From ccrlist at tulip.org Fri Jun 2 19:07:21 2006 From: ccrlist at tulip.org (ccrlist@tulip.org) Date: Fri Jun 2 19:07:46 2006 Subject: [Ccrlist] CCR Weekly for 28 May 06 Message-ID: <28385bae6bac416f8918e3bec9afd410.m4sythe@loganrec.com> Good Afternoon, It's been a busy week, even with public "skool" out for the summer. God bless, Max A Forsythe Selah: Sacred Songs of the Psalter Max A Forsythe ? Anno Domini 2006 ====================================================== Psalm 37 12 The wicked plot against the righteous, and gnash their teeth at him, 13 But the Lord laughs at the wicked, knowing that a Day is coming. 14 The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright. 15 But, their sword shall pierce their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. ==================================================================================== Dreadnought For the Lord?s Day: the 28th of May 2006 Introduction: At the turn of the last century, there was an expensive naval arms race that contributed to the coming of the Great War. It all started when the British Navy laid down a new concept for the battle fleets of the twentieth century. The first ship of the fast, big gun battle line was appropriately named the Dreadnought because there was no ship in existence which threatened Dreadnought?s rule of the seas. ?Fear nothing? we might translate this Old English term which was used to coin a class of ships which dominated the seas for half a century. And so a whole generation or more of sailors went of to sea and war in confident ships to battle for king, country and empire. Now, the kicker here in all of this naval history is that sometimes the attitude of the crew is sometimes of equal value to their fighting platform. The confident assurance that comes from good training and familiarity with state of the art technology wins victory after victory. In the second of the great wars, the Flying Tigers of the Chinese Air Force were able to win victories with obsolete planes that other Americans regarded as flying coffins. Their gung-ho attitudes and the five hundred dollar gold bonus for each enemy plane flamed may have had a lot to do with their unsurpassed combat record. Now, how does all of this relate to our calling as Christians? I do hope that I am close to the mark in thinking that very much of the Christian Church appears wimpy, wimpy, wimpy in the eyes of a fallen world. In spite of the fact that we have the strongest moral and spiritual force in the universe behind our witness, why does the Church fight the war of ideas so poorly. Is it not because we do not understand the spiritual weapons available to us? Is it not because we lack confidence in our Lord and our God? We like David need to learn to live and witness with the ?dreadnought? injunction of Psalm Thirty-Seven from the God of heaven given through the revelation to David the king. Development: As we should remember, our psalm opened with the injunction: ?Don?t fret because of evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong! Soon they will be cut down like the grass and wither like the green herbs.? We could just as easily translate the opening line in these words: "[Dread naught] because of evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong!? Do not fret was our proper injunction there. I believe that there is something more in this psalm than a mere injunction for daily living. Let us consider the underlying theme of our instruction in this precious psalm. We are not to dread, fret or worry because of worldly people, neither are we to envy their situation. C.H. Spurgeon shares a farm image here of the ungodly being but beasts fattened for the slaughter. Perhaps that image is beyond our modern urban comprehension, but, let me delve into it briefly. Every other year or two shepherds choose a young ram lamb to keep for breeding stock. The lamb is tagged and monitored closely. At a certain age he is separated from the ewes and the withers. Thus you have three groups of sheep in different pens. When we had sheep, our little ram had a hard time understanding why the withers in the next pen were fed so well? Later on in the fall, the withers were loaded into the truck for a one way trip to market. The ram continued to grow and was eventually returned to the ewes as the master of the flock. While the farm image here is not completely adequate, let us firmly realize that the way of the wicked is well described throughout this Psalm as well as the whole scriptures. They have their calling, we have ours. We were also reminded in verse seven to affirm of God's providential actions and to wait for Him to accomplish all things: ?Be still before the LORD wait patiently for Him [to accomplish all things].? I am reminded of a story about a philosopher who was seeking God. One afternoon he discovered the Lord in the quietness of the forest. He fell on his knees and confessed his joy in his discovery. Then he asked the Lord three questions: "Lord, is it true that a moment of time for you is like a thousand years to us, and is it true that a penny of your wealth is like millions of dollars to us?" He was answered in the affirmative to both questions. The philosopher then asked for a personal blessing: "Lord, could you give me a penny?" "Certainly my son", was the cheerful answer, "I'll be back in just a moment!" The essential lesson of this psalm is that we are encouraged to rest in the Lord and to await His good pleasure and providence. The worldly have their wealth immediately. We shall have to wait a while for ours. Knowing this, we can better understand the grand scope and sequence of history and our small places in it! So, with that said, let us look closely at the verses before us today. I am