Episodes

Monday Feb 10, 2025
DANGER-Don't Try This at Home
Monday Feb 10, 2025
Monday Feb 10, 2025
2 Timothy 4: 3 – 4
Intro: A rat looked through a crack in the wall
to see the farmer and his wife opening a package.
What food might it contain?
He was aghast to discover that it was a rat trap.
Retreating to the farmyard the rat proclaimed the warning; "There is a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!"
The chicken clucked and scratched,
raised her head and said,
"Excuse me, Mr. Rat, I can tell this is a grave concern to you,
but it is of no consequence to me.
I cannot be bothered by it."
The rat turned to the pig and told him,
"There is a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!"
"I am so very sorry Mr. Rat," sympathized the pig,
"but there is nothing I can do about it but pray.
Be assured that you are in my prayers."
The rat turned to the cow.
She said, "Like wow, Mr. Rat. A rat trap.
BUT…I am in no grave danger."
So the rat returned to the house,
head down and dejected,
to face the farmer's rat trap alone.
That very night a sound was heard throughout the house,
like the sound of a rat trap catching its prey.
The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught.
In the darkness, she did not see
that it was a venomous snake
whose tail the trap had caught.
The snake bit the farmer's wife.
The farmer rushed her to the hospital.
She returned home with a fever.
Now everyone knows you treat a fever
with fresh chicken soup,
so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard
for the soup's main ingredient.
His wife's sickness continued
so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.
To feed them the farmer butchered the pig.
The farmer's wife did not get well.
She died, and so many people came for her funeral
so the farmer had the cow slaughtered
to provide meat for all of them to eat.
So the next time you hear
that someone is facing a problem
and you think that it does not concern you,
remember that when
there is a rat trap in the house,
the whole farmyard is at risk.
Back in the Old Testament,
in the book of Jeremiah,
we read an intriguing story of a Jewish King
who didn’t like something God had to say.
The King’s name was Jehoiakim
and God had the prophet Jeremiah write down a prophecy
which condemned the King and his kingdom
because of the evil that King Jehoiakim had allowed to take place. God sent a warning to Jehoiakim and the nation of Judah to repent... or else.
But instead of repenting of his sin
Jehoiakim decided to show his contempt for God’s prophecy.
He ordered a scribe to come into his chambers
and read the prophecy in his presence.
And after the reading of 3 or 4 columns of the scroll
(roughly equivalent to 3 or 4 pages from a book)
the King took a knife and cut off that section from the scroll,
and he crumpled it up and threw it into a fire.
And Jehoiakim did that with the entire scroll
until the whole of the prophecy
had been completely destroyed.
Jehoiakim cut out the sections of the prophecy
he didn’t like... which... was pretty much all of it.
And over the centuries, people have –
to one degree or another –
done exactly the same thing to God’s Word
with their own knives.
For example, Thomas Jefferson created his own
personalized Bible using a similar technique.
Jefferson titled the finished product:
“The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth.”
And what he did was,
he took several copies of the Bible
and literally went through the Gospels,
taking a penknife and cutting out
the sections of Gospels that he LIKED.
Then he’d paste those sections he liked
into a journal – and that became his Bible.
The parts he left out …
the parts he rejected were because
he felt those sections were “contrary to reason.”
You see Jefferson was offended by the idea
that God would reach down into this world
and “interfere” with the affairs of men.
So, anything that was mentioned a miracle
was ‘contrary to reason.”
He left out anything that spoke of God’s miraculous power.
Things like:
• the feeding of the 5000
• the various healings Jesus did
• and (of course) the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
More recently … in the 1990s,
about 150 religious scholars
did pretty much the same thing.
They got together in something they called
the “Jesus Seminar” and voted on verses
in the Gospels as to whether certain verses
actually spoke of true events
(as opposed to stories they felt
the Gospel writers had made up).
They voted by the means of “colored beads”:
Red meant - yes, Jesus said or did that.
Pink: The passage sounded like it could have been Jesus.
Gray: Maybe.
Black: Definitely did not happen.
They rejected many parts of the Gospels
they felt were ‘over the top.
For example, they rejected things like
• the passage where Jesus said:
"I am the way, and I am the truth, and I am life
No man cometh to the FATHER, EXCEPT THROUGH ME!
They felt it was “too exclusive”.
The very idea that Jesus would say
that there was no way unto the Father
except by Him was offensive to them.
• And they rejected Jesus’ parable about the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25 as being too judgmental.
• And, of course, they rejected
the resurrection of Jesus from the dead
as being too outlandish to be believed.
Now, why would they do that?
Why would these scholars (and Jefferson)
cut away so much of the Bible?
Very simple: they did not believe
ALL SCRIPTURE was God breathed.
TOM’s last 2 lessons from John have dealt with
The extreme importance of the WORD OF GOD!
They believed the Bible was a man-made document
filled with errors and made-up stories.
A “SO-CALLED” religious scholar stated
“if you press a skeptic to name
just 5 errors in the Bible... they can’t.
The Bible is an extremely accurate book.
And in spite of the constant attacks of skeptics
down thru the ages,
it remains the best-selling book in the world.
And the Bible has lasted as long as it has
because it is a GOD BREATHED document.
God literally wrote the WHOLE thing.
Or actually... you could say
He “ghost wrote” the Bible.
Do you know what ghost writing is?
That’s when a celebrity pays a good writer
to write a book in their name.
The book is named for the celebrity,
but their book was actually written
by the ghost writer.
James Patterson does a lot of this.
And that is just what happened with Scripture.
The KJV version of 2nd Peter 1:21 says:
“... prophecy came not in old time by the will of man:
but holy men of God spake
as they were inspired by the Holy GHOST.”
Did you catch that?
The Holy Ghost (Spirit) was a “ghost writer” of the Scriptures.
• Isaiah may have had his name on the book,
but it was the Spirit that carried him along.
• Matthew may have written the Gospel,
but it was the Spirit that ghost-wrote his book.
• Paul may have written letters to the churches,
but it was the Spirit that dictated the words.
And in 1st Corinthians 2:13
that’s actually what Paul claimed happened
even when he spoke: “This is what we speak,
not in words taught us by human wisdom
but in words taught by the Spirit,
expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.”
But Paul told Timothy in 2nd Timothy 3:16-17
the proof of the pudding
is in what Scripture is capable of doing
in the lives of those who read
and are instructed by it:
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
so that the man of God may be
THOROUGHLY EQUIPPED for every good work.”
The Bible has the power to transform us
and remake us even better than before.
David put it this way: IN Psalm 119:98-99
“Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
for they are ever with me.
I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes”
The Bible can make me wiser than my enemies
and smarter than my teachers?
How can it do that?
A philosopher by the name of Vishal Mangalwadi
recently wrote a book called
“The Book That Made Your World”.
He noted that whether you talk about politics or science, education or technology,
the Bible was the key that unlocked the Western mind.
He found that it was the biblical notion
of human dignity that formed the
social structure of western nations like the U.S.
It was the Bible that created a fertile ground
for women to find social and economic empowerment.
It was Scripture that uniquely equipped
Western culture to cultivate compassion,
human rights, prosperity, and strong families.
And that it shaped our very concept
of education and science.
Take Isaac Newton for example.
He made major contributions to mathematics,
optics, physics, & astronomy.
He discovered the law of gravitation,
formulated the basic laws of motion.
He developed calculus,
and he analyzed the nature of white light.
I can’t even understand half the things that he discovered.
But behind all of his science was the conviction
he learned from the Bible.
The key to Newton’s knowledge was understanding that
God had made the universe and that He
made it according to a mathematical structure.
And that God had gifted human beings
with ability to understand that structure
Then there was Robert Boyle –
the father of modern chemistry.
He agreed with Newton.
Because of what Boyle had read in the Bible
he looked at that the universe as being filled
with an extreme degree of order.
He saw this was true because
God ordained laws that guided
everything in our world.
And Boyle believed it was the scientist's duty
to discover what laws God had established.
Then there was Johann Kepler.
His 3 laws for planetary motion
are the basis for our understanding
of the solar system today
and they have shaped how astronomers –
even to this day - view the heavens.
Kepler also believed that there was a
mathematical precision and orderliness in the universe;
and that the scientist's duty
was to discover what mathematical formula God had used.
Because of what he’d learned from the Bible,
Kepler believed that God had created the world
according to an intelligent plan and that
that plan could be understood thru observation and reason.
In fact, he’d read in Scripture that God
encouraged the heathen to look carefully at creation
so that they might come to know God.
So, Kepler strove to prove
the greatness and majesty of creation,
so that mankind could have a deeper
& more powerful worship of their creator.
My Point Is This:
These men didn’t just become wiser than their teachers.
They BECAME our teachers.
Their research formed the foundation
of much of what we call science.
And they formed that foundation
because of their belief in the God of the Bible.
These men believed this because
they believed that ALL Scripture was
God-breathed was useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
so that the man of God
may be thoroughly equipped
for every good work.
Scripture changes people.
And it even changes civilizations –
because God has given it the power to do that.
When the Bible is taken seriously… nations change,
cultures change, and people change.
The Bible is the Good News
that transforms all of this.
In fact, that’s what the word “Gospel” means: “good news.”
The Gospel message is full of God’s grace
and God’s forgiveness.
But if the Bible is “good news”
why would anyone want to cut out parts of it?
Well, folks cut away things from the Bible because
the Bible isn’t ALL good news.
Some of the Bible is BAD NEWS for many people.
Just like the judgment on Jehoiakim
(which we talked about at the beginning of the sermon)
the Bible has words of condemnation
and words of warning of God’s impending judgment.
God tells people “you can’t always do what you want to do, because certain things are NOT acceptable.
And if you do those things... there will be consequences.”
For example: 1st Corinthians says in Chapter 6:9-10
“Do you not know that the wicked
will not inherit the kingdom of God?
Do not be deceived:
Neither the sexually immoral
nor idolaters nor adulterers
nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders,
nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards
nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
People who live these kinds of lives
squirm when they words like that.
This is NOT good news to them.
That’s not what they want to hear.
So they’ll either avoid God’s word
(by NOT reading it/ or NOT going to church)
or they’ll try to find a church
that will tickle their ears.
Or they’ll even cut out the Scriptures
that make them uncomfortable.
These theologians rejected any authority in the Bible
except the things Jesus said
(and even some of that they doubted).
But everything else – things in the Old Testament
and most of the New – were optional.
Even letters written by Paul or Peter or John...
didn’t make the cut.
And I use that term “cut” deliberately,
because these Red Letter “Christians”
are essentially heretics who have
gotten out their penknives
to cut away at God’s word– just like Jehoiakim did.
Now, that’s a VERY dangerous thing to do.
Peter warned the Christians of his day
about messing with Paul’s writings
2nd Peter 3:14 – 18 14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
Peter was warning the Christians of his day
(and he was warning us)
• stay away from these men with penknives.
• don’t listen to these folks because
they’ll drag you away from Jesus.
Peter described them as ignorant, unstable people...
lawless men who will be destroyed.
And that’s exactly what happened to Jehoiakim.
God destroyed him.
God told Jeremiah in Jeremiah 36:30-31that
Jehoiakim’s “...body will be thrown out
and exposed to the heat by day
and the frost by night.
I will punish him and his children
and his attendants for their wickedness;
I will bring on them
and those living in Jerusalem
and the people of Judah
every disaster I pronounced against them,
because they have not listened.”
That’s NOT good news.
When men like Jehoiakim
bring penknives to a fight with the Bible
(which is the Sword of the Spirit)
they’re bound to lose.
And that makes sense if you think about it.
If you had a choice of fighting with a penknife or a sword... which weapon would you chose?
And these folks have already lost.
God says they will be destroyed.
But even worse –
the people who listen to them will suffer.
And that’s bad news.
But notice WHY God brought judgment on
Jehoiakim and all Judah –
they “have not listened.”
They refused to love the truth
and so be saved.
That’s why we need to be committed
to standing firm with the Bible.
We do nobody any favors
by trying to water down the warnings
and judgments of Scripture.
ILLUS: There was once a fiery preacher
who often spoke on the subject of sin.
He minced no words, but defined sin as
"that abominable thing that God hates."
Some of the members of his congregation
came to him and urged him to tone down his sermons.
They said: "We wish you would not speak so plainly about sin. Call it something else.
Call it an 'inhibition,' or 'an error' or a 'mistake,'
or even 'a twist in our nature.'"
"Oh," replied the preacher, "I think I know what you mean.
Come with me."
He took them down to the church kitchen,
reached under the sink and
drew out a bottle of cleaning liquid
which had a skull and cross bones on it.
"What you are asking me do is put another label on this bottle. You’d want me to not call it poison,
but something more pleasant... like lemonade.
But that’s not going to happen.
When God calls something sin,
evil, depraved or an abomination,
I will call it by no other name."
The Bible is “Good News”
But there is poison in this world
that many want to pretend won’t hurt us.
God can not give us the good news
of Christ’s love and salvation
if we ignore the dangers of those poisons.
But if we LISTEN to God –
if we realize that God saved us to avoid sin –
then the good news is that He will change our lives.
Remember we read 1st Corinthians earlier:
“Do you not know that the wicked
will not inherit the kingdom of God?
Do not be deceived:
Neither the sexually immoral,
nor idolaters, nor adulterers,
nor thieves nor the greedy,
nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers
will inherit the kingdom of God.”
1st Corinthians 6:9-10
That’s bad news.
But in the next verse Paul tells us the GOOD NEWS:
“And that is what some of you were.
But you were washed,
you were sanctified,
you were justified in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
and by the Spirit of our God.”
