Text Illustration:
In Edward Gibbons book, The Decline and Fall
of the Roman Empire, he mentions a
statement from one of the most powerful,
prosperous, and prestigious Muslim rulers of
the Roman era. Gibbons wrote,
It may therefore be of some use to borrow
the experience of the same Abdalrahman,
whose magnificence has perhaps excited our
admiration and envy, and to transcribe an
authentic memorial which was found in the
closet of the deceased caliph. I have now
reigned above fifty years in victory or peace;
beloved by my subjects, dreaded by my
enemies, and respected by my allies. Riches
and honours, power and pleasure, have
waited on my call, nor does any earthly
blessing appear to have been wanting to my
felicity. In this situation I have diligently
numbered the days of pure and genuine
happiness which have fallen to my lot: they
amount to FOURTEEN: O man! Place not
thy confidence in this present world!
(Chapter 52)
Text Illustration:
Opening Statement: I have this little
quotation on my bulletin board in my
office. It is entitled, Life But No Living.
It reads:
First I was dying to finish high school and
start college. And then I was dying to finish
college and start working. And then I was
dying to marry and have children. And then
I was dying for my children to grow old
enough for school so I could return to work.
And then I was dying to retire. And now, I
am dyingand suddenly I realize I forgot to
live. Anonymous
'Toy Story 3' Shows the Power of
Blessing Others' Gifts
In the movie Toy Story 3, Andy, the owner of
Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and other toys, is
preparing to leave for college. At the end of
the movie, he decides to give his toys to a
young girl named Bonnie.
The scene starts with Andy entering the front
gate of Bonnie's home and showing her the
box of toys. Andy tells her, "I'm Andy.
Someone told me you're really good with
toys. These are mine, but I'm going away
now, so I need someone really special to play
with them." Then as Andy proceeds to hand
the toys to Bonnie, he introduces them by
saying something special about each one.
He begins with his toy cowgirl Jessie: "This is
Jessiethe roughest, toughest cowgirl in the
whole West. She loves critters, but none
more'n her best pal, Bullseye."
Andy then hands Bonnie his toy
Tyrannosaurus, Rex, "the meanest, most
terrifying dinosaur who ever lived."
For the Potato Heads, Andy says, "The Potato
HeadsMister and Missus. You gotta keep
em together cause they're madly in love."
Slinky the Dog "is as loyal as any dog you
could want."
Andy blesses Hamm, the Pig, by saying,
"He'll keep your money safe, but he's also
one of the most dastardly villains of all time,
Evil Dr. Pork Chop!"
Buzz Lightyear is "the coolest toy ever. Look,
he can fly, and shoot lasers. He's sworn to
protect the galaxy from the evil Emperor
Zurg!"
Finally, for his pal Woody, Andy says, "He's
been my pal as long as I can remember. He's
brave, like a cowboy should be. And kind,
and smart. But the thing that makes Woody
special? Is he'll never give up on youever.
He'll be there for you, no matter what."

 that you shared online. It is fun, easy, and

increasingly common to make the photographer
OUR #SELFIE
the subject of the photograph when smartphones
CENTRED SOCIETY are equipped with cameras that face back
towards the user. Consequently, 2013 was a year
saturated with #selfies.

Every
year, the Oxford Dictionary editorial board
decides on a word of the year. To do this, they
employ sophisticated software that sifts through A #selfie Centered Society
web content and analyzes roughly 150 million
English words that are currently in use around the In a recent study, 2,000 individuals living in the
world. The word or expression that garners the UK were interviewed about their social media
most popularity over the course of a year is habits. Over 51 percent admitted to taking a
declared the winner and is believed to reflect the selfie. This study also found that while
ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the particular individuals of all ages did admit to taking selfies,
year. In 2013, the word selfie was awarded the photos seem to be a generational
this honor. phenomenon with 75 percent being created by
those 18 to 24 years of age. One commentator
The online version of the Oxford Dictionary offers joked that of the 16 billion photos shared on
the following definition of selfie: Instagram in 2013, roughly 15, 999, 999, 999
were selfies. The actual number is somewhere in
Selfie: noun, informal
the ballpark of 90 million.
(also selfy; plural selfies)
Apparently, selfies are appropriate at any time
A photograph that one has taken of oneself,
and in any place. This is clear in Time Magazines
typically one taken with a smartphone or
compilation of the 11 Most Memorable Selfies of
webcam and uploaded to a social media website.
2013. In one instance there is the selfie of a
student in class with his teacher. The teacher
Readers of this blog who frequent social media
however, is not complicit in the selfie because
websites are probably familiar with the
she is too busy going into labor.
abundance of smartphone self-portraits
categorized as #selfies.* If you are like me, you
have probably been guilty at one point of
extending your arm, turning your smartphone
camera towards your face, and snapping a selfie
 putting ourselves and those around us on pause
in order to document our lives.

When asked to explain the reasons for taking a

selfie, participants in the UK study said it allowed
them to remember a funny moment, to capture a
nice dress or a good hair day, or to feel
confident. Interestingly, when asked how they
would describe other peoples selfies, responses
This failure to respect time and place is not varied from fun-loving and confident, to
limited to secondary students. On December 10, attention-seeking, vain, self-absorbed, egotistical,
2013, President Barack Obama took a selfie that and insecure.
included British Prime Minister David Cameron
and Denmark Prime Minister Helle Thorning
Schmidt. This #selfie may not have made
international news, except for the fact that it was
taken when all three of these world leaders were
in Johannesburg attending the funeral for the
former South African president, Nelson Mandela.
(Clearly the First Lady was not interested).

If the editorial board of Oxford Dictionary is

correct, the selfie reflects the ethos, mood, and
preoccupations of our moment in time. Does this
mean we are vain or confident? Are we fun-

Sherry Turkle of MIT, argues that the #selfie is a loving or attention seeking? How do we move

natural extension of digital habits which typically forward in a selfie saturated society, when the

interrupt experience in order to mark the selfie is no longer a passing fad, but a way of life

moment. In many ways, Turkle continues, our for many individuals? I would argue that the way

desire to capture images of ourselves in any forward begins with two steps.

scenario is no different than texting friends at

Step One: Know thy #Selfie.
dinner, church, and even funerals. The problem
she points to is one that has been central to this
Step Two: Forget thy #Selfie.
blog:

1: Know Thy #selfie

Technology doesnt just do things for us. It does
things to us, changing not just what we do but Peggy Drexler, writing for Pyschology Today
who we are. The selfie makes us accustomed to wonders what selfies say about the vast majority
of young women who take them. She admits that 2: Forget Thy #selfie
On the surface, the trend is sort of affirming, if
undeniable self-absorbed because women In a sermon entitled Blessed Self-Forgetfulness,

increasingly have a healthy image of Timothy Keller, the pastor of Redeemer

themselves. However, when as Drexler begins to Presbyterian Church in New York, discussed what

unpack the selfie as a manifestation of societies a heart changed by the gospel looks like by

values, she concludes: expounding on I Corinthians 4:3-5. These verses

read:
[Selfies] are also a manifestation of societys
obsession with looks and its ever-narcissistic I care very little if I am judged by you or by any

embrace. Theres a sense that selfie subjects feel human court; indeed I do not even judge myself.

as though theyre starring in their own reality My conscience is clear but that does not make me

shows, with an inflated sense of self that allows innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore

them to believe their friends or followers are judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till

interested in seeing them lying in bed, lips the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is

pursed, in a real world headshot. Its like looking hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of

in the mirror all day long, and letting others see mens hearts.

you do it. And that can have real and serious

Throughout the sermon, Keller walks through a
implications.
historical account of cultural views of the self,
arguing that it was common in pre-twentieth
century cultures to stress that a too high view of
ourselves was the root cause of evil. Clearly, he
argues, this belief has been turned on its head in
the 20th (and 21st) century, where high self-
esteem, or a high view of our self, is believed to
be the root of success in life.

Drexler touches on a
According to Keller, when Paul talks to the
key point if we are going to know our #selfies.
Corinthians, he indicates a third option: self-
Posting selfies on social media is rarely for the
forgetfulness. Keller argues that Paul, in telling
benefit of others. It is primarily for the selfie-
the Corinthians, I dont care what you think and I
esteem of the individual who waits for the
dont even care what I think. I only care about
comments and compliments from others. Herein
what God thinks, reassured them that it is only
lies a problem with selfie-culture: it reinforces the
the Lord who judges. Therefore, they (and we)
lie that self-worth, or self-esteem, or your own
are not to worry about thinking highly or lowly of
identity is something attained and sustained by
ourselves. Rather, we are free to humbly forget
the likes of others. This manifestation of our
ourselves and think only on the Lord. Keller
cultural obsession with looksand an inflated
summarizes the blessings of this gospel-humility:
sense of self, is predicated on a lie that
contradicts the truth of the gospel. This is a truth
A truly Gospel-humble person is not a self-hating
which offers us freedom in the form of self-
person or a self-loving person, but a Gospel-
forgetfulness.
loving person. The truly Gospel-humble person is
a self-forgetful person whose ego is just like his or
her toes. It does not draw attention to itself. The
toes just work; the ego just works. Neither draws
attention to itself. The true Gospel humility
is blessed self-forgetfulness not thinking more
of myself as in modern cultures, or less of myself
as in traditional cultures but simply thinking
about myself less and focusing on being a
blessing to others. A heart that is open to Christ
will be open to those He loves. [emphasis mine].

What would it look like if our social media habits

were shaped by self-forgetfulness?

Moving into 2014, I want to challenge you as well

as myself to put the principles of the gospel into
practice in daily digital life. This might just mean
forgetting our #selfies and, as Keller reminds us,
focus on being a blessing to others instead.
 Biblical Priorities Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III

For the Life of the

Amen. If you have your Bibles, I'd
invite you to open them to I

Church (14) - Corinthians 10:31. Were going to

look at five passages this

Glorying in God, morning, but slightly out of order.

Today we are coming to the final
Loving Others, message in a series on the
qualities of a biblical local church.
Blessing The We've been looking at this over
the course, really, of six months
Nations now (from time to time with some
April 15, 2007 on 1 Corinthians 10:31; interruptions in between)at
Romans 12:1-2; James 2:8; Genesis 12:1-3; various biblical descriptions of the
Matthew 5:14-16 by J. Ligon Duncan
qualities, or characteristics, or
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marks, of a congregation of
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believers that are living together
Listen according to God's word. And
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we've said a number of different
things about that in the course of
The Lord's Day Morning our study.

