“ Praying in Jesus' name ” This sermon includes an explanation of what it means to pray in Jesus' name. It doesn't simply mean superstitiously repeating the words "in Jesus' name" at the end of each prayer. None of the prayers in the Bible end with those words, and yet God heard them all. So what does it mean to pray in Jesus' name? It's to live in obedience to His commands; it's to believe in His promises; it's to seek mercy from God for Jesus' sake. It's to draw encouragement and strength and boldness and perseverance from the thought of Jesus' mediation and His redemptive work. There is no access into God's presence without the Mediator.
“ The iniquity of the fathers ” Dr. Morecraft demonstrates that God still visits the iniquity of the fathers upon their children and grandchildren. However, it's very important to understand that the children and grandchildren are not the innocent victims of their forefathers' sins. Rather, God's judgment continues down through the generations because the children imitate the sins of their fathers and grandfathers. They commit the sins they learned in their home growing up, and therefore they receive the punishment due for their sins. The judgment of God that first came upon the father continues to come into that family as long as the children imitate the father.
“ A hot-tempered man is addicted to anger ” Among the many beneficial points of this sermon, Dr. Morecraft explains that a patient loving person is somebody who rules his passions and his circumstances. He rules his emotions rather than his emotions ruling him. He rules his circumstances by seeing them as events God has placed in his life, and dealing with them according to the principles of the Word of God. On the other hand, the hot-tempered man is the person who lets his passions and emotions sweep him away. He could stop it if he wanted to, but doesn't want to. He is somebody who is controlled by his passions. Because the quick-tempered man doesn't look at his circumstances from the perspective of the Word of God, the circumstances rule him. A hot-tempered person is a person addicted to anger. Anger is his first choice when he responds to any situation and therefore he stirs up strife. A hot-tempered disposition is always destructive to love and to friendship.
“ Only the Word of God can create a cheerful heart ” As this sermon explains, every Christian will experience various afflictions. Nevertheless, each one can have a cheerful heart that enables him to endure, overcome, and triumph in all the afflictions, pains, and troubles of life. A Christian can have a cheerful heart because he knows that all the afflictions, as heavy as they may appear to him in this life, are but a feather compared to the eternal weight of glory that he shall receive. He knows that what's in store for him in the future is far more glorious than any troubles he has to experience in this life. It is that thought that causes a cheerful heart to triumph over all circumstances.
“ Applicable insights ” Isaiah 3 offers at first glance good insights relating to our day, and much more when looked through into accurate, reliable Hebrew word study
“ Apostasy leads to judgment ” Dr. Morecraft demonstrates that the spiritual condition of the church determines the political, economic, and social condition of the society in which that church exists. Don't blame the Democrats or Republicans, as bad as they are. It is the church that has led America to the judgment of God. The church in America is apostate to a large degree, therefore the nation is apostate. Furthermore, when God judges a land, the present generation will hate the heritage of its fathers and will seek to destroy it. This is being fulfilled today as many people claim that believing in traditional heterosexual marriage is bigotry, and that America's heritage is racist and full of oppression.
“ The heart governs everything you are ” In this sermon, Dr. Morecraft explains the significance of the heart. The condition of the heart determines the outward life and inward spirit of a person. The condition of your heart determines what's going to be on your face, how you're going to live in this world, how you're going to relate to this world, and what's going to happen in your whole inner life. The heart determines the way we think, analyze, evaluate, and reason. That whole complexity of intellectual activity is rooted in the heart: "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." The heart governs everything you are. That's why the Bible says, "Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23).
“ Humanity is divided by God's grace ” Dr. Morecraft points out that there is no unity in the human race. The human race was united in its common forefather and in its rebellion against God. Therefore, sin did not divide the human race, God's grace did. Just like He separated Israel from Egypt in the Old Testament. God put a difference between Israel and Egypt. God saved Israel in spite of her sins, and destroyed Egypt because of her sins. What was the difference that split the human race in Egypt? The sovereign grace of Almighty God. That's what divides the human race to this very day.
“ The power of a healing tongue ” In this sermon, Dr. Morecraft explains that the tongues of good people can heal the hurt and damage caused by the perverted tongues of evil people. That should give Christians the courage and motivation to speak in situations that might be intimidating, when they might be misunderstood, when they might be criticized, and when they might not be liked. It should be encouraging to know that the healing tongue is more powerful than the perverted tongue. And however much damage a perverted tongue brings to a person, a church, or a culture, the healing power of a good man's tongue can overturn and heal all of that.
“ Speech reveals character ” In this sermon, Dr. Morecraft explains important biblical truths about the tongue. Christians have the power to restrain their emotions from controlling them. They are not victims of their emotions. Self-control is a gift of the Holy Spirit. This means that we can constrain our speech. Instead of uttering violent words, we can respond to those who commit wrongs against us with gentle words. A soft answer is a thoughtful, compassionate, and patient reaction to somebody who has done us harm, without compromising the truth. Furthermore, speech is rooted in the character of the speaker. The way a person speaks is rooted in the basic, essential character of his life.
“ The true honor of a nation is its character ” As Dr. Morecraft says, the true honor of a nation is its character, not its wealth. The destruction of the character of a nation is the demise of that nation and the demise of its greatness, its security and its wealth. In the 1800s it was said that "America is great because she is good, and when she ceases being good, she will cease being great." Dr. Morecraft also explains that unlike in previous times, everything has become political in our day due to the expansion of government. It wasn't like this so much in previous generations. But now, it seems that everything in some way or another comes under the control or direction of civil magistrates. Christians need to know how to think about political matters from a Biblical perspective.
“ God honors wise people ” In this sermon, Dr. Morecraft explains that a wise person is someone who fears God, who devotes himself to God's Word, who loves Christ, and who seeks to live in terms of God's Word in everything he does. God honors wise people with the qualities symbolized by a crown.
“ The Marxist view of wealth is anti-biblical ” Dr. Morecraft helpfully explains what the Bible teaches about poverty and wealth, and points out that Marxist views and attitudes are anti-biblical. God is sovereign in the distribution of wealth. The blessings that God bestows upon faithfulness are comprehensive and life-wide.
“ The power of words ” Among the many valuable points made in this sermon is that the saying, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me," is a bald-faced lie. In reality, it's better to be hit by a stick or a stone than to be slandered. As Dr. Morecraft says, the tongue is one of the most powerful weapons on earth.
“ The importance of avoiding lustful temptation ” This is a very powerful sermon on the need to avoid sexual sin, and how to do so by fleeing temptation.
“ A companion of fools versus walking with the wise ” Dr. Morecraft provides an extensive and powerful explanation of what it means to be the companion of fools, and what it means to walk with wise men.
“ Wise living requires knowledge of God ” Dr. Morecraft explains that nobody is going to make it through this life successfully without the knowledge of God that comes from the Bible. Knowledge of God comes with great effort. There are no shortcuts. There's no easy way to get it. The knowledge of God comes from believing, dedicated, daily, diligent, study of the Word of God. In contrast, foolishness is man's understanding and interpretation of life that originates with himself and not with God.
3/7/2021 5:41 PM
