INSIGHTS & NOTES FROM
"VERS. 1 - 6. And He went out from thence, & came into His own country. - Jesus re-visits Nazareth"
"Nazareth turned its back on Jesus." "Humanity cannot comprehend divinity. Now, no more than then, is there any room for Christ where Satan rules." "GOD'S GREATEST BLESSINGS ARE OFTEN PREVENTED BY MAN'S DISTRUST. Unbelief forfeits infinite mercies. (De W. S. Clark.)" "Beware of that familiarity with sacred things which deadens spiritual sensibility." "When the business of the kingdom seems at a standstill, ask whether the cause be not want of wish, will, prayer. (E. Johnson, M.A.)" "Vers. 3, 4. Is not this the carpenter?" "They find no fault in his character; they can only complain of His trade." "Christ knows good work..." "He found the school for His spiritual training in His practical work. (W. F. Adeney, M.A.)" "Jesus came from amongst the labouring classes" "People in high station or of high birth are very often displeased if one of humbler position excels them in anything." "Vers. 5, 6. And He could there do no mighty work." "WHERE THE UNBELIEF WAS STRONGEST, THE MIRACLES WERE FEW" "If faith be surprising from what its possession can effect, it is yet more surprising from what its non-possession can effect." "'The Word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.'" "Great & many are the things which God has done for every one of us, they are but as nothing in comparison with what He might have done, & would have done, if only we had let Him." "They had no faith - the material view destroyed the spiritual." "Before you can have the gift, you must believe the Giver. Continually God is communicating the power to believe, in order that afterwards He may fill the vessel of your belief with every possible good." "1. Unbelief is absurd & unreasonable. God has ever kept His word. 2. Unbelief is absolutely criminal. Implies forgetfulness of past favours, etc. 3. Unbelief is ruinous. It prevents man's salvation, etc. (A. Weston.)" "1. Sinner, Jesus marvels at your unbelief. 2. Anxious soul, Jesus marvels at your unbelief. 3. Backslider, Jesus marvels at your unbelief. 4. Believer, Jesus marvels at your unbelief. (H. Bonar, D.D.)" "UNBELIEF RESTRAINS CHRIST." "...the absence of faith restrained Him." "Unbelief ASTONISHES Christ." "THE EVIL OF UNBELIEF. 1. Unbelief undervalues all the perfections of Deity. 2. Unbelief insults all the persons of the Godhead. 3. Unbelief renders the all-important work of salvation impossible." "THE CAUSES OF UNBELIEF. 1. There is the natural depravity of the heart (Hebrews 3:12). 2. There is ignorance, or blindness, of mind. 3. There is love of sin. 4. There is satanic influence (2 Corinthians 4:14). 5. There is the pride of human nature." "UNBELIEF, OR WANT OF CONFIDENCE IN THE DOCTRINES, THE PROMISES, & PROVIDENCES OF GOD." "Vers. 7 - 13. And He called unto Him the Twelve, & began to send them forth by two & two." "Christ's ministers receive from Him power for their appointed work." "When called to high service, they need not care for common wants." "Vers. 14 - 29. And king Herod heard of Him; (for His name was spread abroad) & he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead." "Herod illustrates the sensuality of the world, the imperious domination of appetite & passion." "It is refreshing to see the moral heroism of John set sharp against the worldliness of Herod." "...one sin naturally leads to another" "...if you indulge in small offences, you will be carried headlong into greater." "Make your stand through Divine grace against the beginnings of sin: for you know not what will be the end thereof." "Herod... Had he heeded the faithful prophet & put away Herodias, he might never have had the sin of murder to answer for." "We must not only hear, but heed the warning voice." "Ver. 17. For Herodias' sake." "Ver. 18. For John had said unto Herod." - The difficulty of wise rebuke: - It is difficult to rebuke well; i.e., at a right time, in a right spirit, & in a right manner." "Ver. 20. For Herod feared John." "How many men might be rescued from the abyss which finally overwhelms & destroys them, how many men might be brought up from their degradation & peril, if only we were wise to seize the hours in which they are impressible." "If you would have the help of Jesus Christ; you must surrender the case to Him; & prepare for thorough treatment, perhaps for sharp surgery." "...the true preacher of holiness, the real forerunner of Christ, is the man who holds up in himself the Divine truth, as a true mirror holds the light, so that whoever comes to him, will see his own character just as it is."
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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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