INSIGHTS & NOTES FROM
"VERS. 1 - 12. And again He entered into Capernaum."
"Christ's apparent delays are only the maturings of time - the ripenings of opportunity. He will come, not when impatient men think best, but when His wisdom determines: neither too soon nor too late." "The CHIEF GLORY OF A CHRISTIAN CHURCH - not the building, nor the form of service, nor the social position of its members, nor the eloquence of the preacher, nor its past history - but the CHRIST who dwells within it." "If we would draw the multitude we must do it, not so much by eccentricities - advertisements, as by obtaining the presence of Jesus Christ. He will draw all men unto Him. Christ within will attract the mulititude without. (L. Palmer.)" "We should seek Christ on our own account; & we should seek Him on account of others. (G. Rogers.)" "'That house shall be preserved, & never shall decay, Where the Almighty God is worshipped, day by day. A.D. 1558.'" "Ver. 3. And they come unto Him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four." "THOSE WHO WOULD BE HEALED BY CHRIST MUST COME TO HIM." "THERE ARE THOSE WHO WILL NEVER REACH CHRIST UNLESS THEY ARE BROUGHT TO HIM BY OTHERS." "The Church cannot cure the world of its sin." "THOUGH THE WAY OF COMING TO CHRIST MAY BE IRREGULAR, HIS HEALING BLESSING WILL BE CERTAINLY GIVEN WHEN ONCE HE IS TRULY FOUND." "There is no more unrest, for 'being justified by faith we have peace with God.'" "While reason is speculating & balancing things, & doubts which way to proceed, faith moves rapidly & majestically forward, & sheds blessings at every footstep. While reason inquires whether the waters can possess any healing power, faith steps in, & is made whole." "If there be in your families any paralyzed by sin & wickedness, men whose moral principles are deadened, & sensibilities benumbed, by the poison of licentiousness, or infidelity, or worldliness, do you try by importunate application, & kind but constant entreaty, to bring them to the living fountain, open for sin & uncleanness?" "Similar, beloved brethren, shall be your reward; if you, with the same quiet constancy & steadfastness, seek to bring souls to Him, who is the good Physician." "...with faith, toil on; toil on. Carry your wicked & morally paralyzed friends, on the arms of prayer, to Christ;" "Ver. 4. They uncovered the roof where He was." "The best work done in the world has been work that could not be done" "TRUE FAITH IS ALWAYS CONCERNED FOR THE WELFARE OF OTHERS." "TRUE FAITH ALWAYS LOOKS TO CHRIST AS THE CENTRE OF ITS OPERATIONS." "TRUE FAITH IS FERTILE IN EXPEDIENTS FOR OVERCOMING DIFFICULTIES." "TRUE FAITH MEETS WITH ITS APPROPRIATE REWARD." "Ver. 5. When Jesus saw their faith." "If there be anything good within us Christ will be sure to see it." "If God has placed us in such a connection with those around us that their virtue & happiness will be affected by our conduct, we are evidently bound to act with a regard to their interest. (J. Lathrop, D. D.)" "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee." "Ver. 6. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, & reasoning in their hearts." "THE WORST OPPOSITION WHICH CHRISTIANS HAVE TO MEET IN OFFERING THE GOSPEL TO MEN IS FOUND IN THE MENTAL RESERVATIONS OF ITS REJECTORS" "There cannot possibly be any reasoning in one's heart which our omniscient Judge is not able instantly to perceive & to answer." "Vers. 7 - 11. But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins." "An example of Christ's supreme power: - I. Power to FORGIVE sin. ...II. Power to HEAL DISEASE. ...III. Power to SILENCE CAVILLERS." "There is no want of man so central as his need to be rid of the power & guilt of sin." "...if Jesus Christ has 'power on earth to forgive sins,' THEN IT IS OUR DUTY TO URGE MEN TO GO TO CHRIST THAT THEY MAY RECEIVE THE BLESSING OF PARDON. (Monday Club Sermons.)" "...He paid the debt; He became Surety, & He met the claim; He paid it to the uttermost farthing, till He could say with His expiring breath, 'It is finished' - till He had 'finished transgression, made an end of sin & brought in everlasting righteousness.'" "Ver. 12. We never saw it on this fashion." "God's power not to be limited by human calculation" "Ver. 13. And He went forth again by the seaside." "Vers. 14, 15. And as He passed by, He saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the receipt of custom." "HIS CALL WAS SUBLIMELY SIMPLE." "'Follow Me.'" "HIS CALL WAS A DOOR OF HOPE FOR OTHERS. 