“ Self-control is the highest kind of human power ” Dr. Morecraft explains that spiritual virtues are superior to physical strength and physical accomplishment. Physical strength and physical accomplishment are often more visible and more observable, but regardless of what can be seen, spiritual virtues, spiritual qualities, and godly character are all vastly superior to anything physical strength can produce. A person who does not retaliate when he is under verbal attack is superior to a military or political hero. The patient person rules his own spirit. He doesn't return anger for anger or evil for evil because he has control of himself. Self-control is the highest kind of human power, but it's always a struggle for the Christian.
“ Destructive language ” Dr. Morecraft discusses people who use destructive language against others, such as slander. Slander is one of Satan's most powerful tools against God's people. Because people are sinful, we are all prone to believe slander. But it's hard to answer slander. When you try to defend yourself against slander too zealously, people will say that you must be guilty because you're spending so much time defending yourself. Dr. Morecraft says that when people slander you, don't lose your cool and don't respond in kind. Instead, let your godly, consistent life refute them.
“ The heart teaches the mouth ” Dr. Morecraft points out that what we say expresses whatever fills our hearts. If we say something terrible, that is because there is a darkness in our hearts that expresses itself through our mouths. The things that we say are rooted in our hearts.
“ The measure of a person's life ” One of the main points made by Dr. Morecraft in this sermon is that the measure of a person's life, second to fearing the Lord, is the effect he has on other people. A Christian should get insight by paying attention to the Word of God and trusting in the Lord, and then share that insight in his life, his words and his conversations.
“ Pride is destructive ” Dr. Morecraft explains that pride is simply the opposite of the teaching of Proverbs 3:5-7. That is, a proud person trusts in himself with all his heart. The proud person leans on his own understanding. He believes he can direct his own paths without God, and he is wise in his own eyes. But God is an enemy of all who are proud. He is opposed to people who are full of self-love and have high self-esteem, and who think there's no one as good as they are. In contrast to the proud person, a person who is humble of spirit or lowly is someone who has had the pride kicked out of him by God. God does that by bringing things into people's lives that humble them, and also working in them by the Holy Spirit.
“ The mark of the beast ” In this sermon, Dr. Morecraft explains that the civil magistrate is a minister of God who must obey and enforce God's law. He also helpfully explains the "mark of the beast" on the right hand and forehead mentioned in Revelation 13:16. A key to understanding it is Deuteronomy 6:8 where God describes a characteristic of His faithful people. Referring to His words He says: "You shall also tie them as a sign to your hand, and they shall be as frontlets on your forehead." This means that the law of God is to govern all of the thinking of His people, and all that they do. But the evil civil magistrate of Revelation 13 wants Christians to erase the mark of God that's on their hands and foreheads, and instead submit to a new mark that he has imposed. This means believing his worldview and living according to his law, instead of believing God's Word and following God's law.
“ Righteousness is a treasure ” As Dr. Morecraft explains, living a righteous life brings God's favor whether anything else tangible is brought into your life that you can discern or not. Righteousness (obedience to God from the heart that's full of faith in Christ) is a treasure and is valuable in and of itself. Living a righteous life is far more valuable and precious than having the material things of this world. God's morality guarantees that the wicked will be punished and the righteous will be blessed, and there are no exceptions
“ God's judgement on the wicked ” Dr. Morecraft explains that it's important for us to understand the purpose of God's judgement on the wicked. There are three reasons why God brings such devastating punishment upon wicked people. First, to magnify the glory of His justice. God wants us to praise Him for His justice and holiness and wrath. He displays to people how great His justice and His righteousness are. Second, he punishes the wicked because that is what they deserve. They deserve to be punished throughout all eternity. Sinning against the Triune God is so infinitely heinous that the only way it can be justly punished is by infinite, eternal punishment. Thirdly, God judges the wicked to deliver the righteous from them. When God brings His severe judgment upon His enemies, it is for the benefit of His people and for their protection.
“ Depend upon God ” Our plans will not prosper apart from God's intervention. We must embrace our dependence upon God, and seek His presence and blessing on all occasions. God smiles on the plans and efforts of those who depend on and seek His blessing. Those who don't depend upon Almighty God succumb to anxiety, whereas those who commit their way to the Lord are preserved from anxiety. You can trust completely a sovereign God who has everything in control. The point is to say, "Lord, I can't make it on my own. In trusting You, and embracing my dependence upon You, and knowing that You're there in my life, my burden is lighter. The demands are still as many, and the responsibilities are still heavy, but I can endure them because I know You are there."
“ Marvelous Sermon! ” Too bad there is no PDF. This sermon needs to be memorized and understood in its implications from resulting prayer. Prayer that comes from knowing a God who is worthy of the praise of his glory and of his grace that rescued us.
May God raise up more with passion for his glory in justice.
This pastor gave us the quote from Calvin worth considering. "God does not need our defense. But we would be less than dogs if we did not bark when our master was under attack." God's honor, expressed in Christ, is under attack. God magnify the glory in your justice.
“ The ear is the key to the heart ” Dr. Morecraft explains that Biblical Christianity is more a religion of the ear than of the eye. In contrast to Biblical Christianity, the Medieval Church became a religion of the eye and a religion of the senses: beautiful art, incense, bells and smells, appealing to all the senses. This is why it can be called a religion of the eye, a religion of what you could see. It's not accidental that religions that emphasize the senses downplay preaching. The Bible says that faith comes by hearing; not by seeing statues but by hearing a voice.
“ 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).
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