Chardon church of Christ

Letting Go

Matthew 16:24-26

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

I heard a story about a group that went white water rafting on a particularly dangerous stretch of river.
The raft came to a spot known as “the hole,” where a powerful whirlpool threatened to spin and then spill the raft.
Sure enough the raft overturned and everyone inside was sucked down by the current.
One woman clung tightly to the raft, frantically trying to keep her head above water.
What she did not realize was that by doing so she was also in danger of being dragged underneath the raft by the current and smothered by the very thing she was attempting to use to save her life.

Her friends, who had let go of the raft made their way to the security of a nearby rock, they pleaded with her to let go of the raft and let the current and her life jacket do the work.
At first she was unwilling to do so.
Finally, she decided to let go, she released her grip and disappeared under the water.
A few moments later she popped up further down the river and was pulled to safety.

Letting go can be a very difficult thing.
When we let go we become vulnerable.
Many people refuse to let go of things in their life because they are afraid of doing so.
Whether it is a sin, some negative trait, bitterness, pride or worry we are often reluctant to simply let go.

Sometimes we feel much safer holding on, but we do not realize, like the woman holding onto the raft that the thing we are holding onto is a great danger to us.

I am reminded of the story of when the disciples were out at sea and a great storm came.
The Bible tells us that the disciples were afraid, they feared for their lives.
At that moment they became even more afraid because they saw what looked to them like a ghost walking out on the water towards them.
As the figure drew closer they saw that it was not a ghost, but it was in fact Jesus.

Then Peter asked the Lord to allow him to come to Him on the water.
Peter climbed out of the boat and walked on the water towards Jesus.
Peter is often criticized for his over-zealous moments, but Peter had the faith to let go of the comfort of the boat and come to Jesus.

We all have our boats.  We have those things we are clinging to and refuse to let go of, however before we can get to Jesus we must let go.

What is it today that is holding you back from letting go?
Is it fear of the unknown?
Is it a fear of what others may think of you?
Perhaps some never change because they don’t want others to think less of them.
Is it an unwillingness to change?
Is it your pride?
Jesus taught that anyone who wants to save his life must first lose it.
Before we can find true life, we must deny ourselves.

What Does It Mean to Let Go Of Self?
An old farmer frequently described his Christian experience by saying, “Well, I’m not making much progress, but I am established.”
One spring while he was hauling some logs his wagon wheels stuck down to the axles in mud.
Try as he would he could not get the wheels out of the mud.
Defeated he sat a top of the logs viewing the dismal situation.

Not long afterwards a neighbor happened to pass by and said to the farmer, “Well, I see you aren’t making much progress, but you must be content because you sure are established.”

Letting go of self is more than just being well established.
There may be some of us who are very well established, but who are not growing.
There are some of us who may refuse to let go of self and take up our cross.

Jesus taught that we cannot serve two masters.
A ship cannot fly the flag of 2 different countries.
When we deny ourselves and take up our cross we are allowing Jesus to take over as Lord of our lives.
When Jesus is Lord it means he sets the rules.
It means that we are willing to submit ourselves under his authority.

Jesus taught in Matthew 7 , 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."
When Jesus becomes Lord it means we concede control of our lives over to Him.

Romans 6:6-7
6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
7 For one who has died has been set free from sin.
We learn that at our baptism we not only received the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit, but we died.
We died with Christ and our old self was crucified in Him.

As Christians we do not gratify our sinful desires any longer.
In other words as a Christian there are still things that are sinful that I would LIKE to do.
I am still TEMPTED to do wrong things, however, I REFUSE to do them because I am not going to gratify those desires any longer because I am not living to myself.
I am not living my life seeking to make myself feel good.
As Christians this dying to self ought to be marked by a distinct change in character.

Colossians 3:5-10
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.
8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

If we have really died to self then we will not always have to give into those temptations and desires we have.
The new self should be increasingly more like God like in its actions.

Ephesians 4:22-24
22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

We No Longer Live To Ourselves
Galatians 2:20
"20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
We need to understand that we no longer live to ourselves.
We have died.
Let us remember that dying to self means that WE no longer live, but it is CHRIST living in us.

Why Is Letting Go Of Self So Difficult?
Mark 10:17-22
17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”
18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’
‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’
‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’
‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”
20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”
21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”
22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

The idea of Heaven and eternity with God sounds great and perhaps many would volunteer to receive that, however the idea of signing your life away doesn’t sound too appealing, does it?
We love those feel good verses of Scripture, but we begin to squirm a little when we read of the cost of following Jesus.

We love to be in control.
We get a little uncomfortable when we read of denying ourselves and taking up our cross.
That doesn’t sound too appealing.
However, the invitation to be a Christian is totally free, but the call us for us to remove ourselves from the controls.

II Timothy 3:2
William Ernest Henley in his famous poem entitled “Invictus” said, “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.”
Many of us have bought into this philosophy that we are the master of our lives.
We like to be in control.
I would much rather be in control of a situation than have someone else in control of the situation.

I am one of those people that would rather do it myself than entrust it to someone else.
That is not a good attribute.
We need to learn to allow Jesus to be the master of our fate and the captain of my soul.

Perhaps some feel like it is a violation of their freedoms to lay aside themselves and let Jesus take control.
Perhaps they feel that is the sign of somebody that is weak and vulnerable.
Jesus taught that we must lose our lives to really find it.
By that he means that we give up the project of making OURSELVES the ultimate reference point in our world.
We are not number one.
The universe does not revolve around us.

We think we know what is best.
A pirate was returning home from a long journey, he had spent many years lying, stealing, and cheating in a far away land. He has accumulated a great chest full of treasure.
The pirate held on tightly to that chest because he saw in it, something of much more value than just jewels and gold, rather he saw in that chest the fulfillment of his dreams, hopes and aspirations.

He knew that the treasure was the key to his “good life”.
Having already obtained a great fortune the pirate decided to return home and after boarding the ship and having traveled a great distance from shore a storm arose.

It did not take long for the storm to overtake the ship and eventually break the ship into pieces.
Eventually, the pirate and his treasure plunged into the sea. He began to sink holding tightly to his treasure.
As he was sinking all that went through his mind was how he could get his treasure safely to shore.

However, he began to realize that if he continued to hold onto that chest he would not be able to make it to shore, and that same chest which he saw as his life... was now causing him to face death.
Reluctantly the pirate let go of that chest and began to swim towards shore.

We are a lot like that pirate.
We hold on to our agenda and ego thinking that they are bringing us life; however that is not the reality.
They are really pulling us towards our death and at some point we must let go.

Sometimes we think we know what is best for our lives. Sometimes we think that we do not need someone else to control us because we are capable of making those good decisions on our own.

However, I do not think we always know what is best. I believe our idea of good has been tainted by sin.
Jeremiah says, “The heart is exceeding deceitful above all things.”

I believe it is that deception that allows us to think we on our own can know what is best for our lives.
We need to learn plainly that the power of a good and godly life is not in us alone, but it comes from Christ.
We need to trust that Jesus knows what is best for us even better than we do.

We live in a very selfish society. The idea of sacrificing and giving up something doesn’t sound appealing to many people.
We are a people that want to know the price of everything and the cost of nothing.
We want to get as much as we can while doing little to get it.

The idea of delaying gratification seems ridiculous to many.
We live by the philosophy, “if it feels good it must be right.”
We do not like to deny ourselves any pleasure or anything in the world.
We think the more we have and the more we indulge in… the more successful we are.

In Genesis 25 we read a story about two brothers
Jacob and Esau.
The Bible tells us that Esau was a rugged man who loved the outdoors. He was a Daddy’s boy.
Jacob on the other hand was a momma’s boy.
One day Esau came home from hunting and was starving.
Jacob just happened to be cooking up some stew.
He offered Esau some stew under one condition.
Jacob would give Esau a bowl of stew if Esau sold him his birthright. Esau agreed.

Now, the birthright would have been a big deal.
It would have meant an extra portion of inheritance.
Esau could not deny himself anything but could only live for the now.

Many of us are like that today.
Jesus came on the scene and called us to be willing to sacrifice, deny ourselves and give up our fleshly desires.

There is a quote that says “The WISE gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose”.

What Must We do to Let go of Self?
We must step down.
Perhaps we need to have the mentality that John the Baptist had when he said I must decrease and Christ must increase.
We must be willing to step aside and let Him have the glory and honor of all that we do or accomplish.

We must step down from our position of authority over our lives and give him the reins.
There are many tools we can use such as prayer, Bible study, service, worship, and fellowship, but the reality is we must train ourselves to be godly.

We must understand the reward.
Let us understand that the life of denying self and taking up your cross is the good life.
It is a better life to live.

Philippians 3:7-9
7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

Paul was able to say looking back on his life that dying to self was the best decision he ever made.
Did he make sacrifices? Certainly!
Did it cost him? Greatly!

However… it was worth it.
He no longer was living based on his righteousness.
When we die to self we lose the righteousness of our own, but we gain the righteousness of Christ.
It is worth the sacrifice because Jesus is Lord no matter what. The reward is great for those who die to self.

Philippians 3:18-20
18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

There was a psychology professor who walked around on a stage while teaching stress management principles to an auditorium filled with students.
As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the typical “glass half empty or glass half full” question.
Instead, with a smile on her face, the professor asked, “How heavy is this glass of water I’m holding?”

Students shouted out answers ranging from eight ounces to a couple pounds.
She replied, “From my perspective, the absolute weight of this glass doesn’t matter.
It all depends on how long I hold it.
If I hold it for a minute or two, it’s fairly light.
If I hold it for an hour straight, its weight might make my arm ache a little.
If I hold it for a day straight, my arm will likely cramp up and feel completely numb and paralyzed, forcing me to drop the glass to the floor.
In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it feels to me.”

As the class shook their heads in agreement, she continued,
“Your stresses and worries in life are very much like this glass of water.
Think about them for a while and nothing happens.
Think about them a bit longer and you begin to ache a little. Think about them all day long, and you will feel completely numb and paralyzed — incapable of doing anything else until you drop them.”

INVITATION

Every Person

Luke 10:25-37

Good morning. I hope your week went well. My brother, Mom, and I are going to Chicago in a few weeks' time. My brother and I are going to go check out the Comic-Con they have up there. There's cool stuff you can see and do, so we like to go to those. We've gone to one in Pittsburgh and one in Cleveland. We thought we might as well go to Chicago. Mom and Dad are tagging along. They'll be checking out the city while we're there.

One thing I always notice, and I think most people notice when you're in big cities like that, is there's a lot of homelessness. There's a lot of poverty. In a place like that, there are a lot of people. You see people living in the tallest buildings you may ever see. Rich, poor, people just making it, people doing well, everyone alike. You pass by a lot of people every day who, honestly, I'm not sure will make it to the end of that day.

That somewhat brings me to today's lesson. We will be in Luke 10:25-37 for this lesson. If you recognize that, it is the parable of the Good Samaritan. I will start with verses 25 through 27. “On one occasion, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. Teacher, he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life? What is written in the law, he replied. How do you read it, he answered. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. And with all your strength and with all your mind.
And love your neighbor as yourself.”

The lawyer here is referencing Moses' words in Deuteronomy 6:5-6. These are the Lord's commandments to us not just to love our God, but to love our neighbors as well. These are the cornerstones of being saved and the essence of being a follower of Christ. To love your neighbor as you love yourself.

What does this look like? There are plenty of examples in the Bible. Many times Jesus attended to the poor and the weak. In Mark 12:28-31 it says, “One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer. He asked of all the commandments, which is the most important? The most important one, answered Jesus, is this, hear O Israel. The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. And with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this love your neighbor as yourself. There is no command greater than these two.”

These commands are repeated many times throughout the Bible. Constantly, you hear them throughout the entire thing because they are important. That is because we need to understand them, and we need to know them. To make sure that we hear this, and we notice, it's repeated.

Moving on through verses 28 through 29, it says, “You have answered correctly, Jesus replied. Do this and you will live. But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, And who is my neighbor? The lawyer asked, Who is my neighbor?”

A reasonable question, but one he surely knows the answer to. It is my belief that he just does not want to admit that his neighbor is everyone. He wants it to be only the people he believes it should be. Really, he is asking, who must I treat neighborly? Am I allowed to choose? Can I pick and choose the people I treat like neighbors? Or must I treat everyone like a neighbor even if he does not want to?

In Romans 12.20, we are told, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

In other words, we are meant to treat our enemy like a neighbor because that sounds neighborly, right? Feed him, give him something to drink. If we are to treat our enemies neighborly, then as Christians, we ought to treat everybody as neighbors? If we are supposed to treat the people who are against us, then we should treat everyone that way.

In verses 30-32, it says, “A priest happened to be going down the same road. And when he saw the man, he passed by the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.”

Notice who passed over the man here. Notice who they were. It was a priest and a Levite—the spiritual leaders of the day, the people who had authority and power. These are people who were respected. Notice, they just walked by. They saw the man and did nothing. They were not without reason, of course. They could have assumed that it was a ploy. It was a robber trying to get them in close to take their things, or that there were other people waiting for someone to just come by and help and lead people into a trap. That’s not a bad assumption, but as leaders of their people, as spiritual leaders and representatives of God, They should have known, and done better.

As the lawyer earlier mentioned, you must love your neighbor as yourself. The men here did not even have the decency to ask the man if he was okay, nor to show him the love and compassion of actually taking care of him. It seems like, they didn't even spare him a second glance.

In 1 John 4:20, it says, “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot[a] love God whom he has not seen.”
Christ is calling these people out here, not only for not being neighborly, but for not loving God himself. If you truly loved your brother or neighbor, then you would help them in their time of need. Here though, they just pass on. They do nothing. These religious leaders, according to Christ, and what we are told, they do not know God. If they did love their neighbor, they would know God. Here, they clearly do not.

Continuing verses 33-35, it says, “But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was. And when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him into an inn, and took care of them. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. Look after him, he said, and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.”

