Sermons
#1 Starve the Old Nature and Feed the New Nature (Deuteronomy 8: 1-3)
#2 Overcoming Temptation ( I Corinthians10: 12-13)
#3 The Humility of a Servant ( Psalm 131: 1-3)
#4 The Peace of the Martyr ( Acts 7: 54-60)
#5 The Use of Logic in Evangelizing ( I Peter 3:15)
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Message: Starve the Old Nature and Feed the New Nature
By Uri Brito
Deuteronomy 8:1-3
Introduction – Thank you
for the privilege of ministering to you this morning.
I sincerely hope and pray that this year may be a year of
edification and spiritual revival in the lives of each one here
this morning. I entitle the message this morning: Starve the
Old Nature and Feed the New Nature
A. Whether young person or old person or in-between, we have all sinned. We all fail. We crash short of perfection. We all have stained the slate of our lives. We all have smudged our consciences. We all have befouled our minds and spirits. We all crash far short of perfection. We yearn for clean
B. According to Psalm 119:11,
obedience to God’s Word brings cleansing and purification.
Psalm 119:9 – How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking
heed according to God’s Word.
Open your Bible to
Deuteronomy 8:1-3.
Let us pray shall, shall we.
Body – At the moment of
Salvation, every believer receives a new nature. This new nature
is added alongside with the Old Nature, thus causing a conflict
to rage within every believer. The Old Nature wants to keep
control. As in any struggle the stronger of the two adversaries
will always win, by the very fact that the Old Nature is always
older and more experienced than the New Nature, in any new
believer the Old Nature will always win. There is only one way
for the New Nature to have the victory, it must become stronger
and overcome the Old Nature.
The nature that you feed will become stronger and overcome the
weaker; therefore we must
STARVE THE OLD NATURE AND FEED THE NEW NATURE.
How can we feed the New Nature? By
Obeying God’s Word.
Jesus says in John 14:15: If
you love Me, keep my Commandments.
There are three basic, but very applicable
ways to Feed the New Nature.
1. Obeying God with our
heart. By loving Him more than any relationship, activity,
achievement, or possession.
By making God a number one priority
in your life. By spending time with Him in prayer and reading His
Word. By getting up in the morning and saying Good Morning Lord!
What can I do for you today? Rather than saying: Good Lord
it’s morning. What can You do for me?
Personal Example: I accepted Christ
three years ago. For eighteen years I asked the Lord what He
could do for me. I was my number one priority. My life was more
important than anyone else’s. What a miserable life that
was! Oh, what lack of peace I had!
Praise God I stopped
feeding the Old Nature.
2. Obeying God with our will.
By committing ourselves completely to Him. Praise God I now live
for Christ. I have given Him all my life to His control. And
friend, what a change, what a change. Jesus changed it all.
Personal example –What friends
say about my new life.
3. Obeying God with our mind.
By seeking to know Him and His Word, so His principles and values
form the foundation of all we think.
Sin attacks us on every side. Even
when we purpose to obey God’s word. Even when we purpose to
avoid every evil way. Temptations entice us all around. Shall we
close our eyes, plug our ears and blank our minds? Shall we sit
in a dark closet all day, listening to taped messages and
Scripture readings? Shall we live by ourselves in some remote
corner of the planet?
Psalm 119:11 says: “Thy word
have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against
thee.” Do you have handy when covetousness attacks?
Do you have some Biblical
antidote for lust, envy, pride, anger, bitterness, partiality and
impatience?
The world (The Old Nature) wants
freedom. But submission and obedience tto God’s Word –
the world doesn’t want to exercise them. The world tries to
find freedom through the expression of its rights. And instead
finds bondage. Beloved (my friend) avoid that trap. Feed the New
Nature, not the Old Nature. May we never forget that the truly
free are those who happily submit and obey God’s Word.
Now, we come to another blessing of
God’s Word in our lives – “ And I will walk in
liberty: for I seek your precepts.” Psalm 119:45
Conclusion – Galatians 5: 16-17:
“Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of
the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit; and the spirit
against the flesh.”
A. It’s a war… and we
aren’t always on a war footing! So let’s do what
everybody is supposed to do in a war – fight! And in this
daily fight, remember to lean heavily upon the Lord: Psalm 119:10
says: With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander
from thy commandments”
There is a poem that reflects my
life. Allow me to share it with you this morning.
One day I looked at myself
At the self that Christ can see
I saw the person I am today
And the one I ought to be.
I saw how little I really pray
How little I really do.
I saw the influence of my life…
How little of it was true.
