APRIL 11, 2023 

 “But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.” (Micah 4:4)

Our text opens with but they, referring to the Lord’s Redeemed. This is a reference to those redeemed from Babylonian captivity upon writing, but the text also applies to all who call on the name of the Lord.

As a kid, I often played outside with my neighbors, as I’m sure many remember doing. We would run around for hours doing whatever popped into our adolescent heads. Anyway, we had a few big trees around the edge of our cul-de-sac, and after fooling around in the hot sun for a few hours, nothing was better than taking a break and relaxing in the comforting shade of one of the trees. This verse is not talking about sitting in the shade in a literal sense, but rather speaks metaphorically of our peace in Christ, likening it to sitting in the shade during a hot day. This will be made good in the peace under the Messiah.

Those that were once enemies will be made friends. This verse assures us that the redeemed of Babylon should enjoy their own estate with excellent safety and security, which will be provided to the returned, resettled captives, and spiritually is made good among those redeemed by Christ; those who embrace the gospel.

We hear that this will come true because the Lord has spoken it. The merciful, wise, faithful, and almighty God has spoken it. He has promised it, and since He promised, it will be. This gives us the most significant confirmation and assurance of the future accomplishment of the prediction and promise.

Every summer, a large chunk of the extended Henry family goes camping at Table Rock Lake. At nighttime, all the kids gather around the campfire and exchange stories, but the main event was always when Uncle Mark would tell one of his famous scary stories. I remember the night after one of his more frightening tales vividly. Most of his stories took place around our campsite, oddly enough, and I was sure that the monster would come and get me at any second. I was young, and I remember lying on the air mattress staring at the tent’s roof, and just being paralyzed with fear. We all know this fear, but we should note that when we bow to the lord, we will have no more fear. With God, we can peacefully sit in the shade of our fig tree and be completely safe no matter what’s happening around us.

APRIL 6, 2023  

 “And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it to the minister, and sat down…”(Luke 4:17-20)

What a striking account our Lord gave of His own office and ministry to the folks at Nazareth where He grew up! But first, we should observe in these verses what honor He gave to the public means of grace.“He went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.” We can hardly suppose that the Jewish synagogue, with the Scribes and Pharisees teaching, that much of the Spirit’s presence and blessing were enjoyed. Yet, even so, our Lord was in attendance in the place where His Father’s Day and Word were publicly acknowledged. There is a practical lesson for us in this part of our Lord’s conduct and discipline. He would have us know that we are not to lightly forsake the assemblies where the Word of God is preached.

As Jesus would here identify Himself in the true character of Messiah, He chose a passage from the book of Isaiah in which the prophet foretold the nature of the work Messiah was to do when He came into the world. He would “preach the gospel to the poor.” Or, in the words of Isaiah 61:1, He would“preach good tidings unto the meek.” He was coming to “heal (bind up) the brokenhearted.” He would be sent to “preach deliverance to the captives, sight to the blind, and liberty to the bruised.” He would “preach the acceptable year of the Lord,” i.e. “The year of Jubilee” to all the world. Once our Lord had read this passage, He then told those who were gathered around Him, that Isaiah’s prophecy was presently seeing its fulfillment in their midst, meaning that He Himself was the Anointed One of whom the prophet had spoken, and the marvelous figures of the passage would find their fulfillment in Him and His Gospel.

We may well know that there was a deep meaning in the selection of this special Scripture from Isaiah. He desired to impress on His Jewish hearers the true character of the Messiah, Whom they were expecting. They were looking for a mere temporal king, who would deliver them from Roman domination and make them once more first among the nations. Messiah’s Kingdom was to be a spiritual kingdom over hearts. His redemption was not from the power of Rome, but from the power of sin, death, and hell.

Let us take care that we know for ourselves in what light we ought chiefly to regard Christ. It is right and good to reverence Him as very God. It is well to know Him as Head over all things. But we must not rest there if we hope to be saved. We must know Jesus as the Friend of the poor in spirit, the Physician of the diseased heart, the Healer of the broken heart, and the Deliverer of the soul in bondage. These are the principal offices He came on earth to fulfill. It is in this capacity that we must come to know Him, and that, by inward experience, as well as by the hearing of the ear. Without such knowledge, we shall die in our sins.

