Chardon church of Christ

Into The World - Rehoboth

Into The World – Rehoboth
Dr. Rob Sidwell
8/14/2024

Good evening. It’s been a nice warm day. We went out to the baseball game. I didn't get sunburned, so that was a good thing, and the team won, so that was nice, too.

We know that there are many things that are people needing prayer, all the sick and injured. We need to remember them. We talked about that last night. There is no place where God cannot be, and there's nothing too great that God cannot do it.

This evening we're talking about places in the Bible. If you say you've heard of this place, when I mention its name, I might not believe you. The place's name is Rehoboth. R-e-h-o-b-o-t-h. If you turn over to Genesis Chapter 26, we'll find out what happens at this place. You might be interested to know that there's a place called Rehoboth in southeast Ohio. It's a former mining town in the county that's next to the one I'm in—Perry County.

It's like a lot of other former mining towns down there. There's not much left of it except a little sign. It's not incorporated. It has a little green and white sign that says Rehoboth. There are two or three houses. That’s all that's left of the place.

There's a place in the Bible named Rehoboth. I don't know what was going through the heads of the people who founded Rehoboth, Ohio, but probably they named it after this place. We're coming here in the middle of an account of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the father of Jacob. The Bible tells us a lot, of course, about Abraham's life. We have more than 10 chapters that mostly revolve around Abraham and quite a bit about Jacob, and then it merges into Joseph. We don’t have as much about Isaac as an individual.

Isaac is the focus of this account, but this is one of the very few. I'm going to begin reading this and read this one from the English Standard. Let’s start in verse 6.

Genesis 26:6 (ESV): So Isaac settled in Gerar. When the men of the place asked him about his wife, (Rebekah), he said, she is my sister…

Now, where we heard that before? His parents. Abraham had said, the same thing about Sarah.

…for he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because she was attractive in appearance. When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with Rebekah his wife. So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘Lest I die because of her.’” Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

Relations between Isaac and the Philistines got off on the wrong foot. It opens with a misunderstanding. It could have had fatal consequences, but things go pretty well for him.

Verse 12, And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. 14 He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him. 15 (Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.) 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”

Relations have broken down. There's a lot of disputing in these next few verses about water wells. Now, I talked to three different people after the ball game today. I went shopping in Mentor. I talked to someone at Best Buy and someone at my own apartment complex and someone at the Jerky Store. My father loves beef jerky. They all said the same thing—were you here for that huge storm last week? It seems you had more than enough water here. We said, we're going through a severe drought, Southeast Ohio. We can't live without water.

It was and is very precious, especially if you've ever seen any films or pictures of that area of the world. Water is scarce. Was and is scarce, especially drinkable water that's not poisoned with some mineral or another. You're going to see a lot of disputing in the next few verses about wells. What's the big deal with water? You’ve got Lake Erie over here. Water was a big deal to these people.

Let's keep going here, verse 17. So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them. But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah. And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”

Rehoboth means broad places, room. There's room for everyone now, and we shall dwell in the land.

Let's read a few more verses. From there he went up to Beersheba. And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake.” So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac's servants dug a well.

Water was precious. Let's put ourselves in Isaac's sandals. You've got vast herds, and they need water. Without water, your wealth won't mean much. In fact, your wealth will disappear pretty rapidly so you move from place to place to place. No matter where you go, how many times you move the Philistines say, Get out of here. They fight over every well you dig. Your servants have worked very hard digging these wells. The Philistines every single time say, This is ours.

What would you do if you worked so hard on your property and someone just showed up and said, Buzz off. Get lost. What would you do? How would you react? That's comforting. When I asked the same question in Southeast Ohio, a couple of people were making signs they're loading shotguns. Why was I frightened when they said that? Did Isaac react that way?

Turn over to Hebrews 12. And while you're turning there, consider the question, should we react literally by pumping up our shotguns or whatever? How should we react when people get pushy? When people take advantage of us? When people try to push us around? What does the world say? This is from a cartoon when I was a kid. Don't get mad, get even. That's what the world thinks. You hurt me, so I'm going to hurt you back. I'm going to hurt you back worse than you hurt me because then I'll come out on top.

Hebrews 12:14 (NKJ) says Pursue peace with nice people? No. It says, Pursue peace with all people.

The English Standard puts a little bit more emphasis on this. It says, Strive for peace with everyone. If you're striving, you put some effort into it. Strive for peace with everyone.

Let’s keep going, Holiness… Is that important? Finish the verse. …without which no one will see the Lord. Do you want to see the Lord? I trust the answer is yes, or you probably wouldn't be here. Then you need to behave the way the Bible tells you to, which is pursue holiness and also pursue peace with others.

There's a really common false teaching that's going on in 2024. It is that we can't wait for God to take vengeance on our enemies. Christians are meant to have all sorts of political power and execute vengeance. Reconcile that with Hebrews 12:14. Why are we failing to do that?

Turn over to Matthew 5:9. We can probably all quote this one. It says, blessed are the peace makers.

He doesn't say the peacekeepers. In other words, there was already peace, and you just didn't mess it up. No, blessed are the peace makers. There was fighting and quarreling in some way or other, but you've made peace. What happens if you're a peacemaker? They shall be called sons of God. That's quite an honor. Bless are those who make peace. Peace, thus, is the way God would have us live.

Go back to Isaac in Genesis. He set an example of this principle. Three times he moved on just to keep the peace. Moving all his herds and his household would require more than a little effort. Isaac did this, and we saw that eventually God did make room for him.

What do you do when somebody when somebody has been so unkind to you? Do you answer back? Look for ways to get even with them? My car still has the scars on it from when I lived at the apartment in Mentor? If you've ever been around the Mentor Mall Village Apartments, the parking spaces are tiny. My next door neighbor opened his car door into my car. You could see the scratches all down the side of my car. What do you do in a situation like that? I don't hold up myself as anything like an example of the Supreme Holiness, far from it. The point is, what do you do in a situation like that? What do people do? Get your keys out and go to work on that person's car. That's how the world works. That's the way too many people in the world work. What do you do?

Turn to Romans, chapter 12. We should strive to live at peace with those around us. What does that mean? It's possible to carry that too far. Is it possible to carry that too far? In other words, you're so desperate to make peace that you never stand up for anything, not even God's word, because somebody might get upset. Somebody might get upset if you point out that A, B, C, D, E, F, G behavior is wrong. I won't single anything out at this point, but you get the idea.

Somebody might get upset if you point out that this behavior that they're practicing is wrong. Do you just excuse and say, Oh, that's okay. It’s just the way you were born, the way you were raised, the way you were, et cetera. We've heard all the excuses. Do you say that? Or do you stand up for the truth? We should strive to live in peace with those around us as much as we can without compromising God's laws.

See what Paul writes with inspiration here in Romans 12, verse 18 (NKJ). It says, If it is possible… (not that big P word, possible), …as much as depends on you, (or so far as it depends on you, ESV), live peaceably with all men.

In other words, there will be sometimes in some instances in which not going to be possible. We see that, say in the Book of Acts, where what the apostle says, New King James, we ought to, ESV, we must obey God rather than men.

Has someone heard this one? The government's bad. The government's so bad that... The scripture spoke to that. If you will turn over to 1 Peter 2, we'll just read a couple of verses and we'll come back to this later. I've heard the argument that the government is evil, and because the government is evil, Christians aren't obligated to follow anything that it says. We shouldn't be paying your taxes. Chardon is the land of strange speed limits that happen at tops and bottoms of hills. Forget those because Christians will not have to obey speed limits because who makes those? The evil government.

The scriptures plainly speak that Christianity is not a license to disobey the government because people might be in charge of it who aren't Godly. Before I read this, just think about when this was written. What government was in charge when the New Testament was given by God? The Roman Empire. The pagans who practiced human sacrifice through its gladiatorial games. Was that a Godly government? No.

What did Peter write by inspiration here? 1 Peter 2:11 (ESV). It says, Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable. I was in Barns and Noble today. They have a copy of the Annals of Tacitus. Tacitus was a Roman writer of the first century. He did not have nice things to say about the church. He infamously claimed that the church sacrificed babies. Of course, it didn't.

What happens every time that someone who claims to be a Christian goes out wantonly disobey the law? What does the world do? See, that's what that Christianity is all about. That Christianity is all about flaunting any rules and regulations you don't like. Some say, I'm a Christian. I don't have to obey the rules.

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable. In other words, do what's right to all people in all circumstances insofar as this is humanly possible. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable. Don't break the law just because we serve a higher power. We were bought with a price, as Paul writes elsewhere.

We're actually going to cheat a little bit tonight because we're going to have actually three locations. We're going to link the lessons together. The second location we're going to talk about also starts with the letter R. I told you how rural Morgan County is. You might say this lesson is three R's. Instead of reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic, we're going to have three R's.