1st Corinthians 6:11
Based on a sermon given
By Jeff Strite

Monday Feb 03, 2025
The Word
Monday Feb 03, 2025
Monday Feb 03, 2025
John 1:1-5
INTRO: Good morning church. Today we will continue our look at the prologue to John’s gospel. In our last lesson on we noticed John’s foundational teaching that Jesus is God. John proves Jesus is God by showing that Jesus created all things and that in Him is the light and the life. Paul puts it this way in Colossians 1:13-23 – “13. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14. in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. 15. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. 19. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20. and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. 21. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22. in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and irreproachable in His sight 23. if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard…”
First I’ll quickly mention some of the background I gave last week. In our lesson we said that this gospel is filled with signs and symbols. John uses these in talking about spiritual life. As we read and study this gospel, it is important to ask ourselves why John is using the sign we read about. It is just as important to consider the distinctiveness of this gospel. John omits many things that are in the other gospel records. Perhaps the most notable of missing elements in this gospel is that there are no parables. While Matthew and Luke are filled with parables, the Gospel of John is not.
John’s gospel records events that the other gospels do not record. Only John records the miracle of changing water to wine. Only John records Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus. Only John records the woman at the well in Samaria. Consider that only John records the raising of Lazarus from the dead. While the other gospels focus mainly on the teachings and movements of Jesus outside of Jerusalem, John’s gospel keeps its focus on Jesus primarily, in Jerusalem.
John’s gospel contains seven signs, most of which are unique to his gospel. Those seven signs are the water turned to wine, the healing of the official’s son, the healing at the pool, the feeding of the 5000, walking on water, healing a blind man, and raising Lazarus from the dead. The ultimate and final sign is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. There are also seven “I AM” statements made by Jesus that John records. This gospel reflects a great deal of symmetry in its unique way of bringing about faith in those who read it.
The prologue to John’s gospel sets the tone for what John is presenting. We are going to read so much about life and light in this gospel. John’s effort is to prove that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, by showing that Jesus does what God the Father does. This will be a theme throughout the gospel. In these first five verses we see that Jesus is God because He did what God can do: create, give life, and give light. These are activities reserved only for the power of God. Since Jesus did these things, then He is also God.
This theme becomes the lens by which we must study John’s gospel. We should ask ourselves how Jesus’ teachings or actions parallel what we see God doing in the Old Testament; therefore proving that Jesus is God. D.A. Carson makes the same point: “John intends that the whole of his gospel shall be read in light of this verse. The deeds and words of Jesus are the deeds and words of God” (Pillar New Testament Commentary, 117).
As I said, there is great symmetry here, there's clearly an intention behind this writing. I really want to place weight on that. When you approach John's gospel, you are intended to ask why. Why is that story there? What are you trying to tell me with that event or that teaching or that saying?
I. Jesus Is The Word: Let’s begin by examining this – Jesus is called “The Word.” Consider that there are many descriptive terms that the Holy Spirit could have used through John to describe Jesus. He could have been called the light, the life, or some other term. But the term given to the Son of God is the “Word”. What is being communicated by calling Jesus the Word? Last time we mentioned that the term “word” is defined as the basic unit of speech that communicates… has meaning.
A. In keeping with the theme of this gospel, God’s word is what brings things into existence… and brought the world into being. To call the Son of God by the term “the Word” denotes that creative power of God that must have been there in the beginning. The Word must have been there before creation because it is through the Word that the whole universe was spoken into existence.
B. The other important aspect of the Son of God being called the Word is that the Word reflects the one who speaks.
1. A person’s words are the means by which people reveal what they are thinking. You do not know what is in my mind unless I communicate my thoughts to you. What we say and how we say it reveals things about us. Therefore, “The Word” is the revelation of the mind of God. The Word reveals the very nature of God.
2. Jesus is God’s Word for us. Because Jesus is the eternal Word of God, and because that Word became flesh and dwelt among us, we are able to know God. When you see Jesus you know who God is. God is not a “far away”, “we don’t know what he wants”, kind of deity.
3. This is the point the writer of Hebrews makes as he begins his letter. Hebrews 1:1-3 – “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power…”[ESV]
C. I notice the parallels in the beginning of John’s gospel. God has spoken by His Son. The Son is the revelation of God. Through the Son the world was created. Through the Son we are able to see God. He is the radiance of God’s glory. He is the exact imprint of God’s nature. He upholds the whole world by His powerful word. Jesus is the Word because He is the revelation of the mind of God.
1. We can know God because we have the life and teachings of Jesus. This is why Jesus could say, “…Whoever has seen me has seen the Father…” (John 14:9). Could Jesus have stated the fact of His deity any more clearly than here? That is what is being presented in the first 3 verses of John… the Word is God.
2. If we want to know God and know what God is like, then we need to know Jesus. One writer stated it this way, “What Jesus did was to open a window in time that we might see the eternal and unchanging love of God.” Jesus is God’s message to the world. Jesus is God’s teaching, commands, and direction to the world. You can not separate knowledge of Jesus and knowledge of God.
3. You can't see God, but when you see Jesus and get to know Him, only then have you seen the invisible God and know Him. To put it another way, to call Him “The Word”, is to say that Jesus is God's message to the world. It's the revelation of His will, it is the representation of who God is, it is a declaration to all people for all time—this is the very nature, character and will of God Himself. It's a very important beginning point.
II. Jesus Creator, Not Created: The first part of our text has come under great scrutiny, especially by those who claim that Jesus is not the eternal God.
A. The Muslims claim Jesus was not God but a created human being like a prophet. The Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that all of our Bibles are mistranslated.
1. They claim the text should say that “the Word was a god.” In fact, their translation, the New World Translation, has this rendering.
2. The point they make is that there is no definite article in the Greek in front of the word “God.” In the English, "the" is the only definite article; meaning there is only one word used to indicate a specific noun already known. Nouns in English are preceded by the definite article when the speaker believes that the listener already knows what is being referred to.
3. Greek scholars will tell you that there being no definite article is an unacceptable argument because the Greek does not work like the English language. In Romans people try make a difference between “law” and “the law” by looking for the definite articles. That is not a valid approach.
4. By way of reference, John 1:6,12,13, and 18 also do not have a definite article in front of the word “God” but no one renders those verses as “a god.” No one reads, “There was a man sent from a god, whose name was John.” No one argues that John the Baptizer was sent from “a god”. He was sent from God the Father. The argument from Greek is invalid. Rather than take us down the road of Greek, we can defeat this false teaching just by using the text itself because John is making an emphatic argument.
B. John writes in verse 3, “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” If the Word was made or created, as some groups contend, then He had to create Himself. All things were made through Him. This is an important argument that John makes to cinch this up because there was a Gnostic issue in John's day that wanted to try to make this separation.
1. If Jesus, the Word, is a created being, then He must have created himself. If you do not exist, you cannot bring yourself into being. This is a pretty simple idea. How can you make yourself if you do not exist to make yourself? Therefore, if He made everything that was made, then He cannot be made. If He made everything, then He cannot fall into the “made” category. He must be the maker.
2. If He created everything, then He does not fall into the “created” group. He is the creator. It does not matter what Greek you know or what Greek arguments a person may want to present. To say that the Word was created is a direct contradiction of the clear words of this verse. Everything that was made was made by the Word. Therefore, the Word was not made.
3. The typical argument goes something like this; “He was created by God the Father, and then He in turn created everything else.” That is absolutely not what John is saying. John is making an absolute statement, “and without Him nothing was made that was made”.
III. Life, Light, and Darkness: To call Jesus “the light” and “the life” is another way to declare that Jesus is God. These terms were used in the scriptures to describe what God does. The concept of light and life in the Old Testament is extremely important in how it ties to the very nature and character of God.
A. In Psalm 36:7-9 we read, “How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.”[ESV]
1. God alone possesses the fountain of life. We are only able to see because of the light of God. Light and darkness are contrasted in a number of symbolic ways in the scriptures.
2. Light refers to truth (Psalm 119:105) and darkness refers to falsehood (Romans 2:19).
3. Light symbolizes holiness (1st John 1:7; Romans 13:12; 2nd Corinthians 6:14) and darkness symbolizes sin (Isaiah 5:20; Acts 26:18). Satan’s kingdom is called the domain of darkness (Colossians 1:13) but Christ dwells in unapproachable light (1st Timothy 6:16). Darkness stands for death while light stands for life (2nd Timothy 1:10; Ephesians 5:13).
B. The word of God is often pictured as the light.
1. Proverbs 6:23 – “For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,”
2. In Psalm 18:28 it says, “For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness.”[ESV] God's lighting His lamp is a reference to the constant enlightenment available to the faithful in God's Word.
3. You probably recall Psalm 119:105 – “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
C. Until the arrival of Jesus, the light had been put out. Not only was the world full of sin, but the nation of Israel had lost its way and no longer represented the light to the nations as it had been instructed to be. For more than 400 years God did not send a prophet. No one was speaking the inspired word of the Lord. The Jewish nation had been left in darkness because they had turned away from the Lord. Jewish writers of the first century understood themselves to be lacking the light of God.
1. In the Babylonian Talmud, Yomah 9b: “After the latter prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi had died, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel…”
2. Josephus wrote, Against Apion: “It is true, our history hath been written since Artaxerxes very particularly, but hath not been esteemed of the like authority with the former by our forefathers, because there hath not been an exact succession of prophets since that time;”
3. The Jews returned to Jerusalem after the Temple altar had been defiled and we can read of their actions in 1st Maccabees 4:45-46 “… So they tore down the altar and stored the stones in a convenient place on the temple hill until there should come a prophet to tell what to do with them.”
D. In John 1:5 there is a change. Up to this point the author has used past tenses (imperfects or aorists); now he switches to a present tense. “And the light shines in the darkness,”. The light continually shines and even as John writes, it is shining. It expresses the timeless truth that the “light of the world” never ceases to shine.
1. John 8:12 – “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.””
2. John 9:5 – “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
3. John 12:46 – “"I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.”
E. We stand in a great time in human history, along with everyone who has lived once Christ came to the earth. The eternal message of God has been revealed through the life and teachings of Jesus. Further, Christ sent the Holy Spirit to guide His apostles into the full revelation of God’s truth, and they wrote that message down for us.
1. We must not look at the scriptures that we hold in our hands as words on a page. As Peter would confess, “You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). You are holding God’s light in your hands. You are holding life in your hands. The light continues to shine in the darkness. The eyes of your heart can be enlightened and you can comprehend the will of the Lord. Give your full devotion to the word of God. It is the light you need in this dark world. It will restore your soul and give you life if you will let the Spirit’s words reach your heart.
2. This imagery should capture our hearts in understanding when Jesus, who called Himself light, then calls His disciples “lights in the world.” Not only did Jesus preach that we are “the light of the world” in the Sermon on the Mount, but listen to the words of His apostle, Paul.
a. “Do all things without murmuring and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.”[NKJV] Philippians 2:14–16.
b. We have a great charge to be kept. Shine as lights in the darkness of this world by holding fast to the word of life. Live in a way that shows you are lights. Do not let your light be made dim by sin and by the weights of the world that hold us back from shining bright.
CONCLUSION:
In the text we start to see what John wants us to take away from this Gospel. The intention of John right from the very first words is that we will be struck by the recognition that Jesus is God. He is the eternal God. He created everything. That means we are responsible to Him because He is our creator.
Jesus Christ is life. Not only the Giver of life, but He is life. If we are not in Him, if our relationship is not with Him, if we are not pursuing Him, we do not have life. We are pursuing death. We are wasting our time in the things of the world when we do not pursue the ways of God.
He is the light. The Scriptures so often remind us that we were in darkness. We were lost in our sins. We didn't know which way to go. With Jesus, we now can receive light and life. We can now know the way to God. Jesus reveals everything about where we stand before God and what we need to do to be in a relationship with God. I think the biggest point about light throughout the scriptures is that it is the word of God that's light. Again, there is a play on words here; John wants us to understand that by seeing Jesus as the “word”, rather than calling Him some other name or title, is because it is the word of God that is light.
One final thought. With this symbolism of light, we need to consider Paul’s words in Philippians 2:14-16, “Do all things without murmuring and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.”[NKJV]
Jesus in His sermon on the mount says, “You are the light of the world.” Paul connects that to us saying “…you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life …”.
This tells us that we are to be the image bearers of Christ. We are to reflect the glory of God. We are shining lights in this world, not because of who we are, not because of anything innately within us. We shine as lights in this world because we are reflecting the light of God.
We are reflecting the light of Jesus, the word of God who brings life. We are reflections of His light into darkness. God, through His word, tells us how to do that. You notice Paul says, “Holding fast to the word of life”. We do that when we hold on to the word of God tenaciously. When we recognize that our light only comes from the light, the true light, that light is not about us.
Light is not derived from us. We can't come up with what God says. We can't come up with God's rules. We can't come up with, “This is how I want to worship or how I want to do things.” The true light we are going to reflect is the very message and very word of God. We are told at the start of verse 14, “Do all things without murmuring and disputing”. We are to be blameless and innocent.
We are to live out life in a way that we are not obscuring the light of Christ. Through sin, through our various weights and issues that we endure in this life, it is so easy for us to block the light, so easy it is for us to obscure that light.
The light still shines, and we are to be mirrors of that light, reflecting it in every aspect of this world, in every aspect that we reach out, in every area and sphere of influence that we have, we are to be the resounding light that this world needs to come out of darkness.
Pull your songbooks out, and in a moment we'll sing the invitation song. We invite you to come to the light. We invite you to see Jesus is the light of life. He's everything that we need. We are to reflect Him. We are to obey Him and serve Him.
John, in such simple words, with such magnificent imagery, shows us how great a savior we serve, what He has done to draw us out of the darkness and into the light, so that we then in turn shine as lights in the world.
We beg you to come to the light, to turn away from your sins and be immersed in water for the forgiveness of your sins, and then serve Him with all of your heart. Serve Him fully, thinking about how we reflect Him as children of light in this world. That is our focus, and that must be our eternal goal until we are with Him.
Anyway you respond to that invitation to come to Jesus, to obey him and serve him, the opportunity is given to you. Would you come while we stand and sing?
