Outlines

Skyline BC
Sun Morn
10-12-2025       
 
                                  WHAT ON EARTH WILL BE IN HEAVEN?
                                                          Rev. 5:11-14
 
 11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
 14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.
 
Intro: This passage is one of the few glimpses into Heaven. John, the author of Revelation, has been called up into Heaven to receive the revelation of things to come. While in Heaven, John saw many wonderful things that he later penned down for you and me.
 
The section we are looking at this morning, we are studying on Wednesday Nights.
But I am going go over some things I may not mention on Wednesdays.
 
What the Bible reveals about Heaven is enough to encourage even the most burdened down of the Lord's saints.
 
Just before Jesus died, He gave His disciples a promise that has cheered the hearts of the saints for 2,000 years. He promised us that He was going to prepare a place in the Father's House for each of us and that one day, He would return for us and take us to be with Him there, John 14:1. I don't know if that promise does anything for you, but it certainly does bless my heart!
 
As I look around this world today, there aren't many things in the earth that I want to see when I get home to Heaven.
 However, there are a few things from this world that will be found over there.
 
Allow me to share some precious things that we will take with us to Heaven when we leave this world behind.
 
I. THERE WILL STILL BE SINGING IN HEAVEN
V. 9   And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
 
A. Notice who was doing the singing. The 24 elders. These men represent the redeemed of God down through the ages.
 The picture here is of those who have been saved, and have arrived at home in Heaven standing before the throne of God singing a brand new heavenly song of praise unto the Lord and the God who redeemed them from an eternity in Hell.
 
B. Singing has always been important to the worship of the Lord.
 
1. The Bible tells us that in the creation, the angels sang,
Job 38:7.  7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
 
(By the way, this is the only reference to angels singing in the Bible! We always picture the angels singing at the birth of Jesus, but a careful examination of the text reveals that hey did not sing, they just said,
 
Turn to...
Luke 2:13-14.)     13  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14    Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
 
2. When Israel wanted to worship their God, they often did so by singing.
 (Ill. The Song of Moses, Ex. 15; Ill.
The Song of Deborah and Barak when they had defeated Sisera, Judges 5;
 
 Psalms 120-134 are called "Songs of Degrees". That is, they were songs sung by pilgrims who were making their way up to Jerusalem to worship at the Tabernacle and later at the Temple.
In fact, the Book of Psalms is in reality a Hebrew songbook!)
 Singing was vitally important in the worship of the Jews.
 
3. When the church was formed, singing became a vital part of Christian worship.
 (Remember Paul and Silas in prison? Acts 16:25.)
Verses like Eph. 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
 
and Col. 3:16 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.tell us that singing is important to Christian worship.
 
I believe Singing sets the mood for the rest of the service. Lively, energetic singing prepares the worshipers for the Word of God that is about to be preached.
The right kind of singing can even be used by the Lord to bring lost people to Him to bow in repentance for salvation. Thank God for good, biblical singing! I love it, don't you?
 
(Ill. I hope so, because it will be one of the few things that will accompany us into Heaven!)
 
 
II. V.  THERE WILL STILL BE SHOUTING IN HEAVEN
 
Verses 12-14   12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
13  And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever
 14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.
 
 
A. These verses make clear the great truth that when we get to Heaven, there will be shouting over there!
B. Just as singing as always had a place in the praise and worship of the Lord, so too has shouting.
 
1. Job 38:7 tells us that the angels shouted for joy!
 
2. During the history of the nation of Israel, shouting and praising the Lord were valuable parts of God's worship. They shouted when the Ark was returned to Jerusalem,
II Sam. 6:15.  So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
 
3. In the early church, the people were encouraged to participate in the public praises of the Lord,
 Heb. 13:15.  By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
 
4. In our modern society and churches, old fashioned praising the Lord has fallen out of favor with many people.
In fact, shouters, criers, hand wavers, and amener's are all ridiculed and misunderstood.
I would just like to remind you this morning that God's praises still have a place in the church!
 
 Now I know that not everyone praises the Lord the same way and that some feel funny when the shouting begins,  
By the way, I am glad the Lord gave me something that I can praise Him for.
 I am grateful to the Lord that I have a Savior who is worthy to shout about!
 
C. Every time we are allowed a sneak peak into Heaven, there is one thing that we are always shown, and that is the fact that the inhabitants of Heaven are seen praising the Lord!
We see this all through the book of Revelation
 (Ill. Rev. 4:1-11; 5:1-14; 7:9-11; 19:1-8)
 
III.THERE WILL STILL BE SATISFACTION IN HEAVEN
 A. As these 24 elders lifts their song of praise unto the Lord, they express their pleasure in their present state. They comment about the great things the Lord has done for them and state their satisfaction in their worship of the Lord. You see, a satisfied people are a worshiping and praising people!
 
B. Throughout history, God has proven that He was in the business of satisfying His people. He satisfied Israel while they traveled through the wilderness. He satisfied the hungry when He fed the 5,000. He is in the satisfying business, Psa. 107:9; Psa. 34:10! Even during the days of the early church the evidence would suggest that the followers of Jesus Christ were a satisfied people, Acts 2:42-47. After all, many of those early believers chose to die rather than deny their Lord. The same is true today! People are still giving their lives for the Lord Jesus. Why? Because He has met the deepest need of their soul and they are perfectly satisfied with Him!
 
C. In Heaven, we will only be more satisfied! If one takes the time to look at what the Bible says about that Heavenly land, it will be easy to see that we will be satisfied over their.
Notice  The glories of that perfect land! So much of what causes us grief down here will never enter there! David tells us that being there with Him will bring complete satisfaction,
 
Psa. 17:15. As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
 
 
 THERE WILL STILL BE A SAVIOR IN HEAVEN
 
V. 6And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
 
A. This precious verse tells us that in Heaven, there will be One who will be the centerpiece of it all!
Notice how the Bible describes Jesus Christ and His appearance in Heaven.
He is pictured as a "lamb as it had been slain."  I personally believe that the glorified Christ still bears the marks of His suffering at Calvary in His body.
 Why do I think this? Because when He appeared to the disciples in the upper room, after He was resurrected and glorified, He still had them then,
 
Turn to...
John 20:26-28 26  And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
 
Thomas was not a doubting Thomas anymore
 
If He possessed those marks at that time, I believe He still has them today!
 
B. Now, that may not mean a whole lot to you, but it means the world to me!
 
When you and I get to Heaven I don't think we'll do a lot of sightseeing and mansion hunting.
I don't think we'll be overly impressed with the golden streets and the jasper walls.
I am inclined to think that the gates of pearl will not be as meaningful when we step over on that other shore.
 
 In fact, I think our soul desire when we reach that land will be to see the One who went to the cross and took our sins upon Himself that we might live.
When we get to Heaven, we will want to see Jesus! And, the good part is, we shall,
 Rev. 22:4. says that we shall see His Face
 
(Ill. Can you imagine what it will be like when we see the Lord Jesus? I don't know for sure, but I think that maybe we will react like the 24 elders did in Rev. 4:9-11. I would imagine that we would fall down before Him, cast our crowns at His feet and worship Him for all eternity!)
 
C.  I tell you again that the greatest glory of Heaven will be to see this One called Jesus Christ. To be able to bow down before Him and thank Him forever for going to the cross will be the crowning glory of glory. I don't know about you, but I look forward to seeing my Savior on the other side.
 