This Samaritan showed this man kindness. It is interesting that Jesus chose to use a Samaritan as the person to show the man kindness. As many know, Samaritans were not looked at kindly at this time. They were a lower class citizen. They were seen as inferior. They were racially mixed people and were looked down upon because of this by society at the time. Jesus uses one here to emphasize that everyone is our neighbor.
Because if a Samaritan man is showing kindness to the man, then so should the Jews of the time as well. If the Samaritan can know God, then so can everyone else. Christ seems to like to use Samaritans in the Bible.

We have him using one in His experience with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. It makes sense though they were looked down on, as I said, during that time. Christ would go out of his way to show that his gift is meant for everyone. You do not need to be of this heritage or this people to be saved or to have salvation. Only you must go through Him. It is a gift anyone can accept, and I think that's why he used the Samaritan man here to emphasize that, and to show that anyone can know God, not just this person or that person.

In Galatians 3:13-14, it says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole. He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” Christ's gift is for all, for everyone who surrenders themselves unto him. Not just for the Jews, not just for this people, not just for the people living in this nation or that nation or by these parents or that parent, but by everyone who comes to him.

In verses 36-37, it says, “which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? The expert in the law replied, the one who had mercy on him. Jesus told him, go ahead and do likewise.”

Notice how the lawyer didn't say the Samaritan. He actively goes out of his way to not mention his heritage and instead calls him the one who had mercy. This goes to show the prejudice towards the Samaritans at the time. Even with Jesus in front of him giving him examples of a man acting neighborly. He refused to even call him a Samaritan as he was, as Jesus called him. This could be a stretch, but I think this just shows the own arrogance and ignorance in the lawyer himself.

I ask you when you go out into the world do not be like the priest or the Levite. Be like the Samaritan. Be a neighbor to all. Feed the hungry and take care of the sick. First, if we love God, we must love our neighbors as well.

In Mark 12:30-31, it says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your strength, and with all your soul. Second is this, love your neighbor as yourself.  There are no commandments greater than these.”
Christ loved us more than we can ever imagine. It is our job as Christians to replicate that love. I'm not saying when you go to Cleveland or Chicago to grab every homeless person off the street and build a house for them, but if you see a person, who for some reason got stabbed or shot, take care of them. Call 911. Get the paramedics, and until you are sure they are safe and in better hands than yours, stay with them. If you have a dollar to spare for someone who looks like they might need food, spare them a dollar. If someone looks like they need someone to talk to for a second, maybe sit down and talk. Act neighborly with the people you see. Act neighborly with those around you, not just in the big cities, not just in the extreme circumstances, but every day.

I'll never forget, there was one day I was working at Giorgio's. I was delivering food. It was the last delivery of the night. It was like 10:30. And this man opens the door. I slightly see in his apartment, and it's just a mess in there. The guy was probably a hoarder. It was in the small apartment complex. He just starts talking, and he's talking and talking. Mom's back at the shop. I'm thinking Mom's probably fine. I'll just let this guy talk because it seemed like he hadn't talked to anyone in a while. I leave there 30 minutes later after he was done talking about race cars and this and that. That's acting neighborly. The man wanted someone to talk to. He was obviously lonely.

You can find these situations anywhere. I ask you, if you wish to serve the Lord, act neighborly as the Samaritan man did. Treat not only your physical neighbors, but everyone you come across on as a neighbor. Christ loved all of us more than we could ever imagine, and it is our duty as Christians to try and replicate that love.

If you've not come to Him, if you have not been baptized for the remission of your sins, if you have not confessed to the world that you believe Christ is the Lord and Savior, I ask, be baptized and repent.

Thank you. Please stand up and sing number 596.

A Lesson From A Fearful Heroine

Esther 4: 1–17

As you’re turning to Esther 4 this morning, I want to give you a little background to the story we’ll be reading.
Nearly 500 years before Christ, and about 50 years after Ezra had led the Jews back to Jerusalem from their captivity in Babylon (they’d been sent into captivity due their sinful and unrepentant hearts) many of the Jewish people still live the land of Persia under the reign of a King named Xerxes.

Now, Xerxes was a pagan who was known to be a cruel and unpredictable man. We’re introduced to him at the beginning of the book of Esther where he has staged a grand festival designed to exhibit the power and wealth of his Kingdom that lasted for over 6 months. And at the end of that festival he held a 7 day feast filled with food and drink.

In his drunkenness he called for his beautiful queen, Queen Vashti, to come and parade before guests.
She is offended by his request and promptly refuses. This in turn enrages the King… and he deposes her.

After he has had time to reconsider his anger he seeks to find a replacement for Vashti. His counselors advised him to hold a beauty contest and from amongst the most beautiful women of the land, to choose a new queen. And that’s how Esther became the Queen of Persia.

Shortly thereafter, we’re introduced to the villain of the story. He’s an ambitious and arrogant noble by the name of Haman. Haman was a favorite of the King and he has apparently done something that has allowed him to be placed in a position of high honor.

The King passes a decree that commands all his officials must bow down and honor Haman whenever he passes by.
But there was one man in the city that refused to do this.
Esther had an uncle named Mordecai who was a righteous man, and he wasn’t going to bow to anyone other than God.

Esther 3:5-6 says that “When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.”

Haman schemed about how to carry out this plan, and finally he spoke to the King and told him "There is a certain people dispersed and scattered among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom whose customs are different from those of all other people and who do not obey the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them. If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will put ten thousand talents of silver into the royal treasury for the men who carry out this business." Esther 3:8-9

Because the King trusted Haman’s judgment, the King decreed that all the Jews should indeed be eliminated.
With that much of the story now in our minds, let’s turn to Esther 4:1-17.

OPEN: During the height of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln found refuge going to church services there in Washington, D.C.. He would go with an aide, sit quietly with his stovepipe hat in his lap. He would listen intently as the minister would open the Scriptures and teach God’s Word and lead the congregation in worship.

The war was tearing the nation apart and it tore at his soul as well. He’d just lost his own son, and now Lincoln was grieving, and needing comfort and nourishment for his soul.

The preacher finished his message and the people began to leave.
The president quietly stood up, straightened his coat, took his hat in hand and began to leave.
His aide stopped him and said, "What did you think of the sermon, Mr. President?"
Lincoln answered, "I thought the sermon was carefully thought through, eloquently delivered."
The aide said, "You thought it was a great sermon?"

Lincoln replied, "No I thought he failed… he did not ask anything of us."
The preacher hadn’t asked his congregation to do something great.
He hadn’t challenged the people, or the President of the United States, to do more with their lives. And that disturbed the President, because Lincoln saw his nation in turmoil and saw himself struggling with a deep pain and loss.

Abraham Lincoln understood one central truth out of the Bible… and that was:
• when life is difficult
• and the world is filled with struggles and hardship and pain
…that’s when God calls upon His people… to DO something

It’s a repeated theme throughout Scripture that when God comes into contact with people …
they are MOVED to do things.

Sometimes they’re moved to do great things
• Like Noah building an ark
• Moses leading the people out of the slavery of Egypt
• Joshua taking down Jericho
• Or David taking out a giant

Other times, when people come in contact with God … they do little things that make a big difference because of God’s power.
• A little boy shares his meager lunch with Jesus, and as a result over 5000 people are fed.
• Then there’s the woman who met Jesus at the well and then went back to her village and told them who she’d met… and the whole community came out to see Him and their lives are changed.

Again and again, throughout Scripture, we see people rise up to do great things, or small things. And they all make a difference… because God made a difference in their lives.
Thus, when the occasion arises – and we don’t – something is wrong.

That brings us to our story this morning
Mordecai is frantic.
He has obeyed God.
He has refused to bow in worship of another man.
He has done the right thing.
And his obedience has brought about the threat of annihilation to his people.

They will soon be destroyed… and it is his fault.
So, He tears his clothes, puts on sackcloth, throws ashes on his head and makes his way to the walls of the palace where he cries out in bitter tears.

But he’s not allowed into the palace, because no-one in sackcloth is allowed inside.
Now, Esther hasn’t heard about the edict of the King yet and she has no idea what danger her people are in.
But there’s no ignoring the loud cries of her uncle outside her home. So she sends one of her attendants out to find out what is wrong.
Mordecai sends the attendant back - with the news of Haman’s plans along with a copy of the King’s edict.
Mordecai’s is very clear on what he wants:
He expects Esther to DO something about this impending disaster.
He expects her to go and talk to the King.
Because he realizes that she’s the ONLY one who can anything about the problem.

But Esther doesn’t want to.
She doesn’t want to get involved.
She explains that this is NOT a good time to be approaching the King.
In fact, there’s NEVER a good time to approach the King because he’s a dangerous man… and she might be putting her own life in danger if she tried.

Now, why doesn’t Esther want to intercede for her people?
Why doesn’t she want to approach the King?
What emotion is behind her refusal?
She’s afraid

One of the major reasons why YOU and I might not DO something, why we would not want to obey God is because we’re afraid.
Fear comes in all kinds of shapes and sizes.

A psychologist at Yale once compiled a list of some of peoples’ most prominent fears
Fear of failure...
Fear of commitment...
Fear of trusting others...
Fear of thinking or speaking publicly...
Fear of being alone.
And he could have gone on and on with that list.
Fear is a very real emotion in people’s lives.
It controls us, it limits us, it enslaves us.

And God doesn’t want that.
He doesn’t want fear to rule our lives
And so, repeatedly throughout Scripture,
He tells us “Fear Not”

Someone once noted that this command occurred repeatedly throughout Scripture, and so they did a search of all the places where “Do not be afraid”, “Fear Not” or a similar command appeared in the Bible. What they found surprised them.
They found that the command is found 365 times in the Bible. One for every day of the year.
I don’t believe anything happens in Scripture by chance.
I believe the reason this command occurs 365 times in the Bible is because God doesn’t want a single day of our lives to be dominated by fear.

So… how can I overcome fear?
Well, you and can overcome your fears the same way Esther overcame hers.

The first lie of fear
if you ignore a problem it will go away.
If God brings a problem to YOUR attention…
He probably wants YOU to do something about it.
And that’s what Mordecai was trying to tell his niece

Esther 4:14 states: “For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

This verse emphasizes the importance of purpose and courage. Mordecai urges Queen Esther to recognize her unique position and the potential impact of her actions, suggesting that her role may be part of a larger divine plan. It challenges readers to reflect on their own responsibilities and the significance of taking action when faced with difficult decisions.
Mordecai overcame his fear by doing what he could.
And that is what he was telling Esther as well.
So, the first key to overcoming fear is to realize:
If it is to be, it may depend on thee.

The 2nd Key to overcoming fear is knowing that:
If you don’t go… trouble will grow.

If you see a problem and you could have done something about it but you didn’t (you left it to someone else to do) the problem won’t go away.
It might be fixed for a little while, but it will come back.

That’s what Mordecai is telling Esther in verses 13 and 14 when he says:
“Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape.
For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish…” Esther 4:13-14

If God believes something is important enough to bring it to YOUR attention
(and you don’t do something about it) He’s not going to be happy with you.
And you don’t want God unhappy with you.

Isaiah put it this way:
“Do not… fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread” Isaiah 8:12-13

And that’s pretty much what Mordecai is telling Esther:
Don’t make God mad... you won’t like Him when He’s mad.
Oddly enough… it’s fear of God that helps us deal with all our other fears.
Psalms 34 puts it this way:
“The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them… Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.” Psalms 34:7&9

Now, somehow that seems counterintuitive.
How could adding one more fear to my life help me control other fears I might have?

ILLUS: As I thought about that, I came across this story.
A family had a dog named Lady.
She was collie and was the friendliest and gentlest dog you could have.
Now, dad was a no-nonsense farmer who believed that a dog’s place was outside the home.
The only concession he made was that Lady could be out of the weather if she stayed down in the basement. If Lady ever dared to venture past the basement door into the kitchen, she was promptly punished.
One night there was a terrible storm.
Lightening and thunder filled sky and Lady was terrified.
She ran up out of the basement seeking protection.
But Lady didn’t come to either of the kid’s beds.
She didn’t even seek out the comfort from the mother of the family.
Right in the middle of the night, Lady bounded up the stairs, into the parent’s bedroom and went right up beside the dad.
In her mind, there was only one place that was safe from the dangers of the night… in the arms of the one she feared.

She figured if he was powerful enough to rule the home, he was powerful enough to protect her in her danger.
God’s recipe for conquering our fears is to realize
He is the only one we need to fear.
If we fear Him - if we place His desires above everything else - He has the power and the desire to protect us from anything we might fear.
Esther faced a problem she didn’t know how to handle and so she decided to get serious about her prayers.
She told Mordecai:
"Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do.
When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law.
And if I perish, I perish." Esther 4:16

She was saying: I fear the King of Persia… but I fear the God of Israel more.
And so, I will obey God. But first I’m going to get spiritually prepared for the challenge.
Now, I’m not going to tell you the rest of the story.

It is Suffice to say – Esther wins, Haman loses (big time).
But realize that Esther won ONLY because she overcame her fear. And she overcame her fear by realizing
1. It was up to her to deal with the problem.
2. If she shirked her duty, the problem would not go away
3. That in order to meet the challenge, she had to some serious fasting and prayer.

She overcame because she made a choice.
Her choice was between fearing God more… or fearing the unknown

CLOSE: A long, long time ago, in a war that took place in the Middle East, a spy was captured and sentenced to death by a general of the Persian army.
The general was an unusual man and he had adopted a strange and unusual custom in such cases.
He permitted the condemned person to make a choice.
The prisoner could either face the firing squad or pass through… the Black Door.
As the moment of the execution drew near, the general ordered the spy to be brought before him and was asked: "What shall it be - the firing squad or the Black Door?"

This was not an easy decision and the prisoner hesitated but ultimately chose the firing squad - preferring it to the unknown horrors that might wait for him behind the ominous and mysterious door.