April 15, 2007 Over and over we've been asking

ourselves first of all the question,
Communion Sunday
Is this what First Presbyterian
I Corinthians 10:31 Church is like? Where do we need
to grow in terms of what the Bible
Qualities of a Healthy Local says a local church ought to be?
Church We've also been asking ourselves
as individual believers, How do
Glorifying God, Loving Others,
we approach a local church? Do
Blessing the Nations
we view a local churchour local
church, any local churchlike
religious consumers who are
looking for a goods and services
provider to do things the way we
like it done? Or, are we thinking in
biblical categories about what the
local church ought to be like?
Mark Dever, who has preached for
us on other occasions, opened his
series on The Nine Marks of a
Healthy Church (and opened his
book on The Nine Marks of a
Healthy Church) asking this
question: How do we go about
evaluating churches? Do we
evaluate those churches from the
standpoint of our own preferences
and desires, or do we evaluate
those churches biblically
according to what God says in the
Bible a local church is to be like?
And then he says this:
In my study I have shelf after shelf, stack
after stack, of books exactly about that
question. What really makes a good church?
And you would be amazed at how widely the
answers vary. They range from friendliness to
financial planning; to pristine bathrooms, to
pleasant surroundings, to vibrant music, to
being sensitive to visitors, to plentiful
parking, to exciting children's programs, to
elaborate Sunday School options, to the right
computer software package, to clear
signage. To homogenous congregations you
will find books written and sold that advocate
all those things asthe key to a good church.
So what do you think? What makes for a
healthy church? You need to know that. If
youre a visitor today looking around for
some church where you can come regularly
and to which you can commit yourself, you
need to consider this question. Even if youre
already a member here, you need to
consider this question. You might move, you
know! And even if you don't ever move
again, you need to know what constitutes a
healthy church. If youre going to stay in the
church and be a part of building it and
shaping it, don't you need to know what
youre trying to build? What you want it to
look like? What you want to aim for? What
should be the foundation? Be very careful
how you answer those questions. As I said,
youll find experts who will tell you the
answer is everything from how religion-free
your language is to how invisible your
membership requirements are. So what do
you think? Are secure nurseries and
sparkling bathrooms, exciting music and
look-alike congregations really the way to
church growth and health? Is that really what
makes a good church?
And so he begins his study, Nine
Marks of a Healthy Church. We've
covered some of the same ground
in our own study, and today we
come to one last consideration of
this. It's not that we've said
everything that needs to be said
about what the Bible says our life
and ministry ought to be together
as a congregation, it's just time to
wrap up! (You've been
longsuffering enough as it is!) In
the meanwhile, Ill continue
thinking about these things for
many months to come, and Ill
continue writing to you about
them in the days to come.
Our topic today is Glorying in
God, Loving Others, and Blessing
the Nations, and I'd like you to
follow with me through five Bible
passages, starting in I Corinthians
and then going to Romans 12,
then to James 2, then to Genesis
12, then to Matthew 5. As you can
see, theyre out of sequence in
terms of their order in the Bible,
but bear with me. There is some
logic to it, and here's the logic:
The first two Scriptures have to do
with glorying in God; the third
Scripture has to do with loving
others; and, the fourth and fifth
Scriptures have to do with
blessing the nations. And each of
those are elements that ought to
be present in the life of a healthy
local congregationglorying in
God, loving others, blessing the
nations.
Now before we read God's word,
let's pray.
Heavenly Father, this is Your
word, so open our eyes to see it,
our ears to hear it, our hearts to
understand, believe and embrace
it, for Your glory. We ask it in
Jesus' name. Amen.
This is the word of God, I
Corinthians 10:31:
Whether then you eat or drink, or whatever
you do, do all to the glory of God.
Now turn back to Romans 12:
1, 2. Notice there Paul is speaking
about the mundane daily
activities of eating and drinking,
and he says in I Corinthians
10 that we're even to do those
things to God's glory, and he
reiterates that in different
language in Romans 12:1, 2:
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the
mercies of God, to present your bodies a
living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God,
which is your spiritual service of worship.
In this passage the Apostle Paul is
asking you to think of yourself as
a living sacrifice to God, so that
the whole of who you are is given
daily to God as an act of worship.
That's just another way of saying
that we are to live to glorify God
in all of life, or, to put it in the
language of The Shorter
Catechism, that the chief end of
man is to glorify God and enjoy
Him forever. And so there's the
Scripture that goes with the first
point, glorying in God.
Now turn forward in your New
Testament to the little book of
James, chapter 2, and look
especially at verse 8. James
says this:
If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law
according to Scripture, You shall love your
neighbor as yourself, you are doing well.
James exhorts us in James 2:8 to
neighbor love. There's the second
part to the message: loving
others. It's especially hard in a
selfish culture, isn't it? We tend to
put self first and everybody else
second, or last. But here's James
saying Love your neighbors.
Demonstrate tangibly your very
concern for your neighbors, even
your non-Christian neighbors, as
the Old Testament makes clear
when this commandment was
originally given in Leviticus 19.
Now turn with me to the
fourth and fifth passages
first back to the Old
Testament all the way back to
the first book of the
Bible, Genesis 12:1-3.Here's
God, Moses tells us, speaking to
Abram, who was a citizen of the
Ur of the Chaldees (that's modern
day Iraq), and He is calling him to
be the father of not only the
Jewish people, Israel, but to be
the father of all believing Gentiles
(so the Apostle Paul tells us in
Romans 4). What does He say to
Abram from Iraq? This is what He
says:
Go forth from your country and from your
relatives and from your father's house to the
land which I will show you. And I will make
you a great nation, and I will bless you and
make your name great.
So, lots of blessings for Abram!
But then listen to what He says:
And so you shall be a blessing, and I will
bless those who bless you, and the one who
curses you, I will curse; and in you all the
families of the earth will be blessed.
So Abram is not only to receive a
blessing, but to be a blessing to
others; and not only to others, but
to all the nations of the earth.
And of course the Lord Jesus
reiterates this posture for the
Christian in the Sermon on the
Mount. Turn to Matthew
5. (Augustine called this sermon
The Sermon on the Mount about
1600 years ago, and the name
has stuck.) Matthew 5:13-16.
Jesus is talking to His disciples
what is your posture supposed to
be towards the world? In John, the
Gospel of John, John tells us that
at one point Jesus tells His
disciples, Do not love the world.
Now, does Jesus mean by that
that we are to have no concern for
the well-being of the world?
Absolutely not! He means don't
love the pleasures of this world,
don't follow the desires of this
world, don't buy into the
standards of this world, don't get
sucked into the life of this world,
don't love the things of this
passing age. But at the same
time, we must love the world in
the terms of looking out for its
best interest, of serving our
neighbor, of tangibly caring for
our neighbor. How does Jesus
express that? Matthew 5:13-16:
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt
has become tasteless, how can it be made
salty again? It is no longer good for anything
except to be thrown out and trampled
underfoot by men. You are the light of the
world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden,
nor does anyone light a lamp and put it
under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it
gives light to all who are in the house. Let
your light shine before men in such a way
that they may see your good works and
glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Amen. And thus ends this reading
of God's holy, inspired, and
inerrant word. May He write its
eternal truth upon our hearts.
As we have been thinking
together over these last few
months about qualities, the
marks, of a healthy local church,
we have highlighted a number of
things. We have talked about the
church being committed to,
passionate about, faithful Bible
preaching; the church being
committed to, passionate about,
God-exalting, Christ honoring
corporate worship; being serious
about discipleship, about
evangelism, about missions;
about what it means to be a
church member; about biblical
church leadership. We've thought
about all of these things.
Have you made your list of what
you think are the most important
things in the New Testament that
the Lord tells us in His word the
church should be like? I have a
challenge for you today: Go home
and meditate on the things that
we've meditated on the last six
months, and open up your
Scriptures and ask the question,
What does God want us to be
and to do and to believe and to
think? How does He want us to
live and minister together? and
see what answers the Lord gives
to you from His word. We've only
scratched the surface. There's so
much more to say.
Today I want to zero in on just
these three things (glorying in
God, loving others, and blessing
the nations) because these are
three more important New
Testament componentsOld
Testament componentsabout
what it means for us to live our
lives together as believers. All of
us ought to be thinking about this
question, What are we to be like
as a church together?
Now very recently we had the
privilege of having a group of
pastors here in Mississippi, called
the Twin Lakes Fellowship. It's a
gathering, a ministerial fraternal
that's sponsored by First
Presbyterian Church, that is held
at the Twin Lakes Conference
Center. We have pastors from all
over North America, and even the
world, gathering together. And
with them there were a number of
African-American pastors. At one
point we asked them the question
(because most of them are PCA
ministers)we asked them the
question, What was it that
helped you as an African-
American with no experience of a
Presbyterian or a Reformed
church to become a part of a PCA
church in the first place? And the
answers were really, really
interesting. By the way, they
boiled down to this: one was they
wanted a church where the Bible
was taught, and two was when
they came to the congregations
that they came to because of the
good Bible teaching, they found
that the people were loving and
embracing of them. It's not rocket
science, is it?
Well, Thabite Anyabwile, who is
the senior pastor of First Baptist
Church of the Grand Cayman in
the Cayman Islands, there's one
to write down for the next time
youre in the Cayman Islands to
visit. So Thabite was with us, as
well. And someone asked him,
Thabiti, what are the qualities of
a healthy local church that helped
you, an African-American who had
been a Muslim, to join a
Reformed, Bible-believing
congregation? What made you
comfortable in a Reformed, Bible-
believing congregation? And he
