Concord Baptist Church

October 18, 2020 Hebrews 13:1 Let brotherly love continue. KJV Sometimes we get it by stating the obvious. If this passage is to have any meaning at all, it must start with the existence of brotherly love or it will be impossible to continue in that love. The child of God has brotherly love because Jesus is living in us. We possess this love. It is an absolute impossibility to have Jesus and not have brotherly love. The command is to use what has been given us. We must practice, practice, practice.

October 17, 2020 I John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us. NKJV We choose to love. Love without boundaries is difficult to find and a humbling to experience. Most of us have experienced limited love. It is set out in boundaries we often do not understand. Limited love has been our experience and because of this, we grant limited love in return. Rejection by the one we have invested our love is painful. Mature love does not act this way. The love of Jesus is without boundaries.

October 16, 2020 Psalm 56:12 Your vows are binding upon me, O God; I will render thank offerings to You. 13 For You have delivered my soul from death, indeed my feet from stumbling, So that I may walk before God In the light of the living. NASB There are many who emphatically state that they believe the promises of God given in the Scriptures. Mental assent to a promise is not practical application. Our Lord has committed Himself to the promises made to us, they are binding and He will faithfully execute every promise made to us. However, a promise unclaimed is a promise misused. A promise not applied is lost. Glorify God, live in the promises. Glorify Jesus.

October 15, 2020 Hebrews 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. KJV Natural inclinations are a po...werful force in life. All of mankind is born with the inclination to sin, it is in our genes. The natural inclination of Jesus is Holiness. Jesus was not born Holy, He is Holy. The inherent sinfulness of man will not allow an audience with Holy God. Jesus, the Creator God, can approach Holy God for us because, He is Holy. We are received by a Holy God through the applied blood of Jesus with favor. See more

October 14, 2020 Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah ESV There are three basic elements needed to keep the body alive, food, water, and shelter. It is natural to seek out these elements in order to sustain life. The spiritual person needs food for the soul, cleansing from the sinfulness of life, and protection from harmful behaviors we do to ourselves or the consequence of the behaviors of others. Jesus is our hiding place for all these needs. Run to Jesus, He is our refuge.

October 13, 2020 I Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. NKJV The object here is not to shame others, but to expose others to the Glories of our God. Reasonableness is the issue. Are we actually living reasonably before others in our confession of who Jesus is to us? The righteousness of Jesus inside of us must be displayed by our righteousness before others, this is reasonable. What is inside our heart eventually surfaces in our actions. Live reasonably. Glorify the living Jesus inside of you.

October 12, 2020 Psalm 73:27 For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. 28 But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works. NASB It requires much diligence to walk close to Jesus. There is a tendency for the human heart to wander off from that which is good. Just like sheep wander off from the shepherd. In order to see the shepherd, we must stay close to the shepherd. This is a secure place for us, a place where the predator of our soul can not harm us. Jesus, our Shepherd, protects us from destruction by His magnificent power to save. Stay near Jesus.

October 11, 2020 Psalm 25:20 Keep my soul, and deliver me; Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You. 21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for You. 22 Redeem Israel, O God, Out of all their troubles! NKJV Trust is a valuable asset in life. Trust is earned by watching conduct through the lens of observation and then placing a confidence in the hand of another person who kept the confidence. The Lord, by experience, is worthy of our trust. The record is Jesus has never broken a trust placed in His hands. Jesus is a faithful friend. The confidences placed in Him are never violated. Jesus is faithful, we can trust Him.

October 10, 2020 Deuteronomy 33:26 There is none like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to your help, And through the skies in His majesty. 27 The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms; And He drove out the enemy from before you, And said, ‘Destroy!’ NASB The sum total of all our fears and desires are the elements that drives us emotionally and physically. Focusing on ourselves will not produce satisfaction. It will produce frustration. We must focus on something in order to find rest for our soul. Jesus is that focus. Jesus is our Deliverer. Jesus has the power to heal and deliver us on a continuing basis. The powerful arms of Jesus are all we need. Focus on Him.

October 9, 2020 Psalm 40:16 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified! NKJV Many in this day are experiencing the pressure of a burden which they are carrying. When the burden becomes too heavy for us to carry, we often seek a release from the pressure of the burden. This is natural. There is an old hymn that says: Burdens are lifted at Calvary. What does that mean? It means; there is someone who can lift the weight of our burden from us. Jesus is our burden Deliverer. Exalt Jesus.

October 8, 2020 Psalm 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. 8 They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright. NKJV There is an unseen force in life that drives a life. The force of our life is not visible, but exists deep inside the person who lives in the soul. Our eyes can trick us, the soul directed toward God sees clearly. What we see is passing away, the soul is eternal. A God filled soul sees this world through the eyes of God. The influence of the unseen world becomes evident as our vision is cleared. See Jesus, live in His power.

October 7, 2020 Psalm 37:3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. NKJV A clean heart is a righteous heart. A righteous heart rejects the influence of the disease of sin. The righteous heart seeks after God and His ways, not our own ways. Our way perished with the old heart. The new heart desires God. We learn that God is our refuge and strength. We have confidence that we are secure in Him. Our desires have shifted from ourselves to Jesus who is our dwelling place. Live the new heart in Jesus.

October 6, 2020 Psalm 7:17 I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high. KJV Introspection is useful to a point. A view of who we are deep inside of us, in our soul, will reveal the greatest need of our soul. It will become abundantly clear that we are unrighteous. The cancer of sin must be surgically removed by Jesus, who is righteous. It must become clear that we cannot fix ourselves. Jesus must do the heart surgery. Thankfulness for a new clean heart will drive us to praise Him. Sing His Praises.