reminded of the junk yard dog on a leash with which one commentator once described Satan after Christ?s resurrection. Of course, we well know that since the time of Job ? the wiles of Satan and all his kin, while directed at the Lord?s own people, are certainly limited in every time and place. ?The wicked plot against the righteous, and gnash their teeth at him, But the Lord laughs at the wicked, knowing that a Day is coming.? Simply put verses twelve and thirteen would inform us that the Lord God of heaven and earth knows the end of the wicked, and He knows to the day and the hour when their corruption will be dealt with. This is the promise that we see in the last line of verse thirteen. All the worldly triumphs of the ungodly, the wicked and perverse achieve nothing. Like the tame thrills of a horror show in an ancient amusement park ? we like the Lord must learn to laugh at the emotional blandishments of the wicked. They would encourage and entice us, even beg us to fear their furious onslaughts even though in the grand scheme of things they accomplish little except against the spiritually faint hearted. We also see in the context of the two verses, that the plotting of the wicked is only the poor limited attempts of the worldly to get at the Lord of all the earth. Now, I must admit that the events of the last two years have been discouraging, yet several of the complaints that I had to endure proved to be more the sin of the complainers than any grave theological errors on my part. And so in the long run ? I know the lessons to be learned, but in the short run, like David ? I did indeed feel the pain of the moment! Application: Sometimes, when the Satanic verses of false religion and humanism is particularly strong, the elect must endure persecution of a more severe type. David demonstrates this fact in verses fourteen and fifteen, when he describes the agents of Satan who truly are armed and dangerous. ?The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright. But, their sword shall pierce their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.? Now the image here is not clearly bellicose, but like bullies in every time and place ? their waving of weapons is meant more to intimidate than destroy. Hitler grew to a great power status only because the Western nations refused to challenge him properly when his military force was too weak to accomplish what he truly wanted. He was just fortunate in picking on the minor states of Europe in a series of quick ?flower wars? early on. Indeed, if the Czechoslovakian state had been provided enough ammunition in the late thirties, Hitler?s career would have been cut short and Europe spared the storm and drama of the greatest conflict in its history. All that David is really saying here beyond ignoring the obvious threats of the wicked is that those who live by the sword shall die by the sword. In both Africa and North America the earliest internecine wars between the natives were more strut and puff, and once a few men had died ? the survivors usually negotiated a peace settlement of sorts. Certainly, there were exceptions to the common threatening alluded too in the first part of this couplet, however ? once the arrows and swords found their targets, serious resistance was called for. And this, the warrior David was willing to give and take in the ongoing Palestinian Soap Opera of his day and time. Yes, I certainly understand that weak and innocent people were always at the mercy of raiding tribes, but like the common criminals on the streets, the raiders much preferred unspirited opponents. David at least was able to bring a semblance of peace to his borders and the reason he was able is to be found in the encouragement of God?s Spirit in and through the inspired poetry that informed his soul. If today, we would take on the craven humanists who dominate our American landscape and meet their legal challenges with our own ? it would not be too long before American socialists would roll over and play dead. For far too long, we have allowed them free reign and just the threat of legal jurisprudence has caused too much in the way of public polity to be given away. Years ago, when my father was a leader in the community, he urged the local complainers to stand firm against the statists who wanted to redesign our local economy and education. He once planned a traffic snarl in downtown Columbus, but could find no more than half a dozen willing to be arrested for our local cause. Such is the way of the world, unfortunately the wicked must be empowered beyond measure before God?s people rise up and say no more. But in David, the men of Israel found a man after God?s own heart. One who laughed at the enemy and turned their own weapons against them. And by the grace of God, David delivered a nation where peace and prosperity could flourish under the reign of His son: Solomon. We of course do indeed look forward to that great day when Christ the Son of God will bring an end to this Age, that will be a day promised in these verses. The wicked will be no more. Come quickly Lord Jesus, come quickly. But until then, do indeed strengthen our resolve and allow us to contend for Your cause. Amen. Christ Covenant Reformed (PCA) 24 June 90 & 01 October 95 ====================================================== PREACHING RESOURCES Calvin, John: Commentary on Book of Psalms. Delitzsch, F: Commentary on the Old Testament ? Psalms. Spurgeon, C.H: Treasury of David. ============================================================================ Permission granted to redistribute unedited versions with this notice. http://www.tulip.org/selah/sel037d.htm To Subscribe or Unsubscribe go to: http://www.four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/ccrlist/ From ccrlist at tulip.org Mon Jun 5 20:22:52 2006 From: ccrlist at tulip.org (ccrlist@tulip.org) Date: Mon Jun 5 20:22:59 2006 Subject: [Ccrlist] CCR Weekly for 04 June 06 Message-ID: <4dd707fd2d5b4768bc633601ba3ecb81.m4sythe@loganrec.com> Good Evening, Busy week ahead, so we will get back to Psalm 37 in two weeks. God bless, Max A Forsythe What is Truth? For the Lord?s Day: the 4th of June 2006 John 8: 12-30 Introduction: As any informal review and comparison of the various media outlets will indicate, we have become a nation that accepts a wide range of opinionated beliefs. Truth in a great part has given way to an odd and strange assortment of opinions. There may even be more than one variation on any essential truth. This is the worldly reaction to all faiths these days, to suspend any real belief and publicly agree that everyone is completely free to develop their own opinion. Even the Church of Jesus Christ is infected with this opinionization. Once I was talking with a ?Christian? friend about the Reformed particulars. Of course he recognized our freedom to think whatever we would. But, he was very cautious about expressing any absolute claims to truth. To him and many others, the claim of truth seems beyond comprehension. Pilate?s question ?What is truth?? in John 18: 38 gives a special emphasis to this idea. However, in these verses of scripture recorded by the Apostle John; Jesus speaks about the revelational aspect of His claim to truth. In John 8: 47 and 1 John 4: 6 we see a further indication that ?comprehension is not a free act of existence, but is grounded in the determination of existence by divine reality.? ?Whoever is of God hears the words of God.? (John 8: 47a) ?We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.? (1 John 4: 6) So, it would seem there is something more to this idea of truth than meets the common eye! But, Pilate?s question is still the world?s question. However, in our time, we are more likely to hear the question this way: ?What do you mean by truth?? The Meaning of Truth: Should we take our American court understanding? When a person swears in court to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, what does it really meant? In our English language, there are five possibilities of meaning: 1. a real state of affairs 2. something firm, solid, valid and binding 3. something which is confirmed 4. in history, it separates the real events from myths 5. for Philosophers, it is real in an absolute sense The ancient Greek philosopher Plato understood truth to be the ideas that will last forever. He taught, that if there was no absolute, then life, the little details and even our existence had no meaning. For him, an enlightened pagan, the only thing that was truly true is that which always is: the divine being. He called it by name: The Logos, the power of reality beyond and behind the universe. Unfortunately Plato saw through a glass darkly, to our knowledge there is no record of any ultimate and final discovery of the One True God by his methodology. Within God?s plan of history, it was to another that He revealed Himself. ?Now the LORD said to Abram, ?Go from your country and your kindred and your father?s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. So Abram went, as the LORD had told him?.? (Genesis 12: 1-4a) Very simply, to make matters short, Abraham obeyed and God counted his faith as righteousness. And from his seed comes the Old Covenant family of God, because God intended to raise up for His own name and glory a body of believers, who would call on His Name and give Him faithful worship. So there, we have two of the ancient men who have dominated history in their own way according to God?s purpose. One was a man of truth, the other a man of faith. In all of our discussion of truth today, we must remember that it is by faith we are saved ? and yet the purpose of our study this morning is to prove the absolute dependability of the faith which has been given to us. Have you ever tasted white strawberries? Very few people have. Once, my did tasted a few that he found growing along the edge of his woods. White Strawberries are extraordinarily rare. It is said by the few with first hand experience, my father included, that the taste is exquisitely sweet. The point of this story is that not everyone can experience the taste of white strawberries. To comprehend, you have to talk to someone who has had the taste. So it is with our understanding of truth, we have to dig back in time and literature to find out what truth really meant, so that we are not left hanging like Pilate of old with an unanswered question vital to our understanding of life. Hebrew Truth: Our ordinary understanding of the English word ?truth? fails to do justice to what is described in the Hebrew Scriptures. In its various forms, ?truth? is used over one hundred times. There it is rendered with several connotations: firm reliable, solid, faithful, tested, perceptible, true and lasting. Generally, the Hebrew word designates a reality, ?which is firm, sure, authentic and unchanging.? While the Hebrew word ?emeth? is used as a legal term, it can also indicate a validity beyond the area of law. This reference is to facts which always demand recognition by all men as reality. This recognition of the eternal reality of God?s Word and Law is expressed in Psalm 119: 160; and Psalm 19: 9. This eternal truth is the source of real knowledge, and in that truth there is trust and confidence which is expressed in Psalm 31: 5, revealed in Isaiah 45: 19 and invoked in Isaiah 65: 16. On appeal, moral and legal standards are guaranteed as the goal of divine action in Exodus 34: 6. As the foundation of such truth, God is worthy of our total devotion. ?The