Conc: I think it is clear this morning that some of the things that we enjoy down here will be making the trip with us to Heaven.
 
However, there will be plenty of things that will not go.
For instance, your sins will not go, neither will your unsaved soul.
 If you have never trusted Jesus as your personal Savior, you have absolutely no hope of ever experiencing these things.
 
 But, there is good news today! The same Jesus who saved me and the other saints in this room can and will save you if you will only call on Him by faith!
 If you are unsaved you need to come to the Lord and be born again.
 
If you are out of the Lord's will, you need to make things right so you can enjoy the trip and look forward to Heaven.
 
If you are struggling, I invite you to bring your need to Jesus and allow Him to help you through. I am glad that some things will be left behind for ever when we get to Heaven. However, I praise the Lord for those things that will go with us. Do you need Jesus today?
 
Skyline BC
Sun Morn
10-05-2025
 
                                               THE LORD'S SUPPER SERVICE
                                                           1 Cor. 11:17-34
 
Intro: Today we commemorate a Christian institution that is 2,000 years old.
 In our observance of the Lord's Supper, we participate in a form of worship that is as old as Christianity itself.
 In fact, the Lord's Supper observance was inaugurated by Jesus Himself on the eve of His crucifixion, Matt. 26:26-28.
This morning we will gather together around the Lord's table and worship Jesus Christ through the observance of the Lord's Supper.
 
I believe that we should take a look at the Lord's Supper and talk for a while about just what it means to us as believers.
 
The first thing I would like to mention, by way of introduction, is that the Lord's Supper is what we call an "Ordinance".
This is a word which means a prescribed practice or religious rite.
 
 Jesus only gave the church 2 ordinances, or religious rites, which we are to practice. One is the Lord's Supper and the other is Baptism.
So, if you want to feel religious, this morning is a good time to do it.
 
Another truth I would like to share, also by way of introduction, is how the Lord's Supper is practiced in various churches.
 
There are 3 basic ways that Christian churches observe the Lord's Supper.
One way is by what is called "Closed Communion", in this, the church only allows those who are members in good standing to participate in the observance.
 
 A second method is that of "Open Communion". In this, everyone present is encouraged to participate in the observance of the Lord's Supper.
 
What we practice here is the third method and it is known as "Close Communion".
In this method everyone present is invited to participate, but only after they have been warned of the consequences of partaking in the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner. Everyone present is urged to practice self-examination.
 
During the service we have a time of silent personal prayer that will give us the oppoiurtunity to get right with Jesus right before we partake of the elements.
 
Now, with these truths in mind, I would like to consider some ideas given to us by the Apostle Paul in this 11th chapter of I Corinthians. Hopefully, these truths will help us understand the Lord's Supper observance a little better.
 
 I.  IT IS A SYMBOLIC SERVICE
 
A. Notice what Jesus, and Paul have to say about the Lord's Supper service.
 
Turn To...
Luke 22:19,And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
 
 
Turn Back....
1 Cor. 11:25,    After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
 
According to these 2 passages, the Lord's Supper is a time of remembrance.
 
(Ill. There are 4 basic views as to what the Lord's Supper represents.
 
1. Transubstantiation - The bread and wine literally change into the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The recipient actually eats the Lord's body and drinks His blood, because Jesus is literally being sacrificed in the mass. This is the Roman Catholic view and it is non-biblical!
 
2. Consubstantiation - The bread and wine actually contain the body and blood of Jesus, but do not literally change.
 Christ is actually present "with, in and under" the elements.
According to this view, the recipient receives the forgiveness of sins and the confirmation of their faith through the elements. This is the Lutheran view and it too is unbiblical.
 
3. Reformed - Christ is not literally present in the elements, but there is the spiritual presence of Christ. The recipient receives grace through partaking of the elements.
 This is the Presbyterian and Reformed Church view and it is unbiblical as well.
 
4. Memorial - This view teaches that Jesus is present neither physically or spiritually in the elements, but that the Lord's Supper stands as a symbolic reminder of what Jesus did for man as the cross and the tomb.
 
 This is the Baptist and also the Mennonite view and it alone represents the truth of what the Bible teaches about the Lord's Supper.
 
B. Ill. With that in mind, allow me to share with you what the Lord's Supper serves to remind us of.)
 
1. V. 24-25 We Are To Remember An Agonizing Lord - The blood and juice represent the broken body and shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As we partake of this observance, we need to remember the awful price that Jesus paid to save our souls.
 Please remember that when He died on the cross, He was dying in your place, and that He suffered greatly when He did,
 
Isa. 52:14. 14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
 
(Ill. Is the crucifixion fresh in your mind?
 
Never let the communion service become a mere formality, but always a tender and touching experience.')
 
2. V. 26 We Are to Remember An Achieving Lord - As we take the bread and the juice today, we need to remember that Jesus Christ died, but that three days later, He arose from the dead. He lives,
 
Rev. 1:18!  I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
 
I serve a risen saviour
Hes in the world today.
I know that He is living
Whatever men may say.
I see His hand of mercy,
I hear His voice of cheer.
And just the time I need Him
 He's always near.
 
He lives, He lives,
Christ Jesus lives today
 
He walks with me
and talks with me
along lifes narrow way.
 
He lives, He lives,
Salvation to impart.
You ask me how I know he lives.
He livs within my heart.
 
 
3.  We Are To Remember An Appearing Lord -
 
  Look at V. 26  For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
 
After Jesus rose from the dead, He ascended hack to Heaven and sat down at His Father's right hand to await the day when He will return to this earth to receive His people unto Himself. Every time we take the Lord's Supper, we are declaring to a lost world that we believe in a returning Lord.
 
(Ill. By the way, this is also an incentive to keep ourselves clean before the Lord,
 
I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we really believe that Jesus is coming again, we will live withcout sin.
 
II.  IT IS A SACRED SERVICE
A.  The Lord's Supper service is sacred for several reasons. By sacred, I mean that it is to be held in high regard by those who participate in it.
It possesses no saving power, but it is still holy unto the Lord.
 
There are 3 basic reasons why the Lord's Supper is sacred.
 
A. It Was Instituted By Christ - Jesus inaugurated the first Lord's Supper before He went to the cross and He intends for His people to follow His example.
It is sacred simply because Jesus set the example.
 
B. It's a  Witnesses To Christ - Paul makes it clear that when we participate in the Lord's Supper service that we are declaring our faith in the death, burial, resurrection and return of the Lord Jesus.
 
(Ill. Please do not misunderstand me! Many lost people have taken the Lord's Supper and they are just as lost after they partake of it as they were before they participated in the observance.
 
There is no saving power in the Communion. However those who are saved are proclaiming the fact that they believe in a man named Jesus Christ.)
 
C. It's a Witnesses For Jesus - While the Lord's Supper declares the faith of those who partake of it, it also points to the truth of Gospel to those who do not know the Lord.
 
Every time we gather at the Lord's table and observe the Lord's Supper, we are serving up a witness to a lost and dying world that 2,000 years ago, a man named Jesus went to a cross and died for the sins of humanity, that He rose from the dead and that He lives today and will return for His people.
 It is a powerful witness.
 
