WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT COMFORT?

Pastor Rick Jackson                                        

ISAIAH 40:1-14

I. GOD THE FATHER IS A COMFORTER

1. It is Part of Who He Is [II Cor. 1:3]

2. It is Part of What He Has Given [Ps. 119:50, 76, 82; Rm. 15:4]

3. It is Part of What He Has Planned [Zech. 1:7, Rev. 7:17, 21:4]

II. GOD THE SON IS A COMFORTER [Philippians 2:1]

1.  By His Presence [Ps. 23:1-4]

2. By His Promise [I Thess. 4:13-18]

3.  By His Position [I John 2:1] parakletos,  par-ak'-lay-tos;  an intercessor, consoler:--advocate, comforter.

III. GOD THE SPIRIT IS A COMFORTER [Acts 9:31]

1. “Tailor-made” [John 14:16-17]

2. Teacher [John 14:24-26]

3. Treasure [John 15:26, 16:7]

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT CAIN?

Pastor Rick Jackson                                        

JUDE 8-11

I. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE WAY OF CAIN?

1. The Way of Cain is the Way of Arrogance [Heb. 11:4]

2. The Way of Cain is the Way of Aggression [I Jn. 3:12]

3. The Way of Cain is the Way of Apathy [Jude 8]

II. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE WARNINGS OF GOD?

1.  The Warnings of God Come by the Why of Explanation [Gn. 4:3-6]

2. The Warnings of God Come by the Well of Expectation [Gn. 4:7]

3.  The Warnings of God Come by the Woe of Exclamation [Jude 11, 15-16]

III. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE WAY TO GO?

1. It is the Way to Build Up [Jude 20a]

2. It is the Way to Pray Up [Jude 20b]

3. It is the Way to Reach Out [Jude 21-24]

Question of the Week - Where Are the Nine?

Where Are the Nine? "And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?" (Luke 17:17) Ten lepers, hopeless and incurable, had come to Jesus, begging for His help, and He had miraculously healed them. All ten should have fallen down to worship and thank Him, but only one praised God and thanked Jesus for His marvelous deliverance, while the others rushed away. We are at first amazed at such ingratitude, until we realize that not more than 10 percent of even those people who know about Christ ever stop to give Him thanks for His innumerable blessings--life, freedom, food, shelter, health, family, and especially easy access to the Bible and His gracious offer of salvation--far greater in value than the gift of special healing received by the ten lepers. The thankful leper received a much greater gift than all the others. "Thy faith hath made thee whole" (Luke 17:19). They had received an outward cleansing of the body, he an inward cleansing of the soul! These words spoken by Christ are found four other times in the New Testament (Matthew 9:22; Mark 5:34; 10:52; Luke 8:48), plus two other times where the word for "made whole" is translated "saved" (Luke 7:50; 18:42). This word (Greek sozo) occurs many other times. For example: "He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him" (Hebrews 7:25). Ten lepers were healed, but only one was saved, and the proof of his salvation, received through genuine faith in Christ, was his gratitude, giving glory to God. The primary evidence of being "filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18) is that the one so controlled by God's regenerating Spirit will be "giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20). Those who are not thankful to their saving Lord are the 90 percent who have not been made whole. HMM Print this article | More Days of Praise articles Institute for Creation Research | 1806 Royal Lane | Dallas | TX | 75229

