Psalms (Program #40) -The Preciousness of Zion and Jerusalem in the Experiences and Praises of the Saints (2)

They are 15 Psalms that are referred to as the Psalms of the Ascent, from 120 to 134. These Psalms typified the ascending or raising up of God’s people, from a low suffering place to a place in the high peaks. These high places refer to as Zion in the scripture and it represents many things. Its’ from Zion that God first blesses His people and from Zion He deals with those who persecute and hate His people, is also from Zion that He bring His people into the light to realize their own fallen sinful condition so that they may repent and to receive His forgiveness. Making them humble where they had formally being proud and haughty. Once humbled God brings His people up to and into Zion where they can dwell in Him in oneness and where He can find His rest and His abode in them. This is Zion, this is the place to which we all must ascend for our ultimate destiny or destination in the Christian walk, is the heavenly Zion, the New Jerusalem where God and man will find their mutual habitation and full satisfaction.

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Colossians (Program #24) – Christ-The Constitution of the New Man

Paul the Apostle often repeats a thought if not the exact phrasing of the important truths that he opens up in his ministry. For example, both Ephesians and Colossians tell us that we must put on the new man. While we may think we understand his imperative, “to put on the new man”, but then again as often as the case when our understanding has become full and our view adjusted by the light of God’s Word, what we think and what the Bible reveals are often not that similar. I believe that such will be the case today for many in our listening audience as we come back to Colossians.

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Psalms (Program #39) – The Preciousness of Zion and Jerusalem in the Experiences and Praises of the Saints (1)

15 Psalms from Psalms 120 to 134 comprised a section known as the Psalms of ascent. They are all very short and very sweet.  Lord will we will see they bring us to the high peaks.

Psalms 120:1 ” In my distress I called out to Jehovah, And He answered me.”
That tells you a lot right there. The whole thing starts with distress and up until Psalms 119 is full of the law and they loved the law but they can’t keep the law, eventually the children of Israel don’t follow the law. And eventually start to serve idols. So, the result is they go to captivity and they are in distress. These Psalms of ascent started out with distress. If you do not have the distress where you go down you can never come up. So there is a lot of appreciation. more…

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Colossians (Program #23) – Christ-Our Life

We live in an age when Christians and faith in God and belief in His Word are under much outward attack. Things that were once accepted as firmly part of our heritage and foundation as a nation are now ridiculed, publicly criticized. Many believers see this as a time to rise up and be heard, be seen. Many high profile ministries, Christian workers vie for exposure in the media to make a name for themselves to counter this attack of God’s enemy against His people. But, what does the Bible say about our outward visibility? Yes, we are to be lights in the world shining forth with the Word of light, but we need to consider Paul’s word to the Church in Colossians 3. “If therefore you were raised together with Christ, seek the things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things which are above, not on the things which are on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ our life is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory.”

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Psalms (Program #38) – Christ—The Reality of the Law as the Testimony and the Word of God

consider for a moment an interesting observation.  Suppose the ruler of a country were to pass a law legalizing corruption, what will that tell you of the character of that ruler?  It will likely tell you that this person, this one making such law was also corrupt himself.  You see, laws are actually a kind of portrait of the law-giver.  So when we come to the laws of God we shall realize that they are a portrait of the Person that gave them.  In another word, the laws given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai is a portrait of the Person of God, a portrait of Jesus Christ.  So when we come to a passage of Scripture such as the 119th Psalm with its 176 verses many speaking of the law, we should have the impression that what we are seeing is not God’s demands upon you and me but rather we are seeing Christ as God’s expression and also the one to whom we are coming that He may supply us with Himself in order that we as His members could live Him out fully meeting even surpassing God’s every demand.

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Colossians (Program #22) – The Experience of Christ’s Death Versus Asceticism

Ask yourself this question “what is the center of the universe?”  Well, we many not know the answer as a point in space.  But the Bible shows us that in reality, the center, the focus of the universe is the unique , preeminent and all-inclusive person, Christ.  God’s government which administrates the universe also has a center and focus; and this is the cross of Christ.  These two items which are also the focus of the whole Bible, Christ and the cross.  One Person and one way.

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Psalms (Program #37) – The Praise of God’s Elect Consummating in the Particular Position of Christ

The four gospels give us a four-fold record of what Christ is and what He has done.  However, the gospel did not reveal Christ as much as the Psalms do.  Psalms 118:22 says “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the head of the corner.”  The head of the corner, that is the corner stone.  Christ as the corner stone is the hardest point to understand in the entire Bible.

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Colossians (Program #21) – Christ the Body of All Shadows and Christ versus Mysticism

Paul the Apostle is marvelous in his writing in the book of Colossians. He begins with a universal presentation of Christ, and not just Christ, but Christ in us the hope of glory. But then he turns and becomes very practical in leading us into the genuine experience of such a Christ. Listen to verses 16 and 17 in Chapter 2, “Let no one therefore judge you in eating and in drinking or in respect of a feast or of a new moon or of the Sabbath, which are a shadow of the things to come, but the body is of Christ”. Here, he begins to remove things like the law and angels and anything else that represents God to us in an indirect way. For God’s desire is that nothing stands between us and Him no matter how good or how religious it may seem.

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Psalms (Program #36) –  The Highest Revelation of Christ

OK, here is a Bible question for you.   There is one verse in the Old Testament that is quoted directly at least twenty times in the New Testament and is referred to indirectly at least another twenty times.  What Old Testament verse could possibly command this much attention in the New Testament?  Well, here is a clue: it’s a verse from the Psalms.  In fact, it’s from a Psalms that Martin Luther said it’s the highest revelation of Christ in all the Psalms.  Give up?  It is Psalms 110:1  “Jehovah declares to my Lord, Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies Your footstool.”  That’s our topic today.

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Colossians (Program #20) – The Economy Of God’s Salvation

As the Church in Colossae continued after its promising beginning, several factors became important to the believers there. Among these were the practice of keeping various ordinances and aspects of the Old Testament law as well as the influence of those who promoted the worship of angels to serve as intermediaries between sinful and fallen man and the righteous and holy God. Though these things may not seem harmful or dangerous, Paul the Apostle went to great lengths to completely eradicate these factors from the sphere or the realm of the salvation of the saints.

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