Bible Anatomy (2) ….. in which we look at
Hair , Hearts, Hands … and Knees !
BIBLE HAIR !!!
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INTRODUCTION.
The Bible speaks of “ hair” over 80 times. The most familiar reference
would be to that of Samson ( Judges 16:22)…the least popular would
be that which tells women to
have their hair covered during worship !!!( 1 Corinth. 11:1-16)
A certain
Bishop of Worcester in the 11th
century, St. Wulfstan, is
reputed to have attacked male passers-by with his knife and hacked of their long hair and beards for wearing that which was being contrary to God’s Law !! ( See Schaff Herzog Ency. P. 2369)( Delusions
& the Madness of Crowds p. 361)
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(1) A LESSON
IN PRIDE !
2 Kings 14:25 “Now
no one in Israel was as handsome as Absalom. From head to foot, he was
the perfect specimen of a man. 26He cut his hair only once a year,
and then only because it was too heavy to carry around. When he weighed it out,
it came to five pounds!”
But that
hair proved to be the cause of his downfall … and death ! ( 2 Sam. 18:9)
Truly, “pride goeth before
destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” ( Prov. 16:18)
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(2)
A
LESSON IN PROTECTION .
Luke 21: 16 “ Even those closest to you—your parents, brothers, relatives, and
friends—will betray you. And some of you will be killed. 17And
everyone will hate you because of your allegiance to me. 18But not a
hair of your head will perish!”
A strange
juxtaposition of sayings …” you will be killed” & “ not a hair shall perish
!” But Christians understand what the Lord meant. Whether we live or die …we are in His
keeping !
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( 3) A
LESSON IN PEACE
Matthew 10: 29 “ Not even a sparrow, worth only
half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. 30And
the very hairs on your head are all numbered. 31So don’t be afraid;
you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows.”
“ I would no
more worry than swear,” said John Wesley. For he knew, as all believers should,
that we have a loving and caring Heavenly Father.
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( 4) A LESSON IN PARDON.
Leviticus 13
– 14 tells of how a Priest, in Old
Testament days, was to deal with a case of leprosy. He sees the “ hair turned
white” ( Lev. 13:3) and pronounces the person
“ Unclean!” If the leprosy is eventually
non-contagious a certain ritual takes place. Two birds are taken, one killed
and the other dipped in its blood and then set free.
( Lev. 14:1-7)
Here we have an Old Testament illustration of the Gospel. Leprosy …that which
disfigures and destroys fellowship and deadens the body is a picture of sin. And our Priest, the Lord Jesus, can pronounce us clean on
the basis of His shed blood …and His
presenting that blood before His Father’s throne.
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CONCLUSION. Next time you are having a hair-cut, think on these things !
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BIBLE HANDS
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There are many references to the Hands of the Lord scattered through the Scriptures. Let’s take a look at 6 of them …
1. A
STRETCHED OUT HAND … Romans
10:21 … “all day long stretched out to a rebellious people.” Despite their waywardness, He yearns for
them to return to Him. And so He
invites all sinners to “Come unto Me” with out-stretched hands.
2. A
SCARRED HAND … John
20:25-28 …
When my life’s work is over
and I cross the swelling tide …
I shall know Him by the
nail-prints in His hands…
They were hands that were nailed to the Cross for man’s sin … yours … and mine.
3. A
SAVING HAND …
John 10:27-29
Those who come to Him in faith find themselves
securely held by His mighty hand.
* Some
Christians believe that once you are in that hand … you can never get out
again. Once you are saved you are
always saved!
* Other
Christians hold that our security depends upon us not taking ourselves out of
that hand.
Mmmm??
4. A
SUPPLYING HAND … Psalm l45:15-16
He is able to meet our every need. So many folk take for granted the many
blessings and provisions sent down from our Father above.
5. A
STRENGTHENING HAND … Isaiah 41:10-13 … “I will uphold thee with my hand” is the Divine
promise for every child of God. When
the storm clouds gather … when the going is tough … when the enemy comes in
like a flood … that hand is ready to strengthen.
6. A
STEERING HAND …
Psalm 139:9-10
He guides us with His hand … He not only points the way
but takes us by the hand and leads the way into the future that He can see.
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That flung a
universe in space,
That guides
the sun and moon and stars
And holds the
planets in their place.
We’re in His
hand, that skilful hand
That made the
blinded eyes to see,
That touched
the leper, cleansed and healed,
And set the
palsied sufferer free.
We’re in His
hand, that loving hand
That lifted
children to His breast,
That fed the
hungry multitudes
And beckoned
weary ones to rest.
