Epistle for August 29, 2008
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E-pistle
Dr. Dan Hite, President FreeWay Foundation August 29, 2008
Jesus, Our Great High Priest
(Hebrews 4:1-16)
Dr. Curt Scarborough
I. Concentration: on the contents of this chapter
1. Believers are promised divine rest, but they must be careful to receive
the promise by faith and to enter into God's rest by faith, vv. 1-13.
2. Doubt and disobedience will cause persons to miss God's promised rest;
as God rested from His creative work, so also His people may rest from
their labors on earth, vv. 4-10.
3. God's word reveals man's spiritual condition, for it is "living and powerful and
sharper than any two-edged sword . . . a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart," vv. 11-13.
4. Jesus is our great High Priest, Who understands by personal experience our
weaknesses; believers are invited to come boldly to God's throne of grace to
find mercy and help, vv. 14-16.
II. Meditation: on Jesus, our great High Priest (vv. 14-15)
1. He has passed through the heavens (ascension).
2. He is the Son of God.
3. He sympathizes with our weaknesses.
4. He was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin.
III. Observations: on our proper responses to Him (vv. 14-16)
1. Hold fast our confession; remain faithful in our commitment.
2. Come boldly to Gods throne; we're welcome there.
3. Obtain mercy – taking away the penalty of sin that we DO deserve.
4. Find grace – receiving a gift/blessing that we DO NOT deserve.
IV. Revelation: on the finished work of Christ
1. The ascended Christ deserves our faithfulness.
2. Jesus, our brother, welcomes us to God's throne, Hebrews 2:11.
3. Jesus knows our weaknesses, and He sympathizes by offering mercy . . .
forgiveness to remove the penalty of sin.
4. His sinless life is imputed to believers, and we receive eternal life (salvation).
V. Applications: as a Christian, I need to . . .
1. Live righteously and serve faithfully the risen, ascended Christ.
2. Pray boldly, knowing that God welcomes me and my concerns.
3. Confess my weaknesses and sins to Christ, and receive mercy (forgiveness)
. . . removal of spiritual penalty.
4. Ask for and receive by faith God's grace and blessings.
FEAR NOT! FORGET NOT! FIGHT!
(Nehemiah 4:1-23)
Dr. Curt Scarborough
I. Concentration: on the events of this chapter
1. Sanballat, Tobiah, and other enemies of Israel became furious and
indignant at the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls; they attempted to
stop the work by: (1) mocking, (2) ridiculing, (3) threatening to attack,
(4) sowing confusion, vv. 1-3, 7, 11-12.
2. Nehemiah prayed for God's help and encouraged the people to
continue working, vv. 4-6, 13-14.
3. He set a watch against the enemies and organized the forces both
for fighting and for building, vv. 8-10, 15-20.
4. He personally labored day and night alongside the common people
of the nation, vv. 21-23.
II. Meditation: on the encouraging challenge of verse 14
1. Fear not the enemy!
2. Forget not the Lord! (Remember the Lord, great and awesome!)
3. Fight for your family!
III. Revelation: on how to keep working while under satanic attack
1. Watch and pray, v. 9; Matthew 26:41.
2. Be equipped both for building and for fighting, v. 17;
Ephesians 4:12; 6:10-18.
3. Recognize how important God's work is; get organized to respond in
mutual defense wherever the attack from the enemy, vv. 19-20;
Hebrews 10:22-25.
4. Both leaders and followers must be totally committed to faithful service
in spite of severe hardships and persecution, vv. 6, 21-23; I Corinthians
15:58; I Peter 5:8-9.
IV. Applications: as a Christian Leader, I need to . . .
1. Ignore the criticism and ridicule of those persons who oppose the work
of God; refuse to be intimidated into inactivity, but keep on working
faithfully to accomplish the Lord's purpose.
2. Equip the people for their responsibilities, both of laboring to build the
kingdom and of spiritual warfare against the forces of Satan.
3. Encourage the people to experience a deeper walk of faith with God, and
challenge them to total commitment to accomplish the task at hand . . .
which is great and extensive (spiritually important)!
4. Set the example of faithful dedication, not asking others to work and
sacrifice more than I personally am doing.
Copied from the Black River Times: Two business men in New York City were sitting
down for a break in their soon-to-be new store. As yet, the store wasn't ready
- - only a few shelves were set up.
One says to the other, "I bet any minute now some tourist is going to walk by, put
his face to the window and ask what we're selling."
No sooner were the words out of his mouth when, sure enough, a curious hillbilly
from Tennessee walks to the window, has a peek, and in a Southern drawl asks,
"What're y'all sellin' here?"
One of the men replies, "Oh! We're selling idiots here."
Without skipping a beat, the southerner says, "Well, I see y'all're doing really good,
you only got two left!"
NEW YORKERS SHOULD NOT MESS WITH SOUTHERNERS.
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