THROUGH CHRIST I CAN

Philippians 4:4-13

Pastor Rick Jackson

 

I. THROUGH CHRIST I CAN BECAUSE I KNOW

1. I Know the Bible is True [Jn. 17:17]

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Though the cover is worn

And the pages are torn

And places bear traces of tears,

Yet more precious than gold

Is the Book worn and old,

That can shatter and scatter my fears.

 

When I prayerfully look

In the precious old Book,

As my eyes scan the pages I see,

Many tokens of love

From the Father above,

Who is nearest and dearest to me.

 

This old Book is my guide,

'Tis a friend by my side,

It will lighten and brighten my way;

And each promise I find

Soothes and gladdens my mind

As I read it and heed it each day.

 

2. The Lord is Good [1 Chr. 16:34]

O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater;

He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;

To added afflictions, He addeth His mercy,

To multiplied trials, He multiplies peace.

 

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,

When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,

When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,

Our Father’s full giving is only begun;

 

His love has no limit; His grace has no measure;

His power no boundary known unto men;

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,

He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!

 

3. The Spirit Indwells Me [1 Cor. 6:19]

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

 

II. THROUGH CHRIST I CAN BECAUSE I HAVE

1. I Have Been Saved [1 Cor. 1:18]

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

2. I have Been Called [1 Cor. 1:2]

Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

3. I Have Been Persuaded [2 Timothy 1:12]

For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

My Father’s way may twist and turn;

My heart may throb and ache;

But in my soul I’m glad I know

He maketh no mistake

 

My cherished plans may go astray;

My hopes may fade away;

But still I’ll trust my Lord to lead,

For He doth know the way.

 

Tho’ night be dark and it may seem

That day will never break,

I’ll pin my faith, my all in Him:

He maketh no mistake.

 

There’s so much now I cannot see –

My eyesight’s far too dim;

But come what may, I’ll simply trust

And leave it all to Him.

 

 For by and by the mist will lift,

And plain it all He’ll make;

Through all the way, tho’ dark to me,

He made not one mistake.

-A.M. Overton

 

III. THROUGH CHRIST I CAN BECAUSE I WILL:

1. I Will See My Loved Ones Again [2 Sm. 12:23]

But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

2. I Will Face My Saviour [1 Jn. 2:28]

And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

3. I Will Give an Account [Rm. 14:10-12]

But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord , every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

TIMELESS TRUTHS FROM JONAH’S 1st CHAPTER

Pastor Rick Jackson

 

I. WHAT SOME PEOPLE GET

1. Some People get Concerned because of Trouble

[v. 1-8, 2 Chr. 15:4]

-But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.

2. Some People get Convinced because of a Testimony

[v. 9-10, 1 Pt. 3:15]

-But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

3. Some People get Converted because of the Truth

[v. 14-16, Jn. 8:32, Rm. 10:16]

-And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

-But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

 

II. WHAT ACCOMPANIES GOD

1. God's Presence accompanies God's Will

[v. 1-3, Mt. 28:19-20]

-Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

2. God's Purpose accompanies God's Work

[v. 2, 4, 11-16, Eph. 3:10-12, Is. 55:11]

-To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

-So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

3. God's Preparation accompanies God's Wisdom

[v. 4, 17; 4:6-8]

 

III. WHAT CHRISTIANS ARE NOT

1. Christians are Not Flawless [v. 1-3, 1 Jn. 1:8, 10]

-If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

-If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

2. Christians are Not Forsaken [v. 5, Heb. 13:5]

- Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

3. Christians are Not Forgotten [v. 17, Is. 49:14-16]

- But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

BE SURE YOU'RE RIGHT AND THEN GO AHEAD!

LUKE 2:52

Pastor Rick Jackson

In 1820 a new congressman stood before the House and said, "Mr. Speaker: The Gentleman from Massachusetts talks about summing up the merits of the question, but I'll sum up my own."

"In one word, I'm a screamer. I've got the roughest racing horse, the prettiest sister, the surest rifle and the ugliest dog in the District! My father can whip any man in Tennessee, and I can whip my father. I can give any man on this floor two hours start and outspeak him!

"I can run faster, dive deeper, stay under longer, and come up drier than any man this side of the big swamp. I can outgrin a panther and outstare a flash of lightning, tote a steamboat on my back and play at rough and tumble with a lion, with a kick now and then from a zebra!"

 

Thus, congress heard the first speech from the new representative from Tennessee, David Crockett. As you study the life of Davy Crockett you learn he had a life motto, “BE SURE YOU'RE RIGHT, AND THEN GO AHEAD!” He applied this to all areas of his life. In shooting he said, "Be sure you're right and then go ahead and pull the trigger!" In marriage, in fighting, and even in politics: "If I'm the only member of the house to vote against this bill--- yes, if I'm the only man in the whole country against it, I'll still vote against it! It'll be a matter of rejoicing to me till the day I die that I've voted as I intend."

I don't know if Davy came up with his motto from the Scriptures, but the plain truth is, it is Scriptural! Eph. 5:10 says, "Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord!" Now using the pattern of our Lord from Luke 2:52 let's see how it might work.

