Thursday, July 2, 2026
8 BLESSINGS
Eight Blessings of the New Birth from 1 John
a.
Power to do righteousness. 2:29
b.
Actual son ship. 2:1-3 & 8-10
c.
Love for the Brethren. 3:14-15,
4:7-8 & 5:1
d.
Freedom from sin. 2:9 & 5:13
e.
Love for God. 4:19 & 5:1-3
f.
Power to overcome the world. 5:4-8
g.
Power to keep the N.T. commandments.
5:2-3
h.
Freedom from satan. 5:18
The Sevenfold mission of the church.
a.
To Glorify God. Rom 15:6 & 9,
Eph 1:5-6, 3:21, 2 Thess 1:12 &
1 Pet 4:11
b.
To edify itself. Eph 4:11-16,
c.
To purify itself. Eph 5:26-27, 1
Cor11:32, Heb 12:10
d.
Educate itself. Matt 28:19, Eph
4:11-12 & Phil 4:8
e.
To evangelize. Matt 28:19, Mark
16:15, Luke 24:46-48 & Acts 1:8
f.
To promote all that is good. 2
Cor 6:14-18, Gal 6:10, Acts 10:38-43
g.
To act as a restraining and enlightening force. Matt 5:13-16,
2 Thess 2:6-7, Jude 3, Phil 2:16
LESSONS FRO, CHRONICLES
2 Chron 20:16 - Lessons From 2 Chronicles – April 20,
2008-04-14
Intro: This morning
we are going to learn five lessons from the book of 2 Chronicles. Which theme
is, God manifesting His glory and how the
1. The book of 2
Chronicles deals with the nation of
To the
captivity. A time period of 400
years. This book deals extensively on
the
Reasons why
a. Blessings, follow those who genuinely follow God.
Hard way that you
must never forget God. Ezra who is the
writer of this book wanted
To remind his
audience who were the returning exiles that God truly wants to bless His
People but He
does not want partial surrender which is the most prevalent sin among
The church. Here is a survey done 20 years ago in a major
evangelical denomination
In the
states. (7522) God is looking for whole hearted surrender of
heart, soul, mind
& strength.
b. Ezra makes it
clear that
Now being
restored as a nation because of God’s grace and that He never forgets His
covenants. Ezra
wants the returning exiles to learn from the lessons of the past to
Not repeat them
in the present or future times. One
writer wrote, “those that refuse to
learn from their
mistakes will be doomed to repeat them.”
2. The second lessons
was the
importance of the temple as the centre of all things in
life. Ezra spent an incredible amount of time on
the construction,
Meaning and
reality of the temple as a symbol of God’s presence and the physical
Representation of
God.
a. In Ezra day’s the
temple had just been rebuilt by Zerubabbel.
Ezra’s task was the
Teach the people
the word of God, to be an instrument of conscience and a voice for
God.
b. Ezra talks about
the building of the temple by Solomon and Hiram. He carefully
Records its furnishings and related hardware
associated with it. He then records
about
Its dedication,
the events and prayers offered at the dedication and God’s response to
It. Ezra saw the temple as a place where God
could meet with His people, a place of
Worship where He
could manifest His gory and physical presence.
c. Today we are the
temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor
6:19-20, God lives in us by the
Indwelling of the
Holy Spirit and we are to manifest His glory and presence. As His
Ezra could only
dream about. We are to glorify Him. Paul tells us that we have been
Bought with a
price. The Holy Spirit became a
permanent resident when you invited
Christ into your
life. You now can exhibit His power,
fruit and gifts. What a
Privilege and
great responsibility. Talk about the
transformation of Paul.
3. The third lesson
we learn is that when the kings followed God they were great
Blessings when they did not, they were a great
curse. Being a blessing or curse
is a
Matter of choice. We make decision and choices everyday. Some have little effect
On ourselves or
others. Other choices do not. Talk about Hitler coming to church.
Corrie Ten Boone
choosing love the Germans
a. There were good
kings like Jehoshaphat, Josiah, and Hezekiah.
There were bad kings
Like, Ahaziah,
Ahaz and Manasseh. Talk about his
conversion.
b. Remember the
leaders chosen will either lead us morally or they will reflect who we
Are morally. To make sure that happens, 2 Chron 7:14 give
us the key. The people of
God must humble
themselves, pray, seek His face and turn from our wicked ways.