I saw the bundle of faults and fear
I ought to lay on the shelf
I had given a little bit to God
But I hadn’t given myself.
I came from seeing myself
With my mind made up to be
The sort of person that Christ can
use
With a heart He may always see.
Beloved, the Old Nature was rendered powerless by our death with
Christ and can only direct us IF WE ALLOW IT TO.
a. What is it going to be? Will you
starve the Old Nature and feed the New.
b. Remember, Greater is He than is in
me, than He that is in the world.
c. You can win this war. The decision
is yours.
Sermon by Uri
Brito
Overcoming Temptation
Text: 1 Corinthians 10:12-13, "Wherefore let him who thinks
he stands take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken
you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will
not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will
with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be
able to bear it."
Let us pray, shall we?
Introduction: One of the
perils that a Christian faces from day to day is temptation. The
word "temptation" can have two main directions of
thought. Temptation can be a testing, but it also can refer to an
enticement to sin. Any enticement to sin does not come from God;
rather it originates either from the world, the flesh or the
devil.
The Bible says in James 1:14, "But every man is tempted,
when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed."
Beloved, it is absolutely wrong to blame God for an enticement to
sin. The holy and righteous God will not entice you to sin,
because He is absolutely and infinitely holy, that is impossible.
It is not a sin to be
tempted. In fact many Bible characters were tempted to sin. But
it is a sin to yield to it. You do not have to sin when
temptations come; though a part of living is being tempted,
through the power and help of God we can say, "No" to
every enticement to sin that comes your way.
Enticement to sin actually comes from three main areas:
1. It comes from Satan. He is referred to as
"the Tempter" in Matt. 4:3 and in I Thess. 3:5. He can
even masquerade himself as an angel of light (2 Cor.11:14).
2. It comes from a love of
the world. That is what the Apostle John referred to in 1 Jn.
2:16 as, "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life." Three of the main sins that come from
the world system are the desire for sensuality, covetousness, and
pride. Dr. Ravi Zacharias writes in his book ; Deliver Us From
Evil: “ The constant bombardment of images shapes the
perception of a whole generation and results in altered beliefs
and lifestyles that make even the aberrant, seem normal.”
Have the images of this world so entered your mind that you see
nothing wrong with them?
3. It comes from man himself.
When a person is saved, they possess two natures. One is a holy
or new nature that comes from God and the other is a sinful
nature that is separated from God and enslaved to moral evil.
James 1:14,15 says, "But every man is tempted, when he is
drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath
conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished,
bringeth forth death.
Lust conceived in the heart brings forth sin, and sin in turn
brings forth death. Death here has the basic idea of separation.
And by the way that’s is exactly what the Apostle Paul talks
about in Ephesians 2:1 when he says: “ And you hath he
quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sin”. So, we are
dealing here with separation, not annihilation. Therefore, ladies
and gentleman while we are dead in our trespasses and sin we can
still respond to the gospel in a positive way or in a negative
way. We can either reject Jesus Christ or accept His gift of
salvation. WE can either refuse to go against God or we can be
for God and with God beloved nothing can separate us from His
love. Amen. The continual practice of sin leads to eternal death
or separation from God, but never annihilation.
The Bible says that, "He that is born of God cannot commit
(or practice) sin (1 Jn. 3:9). Why? The holy seed of God, the new
nature, through which the Holy Spirit operates, is inside of the
believer. I have no problem with people who are seeking (by the
grace of God to overcome sin) I do have a problem with people who
spend their lives defending their sins.
God may send trying
circumstances to prove our loyalty or to draw a person back to
Himself whom has strayed. Israel in the wilderness is an example
of that truth. The Bible says in Ex. 15 that the Lord proved them
or tested them. Deut. 8:16 tells us that the Lord brings about
trying circumstances to humble us, to test us, and cause us to do
what is right in the end. Job declared in Job. 23:10, "When
He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold." This is the
same Job that said in Job 13:15: “ Though He slay me, yet
will I trust in Him.” Beloved, God often orders our
circumstances to reveal our love for Him, to make us stronger to
resist sin, and to do us good in the end.
God allowed Satan to test Job, to reveal the true integrity of
Job. Job would not listen to the devil or do his bidding. Jesus
Himself was tempted in the wilderness testing. He was tempted to
misuse His supernatural powers and to worship Satan. Did He fall
to the temptations? No, instead Jesus proved that He could not
sin in the wilderness temptation. The devil could not deceive and
trick Jesus into sinning.
