Posts

Showing posts from August, 2007

Day 60 - 3 Steps To Christ In A 2-Fold Way

Numbers In The Bible Series: Day 60 - 3 Steps To Christ In A 2-Fold Way As we draw our series on Bible Numbers to a close, it is most fitting to end it with how the unbeliever can find Christ and how the believer can draw closer to Christ. I've always felt that God is a very economical God. He blesses many people with the same verses but in different ways and for different reasons. As I was searching for just the right thing to write about, I was drawn to Matthew 11:28-30 this morning. My spirit needed encouragement and these were the first verses I had memorized as a new believer and I turn to them frequently. Matthew 11:28-30, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (28) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (29) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (30) As beautiful and comforting as these verses are to the believer, they are equally as beautiful and comfo...

Day 59 - The God Of Second Chances

God Of Second Chances Sermon Audio Numbers In The Bible Series: Day 59 - The God Of Second Chances This is the story of a young man that failed the Lord miserably, and was later given a second chance. In Acts chapter 12, the apostle James was captured and beheaded by king Herod, and Peter was also imprisoned, facing a similar fate within a matter of days. But the Lord had other plans. He sent an angel to release Peter from prison, and Peter went to the house where the early church was having a prayer meeting on his behalf: Acts 12:12 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying. As most reading this no doubt know that the apostle Paul (first called Saul) is a very prominent figure in the New Testament. Much of the book of Acts is taken up with him and those who were involved in his three missionary journeys. He was in Jerusalem with Barnabas. When they left there to head back to ...

Day 58 - Five-Fold Trust

Numbers In The Bible Series: Day 58 - Five-Fold Trust How many times have we heard the statement, "Trust in Christ as your Saviour"? There is only One that you can trust explicitly and totally for all things in your spiritual life as well as your physical life. I find it interesting that there are five occurrences of the phrase I will trust in the Word of God. The number five symbolizes God's grace. There is no greater grace than that given to us at the Cross of Cavalry. When we trust Christ as our Saviour, we receive that grace of God in our lives. Noah Webster defines this grace as: Appropriately, the free unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from him. And if by grace,then it is no more of works. Rom 11. We cannot earn God's love - we cannot work for our salvation - it is free. Eph. 2:8-9, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (8) Not of works, lest any man sho...

Day 57 - Turning Bitter Waters To Sweet

Numbers In The Bible Series: Day 57 - Turning Bitter Waters To Sweet Exodus 15:22-26 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee. The Lord was testing the nation of Isra...

Day 56 - Be Ye Holy

Numbers In The Bible Series: Day 56 - Be Ye Holy A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. (Psa 68:5) Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. (Psa 150:1) Is there anything as magnificent in God's creation than mountains? When I behold pictures such as these, I stand in awe of the Creator! I am reminded of His might, His love, and His holiness. As I meditated on this today, I was deeply impressed about how God wants us to be holy like Him. I searched the Scriptures for the phrase, be ye holy , and discovered it appears three times! Praise His Holy Name! The number three symbolizes the godhead, the Three-in-One, the Triune God! Holiness is complete in the godhead! Let's look at the verses together. I was blessed beyond measure when I discovered the numbers within the numbers themselves! 1. LORD - Jehovah : Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. (Lev 2...

Day 55 - Behold: A Fivefold Picture - Part Two

Numbers In The Bible Series: Day 55 - Behold: A Fivefold Picture - Part Two I want to build upon something that was presented in Part One of this study. It is interesting to note how the cherubim in the Old Testament are a type of Christ. They each have four faces, and each face represents one Gospel: A) Matthew, the Lion, presents Jesus as the King, dealing with the Kingdom of God and with His authority. This Gospel is written primarily for the Jews and deals more with that nation and focusses more on the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy than the other Gospels. It is in this Gospel that we find more references to Jesus being the Son of David, the King that is to reign. Here we find Jesus being referred to as the Son of Man (ie. the Messiah) - in contexts that are more reflective of His power (eg. His returning in glory and reigning, His charge over angels). Matthew 26:64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitt...

Day 54 - Jesus' I Am Statements - Part Three

Numbers In The Bible Series: Day 54 - Jesus' I Am Statements - Part Three Brother Jerry asked me to search out the Book of John and the "I am" statements that Jesus made. What a delight to find eight such statements! Eight symbolizes a new beginning and we find this new beginning through Jesus Christ and His requirement that we be born again (John 3:3) - our new beginning ! What joy the Word brings us when we take the time to search it out. Let's look at the verses that make up the eight "I am's": Bread of Life : And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. (Joh 6:35) and The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. (Joh 6:41) and I am that bread of life. (Joh 6:48) and I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my fle...

Day 53 - Behold: A Fivefold Picture - Part One

Numbers In The Bible Series: Day 53 - Behold: A Fivefold Picture - Part One In the whole Bible, there are 1275 verses that contain the word behold - yet among all these there are only five specific statements that tell us to behold the person or character of the Saviour, the Messiah that was prophesied in the Old Testament and clearly portrayed in the New Testament. There are five profound statements about the Lord Jesus Christ. Often the word behold has a comma after it, indicating that the author of that book wants us to pay attention and hearken to what is being said - Behold , I have something to tell you; or Behold , consider this. But these five statements are different. 1) Behold The Lamb Of God. John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God , which taketh away the sin of the world. John 1:36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! The Messiah that would come and take away the sins of the world is the ce...