God is greater than ...........

Good Monday Morning To You!!!

Can you believe that Christmas is less than thirty days away? Unbelievable! They say time flies when you’re having fun. I must be having a ball because it seems like time is traveling at warp speed. For you non-Star Trekkies, warp speed is the speed of light. Light travels at 186,000 miles per second. At that speed you could travel around the equator 7 ½ times in a second. That is moving on. Wouldn’t it be nice if the police could respond with that kind of speed. The crime rate would go way down.

Let me give you an update on Miss Bessie. As you know she has had three stomach surgeries this year. Things are still not totally resolved, but Dr. Carrasquillo is not anxious to operate again. He is keeping a very close eye on her in hopes that in time healing will come, Some days it looks as if it is, while others….. Some of you may not know, but I, too, spent two days in the hospital last week. My latest EKG and stress test showed some “abnormalities.” Dr. Kenneth Towe, my cardiologist, wanted to do a cardiac cath procedure. I entered Gulf Coast Medical Center last Tuesday, received two stints, and went home on Thanksgiving Day in the late afternoon. They tell me it will take about two weeks to notice an appreciable difference. I do feel slight improvement each day. The worse part is he put me on a strict diet. Basically I get to pour myself a glass of ice water, ask God’s blessings on it, and enjoy. I’m thinking about the Adam and Eve diet --- fruit and nuts. I could actually do that because I enjoy both. Are their any RN’s or nutritionists out there reading this blog. If so, a little help with this idea would be appreciated. I do not do vegetables very well, but I do like raw cabbage and uncooked carrots. Sometime it is so difficult being me.

My need for a healthy lifestyle is for me a problem. The Bible says in James 5:16a, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed.” O K, here goes. I confess to you that I am guilty of violating one of the seven deadly sins --- gluttony. Now before you get all preachy and say, “Aha, an overeater;” that is not the definition of gluttony. Gluttony means doing things to excess. That can mean anything. Maybe you watch too much television --- that’s gluttony. Do you spend too much time on the computer? That’s gluttony. For me, however, it is overeating. So now that the myth concerning my perfection has been broken, breaking the cycle, for me is a big deal, BUT, God Is Greater. That was the title of my message yesterday morning at Friendship Harmony Baptist Church.

My intro said, “ God is greater! Greater than what? God is greater than whatever afflicts you physically, mentally, or spiritually. Do you have burden? God is greater! Do you have a handicap? God is greater! Do you have a need that by all human standards is impossible? God is greater!”

Below is the outline I used. Feel free to use it for your Bible Study. Preachers, you may use it or adapt it to suit your need as well.

God Is Greater
Psalm 93
By Victor Cooper
11/27/10

Intro: (See above)

I. Verse 1 The first indication as to His greatness is the psalmists' use of the word, “LORD.“
A. LORD here is Jehovah --- the self existent or eternal one.
1. He exists without the help or aid of anyone or anything other than Himself.
2. This is known as the doctrine of the solitariness of God. Arthur Pink has a chapter on this topic in his book, The Holiness Of God.
B. Jehovah reigns.
1. It is stated as fact offering no proof.
2. To attempt to prove it, cheapens His majesty.
C. Jehovah is clothed. What is the purpose of clothing? Dignity.
1. What did Adam and Eve lose due to their sin? Dignity.
2. In the OT, clothing was considered an extension of the person, ie you are what you wear.
D. His clothing:
1. Majesty. Excellent things --- only the best.
2. Strength. force; security
E. Remember, He is Jehovah; His clothes are provided by Himself! “… He girdeth Himself…”
F. He also established the world and the only way to move it is to move Him.

II. Verse 2 An elaboration of verse 1.
A. Charles Haddon Spurgeon “Thou art from everlasting. The Lord himself is eternal. Let the believer rejoice that the government under which he dwells has an immortal ruler at its head, has existed from all eternity and will flourish when all created things shall have for ever passed away. Vain are the rebellions of mortals, the kingdom of God is not shaken.”
—Treasury of David, The

III. The psalmist testifies to God’s omnipotence.
A. Verses 3,4 The sound of the oceans are described as “noise.”
1. Noise without purpose is confusion.
2. The sounds of God have purpose, they are not confusing, thereby they can override even the sounds of the mighty waves.

IV. Verse 5 God is greater because His word is very sure. Charles Haddon Spurgeon “Thy testimonies are very sure. As in providence the throne of God is fixed beyond all risk, so in revelation his truth is beyond all question. Other teachings are uncertain, but the revelations of heaven are infallible. As the rocks remain unmoved amid the tumult of the sea, so does divine truth resist all the currents of man's opinion and the storms of human controversy; they are not only sure, but very sure. Glory be to God, we have not been deluded by a cunningly devised fable: our faith is grounded upon the eternal truth of the Most High.”
—Treasury of David, The

Conclusion: “Our God is greater than…” fill in the remainder of the sentence with the current disaster in your life. That statement is the lifeline of your life. The beauty is you do not have to hold on to it --- it holds on to you. Our God is greater!!!