III.  IT IS A SPECIAL SERVICE
 
Ill. The Lord's Supper service offers the church an opportunity to come together,. Five times in this verses,   v. 17, 18, 20, 33, 34   the Apostle refers to the "coming together" of the church. Anytime the saints of God can gather themselves together and focus on the Lord Jesus Christ, is a special time.
While we are together, there are 2 things that we should do before coming to the Lord's table. This observance is special to the saints because it affords us the opportunity to do 2 great things.
 
A. We Have the Opportunity To Repent - Before anyone takes part in the Lord's Supper, they need to search their hearts and confess and repent of their sins.
There are 2 things that need to be dealt with.
 
1. Our Sins - v. 27-30 -   27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body
30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
 
 
 These verses paint a very solemn portrait of the Lord's Supper service.
It seems that this is something that the Lord takes very seriously.
The Corinthians were guilty of taking the Lord's Supper service lightly and as a result, some of them were sick and others had died.
 Folks, God hasn't changed His mind! Before you take from the Lord's table this morning, please take the time to confess your sins and receive forgiveness from His hand, 1 John 1:9.
 
2. Of Our Selfishness - v. 17-22
 
When we come to the Lord's table, we need to remember not just ourselves, but also our brothers and sisters in Christ who are struggling,
 Gal. 6:2. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
 
 We need to consider those who are outside the family of God.
 Those outside the faith need someone to cast them a lifeline.
God help us to remember this time is a time to remember and to repent.
 
B. We Have The Opportunity To Renew - The Lord's Supper service is a wonderful time for the child of God to his vows and his vision.
It is a great time to remember why we are here. It is a good time to renew our vows unto the Lord.
Many allow sin to creep into their lives and hinder their walk with the Lord.
 This is a good time to get al of that fixed up and get back on track with the Lord.
 
 
IV. V. 17-22 IT IS A SOLEMN SERVICE
 
Ill. The Corinthian church mentality shows that the Lord's Supper service for them it was a time of gluttony and selfish excess.
They had lost the true meaning of the Lord's Supper and were taking the whole thing lightly.
 I would like to say that I believe that the Lord's Supper may just be the highest form of worship we will ever engage in while here on earth.
 
 In everything else we do, there is always an element of self mixed in. Whether it be preaching, praying, praising, testifying, singing or whatever, there is always the danger that the flesh will try and get some glory.
 
But, when we come to the Lord's table, there is nothing or no one to get glory but the Lord. When His Supper is received with faith and gladness, Jesus will be glorified, the saints will be edified, sinner will be evangelized and God the Father will be exalted!
 
When we call to mind the price Jesus paid for us and the fact that He lives for our justification, it will bring us to the place of praise and worship.
 
V. IT IS A SERIOUS SERVICE
 
Verse 28 tells us that we are to examine ourselves. That verb is in the imperative mood.
 It is a command and not an option!
Before you partake of the Lord's Supper, be certain of a few necessary things.
 
1. Be Sure You Are Saved - This is a service for Christians. If you are lost, you can neither understand nor appreciate when we are doing here this morning.
 If you are lost, then I want to invite you to come to Jesus and be saved today.
 
2. Be Sure You Are Right With The Lord - If you are
saved, then be sure you examine yourself and that you confess your sins before the Lord.
He will receive you and forgive you and make you ready to receive the Lord's Supper.
 
3. Be Sure You Take It In The Right Spirit - This is a time of worship and not a time to take things lightly.
Please focus your heart and mind on the Lord and do your best to be in communion with Him as you receive His Supper.
 
Conc: After hearing all of this, some may wonder who is worthy to partake of the Lord's Supper.
The answer is simple, anyone who is saved  is worthy.
Not in ourselves, but made worthy through the blood of Jesus and by the power of the Lord.
 
Now, if the Lord has spoken to your heart this morning through this message, then I invite you to come before the Lord and make use of this time this morning.
If you are saved, please examine yourself and do what you need to do. If you are lost, then I want you to come to Jesus and be saved. Will you do that right now?
 
 
Skyline BC
Sun Morn
09-28-2025                                                        
                                                         Doing Good to Folks in our Church
                                     Gal 6:1-10 
Intro:  Paul gives some practical teachings through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God.
 During this time of Paul's writing, Christians had never heard any of this kind of teaching. 
Through out the NT you can look at the subjects of the writers and be able to see some of the reasons for God's instruction.
 Some things we like reading and some things we don't.  Some things make us feel great and some things won't.  We have to know that this whole book is written for you and me.
 And the Lord wants us to be taught and strengthened by it, and to live by it for the cause of Christ.
 We are to serve the Lord with our lives, so we need to accept what He has for us.
The Lord wants us to  seize opportunities to do good for each other.  But First...
 
Doing Good means...
I.  We must get along with one another...Inside the church walls and outside.
A. I Pet 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, [see that ye] love one another with a pure heart fervently:
 
1.  Before you can practice  these spiritual instructions  we have to first learn how to love each other
 
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
 
This is how we get along with each other in Church
Love covers a multitude of sins
 
 
II.  V-1 Refers to the Ministry of Restoration
A. Overtaken in a fault
What is a fault?  The fault or sin in view is a deliberate overstepping of divine boundaries.
The man who is overtaken by willful sin is also a Christian, but he has not been walking by the Spirit.
 
Turn to...
Php 4:2-3     2.   I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.
3  And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.
 
 
What is restoration? 
V-1  read
Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
 
1.  To help a person to get back to where he was before he got messed up. 
2.  To encourage, to comfort, to make happy,  to help get back the joy in their lives. Doing it in meekness.
 
Those restoring the fallen must individually keep constant watch over their own lives.
The spiritual man can be morally dragged down as he deals with the sin of his carnal counterpart.
 
3.  One that demonstrates The fruit of the spirit   
 
Turn To...
Ga 5:22-23   22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
 
You take these chracterisrics  in your Christrian life and use them to help others.
Do you have these things in your life......YES!!!
The child of God has these things, we just have to be better at using them.
 
Example; Have you used ...love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
 23 Meekness, temperance:   Of course you and I both have.
 
B.  Bear  each others burdens
Look at V-2  Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
1.  How do you do that?
a.  Pray for that person, not just say it...do it with that person. 
 
Example...
1.  Over the phone.
2.  When you are actually with the person and talking to them.  Right there
 
b.  Be a good listener and try to help with practical Christian solutions.
 
2.  If you need help in some way and have a burden   the worst thing to do is to separate yourself from your Christian friends.
 
DON'T STAY HOME FROM CHURCH.  Let a friend know you need someone to pray with you and for you.
3.  Accept someone's comfort and help, and allow them to bear your burden.
 
C.  Don't be proud when you do this 
 
Look at V-3  For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
 
1.  When you have an haughty attitude, because you aren't in that shape, or when you think you are better than that person that has a problem, you can't bear that persons burden, because you don't have the heart for it when you are that way.
 
2.  Remember the so-called friends of Job.
They didn't have the heart to help him.
 
V-4-8
 
Basically shows how a man should be in his Christian life that he can rejoice when his life is right.
He is not to be in the flesh for he will not reap spiritual benefits.  God is not mocked in this sense.
 
Go to...
V-8   For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
 
What is sowing to his flesh?  Soweth to his flesh; by the indulgence of the lusts of his flesh.
Of the flesh; as the result of sowing to it.
Reap corruption; corruption in the widest sense, the ruin of body and soul.
 
Soweth to the Spirit; by devoting himself to the works of the Spirit, chap Ga 5:22-24.
 
