Blog Archives - WELCOME TO THE JOY OF TROY

August 21, 2018

8/21/2018

Jesus Revealed in Doctrine                        HIS GLORIOUS APPEARING

        For as the lightening cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Matt. 24:27.

    Jesus was being held captive before Caiaphas. False witnesses were coming in to try and prove Him deserving of death. But Jesus held His peace. Finally, in frustration, the high priest said to Him, "I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God" (Matt. 26:63). When Jesus was under oath, in this earthly tribunal, even though He had been holding His peace, He did not hesitate to reply. Not only did He answer the question, but He gave more than He was asked for. "Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." That could keep the high priest awake for many nights. He got that for which he did not ask. Jesus under oath promised that He would come again. How can you improve on that for proving that He's coming?

    If there is anything the devil hates to hear about, it is the fact that Jesus is coming back to earth. He knows that when that happens, his power will be at an end. So he tries to deceive as many as possible by projecting onto Jesus his own manner of working. How does Satan work? He is sneaky? The devil doesn't come openly. He sneaks. So he has been working to convince people everywhere that Jesus is planning to sneak in and sneak out. But we are told that every eye will see Him (Rev. 1:7). He will come as the lightening. There is nothing secret about Jesus' coming except the day and the hour, which only the Father knows (2 Peter 3:10).

    Why does Jesus come? The answer tells us something important about Jesus Jesus finishes what He begins. Because we are slaves to the clock, it seems to us that there has been a long wait. We sometimes wonder whether He will finish His work. Scoffers have said it won't happen. But the time in fast approaching when "he that shall come will come."

    During this waiting time our task is to seek to know Jesus and help others to know Him, so that when He comes we will be found of Him in peace. Those who have walked with Jesus here will be able to look up and say, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us."

August 20, 2018

8/20/2018

Jesus Revealed in Doctrine                        HOPE FOR A SICK WORLD

        And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;...for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. Luke 21:25, 26.

    If I were a physician and had a patient as ill as this world is now, I would despair of being able to do anything to help him. A patient with a weak heart is not necessarily doomed to an early death. With good care and intelligent treatment, he has a good chance of living to a ripe old age. If, however, he is afflicted with cancer also, and tuberculosis and pneumonia, if he breaks out all over in a rash, and contracts typhoid, and in addition to all this has a stroke or two, his chance of recovery would be about nil.

    This is the condition of the world today. Unrest is breaking out all over. The cancer of sin has permeated the whole social fabric. Vice and dissipation have broken down the constitution. False political and religious doctrines are poisoning the well-springs of life. The air is contaminated with intolerance and hatred. The whole world seems on the verge of collapse. The first stroke came in the first world war, followed by a second and worse global war. To the astonishment of many, the patient rallied, and doctors are now frantically looking for a remedy that will prevent another stroke. Few believe that civilization will survive one more. It is three times and out. The only solution to the problem is Jesus Christ, and He is coming soon, to set up a kingdom that will last forever.

    Seventh-day Adventists believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ. They have taught it and preached it and hoped for it for a long time. There was a time when those who believed in the end of the world were considered alarmists.  Today they are considered realists. Even scientists and statesmen are concluding that we cannot go on much longer. But we have this hope--the hope that He that shall come will come. The hope that He will come with clouds, and every eye shall see Him. The hope that He is coming to gather His children home, and bring an end to sin and sorrow. The center of our hope is Jesus. It is Jesus who is coming back again. It is Jesus who has been preparing a home for us. It is Jesus who has the only answer for the dying world.

August 19, 2018

8/19/2018

Jesus Revealed in Doctrine                        GOD WANTS YOU THERE

        But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Eph. 2:13.

    Have you ever wondered whether heaven will be worth it? Have you ever thought that perhaps you don't need to live forever with God? But what about God? Is it possible that He needs you, that He wants you? Perhaps one of the greatest reasons for desiring heaven is just because He wants us there so very much.

    The mansions, the streets of gold, the fruit of the tree of life, all have been prepared with your happiness in mind. The God who created every leaf and blade of grass and snowflake unique created only one you. Each individual is different. Each one is special. Each one is loved by God as if there were not another soul upon earth for whom Jesus gave His life. If you refuse His offer of salvation, and decide that the price of heaven is too great, throughout eternity you will be missed by His great heart of love.

