August 19, 2018  ANTICICIPATING THE KING OF GLORY  Ps.24, John 20:11-18                    

While David was living in the cave of Adullam, there seemed to be little hope that he would ever be victorious over his great enemy, King Saul.  David gives eloquent expression to his hopelessness in

I Samuel 27:1 “Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines.” His brothers and all the malcontents of Israel had gathered around him like a bedraggled gang of the homeless, huddled in a dark corner of the land expecting to be captured by Saul and probably executed. Sad state of mind from truly sad conditions in their land.

Then in a series of remarkable providences, really acts of God, David was rescued, Saul died in battle and the rightful king came to the throne. KING DAVID!!  He triumphed wonderfully and that seeming gang of THE HOMELESS surrounding him were elevated to positions of prominence, power and rule within the land that had rejected them.  They followed their KING INTO GLORY. Continue reading →

3/14/99 Hvl.        THE GLORY OF THE LORD RISES UPON YOU       Is. 60:1

Growing up in rural Kansas, I often worked for my Uncle during wheat harvest.  Temperatures almost always in the 90’s,, sometimes over 100 and after my cousin and I drove a load of wheat to town, the swimming hole on the way back to the farm was absolutely irresistible.  It was especially good if recent rains had swollen the creek to near flood stage.  We would dive into the torrent on one side of the bridge and come up on the other gasping for breath and climb out to do it all over again. Continue reading →

BIBLICAL TRIUMPHALLISM

 Thoughts on Present Day Triumphalism, II Corinthians 2:14

First: September 5, 2016,

Second: August 9, 2018

There is a place for “triumphalism” in our present Christian experience.

I say this with full awareness of the appropriate objections to the kind of “triumphalism” that exists in some contemporary Christian thought and teaching. There are some who want to preach, teach and live as if they had already experienced the full fruits of the Resurrection of Jesus.  The fact is that at present we have only what might be called a “down-payment” on the fruits of the Resurrection at work in our lives (Ephesians 1:13-14) .  The full fruits await the second coming of Christ, an event of unsurpassable glory that will fill our lives to overflowing with full Resurrection Joy, Triumphalism. Continue reading →