Have you ever heard of Jawbone Hill? No, in English, of course, it is not start with an R, but in Hebrew, it does. Most of us have heard of Bunker Hill. What happened on Bunker Hill? The Americans fought the British. The British took the hill and took horrific casualties in the process. That helped convince them that the Americans meant business in their revolution. Malvern Hill was a bloody Civil War battle. Hamburger Hill in Vietnam, where US troops were sacrificed in great numbers for a hill that was eventually abandoned.

Turn over to Judges for the account of Jawbone Hill. Jawbone Hill, or I'll give it's Hebrew name now, Ramath Lehi, but Jawbone Hill, shows us what happens when we don't follow the advice of our previous point. What happens when we live like the world does? In other words, what happens when we live like the world lives? What happens when you do something nasty to me? I'm going to do something nasty to you right back. Here is part of the account of Samson. Samson is probably one of the Bible figures who had the most wasted potential. With his physical strength, think of the things he could have done for God, but what did he spend most of his life using his strength for? To indulge himself, to get away with stuff.
Judges 15, beginning with verse 9 (NKJ). It says, Now the Philistines went up, encamped in Judah, and deployed themselves against Lehi. And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” So they answered, “We have come up to arrest Samson, to do to him as he has done to us.” Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? What is this you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.”
Notice Samson’s words. Let's translate that into language that I've heard quite a bit since I started substitute teaching. They started it. Well, that's basically what that means. As they've done to me, so I've done to them. I just did to them what they did to me. That's basically the same translation, more or less. We say, kids do that. Adults do it, too.

Keep going, though. Verse 12. But they said to him, “We have come down to arrest you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines.” Then Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves.” So they spoke to him, saying, “No, but we will tie you securely and deliver you into their hand; but we will surely not kill you.” And they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock. When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him. Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds [b]broke loose from his hands. He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and killed a thousand men with it. 6 Then Samson said: “With the jawbone of a donkey, Heaps upon heaps,
With the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men!” And so it was, when he had finished speaking, that he threw the jawbone from his hand, and called that place Ramath Lehi.
He called the place Ramath Lehi, which means literally the hill, the jawbone. Why did Samson do what he did here? For his own reasons. Notice it doesn't say, but compare his language with David's language in two books over. In 1 Samuel, when David says, what about Goliath? This man's defying me because I'm the future king of Israel. No, he says, this man is defying the armies of the living God. David's attitude was very different from Samson's. If you look through the story, the account of Samson is always about him. Look what they did to me. Did you hear what they said to me? What they do to me? What does he say once again in verse 11?

As they did in me, so I've done to them. It was a cycle of vengeance. Remember how this started? Samson insisted on a Philistine wife. Again, paraphrasing for the sake of time, the Philistines threatened to burn his wife alive until eventually they forced her to coaxed the secret out of him. To get back at them, he tied fox's tails together and sent them burning through Philistines fields. It went back and forth. One side did something, the other side retaliated. I'm from about an hour north of West Virginia.

You know the Hatfields and the McCoys were real? A real feud that went across many decades. That one family did something to the other family, and then that family would retaliate, and then the family would retaliate back. It was a cycle of vengeance. When did Samson's cycle of vengeance end? It ended with him putting his hands on two pillars with no eyeballs left. After the Philistines had taken him and put out his eyes, the cycle of vengeance eventually was Samson saying, let me with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines.

What's he saying? Let me die with the Philistines. He killed himself and them. He killed more Philistines when he pushed the temple pillars over in the temple then he killed when he was alive. What he might have done with the rest of that life! His attitude of vengeance cost him. It cost him his life. What about us? Do people say bad things about us? Do people say bad things about us? What do we do? What do we do about it?

Hopefully, we remember what God said in both testaments. Romans 12:19. Let's read verse 19. It says, beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath. For it is written, vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord.

That's quoting Deuteronomy 32:35.

In the English standard, Romans 12:19 says, beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God. As it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.

Are you angry? Ever? When we're angry, we should remember these words. We may say, somebody should do something about this. Someone will eventually. Who escapes God's judgment? Not the people buried at sea. The sea gives the dead who are in it. If you read Revelation, people are buried under tons of rock. They don't escape there either. I'm paraphrasing, but Revelation says they're calling upon the mountains, the rocks, to fall on them and hide them. It doesn't work either. Someday, we are all going to face God. In judgment, we should not react like Samson. We should react more like Isaac. We need to find a peaceful way to settle our disputes.

Our third biblical place is Rome. We tend to telescope history a little bit because we read about Rome. Rome, of course, is mentioned here and there through the four Gospels, and of course, especially in the Book of Acts, and reference is made to it from Roman through Revelation. We tend to think of Rome as the great persecutor of Christians.

Eventually, it was, but during most of the first century, it wasn't. Look at the Book of Acts. What's the usual response whenever Paul was dragged in front of a Roman official? They asked him openly at one point, Why don't you bring him in here? What's that to me? One of the officials had the attitude, it's a matter of your law, meaning Jewish law, Hebrew law, Old Testament law, you see to it. The Romans were not interested, at least not yet, in settling religious disputes involving Christ or Christianity. For the most part, Roman law was not in conflict with God's law. They had their gladiatorial games and such, but no one forced you to go to those. It was possible to live peacefully. They asked Jesus about this.

We alluded to this earlier. Here we are coming back to it. The government's evil. Should we pay for it? Let’s rephrase that question. Should we pay taxes? It says in Matthew 22 verse 15, (ESV) Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him (Jesus) in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us then what you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

Either way Jesus answered this it is a trap. If Jesus said, Pay taxes to Caesar, they would have said, Caesar's a pagan. You're in favor of paganism. If Jesus had said, don’t pay taxes to Caesar, their next steps would have been towards the Pretorium as the Roman governor often headquartered himself there. That was one very quick way to get Rome's attention. Don't pay your taxes. What does Jesus? Jesus is not going to fall into this trap.

Verse 18 reads, aware of their malice, where he knew their thoughts, said, why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax. And they brought him a denarius, (which is pretty much a day's wages) and Jesus said to them, Whose likeness and inscription is this? They said Caesars. Then he said to them, Therefore, rendered a Caesar, the things that are Caesar’s, and to God, the things that are god’s. When they heard it, they marveled, and they left him and went away.

Jesus was telling you flatly, Pay your taxes. Does the government 2024 do bad things? Yes. Just about every human government throughout history has done bad things. Should you pay your taxes? Yes. Whenever anyone on the Internet or anywhere else tells you not to, that person is speaking falsehood. That person is teaching the things that are not correct.

Let's move on to a few more examples from Rome that are a little less friendly. We're coming in after Paul's famous description of the, as we often call it, the Christian armor—the sword of the spirit, the helmet of salvation, and so on. But we're coming to our point in Ephesians verse 18.

Ephesians 6:18 says, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Paul had one big advantage Jesus did not. Paul was a Roman citizen. Politically speaking, as the world determines things, Paul had one big, legal advantage. Jesus was not a Roman citizen. This gives Paul certain rights that come into play over and over again in the last seven chapters of Acts. We'll summarize them in just a moment.

For one thing, it would have been extremely illegal to crucify Paul. You don't crucify Roman citizens. Paul was legally a Roman citizen. Did this give him a sense of superiority? Did he say, I'm a Roman citizen? As far as we know, Peter wasn't. Paul used that legal status to advance the cause of Christ. I could point you anywhere from Acts 20 to 28, for an example of that. Let's just turn to one small part of that—Acts 22. We see one of the times his citizenship comes into play. Paul invokes it here in Jerusalem in Acts 22. I've paraphrased for the sake of time. Paul had been arrested in the temple complex in Jerusalem for allegedly bringing Gentiles in there. That was the charge they arrested him on. He had been basically pushed up to the podium and told to make a defense for yourself to the Sanhedrin. What does he say in verse 21? He says that God tells him, 'Go, for I'll send you far away to the Gentiles.' That phrase was enough to enrage the Sanhedrin.

We're coming in verse 22. And they listened to him. They listened to him until this word, (Gentiles). And then they raised their voices and said, 'Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live.' Then as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air, the commander, ordered him to be brought into the barracks and said that he should be examined under scourging so that he might know why they shouted so against him.

There are only a handful of Roman soldiers in Jerusalem. During this time as far as we can tell from historical sources, there were about 500 Roman soldiers. The population of Jerusalem was many thousands. The Roman soldiers were vastly outnumbered. And so the ESV actually tells you it's the tribune who were going to be brought into the barracks. The tribune would have been the local officer in charge. There was a Roman barracks there. We know where it was. It was called the Praetorium. It was a fortress It was next to the temple complex, which was probably where Pilate had tried Jesus before. That's where Roman governors usually stayed when they were in Jerusalem. Romans didn't like it in Jerusalem because, well, for one thing, they weren't allowed to bring their eagles. Why? They were idols.