We’re in His
hands, those pierced hands
Once nailed to
Calvary’s cruel tree
When there, in
agony and blood
He paid the
price to set us free.
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Prayer :
Thank You, Lord, for reaching
out to me with Hands of Love. Thank You
for the great salvation provided for me … and for saving me, strengthening and
steering me day by day. Amen.
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BIBLE HEARTS
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“We are fearfully and wonderfully made,” wrote the psalmist (Psalm
139:14).
And there is not much that is more wonderful than
our heart … a strawberry-shaped organ about the size of a fist … that will beat
(or has beaten) 1,839,600,000 times (give or take half-a-dozen!) by the time a
person reaches the age of 50.
“There is no man-made machine, or engine, or force
pump, in the world to compare with it!” (The Heart of Things, by N.
Beattie, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, pp. 26-27).
But it is not the LITERAL heart that we are thinking
about so much as that which the word ‘heart’ means when it is used in
Scripture. For example, it speaks of “a
merry heart” … referring to one’s cheerful disposition (Proverbs 17:22); of “fearful hearts” (Luke 21:26); of “burning hearts” (Luke 24:32); of wise hearted and willing hearted
Israelites (Exodus 35:29, 36:1); and
let’s not forget the “hard hearted” who refuse to obey the Word of the Lord
(Exodus 8:15). None of these references
are speaking of a literal heart, but of a person’s attitude.
We use the same language today, speaking of the
person whose ‘heart is broken’ when the lover leaves … and one is reminded of
the young Bible College student’s prayer:
“Dear God, give us clean hearts, give us pure hearts, give us sweet
hearts…”
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So let us look at man’s ‘spiritual’ heart under
three headings :
1. THE
DIAGNOSIS!
We call Dr Jeremiah to tell us the condition of
men’s hearts –
The heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked: who can know
it? I the Lord search the heart” (Jeremiah 17:9-10).
Wow! That’s
serious! Let’s have a second opinion …
“And Jesus said, ‘Are ye also yet without
understanding? Do not yet yet
understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and
is cast out into the draught? But those
things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed eveil
thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,
blasphemies: these are the things which
defile a man: but to eat with unwashen
hands defileth not a man’” (Matthew
15:17-20).
And that’s what Jesus said! Not what goes into a man’s mouth defiles him
… but what comes out of his heart!
What He is saying is that man is a sinner, and that
causes him to commit sinful acts.
And if you don’t think man commits sinful acts, just
read tomorrow’s newspaper! Crime,
vandalism, terrorism, corruption, lying, immorality, dishonesty, drug abuse …
the list goes on and on. “There is
not a man upon the earth who sinneth not!”
That’s what the Good Book says!
(Ecclesiastes 7:20). And “The
wages of sin is death!” (Romans
6:23).
There are two ways one may find himself with literal
heart problems … Congenital or Acquired. And so it is with ‘spiritual’ heart disease.
(a) Congenital means that it is inherited
from one’s parents. And in a very real
sense Adam introduced spiritual heart problems into the human race.
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin; and so death
passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12).
(b) On the other hand, heart
problems may be Acquired … brought about by one’s own folly: poor eating habits, lack of exercise, stress
… all these things will contribute to a heart attack. Ask your doctor if you don’t believe me. And it is true in the spiritual realm that
we are not only sinners because of Adam, our “father’s” sin, but also
because of our own choice.
The Diagnosis is serious …
(2) THE
PRESCRIPTION
Hey! Dr
Ezekiel … you’re an expert on these matters.
Tells us what the remedy is for our life-threatening heart problem.
“Therefore say, ‘Thus saith the Lord God: “I will even gather you from the people, and
assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give
you the land of Israel. And they shall
come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and
all the abominations thereof from thence.
And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within
you; and I will take the stony heart
out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh”’” (Ezekiel 11:17-19).
A new heart is needed!!
Not just treat the old sinful one with spiritual
pain-killers … nor even spiritual by-pass surgery (which still leaves the old
heart untouched) … but a new heart!
And there is only One who can do that miraculous
operation …
3. THE
OPERATION
(a) The
Divine Surgeon … Jesus, the Great Physician.
He has never lost a ‘patient’, nor ever will!
(b) The
Divine Scalpel … The Word of God “is sharper than any two-edged sword”
(Hebrews 4:12). And as the Holy Spirit
applies it to one’s heart … it convicts of the need of healing and reveals how
that ‘new heart’ may be implanted (John 16:8).
Writing to those who have placed their faith in
Christ, the apostle Peter is able to say:
“Christ himself carried our sins in his body to the
cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (I Peter 2:24).
4. THE
RESULT!
“Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven” is how the
hymn-writer expressed it!