works of His hands are truth and right, and all His commands are unconditionally valid?. His words are trustworthy and true precisely because He is God! Greek Truth: The Greek word aletheia has an original meaning of non-concealment. It indicates a state of being that can be seen, indicated or expressed. This state can, when it is disclosed, indicate the real or absolute state of affairs in legal, historical and philosophic use. In our time, we may well speak of this idea of ?true truth? in the words of Francis Schaeffer. While the Old Testament is not so much concerned about raising the question of what is truly true, there is the sense that what God is and says is truth. This idea is wholly compatible with the Greek ideal, ?since in the practice of history and in historical and philosophical enquiry, it is essentially the task of the logos to reveal and indicate, aletheia can also denote an aspect of the logos?. Aletheia thus denotes a normative absolute that requires action based upon the full understanding of disclosed knowledge. For this reason aletheia is pregnant with the sense of ?correct doctrine?, because this shows what the truth is. Once the truth is known, action on that truth as an act of obedience conveys a sense of accepting the ?authoritative teaching?. In this way, truth and law can become joined in correct doctrine. The New Testament Meanings of Truth: The word aletheia occurs over one hundred times in the New Testament. Of these, almost half occur in the Gospel and Letters of John. This indicates that the idea of truth is mightily important to the convictions of John the Apostle. In John?s Gospel, Jesus Christ lays claim to be the Truth. And while the Synoptics do not make the idea as dominant, this claim appears in the controversies of the last week of Christ?s life. In the New Testament, the word may convey the following meanings: 1. it is that which ?has certainty and force?. 2. it can also have the meaning of ?judicial righteousness.? 3. it often takes on the weaker sense of ?uprightness?. 4. it is also that ?on which one can rely?. 5. it may also signify ?sincerity? or ?honesty?. 6. it implies the ?real state of affairs?. 7. it is used as ?statement of truth?. 8. it is also the ?true teaching or faith?. 9. it can also mean ?genuineness, divine reality or revelation?. While the Greek concept of aletheia is primarily intellectual, the Hebrew emeth stresses the moral content. While many commentators feel that John stresses the intellectual model, the focus of truth in who and what Jesus Christ is, seems directed more in the sense of the Hebrew emeth. In several places, it may simply be used in the ordinary Greek sense of describing what is not false, but actual fact. In the stronger sense of describing the faithfulness of God to his own character and promises, it means the Christian revelation in and through Jesus Christ. It should readily be apparent that in a certain sense, John?s witness to the good news of Jesus Christ stresses this concept of truth. And in this Gospel, the idea of truth is concentrated in the eighth chapter. As we shall see next week, we then describe this chapter as ?The Gospel of Truth?? Application: Now, I hope that we all realize the complexity of our calling. While some of our Christian scholars believe that the case for Christ can be made philosophically, historically and critically ? we all too well understand that men and women are born of God, their new birth is the work of the Holy Spirit completely. And yet, how shall they hear? The Bible tells us from preaching and teaching the whole counsel of God. It is possible to present the faith irrefutably by the tools of philosophy and scholarship, however ? very many people in this old world have not the ears to hear or the willingness to listen. As we noted earlier, there is a profound difference in the comprehension of Plato and Abram! Even today, we have many of Plato?s stripe within the Christian Church. They believe that they believe because of the soundness of the arguments and historical evidence contained in scripture. But, this is not enough ? there has to be a seed of faith deep within us to convince us that the Gospel is true, and further, that deep rooted seed of spiritual strength from above is finally what saves us by and through the power of God. It is my prayer that this is so in your regard, I have seen too many people over the years, who were believers of convenience on the philosophical basis of truth who walked away when something else caught their fancy. Then their concept of truth changed and they gave the faith up much as Jacob?s brother Esau: for a mess of worldly pottage. Let it not be so for all of you! May the Lord bless you and keep you as the Apple of His eye, sound in the faith and safe in the hands of our Lord. Amen. Logan County Mission 24 February 85 ? Trinity Presbyterian Church (PCA) 18 January 87 ? Christ Covenant Reformed (PCA) 19 February 89 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PREACHING RESOURCES Barrett, C.K. The Gospel According to St John. Bernard, J.H. ICC: A Critical & Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to St John. Bromiley, Goeffrey W. ?Aletheia?, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Brown, Raymond E. The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John. Calvin, John: Commentary on the Gospel of John. Tasker, R.V.G. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: The Gospel According to St John. