Homilies 1

By Dr. Brian J Bailey

This book is a compilation of talks that the author, Dr. Brian J. Bailey, gave to his congregation in his latter days just before he went home to be with the Lord. They contain what he considered to be particularly important truths that he wanted to leave with his beloved Church, touching on practical subjects such as thankfulness, humility, faithfulness and hope. It is our prayer that these truths would encourage, strengthen and bless you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zion Christian Publishers
• Release date: Mar 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9781596656659

Book preview

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PREFACE

A homily is defined in a dictionary as a sermon or solemn moral talk. It is derived from the Greek word homolia, meaning converse or instruction. It is the outrushing of the pastor’s heart to his congregation.

Basically, this book consists of a collection of talks that the author, Dr Brian J. Bailey, gave to his congregation in his latter days. He preached these homilies faithfully from a wheelchair each Sunday until just a few weeks before his passing. On June 11, 2012, he went home to be with the Lord and is dearly missed.

This book includes some of Dr Brian Bailey’s final sermons, which reflect what he considered to be particularly important truths that he wanted to leave with his beloved Church. In these talks, he shares his heart on what he felt God would do in and through the lives of the believers. We have also taken the liberty to include material from his previous sermons on the same subject matter. It is our prayer that these precious and practical truths would be a blessing to your life.

CHAPTER ONE

Thankfulness

Thanksgiving in the Old Testament

Thankfulness is a very important virtue indeed. In the Old Testament, there were three principal reasons why the Old Testament saints were exhorted to thank the Lord:

1. Because He is good

2. Because His mercy endures forever

3. Because of the remembrance of His holiness

Being Thankful for God’s Goodness

First Chronicles 16:34 says, O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. This thought is repeated in Ezra 3:11 during the time of the Restoration Era when the Lord made a way for the children of Israel to return from Babylonian captivity: And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. King David picks up this theme in the psalms: O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever (Ps. 136:1).

Let us contemplate the goodness of the Lord. It is so important to be aware of His goodness. We want to have a holy sensitivity that will enable us to see the manifestation of the goodness of God on every occasion. Otherwise we could go through life spiritually blind, unaware of what God is doing.

If we are alert spiritually, we do not have to look very far to see the goodness of God. Perhaps, for example, we experience His keeping power when we avoid an accident in the kitchen or while driving a car. From a young age, we are taught to thank the Lord at the meal table. This custom may seem merely ceremonial to some, and they may pray before their meals out of habit. But when people have been through times where there has been no food, they begin to thank God very much for His provision.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:43-48, Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

We see here that, to a certain extent, God is good to the good and the evil. Goodness is like that light that shines forth from the Saviour. That light touches everyone. In the same way, we want the goodness of God to be in us, so that like a light, it shines forth from us, touching the good and evil.

We want to be thankful continually for the goodness of God. As we become more attuned spiritually, we will see His goodness at work even in small ways. We do not want to be blind to His goodness—we want to recognize His goodness and return thanks. Thankfulness rejoices the heart of God. When Jesus healed ten lepers, and only one came back to give thanks, He said, …Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? (Lk. 17:17). One key to being thankful is seeing the goodness of God.

Being Thankful for God’s Mercy

The next reason the saints in the Old Testament were exhorted to thank God was because His mercy endures forever. We recognize that we are far from perfect, and that we have to cry out to God for mercy. We know that our sins caused the nail prints in His hands, and that apart from Him, we can accomplish nothing of eternal value.

Mercy is very interesting. It is something that one does not deserve or merit. In fact, mercy is so precious that the prerogative to exercise it (and thereby overturn the law) is reserved for the head of state. Nobody can question that decision. I remember that when Hong Kong was a British colony, a certain man was given the death sentence for murder. His appeal against that sentence was turned down by the Court of Appeal and the Governor. However, he appealed to the Queen, who thought differently; she commuted the sentence. Mercy belongs to the head of state.

In Exodus 33:19, the Lord said, "…[I] will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy." He does not show mercy to everyone. We see this in the way He dealt with King Saul and King David. God chose to show mercy to David, who may have, in the view of mortal man, sinned far more grievously than Saul. God chose in His sovereignty to show mercy to David because he had a heart after God, and he showed true repentance.

