Subtopic: “ Let Us Not Lose The Book” 


Sermon notes By Pastor Arthur H. Coleman Sr for Sunday March 23, 2014 


Text: 2 Chronicles 33:14-15;18-19;21 “And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, Hil-ki’ah the priest found a book of the law of the Lord given by Moses. (vs15) And Hil-ki’ah answered and said to Sha’phan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hil-ki’ah delivered the book to Sha’phan. (vs18)Then Sha’phan the scribe told the king, (Josiah) saying, Hil-ki’ah the priest hath given me a book. And Sha’phan read it before the king. (vs19) And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent(tore) his clothes. (vs21)Go, enquire of the Lord for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Ju’dah , concerning the words of the book that is found: for great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do after all that is written in this book.” 

Romans 15:4 “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” 

PREMISE 

The Pulpit Commentary, Vol.6, Pages 419-420 “Judah had been concerning itself, had been “careful and troubled” about many things, but it had not thought it worth the while to multiply copies of the “Law of the Lord”, of its own sacred books; so negligent had it been that one is accidentally discovered in the ruins of the temple. Of what great and guilty negligence are we capable! We may be spending our time and strength, we may be exhausting  ourselves and endangering our health and life in all kinds of unprofitable occupation, in fruitless labour or in amusement which begins and ends in itself, and all the time may be neglecting that one study or that one habit in pursuit of which “standeth our eternal life.”There are many men in Christian countries who expend the substance upon, and occupy their very life with, horses, or dogs, or guns, who do not afford even  a few hours a year to the serious study of the will of God as revealed by his Son and recorded in his Word. The treasure which cannot be estimated in gold or silver lies untouched, as much buried from sight and use as if it had been hidden in some crypt of the temple. It may not be our deeds, but our negligences, that we shall most fear to face in the great day of account. 

In that book of the Law of the Lord there were instructions and admonitions which, if duly heeded, would have ensured abiding peace and honour to the inhabitants of Judah. These had been waywardly and fragrantly disregarded. And now the time for employing them had well-nigh gone. What was left was the sad opportunity of verifying by bitter experience the truth of its threatening. This was the alternative now open to Judah. Let us take care lest, by our disregard of the promises, we bring upon ourselves the warnings of the Word of God. “If we will not be ruled by the rudder, we must be ruled by the rock.” If we will not take advantage of the gift of the gracious laws and the gracious overtures of God, we must “show forth” the severity of those righteous laws which attach suffering and shame to vanity and guilt.” 

Subtopic: “The Need For Inward Power”

Sermon Notes by Pastor Arthur H. Coleman Sr. For Sunday March 16, 2014

Text:1 John 3:24 “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”

Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

PREMISE

The Pulpit Commentary, Vol.22, Page 86 a comment on 1 John 3:24. “THE FRUITFUL INDWELLING OF THE SPIRIT IS THE SEAL OF GOD’S LIFE IN THE SOUL. “When by inspiration not of man nor by man we are led to a life which is above and beyond nature, “ we know that he abides in us.” The Spirit which he gave us when we believed (Eph.1:13) is the seal to us of God’s own life. His command used to be an outside letter, bidding us to live a life that was high above us. Now we have an inward force, inspiring a life that conforms to the letter! In a word, God’s Spirit in the soul brings about, in actual life, what the precept enjoins. By the Word we are taught that such a life was the right one to lead. By the Spirit we are also inspired that we cannot lead any other! Let us give note to the fact that :1 The God’s Law outside of our being is a great gift. The Spirit within is greater. It is a blessing to be shown the right way. It is a greater blessing to be disposed to walk therein. 2. As we all have the blessing of the Word, and since we know that there is a greater one obtainable, ought we not to seek for it? For observe: 3. The Gift of the Holy Ghost, albeit it is the greatest possible blessing, is precisely that of which we may make most sure, when sought by fervent prayer. 4. Let those who have the Spirit of God seek for a richer fullness of his indwelling power. The more that we allow the Holy Ghost to possess us, the easier will it be to obey; and just as it is the penitent’s duty to receive pardon from Christ by faith, even so it is the believer’s duty to receive the Spirit from him by faith.” 

Subtopic: “How Shall I Live In This World”

Text: Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, (vs12) Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; (vs13) Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; (vs14) Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people , zealous of good works.”