Then God will
hear from heaven and heal our land. This
is where our text comes into
Play so
powerfully. We can win this battle for
Hay River, the north and
4. The fourth lesson
is only
through worship of the true God can a nation be totally
Rebuilt and have a firm
foundation.
a. A number of kings were able to rebuild their nation Jehoshaphat did, Josiah, Joash
And
Hezekiah. Each time they made the Lord
their focus and God not only blessed
But the nation
prospered in every way. Again I remind
you of Matt 6:33 and
John10:10.
b. Ezra wanted his
generation to be aware of this. He did
not want them to make the
Same mistakes as
their ancestors. These two books would serve
as warnings and
Guide posts. This truth has both an individual and
national in focus. The Bible for us
is our guide post
and compass. It keeps us on track. Solomon took over the nation
From his father
David. Under him
stay true to God
and in his old age, he loved his foreign wives more than God. He
Later example and
idolatry help divide the kingdom because his son Rehoboam was
Proud, foolish and
ignorant. He rejected wise counsel for
foolish.
5. Our last lesson is
that God deals with men and women on the fact of serving Him or
Not. God sees and knows very clearly who is His or
not. Being His means that you
Have a
relationship with the creator of the universe but you also have all the
resources
Of heaven at your
disposal.
a. This book has a
real evangelistic message. Serve God,
live and prosper. Serve, man,
World or the
devil and you will wither and die. Each
king who did not serve God was
A blimp, vapour
or poof of smoke. They left no lasting
legacy or mark, except they
Did not serve
the Lord. That was their epitaph their
mark on history. No one
Remembers the
King who enslaved
b. People remember
Pontius Pilate because of Jesus otherwise he would have been
Another unknown
governor of
CHANGING WORLD
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Ecclesiastes 8:1 –
Jan 11, 2009 – Can changing your appearance change your life?
Intro: This message
is very pertinent today because in
1. Solomon the wisest
man except for Jesus who ever lived states that all this pursuit of
Happiness outside
the Lord is vanity. Eat, drink and be
merry leads to emptiness and
Vain or broken
expectations.
a. Solomon when he
wrote this book was near the end of his life.
He had look back and
Saw his pursuit
of the so called good life had left him unfulfilled. The books of 2
Kings and 1
Chronicles tells us that the end of his life Solomon had fallen away from
God because his love for foreign women. He had built altars and temples to their
Gods. He had also been guilty of worshipping them
and offering sacrifices to them.
b. So when he wrote
this book he was in a fallen state. So
everything seems negative
And it gives us a
good picture of how a backslider sees things.
This book is the
Counsel of a wise,
but hurt man.
2. In today’s verse,
Solomon asks the question. Who
is like a wise man? In Solomon’s
Case his pursuit
of wisdom seem to leave him with more questions than answers.
Solomon
discovered that outside of God wisdom is earthly, unspiritual and of the
Devil. Man’s wisdom is coloured by envy, hate and
selfish ambition. It brings with
It disorder and every evil
thing.
a. Solomon is struggling with carnality and duty to
God. As this book goes along we see
Solomon speaking
to man pointing out man’s nature and folly.
He point out the
Epicurean
philosophy, that there is nothing better than the carnal pleasures of
life. As
Solomon looks back
over his life and this book brings out that man needs true
Happiness. Who is like the wise man, Solomon asks?
b. Wisdom is the ability to know what to do
with knowledge and experience. Wise men
Seek to find
balance between the two.
3. Who
knows the explanation of things? Is
the truth, reality, outside the five senses?
Solomon had spent
his life in the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom. He wrote 3000
Proverbs and 1001
psalms. He was the wisest man in the
east. James wrote that true
Wisdom is pure,
peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit,
Impartial and
sincere.
a. Solomon asks a
sincere question here. Can science,
philosophy, education, religion,
Sociology,
eastern mysticism, evolution or new age?
b. Solomon of course
knew the answer because at the end of
the book he emerges from
His struggles,
speculations and doubts to reach the a noble conclusion in 12:13, “Fear
God and keep His commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.”
4. Wisdom brightens a man’s face. Solomon knew that wisdom enlightens,
informs,
Gives
understanding, brings sense, creates discernment and foresight. This shows
On a persons
face and lifestyle. You become long
sighted, clever, prudent, rational,
Reasonable,
sound, well advised and well informed.
This shows in your
Inward look at
yourself and how you view others. You
know for example that loving
The Lord with
all your heart, soul, mind and strength, gives you the ability to love
Your neighbour
as yourself. You know that seeking first
the
Righteousness
will add everything to you.
5. And
changes its hard features. This
book starts and focuses on negative things but in
The end Solomon
concludes.
a. True
happiness and joy comes only from serving the Lord.
b. That man should deter from
pleasure to serve God.
c. There is a time for
everything but only if we can truly serve God.
d. When you know these things is changes the hardness
of life from drab and hard to
Manageable and
exciting. You never know what God is
going to do next. You know
Everything is
going to work out for good. You know he
will not take you where his
Grace and power
cannot keep you.
e. When the knowledge
of God comes into a life, it changes even the features of an
Individual.
