, “Which would you want, someone to just tolerate you, or for someone to love you?” My choice is that I want to love and be loved. If you are honest with yourself that would be your choice as well.
Regardless of the race haters and racial instigators – racial barriers can be broken down whereby different people celebrate their cultural differences under God’s love and grace. In fact, there are many Biblical examples of racial barriers being broken by the simple preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In Acts chapter 2, Jews from every “nation” believed. In Acts chapter 8, there is the bringing in of the Samaritans and the Ethiopian eunuch into Christianity. Acts chapter 10 records the preaching of the gospel to many Italians in the house of Cornelius. While in Acts 17:16-34, the gospel is preached to the Greeks in Athens. Therefore, if any racial barriers are to broken down it will come through the Church of Jesus Christ being BIBLICALLY CORRECT.
The truth is that the original manuscripts of the Bible do not use the word “race” to describe different people. Rather, God uses the words “NATIONS, TRIBES, KINDRED, TONGUE, and PEOPLE.” If you find a bible that uses the word “race” it is because the translators were influenced by an evolutionary mind set simply because the concept of “race” was purely invented for convenience in evolutionary biological and anthropological studies. Such concepts led to the pseudo-scientific belief (false-belief) that one race is superior to others. Once again, this is an evolutionary mind set. This historical truth cannot be emphasized too much. Even though we cannot and should not label all evolutionary scientists as racist in their personal philosophies, but like it or not, this humanistic philosophy can be traced throughout history as promoting racism. All a person has to do is read the writings of Charles Darwin and see the “race” language he used to promote his white Anglo-Saxon heritage as superior.
The Bible teaches that there is only “one blood” or one race of men upon the face of the earth – the human race (Acts 17:26), and that freedom from this sin cursed world is for “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). So I encourage you (regardless of the culture or color of the church), find a fellowship of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and learn the bible. As you come to the knowledge of God’s sovereign grace, you too will see “race” – erased!
“And (GOD) hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;” Acts 17:26
Judge Righteously
“Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” – John 7:24
One of the biggest misconceptions is that Christianity is a religion. That comes from sociology whereby sociologists categorize and lump all the world religions together and because they know no different they include Christianity. Nevertheless, let me point out that religion involves a system of rules and regulations empowered by laws and commandments. In short, religion is “do” oriented – whereby man to tries to get to God. What sets Christianity apart from all the world religions is that Christianity is a relationship based upon grace, mercy, and forgiveness empowered by love. In short, Christianity is “done” oriented – whereby God came down to man in order to be the “author and finisher” of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).
Just because all other world religions claim to be worshipers of a god it appears to the world that Christianity is just another religion – one among many. This demonstrates that outward appearances can be very deceptive.
In 1884 a 15-year-old boy died of Typhoid fever. Days after the funeral his grieving parents met with the president of Harvard University, Charles Eliot. Mr. Eliot met with the boy’s parents, who were dressed in ordinary attire, and he asked what he could do. They expressed their desire to fund a memorial in their son’s name. Mr. Eliot hastily said, “Perhaps you have in mind a scholarship?” The parents said, “We were thinking of something more substantial than that… perhaps a building.” In a condescending way Mr. Eliot explained to the parents that their desire would be too expensive, and so they departed. Later the next year, Mr. Eliot learned that the parents had gone elsewhere and established a $26 million memorial in the name of their son Leland Stanford Junior, better known today as Stanford University!
Our opening scripture is one of the lesser-known passages in the New Testament. The Lord Jesus spoke these words as a rebuke to the Jewish religious leaders of His day. These law-oriented religionists criticized Jesus for making a man completely well on the Sabbath. They could not rejoice in the healing of this infirmed man by the hand of Jesus. They wandered away from the mercy that God delights to show (Hosea 6:6; Matthew 12:7) and had exalted the Sabbath day above hurting souls. To them it appeared that Jesus broke the Sabbath, but Jesus was Lord over the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8).
If you have not noticed, Jesus is instructing us to judge – but only according to righteousness! Are you surprised? Most people are. If we find ourselves in a sticky situation it is better not to judge at all (Matthew 7:1), but if one is in the place where a judgment must be made. Let us take the words of our Lord and judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteously according to mercy, grace, and love.
David C. Hale, pastor
Email: reasons4believing@gmail.com
OUR SABBATH REST
“Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest…rest unto your souls.” – Matthew 11:28,29b
OUR FORGOTTEN CREATOR
“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth…” Ecclesiastes 12:1
We live in a day where so many people are quick to have opinions. These opinions fill the airwaves with pop psychologists who try to analyze all the trouble and turmoil in the world. Yet, their analysis rarely comes from the authority of our Creator. We can be quick to put all the blame upon political correctness for denying our Creator, but that is not totally accurate. The obscure or little known truth of this denial is because previous generations have replaced our Creator with a man-made “theory.” Therefore this evolutionary idea that we all ascended from mud, molecules, and monkeys has actually taken full effect upon our recent generation. When young children are taught that they just came from a lower form of animals, why are we so surprised when we see them acting like animals without a convicted conscious? “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” Proverbs 23:7. So if they actually believe in animalistic evolution in their heart then they will naturally act according to what they have been taught.
We have a generation that has forgotten that God is our Creator and that everyone is responsible to Him. This generation is so far separate from our Creator that they don’t know Him so as to listen to Him. Therefore we need God to come in a miraculous way to modify the minds and hearts of multitudes.