# 642 - I Am Resolved
Reference Sermon: Brent Kercherville

Monday Jan 27, 2025
The Incomparable Christ
Monday Jan 27, 2025
Monday Jan 27, 2025
John 1:1-5
INTRO: Good morning church. Today we will start taking a look at the Gospel of John which is a gospel unlike the other three. This gospel is not a narrative, even though there are narrative stories within it. None of the gospel writers had the intention to write a complete description of the life of Christ according to human principles. Yet, the three first Gospel-writers describe in brief outlines, the coming and actions of Christ from His baptism at the Jordan till His resurrection and ascension - and this is why they are called synoptic gospels.
John’s Gospel is highly symbolic and highly spiritual. As one reads the Gospel of John it becomes quickly apparent that this is not a simple gospel. John’s purpose for this gospel is stated toward the end of his writing in John 20:30-31 – “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”[ESV]
Of the thirty miracles listed in the synoptic Gospels John mentions some, but John also describes other miracles which are not mentioned anywhere else. This adds up to seven miracles however John does not call them miracles, but signs. This purpose statement in John 20 is extremely important to our study.
It is not our job nor should we desire to try to turn this gospel into a synoptic gospel. John is not telling a narration of Jesus’ life. We must appreciate the distinctiveness of the four gospels and especially consider how different John’s gospel is from the other three. John does not give any account of the birth of Jesus. There is no mention of Jesus’ baptism. There is no record of the temptation of Jesus, nor His transfiguration. The appointment of His apostles is not mentioned. The institution of the Lord’s Supper is not found in this gospel. The ascension of Jesus is not recorded. Neither is there a great commission declared in this gospel. Perhaps the most notable of missing elements in this gospel, is that there are no parables.
Further, John’s gospel records events that the other gospels do not record, which must catch our attention. Only John records the miracle of changing water to wine. Only John records Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus. Only John records the woman at the well in Samaria. Consider that only John, records the raising of Lazarus from the dead. While the other gospels focus mainly on the teachings and movements of Jesus outside of Jerusalem, John’s gospel keeps its focus on Jesus, primarily, though not entirely, in Jerusalem.
As we progress through John’s writing we must recognize that he is not recording everything that Jesus did. He did many other signs in the presence of His disciples. Therefore, as we come to the various signs and stories in this gospel, we need to ask this important question: “Why did John include this sign?” We need to consider what John is trying to teach his audience through the sign he records.
Now just because John is writing so that we believe, should not cause us to draw the conclusion that we do not need to study this gospel because we already believe. I strongly suggest to you that this gospel will deepen and strengthen your faith in incalculable ways when we grasp what John is trying to get us to see about Jesus. John is not looking for mere mental assent about Jesus. The belief that John is looking for…is a life-changing faith. The gospel is intended to cause us to fall on our faces and cry out, “My Lord and my God!”
I. Jesus Is God: Let’s read John 1:1-5 – “1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2. He was in the beginning with God. 3. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”[NKJV]
A. The first few words of John’s gospel are simply staggering: “In the beginning was the Word.” This is an astounding statement that is made about Jesus. We know that “The Word” is a reference to Jesus because of John 14:1 - “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Also Revelation 19:11-13 – “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.”
B. The holy scriptures begin with the words, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” John begins his gospel with, “In the beginning was the Word.”
1. An important word in this sentence is “was”. The scripture does not say that the Word became God or came to God. The Word was in the beginning with God. Therefore, just as at the beginning of the creation of the world, God existed, so also the Son, the Christ, existed.
2. John does not wait to get to the heart of the matter. We see no genealogy, like in the other gospel accounts. The reason is clear. John was to start with a very controversial point: Jesus is God. Jesus is not just a man. Jesus is not a mere prophet. Jesus is not a created being. Jesus, the Son of God, the Word, existed in the beginning, before the world began. There is no genealogy recorded because He is the eternal God. He has no beginning. He has no end. At the beginning of creation the Word already existed.
3. Further, to say that the Word was with God is not a statement of mere coexistence. This is a description of intimate fellowship with the Father. It describes a picture of equality as deity in that there is nothing lesser and nothing lacking in the Word in terms of His Godhood. The Word has the very same nature as God the Father. Verse 1 concludes; “And the Word was God …” We might have deduced this truth from either of the two preceding clauses, but the apostle left nothing to chance, categorically affirming in this third clause, that the Word was indeed God. As one commentator put it; “A word, in the primary meaning of the term, is a vessel for the conveyance of an idea; and Christ was the vessel which conveyed the true idea of God to humanity.” Jesus explained it this way in John 14:9 – “… He who has seen Me has seen the Father;…”.
4. Now verse 2 concludes the thought that the Word was in the beginning with God. Where God exists, the Word exists. There is not a time or place when the Word did not exist or when the Word was not God. There are three proofs that John offers in these first five verses to prove that Jesus, the Word, the Son of God, is in fact the fully divine God.
II. All Things Created Through Him: Verse 3 says, “All things were made through Him,…”
A. The Word is equal in nature to God in every way, and John declares all things were made through the Word.
1. When we read that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, John wants us to know that the Word was just as involved in the creation process as the Father.
2. The apostle Paul taught this very point to the Colossians 1:16-17 – “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”
3. We are so assured of this truth that John continues, “… and without Him nothing was made that was made.”
4. In the beginning was nothing. Genesis records that it was simply void and darkness. Nothing was made without Him. Jesus is God because He created all things. Consider that this means that He created you. This is a point that will be more fully expressed in verse 11. We are His creation. Therefore, since He is God and He made us, then we bear an enormous responsibility to Him.
5. We find this again in the book of Hebrews, Hebrews 1:1-2 – “God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;” Also in Hebrews 1:10 – “And: "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands;”
III. Jesus Is Life: The apostle John makes the next stunning statement in John 1:4 – “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
A. We noted at the beginning of the lesson that this gospel is a highly spiritual and symbolic gospel. When the scripture says that in Jesus was life, is John referring to our physical, earthly breath of life or rather our spiritual life? I suggest John could be referring to both the physical and the spiritual.
1. As the agent of creation, Christ contained all life of every kind. All life came through Christ, is sustained by Him, and that life is responsible to Him. He gave life to the world because He created the world. But He did much more than that.
2. The use of the past tense shows that true spiritual life was in Christ before the incarnation, emphasizing the truth that all of the hopes of worshipers under Israel's law were actually in the Lord Jesus Christ, just as it is with all who ever lived. Physical life came from Him and in Christ there is eternal life.
3. Notice that John did not say that He gave life, but that life was in Him. Jesus is God because only God can give life. No one else can give life. The second reason that John uses to affirm that Jesus is God is because only God can give life and life is in the Word, Jesus. Jesus is not simply the bringer of life. Jesus is the life.
B. For Jesus to be the life means that we must rely upon Him for everything. Nothing else is life. To pursue anything else but Jesus is to pursue our death. Jesus as the life—describes our necessity to rely upon Him or else we are dead.
1. We need to be screaming to the world that they are pursuing their death, not life, when they follow the ways of the world. The world is looking for this life. Yet they are looking for life in every place—but in Christ. Jesus has been discounted as not being the source of life.
2. The world declares that life is found in giving back to the world, being charitable, leaving the world better than when we found it, making a mark, living your own way, or any of the many other mantras for life. In seeking these things we are pursuing death because life is not there.
3. To use the image of the scriptures, Jesus is the fountain of living waters giving life to all. We are as foolish as the person who sees a fountain of water in the desert, then passes by the water, and continues to walk looking for something else. By passing the fountain in the midst of the desert, you are sealing your death. When we pass by Jesus as the giver of life, we are sealing our death. In Jesus alone is life. We must rely upon Him completely for our life or else we are dead in our sins.
IV. Jesus Is Light: Next John says, “… and the life was the light of men.” Jesus is God because He is light. When we read the Genesis account we read of a realm of darkness. But God spoke light into existence. The Word was in the beginning with God and brought light into the world.
A. In the physical realm we define “light” as electromagnetic radiation that can be detected by the human eye. For us to “see” things it is necessary for there to be light. We call the light provided for us to “see”—illumination. The act of illuminating something is the act of making that something visible.
1. Yes, at the creation “light” was created and it provides for our ability to see in the physical. However, just as John was not speaking about physical life, he is not speaking about physical light. John plays again on the creation imagery to show us that Jesus is the spiritual light. Spiritual awakening and understanding are in Jesus. Jesus as the light brings to this dark world true knowledge and moral purity.
2. Light represents holiness and purity. As light, Jesus gives guidance and direction for our lives. Jesus illuminates the heart for spiritual perception and knowledge. God is pictured as light often in the scriptures. Psalm 27:1 says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?...” The psalmist wrote in Psalm 36:9 – “For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.” John wrote in his letter that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.
3. In similar manner, the world is described throughout the scriptures as living in darkness. Listen again to the apostle Paul; “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,”[ESV] Colossians 1:13.
B. Jesus will say later in John’s gospel, John 8:12 – “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.''”[NKJV]
1. Without Jesus, we are lost in the darkness of this world. We are lost in our own wisdom, our own futility of life, and our own foolish thinking. We are so lost in our minds and hearts that we think we have life right now. We are so deluded by Satan that we think we have all that we need while we are sitting in this darkness.
2. Listen to how Paul described this condition—first in Romans 1:21 – “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”[ESV] And then in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians where he says, Ephesians 4:18 – “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.”
3. Paul describes this again in his second letter to the Corinthians, 2nd Corinthians 4:3-6 - “3. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4. whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. 6. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
4. Satan, through the ways and schemes of this world, blinds us from seeing the light of Jesus. We are left sitting in the darkness, thinking that we have all the answers, not recognizing that we are in the dark!
C. Have you ever sat in a room reading or watching television or something like that in the late afternoon and you did not need the lights on because the light from outside was strong enough. As the afternoon wanes the darkness grows you do not notice it. Your eyes simply continue to adjust to the darkness, not recognizing how the darkness is encompassing you.
1. Suddenly someone turns on the light and you recognize how dark it truly was in the room. But up to that point you did not perceive the amount darkness you were in. You had no motivation to seek the light because you thought you could see fine, even though you were encompassed by the darkness.
2. That is what it is like to live in this world. We think we have light. We think that we have the wisdom and knowledge we need - even though the darkness is slowly closing in around us. Jesus is the light. Jesus is the light that shines in the darkness so that we can see. Only in Jesus can we have direction and can our hearts be enlightened. Only in Jesus can our hearts have spiritual perception and understanding. Otherwise, we are sitting in the dark room not realizing that we cannot see clearly. Light is crucial. Without this spiritual light we are dead and cannot see the way. Jesus came to shine in the darkness. He exposes the works of darkness.
3. Where there is no light, there is no vision, no view of reality, no direction, and no guidance. The world of darkness does not understand Jesus, and does not overcome Him. Light always overpowers darkness. There is never a time when you turn on the light and the darkness is not vanquished. Light always overpowers the darkness.
a. John is describing this world with people who cannot see in front of their faces. It is like a cave trip where to show you complete darkness they turn out the lights.
b. Without light, there's no vision. There's no view of reality. If you've ever done one of those trips where the light is turned out, there's no concept of reality anymore. Where are the people? Where's the walls? Where's anything?
c. You can't even see what's around you. There's no direction, no guidance, no concept of what may be.
4. Christ overcomes the powers of darkness through His life, and death on the cross. The darkness would not be victorious over Christ. The light and the darkness came into bitter and decisive conflict and the darkness could not prevail. Jesus always overcomes. Jesus is always victorious.
CONCLUSION:
In the text this morning we start to see what John wants us to take away from this Gospel. Not just simply a warm, fuzzy Jesus that so often gets presented before us as just a good old boy. The intention of John, right from the very first words, is that we be struck by the recognition, that He is God.
He is the eternal God. He created everything. That means we are responsible to Him because He is God.
He is life. Not only the giver of life, but He is life. If we are not in Him, if our relationship is not with Him, if we are not pursuing Him, we do not have life. We are pursuing death. We are wasting our time in the things of the world when we do not pursue the ways of God.
And He is the light. The Scriptures so often try to remind us that we were in darkness. We were lost in our sins. We didn't know which way to go. But with Jesus, we now can receive light and life. Now we know the way to God. Jesus reveals everything about where we stand before God and what we need to do to be in a relationship with God.
Otherwise, we are walking blindly and falling into sin, and condemnation is assured. He lights the path so that we can be with Him, removing the obstacles that stand in our way so that we can have life with Him.
What a great picture. What staggering, profound words. It's something I hope this afternoon you will go think about and we'll come back to these verses again because there is more to be found here.
Have you found your life in Him? He is the light… and we should ask ourselves if we are walking on the path that He is lighting? Or perhaps are we going our own way? There are many forces in the world that insist we follow our own way. Do not be deceived.
Don't go your own path. Don't go your own direction. It leads to death. Turn this very morning to Jesus. Turn away from your sins. Realize that He is where life is found and only through obeying Him and serving Him can you have that eternal life.
As we sing the song of invitation, if you’ve been clinging to the darkness of this world let us urge you to repent, and make whatever changes need to be made. As a Christian if you need to change, ask God’s forgiveness. If you need our prayers, we would be glad to pray with you. If you need to be baptized into Christ, don’t continue to hide in the darkness of this life without the Lord, for there will come a time when it is too late.
Whatever you need we invite you to come as we stand together and sing.
# ???
Reference Sermon: Brent Kercherville

Monday Jan 20, 2025
For The Birds
Monday Jan 20, 2025
Monday Jan 20, 2025
FOR THE BIRDS
GENESIS 8:1 – 17
OPEN: I am told that an Indiana cemetery has a tombstone that is over 100 years old which bears the following epitaph:
"Pause, stranger, when you pass me by. As you are now, so once was I. As I am now, so you will be. So prepare for death and follow me."
An unknown passerby read those words and underneath scratched this reply: "To follow you I'm not content, until I know which way you went!"
