Gospel Dynamite with Dr. Allen Mashburn

As we move into chapter 4 of the book of Revelation, we are heading into strange country.  We just left the past as we dealt with the seven churches of Asia Minor.  Yet, while we studied those churches, we came to understand that we were, in reality, very much in the present.  Now, when we get to this chapter, we are about to step off into the future. This chapter, and the one that follows takes u...

This passage contains the last of seven letters the Lord Jesus sent to the seven churches of Asia Minor. This letter is harsher than all the others. The Lord Jesus comes to this church with no words of blessing and no words of commendation. He examines this church and sees nothing in it that is worthy of praise.   This letter is 2,000 years old, yet it is still very important today. We may wonder...

Today, we will consider the church in Philadelphia. ·         Philadelphia was the youngest and smallest of all the cities addressed in these letters. ·         The city was located in a narrow pass between two mountain ranges.  It stood as a literal doorway between Asia Minor and Asia. ·         Because of its strategic location, it was used as a military buffer city.  Enemy armies passing throug...

The church in Saradis had taken on the character of the city in which she resided.  A little background on the city will help us understand the condition of this church. ·         Sardis was the capital city of Lydia.  ·         It was founded about 1,200 BC.  ·         The original city sat on the top of a 1,500 foot high plateau.  There was one narrow road leading into the city. The other sides...

The city of Thyatira was the smallest of the seven cities mentioned in the letters to the churches.  It is also the city about which the least is known. Yet, it is to this little known church in a little known city that Christ addresses His longest letter. While not a lot is known about ancient Thyatira, some things are known and they are worthy of mention. ·         Thyatira was probably founded...

As we study these verses, we are going to discover that this church was doctrinally pure; but they had drifted into compromise. Jesus comes to call them back to the right path. In these verses, there is a word for our hearts today. There is always the danger that we too might drift off center. There is the danger that we might hold the right doctrines, but still drift into compromise with the worl...

In this beautiful, wealthy pagan city, there existed a struggling Christian community.  The church in Smyrna was undergoing intense and withering persecution.  The Lord Jesus comes to them with a word of comfort for their dark days.  He tells them that even though they appear to be so week and so poor, they are, in fact, rich beyond imagination.    Prophetically, this church pictures the terrible...

What we have before us is the first of seven letters written to seven different churches that existed in Asia Minor in the First Century. These letters could be considered from three different perspectives. 1.  They can be viewed Prophetically – These churches represent different stages of the church over the last 2,000 years.  The church at Ephesus represents the time period between the Day of Pe...

Stop, drop and roll is a simple fire safety technique taught to children, emergency services personnel and industrial workers as a component of health and safety training. Primarily, it is a method to extinguish a fire on a person’s clothes or hair without, or in addition to, the use of conventional firefighting equipment. In addition to extinguishing the fire, stop, drop and roll is an effective...

This notice appeared in the window of a coat store in Nottingham, England: We have been established for over 100 years and have been pleasing and displeasing customers ever since. We have made money and lost money, suffered the effects of coal nationalization, coal rationing, government control, and bad payers. We have been cussed and discussed, messed about, lied to, held up, robbed, and swindled...

In the early part of this century, an American ship was wrecked off the Sicily Isles near the coast of England. The sea had been calm and the weather clear, but the vessel was caught in a treacherous current that slowly lured it off its course. Before the captain and the crew realized what had happened, the ship had crashed into the rocks. In life, too, powerful currents of compromise can catch th...

Recently, as a Nation we lost the lives of 13 honorable and noble United States Marines.  People who took an oath to this Country to defend and protect the Constitution, and the people of America.  United States Marines that were not even given the honor of having their names read into record in the United States House of Representatives.  United States Marines, who were willing to give all—and di...

Becoming a Christian is about the easiest thing a person can do. After all, all the work has already been done! Jesus died on the cross to pay for sin. He rose from the dead to give life. He ascended back to Heaven to make intercession for us before the Father. The Father accepted the sacrifice of Jesus at the cross. He sent the Holy Spirit to draw sinners to Himself and when sinners do come, He g...

Jesus and His men are crossing the Sea of Galilee after a long day of teaching the multitudes. Jesus, weary from His work, is asleep in the back of the ship. As the disciples row, they find themselves, suddenly, in the middle of a ferocious storm. The Sea of Galilee, which sits surrounded by high mountains, is subject to sudden and violent storms as hot air rushes in from the deserts and meets the...

What a horrendous thought—God abandoning a nation!  But friend, we have to come to grips with the fact that if God abandoned His own covenant people, what will He do to America? Join us in this study. 

Have you ever been misunderstood? Have you ever been misrepresented? Has anyone ever taken your words and motives and twisted them around and used them against you? If you live long enough in this world you are going to face that kind of a personal attack. The earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus was surrounded by constant controversy. Nearly everyone He met misunderstood Him and what He came to thi...

The prophet Amos prophesied during the final days of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. It was a time of great military power. It was a time of great economic prosperity. It was a time of peace, joy and happiness for most of the people. Amos comes to them with a message of condemnation. His message to them is one of judgment and condemnation. His message exposes the true spiritual condition of the na...

These were exciting times for the people of Israel. They had defeated their enemies and claimed the promised land. Each of the tribes had received their inheritance and now they could settle down and enjoy life a little. It was a time of hope, prosperity and blessings. It was also a very dangerous time for these people! There was the danger that they would forget where they came from, how they had...

When we notice the first phrase found in verses 1 and 27, says to His Disciples, “Let not your heart be troubled...” Those six simple words offered hope to our Lord’s disciples in a hopeless hour. Were their hearts troubled? Certainly! Jesus has just told them of His impending death, 13:31-33; they had just learned that one of their number is going to betray Jesus into the hands of the enemy, 13:2...

We have had the privilege of observing God as He trained a man named Elijah. We saw bring him from nowhere, set him before a king and use him to strike fear into a nation. We have seen God send him through one trial after another to teach him total dependence upon the power and provision of God. We have seen the contrast between this man Elijah and others who claimed that they knew the Lord.  All...

Pride is every man's sin.  It was the very first sin, committed by Lucifer in heaven.  Join us as we learn from the Word of God how we are to deal with this sin that "so easily besets " all of us.  

The pages of our Bibles are filled with accounts of men that seem larger than life. People like Moses, David, Daniel, Paul and others, all seem to be characters that are so far above the realm of our own experience that we may feel like we can never be like them. However, I'll let you in on a secret this morning: All of these people were just that: people! The fellow in our text is no different. W...

Imagine the scene. In verses 17-22 a very wealthy man has just turned his back on the Lord Jesus and is walking away. In v. 21, Jesus told this man how he could be saved. He was to sell everything he possessed and he was to give everything away to the poor. This act would give him real treasure in Heaven. By giving away all he had this man would be accomplishing three things. 1.  He would be getti...

In Washington, DC, in the Museum of Natural History, there is a diamond called the Hope Diamond. It is a vivid, dark-blue diamond that weighs 45.52 carats. According to geologists, it is a diamond without equal in all the world. It was found in the 1600's and weighed over 112 carats when it was dug from the earth in India. It is considered to be priceless. It is said to be a matchless diamond. How...

The people are in the process of rebuilding the walls of the city of Jerusalem. It would have been difficult and backbreaking work for those involved, but it was necessary if they were to be safe from the attacks of their enemies and if they were going to worship God as His Law commanded them. As they labored to build the walls, they faced constant opposition to their work. They became weary and t...