said, Well, these eight things.
Let me just share them with you.
What were the marks of a healthy
church that made Thabite
Anyabwile, a converted Muslim,
feel comfortable in a Reformed,
Bible-believing church?
1. The gospel of Jesus Christ is faithfully
preached each Lord's Day, and consistently
applied to the Christian and the non-
Christian. I would love to belong to such a
church, or pastor a church, where the
teachers bring the word rightly interpreted,
in season and out of season, and where the
gospel is proclaimed and protected by the
elders, and members search the Scriptures.
[What was he looking for? A
church where the word of God and
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
was proclaimed Lord's Day by
Lord's Day.]
2. What would a church that Thabite would
be attracted to be like?
A church where people love radically, across
class, ethnic, language, political, citizenship
status, gender, generational, and every other
natural division; a church of deep and wide
fellowship between members and not just
on Sundays, but daily from house to house,
and in the workplace, rejoicing together,
mourning together, bearing with one
another, receiving weaker brothers, laying
down liberties; a church where the watching
world has to say, Yes, those folks must be
Jesus followers. Surely God has sent Jesus to
save the world. Look at how they love one
another.
3. What kind of a church would he feel
comfortable in, be attracted to? A church
where the saints are called up into heaven,
or call heaven down, in prayer. Put me in a
church, he says, where the people of God
call on the God of the people, day and night,
with fervency, expectation, and joy in
prayer.
4. What kind of a church is he comfortable in,
attracted to? A church where people are
growing and are concerned to help others to
grow, the fruit of the Spirit is evident and
lasting, the branches are abiding in the true
vine, Bible knowledge is increasing, but so
too is obedience to what the Bible teaches.
And all of this is happening without
arrogance or being puffed up.
5. What kind of a church would he be
attracted to, or what would make him
comfortable in a Reformed, Bible-believing
church? Clear, healthy, loving distinctions
are kept between those professing faith in
Christ and those not professing faith. I'd
love, he says, to belong to a church that
owns its responsibility for knowing the
spiritual state of its members, and for calling
its members to live holy lives, depending
upon God's gracious aid. (Or, as my friend
Josh Harris says, I wouldn't belong to a
church that wouldn't kick me out. It's a
striking way of putting it. In other words, he
wants to belong to a church where
membership is taken seriously, where a
profession of faith is taken seriously, and
where we're held accountable.)
6. Thabiti says, What kind of a church would
I be attracted tofeel comfortable in? A
church where members are zealous in doing
good. A church where members are first
focused on the needs of the body
[ministering to the church]; and secondly,
focused on the needs of the community;
where there is no limit to their generosity
and compassion and commitment to serving
others; and, the one good that they do at all
times is to spread the good news to every
person.
7. What quality or characteristic does he look
for in a healthy, Bible-believing local church
where he would feel comfortable? Family
worship is modeled and practiced by all the
families. Where Christianity is not a solo
sport, and is not a public pay-per-view event,
but is practiced in homes when no one is
watching but the children and the Lord;
where seeds are planted and watered by
fathers and mothers, husbands and wives,
and God gives abundant increase in the
conversion and discipleship of young
people.
8. What quality is he looking for? Missions is
a high priority, budgetarily and in individual
personal decisions.
Isn't that an interesting list?
What's your list? What's your list?
And is your list based on personal
preferences or on what the culture
says it ought to be, or is it based
on the Bible? I would argue that
Thabite's list is a pretty good
biblical list, and I would challenge
you again, go home and work
through your New Testament and
ask, What ought we to be more
like as a congregation called First
Presbyterian Church, according to
the New Testament?
Well, there are three things that I
want to draw your attention to
today. There are so many more
that we could do, but three things,
at least: glorying in God; loving
others; and, blessing the nations.
I. Glorying in God.
First of all, in I Corinthians 10:31,
Paul says that whatever we do,
we're to do all to the glory of God.
Here's what I want to say: Yes,
we're built to glorify God, but you
will not and cannot glorify God
unless you glory in Him. You will
only glorify what you supremely
value.
You know, sometimes when youre
talking to grandmothers (and
even grandfathers) you get
pictures of the grandchildren
shown to you, and enthusiastic
descriptions about the latest
accomplishments of those
grandchildren. They glorify those
grandchildren because they glory
in those grandchildren.
Sometimes youll talk to a man
who's a sports fanatic, and he can
remember his last putt on the
green, or the last basket in the
NCAA tournament, or the big play
at the football game 25 years ago,
and he can describe it to you with
relish! He glorifies it. Why?
Because he glories in it.
You will not be able to glorify God
unless you glory in Him, unless
you delight in Him, unless you
value Him above everything else.
And so if we're going to be a
healthy local church, we're going
to have to be characterized by
people who glory in God, who
value God more than anything
else, and delight in Him more
than anything else in this world.
Do you value God that way? You
won't be able to glorify Him unless
He is more valuable to you than
anything in this world. And so, we
need to be a church that glories in
God.
II. Loving Others.
But secondly, we need to be a
church that loves
others. James 2 says, Love your
neighbor as yourself. He's
quoting Jesus, who quoted Moses
in Leviticus 19. The command to
love your neighbor is as old as the
Bible. It's as old as creation. It's
part of God's moral law: Love your
neighbor. But we live in a culture
that sociologists
call individualistic and narcissistic.
We look out for Number One
Me is firstme, myself, and I
and we are in love with ourselves.
We are focused in, turned in on
ourselves.
In contrast to that, God says Love
your neighbor. Be concerned.
Don't be consumed with your own
well-being, but love your
neighbor. And as a congregation
we need to be living that out.
Many of us right now are
discouraged about our city, our
community. We are reaping some
decisions and some
consequences, some of which
happened before some of us were
born. And we're discouraged
about our city. I want to tell you,
I'm not. I see this as a tremendous
opportunity for Christiansnot
organized by the congregation,
but as individualsto go out into
our community and say, Jackson,
we're here to serve you. Were
here to love you. Were going to
pick you up off your back and put
you on your feet again, and we're
going to do it for the glory of God,
and we're going to do it for the
sake of Christ, and we're going to
do it to the honor of the gospel,
and fifty years from now, God
willing, people may well just turn
around and say, You know, it was
the Christians of Jackson who said
Were going to turn this situation
around, under God, God willing.
It's a tremendous opportunity we
have to love our neighbors right
now. Won't you join me in that
showing the love of Christ to our
neighbors for the sake of the
gospel as Christians in this
community? Some of you are
working quietly to do that right
now. I praise God for that. All of us
should have that desire to love
our neighbors in that way, in such
a way to make a dramatic witness
and impact for the gospel.
III. Blessing the Nations.
Thirdly, we are to live in such
a way as to be a blessing to
the nations. Believers are not
put in this world simply to
receive God's blessing, but to
be a source and a channel of
blessing to all of the world,
not only our immediate
neighbors, but even the
nations. And so God said to
Abraham, You will be a blessing,
and in you all the families of the
earth will be blessed. And Jesus
can say to the disciples You are to
be light and salt, salt and light, to
a decaying and dark world. In
other words, believers are to live
consciously out of a desire to be a
blessing to the unbelieving world
around them.
Isn't that strikingly different from
Islam, wherewhat do you do to
unbelievers? You kill them! That's
what you do to unbelievers. And
what does God say to Abraham?
What does God say through Jesus
to His disciples? What do you do
to unbelievers? You bless them.
You show concern for them. You
share the gospel with them. You
help them. You become a source
and conduit of blessing, the
blessing of God to them so
that they will glorify God, too.
My friends, as a congregation
these must be three things that
are at the very core of our
agenda: to glory in God, and thus
to glorify Him; to love our
neighbors in our community as
Christians, as we go out and show
them the love of Christ and look
out for the well-being of our
neighbors; and, living to bless the
nations so that they will glorify
God, too.
In a few minutes we're coming to
the Lord's Table, and when we
come, surely we will remember
Christ's finished work for us,
because Jesus died on the cross in
our place, and God imputed our
sins to Him and His righteousness
to us. We are invited to come,
declared right with God, to this
table in fellowship with Him.
But do you know what else this
table celebrates? It celebrates the
body of Christ, the people of God,
the family of God. God has made
us into a family, and He has given
that family certain family
characteristics. All of the
members of that family are to
share in those characteristics. Just
as sometimes in your children you
see the characteristics of some
great-great-aunt, uncle, or
grandfather or grandmother from
generations before, even in those
young people, so also we as a
church family are to bear certain
characteristics. Those
characteristics are listed for us in
the New Testament. Why not, as
we come to the Lord's Table
today, consecrate ourselves
afresh as a congregation of being
like the Bible describes the family
of God, the body of Christ. And
let's decide as a people, as a
congregation, that we want to be
the church that the New
Testament describes; because, my
friends, God has a strategy for
reaching the world for Christ. And
do you know what that strategy
is? I can sum it up in two
words: the church. The church is
God's strategy for reaching the
world. And when we don't live up
to being what God has called us
to be, guess what? The one
strategy for reaching the world for
Christ is compromised. And you
know what else? There is no Plan
B. God doesn't have a Plan B.
It's the church or nothing. But as
Stephen Marshall said to us, All
the glory that God looks for in
eternity, He looks for in this one
building, this one people, this one
body, the church. And the gates
of hell will not prevail against it.
So let's determine that we, First
Presbyterian Church, are going to
be more like the family, the body,
the building that God describes as
the church in the Bible.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, thank You for
Your word. We want to be the
church as You have described her.
We want to think and act and live
and minister the way You describe
in the New Testament, for Your
glory. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Now as we prepare to come to the
Lord's Table, let's take out our
bulletins again and turn to the
hymn, O Sacred Head, Now
Wounded.