From 1 Cor.10:13 lets consider several things:
I. The Reality of Temptation
II. The Regulation of Temptation
III.The Release From Temptation
I. The Reality of Temptation
See the phrase, "Common to man." I want to make it very
clear that temptation is real. It is not the product of human
imagination. Temptations are typical human experiences. Never
think that you are the only one that faces temptations in life.
The Bible says it is common to all people. Oswald Chambers once
wrote: “ Temptation is not something we can escape; in fact,
it is essential to the well-rounded life of a person. Beware of
thinking that you are tempted as no one else—what you go
through is the common inheritance of the human race, not
something that no one has ever before endured. God does not save
us from temptations—He sustains us in the midst of
them.” The writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 2:18: “
For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted He is able to
succor ( help) them that are tempted. Adam and Eve were tempted
in the Garden of Eden. King David was tempted to have Uriah
killed, due to his sinful desire for Bathsheba. Job was tempted
to curse God and die. If you recall that is what His wife urged
him to do, after he broke out in boils all over his body. On and
on the list could go. I am convinced the experiences of the
characters of the Bible prove that temptation in the sense of an
enticement to sin is a very real thing.
Let Us See The Many Avenues
the Devil Can Use
1. Desire to steal. –
Personal example: Your sin will find you out. Hey, listen to me;
you think you’re gonna get away with it? Well, the One that
holds your breath in His hands. The One that has the whole world
in His hands knows it. And I would be very careful with the
things you take. God sees you.
2. Desire for substitutes for
God. It involves a desire to worship the creature more than the
Creator. We are told to flee or run from idolatry. Talk about I
John 5:21: “ Little children, keep yourselves from
idols.” Idolatry is anything that occupies the place due to
God. What are you replacing God with?
3. Desire for slander.
Slander is one of the worst sins people can ever commit. It has a
destructive force worse than a powerful tornado. O, that profound
desire to exalt yourself just a little higher than your neighbor
by hurting his reputation using malicious utterance. Beloved,
next time when tempted to slander be reminded of the words of the
Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:29: “ Let no corrupt
communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good
to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the
hearers.”
4. Desire to seek unfamiliar
spirits. That is a temptation that should always be resisted. It
will ruin and wreck a person’s life. Do not seek that which
can bring you destruction. Brazil is a country of a 163 million
people. This enormous nation has been heavily influenced by the
African culture, which has brought satanic rituals and obviously
changed our culture. Ladies and gentleman, I have seen and
witnessed at first hand the power of Satan in my country. My
father being a minister of the gospel was many times called to
cast away demons and if you ever wander how the experience is,
let me assure you that you would be so shocked and terrified that
your life would never be the same. Let me tell you the number one
method the devil has used to bring people to seek those
unfamiliar spirits and that is through music. Through music he
destroys lives; through music he penetrates evil messages into
the minds of the people; through music he brings people into the
kingdom of darkness. Be careful to what you’re listening to;
make sure you are listening to music that would glorify the name
of God. I have been there, the devil almost got a hold of me, but
praise God, Jesus found me first.
The Reality of Temptation
II. The Regulating of
Temptation
"God is faithful, who
will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able"(I
Cor.10:13c).
Temptations and trials come
our way but the Lord has a way of regulating them, so they will
not be more than we are able to bear through His divine
assistance. We serve a sovereign, all-powerful God who is still
in control. At times we look around us and wonder if He is, but I
want to assure you, in spite of the devil and all of the demons
of hell, He is still in control. Christ is sovereign over the
affairs of nations and peoples. God will not allow a temptation
to come your way that is more powerful than your ability through
Him to resist; let me repeat that. Amen!
Note: The Lord will not let us go through things until we are
able to handle them. When the soldiers came to take Jesus in the
garden, the disciples fled, and were not arrested. Why? They were
not ready to participate in what Jesus was about to go through.
When they were finally ready, they all died maryter’s deaths
except John, who died on the Isle of Patmos in exile. They went
through persecution, imprisionment, and countless hardships when
they were finally deemed ready by the Lord to endure them. No
believer can rightly claim if he sins, that the devil made him do
it. Satan cannot make you sin. A person chooses to sin. People
sin because they willingly sin. When a person sins, he or she
chooses to sin. Did I make that clear? How comforting it is to
know that He will never allow more testing in our lives than we
are able to bear. Remember, He has authority over the devil.
The Reality of Temptation
The Regulating of Temptation
III The Release From Temptation
"But will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1 Cor. 10:13c).
God ensures that there is
always a way out of every temptation that we may encounter in our
earthly life. II peter 2:9 says: “ The Lord knoweth how to
deliver the godly out of temptation.” Oh, what a blessed
promise!