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
 
 Life is the seed-time for eternity, and the fruit of what each one here sows he will there for ever reap.
 
 
III.  The results of your work 
 
V-9  And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
 
A.  We are not to be weary or tired when it comes to serving others, or anything else we do in this Christian life, whether or not it's directed specifically as a job for the cause of Christ Jesus.
1.  This is a mindset or a mental attitude to know that our work for the Lord is not in vain, so we comfort ourselves that there will be positive results or reaping if we don' t quit.  Something to look forward to in your ministry.
 
2.  Like going on a vacation  "I'm really going to get rested, or I can't wait to get to Disneyland.." You know your going there for sure.
3.  If you give up or quit the job your doing, you may never see any results of what you have already done.
Give God the chance to work in your life.
 
IV.  Therefore opportunity
 
V-10  As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
 
B.  When is the  opportunity?  Any chance you get
C.  What is doing good?  Anything that helps someone, which gives God the glory
D.  To whom are we to good. everyone, BUT!!!!!!
1.  God wants us to serve each other FIRST!!!!!
2.  Especially!!!!!!!!!!  unto them who are the household of faith.
a.  Church folks,  your Christian brothers and sisters.
 
E.  Why???  Because if you can't serve one another, or love one another, you will never be as effective outside these Church walls.
 
Are you saved today?  If you are, are you living your life for others the way Jesus lived His life for others.
Are you doing good?
 
 
Skyline BC
Sun Morn
09-21-2025
 
                                                    A GLIMPSE OF PURE FAITH
                                                                  John 4:23-30
 
 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
27  And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
 
 
Intro: Of all the personal encounters of the Lord Jesus, I think this is my personal favorite.
In this passage, Jesus displays His love for the lost sinner and He shows would be witnesses how to go about the business of sharing the faith.
 One sure way to learn how to tell others about Jesus is to watch the way the Master Himself did it.
 
     The main character in this passage, other than Jesus Himself, is a woman with low morals and a bad reputation.
 This is seen in the fact that she came to Jacob's well to get water at noon, during the hottest part of the day.
The other women would have come early in the morning or late in the evening to get water.
 
History tells us that those gatherings were often opportunities for the women to catch up on their gossip.
Verse 18 tells us why she didn't come with the other women. In fact, she was probably the subject of their gossip on many occasions.
For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
 
     When she arrives at the well this day, she meets a man named Jesus.
He tells her about an everlasting well of water from which she can take one drink and never thirst again, V- 13-14.
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
 
 She hears about the true path of salvation and she is saved by the grace of God!
What a wonderful day it must have been for this woman.
 
This morning,  I want to jump in at the end of this account.
 This woman has heard the Gospel and she has believed.
She is saved from hell by grace and is a new baby in Christ.
 
Here is a woman who is freshly saved. Her faith has not had time to become jaded.
 Her faith hasn't yet become tarnished.
 
We have the opportunity to look at faith as it appears fresh from the womb of grace.
The kind of faith this woman had in her life is the same kind of faith you and I need to have in our lives today.
Allow me to share with you the qualities of this woman's faith as we catch A Glimpse Of Pure Faith.
 
 
  I. SHE HAD SIMPLE FAITH
 
A. Jesus had come to His Own people and had demonstrated His power and His identity through many miracles and signs.
He had perfectly fulfilled the prophecies about the Messiah, and yet they had rejected Him. John 1:11. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
 
B. But, Here is a woman, a child of the hated race of the Samaritans.
The Samaritans were a people were inhabitants of Samaria. But in the New Testament this name is the race of people who sprung originally from an intermixture of the ten tribes with gentile nations.
 When the inhabitants of Samaria and of the adjacent country were carried away by Shalmanezer king of Assyria, he sent in their place colonies from Babylonia, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, with which the Israelites who remained in the land became intermingled, and were ultimately mixed into one people,
 
She hears the word of God and she believes.
 There are no miracles! No water is turned to wine.
 No demons are cast out. No multitudes are fed with a little bread and a few fish.
 No one walks on water. No one is raised from the dead.
A church did not save her.
 
 Jesus simply tells her the truth and she believes it and is saved!   Her's is a simple faith!
 
     C. This is the kind of faith that saves the souls!
 
 
Turn to...
Matt. 18:1-5. At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
 
 Jesus said that we are to come to Him as little children,
 
That is, we are to lose all pretense. We are to be open and honest.
We are to simply believe Him by faith. Saving faith is a simple faith!
 Grace works in the heart of the sinner, and shows him his condition.
Grace shows the sinner where to look to be saved and grace provides the faith to look.
That is saving faith and it is so simple!
 
 The best testimony in the world is simple testimony of salvation by grace.
The best testimony is your testimony! It's the one thing you never have less of because you have shared it!
 
 
 II. SHE HAD SINCERE FAITH
 
A. After she meets Jesus and believes in her heart that He is the Messiah. She forgets everything but Him!
She drops her waterpot, v. 28, and heads back into the city to tell the others that He is here!
This man Who moments before had meant absolutely nothing to her was now the focus of her thoughts and her actions. What an amazing transformation!
 
B. This is how it works for everyone who meets Him!
One moment He is the Lord Jesus Christ, some holy, distant man Who died on a cross.
But, when faith is exercised in Him, He instantly becomes a personal Friend and the absolute focus and center of your being.
 His salvation is amazing because it brings about such an instantaneous depth of change,
 
II Cor. 5:17.  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
 
C. Think about all the things that changed for you when you received Jesus as your Savior! This woman left town that day a dirty, vile, hated sinner.
 The women hated her because she was an easy mark for the men.
 The men used her body, but didn't care a thing about her.
She left town a nobody, but she returned to town a new born child of God!
 Everything had changed in an instant!
When simple faith is exercised in Jesus Christ, and a soul is saved, sincere faith quickly develops in the heart of the believer!
 
 
III. SHE HAD SHARING FAITH
 
A. After she is saved the first thing this woman wants to do is go an tell somebody else.
 She ran back to town to the crowd who knew best and told them about Jesus,
 
Turn to
v. 28-29. 28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
 29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
 
 
Not only did she tell them about Him, she invited them to come and meet Him for themselves. She said, "He's still out there and what He did for me He will do for you if you will come to Him!"
 
It must have done some good too, because several of those men believed because of her witness and others came to know Jesus because of her invitation. Suffice it to say, this woman was responsible for a town turning to God,
 
 
Turn back to..
v. 39-42.39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.
41 And many more believed because of his own word;
 42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
 
     B. This woman had the kind of testimony we like to parade across the platform and show off.
She had one of those spectacular testimonies of a life saved from the bottom.
In this case, the Lord took one of the vilest citizens of that town and used her to bring many souls to Jesus.
 However, you do not have to go to the bottom to have a great testimony!
You don't have to wallow in the hog pen to know how good it feels to be clean!
What I am saying is this: If you are saved, you have a testimony! As long as you can say,
"I have met the Lord Jesus and He changed my life and He can do the same for you, and here's how you can know Him.",
The Lord can use your life!
 
C. There's just something about meeting Him that makes you want to tell others about Him!
It's hard to keep to yourself. It is comforting to know that as we attempt to witness to others, we have the promises of God in this matter, Let's ask the Lord to develop within us a sharing faith.
 
IV. SHE HAD SHINING FAITH
 
A. Something about this old girl was different when she came running back into town. I guarantee you they had never heard her talk about "religion"or Jesus before.
 
