'TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS'

Rev. Don Crisp

This is a re-broadcast of a Program first aired on CFRA, August 1st, 2010 By Rev. Don Crisp (Deceased)                                                                                   Former Pastor of First Baptist Church Smiths Falls, Ontario   Introduced by: Rev. Dr. Allen Churchill (Deceased) Founder of "Allen Churchill Ministries, later to become: "GOOD NEWS CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES"

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PODCAST LINK for Sunday, March 15^th, 2020:

http://accm.ncf.ca/images/20.03.15.mp3 

(First aired on CFRA, August 1st 2010.) ____________________________________________ 

Broadcast Notes:

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 This program is sponsored by the Good News Christian Ministries, 96 Pheasant Run Drive, Ottawa, ON  K2J 2R5, Canada, (new address). This is AllanChurchill speaking.

Today our theme is:

 ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus’

 

Follow Podcast here: http://accm.ncf.ca/images/20.03.2615.mp3

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Readings:

 

 

John 3:14-15 English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.^[a]

Footnotes:

1. John 3:15 Some interpreters hold that the quotation ends at verse 15

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Numbers 21:4-9 (ESV) The Bronze Serpent 4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” 6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze[a] serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. Footnotes: Numbers 21:9 Or copper _________________________________________

 

2 Kings 18:1-4  (ESV)

Hezekiah Reigns in Judah

18 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. ² He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. ³ And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. ⁴ He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).^[a]

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NOTES:

 

Life Lessons:

1.) Impatience in life's journey: We do need to trust in the Lord

 

2.) We live with the consequences of the choices we make.

 

3.) Beware of selective repentance

 

4.) Whoever looks, lives.

 

5.) Beware of 'Religiosity": (See 2 Kings 18:1-4)

 

6.) Keep your eye on Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith (See John 12:36)

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Let's Pray:

Lord Jesus, we want to thank you that you are the author and finisher of life.

I come to you today, Lord, and I ask you to come into my life, to save me.

And I ask you to come into my life and to be Lord, forever.

I give you my life, right now, Lord, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

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Thank you, listeners, for your encouragement, prayer and financial support. You keep us on the air week by week.  If you can, please make out a cheque payable to Good News Christian Ministries, and send it to 96 Pheasant Run Drive, Ottawa, ON  K2J 2R5, Canada, (new address). We will send you a receipt at income tax time. Please also tell others about this program, and don’t forget to visit our website. You will find several of our programs available on podcasts.                             

Don’t forget to worship in a church where the gospel is soundly proclaimed and lived out with compassion, integrity, and resolve.

May you know Jesus Christ personally and profoundly. May the Holy Spirit reside deep within your heart. And may the heavenly Father surround you with his constant and abiding and accompanying love.

Rev. Don Crisp and Rev. Dr. Allen Churchill

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To listen to the above broadcast, click on the following link:
http://accm.ncf.ca/images/20.01.26.mp3

'LUKEWARM AND LOVIN' IT'

'THE CHURCH IN REVELATION'

Rev. Juliet Schimpf By Rev. Juliet Schimpf     ___________________________ Broadcast Notes

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LINK to CFRA broadcast of Sunday, November 8^th, 2015):

http://cdn2-proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/37120/good_news_182_nov08.mp3 

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'Lukewarm and Lovin' it: 

The Church in Laocidea'

“LUKEWARM AND LOVIN’ IT:  THE CHURCH IN LAOCIDEA”

Revelation 3:14-22

1.    THE DIAGNOSIS

2.    THE DELUSION

3.    THE DISCOVERY

John Stott once wrote, "The Laodicean church was a half-hearted church. Perhaps none of the seven letters is more appropriate to the twentieth century church than this. It describes vividly the respectable, sentimental, nominal, skin-deep religiosity which is so wide spread among us today. Our Christianity is flabby and anemic, we appear to have taken a lukewarm bath."

1.    THE DIAGNOSIS

VERSE 15 ‘I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 

·         Located in the fertile Lycus River Valley, the city had no nearby water source, so tepid, mineral-filled, and nauseating water was piped in from six miles away.

·         Approximately 12 miles east of Laodicea was the city of Colossae, whose church was addressed by Paul in the book of Colossians. The city of Colossae was well-known for its refreshing cold waters, which came down from melted ice and snow and rain from Mount Cadmus, which towered above it. These waters were valued for their purity and cooling abilities, and drew in many visitors and dignitaries for just this reason.

·         About 7 miles north of Laodicea was the city of Hierapolis, a large Roman city with centers dedicated to the worship of Apollo and, later, Caesar – Domitian, in particular. Probably its most famous feature was its hot baths, fed by hot springs (reminiscent of Yellowstone’s hot springs), which were used to cure ailments of its visitors, many who relocated there specifically for that purpose.

·         And there, between Colossae and Heirapolis sat Laodicea, where the streams of cold water from the west and hot water from the north met. The mixing of the mineral-rich hot water and the cold water created a lukewarm water which tasted awful and could make the people of the town sick. It was a constant source of irritation.