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Permission granted to redistribute unedited versions with this notice. http://www.tulip.org/trf/Jhn/Jhn08c.htm To Subscribe or Unsubscribe go to: http://www.four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/ccrlist/ From ccrlist at tulip.org Wed Jun 14 09:09:19 2006 From: ccrlist at tulip.org (ccrlist@tulip.org) Date: Wed Jun 14 09:09:28 2006 Subject: [Ccrlist] CCR Weekly 11 June 06 Message-ID: Good Morning, Please be in prayer for two churches who have asked about coming into Great Lakes Presbytery over the next few months. God bless, Max A Forsythe The Gospel of Truth For the Lord?s Day: the 11th of June 2006 John 8: 31-38 Introduction: Last week we considered Pontius Pilate?s question ?What is truth?? in the context of this glorious chapter eight in the Gospel of John. Our only possible understanding in the light of the revelation of Christ is that any truths must be centered in His person and that spiritual presence in those people given to Him by the Father. Now, this conclusion presents a problem to the great majority of people in our time, because they would prefer that in and of themselves they have mastered and understood the complex simplicity that can be granted only by the Father, in the Son and through the Holy Spirit! That this is what John would say about the real truth and its acceptance by the people of God in his time, is the purpose of our study this morning. We begin at verse twelve of chapter eight. In this verse, Jesus speaks out and says that He is the light of the world. This claim is challenged by the Pharisees. In John 8: 13 we read: ?... Your testimony alone is not [true] valid.? Jesus then suggests that their question is mute because they do not completely understand where He is coming from! So He answers: ?Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is still [true] valid.? (John 8: 14) He then questions their limited human standards and rests His final appeal upon the authority of God the Father. ?Even if I do judge, my judgment will be [true] sound; because I am not alone.? (John 8: 16 ) This fact, in and of itself, if accepted, is the basis for a lawful testimony. But the acceptance of this true witness will be the problem evident in the entire passage. ?In your own law it is written that the testimony of two men is [true] valid.? (John 8: 17 ) If this law is legitimate, then they have to accept Jesus? testimony. The very same law that they use to question his testimony can only be understood if His hearers can appreciate the relationship of that law to His special witness in fulfilling the very implications of the law itself. We see in verse twenty-seven that this was not understood by very many of the group listening to Jesus. However, there were in the crowd some people who comprehended and understood. To them, Jesus gave a promise. ?If you [truly] earnestly remain in my teaching, then you will indeed be my disciples.? (John 8: 31) Development: There is some confusion over exactly what this means. One of my students once asked me to clarify a question on Queen Guinevere, of Camelot fame. He didn?t catch what I meant by Guinevere being more in love with love than she was in love with King Arthur. Yes, she loved the King, she also loved the court and the devoted knights. But, when it finally came down to the nitty gritty, she wasn?t exactly certain she really loved Arthur! She loved being in love more than she loved him. Now, let us transfer this notion back to our issue of faith. The tragedy of the Pharisees is that they did not place their faith in Jesus Christ. Instead they put their faith in faith ahead of the proper object of faith: Jesus Christ. Looking at verse thirty-one, we see one of the keys to understanding a real faith relationship with Jesus Christ. And what it is, is really very simple for those who are called by the Father. That key to those called by Him is to make Jesus Christ the object of faith and to do all that He requires. John 8: 32 is our text for not only today, but also for our whole spiritual life: ?You shall know the [truth] correct doctrine and that truth will make you free.? In those words there is a great promise of faith, a saving faith. If those who hear Him, believe His words; then they will know of his love and they shall be free indeed. When Jesus speaks, He tells the truth, from His truth, there can reasonably be stated the correct doctrine that He saves! And those who believe that truth, can have a saving faith. In Judaism, the truth was the law, and the study of the law made a man free. As this passage develops, the object of faith moves from the law to the Christ. This saving truth described here as correct doctrine is to be perceived only through the work of the Spirit as John 16: 13 describes His coming. This saving truth is Jesus Himself, who John says is of God in John 1: 2, and is the fulfillment and revelation of God?s eternal purposes as described in John 14: 6. ?I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.? This revelation is not a means to an end, it is itself the way and the goal. This revelation of truth is a divine occurrence. It is and was a real event. Just as ?aletheia? is the object of ?ginoskein?; so too can truth also be known in and through Jesus Christ. In John 8:34 we read: ?I tell you and it is true, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.? John Calvin reports that it would appear that Christ is saying no more than the philosophers. And how much the world wants so believe that and thus reduce Christ to just one voice among many. yet, Calvin points out a deeper and more hidden meaning. The philosophers think that any man by his own choice becomes slave or free, however, Jesus is not speaking of an evil that men bring upon themselves, but of the fallen state of human nature! Jesus here declares that all who are not freed from slavery by Him are slaves indeed! During the American Civil War, when the Union Armies advanced, the only slaves that truly were free, were those