Community Baptist Church of Fargo

Pastor Doug is uplifted and more than uplifted, more than grateful, knowing that our Lord and Savior is eternally interceding on behalf of those who have received Him as Lord and Savior. The powerful text for the sermon shows that our deep, passionate prayers to the Lord are heard. We each have different ways of organizing our prayers, but Christ’s eternal prayerful intercession is really the crown jewel of prayers as they bless our lives every moment on this earth and forever. Scripture tells us: Romans 8:34: "Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us". Hebrews 7:25: "Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them". Just as prayer is a good, powerful, and blessed part of our Christian lives, it is crowned in efficacy (my word) by the Lord’s intercession on our behalf. It is comforting and blessed to know this truth and contemplate it.

I’ve been a born again believer for 37 years and this is the only sermon I have heard about not bearing false witness (not lying) as commanded by the Lord in the Ninth Commandment. Pastor Doug reveals not only how serious lying is, but also how common lying is. Purposeful distortions and half-truths are actually lies despite our frequent and mealy-mouthed attempts to flee from that truth. What about when we speak of our unsaved co-workers or neighbors as “good people but they are not saved?” Are we really being kind or are we lying in order not to sound “judgmental” to ourselves or others? Maybe we need to meditate on the verse “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” This sermon is presented gently and humbly. He does not blast the congregation or the sermon audio listeners with harsh tones about our lying propensities. Rather, as the saying goes, he “tells it like it is,” and everyone needs to listen and respond to the Ninth Commandment.

This sermon reminds us not to take revenge and to "turn the other cheek" as we follow Christ in being Kingdom Citizens of love, peace, and hope rather than of revenge, wrath, and pride (which are the paths of fallen human nature). I have definitely wrestled with this issue since I became a born again believer 37 years ago. I had one colleague in particular when I was teaching high school in the 1990's who was always bossing his fellow teachers around, and I often blew up at him. After considerable prayer, one day I asked that teacher for forgiveness for losing my temper, but he said he didn't know what I was talking about. He continued to boss me around, but I listened and said nothing and was in perfect peace. Soon thereafter, I had a chance to transfer to another high school, and did so. As soon as I turned from my unholy response, the Lord opened a door for me to find a different, better high school.

This sermon is a gracious and loving reminder about just how rooted all of life -- from the smallest particles of nature to the most spectacular vistas -- is created by and in the all-knowing, all-loving hands of God. We are all capable of making good and bad choices in life, but what makes a choice "good" is that it is from God. We might even learn not to make a choice -- like not taking heroin -- from others who do not even believe in God. But what makes that choice "good" is that its goodness is derived from God. But choices about what is or is not good are ultimately hit or miss without the Word. In His Word we find ongoing and increasing delight in righteous living. The Word is from the Lord and expresses His great love for His creation, the world. Pastor Doug encourages everyone listening to practice a daily reading of the Holy Scriptures. The reading of the Word should become more than a task, but a kind of fulfilling excursion into God's Love, His Truth, and His Way.

As a preacher seeking inspiration for a sermon I shall be preaching next Sunday on Colossians 1: 9-18, I turned to Pastor Vandermeulen's sermons at SermonAudio.com. I knew that I wanted to bring out the special glory and purity of the gospel message, and had many notes. But the unity I was seeking was still to be found. This sermon provided that unity, namely that the Law reminds one that he is a sinner, whereas the Gospel of Jesus Christ that he is forgiven. Pastor Vandermeulen announces this simple but profound principle of understanding towards the beginning of this sermon, and then proceeds to add layer upon layer of understanding of this basic point. Christ is the One prophesied for centuries. He and He alone takes away the corruption of sin and frees us for eternal life with Almighty God. Christ Alone, Faith Alone, For the Glory of God Alone are profoundly brought together as the sermon awakens our minds as well as our hearts to the salvific power of the Gospel. And, as I have noted in other reviews of sermons by Pastor Vandermeulen, his preaching now has an intensity and focus that were not present to as great a degree 15 years ago. Although the word "anointing" is overused in some circles, I can only say that I believe this sermon is truly anointed.

Great exposition of this text . You are a very clear communicator , thank you brother .