And if a surgeon gave you a literal operation that
saved your life, wouldn’t you want to tell others about it? And speak with thankfulness of the one who
saved your life?
And if the Lord Jesus has given you a ‘new heart’,
thus saving you from something far worse than mere physical death … surely you
will want to tell others about Him, too??
Mmmmm?
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BIBLE
KNEES !!
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INTRODUCTION.
Knees are mentioned nearly 50 times in the Bible. ( And the 16th. book in
the Old Testament is about a little fellow named Mire…better known as Knee – High – Mire…!!)
+ James, the Lord’s
Brother earned himself the title, “Mr. Camel Knees” because of the hardness and
stiffness of his knees caused by so much
praying. ( A. Whyte..p. 144)
+ After a fall on
the ice , John Wesley preached ( on Feb. 10th, 1751) on his knees “as I was not able to
stand”…
+ And David
Livingstone was found dead upon his knees in his African hut. ( 1873)
+ Alexander Cruden
( of Cruden’s Concordance fame ) likewise died upon his knees in 1770.
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(1) CRINGING . and … COURAGEOUS KNEES .
( a) CRINGING KNEES !Daniel 5: 5-7
tells of the Babylonian King whose knees smote together when he saw the writing
of the ghostly hand. As well they
might. He had been desecrating the
sacred vessels taken from Solomon’s Temple. And he had ignored the instruction
of Daniel whose God had used him so remarkably during the reign of Babylon’s
founder, Nebuchadnezzar. Oh, that men today would tremble before the Lord
… Perhaps it is the fault of the Church
that so often has painted Him as a Kind old Grandfather instead of a Holy God.
And a Church that is too polite to warn of the
certainty of Hell for those who
reject the Saviour.
( b) COURAGEOUS
KNEES. Daniel 6:10 tells that, despite the sentence of death
for those who opposed the King’s decree, he continued to pray “upon his knees,
as his custom was.” He could have stood ( as some did to pray; Acts 16:9) or lain prostrate on the
floor ( Joshua 7:7-9)
or sat ( 1 Chron. 17:16) or swum
( Matt. 14:30 !!) But Daniel knelt with
windows open knowing full well that if he were seen….it meant the Lion’s Den!
Courageous knees indeed !
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(2) SINFUL …and SINCERE KNEES .
(a) SINFUL KNEES…the Roman soldiers mocked the Son of God… kneeling .
After all, it is possible to kneel before Him and still have the wrong
heart posture ! ( Mark 15:19) Our God looketh upon the heart.
(b) SINCERE KNEES… the leper fell
before Him saying, “If thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.”( Mark 1:40) And He
who sees the sincerity of heart was
quick to touch this unclean leper
.Immediately the healing eventuated. ( Mark 1:42) Likewise, as Fanny Crosby wrote :-
The vilest offender who truly believes
That moment from
Jesus a pardon receives…
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(3) CARELESS…. and CARING KNEES .
(a) CARELESS KNEES. Gideon found his army whittled down to 10
000 and the Lord still said, “Too many !” ( Judges 7:4) Despite the fact
that the enemy numbered 135 000 !! ( Judges 8:10)
So we have the
test…at the river side…the “lappers versus the slurpers”! Those who ( probably ) take off their
sword and lie down with their head in the water are out ! Those who keep an eye out for the foe and raise the water to
their mouth in their hand are kept for the battle. All 300 of them ! ( Judges 7: 5-9)
We need to be ever
alert to the attack of our Enemy…
CARING KNEES… Isaiah 66:12-13 speaks of the Lord comforting His people
like a mother “dandles” a baby upon her knees ( KJV) !! He is the God of all
comfort ( 2 Corinth. 1:3) He not only
saves, but succours.; not only
delivers…but dandles !
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CONCLUSION
The day is coming when every knee shall bow
and confess that Jesus is Lord ! ( Philippians 2:9-11) ( Isaiah 45:23) But some will bow the knee
by compulsion, acknowledging
that He who sits upon the Judgement Throne is indeed the One whose Cross they had despised. And then they will hear
the dreadful words, “Depart from Me…” Their knees had been wilful during the days of their earthly pilgrimage.
Others will bow in
reverence and gratitude … willingly…
as they had done before Time was no more. And they shall then enter into the bliss prepared for those who
know Him as Saviour and Lord.
What kind of knees
do you have ?
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Knees down now, my friend,
Now’s the time to bend,
In submission to the Lord;
Be obedient, heed His Word;
On His knees you’ll dandle,
On His care depend…
So knees down, knees down,
Don’t turn the Lord down,
Knees down now my friend !
( Knees up, Mother Brown )
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