Not much later, gunshots filled the air, and the spy lay dead on the ground.
The general, staring at his boots, turned to his aide and said
"You see how it is with men; they will always prefer the known way to the unknown.
It is characteristic of people to be afraid of the undefined.
Yet I gave him his choice."

The aide was curious and asked:
"What lies beyond the Black Door?".
The general smiled grimly and replied,
"Freedom… and I’ve known only a few brave enough to take it."

The one thing that we fear most in our lives is the unknown.
The unforeseen.
The uncontrolled.
This fear has the ability to immobilize us and haunt our dreams. It is when we’re faced with such fear that we most need to make a choice:
Will we trust God, or give in to our fears.
For it is only in trusting God that we can find freedom in our lives.

A Sermon on the Life of Gideon

Text: Judges 6 & 7

While sports fishing off the Florida coast, a tourist capsized his boat. He could swim, but his fear of alligators kept him clinging to the overturned craft. Spotting an old beachcomber standing on the shore, the tourist shouted, “Are there any gators around here?”
“Naw,” the man hollered back, “they ain’t been around for years!”

“Feeling safe, the tourist started swimming leisurely toward the shore. About halfway there he asked the guy, “How did you get rid of the gators?”
“We didn’t do nothin’,” the beachcomber said. “The sharks got ’em.”

I would like to try something new this morning… for part of my sermon I would like to take on the role of Gideon,
Therefore … I will be speaking in first person as if I am Gideon…the son of Joash, of the family of the Abiezites, the tribe of Manasseh and the nation of Israel. There are those who say that I am a great warrior. And it is true that i have always fought against the enemies of Israel. But there was a time that I was little more than a flea on the back of a dog.

Let’s imagine the dust of the threshing floor clinging to our sandals, the faint whisper of fear in the air, and a simple farmer—Gideon—hiding his grain from raiders. In that moment, God breaks in and calls me “mighty warrior.” How often does God see more in us than we see in ourselves?

• My family was poor, afraid, even worshipping idols.
• Yet in (Judges 6:12), while Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.”
• NOTE: God’s vision for us isn’t limited by our history or mistakes. He invites us into who we can become.

I find it interesting that God called me …Gideon “MIGHTY WARRIOR” while I was hiding from the enemy! 😊

Ask yourself: What label is God giving you today?
How different is how God sees you from how you see yourself?

The Midianites had been raiding our land for several years now. They took what they WANTED and killed who they would. My one consolation was that I was able to pay them back AT LEAST in part… for the pain they had caused our nation.

But they were a powerful and malicious people and many of our people fled to hide in the mountains and the hills and even holes in the ground. When the angel of the Lord found me, I was ALSO hiding.

I was in my father winepress threshing wheat, hoping that the Midianites would not find me and take away what little food I could supply for my family.

It was there that the angel of the Lord found me. And he said to me: “The Lord is with you Gideon. You have been chosen by God to deliver Israel from their enemies. God will be with you and together you will crush the might of Midian in a single night.”

Have you ever seen an angel?

Neither had I. I had no idea who this man was. But what he said, and the way in which he said it spoke to my heart.

God still cared for us even though He had turned His face from us. He had lifted His hand of protection FROM over us and delivered us into the hands of our enemies because of the sinfulness of my people. We had worshipped other gods and offered sacrifices and prayers in their names. And God was furious.

It’s not that we intended to anger God. We still offered prayers and sacrifices to Him. But we figured – if one God is good (shrug) THEN many are better. And so, all across the land there were altars and idols and there were prayers and sacrifices made in the names of pagan gods. And God was not pleased.

NOTE:WE SHOULD NOT TRY TO CHANGE GOD’s LAWS into what WE WANT oR THINK they SHOULD BE!

Deut. 4:2 You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.

Rev. 22:18-19 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,
and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

Even in my father’s field there was an altar that the villagers frequently offered their sacrifices at. An altar to Baal. And around the altar there were Asherah poles, placed there in honor of the goddess of fertility.

And God said to me “TEAR DOWN THAT ALTAR AND BUILD FOR ME A PROPER ALTAR IN IT’S PLACE! Go into your father’s herd and take the 2nd bull and slaughter and offer it as a sacrifice on my altar. Then cut down the Asherah poles and use them for wood to burn the sacrifice.”

And that just what I did… at night… while everyone in the village was asleep. I didn't want anyone to know that I had destroyed the altar and cut down the Asherah poles, because I knew they would seek to kill me if they did.

It wasn't long after that that the Midianites returned to our land to ravage our crops and steal from our homes. They came with their allies the Amalekites, and with people from other eastern tribes, and settled in the Valley of Jezreel.

Those who dared to look down into their camp said that the Midianite forces were as numerous as a hoard of locusts and that their camels were as could no more be counted than you could count the sand on the seashore. Those who tried to count their number seemed to agree that there were at least 120,000 armed men in their camp.

It was then God said to me: “Gideon, the time has come to raise an army to drive out the enemies of Israel.” And so I went to the city square and found the horn that we used to call people to war.

People came running in from the fields and out of their houses.

And when they came into the village square I told them what God had said to me. That it was time for us to rise and throw off the shackles of the Midianites and go to war.

We sent out messengers to the far reaches of the tribe of Manasseh, and also the tribes of Asher, Naphtali and Zebulun. And within a few short days men began to arrive at our village.

Ultimately 32,000 men encamped around my home.

Thirty-two thousand men had come to be led into battle with me as their leader.

Thirty-two thousand men!!!

How many men did the Midianites have again? 120,000?

And we had 32,000?

120,000… against 32,000?

And I looked up to God and I said:

“We need to talk.

If You truly want to send me into battle with our enemies outnumbering us about 4 to 1, I need a sign to prove that it is truly your will.”

And I had decided on just the test that could prove it was indeed His will. When I was younger I noticed that when I entered in my father’s winepress in the morning, the floor glistened with the dew of the night.

• in (Judges 6:36–40) Gideon tests God with a fleece

And so I said to God, please do not be angry, but if it your will to send us into battle with this size of a force, allow me to put a fleece from the flocks of my father on the floor of his winepress. If it is Your will, make it so that the floor is dry, and the fleece is wet.

And so I placed the fleece on the floor, and went to bed.

When I got up the next morning, what do you think I found?

That’s right.

The floor was completely dry, but the fleece was completely soaked.

God had spoken.

He was calling me to go to war.

But still… I only had 32,000 men.

That’s hardly an army that would overwhelm the Midianites.

What if I misunderstood God in this test?

And so I said to God, please don’t be angry, but just to make sure I haven’t misunderstood Your will, allow me to do just one more test. Allow me to place the fleece on the floor of the winepress one more time. And in the morning, if the fleece is dry and the floor is wet THEN I’ll know it was your will.

And that is what I did. And then I went to bed.

The next morning I got up, and guess what I saw?

That’s right, the fleece was dry, and the floor glistened with the dew of the night.

And then I knew this was God’s will.

And 32,000 men – with such an awesome God at our back – it could be done.

It was a respectable force in the hands of a mighty God.

Yes! I could do this. I could lead these men to victory over the Midianites. They only outnumbered us 4 to 1! It could be done! We were men of Israel. We were bold and courageous and able to stand against the pagans and defeat them.

But then God said (pause)“Gideon… you have too many men.”

WAIT! WHAT? SERIOUSLY? We only have 32,000!

But God said, tell the men that whoever is afraid may go home to their tribes.

Well, that’s not so bad. These were brave men of the nation of Israel. These were men of courage and strength and their anger with Midian would overcome any supposed fear. I would hardly miss the ones who would leave.

And so I mockingly addressed the men. If any of them were afraid, they were welcome to leave and return to their homes.

And 22,000 men folded their tents and left!

I only had 10,000 soldiers remaining.

But still, it was more men than I’d ever led into a battle before.

It could still be done.

I might yet be victorious in a battle against our nation’s enemies even with just 10,000 men.

But then God spoke to me again.

“Gideon, you still have TOO MANY men. If you were to win with such a force, Israel might be tempted to believe they had won against Midian by the force of their own arms, rather than by the power of My arm.” And he told me take the army down to the banks of the river and observe them as they drank from its streams.

• God whittles Gideon’s army from 32,000 down to 300 (Judges 7:2–7). And the Lord said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water.

7And the Lord said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.”

• The point: the victory is God’s, not ours. When we rely on OUR strength, we take the credit. When we rely on GOD and HIS STRENGTH, HE gets the glory.

OUR Takeaway should be:

When life’s battles feel overwhelming, remember:
God doesn’t need our vast resources—
He needs our available heart.

Now, according to Judges 7:16 – 23

I divided our men into 3 companies and gave each man a trumpet and empty jar to cover their torches. Then I explained to them where they should position their men around the camp of our enemies and sent them to their places. When it seemed that our men were properly positioned I blew my horn, and – as one man – our army broke their jars to reveal their torches and blew their trumpets.

The night was lit up with the blaze of our torches and our trumpets spoke with the judgment of God upon the camp of Midian. And all of our men shouted “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon.” It was such an overwhelming sight and such a thunderous sound that the camp of the Midianites erupted in fear as each man ran from their tents and grabbed for their swords. In their confusion, they believed that we were in the midst of their camp and they began to turning their swords on one another.

And the slaughter that night… was terrible.

Those who survived cried as they fled from the valley and we chased them all the way out of our land.

And the Midianites never returned to bother us again.

• Note: A few faithful, obedient hearts can turn the tide of an entire nation.

Challenge: Who is in your “300”?
Whose faithfulness encourages you to step out in obedience?

That night changed me.
It was on that night that I realized all that God had meant to teach me.
I had learned that I was being called by a God who wanted my total allegiance. He was a God who would not tolerate any other god, or any other treasure to stand between myself and Him. If I was to be used by God, I needed to destroy and remove from my life anything that would compete for my affections.

Matthew 22:36 – 37 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

AND, Revelation 3:16 – 17 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

I also learned that the God I came to serve was a powerful God. He was a God who could protect me from the anger of my neighbors. A God who could speak to me by my own personal fleeces and by the dreams of my enemies. And He was a God who could destroy a mighty army with a force of only 300 men.

THAT is the God that I serve!

A God who would stand beside me and protect me in times of trouble.

A God who could bring strength to my life and peace to my heart.

Conclusion & Invitation

Gideon’s life reminds us that God:
Sees our potential … far beyond our self-image.

Gideon’s life reminds us that God:
Wins His greatest victories through our humble surrender.

Gideon’s life reminds us that God:
Uses small bands of faithful hearts to accomplish His purposes.

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
Calls us to keep Him at the center, lest victory turn to vanity.

What fears do we need to lay before GOD this morning?
Let’s step out, trusting that the same Spirit who empowered Gideon is at work in us.
God’s not finished with you yet—your “mighty warrior” identity awaits.

Do you know the power of God in your life that can give you courage and strength?
Do you have the kind of peace that only God can give?
If you don’t, we offer a time of invitation for you to make that decision for Him this morning.

Jesus Begins His Public Ministry

Mark 1:14-15

INTRO:
Good morning church. Little Jenny was standing on a stool in the kitchen and she was helping her mother by drying dishes.   She was looking at her mother and she noticed that in that beautiful auburn hair that her mother had, there were some gray hairs. So she looked at her mother and she said, Mom, why are there gray hairs in your hair?  Her mother said, Well, Jenny, whenever you misbehave, whenever you do something to cause me trouble, worry and aggravation, one of my hairs turns gray.
Oh, Jenny said.  She thought a minute.  And she said, Why does grandma have all gray hair?

I invite you to open your Bibles to the gospel of Mark 1:14-15 and read what happens after John the Baptist is delivered up; Mark 1:14-15 – “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.””[ESV]

If you compare the gospel of John with the synoptic gospels, you will discover that Jesus did not go immediately from His baptism and wilderness temptations into His great Galilean teaching ministry. What you will discover if you compare the feasts that are mentioned which Jesus attended with the timing of these events, is that about a years time separates His baptism from the beginning of His ministry in Galilee. One writer has called this year of time “a year of obscurity”.

The style of Mark’s Gospel is quick-moving and dramatic. His gospel being one of swift and vigorous action, and one of his favorite expressions being straightway. What Mark does is move immediately from the temptations into the Galilean ministry. Mark does not mention anything about this year of time. Mark simply dates the beginning of the Galilean ministry at about the same time John the Baptist was imprisoned by Herod. I want to consider this before we continue our look at John’s Gospel.

I. BUT WE SHOULD AT LEAST MENTION THE “UNMENTIONED” PERIOD. I think it is important for us to at least make mention of that period of time.

A. We might ask ourselves the question, and I do ask myself, why was this one year of time omitted from Matthew, Mark and Luke? Yet, prominently mentioned in the Gospel of John?

1. The answer has to be speculation for we simply are not told why that year is omitted in the synoptic gospels. I can speculate, and I will, that very simply it was not the time for His teaching ministry to begin.
2. But keep in mind that the gospel of John has a different purpose from the synoptic gospels. The purpose of John’s gospel is to confirm that Jesus is the Son of God. The events of that one year of time are very significant to this purpose of John’s gospel.

B. I want to mention a few of the events in that year of obscurity.

1. Let’s look at John chapter 1 again. At the start of the chapter we find these familiar words; “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Then at verse 14 “the Word was made flesh”.
2. The gospel of John begins in chapter 1 with the affirmation that Jesus Christ IS deity. As we continue in chapter 1, we discover where John the Baptist gives his testimony that Jesus is not only the Son of God, not only deity, Jesus is “the lamb of God which will take away the sins of the world” in Verse 29
3. In chapter 2 of John’s gospel there is the first recorded miracle at Cana of Galilee. John tells us in verse 11; “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.”
4. In chapter 3 there is this very important interview that Jesus has with a man whose name is Nicodemus. Here we have the information “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God”. Questions are asked about what that means.
5. Then in chapter 4, which I find a very interesting chapter in John’s gospel, is the interview He has with the Samaritan woman at Jacobs well. What an incredible interview that is, and continues with His going into the city and there teaching for a period of time and many of the people of Samaria, not the Jews, many of the people of Samaria believed that He was the Messiah.
6. A little later in John’s gospel in chapter 4 at verse 46 there is the healing of the nobleman’s son. One of the interesting things about this account is that it is presented in such a way as to show that this miracle is indeed a miracle. This was not just an ordinary getting over a disease situation. The timeline shows the miracle.
7. Then in chapter 5, we have the healing of the infirm man at Bethesda. Shortly there after, there is the beginning of the Galilean ministry which is where we are in the gospel of Mark.