An old Aztec legend tells of a man named Tapi who was a very pious man. The legend says that the creator told Tapi to build a boat that he would live in. He was told that he should take his wife, a pair of every animal that was alive into this boat.
Naturally everyone thought he was crazy. But then the rain started and the flood came. Men and animals tried to climb the mountains but the mountains became flooded as well.
Finally the rain ended. And Tapi decided that the water had dried up when he let a DOVE loose that did not return.
In China there’s an ancient temple, and on one wall there’s a painting shows boat owned by a man named Fuhi (the Chinese version of Noah) out upon raging waters.
Dolphins are swimming around the boat and a DOVE with an olive branch in its beak is flying toward it.
In an ancient Babylonian Epic the hero Gilgamesh gives his story about a flood:
“When the seventh day dawned I loosed a DOVE and let her go. She flew away, but finding no resting-place she returned. Then I loosed a swallow, and she flew away but finding no resting-place she returned. I loosed a RAVEN, she saw that the waters had retreated, she ate, she flew around, she cawed, and she did not come back.
Then I threw everything open to the four winds, I made a sacrifice on the mountain top.
YOU can visit the internet and explore different flood stories from such diverse nations as
• East Africa
• Argentina
• Australia
• Bolivia
• Cuba
AND…
• Fiji
• Egypt
• Iceland
• India
• Mexico
• New Zealand
• Russia
• Vietnam
And of those 35 flood stories that were examined
ALL of them talk of humans being spared in the flood.
32 of them include a boat.
24 include an account of animals being spared.
At least 6 of them include references to a dove.
Two of those included references to a raven (one to a hawk).
Whenever archeologists encounter such similar stories like these from so many diverse peoples they tend to believe SOMETHING happened.
And of course... we know something DID happen.
It was a flood for global proportions that destroyed all of mankind because of their wickedness.
In the midst of the Biblical account of the flood we read an intriguing story for the birds.
Two birds actually: A Raven and a Dove.
In Genesis, the Raven actually plays a fairly minor role in this play because all we’re told about it is found in verses 6 and 7:
“After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth.”
Noah released the raven 40 days after these mountaintops had appeared. And the bird never came back INTO the ark itself... it just kept flying around.
Maybe it rested on the ark itself, maybe on the mountaintops in the distance.
But the raven never returned to the safety of the ark again.
Now the Dove gets a little more press.
It’s sent out from the ark 3 different times.
1. The first time, the bird finds no place to rest its feet ... and so it returns to Noah and Ark.
2. The 2nd time, the dove returns with an olive branch in its beak (indicating something is growing).
3. And the 3rd time – it flies away and doesn’t return at all.
Now, the question that came into my mind as I read this story was this:
• Why are we even being told about these birds?
• Why waste the ink?
• Why would God care?
Now remember that we should begin every study of Scripture with one basic concept.
II Timothy 3:16-17 tells us
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."
ALL Scripture – not just the parts I like.
Not just the parts I agree with.
Not just the parts that “speak to me.”
ALL Scripture... including this story.
Thus, if God put these two birds in the story it would seem that there would be a reason
So, allow me – this morning – to give you my understanding of the message from the birds.
1st – These two birds are distinctly different.
The Raven, for example was an unclean bird
Leviticus 11 tells us: "’These are the birds you are to detest and not eat because they are detestable: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture... any kind of raven”. Leviticus 11:13 & 15
There were certain animals and birds that God’s people in the Old Testament were not allowed to eat and they were not allowed to offer as part of a sacrifice to God.
And every Raven was unclean. These birds quite literally feed on death. They eat the flesh of dead animals. Ravens are scavengers...
They look for death.
By contrast, the dove was a clean animal.
Doves were birds the Israelites could not only eat - they could offer them in sacrifices to their God.
In Genesis 15 – when God cut His covenant with Abraham - Abraham was commanded to bring animals for sacrifice... one of which was dove.
Leviticus 1 says that doves could be offered as burnt offerings.
And Leviticus 12 says doves were to be offered for certain kinds of sin offerings.
So doves were clean animals.
But beyond that... God seems to have a very special place in His heart for these birds.
Jesus regarded them as symbolic of purity and innocence.
Jesus told His disciples they should be as “innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16
But perhaps the most powerful image of doves in scripture happened after Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan. Mark 1:9-10 tells us that 9) it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
10 And immediately, coming up [a]from the water, He saw the heavens [b]parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.
God made the dove the image that represented His Holy Spirit.
SO, Why would Noah release an unclean bird (the Raven) AND THEN a clean bird (the Dove) from the Ark to “see if the waters had dried up from the earth?”
I think there’s a very simple answer to that.
I believe God told him to.
If I’m right, I can think of at least three things God wanted us to know.
1st God wanted to remind us of something – the flood brought death.
As I said before, Ravens literally feed on death.
They eat the flesh of dead animals.
They’re scavengers.
They look for death.
And after the flood, there was plenty of death.
Genesis 7:20-23 says that when the flood did its work: 20 The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. 21 And all flesh died that moved on [a]the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. 22 All in whose nostrils was the breath [b]of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. 23 So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.
The flood brought death... because the flood brought God’s judgment upon mankind.
In Genesis 6:5-7 we’re told
5 Then [a]the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent[b] of the thoughts of his heart was only evil [c]continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
7 So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
The flood brought death.
Everything with the breath of life in its nostrils... died.
There was plenty of food now for the raven... because the Raven fed on death.
God tells us “The wages of sin is death...” Romans 6:23
* You can ignore it if you like but it’s still going to be true.
* The world would like to brush it aside if they could but they can’t
* Hollywood can laugh at it but it doesn’t change the reality.
How many of you have ever been to Niagara Falls?
I’ve visited Niagara Falls a few times and every time I’ve visited I’ve been struck by the fact that they don’t want you to get too close to THAT water. They’ve got fences up/ and they’ve got signs up - to WARN people... to keep people away
Why? Because, if I get too close to the waters of the Niagara, I could be dragged to my death.
Now, I can ignore those fences.
I can laugh at the signs that warn me not to get too close.
But if ignorant enough to get into those waters... I will die!
God wanted His people to remember: Sin brings death.
And God wanted to remind His people that the waters of the Flood were about judgment/ Death
So, first – the message of the birds is about death and judgment.
But the 2nd message is different.
The 2nd message of the birds is all about hope.
The Raven looked for death
But the Dove looked for life.
Do you remember what the Dove brought back to the Ark? (olive branch)
I’ve been told that the olive tree is one of the hardiest of plants. A cutting from such a tree can take root in good ground and grow quickly.
It became a symbol of life for Israel... and it was a symbol of hope for those in the Ark.
Things were growing now from the ground!
For almost an entire year, Noah and his family had been confined to their boat.
For almost an entire year, the world around them has been covered with water.
For almost an entire year... they’ve been the only living things on earth.
But with that olive branch - God gave them a sign that said – things are turning around.
Things are going to get better now.
The Bible is filled with stories about Godly men and women who faced difficulties in their lives. They faced trials and hardships even death. But the repeated message in Scripture was that God always stood beside them.
Daniel, David, Shadrach/ Meshach and Abednego, Moses, Joshua, Esther.
Each of their stories gives the same message:
Isaiah 40:31 “... But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint."
Or as Psalm 30:5 tells us: "For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But [a]joy comes in the morning."
Our trials and tribulation won’t last forever.
We will not going to be confined to our Ark of troubles indefinitely.
There’s will come a time, when God will open the door and we will walk out on a new world of hope and encouragement.
But we have to wait for God’s timing.
The flood didn’t abate until God was ready for it to.
But when that time came... God sent His people a sign of hope.
So, the first message of the birds was that of death.
The 2nd message was that of hope.
And the 3rd message of life.
God doesn’t like death... He never has.
When the raven flew away from the ark, did it ever return?
No.
Genesis 8:7 says "7 Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth"
By contrast, when the dove was released VERSES 8 & 9
. "8 He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground. 9 But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark to him, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her, and drew her into the ark to himself."
The Dove returned to Noah and the safety of the Ark.
The Raven (the symbol of death) never did.
Why not?
Because Death is not welcome with God.
God did not create His people to die.
He created us to live forever. (PAUSE)
And that is why Jesus came and died on the cross in our place.
The wages of sin is death... but Jesus took our place
He paid the price for our sins.
Hebrews 2:14 tells us that "14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,"
Jesus came to conquer death.
And when He comes again, I Corinthians 15: 54 – 58 says:
"54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O[n] Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
The story of the birds... and that of the flood itself was all about life in the midst of death.
I Peter 3:20-22 tells us:
“...God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also— not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand— with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.”
You can have that life from Jesus today.
INVITATION

Monday Jan 20, 2025
Be Great By Faith
Monday Jan 20, 2025
Monday Jan 20, 2025
BE GREAT BY FAITH
JOHN 1:12-14
A preacher was on a radio program
where the interviewer was an atheist.
The atheist demanded that the preacher
NOT quote any scripture during the interview.
“I don’t want to hear any Bible on my airways.
You got that?
No Bible on my airwaves.”
So, then the interviewer started the program by saying:
“I submit that you Christians are not respectful of my opinion.
I believe I should be able to get into heaven
because I’ve been a good person.
What do you say to that?”
The preacher thought about it for a moment
and then said “Let’s say you go to the wealthy side of town
and approach a beautiful mansion.
You ring the doorbell and when they answer the door
you inform them that you expect to be able to move in.
What do you think they’d do?
You don’t know them and they don’t know you –
WHY should they let you move in?
It’s the same with heaven.
You’re trying to tell me that God should let you into heaven
just because you’ve come to His gates
and demanded to be let in.
But you don’t know Him and
you’ve spent your life attacking His character.
Heaven isn’t about how good you’ve been.
It’s all about knowing Jesus.
Jesus said that no one gets into heaven
except through Him and you don’t know Him.”
Now that makes sense doesn’t it.
Why would anybody let you stay in their house
if they don’t know you?
Particularly if you make it clear that you don’t like them
and you don’t WANT to know them.
That’s essentially what our text this morning is all about.
“To all who received him, who believed in his name,
He gave the RIGHT to become children of God.”
(John 1:12)
We get into heaven because we WANT to know Jesus.
And once we decided we want to know Him,
and we want what He has to offer,
then we weren’t some stranger
knock, knock, knocking on heaven’s door.
We get to move in with Jesus
because we are given the right… to be children of God.
The Declaration of Independence
has an intriguing phrase that says:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator (God)
with certain unalienable RIGHTS,
that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
In other words – the Declaration declared
that God gives us rights.
But there’s one right that’s not mentioned
in the Declaration of Independence.
And it’s a far greater right than any rights
That are listed in that document
We find it in John 1:12
“To all who received him,
who believed in his name,
he gave the RIGHT to become children of God.”
Essentially, we have the right to a vast
and powerful inheritance because of our faith,
all because we’ve BELIEVED in His name –
all because we wanted to receive what Jesus offered us.
we need to realize how thankful we should be
for that inheritance. Think about this –
what do you have on earth
that’s more important than heaven.
What would you be willing trade for an eternity with Jesus?
Jesus said: “The kingdom of heaven
is like treasure hidden in a field,
which a man found and covered up.
Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has
and buys that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
in search of fine pearls, who,
on finding one pearl of great value,
went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
Matthew 13:44-46
What’s Jesus saying?
He’s saying that there’s nothing on this earth
that could possibly begin to equal the value
of eternity with Jesus.
What we have with Jesus is worth EVERYTHING,
And NOTHING we have (on this earth)
compares to Jesus and what He offers.
Paul said it this way:
“Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss
for the sake of Christ.
Indeed, I count everything as loss
because of the surpassing worth
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things
and count them as rubbish,
in order that I may gain Christ.”
Philippians 3:7-8
I once read that the printing press
was one of the greatest inventions ever.
Up until that time,
all books were painstakingly printed by hand –
which made books very rare and very hard to find.
But the Printing press changed all of that.
Information was suddenly made available to 1000s of people.
And (pause) one of the most significant accomplishments
of the printing press was that it allowed people
to have their own copies of Scripture.
During one of the printings,
one of the Bibles had been ripped
and a scrap of paper from that Bible
ended up on the shop floor
where it was found by the daughter of the owner.
And on that scrap of paper… were these words,
“For God so loved that He gave...”
The rest of the verse was missing,
but that simple phrase moved her,
and the rest of the day she went around
with a smile on her face.
Her mother noticed … and asked what had made her so happy? The girl pulled the crumpled paper from her pocket
and showed it to her mother.
The mother read it and asked,
"What did He give?"
And the girl replied
“I don’t know,
but if God loved us enough to give us anything
He must love us deeply.”
So, the question is - how much is eternity in heaven
worth to you?
What would you pay to get Jesus and what He offers?
Well, our passage says that the way we can get Jesus
is to RECEIVE Him on His terms, to BELIEVE in His name!
“To all who received him, who believed in his name,
He gave the right to become children of God.”
John 1:12
So, what does that mean?
What does it mean to receive Jesus/ to believe in His name?
Well, it helps to know what it DOESN’T MEAN!
Notice the next part of our text:
“Those were given the right to become children of God
“were born, not of blood; nor of the will of the flesh;
nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:13)
So, there’s only one way to become a child of God.
How???
By being born OF God.
But, there are 3 ways
you CAN’T become a child of God.
You can’t become a child of God BY BLOOD!
In the Old Testament, you became a Jew
because you were born into a Jewish family - by blood.
But you can’t do that with Jesus.
You can’t become a Christian
by being born into a Christian family.
You could come to church for decades
with your Christian family.
But YOU are the one who has to decide
that YOU want TO RECEIVE;
and YOU want to BELIEVE;
YOU are the one who has to make the decision.
And you can’t become a child of God
by the “Will Of The Flesh.”
This means that you (in your flesh)
can’t decide that YOU’RE good enough
to be good enough to please God.
A lot of people believe –
if they do enough good things
they can EARN salvation.