 Now, here she is talking to them about the Lord and inviting them out to meet Him.
Not a religion
The change in her life was plain to see!
 
B. When the Lord is truly in your life, it will get out on you! You won't be able to keep Him a secret when He lives in your heart. I guess it's the whole "light and candle" thing. When He puts His light within your heart, you will stand out from the darkness around you, Matt. 5:13-16. (Ill. John Pounds made shoes for over 500 hundred crippled children and lead every single on to Jesus!)
 
C. You've met these kind of people haven't you? You know the ones. They are always praising the Lord in public. They pray over their food in a restaurant. Sometimes they will have a New Testament or tracts in their pocket. You know, that loud crowd! Man, I pray the Lord would do that to every one of us! I pray He will fill us up so that we get a good case of the "can't help its" and make fools of ourselves for Jesus' sake. Let's ask the Lord to give us a shining faith that glorifies Him before the world!
 
 
V. SHE HAD SAVING FAITH
 
A. Best of all, this woman had saving faith. She went to the well that day to get enough water to last the day, she returned with enough spiritual water to last an eternity!
 
She got more than she bargained for, she got saved! You can see her in this passage as she attempts to out maneuver the Lord, v. 9-25.
But when she hears His claim to be the Messiah, v. 26, she loses her will to fight and she believes in Him by faith!
 
B. The best thing you will ever get out of life is saving faith!
Be sure you are saved frok spending eternity in hell by the grace of God today!
(Ill. Think of all you have because you are saved!)
 
 And if you are, ask Him to create within you all the other things He placed within this woman when He saved her soul.
 
 
Conc: Have you ever been to the well and left with more than you came after?
If you are saved, you sure have! Let's ask the Lord to do within us what He did within this woman.
Let's ask Him to give a simple faith, a sincere faith, a sharing faith and a shining faith.
Let's ask Him to take us and use us like He did this lady.
 He can and He will if we are saved and yielded to Him!
 
 
Skyline BC
Sun Morn
09-14-2025       
 
                                        THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GHOST
                                                                   I Cor. 12:12-14
 
12  For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit
14 For the body is not one member, but many.
 
 
 
Intro:  Today, I am going to preach on a very controversial subject, and that is,
The Baptism Of The Holy Ghost. 
No other doctrine, that I am aware of, has caused nearly as much division and confusion, as has this teaching.
 The non biblical subject of speaking in tongues the worldly way that some Christians believe is right next to this subject.
 
Because of all the false teaching and the shameless twisting of Scripture, the truth of this great doctrine has been blurred.
 It is sad, because many believers do not know what the Baptism of the Holy Ghost is, and others are made to feel bad because they are told they haven't received it because they lack some outward experience, or can't receive it because
they have some sin or shortcoming in their life.
 
Well, I believe in telling you the truth.  So, today, I am going to preach about
the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, what it is and what it is not!  
 
I believe that we all need to understand about the Holy Ghost, who He is, and what He does around, in, through and for us.
 
With that in mind, let's look together at the Baptism Of The Holy Ghost.
 
  I.          THE SCOPE OF THIS BAPTISM
 
    A.  John the Baptist promised that Jesus would baptize His people,
Turn to...
Matt. 3:11.  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
 
Then, Jesus Himself promised His disciples that they would be Baptized with
the Holy Ghost -
Turn to...
Acts 1:5  For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
 
B.  So, is this Baptism just something that is available to a select few?  Is it limited
to those who diligently seek it and meet a set of spiritual requirements?  NO!!
 
(Ill. The word "ALL" V-13   Corinth was filled with carnal, worldly Christians, yet
 they had "all" received the Holy Ghost! Why ?  Because they were saved believers in Christ
 It is apparent that this Baptism is for every believer!
So, If you are saved today, you have the Holy Ghost within you.
 
Turn to...
C.  Rom. 8:9 - But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
 
To lack the Baptism of the Holy Ghost is to lack salvation!
 "Spirit" and "Ghost" are one and the same person! 
To say their are two, One called the Holy Ghost, One called the Holy Spirit is dangerous and it is a heresy.  It is an attack on the very nature of God!)
 We are to avoid this type of teaching!
 
 D.  So with that in mind,   All believers have received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost.
 
It is Very dangerous for another person to presume to judge your spiritual condition by saying you do not have the Holy Spirit if you are saved!!
 
An example of this is when someone says that if you haven't spoken in the "so-called tongues"  you don't have the Holy Spirit.
 
 
 
 II.  THE SOURCE OF THIS BAPTISM
 
    A.   If all believers have it, then when and how does it happen?
 
    B.  The Baptism of the Holy Ghost happens at the very moment of salvation.
  It places the believer in Christ!      (I'll say more about his later!)
 
 C.  The Baptism of the Holy Ghost is a Sovereign act of God! 
That means that God does it, and man has no say in the matter.
 
 There are no outward signs that has taken place.
The Charismatic movement has twisted the meaning -
 
 No where does the Bible command any believer to "seek" this
experience!
 Baptism in the Spirit is not commanded, but filling is -
 
Eph. 5:18.  And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
 
Let's talk about this verse for a minute
 
The words be filled here mean be "continually filled" emphasizing that the fullness of the Spirit is a repeated experience for believers.
When a person is drunk with an alcoholic beverage, or booze,  his walk, talk, and sight are controlled by the alcohol that is within him or her.
 
God desires that the minds of the Christian be contolled by the Holy Spirit so that they walk  in the Spirit, speak on behalf of God, and understand the things of God.
 
Because people are in dwelt, or baptized, by the Holy Spirit at Salvation,  they do not need to get more of the Holy Spirit, but the filling of the Spirit occurs when the Holy Spirit gets more of the Child of God.
 
As we establish our fellowship with God through
1.  confession of sins
Turn to...
I John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
 
2.  And completely yield to the Lord,
Turn to...
Rom 6;12-13    12  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13     Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
 
Then we can be filled with the Spirit if we so desire.
Turn to...Matt 5;6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
 
Every Christian should be filled with the Spirit in order that he may have Gods' power to serve Him.
 
Turn to...
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth
 
So Baptism is positional, filling is experimental actions)
. We have no say in what spiritual gifts we receive -
 
Turn to...
 
I Cor. 12:4-11;
 4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9  To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10  To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
 
It is part of the Christian experience for every believer, even YOU!
 
III.        THE SUPPLY OF THIS BAPTISM
 (What is the Baptism?)
 
    A.  It Places Us In Christ - John 14:20)   At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
 
At that day ye shall know. "That day" began on Pentecost. There was no more doubting after the Holy Spirit was sent. "That day" still comes to every soul that wholly surrenders to the will of Christ
 Before salvation, every         human is "in Adam", this is death -
 
Turn to...
Rom. 5:12. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned
 
At the moment of salvation, the believer is baptized, or placed into Christ - this is life -
 
Turn to...
 Col. 3:3. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
 
Baptism -Means  To place in, or under;  or To cover or immerse.)  If I am in Christ, then I
am a partaker of all that He has - justification, sanctification, deliverance,         access to God, inheritance, glorification. 
 
When a sinner receives Christ and is saved, he is, instantly, baptized into the Body of Christ.
 
    B.  It Identifies Us With Christ - (Ill. Water Baptism is symbolic of the spiritual
        baptism -
 
Turn To....
Rom. 6:1-4)   1  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Ro 3:8; 6:15
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
 
 
 
Baptism is all about identification.
 