1. His salvation encouraged other publicans to come to Jesus." "When the Saviour calls, follow him gladly. Never regret a duty, or lament a responsibility, or grieve over a sacrifice required." "NO MAN SHOULD PERMIT HIS BUSINESS OR HIS SOCIAL SURROUNDINGS TO HINDER HIM FROM FOLLOWING CHRIST." "Ver. 16. And when the scribes & Pharisees saw Him eat with publicans & sinners." "The most alarming sin is the self-delusion that we have no sin." "The Christian must go into the company of the morally depraved with right views of their sad condition, & with an intense desire for their recovery. The Christian can give forth healing influences to the morally depraved by kindly words, by gentle disposition, by judicious teaching, & by unpretentious example." "Ver. 17. They that are whole have no need of the physician." "Without repentance none can be saved. Let all, therefore, lay hold on it without delay." "Christ is the soul's Physician, skilled to heal all its diseases." "He came to call SINNERS." "All sinners." "He came to call to REPENTANCE." "Sin, like sickness, is very disabling. It prevents our serving God. We cannot pray or praise God aright" "Fearfully polluting." "Contagious. A man cannot be a sinner alone." "Most men are unconscious of the misery of the fall." "Oh, what wretchedness was mine before I laid hold on Christ." "Man cannot cure himself." "Jesus Christ never came into the world merely to explain what sin is, but to inform us how it can be removed." "...for the terrible sickness of sin none but Christ - 'Neither is there salvation in any other'" "There needs no other." "There is no relapse where Christ heals" "...a new heart also does He give him, & a right spirit does He put within him." "Vers. 18 - 20. And the disciples of John & of the Pharisees used to fast." "The more appetite is indulged, the less the soul can act with energy, & the more the man shrinks from self-denial." "...the only cheerful Christianity is a Christianity that draws its gladness from deep personal experience of communion with Jesus Christ." "Vers. 21, 22. No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment." "Learn the methods of the Spirit's working & follow them. (D. Davies, M. A.)" "The 'inner man' must have its new attire. You must put off the old garment & put on the new. You must 'put on Christ Jesus the Lord, & walk in Him.' Do not try to mend the old nature. Seek a new one. Old habits will not do for a new spirit, & yet we cling to them, or they cling to us" "Things once pleasant to us will now be unpleasant & irksome. Many amusements & pleasures will be instantly abandoned, when we have got the right spirit within us; (Congregational Pulpit.)" "Vers. 23, 24. And it came to pass, that He went through the cornfields on the sabbath day." "Pharisaical pride makes men set themselves up for judges of everything, & require an account of everything to be given them." "Vers. 25, 26. And He said unto them, Have ye never read what David did?" "Use of the Scriptures: - The cause of so many gross & foolish opinions which many amongst us hold & maintain, is nothing else but their ignorance of the Scriptures, either because they read them not duly & diligently, or else because they understand them not aright." "Vers. 27, 28. And He said unto them, the Sabbath was made for man." "It is a simple fact in medical science, that the human frame is not made so as to bear up under constant labour without rest." "It is the Lord's day. If is for Him to say how the day shall be spent." "'The Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath' - the JUDGE to punish the breach of it." "The Sabbath was made for man: - I. As a periodical reprieve from the curse of labour. ...III. As a day of holy convocation for the purpose of worship & instruction. IV. As an emblem & an earnest of the saint's everlasting rest (G. Brooks.)" "Exertion demands rest." "A world without a Sabbath: - A world without a Sabbath would be like a man without a smile, like a summer without flowers, & like a homestead without a garden. It is the joyous day of the whole week. (H. W. Beecher.)" The Biblical Illustrator, Baker, pgs. 58 - 96.
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AuthorCross Preaching Pentecostal Pastor. Husband to Tonia, Father to 3 beautiful girls, Monica, Zoe & Briana, & Grandfather to Wesley & Elliott Archives
September 2023
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