 |
FRANKLY SPEAKING
The Lordship of Jesus Christ
By Franklin L. Kirksey
Unquestionably the Lord is the focus of the life of the psalmist David as these six verses reveal. Psalm twenty-three begins and ends with the Lord. This Psalm is a perennial source of strength to the believer.
I. A Threatening Appointment
When the psalmist writes, “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death . . .” (Psalm 23:4a) he refers to a threatening appointment we must keep. We are solemnly reminded in Hebrews 9:27 “. . . it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” The writer to the Hebrews explains about “the power of death” and “the fear of death” (Hebrews 2:14-15). In the great “resurrection chapter”, the apostle Paul refers to “the sting of death” (1 Corinthians 15:55-56).
Jeremiah E. Rankin translated the words of Edmund S. Lorenz from German to English:
“Are you troubled at the thought of dying?
Tell it to Jesus, tell it to Jesus.
For Christ’s coming kingdom are you sighing?
Tell it to Jesus alone.”
Accessed: 02/17/06 Available from: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/e/tellitto.htm
II. A Threefold Affirmation
When Jesus Christ is Lord there is a threefold affirmation we can make:
“I shall not want” (v. 1b)
David writes at another time “Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing” (Psalm 34:9-10).
“I will fear no evil” (v. 4b)
Paul writes Timothy, his son in the ministry, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
“I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (v. 6b).
Also David asks, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” (Psalm 139:7)
III. A Thrilling Assurance
“The LORD is my shepherd . . .” (v. 1a) expresses a thrilling assurance we should have.
The Lord Jesus makes the following statement: “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy, I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep . . . I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and they known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice and there will be one flock and one shepherd. Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father. . .My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one” (John 10:7-11, 14-18, 27-30).
Isaiah the prophet reminds us “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (53:6).
Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “. . . all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23); “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23) and “. . . if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation . . . For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:9-10,13).
The greatest truth in all of Scripture is the Lordship of Jesus Christ!
By Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey
© February 17, 2006 All Rights Reserved
"THE HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN"
Matthew 7:13-14
Probably you’ve heard the phrase, "All roads lead to Rome," but all highways don’t lead to heaven. Historians tell us of the elaborate highway system that crisscrossed the Roman Empire. The Apostle Paul often traveled the Roman Road, known as the Appian Way, bearing the precious news of salvation.
Some would tell us that all highways lead to heaven. "They say we are all striving to get to the same place. The Buddhist goes his way, the Mohammedan goes his way, the Shintoist goes his way, the Confucianist goes his way, the Taoist goes his way, and all the other faiths go their way. We are all striving for the same thing and going to the same place. They say if a man is sincere in his Judaism, or sincere in his Islamic faith, or in the veneration of his ancestors, as is a good Confucianist, or whatever he is, he is just as certain of heaven and as certain to be saved as the Christian who looks in faith to the blood of Christ. This attitude is almost universally accepted." (W. A. Criswell, Basic Sermons on the Cross (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1990) p. 25.)
It sounds open-minded to say that everyone will get the prize, that everyone will win the race, that all roads get to the top of the mountain. It has a generous benevolent feel to it. But, our Lord Jesus Christ says, "…I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me" (John 14:6).
You must make a choice!
You stand at a crossroad!
Jesus tells us to "Enter by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and confined is way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 7:13-14).
In Luke 13:24 He offers this warning: "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able."
It is not by good works or by good intentions, nor by eastern meditation or by some mystical experience that we enter heaven.
Remember that the highway to heaven is a narrow way not a broad way. In the book of Romans you will find a road map of the highway to heaven.
The first stop on this highway involves THE GOODNESS OF GOD. Romans 2:4 asks, "…do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?" (See also Luke 13:3,5; Acts 17:30; 2 Peter 3:9)
The second stop on this highway involves THE GLORY OF GOD. (Romans 3:23) "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (See also Romans 5:12)
The third stop on this highway involves THE GIFT OF GOD. (Romans 6:23) "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
(Romans 10:9-10,13) "…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. …whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
(Romans 1:16) "…I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek."
