Daily Archives: June 2, 2009

Sermon: May 31, 2009 Marks of an Effective Witness V – A Resolute Spirit

Posted on June 2, 2009 | Comments Off

You can click here to go to the Internet Archive page for this sermon, or listen to the sermon using the player below.

Thistletown Baptist Church

March 15, 2009

You Shall Be My Witnesses V – A Resolute Spirit

1 Cor. 1:18-2:2 (ESV)

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. [19] For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

[20] Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? [21] For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. [22] For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, [23] but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, [24] but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. [25] For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

[26] For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. [27] But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; [28] God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, [29] so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. [30] He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. [31] Therefore, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

[2:1] And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. [2] For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

1. INTRODUCTION

a.As part of our look at what an effective witness of the Gospel is and does we find ourselves today in I Corinthians 2:1-2. The phrase I want to get you to is the opening phrase of verse 2 … .

b.In order to understand how Paul got to the place where he could say 2:2 we need to consider the whole context of this section of Scripture.

c.But let’s start with a story – another story out of Ken’s illustrative life.

i.I don’t like to be called stupid. Continue reading →

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Praying All the Time

Posted on June 2, 2009 | Leave a comment

Psalm 88:1-3 (ESV)

O Lord, God of my salvation;

I cry out day and night before you.

[2] Let my prayer come before you;

incline your ear to my cry!

[3] For my soul is full of troubles,

and my life draws near to Sheol.

The privilege of calling out to God without ceasing is an immense one. We should never lose sight of the fact that an audience with God that does not result in being destroyed is a gift of grace. And it is obtained for us through the work of Christ.

The fact that Old Testament saints were not destroyed even though Christ had not yet died is explained in the truth that the Law pointed to Christ and even in the Old Testament faith in God was a requirement. While the Law was just a shadow of better things to come, believing OT saints knew that they needed the intermediary work of God through the sacrificial system if they were going to be able to approach God and live.

All that given, God wants us to commune with Him always, and that truth should absolutely boggle our minds. But we do not pray without ceasing. We allow things to get in the way of sweet prayerful communion with our God. The reality of prayer and its privilege escapes us. Schedule, sin, work in the church …. Any number of things can get in the way of our prayer lives.

This Psalm begins by asserting that the Psalmist calls out to God day and night. Then he says that his soul is full of troubles and that is why he so incessantly prays. How sadly true this is of all of us. In a crisis we pray much. When things are relatively trouble free we are more prone to forget God and go on as if we did not need Him. If God wants us to pray without ceasing and the only thing that gets us to our knees is crisis, what is God going to give us in order to get us praying? Exactly. Trouble is a fact of life. But for the believer it should never be that which he needs in order for him to pour out his soul to God.

May the prayer lives of the saints of God never be less when things are well than they are in a crisis. May prayer without ceasing be the mark of all the blood bought saints of God at all times.

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Posted in Devotions