[Congregational hymn]

+++++

The Sacrament of the Lord's

Supper
+++++

As we come to the Lord's

Table, let's attend to the
words of institution of this
sacrament as given by the
Lord Jesus Christ to the
Apostle Paul and recorded for
us in I Corinthians 11:

For I received from the Lord that which I

also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in
the night in which He was betrayed took
bread; and when He had given thanks, He
broke it, and said, This is My body, which is
given for you; do this in remembrance of
Me. In the same way He took the cup also,
after supper, saying, This cup is the new
covenant in My blood; do this, as often as
you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as
often as you eat the bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the Lord's death until He
comes.

Amen. This is God's word.

25 The one who blesses others is abundantly
blessed; those who help others are helped. 26Curses
on those who drive a hard bargain! Blessings on all
who play fair and square! 27 The one who seeks
good finds delight; the student of evil becomes
evil. 28 A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump;
a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree. 29 Exploit or
abuse your family, and end up with a fistful of air;
common sense tells you it's a stupid way to live. 30 A
good life is a fruit-bearing tree; a violent life destroys
souls. 31 If good people barely make it, what's in
store for the bad!
Prov 11: 25-31
 Blessing for Blessing
A Sermon
(No. 2266)
Intended for Reading on Lord's-day, July
24th, 1892,
Delivered by
C. H. SPURGEON,
At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington
On Lord's-day Evening, October 26th, 1890.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessing in heavenly places in
Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him
before the foundation of the world, that we
should be holy and without blame before him
in love."Ephesians 1:3, 4.
od blesses us; let us bless him. I pray that
every heart here may take its own part in
this service of praise.
"O thou, my soul, bless God the
Lord,
And all that in me is,
Be stirred up his holy name
To magnify and bless!"
Sit in your seats, and keep on blessing God
from the first word of the sermon to the last;
and then go on blessing God till the last hour
of life, and enter into heaven into the eternal
glory, still blessing God. It should be our life
to bless him who gave us our life. It should
be our delight to bless him whom give us all
our delights. So says the text, and so let us
do: "Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ."
I. Our first occupation, at this time, will
be that of BLESSING GOD.
But how can we bless God? Without
doubt the less is blessed of the Greater. Can
the Greater be blessed by the less? Yes, but
it must be in a modified sense. God blesses
us with all spiritual blessings; but we cannot
give him any blessings. He needs nothing at
our hand; and if he did, we could not give it.
"If I were hungry," saith the Lord, "I would
not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the
fulness thereof." God has an all-sufficiency
within himself, and can never be thought of
as dependent upon his creatures, or as
receiving anything form his creatures which
he needs to receive. He is infinitely blessed
already; we cannot add to his blessedness.
When he blesses us, he gives us a
blessedness that we never had before; but
when we bless him, we cannot by one iota
increase his absolutely infinite perfectness.
David said to the Lord, "My goodness
extendeth not to thee." This was as if he had
said, Let me be as holy, as devout, and as
earnest as I may, I can do nothing for thee;
thou art too high, too holy, too great for me
to be really able to bless thee in the sense
which thou dost bless me.
How, then, do we bless God? Well, I
should say, first, that this language isthe
expression of gratitude. We say with David,
"Bless the Lord, O my soul," and we say with
Paul, "Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ." We can bless God by
praising him, extolling him, desiring all
honour for him, ascribing all good to him,
magnifying and lauding his holy name. Well,
we will do that. Sit still, if you will, and let
your heart be silent unto God; for no
language can ever express the gratitude
that, I trust, we feel to him who has blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.
Praise him also in your speech. Break the
silence; speak of his glory. Invite other to cry
with you, "Hallelujah!" or "Hallels unto Jah!"
"Praise to Jehovah!" Ascribe ye greatness
unto our God. Oh, that all flesh would
magnify the Lord with us!
This language is also the utterance of
assent to all the blessedness that is ascribed
to the Lord. After hearing how great he is,
how glorious he is, how happy he is, we bless
him by saying, "Amen; so let it be! So would
we have it! He is none to great for us, none
too blessed for us. Let him be great, glorious
and blessed, beyond all conception." I think
that we bless God when we say concerning
the whole of his character, "Amen. This God
is our God for ever and ever." Let him be just
what the Bible says he is; we accept him as
such. Sternly just, he will not spare the guilty.
Amen, blessed be his name! Infinitely
gracious, ready to forgive. Amen, so let it be!
Everywhere present, always omniscient.
Amen, so again do we wish him to be!
Everlastingly the same, unchanging in his
truth, his promise, his nature. We again say
that we are glad of it, and we bless him. He
is just such a God as we love. He is indeed
God to us, because he is really God, and we
can see that he is so, and every attribute
ascribed to him is a fresh proof to us that
Jehovah is the Lord. Thus, we bless him by
adoration.
We also bless God in the spreading of his
kingdom. We can win hearts to him through
his mighty grace blessing our service. We
can fight against evil; we can set up a
standard for the truth. We can be willing to
suffer in repute, and every way else, for his
name's sake. We can by his grace do all this,
and thus we are blessing God. Surely, dear
friends, if it is well-pleasing in God's sight
that sinners should repent, if it makes
heaven the gladder, and makes joy in the
presence of the angels that men should
repent, we are in the best and most practical
way blessing God when we labour to bring
men to repentance through faith in Christ
Jesus.
There is also another way of blessing
God which, I trust, we shall all endeavour to
practise; and that is by the doing good to his
children. When they are sick, visit them.
When they are downcast, comfort them.
When they are poor, relieve them. When
they are hard pressed by outward
adversaries, stand at their side, and help
them. You cannot bless the Head, but you
can bless the feet; and when you have
refreshed the feet, you have refreshed the
Head. He will say, "Inasmuch as ye have
done it unto one of the least of these my
brethren, ye have done it unto me." If they
be naked, and you clothe them; if they be
sick, and you visit them; if they be hungry,
and you feed them; you do in this respect
bless God. David not only said, "Thou art my
Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;"
but added, "but to the saints that are in the
earth, and to the excellent in whom is all my
delight." You can be good to them, and in
that respect you may be blessing God. He
has done so much for us, that we would fain
do something for him; and when we have
reached the limit of our possibilities, we long
to do more. We wish that we had more
money to give, more talent to use, more time
that we could devote to his cause, we wish
that we had more heart and more brain;
sometimes we wish that we had more
tongue, and we sing,
"Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer's praise!"
This word "blessed" is an attempt to break
the narrow circle of our capacity. It is an
earnest endeavour of a burning heart to lay
at God's feet crowns of glory which it cannot
find: "Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ."
II. But now, secondly, we shall spend a
little time in VIEWING GOD in the light in
which Paul sets him before us: "Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
We bless the god of nature. What
beauties he has strewn around us! We bless
the God of providence. How bountifully doth
he send us harvests and fruitful seasons! We
bless the God of grace who hath redeemed
us, and adopted us as his children. But here
is a peculiar aspect of God, which should call
forth our highest praises; for he is called "the
God and Father or our Lord Jesus Christ."
When we see God in connection with
Christ, we see God through Christ, when we
see God in Christ, then our hearts are all
aflame, and we burst out with, "Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
God apart from Christthat is a great and
glorious theme; but the human mind fails to
grasp it. The infinite Jehovah, who can
conceive him? "Our God is a consuming fire."
Who can draw near to him? But in the
Mediator, in the Person of the God, the Man,
in whom we find blended human sympathy
and divine glory, we can draw nigh to God.
There it is that we get our hands upon the
golden harp-strings, and resolve that every
string shall be struck to the praise of God in
Christ Jesus.
 But note carefully that God is described
here as the God our Lord Jesus Christ. When
Jesus knelt in prayer, he prayed to our God.
When Jesus leaned in faith upon the
promises, he trusted in God that he would
deliver him. When our Saviour sang on the
passover night, the song was unto God.
When he prayed in Gethsemane, with bloody
sweat, the prayer was unto our God. Jesus
said to Mary at the sepulchre, "Go to my
brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto
my Father, and your Father; and to my God,
and your God." How we ought to bless God
when we think that he is the God, whom our
Redeemer blesses! This is the God who said
of Christ, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased." Delightful thought! When I
approach Jehovah, I approach the God or our
Lord Jesus Christ. Surely, when I see his
blood-stained footprints there on the ground
before me, though I put my shoe off from my
foot, for the place is holy ground, yet I follow
with confidence where my Friend, my
Saviour, my Husband, my Head has been
before me; and I rejoice as I worship the God
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He is also called the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ. This is a great mystery. Think
not that we shall ever understand the high
relationship between the first and second
Persons of the blessed Trinity, the Father and
the Son. We speak of eternal filiation, which
is a term that does not convey to us any
great meaning; it simply covers up our
ignorance. How God is the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ as God, we do not know; and
perhaps to wish to gaze into this tremendous
mystery were as great a folly as to look at
the sun, and blind ourselves with its
brilliance. It is so; that ought to be enough
for us. God the Father is the Father of Jesus
Christ as to his divine nature: "Thou art my
Son; this day I have begotten thee." He is
also his Father as to the human side of his
nature. He was begotten of the Holy Ghost.
That body of his, that human life, came of
God; not of Joseph, not of man. Born of a
woman, God sent forth his Son; but he was
his Son then. It was God's son that was born
at Bethlehem. Gabriel said to the Virgin
Mary, "That holy thing which shall be born of
thee shall be called the Son of God." Now
take the two natures of their wondrous
blending in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and you see how the great God is the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet,
sweet thought, he is my Father, too; my
Father is Christ's Father. Jesus Christ's Father
is our Father, and he teaches us all to call
him, "Our Father, which art in heaven." Often
in prayer he said, "Father"; and he bids us
say the same, putting the plural pronoun
before it, "Our Father." Now will you not bless
the Lord, who is the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ? Do you not feel a glowing
in your hearts, as you think of the near and
dear relationship into which you are brought
through Jesus Christ? The God of Jesus Christ,
the Father of Jesus Christ, is my God, my
Father, too. Blessed, blessed, blessed, for
ever blessed be that dear name!
III. Our third occupation, at this time, is
that of RECOUNTING HIS GREAT MERCIES. I
will read the rest of the third verse: "Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ."
This recapitulation of mercies is written
with full assurance; and you will not bless
God unless you have a touch of that same
experience. Paul does not say, "Who has, we
hope and trust, blessed us," but he writes,
"Who hath blessed us." Ah, beloved, if you
have a full assurance that God has blessed
you in Christ, and that now his smile rests
upon you, and all the benisons of the
covenant are stored there for you, I think
that you cannot help saying, "Blessed,
blessed be the name of the Most High!" that
doubt, that trembling, this it is that empties
out the marrow from the bone of our
blessedness. If you have suspicions about
the truth of this precious Book, if you have
questions about the truth of the doctrines of
grace, if you have doubts about your own
interest in those things. I do not wonder that
you do not praise God, for a blessing which is
only mine by peradventure, well,
peradventure I shall be grateful for it; but
peradventure I shall not. But if I know whom I
have believed, if I have a firm grip of spiritual
mercies, if all heavenly things are mine in
Christ my Lord, I can sing, "Wake up, my
glory; awake psaltery and harp; I myself will
awake right early." "Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath
blessed us with all spiritual blessings."
With this full assurance should
come intense delight: "Who hath blessed us."
God has blessed us. Come, brethren, he has
not done some trifle for us, which we can
afford to ignore. He has not merely given us
some absolutely necessary boons, which we
must have, for we could not live without
them; but he has in grace dealt still more
abundantly with us. He has gone beyond
workhouse fare, and made us a feast with
saints and princes. He has given us more
than home-spun garments; he has put upon
us robes of beauty and of glory, even his own
spotless righteousness. He has blessed us;
we are blessed; we feel that we are. Each
believer can say:
"I feel like singing all the time,
For my tears are wiped away;
For Jesus is a Friend of mine,
I'll praise him every day.
I'll praise him! Praise him! Praise him all the
time!"
We are not sitting here, and groaning, and
crying, and fretting, and worrying, and
questioning our own salvation. He has
blessed us; and therefore we will bless him. If
you think little of what God has done for you,
you will do very little for him; but if you have
a great notion of his great mercy to you, you
will be greatly grateful to you gracious God.
Let me also remark, next, that as
assurance and delight lead to blessing God,
so does a right understanding of his mercies.
To help your understanding, notice what Paul
says: "Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings." An enlightened man is
grateful to God for temporal blessings; but
he is much more grateful to God for spiritual
blessings, for temporal blessings do not last
long; they are soon gone. Temporal blessings
as not definite marks of divine favour, since
God gives them to the unworthy, and to the
wicked, as well as to the righteous. The corn,
and wine, and oil, are for Dives; and Lazarus
gets even less than his share. Our thanks are
due to God for all temporal blessings; they
are more than we deserve. But our thanks
ought to go to God in thunders of hallelujahs
for spiritual blessings. A new heart is better
than a new coat. To feed on Christ is better
than to have the best earthly food. To be an
heir of God is better than being the heir of
the greatest nobleman. To have God for our
portion is blessed, infinitely more blessed
than to own broad acres of land. God hath
blessed us with spiritual blessings. These are
the rarest, the richest, the most enduring of
all blessings; they are priceless in value.
Wherefore, let me beg you to join in blessing
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who hath blessed you with spiritual
blessings.
But did you notice the word "all"? I must
bring that out clearly. I must turn the
microscope on it. "Who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings." Surely, Paul means
that we have not a spiritual blessing which
God did not give. We have never earned one;
we could never create one. All spiritual
blessings come from the Father; he has really
given us all spiritual blessings. "I have not
received them," says one. That is your own
fault. He hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in Christ. A new heart, a tender
conscience, a submissive will, faith, hope,
love, patience, we have all these in Christ.
Regeneration, justification, adoption,
sanctification, perfection are all in Christ. If
we do not take them out, it is the fault of our
palsied hand, that has not strength enough
to grasp them; but he has given us all
spiritual blessings in Christ. Whenever you
read your Bible, and see a great promise, do
not hesitate to claim it. He hath given us all
spiritual blessings in Christ. "I am afraid,"
says one, "that I should be presuming if I
took some of the promises." He hath given
us all spiritual blessings in Christ. You are in
your Father's house; you cannot steal; for
your Father says, "Help yourself to what you
like." He has made over his whole estate of
spiritual wealth to every believing child of
his; wherefore take freely, and you will, by
doing so, glorify God. He hath blessed us
with all spiritual blessings in Christ.
This he has done in the "heavenly
places." What does that mean, "Who hath
blessed us with all spiritual blessings in
heavenly places"? Does it not mean that he
is working upon us all spiritual blessings out
of the heaven where he dwells? Or does it
mean much more, that his is sending us all
these spiritual blessings to bring us to the
heaven where he dwells, and where he would
have us dwell?
I want to stir up your heart by reminding
you that all the spiritual blessings we receive
are the richer and rarer because they are
given to us "in Christ." Here are the
blessings; and Christ is the golden casket
that holds them all. When the City of London
makes a man a freeman of the city, the
document giving him his liberty is usually
presented to him enclosed in a golden
casket. Christ is that golden casket, in which
we find the charter of our eternal liberty. He
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in