·         In addition to the taste and the health effects, the water, which was brought into the city via an aqueduct and distributed through clay pipes, had such high mineral content that it was frequently plugging the pipes it flowed through with deposits, resulting in frequent need of repair 

·         John might have been saying:

o    "If you were hot, like the springs of Hierapolis, you'd bring healing, restoration, and comfort to people who suffer.

o   If you were cold, like the water in Colosse, you'd refresh and encourage people who are hurting. Instead, you are lukewarm.

o   You don't do anyone any good and you make me sick, just like your own water.

·         THE MESSAGE:^15-17 “I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit.

·         JOHN STOTT:  “To be neutral to Christ is to be an obstacle to Christ.” (John Stott)

2.    THE DELUSION

THE DELUSION:  “BIG ME, SMALL GOD!”

VERSE 17 “For you say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.” You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

THE MESSAGE  VERSE 17 “You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.”

·         Laodicea had 2 theatres, a textile industry, and it was the banking centre for Asia Minor. 

·         In 60 AD, Laodicea was destroyed by an earthquake. When Nero offered them assistance to rebuild their city, the Laodiceans wrote back to him, telling him that they were wealthy, they were in need of nothing and that they could rebuild it themselves.

·         Tacitus, THE ROMAN HISTORIAN, WROTE: "Laodicea arose from the ruins by the strength of her own resources and with no help from us."

·         The city was renowned for three main industries:

o   1.  After all, they were a large banking center WITH A GOLD EXCHANGE-- proud that their bankers were known to exchange pure, unadulterated gold.

§  1 Peter 1:7  so that the ^1aproof of your faith, being more precious than gold which ²is perishable, ^beven though tested by fire, ^cmay be found to result in praise and glory and honor at ^dthe revelation of Jesus Christ;

o   2.  They were also famous for clothing made from black wool produced by their sheep….GLOSSY, BLACK WOOL WAS WOVEN INTO GARMENTS CALLED TRIMATA THAT WERE PRIZED BY THE ROMAN WORLD

§  Isaiah 61:10 I will ^arejoice greatly in the Lord,

My soul will exult in ^bmy God; For He has ^cclothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,  As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,  And ^das a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

o   3.  They were famous for their great medical school, which specialized in using mineral deposits from the area to make an expensive eye salve CALLED PHYRIGIAN POWDER…. They had no need for Caesar’s riches (and no desire to be in his debt).

·         God wanted the church in Laodicea to shift from self-sufficiency to God-dependency!

VERSE 18 “Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.”

3.    THE DISCOVERY

THE DISCOVERY 1:  BIG GOD, SMALL ME!

God wants the church in Laodicea to shift from worshipping CREATION (“stuff”) to worshipping THE CREATOR.

VERSE 14 ‘And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of God’s creation: 

·         “AMEN”  Isaiah 65:16 it says, "The God of amen." That's Hebrew for truth, or affirmation, or certainty. God was called the God of truth then, the God of certainty, the God of affirmation. Whatever God says is so, whatever God says is true, whatever God says is certain, fixed, unchangeable.  Therefore He's the God of amen.

·         Now the word "amen" is often used in Scripture as a word to affirm the veracity of a statement. Sometimes it is used before a statement and when it is it is usually translated "verily, verily," or "truly, truly," but in the Greek language, for example, it is "amen, amen." You often see before some very significant statement "amen, amen." And there it is to affirm the truthfulness of what is to be said.

·         But more than that, more specifically even than that general affirmation, Scripture tells us in 2 Corinthians 1:20 a very important truth. It says, "For all the promises of God in Him are amen." All the promises of God in Him are amen. What does that mean? That means that all God's promises and all God's covenants are guaranteed and affirmed by the person and work of Jesus Christ.

·         FAITHFUL AND TRUE WITNESS: John 14:6 He said, "I am the way, the truth and the life." He is, of course, the perfect true witness.

·         ORIGIN OF GOD’S CREATION: 

o   Hebrews 1:2 and through whom also he made the universe

o   Colossians 1 ¹⁵ The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

DISCOVERY 2:  A GOD OF INTIMACY

VERSE 20:  VERSE 19I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. [PROVERS 3:12  “THE LORD DISCIPLINES THOSE HE LOVES, AS A FATHER THE SON HE DELIGHTS IN.”] VERSE 20 Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.

o   The word for “eat” in Greek is “deipnein”.  The greeks had three meals in the day.  There was “akratisma”, breakfast, which was no more than a piece of dried bread dipped in wine.  There was “ariston”, the midday meal.  A  man not go home for it; it was simply a picnic snack eaten in the city square.  There was “deipnon”  this was the evening meal; it was the main meal of the day.  People lingered and sat long and talked over it, for the day’s work was done.  There was time now for unlimited andunhurried fellowship together.  It was the deipnon that Christ would share with the man who answered His knock.  This was no hurried meal, no visit in the passing, it was the meal where people lingered…..

o   JOHN PIPER:  “Christ did not die to redeem a bride who would keep him on the porch while she watched television in the den. His will for the church is that we open the door, all the doors of our life. He wants to join you in the dining room, spread a meal out for you, and eat with you and talk with you. The opposite of lukewarmness is the fervor you experience when you enjoy a candlelit dinner with Jesus Christ in the innermost room of your heart..”

CONCLUSION:  VERSE 21  “To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²²Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.’”

Rev. Juliet Schimpf

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To listen to the above broadcast, click on the following link:

http://cdn2-proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/37120/good_news_182_nov08.mp3