 Because we are baptized into Jesus, we are identified with Him in:
 
1.  Righteousness -The act of imputation 
Turn to...
Rom. 4:21-24.
 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
23  Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
 
When God sees me, He sees    Jesus, when He sees Jesus, He sees me!
 
2.  We see Christ's Death in us-
 Gal. 2:20 - I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
 
When Christ died, the believer also died  in Him. We are. Dead to sin, and the world, etc.)
 
3.  The Resurrection identifies us with Jesus- Ill. Rom. 6:4; Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
 When Christ arose, we got  up also!  That is why we can rejoice in eternal life and affirm that we are   eternally saved!  He is evermore alive and being in him, we are alive  forever also!
 
C.  A have a New Union Of Life - The Baptism of the Holy Ghost is a living unity
between the Head and the body, both sharing the same eternal life.  At salvation, Jesus becomes the sphere of our existence,
 
The believer becomes an organic part of Christ. 
Just as a branch is part of the vine, or the hand is part of the body. 
Since we         are a living part of the Son, the Father only sees us in Jesus and as a living part
of Him.  Therefore, He loves us as He loves Jesus -
Eph. 1:6; To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
 
Conc:  All I am trying to say is this - "If you are saved, you have already received
the Baptism of the Holy Ghost!  You have been Baptized into the Body of Christ and
that is a great reason for rejoicing.
 
The Holy Ghost is our earnest guarantee to heaven
 Eph 1:14 who is the earnest of our inheritance, to [the] redemption of the purchased possession, to [the] praise of His glory.
 
 
 I am glad that I do not have to wait on some mystical, ecstatic experience to be happy in the Lord. 
I am thankful that I do not have to wait on "a second blessing". 
  There is no need for any Christian to seek some external phenomenon to make his life complete in Jesus
 
 There is only a greater need for us to rest in Christ and fulfill our position in the body.
 
So if you are saved from hell today you have been baptized by the Holy Ghost, and you will be in heaven for sure.
 
If you are not saved from Hell or have not accepted the free gift of salvation here are some good promises.
 
 
 
Skyline BC
Sun Morn
09-07-2025
 
                                   STEPS TO PEACE IN THE PATHS OF LIFE
                                                           Psalm 37:1-8
 
1  Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.  4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
7  Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
 
Intro: Psalm 37 is a Psalm that was written by David when he was an old man,
 v. 25. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
 
 He addresses a problem that has plagued the people of God since the dawn of time. That problem is: Why do the wicked seem to prosper while the righteous suffer?
 
This problem is also addressed in Psalms 73 and 49. It is also a prominent theme in the book of Job.
 
Whether we will admit it or not, it is also a problem with which we also struggle from time to time. There is help for us in these verses
 
In verses 1-2, envy is condemned! Especially when the object of that envy is a lost person. Sometimes, it does seem like the wicked prosper while the godly suffer, yet, we always need to remember that our earthly existence is as close to Hell as we are ever going to get.
 
For the wicked, however, their few days of pleasure are short and they have no future beyond this life. In fact, this world is as close to Heaven as they will ever be!
 
Since we are told not to worry when we see the wicked prosper, how are we supposed to deal with this problem?
 Well, in verses 3-8, the Psalmist offers us an alternative to worry.
 There are some simple steps offered here, that if followed, will enable us to find peace, even during the most trying times of our lives.
 
I. Learn how to CONTROL YOUR WALK
V. 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
The emphasis of this verse is for the believer to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord.
When this is accomplished, the result will be the Lord's smile upon that life.
 
A. The Command - The Psalmist issues a two-fold command in this verse.
 
1. Trust God - That is, walk by faith and not by sight. We must remember that things are never as they appear to our human vision.
 Even when things look like they going totally wrong in our lives, God is still working out His eternal purposes in us,
Rom. 8:28. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Therefore, we must learn to trust the Lord in all of life!
 
(Ill. There are times when God's way is difficult to figure out. During those times when you cannot trace God, learn to trust Him anyway.
Remember, "The just shall live by faith", Rom. 1:17. The life of faith is the ONLY way to please the Lord, Heb. 11:6!) 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
 
2. Do Good V-3- this is a command to holy living! God expects His people to live a life that is honoring to His name!
If God's people could ever learn that God is pleased when we live for Him, we would see Him bless us in great ways.
 The formula for success in the Christian life is found in Matt. 6:33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
 
It is as simple as trusting in the Lord and living for Him!
 
B. The Comfort - When we do His will, He will take care of us! How well David knew this!
He was an old man who had seen the Lord allow him to sit on his enemies throne.
He knew that serving God always paid off!
 
(Ill. The whole point here is this: if you will walk with your faith in God and will live your life to please Him, He will commit Himself to taking care of you -
Phil. 4:19.)  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
 
 
II.  CONDITION YOUR WILL
V. 4  Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
 
A. The Command - "Delight" yourself in the Lord!
This word means to "take exquisite delight" in the Lord.
 
When life goes bad, we tend to focus on the problems that arise around us.
When this happens, we become defeated and depressed and fall into sadness.
 However, at all times of life, we are challenged to let the Lord be the focus of our attention!
 
If we can focus on Who He is to us, what He has done for us, where He is taking us, and how much He loves us, even the darkest day can be endured because we know something better awaits us down the road!
 
 Eph. 1:3, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:",
 
B. We See The Comfort - When we are lost in Him, then our will and our desires will be lost in Him as well.
When this happens, He will lift us out of our sadness and fill us with His glory!
 
(Ill. By the way, I think that latter portion of that verse is a promise we can claim! When the Lord is our delight, we will only want the things which bring Him glory and which please Him.
 When we arrive at that place, God will open the windows of Heaven and give us every desire of our hearts!)
 
 
III.  We Need to COMMIT OUR WAY
V. 5-6    5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
 6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
 
A. The Command - "Commit" your way unto the Lord. This word means to "roll onto". The idea here is that we are  to "roll" the burdens of life over onto the Lord.
 
 The Lord has not asked His children to carry the burdens of life alone. He tells us that bring them to Him,
 
 Mt 11:28 Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
 
1 Pet. 5:7.Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
 
 We do not have to bear the heavy burdens of life all by ourselves. We have a God who cares ans commands us to bring our burdens to Him!
 
In the middle of the storms of life, let us learn the truth that we are not in them alone!
We are to commit our "way" to the Lord and trust Him to take care of us.
This was the resolve of Job when he was called upon to suffer, Job 1:20-21, Job 23:10; Job 13:15 
 
This should be the resolve of our hearts this morning
 
B. The Comfort - The whole emphasis here is that when we are walking in faith, placing our burdens on the Lord, He will take care of us.
 
We may not like the way we are called upon to trod, but in the end, the faith of the child of God will be vindicated!
 
Friends, God is never hurried by our worry! He does not get excited when we struggle against the situation we find ourselves in.
What He is looking for is faith, obedience, and yieldedness in the midst of the struggles of life.
 His promise to us is that our faith will never be in vain!
 
IV.  CONSECRATE YOUR WAIT
V. 7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
 
 
(Ill. We are told in this verse to "rest" in the Lord and wait for Him.
The word "rest" means "to be silent".
 Then, we are told not to "fret". This word means to "to blaze, to get hot".
 
It carries the idea of getting ourselves worked up into a rage over the condition of the world and over the valleys we have to walk through.
 