Christ. If they came to us any other way, we
might lose them; or we might not be sure
that they were genuine; but when they come
to us in Christ, they come to stay, and we
know that they are real. If Christ is mine, all
blessings in heavenly places are mine.
I seemed, to myself, to be talking very
drily of things that ought to be swimming in
a sea of joy and delight. Beloved, do not let
my faint words rob my Lord of any of his
glory. He has done such great things for you;
bless his name. We cannot stand up, and ask
for instruments of music with which to sound
his praise; but we can sit still, and each one
say, "Blessed be his name! It is all true; he
has blessed me; I know that he has. He has
blessed me, with a liberal hand, with all
spiritual blessings. He has blessed me, just
where I wanted blessing, where I was poorest
in spiritual things. I could make my way in
business, but I could not make my own way
in grace; so he has blessed me with all
spiritual blessings; and he has made the
garments all the dearer because of the
wardrobe in which he has hung them. He has
given me these royal things in Christ; and as
I look to my dear Lord, and see what there is
for me stored up in him, I prize each thing
the more because it is in him. Come, Holy
Spirit, set our hearts on fire with blessing and
praise to God for all the great things that he
has done for us!"
IV. I shall close with this fourth remark:
Let us bless God, BEHOLDING THE MANNER
OF HIS GIFTS. That is described in the fourth
verse: "According as he hath chosen us in
him before the foundation of the world, that
we should be holy and without blame before
him in love."
Now, brethren, we are to praise God
because all spiritual blessings have come to
us in the same way as our election came,
"according as he hath chosen us in him."
How did that come? Well, it came of his free,
sovereign grace. He loved us because he
would love us. He chose us before he chose
us. "Ye have not chosen me; but I have
chosen you." If there is any virtue, if there be
any praise in us now, he put it there. To the
bottomless abyss of his own infinite
goodness we must trace the election of his
grace. Well, now, every blessing comes to us
in the same way. God hath not blessed thee,
my brother, with usefulness because thou
didst deserve it; but because of his grace. He
did not redeem thee, or regenerate thee, or
sanctify thee, or uphold thee, because of
anything in thee. Again and again, by the
prophet Ezekiel, did the Lord remind his
ancient people that the blessings he
bestowed upon them were all gifts of his
grace. "Therefore say unto the house of
Israel, Thus saith the Lord God, I do not this
for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for
mine holy name's sake." And again, "Not for
your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it
known unto you: be ashamed and
confounded for you own ways, O house of
Israel." Every blessing comes to us with the
hall-mark of sovereign grace upon it. As the
Lord distributed the gifts of his grace, he
says, "May I not do as I will with my own?"
He does so, and we bless, and praise, and
adore the sovereign grace of God, which
having chosen us, continues to bless us
according as he hath chosen us in Christ.
Next, we have to bless God that all his
gifts come to us in Christ. Notice Paul's
words, "according as he hath chosen us in
him." God called us in Christ. He justified us
in Christ. He sanctified us in Christ. He will
perfect us in Christ. He will glorify us in
Christ. We have everything in Christ, and we
have nothing apart from Christ. Let us praise
and bless the name of the Lord that this
sacred channel of his grace is as glorious as
the grace itself. There is as much grace in
the gift of Christ to save us as there is in the
salvation which Christ has wrought out for
us. "Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ."
Again, all our blessings come from the
divine purpose. Listen: "Who hath blessed us
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in
him." No spiritual blessing comes to any man
by chance. No man gets a boon from God
through his "good luck:; it all comes
according to the eternal purpose of God
which he purposes or ever the earth was.
"Long e'er the sun's refulgent ray
Primeval shades of darkness drove,
They on his sacred bosom lay,
Loved with an everlasting love."
"Before the foundation of the world", says
the text, there was a purpose in the heart of
God, and in that purpose we were chosen,
and by that same purpose God continues to
bless us. Look, beloved, God never gives his
people either a gift or a grace without his
purpose. Has God given you a brain cleat,
quick, capacious? Think for him. Has God
given you a tongue fluent, eloquent? Speak
for him. He does not give you these gifts
without purpose. Has God given you
influence among your fellow-men? Use it for
him. Your election came according to his
purpose; and so have all your gifts, and
much more, all your graces. Have you a
strong, bright-eyes faith? Have you burning
zeal? Have you vehement love? Have you
any of these gifts of the covenant? Use them
for a purpose. God has given them for a
purpose; find out what that purpose is, and
glorify God thereby.
Lastly, the text tells us that God blesses
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ: according as he hath chosen
us in him before the foundation of the world,
"that we should be holy and without blame
before him in love." God's choice of us was
not because we were holy, by to make us
holy; and God's purpose will not be fulfilled
unless we are made holy. Some people, when
they talk about salvation, mean escaping
from hell, and getting into heaven by the
skin of their teeth. We never mean any such
thing. We mean deliverance from evil,
deliverance from sin. Like a dog in the
manger, they cannot eat the hay
themselves, and they growl at those who
can. If you wish to be safe from sin, ask God
for that great blessing, and he will give it to
you; but if you do not want it, do not
complain if God says, "I shall give it to such
and such a person, and you that do not even
ask for it shall be left without it." If you do
not care to be holy, you shall not be holy. If
you did not care for it, and wish for it, you
might have it, for God denies it to none who
seek it at his hands. But if you neither wish
for it, nor value it, why do you lift your puny
fist against the God of heaven because he
hath chosen others, that they should be holy
and without blame before him in love?
The object of our election is our holiness,
and the object of every spiritual blessing is
our holiness. God is aiming at making us
holy. Are you not glad of that? May I not say,
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, because his aim in every gift is
to make us holy"? Brothers and sisters,
would we not sacrifice everything we have,
and count it no sacrifice, if we might be
perfectly holy? I said to a young girl, who
came to join the church, "Mary, are you
perfect?" She looked at me and said, "No,
sir." I said, "Would you like to be?" "Oh, that I
would! I long for it; I cry for it." Surely, the
God who makes us long to be perfect, has
already wrought a great work in us; and if we
can say that, to be perfect, would be heaven
to us, then we are already on the road to
heaven, and God is working out in us his
eternal purpose, which is, "that we should be
holy."
There is one thing more: "That we should
be holy and without blame before him in
love." Does that mean that we are to be
loving, full of love, and without blame in that
matter? Well, I am afraid that there are not
very many Christians who are without blame
on the score of love. I know a man, a noble
man intellectually, and, in some respects,
spiritually. I believe that he would die at the
stake for the grand old Calvinistic faith; but
he is as hard as iron; you cannot feel any
kind of love to him, for he does not feel any
kind of love to anybody else. That man is not
without blame before God in love. I have
known others; wonderful Christians they
appear to be, they could pray for a week; but
if you are poor, and ask them for a little help,
your asking will all be in vain. I do not think
that they are without blame before God in
love. O brothers, God has chosen us to be
loving, he has ordained us to be loving; and
all the innumerable blessings which he has
given to us, he sends to win us to a loving
spirit, that we may be without blame in that
matter. Our dear friend, Mr. William Olney,
whom we remember here still, and never can
forget, was, I think, without blame in that
matter of love. I sometimes thought that he
used to shed his love on some who might
have been the better for a hard word; for
they were deceivers; but he could not bring
his mind to think that anybody could be a
deceiver; and if anybody was in want of help,
no matter though their own misconduct had
brought them into poverty, his hand was in
his pocket, and out again, very quickly with
help for them. He never failed in love; and I
pray that you and I, with prudence and
wisdom mixed with it, may be without blame
before God in the matter of love. Love your
fellow-Christians. Love poor sinners to Christ.
Love those that despitefully use you. Love
those round about you who are strangers to
the love of God. It may be that they will see
in your love some little image of the love of
God, as in a drop of water you may
sometimes see the sun and the heavens
reflected. God make us to be reflections of
the love of God! His purpose is that we may
be holy and without blame before him in
love.
Now, I have set before you a rare
treasury. Does this treasury belong to you?
My dear hearers, is Christ yours? Are you
trusting him? If not, there is nothing yours.
Without Christ, you can do nothing, and you
are nothing, and you have nothing. Come to
Jesus as you are, and put your trust in him,
and then all things are yours. If Christ be
yours, beloved, then I charge you bless the
Lord, ay, bless the Lord again and again, for
you will never bless him as much as he
deserves to be blessed. Let us finish this
service as we closed our worship this
morning, by singing the doxology,
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow."
EPHESIANS 1
The Epistle to the Ephesians is a
complete Body of Divinity. In the first chapter
you have the doctrines of the gospel; in the
next, you have the experience of the
Christians; and before the Epistle is finished,
you have the precepts of the Christian faith.
Whosoever would see Christianity in on
treatise, let him "read, mark, learn, and
inwardly digest" the Epistle to the Ephesians.
1, 2. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by
the will of God, to the saints which are at
Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus;
grace be to you, and peace, from God our
Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
All down through the ages this
benediction comes to us, even to as many of
us as are " the faithful in Christ Jesus."
"Grace be to you," brethren and sisters,
grace in every form of it, the free favour of
God, all that active force of grace which
comes of his unmerited love. May you have a
fresh draught of it at this time! "and peace."
May you feel a deep peace with God, with
your own conscience, and with all the world!
Oh, that you might find an atmosphere of
quiet calm about your mind at this very
moment! The double blessing of "grace" and
"peace" comes "from God our Father, and
from the Lord Jesus Christ."
3, 4. Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in
him before the foundation of the world,
One of the first doctrines of our holy faith
is that of the union of all believing souls with
Christ. We are blessed with all spiritual
blessings in Christ. Apart from Christ we are
nothing; in Christ we have "all spiritual
blessings" We are rich as Christ is rich, when
we are united to him by the living bond of
faith. Another great doctrine of Holy
Scripture is that of election. We are blessed
in Christ according as the Father "hath
chosen us in him before the foundation of
the world." Why did God choose any unto
eternal life? Was it because of any holiness in
them then existing, or forseen to exist? No,
by no means; for we read that: "According as
he hath chosen us in him before the
foundation of the world,"
4. That we should be holy and without
blame before him in love:
We are chosen, not because we are holy,
but that we may be made holy. The election
precedes the character, and is indeed the
moving cause in producing the character.
Before the foundation of the world, God
chose us in Christ, "that we should be holy
and without blame before him in love." You
see, then, beloved brethren and sisters, the
end for which the Lord chose you by his
grace.
5. Having predestinated us
Having destined us before we were born,
5. Unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself, according to the good
pleasure of his will,
The chosen ones are adopted; they
become the children of God. The universal
Fatherhood of God, except in a very special
sense, is a doctrine totally unknown to
Scripture. God is the Father of those whom
he adopts into his family, who are born again
into his family, and no man hath any right to
believe God to be his Father except through
the new birth, and through adoption. And
why God thus elects or adopts is declared
here: "According to the good pleasure of his
will." He does as he pleases. That old word of
God is still true: "I will have mercy on whom I
will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion." Men do
not like that doctrine; it galls them terribly;
but it is the truth of God for all that. He is
Master and King, and he will sit on the
throne, and none shall drag him thence.
6. To the praise of the glory of his grace,
wherein he hath made us accepted in the
beloved.
There is another precious doctrine, the
acceptance of those who are adopted. We
are beloved of God; he has a complacency
toward us; he takes a delight in us; we are
acceptable in his sight. Oh, what a blessing
this is! But remember that it is all in Christ:
"Accepted in the beloved." Because Christ is
accepted, therefore those who are in him are
accepted.
7, 8. In whom we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of his grace; wherein
he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom
and prudence;
In the working out of the economy of
grace, God has been lavish with his love; but
yet there have been wisdom and prudence in
it. He did not suffer the full light of the gospel
to break in upon our eyes at first, lest we
should have been blinded by it. Jesus had
many things to say unto his disciples; but
they could not bear them all at once; so, by
little and little he has led us on, and led us
up, abounding always in his grace, and only
limiting the display of it by our capacity to
receive it.
9, 10. Having made known unto us the
mystery of his will, according to his good
pleasure which he hath purposed in himself;
that in the dispensation of the fulness of
times he might gather together in one all
thing in Christ, both which are in heaven,
and which are on earth; even in him:
Everything that is in Christ shall be
gathered in; all his chosen, all that the Father
gave him, all that he hath redeemed by
blood, all that he hath effectually brought
into union with himself shall be gathered
together in one. There shall be one flock
under one Shepherd.
11. In whom also we have obtained an
inheritance,
Not only shall we have it, but we have it
now. We have heaven in the price of it, in the
principles of it, in the promise of it, in the
foretaste of it.
11, 12. Being predestined according to
the purpose of him who worketh all things
after the counsel of his own will: that we
should be to the praise of his glory, who first
trusted in Christ.
The enmity of men's hearts to this
doctrine of predestination was seen in the
House of Common, not a fortnight ago, when
one who ought to have known better talked dominion, and every name that is named,
about "the gloomy tenets of Calvin." I know not only in this world, but also in that which
nothing of Calvin's gloomy tenets; but I do is to come: and hath put all things under his
know that I read here of predestination, and I feet, and gave him to be the head over all
read here that God hath his own way, and his things in the church, which is his body, the
own will, and that he reigns and rules, and so fulness of him that filleth all in all.
he will until the world's end; and all who are How Paul glows as he writes on this great
loyal subjects wish God to rule. He is a traitor theme! He waxes warm, and rises to an
who would not have God to be King; for who enthusiasm of eloquence. We could not stop
is infinitely good and kind as God is? Let him to explain his words; that were to spoil their
have his divine will. Who wishes to restrain mystic poetry. Oh, to have a heart that can
him? Whether we wish is or not, however, glorify Christ as Paul did! Truly, if we know
the Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice, and ourselves to be one with Christ, and know
let his adversaries tremble. Our the privileges which come to us through that
predestination is "according to the purpose blessed gate, we may indeed extol him with
of him who worketh all things after the all our heart and soul.
counsel of his own will."
13, 14. In whom ye also trusted, after
that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN BOOK"232;
your salvation: in whom also after that ye Ps. 103, Version I.; 219; and the Doxology.
believed, ye were sealed with the holy Spirit
of promise, which is the earnest of our
inheritance until the redemption of the
purchased possession, unto the praise of his
glory.
Those who believe in Christ have the
Holy Spirit dwelling in them: the Holy Spirit is
a part of heaven, "the earnest of our
inheritance"; and wherever he dwells, it is
not possible that the heart should lose the
inheritance. It is entailed upon those in
whom the Spirit dwells. Judge, there, dear
brethren, whether the Spirit of God dwells in
you or no.
15-23. Wherefore I also, after I heard of
your faith in the Lord Jesus and love unto all
the saints, cease not to give thanks for you,
making mention of you in my prayers; that
the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of glory, may give unto you the spirit of
wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of
him; the eyes of your understanding being
enlightened; they ye may know what is the
hope of his calling, and what the riches of
the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and
what is the exceeding greatness of his power
to us-ward, who believe; according to the
working of his mighty power, which he
wrought in Christ, when he raised him from
the dead, and set him at his own right hand
in the heavenly places, far above all
principality, and power, and might, and
Lesson 10: Blessed to Bless