There's no gladiatorial arena there. The Romans saw the Jews as strange. There are only 500 Romans there. They're not matched, at least in the short term. That's why it's pretty wild out there. They're tearing off their clothes and throwing dust in the air. That's why the Roman official, the Tribune, tells them, Beat Paul. They examine him under scourging. That means you're beaten with a whip that has bits of nails and glass in it. That could have killed Paul.

Back to verse 25. And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion, who stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned? When the centurion heard that, he went and told the commander, saying, Take care of what you do for this man who is a Roman. Then the commander or the tribune came and said to him, tell me, are you a Roman? He said, Yes. The commander answered, With a large sum, I obtain this citizenship.

In other words, a lot of the officers and such might pay a big sum of money to get the citizenship.

And Paul said, but I was born a citizen. Then immediately, those who were about to examine him, withdrew from him. And the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

It was illegal to severely punish a Roman citizen without a trial. Roman citizens were a special class of people. I know there's a lot of disputes in the United States right now about citizenship. I teach politics. It's nice to say, without making a statement for anybody, US citizenship for better or worse is fairly easy to get as world citizenship goes. Israeli citizenship on the other hand, is really hard to get. I believe your grandmother's mother has to have been Jewish. I'm not talking about religion, I'm talking about race. You have to be able to prove that she was Jewish by race. Otherwise, it doesn't matter how long ago you converted to Judaism, you can't be a citizen of Israel.

How special was Roman citizenship? How hard was it to get? One of the ways was to pay a lot of money. Not many people had a lot of money. Most people who were Roman citizens were born that way. If you weren't born a Roman citizen, the most common way of becoming a Roman citizen was to join the army. When you sign up for the US Army, what's your tour? Five years, six years? When you sign up for the Roman army, you sign up for 20 years. During which point, among other things, you're forbidden to marry. Roman discipline was notoriously brutal. They invented the practice of what's called decimation. If a unit showed cowardice in battle, afterwards the unit would be forced to draw straws. If you drew the short straw, the rest of the people in your unit would be forced to beat you to death. Every 10th person, that's what decimation gave them. That was Roman discipline. You went through 20 years of that to become a citizen.

There were other things like the penalty for falling asleep at your post was death. There are things of that sort. They were also expected to attend gladiatorial events so they could watch people being horrifically tortured and killed, so they could become desensitized. Inflecting the cruelties they inflicted on Jesus would have been routine for them.

Why go through all that? Roman citizens had rights, and so did their children. Obviously, according to Rome, you got married after you survived 20 years in the army, but their sons, especially, would inherit their citizenship. Roman citizens had rights. In particular, they had the right to trial before the Emperor, before any severe punishment was inflicted.

He says, I appeal to Caesar. He had that right. He had the right to appeal to Caesar. That sounds like a really inefficient system. The Supreme Court of the United States is really backlogged, and there are nine justices. The Romans did not really improve on that system. Caesar inherited the rights of the ancient Roman Republican judges. So every Roman had the right to appeal to Caesar. Paul knew all that, and he used his Roman citizenship to help him out. He was a Roman citizen. That was pretty great. What did he write, though, about his citizenship? Turn over Philippians.

He uses that very word, citizenship in Philippians 3:17. Paul here says, Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, for which we also eagerly wait for the savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

As great as citizenship was with Rome, Paul was most concerned about keeping his heavenly citizenship. That's why he called himself an ambassador in chains (Eph. 6). His citizenship was truly in heaven. His highest allegiance was to his earthly city.

We read 1 Peter, if you continue from where we were, 1 Peter 2:13-17, Peter says fear God. Honor. ESV says, honor the Emperor or honor the King. Fear the government. Do what the government says, unless it contradicts what God says. Even if the government is bad, even if the government is controlled by ungodly people, we have the responsibility to live in peace with all men because our citizenship, ultimately, is not in the United States of America or any other nation on Earth. Hopefully, our citizenship is in heaven.

Turn to Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11 summarizes the Godly thoughts of the people of faith. It's often called the Hall of Faith Chapter.

Hebrews 11:13 says, These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them far off, verse 4. Abel, verse 5, Enoch, verse 7, Noah, verse 8, Abraham and Sarah, and then it continues after this verse. These people all died in faith, not having received the promises, because Jesus hadn't come yet, but having seen them far off or assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things, declare plainly that they seek a homeland, they’re strangers and exiles, ESV, on the earth.

Where's your citizenship? Is your citizenship in heaven? We have lots of privileges as American citizens, but much more important than having the privileges of an American citizen, a Canadian citizen, Israeli citizen, or picking random nation, much more important than having the privileges of any civilization or nation on Earth is having citizenship in heaven.

If we are citizens of heaven, we're all ambassadors here on Earth. What do ambassadors do? They represent. We're supposed to be representing the King of Kings, representing Jesus Christ. The question is, are you a citizen of heaven? If not, then you need to be. You become a citizen of heaven by hearing and believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and by confessing that faith in him before men and repenting of your sins and putting him on a baptism. Then you need to continue to live like a new person, like a citizen of heaven. Don't live like the world lives. Don't live like Samson did, caught in an endless cycle of living for yourself, living for revenge, living to get ahead. Live for Jesus instead of living for the world and truly live for Jesus.

If your citizenship is not in heaven, if your citizenship needs renewal, or if there's any need you have, make your way to the front as we stand and sing this song.

Into The World - The Mount of Olives

Into The World – The Mount of Olives
Dr. Rob Sidwell
8/13/2024

Good evening. Good to be back to be with you again this evening. Thank you once again for giving me this opportunity and feeding me burgers. It's good to be here with you this evening, and especially I'd like to thank Brother Mark for leading that song we just sang, Olive's Brow, because that's what we're going to talk about. We're going to talk about the Mount of Olive's.

It's most famous, obviously, for the song we just sang. What happened then, with Jesus going out to that mount before he was arrested, and praying and beseeching God, that if possible, that what was about to happen to him would not happen to him. Smith's Bible Dictionary talks a little bit more about the mountain itself. The title is a bit misleading, at least as we understand the word mountain. Because, of course the way we think mountain. We think Chardon is not a mountain, but it’s on a peak. It's just a solitary stand-alone eminence, a prominent height. Actually, what's called the Mount of Olives is a ridge.

It's a series of peaks. Smith's Bible Dictionary says that the ridge is about a mile long. Jerusalem is situated right next to it so that it's on the east side of the city. As the east side is covered, the ridge turns west, and so it covers a part of the Eastern section of the city.

We know about four events in scripture that took place there. This evening, we're going to look at them, and we're going to see what we can learn from these things. Two of them, the first two, we're going to look at it from the Old Testament. Let’s turn to 2 Samuel chapter 15, where we will encounter King David. This is not a happy time for King David. 2 Samuel 15 and we're going to jump in at verse 13. And I'll read this again from the English standard. If you read verses, for the sake of time, 1 through 12, one of David's sons, Absalom, who had been exiled at one point for murdering his half brother. It's a long and rather sordid story.

David had welcomed him back, but never saw him once he returned to the city. Absalom had been plotting against his father. Absalom had been campaigning to the people of Jerusalem and beyond, saying essentially, David doesn't care about you. I'm paraphrasing, of course. Make me king, and I'll fix your problems, and it was working.

Here we go in verse 13 And a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.” Then David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us flee, or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom. Go quickly, lest he overtake us quickly and bring down ruin on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.” And the king's servants said to the king, “Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king decides.” So the king went out, and all his household after him. And the king left ten concubines to keep the house. And the king went out, and all the people after him. And they halted at the last house. And all his servants passed by him, and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath, passed on before the king. Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why do you also go with us? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and also an exile from your home. You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander about with us, since I go I know not where? Go back and take your brothers with you, and may the LORD show steadfast love and faithfulness to you.” But Ittai answered the king, “As the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be.” And David said to Ittai, “Go then, pass on.” So Ittai the Gittite passed on with all his men and all the little ones who were with him. And all the land wept aloud as all the people passed by, and the king crossed the brook Kidron, and all the people passed on toward the wilderness.

What can we get from all this? Times are pretty desperate. David has been forced to flee his capital. What does he tell Itai? He says, I'm going to move the capital. He says in verse 20, I go, I know not where.

Take it from someone who studied history. History is replete with examples of kings, emperors, sultans who were deposed. Most of them didn't live too long after that. Most of them either went into exile indefinitely or a couple of times they tried to win back their throne. If you ever heard of Bonnie, Prince Charlie, for example, trying to win back the throne of England that had been taken from his family, it didn't work. David is in a very tough spot. Most likely, if he's going to suffer the fate of most monarchs who were overthrown, he isn't going to live very long. We may not be be king's or rulers, but what do we do in tough circumstances? What do we do in tough situations?

Let’s keep reading here. It says, verse 24, and here's more of our main focus. And Abiathar came up, and behold, Zadok came also with all the Levites, bearing the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God until the people had all passed out of the city.

