Author Archive: Bill Murchison

Election Lesson

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One of the takeaways from this election is the message of the gospel and the life of the messenger must be one and the same. I heard from many Christians across America that they could not support Trump because of his personality or character flaws. Many other Christians were willing to overlook personality or character issues, and voted to support the platform. Both groups agreed that the platform of the Republican party were far more aligned with Biblical values. One group rejected the platform because of the life of the messenger. The other group said that “pride does not kill millions of unborn babies,” and they thought it unfathomable to vote for anyone supporting abortion.

God has called the church to preach the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul was very concerned about the message of the gospel and the life of the messenger. In 1 Corinthians 9:27, he wrote, “but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” He did not want anything in his life interfering with the preaching of the gospel message.

In Titus 2:9-10, he encouraged bond-slaves to be subject to their masters, be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of our Savior in every respect.” Again, he did not want the life of these slaves to contradict or hinder the message of the gospel.

In Philippians 1:27, Paul wrote, “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ…” The way that we conduct ourselves, in speech and in lifestyle, needs to be in alignment with the message of the gospel. If we want the world to accept the gospel message, they need to see us living the gospel message.

05 Why We Worship

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Another reason that we worship God is found in Psalm 29:1-2. David begins the Psalm by exhorting us to ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. He tells us to ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name. There are hundreds of names of God, but the one used here is LORD. The Hebrew word is Jehovah (YHWH, Yahweh), and it is used 5321 times in Scripture. It means the self-existent and eternal God. The word is used in conjunction with many other names. Here are just a few examples. He is the Lord God our Righteousness (Jehovah Tsidkenu). He is the Lord God our Peace (Jehovah Shalom). He is the Lord God our Healer (Jehovah Rophe). He is the Lord God our Banner of Victory (Jehovah Nissi). He is the Lord God our Provider (Jehovah Jireh). The name of the LORD was to be revered and honored.

Although the word “due” is not in the Hebrew text, the King James, New American Standard, and English Standard Version all put “due his name.” When I think of the word due, I think of something that is owed to someone. At the end of the month we get an electric bill, and it has a due date. We have used the electricity and there is a charge for using that electricity. We get a bill from the electric company and that payment is due to them. We have so many benefits from God, and in Psalm 103:2 we are told not to forget any of those benefits. When we worship, we are just ascribing to the Lord the glory due to His name.

(Ps 29:1-2)  “Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. {2} Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in holy array.”

(Ps 103:2)  “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,”

04 Why We Worship

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We worship God because He is worthy to be worshiped. The first reason He is worthy is because He created all things; He is the Creator who created all things for His glory. The second reason was that the Lord purchased us with His own precious blood. The third reason that He is worthy is also found in Revelation 5:8-10. The Lamb of God was slain on our behalf. In John 1:29, John the Baptist declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Jesus was the Passover Lamb that was sacrificed to take away our sins. The Lamb of God that was slain is worthy of our worship because He took away our sins.

When we enter into praise and worship, tell the Lord, “I worship You, the Lamb of God, because You were sacrificed to take away me sins. I am forgiven and stand before You, a Holy God, because You took away me sins.”

(Rev 5:8-10)  “When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. {9} And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. {10} You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”

03 Why We Worship

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We worship God because He is worthy to be worshiped. We saw that the first reason He is worthy to be worshiped is because He created all things. The second reason that the angel revealed to John about why He is worthy to be worshiped is found in Revelation 5:8-10. The four living creatures and twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb of God and “sang a new song, saying, Worthy are You…for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” He is worthy to be worshiped because He purchased us. We belong to God. He purchased us with His blood. He did not purchase us with silver or gold, but with His own precious blood (1 Peter 1:18-19).

(Rev 5:8-10)  “When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. {9} And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. {10} You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”

When we enter into praise and worship, tell the Lord, “I worship You because I belong to You. You purchased and redeemed me.