(Zechariah 8:1-23)

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Second Kings 7 tells a fascinating story of

four lepers who sat at the gate of
Samaria at a time when the city was
under siege. Things had gotten so bad
inside the city that women were eating
their own children to survive. But Elisha
the prophet had predicted something
that seemed utterly impossible, that the
next day food would be plentiful and
affordable in Samaria.

Meanwhile, the four lepers evaluated

their dismal situation. If they stayed at
the gate of Samaria, they would starve. If
they went over to the enemy camp, they
may be killed, which would be no worse
than starving. But there was the outside
chance that the enemy would take pity
on them and give them some scraps of
food. So they took their chances and
went over to the enemy camp.

When they got there, they were shocked

to find the camp deserted. The Lord had
caused the enemy to hear the sound of a
great army of chariots and horses so that
they fled in a panic, leaving all of their
supplies behind. The four beggars ate all
that they could eat. They hauled away
and hid several loads of silver and gold
and clothes.
But then their consciences began to
gnaw at them. They said, Were not
doing right. This is a day of good news,
but we are keeping silent (2 Kings 7:9).
So they went and told the starving city
where they could find abundant supplies
to satisfy their needs.
That story illustrates the main message
of Zechariah 8, summed up by the Lords
words in verse 13: I will save you that
you may become a blessing. Gods
people are blessed to bless others. God
pours out His grace on us so that we will
slop it over on others who are starving
and dying without hope.
Because God has promised to bless
us abundantly, we should be a
blessing to others.
The text falls into two parts, both
prefaced with the phrase, Then the word
of the Lord of hosts came saying (8:1,
18). The first word of the Lord to
Zechariah (8:1-17) breaks into two parts.
Verses 1-8 present Gods promise to
restore His blessing on the nation after
the years of captivity. Verses 9-17 apply
this promise to the remnant of
Zechariahs day that was rebuilding the
temple. The second word of the Lord
(8:18-23) shows that Gods blessed
people are to become a blessing to all
nations. Verse 19 answers the question
raised by the delegation from Bethel
(7:2-3) by showing that their fasts would
be turned to feasts as the people
experienced Gods gracious blessings of
salvation.
I will be applying this chapter to us as the
church, but we need to keep in mind that
the chapter applies literally to the nation
Israel. Many commentators apply the
text spiritually to the church as if that is
the final fulfillment of these promises.
But Paul shows in Romans 11:17-32 that
while God has partially hardened Israel in
judgment until the fullness of the
Gentiles is complete, after that, all Israel
will be saved. There is yet a glorious
future for Israel, when God will pour out
on the house of David the Spirit of grace
and of supplication, so that they will look
on [Him] whom they pierced; and they
will mourn (Zech. 12:10).
I appreciate the faith of men like Charles
Simeon (who died in 1836) and Charles
Spurgeon (preaching in 1863), who both
argued that the Jews had to be restored
to the land so that Gods promises in this
chapter would be literally fulfilled. (See
Charles Simeon, Expository Outlines of
the Whole Bible [Zondervan], 10:481-
484, 488-495; and Charles Spurgeon,
Once a Curse but Now a Blessing [Ages
Software, sermon # 543.) They preached
that view a century before Israel became
a nation, believing that Gods promises
would come true. Both men urged their
congregations to evangelize the Jews as
a practical application of this text. After
lamenting the horrible treatment that
professing Christians had shown to the
Jews over the centuries, Spurgeon said
(ibid.),
May the Lord in his infinite mercy first put
it into his peoples hearts to pray for
Israel, and then to work in love, and labor
in faith: may he hasten in his own time
the fulfillment of his promises to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and then
shall the whole earth be covered with the
knowledge of the Lord as the waters
cover the sea. We may work and we may
toil, but till Israel be gathered Gods glory
cannot be universal, nor even widely
spread.
So the primary interpretation of this
chapter relates to the nation Israel. But
there are many applications for us as the
church.
1. God has promised to bless His people
abundantly.
Perhaps when you hear those words, you
think, Maybe God has promised
blessings, but Im not experiencing them.
Instead of promises, all I seem to have is
problems! You feel like the discouraged
man who said, What I need are a few
blessings that arent in disguise.
The people to whom Zechariah
prophesied probably felt like that. They
were a weak remnant of 50,000 people
who had returned to a devastated land.
Powerful enemies surrounded them. They
were under Persian rule. While they saw
glimmers of hope, these promises of God
seemed a million miles away.
But God gave Zechariah these words of
promise about the future to encourage
His people to persevere in the present.
Even though we presently experience
only a foretaste of Gods promises for the
future, the certainty of His sure word can
encourage us to be faithful in the trials of
the present time. Two truths shine
through concerning Gods promised
blessings:
A. GODS PROMISED BLESSINGS
DEPEND ON HIM, NOT ON US.
These promises do not stem from
Zechariahs optimistic personality. The
text repeatedly emphasizes that this is
the sure word of Almighty God. Eleven
times in this chapter we read, Thus says
the Lord of hosts, or some similar
phrase. The name Lord, (Yahweh, the
name of the covenant-keeping God)
occurs 22 times. Over and over God
declares, I will, or I am to declare His
sure purpose (8:2, 3, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14,
15).
Commenting on verse 8, Kenneth Barker
says, Israels predicted complete
restoration to covenant favor and
blessing rests on nothing less than the
faithfulness, veracity, and righteousness
of God. The theological principle
involved is that God is a saving,
forgiving, delivering, restoring Godone
who delights to take Not My People and
make them My People (Expositors
Bible Commentary [Zondervan], 7:651).
As you may be aware, the doctrine of
Gods ability to save His people
according to His purpose and choice,
apart from anything in them, is under
attack. Two recent books, Chosen But
Free[Bethany House, second ed., 2001],
by Norman Geisler, and What Love is
This? [Loyal Publishing, 2002], by Dave
Hunt, both attack the doctrine of Gods
sovereign choice to save a people for His
glory. Both books assert that
God desires to save everyone, but the
outcome of who gets saved depends on
the response of each person. In other
words, God has given up His ability to
save anyone, unless that person decides
to respond! Thus both authors would
have to explain Gods assertions
in Zechariah 8 as being based on
His foreknowledge of what Israel will one
day do by their own free will, not as
Gods declaration of what He will do by
His mighty power.
But the text does not say, I can foresee
that someday Israel will turn to Me, and
Im sure glad, because I really wanted to
save them. But the final result is up to
their free will. What a relief that finally
they will get it right and choose Me!
What does the text say? Thus says the
Lord of hosts, Behold, I am going to save
My people (8:7). That seems fairly clear,
doesnt it? God does not say, Im going
to do all that I can to try to save them,
but theyre a tough bunch, so Im not
sure they will respond. If we didnt get
the first declaration, there are more: I
will bring them back and they shall be
My people and I will be their God in truth
and righteousness (8:8). I will cause
the remnant of this people to inherit all
these things (8:12). I will save you that
you may become a blessing (8:13). Just
as I purposed to do harm to you when
your fathers provoked Me to wrath, so
I have again purposed in these days to
do good to Jerusalem (8:14, 15). Israels
salvation depends on Godspurpose and
might, not on Israels so-called free will!
Gods promised blessings of salvation do
not depend on the impotent fallen will of
man, but on the sure purpose and power
of the Lord of hosts! Gods purpose
according to His choice [will] stand, not
because of works but because of Him
who calls (Rom. 9:11). It does not
depend on the man who wills or the man
who runs, but on God who has mercy
(Rom. 9:16).
This is not just a theological debate that
has no practical value. Your assurance of
salvation hinges on it! As Paul put it, if
God began a good work in you, you can
be confident that He will perfect it until
the day of Christ Jesus (Phil. 1:6). If you
have repented of your sins and trusted in
Christ alone for salvation, that
repentance and faith did not originate in
you. It came from God as His free gift,
apart from anything that He foresaw in
you. If it depends on anything in you, it is
not based on grace, but on merit. That
makes salvation depend, in part, on man.
But Scripture is clear that salvation is of
the Lord (Jonah 2:9). He will save His
people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). Thus
if you believe in Christ, you can have
assurance and hope, because your
salvation came totally from God, not from
anything in you.
But in spite of the assurance of Gods
promised blessings, we all have times
when it seems impossible that what God
has promised will actually happen. Two
things in these verses encourage us with
the fact that God will do what He
promises:
(1) GODS PROMISES MAY SEEM IMPOSSIBLE
TO US, BUT THEY ARE NOT TOO DIFFICULT
FOR HIM (8:6).
The Lord anticipates the response of
these despondent people, Yes, but !
The population had been wiped out by
the Babylonian invasion and captivity.
The land was devastated and desolate
(7:14). The thought of a prosperous Israel
seemed impossible to them. But God
promises that in the future, Jerusalem will
be filled with the elderly and with
children, living securely (8:4, 5).
Then He anticipates their faithless
response. He repeats twice the assertion
that this is the word of the Lord of hosts
to emphasize its certainty: Thus says
the Lord of hosts, If it is too difficult in
the sight of the remnant of this people in
those days, will it also be too difficult in
My sight? declares the Lord of hosts
(8:6).
Yes, but ! Youve responded that way
to Gods promises, havent you? I have!
How often we make the mistake of
judging Gods ability by our ability! Like
David, we foolishly number our troops,
thinking that our power is proportional to
how many warriors we can muster for the
battle. But the Lord does not save by
many or by few (1 Sam. 14:6)! Like the
disciples, we count up our meager five
loaves and two fish, or we calculate the
amount (which we dont have anyway)
that it would take to feed the vast
multitude. But the Lord does not meet
the need according to what we have or
what we wish we had, but according
to His purpose and Hispower.
(2) GODS PROMISES ALWAYS WORK
THROUGH A REMNANT (8:6, 11, 12).
Sometimes as a believer, you feel as if
youre on the losing team. Like Elijah,
you think that youre the only one left,
and theyre seeking your life (1 Kings
19:10). Or perhaps you despair that you
will ever overcome some besetting sin
that keeps tripping you up. Or you get
discouraged in the Lords work. You feel
like youre on Charlie Browns baseball
team, where only five show up for the
game and one of those is Lucy! You feel
like giving up.
But remember, God always works
through a remnant. Elijah wasnt the only
one; there were 7,000 others in Israel
who had not bowed their knee to Baal (1
Kings 19:18). Joshua and Caleb were a
minority, but they believed Gods
promise and led the people into the
Promised Land. Gideon and his 32,000
men were too many, but Gideon and his
300 men were enough with the Lord to
conquer the vast Midianite horde (Judges
7). Picture Paul, shivering in his prison
cell, asking Timothy to pick up his coat
before he comes, and adding, Only Luke
is with me. At my first defense no one
supported me, but all deserted me (2
Tim. 4:11, 16). Yet God used that man of
faith like He has used few others!
You may think, Im the only believer at
work or in my class at school. God works
through a faithful remnant. Believe His
promises and trust His mighty power to
save! His promised blessings depend on
Him, not on us. But there is a second
truth in our text concerning Gods
promised blessings:
B. GODS PROMISED BLESSINGS
REQUIRE A RESPONSE OF HOLY
ACTIVITY FOR THE LORD.
Divine sovereignty is always coupled with
human responsibility. Just because God
has promised to bless us does not mean
that we can kick back and wait for the
blessings to flow. His promised blessings
require a response. In 8:9-17, Zechariah
shows the remnant how the Lord
expected them to respond to the promise
of His blessing. His words apply to us as
well.
(1) BE STRONG IN BUILDING THE LORDS
HOUSE.
Twice the Lord tells the people, Let your
hands be strong (8:9, 13). Twice He tells
them, Do not fear (8:13, 15). God
doesnt waste words. If He tells people
twice to let their hands be strong, we can
assume that they were tending to be
weak. If He tells them twice not to fear,
they were afraid. They were trying to
rebuild the temple in the face of fierce
opposition. Jerusalem was still littered
with rubble. There was no wall to protect
the city. The people had no army to
defend themselves. So they were prone
to be afraid and to give up the work of
rebuilding the temple. But God says, Be
strong! Do not fear!
Sometimes it seems like working to build
Christs church is not worth the effort. I
read recently that 1,500 pastors leave
the ministry every month, many because
of frustration and discouragement. You
try to advance the cause of Christ, but
you get attacked by fellow Christians.
People you thought you could count on
leave the church without even talking to
you to try to work through their
problems. Others fall into sin and go back
into the world. Frankly, its easy to think,
Whats the use? Ill go find another line
of work where I dont have these
hassles!
But the Lord says to us all, Be strong!
Dont fear! I will build My church and the
gates of Hades will not overpower it
(Matt. 16:18). That sure promise requires
that we who know the Lord respond by