What was the Ark of the Covenant? The most sacred object in Israel, the place where a manifestation of God, dwelled above the cherubim, as it's often said in the Old Testament, above the two cherubim that faced each other on the lid or the mercy seat. This is the holiest object in Israel. Wouldn't you want it with you if you were fleeing for your life?

Look what David says in verse 25. Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place.

But if he says, I have no pleasure in you. Behold, here I am. Let him do to me what seems good to him.

Who did David leave in charge, ultimately, of all things? He left his concubine in charge of his house, but who did he leave in charge of his life? He left God in charge of it. What does he say here? Verse 27, If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back. And let me do as seems good to him. Ultimately, David put his fate in the loving hands of God. We'll have more to say on that in just a moment. Let's finish reading the selection here.

Moving down to verse 27. The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a seer? Go back[e] to the city in peace, with your two sons, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” So Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they remained there. But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, barefoot and with his head covered. And all the people who were with him covered their heads, and they went up, weeping as they went.

These are desperate times, but there are a couple of things we want to note in this passage. When David first left Jerusalem again, who was with him? His warriors, he talks about his mighty men, his warriors, but also the priests and the Ark of the Covenant. Was the Ark of the Covenant powerful? Let me rephrase that question. Was the Ark of the Covenant powerful in and of itself? I see some shaking heads, no, and you are exactly correct.

People still believe in good luck, charms. and holy relics. In the movie, The Riders of the Lost Ark, there's a line in there where one of the characters says, The Bible speaks of the Ark leveling mountains and laying waste to entire regions. No, it does not. It says no such thing.

The Bible speaks of God doing such things. What was the Ark? A box, a gold-plated chest, a very special chest. It was made to God's exact directions in the Book of Exodus. That's all it was, ultimately. In and of itself, the Ark had no power at all. There's another line in that same movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, where they add something else. An army which carries the Ark before it, says the movie, is invincible.

Turn over to 1 Samuel 4. If that's true, and let's pretend for a moment that's true. An army which carries God's Holy object is invincible. Then if you're David, wouldn't you have wanted it with you when you're fleeing for your life? You certainly would. Israel had thought that the Ark made them invincible.

1 Samuel 4:1, ESV here again, says, And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines?

Why indeed? They admit that God was not with them. why do you suppose God wasn't with them? You know the answer to that. If you read the Book of Judges, where it begins and ends with the phrase every man did what was right in his own eyes. Israel was not following God. Was that the conclusion that the elders of Israel reached here in 1 Samuel? No.

Finish the verse. Let us bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh that (notice) it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.

Is that going to work?

Let's keep reading. So the people went to Shiloh and brought from there the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of Hosts who was enthroned, I inferred to earlier, on the chair of him. So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. As soon as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the LORD had come to the camp, the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight. So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

David recognized what the elders did not. What was the Ark? It was God's sacred chest, but what could it do? Nothing. We won't read this for the sake of time. If you read, it's a short chapter. 1 Samuel 5 tells us what was commonly done. If you defeated an enemy civilization in the ancient world, you captured their gods. In most cases, of course, that meant the idol, the various little statues. You captured their idol, and you brought their idol into the temple of your gods so they were captive. You captured them. The Philistines did this with the Ark. Again, for the sake of time, we'll paraphrase here. What happened? It didn't turn out so well for the statue of Dagen, the Philistine God, and later, it didn't turn out so well for the people of the Philistines cities as God sent plague after plague on every city the Ark was taken to.

Let’s read one verse here. 1 Samuel 5:6 says, The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and his territory.

The Ark didn't inflict a thing. The hand of God did this. Verse 7 says, The when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, The Ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his (they do say his) his hand is hard against us and against Dagon, our God. So they send it to all five of the Philistines cities, or at least they tried to. They didn't want it by the end.

When the Ark gets returned to Israel, who strikes people dead? Who strikes people dead who look into it? God does. When Uzzah touched the Ark, did the Ark kill him? God did. David recognized what here on the Mount of Olive? David recognized that God alone is God, that you don't get closer to God by having an object around, not even the Ark of the Covenant.

There are people today who will try to sell you relics from the Holy Land. Water that came from the Holy Land, vials of dirt that were dug up from Jerusalem, etc. How are you going to know they came from Jerusalem? Even if they did, ould that get you any closer to God?

I could bore you. With long story after story about the Catholic relics and so on, that they count on these things to connect them to God, it doesn't work. Objects cannot get us closer to God. People wear a cross around their neck, which, of course, is fine unless they think, if I wear a cross around my neck, that'll get me closer to God automatically. It doesn't work that way. If it reminds you of Jesus and what he's done for us that’s wonderful, but just keep in mind this is not a good luck charm. This needs to mean more to you than, I'm in trouble, I'll grab it, and that's going to save me. It doesn't work that way. That's one thing we can learn right here from what happened at the Mount of Olives.

David pauses and sends the ark back to Jerusalem. The other lesson that we can get from this, we've already alluded to. Notice David's attitude. He did not complain against God. He did not say, if you read through 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel, he went through a lot. I spent years running from Saul. For seven years, I was king over one tribe. I went through a lot to get here, and now I'm being thrown out of my own palace. He didn't rail against or blame God. He said instead he submitted to the will of God. He probably kept in mind what had been said to him not too long before by the prophet Nathan in 2 Samuel 12. Again, for the sake of time, we'll skip to the end of this. When David is confronted with what he had done Bathsheba, what he had done to her husband, Uriah. After David had self-righteously condemned the man in Nathan's parable, what did Nathan tell him? You are the man.

We'll jump in there. 2 Samuel 12:7, the ESV here says, Nathan said to David, 'You are the man. Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'I anointed you, King of Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul, and I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more, why have you despised the word of the Lord to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with a sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house because you have despised me and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord, 'Behold, I'll raise up evil against you out of your own house. I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor,' 'And he shall lie with your wives in the sight of the Son,' 'For you did it secretly, verse 12, 'but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the Son.’

Maybe David had that in mind when he was conferring with those who followed him at the Mount of Olive. The scripture doesn't explicitly say that he did. Ultimately, David did say that he had faith that everything was in God's hands. If God delights in me, I'll be restored. If he doesn't, there's no use trying to fight that. Absalom, of course, did not... He wanted to be king. We know that he didn't succeed in that. Who succeeded? Solomon. Sadly, though, Solomon is a source of our next Mount of Olive's account.

Turn over, please, to First Kings, chapter 11. And we will see that although Solomon was a wise man, he was only a man. He didn't always put that wisdom into practice. In fact, toward the end of his life, he usually didn't.

First Kings 11:1 says, Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and did not wholly follow the LORD, as David his father had done. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.

Where did he do it? On the mountain east of Jerusalem, the mountain that would come to be known as the Mount of Olives.

This sad commentary on what would happen to Israel. It should also tell us something else from what we've read. Back to what we said about the Holy land. Is it really holy? Is there such a thing as the Holy land? No. Especially not if you read, we live under the New Testament. Nowhere on Earth is exalted above any place else on Earth. We touched a bit on that last night.

Turn over to Second Kings, Chapter 23. We'll see that the Mount of Olives had a new name by then. It wasn't a good one. It wasn't a happy name. By second Kings 23, after Solomon's death, had split between 10 tribes, Israel and two tribes, the new nation of Judah. Israel, by second Kings 23, had been obliterated by the Assyrians.

We're now dealing with Josiah, the king of the two tribes of the nation of Judah. Josiah was one of the few good kings. He tasked himself with cleaning up Judah's corruption. He ruled about 400 years, 400 years after Solomon. Look what was still standing by his time, 400 years later.

Jump down to verse 13 of Second Kings 23. It says, And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men..

On the Mount of Olives, David had worshiped God. On the Mount of Olives, Solomon had worshiped pagan gods, and every single one of the ones listed part of their worship involved child sacrifice. Every single one of them. Ashtaroth, Shemosh, Melcom, all three of them. And so by 400 years, give or take, by Josiah's time, the mountain was known as the Mount of Corruption. These places stood for a long time.

That's an excellent example of how there's nothing really necessarily special or blessed about a place. Places can be used for good or evil. To give you an example from like 3000 years later in history. You know what happened to the railroad car that was the site where World War I ended. Four years of mostly pointless slaughter. The trenches of Europe had barely moved for four years. It came to an end in a railway car in France where the Germans signed the armistice. World War I had been by far the bloodiest war in human history ever bought them until that time. The French preserved that train car. Tens of millions of soldiers were lost in World War I. The French preserved the train car in a museum. This is 1918.

What happened in 1940? The Nazis overrun France. As soon as Hitler found out where that the railroad car was, he had the museum wall cut away and had the train car brought out and forced the French to sign their peace treaty that gave Nazi Germany control of Western Europe in the same in a car, where the slaughter had ended in World War I. The French were forced to sign a treaty that would lead to four years in Western Europe of oppression, slave labor, and genocide.

