"Preaching and Teaching" by James Philip

Inspiration, authority, infallibility and inerrancy are the necessary prerequisites for preaching and teaching. If a true ministry is to be exercised, these theological foundations are indispensable. This is implied by Paul’s employment of the word ‘ambassador’ to describe the work of the ministry. The word ‘ambassador’ is used twice in the New Testament by Paul. …

God is waiting to bless you. Will you come to Him and be blessed?

"Remember, God is promising these blessings to a repentant people. That must never be left out. His promises are grace, our response is faith, we are to call upon Him (Jeremiah 33:3) and take from Him what He offers. James say, 'Ye have not because ye ask not.'  Is that why you are unblessed?" (Rev …

Don’t Lose Hope!

Alas, sword of the Lord, how long till you rest? Return to your sheath;  cease and be still.’ But how can it rest when the Lord has commanded it, when he has ordered it to attack Ashkelon and the coast? (Jeremiah 47:6-7). It is all very well to complain about desolation and judgment in the …

Everything Can Be Turned Around – By God!

"This chapter reads like a whirlwind! And the Lord is in the whirlwind. What has angered God at Moab? See verse 26 - “Make her drunk, for she has defied the Lord. Let Moab wallow in her vomit;     let her be an object of ridicule." - this is the sin of sins. Judgment inevitably …

Don’t Try To Fool God.

"This return to obedience (Jeremiah 34:9) came, alas, too late, and anyhow, it fell through very quickly. It was simply a bribe to God, to induce Him to save them from danger, and when they found it did not work, they lost enthusiasm for God's commands. People still try to fool God that way today, …

Do We Seek Great Things For Ourselves – Or For God?

"Amidst his ministry to the nations, this spiritual giant has time  for a penetrating word for his scribe. Often the larger affairs of national prophecy can conceal petty ambitions in lesser men. Baruch wanted to be something - and instantly the discerning prophet pierced his heart with these searching and challenging words, "Should you then …

In The Wilderness

"The wilderness (Jeremiah 31:2) is God's 'qualifying' class for His children! We have so often to learn the hard way! What is your 'wilderness'? Sorrow, loneliness, poverty of spirit? Have you found grace there? It is at hand. Lord, open mine eyes that I may see!" (Rev James Philip, Notes on Jeremiah 31:1-3, Gardesnstown Church, …

A New Heart And A New Life

"Note the twofold blessing of this new covenant: forgiveness and a new heart to keep His commandments. O the wonder of it! His law in our inward parts - what can this mean but that we are to live it out  day by day. This is our inheritance. Let us claim it and dare to …

Make Sure You’re Not Arguing With God!

"Here is a favourite trick people have, when they resist God's will . They do not dare oppose God openly, they take it out on the Lord's servants. Many honoured and faithful servants of God suffer agonies when the spleen of convicted Christians vents itself upon them, Friends, your quarrel is not with the servant, …

Don’t Let Familiarity Breed Contempt!

"The impressive thing here is the respect shown to Jeremiah by the pagan authorities. Strange, is it not that the outsiders seem more able  to recognize the worth of God's servants than God's people do? Familiarity, they say, breeds contempt. A prophet is not without honour save in his own country." (Rev James Philip, Notes …

It Won’t Be Easy!

""All that will live godly will suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12). Jeremiah is put in a foul dungeon for being faithful to God's Word. There are times when all respectability is shorn from men and the bitter hatred of their hearts is revealed. None are so bitter as those who are stung by God's Word …

The Return Of God’s Blessing

"Once the stroke of God is past, the air clears and a better spirit pervades the community,under Gedaliah's kindly governorship. God's blessing on the land again appears (Jeremiah 40:12). How quick He is to turn His anger away. He doth not willingly afflict the children of men. Slow to chide, and swift to bless is …

In The Sunshine

"What price now those who say that the Old Testament God is a grim, harsh God? Bathe in the sunshine of these promises. Look at Jeremiah 31:12. Parched soul, write your name above this one, and discouraged one, take Jeremiah 31:16  from the Lord, and smile again!" (Rev James Philip, Notes on Jeremiah 31:10-22, Gardenstown …

Whose Word Are We Listening To?