.
ISSUES OF LIFE
Matthew 22:37-39 –
The True Issues of Life – Dec 6, 2009
Intro: Matthew was a
man who believes that the real priorities of life came from a right
relationship with God. When he wrote
this passage of scripture he reminded his audience that everything hung on
these commandments.
Background
1. An expert of the
law asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment. Jesus’ reply
Was a simple
one. He reminded them of the Shammad,
the quotation every Jewish
Boy did at their
Bar Mitzvah.
2. He reminded this
expert of law something he already knew.
That is often what we
preachers do.
1. Jesus told the
expert of the law that we are called to love the Lord with all our
heart.
We are to love
him with every fibre of our being. To
make Him Saviour and Lord.
a. Complete this
sentence. My greatest aim in life is. How you respond determines the
Guiding principle
of your life. Jesus stated that where
your heart is, there is also your
Treasure. Who or what has your heart has you? From the heart springs forth the
Issues of
life. Webster’s dictionary says the
heart is the seat of the emotions and
affections. Who or what has your heart has your plans and
priorities. They have your
time, talents and
emotions. They guide where your place
your affections and control
your emotions. The heart is where the intangibles such as
love, joy, peace, patience,
Mercy,
forgiveness grace and faith live.
Communicated attributes of God given to
Us. If hatred, greed, unforgiveness, bitterness
and envy are there then world, the flesh
And the devil has
your heart. Is God the ruler of your Heart?
b. We
are to love Him with all our soul, The
soul is your intellect, will and emotions.
The soul is where the battle for control is
won or lost. Our will and emotions will
Follow and do
whoever has our soul. There
are four forces fighting for control of
Our soul. God, the world, the devil or us. Three
of these forces will lead us to a
Lost eternity.
Letting God have control leads to salvation, righteousness, holiness,
Love, mercy,
grace, truth and eternal life with God.
In the present letting God have
Your soul means
abundant life now.
C, We
are to love God with all our mind. The
mind is where the thinking process is
Done. It is where memory, attention and intentions
are housed and born. It is where
‘ Thoughts are
born, live and grow. Who determines
your thought life determines the
Direction of your
life. Walking in the Spirit according to
the Bible is submitting our
Thought life to God. For a
moment I want
You’re to be
honest and examine your thought life. Do you feel at times you are in a
You love God with
all your heart, soul and mind because Jesus said, “This is the
First and greatest commandment.”
2. Jesus then said
the second is the like it, Love your neighbour as yourself. You cannot
Love others and
the only true way to love yourself is loving God first. Francis
Shaeffer wrote, “If we do
not show love to one another, the world has a right to
Question whether Christianity
is true.”
a. God’s greatest aim
in your life and ministry is love. Paul
wrote in 1 Cor 13:1-2, that
Without God’s
love flowing in and through us we receive nothing of value. Produce
Nothing of value
and become nothing of value.
b. HB London
wrote. “Without love, all that you say
is ineffective, all that you know
Is incomplete, all
your believe is insufficient, all that your give is inadequate and all
You accomplish is
insignificant.”
c. Love
minus love = nothing. Christianity
is not a religion of beliefs. It is a
lifestyle of
Love.
The sign of a true Christian is not a crucifix, fish or a bumper
Sticker. The sign of a true Christian is their love
for God and for His people. Gal
5:6
says, “The only thing that
counts is faith expressing itself in love.”
d. The real enemy of
love is busyness and distraction.
Running after the urgent and
Crisis and not
the real priorities and important. Clear
the clutter of your schedule and
Let love be the
order of the day. More than video
games, Ipods. Cell phones,
Trampolines and
the latest novelty toy, children need love.
More than a new pair of
Shoes, dress or
fine jewellery, wives needs love More than a new set of golf clubs,
Skidoo, fishing
pole or boat. Husbands need love.
e. For Christians,
love is not an option it is a
command. Sometimes difficult to obey.
But God did not
leave us helpless. Paul writes, “The
love of God is shed abroad in
Our hearts by the
Holy Spirit.” Roman 5:5.
d. You can draw upon
God’s love for you to love the unlovable.
EC. Mackenzie wrote,
“The loneliest
place in the world is the human heart when love is absent.”
MEN AMONG MEN
Jesus – Man among Men
– Luke 2:1-11
Intro: Today we are
going to spend some time in the book of Luke.
The essence of today’s message is simple. “I bring you tidings of great joy. In the town of
1. Luke who was the
physician of Paul the Apostle wrote His gospel to his friend
Theophilus. He wanted to present a systematic and
orderly account of Jesus’ life
And work.
a. In
Luke’s account we are introduced to the parents of John the Baptist, John’s
Conception and that family’s
connection with Mary, mother of Jesus.