I’ll give you a reverse example before we move on here. Bad places can be used for happy things. I mean, once a place has been used for evil, it can't ever be redeemed, right? You're right to react that way because it can. What happens when this place is cursed? It was used for evil.

When the Allies destroyed Nazi Germany, they took over, of course, the city of Nuremberg. Nuremberg had been the city where Adolf Hitler had held his grandest, greatest, largest rallies. See all the films of the thousands upon thousands of Nazis saluting and parading with their flags and such before their Fuhrer. The Americans turned the parade grounds into a baseball field. They made a point of filming where the swastika at the entrance. They made sure they captured that on film. They turned the parade grounds at Nuremberg, into a baseball field. They used the Nuremberg Hall of Justice, where genocidal laws have been passed as the courtroom, where the Nazis’ evil deeds were exposed to the world and then judged. This should remind us of examples like the Mount of Olives, like the Versailles train car, like the city of Nuremberg.

Places and things can be used for good or evil purposes. So can we. We have choices to make. How are we going to use the places that we use? The places where we live? The places where we work? Are we going to use Psalm 5:51 here? Are we going to do all that we have and all we do in the name of the Lord? Are we going to use what we have and the places that we have for evil purposes? We must not get attached to things. We must not say God can only be worshiped in this place. God can only be worshiped through this thing. We found that out, of course, fairly recently with COVID, didn't we? You can't say we can’t worship God if it's not in a church building, right? We found out that that wasn't true. What did Jesus say? He said, where two or three are gathered together in my name there I am in the midst of them. We must avoid this attachment that the world has to objects, whether they're allegedly holy or not, or places, whether they are holy or cursed or not.

Romans 1:24 says, Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves.

Why were they abandoned to sin?

Because in verse 25, they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen.

We must not worship objects or places. We must worship the one who created them all. We don't bow down an idol, as we often say, and I think it's true. Anything we put in God's place becomes an idol. I was very attached to Mentor. It was very hard for me to move away from there. If I put Manner, Ohio, above God, I have a problem. If you put Streetsboro or Kent, Ohio, you have a problem. If you put any location or any object on Earth above God, you have a problem. This is our family heirloom Bible, it shouldn’t be put above God.

To get to the subject of our song there, let's turn to the New Testament now. Jesus and what he did on the Mount of Olives. Turn to Matthew 21, please. We're most familiar with what happened. To quote the song ‘Tis Midnight, the night Jesus was arrested. Jesus was very familiar with the Mount of Olives in that he had spent a lot of time there.

We'll pick up here in Matthew 21:1 (NKJ) It says, Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’” So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, [c]and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Hosanna in the highest!”
We often call this the triumphal entry. This began, of course, the week that would end with Jesus on a cross. This was what we call it the triumph of entry because for once in his earthly life, people, at least some people, began to recognize who Jesus was on earth. That's important to know, because within a week, many of the same people, most assuredly, were screaming crucify him. People can be unfaithful, fickle.

Turn over to Matthew Chapter 24 verse 3 (NKJ). It says, as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying, Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming at the end of the age?

Turn over to Luke 22 (ESV). That takes us to the scene that we sang about. That's where Jesus was. David had paused there. Solomon had built a pagan temple there. Jesus often went there and taught, and Jesus prayed there. So I said four things. Jesus prayed there, and we'll combine the last two as we wrap our thoughts and summarize our message here.

Luke 22:39 says, Coming out, he went to the Mount of Olives as he was accustomed, and his disciples also followed him. When he came to the place, he said to them, 'Pray that you may not enter into temptation. ‘And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw. And he knelt down and prayed, saying, 'Father, if it is your will, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done. Then an angel appeared to him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly. Then his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Within a week, he had been hailed as the son of David, as the coming one, as the Messiah. People had been throwing their cloaks down upon the road for him to ride over and waving branches and throwing branches in the road. And saying he was king, but he knew it was about to happen. He was about to be betrayed. He was about to be repeatedly interrogated. He was about to be mocked. He was about to be physically tortured, and he was about to be nailed to that cross.

Because he wasn't insane, he wasn't looking forward to it. In fact, he didn't want to do it. He said, If it's possible, let me not have to do this. Let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, he says, like David before him, (Jesus was sinless unlike David), but he says, not my will, but yours be done.

That's quite a week, isn't it? Jesus went from a triumphant entry to being crucified. Have you ever had a week where things start off really well and then everything crashes and burns? Or perhaps you had a week where things look really, really gloomy in the beginning and then they get better. None of us have ever been crucified or will have to be crucified. We've all experienced highs and lows. Would Jesus also experience highs and lows, better times in his life on Earth and worse times?

Turn over to Hebrews 4:14 (ESV). It says Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our confession, for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who in every respect, (the New King James says in all points), but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin, let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

What do you depend on? Do you depend on the place you're from, the place you've been to? Do you depend on an object? Or do you really, truly rely, as David did, as Jesus did, on God? That's a question only you can answer.

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives one time after he was crucified. This'll be our last reference. Turn over to Acts 1, beginning with verse 9. Jesus has just given his last message directly on Earth to his disciples, soon to be Apostles.

Acts chapter 1 verse 9 says, Now, when he had spoken these things while they watched, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly, (the ESV says they stood gazing into heaven as he went up). Behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up in heaven? ‘The same Jesus who was taken up from you in heaven will so come in like manner (or in the same way) as you saw him go into heaven. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey.

The Mount of Olives was the sight of many things in the Bible. Jesus endured agony upon that mount. He wasn't crucified there. He was crucified on a hill called Golgotha, but he endured agony. He sweat drops of blood for us there upon that mount. He did all this so we, too, could ascend to heaven, and be with him someday. As we live, let's live giving glory to God for sending Jesus and have a relationship with him for ourselves. We must honor, praise, and glorify Jesus for loving us enough to do what he didn't want to do, submitting to God's will and being that sacrifice. Let's learn that a mountain, a ridge, or a river is only geography. The truly important issue is our relationship with God.

We close this evening by asking, how's your relationship with God? Are you really serving God? Or are you serving something else? Are you serving your bank account? Are you serving your family above God? Are you serving some other relationship? Are you serving your job? If you're serving anyone or anything other than God, you need to make that right.

Secondly, there's nothing holy or unholy about places. We can worship God at any time, in any place, and we should. We should worship God at all times, both when we're in this building or some other church building. We should serve God each and every day, each and every place that we are. Thirdly, Jesus understands our struggles, and he was crucified for us, even though he didn't want to be. He knew full well what was going to happen to him from when time began.

The question is, are you following Jesus? If you never started, then you need to. You need to start by believing that he is the Christ, the son of the living God. You need to be willing to confess your faith in him before men. Be willing to repent of your sins and put him on in baptism as he's commanded for you to do, and then continue to walk in a relationship with him, doing your best to follow after him and making sure you're serving him and you're not serving anyone, anything, or any place else.

If you have been baptized, and not living as you should. If you've fallen into serving the creature rather than the creator, you can make that right as well. If there's anything you have, come forward as we stand and sing the song.

 

(Transcript)

Into The World - Nazareth

Into The World – Nazareth
Dr. Rob Sidwell
8/12/2024

Thank you all for allowing me to come and speak with you. Thank you for the wonderful accommodations you provided. I keep telling you, you don't have to do this. You continue to blow me away. I said I'm a person who didn't travel much, but when I did, I was happy with motel sixes and Super 8s. You have done very well for me, and I thank you very much for that and for this opportunity.

It's good to be back with you and talk with some of you. Hopefully, I have a chance to do that some more. I'll keep things brief and get right to the point of what we're going to talk about this evening. We're going to have a series of lessons. The title of this is going into the World. We're doing a series of lessons based on Bible places mentioned in the Bible.

We think a lot about places, and places mean a lot. For the last couple of weeks, much of the world's attention has been riveted on one place—Paris, France. People have paid a lot of attention. They've given a lot of attention to the training, the hard work, the lifetimes, the preparation that these athletes put in before they swim across the pool once and back, before they can land that one tumbling pass, so they can play basketball or whatever the case may be.

We, as the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinthians, we are also competing. We compete for a prize. We're competing for a prize that will last a lot longer than the laurels that they gave athletes in ancient times and longer than the metals that they hang around their neck that seem to be a thing this year. They're supposed to bite them. Everybody bit the metal when they were having their pictures taken.

Someday the teeth that bit that metal won't be around anymore. Neither will the metal because it's going to be consumed. The Crown of Life is better than an Olympic metal. It's better than a World Series trophy. It's even better than the Super Bowl ring for the Brown's Nation up here. This is a big deal. People remember where Olympic athletes are from, and that's where we're going to zoom in.