When I was a little boy around the age of ten, I was given a cheap set of walkie-talkies. Something I enjoyed. Then one day I removed the battery and took a 9-volt electrical hook up from a cassette tape player and connected it to one of the walkie-talkies. Also the antenna was broke in half, so I took an old fashion metal coat hanger and attached it to what was left of the antenna with some aluminum foil. When these modifications were made, this cheap walkie-talkie was amplified to where I could pick up a CB transmission. The signal was weak, but if I listened closely I could hear the truckers talking their CB jargon.
The world is loud about prosperity and pleasure, while the devil softly strokes our pride with the thought of “You deserve it!” As a result we have a, “I want mine” society and they are blind to the fact that we are now reaping “survival of the fittest.” All of our social, moral, and spiritual ills are all wrapped up in the philosophical lie of evolution.
As Christians we have been modified to listen to God our Creator. Therefore, we must pray and engage this generation and the generation to follow so that they would be purged from every other voice and give our Creator a hearing. Only then will their walkie-talkie be modified to hear and remember their Creator in the days of their youth.
(Published in the Marshall County Tribune)
David C. Hale, pastor
New Life Community Church
1001 Easy Street
Lewisburg TN 37091
The Glorious Light
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. – 2 Corinthians 4:6
God uses the natural world as spiritual pictures to teach us many spiritual lessons if we have eyes to see. One thing most all of us take for granted is “light.” Light is good since it originated from God Himself. Light is God’s instrument, which He chooses to illuminate, to make clear, to enlighten, and to shine forth reality.
When God, “who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,” and shined the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ into our hearts, we beheld two things. First, the gospel light exposed our sin in its darkest nature. While secondly, the gospel light demonstrated the radiant beauty of the glory of God’s saving grace in His Son Jesus Christ.
It could be said that the gospel light has many beautiful radiant spiritual beams and prismatic colors such as faith, hope, love, joy, and peace. Yet none is more glorious than God’s saving grace shinning in the hearts of lost sinners so that they would see and come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Among all the dark confusion and gloomy civil unrest that we see in our nation, the gospel light shines brighter every day. The spiritual light of the gospel radiates the glory of God in the Person of His Son Jesus Christ deep within His people’s hearts.
As the sunlight renders objects visible and reveals their form, their nature, and their beauty so it is that Jesus Christ is also called the “light of the world” in John 8:12. Just as God originally divided the light from the darkness on the first day of creation, so God has divided His people from the world by shinning the light of the glory Jesus Christ into their hearts. Now as our sun is the only source of light for our physical universe, so the glory of God in Jesus Christ is the only source of spiritual light for our universe. Yet, this knowledge of the glory of God in Jesus Christ is obviously not tolerated by the world, but that does not dim His glorious light.
Now this devotion may seem very repetitive. The reason is because it is important to understand spiritual things for spiritual strength in the midst of an unspiritual and “Christ-intolerant world.” Even so, God’s glory shines brighter. We just need to be aware that one can be religiously devoted to a church, a denomination, or an organization but miss the glory of God in Jesus Christ. Everything in heaven and in earth is focused upon the glory of God in Jesus Christ. If we miss that, then we miss everything.
(Published in the Marshall County Tribune)
David C. Hale, pastor
New Life Community Church
1001 Easy Street
Lewisburg, TN 37091
The Faithful Donkey
Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham… So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
Galatians 3:7,9
Paul writing to Christians encourages them that they are the children of Abraham, blessed with faithful Abraham. Being blessed by God means that God has said a good word about us and that nothing and no one can curse what God has blessed.
Being blessed reminds me of Numbers chapters 22-24. In this account Moab was afraid of Israel, and their king named Balak knew that Israel was too mighty for them. Instead of reaching out in peace he decides to curse Israel by a false prophet named Balaam. However, God gave a clear command to Balaam “Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.” Nevertheless, king Balak promised Balaam money and honor if he would curse Israel. Instead of turning away, Balaam saddled his donkey and went to Moab. That angered the LORD! As Balaam was riding his donkey, two times the donkey saw the LORD and turned aside, but Balaam’s greedy heart blinded him. He could only see a stubborn donkey and so he struck her. Then the donkey saw the LORD a third time, so she lay down. Balaam in anger struck the donkey again. At that point the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” Balaam immediately replies to the donkey, “Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!” How astonishing! Balaam does not blink an eye. He responds right back to the donkey leading to a conversation. Finally, the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the LORD with his sword and he bowed down, and the LORD told him how this faithful donkey saved his life. God then allowed Balaam to go to Moab and told him that he would speak a blessing. Balaam tried three times to curse God’s people but each time God put blessings upon his lips which infuriated king Balak.
Understand child of God that the enemies of this world are not smart as a donkey when they come up against God’s people. No one can curse what God has blessed and as believers in Christ, WE – “the Church” are the children of Abraham by faith. The Church is blessed with faithful Abraham, which means that no “Balaam-like-spirit” can ever curse us no matter what. God can use a fearful king, a dumb false prophet, and a faithful donkey to demonstrate His sovereign power, to fulfill His will, and also to bless His people – the Church. Is that not good news! – (Published in the Marshall County Tribune)
David C. Hale, pastor
New Life Community Church
Lewisburg, TN
REASONS 4 BELIEVING 