I hope your week is good. If you plan to be out doing Christmas shopping, please be careful. Ladies, do not leave your purse unattended in your shopping cart for even a moment. Guys, put your wallet in your front shirt pocket. That is the hardest pocket to pick. I want this Christmas season to be enjoyable for you, so deck the halls and I’ll see you next Monday Morning With Pastor Vic!

Happy Thanksgiving, Let's Get Married!

Good Monday Morning To You!!!

I trust you have had a good week since our last visit. My week passed by so quickly I feel as if I didn’t accomplish all I wanted. Oh well, if anything was left undone, it will eventually be seen to. This week we celebrate our time of Thanksgiving. Have you already started counting your blessings? Even in the midst of trials and adversity, we have much to be thankful for. If you are ever feeling “left out,” look around. Someone is in worse shape and is having a tougher time than are you. Our family, and a few friends from church, will celebrate with a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Miss Bessie goes all out when she cooks. She tries to fix at least one dish that is favored by each family member. Really, I could be happy with turkey and dressing. Bess makes her dressing exactly like my mom does, which means I’ve been enjoying the best bread and sage dressing in the world for the last 56 years. I sure hope there is dressing in Heaven! The food, family, friends, and fellowship make for a great time, but don’t forget the reason for it all. It is a time to stop and thank God for His goodness and blessings. I just hope you show Him gratitude every day, and not just one day a year as if by appointment. I feel like since He blesses me every day, I owe Him praise and gratitude every day. It has been said that if we live a life of “thanks- living,” then thanks-giving will be a natural outpouring of who we are.

Yesterday was another great day at Friendship Harmony Baptist. My message was titled, “Our Wedding Day,” taken from Revelation 19:7-9. This passage speaks of that future time when the bride of Christ, the Church, will celebrate her marriage to the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. After the service we were blessed to be able to view the renewal of vows of one of the new couples in our church who have been married 54 years. It was a blessing to all of us and was a fine affirmation of what a good marriage is. We held a reception afterward of cake and coffee.

In the message we discussed how marriage is a covenant, not a contract. With a contract, only certain requirements are necessary to fulfill it and nothing more. Contracts have expiration dates and can be legally broken upon agreement of both parties. A covenant is more binding. In the Old Testament covenants were not made, but cut. One would say, “Let us cut a covenant.” An animal would then be killed and its body would be cut as perfectly as possible in half. Half would be placed on one side, and half would be placed on the other. Both people would then walk between the animal halves. In essence they were saying, “If I do not keep this covenant, may I suffer the same fate as this animal.” With one’s very life at stake, you can see why it is wise to do whatever necessary to keep your word. If more people would take marriage as seriously as it should be taken, the divorce rate would plummet. Covenants have no expiration date and cannot be broken. This is why in a wedding you have the bride’s side, and the groom’s side. The picture is of that passing between the halves.

The picture of a covenant teaches us something about salvation. Salvation is a covenant, not a contract. Salvation has no expiration date, and cannot be broken by either party --- God nor man. In this covenant, Jesus is the slain animal, and God walks through the halves alone as He did with Abraham in Genesis 15:17. This is called a unilateral, or unconditional covenant. God is saying, ” No matter what you do, here is what I will do.” He then saves you and the keeping of your soul (the keeping of the covenant) is His responsibility. Praise God for that, because due to the fact of my imperfection I could neither save myself, nor keep myself. Can you spell, “eternal security?”

Happy Thanksgiving to you, and please enjoy your day and stay safe. If you plan on using a turkey fryer, be sure to locate it at least 20 feet from the house or any other structure. Sadly, a family here in Lee County lost their home due to the oil in their fryer igniting and spreading to the house. Their’s was outside, but only a few feet from the house. I do not want to hear that any of you suffered a similar fate.

May the LORD bless you wherever you are, and I’ll see you next week on Monday Morning With Pastor Vic.

The Riches Of A Christian

Good Monday Morning to you,

Thanks for having me in. Let’s visit for a bit. Is it cold where you are? Our mornings have been a bit chilly, at least by southwest Florida standards. Many mornings these past ten days or so have required a jacket or a sweater. My son, Kevin, the truck driver has been running a route between Nebraska and Iowa, and had to pull off the expressway due to wintry conditions. He woke up to 32 degrees. I know before long many of you will experience that and colder. Brrr!! I'm cold just thinking about it.

Here on Pine Island at the Friendship Harmony Baptist Church, the weather is fine, so come on down. The Spirit of the Lord continues to permeate our services with His presence, and an air of excitement and anticipation overwhelms you as you enter the building. Yesterday was no exception. I enjoyed a day off from the preaching duties. I was able to just sit back and receive a good message from another of the ministers at our Church, Bro. Bob Felber. Bro. Felber preached “The Riches Of A Christian” from 1 Corinthians 3:21,22. He pointed out six gifts of God to believers. They are: the gift of ministry, the world, life, death, things present, and things to come. Pastor Felber pointed out that that the verse states, “… these things are yours.” I wish Bob would have had more time to develop each of the six points. That would have made a great sermon series, and maybe in the future he might consider it.