Why We Worship (2)

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In the first article, I mentioned that we worship because He is worthy. The Scriptures teach us that He is worthy to be worshiped for a number of reasons. The first one that we looked at is He is worthy because He is the Creator. In Revelation 14:7, an angel is flying around in mid-heaven with an eternal gospel to preach to every nation, tribe and tongue. With a loud voice he said, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of water.” Part of the gospel message that was preached is that everyone should worship God, the One who created all things.

In Romans 1:18-25 Paul wrote that “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident to them.” He goes to say that God made it evident to them since the creation of the world. His work, His creation, bears witness of God. In verse twenty-five he wrote, “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” Our Creator is worthy to be worshiped, and the wrath of God will be revealed against those who choose not to worship our Creator. As we worship God privately and corporately, remember that He is worthy of our worship as our Creator.

Why We Worship (01)

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I have heard preachers and worship leaders announce that the purpose of our songs of praise and worship is to prepare hearts to hear the message. Is that really why we worship? What are the reasons that we worship. I believe there are a number of reasons that we worship. I also believe that there are a number of benefits that we get from our worship. I believe that we should worship for the right reasons, so I believe it is important to identify why we worship. Over the next few weeks I will be giving some of these reasons that we worship.
 
The first reason that we worship God is because He is worthy to be worshiped. He is worthy of all honor and glory. In Revelation 4:9-11 we find the angels, elders, multitudes, and other creatures worshiping the Lord. It was not to hear a Sunday message in heaven. The angel showed John why they were worshiping. We read that God was worthy of our worship because He created all thing. (See also Revelation 14:7.)
 
(Rev 4:9-11) “And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, {10} the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, {11} “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
 
The first reason we should worship is because He is worthy as the Creator. The next time that you enter into praise and worship at your church, tell God, “I worship You and give you all praise and honor and glory because You are worthy. I worship You because You created all things, and it is for Your glory that I have been created.”

Happy Heavenly Father’s Day! (from Ephesians 1:3-14)

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Happy FATHER’S Day!

  • “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” (Eph 1:3) Thank you Father, for blessing me with every spiritual blessing. Thank You for sending Jesus Christ to redeem us and to make a covenant with us.
  • “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.” (Eph 1:4) Thank You for choosing me before the foundation of the world. Thank You for making me holy and blameless before You. It was not on my own holiness and blamelessness, but because You made me holy and blameless.
  • “In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.” (Eph 1:5) Thank You for adopting me into Your family and becoming my Father. Thank You for the love that You have given to me. Thank You for Your kindness to me. Thank You for predestining me to be adopted. Thank You for having a will and a plan for my life, and for communicating that will to me.
  • “To the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” (Eph 1:6) Thank You for Your grace, which is full of glory. Thank You for freely bestowing Your grace on me. Thank You for giving me Your grace on me when I did nothing to deserve or to earn it.
  • “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph 1:7) Thank You for redeeming me. I was a slave to sin, and You redeemed me. You purchased me, not with silver or gold or perishable things, but with Your precious blood. Thank You for forgiving me of all my trespasses, past and present. Thank You for the richness of Your grace in my life.
  • “Which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight” (Eph 1:8) Thank You for lavishing Your grace on me. Thank You for not measuring and giving a portion of grace, but for lavishing us with Your grace.
  • “He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him” (Eph 1:9) Thank You for making known to us the mystery of Your will. Thank You for Your general will of holiness and transformation in my life. Thank You for Your individual and specific will and plans for my life. You know the number of hairs on my head and the days in my life. You work all things together for the good in my life. Thank You for accomplishing what concerns me in my life. Thank You for promising to finish what You began in me. Thank You for the gifts and abilities that You have given to me to accomplish the ministry and work that You have prepared for me to do. Thank You for all of Your kind intentions in my life.
  • “With a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.” (Eph 1:10) Thank You for being a God of order, and for setting up an administration in the heavens and the earth. No matter what the need, Your administration to handle the matter has been established, and will competently handle it. Thank You for sovereignly ruling over the visible and invisible, the heavenly and the earthly, over all of creation. Thank You for transferring me from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light so that I can be under Your administration.
  • “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,” Thank You for giving me an inheritance, an unbelievable inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, will not fade away, and has been specifically reserved in heaven for me. Thank You for telling me about my inheritance. I have a lot to look forward to. Thank You for having a purpose for my life and always working things out after the counsel of Your will. There is no counsel against Your counsel; it is always perfect.
  • “To the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.” (Eph 1:12) Thank You for giving me hope. I was without hope, and You have given me hope. You are the God of hope. Thank You for allowing me to be a part of Your glory.
  • “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,” (Eph 1:13) Thank You for my salvation, which you gave to me freely. Thank You for sealing me in Jesus with the Holy Spirit of promise. Thank You for the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. Thank You for the fruit of the Holy Spirit in my life. Thank You for the gifts of the Holy Spirit in my life. Thank You for revealing Your mind and heart to me through the Holy Spirit. Thank You for the power in my life through Your Holy Spirit. Thank You for the prayers and intercessions that the Holy Spirit offers up on my behalf, which are always according to Your will for my life. Thank You for the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Thank You for not leaving me an orphan, but for sending me the Holy Spirit to always be with me. Thank You for sending me a helper to help me accomplish Your will here on earth.
  • “Who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Eph 1:14) Thank You for giving me a pledge of my inheritance. My inheritance is guaranteed by You and the pledge that You gave me.

