Benjamin Ramsbottom
Benjamin Ramsbottom (1929-2023) was a Strict and Particular Baptist preacher. In 1967, he was appointed pastor of the church meeting at Bethel Strict Baptist Church, Luton, Bedfordshire, a position he held for fifty-five years.
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Jesus Was Born At Bethlehem
There is not a more simple statement in the whole Word of God than this, that “Jesus was born in Bethlehem.” But there is not a more sublime, more sacred word in all Scripture than this. How especially it rests on my spirit at the beginning this morning is exceedingly solemn. When we come across a word like this, when we read it, when we hear it read, our hearts should be filled with absolute amazement, with wonder, with love. We should be filled with repentance, a sense of unworthiness, that the great God of heaven should send His beloved Son, that the Son of God should come.
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Not By Might – But By My Spirit And Stilling The Storm
This must surely be one of the best-known chapters in the minor prophets, and surely this verse that I have read out to you must be one of the most important words in the whole of the Old Testament. There is so much in it; there is everything it. “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” Let me just remind you of the background to this chapter. God’s ancient people were in great trouble, great sadness, and especially their governor Zerubbabel, both personally and also concerning the state of Israel at that time. It seemed they were disappointed. It seemed there was no answer. It seemed they had failed. It seemed their enemies had prevailed. It seemed…
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Upon This Rock
Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was about to remind His beloved disciples that He was going to be crucified, put to death by the hands of wicked men. A verse or two after this, we read, “From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.”
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The Good Shepherd
This is one of those glorious I ams of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Really, all of them are precious. “I am the Door”; “I am the Resurrection and the Life”; “I am the true Vine.” So we might go on. “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” And here, “I am the good Shepherd.” “I AM,” as revealed to Moses at the burning bush, is the name of Almighty God, and it can never be given to any other. It speaks of His eternal, everlasting, unchanging character, the great I AM.
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The Lord Jesus In Control
Special emphasis is laid in the Word of God on the feeding of the five thousand, all these events in this chapter, the wonderful miracle that took place. What is outstanding: of the Lord’s many miracles, this is the only one which is recorded in each of the four gospels. So there is no vain repetition with the Lord, and if anything is repeated, it is because the Lord Himself would place a special emphasis on it, and on its importance.
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The Power Of The Resurrection
Have you ever noticed that throughout the Acts of the Apostles, whenever the apostles themselves were preaching, the theme was always the resurrection? You have it when they spoke to the priests concerning the raising of the lame man. You have it in the preceding chapter and in this chapter when they preached to the people. You have it in the following chapter: “Him hath God exalted ... to be a Prince and a Saviour.” And you have it all the way through: the resurrection, the vital theme of the preaching of the apostles.