That way, it’s their own RIGHTEOUSNESS
that gets them in.
And frankly, God couldn’t keep them out
if He wanted to because they’ve EARNED their spot.
But Jesus said: "I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
You become a child of God
ONLY by following Jesus!
And 3rdly – you can’t become a child of God
by the “Will Of Man.”
Somebody else (like your father/mother/best friend)
can’t decide for you that you will become a child of God.
That’s one of the problems with infant baptism.
The baby didn’t believe in Jesus.
The baby didn’t decide that they wanted to be a child of God.
All a baby really wants is a bottle of milk –
they're hardly able to decide to become a "child of God"... somebody else made that decision for them.
ILLUS: Rod Cameron (a former missionary to Africa)
was once approached by a leader from an African town
in which he was ministering
who wanted his 2 children baptized.
When asked how old the children were,
the man responded “ages 3 and 5.”
Rod thought on that a moment and replied,
“John, why do you want your children baptized?”
John responded “My wife and I
have been reading the Bible and we believe
that we need to have our children ready to go to Heaven.”
Rod said, “well then,
why don’t we just baptize everyone in the village?
You’re a strong man, we’ll start with the oldest
and work our way down,
and we’ll drag them down the river one by one
and put them under water.”
Puzzled, John asked “Why would we want to do that?
They may not want to be baptized!”
“That’s right,” said Rod,
“you really need to want to become a Christian
to be baptized, and your children aren’t ready for that yet.
Now, how about you and your wife?
Are you ready to make that commitment?”
Sometime later, John and his wife were baptized
and raised their family to love God.
Their children accepted the gospel
and were also baptized when they were old enough
to UNDERSTAND WHY they NEEDED to be baptized.
Jesus said: “Whoever believes and is baptized
will be saved, but whoever does not believe
will be condemned.” Mark 16:16
So, let’s review:
you can’t become a child of God…
By being born of blood (i.e. – being born into a Christian family);
you can’t become a child of God…
By the will of the flesh (you – in your FLESH –
can’t decide you’re good enough);
Nor by the will of man (your friends/family
can’t make that choice for you).
In short - you can’t become a child of God on your terms.
You’ve got to do things - God’s way.
But how do you do things… God’s way?
What does God say in the Bible
that I need to do to “receive” Jesus?
First I need to believe in His name…
(that’s what it says here in John)
John 1:12 says “But to all who did receive him,
who believed in his name,
he gave the right to become children of God.”
What do I need to believe about Him?
Well, it’s not that hard.
I’m supposed to believe that Jesus is God in the flesh
and that he’s come to change my life.
“The Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we have seen his glory,
glory as of the only Son from the Father,
full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
(PAUSE) Faith as the foundation of our salvation
shows up a LOT in Scripture,
but does that mean I don’t need to repent as well?
NO – I need to repent.
Acts 3:19-20 tells us “Repent therefore,
and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,
that times of refreshing
may come from the presence of the Lord,
and that he may send the Christ appointed for you.”
Repentance means to “TURN BACK” –
turn away from a sinful lifestyle.
God says that repentance is part of what we do
to have our sins forgiven.
(PAUSE) So, Faith and Repentance are vital for salvation,
does that mean I don’t have to confess Him?
NO… confession is important too.
Romans 10:9 says I need to confess that Jesus is Lord.
“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.”
Notice, it doesn’t say I am confessing my sins.
Instead, it says I must confess that Jesus is now my LORD.
I’m confessing that Jesus will now own me
and all that I have because He’s my Lord!
(PAUSE) So, Faith, Repentance, and Confession
are all part of our appeal to God for salvation.
Does that mean I don’t have to be baptized?
Well… that’s not what the Bible says.
When the crowd was convinced
that they’d crucified their Messiah,
“they were cut to the heart,
and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles,
"Brothers, what shall we do?"
And Peter said to them,
"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 2:37-38
Notice, these folks already believed at Pentecost
(they were convinced they’d crucified Messiah)
but apparently, they hadn’t “repented”
or been baptized.
But when they made that decision to repent/
and when they were baptized, they received a promise.
They were promised to be forgiven of their sins
and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
So those are GOD’S way of RECEIVING Jesus
as your Lord and Savior –
which we are required to accept with no substitutes.
One last thought.
Right after the book of John tells us
about how to become Children of God
it makes this statement
“And the Word (Jesus) became flesh
and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14)
Why would it be important
that we’d know Jesus dwelt among us?
CLOSE: An atheist told a friend about his visits
with his 18-month-old granddaughter.
He said that he regularly made a 90 minute drive
once a month to visit her.
And he said “I don’t push myself on her.
I don’t even go and pick her up…
because she might cry.
But I go and visit so that she will know WHO I am.
My hope is that – as she gets older
she will eventually come to me
because I SHOWED UP all these early visits.
Jesus was God –
who SHOWED UP in the flesh –
so that we’d know WHO He was.
He came to earth to be with us…
so we’d know how much He loved us.
And eventually (because we saw who He was)
we’d COME to Him because
we saw the God who cared enough
to die for us.
INVITATION

Monday Dec 30, 2024
Examples
Monday Dec 30, 2024
Monday Dec 30, 2024
By Jerad Allen
Good morning. If you'd like to, turn to Matthew 6. That's where the majority of our lesson will be today.
I feel like I say this a lot before my sermons, but as most of you know, I'm attending Bowling Green State University right now. As a student I take a lot of tests. I'm in college. I don't know how long it's been since some of you have taken an academic test. For a few, I can imagine it's been a couple of decades.
One thing I like to have before a test or an essay is a model. I like examples because they help me to know what to expect, what to do, and how to prepare. It's easier to prepare when I have an example.
The chapter we’re looking at today is part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. What he is giving us in this chapter is examples. He is commanding us how to live in certain ways, how to do certain things. Today, we will go over ways to please God. We will go over prayer. We will go over the fasting, treasures in heaven and many other things.
To start out, I will read verses one through four. Be careful not to do good deeds in front of other people. Don’t do those deeds to be seen by others. If you do, your Father in heaven will not reward you. When you give to needy people, do not announce it by having trumpets blown. Do not be like those who only pretend to be holy. They announce what they do in the synagogues and on the streets. They want to be honored by other people. What I’m about to tell you is true. They have received their complete reward. When you give to needy people, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Then your giving will be done secretly. Your Father will reward you, because he sees what you do secretly.
How often on the news or on the internet or other things, do we see celebrities or other famous and rich people announce how much they're giving? I remember seeing a headline a few years back that Bill Gates pledges that he will give half of his fortune to charity by a certain time. How often do we see man announce their good deeds, screaming, “Look at how good I am. See what I can do. See what I am doing. How good am I?” That's not how the Lord tells us to give to the needy.
That's not what the Lord commands us. We should not be announcing our ways in what we do. We should do it in secret because this does not matter. You should not boast about the good you do.
In Ephesians 2:8-9, it says, For by grace have you been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
In James 2:16, it says, For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
You are not saved by the works you do. Without faith, your work is dead. No matter what you do, you could cure cancer, you could solve world hunger, but if you do not have faith in the Lord, if you have not taken care of your own soul, it will not matter. No amount of good deeds you can do can erase the sins that you have committed. Nothing can erase the deeds that you have done. Only through faith, only through the blood of Christ can those sins be forgiven, not through your own works. As it says, faith apart from works is dead, but also works apart from faith are meaningless.
I tell you, when you do these deeds, do not boast, do not announce them. If people see them, so be it, but do not make sure they see it. As my father said, we should be cheerful givers, but we should also not be boastful givers. Think of the parable of the woman who gave that one little penny. Jesus took more worth out of that one little penny, all she had, than the hundreds, even the thousands that the rich men were giving, because those rich men were being boastful.
We can move on from there. Verses 5 through 8 say, And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues, and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Do things the Lord wants you to do, not things that will bring you recognition. In Colossians 2:23, it says, whatever you do, work heartedly as for the Lord and not for men.
Work for the Lord, not for men. It's in the Bible. In Colossians 2:23, it tells us this, because you ought to work for the Lord, in his kingdom and not for the Earth and its. You cannot serve two masters, so you must follow the Lord and do as he tells you and do things as he has taught us. Do things for him not for the world. This is what these verses are getting at. Do not be like the hypocrites in the synagogues.
Moving on to verse 9, it says, this then is how you should pray. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Here we have Jesus' model prayer. This is not the prayer we should all say at every turn, but an example for us. Earlier, as I said, I like examples before tests. I like them a lot before essays or presentations, too, because they show me how the teacher wants it. Teachers like their presentations and essays in certain ways, and when you have examples, it's a little easier to follow that.
That's what the Lord is doing. He's a teacher. He's giving us an example of a proper prayer. That's what we should focus on here. How does he want us to pray? What does he want us to say? How does he want us to address him? Here it says, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. He starts us off. He starts his prayer off recognizing the Lord, our Father in heaven, our King above all. Hallowed, gracious ,is your name, great is your name.
Moving on to verse 10, Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Many times, Jesus and others in the Bible say, Lord, your will be done.
In Romans 12:2, we are told, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
We must ask the Lord for his will to be done, but we must also be able to determine what his will is ourselves. As it says here, do not be conformed to the world, but let our minds be renewed so we may better listen to God's word, for His orders, for what we should do.
Let His will be done because His will is greater than ours. He knows what is right, what is perfect. While we are beginning to understand and beginning to learn what is truly right, and we know what is right, we have problems doing it. We have problems picking the right way. We need to ask the Lord to guide us, to allow His will to be done, to give us the strength for His will to be done.
Give us today our daily bread, verse 11.
Here we are to ask our basic needs. In the Bible, we are assured that following the Lord, our basic needs will be met. We will have the amount of water and the amount of food we need. We do not need to worry about these things because the Lord will provide them for us.
In Psalms 55:22, it says, cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you. He will never permit the righteous to be moved. The Lord will sustain your hunger. He will sustain your thirst. As long as you are following him, you can be certain that you will have what you need to make it through the day. Then the the next day and the next until your time has come.
To move on, verses 12 through 15, say, and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your father will not forgive your sins as well.
In Matthew 18:22-23, we're told about the servant who had his debt forgiven. This is a parable where a servant owes a great debt to his master, and the master graciously forgives him. The servant then had another servant who owed him some money. It was a small amount, and he threw him in jail. As reprimand, the master put his debt back on him. That is a good example of what the Lord means.
We must pray, we must be able to forgive our enemies because are we not also sinners? Have we also not transgressed against God? How can he forgive us if we are not even willing to forgive what has happened, what has been done to us? How can He forgive what we have done to Him? That is something I feel many people struggle with. Sin is not just some arbitrary thing you are doing that's wrong. You are actively committing sins against God. You are defiling God. These are acts against Him. Just as someone's sins can harm you, our sins harm Him.
Another thing we must pray for the strength to forgive. Some people do some pretty bad things to us, and it can be really tough. Our enemies sometimes run us in ways that we might find unforgivable, that we might find impossible to forgive, but we must pray for the strength to forgive others.
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 to escape that you may be able to endure.
We know that we are not given temptation beyond our abilities, so we must pray for the strength to overcome it. We must pray for the strength to get past it. We must pray that the Lord points us down a path of the righteous and for the strength to walk it.
Verses 16 through 18, goes over fasting, and it says, When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen, and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Again, as this chapter has told us, I think four times already, do things for the Lord, our God, in His honor, to His glory, and not for the recognition of man. As it says, those who do it, their reward is in full. They will receive their rewards in this world, but they will have nothing for what is beyond. Do things for the Lord, not to be seen in a better light with your peers.
In 1st Samuel 16:7, it says, But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.
While we see what's on the outside, the Lord sees what's inside. That is why it is important that we have the right mind and attitude when we serve him. Because while others might think we are living righteously and nobly, the Lord knows the truth. If your heart is tainted, if you are not committed to him, he will know. You must make sure that you are not just doing the right things, but you have the right attitude, and that you have faith in your heart, that you have love in your heart, that you are doing things the Lord has commanded you to as the Lord has commanded you to do them. The Lord can see more than man. He can see what is in your heart, not as just what is on your clothes and what you do.
Moving on to Treasures in Heaven, verses 19 through 24, say, Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness? No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
You cannot serve both God and the world. You cannot be part of the material world and God's kingdom. You cannot commit yourself to both. You must choose.
In 1st John 2:15-17, it says, Do not love the world for the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all is in the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires. But whoever does the will of God abides in him forever.
The things of the world are temporary. The great monuments we built, the grass that grows in our fields, one day will all burn away. The pyramids over in Egypt have stood for thousands of years, but one day they too will be burned away. Nothing here is permanent. Everything here is temporary. Everything here will be burned. Even our bodies will decay and decompose back into the ground.
Our spirit, our soul is forever. That is what truly matters. That is why you should not keep your treasures here. Keep your treasures in heaven with the Lord. Put your faith in Him so that one day you may be with Him. Do not go on with your life thinking that you will be okay just by coasting along, by putting your treasures here because those treasures will burn up. Those treasures will be cast out on judgment day.
Moving on, verses 25 through 33 say, Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you eat or drink, or about your body or what you wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you, by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow? They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon, in all his splendor, was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you? O you of little faith. So do not worry saying, 'what shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or what shall we wear? For the pagans run after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given unto you. Therefore, do not worry for tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own.
Matthew 4:4 says, But he answered, 'It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Why should we not worry about today? Why should we not worry about clothes? Because that's not really important. What happens to us on this Earth isn't really important. It's what comes out of the mouth of God, and how we follow the Lord.
Look at Steven. He was stoned to death. You think he was worried about food in that moment? You think he was worried about how his body was going to be after the stoning, about what was happening in him here in this world at that moment? No. He was still screaming the word. He was screaming the word of God. He was following the Lord. We should not worry about this world, about what happens here, because the Lord will take care of us, and because at the end of the day, this is not where our soul will reside forever. This world is only temporary. This world is finite. Our souls are forever.