    Are you going to be there? Or do you say, "I've gone too far in sin. I'll never make it to heaven. There's not a chance in the world for me." A teen-ager told me one time, "If I got to heaven I'd be so surprised I don't know what I'd do."

    "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." Have you been a long way off? Through the blood of Jesus you are made near. There is good news for you today. You can accept the gift of salvation and be brought near through the blood of Jesus. He invites you today to a saving relationship with Him, so that you can be assured of a home in heaven tomorrow.

    "In the Bible the inheritance of the saved is called 'a country.' Hebrews 11:14-16. There the heavenly Shepherd leads His flock to fountains of living waters. The tree of life yields its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the service of the nations. There are ever-flowing streams, clear as crystal, and beside them waving trees cast their shadows upon the paths prepared for the ransomed of the Lord. There the wide-spreading plains swell into hills of beauty, and the mountains of God rear their lofty summits. On those peaceful plains, beside those living streams, God's people, so long pilgrims and wanderers, shall find a home."--The Great Controversy, p. 675.

August 18, 2018

8/18/2018

August 18

Jesus Revealed in Doctrine                        WHEN TIREDNESS ENDS

        For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. Phil. 3:20, 21.

    Most of us could stand some changing, some working over. All of us can accept the need for change at the time of glorification. We will be made like His glorious body. It will be a real body, for Jesus is real, and when He comes again He will take us to a real place.

    In the New Jerusalem, Jesus is preparing a place for His people. We are promised mansions to live in (John 14:1-3). We are told about what some of our activities will be. We will build houses and inhabit them. We will plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. We will not labor in vain, but will long enjoy the work of our hands (Isaiah 65).

    Jesus is also interested in our identity. The New Jerusalem has foundations, and on those foundations are the names of people. They are the same names that their mothers gave them when they were born. We will be known by our names, by our features, by our mannerisms. We shall know even as also we are known (1 Cor. 13:12).

    Sometimes young people say, "Who wants to go to heaven--I'd get tired of living forever!" But stop and think for a minute about what it is in this life that makes you tired. We get tired of tears. But Isiah 65:19 says that the voice of weeping will be heard no more, nor the voice of crying. Revelation 7:17 says that God shall wipe away all tears from the eyes of the redeemed. We get tired of sin. Revelation 21:27 says that nothing abominable will be in the New Jerusalem. We get tired of death, and of pain. Revelation 21:4 says there shall be "no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall thee be any more pain." We get tired of sickness. But Isaiah 33:24 says that "the inhabitants shall not say, I am sick" We get tired of being lonely. But Revelation 21:3 says that God Himself shall dwell with them, and be their God, and they shall be His people.

    Jesus has offered us the choice to live forever. Heaven is a real place, and it was created with our highest happiness in mind.

August 17, 2018

8/17/2018

Jesus Revealed in Doctrine                        HEAVEN IS REAL

        Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2.

    Would you like to live your life over again? Most people say, "I surely would. There are a lot of things I'd do differently." No. Would you like to live life over again just the way you have lived it, without changing any part of it? The more one has seen of what life has to offer in this world, the quicker comes the response, "No, thanks."

    Since this is true, then one of the greatest hopes that we have here is for heaven. To accept the salvation that God has provided, and to help others accept it, is our biggest purpose for being here. Aren't you thankful today that we believe in heaven?

    There are many people who do not believe that heaven is a real place. But the doctrine of heaven, as a real place, is a Bible doctrine in which Seventh-day Adventists believe strongly. If heaven seems unreal to you, perhaps it is because Jesus seems unreal. A skeptic once said to a little street urchin who believed in heaven, "But what if you get to heaven, and Jesus isn't there?" And the boy replied, "Where Jesus is, that is heaven." If Jesus is real, then heaven is real.

    Is Jesus real? Most people believe that He was real before His resurrection. Some have trouble believing He is real afterward. But the Bible teaches that Jesus is real post-resurrection. Luke 24:39, the disciples thought they were seeing a ghost, but Jesus said, "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." Thomas was the doubter, but Jesus told him in John 20:27, "Reach hither your hand. Touch me. Handle me." And Thomas exclaimed, "My Lord and my God." Jesus was just as real after He was resurrected as He was before.