Distracted Driving

Ezekiel 8:16  "And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple . . . were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east."    Have you ever found yourself driving someone else's car?  I don't mean you were actually behind the wheel in the driver's seat; I mean the other driver was making you nervous or impatient by the way he was driving.  The other night on the way to church, I noticed a fellow driver who made me nervous and frustrated at the same time!  He was completely distracted, reaching for things on the floorboard and overhead.  He was looking everywhere and at everything except the road!  Consequently, his car was weaving in and out of both lanes while speeding up and slowing down for no logical reason.  The worst part was, he was doing all of this while camped out in the left lane of the interstate that is supposed to be for passing! I must confess that I am very impatient with other drivers like the one I've just described.  However, sometimes I am that driver!  Any good driver will tell you that your car will follow your hands, but your hands follow your eyes.  Driving is not "static."  That is, you are not sitting still.  When you are driving on the interstate, where you are at the moment is not as important as where your eyes are leading you. God reminds us in Ezekiel chapter 8 that you can only face one direction at a time.  The wrong direction comes naturally to us.  Going the right direction is only by design.  You will never go the right way by accident!  Going the right direction is an act of your will as you surrender to God.  You will go the way you decide to go! Friend, God knows which way you are heading, even when you do not.  Sometimes you might think you are going in the right direction (like the men in Ezekiel's vision), but you are facing the wrong direction.  God both knows and cares what direction you are going.  Who or what has your attention today?  Where are your "eyes" pointing?  You cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24), and you cannot face two directions at the same time.  Where you stand today is important, but where you are focused is where you will end up tomorrow! Prayer Requests: 1. Services tonight in Plainwell, MI; Madison, OH; and Ripley, TN 2. Deaf Rally tomorrow in Millville, NJ 3. Ranch evangelists preaching this weekend in New Buffalo, MI; Louisville, KY; and Stillwater, OK  Want more First Light?  View past devotionals here

IT’S ALL ABOUT HIM

PSALM 115

Pastor Rick Jackson                                        

I. THE GLORY IS GOD’S [v. 1-8]

1. Not Ours [v. 1a]

2. For His Mercy [v. 1b]

3. For His Truth [v. 1c-8]

II. THE HELP IS GOD’S [v. 9-14]

1.  For Israel [v. 9, 12a]

2. For Aaron [v. 10, 12b]

3.  For Them that Fear Him [v. 11, 13-14]

III. THE PRAISE IS GOD’S [v. 15-18]

1. The Blessedness of Praise [v. 15-16]

2. The Absence of Praise [v. 17]

3. The Eternality of Praise [v. 18]

The HIGHLY recommended - Jimmy DeYoung's Daily Devotional

For me, no other person I know is as clear on prophecy as Jimmy DeYoung. He was a journalist living in Israel for many years and is a serious student of the Word of God. Occasionally I put these up but you should get them every day from the source.

April 26, 2012   Thank you for reading my Prophetic Daily Devotionals!   Please visit my website to learn more Bible prophecies being fulfilled in these last days.  Numbers 21:8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. For further study - Numbers 21:1-35 I have just realized that more and more I am giving you a whole chapter in a book to read for our extended devotional. I hope that you agree, it should not hinder us in our devotional time to spend a bit more time in the "Book". I will point out several tidbits in this chapter for today, but first to our key verse. Let me give you the background for our reading today. Moses was leading the children of Israel towards the Promised Land and at this time they had been wandering for almost forty years. The Israelites were very discouraged at not being able to get to the Promised Land; howbeit, it was their own fault because of their disobedience and unbelief. Verse 4 tells us that they were not able to continue along the "Kings Highway", 20:17, because the Edomites refused to allow them to pass that way. Therefore they had to travel by way of the Red Sea, towards Arabia, around Petra and Edom and then into Ammon before they would cross over the Jordan River into the Promised Land. The people once again spoke against Moses and his leadership, complaining also against God, verse 5. This then caused the Lord to send "fiery serpents" among the children of Israel. Many of the Jews were bitten and they died, verse 6. At this point God told Moses to make a replica of the "fiery serpent" and put it atop a pole that was to stand up in the wilderness. God then said that if the Jewish people would look up to the "fiery serpent", they would live. This "look and live" action was a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ on His cross. The people of Israel would continue along the "Kings Highway" and be confronted by Sihon the King of the Amorites in the area of "Heshbon". If you've ever traveled on a tour with me thru the Land of the Bible and into Jordan, you have seen "Heshbon". It was at "Heshbon" where God allowed the Israelites to defeat the Amorites. It was after that victory that the Lord told Moses to send a group up into Bashan to defeat Og, the King of Bashan. The children of Israel defeated the people of Bashan and later Joshua gave Bashan to the half tribe of Manasseh, even though it was on the eastern shore of the Jordan River. By the way, Bashan is the name also known in the Bible, and today, as the "Golan," the Golan Heights. This event took place 3,500 years ago. That's how long ago that God gave the Golan Heights to the Jewish people. One has to wonder why the Syrians lay claim to the Golan Heights. Even in recent days the leaders of Syria have said that they will take the Golan Heights back diplomatically or by force, militarily. This potential military action between Israel and Syria is very viable today. The truth of the matter is, the enemies of Israel, the Jewish state today, don't want Jews anywhere in the Middle East. This "satanic influence" which directs the ways of the enemies of Israel today is setting the stage for the prophetic scenario found in Bible prophecy to be fulfilled seemingly in the near future. How up-to-date our devotional readings are each and every day. We must realize that God's plan for the end times will be played out. As we watch from the sidelines we have to understand that His shout for us to join Him in the air is about to be heard, maybe even today. PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for being lifted up on the cross like the "fiery serpent" on the pole in the wilderness so that I could "look and live". Visit our website at http:/www.prophecytoday.com