Illustration:
When people fall prey to wrongdoing, they often try to excuse it.
A three year old tried to give an explanation for being in the
kitchen, on top of a chair, eating cookies. His explanation was,
"I just climbed up to smell them, and my tooth got caught in
them." How do you like that explanation? Stop trying to make
excuse for your sins.
Note: Keep in mind, we have the promise of God that there is
ALWAYS a way to escape that we might be able to bear whatever it
is we are tempted to do, that is against the will of God.
What are God’s ways of
escape? How do we escape and come out on top when we are tempted?
A. Removal
Getting whatever is tempting you out of the way. It’s that
ungodly and filthy music. It’s that TV program. Beloved,
wake up! It is time to remove these things from our lives that we
may grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Aren’t you tired of taking a step back instead of taking a
step forward for the Lord?
B. Running
Joseph in Potiphar’s House. Wife tried to force him to have
sexual relations with her. Joseph ran and left her holding part
of his clothes as he ran. He did what the Bible says in 1
Cor.6:18 to do, "Flee fornication."
C. Relying
The Bible says, "Having done all to stand, stand."
"Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might."
With every promise of God there is enabling. God will strengthen
us to overcome temptation to sin, if we will only rest in His
divine power and depend on Him moment by moment.
Moment by moment
Never a trial that He is not there,
Never a burden that He doth not bear,
Never a sorrow that He doth not share, Moment by moment
I’m under His care.
Conclusion:
Beloved, temptation is a reality. We are to benefit from every
temptation that comes our way. Even an enticement to sin from the
world, the flesh, or the devil, makes us stronger as a Christian,
when it is faced and resisted. Every time our faith in God is
exercised it becomes stronger. Burdens, troubles, pressures of
any kind can bring a blessing. When we trust in Him moment by
moment and when we give our lives to Him, not partially, but
completely to the One Who always provides a way to escape.
How are you responding to your temptations? How you do, will
determine the degree of your spiritual success and victory. Let
us pray shall we?
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Sermon by Uriesou T. Brito
The Humility of a Servant
Text: Psalm 131:1-3
This short Psalm is one of the most beautiful in the whole Book, because it assuredly breathes David’s spirit of humility.If good men and women cannot use this language of David, it is their prevailing desire to be able to do so; and if at any time you have been “ exalted above measure,” I beg you to humble the pride of your heart as Hezekiah did in II Chronicles 32.
Quote Proverbs 22:4; Jeremiah 45:5; Matthew 23:12; James 4:10; Philippians 2:3.
We find in verse one that number one:
1) Humility is the absence of the
proud heart.
“ Lord ( Jehovah), my heart is not haughty (not lifted up).” In the heart of the truly humble man all high thoughts of self-righteousness, and all notions of self-reliance, are effectually abased. He is “ poor in Spirit,” and conscious of his spiritual poverty and deepened, and consequently humble before God.
2) Humility is the absence of the high look.
“ Nor mine eyes are lofty. The great Old Testament commentator Hengstenberg once wrote: “ Pride has its seat in the heart, and betrays itself especially in the eyes.”
3) Humility is the absence of ambitious projects.
“ Neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.”
The Psalmist did not strive with or after things that lay beyond his power. (1) He did not seek to know the mysteries of the humanly unknowable. Even if he could understand all mysteries and all knowledge, that would not give rest to our soul. (2) He did not attempt to do that which was beyond his power. My dear friend rest is not attained through the efforts of daring and “vaulting ambition.”
A.L. Warring once wrote:
“ I would not have the restless will
That buries to and fro,
That seeks for some great thing to do,
Or secret thing to know;
I would be treated as a child’
And guided where I go.”
This morning as we deal with this needful subject may we analyze the humility and understand the humility of a servant.
Let us look at two things:
I. Humility is a grace of the Spirit.
It is the fruit and product of inward devotion.
Humility is not a plant that grows in Nature’s garden. Nor can we have it in one day, but rather it is a continuous process. Of all the evils in our corrupt nature, there is none more natural than pride: this is the grand wickedness – self-exaltation in our own or other’s esteem that destroys and causes us to walk the path of unrighteousness. The great apologist St. Augustine truly said: “ That which first overcame man is the last thing he overcomes.”
And I say to you that nothing can effectually overcome pride but by Divine grace. If we can imagine that we can humble our own hearts we will be disappointed. Because pride, which is the curse of our nature, has struck its roots too deeply within us that human arm cannot pluck it from within. We are not able to plant a single grace in our hearts, nor to preserve it when planted; but every spiritual good is God’s gift, a gift as freely given as the rain that comes down from heaven. But though we are weak and worthless in ourselves, the Holy Spirit generally works His purposes of grace by the use of means, and He commands us to seek His grace. He is ready to pour down His richest spiritual gifts.