who were fortunate to live in areas conquered and occupied by the Federal Government. So it is with spiritual bondage, if we would be free, we must be freed by, in and through Jesus Christ only. However, some slaves unfortunately remain enslaved. Application: In such a similar way, we enter into the spiritual freedom of the Kingdom of the Spirit, by and through the work of our Triune Savior God. In the New International Version, verse thirty-two reads: "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." In those words there is a great promise of faith, a saving faith. If we believe His words, if we know Christ from His words, if we live His words and His word becomes part and parcel of our life. Then we will love Him and we shall be free indeed. Now, the Greek words here may be translated more fully in these words: "you shall know the divine reality and the divine reality shall make you free from sin." That is a paraphrase of verse thirty-two. Notice that the word truth has been reemphasized as something different. There it is the "divine reality". That is certainly something more then what is usually expected from our modern concepts of truth. Truth now appears to be what is said in court as we explored it last week, or truth may be whatever serves our particular purposes. The ancients had a different view. Even a pagan philosopher Plato understood truth to be the ideas that will last forever. Plato taught that ?if there was no absolute, then life, the little details,? or even a person ?had no meaning?. For him, the only thing that was truly true is that which always is: The Divine, or the Logos: the power of reality behind the universe. This is why the opening Chapter of John's Gospel is so powerful, because it invests that Word of Plato "Logos" with true reality. What Plato only dreamed of darkly was revealed in the fullness of time. We have one more translation of this verse to make. This time it is a literal word for word meaning. And that translation is this: GREEK: "and you shall know of the right doctrine and the right doctrine free from sin shall make you." Yes, the Greek words actually say that. Doesn't that come as a shock in our day and age? Truth, Divine Reality, Correct Doctrine! This is why we are a confessional Church, because we attempt to teach the truth. When Jesus speaks, He tells the truth, from His truth we can reasonably state the correct doctrine that he requires! And if we would believe what He teaches, we can have a saving faith. But you see there in the passage, verse thirty-three, the Jews question that they are or ever have been slaves. Hmmph, they say. "We are Abraham's children, we are already free!" They lay claim to their pedigree of birth! That's like saying that your fathers came over on the Mayflower, fought in the revolution, came through the Cumberland Gap and so on. You know, people never really change. Some still claim that their blood is bluer then that of others. We all know that the correct pedigree does not always make for class! I remember reading a few years ago an article about what actually divided people into an upper and lower class. The author suggested that the best dividing line is a person's view of the future. Most people always think of the here and now. Others catch a glimpse of the future and then orient their lives towards that. He was right in so many ways. It would appear from my experience that those who only live for the present, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually and financially never end up getting anywhere. I wonder what Jesus would say to those people who have no vision beyond the present. Look carefully one more time at John 8: 34-36: "... I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." Only the Son of God can set us free from sin, and as the Gospel of John moves forward, we learn at long last what the cost of our freedom will be. And you know the answer because you have read through the Bible several times! Our redemption will be purchased in the life blood and broken body of our Lord Jesus Christ. Isn?t that where we began: in the person of Christ? And so shall we also end if we are truly His and He is truly ours. Blessed by the glorious beauty and simplicity of the Gospel, He is the Alpha and the Omega, He is the way, the truth and the life. Believe it by His grace and the work of His Spirit. Amen. Logan County Mission 24 February 85 ? Trinity Presbyterian Church (PCA) 18 January 87 ? Christ Covenant Reformed (PCA) 19 February 89 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PREACHING RESOURCES Barrett, C.K. The Gospel According to St John. Bernard, J.H. ICC: A Critical & Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to St John. Bromiley, Goeffrey W. ?Aletheia?, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Brown, Raymond E. The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John. Calvin, John: Commentary on the Gospel of John. Tasker, R.V.G. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: The Gospel According to St John. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Permission granted to redistribute unedited versions with this notice. http://www.tulip.org/trf/Jhn/Jhn08d.htm To Subscribe or Unsubscribe go to: http://www.four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/ccrlist/ From ccrlist at tulip.org Wed Jun 21 21:34:31 2006 From: ccrlist at tulip.org (ccrlist@tulip.org) Date: Thu Jun 22 00:07:25 2006 Subject: [Ccrlist] CCR Weekly for 18 June 06 Message-ID: Good Evening, Here is a new installment of Psalm Thirty-Seven. God bless, Max A Forsythe Psalm 37 16 Better is the poverty of the righteous, than the abundance of many wicked. 17 for the power of the wicked shall be broken, yet the LORD will uphold the righteous. 