Shofar Communications | PO Box 2510 | Chattanooga | TN | 37409

How apropos

 

April 25, 2012   Thank you for reading my Prophetic Daily Devotionals!   Please visit my website to learn more Bible prophecies being fulfilled in these last days.    Numbers 20:21   Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.   For further study - Numbers 20:14-29   The account we read for our devotional today, these 16 verses, record the travels of the children of Israel, led by Moses, toward the Promised Land. You will notice that they travel along the "King's Highway" which was the road of the merchants from Africa through Egypt along the lower section of Israel near the Red Sea and then into southern Jordan going north.   I have traveled many times along the King's Highway as was the case for the thousands of Jews near the end of their 40 years of wandering in the "wilderness" because of unbelief. They did not believe Joshua and Caleb who gave the positive report of the "Promised Land" after their "spy mission" into the land almost 40 years earlier.   What we read in our devotional today is the account of what happened right after Moses had been disobedient to the Lord when the Lord told the leader of the Jewish people to "speak" to the "rock" and instead, Moses "smote" the rock, Numbers 20:7-13. The Lord told Moses and Aaron that because of their lack of obedience they would not be allowed to enter the Promised Land, verse 12.   The last seven verses of our reading for today record the death of Aaron, the brother of Moses and the High Priest. The record shows that Aaron died atop Mount Hor that is near the headquarters of the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, a place called Petra. As I have visited Petra many times, I have often thought about the disobedience of Aaron and Moses and the penalty they both had to pay for not following the instructions that God gave them.   In verses 14-22, we see that the Edomites would not allow the children of Israel, their "brothers," verse 14, to travel along the King's Highway but instead they had to travel farther east towards Saudi Arabia and go around the land of Edom, Numbers 21:4.   You might remember the account of the Lord sending Esau and his family to Mount Seir, which is the same location of the Edomites in this passage. When Esau arrived in Petra the Lord changed the land area, so that it would be known as Edom, after the name that God had given Esau, Genesis 36:1.   Space will not allow for me to trace from Esau in Petra, the land of Edom, to the modern-day Palestinian people (see my audio series Esau and the Palestinians.)   Verse 18 reveals that Edom would not allow the children of Israel to travel the King's Highway towards the Promised Land even though Moses said he would pay for any damages made by his people and their animals, verse 17. This account is simply one chapter in the life and struggle of two brothers, Jacob and Esau.   Their mother was told by the Lord that these two boys struggling within her womb would become two nations - two manner of people, Genesis 25:23. The Scriptures tell us that they would continue this struggle until Jesus Christ returns to the earth to settle the battle between these two brothers, Obadiah 17 and 18.   The Israeli-Palestinian conflict of today is evidence of the truth of God's word and the prophecy that will be fulfilled in the end times.   PRAYER THOT: Help me, Lord, to obey You and follow Your instructions.                       Visit our website at http:/www.prophecytoday.com