The Lord “ giveth grace unto the humble ( Prov.3).” He gives grace to make them humble; to keep them humble, and then honors the grace He has given; there is no mansion He loves so well as a sinner’s humble heart. “ He giveth grace to the humble; “ pours it out plentifully upon devout and humble hearts. His sweet dews and showers of grace slide off the mountain of Pride, and fall on the low valleys of humble hearts to make them fertile and prosperous. The law of God’s procedure is that “ before honor is humility.”
I Peter 5:6 says “ Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”
I. Humility is a grace of the Spirit.
II. Humility grows into hope.
V.3 – Let Israel hope in the Lord from henceforth and for ever.”
The ancient Hebrews were animated by great hopes. But greater and more exalted are the hopes of the Christian. The Christian hopes for complete triumph over evil, for utter purity of heart, for the vision of God, for transformation into His image. “ We are saved by hope.” Let me give you the characteristics of this hope in verse 3.
1. It is divine. “ Hope in the Lord.” The Christian’s hope rests not in anything transient, changeable, or limited; but in the eternal, unchangeable, infinite, holy God. A true hope resting in Him” maketh not ashamed.”
The songwriter Edward Mote wrote:
My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
When He shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne.
2. It is common. “ Let Israel hope in the Lord.” It was not the exclusive privilege of the poet, the priest, the prophet, or any class. The whole nation is here called to exercise it, and rejoice in it. In the inspiring and glorious hope of the Christian believer all men may share.
3. It is present. “ from henceforth.” If we have cherished this hope hitherto, we may begin to do so at once. We should cherish it at all times and under all circumstances.
4. It is perpetual. “ From henceforth, and for ever.” Hope, like faith and charity, is an abiding thing. Earth and time cannot exhaust the hope of the Christian. His being will eternally rest in God. His expectation will be directed to Him forever. In heaven itself the child of God will have much to hope for; further discoveries of the perfection and glory of God, and further growth of the faculties and capacities of his own being, will forever invite him onward.
In the words of John W. Peterson:
Now, I’ve a hope that will surely endure after the passing of time; I have a future in heaven for sure, there in those mansions sublime. And it’s because of that wonderful day When at the cross I believed; Riches eternal and blessings supernal From His precious hand I received.
Now, this glorious hope grows out of humility. The humble soul claims nothing, yet hopes for everything, from God. Humility is the root of all Christian graces.
Humility is becoming in us, agreeable in others, and acceptable to God. Prayerfully and diligently let us cultivate it.
“ The saint that wears heaven’s brightest crown
In deepest adoration bends;
The weight of glory bows him down
The most when most his soul ascends;
Nearest the throne itself must be
The footstool of humility.”
Illustration
Lower Yet
I used to think that God’s gifts were on shelves one above the other; and that the taller we grew in Christian character the easier we could reach them. I now find that God’s gifts are on shelves one beneath the other; and that it is not a question of growing taller but of stooping lower; and that we have to go down, always down, to get His best gifts. – F.B. Meyer
D.L. Moody once wrote: “ If we only get down low enough, God will use us to His glory.”
May the Lord humble us daily that we may draw nigh unto Him and He will draw nigh unto you.
Nearer Still Nearer
Nearer, still nearer, nothing I
bring, Naught as an off’ring to Jesus my King; Only my
sinful, now contrite heart, Grant me the cleansing Thy blood doth
impart, Grant me thy cleansing Thy blood doth impart.
John 3:30: He must increase, and I must decrease.
Shall we pray?
1. Meditate upon the greatness and holiness of God.
2. Keep near to the cross of Christ.
3. Frequently review your transgressions and sins.
4. Think of your obligations to Divine grace.
5. Anticipate the Judgment Day.
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The Peace Of The Martyr
Sermon by Uriesou T. Brito
Read Acts 7:54-60
A martyr is he whose life-interests are bound up with truth, to whom nothing in the world can afford satisfaction in which truth and reality are not. He cannot separate his consciousness of life and its sweetness from his consciousness of God's light and love in Him, which are dearer than life. This is the feeling in which the martyr lives, in which he is willing to die.