Our duty during the difficult days of life is to be patient and silent while the Lord works out His purposes in our lives.
(Ill. This is not easy, but this kind of attitude was modeled for us by the Lord Jesus Himself.
 
When He was abused, mocked, crucified, etc, He did not respond, but endured His afflictions in yielded silence, Isa. 53:7, "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth."
 
Therefore, regardless of the burden you are called to bear, learn not to whine, but to bear it for the glory of God, waiting patiently on Him to work out His will in your life.
 
This isn't easy, but it is an attitude that God can bless and use for His glory!)
 
V.  CONQUER YOUR WRATH
V. 8   8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
(We are commanded here to refrain from anger.
 
It is easy to get bitter at God, the church, etc, when the problems of life mount up against us. When we see the wicked live their lives of ease while we walk through the deep, dark valley, there is a tendency to become angry with the Lord.
 However, we must be careful that we do not abandon righteous for evil in the day of our affliction.
 
(Ill. God's will for us is that we stay the course!
There will be an end to our struggles down the line, but for the moment, we are to abide in the will of the Lord faithfully and allow Him to have His will in us. Ill.
 
 I doubt any of us will ever suffer like Paul did for the glory of God, yet when he reached the end of his life, he was able to say that he had fought a good fight, he had finished the course, he had kept the faith, 2 Tim. 4:7.
 
I want to be able to say the same thing! How about you? If so, learn not to be angry with the Lord!
 
Learn that righteousness does pay off in the end, just consider verses 9-11!
9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
 
 God is working in you to develop His image more perfectly, sometimes, this require Him to put pressure on our lives. Never give up! Rather, give in to Him and He will see you through!
 
Conc: All of this sounds difficult. It sounds like we are to just lay back and allow life to take us where it will.
 
However, the truth is that the commands in these verses are a call to action -
Trust, Delight, Commit, Rest, Cease!
God is calling us to take control of ourselves as we yield to Him.
 He is calling us to be involved in the process! You see, I may not be able to control what happens in my life, but I can control how I respond to what happens!
 
I am the master of what I do in these areas of life. Let us determine this morning that we will seek the Lord's way through the valley and that we will take these precious steps to peace in the paths of life.
What about you child of God, are you up to the task here.
We all need to have this  kind of peace in our lives.
 
I've been talking mostly to the Christian today, but let me ask, are you saved today.
Do you believe in Jesus as your Saviour.
Skyline BC
Sun Morn
08-31-2025
 
                             WHERE WILL SALVATION TAKE YOU?
                                                              Isa. 12:1-6
 
1 ¶ And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.
2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
 
Intro:  This chapter is a song of triumphant praise and serves as a dramatic climax and doxology to the Immanuel prophecy (7:1-12:6).
I will praise thee V-1  a verb expressing continual action.
 
 V-2  Behold, God is my salvation literally means, "My salvation is God Himself!"
The Lord JEHOVAH is our strength, song, and salvation.
 
The expression is similar to the song of deliverance sung by the people of Israel when they crossed the Red Sea (Ex. 15:)
 
V-3  Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
 John 4:14 is reminiscent of the water out of the wells of salvation.
 
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
 
Excellent things are majestic things. These great things are to be preached to the whole world and sung and shouted aloud, for great is the Holy One of Israel.
 
With beautiful imagery, Isaiah closes this section of prophecy with a triumphal doxology of praise.
 
 In this text, there is one word that is used 3 times. That word is salvation.
 It is one of the most important words in the entire Bible!
In fact, it is used 164 times in the Bible.
In the Old Testament, the word comes from a Hebrew word which means, "Deliverance and victory."
 In the New Testament, it comes from a Greek word that means, "Deliverance, preservation,  and safety."
 
Salvation is what we receive when we trust Jesus as our Savior!
Salvation is the gift of God!
Salvation is not a thing that we will receive some day, it is a present possession of every person who has received Jesus into their hearts.
 
If you take the time to study the doctrine of salvation in the Bible, you will find that salvation is responsible for moving people from the place they are.
Salvation always takes you somewhere! Notice this:
 
1. It brought Israel out of bondage - Ex. 14:13     Sal...
2. It brought Jonah out of the whale - Jonah 2:9   Sal...
3. It brought David out of the pit - Psalms 40:1-3 Sal...
4. It brought Paul out of a lost condition - 1 Tim. 1:12-15    Sal...
5. It brings every sinner out of darkness -
 
Turn to...
1 Pet. 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Salvation.....
 
I would like to take a few minutes to tell you where salvation, if you have it, will take you. Notice four places salvation will take you.
 
I. IT WILL TAKE YOU TO HEAVEN
John 14:1-3 1  Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
 
 A. Salvation is the key that opens the door to the kingdom of God.
 B. All believers are going there some day!
 
II. IT WILL TAKE YOU INTO HOLINESS
 II Cor. 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
 
A. Salvation will alter your life! No man can receive Jesus and remain the same. You are brought into Holiness.
 
B. One mark of true repentance unto salvation is a drastically changed life
 John 8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
 
 (Ill. The old man verses the new man! Col. 3:8-10)
8  But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
 
 
C. There will be a difference -
Turn to...
Gal. 5:22-25;
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
 
 
 
D. There will be a desire to serve the Lord -
Eph. 2:10;  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
 
 
III.  IT WILL TAKE YOU INTO THE HARVEST
Mark 16:15  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
 
A. Sharing the Gospel is a mark of genuine salvation
 Acts 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
-
B. Jesus never called us to be lazy, He called us to be busy letting our lights shine for Him - Matt. 5:16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
 
 (Ill. The harvest  Fishers of men - Mark 1:17.)   And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
C. Every Christian is a witness! Either for or against Jesus! Which are you?
Do you like to see folks get saved???
 
IV. Heb. 10:25 IT WILL TAKE YOU TO THE HOUSE OF GOD
A. Ill. Salvation is always accompanied by a desire to gather with the saints and to worship the Lord.
B. Ill. Jesus went to church - Luke 4:16.And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
 
C. There will be a desire to praise, worship and adore the Lord!
Do you like coming to church
 
Conc: If your salvation won't take you to Holiness, the Harvest or the House Of God, it probably won't take you to Heaven either! Be sure you are trusting Jesus for salvation -
 II Pet. 1:10a  Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure:
 
Are you saved today?  Do you know for sure you will go to heaven when you die?
Have you been Baptized since Salvation?
Would you like to join this church, grow together,  and help with the cause of Christ?
 
 
 Skyline BC
Sun Morn
08-17-2025
                                                          What God Does For Us
                                                                   Psalm 103:5-12
  
Intro:  In this chapter God talks about what he does for us. The writer starts off by blessing God V-1-2
1.   Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:  He tells of some benefits from God that are gifts to us as His children.
1. Forgiveth all our sins, 2. Healeth all our diseases, V-3.
2.  Who redeemeth our lives from destruction. 4. Who crowns us with loving-kindness and tender mercies.  V-4 
 
Now he talks about some other things he dows for the child of God... V-5-12
 
I.  Who satisfieth Thy mouth with good things.  V-5
A. So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
1.  The word thy means these things are on a personal level.  God  is talking directly to you and me.
 In all of these benefits, He is directing it to you and me.  You can put yourself in these verses.  Like He forgiveth my sins...etc....
 