Shofar Communications | PO Box 2510 | Chattanooga | TN | 37409

Quotes of the Week

Horse sense is stable understanding. - Overheard

"Apparently, I'm supposed to be more angry about what Mitt Romney does with his money than what Barack Obama does with mine." - read in an email

shared from a friend. Just because something bad happens to you does not mean God has left you, stopped loving you or does not care. It does not mean that God is has stopped being in sovereign control. It means that He has a different plan than what we might have, and in his plan something miraculous is about to happen. Wait for it and trust Him. - Pastor Tim Ellison

Does my life bring a delight to others? - Dr. Fred Afman

Listening is not the same as hearing. - Afman

The great truths of the Bible sometimes (be)come too common to us. - Henry Hodges

You never know how making one small decision can change so many lives. - George Foreman [yes-that George Foreman]

If you can't preach to 10 like you can 10,000 you have no business preaching. - Dr. Lee Roberson

When Jesus comes I want Him to find me pulling in the harness, not standing in the stall. - Mrs. Tyre (Christian lady serving through much trial)

A missionary is a nobody telling everybody about Somebody that can save anybody. - missionary Brother Corley to Iran [Nov. 1984]

Truth Demonstrated

 

 

Ezekiel 4:3b  "This shall be a sign to the house of Israel."          Recently, my family and I spent the night in San Antonio, Texas, while on our way home from a month of travel.  The next morning, we took an hour or two to tour the Alamo. Through pictures, videos, models, and text, the museum at the Alamo tried their very best to tell the story of the Alamo so that people living over a hundred years after the battle could understand what actually happened.   History is somewhat boring to many people, but the truth is, everyone loves a good story.  Something that helped clarify the battle in my mind (and doubtless other visitors) was one of the models they had of the battle.  In the museum, they had a representation of the fort, the opposing armies, cannons, etc.  That model was demonstrating the historical facts of the Alamo.   In a similar way, your life should demonstrate God's truth.  Sometimes the truth God wants to convey through a person requires more than words.  Often it would be easier to just give our words instead of giving our lives!  Ezekiel 4 contains models and illustrations that God wanted Ezekiel to show the children of Israel.  Ezekiel made a small model of a battle that would take place to "be a sign to the house of Israel."    Can people see abstract truths of the Bible illustrated in your real life?  Take love, for instance.  What is love?  Is it merely a feeling or some distant hope, or is it something people can see demonstrated in your life?   How about forgiveness?  Is God's forgiveness of a sinner impossible for your lost family to conceive of because they have never seen forgiveness demonstrated in your life?   How about holiness?  Do people have any concept of how holy God is by seeing the difference it has made in your life?   Although I had never seen God, as a young boy, I did see a father who loved me.  I didn't know anything about the judgment of God, but I was well-acquainted with my dad's correction when I did wrong.  When the Bible spoke of God as a Father who will judge sin but who loves sinners, I understood because God's truth had been demonstrated to me.  His truth should be proclaimed, but it should also be demonstrated.  Sometimes it takes the entire canvas of your life to portray God's truth!       Prayer Requests: - Services this weekend in Plainwell, MI; Madison, OH; and King George, VA          Want more First Light?  View past devotionals here

Bill Rice Ranch | 627 Bill Rice Ranch Road | Murfreesboro | TN | 37128

Jimmy DeYoung's Daily Devotional

 