 

I. BE SURE YOU'RE RIGHT MENTALLY, AND THEN GO AHEAD! [Phil. 2:5]

- Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

1. God is the Author of Truth [Pr. 1:7, Jn. 14:6, 17:17; Rm. 3:4]

-The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

-Jesus saith unto him, I am the way , the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

-Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

-yea, let God be true, but every man a liar;

2. Guard your Mind with Truth [Phil. 4:8, Col. 2:8, 2 Cor. 10:5]

-Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

-Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

-Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

 

II. BE SURE YOU'RE RIGHT PHYSICALLY, AND THEN GO AHEAD!

1. God is Greater than the Physical [Mt. 6:31-33, 1 Tm. 4:8]

-Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

-For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

2. God has Guidelines for the Physical [1 Cor. 6:18-20]

-Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

 

III. BE SURE YOU'RE RIGHT SPIRITUALLY, AND THEN GO AHEAD!

1. God has revealed Himself in the Inscripturated Word [Josh. 1:8, 2 Pt.1:21]

-This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

- For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

2. God has revealed Himself as the Incarnate Word [Jn. 1:1-4, 9-14, 1 Tm. 3:16]

-In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

-That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

-And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

 

IV. BE SURE YOU'RE RIGHT SOCIALLY, AND THEN GO AHEAD!

1. Watch your Crowd [Ps. 1:1, 1 Co. 5:9-11]

-Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

-I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat

2. Watch your Character [Gal. 5:16-26, 6:7-10]

WHEN HATE IS RIGHT AND LOVE IS WRONG

1 Jn. 2:15 - Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him

Psalm 97:10 - Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.

Pastor Rick Jackson

 

It’s okay to love the right things and hate the wrong things. God is a God of love but God also hates. What God hates we should likewise hate. Here are a few things God hates. This is not an exhaustive list.

 

I. GOD HATES IDOLS [Dt. 16:22, 1 Cor. 8:1-7, 10:18-21]

Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the LORD thy God hateth.

II. GOD HATES WICKEDNESS/INIQUITY [Ps. 45:6-7, Heb. 1:8-9]

-Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

-But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

III. GOD HATES EVIL DEEDS/DOCTRINES [Rev. 2:6-7, 15-16, Amos 5:15-27]

 

IV. GOD HATES EVIL HEARTS/FALSE OATHS [Zech. 8:16-17, Gen. 6:6-8]

-These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.

-And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

YOU CAN MAKE IT!

GN. 6:16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

Pastor Rick Jackson

 

I. YOU CAN MAKE IT THROUGH DIFFICULTIES

1. Physical Difficulties [Job. 2:7-8, 2 Cor. 11:24-27]

- So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.

-Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

2. Spiritual Difficulties [Lk. 22:31, Eph. 6:12, 1 Pt. 5:8]

-And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:

-For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

-Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

3. Temporal Difficulties [Rm. 5:18, 2 Cor. 4:17-18]

-For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

-For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

 

II. YOU CAN MAKE IT WITH GOD

1. God’s Christ [Ph. 4:13]

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

2. God’s Word [Rm. 10:17, 2 Tm. 3:15-17]

-So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

-And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

3. God’s Spirit [1 John 4:4]

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

 

III. YOU CAN MAKE IT BECAUSE:

1. God Promises It! [Romans 4:21, Ph. 1:6]

-And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

- Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ

2. God Prays for It! [Rm. 8:26, 1 Jn. 2:1, Heb. 7:25]

- the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

- we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

- he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

3. God Performs It! [Ph. 1:6, Jude 1:24]

-Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

-Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy

THIS DAY IS THE DAY

Ps. 118:24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Pastor Rick Jackson

 

I. THIS DAY IS THE DAY OF SALVATION [2 Cor. 6:2]

1. God Accepts Those That Accept Christ [1 Tm. 1:15, Eph. 1:6]

-This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

-To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

2. The Day You Come to Christ IS the Day of Salvation [Lk. 19:6-9]

And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.

3. The Day You Help Others Come to Christ [2 Cor. 5:17-20]

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

II. THIS DAY IS THE DAY OF REJOICING [Ps. 118:24]

This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

1. Rejoicing in Salvation [Ps. 118:21]

I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.

2. Rejoicing in Christ [Ps. 118:22]

The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

3. Rejoicing in God’s Working [Ps. 118:23]

This is the LORD'S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.

 

III. THIS DAY IS THE DAY OF EXPECTATION [Titus 2:13]

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

1. This Day is Characterized by Ignorance [Mt. 24:36]

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

2. This Day is Characterized by Imminence [1 Th. 4:15]

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

3. This Day is Characterized by Inspiration [1 Jn. 3:1-3]

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

CONSIDER THE RAVENS

GENESIS 8:6-7

Pastor Rick Jackson

 

I. GOD’S PLACE FOR THE RAVENS

1. The Raven was Pronounced Unclean [Lev. 11:13-15]

And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the osprey, And the vulture, and the kite after his kind; Every raven after his kind;

2. The Raven Was Promised a Place [Is. 34:6ff.]

v. 6 The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea [Edom].

v. 8 For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.

v. 11-16 But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing. And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls. The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate. Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.

3. The Saved Sinner, Once Unclean, Has a Place [1 Cor. 6:11, 19-20]

-And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

-What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

 

II. GOD’S PURPOSE FOR THE RAVENS [1 KINGS 17]

1. To Obey His Word [v. 1-4]

And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

2. To Accomplish His Will [v. 4-5]

And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

3. To Act in His Way [v. 6, Is. 30:21, Acts 18:25-26]

-And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

-And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

-This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly

 

III. GOD’S POINT FOR THE RAVENS [Luke 12]

1. The Future is Beyond Them [v. 24, Acts 1:7-8]

And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 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.

2. The Food is Before Them [v. 24, Job 38:41, Ps. 147:9]

-Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.

-He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.

3. The Faithful are Better than Them [v. 22-32, Rm. 5:8-11]