II. JESUS PREACHED “THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD”. Mark tells us that Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom.

A. The Jews for so long looked for news of the kingdom.

1. Since the Babylonian captivity, there had not been a legitimate king in the nation of Israel.
2. Indeed since the Babylonian captivity, for almost the entire period to the present time Israel had been a vassal or tribute state. Always under the thumb of some conquering nation.
3. In scripture there is so much prophecy about the kingdom. For example in the 9th chapter of the book of Isaiah. There at verses 6 and 7 is this prophecy; Isaiah 9:6-7 – “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David,” ah,… that is what these people knew. That is what these people remembered. They were anticipating this ruler and his kingdom. They were looking for news of this coming! ”and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
4. Or in Daniel’s prophecy in the second chapter at verse 44; Daniel 2:44 – “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, remember that this prophecy comes out of the period of the Babylonian captivity, In the days of these kings, here we find the explanation being made to Nebuchadnezzar, God shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” No wonder the Jewish people were anticipating, and seeking news of the coming kingdom.

B. Jesus came preaching of the kingdom of God.

1. The kingdom of God is frequently mentioned in the teaching of Jesus.
2. You remember in Matthews’s gospel, chapter 6 verse 10, in what has been called the model prayer. We find these words; Matthew 6:10 – “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” So at the very beginning of His public ministry Jesus is declaring the coming of the Kingdom.
3. Interestingly, what should have been wonderful news for Jewish audiences, turned “sour” when His enemies started to use His kingdom claims to accuse Him. The coming of the Kingdom was good news! The gospel, good news, glad tidings. The very thing that should have been such wonderful news was used to accuse Jesus and ultimately send Him to the cross.

III. SOME OF THE “SPECIFICS” OF HIS MESSAGE

A. “Jesus came...preaching...and saying... We begin to look at the sermon outline if you will, of what Jesus preached. We discover that…

1. He did not come to compel anyone to do anything they did not want to do. He came preaching and saying.
2. He came with a message ... and it was up to each individual as to how they would respond to that message.
3. Turn if you would to a beautiful text which is well known to us; Matthew 11:28-29 – Jesus says; “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”[ESV] We can accept what Jesus came to offer, or we can reject what He came to offer... but it is our choice, the decision is ours to make. Remember Mark says, Jesus came preaching and saying.

B. The first point of His sermon outline was this;… its time. “The time is fulfilled...” it says in Marks gospel. Let us turn back there for just a minute.

1. When He says in verse 15 “the time is fulfilled” in the original language Mark used the word for “time” that refers to a “set, or proper time”. He does not use the word used for chronology, chronological time, or elapsed time. He used a word for which we might use the word “appointment”. This is the time that God has appointed, this is the set time, and it is the proper time. The time is fulfilled.
2. In Galatians 4:4-5 – Listen; “But when the fullness of time had come, (there is that expression, the fullness of time) God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” “...when the fullness of time had come...”
3. That word fulfilled, is descriptive of the fact that all of the Old Testament had been looking forward to this time. This appointment which God had established, as we understand, before time began. It is the time the Jews were looking forward to. What we need to remember about this expression is that all of the things that are going to transpire now are not accidental; it was not a “happening”. This is the time God had established for His purpose.

C. Mark continues with the outline point; “and the kingdom of God is at hand...”

1. Now remember, the Jews have been looking forward to this kingdom for many, many years. Jesus says the kingdom is at hand. They might ask; “how ‘at hand’ is it?”
2. Jesus answered that question in Mark 9:1 where He says, “And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”” This is different from the prophecy of Isaiah and the prophecy of Daniel. This is not a “dim future hope” any longer. “…there are some standing here”. Imagine that. Some of those very people who were hearing Jesus say those very words… would actually see the Kingdom of God come. Heightened anticipation, for the coming of the kingdom.
3. When it came (on the day of Pentecost following Jesus’ resurrection), it was not the kind of kingdom that people had expected ... but it did come.

D. The third point in His sermon outline was “Repent...” He came preaching, repent.

1. Jesus, just as did John the Baptist, stressed the message of repentance.
2. As time would ultimately prove, many of the Jewish people, particularly their religious leaders were so entrenched in their traditions that their view of God was warped, twisted, and distorted. Remember what Jesus told the religious leaders in; Matthew 15:1-3 – “Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?”
3. How could they believe in the gospel message if they could not see beyond the traditions which governed the religious life of the Jews, see past the corruptions of the Mosaic faith that they had created? How could they see past that and accept the gospel of the kingdom? No wonder Jesus taught them to repent.
4. Keep in mind; it was a tradition-bound religion which sent Jesus Christ to the cross at Calvary.

E. There was a fourth point to His sermon outline. “… and believe in the gospel” Repent toward God, and believe in the gospel.

1. Looking at Luke’s gospel; Luke 2:10-11 – “And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” In verse 10 we see the words good tidings or glad tidings. Those two words are translated from the same word that we usually translate the word “gospel”. What the angels are saying is; we bring you a gospel to share, because a gospel is good news. Then they go on to say what the good news is – it is of the birth of Christ the Lord.
2. When Jesus came preaching, “Believe the gospel”, that is tantamount to His saying; believe… in… me. - Believe in Jesus. In John’s gospel, the eighth chapter, John 8:24 Jesus says, “I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”[ESV]
3. He preached the gospel and He said believe it, believe in Me. Something else about this word gospel, I’ll read now from 1^st Corinthians 15:1-4 where Paul is reminding them of the good news, the glad tidings, “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, here Paul gives an admonishment, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.”

a. Paul explains to them one more time, it is by the Gospel he had preached to them that they had been saved, and by that Gospel, if they continued to believe it, they would ultimately receive their heavenly reward.
b. Paul continues; “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,” That’s gospel, that is good news.
c. Jesus said “believe the gospel”. Believe in me. These horrible events, from our perspective perhaps, begin to take place. He is killed, He is buried and then the wonderful event of the first day of the week, He is raised from the dead. Folks, in those things are our great hope! The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ is “gospel”!

F. Having read that, let’s turn back to 1^st Corinthians 1:22-23 – “For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, To whom did Jesus come preaching; “The time is fulfilled”, “The Kingdom is at hand”, “Repent”, “Believe the gospel”? To whom did He come with that great message? To the Jews… a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,” We should remember that the Jews to whom Jesus came preaching were steeped in years of human tradition which had warped and twisted not only their understanding of the word of God but their understanding of God Himself.

1. No wonder that it was necessary for the Jewish people to repent toward God, before they could accept the gospel message. They had to repent toward God before they could ever possibly believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God.
2. I need to say this; the repentance that Jesus preached to the Jews is not the same repentance to which the apostle Peter gives attention in Acts 2:38. In Acts, these are people who are believers, are commanded to repent and to be baptized. That repentance comes following a person’s belief that Jesus is the Son of God, and are prompted by that belief to be sorrowful for their sins and to turn away from them. Turning toward God in obedience to the gospel.
3. The Jews needed to repent toward God for their years of warped thinking about God and His word. They needed to believe the gospel. Recall how often the Jews demanded Jesus to perform a sign for them while He was on the earth.

a. For example Matthew 12:38-39 – “38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”
b. Also Matthew 16:1 – “And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.” Why was Jesus condemning them for doing this?

4. They were holding on to their faulty thinking and traditions. Their request was putting themselves in the driver’s seat. Perform a sign so that we can evaluate you and test your claims. We will decide if you are who you say you are. Such people set themselves up as God, sets themselves up as judge, rather than recognizing that Jesus is God and Jesus is the judge.
5. Jesus was not going to yield to their requests which would have in effect turned Jesus into nothing more than a performer on demand. This also represents humans today who reject God because they demand God to do something for them as a condition to follow him.
6. The Greeks did not create conditions that God was to meet. Rather they create structures of thought so as to maintain their delusion to be able to explain life and the universe. These people think they are academic, scientific, powerful, and philosophical. God, if He exists, must fit into their philosophical worldview and thinking if He is going to be acceptable to them. That leads me to think of that line from Hamlet “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy”.

G. You will notice that with each of these groups there is the basis of self-centeredness. In both cases the individual says that I have the right to approve God. I will determine if God is right for me and if He fits my view of life and my expectations.

CONCLUSION: Paul continues in 1^st Corinthians 1:24-25 and tells us that “to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

We find that Christ is the answer to both groups. The Jews desire a sign and the sign they were given was Jesus and the resurrection. The power of God was on full display through the cross of Jesus our Lord. Also, the Greeks desire wisdom and they were given Christ who is the wisdom of God on full display. The cross of Jesus is the most breathtaking display of God’s wisdom. The world’s rebellious self-centeredness is what ensures that it cannot understand the cross. So what the world dismisses as foolishness God proves to be greater than human wisdom. What the world writes off as hopeless weakness, God proves is stronger than any human strength.

Mark takes Jesus immediately in his gospel from the temptation scenes, to which Mark gives only a little space, and moves the narrative hurriedly in to the activities of the Galilean ministry. In this brief statement made in Mark’s gospel chapter 1 that we read here, I would suggest to you that we have the outline for all that Jesus taught in the days that were to come.

If the Lord is willing we will continue next time in John’s Gospel chapter 2 where we encounter the Wedding Feast in Cana and the conversion of water to wine.

In God’s plan we learn from the New Testament how to be saved. We need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; we must confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God; and be baptized for the remission of our sins… If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.

Perhaps there is someone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism. If you have never done these things, we urge you to do so today. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.

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Reference Sermon Cecil A. Hutson 19 March 2006

Fathers

By Jerad Allen

Good morning. Happy Father's Day to all the fathers in here. I'm pretty sure there's quite a few of you. I hope everybody's week went well and it wasn't too much hassle.

The other day I was going through YouTube and I saw a channel with things that fathers typically teach children—how to tie a tie, how to change a tire, things like that. The whole purpose of this channel was to teach children without fathers what he wished his father would have taught him if he had a father in his life.

In 2022 estimates were roughly 18.3 million children were growing up in the United States without a father. That is almost one in every four children. It's been three years, but I have a feeling those numbers are still roughly the same. A lot of things can happen without a father in the household. Poverty rates go up, crime rates go up. Life, by all means, gets harder.

That's because the father is an instrumental part of the family. They have a great deal of responsibility and take care of a great deal of things. They are an essential part in growing up. Today we will be going over some lessons and some things the Bible has to say about fatherhood. About what it is and what it should look like.

To start off, if you would turn to Genesis 22, we will go quickly through verses 1-18. You might recognize this if you were here during Bible study because Mark went over it a little bit.

I will read verses 1-3. “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.”

We are told to do as the Lord commands. We are told to do what He tells us. Abraham was very much willing to do this. He trusted the Lord.
He trusted His ways. When the Lord told him to sacrifice his son, he did not blink. He rose up, and he went.

In Philippians 2:8 it says, “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

This is obviously talking about Jesus. A lot of the time, I see being a Christian and being a follower as trying to imitate the Lord, and trying to act as Christ-like as possible. If Christ himself was obedient to the point of death, then so must we.

We must be willing to put our bodies, our children perhaps, on the line. As fathers, sometimes you must put yourself and your family in harm's way if that's what the Lord commands. That is what Abraham is thinking he is doing here.

Moving on to verses 4-8, it says, “Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.”

Both of them went together. Of course, Abraham knew there wasn't a lamb. He was under the full assumption that he was going to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Though there is another lesson here, I think, in looking at what the Lord will provide us with.

The Lord will provide for us if we are hungry. If we need food, he will make sure we have it. If we are thirsty, he will give us drink. He will give us what we need. He will never put a challenge ahead of us too great for us to handle.

In 1st Corinthians 10:13, it says, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

In Matthew 6:33-34, it says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and his righteousness, and all of these things will be added unto you. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

How does this relate to Father's Day? As it is the Holy Father's duty to provide for his children, to make sure we have food and water when we need it, to make sure we are not tempted beyond our own capabilities, it is the earthly fathers’ to provide for his family and his children and their needs.

In 1st Timothy 5:8 it says, “but if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

It is the duty of the father and the household to provide for his family, to make sure they are fed, to make sure they have what they need to go on, to make sure that they have the capabilities and ability to walk this world and to walk through life.

Moving on to verses 9-10, it says, “And they came to the place which God had told him of, and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.”

As Christians, we must be willing to put our bodies on the line when serving the Lord. When Jesus and his disciples were traveling, they were often worried that those who they were going to come against, many times Jews were going to bring harm upon them, or crucify them. That eventually did happen. If the Son of God and those who traveled with him were able to put their lives on the line, and put their bodies through physical torment, then we should be able to do the same.

In Romans 12:1- 3 it says, “I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

In these verses, our bodies are described as living sacrifices. Not as Abraham is about to do to Isaac here and kill his son as a sacrifice to the Lord, but we are to put our bodies as living sacrifices on the line. To follow the Lord's will, to put His will above ours, to cast out these earthly pleasures and sins that we take forth, and to not indulge in them. To sometimes put ourselves in harm's way to complete His will. It is the duty of Christians to do such.

Moving on to verses 11-13 it says, “And an angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here I am. And he said, Lay not thine hand on the lad, neither do thou anything unto him. For now I know that thou fearest God. Seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his thorns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.”

This was, at the end of the day, a test. It was a test on Abraham's willingness to do what the Lord asked him—a test on his faith in the Lord. A test if he truly believed. He believed that the Lord was righteous and His one true God. Even with something as outlandish as asking him to kill his son, Abraham was positive that there was a reason behind it. That whatever the reason may be, it was holy. It was glorious, and that it would please the Lord. He passed this test because he was willing to do that.