April 23, 2012   Thank you for reading my Prophetic Daily Devotionals!   Please visit my website to learn more Bible prophecies being fulfilled in these last days.  Numbers 13:30   And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.     For further study - Numbers 13:17-33   As we come to our devotions for today I am going to go back over some of what we discussed last time. In Numbers there is a passage of scripture that has an interesting connection to the fate of the Jewish people of today. We'll look at that in a moment.   Our selected reading for today is the story of Moses dispatching the twelve spies, one from each of the tribes of Israel, to enter the Promised Land to determine if all of the Israelites could enter the land at that time. I'm sure from our study last time that you already know the results of the mission by these twelve leaders of the tribes of Israel.   Ten came back and said the land was filled with giants who would destroy the invading Jewish nation. In fact, in the eyes of these ten spies, they perceive themselves to be "grasshoppers" as compared to the inhabitants of the land that God has promised the Jewish people.   However, there were two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, who came back with a great report. Moses had told all the spies to scout out the lay of the land and be sure to bring some fruit back from their mission, verse 20. At least two of the spies, Caleb and Joshua, had gone over to Hebron, the oldest Jewish community in the history of the ßworld - a Jewish town established by Abraham when he was promised all of the land, some 4,000 years ago.   There, near a brook, the brook of Eshcol, they cut down a bunch of grapes that took two men together to bear the grapes out of the land and bring them back to Moses. This is evidence of how God would provide for His people and that the land was indeed as the two spies reported, a "land of milk and honey", verse 27.   The other ten spies reported that the enemy would kill the Jewish people if they went into the land. The Israelites believed the ten spies and as a result wandered in the wilderness for the next 39 years.   Remember, Hebron, was the burial place for the patriarchs of Israel, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the second most sacred piece of real estate for the Jewish people. Today it is a very controversial location - a place of violence between the Jews and the Palestinians.   This entire event speaks volumes about the lack of belief among the Jewish people. As the Lord gave them the land 3,500 years ago, and at that time they failed to take it, so today His promise of returning the people to the land is not truly believed by many of the Jewish people.   God's promises to the Jewish people are true and forever. However, these promises must be accepted by faith. One day, seemingly some day soon, God will fulfill His promises to the Jewish people including giving them all of the land He has promised them.   However, what is so amazing to me is that there have been over five million Jews that have believed God and have made their way into the "promised land" in at least a partial fulfillment of Bible Prophecy.   The greatest "sign" that the Lord is in the process of fulfilling all of His promises to the Jews, and in fact to all of us, is the presence of Jews in the land of Israel today. As was the case in the first "return" to the land by the Jewish people, Numbers 11and other passages, the "final" return is in operation today.   The only thing that must happen before all of these prophecies are fulfilled is the Rapture of the Church, born-again, Bible-believing Christians will be called up into the heavens to be with Jesus forever. That could happen today.   PRAYER THOT: Help me, dear Lord, to believe Your promises for me as I move towards Your return to gather me to be with you, forever.             Visit our website at http:/www.prophecytoday.com

Shofar Communications | PO Box 2510 | Chattanooga | TN | 37409

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT GOD?

Pastor Rick Jackson

EXODUS 3

I. WHAT DOES GOD KNOW ABOUT YOU?

1. God Knows Where to Find You [v. 1-3, Psalm 8:4]

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

2. God Knows Your Name [v. 4, Matthew 10:30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.]

3. God Knows your Liability [v. 5, Ps. 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.]

II. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT GOD?

1.  He is the God of the Living [v. 6, Matthew 22:32 …God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.]

2. He is the God of the Afflicted [v. 7, Psalm 140:12]

I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor.

3.  He is the God of Deliverance [v. 8, 2 Timothy 4:18]

And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

III. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HIS PROMISES?

1. The Promise of His Purpose [v. 9-11, Romans 8:28]

2. The Promise of His Presence [v. 12-16, Hebrews 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. The Promise of His Power [v. 17-20, 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.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SIN?

Pastor Rick Jackson                                        

ROMANS 5:12

I. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SINS OF COMMISSION?

1. They are Sins Against God (not neutral) [Gn. 39:9]

2. They are Sins Against Christ [I Cor. 8:12, Jude 14-17]

3. They are Sins Against the Holy Spirit [Eph. 4:30]

II. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SINS OF OMMISSION?

1.  They are Sins Against God [I Sam. 12:23, James 4:17]

2. They are Sins Disappointing Jesus [Lk. 17:17]

3.  They are Sins Against the Holy Spirit [I Thess. 5:19]

III. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE SERIOUSNESS OF SIN?

1. The Results of Sin [Rm. 2:12, 3:23, 5:12, 6:23, 7:5, 11, 13-14]

2. The Reality of Sin (Sin is a master- not a servant) [Rm. 3:9, 5:14, 6:12-18, 20]

3. The Remedy for Sin [Rm. 3:10, 20, 25; 4:7-8, 5:8, 16, 19-21, 8:2-3, 10:9-13]