In Philippians 4:6, it says, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God.
The Lord will provide you with what you need. Do not worry about the trivial because it will be given unto you. As you're following the Lord, you will be taken care of. As he said, if the birds are fed, will you not be as well? If you are to find yourself in persecution with people wanting to end your life, remember Matthew 5:10, blessed are those who are persecuted for the for righteousness's sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Should we worry? We shouldn’t, right? Because what will it do? No amount of worrying will buy us an extra second of time. Our lives are going to be as long as however they are, no matter what we do. When I had tests last month taken, I was a little worried at what they were going to come back like. I was fine, but I really shouldn't have worried. Even if they came back bad, my grades were just still going to be fine. I was still going to be good. The tests were already done, so worrying did me no good.
Many of us worry far too much when it does us nothing. It does not serve us. It does not serve the Lord. When we find ourselves in situations where we might be scared, where people are against us, or people are persecuting us, we must remember that even in death, we will be fine because the Lord Our God's sacrifice, because the Lord Jesus Christ sacrificed himself, His body, His life for us.
Through His sacrifice, we can be saved. That is why you do not need to worry because Jesus has already taken your punishment for you. He was on that cross suffering for the sins we committed, that I committed, that you committed, that people across the street committed, across the world committed. We don't need to worry because Jesus has taken care of it. He has paid the debt we owe.
I ask you today, if you have not told the world that you believe in the Lord your God, if you have not been baptized for the remission of sins, if you have not confessed the Lord your God here, I ask you why and why wait? Your time worrying cannot buy you any more time, but your time can come at any moment. Waiting does nothing. I ask you if you have not been baptized, that you be baptized here today. We have a purposely good baptistery ready. Thank you.

Monday Dec 23, 2024
How Many Sins?
Monday Dec 23, 2024
Monday Dec 23, 2024
Acts 9:1-19
By Jerad Allen
Good morning. I want to say I got a sense of de-ja-vu, but I've made that joke the last couple times I was here. It’s getting a little old. I made that same joke back at Jerusalem and my granny said I was running out of material.
To get started I want to ask you a question. How often do you sin? How many sins do you think you've committed? How great are the acts you have committed against our Lord? For many of us, it's a lot. Actually, for all of us, it's a lot. It's quite often that we fall. We falter quite a lot.
That takes me to a man, a serial killer named Jeffrey Dahmer. All of us know this man was known for the defiling acts he would do to his victims. We know he killed many and just what he would do to the bodies afterwards. An interesting thing about Dahmer though is before his execution, he claimed to have been saved. He claimed he had turned to the Lord and was born again. Do I know if this was true? I don't know. I didn't know him. I think he was dead before I was even born.
That brings up an interesting question. How great are the sins that can be forgiven? That takes me into the subject we'll be going over today. Our text is Acts 9:1-19. Many of you will recognize this as the road to Damascus where Paul was turned. Where Jesus came to him. To start I will read verses 1 through 3. “Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. And as he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.”
Saul was a Pharisee at this time, known for going around taking anyone who confessed Jesus as Lord and Savior and murdering them, throwing them in prisons, persecuting them. We can see that when he asked to be given permission to bring any man or woman.
In Galatians 1:13, Paul said, “for you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.”
Look at how he says “intensely” here. This wasn't something he was doing as his day job. This wasn't something he was doing as a hobby or something he was doing out of a sense of the right thing to do because he was born that way. No, this was something he was adamant about doing. He was adamant in destroying the church and the way and the reputation and things that Jesus had left behind.
In Acts 26:9, it says he was convinced that he ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. He wasn't just attacking the people that followed him. He was going after Jesus' name. He was going after the man. He was going after what Jesus was. Saul was a sinner, a murderer, a man who took many lives.
To add to this, the first time we see him in the Bible is at Stephen's stoning at the beginning of Acts 8. He was there as a disciple of the Lord was being stoned to death for preaching, for spreading the word.
In verse 3 of our text, it says, “… suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.” Imagine you're on your way somewhere and this is a time you don't have technology or things like that. You're riding horses and bam, a beam of light comes down. That would be terrifying to anyone. It was to Saul and the people around him.
To move on let’s read, verses 4 through 9; “then he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, who are you, Lord? Then the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads. So he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what do you want me to do? Then the Lord said to him, arise and go into the city and you will be told what you must do. And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground and when his eyes were opened, he saw no one, but they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was there three days without sight and neither ate or drank.”
Why Saul? Why would Jesus show himself to Saul of all people? A murderer, someone actively hunting his people. Why would He show himself to this man? Surely there was a better person to show Himself to. Surely there was someone more worthy, more righteous and less despicable than Saul.
In 1st Timothy 1:16, Paul answers this very question. “But for that very reason, I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.”
He was the worst mankind had to offer. He was the “worst of sinners”, as he put it. He was an awful, no good, despicable little man, but Christ redeemed him. Christ saved him to show that it does not matter whether you are worthy. It does not matter what you have done.
In the Bible, it says certain sins are unpardonable, but Saul had not done these. It is my understanding, few people commit that sin. Jesus showed himself to Paul to show that anyone can be saved.
When I was going over this lesson with my Pap, he brought up, and my granny brought over a good point too, that Saul's intensity and his passion for getting rid of the church could be very easily turned over into spreading it as well. If a person is willing enough to completely annihilate something, if you can get them to do the opposite, they will be a hard and valiant worker
I want to focus on after Christ left for a second let’s look at verses 8 and 9. It said that Paul could not eat or drink for three days afterwards. Imagine how intense an experience this must have been. How extreme it was. It says he was trembling and astonished. I feel like that probably doesn't explain what was actually going through his head. If he went through something where he did not have sight, he couldn't eat or drink for three whole days, it sounds like he went through some serious trauma. No, the Lord just showed Himself to Paul. That is showing of the power that Jesus wields.
Moving on to verses 10 through 12, it says, “Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. And to him, the Lord said in a vision, Ananias. And he said, here I am, Lord. So the Lord said to him, arise and go to the street called straight and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus. For behold, he is praying. And in a vision, he has seen a man named Ananias coming and putting his hand on him so that he may receive his sight.”
The Lord told Saul to go where he will meet Ananias, and Ananias is being told where to go to find Saul. This shows us nothing's really an accident. Even though they are given explicit instructions here, if you listen to the Lord and follow what He is telling you, you will go to the right place and you will end up with the right people. This is a more obvious example with the Lord actively telling them both where to go in dreams and in visions. This is a good example of how we should lead our lives. When we hear the Lord, we should listen as they listened here.
Let’s read verses 13 through 16. It says, “then Ananias answered, “Lord, I've heard many things about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “go, for he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles, Kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake.””
I want to look at a passage in Luke 19:1-5. It says, “He entered Jericho and was passing through and behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was. But on account of the crowd, he could not because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him. For He was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down for I must stay at your house.”
Tax collectors weren't exactly seen in the greatest light at the time. They were actually hated. Many people despised them. In the next couple of verses, we see how the people were astonished that he chose the tax collector, that they were mad that he chose someone so unlikeable.
In verse seven, it says, “all the people saw this and began to mutter, he has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” They were mad that he chose, out of all the people there, to go to Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, the worst of them.
Imagine the same situation in Acts 9. In some ways this is a similar situation to what Ananias is in, but instead of a chief tax collector, it is someone that you know is actively hunting you and wanting you dead. I think that Ananias following Jesus' orders here shows his faith and his courage.
He has been told he will be fine. He has been given the confidence of the Lord that he will be fine, but there's still that little human part of him saying, this man is going to kill me. Yet he shuts that up and does what he's told. He follows the Lord's will. That shows his courage, his faith in Jesus, and how we should live as well. Many people in the Bible listen to the Lord and they die because of it, but they do it because the Lord told them to.
In the chapter before this, chapter eight, Stephen was stoned, spreading the word. Most of the apostles were executed. Even if we come across persecution, we must have the courage and the faith to follow through in spreading the gospel and following the Lord's will. That is what Ananias shows us here.
In verses 17 through 19, it says, “And Ananias went his way and entered the house, laying his hands on him. He said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once, and he arose and was baptized. So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.”
This is when Saul fully surrendered to the Lord. This is when he was saved. He became a new creation. No longer was Saul there. He would soon be known as Paul. As we are told after this, he spent time in Damascus with the disciples there learning and preaching.
In Mark 16:16, we are told whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Was Jeffrey Dahmer saved? I don't know. I didn't know him. I couldn't tell you anything about him. I don't particularly want to listen to any of the interviews on the internet, because I find people and things like that kind of depressing. It's possible he was saved. It's possible that someone who did all those things is saved.
When you're in hell, there's no difference between a mass murderer and someone who just lied a bunch of times or committed other sins. If you do not turn to the Lord, you will end up in the same place as them.
I ask, why wait for damnation? Death can come at any moment. It does not wait for you to finally turn to the Lord. It is better to do it now than to wait.
If you have not repented and been baptized for the remissions of your sins, I ask you, why not? We have a perfectly good baptistery here that you can use if you want.
Thank you.

Sunday Dec 15, 2024
Clinging Obstinately To Sin
Sunday Dec 15, 2024
Sunday Dec 15, 2024
Mark 12:1-12
INTRO: Good morning church. For our text this morning open your Bibles to Mark chapter 12. I’m going to read a fairly lengthy section of scripture. It’s a familiar section and I beg your indulgence as I read this. We’ll begin with verse one.
Mark 12:1-12 – “1. Then He began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. 2. "Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. 3. "And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4. "Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. 5. "And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some. 6. "Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, `They will respect my son.' 7. "But those vinedressers said among themselves, `This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' 8. "And they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard. 9. "Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others. 10. "Have you not read this Scripture: `The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. 11. This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?'' 12. And they sought to lay hold of Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.”
The parable recorded in our text is, in comparison with the rest of the parables, unusual, and different. There are historical thoughts here suggesting this is a parable concerning the Jewish nation.
In fact, one commentator refers to this parable as a “historical parable” which he believes gives briefly the history of the Jewish nation from the exodus to the destruction of Jerusalem.
The parable is most assuredly pointed... so pointed, in fact, that the hearers would have had no difficulty in understanding its message.
Because this parable is very significant to the time Jesus was living and teaching, I think we need to spend some time examining, at least in brief, the details we find. As we look at these details we might think “this really isn’t all that relevant to me and to our time”. However, if we carefully engage in the study of the parable, there are great lessons to be learned here.
I particularly want you to look at verse 12: "And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way." I would like you to note this verse; we will come back to it later. I’ve entitled this lesson “Clinging Obstinately to Sin”.
Verse 12 indicates that was exactly the response of the people to whom the parable was spoken and for whom it was intended. They clung obstinately to their sin.
I. Points to note: Let’s turn our thoughts to the points recorded in this parable.
A. We’re introduced, first of all, to a vineyard. Clearly from a scriptural reference the vineyard refers to the nation of Israel.
1. You might want to turn with me to Isaiah’s prophecy chapter five and we will begin at verse one. Here’s what we read: Isaiah 5:1-7 – “1. Now let me sing to my Well-beloved a song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard. My Well-beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. 2. He dug it up and cleared out its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, and also made a winepress in it; so He expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes. 3. "And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. 4. What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? 5. And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. 6. I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned or dug, but there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it.'' 7. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; for righteousness, but behold, weeping.” Clearly, as I said, the vineyard is Israel.
2. Notice the people when they heard this parable were aware that it was spoken against them. They immediately were able to make the connection. When we carefully read both the parable and the passage from Isaiah, we notice that there are some similar pictures, well-known pictures, take from Isaiah chapter 5 and included in the parable in Mark chapter 12.
3. These people are aware of the prophecy of Isaiah. When Jesus begins to speak they know the subject He is speaking about.
B. In the parable there are the husbandmen or vinedressers, as some translations have it; these are the religious leaders of the Jews.
1. Now, it was not all that unusual for there to be an absentee landlord who would rent out his land to others.
2. We are told that historically there were wealthy people who owned property they would rent out and they themselves resided elsewhere. Indeed this was common in many places and cultures up to, and including modern times.
3. As we read the parable and as we look at Isaiah chapter 5, we notice that the land owner has done everything that he could possibly do to give advantage to the vineyard so that it will produce a good crop. He has hedged it around to protect it. He has dug it up and planted well. He has put in the tower and the winepress.
4. But he is an absentee landlord. Distant ownership can give opportunity for irresponsibility and corruption.
C. We are also told in the parable about the servants that the landlord sent time and time again. Who were these servants? They were the prophets whom God had repeatedly sent to Israel.
1. These servants were sent to collect the rent for the land. It should have produced a great crop. The crop should have been sold. Money should have been plentiful. It was reasonable for the land owner to be paid his due for renting the land.
2. What happened? These prophets, these servants who were sent, were treated shamefully. The Bible says they even killed some of them. How…very…tragic.
3. In Matthew 23 verse 37 Jesus is heard lamenting over the treatment of the prophets by Israel. Matthew 23:37 – “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” These are tragic words—words where Jesus speaks volumes of the history of Israel’s treatment of the prophets.
4. In Acts 7:52, the preacher Stephen asks a pointed question of the Jewish leaders. Acts 7:52 He says: “Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,” Well the truth hurts, doesn’t it? Rather than being affected positively by the truth, these people who heard the question knew it was a question asked of them in an accusatory way. What did they do? Ultimately they killed Stephen.
D. As we read the parable we notice that servants are sent repeatedly (think about that) he didn’t just send one servant to collect the rent. Repeatedly the land owner sent his servants hoping to collect his due. The fact that God repeatedly sent the prophets speaks to me of the longsuffering nature of God.
1. As I studied this I realize that the land owner had legal rights and he could have exercised those rights.
2. God could have ended His relationship with an ungrateful Israel at any time and He would have been absolutely justified for doing so.