One point on the list was the gift of death. Bro. Felber pointed out that, “Death is a servant of the believer. It is the door by which a believer enters Heaven.” As he was preaching, I thought about the Biblical definition of death: separation. Death is separation, not cessation. Death can not only be separation from, but separation to. Yes, death separates a believer from his earthly loved ones, but it also separates him to God. He is separated to his Lord Jesus Christ. He is separated to his departed loved ones. No wonder Paul could say, “Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:54b,55) Now that is riches!

Our service was followed by a carry in dinner. Our great cooks at Friendship Harmony outdid themselves. When it was over, it seemed as if we carried out more food than we brought in. We were able to fix eight plates for our shut-ins. What a blessed day it truly was!

I do hope your week goes well. I pray the LORD blesses you with good health, and a safe week in whatever endeavors you find yourself. Remember, you may always share prayer requests with us. Send them and any comments you might have to www.preachercooper@hotmail.com. Why not do it now while it’s fresh in your mind. I’ll see you next Monday Morning With Pastor Vic!

Invitation Always Precedes Judgment

Good Monday Morning to you.

Last week raced by faster than a speeding bullet. It seemed as if I went to bed on Sunday night just to wake up the next Sunday morning. This is the kind of pace I love, though. I do not care for down time. I’m really enjoying getting out and promoting the new Church. I wish all of you could come and be with us. There is an excitement in the air like I have rarely witnessed before. People come in glad to see one another and expecting a touch from the LORD --- and boy is He touching. Our services are remarkable! I feel a freedom to preach as I haven’t felt in a very long time. Some of you reading this are with us --- thank you for being there. Some of you are coming and will be with us soon. For you we are praying for a safe trip whenever you do make the journey south. Some of you I can only communicate with through these Monday Morning blogs --- thank you for your faithfulness as well. Each of you will never know how special you are to the entire Cooper family. Some of you are part of my family. To you I make this promise: I’ll not tell what I know about you if you in turn will not spill the beans about me. Some things need to stay forever locked in the Cooper Family vault of forbidden secrets; like the time my brother and I ….. never mind, my mom reads this blog.

As I said, yesterday was another great day at Friendship Harmony Baptist Church. The music provided by Ken and Margaret was stirring and I preached a message called, “There Is A God In Heaven.” We looked at four people who received a word from God about their actions. One was king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He was a proud, arrogant man who boasted of “his” accomplishments. Daniel interpreted his dream and informed him that there is a God in Heaven. Nebuchadnezzar would credit God with much, but he also referred to his gods. What the king needed to learn was the first two commandments: Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God… Nebuchadnezzar would eventually “get it,” but not before God broke his stubborn pride and literally drove him to his knees where he grazed on the lawn of the palace. He did finally acknowledge God and I believe we will meet him one day in Heaven.

The next man was also a king of Babylon: Belshazzar. Belshazzar was a man who mocked and blasphemed God. He carried his blasphemy too far and literally committed a sin unto death. What is glaringly absent from his encounter with the LORD through the prophet Daniel is the opportunity to repent. The time for repentance had passed. Remember, Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…” Learn this point of theology: Invitation ALWAYS precedes judgment, but when judgment day comes, invitation ceases. For Belshazzar, it was judgment day; the writing on the wall said so. He learned as well that there is a God in Heaven. How sad he learned it too late.

Finally from the New Testament Book of Acts chapter five, we meet a husband and wife named Ananias and Sapphira; members of the early church. There is some debate among Biblical scholars as to whether or not they were true believers. We will leave that for them to argue because in the final analysis, it doesn’t matter. The Bible says, “ Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” (Galatians 6:7-8) Peter charged them with lying to God; also a sin unto death. How can I make such a claim? Read Acts 5:1-11.

Do you have unfinished business with God? Has the Holy Spirit been speaking to your heart concerning an issue? Remember, invitation always precedes judgment. If the LORD is speaking, you still have opportunity. Seize upon it as did king Nebuchadnezzar. Do not mock Him like Belshazzar. Do not lie to Him in similar fashion as Ananias and Sapphira. The Bible says in Isaiah 55:6, “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.” If He is speaking to your heart, that is as near as He gets. Trust God my dear friend; obey your Bible.

Next Sunday Brother Bob Felber will be preaching for us. I can’t wait! I enjoy hearing Bro Felber preach --- I feast on God’s word when he does. I am so blessed that a preacher of his caliber wants to be my friend. I hope wherever you are, you faithfully attend services somewhere. If you need help finding a place to worship where you live; a place that will uncompromisingly feed you the word of God, perhaps I can help. I helped one faithful servant find a good church in Houston, Texas. I’d be honored to help you too. Stay safe and healthy this week. I enjoy our visits and would hate to miss you. I’ll see you next Monday Morning With Pastor Vic.