committing ourselves to build His house.
(2) BE HOLY IN ALL OUR CONDUCT.
Without holiness, anything that we do for
the Lord will utterly fail. To call ourselves
Christians and then to live like the world
is to mock God before the world. The fact
that the Lord dwells among us (8:3)
demands that we be known as people of
truth and holiness (see 8:3, 8, 16, 17, 19;
note the repeated emphasis on truth).
As 8:16-17 make clear (see 7:9-10),
holiness is a practical sort of thing. It
demands that we speak truth to one
another, that we judge with truth, that
we not devise evil in our hearts against
one another, and that we do not love
perjury. God says that He hates these
things. As His people, we must not only
love what God loves; we also need to
hate what He hates. Since He is the God
of truth, we need to hate false doctrine,
deception, lies, hypocrisy, and vague
moral standards that drift with our
godless culture.
The enemy paints a negative picture of
holiness. We conjure up a bunch of
Puritans in starched shirts, scowling at
anyone whos having fun. We fall for the
lie that we will miss out on good times if
we follow the Lord. But our chapter is
clear that sin leads to great misery and
curse (8:10, 13). Holiness and obedience
to God are the way of great joy and
gladness (8:19). Gods promised
abundant blessings should motivate us to
deny ungodliness and worldly desires
and to live sensibly, righteously and
godly in the present age (Titus 2:12).
But God does not promise to bless us so
that we can sit around feeling blessed.
Our text is clear that
2. Gods blessed people should be a blessing to
others.
I will save you that you may become a
blessing (8:13). I want to answer two
questions: How do we become a
blessing? Whom are we to bless? First,
How do we become a blessing?
A. WE BLESS OTHERS BY SHOWING
THEM HOW TO FIND GOD.
I think that 8:20-23 refers primarily to the
Jews in the millennium. God will use them
as a light to the nations, to point them to
the Lord Jesus Christ. But these verses
also apply to us now. In the context,
verses 20-23 on being a witness flow out
of verses 9-19 on holiness and joy. When
people observe our lives, as godly people
of truth, love, and joy, they will want
what weve got, so that they grab us and
say, Let us go with you, for we have
heard that God is with you (8:23).
Beauty has an attractive power. Why do
millions of people flock to Yosemite,
Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon every
year? They are attracted by the awesome
beauty of these places. When our lives
reflect the beauty of Gods holiness and
joy, people will say, I want what youve
got! Every Christian should be able not
just to bring people to church, but also to
explain the gospel clearly so that those
who do not know God can come to know
Him through Jesus Christ. Living a
beautiful (= holy) life is the foundation,
but you should also be able to give a
defense for the hope that is within you (1
Pet. 3:15). If you are not able to do that, I
urge you to get some training in
evangelism.
B. WHOM DO WE BLESS? WE BLESS
OTHERS BOTH NEAR AND FAR.
Both neighbors and distant nations are
included in 8:20-23. We are to be
witnesses for the Lord, beginning at our
Jerusalem, but extending to the remotest
part of the earth (Acts 1:8). We should
pray for our neighbors and our contacts
here in Flagstaff, that God would open
the door to tell them about Christ. But we
should not rest until every people group
around the globe has had the opportunity
to hear the good news. I commend to
you Operation World, by Patrick
Johnstone, and the monthly Global
Prayer Digest (U.S. Center for World
Mission), both of which will help you be
informed, pray, and labor for the great
cause of world missions.
Conclusion
An African proverb states, There is only
one crime worse than murder on the
desert, and that is to know where the
water is and not tell. God has led us to
Christ, the living water. He has blessed us
with His salvation and He promises to
bless us even more abundantly in the
future. But He didnt save us so that we
can sit in the lifeboat feeling warm and
cozy, oblivious to the lost of the world.
He saved us so that we may become a
blessing to others. If youre saved, but
you dont have your focus on blessing
others, youve only got half the picture.
He blessed you so that you may become
a blessing.
Discussion Questions
1. Why is it important to affirm that
salvation comes totally from God, as
opposed to it being a joint venture?
2. If we lack faith in Gods promises, how
can we get the faith we need?
3. Describe a holy person. How can we
be holy and yet relate well to a sinful world?
4. To what extent does a believer have to
have it together in order to be involved in
ministry to others?
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2003, All
Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture
Quotations are from the New American
Standard Bible, Updated Edition The
Lockman Foundation
Related Topics: Assurance, Dispensational /
Covenantal Theology, Eschatology
(Things to
Come), Evangelism, Missions, Prophecy/R
evelation, Soteriology
(Salvation), Spiritual Life
Matthew 5:16 ESV / 240 helpful votes
In the same way, let your light shine before
others, so that they may see your good
works and give glory to your Father who is in
heaven.
Philippians 2:3-4 ESV / 150 helpful votes
Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in
humility count others more significant than
yourselves. Let each of you look not only to
his own interests, but also to the interests of
others.
Philippians 2:1-30 ESV / 129 helpful votes
So if there is any encouragement in Christ,
any comfort from love, any participation in
the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,
complete my joy by being of the same mind,
having the same love, being in full accord
and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or
conceit, but in humility count others more
significant than yourselves. Let each of you
look not only to his own interests, but also to
the interests of others. Have this mind
among yourselves, which is yours in Christ
Jesus,
Luke 6:31 ESV / 82 helpful votes
And as you wish that others would do to you,
do so to them.
Genesis 12:1-20 ESV / 80 helpful votes
Now the Lord said to Abram, Go from your
country and your kindred and your father's
house to the land that I will show you. And I
will make of you a great nation, and I will
bless you and make your name great, so that
you will be a blessing. I will bless those who
bless you, and him who dishonors you I will
curse, and in you all the families of the earth
shall be blessed. So Abram went, as
the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him.
Abram was seventy-five years old when he
departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarai
his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all
their possessions that they had gathered,
and the people that they had acquired in
Haran, and they set out to go to the land of
Canaan. When they came to the land of
Canaan,
2 Corinthians 9:8-11 ESV / 72 helpful votes
And God is able to make all grace abound to
you, so that having all sufficiency in all
things at all times, you may abound in every
good work. As it is written, He has
distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever. He who
supplies seed to the sower and bread for
food will supply and multiply your seed for
sowing and increase the harvest of your
righteousness. You will be enriched in every
way to be generous in every way, which
through us will produce thanksgiving to God.
Ephesians 2:10 ESV / 64 helpful votes
For we are his workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand, that we should walk in
them.
Matthew 7:12 ESV / 57 helpful votes
So whatever you wish that others would do
to you, do also to them, for this is the Law
and the Prophets.
3 John 1:11 ESV / 41 helpful votes
Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good.
Whoever does good is from God; whoever
does evil has not seen God.
Romans 8:28 ESV / 39 helpful votes
And we know that for those who love God all
things work together for good, for those who
are called according to his purpose.
James 5:16 ESV / 36 helpful votes
Therefore, confess your sins to one another
and pray for one another, that you may be
healed. The prayer of a righteous person has
great power as it is working.
Matthew 6:1-34 ESV / 33 helpful votes
Beware of practicing your righteousness
before other people in order to be seen by
them, for then you will have no reward from
your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when
you give to the needy, sound no trumpet
before you, as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and in the streets, that they may
be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they
have received their reward. But when you
give to the needy, do not let your left hand
know what your right hand is doing, so that
your giving may be in secret. And your
Father who sees in secret will reward you.
And when you pray, you must not be like
the hypocrites. For they love to stand and
pray in the synagogues and at the street
corners, that they may be seen by others.
Truly, I say to you, they have received their
reward.
Hebrews 11:6 ESV / 28 helpful votes
And without faith it is impossible to please
him, for whoever would draw near to God
must believe that he exists and that he
rewards those who seek him.
Ephesians 1:3 ESV / 28 helpful votes
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly
places,
Matthew 6:31-33 ESV / 28 helpful votes
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What
shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or
What shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek
after all these things, and your heavenly
Father knows that you need them all. But
seek first the kingdom of God and his
righteousness, and all these things will be
added to you.
1 Peter 3:15 ESV / 27 helpful votes
But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as
holy, always being prepared to make a
defense to anyone who asks you for a reason
for the hope that is in you; yet do it with
gentleness and respect,
Hebrews 10:24 ESV / 26 helpful votes
And let us consider how to stir up one
another to love and good works,
1 John 3:2 ESV / 22 helpful votes
Beloved, we are God's children now, and
what we will be has not yet appeared; but we
know that when he appears we shall be like
him, because we shall see him as he is.
Psalm 119:1-176 ESV / 19 helpful votes
Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are
those who keep his testimonies, who seek
him with their whole heart, who also do no
wrong, but walk in his ways! You have
commanded your precepts to be kept
diligently. Oh that my ways may be steadfast
in keeping your statutes!
Genesis 12:1-3 ESV / 18 helpful votes
Now the Lord said to Abram, Go from your
country and your kindred and your father's
house to the land that I will show you. And I
will make of you a great nation, and I will
bless you and make your name great, so that
you will be a blessing. I will bless those who
bless you, and him who dishonors you I will
curse, and in you all the families of the earth
shall be blessed.
Ephesians 5:1 ESV / 17 helpful votes
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved
children.
Psalm 118:1-29 ESV / 17 helpful votes
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for
his steadfast love endures forever! Let Israel
say, His steadfast love endures forever. Let
the house of Aaron say, His steadfast love
endures forever. Let those who fear
the Lord say, His steadfast love endures
forever. Out of my distress I called on
the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me
free.
Psalm 40:1-3 ESV / 15 helpful votes
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I
waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to
me and heard my cry. He drew me up from
the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock, making my
steps secure. He put a new song in my
mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will
see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.
James 1:5 ESV / 14 helpful votes
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God,
who gives generously to all without reproach,
and it will be given him.
Romans 1:16 ESV / 14 helpful votes
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is
the power of God for salvation to everyone
who believes, to the Jew first and also to the
Greek.
1 Timothy 6:11 ESV / 13 helpful votes
But as for you, O man of God, flee these
things. Pursue righteousness, godliness,
faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.
2 Corinthians 5:20 ESV / 13 helpful votes
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ,
God making his appeal through us. We
implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled
to God.
Romans 12:1-3 ESV / 13 helpful votes
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the
mercies of God, to present your bodies as a
living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,
which is your spiritual worship. Do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed
by the renewal of your mind, that by testing
you may discern what is the will of God, what
is good and acceptable and perfect. For by
the grace given to me I say to everyone
among you not to think of himself more
highly than he ought to think, but to think
with sober judgment, each according to the
measure of faith that God has assigned.
Matthew 28:18-20 ESV / 13 helpful votes
And Jesus came and said to them, All
authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to me. Go therefore and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I
have commanded you. And behold, I am with
you always, to the end of the age.
Matthew 18:20 ESV / 13 helpful votes
For where two or three are gathered in my
name, there am I among them.
Jeremiah 32:40 ESV / 13 helpful votes
I will make with them an everlasting
covenant, that I will not turn away from
doing good to them. And I will put the fear of
me in their hearts, that they may not turn
from me.
Numbers 6:24 ESV / 13 helpful votes
The Lord bless you and keep you;
1 Peter 3:9 ESV / 12 helpful votes
Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for
reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this
you were called, that you may obtain a
blessing.
2 Corinthians 6:18 ESV / 12 helpful votes
And I will be a father to you, and you shall be