18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless, their heritage will remain forever; 19 they are not put to shame in evil times; in days of famine they shall be satisfied. ==================================================================================== Having Enough For the Lord?s Day: the 18th of June 2006 Introduction: I am reminded of the apparent despair penned by the prophet Habakkuk (3:17-18) at the end of his testimony: ?Though: the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls, Yet, I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.? Now, there is one thing that we all need to understand, as we consider this passage. Until the last century, the great majority of people in the world, (our own nation included) lived much closer to the edge of survival. And even today, the United States could be in trouble if our food supply was interrupted for three years. Of course, that analysis is based upon an assumption ? that there is no plague, military adventure or environmental calamity which can create instant centers of poverty as we have seen in the more remote areas of the world. There are other possibilities of course, in a complex age, for disruptions of all sorts. However, most of us have never suffered abject poverty as it was understood by David. We remember reading about the famine in Jacob?s time as well as in the days of Elijah. And of course we read about similar problems in many parts of the world. Sadly, all too many famines in the last hundred years were more political than environmental, but that modern problem is beyond the descriptive text of our verses for the day. Here in verses sixteen through nineteen David describes the long term biblical view that should inform all of our assumptions when it comes to economic stability. And the precise nature of his admonition is that the spiritual blessings of the Lord outweigh anything and everything else in the equation of survival and prosperity. Blessed is the man who knows the Lord, the whole of scripture would inform us. Or better yet, in the grand scheme of providence: Blessed indeed, is the man known by the Lord! Just as Habakkuk ends his lament on a grand note of triumph, so too does David praise the God of heaven and earth for every kindness given to him through a long and troubled life. Now the wealth being considered here is so much more than the necessities of daily life. Calvin notes ?that although the wicked excel in this world, and are enriched with its possessions in great abundance and trust in their riches, yet the little which the just man possesses is far better than all their treasurers. From this we learn, that David is here speaking, not so much of external grandeur and wealth, as of the secret blessing of God which truly enriches the righteous.? I am reminded of the most recent movie of Martin Luther?s life. Because of the unquestionable and exceptional acting ability of Sir Peter Ustinov ? the movie demonstrates the character and person of monarch of Saxony than more than it informs us of Martin himself. King Frederick the Wise had one of the largest collections of religious icons in all of Europe, and at the beginning of the movie you see him puttering around the shelves which house the grand collection of worthless temporal wealth. But by the end of the movie ? the good king has seen the light, the shelves stand empty and Martin delivers to the king a copy of the German Bible. Well does the king (or rather the actor Ustinov) demonstrate the ultimate value of the printing that has caused him so much grief and expense: ?Enough of the small talk?, he exclaims ?let me have my book!? But of course, that was only the beginning, the Reformation was hard fought for several generations before religious freedom was finally won, applied and enjoyed not only in Europe, but in America as well. Some people, like the Waldensians and the Huguenots lost everything, including their children. But still they counted Christ worth the cost in treasure and lives. And so the sage advice of King David here still echoes down through the ages and would inform us even today. Development: Delitzsch gives us a note worthy of meditation: ?The life of those who love Jahve with the whole heart is, with all its vicissitudes, an object of His loving regard and of His observant providential care. He neither suffers His own to lose their heritage nor to be themselves lost to it.? Did you catch the absolute brilliance of that last phrase: ?God neither suffers His own to lose their heritage nor to be themselves lost to it.? That duality of the divine providence is seldom explored in any context, let alone in these matters of apparent material wealth and well being. One of the great tragedies of history has been the Jewish fixation on the Promised Land; it is a fixation which still afflicts the geo-politics of world conflict still today. I am reminded of a dark fantasy story of Edgar Allen Poe. In The Fall of the House of Usher, one who understands the Christian perspective can almost see in that fictional image the sad state of the modern Jewish cult. I will not go into any detailed analysis on this speculation, but I believe it to be a very fruitful exploration if time would ever allow! If you will just consider the premise that I have offered, how much more can we understand what Delitzsch is getting at: ?God neither suffers His own to lose their heritage nor to be themselves lost to it.? Now, let us move on to a detailed appreciation of David?s sublime poetry. David begins with this observation in verse sixteen: ?Better is the poverty of the righteous, than the abundance of many wicked.? Spurgeon compares and contrasts in several ways the ordinary state of worldly affairs. ?The little of one good