    Add to that 1 John 3:2, "But we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." We are going to be like Jesus when He comes again. And since Jesus is real, when we see Him face to face we will be real. Heaven won't be some vague, mystical place; it will be real.

August 16, 2018

8/17/2018

Witness                        JESUS WENT TO CHURCH

        And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day. Luke 4:16.

    We give public confession of our allegiance and our worship of Jesus when we attend church. Matthew 10:32 says that if we confess Jesus before men, He will confess us before His Father. Jesus went to church, giving us an example to follow. He went to church to announce to the world His connection with His Father, and His allegiance to Him. He went to church to give, and kept on going to church, in spite of the difficulties He encountered.

    Jesus stood up at the synagogue one Sabbath in Nazareth, and read from the book of Isaiah. He read that He was sent to preach the gospel to the poor. Why? Because those who are rich are increased with goods and in need of nothing cannot understand the gospel. He said He was sent to heal the brokenhearted. Why? Because it is when the heart has been broken and emptied of self that it feels its need. He was sent to preach deliverance to the captives. Why? Because all of us are captives to sin, and only those who realize their bondage are open for the Son who can set them free. He was sent to bring recovering of sight to the blind. Why? Because without spiritual eyesalve, we can't see our need of Christ's righteousness. He came to set at liberty them that bruised.

    Have you ever been beaten and bruised by the devil? Have you been discouraged because of your sins? Have you felt condemned, and guilty, and afraid that Jesus wouldn't accept you? There is good news. Jesus accepts you just as you are. Poor? Brokenhearted? Captive to sin? Blind? Bruised and bleeding? Yes. He loves to accept you just as you are.

    Jesus went to church for the purpose of sharing the good news. And He knew where it would lead Him. It led Him down the rocky, rugged path to the cross. But all through His life He went to church, and gave, and continued to give and serve and reach out to others.

    I invite you to make it your custom to go to church, for the purpose of giving to others, at least the influence of your presence. I invite you to join in sharing the good news of the gospel with those who are in need, by going to church to give rather than merely to get. To give is far bigger, far better than to receive.

August 15, 2018

8/17/2018

Witness                        THE ORGANIZED BODY

        For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 1 Cor. 12:12.

    Can you imagine a human body disorganized? What would happen if the brain, instead of telling the hand to open the door, decided to do away with organization? The face would get smashed. I'm thankful that the body is organized. And organization is meaningful for the church body as well.

    A body cannot live without eating. But what is it about the body that eats? Is it the mouth? No. If you cut out the mouth, and tell it to eat, it's not going to eat. Is it the stomach that eats? No. It's the mouth and the stomach and all the rest of the body, clear out to the tiny cells, that absorb nourishment from the bloodstream. The whole body eats. And eating is one of the things the church body does. John 6 talks about it. We eat the bread of life and drink the water of life.

    A body must also exercise. 1 Timothy 4:7, 8, refers to this. Exercise, in the spiritual sense, is outreach and service for others.

    There are two reasons that we can have for coming to church and meeting with the other members of Christ's body. We come to church to get, and we come to church to give. If your primary reason for coming to church is to get, then you find it easy to skip it, and go for a walk in the woods. But to give is the greater purpose for attending church. There are ways that we can give as a corporate body that would be impossible for us individually. Which one of you, by yourself, has ever sent out a missionary to a foreign field? But think of the hundreds that have been sent out by the church!

    When we go to church to give, as well as to receive, we will see the importance of meeting together with the body of Christ. There may be those who have just been rescued from the Jericho road who need our help. And the great Good Samaritan says to those who are willing to give to others, "Take care of them. And when I come again, I will repay you."

August 14, 2018

8/17/2018

Witness                        FAITH AND REASON

        And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up. John 3:14.

    There are at least three types of people who go to church. There is the committed Christian, who loves to see Jesus lifted up. He goes to church because he wants to. Nothing can keep him away. He has been solidly converted. He desires nothing so much as communication with the Lord Jesus. He has a meaningful prayer life and studies God's Word. He loves to share with others. He has learned to trust in God, and when God says go to church, he says, All right, if God says it, I'll do it. If he had been present when Moses said for the people to look at the snake, he would have looked at the snake without question. He believes that God knows what is best for him.

    For the committed Christian it is pointless to talk about reasons for going to church, because that's where he desires to be. The committed Christian goes to church because he loves to. But in almost any so-called Christian group, there are some who are not committed Christians.