Background
In chapter six we find Stephen doing great wonders and miracles. He was a man full of faith, and of the Holy Ghost and power and had great wisdom, in fact he was so wise that the Libertines, and the Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of the of Cilicia and of Asia disputed with Stephen and were not able to resist the wisdom by which he spake. And so Stephen is performing all these miracles and great wonders and exalting the name of Christ by them and the elders and scribes get together like busybodies and try to accuse him of blaspheming Moses and God. By the way that sounds likes some of you here today. You get together just to falsely accuse your neighbor and ruin his reputation by using malicious utterance. I really hope the Holy Spirit gets a hold of you today.
So they catch him and bring him to the council and set false witnesses. I mean they are doing everything they can to get Stephen executed. And that's what the world will try to do to you today Christian. They are going to try to falsely accuse you. They are going to try to destroy your ministry. But I say to you be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
And so they bring him to the council and the high priest asks that what's happening Stephen? Are you blaspheming the Holy Ghost? Are you? I don't think they were ready for what was coming ahead. I mean Stephen starts preaching at them. His review of history is more than an affirmation of his faith. It is a bold and courageous confrontation of his accusers. Look at verse 51, I love that verse: " Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. And that brings us to our text today.
Let's look at three things briefly today.
A) His Preview of Glory
B) His Prayer
C) His Passing
His Preview Of Glory
Vs. 55-56 - In all probability Stephen died on Calvary. It was the ordinary place of execution and there in all probability on the very ground where Christ cross was fixed, His first martyr saw the heavens opened and Christ standing on the right hand of God. Stephen saw Jesus " standing by God's right hand. Why standing? Perhaps because in Jewish courts a person giving testimony stood before the tribunal. As Stephen stood before God, speaking for Stephen. In a few moments Stephen who died with a prayer for his murders on his lips was in the presence of the Lord.
It matters little what men man say or do to us. What counts is what Christ says about us before the father's throne.
Let me read to you a little story about a man named Thomas Hauker who lived in England in the 16th century. He was caught and in the next day he is to be burnt at the stake.
“ Thomas,” his friend lowered his voice so as not to be heard by the guard. “ I have to ask you this favor. I need to know if what the others say about the grace of God is true. Tomorrow, when they burn you at the stake, if the pain is tolerable and your mind is still at peace, lift your hands above your head. Do it rightly before you die. Thomas, I have to know.”
Thomas Hauker whispered to his friend, “I will.”
The next morning, Hauker was bound to the stake and the fire was lit. The fire burned a long time, but Hauker remained motionless. His skin was burnt to a crisp and his fingers were gone. Everyone watching supposed he was dead. Suddenly, miraculously, Hauker lifted his hands, still on fire, over his head. He reached them up to the living God, and then, with great rejoicing, clapped them together three times.
The people there broke into shouts of praise and applause. Hauker’s friend had his answer.
There is the Preview Of Glory. Second of all we have His Prayer.
His Prayer
V.59. Literally: And were stoning Stephen as he was invoking and saying, Lord Jesus, give welcome unto my spirit.
v.60 - And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Do you realize that Stephen was praying for those who were killing him? Stephen prayed for his enemies. He said: Lay not this sin to their charge. Have you ever prayed for someone you don't like. Someone that has hurt you? Yeah, I know some of you don't even pray for your friends, how is it expected that you pray for your enemies? Some things in life are going to have to change. Some things in your Christian life is going to have to change. Your prayer life is going to have to change.
Suggestion about prayer. Get a prayer partner and find a time to pray together. I trust you will find that a blessing and who knows some day you will even pray for your enemies. I don't expect none of us to be like Stephen, but I do expect for us to strive to be like him.
His Passing
V.60
The physical fact remains, but all the misery of it, the essential bitterness and the poison of it is turned into as we read in verse 60 " he fell asleep." As a tired child on its mother's lap, as weary man after long toil.
As the poet says " Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone, and taken thy wages."
Are you committing the keeping of your soul to Him now, by true faith, so that living you may have Him with you, and dying, a vision of His presence bending down to help and to save, and when you are dead, a life of rest united with the intensest activity. To sleep in Jesus is to awake in His likeness, and to be satisfied.
And today suffering for our convictions we come to know the deeper fellowship of the Spirit of Jesus.
It is suffering for our convictions. Suffering for the truth of the gospel. Taking a stand for Jesus on campus, home, or wherever you are so that we may know Him and the power of His resurrection.
That our prayer may be that in life or death Oh Lord abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Let us pray.
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The Use Of Logic in Evangelizing
Message by: Uriesou T. Brito
I want to entitle this message "
The use of logic in evangelizing" and surely this is a
response to a fideistic approach to Christian Apologetics.