"Study the end of verse 28 - 'My word, or theirs, saith the Lord.' This is the ultimate test. In darkness or shadow, it is always God's Word that stands. Heaven and earth will pass away, but not His Word. It is our wisdom to remember this all our days!" (Rev James Philip, Notes on …

When We Have Doubts

"How human all this is! Jeremiah did as God bade him, and bought the field (Jeremiah 32:1-15); then the doubts began! 'I'm the same,' we say. Yes, but do we do what he did, lay our doubts before God? 'All my doubts I give to Jesus.' O trust Him. He means what He says, and …

Satan can do no more than God allows.

“One marvels at the grace God shows even in His wrath to wicked men. Captivity is ordained for Zedekiah, yet God wills to restrain the Babylonian conqueror, and will not allow Zedekiah to be killed. We need to remember that Satan takes orders from God - he can do no more than God allows.” (Rev …

We Need More Than Rules And Regulations.

"The Rechabites had remained faithful to the voice of a man, yet Judah, spoken to by God Himself, had been neglectful of His Word. It is much easier to follow the rules of men than to live by God's Word. That is why so many Christians are attracted to 'regulation' Christianity, for it still leaves …

What a wonder-working God is ours!

"This points forward to the coming of Israel's King, Christ. What a wonder-working God is ours! He gives the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (Jeremiah 33:11). And if He can do this for a whole people, will He stumble at our individual needs? Look to Him. …

Are You Under A Cloud Today?

"Jeremiah's horizon stretches to the heathen nations - here it is Egypt, and the outlook is dark, as it is for every God-forgetting nation. But in verses 27-28, there are promises full of comfort to God's people -  “Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel. I will surely save you …

God’s Word – In Increased Strength

"Vain are men's efforts to quench God's plans. Put the prophets in prison, burn the Bibles, but God's Word cannot be locked up, and out it will come, in increased strength (Jeremiah 36:32) to confound men's worst efforts against it. How God must laugh when He sees puny men thinking to put HIM in His …

Are We Learning To Turn From Sin And Turn To God?

"If people do the same in Egypt as they have done at home, the same punishment will overtake them. One marvels at the perversity of their hearts, to have learned so little from the sack of Jerusalem. But do we learn from the judgments God sends upon us? Do they make us repent, and learn …

Thinking back, remembering God’s faithful servants, and giving thanks to God

" I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). Many years ago, in the early years of my Christian life, I was …

Expect Great Things From God!

"When God gives dreams (Jeremiah 31:26), they come to pass. Have we faith to take (Jeremiah 31:28) Scotland in our time? The situation now is much as it was then, and God is still the same? Do we hinder God's purposes because of our inability to believe He can restore its lost glory? Expect great …

Do we really seek the Lord’s guidance?

"Notice the deceit - they pretend earnestly to seek the Lord's guidance, but at heart they simply desire God to approve a course they had already decided upon. All too often this is how we deal with God.We make up our minds, then close them to God's mind. Is it a wonder that we go …

The God Of The Impossible

"Doubts come because we feel God might not be able to do the impossible. What a blessing is here in Jeremiah 32:27 - He is the God of the impossible. Look at Jeremiah 32:40 in connection with the new covenant - 'My fear.' The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and of …

The Joy Of God’s Love

"Learn here that God's love (Jeremiah 31:3) is the source of true joy and gladness and rejoicing. If we are considered by others to be dull and over-seriously pious, it is not that we are too religious, but not religious enough. Can it be that we have missed the joy of God's love?" (Rev James …

Faithfulness Is More Important Than Popularity.

"It is easy to impute unworthy motives to those we dislike (Jeremiah 37:13). When we once incur another's dislike, nothing we do will ever please him, he will only be too eager to think evil even of the good we do. Yet, secretly, he knows, like Zedekiah, that the word of the Lord is with …

Seeing Beyond The Things That Are Happening Right Now

"You get some idea of Jeremiah's faith in this intriguing story. Nothing seemed less likely than that the land would ever recover from its disasters, yet Jeremiah could see beyond them to the good time coming. What better illustration of the text, 'Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not …