sons and daughters to me, says the Lord
Almighty.
John 14:13-15 ESV / 12 helpful votes
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do,
that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If
you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
If you love me, you will keep my
commandments.
John 3:16-18 ESV / 12 helpful votes
For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only Son, that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life. For
God did not send his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but in order that the
world might be saved through him. Whoever
believes in him is not condemned, but
whoever does not believe is condemned
already, because he has not believed in the
name of the only Son of God.
John 3:1-36 ESV / 11 helpful votes
Now there was a man of the Pharisees
named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This
man came to Jesus by night and said to him,
Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher
come from God, for no one can do these
signs that you do unless God is with him.
Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to
you, unless one is born again he cannot see
the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him,
How can a man be born when he is old? Can
he enter a second time into his mother's
womb and be born? Jesus answered, Truly,
truly, I say to you, unless one is born of
water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the
kingdom of God.
Zechariah 8:13 ESV / 11 helpful votes
And as you have been a byword of cursing
among the nations, O house of Judah and
house of Israel, so will I save you, and you
shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your
hands be strong.
James 1:26 ESV / 10 helpful votes
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not
bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this
person's religion is worthless.
Hebrews 11:1-40 ESV / 10 helpful votes
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped
for, the conviction of things not seen. For by
it the people of old received their
commendation. By faith we understand that
the universe was created by the word of God,
so that what is seen was not made out of
things that are visible. By faith Abel offered
to God a more acceptable sacrifice than
Cain, through which he was commended as
righteous, God commending him by
accepting his gifts. And through his faith,
though he died, he still speaks. By faith
Enoch was taken up so that he should not
see death, and he was not found, because
God had taken him. Now before he was taken
he was commended as having pleased God.
Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV / 10 helpful votes
For by grace you have been saved through
faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the
gift of God, not a result of works, so that no
one may boast.
2 Corinthians 8:13-15 ESV / 10 helpful
votes
For I do not mean that others should be
eased and you burdened, but that as a
matter of fairness your abundance at the
present time should supply their need, so
that their abundance may supply your need,
that there may be fairness. As it is written,
Whoever gathered much had nothing left
over, and whoever gathered little had no
lack.
Jeremiah 9:24 ESV / 10 helpful votes
But let him who boasts boast in this, that he
understands and knows me, that I am
the Lord who practices steadfast love,
justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in
these things I delight, declares the Lord.
Psalm 119:105 ESV / 10 helpful votes
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to
my path.
Revelation 22:17 ESV / 9 helpful votes
The Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let
the one who hears say, Come. And let the
one who is thirsty come; let the one who
desires take the water of life without price.
Revelation 14:6 ESV / 9 helpful votes
Then I saw another angel flying directly
overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim
to those who dwell on earth, to every nation
and tribe and language and people.
James 1:27 ESV / 9 helpful votes
Religion that is pure and undefiled before
God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and
widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself
unstained from the world.
Hebrews 9:22 ESV / 9 helpful votes
Indeed, under the law almost everything is
purified with blood, and without the shedding
of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
2 Timothy 3:6-9 ESV / 9 helpful votes
For among them are those who creep into
households and capture weak women,
burdened with sins and led astray by various
passions, always learning and never able to
arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as
Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these
men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in
mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But
they will not get very far, for their folly will
be plain to all, as was that of those two men.
1 Thessalonians 4:1 ESV / 9 helpful votes
Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you
in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from
us how you ought to walk and to please God,
just as you are doing, that you do so more
and more.
Acts 3:26 ESV / 9 helpful votes
God, having raised up his servant, sent him
to you first, to bless you by turning every one
of you from your wickedness.
John 3:16 ESV / 9 helpful votes
For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only Son, that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life.
Matthew 5:10-15 ESV / 9 helpful votes
Blessed are those who are persecuted for
righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. Blessed are you when others
revile you and persecute you and utter all
kinds of evil against you falsely on my
account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward
is great in heaven, for so they persecuted
the prophets who were before you. You are
the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its
taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is
no longer good for anything except to be
thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
You are the light of the world. A city set on a
hill cannot be hidden.
Isaiah 44:3 ESV / 9 helpful votes
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and
streams on the dry ground; I will pour my
Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing
on your descendants.
1 Timothy 4:8 ESV / 8 helpful votes
For while bodily training is of some value,
godliness is of value in every way, as it holds
promise for the present life and also for the
life to come.
1 Timothy 3:16 ESV / 8 helpful votes
Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of
godliness: He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations, believed on
in the world, taken up in glory.
Ephesians 4:15 ESV / 8 helpful votes
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to
grow up in every way into him who is the
head, into Christ,
Ephesians 4:1 ESV / 8 helpful votes
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you
to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to
which you have been called,
Ephesians 1:1-23 ESV / 8 helpful votes
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of
God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and
are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and
peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us
in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the
heavenly places, even as he chose us in him
before the foundation of the world, that we
should be holy and blameless before him. In
love he predestined us for adoption as sons
through Jesus Christ, according to the
purpose of his will,
Acts 4:12 ESV / 8 helpful votes
And there is salvation in no one else, for
there is no other name under heaven given
among men by which we must be saved.
Luke 18:1-8 ESV / 8 helpful votes
And he told them a parable to the effect that
they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
He said, In a certain city there was a judge
who neither feared God nor respected man.
And there was a widow in that city who kept
coming to him and saying, Give me justice
against my adversary. For a while he
refused, but afterward he said to himself,
Though I neither fear God nor respect man,
yet because this widow keeps bothering me,
I will give her justice, so that she will not
beat me down by her continual coming.
Matthew 11:28-30 ESV / 8 helpful votes
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke
upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle
and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for
your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my
burden is light.
1 Thessalonians 4:7 ESV / 7 helpful votes
For God has not called us for impurity, but in
holiness.
Philippians 3:10 ESV / 7 helpful votes
That I may know him and the power of his
resurrection, and may share his sufferings,
becoming like him in his death,
Ephesians 4:28 ESV / 7 helpful votes
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let
him labor, doing honest work with his own
hands, so that he may have something to
share with anyone in need.
2 Corinthians 6:17 ESV / 7 helpful votes
Therefore go out from their midst, and be
separate from them, says the Lord, and
touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome
you,
Romans 5:18 ESV / 7 helpful votes
Therefore, as one trespass led to
condemnation for all men, so one act of
righteousness leads to justification and life
for all men.
Romans 5:9 ESV / 7 helpful votes
Since, therefore, we have now been justified
by his blood, much more shall we be saved
by him from the wrath of God.
Romans 3:24-28 ESV / 6 helpful votes
And are justified by his grace as a gift,
through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus, whom God put forward as a
propitiation by his blood, to be received by
faith. This was to show God's righteousness,
because in his divine forbearance he had
passed over former sins. It was to show his
righteousness at the present time, so that he
might be just and the justifier of the one who
has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our
boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law?
By a law of works? No, but by the law of
faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith
apart from works of the law.
Luke 9:62 ESV / 6 helpful votes
Jesus said to him, No one who puts his hand
to the plow and looks back is fit for the
kingdom of God.
Jeremiah 29:11 ESV / 6 helpful votes
For I know the plans I have for you, declares
the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to
give you a future and a hope.
Genesis 1:31 ESV / 6 helpful votes
And God saw everything that he had made,
and behold, it was very good. And there was
evening and there was morning, the sixth
day.
Genesis 1:1-2 ESV / 6 helpful votes
In the beginning, God created the heavens
and the earth. The earth was without form
and void, and darkness was over the face of
the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering
over the face of the waters.
James 1:25 ESV / 5 helpful votes
But the one who looks into the perfect law,
the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no
hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he
will be blessed in his doing.
1 Timothy 2:1-15 ESV / 5 helpful votes
First of all, then, I urge that supplications,
prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be
made for all people, for kings and all who are
in high positions, that we may lead a
peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in
every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in
the sight of God our Savior, who desires all
people to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth. For there is one God,
and there is one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus,
Galatians 3:14 ESV / 5 helpful votes
So that in Christ Jesus the blessing of
Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that
we might receive the promised Spirit through
faith.
Matthew 5:3-12 ESV / 5 helpful votes
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those
who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit
the earth. Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be
satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they
shall receive mercy.
Psalm 90:17 ESV / 5 helpful votes
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 ESV / 4 helpful votes
And it is God who establishes us with you in
Christ, and has anointed us, and who has
also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit
in our hearts as a guarantee.
1 Corinthians 12:1-31 ESV / 4 helpful votes
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do
not want you to be uninformed. You know
that when you were pagans you were led
astray to mute idols, however you were led.
Therefore I want you to understand that no
one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says
Jesus is accursed! and no one can say
Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit. Now
there are varieties of gifts, but the same
Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but
the same Lord;
Romans 12:13 ESV / 4 helpful votes
Contribute to the needs of the saints and
seek to show hospitality.
Matthew 6:33 ESV / 4 helpful votes
But seek first the kingdom of God and his
righteousness, and all these things will be
added to you.
Proverbs 11:25-26 ESV / 4 helpful votes
Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,
and one who waters will himself be watered.
The people curse him who holds back grain,
but a blessing is on the head of him who sells
it.
HelpfulNot Helpful
Acts 11:19-24 ESV / 3 helpful votes
Now those who were scattered because of
the persecution that arose over Stephen
traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and
Antioch, speaking the word to no one except
Jews. But there were some of them, men of
Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to
Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also,
preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all
the Lord was with them, and a great number to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast
who believed turned to the Lord. The report purpose,
of this came to the ears of the church in
Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to
Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of