 

Happy Father’s Day. I love and appreciate You. May You be honored and blessed today and forever. You are worthy to be honored and hallowed. Amen.

 

Person praying

Motivation to Pray (Ps 116:1-2)

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(Psalm 116:1-2) “I love the LORD, because He hears My voice and my supplications. {2}  Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.”

  1. God hears our voice. He knows us and our voice. We have relationship with God and we regularly talk to Him, so He knows and hears our voice. He is interested in us personally.
  2. God hears our supplications. He knows the content of what we are praying about. He knows what we are going to ask before we ask it, but He still listens to our prayers, supplications, and requests.
  3. God inclines His ear to us. God is interested in us and the things that concern us. His leaning towards us, and His intentional action of inclining His ears to carefully listen to what we are saying demonstrates His love, concern and interest. God honors us by inclining His ears to listen to us. God prioritizes us by focusing solely on us and inclining His ear towards us.

Humility Before Honor

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In Genesis 37:5-11, Joseph had two different dreams. In the first one, which was about sheaves, his brothers were going to bow down before him. In the second one, his mother and father were going to bow down before him. When he told them to his brothers, they said to him, “Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.” God had a plan for Joseph’s life and He was going to honor him, but Joseph needed to have some humility before God honored him. In Proverbs 15:33, Solomon said, “before honor comes humility. Then, in Proverbs 18:12, Solomon wrote, “humility goes before honor.” It is a spiritual principle: humility comes before honor.

The next few years were trying times for Joseph. He was cast into a pit by his brothers, and then sold as a slave. He was resold to Potiphar as a slave. Then, he was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and thrown into prison. He faithfully served there for several years before being brought before Pharaoh to interpret his dream. After God revealed to Joseph the interpretation of the dream and the course of action that Pharaoh should take, Pharaoh set him over all the land of Egypt. He “took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen, and put the gold necklace around his neck. He had him ride in his second chariot; and they proclaimed before him, ‘bow the knee!’” (Genesis 41:41-43) Pharaoh honored Joseph before all the people in the land. When the famine came, Joseph’s brothers did come and bow down before him, just as God had revealed in the dream. The dreams came true, but humility came before the honor.

In Philippians 2:8-10, God highly exalted Jesus, “and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow.” What came before honor? Paul wrote that Jesus “humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him…” Humility came before honor. We are exhorted in 1 Peter 5:6 to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God so that He may exalt us at the proper time. Rather than seeking honor, we should seek to humble ourselves before God and allow Him to exalt us at the proper time.