man is contrasted with the riches of many wicked.? Remember the wealthy man in the New Covenant, who resolved to tear down his barns and rebuild them bigger? He did not last the night, and he was unable to take his wealth with him! Can we comprehend the wisdom of the scriptures ? that our true wealth resides in Christ?s spiritual kingdom? Or are we continually torn between the two worlds, wanting the riotous wealth of the wicked as well as the blessings of the kingdom? Some believe that they can have it both ways, and there are many cults who attempt to convince people that material wealth is there spiritual birthright. Isn?t the covetousness of wealth considered a deadly sin? Wealth itself is never condemned, but only the love of it, to be sure. In my experience, various ministries have always had exactly what they needed, sometimes no more or no less! Certainly, in past years ? I have had to tie knots in more than one shoestring to keep things on a steady plane. But at least, there was enough slack in the shoestring to allow a minimal regrouping! Over the years, I have discovered that it is really amazing, when your budget shrinks, how much you can really learn to do without. Years ago, I was comparing notes with another church planter who complained that his resources were never enough. Once he told me that there was never much more than a $150 in the church account, I was very hesitant to share with him that we always kept $5,000 on hand so as not to run short. True to character, he asked for a loan! But, from what I had heard ? the wants in his group almost always outran the really true needs, so we invested our mission?s money elsewhere! In the next verse, David outlines the history being demonstrated by God?s providential arrangements of all things. In the long run through eternity, God?s elect will come out ahead. ?for the power of the wicked shall be broken, yet the LORD will uphold the righteous.? Can you spell ENRON or GLOBAL CROSSING? ?How the mighty have fallen,? echoes David?s words in another context. I have several friends whose retirement future is very much in doubt because of union and corporate intrigue. Promises were made years ago in all cases, but now that pay out time has come, nothing of substance had ever been salted away. Too much corporate fixation on the governmental shell game called Social Security no doubt. But, I digress and show my contempt for promises, promises and more! I have had more than one fortune stolen from me by unions, medical insurance, social security and government regulations. And yet, I still have enough and to spare for the work of the church and the future of my family. At least the worldly wealthy have not yet figured out a way to confiscate every last penny of wealth! Application: What we have, if we are willing to count our blessings appropriately, is the loving kindness of the Lord God of heaven and earth, who one day shall demonstrate the true superiority of the heavenly kingdom over every other and kind of kingdom in this old world. ?The LORD knows the days of the blameless, their heritage will remain forever; they are not put to shame in evil times; in days of famine they shall be satisfied.? As I look at the last two lines, I am reminded by my own experience that at least three times since I started earning my own way in the world ? He has accomplished an unexpected increase in my material prosperity just when it was needed most. So I, like David can testify that ?in days of famine? we were satisfied. Of course the days when those events were accomplished were by no means ?evil times? like David knew. And like David, I do know on which side my bread is buttered ? it is on the heavenly side. And even if we in America were to experience the crises of Job ? still the Lord?s people would survive and bless His holy name. Sometimes, it takes a depression to separate the wheat from the goats. America came out of the thirties much improved from the moral, financial and emotional struggles of the period. It was in that context my father was framed and he always made the most of the little he had. So should we all learn to be grateful for what the Lord gives us and then go on to manage His resources to the very best of our ability. In that habit, is not the reward, but the blessing of counting with joy the timely meeting of all our daily needs. All that, and heaven too! No wonder, David could wax poetic in His praises of our God and King. May we also learn to do so as well. Amen. ====================================================== PREACHING RESOURCES Calvin, John: Commentary on Book of Psalms. Delitzsch, F: Commentary on the Old Testament ? Psalms. Spurgeon, C.H: Treasury of David. ============================================================================ Permission granted to redistribute unedited versions with this notice. http://www.tulip.org/selah/sel037e.htm To Subscribe or Unsubscribe go to: http://www.four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/ccrlist/ From ccrlist at tulip.org Mon Jun 26 13:17:53 2006 From: ccrlist at tulip.org (ccrlist@tulip.org) Date: Mon Jun 26 13:17:59 2006 Subject: [Ccrlist] Important Update for CCRList Subscribers Message-ID: <001b01c69944$761dd410$1901a8c0@tantrim> Dear Subscribers: I am saddened to announce to you the sudden and unexpected passing of Pastor Max Forsythe on Friday, June 23, 2006. Pastor Max was the sole author of content that is sent out weekly over the CCR List. Due to his passing, it will take us a few weeks to decide how best to send out the weekly sermons from the Church. Please bear with us as we continue to sort things out. In Christ, Tate Antrim Web/List Master -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.9.4/375 - Release Date: 6/25/2006