In Psalm 136, we have a whole psalm devoted to thankfulness for the mercies of God. It gives many reasons why we should thank God for His mercy, beginning with Creation and then listing some of His many dealings with the children of Israel. Here we see specific acts of mercy by which God slew the enemies of Israel. When God fights for us against our enemies, it is an act of mercy. He shows mercy to the vessels of mercy, and not to the vessels of wrath.

How do we become a vessel of mercy? Romans 9:23 speaks of God preparing vessels of mercy unto glory. Receiving mercy can be a matter of sowing and reaping. Jesus said, "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy" (Mt. 5:7). Pharaoh, on the other hand, was established as a vessel of wrath as he continued to harden his heart. (See also Matthew 18:23-35 for the parable of the unforgiving servant.) How important it is to be a recipient of God’s mercy! In situations that are too great for us, we can cry out to God for mercy, asking Him to deal with our enemies or our circumstances.

Another situation where we need the mercy of God is when we fail. We have no right to receive anything from God, and can only cry out to Him for mercy. God also reveals His mercy to us when He keeps us on His path. When I look back over the years and consider the people that I have known or heard of, I see how many have gone over the edge, stopped, or turned back in their walk with God, even though I considered them to be better than I was. I am thankful for the mercy of God that has kept me.

We want to walk in an attitude of humility, crying out to God for mercy, and then being grateful for that mercy. In the natural, when a child thanks you for something that you gave to him, you have a desire to give him something else. That is how God feels. The leper who came back to give thanks received an additional blessing—he was made whole: "And he [Jesus] said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole" (Lk. 17:19). Thanking God for things that He has done for us opens up His heart and His hands to bless us again.

Thankful for God’s Holiness

The third reason why the Israelites of old were told to praise and thank God was because of the remembrance of His holiness. Psalm 30:4 says, Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

We live in a time when evil around us seems to be increasing. Many nations have turned their backs on God, even changing their laws to be in opposition to His laws. The Lord gave me a vision, showing me a huge golden wave coming in—a wave of righteousness. Rising up to meet it was a black wave of wickedness. In the vision, I saw the two waves meet. The Lord said, This is happening worldwide. The evil is there to resist that golden wave that is bringing in revival. It is so important that we pray for revival in these times.

In the midst of all this, we can thank God that He is holy—He is separate from sin and different from the wicked. He will also bring righteousness. The Apostle Peter was living during the time of the Roman Empire when the rulers were mostly wicked men. Yet just as Abraham "…looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God," Paul said, Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (See Hebrews 11:10 and 2 Peter 3:13).

Thanksgiving in the New Testament

We will see that in the New Testament, thanksgiving is taken to a higher level. There is a difference between thanksgiving in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Thanksgiving in the New Testament is more personal—it is a matter of the heart.

First Thessalonians 5:18 says, In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. This is a stage of spiritual development wherein we can thank God in all things that are happening in our life—both good and bad. So often, we may be tempted to complain because things are not going our way. We have the choice in every difficult circumstance of complaining or thanking God. In the natural, babies cry and exercise their lungs. Regrettably, that is also true in the spiritual. First Corinthians 3:1 speaks of babes in Christ who complain, cry, and murmur. However, as we advance in our spiritual life, we find that we are to thank God in all things.

There is an even higher step found in Ephesians 5:20, where Paul said, Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We can thank God in the circumstance, but can we advance and thank God for the circumstance, even if it is something we would not have chosen? There is a great difference there. We can do so because we know that all things work together for good for those who love God and who are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28). We can therefore thank God for the pain, the suffering, and the conflicts.

We can even be thankful for people, although that can be challenging at times. As we look into the Word of God, we will find that the Apostle Paul had tremendous victory in this area. He thanked God for every member of the church in Rome: First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world (Rom. 1:8). In Philippians 1:3, he said, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. Again, he said in 1 Thessalonians 3:9, For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God.

We can thank God in circumstances and for the circumstances. It is easy to thank God for the saintly, but quite another to thank God for difficult Christians. I remember being