Verses 14-16 say, “And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh (I can't really pronounce that) As it said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. The angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of the heaven the second time. And said, By myself I have sworn, saith the Lord. For because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son.”

(Pay attention to the wording here.) Hast not withheld thy son, thine only son. This sounds familiar, right? It's kind of how the Lord sent down his only son to be sacrificed for the remission of our sins. It sounds exactly like that, right? The Lord was not asking him to do something that the Lord himself would not do here. He is asking him to do something he hasn't done yet.

The Lord will send down his son to be a sacrifice that will save us. The ram is a burnt offering, but it is still an animal. Christ's sacrifice gave us something more. It gave us salvation.
In John 3:16 it said, “God so loved the world that he gave his only son. That whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

He loves us so much that he would give His only son. It is the duty of fathers everywhere to love Him so much that if the day asks, they will put Him above anyone else.

I think here we can see that yes, while fathers have a duty to their families, to their children. First and foremost, your duty is to the Lord as it is for all of us. He takes priority. He takes all because he is greater than the rest of us.

Verses 17-18 say, “that in blessing I will bless thee. And in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven. And as the sand which is upon the sea shore. And thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

Later in Galatians 3:16 it says, “now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say and to offsprings, referring to many, but referring to one and to your offspring who is Christ.”

We can all receive this blessing by following in Abraham's footsteps, by obeying the Lord. We can receive the grace God has given us by following his commandments and obeying him, by confessing that Jesus, the seed of Abraham, is the Son of God and our Savior.

By looking Ephesians 6:1-4. We can see how fathers are supposed to nurture their children.

These verses say, “children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. Honor thy father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise. That it may be well with thee and that thou mayest live long on the earth. And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonishment of the Lord.”

Children at the end of the day are the next of kin. They are the ones who will take your place, who will continue your work. We have a duty to the Lord and that means that we need to make sure things are in place for when we are gone as well. That it is good if we ourselves are obedient and spread the word of God, but we are only here temporary. Fathers must bring up their children, must bring up the next generation, to continue the work when they are gone.

In Proverbs 2, it says, "train up a child in the way he should go. Even when he is old, he will not depart from it."

A father has a big responsibility here to train their children to do right by the Lord, to train and educate their children on what is right and what is holy. No wonder crime and poverty rise when fathers are out of the picture. No wonder children are lost and confused ever more so when fathers are out of the picture because it is a father's duty to help them learn these things, to help them find their way, to train and nurture them.

Moving on to Joshua 24:15, It says, “and if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve. Whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. It is the duty of the father to choose the direction in which their house will go. Will they live in sin? Will they choose earth? Will they choose worldly pleasures? Or will they follow the path of God? It is the father's responsibility to steer this ship. It is the father's responsibility to make sure and correct it if it sways, if it varies, if it moves. This is one of the roles of the father.

In Colossians 3:19-21, it says, “Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.”

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. It can be a little tough for fathers, right? They control the ship, but they can very easily make it sway as well. If the father is not kind, if the father angers their children, they may be discouraged, and they may lose their path. The father has a vital role. Their presence can very much aid in this. At the same time, if a father fails, that could be worse. That could sway those children into a life of sin.

Moving on to Luke 15:20-22, it says, “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.”

This is the parable of the prodigal son. In here, we are shown a father whose son had lost their way, who had sinned against them, but cursed their name and left. And when he returns, this father did not shoo him away. He did not yell at him. He welcomed him back with open arms to his family. No hesitation. No matter how much he wronged him, it is the father's duty to welcome back his children. This is because the Heavenly Father does the same with us.

In Romans 10:9 it says, “Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Despite our sins, despite our failures, fathers, mothers, children, everyone's, despite all of these things, despite everything we have done, there is still a way we can be saved. If we turn to the Lord, follow in the steps Jesus has laid out for us, and follow in his path, the Lord will welcome us back like the father in this parable—with open arms, with joy, with thunderous screams of happiness.

That should be the same for fathers. As the Lord does, so should we. If He is willing to welcome us back, then we should be able to do the same with our family members, with our children, with our mothers and fathers. No matter how much they have wronged us, when they return, we should open our arms.

To close this out, I just want to repeat this. Romans 10:9. “Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

If you have not done that, I just must ask, why? Why wait? Death's knocking at any given moment. It will not wait for you. So why wait? Confess, repent, be baptized for the remissions of your sins, and walk with the Lord as commander.

Happy Father's Day, and thank you.

Lazarus of Bethany

By Jerad Allen

Good morning. I hope everyone's week went well. We have another one coming up and it just feels like we're always going through another week.

I was born in 2004. The pop culture I have been raised in has had a lot to do with Marvel movies. You might have heard of them. These are comic book inspired movies that are sometimes taken right from the comics they're based off of. Because comics are a medium that is never supposed to end, they're supposed to keep going through the years. I think the first Superman comic was back in the 30s and they're still publishing them today.

As a result, whenever they write a character off or kill them off, eventually down the line some writer is going to want to use that character again so they resurrect them. Sometimes to explain these resurrections they put years of explanations into these stories.

Resurrection, the raising of the dead, seems impossible to us. Today's story that we will be going over is in John chapter 11 verses 1 through 44. This is the death and resurrection of Lazarus where Jesus took a man who had fallen to illness and raised him in front of his sisters.

Starting at verse 1; “Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped His feet with her hair.) The sisters sent word to Jesus, Lord, the one you love is sick. When he heard this, Jesus said, this sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it.”[NIV]

Here we're just given some context. We are told who Mary is. We are told who Martha is. We are told that Mary was the one who poured perfume on Jesus and cleaned his feet. We are also told about glory and how this death will result in glory to God.

What does that mean? What does God's glory mean? In 1 Corinthians 10:31 it says, “so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

We are told that every action we take should be to glorify the Lord, to put Him up, to put up His power, show His glory. Here we are told it is a way to honor God, a way to show respect, a way to glorify Him and give Him credit.

In Romans 3:23 it says, “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”

This tells us that the glory is something we don't necessarily have. This isn't something we have attained. This isn't something that we possess. This is something we fall short of and can only try to recognize and try to see.

To try and answer what glory means I think would probably take a whole sermon to itself. These are just some quick intercessions on these first couple verses.

Moving on, verses 5 through 8 says, “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. And then he said to his disciples, let us go back to Judea. But Rabbi, they said, a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you and yet you are going back?”

Jesus was well aware of the danger that awaited him there. He was very aware that there was a threat on his life and that it might be ended if he returns.

In 2 Timothy 3:12 it says, “Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

Jesus' actions here tell us that this persecution should not get in the way of our job, of what we are here to do. I think it's interesting who Jesus is afraid of as well. These aren't the Gentiles. These aren't the sinners. It's the religious leaders of the day. It is the people who are leading the church, who are leading the temple. These are the scholars that are after Jesus.

This tells me is that not only should we be worried about persecution from those who have gone against God and outwardly rebelled. It is those who say they are with him. It is those who say they are Christians. It is those who say they are religious. It is those who pretend to have faith to further their goals, to justify their actions.

Slave owners in the 1800s and 1700s were famous for reciting scripture as they whipped their prisoners. As we go on, we will undoubtedly see and face Christians, Jews, Muslims, and other people who claim to follow God. They will come at you.

They will come to persecute you for telling the truth, for calling them on their lies. They very well may be more dangerous than the Gentiles or sinners that have outwardly rejected the truth.

Moving on, verses 9 through 10 say, “Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world's light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.” It's hard to see in the dark, right? Imagine the sun was out. Imagine there are no lights in this room. You really wouldn't be able to see me, would you? Especially with this black shirt on, it doesn't help.

You'd probably trip over something. You can't easily get where you want to go without being able to see the path. This is what it is like to walk through the world in a spiritual sense without Christ.

In John, verses 8-12, it says, “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have light of life.”

Even though the sun is shining, if the lights are on, and physically we can see, without Jesus we might as well be walking in the dark, because we will just continue to stumble and fall and trip because spiritually we are lost. Spiritually we have no idea where we are. We can't make out our surroundings. We will continue to trip and fall.

Verses 11-16 say, “After he had said this, he went on to tell them, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up. His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he went to natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.” But let us go to him. Then Thomas, (also known as Didymus), said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”” The Lord is showing his own power here. He knows Lazarus has passed.

He knows he is not here anymore. He knows he is gone without being there. He tells the disciples, Be glad that this is the case, so you may see my power, so you may see my strength. I find this a little crazy at this point. They have seen Him walk on water. They have seen Him calm storms. They have seen Him do this and that. He still thinks they need more to see. I think that tells me that even if Jesus was right in front of us, even if he was staring at us in the face and did things, you could not imagine proving who He is. Many, most, still would not recognize Him as God, as the Son of the Father, as holy. This also shows the disciples' own thoughts on what was about to happen.

Thomas said that we may die with Him. They had no intention on coming back from this. They thought fully that the Jews were going to capture and kill them all. They were ready to die, which I think shows their courage and their strength and their faith in the Lord.

While He still wanted to show them more, they obviously still had some pretty strong faith to be able to trust in Him so much that even though they believed they were going to die, they knew they were going to die with the Lord.

In verses 17 through 22 it says, “On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him. But Mary stayed at home. Lord, Martha said to Jesus, If you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

Martha's words here are quite reasonable. She knows who Jesus is. She recognizes His power, His holiness, and His grace. She's well aware of the fact that if he was there, her brother would have been fine.

There are two ways you can take her words here. You can take it as an accusation on why didn't You save my brother? Why did he die? Or just regret that He wasn't there at the right time—He arrived late. He just wasn't there when Lazarus fell sick. I think it's probably more on that explanation. Martha is just sad that things played out the way they did.

I also think that those last words in verse 22, “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask is exactly that, an ask.” An ask to bring her brother back because again, she's aware. She has faith in the Lord.

Moving on to verses 23 and 24. “Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. Martha answered I know he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

Martha has heard Jesus talk about rising in the Lord, about being saved and having eternal life through Him. Earlier in John 3:16, John talks about this being the case. Martha is aware of this, and her reaction to Jesus saying your brother will rise again is with this context. He will rise in a spiritual sense with the Lord in heaven and live eternally.

It seems like she's a little disappointed in that because she won't get to see her brother again in this life. She understands her brother will live eternally in heaven, but is saddened that he is not here anymore. Obviously, later on in the next few verses we realize he means in a physical sense, and not so much in the spiritual.

Moving on to verses 25 through 28. “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live. Even though they die. And whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord”, she replied. “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God who is to come into the world”. After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The teacher is here, she said and is asking for you.””

Jesus is asking if she has faith. Does she have faith in Him? In His power? Does she have faith that He is who He says He is? She replies, yes.

Jesus also talks about himself in the “I am” sense. I am the resurrection and the life. Jesus does this a lot. He talks about Himself in these “I am” statements. We have another example in John 8:12, and in John 10:11 “He says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” In Revelations He says, “I am the alpha, the omega. The beginning and end. Who is and who is to come, the almighty”.

Jesus uses these “I am” statements not to say I am like a sheep, but to say I am the power. I am glory. I am God. He is all. He is in all of us. He is here with all of us. As God sees all, knows all, and is all. He is talking about His power. He is referring to his strength. He is referring to Himself in these ways. Because of who He is.

It's a little hard to comprehend. Honestly I still don't think I fully understand it. That might be something else I want to look into a bit more for a sermon.

Jesus is talking about Himself in these “I am” statements because these are the things He can do. He was at the beginning.

Moving on to verses 29-31. I says, “When Mary heard this she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village. But was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went, they followed her supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.”

Notice how the verse specifies her haste. It specifies how quickly she got up and went to Him. Originally she stayed back wishing to mourn, wishing to continue to think about her brother and the loss. As soon as she heard that Jesus had called on her specifically, she wasted no time. She was ready to go. She was up and at it. She was going to Him. She was not going to waste another second mourning in her house while the Lord had asked for her. This is the sort of haste we should all have when called by the Lord—when the Lord calls upon us. When we are called to do something even if it's as simple as walking two miles to where He is.

Moving on to verses 32-35 it says, “When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. Where have you laid him? He asked. Come and see, Lord. They replied. Jesus wept.”

Mary immediately after seeing Jesus had a similar response as her sister, Martha. She had regret that Jesus was not there, that he just sadly was not there when her brother was sick because she knows, as her sister does, that he could have saved him. I don't think that she is blaming Him here. It is simply just mournful regret.

She is saddened that things transpired the way they did, knowing that under different circumstances it could have been different. Something bad happens and you think, man, if only this happened or this happened or this person was here and this person didn't do this and this and this and this.

We see how Jesus is moved by her and the others that are grieved. We see that He is saddened. Why is this the case? He knows exactly what he's about to do. He knows he's about to raise Lazarus from the dead. He knows those tears are going to vanish and be replaced with joy. Why is He sad? It's because He's empathetic. He understands us.

He's human just as much as He is God. When you see people sad, when you see people mourning, it should move you. It should make you sad. Others' tears, tears are in a way contagious. Their sadness moved Him despite Him knowing that He was going to raise him. That Lazarus was going to be raised from the dead. They were sad.

In Hebrews 4:15 it says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weakness, but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet he did not sin.”

When picking leaders and picking people to represent us in Congress, the presidency, or this or that, we want them to be able to relate to us. We want them to be able to understand our position, to understand where we're coming from, to understand our thought process and view on things. It is the same way with Jesus. Jesus came to earth, and we can be reassured that we do not have a God who does not understand us, that does not understand our plight and our struggle with sin.

He is very much aware of it. He lived it. He was tempted in the same way we are tempted, in every way that we are tempted. Yet, unlike us, he did not fall short. Unlike us, he did not give in to the temptation. He kept his glory. He stayed strong, and he never sinned. He never fell like we have, like all of us have, like Adam and Eve did, like David did. Unlike every other human, he alone did not sin. Yet, he understands us because he was tempted.