In
This account we are the
audience to Gabriel’s visit to Mary and how Jesus would
Be born in a miraculous way
to a virgin.
b. Luke, recalls Mary’s visit to
Zechariah’s, Song to the
Lord. In Luke 2, we have Mary and
Joseph being
Summoned by royal decree by
an Ungodly ruler to their family’s home. Luke shows
Us that all human
events surround this one person’s life.
To Luke and to all believers,
Jesus is the
central focus of life, human history and drama.
In the Luken account,
Jesus
is born in a stable, because there was no room for Him in the inn. Even today
Most have no room
for Jesus.
c. Angel’s
announce His birth to shepherds who had the privilege to see Him and be
The first
witnesses of the coming of the Saviour.
They were never the same. Jesus
Later is presented at the
temple and two wonderful old saints.
Simeon and Anna get
To tell all that they have
seen God’s answer to sin. One
footnote, Simeon who had
Been promised by
God he would see the Messiah & he did.
The lesson we learn is
that when God
makes a promise he keeps it. Paul said in 2 Cor 1:20, that the promises
of God and yea
and Amen.
2. Luke as an
educated Greek, physician, scholar, writer and theologian wanted all to
See Jesus as the Man among
men. From the very beginning of
his account Luke
Present Jesus as the divine redeemer who came into
the world to save those who
Were lost.
a. Our text this
morning, has the angels introducing his birth as a time of good news
And great
joy. There is no greater news than
Jesus. He is the answer to all
questions.
This message we
bring is for all people and is universal.
b. A Saviour has been
born to us and for us. He is Christ, the
Messiah, the Lord. Jesus
Has power over
death, hell and the grave. He saves from
the power of the devil and
Sin.
c. Luke wrote this
book for a Greek audience but Jesus wants to save the whole world.
This 42nd
book of the bible, with its 24 chapters, 1151 verses, 25944 words. Talks
About a saviour who
brings a message to save and those who reject it are only
Destroying
themselves.
3. Luke has five
simple themes to share with us
a. Jesus
is the Almighty Saviour and those who confess Him as Lord are free. John
Stated in John
8:36, “who the son sets free is free indeed.
No religious leader,
Teaching,
philosophy, religion, motivational speaker or positive message will set you
Free. Only Jesus.
Talk about the man who was set free when he came to Christ.
b. Jesus
came to save all no matter what the race, creed or colour. Luke as a Greek
And Gentile saw
the beautiful of the universality of the gospel. Sonship was no
longer just for
the Jews but for all men. You can see
Paul’s influence here. Luke
Emphasized to his
audience that through Jesus as gentiles we had the opportunity to
Be adopted into
the family of God with all the rights, privileges and inheritance that
Goes with it.
c. Jesus
is not only redeemer but the only begotten Son of God. Luke strongly
Emphasized the
deity and humanity of Christ. Like John
he believed Jesus was God
With a face This doctrine of Jesus being God is a central
truth of Christianity. Even
In Luke’s day,
the question of Jesus’ deity is a hot topic.
This book was written
Around 70 A.D. just before the Book of Acts.
d. Through
His resurrection and ascension He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt
Who He is. Luke like John spent time on post
resurrection appearances. He records
The two disciples
on the road to Emmaus, and How Jesus appeared to His disciples.
Luke as
a physician emphasized Jesus’ physical makeup after the resurrection. He is
Flesh and
bones. This fascinated Luke because he
was aware that life is in the
Blood. He also recorded Jesus showing his disciples
his hands and feet. Luke is also
The only writer who
recorded the ascension and he picks up that theme immediately
in the Book of Acts.
C.S. Lewis wrote, “The resurrection is
the undisputable truth that
Jesus was who He
claimed to be.”
e. He
came to do so much for us if only we will let Him in. Luke’s gospel has 140
Promises and only
the book of John has more. Luke records
more miracles, shares
More parables and
covers more ranges of topics about
Jesus’ life than any other
Writer. He wanted to present as full of a picture of
Jesus as possible. Jesus states in
Rev 3:20, He is
standing at the door of our hearts and knocking. All we have to do
Is let Him
in.
Conclusion.
1. Luke asked 165
questions, revealed 9 O.T. prophecies, 54 new prophecies & 930
Verses of
history. He through his book reveals 118
verses of fulfilled prophecies
And tells of 103
verses of unfulfilled prophecy.
2. Today as our
thoughts turn towards Christmas let us let the full impact of what this
Season
represents. Jesus the babe, the essence
of love, giving and peace fully
Envelope us.
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