INSIGHTS & NOTES FROM
"VER. 1 - 5. And there was a man there which had a withered hand."
"...a vivid picture of that infirmity which destroys a man's power of doing anything well in this world of ours." "...human skill, power, & usefulness, & for the studied adaptation of means to ends." "There are many men - & professing Christians, too - who are so full of obstinate prejudices that they invariably find fault with every good work that has to be done, & with every possible way of doing it; but who very seldom do anything themselves. Their hand is withered." "...while we 'work out salvation with fear & trembling,' God is working 'within us both to will & do of His good pleasure.'" "'Stretch forth thine hand.'" "It is easy to see that there was FAITH required." "Faith is the mysterious moral force which thrusts out the hand of humanity to take the gift Divine." "The faith of this man was accompanied by OBEDIENCE." "...in the very act of obedience he found the blessing that he craved. This obedience was the fruit of his faith, & the faith which does not produce obedience is of little worth." "It seems evident that there was needed in the case of this man a STRONG RESOLUTION." "Your will is all God waits for." "Faith is shown in doing what He commands even when it seems to be impossible." "Where there is the 'obedience of faith,' power will be granted. (A. F. Muir, M. A.)" "It is as natural for Christ to show unmerited kindness as for the sun to shed its light, the rose to diffuse its fragrance. (D. Davies, M. A.)" "They watched Him with an evil eye." "Ver. 5. Being grieved for the hardness of their hearts." "He hated the thing which alienated the sons from the Father." "We are always right in being angry with sin." "We must be impartial being displeased at sin wherever & in whomsoever we find it; as well at our own sins, as at the sins of others; as well at the faults of friends as of enemies." "It is the duty of a Christian to sorrow not only for his own sins, but also to be grieved for the sins of others." "Our indignation against wickedness must be tempered by compassion for the persons of the wicked. (T. H. Horne, D. D.)" "THE CAUSES OF HARDNESS OF HEART. 1. By neglecting the word & ordinances of God." "When painful events do not rouse to seriousness, & fiery trials do not melt to tenderness, we generally see increased levity & obstinacy." "By persisting in any known course of sin (Deuteronomy 29:19)." "It is HARD when nothing moves it;" "Signs whereby men may know whether their hearts are hardened: - 1. If they are not moved to repentance & true humiliation for sin, by seeing or hearing of the judgments of God inflicted on themselves or others;" "2. If the mercies of God, shown to themselves & others, do not affect them & persuade their hearts to turn to God (Romans 2:4). 3. If the word preached fail to humble them in the sight of God; but the more the hammer of the Word beats on their hearts, the harder they become, like the smith's anvil." "Let them consider how fearful their case is, & fear to continue in it." "Remedies for hard-heartedness:" "Be diligent & constant in hearing the Word of God. This is the hammer which will break the stone; the fire to melt & thaw the heart frozen in sin." "Guard against negligence & coldness in... prayer, hearing & reading the Word, etc." "Ver. 6. How they might destroy Him. - The meanness, evil & sinfulness of hatred" "Sin breeds sin: - The Pharisees having before harboured malice & hatred in their hearts, now show it by seeking Christ's death." "Our envy will make us dislike His goodness; our pride, His authority; our evil, the purity of His precepts;" "Vers. 7, 8. Came unto Him." "If some will not have the Saviour, others will; God's eternal purpose will stand, & the kingdom of His anointed will come." "Ver. 9. A small ship." "Some persons cannot preach unless they have a proper pulpit, their priestly robe, organ, choir, & other things; but Christ is at home anywhere, & can preach afloat as well as in the synagogue." "Ver. 10. They pressed upon Him for to touch Him." "Ver. 11. And unclean spirits, when they saw Him, fell down before Him. - Christ's supremacy over evil spirits" "Evil confesses the superiority of good" "They worshipped, but it was in demon fashion, the worship of terror." "HE WHOSE SUPREMACY IS ACKNOWLEDGED BY EVIL SPIRITS IS YOUR FRIEND & SAVIOUR, IF YOU WILL ACCEPT HIM AS SUCH." "Following the Redeemer, you will be shortly where evil spirits cannot follow you. (W. Leask, D. D.)" "Ver. 12. That they should not make Him known." "Vers. 13 - 21. And He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him." "Whoever looks upon the ministerial office as a state of ease, & not of continual labour, understands but very little these words of Christ. (Quesnet.)" "Nothing Divine is ever done by chance. (G. R. Leavitt.)" "Christ Himself commissioned & authorized these agents. 1. To preach the gospel. 2. To cast out devils. (J. R. Thomson, M. A.)" "Ver. 17. And He surnamed them Boanerges, which is The sons of thunder." "Barnabas & Boanerges, 'the sons of consolation & of thunder' make a good mixture." "Discretion must hold zeal by the heel." "Ver. 21. He is beside Himself. - The sinner mad, not the saint" "Vers. 22 - 26. And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub." "Labour not only to know the Word of God, but for a sanctified heart to yield obedience to it." "Look to they knowledge, therefore, that it be such as not only floats in the head but goes down to the heart, & causes it to yield obedience to the things thou hast learned out of the Word of God. Get this wisdom above all possessions, & thou shalt be rich & learned indeed. (G. Peter.)" "On which side are we? For Christ, or against Him? Are we His open enemies? Are we His half-hearted friends? Are we His faithful disciples?" "'He that is not with Me is against Me' (Matthew 12:30)." "The friends of Christ are EVIDENCED BY THEIR OBEDIENCE - 'Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.'" "That Christ came & destroyed the works of the devil shows that He is Satan's enemy & Satan's conqueror." "Ver. 27. No man can enter into a strong man's house & spoil his goods." "Christ is showing that He casts out demons by a greater power than Satan's, viz., by the power of His own Godhead." "Vers, 28, 30. All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men." "Beware of sinning that grace may abound; beware of turning the grace of God into wantonness, for God has said He will not be merciful to such as sin, presuming on His mercy." "...blasphemy against God" "This sin is committed in the following ways, 1. By attributing to God that which is dishonourable to Him, & unbeseeming His Majesty; e.g., to say He is unjust, cruel, or the author of sin, etc. 2. By taking from God, & denying unto Him that which belongs to Him. 3. By attributing the properties of God to creatures. 4. By speaking contemptibly of God." "Labour for a reverent fear of God in our hearts." "How significant it is that it is the attributing goodness, righteousness of word, life, action, 'good works' in short, to an evil source, which is the unpardonable sin" "The inevitable sign of the commission of the unpardonable sin is a condition in which men are past feeling; & if a man has come into that condition in which he is unpardonable - incurable - the sign will be that he does not care." "Vers. 31 - 35. There came then His brethren & His mother. - Spiritual kinship with Christ" "The grace of faith engrafts the believer into the stock of Christ, & brings him within His pedigree, making him to be of most near kindred with Him in a spiritual manner: it makes Christ & the believer as near to each other as natural parents & children; yea, as husband & wife, for it marries them together, whence it is that Christ is said to be the Husband of the true Church." "To be Christ's disciple is to belong to His family." "THE WEAKNESS OF THE TIES OF NATURE, WHEN COMPARED WITH THOSE TIES TO WHICH THE GOSPEL GIVES EXISTENCE." "THE HONOURABLE POSITION OF BELIEVERS - the kinsmen of Christ." "All that our kinsman has becomes ours." The Biblical Illustrator, Baker, pgs. 96 - 121.
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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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