We do not have a God who does not understand us. We have a God who has lived with us, who has lived for us, and we can be reassured that he understands us better than we understand ourselves.

In verses 36 through 37, it says, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”  Some of the Jews understood what was going on, but others showed their arrogance and ego. They questioned the Lord and cast doubts on Him.

When I read this, I think about the lawyer who was questioning Jesus in Luke 10:25 through 37. When he talks about the Good Samaritan, Jews were prideful and spiteful toward Jesus. It is no shock that when given the chance, some of them fully blamed Jesus for this man's death, instead of just being sad that things transpired as they did.

In verses 38 through 40, it says, ““Take away the stone”, he said. “But Lord”, said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there for four days””.

Jesus asks them to have faith and to trust in what he is doing. Oftentimes, He asks people if they believe Him, and He tells them all they need is faith.

Let's look at Matthew 14:30 through 31. It says, “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink, cried out, Lord, save me. Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. You of little faith, he said. Why did you doubt me?”

This was when Peter was walking out to the water, walking out to Jesus on the water, but fell when he became distracted by the storm around him. Jesus chastised his lack of faith and asked him why he doubts Him.

This parallels our life. Our lives are that storm on that sea. The storm is all around us. There is war, conflict, and destruction everywhere. There are so many things that can distract us from the Lord. If we keep our eyes on Him, we can continue to walk on the water and walk towards Him and continue to walk straight if we have faith. If we look at the storm around us, if we get caught up in its destruction, we will lose focus. We might let our faith waver. Jesus tells us to walk to him, to walk on that water. We must have faith and not let the storm distract us.

When Martha asked why they would open it, even though it would smell really bad, He asked them to have faith, to trust Him, to not let the odor distract them from Him.

In verses 41 through 42, it says, “So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I know that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.””

When going over these verses, one thing I saw, one from, I can't think of the name commentator, but they were saying that all the miracles Jesus performed asked for the message that he was sending or the idea that he was trying to convey at the time to show the power of the Lord and that Jesus is the son of God. He was not always granted what he has asked.

In Matthew 26:39, it says, “Going a little forward, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, My father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me, yet not as I will, but as you will.”

When Jesus performs a miracle, when Jesus does anything, it is to further the Lord's will. It is to further God's will as we should do. He knows that even if it will not benefit him, even if it will cause him pain and suffering it still needs to be done. When he calls upon God here, He is making sure that the people understand that he has approval, that God is with Him, that God is behind him and that He is the Lord, that He is the son of God.

“When He had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “take off the grave clothes and let him go””. Here this man is risen from the dead.

Many times Jesus had performed miracles. Many times he continued to perform miracles. Until His own resurrection, until he was raised from the dead, none were as great as this. He raised a man from the dead, shown all those there that not even death, something so infinite, something so definitive to where in a comic book, a fictional thing we make up, sometimes people put years of work into explaining resurrecting a character that doesn't exist. Even this cannot hold Him back. He has dominion even over death.

To follow him, we can expect that the Lord, that death will never truly hold us. While we may not be jumping out of our graves, we will be born anew and find life in God.

In John 14:6, it says, “Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.”

In Him we can find everlasting life, not in this physical world, not with this grass, not with these houses, not with this wood, not with this, but with the Lord, with Him, with God, in heaven for eternity.

With that in mind, I ask if you have not been baptized for the remission of your sins, if you have not repented and turned back to God and followed him and been faithful, why wait? Death is waiting around the corner at any time. Jesus may be a four days travel away and He may not resurrect you. Death can come at any point. Do not wait for it.

Thank you.

Do You Love Me?

JOHN 21:1-14

OPEN: About 50 years ago I went with my WIFE’S FAMILY on vacation up in Canada at a place called North Bay.
It was a great place. Beautiful lake, rustic cabin, and there was the fishing.
You remember the part in the story of the disciples out fishing where they’ve been out on the lake all night long?
That’s me.
If anybody’s not gonna catch a fish… it’s me.
Frankly, it’s a lot more fun to fish if you’re actually catching fish.
(Tell story about Jack and I making a bet on who would catch the next fish.)
The story we’re looking at this morning talks about another fishing story…

But the story actually began a few days before this.
A few days before, Jesus has had a Passover meal with His disciples and we’re told that “when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”

And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”
Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.”
And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”

But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same. (Mark 14:26-31)
Well, we all know the rest of that story.
Jesus was arrested.
Peter denied Jesus 3 times before the cock had crowed twice.
AND all the disciples scatter like sheep.
It’s not their finest moment!

Three days later Peter hears the tomb is empty, and he hears about the angels and that Jesus has risen from the dead… and he runs to see if it’s true. And it is!!! The tomb IS empty!

But then we're told that that Peter "went away, wondering to himself what had happened." (Luke 24:12)

There’s a song called “He’s Alive” that tells the rest of the story this way: “…something strange had happened there, but just what, I did not know.
John believed a miracle, but I just turned to go.
Circumstance and speculation couldn't lift me very high.
'Cause I'd seen them crucify Him and then I saw Him die.
Back inside the house again the guilt and anguish came.
Everything I'd promised Him just added to my shame.
When at last it came to choices - I denied I knew His name.
And even if He was alive… it wouldn't be the same.”

There are many scholars who believe that that’s exactly how Peter responded to the resurrection.
He was despondent and filled with anguish.
It wasn’t that He wasn’t excited to see Jesus risen from the dead.
It’s just that he KNEW he’d betrayed Christ.
He knew he’d failed.
He knew that he’d made a promise and then did exactly what he said he wouldn’t do.
And when at last it came to choices - he denied he knew His name.
And even if Jesus were alive… it wouldn't be the same.

So, what’s he gonna do about it?
Well, he’s going fishing.
And he’s not going fishing for a couple of hours… or a couple of days… or a couple of weeks. He’s going back to what he knows.
He’s failed at being a follower of Christ, BUT he knows how to fish.
And it’s at this turning point in his life that Jesus comes to pay him a visit.
It’s been a miserable night.
They’ve been out all night and they’ve caught nothing.
And then this stranger appears on the shore and asks how they’re doing.
"Friends, haven’t you any fish?"
"No," they answered.
He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Now… why would Jesus do this a 2nd time?
I mean, I can understand why Jesus would have done it the 1st time.
He was trying to get their attention.
Trying to convince them that He was the one they should follow.
Trying to get them to realize they needed to abandon their fishing and be His disciples.
What I found interesting about Peter’s response to that first miracle was:
“When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’” (Luke 5:8)

Now, isn’t that interesting?
Jesus did His first miracle for Peter, and that made Peter realize he was a sinful man.
And now Jesus has done that same miracle all over again all because Peter ALREADY believes he’s a sinful man.

And not just a sinful man… but an empty, useless, worthless man.
So, Jesus comes looking for Peter, because PETER needs “looking for”.
Peter needs something that only Jesus can give.
Peter needs forgiveness.
You know, people deal with their sins in the strangest ways.
Some folks deal with their sin by trying to hide it behind good deeds.
We call that kind of thinking karma.
Karma is the belief that if you do enough good stuff in your life you can cover up the bad stuff.
Peter had been a big believer in Karma.
That’s how he’d lived his life.
You see, Peter worked at being more righteous than the ones around him.

When Jesus said he was going to be betrayed – disciples would run away, do you remember what Peter said?
“Even though THEY all fall away, I will not.”
Why would he say that?
Because he believed he was more righteous than they were!

He wanted to impress Jesus with his superior righteousness so Christ wouldn’t see the dark struggles and doubts that lay just beneath the surface.
He was hiding his sinfulness behind the fact that he could be more righteous than anyone else.

Now, we can expect that kind of behavior from pagans.
That’s the only hope those outside of Christ have to feel good about themselves.
If they can just be better than their neighbor or their boss, or their friends they can somehow feel justified.
But there’s a lot of people in churches that are like that too.
They live their Christianity trying to show how much better than others they are.

They compare their giving to that of others.
They compare their superior attendance.
They compare their position and influence.
They are impressed by their own religious activity – because as long as they can be better than you are – then they can forget their sinfulness.

The Bible talks about that kind of mindset in 2^nd Corinthians 10:12b
“When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.”
In other words, if you go to comparing yourself with others in the church you show that you’re not very smart!

ILLUS: People like that remind of the story of the two men who were out in the woods one day. You remember the story?
They see a bear, and the bear sees them and chases them. They’re running for their lives when all of a sudden one of them stops, sits on a stump and starts to put on his running shoes.
“Are you crazy?” says the 2nd man. “You can’t outrun that bear?”
“Don’t have to outrun the bear,” said the 1st man. “All I have to do is outrun you.”

Folks like that think that if you can “out-righteous” the next guy (religiously out-run them) then God will pay more attention to the other guy’s sin instead of their own.
The only problem is you can’t out run that bear!!!

Unless your sinfulness is removed you can out-run/out-righteous anyone you want to… but the bear is still there.
Your sin WILL catch up with you.
So, one way people deal with their sin, is to try to hide that sin behind good deeds.
Another way folks deal with their sins by trying to hide THEMSELVES.

That’s what Peter’s been trying to do.
He’s wanting to go back to his fishing.
That way he doesn’t have to face Jesus again.
That way he doesn’t have to see Him and remember how he failed Him.
So Peter’s trying to hide from Jesus.
That’s what two other people in Scripture tried doing.
Remember when Adam and Eve were in the garden?
They ate of the tree they shouldn’t have eaten of and then they “heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they HID from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” Genesis 3:8
Now, why on earth would they hide from Him?

Because if He didn’t SEE their nakedness maybe He wouldn’t KNOW they had sinned.

ILLUS: I’ve done that.
In the past, I’ve been praying and I get to the part where I’m confessing my sins to God… and suddenly I stop. And I think to myself - IF I tell Him about that sin, then He’ll KNOW what I’ve done and He’ll hold it against me at the judgment.

Now, what’s wrong with that picture?
Is there any sin you’ve EVER done that God doesn’t know about.
Of course not.

Even if you don’t confess your sins to God… He STILL KNOWS.
He knows your very thoughts as well as every word or deed you’ve ever done.
There’s nothing you could possibly do or think that He doesn’t know about.

The only way to fix the problem is to come to Jesus.
There’s a wonderful promise in 1^st John 1:9 that says “If we CONFESS our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from (most of our) unrighteousness.”

Is that what it says?
NO. It says “if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from ALL of our unrighteousness.”

But first I have to confess those sins.
First I have to come to Jesus.
But Peter won’t come to Jesus… so Jesus goes to Peter.
As I was thinking about this, a passage from Ephesians came to my mind
“everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: ‘Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’” (Ephesians 5:13-14)

Jesus is the “Light of the World” and now Jesus has come to shine His light on Peter.
So, how did He shine that light on Peter?
Well, He sat down with Peter and he ate with him.
And they talked about it.

And Jesus wanted to confront Peter’s failure before it got worse.
When Jesus sat down with Peter, He didn’t condemn him or insult him or to reject him.
Jesus sat down with Peter to confront his sin, but He confronted Peter because HE wanted to win Peter back.

So He sits with him
and eats with him
and He TALKS with him.
And do you know what Jesus says:
“Peter, do you love me?”
“Peter, do you love me?”
“Peter, do you love me?”
THREE TIMES Jesus asks Peter that question.

Why would He do that?
Why ask Peter that question 3 times?
Well, for one thing… Peter’s a little on the slow side.
It takes Peter a little time to catch up.

We see that again in Acts 10 where God wants to send Peter to talk with the first Gentile converts. Three times God sends the same vision to Peter, because it takes a while for Peter to catch on.
But more even more that that, this is the most important question anyone can answer.
If you don’t love Jesus… nothing else matters.
Jesus once said “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15

Notice, Jesus didn’t say if you want to be holy, or righteous, or accepted you’ll keep my commandments. He said:
IF YOU LOVE ME

ILLUS: I once read the story of a woman who’d been married to a very mean man. He didn’t like the way she kept house. He didn’t like the way she did laundry or ironed his clothes. He didn’t like the way she dressed. He constantly criticized her for everything.
Early on their marriage he handed her a list of 25 rules for her to follow.
She hated it… and she hated him.

You can imagine how frustrating it was to her to have to constantly check her list to see if she was pleasing him - and to staying out of trouble. She usually failed miserably and each time, he belittled her all over again and he made her feel miserable and small.

Then, one day much to her great joy… he died.
Soon, she fell in love with and married a wonderful loving man. They loved each other very much. She practically broke her neck to please him – and even brought him breakfast in bed.

One day, she ran across that old list, and the feelings of anger and inferiority returned.
But, suddenly she began to laugh! As she checked the list, she realized that she was now doing it all for her new husband.
Why? Because she loved him.

Peter… do you love me?

Sing this song with me
“Oh, how I love Jesus, oh how I love Jesus.
Oh, how I love Jesus because He first loved me.”
Now, what’s interesting was that - after Jesus asked “Do you love me?” - He told Peter to do something.
"Feed my lambs."
"Take care of my sheep."
"Feed my sheep.”

If you love me: feed my lambs, take care of my sheep, feed my sheep.
WHY?
Because your Christianity isn’t about YOU.
Christianity isn’t about your personal desires and wants.
Jesus saved you… so you could become like Him.

You remember John 3:16 “For God so loved the world…”
Well, there’s a 1^st John 3:16 and it says this:
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us…”
Almost sound like JOHN 3:16 doesn’t it?
But then it finishes off this way:
“… and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”
In other words - if you want to be like Jesus, you need to love like He loved.

Feed His lambs.
Take care of His sheep.
Feed His sheep.
Do you love Him? Then that’s what you and I need to do.
THIS is what love for Christ is all about.