(See also 1 John 3:23)
If you would like to know that you are on the highway to heaven, pray this or a similar prayer from your heart to God.
"Dear God, I know that Jesus is your Son and He died on the cross and was raised from the dead. Because I have sinned and need forgiveness, I ask Jesus to come into my life. I am willing to change the direction of my life by acknowledging Jesus as my Savior and Lord and by turning away from my sins. Thank you for giving me forgiveness, eternal life and hope. In Jesus’ name, Amen."
For assurance that you are on the highway to heaven:
"The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:16-17, 38-39)
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:1-2)
Read the Bible and pray daily. Tell others what God has done for you. Publicly confess your faith by being baptized and unite with a good Bible-believing church.
"And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, nor forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24-25)
Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey © (1995) All Rights Reserved
Speaking Frankly on Friendship
First, we should choose our friends biblically. Proverbs 22:24 warns us “make no friendship with an angry man.” Solomon also tells us “a companion of fools will be destroyed” (Prov. 13:20). “Do not be deceived: evil company corrupts good habits” (1Cor. 15:33–see also 1Cor. 5:9-13). If you are a child of God you have “a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Prov. 18:24). “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear.” Jesus was called “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Matt. 11:19) but He “was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). Many Christians blindly fall into friendship with those in the world system—and I might add, to their own peril (see: James 4:4).
Furthermore, we should cherish our friends faithfully. This involves proper care and cultivation. Anna Holden King writes,
“Friendship is like a garden of flowers fine and rare;
It cannot reach perfection except through loving care.
Then, new and lovely blossoms with new day appear.
For friendship, like a garden grows in beauty year by year.”
Solomon writes, “A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity” (Prov. 18:24).
Finally, we should change our friends slowly. Benjamin Franklin wrote, “Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing.”
Solomon writes, “A whisperer separates chief friends” (Prov. 16:28). Therefore we must be on guard against all the influences that would dissolve our friendships. Amid great difficulties, David and Jonathan remained fast friends (see 1 Sam. 20).
You may have heard it said, “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.” Let me add, “Real friends don’t let friends miss church” (Heb. 10:25).
Be a friend.
By Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey
© February 17, 2006 All Rights Reserved
Dr. Kirksey is the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort, Alabama. He has served churches in Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina. His degrees include a D.Min. from Southern Baptist School for Biblical Studies in Jacksonville, Florida; a M.Div. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary; and a B.A. degree (cum laude) from William Carey University, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He was inducted into the R.G. Lee Society of Fellows at Union University, Jackson, Tennessee on January 2, 2002. His message titled “Lord, I Believe!” was published in The Union Pulpit, Volume 4 and is available online at http://www.uu.edu/centers/rglee/spring02/kirksey.htm . Kirksey was a writer for Adult EXTRA! of the Biblical Studies Department, LifeWay Christian Resources for five years (1995-2000). He has been approved as a writer for Dated Curriculum with LifeWay Church Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. He has published messages in article and outline form in Pulpit Helps magazine, Chattanooga, Tennessee and PastorLife, Atlanta, Georgia http://pastorlife.com/members/authorbio.asp?AUTHORID=3307. Kirksey writes newspaper columns for the Press-Register, Mobile, Alabama; Washington County News, Chatom, Alabama; and the Call News, Citronelle, Alabama.
Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Reviews of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice
by Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey with Foreword by Dr. Stephen F. Olford, Preface by Major W. Ian Thomas and over 80 endorsements from Christian educators, executives, evangelists and Bible expositors available from PreachingPoint.com. Sound Biblical Preaching is available in paperback from Amazon.com,in hardcover fromBookSurge Customer Service and on DVD from WORDsearch. Library information on WorldCat.
Sound Biblical Preaching
WORDsearch 8 Preaching Library DVD ROM
Reviews of Sound Biblical Preaching
Alabama Baptist article about Sound Biblical Preaching
FrankLink™
Send E-Mail to: fkirksey@bellsouth.net
Copyright © 2009 Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey. All Rights Reserved