Pastor VanderMeulen reminds us at the very beginning of this sermon of the endless wonders of the book of Romans. It is a fountain of truth and wisdom that could engross our attention for many lifetimes. In it, we drink deeply of Almighty God through Jesus Christ transforming our lives to that which is the acceptable, good, and perfect will of God. There are so many layers of wisdom and truth in this sermon, it would be beyond a SermonAudio comment to try to re-state them. But this commenter was struck particularly by the preacher's recounting of the contention between Martyn Lloyd-Jones and Billy Graham. Lloyd-Jones did not accept Mr. Graham's invitation to sit on the platform at Graham's first crusade in England. He explained to Mr. Graham that he (Graham) had reversed the process by which one followed Jesus, namely we do not first make a decision and then begin to move into being born again. We are first to be born again. We are born again by faith ALONE. (John 3:3) The sermon is rich with details, but it is an impassioned call to be thankful for our faith, to live out our faith, to rejoice in our faith, and to know that our faith has set us free -- it is a thrilling panorama as we move towards those "pearly gates."

This sermon was delivered with unusual passion and intensity. It deserves this treatment because Christian biblical commitments and beliefs are increasingly being challenged in our society. However, Pastor Doug VanderMeulen reminds us at the beginning of the sermon how the demonic homosexuals attacked another pastor about 40 years ago in San Francisco when he fired a homosexual man who played the organ in an Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Although the case was won in court, the man and his family suffered years of persecution. The story of that horrible case can be read here: https://www.billygraham.ca/stories/attacked-but-not-silent/ However, in the sermon that episode is to reflect a commitment to Christ that is parallel to that of Stephen in Acts. When we are blessed by the Lord, of course we should be grateful. But when horrible treatment abounds in our lives, we are equally challenged to be grateful and to respond in humble gratitude to our Lord and Savior. The sermon emphasizes that no matter what the appearances may be Jesus Christ is in control. The Lord is the Lord of society no matter whether we are seeing outcomes and behaviors we agree or disagree with as Christians. We must welcome His will in our lives and must maintain a strong witness of His Lordship!!

Such a motivating sermon to trust in the God who hears our earnest prayers.

Good sermon, gives good background to understand, thanks brother

Good sermon. It was interesting to hear what workers at suicide hotlines are trained to say to people who call in. In these times when we have an epidemic of what they call “deaths of despair”, we should have training like that in our churches.

I ran out of characters in my first comment, but wanted to add that the presentation is passionate, which added to the encouragement it provided.

I have had the privilege of posting many comments about Ptr.Doug’s sermons over the years. This sermon is a masterpiece of forceful encouragement. Next week I’m facing my third medical heart test. The first one, an echocardiogram, showed a small mass in my heart’s left ventricle. The second test was a cardiac MRI. This found everything to be normal. How to resolve the disconnect? I was sent to take a Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE). In this one, they put a camera down the patient’s esophagus and take close-up photos of the heart. The only problem was they couldn’t get the camera down my esophagus. So now I’m scheduled to go back and have the procedure under general anesthesia, not merely under sedation. Having these many tests on one of one’s vital organs is something I find VERY STRESSFUL. Doug’s sermon powerfully drove home the point that this does not mean the Lord is punishing me for sin(s). And whether the third test determines that I will or will not need surgery it is in His perfect will. All that happens to us is for the sake of glorification of His Name. The net result of our joys AND our groanings is that both give us hope of glory—a future with Christ where there will be a New Heaven and New Earth. I drew great solace from this sermon.

Thanks, SermonAudio for having the SErmons by Topic choice to find good sermons like this one. But it is sad to note that it is 15 years old, and it is the most recent sermon on this topic, which should be at the top. Because Biblical womanhood is neglected in the US, we have so many problems in our society, and the key verse is Isaiah 3:12, where the curse is given, where children oppress and women rule. Nothing would better describe the US than this verse, much better than the verse commonly brought out for May's National Day of Prayer, "...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves..." Many problems with that verse, like 'my people' does not equal every resident in the US (illegal immigrants included), and 'humble themselves' the US is not a humble country! But lets' focus on the Isaiah 3:12 verse, which gives us the root cause of so many problems. Did you know that even liberals will agree with conservatives that one reason why the Crime Rate in the US has gone down is that there are less young people around (both sides give abortion the reason for that decrease)? Isn't that like saying 'children oppress' by being criminals? How many cases have you seen of shootings or robberies done by seasoned citizens?

Powerful sermon. Thank you for uploading.