    There is another group of people who go to church who are simply regular church members. Somewhere along the line they got baptized. It may or may not have meant something to them at that time, but they have no current relationship with the Lord Jesus. They go to church because it is a habit. They are stuck. They have a beaten path between home and church, and can't get out of the routine. They go for the sake of their reputation, or for some other selfish reason. If this sort of person had been alive at the time of Moses, he would have probably insisted on knowing a good reason before he looked. God is not against reason. It's not wrong to have some understanding, so long as we don't insist on having everything completely clear before we are willing to act on God's Word.

    The third type of person who comes to church is actually hostile to religion. He comes the church because he is forced to come. Not only would he be uninterested in looking at the snake, but he wouldn't care about reasons for it, either. This type is not interested, period. But for all three types, God, through His Holy Spirit, is present in His church. He will meet the needs of any who come to Him. He will do all that He can do to reach each one.

August 13, 2018

8/17/2018

Witness                        WHY GO TO CHURCH?

        Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised); and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. Heb. 10:23, 24.

    What is the worst reason you can think of for going to church? What is the best reason you can think of? As I have pondered why people go to church, and why I go to church, I think that the worst reason I as a preacher could possibly have for going is because it's my job. But here from the Bible are three good reasons for going.

    The first is because God tells us to. Hebrews 10:25: "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."

    The second reason is because the church is a body, and there is no complete body without all of the members together. This truth is found in 1 Corinthians 12:27: "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." Paul goes on to give a parable of how the physical body teaches us important truths about the body of Christ, His church. The body needs every member, even the ones who are considered insignificant. It takes all the different parts to make the whole, and a body is only a body if it hangs together.

    The third reason for going to church is because Jesus went to church. It was His custom. But if anyone ever had an excuse for not going to church, it was Jesus. Have you ever attended church and had the other members become so upset with you that they took you out afterward and tired to push you off a cliff? Jesus did. But He didn't stop going to church.

    Sometimes people come to me and say, "I don't need to go to church. I get more of a blessing just being out in nature." Notice the emphasis: "I get." And when someone tells me that, I remind them on the basis of case history and on the basis of God's Word, that they are going to die. It is a fact. If you cut off your foot and send it out for a walk in the woods, it isn't going to live very long. They tell me that you can cut off a lizard's tail, and it keeps wiggling for a little bit. But not for long. And although a lizard can grow a new tail, a tail can't grow a new lizard. No member of the body can live for long without the rest of the body. Union with the body is essential for life, for growth, and for usefulness.

August 12, 2018

8/12/2018

Witness                        LIONS IN THE STREET

        The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets. Prov. 22:13.

    The slothful man is really saying that he doesn't want to go out into the streets because he might get hurt. He would be taking a chance if he went out. He'd rather stay home where it's warm comfortable and safe. Have you ever felt like this man when you were invited to become involved in the Christian witness? Is it possible in that sense to stay in the house because we are afraid there are lions out there, and we might be hurt?

    One reason many find it so comfortable to stay inside by the fire is because of spiritual uncertainty in their own lives. They realize deep down that their religion is just a habit or façade. They shrink from having it closely examined by others. So they stay away from witnessing because they aren't that sure of their own standing with God.

    Another lion in the street is the fear of being pushed into a theological corner by someone asking hard questions. Have you ever wanted to stay inside by the fire because of that reason? We have a tendency to let the professionals do the witnessing for us, to let them face to lions in the street in our behalf. We figure that they are lion tamers! They are supposed to have all the right answers, and know how it's done.

    A third lion in the street is the fear of failure. Have you ever tired to witness to someone, perhaps given Bible studies or whatever, and felt you failed? Have you been afraid that it was your fault that the people to whom you witnessed did not decide for God?

    To deal with these lions on the street, I'd like to remind you that for the spiritually uncertain, to come into Jesus' presence is a motivating experience. When we know Jesus as our friend, and realize His loving acceptance, we will no longer be afraid of that particular lion. Second, the primary Christian witness is to tell others what Jesus means to us. And we can always admit that we don't know a theological answer, but are willing to search for it. And third, we have never been asked to weary ourselves over success. The results of our work are to be left in God's hands. God invites us today to become involved in active service for Him, and He will deal with the lions.