When the writer of the first book of
the Bible recorded the words, " In the beginning
God..." he was not asking his readers to presuppose the
existence of God. They knew from experience who he was talking
about. Like the author himself, the people of Israel had seen
evidence of a miracle-working Being who had intervened in their
lives. Moses' words about God would have reminded the people that
Someone had provided manna for them during their wilderness
wanderings. And the mention of God would have made them think of
the water that came from a rock when they were thirsty, of a
pillar of fire that led them when they needed guidance, and of
the path through the Red Sea when they were trapped by the
Egyptians. Yes, Moses wrote the creation story for an audience
who had already seen the Creator in action.
The question is what about those who
never had that close encounter? You may say I’ve had that
close encounter; someone changed my life. Yes, I understand that.
You have been changed by the power of God. I have been changed as
well and so have most of you here. But, you see that was a
personal experience. May I remind you that others have been
transformed as well by the teachings of false prophets. Let me
give you a brief introduction on two of these cults.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses was
begun by Charles Taze Russel in 1872. He had great difficulty in
dealing with the doctrine of eternal hell fire and in his studies
came to deny not only eternal punishment, but also the Trinity,
and the deity of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Today the Society is
led by Mr. Henschel. The group has over 4 million members
worldwide. The Watchtower Society statistics indicate that 740
house calls are required to recruit each of the nearly 200,000
new members who join every year.
The Mormons claim to have been
changed by the teachings of Joseph Smith. Mormonism teaches that
God used to be a man on another world and that he became a god
following the laws and ordinances of his god on his home world.
In his present god-state, he rules our world. He has a body of
flesh and bones and, according to Mormonism, he has a wife, a
goddess wife. Mormon men and women have the potential of becoming
gods. President Lorenzo Snow said, “ As god once was, man
is. As God is, man may become.” Today, they have over 10
million spread around the world.
You may say, wait a minute
that’s wrong!! These cults are wrong! Oh really? Can you
please give me some evidence? Please don’t tell me that that
is not what you grew up hearing. Because then you are basing your
view on your traditions and Roman Catholics base their view on
traditionalism, right? (I Thessalonians 5:21: Prove all
things, hold fast that which is good). Cultists are better
prepared than some Christians to defend their faith. The Bible
tells us to be ready to give an answer. And I tell you that the
Scriptures can give us the evidence. Remember that some of these
cults believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures. Some of your
loved ones are involved in these cults and they are very close
into entering a Christ less eternity and some of you don’t
even care about learning why they are involved. You don’t
care about studying and giving them objective responses to their
false teachings.
1)The use of logic with
revelation.
Lidie Edmunds wrote in the 19th
century wrote a well-known hymn called: My faith has found a
resting place.
The hymn says: I need no other
argument, I need no other plea; It is enough that Jesus died, And
that He died for me.
Well, the writer was partly right.
First of all, these truths are enough for the regenerate soul,
but not for the unregenerate one. And secondly, though it is
great truth, I believe we shouldn’t stop there; we can also
seek for outside sources in order to increase our faith. For
instance, some classical arguments for God’s existence,
arqueology itself, scientific evidence etc.
So we conclude that your experience
is great evidence for you my friend, but not for the 2.7 billion
Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims in the world today. So, are we
going to depend only upon our salvation experience to share the
gospel with others? Well, according to the Bible, God has also
left us with an overwhelming amount of the evidence for His
existence. A.H Strong wrote: “ The universe is a source
of theology.” Romans 1:20 says: For since the creation of
the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine
nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has
been made, so that they are without excuse. Therefore the
Bible has given us another very effective tool in evangelizing.
Both the Old and the New Testament describe a number of
converging lines of evidence that point clearly to the existence
of an invisible God who, because of His eternal nature, is still
with us.
So, this morning we want to deal with
using logic against atheism or agnosticism. The Bible does not
ask us to accept the existence of God blindly. Instead, it shows
us how God, by His Spirit, has revealed Himself to us -- both in
the past and in the present. We have looked at the use of logic
with revelation.
2) The use of logic from
Scripture.
This morning our text is found in
I Peter 3:15.
Peter's first letter to the believers
scattered throughout Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) is filled
with instruction on how to live successfully in a fallen world.
This verse tells us to "sanctify the Lord God in your
hearts." To sanctify Christ as Lord is to treat Him as
He really is, to consciously yield to His authority and will.
" The focus of itself is upon the inward acknowledgement of
Christ's Lordship. The phrase "in your hearts"
refers to the believer's inner life. The believer's commitment
begins internally and works its way out in practical ways.