(sing) “Oh, how I love Jesus, oh how I love Jesus
Oh, how I love Jesus because He first loved me.”
One last thing.
Until you realize you are a sinner in need of forgiveness you’re never really going to love Jesus.
Until you realize you need Jesus more than He needs you,
you’re not going to love Him like you should.
You see that’s what Peter’s problem had been all along – he thought Jesus needed him.
Peter viewed himself as Jesus’ muscle. His protector.
No one was going to touch Jesus as long as Peter was around. Jesus “needed” him.
Peter figured he was OK… just the way he was because Jesus needed him.

But it was only when he realized he’d failed… sinned…
he’d really messed up… that he knew how much he really needed Jesus. And that’s where this meal down on the shore helped him realize that truth.

From that day on, that was Peter’s message: you’ve sinned, you’ve failed – you need Jesus.
Everywhere Peter preached he made sure his audience knew they’d sinned.
At one point the Sanhedrin complained “… you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

Were they?
Were they guilty of Jesus’ blood?
Of course they were.
They had sinned and failed.
And so have you.
And so have I.

We need Jesus.
In one of his most famous sermons in Acts 2 Peter tells the crowd
“God has made this Jesus, whom YOU CRUCIFIED, both Lord and Christ." Acts 2:36
He wanted to bring them to the point where they NEEDED Jesus. To the point where they wanted to LOVE Jesus. And when you love Jesus – you’ll keep His commandments
When they heard this (they had sinned) they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Acts 2:37

Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38

If you love Jesus, you’ll come to Him on His terms

INVITATION

No Turning Back

John 21: 1 – 4

Imagine a sleepy, early morning at the Sea of Galilee.
A crew of fishermen friends—Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, and the rest—had spent a long, chilly night out on the water. Their fishing expedition was less "great catch of the day" and more "great nothing at all."
Imagine them sitting in their creaking boat, rubbing their eyes and muttering,
"Really, not a single fish tonight."
It was the kind of night where even the fish seemed to have hit the snooze button.

Then, as the first light of dawn tiptoes over the horizon, a mysterious figure appears on the shore.
This isn’t your everyday beachcomber—it’s someone who carries a hint of mischief and a knowing smile.

Standing there in the gentle light, he calls out CHEERFULLY, almost teasingly, “Friends, have you caught any fish?”
The fishermen, still half-asleep and nursing the memory of their fruitless night, reply in unison with a weary “Nope, just a bucket of empty nets here.”

It’s as if the universe itself decided to stage a little cosmic joke on the group.
After all that waiting and bickering with their nets, they’re met with an unexpected visitor whose timing couldn’t be more perfect—or perfectly puzzling.

Here they are, expecting a stern lecture on technique, only to face a lighthearted inquiry that underscores both the absurdity and the hope of the moment: sometimes even when nothing seems to work, a little unexpected spark (or advice on which side of the boat to fish from) can change everything.

We read in John 21:4, “Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus” (ESV)

They failed to recognize Jesus.
It was indeed an unusual situation on the seashore that day, as the resurrected Jesus stood on the shore, and his own disciples who had been with him for three and half years failed to recognize who He was.
They had been with Jesus, walked with Him, ate with Him, saw the wonders and mighty miracles He performed, and yet on that day, they failed to perceive Jesus as He stood before them.

It may bewilder us as to how this could be possible, but this incident serves as a word of caution to all of us who follow Jesus.
If that could happen to Jesus’ disciples who were so close to Him and who saw Him with their physical eyes, such a situation could also befall us, who have not seen Him, and experienced Him as they did.

As long as Jesus was with them for three and half years, every day the disciples woke up with much anticipation to witness the mighty deeds that Jesus would perform each day.
These disciples of Jesus were not only eyewitnesses but were participants of all the amazing miracles that Jesus performed, and yet they had come to this juncture where they forgot their call and could not even recognize the risen Lord Jesus.

For those of us who have decided to follow Jesus and be His disciples, we must be aware that we too will be confronted with situations, wherein we may not be able to see and perceive Jesus, who is the core of our faith.
They chose to go back fishing

We read in John 21:2-3, “Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together.
Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing."
They said to him, "We will go with you."(ESV)

There was nothing wrong with the disciples wanting to go fishing, but the regretful part was that they had given up following Jesus to go after their profession.
It was Peter who initiated the move to get back to fishing.
As long as Jesus was with them
Peter was happy and content, but after he had witnessed the arrest, trial, death and burial of Jesus and he had lost all hope and become totally discouraged though the risen Lord Jesus appeared to them.

Just think about it.
We still talk about Peter only because he was a disciple of Jesus.
If Peter was just another ordinary fisherman, none of us would have heard about him.

Peter received fame, blessings, had his daily needs met, saw miracles and wonders only because He was with Jesus, but unexpectedly everything seemed to have come to an end when Jesus died.

That same Peter was the one who gave up everything to follow Jesus, who walked on water, who trusted Jesus and caught a fish which had his tax money in its mouth, who experienced every awesome miracle that Jesus performed, was disheartened and tempted to give up on the Lord, and to go back to where he started.

If we are not watchful, it is possible that we too can backslide like Peter, and the other disciples did.
The only way for one to not go astray, is to be rooted and built up firmly on the word of God.

We must allow the written word of God, to be deeply embedded in our hearts, which alone helps to grow our faith in the Lord and keeps us on course.

They did not heed Jesus’ word.
In Matthew 16:21 we read, “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”(ESV)

The disciples of Jesus were clearly instructed by Jesus while He was with them that certain events were bound to happen.
He told them that He would go to Jerusalem where He would be tried, arrested, crucified, buried, and would rise again on the third day.

Though the disciples heard these oft repeated words of Jesus, they did not pay close attention to listen and take note of what He told them, and probably forgot Jesus’ predictions of what was to come.
That is the reason why they thought everything was over when Jesus died, and did not fully understand or comprehend the fact that Jesus would indeed rise again from the dead to be with them forever.

Some of us may be in such a situation where we too hear the word of God regularly but are not really paying close attention to what the Lord is saying to us.
It is only when one firmly believes, and accepts the word by faith, will our faith stand strong in the midst of trials, difficulties and discouragements.

It is a remarkable thought that this episode of Peter and the other disciples deciding to go back fishing, as recorded in John’s Gospel, happened after the resurrection of Jesus.
It makes us wonder as to why they would have decided to go back to fishing when they had been eyewitnesses of the resurrected Jesus who appeared to them.

The chief priests on the other hand, whose only aim was to do away with Jesus paid more careful attention to Jesus’ words than did the disciples of Jesus.

In Matthew 27:62–63, we read, “On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, “Sir, we remember, while he was still alive, how that the deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise’”. (NKJV)

The chief priests and Pharisees were more keenly listening to the words of Jesus, and therefore went to Pilate to take extra precaution to see that Jesus’ words that He would rise again would not be fulfilled and saw to it that the tomb of Jesus was safely sealed and guarded.

When Jesus calls us to be His disciples, He in no uncertain terms declares that we will certainly face problems and difficulties as long as we are here on the earth, but that also goes with the assurance as promised by Jesus in John 16:33,
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.
Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.
But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”(NKJV)

The assurance we have is that no matter how daunting our situations are, the Lord who called us is faithful, and He has promised us victory over every circumstance we face, no matter how grim it may be.

As long as the disciples were walking close with Jesus, there was only eager expectation, and no room for doubts and fears.
It was only when they walked away that they started to stumble. If we do not chose to walk with Jesus every day we too can easily become dejected and discouraged.
Each new day is God’s gift to us, and we must wake up with anticipation as to what the Lord will do for us, and through us.

Instead of having a fatalistic view on life, our lives must be firmly set on God and His word, if we seek to live a life filled with meaning and purpose.

It is the Lord alone who can turn all our hopeless situations to hopeful ones, and transform our areas of defeat to those of victory.

Here is a good way for us to check to see if God’s word is truly entrenched in our hearts.
When faced with problems and difficulties, if all we do is grumble and complain, we can be sure that God’s word has no place in our hearts.
On the other hand, if His word is deeply rooted inside of us, we will choose to speak words of faith and victory.

The bible says in Proverbs 18:21 that “death and life are in the power of the tongue” which means that it is within our power to speak positively words of faith and victory over our situations, instead of doubt and defeat.

It is important for us to learn THAT INSTEAD of constantly complaining to others about the hardships we face, WE NEED TO hand over everything to God, and allow His peace to rule in our hearts and minds.
YOU KNOW …. THE PEACE THAT PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING!

Most certainly if the disciples had listened to the words of Jesus, and had taken it to heart, there would have been no way they would have gone back to fishing.

By not remembering the words of Jesus and the assurance He left them, they were filled with fear, uncertainty, despondency, and decided to walk away from Him.

The outcome was that they got back to where they were earlier, as they trusted only what they saw with their physical eyes.
The call to follow Jesus and be His disciples is not a simple task, as it is a call to walk by faith, and with total trust in God and His word.

When Jesus first called Peter in Luke 5:1-3, we read,
“One day Jesus was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret while the people pushed their way up to him to listen to the word of God.
He saw two boats pulled up on the beach; the fishermen had left them and were washing the nets.
Jesus got into one of the boat, it belonged to Simon and asked him to push off a little from the shore.
Jesus sat in the boat and taught the crowd.” (GNB)

Jesus was on the shore of the Lake Gennesaret, and as he taught, he asked for Simon Peter to push his boat a little farther so He could get into it and teach from there.
The Lord chose to use Peter’s boat only.

It is the Lord who has chosen and called each one of us to be His children.
We often question the Lord when we are in a quandary and forget that the Lord in His grace chose us to be His children. The one who called us is faithful, and He will carry us through right to the very end.
The Apostle Paul understood this calling of God most vividly. Before his encounter with the Lord Jesus, he was a persecutor of the church of Jesus.
However, after his conversion Paul realized that God had chosen him even before he was born as he aptly says in Galatians 1:15, “But God in his grace chose me even before I was born
and called me to serve him.”

Not only did Paul know that God chose him, but he had the firm belief that nothing in all the world, not tribulation, famine, hunger or persecution could separate him from the love of God.

When the Lord first called Peter he was in a similar predicament as the one he found himself in after the resurrection of Jesus.
He and the other fishermen, three of whom also became Jesus’ disciples had fished all night, and caught nothing.

However, when Jesus told Peter to cast his net again he did so, only because he believed the words of Jesus.
It was Peter giving heed to the words of Jesus that built up his faith in Jesus.
After a whole night of wasted efforts, when morning came, it was only when Peter listened and obeyed the words of Jesus that their empty nets were now filled and BURSTING with fish like they had never seen before.

If Peter had decided to go by his own logical thinking, and refused to obey Jesus’ simple instruction, they would have caught nothing.
Our faith is built up as we constantly hear the word of God.
When the Lord instructs us to do something, and we obey implicitly, only then we will find victory in all that we do.
When the Lord first placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden they did not need to toil and sweat.

Sweat and toil was God’s curse on fallen man.
All our human efforts are useless and in vain unless the Lord blesses our efforts and labor.

Hearing the word of God increases our faith, and faith is what helps us overcome every difficulty, and gives us victory in the world.

Instead of leaning on our own mind and thinking, we should learn to trust in the Lord with all our heart and success will be ours.
Peter gave it all up.
After the miraculous catch of fish, Peter and the other disciples brought their nets full of fish to the shore.

All that Peter toiled for the whole night was now accomplished, but what Peter did was astounding.
When Jesus asked Peter to follow Him, He willingly left it all, and followed Jesus.

It seemed strange that after having received this miraculous catch of fish that Peter was longing to have, that he willingly gave it all up to follow Jesus.
The obvious reason for this transformation was that Peter realized that after he had found the Lord, the true giver of all blessings that he henceforth decided not seek after the blessings, but rather pursue the Lord, who is the originator and giver of all good things.

Peter may have gone hungry before he met Jesus, but we can be sure that once he decided to follow Jesus there was not a day when his needs were not met by Jesus.
Peter who had willingly left his profession, his boat and his nets to follow Jesus, was after three and half years tempted to go back to where he started.

To those of us who hold on to Jesus and follow after Him, the Lord promises to supply all our needs, and we will never be in want.
There may be times of trials and temptations that confront us, when we too may be tempted to give up.
Sometimes the temptation to give up on this journey with Jesus may come from those around us.

Instead of being satisfied with leading mundane and mediocre lives, let us surrender our lives to the Lord, who can strengthen us and build up our faith so we can be a great blessing to others.

Peter’s decision to get back to fishing also affected the faith of six other disciples who decided to go along with him.
The result was that they were back to square one, a place of toiling and emptiness.

They labored all night and ended up only with sheer exhaustion and failure.
When we chose to walk away from the Lord, not only does it affect us, but also our family and those around us.
Our backsliding will usually result in others following suit.
If we KEEP our eyes focused on our faithful God, we will not go astray.

Also the kind of people we associate with will in many ways affect our walk with the Lord.
It is beneficial to have fellowship with those who love the Lord
and are being used by the Lord, as this helps us to keep focused and to shine for the Lord.
Let us always remember that we are called to BE the salt of the earth, those who will influence others positively.

If we like Lot’s wife look back, we will become pillars of salt that will be of no use to anyone.
When Jesus first called Peter and the others he called them from being ‘fishermen’ to becoming ‘fishers of men’.

The difference between ‘fishermen’ and ‘fishers of men’ is huge. ‘Fishermen’ catch live fish and then kill them whereas ‘fishers of men’ are those called by the Lord to find men who are dead in their trespasses and sins and help them find eternal life in Jesus Christ.

Every one of us must choose to be either a ‘fisherman’ (those who take life) or ‘fishers of men’ (those who give life to others).

God’s call to us is to be those who give life to others.
If we backslide, and go back to our old way of living, our lives will become fruitless and worthless to others.
Let us decide to remain faithful to the Lord, and to His calling for our lives.
May the Lord on His return find each one of us standing firm in our faith.
As those who have decided to follow Jesus, let us press on with perseverance, and never turn back but keep running forward, looking only to Jesus who is the author, and the finisher of our faith.

Who Is Jesus?