I would like to thank Brother Mark for leading that song we just sang and the verse of that song we just sang, that we saw Jesus not. Where did he hail from on this Earth? That despised Nazareth. A lot of towns, especially down in rural areas like where I'm from, have signs as you go in. This is Malta, Ohio, home of Olympic Bronze medalist, fill in the blank. Actually, Malta is home to no one except James Thurber, I believe, who wrote novels about Ohio. A lot of towns have home of this or home of that. There's a town close by called the Plains, where they have a sign, Home of Joe Burrow, Cincinnati quarterback.

Turn over to the gospel of Luke, Chapter 1. The little town Jesus hailed from wasn't where he was born. Where he hailed from wasn't a famous town. It hadn't been a famous town during Jesus’ life on Earth. Its Fame, its reputation didn't improve much.

In Luke 1, beginning with verse 36 says, Now, in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, ' the angel said to her, Rejoice, highly favored one. The Lord is with you. ' 'Blessed are you among women. ' But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ' 'And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, and she'll call his name Jesus. ' 'He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. Then Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be since I do not know a man? And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy spirit will come upon you and the power of the highest will overshadow you. Therefore also that Holy one who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

As suggested in the song Oh, How Marvelous. The lyrics are I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus, the Nazarene. We tend to telescope things across 2000 years. Nazareth, great place? It wasn't considered a great place in those days. We know that Joseph was from Nazareth. The husband, I won't say he was Jesus' father, of course, because he technically he wasn't, but the husband of Mary was from Nazareth.

Turn over one chapter to Luke 2 beginning with... Again, I’m reading this from the English Standard Version. …verse one. It says, In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus so that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. (In order to register for the Roman census, people were required to go back to their ancestral lands.) All went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary his betrothed who was with child.

Nazareth wasn't Bethlehem. Jesus was physically born in Bethlehem, but he grew up in Nazareth. Nazareth was where? We already read that in chapter one. Nazareth was in Galilee.

I'm from southeast Ohio. Southeastern Ohio is considered part of Appalachia. Appalachia has a bit of a reputation. Appalachia has a bit of a reputation for being a land of poverty. In large part, that's true. Galilee had a reputation that was less than stellar. In Jesus day, the Jews believe that the closer you lived to Jerusalem, God's holy city, the holier you were. If you're familiar with the geography of Palestine, you know that Jerusalem was well south of Galilee in Judea. Samaria was between where Samaritans lived was between Judea and Galilee. Jews were a majority in Judea. Galilee was not seen as a particularly good place, a particularly desirable place. Nazareth seemed hardly the place to expect the Christ, the Messiah, to come from—at least to many Jews.

You're going to see that as they react to Jesus. We know he grew up there. Let’s turn over to Luke 2:51. It says, And He, (Jesus,) went down with them, (His parents, Mary and Joseph,) and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart that he had said about being in his father's house or about his father's business.

That's where Jesus was from, as we would say on Earth. That's where he grew up. What had Nazareth been before Jesus? Not much. Search through the Old Testament. How many Major Prophets came from Nazareth? Not every prophet's origin is given in the Old Testament, but as far as we know, none. No major prophet, no major Jewish hero such as Samson or Barak or Gideon. No king can ever come from there. The scripture tells us that it was despised.

Turn over, please, to the gospel of John, chapter one verse 44. John says, Now, Philip was from Bethesda, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathaniel and said to him, 'We have found him, of whom Moses and the law, and also the prophets, 'Jesus, ' (Notice what he calls him,) 'Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. '

Nathaniel says, certainly. I know the prophets. Moses said there would be another prophet like me who's going to come along. You should listen to him. ‘That’s in Deuteronomy. He said, 'Isaiah wrote in great detail about one who was going to be crushed and bruised for us. Look at Nathaniel's reaction. In verse 46, Nathaniel said to him, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, Come and see.

The world places a lot of emphasis on where we're from. Among the medalists at the Olympics, there was one who won the first ever medal of any color from a little tiny Caribbean nation called St. Lucia. There was a lot of emphasis on that. The world puts a lot of emphasis on where we hail from physically. There are flags next to all the athletes in the Olympics saying where they're from.

Jesus did not start his earthly life in Jerusalem or in Rome, the capital of the world at the time. He started his earthly life in Nazareth, just as it was foretold. Turn back to the gospel of Matthew here. Matthew was largely written originally, to show, according to the Jewish Old Testament, the Jewish scriptures, God's word, that Jesus is fulfillment of prophecy.

Let’s just read one verse here. Matthew 2:23 says, And he went…, (that's Jesus,) …and he went, and went and he dwelled in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets. He shall be called a Nazarene. The Old Testament prophets had said the Messiah was not going to be beautiful, but was going to be despised. That's a problem, of course, with all the paintings of Jesus that have been done over the years.

What is He? He's physically beautiful? He's shining? Sometimes he literally has a halo over his head? If you looked at a person and he looked like that, wouldn't you think there was something special about him? Wouldn't you follow him? Isaiah, of course, makes it very plain in his prophecy, Isaiah chapters 52 through 53, says that you, (I'm paraphrasing), you didn't follow Jesus because of how he looked. He didn't look like the world expected a king to look. You didn't follow Jesus saying, ‘Oh, look at that guy. He must be someone special. He must be a prophet. He must be the son of God.’ You didn't look at him and say that.

What did the temple officers say when they were sent to arrest him? They said, No man ever spoke like this man. Not, No man ever looked like a king more than him. No, they said, No man ever spoke like this man. One thing we can learn is that the world places a lot of emphasis on where we're from physically. What did God make clear to Peter, for example, in Acts 10, wherever we're from in nation God accepts those who do what is right or work righteousness and fear Him.

That's one thing we can learn from this. The second thing is related to that which is God's plan is not man's plan. God's plan is not a human plan. Men expected a lot out of Jesus that He didn't do. Many of them expected him to rise up armies, and overthrow the Romans, and reestablish a kingdom here on Earth.

Let's look briefly at all four gospel accounts one more time and see that throughout his life on Earth, Jesus is referred to as a Nazarene. We've almost turned this into a badge of honor. It wasn't in those days. You should still be in Matthew. Matthew 21:10 We're coming in at the end here of what we refer to as Jesus' triumphal entry.

Matthew 21:10 says, And when he, Jesus, had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, 'Who is this? ' So the multitude said, 'This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.

Even the demons, by the way, called him Jesus of Nazareth. Turn over to the gospel of Mark chapter 1, beginning with verse 23. It says, Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit And he cried out saying, 'Let us alone. What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy one of God.' But Jesus rebuked him saying, 'Be quiet and come out of him.' And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.

Turn over to Luke 18 verse 35. It says, Then it happened as he, Jesus, was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging, and hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. So they told him that... Here he is again. Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, and he cried out saying, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet, but he cried out all the more, 'Son of David, have mercy on me.’ So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, saying, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ He said, ‘Lord, that I may receive my sight.’ Then Jesus said to him, receive your sight. Your faith has made you well. And even to the end of Jesus' earthly life, he was referred to that way.

Turn over once more gospel to of John, chapter 19:19. To the end of his life on earth, he bore that title. John says, Now, Pilate put a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. Even at the end of his life on Earth, Jesus was known in his own time, if you will, the time he was on Earth, that is, as Jesus of Nazareth.

How do you suppose of Nazareth, felt about that? Again, we've almost turned Nazarene into a good thing, into a good title. There's a denominational church called the Church of Nazarene. We’ve turned it into a good thing, good title, or at least some people have. What about the Nazarenes themselves? How did they react to Jesus?

Back to where we started with this lesson, we talked about Olympic athletes. This town was the home of, et cetera, et cetera. Mentor, where I used to live, what does it say? It was the home of James Garfield. He came back as an adult when he was preaching. He didn't just live there physically as a child, but he came back there. Did Nazareth greet him? Turn out with parades? Put up a big sign that says, Welcome home, Jesus? I'm sure we welcome the Olympic athletes home with parades and fanfare, Super Bowl champions and World Series winners. We have parades because they put us on the map, or so we think.

How did Nazareth react when Jesus had His homecoming. Turn to the gospel of Luke chapter 4 and we'll see how Nazareth reacted to Jesus. They didn't welcome him, but let's go and read it for ourselves as we should.

Luke 4:16 says, So he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.

That's what they did in... This is a tongue twister. …Synagogue Sabbath Services. That's what they did in those services. They invited visiting speakers, rabbis, and learned men to say something. So Jesus took advantage of that here. We see Paul taking advantage of that later when he goes around to Jewish synagogues in the Book of Acts.

Back to verse 17. And he was handed the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the Book, he found the place where it was written, The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Then he closed the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them… because that's what they did in synagogues …Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. So they all bore witness to him, they and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said… this must be the fulfillment of prophecy. That's not what they said. They said, this must be the Christ, the Messiah. They didn't say that either. What did they say? …Is this not Joseph's son?