Our Lord said, “Be careful how you hear.” We have here an instructive example of the careless manner in which many hear the Gospel, for while they “bare Him witness, and marveled at His gracious words,” their hearts remained unmoved, as the passage goes on to show. Even so, there are thousands who listen to Gospel preaching with admiration, and with consent to the truth of it, but their religion never goes beyond that point. Let us not be as these Nazareth hearers, who admired the Preacher and His message, but beyond temporary feelings, there was no positive effect. In fact, they were soon filled with envy and enmity against Christ. Oh, what a tragedy for folks to hear such a glorious Gospel, and remain in their unbelief!

APRIL 4, 2023 

 “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32)

In our text, we have the Apostle Paul’s final words to the elders of the church of Ephesus. These words did not belong to the whole church of Ephesus; and also, to the church eternal. While they are addressed to the church, they are for anyone who will believe in Christ and Him Crucified. In other words, these words are given to all of humanity, both believing and unbelieving. But the context shows that Paul is speaking to the church. He is speaking to his beloved. He is speaking to born-again, spirit-filled believers. This is important to grasp, especially for our day. We live in a day that denounces sound teaching and exalts spiritual “promptings,” which thinks little of being disciplined students because we can be led by “inward feelings.” We live in a day in which people no longer believe that we are guided by the sound instruction of the Lord, but rather by how we feel. Today, the feelings of men are equated with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

But notice the Apostle Paul’s last words to those who are to lead the church. He has been teaching the church of Ephesus for 3 years and now he is giving his final words of the men who will be entrusted with this work. His final words to them are: “Now I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you the inheritance among all of those who are sanctified.” The Apostle Paul, who taught these men with the Word of God, knows that it is God and His Word alone that can build them up and give them the inheritance of the saints. While the Spirit of God is included in this text because our God is one, Paul does not divide the Trinity and declare, “I commend you to the Spirit of God.” He does not leave the elders with such words as, “I commend you to the Spirit of God, Who will build you up with inward promptings.” No! He commends the church to the whole Godhead and to His Word because he knows that the Spirit of God never works apart from the Word of God.

The church of Jesus Christ is built up by a sound understanding of the sound doctrines of God. The church is built by God and His Word. The Spirit of God enlightens the individual and gives the individual sound understanding of the Doctrines of God. But the Spirit does not stop there. The Spirit of God works within the individual by changing his heart and conforming him to the image of Christ through sound understanding of the sound doctrines of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The saints receive wisdom and understanding that instructs the mind and changes the heart.

When the Apostle Paul commended the saints of Ephesus to God and the Word of His grace, he declared God’s eternal means of building up His church. While God never changes, His means never change, and the church must stand firm upon God and His Word!

If you want to know God and His ways, study the Word of God prayerfully and be taught by men who actually teach the sound doctrines of God prayerfully! But do not stop there; seek to be conformed to the Word of His grace. Do not be content with having an intellectual understanding of such glorious truths, because that will only lead you to pride and hypocrisy, and its end will be your destruction. Seek God that He may change your heart by His Word and conform you to the image of your Creator. It is nothearers only that are saved, but those who are doers of God’s Word.

MARCH 30, 2023 

 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” (Psalm 46:1-3)

In Psalm 46, the poet starts with God’s provision. Many other psalms begin with a description of the psalmist’s crisis. He looked to God for help in difficult times and found it. He could say these things by experience: God Himself was a place of refuge, as the cities of refuge protected the fugitive in Israel; He was the strength for His people, being strong for and in them, and He alone was his refuge and strength, not God and something or someone else, but Him alone.

A ‘refuge’ is “a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble.” God is our safety and shelter from all the nonsense of the world. Many things are going on in our lives, whether it be issues with health, relationships, finances, or whatever else. Even when it may seem that the world is falling apart and changing around us, we must never forget that God is our protection. We can always depend on Him to protect us at all times.

All creatures, when in distress, run to their refuges. Since the psalmist applies the logic of faith and puts forth that if God is a natural refuge, strength, and help to His people, then there is no logical reason to fear – even in the biggest crisis.

I love my dad and have always admired him. When I was younger, my dad always told me that if anyone was ever giving me a hard time, I could come to him, and he would sort it out. My dad would always ensure his kids were protected; he exemplified the kind of Father God is.

I am a child of God and have nothing to fear because he will always be my refuge and strength. The same thought continues in verses 10-11 where it says: “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.”

When I was younger, my dad always used a quote from The Gipper (which was a story about a football player). He’d say, “When the chips are down, and the breaks are beating the boys, you can always count on so-and-so,” filling in whomever he was talking about, someone who was always on your team. This quote becomes even more true when it’s applied to God. As His children, we can always count on our Heavenly Father to be our refuge, always keeping His children safe. Even if the earth shakes, is flooded, or even explodes beneath us, we shall not fear.