Peter goes on to elaborate on the
implications of Jesus’ Lordship. For him, this entails the
implementation of Christian truth and, among other things, a
readiness to give an account of one's hope. The passage reads: "always
being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an
account for the hope that is within you." "
Always" stresses the ongoing need to remain alert, for
unbelievers are watching. This means that hope, normally
considered an internal characteristic or mind set, is observable.
As the Christian anticipates Jesus' return, hope begins to swell,
and even present difficulties become something less than
defeating. Far from merely contemplated and verbalized wish,
biblical hope permeates the lives of God's people that
unbelievers are forced to take notice.
But hope is not only to be perceived
but also explained. What is needed is a defense or answer. Though
the Greek apologian (from which apologetics is derived) is used
of a formal defense in a courtroom setting, here it is "
being applied to informal exchanges between Christian and
non-Christian at any time (aei) and under varied
circumstances." The term "account" (logon)
similarly implies that " you are to state on what ground you
cherish that hope." In view, then, is the believer's effort
to communicate objective Christian realities, those which under
gird and stimulate hope. " This implies a constant
willingness to speak up for Him, to confess one's allegiance to
Him, and to witness fearlessly to his saving grace."
Logic is a system of reasoning. It is
the principles of proper thinking used to arrive at correct
conclusions. Of course, some people are better at thinking
logically than others and there is no guarantee that using logic
to the best of one's ability will guarantee conversion of anyone.
After all, logic is not what saves a person. Jesus does that.
3) The use of logic in
argumentation.
Therefore, the proper use of logic in
evangelizing is to remove intellectual barriers that hinder a
person from accepting Jesus as Savior. I am always very
interested in hearing different arguments against the use of
logic. Of course, one is, well, the Holy Spirit does the job. All
we have to do is go through the Romans road and if he accepts
great, if he doesn't then it just wasn't meant to be. I certainly
hope that none of you have such an imbecilic thought. May I be
very precise and clear in my statements? I am not, by any means
telling you that the logic of a fallen man will convict the
hearts of man, because we know from Scripture that only the
Spirit of God can do that. Logic is not to be raised as some
supernatural method of conversion, but it is simply a very
effective tool in evangelizing. Logic is a valuable tool in
witnessing, particularly when using proofs of God's existence.
Listen to this basic approach when dealing with atheists:
1. The universe exists.
2. The universe cannot be infinitely old because if it were, it
would have entered into a state of entropy long ago. In other
words it wouldn't have any more energy to work. Everything is
running down. We call it the second law of Thermodynamics.
3. Therefore, the universe had a beginning.
4. The universe could not have brought itself into existence.
Because we logically know that " Out of nothing, nothing
comes."
5. Something before the universe and greater than the universe
had to bring the universe into existence.
6. That something or Someone is God.
In fact, if an atheist comes to grip with himself he will find
himself very inconsistent, because an atheist makes a fundamental
error in that he makes an absolute claim that there isn’t a
God, but in order to make an absolute claim, you must have
absolute knowledge. And since no man has absolute knowledge, no
man can say that there isn’t a God. They are dealing with
what has never been revealed, while we’re dealing with what
has been revealed and that’s God’s revelation to the
cosmos.
Jude 3 says: " Beloved, while I
was very diligent to write to you concerning our common
salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to
contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered to the
saints."
There is the urge of Jude for all
Christians to contend earnestly for that precious faith. Logic
belongs to God. This is so because God has intervened the
universe, the physical laws, mathematics, and all other natural
and true phenomenon in it. Existence has an order because God
gave it order. Logic is true, not because it is logical, but
because it is a reflection of God's nature which is order and
truth. Therefore, logic, ultimately, belongs only to God and can
only properly be used by Him and, in matters pertaining to God,
by the Christian.
Why should we use logic? Let me give
you three reasons.
1) We are commanded by God to give an answer to unbelievers (I
Peter 3:15) and to reason (Isaiah 1:18).
2) God can, in His sovereignty, use our witness and reasoning to
bring someone into the kingdom. He is not limited by our
inadequacies.
3) Answers that are in agreement with God's word, given to
unbelievers, even if rejected, are still true answers. The
unbeliever will be held accountable on judgment day for rejecting
those truths (Romans 14:12)
Thus there must be truth and evidence shared by believer and
unbeliever alike. This viewpoint is based on the belief that the
God who gave us the Bible also created the universe, made man in
His image, and authored language, truth and logic. I believe that
if God has revealed Himself in such a wonderful way, my dear
friend I am convinced that He wants us to use this great tool
that He has so freely given to us when He made us in His own
image and that is logic.