To them, to many of them, apparently, he couldn't escape the shadow of his alleged, if you will, earthly father. That's one of the first things, by the way, they asked me when I went back to substitute teach down there. Did you go to school here? My first question is that, and I got asked that question over and over and over again by students and faculty alike. No, I didn't go to school here. I went to school with the next district over. Did you go to school here? Because that means a lot to people, especially if you're in Southeast Ohio. Who is your father? Who is his father's father, who is his third uncle? They're really into those connections.

To Nazarenes, that's who Jesus was to them. Is this not Joseph's son? There's not much reverence in that, is there? Is this not Joseph's son? We know that Joseph, of course, was a carpenter. Is this not Joseph's son?

Let's keep going. He said to them in verse 23, You will surely say this proverb to me, physician, heal yourself. ' 'Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum,' (which was another town, of course, near Galilee), do you also hear in your country. Then he said, Assuredly, I say to you no prophet is accepted in his own country but I tell you, as he said in verse 25, Truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land. But to none of them was Elijah sent, except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

So if you read that account, of course, in first Kings, Elijah was sent to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon. A region of Sidon meant that this woman was not Jewish. This one was not Jewish. Siden was a pagan city. Tyre and Siden were usually linked together, but Siden was not Israel. And that was going to deeply offend people who were listening to Jesus speak, but of course, it's the truth.

It keeps going and uses another example in verse 27, And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha, the prophet. (I always overemphasize that because Elisha and Elijah sound so much alike.) Elisha, the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman, the Syrian.

Once again, not a Jew, or a member of the nation of Israel. They didn't call them Jews yet. He was not an Israeli. They thought, again, the emphasis of place and family connections. The Jews Jesus Day, many people today think where you're from or who your family is makes you righteous or not.

Personally, I've heard far too many preachers stand up and say, my grandfather was a preacher, and my father was a preacher. I come from a long line of preachers. That's wonderful. Hopefully, you learned a great deal about the gospel from them, but it doesn't make you any more or less of a preacher necessarily having righteous or unrighteous ancestors. Both testaments are quite clear that each person will give account of himself or herself to God. Truly, righteous parents and such are a blessing, but you can be saved without them. As a matter of fact, they can't save you either.

See how they react. Let’s read a couple more verses here. Verse 28 says So all of those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust him out of the city, and they led him to the brow of the hill, which their city was built, that they might throw him down over the cliff. (That was an assemblage, all right, but it wasn't exactly a welcome parade, was it?) Then passing through the midst of them, he went his way.

What a sad commentary on the Nazarenes. Let's put a little asterisk right there, a little note. It's easy for us to play, as I like to say, 2000 years later, a quarterback and say, If I had been there, I wouldn't have insert the sin here. both testaments are clear about this.

Look at Ecclesiastes, for example. Humanity has not changed. People in Revelation see God do all sorts of wondrous and terrible things. What do they do? Many of them curse God even more after every single one. Each of us needs to answer for ourselves. Another song, but what are we going to do with Jesus for ourselves?

Look how they reacted to Him here in Matthew chapter 13, verse 53. It's easy for us to say, well, if I had been in the wilderness and I'd seen God coming down Mount Horeb or Sinai, I wouldn't have disobeyed. I wouldn't have been condemned to wander in the wilderness. If I'd been there and seen Jesus teach, I would have followed him. Hopefully that's true, but many people, of course, didn't. What happened when he was arrested? His disciples forsook him and fled, even though not hours before they said, even if we have to die with you, we will not deny you. We won't abandon you.

Look how Nazareth reacted to Matthew 13:53. I read the ESV. It says, And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there. And coming to his hometown, Nazareth, he taught them in their synagogue. So they were astonished and said, Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?

That's a good question. Hopefully we know the answer. The correct answer is, and that's what Jesus pointed out elsewhere, he got this wisdom, these mighty works, to prove that he was and he is who he claimed and who he claims to be, the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God. That's how he could get this wisdom and do these wonderful things, these mighty deeds and miracles and works. Is that the conclusion Nazareth reached? Let’s to to verse 55, Is not this, here it is again.

Matthew 13:55, Is not this the Carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? Are not his brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas, And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things? And they took offense at him or they were offended at him. (What a sad commentary.) But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and his own household. And he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

You say, I'm not going to have said that? If I just see a miracle, I'll believe. Jesus was not put on this Earth to do magic shows. And repeatedly, that was pointed out. The many people who wanted to see him do a miracle, they wouldn't have believed it anyway. Remember the rich man and Lazarus, when the rich man was told, even if someone raises the dead they wouldn't believe. Jesus was not put here on Earth to simply do magic tricks.

He was put here for a purpose, which the Psalm we sing talks about. He was here to teach, to preach, and ultimately to die. It's a sacrifice for our sins. It's not recorded anywhere in the Bible that Jesus went back to Nazareth after this, but of course, he went home. He went to heaven after God raised him from the dead.

What we became of Nazareth? With most of these towns this week, I'll try and let you know about these places today. You can visit the little town of Nazareth today, but only a pile of rubble remains of the original village. A new village grew up beside it and took the name. But if you know anything about the history of the Middle East, you know it's been fought over and fought over and fought over, wars after wars after wars. It's long gone.

Where we're from doesn't dictate whether we can be saved or not. Who our parents are, doesn’t dictate whether or not we can accept Christ and obey him. And God's plans are not human plans. We've talked about those three things.

What role do I have to play? What does that mean for me? You say, I can't sing. We've all heard this, probably. Does that mean you can't sing to the prettiness level that you think you should? I don't know what to pray for. Do any of us really? Paul makes it clear in Corinthians that no, we don't. I'm not good at public speaking. Are you good at conversation? I'm not good at this. I'm not good at that.

Think about that imagery of the Carpenter since we've talked about Joseph. Let's mention that. Dr. Tony Evans wrote a short piece about Jesus as the Master Carpenter. Some of you might have heard this.

It says, Imagine a convention, a meeting of carpenter's tools. Brother Hammer, who has been presiding over the meeting, is asked to leave because he's too noisy. He makes too much noise when he's pounding things. He replied angrily, if I leave, Mr. Screwdriver should come with me because he can't do the job without going around in circles. Mr. Screwdriver, who, of course, was tall and thin, spoke, I'm not the one who should leave. Look over here at Mr. Blockplane. He has no depth. He never gets past the surface. Of course, Brother Blockplane said, what about old sandpaper? He's so abrasive. He rubs everybody the wrong way. The bickering continues, but the carpenter from Nazareth comes in, puts on his apron and begins to build a pulpit from which to preach the gospel. He uses every single tool in turn. He uses all the tools in the shop.

What did Paul write? Let’s turn to 1 Corinthians Chapter 12. I'm from Southeast Ohio. I don't think anyone else here is. Do I have a part? Yes, I do. You're not from Southeast Ohio. I'll pick on people. You're from Streetsboro. Do you have a part to play? Yes, you do. You're from what didn't blow away in Chester. Do you have a part? Yes, you do. We each have a part, a role. We have a function in the church.

I’ll read this. It's a little clear in the English standard. 1 Corinthians 12:12 says, For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, (in other words, no matter where we're from), and all were made to drink of one spirit, for the body does not consist of one member, but of many. If the foot should say, Because I'm not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, Because I'm not an eye, I do not belong to the body. That would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing. If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

We each have different talents. Trust me, if you ever come down to southeast Ohio, you do not want me to cook for you. I do not have a stove in my house. I had one in my apartment in Mentor. I was there five or six years, and never once did I turn it on. I am the king of the microwave chefs. I have ruined Kraft macaroni and cheese. I have absolutely zero talent as a cook. About as much talent as I have as a gardener or a carpenter. My middle school shop teacher said, he's hopeless. He had often, I think, come in and finish or improved the projects that I did. I didn't notice. Some people are quite good at working with their hand. I am not. We each have different functions.

Let's keep going with verse 21. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you, ' nor the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you. On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable, because we bestowed the greater honor. Our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together. If one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church, first Apostles, second prophets, third teachers, Then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating in various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts, and I will show you a more excellent way.

We are different, but Jesus can use each one of us to his glory. Question is, because he won't force himself on you yet, someday every knee will bow, but are you letting Him use you to his glory? Satan, of course, delights when there's division. If there's division in the church, no work gets done. The world has more ammunition that it can and will use against the church.

We'll bring our thoughts to a close here, both from Ephesians and Ephesians 4. Ephesians 2 finishes off the thought we just started here.

It says, in verse 20. Having been built on the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone in whom the whole building being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you are also being built together for a dwelling place of God and the spirit.

What are you going to do with Jesus? What will you do with Jesus? It doesn't matter where you're from. It doesn't matter who your parents were or weren't. You can and you must accept Jesus in order to be saved. It's the only way anyone has any hope of being saved. God's plans aren't man's plans. God has given us his plan and his word. His plan is for you to come in the way that he has told you to come.