John 1:43-51

INTRO: Good morning church. It is easy to miss, but the Apostle John has given a number of different titles to Jesus. Recall that the gospel began with the description that Jesus is the Word (1:1). Jesus is called the true light (1:9) and the Only Son (1:14). He is called God in verse 1 and verse 18. John the Baptizer has proclaimed Jesus to be “the Lamb of God” (1:29, 36). The two disciples who begin to follow Jesus call him “Rabbi,” which means “Teacher.” In verse 41 we see Jesus called the Messiah, which we understand as the Christ, a title given in verse 17 also. These titles are descriptors of course, and each gives us insight to who Jesus is. The New Testament presents many descriptors. In House to House Heart to Heart Volume 30 Number 3 you can find a list of these on the inside back page.

One would probably suppose that this would be enough titles. Yet, in verses 43-51 we read three more titles given to Jesus. Nathanael ascribes two of these titles to Jesus, after being amazed that Jesus knew his spiritual condition (“an Israelite without deceit”) and knew his physical location (“Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree”). That's why the lesson today is titled, Who is Jesus?

The two titles Nathanael proclaims are found in verse 49, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

I. Son of God, King of Israel – Let’s read John 1:43-51 – “43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.””

A. Recall that John gave his purpose for writing this gospel, “That you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31). John the Baptizer declared that the baptism of Jesus proved that Jesus was the Son of God (John 1:34). The term, “Son of God” is easily and frequently misunderstood. D.A. Carson in his commentary on John makes this observation – (and I paraphrase);

1. “The expression ‘the son of X’ can have an extraordinarily wide range of meanings, owing in part to the influence of Hebrew on the Greek of the New Testament. Hebrew does not have as many adjectives as some languages, and compensates for this lack, by a variety of idiomatic structures including this one. Thus ‘a wicked man’ might be called ‘a son of wickedness’ (Psalm 89:22). Those deserving execution are ‘a son of death’ (1^st Samuel 20:31). Small wonder, then, that Judas Iscariot can be called (literally) a ‘son of perdition’ (John 17:12). In the Sermon on the Mount, peacemakers are called ‘sons of God’ (Matthew 5:9), because their peacemaking attests that… in this respect at least… they are imitating God.”
2. I found that to be a very useful explanation of why we have this “son of …” language commonly found in the Old Testament, also in the New Testament. When we read ‘son of wickedness’ it's not talking about you were born of a wicked person and therefore you're a child of wickedness. It's an adjective, saying, you are a wicked person, therefore a son of wickedness.
3. In the same way when you see Jesus being described as son of God, we are not talking about some kind of physical descendancy, but an adjective to say He is God. He possesses the very qualities and characteristics of God.

B. Turn with me now to Psalm 2. We will start reading at verse 1. “1. Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? 2. The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, …” Stop right there a minute. Look at what is being said. There are the nations, the people, the kings and the rulers. They have set themselves against two entities, the Lord and His anointed. The psalmist asks, “Why is the world against the authority of the Lord and His anointed?”

1. Psalm 2:3 – “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” It sounds like they're trying to break free from submission to God. V. 4f – “4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” God Himself upon the occasion of Jesus' baptism made it clear enough who this Son is, in the thundering message from heaven, Matthew 3:17. "on Zion my holy hill." Is a reference to Jerusalem, referred to here as holy, meaning not that Jerusalem's citizens were holy, but that God had recorded His name there and that, in time, the Anointed would appear on her streets.
2. Verse 7, "I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.”" The Messianic King now speaks, quoting the promise given to David in 2^nd Samuel 7. This sonship and kingship imagery is tied directly together. This carries the implication of authority, rule and a kingdom.
3. We see how the psalmist brings these two images together. He says the Lord has established His anointed as king. The anointed then turns around and speaks and says, Here's the decree that the Lord gave to me.

C. Continuing in Psalm 2:8, “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.”

1. Let’s turn 2^nd Samuel 7:12f and read God’s promise to David – “12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.” “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.” Not even an angel of heaven deserved such a line as this. The inspired author of Hebrews makes this absolutely indisputable. "To what angel did God ever say, "I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son."? (Hebrews 1:5-7).
2. These are just two texts that hold together being king and being son. I think this helps us understand what Nathanael is saying in his declaration, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!'' Nathanael recognizes Jesus as the king of Israel, the one that they have been looking for, the Son of God.

D. It is astounding how some scholars teach that Jesus never took any claim of divinity or kingliness or godliness upon himself. I would suggest they don't read very well. Listen to some of the things where Jesus intentionally indicates who He is.

1. In John 5:16-17 – “16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”” Like father, like son.
2. Jesus here affirmed the unique relationship between Himself and God. He taught the disciples to pray "Our Father," but many times used "My Father" in His own reference to God. Here Jesus' argument is that the interpretation the priests insisted upon would make God himself a Sabbath-breaker! Does God not heal on the Sabbath? Is not the maintenance of the universe a work of God going on every second of time, Sabbath days included? These are the implications of Jesus' words, "My Father is working until now."
3. Note that by the use of the first person possessive, "My Father," and by His statement that He also works (on the Sabbath day) He claimed equality with God. “and I am working”… By this, Jesus affirmed that He was doing exactly what God was doing. The Father had never ceased to work in the support and maintenance of all things, and therefore the Lord was in full character with the Father when He healed a man on the Sabbath day. Furthermore, no Sabbath regulation of any divine sanction had ever forbidden such an act.

E. This is why the Jews were seeking to kill him. Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, as they saw it… but He was even calling God His own father. Making Himself equal with God. To be son of God is to be God. To call God your father as He was doing was to set up that equation like father, like son. He's working. I'm working.

1. Consider the Jewish leaders would not have killed Jesus if he was only a prophet. If the only label that He accepted upon Himself was, I'm just a prophet sent from God. That's no problem to the Jewish people at all. The nation would have readily accepted that. It is because He continually accepted this language and continually pressed it even further indicating, that's who I am.
2. Recall what they told Pilate? John 19:7 – “The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.”” Divine. He made himself God. That's what that phrase means. The Jews heard what Jesus was saying as He went around teaching. Notice what the Jews are saying, He's making himself equal to God. He's saying he's God. That's what son of God means.
3. That is why this becomes an amazing statement in this first chapter of John when Nathanael says, you knew my spiritual condition. You know that I was without guile or deceit, and you knew where I was under that fig tree before we even met. You're the son of God. Who else can know that? How else can that be done? Then he adds, you are the King of Israel.

F. Now let’s look at Zephaniah 3:15f – “15 The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil. 16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. 17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love;…” That's the equation. You are the king of Israel, you're the Lord. You're the prophesied king. You are the Christ. You are the one that we have been looking forward to. Everything that Jesus does, everything that Jesus teaches and says as we read about His life… continues to press that connection.

1. We cannot say, “Jesus is the Messiah but that doesn't make Him God”. Scripture takes those two concepts and incorporates them together and you can not pull them apart.

a. The Jews understood that. Look again, John 19:12 – “From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”” They understood what Jesus had been saying. They didn't say he's claiming to be a prophet. They said he's claiming to be the king of Israel.
b. Recall the inscription Pilate had put on the cross. “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Oh that greatly upset the Jewish leaders and they petitioned Pilate to change it. Pilate refused. They were upset because it is the claim of God. It is the claim of Messiah-ship. It is the claim of kingliness.

2. It is the claim of everything that the Old Testament was pressing toward. It is the recognition that Jesus could not be the Savior of the world, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and not also be the Creator, God, and Lord.
3. That's what John is doing in this Gospel. That's really important so I'll say it again, it is not possible for Jesus to be the Savior of the world, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, AND NOT also be the Creator, God, and Lord.
4. Remember how John’s gospel began. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Two verses later, all things were made through Him, and there was not anything made that was made apart from Him. He made everything. He is Creator God. John in this Gospel is just linking those two in concrete and trying to drive that home for us to believe in who Jesus is. It demands recognizing He is the Savior, He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, but He is also the King of Israel. He is the Messiah. He is the eternal God

II. Son of Man - Let’s look at the third title, a title that Jesus gives to Himself. It is the most common title that Jesus uses for Himself, and it is found in v. 51, “Son of Man.” This title is found 18 times in John’s gospel and is used about 80 times in the four gospel accounts. This is a very serious title that Jesus gives because it also points to a particular Old Testament prophecy found in Daniel 7.

A. Daniel 7:13f Daniel says, “13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”[ESV]
B. Here the title of “Son of Man” carries the same two ideas that we have been examining in this study. Jesus is the King and rules over all creation. He comes in the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of Days and is standing before Him. Only God can do that. Only God is going to take His stand before the very throne of God and receive whatever the Lord has to give. In Revelation John has a vision, and what happens to John? He can't bear to stand. Ezekiel has a vision. Can he bear to stand? No, he cannot. Constantly, this imagery is given about how flesh and blood is unable to deal with the full force of the glory of God. It is absolutely impossible. Moses told of the same thing.
C. In Daniel we see kingship and sonship tied together. The kingship is obvious. Verse 14, what was given to Him; glory, a kingdom, an everlasting dominion that's never going to fade away. He's given the eternal rule of God. Notice in v. 13 Daniel says that “… with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days …” This reminds me of Acts 1:9 where the two watched Jesus ascend. Daniel is envisioning Him coming in that ascension to the Father, receiving a kingdom, and beginning His rule.
D. In a previous lesson we learned that John, the witness, sees Jesus walking by and he makes the declaration, “Behold the Lamb of God”. Remember what the two disciples of John did? They start following Jesus. When you understand that Jesus is the Lamb of God, you drop everything and you follow Him.

1. Consider that a bit more now. When we understand that Jesus is the Son of God, the King over heaven and earth, who has an eternal kingdom, an eternal rule, and has all authority, glory, and might, the Son of Man… the only reaction that we can have is to not only drop everything and follow Him, but to drop everything and bow the knee at the feet of Jesus.
2. I want to read again Psalm 2:5f. “Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.” Here we have the Son. Here is the anointed One and He says here is the decree given to Me.
3. Verse 8. “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.” Just say the word and You rule the world, which is exactly what Daniel 7 pictures. He comes to the Ancient of Days and receives the kingdom.
4. Verse 9f. “You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.” Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”[ESV]

E. Psalm 2 begins with a question. Why do the nations rage? Why do people continue to go up against the will of God? I like verse 3. The Lord sits back and holds them in derision. He laughs. You want to go up against God? It is like the comical picture of a kindergarten-aged child being upset at his parents and running away from home... all the way to his neighbor’s house.

1. There is obviously a serious side to this as well, and although the picture of weak and silly man trying to match wits with an almighty and all-knowing God is comical, God takes no delight in their waywardness and its consequences, but rather desires to see them turn around.
2. God continues. I will establish my anointed. I will install Him as my King even though He would be rejected. Even though the earth would kill Him, even though the kings would reject Him… God appoints Him as ruler over heaven and earth. As Savior of the world, as God Himself.
3. Then He says, and I paraphrase, bow the knee or else. Yield to the King or it will not go well for you. Yield to the King and it will go very well! Blessed are all those who take refuge in Him.

III. Jesus Is The Ladder - Finally, we need to look at what Jesus says about Himself in John 1:51. After Nathanael’s amazement concerning Jesus’ ability to know him spiritually and physically, Jesus tells him that he is going to see even greater things than that. What more could they possibly see? What they have seen so far is quite amazing! But there is more. “And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.””[ESV]  As an aside, that second “you” is a plural pronoun. The King James makes it more obvious. “…I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see…” They will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. – This is a puzzling statement. What does Jesus mean?

A. You may recognize that this is an allusion to the vision that Jacob had, which is recorded for us in Genesis 28:10-22. Verse 12 contains the direct connection: “And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!”
B. As this is happening in the vision, God is speaking from the top of the ladder, declaring His covenantal promise to Jacob in verses 13-15. This will be your land. You will have many offspring. God will not leave you until he has kept his promise. – Yet there is no explanation given about the vision of the ladder.

1. Listen to what Jacob says and what he does. “16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.””
2. Consider this… Jesus is the link between heaven and earth. Jesus is the house of God. Jesus is the gate of heaven. Jesus is the place to meet God. Jesus is the holy place. Jesus is the gateway to heaven.
3. Jesus does not say that the angels are ascending and descending on the ladder, but they are ascending and descending on Him, the Son of Man. Jesus is the place where all the promises of God are fulfilled. Jesus is where you have a covenant relationship with God.

CONCLUSION: That is what Jesus is saying with this imagery. He is saying you think you have seen great things? You haven't seen anything yet. You are going to begin to see that you come in contact with God through me.
You will see that I am the way to heaven. You will see that I am the holy place. You are going to see that I am that link between heaven and earth.
You are going to see me as the mediator between people and God. You are going to understand that I am that high priest. You are going to see me as that connection between you and God.
That is what we saw back in John 1:14-18. Remember what John said there? The word became flesh and tabernacled with us. We have seen his glory. The glory of the only son from the Father full of grace and truth. The very same picture. John is wrapping up by answering the question of who Jesus is. Jesus is the awesome place where we meet God.

John wraps up his introduction telling his audience, do you understand how great Jesus is? Chapters 2, 3, and 4 are going to amplify those images when we look at the water turned to wine, the temple, the discussion with Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman. These signs John evidently included with regard to the absolute authority by which each was performed. Jesus is the awesome place.

Pull your song books out. We will sing Invitation Song number 592. We are inviting you to see who Jesus truly is. To understand that He is the only way to God, the only way to have a relationship with the Father. Jesus is the only way into heaven. He is the only place where you enter the kingdom of God. He is the only place where you can be reconciled to God.

He is the awesome place where you and I come and meet God. He is the true temple of God. I pray when you see that, when you understand that He is the son of God, the son of man, the king of Israel. That this understanding will cause each of us to bow the knee before Him, praise Him for who He is, how glorious He is, how powerful He is, and how awesome it is to serve the living God. Turn away from your sins and be immersed in water to have your sins washed away to enter that relationship with Him.
Won't you come now while we stand and sing?

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Reference Sermon: Brent Kercherville