3. I want you to turn to 2nd Chronicles 36 and read some verses with me—verses that help us see the nature of our God. 2nd Chronicles 36:14-16 – “14. Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the Lord which He had consecrated in Jerusalem. 15. And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. 16. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.” Look at those words. Why did He do this? Why over and over again did He send the prophets? Because He had compassion on them.
4. If we learn nothing else from this parable in Mark 12 we need to learn the lesson that God is longsuffering. In 2nd Peter 3:9 - Peter tells us, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
E. The parable goes on to talk about the land owner sending his only son, his dearly beloved son.
1. The son will come and speak with greater authority than the servants who were sent, because he is the son. In the parable the landowner probably thought: They won’t treat my son the way they treated my servants.
2. In Hebrews chapter 1 beginning at verse 1 the writer of the book records this: Hebrews 1:1-3 – “1. God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets. 2. has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3. who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”
3. Yes, God spoke for hundreds of years through the prophets, but in these last times has spoken to us by His Son, by His Heir. His Heir has come to reveal the commandments of the father. How was He treated? Not a bit better than the prophets who had come before Him.
4. When He came they killed Him and threw Him unceremoniously out of the vineyard which belonged to His Father. I want to go back to this passage in Mark 12 for just a minute and there’s a verse at which I would particularly like us to pay attention. It is verse eight: Mark 12:8 – “And they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.” This is a reference to Jesus. Jesus knew when He spoke these words that this was a reference to Himself. Here is another indication of His knowing that He is ultimately going to be killed by His religious enemies.
5. There is something said in the parable that gives us some insight into the thinking of those wicked husbandmen. They thought if they could kill the heir they could come into legal possession of the vineyard. The religious leaders in Jesus time were so jealous of their position, their power among the Jews; they would do anything to preserve it. Just as these husbandmen would do anything to preserve their position. There’s a little indicator in the 11th chapter of the gospel of John. Verses 47 and 48: John 11:47-48 – “47. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. (Now look especially at verse 48.) 48. "If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.''” They were jealous for their position and they wanted nothing to happen that would endanger their power and their role as leaders among the Jews. Does this have application today?
F. Jesus then makes another reference in the parable. He makes reference to the fact that the vineyard is going to be given to others. The others to whom He refers are the Gentiles.
1. Again in John’s gospel, chapter 10 at verse 16, Jesus says: John 10:16 – “and other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.” Jesus never shied away from making reference to the inclusion of the Gentiles into the fold of God.
2. Turn to the book of Hosea 2:23. Hosea 2:23 – “Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; then I will say to those who were not My people, `You are My people!' And they shall say, `You are my God!' ” This passage is quoted in Romans the ninth chapter verses 23 through 25. Romans 9:23-25 – “23. and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, 24. even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 25. As He says also in Hosea: "I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved.''”
3. Clearly it is an inclusion of people who are not His people, but would become His people… the Gentiles. I have a strong suspicion that the Jewish leaders who heard these words were not thrilled with what they heard.
4. Jewish thought in those days would have been that any spiritual equality of Gentiles with Jews just “did not compute”. What Jesus said was offensive to the priests and the Pharisees and Scribes, but they knew that He had spoken this parable against them.
II. The Response: What was the response? How did they respond?
A. We read it a while ago in Mark 12:12 (that verse that I said we would come back to): Mark 12:12 – “And they sought to lay hold of Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.” They tried to find a way to lay hold on Him, to arrest Him, but those people who were so jealous for their position were also filled with fear of the population. Often that is the way with people who find themselves in error. They can be bold when all the circumstances are for them, but when the circumstances are a little iffy their boldness turns to flight. They left Him.
1. Here’s the point. There was no change. Jesus had spoken, clearly had taught with reference to historical facts of the Jewish nation and they knew it. We have heard the statement that those who do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it. Those people were not learning the lessons.
2. Its one thing for something to be so unsettled, so confused, that you don’t get the point. But they knew Jesus had spoken a parable against them. Yet there was no change. There was no learning. They were clinging obstinately to their sins.
B. That brings us to the question I want us to think about this morning: Why in the world do people cling obstinately to sin, to error?
1. Is it possible that they think God is so distant, so uninvolved, so unconcerned, with human affairs? In the 94th Psalm beginning to read a verse four: Psalms 94:4-7 – “4. They utter speech, and speak insolent things; All the workers of iniquity boast in themselves. 5. They break in pieces your people, O Lord, and afflict Your heritage. 6. They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless. 7. Yet they say, "The Lord does not see, nor does the God of Jacob understand.''” What the Psalmist is saying is some people have the impression that God is so far away that you can do whatever you want and He will not see, and you will not be held responsible. If you think that… you are very wrong. God sees. God knows.
2. Well, that’s one reason I believe that people cling obstinately to sin because they think He is not involved. It’s like when a young person goes off to college. While they were at home with their parents their behavior would likely fit their parent’s expectations. Now that they are away from their parents, the parents cannot see what is being done, or hear what is being said. The student may do what they like and the parents will never know. I’ve got a news flash. Parents always seem to find out. But that’s our way of thinking. Distance. God is distant from us—we think—so we can do what we like.
3. Is it possible that people think that God WILL NOT punish them for their sins? Perhaps. In the book of Ecclesiastes the eighth chapter beginning at verse 11: Ecclesiastes 8:11-13 – “11. Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 12. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. 13. But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.”
4. When Nina & I travel to Tennessee, along I-40 for example, people are whizzing by us. They aren’t going 70 miles per hour. They are going noticeably faster. I don’t know what their thoughts are. Yet I have a suspicion that most of them think: I’m not going to get caught, and… if I’m not caught then I won’t be punished. If I’m not going to be punished… then I’ll just do what I want to do. Is that why do people do what they want to do? I’m not going to get caught. I’m not going to be punished. God is love, He loves me. Is that why they cling to their sins, their error? I’m not going to be punished?
5. Or perhaps people value their own ways so highly that they minimize their relationship with God. Once again the book of Psalms, chapter 10 and verse 4 the Bible says: Psalms 10:4 – “The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.” Notice the word “proud”. I’m all about me. It’s ALL about me. My relationship with God isn’t really all that important as long as I can have my way, live MY life. And be able to say… I did it MY way. Is that why people cling obstinately to sin? I want to have my way. My ways are just so important to me that I really don’t have time to think about God.
6. Here’s another thought. Is it possible that there are just people who refuse to admit they’re wrong, that they’ve made mistakes—that they’ve sinned? Obstinate refusal to admit sin. Perhaps that was the situation with the people to whom Jesus was speaking in this parable. If you turn your Bibles to Romans chapter two, listen to what the writer says in verse one. He’s writing this to people who should have known better. Romans 2:1 – “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.” That’s what they were doing—judging others. The writer says by the inspiration of the spirit of God, they were guilty of the same things. In their judgment of others they are not recognizing their own error. They refuse to admit their mistakes.
7. Is it possible that there are people who are just enjoying their own role, their position, so much, that they really don’t have time for a relationship with God? I think of something that is said in Galatians 1:10 that addresses itself to this idea. The apostle Paul wrote: Galatians 1:10 “ For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” So many people are affected by this malady—men pleasers. Is that why people cling obstinately to their sins, their error?
CONCLUSION:
There are many reasons why people cling to their sins, but listen, folks, not a one of those reasons is worth the consequences. Not a one.
I wonder, do we make the same mistake these stubborn, obstinate people made; those against whom Jesus spoke this parable? I’m going to continue what I do. I’m going to continue to enjoy what it is that I’m doing even if it is wrong. I don’t care. I’m going to do it. Would that ever be our attitude?
If you recall some past lessons where we read of the sermons on Solomon’s porch we saw again illustrated the obstinate refusal of the religious leaders. Those who do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat its mistakes.
God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. What a wonderful message that is. Yet, there comes a termination point. Hebrews 9:27: "And as it is appointed unto men once to die." During my lifetime I can repent. I can turn to God. I can be obedient to God. Once I come to this termination point (and it comes for all of us) it’s too late. In the meantime God doesn’t desire the perishing of a single soul. Both Old and New Testaments say the same thing. He doesn’t have pleasure in the death of the wicked.
The issue hangs on our repentance. That was the issue for many of those religious leaders — and they were not willing to repent. I’m going to have my way no matter what it hurts, not matter who it hurts. I’m going to have my way—obstinacy.
When I think about the book of Jonah, I’m sure Jonah believed with all his heart that there was absolutely no reason for him to go to Nineveh to preach. These are sinful people. They are not about to change.
Finally though, he came and began to preach a simple message, just a few words as a matter of fact. He moved on to another place and preached the same message. And the first thing you know those sinful, awful people where repenting! They were not clinging stubbornly to their obstinate ways; and from the king to the lowest of the people they repented in sackcloth.
I wonder today about those who hear the message and are not yet Christians. If you are one, will you repent of your sins whatever they may be? Or for some reason cling obstinately to the way you are? Perhaps you see and understand, that repentance calls for you to in obedience to the gospel; “come and be baptized into Christ”. Yet, for some reason you are unwilling to repent before God and change your heart in a way that brings you to obedience.
We also should be concerned about Christian people. Yes, we are concerned about those who are out of Christ and lost, because they are lost. We all know many Christian people, people dear to us. We love them and are concerned with the impenitence of some Christians. As the cares of this life weigh us down, some of us slip into only giving lip service to God. Do we think; “I’m here. I’m able to be checked as present this morning as I should be." Do we recognize the things about our lives that we need to change? Or… do we cling, obstinately, to error?
As we sing the song of invitation, if you’ve been clinging to your own sinful ways let us urge you to repent, and make whatever changes need to be made. As a Christian if you need to change, ask God’s forgiveness. If you need our prayers, we would be glad to pray with you. If you need to be baptized into Christ, don’t cling obstinately to a way of life without the Lord for there will come a time when it is too late.
Whatever you need we invite you to come as we stand together and sing.
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Reference Sermon: Cecil A. Hutson

Wednesday Dec 11, 2024
Why Is Repentance So Important?
Wednesday Dec 11, 2024
Wednesday Dec 11, 2024
Mark 1:15
About 10 years ago, there was a 67-year-old Belgian woman named Sabine Moreau. She had left home to travel about 1 ½ hours to Brussels (the capital city of Belgium).
TWO DAYS LATER, after having crossed five international borders, she found herself in Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia, nearly 900 miles from her home.
It was probably at that point that she suddenly realized that she might not be in Belgium anymore. She admitted that she’d seen “all kinds of traffic signs. First in French, then in German, and so on “But I didn't ask myself any questions. I was just distracted…” But the real problem was that her GPS had malfunctioned, and she just took it for granted that it was guiding her to her destination. She later said: "When I passed Zagreb (the capital city of Croatia) I told myself I should turn around."
She’d gone the wrong way - was miles away from home - and she finally told herself she needed to TURN AROUND.
In our text today we see a word that means “turn around”… the word “REPENT”.
Jesus said: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; REPENT (turn around) and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:15)
You see, many of the Jews had gone the wrong way in their lives - they’d traveled MILES away from God – and they needed to turn around… and go back to Him.
THEY NEEDED TO REPENT!
* This idea of repentance is a repeated theme throughout the Bible.
The Old Testament prophets told Israel repent/turn away from their sins - saying “Thus says the Lord GOD: Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations." Ezekiel 14:6
* When John the Baptist was baptizing people at the Jordan River, he preached about “The baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.” Luke 3:3
* At one point, Jesus sent out His 12 disciples and THEY preached that “People should repent.” Mark 6:12
* On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached “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
* And the Apostle Paul preached “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” Acts 17:30
It shows up again, and again, and again throughout the Bible. So obviously… repentance is important to God – which raises the question: Why do we have to repent? Why is it so important? Well, the main reason is – we tend to mess things up in our lives.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 says “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.” We’ve all said or thought or done things in our lives that make us ashamed. And if we don’t repent of those things we can end up traveling a long way away from God.
And yes, even Christians need to repent. In I John 1:9 John tells Christians: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Confessing our sins means that we admit we’ve messed up and we intend turn away from those sins and return to God.
ILLUS: One of my favorite Old Testament stories is about Adam and Eve after they’d sinned. God comes down to the Garden and asks a couple of questions: First, God called out to Adam and asks “Where are you?” And Adam replied “I was afraid, because I was naked, & I hid myself." And God said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"
Now – quiz time: When God asked Adam “Where are you?” … didn’t God KNOW where Adam was? Of course, God knew! God knows everything! Then why ask the question?
Because God was giving Adam a chance to “fess up”… to REPENT of what he’d done.
Then God asked “Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" But didn’t God know Adam had eaten of that fruit? Of course, God knew! God knows everything! So, why ask the question?
God was giving Adam another chance to repent. So twice, God gave Adam a chance to confess/repent but Adam must have figured, what God didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. He figured that if he just covered his SIN/nakedness with leaves, and hid in the bushes… Well, God wouldn’t notice! Adam decided that – all he had to do was ignore the sin and the problem would go away.
But it doesn’t work that way. Sin makes us feel guilty, and even makes us want to wash away our guilt.
ILLUS: Back in 2006, researchers at the University of Toronto reported they’d found that People who suffered from an experience that brought a guilty conscience had this “powerful urge to wash themselves.”
In the study, the researchers asked some of the volunteers to recall their past sins. And then they were all given an opportunity to wash their hands as a symbol of cleansing their conscience of past sins. Those who had been instructed to recall their sins washed their hands at “twice the rate of study subjects who had not been asked to think about their past transgressions.” We’re not geared to feel comfortable with the shame of our sins. In fact, even a PARTIAL admission of guilt isn’t enough.
ILLUS: There was a study conducted about 10 years ago that was titled: “I Cheated, But Only a Little.” The researchers studied over 4,000 people and discovered that people who only PARTIALLY confessed a transgression felt worse than those who didn’t confess at all.
The point is this: repentance is necessary to rebuild a person’s life. Without true, complete repentance, the shame and guilt of past behavior can cripple us… or even destroy us.