B.  Now He talks about how we are satisfied and renewed like the eagles....how does this happen?  By the good things that God puts in our mouths.
1. Have you ever seen the way that eagles and birds feed their young?  They force food in their mouths.  They put in nourishment and good things.
2.  This is what God does...He puts spiritual blessings in our mouths  (lives)  to renew us
 
3.  Isa. 40:31  But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
 
a.  They say that eagles hardly ever get tired or weary.  Their strength is perfect all of the time. because they keep their body renewed with nourishment.
 Like the baby eagles wait on the adult to feed them...
God wants us to wait on him to do the same.....But not only wait, but expect Him to make us strong.
 
1.  We shall run and not be weary...we shall walk and not faint.
2.  God is a God of strength renewal
 
Turn to...
3.  II Cor 4:8-11    We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
 10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
 11 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
16.   For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
 
4.  God puts good things in our mouths....but it is up to us if we accept it or spit it out.  
This is a wonderful benefit of being a child of God.
 
Now David is finished with the benefits and begins to speak of some of God's attributes starting in V-6
 
II. The Lord executeth....  V-6
A.  Righteousness and judgment on the oppressed.
B.  This verse speaks of God's perfect justice.
C.  God gives righteousness to the ones that need it, and judgment to the ones that deserve it, and helps when he hears the cry of the needy.
 
 When his people were in Egypt he heard their groanings and brought them forth, but he overthrew Pharaoh at the Red Sea.
 Man's injustice shall receive retribution at the hand of God.
 Mercy to his saints demands vengeance on their persecutors, and he will repay it.
He is just with His righteousness and judgment.
 
V-7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
 
III.   The Lord is Merciful and gracious.  V-8
A.   Merciful  This is a perfect attribute of God.  We can never be this perfect in this attribute.  This is being merciful.  The word in the Hebrew is rachuwm  (rawk-oom) full of compassion.  He has fullest compassion  that you cat. 
 
1.  God has compassion when we don't...God is merciful whenever we can't be.
 
B.  Gracious... This word means to bend or stoop in kindness to favor,  ,  give, (gracious(-ly), intreat, (be) merciful, have  mercy (on, upon), have pity upon,
 
 
1.  God is gracious to us all of the time.  No matter what we do say or think.  No matter if we stumble and fall and do the wrong things.
 
a.  Have you ever messed up building something  and it doesn't look all that great, and you know it. 
Someone comes by and says "Boy that's a good looking thing you made, and he knows it isn't all that great either.  That's being gracious. 
 
When your wives are cooking for company and something doesn't come out right, and you know it???
The company comes and eats and says  "this was great"...Even though you know that they knew it wasn't all that great, but they said it was???  That's being gracious.
 
God is the perfect attribute of graciousness. 
b.  He looks at us and sees the mess ups, but he says nothing...or He says that's okay...don't worry about it. 
Prodigals son's father...He represents the Lord...He doesn't say a word.
BUT we will tear you up......it's a good thing we're not the Lord.
 
IV.  Slow to Anger  V-8 
A.  Here is an attribute that I praise God for.  This is what we need a lot of.
 Being slow to anger. 
It takes a long time before God will get angry.  If we compare Him like what we do...we would be in a lot of trouble.
 
B.  If we are to be more Christ like, then we need to be slow to anger, but how many times do we fly off at the handle???
C.  I don't have to preach to God, because He is perfect...what about us??
 
Turn to....
1.  James 1:19-20 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath  (anger):
 20 For the wrath (anger) of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
 
2.  Col 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 
 
We need to really work on this.
Turn to...
3.  Eph 4:26  Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
a.  Can a person be angry and not sin????Yes.
 Be angry at the devil, and his works...Be angry at sin and it's works.
 Be angry at ungodly injustice...Be angry at anger itself.
 
b.  Can you let the sun go down on your wrath...yes...are we supposed to????  NO!!!!!
c.  A lot of married couples and families need to take heed to this verse.  Maybe some here today.  All of us need to take care of our problems before the end of the day.
1.  That means putting down your pride, your selfishness, your inconsiderate mouth   ...your anger.
C.  God is slow to anger, but He is just.
Next Time V-9-18
 
V.  He is just
1.  When it comes to salvation, Sin, eternal life. 
 
You have to understand,  you can't escape from the presence of God.
He knows where you go what you do, every sin you transgress,  He knows weather or not you are a child of God and He knows if you have excepted the eternal gift of salvation from Jesus.
 
You see,... He can't let sin in Heaven...and if you haven't accepted Christ, as the Word of God says,...you won't be there either. 
 
Are you saved today????  Have you accepted Jesus as your saviour...have you received the free gift from God of eternal life??
 
 
What about you Child of God?
1.  Are you merciful
2.  Are you gracious
3.  Are you longsuffering to people   
4.  Are you angry and do you get mad easily.
5.  Do folks see anger in your life???
                                                                                                                                                                 
 
Skyline BC
Sun Morn
08-17-2025
 
                                                         What God Does For Us
                                                                   Psalm 103:8-13
 
 
Intro:  We stopped with V-8 last time and I want to continue.
 
V-8   The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy
 
 
Psalm 103.
 
This hymn is one of the greatest praise psalms in the book of Psalms.
 
1.  The first section (vv. 1-5) finds the psalmist expressing his intention to praise God for all his benefits
 (v. 2) says..Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
 
2.  Then with five verbs he enumerates specifically these benefits:
1.  who forgiveth V-3. . . All thine iniquities
2.  who healeth (v. 3),  All Thy deseases
3  who redeemeth . V-4. . thy life from destruction;
4.who crowneth V-4 Thee with loving kindness                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
5.,  who satisfieth  V-5   thy mouth with good things
 
 
B.   All of these actions speak of spiritual blessings, though physical benefits may be included.
 
The next section (vv. 6-19),  speaks of God's character, contains a  catalog of the benevolent attributes of God:
We talked about some of these   last week ending with
V-8  The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
 
Some of God's attributes
1.  Merciful
2.  Gracious
3.  Slow to anget
4.  Plenteous in mercy
 
Now we continue with
 
V-9  He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
What does this  mean? 
We see first God's  judgment; but a soon as the person is humbled and the sin  corected it's over.
God does not keep hanging on to the situation.
 
Also God's anger is over with.
 
So because of all this, the wonderfulness of V-10 is brought in to play.
 
V-10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
 
If we got what we deserve we would be in hell because of our sins.
Also our reward for sin would be hell.
 
Sometimes the believer may think that the bad things that happen in his or her life is because of some sin in the past that they did and God is still punishing them for it.
 
That is not true.
When the child of God comes to God for forgiveness, that's it.
God does not keep holding on to our mistakes withg punishments.
Get it??
 
V-11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
 
God is describing his great mercy toward us, and he uses heaven as the span of His greatness.
 
This fear is not being afraid of God but giving respect for Him for who he is.
 
V-12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
God uses east and west as another span of his greatness.
East to the west is never ending.
 
It is so far that we can never see the end to where the sins are.
And God will never see it either.
 
Verses 11-12  illustrate  to convey the vastness and  the greatness of His mercy
1.,  (as the heaven is high, v. 11),
2.  the greatness of His removal of our sins (as far as the east is from the west, v. 12),
 
 3.  and the greatness of His compassion (as a father pitieth his children,
 v. 13). Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
 
Why does God do this?
Because He loves us, and He showed us His live by giving us salvation through Jesus Christ.