PREMISE

The Pulpit Commentary, Vol.21, Pages33-34;a comment on Titus 2:11-13  II. THE EFFECTS OF THE GRACE OF GOD. “Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.” This grace first manifests itself by teaching, just as the first thing in creation was light. It must begin with teaching, and the Spirit of God is given “to teach all things”(St. John 14:26). The original word implies the idea of a disciplining process, effected by the grace of God to correct the inherent naughtiness of the heart. 2. The grace of God works toward the rejection of evil, for it teaches us “to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts.” (1) The denial is in the heart and deed. It involves the denial of self (St. Luke 9:23). (2) It is the rejection of ungodliness in heart and life. (a) Ungodliness  includes lack of reverence for God, blasphemy, and lack of religious faith. (b) It includes all living without all that are living  without having a true relationship with God regardless whether they are blasphemers or not. Thus a man can be considered ungodly who seeks only for his own pleasure, distinction, or happiness in the world. (c) Ungodliness implies the deeper enmity of the heart to God (Rom.8:7) (3) It is the denial of worldly lusts; including the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and vain glory of life--- “all that is in the world”--- which embody the enmity to God. Thus it denies (a) sensual lusts (2 Tim.2:22); (b) the inordinate desire of worldly things which may be lawful within themselves. 3. The Grace Of god Produces Positive Effects. “We should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.” (1) It secures the due regulation of individual life. “Soberly” This refers to the duties we owe ourselves. (a) In keeping a fair balance of judgment intellectually; (b) in keeping a due mastery over our passions---“a sobriety in speech, in behavior, in apparel, in eating, and drinking, in recreations, and in the enjoyment of lawful satisfactions.” (2) It secures the faithful discharge of all duties to our fellow-men. “Righteously” Justice is an exact virtue , which can be easily measured, and is therefore the basis of commercial and civil life. A single failure in justice makes a man unjust. Therefore it is most necessary we should give our neighbor his due, and not compromise ourselves by conduct which would bring injury to the gospel.

(3) It secures godliness. “Godly” that is, with God, in God, for God. This godly life is a dedication to God and spent in his fear.

Subtopic: "It's God's Way Or No Way"

Sermon Notes By Pastor Arthur H. Coleman Sr. For Sunday March 2, 2014

Text: Psa. 127:1 "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."

Eccl.3:14 "I know that, whatsoever God doeth , it shall be  for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it : and God doeth it, that men should fear before him."

Isaiah 55:6-9 “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: (vs7) Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (vs8) For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. (vs9) For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

St. John 15:4-5 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. (vs5) I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

Premise

The Pulpit Commentary Volumes 8 &9 , Pages 62-63 &227-228 , comments on Psa.127:1 and Eccl. 3:14."UNBLESSED LABOUR 1. We can do nothing at all without the Divine co-operation. We constantly depend on the presence of his material, on the action of his laws, on the activity of the forces he keeps in play. We all recognize this in agriculture; that it is vain for the husbandman to sow his seed, unless God sends his rain and wind and sunshine ect. It is also true of our other occupations. The sailor and the builder depend on the constancy and regularity of Divine laws and forces. We are always assuming their existence, though we may think nothing of their Author. 2. We can effect nothing without divine permission. If God means that the guilty city shall fall, the watchman will wake and the soldier will fight in vain. If God intends to humble a man whose pride needs to be brought down, his utmost exertions in his trade or in his profession will not bring success. Many a man has found, as he at first thought to his cost, but afterwards knew to his advantage, that when God's wise and faithful providence is against his prosperity, he wakes early and works hard in vain. But how much more is blessed is he in a corrective adversity, than he would be in a hardened prosperity! We do well to ask that God's blessing may wait upon and crown all our activities; we do well, also; to remember that it may happen that, for our own sake, God will not grant us our desire in the form of temporal success. 3. We find no blessedness in a prosperity which is not hallowed by devotion. It is a vain thing for a man to strive hard and to attain the immediate object of his pursuit , if he is not making his life a life of holy service. Even if the bread he eats is not "bread of sorrows" in the sense that it is scanty, yet it will be such in the sense that it yields no abiding joy; for it is abundantly clear that a life of even prosperous labour , apart from the service and without the friendship of God, selfish and earthbound, is a life of dissatisfaction and practical defeat. The springs of pure and lasting joy do not rise on that lower ground."

A comment on Eccl.3:14 says "Behind man's free action and volition (the act of willing) stands the will of God, which orders events with a view to eternity, and that man can alter nothing of the providential arrangement. We cannot hasten or retard God's designs; we cannot add to or curtail his plans. There is a moral purpose in this disposal of events. Men feel this uniformity and unchangeableness in the working of Providence, and thence  learn to cherish a reverential awe for the righteous government of which they are the subjects."