ILLUS: There was once a gifted author named Earnest Hemingway. He wrote books like “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, “The Old Man and The Sea”, “A Farewell To Arms” and dozens of other novels and short-stories.
His writing style was so powerful that it influenced numerous authors of the day. And Hemingway was romanticized for his adventurous lifestyle and his outspoken and blunt public image.
As a child, Hemingway grew up in a very devout church-going family and yet, when he grew up - he wanted nothing to do with God. He ended up living a depraved and immoral lifestyle and seemingly had no conscience and no moral standards. At the age of 61, Earnest Hemingway… took his own life.
At one point he wrote “I live in a vacuum that is as lonely as a radio tube when the batteries are dead and there is no current to plug into.”
He lived and died an empty life because he had no intention of turning away from the kind of life he’d lived. He had no desire to repent and seek God’s forgiveness. If Hemingway HAD repented, his life could have turned out differently.
Acts 3:19-20 says “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you.”
Without repentance we can’t have any of that.
Our sins cannot be blotted out. Without repentance, there is no refreshing of our lives. In other words… without repentance life can become very empty and meaningless.
But when we repent, our sins are blotted out and we can be refreshed because God removes the guilt and shame from our lives. That stumbling block is removed and life gets easier.
Now, in our verse today, Jesus said “Repent and BELIEVE…" (Mark 1:15) Why did Jesus include that word BELIEVE?
Well, Proverbs 3:5-8 actually tells us why: “Trust (believe) in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”
Wow! That almost sounds like what we read in the book of Acts. Acts told us that - if we repented/ if we turned away from evil/ times of refreshment would come from the LORD! And Proverbs told us that if we repented/ if we turned away from evil/ God would give us healing for our flesh, and refreshment for our bones.
But Proverbs starts out by telling us that we need to do something else FIRST – “Trust in the LORD will all our hearts and NOT lean on our own understanding.” You see… we have to acknowledge God – and we have to believe He cares for us – and THEN He can do things in our lives.
What Proverbs 3 is saying is this – Trust God/ Repent Of Evil, and if we do that… God can fix the problems in our lives. Proverbs is basically saying – make God your authority; make Him your guide; make HIM your… GPS.
ILLUS: Do you remember the lady who got lost in Europe?
She’d only intended to go to Brussels, but she ended up going 900 miles in the wrong direction. Why did she get lost? Well yeah, she got distracted and wasn’t paying attention, but the real problem was that her GPS wasn’t trustworthy. Her man-made guidance system malfunctioned and led her the wrong way.
Now a lot of people in this world spiritually rely on man-made guidance systems. If they need wisdom… they turn to their friends, they turn to the internet, and turn to various scholars and experts.
But they don’t look to God for their wisdom. They don’t trust God for His advice. They DON’T trust the LORD to GUIDE them in life. And (well) why should they?
They’ve got those OTHER GPS systems they trust THEIR FRIENDS…THE INTERNET…ETC.so, why bother with looking to God first?
Do you know what happens when they rely on something other than God? And, Do you know what happens when something else becomes their source of wisdom/advice/guidance?(PAUSE) Well, they tend to get lost in this life.
Have you ever been lost? You’re were in a strange city, or on a country road with no signs. You don’t know where you’re at and you have no idea how to get where you want to go. Do you remember how you felt at that point? Well, when I’ve gotten lost I got anxious, worried, and frustrated. The information I thought I could rely on… misled me.
Now, we all live in a lost world, and we’re surrounded with advice and directions that are wrong – and the reason they’re wrong is because – they are not based in God’s thinking.
And when we listen to that WRONG information we tend to get anxious, worried, and angry, because those are the feelings we get… when we get lost.
And when you and I start feeling that way about life, it’s a sign that our personal GPS has misled us. That’s why Jesus said: “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.” Matthew 11:28-29
If we want to stop being anxious/ stop being worried/ stop being angry about things we cannot control, then we have to give up trying to control things our way… and let Jesus have control.
We need to trust (believe) God and turn away from sin, and we’ll find forgiveness of sin, a time of refreshment, and rest for our souls. THAT’S WHAT JESUS PROMISED!!!
CLOSE: I want to close with a familiar story of a young man who got lost. He was one of 2 sons of a wealthy man, but he didn’t respect his dad and he wanted to live life HIS own way.
So, he demanded his share of the inheritance and he went off to live his life HIS WAY. And it was a GOOD life. A lavish life. A life focused on enjoyment and partying. And he had all kinds of friends who helped him party and enjoy his wealth. But when his money ran out… so did his friends.
As Jesus told the story: he stated that a severe famine arose in that country, and the boy began to be in need. So, he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.
And he got so hungry he longed to be fed with the food that the pigs were eating, and no one gave him anything. I suspect he’d come to the point in his life where he became anxious/worried/ maybe even angry with himself.
And Jesus said that the prodigal Son … “came to himself”. He took a good look in the mirror and he said “I don’t want to live like this.”
He realized it was time to turn around and return home. So, he repented/ turned his back on the empty life he’d been living, and went back to his father. And, while the boy was still a long way off the father saw him… and RAN to him. He hugged his son, and kissed him. He dressed him in the finest of garments, put a ring on his finger & shoes on his feet and had fatted calf killed … and they had themselves a party.
And the Father said: “‘my son was dead, and is alive again; he was LOST and is found.’ And they began to celebrate." Luke 15:24
Jesus was talking about us.
We have oftentimes wandered off from the Father, and we have to understand that the empty way of life that many people embrace leads to a lot of emotions we don't want to have. We want to be at peace.
So Jesus says: "Repent" because you and I need it as much as the people outside the church. Now the advantage we have is that at least we have the book to read and we can learn how God wants us to think.
Now, people outside of Christ don't have that... and that's our advantage. Because when we see a friend or a relative, and they're anxious and worried and even filled with anger, we can ask them "Do you really want to live like that? Let me tell you about Jesus.
INVITATION
Reference Sermon by: Jeff Strite

Monday Dec 02, 2024
The Second Great Commandment
Monday Dec 02, 2024
Monday Dec 02, 2024
By Jerad Allen
Good morning. How's everybody's day been? I can understand the snow. It's been a bit much.
As some of you may know, I go to Bowling Green State University. I'm there as an education major. Right now I'm on Thanksgiving break, so I'm home for now. As an education major, we're being taught how to properly educate our youth.
I'm specifically a middle childhood major. I'll be teaching middle school, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th graders. One important thing that I've learned is to be able to relate the content to the students. I'm a math and social studies major. Math in particular is something kids can find a hard time relating it to their life.
Oftentimes, you'll see students asking, when am I going to use this? Why is this important? When does this apply to me? One thing teachers must do is find ways these students can relate it to real life. One example is when we're going over division and fractions. We can easily relate that to price discounts. If it says 50% off, that's a fraction or one half. You can relate that to students as a fraction and relate math in that way.
What I want to do today is bring up a time, as Christians, we might ask, “How am I to be a Christian?” Today we will be going over Luke 10:25-37. Some of you may know, this is the parable of the Good Samaritan, where Jesus answers the question, What does a Christian look like?
I'll 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.”
Here, the lawyer is referencing Moses in Deuteronomy chapter six, when he's talking about the Israelites. Moses is talking to the Israelites about God's covenant. Here, specifically, verses five and six are being referenced. These are the Lord's commands. Jesus call them two of the greatest commands. Love him with all your strength, all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Earlier in class, we were talking a lot about brotherly love and what that is and how that shows. It's in the same vein, love your neighbors, love your brothers, and love those around you. What does this look like though? 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 is hear, O Israel, the Lord, your God, love your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. These commandments, as I was researching for this sermon, were repeated many times in the Bible.
One of the ladies here, after my first sermon, told me that to get it through to people you're preaching to is tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them and then tell them what your told them. I believe what she was say was say it once, say it twice to make sure they hear it, and then say it three times to really just make sure they get the point. That's what I think is being done here. These are very important commands so the Lord repeats them, and He repeats them again, and again, and again.
Verses 28 an 29, says, you have answered correctly, Jesus replied. Do this and you will live. But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, who is my neighbor?
The lawyer is testing Jesus here. He is questioning Him. He is, I don't want to say interrogating, but he is pressing onward. He is trying to test Jesus' knowledge. I just kind of have to ask, how arrogant must you be? The Jews had been prophesying about a savior for their entire existence. Now that savior is here in front of you, and you have the gall to test him? The gall to test his knowledge? To test what he knows?
I also think that the lawyer knows who his neighbor is. He knows exactly what Jesus means when he says, your neighbor. He just wants to believe it is the people he thinks it should be, the people he wants it to be, but not the people he knows it is—the people he knows he should treat neighborly. Here he is really asking, who must I treat neighborly?
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 keep burning coals on his head.
Feed your enemy. If he is thirsty, give him a drink. I would say this is acting pretty neighborly, right? If you're to act neighborly to your enemy, to someone you despise, to someone who has harmed you, to someone who seeks ill will upon you, who else do you think you should act neighborly towards? Your brother? Your actual neighbor who lives right across from you? Maybe the random kid on the street who is outside all the time, but doesn't necessarily have friends? I ask you, if you are to treat your enemy neighborly, shouldn't you treat everyone around you neighborly? Any man, woman, child you come across?
Let’s move on to Luke 10:30-32. “In reply, Jesus said, a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road. When he saw the man, he passed on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed on the other side.”
Notice who passed him here, a priest and a Levite. A priest is meant to lead his people spiritually. This is a spiritual leader. This is an important man, and a Levite, from what I saw, is a man to aid the priest. These are important figures in the temple. These are important figures in the Jewish faith, and they pass over the man. Of course, they were probably not without reason. They may have assumed that it was a trap. Maybe he was trying to lure people closer to him so he could in turn rob them. They may have thought it was a lie. That’s not a bad assumption, but as spiritual leaders, as people who are meant to be the example their followers look to, I think they should have done better.
As the lawyer earlier mentioned, you must love your neighbor as yourself. As we looked at earlier, even your enemy is your neighbor. The men here did not act neighborly; they didn't even have the decency to ask if the man was okay. Notice how they didn't just pass by. They didn't say a word to him. They saw him, looked away, and went on their merry way. They didn't have to get close to him to simply ask a question, but no, they didn't ask.
In 1 John 4:20, it says, “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister whom they have seen cannot love God whom they have not seen.”
Christ is calling the priests and the Levites specifically out here. I think this is a specific example for the culture and the people of the time. They were not only not being neighborly, but for not loving God. If they did love God, as the commandments state, they would also love their neighbor, right? Those are the two greatest commandments.
Love God, love your neighbor. If you truly loved your brother or your neighbor, then you would help them in their time of need. You would ask them, are you okay? You would help them in their time of need. You would aid them. Here though, they just passed by, and did nothing. Religious leader, important people in the temple did not help. They did not do a thing.
Moving on with our text, “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 to an inn and took care of him. The next day, he took two denarius 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 kindness, showed brotherly love. It is interesting that Jesus used a Samaritan in particular as the man who was showing love, who was showing kindness. Samaritans were not looked on kindly. The looked down on them. They were a racially mixed people and were looked on as a lesser class by society as a whole at the time.
Jesus uses one here to emphasize, not only should everyone act neighborly, but everyone should be given neighborly acts as well. If a Samaritan man is showing kindness to a man he has never met, to a man he knows nothing about, and then so should the Jews of the time as well. So should everyone else. No one is exempt from this. It seems like Christ likes using Samaritans in the Bible. The woman at the well is another good example of Him doing the same thing.
She was a Samaritan woman and he had a lengthy conversation with her in John 4. It makes sense though. Since they were looked down upon, since they were seen as a lesser people, Christ would use them to show everybody can be saved, that everybody needs to act this way to gain this thing and that this is available to everyone who does this. It is a gift anyone can accept. I believe that's why he uses a Samaritan man here.
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 everyone. He is the fulfillment of the Jewish law. It is for everyone, not just the Jews of the time, not just for a select few. It is for all of us, so we should act in accordance. We should act neighborly to all.
Back to our text verses 36-37, “which of these three do you think was neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? The expert in this law said the one who had mercy on him. Jesus said go and do likewise.”
I want to point out something else before I get into anything. Notice what the lawyer said. Did he mention the Samaritan? Did he say Samaritan? He didn't. He said the one who had mercy. He actively went out of his way to not mention the man's race, to not mention his class, to not mention who he was. Instead, he said the one who had shown mercy. Notice, again, the arrogance this lawyer shows.
Jesus just went through this whole parable explaining to the lawyer how he should act and how it should be applied to everyone. It seems he can't even let his own prejudice towards those people, towards Samaritans, let him acknowledge the Samaritan that was used as an example. The man that acted neighborly when his own priests, when his own Levites, people he would see as worthy, didn't. Think about that how this lawyer in particular, shows just how arrogant he was.
I asked you when you go into the world do not be like the priest or the Levite. Be like the Samaritan and be a neighbor to all. Feed the hungry and take care of the sick. For if we love God then we must love our neighbors as well. If we love our neighbors, then we show our love for God as well.
Mark 12:30-31 says, “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 commandment greater than these.”
Christ loved us more than we could ever imagine. It is our job as Christians to replicate that love and follow in his footsteps, to do as he did. His life was an example on how we are supposed to act. He has told us that those two commandments, those two simple commands, that is the key to following a good and Christian life. That is how He walked. Those commandments led His every decision.
Most important to me is to love your Lord. Love our God, because if you truly love the Lord, then the love for the neighbors will come naturally. Those works, those kind acts will follow.
If you truly love the Lord, then you will obey His commandments and be baptized for the remission of your sins. If you love the Lord, why wait? Death is in any corner. At any point, robbers could jump out of nowhere and stab you, and you might not be as lucky as the man in the story who was able to survive and received help. You may be left with nothing. Death can come whenever, wherever, at any point.
Why wait? There is no way but His way. As I leave to you today, I asked you if you have not been baptized, please come. Thank you.