We'll read this and wrap our thoughts up here. Ephesians 4:11, ESV, says, And he gave the Apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves, and carried out by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way, and to him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part working properly makes the body grow so it builds itself up in love.

I ask, have you reacted to Jesus of Nazareth? Do you see him as too many saw him then as just a teacher? A teacher who got some attention drawn to Himself, and that was it. You're sitting here tonight, you probably don't think of him that way, but have you truly accepted him as Lord by doing what is required.

He says, you need to do what he has said. He has said, you need to do what the people of Nazareth didn't. You need to believe that he is the Christ, the son of the living God. You need to be willing to confess your faith in him before men. You need to be willing to repent of your sins, turn away from your sins, those things that are not correct, and those things that are wicked and not according to God's word. You need to put him on in baptism, as he is commanded for you to do. Then you need to continue to live for him, making the best use of whatever talent you may have, whether it be cooking, speaking, singing, encouraging, or anything else. If you need to come to Jesus or you need to come back to him as we stand to sing the song.

(Transcript)

The Love and Desire of God - Preaching The Cross

Ephesians 2:4-8

INTRO: Good morning church. In the last few lessons we talked about the importance of understanding the cross. That understanding of the cross will affect our behavior. The Bible studies and sermons that we have are most often with an eye to what we need to do. They are application oriented. That is a good thing, but we do not as often study the cross which is the underpinning for everything else. Next we talked about the plan of God and the need for the cross. That need is our sin, our transgression of God’s law. Today I want to turn our attention to God’s love.

Please open your bibles to the book of Ephesians 2:4f – “4. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5. even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6. and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7. that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,”[NKJV]

I have always been awed by the unfathomable love of God. I recall the words of the apostle John at 1st John 3:1 where he wrote “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!...” Among the things which that wonderful statement declares, is the expression of John’s awe of the amazing love God has for us.

Has mankind always lived in such a way that this love is deserved? No, certainly not. Indeed generation after generation of human history has evidenced the fact that mankind is ungrateful and rebellious. God has loved the unlovable! In loving the unlovable, Jesus went to the cross. We can not think of the love of God without thinking of the manifestation of that love on the cross, in its effect and purpose. Oh yes, “behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us”. So that we, you and I, should be called the children of God. What I would like us to do this morning is to think in view of mankind’s historic rebellion and ungratefulness, about the desire and the love of God.

I. THE HISTORY...

A. Let’s begin in the garden of Eden

1. It was there you recall that God told the man “… Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
2. How clear was God’s instruction to the man! Yet soon we see Eve and Adam eating of that tree and sin enters the human experience. We might wonder, is this to be the end of humankind? For indeed, the nature of God’s law, the nature of absolute justice, might well have justified God saying “it’s enough”. God’s love and God’s desire did not bring human history to an end.
3. There were, it is true, consequences of sin. There were things that had to be done because of the violation of the law and mankind has to bare these consequences. Yet it was not the end because that was not God’s desire, not God’s wish. Because of God’s love He permitted human history to continue.
4. Last time when we looked at 1^st Peter 1:20 Peter says about Jesus, “He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.” God knew that humanity would sin. And He made a plan for our redemption and set it in motion.
5. In Genesis 3:15 – In what has been described as the first announcement in biblical history of the coming of a savior, we see evidence of the love and the desire of God. To Satan God says “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” I understand that we say “that is a bit obscure” and how could Adam and Eve have understood that God was speaking of a time way in the future of a savior? I suspect they did not understand that. You and I have this wonderful opportunity of looking back historically and of realizing what God was telling Satan, obscure as it might seem, certainly he knew what it was all about. It speaks of the love and the desire of God in the future tense.

B. What about in the days of Noah.

1. Genesis 6:5-7 – “5. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil 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, now listen to this, "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.''” There was nothing in this period of history that would have commended humankind.
2. The Bible says that every intent of the thoughts of man were only evil continually. “Here we see the total corruption of humanity. Furthermore, there were no men anywhere (with the exception noted in Genesis 6:8) who varied from this pattern; and there was no occasion when any man left off the mental pursuit of wickedness! It would be difficult to devise a sentence that would any more effectively portray the corruption of humanity than does Genesis 6:5”. (Coffman)
3. Certainly it seemed that this would be the end for humanity – If I read this correctly, God considered putting it to an end. God announced the summary punishment and destruction of all on the face of the earth; but before announcing what was to happen. He indicated Noah was an exception, through whom a new beginning for mankind would come.
4. Genesis 6:8 – “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Here was one man in what was otherwise a cesspool of humanity. One man! One righteous man. God sees this one righteous man and God’s desire and love was to preserve him and his family. God could have done something different. He could have gathered Noah to Himself and then destroyed the earth, but He did not. You see the love and desire of God is for mankind. (cf. 1^st Peter 3:20 – “who formerly were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.”)

C. Let’s look at the days of Abraham.

1. Genesis 12:1-3 – Here are the words around which scripture revolves as far as history is concerned. “1. Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. 2. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. 3. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.''” I wonder, did Abraham comprehend all that was said here? In my human thinking I would doubt that he did. He may have understood about the great nation. What about those words “in you all families of the earth shall be blessed”?
2. Whether or not Abraham comprehended the vastness of the meaning of those words, you and I know in retrospect, that those words represent one of God’s great promises, and are evidence of God’s great desire and love for humanity.
3. Galatians 3:8 – Here the apostle Paul sites that very passage to tell us that this is the declaration of the gospel to Abraham. “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed.''” This was a proclamation of the good news, the Gospel, to Abraham! The good news of God’s love and God’s desire to be reconciled to humankind. The reconciliation that would take place in the form of the possibilities presented by the cross of Jesus Christ.
4. God had a plan. He has always had a plan. God’s patience has been tried and tested over and over again in the period between Genesis chapter 3 and now. Even in the testing of His patience, He has a plan!

D. Then in the days of David.

1. 2^nd Samuel 7:12-16 – Here is God speaking to David through the prophet Nathan. “12. When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. 15. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” As I read these words I find no mention of the savior or messiah or redemption or reconciliation. Yet, in these words, I’m thinking now of the history of God’s relationship with mankind, against the backdrop of mankind’s ungratefulness and rebellion,… what I see in these words are facts that are going to relate so deliberately to mankind’s future history. Of whom does God speak?

a. “I will set up your seed after you” We know that Solomon was not “set up” after David, but during David’s reign, and the authority of David was the key factor in the enthronement of Solomon.
b. “I will be his father, and he shall be my son”. Not even an angel of heaven deserved such a line as this, much less Solomon. The inspired author of Hebrews makes that fact absolutely indisputable. “To what angel did God ever say,”… “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son?” (Hebrews 1:5).
c. I need to mention, the words cited in Luke 1:32-33 the annunciation to Mary about the birth of Jesus. “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” So this was a prophecy.

2. The point is:

a. God’s mercy is not going to depart from the offspring of David.
b. And that David’s “throne shall be established for ever”.

3. That brings me to the great point here. God’s still has a plan and that plan is moving forward.
4. God still has love and desire and a plan for mankind. This will not be deterred or overturned. The plan involves David and his seed, and a throne and a kingdom.

E. That brings us to the days of Isaiah

1. Isaiah 9:6-7 – Here we read of this king and this kingdom. “ For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
2. Hundreds of years have passed from 2^nd Samuel chapter 7 to Isaiah chapter 9. Hundreds of years of wickedness, and rebellion and idolatry and forsaking God have occurred.
3. Yet, here is Isaiah speaking of a coming King and kingdom in terms and descriptions which are filled with hope ... and evidence of God’s plan.
4. It is true that a lot of things have transpired. Notice however the words “the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” - the plan goes on.
5. God’s love will not be turned aside. God’s plan will not be short circuited. God’s plan involves the coming King and the kingdom.

F. Finally in the last of the books of the prophets, in the days of Malachi.

1. Remember that many, many years have passed from Isaiah to Malachi.
2. In Malachi 4:2 – “But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.” God still speaks of One Who will come to bless humanity.
3. If sin is the malady (and it is), this One will come with “healing” as Malachi says here, in His wings. The remedy for sin will be found in Christ. All of the ungratefulness, the rebellion, the sin that man has done, has not swayed God from His purpose, His plan. The Sun of righteousness will arise the prophet says. Jesus is coming.
4. From Eden to Malachi the theme has been the desire and love of God.

II. WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS MEAN?

A. God could have just said so many times “enough is enough”.

1. The nature of law and absolute justice certainly indicate that.
2. But into that place comes the love and mercy of which Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:4 – “… God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,”
3. Oh yes, sin has temporal consequences which cannot be “waived”, that is true ... but one of the consequences of sin, the eternal separation from God is not necessary because of the cross of Jesus Christ. When I say is not necessary, what I mean by that is each of us can make a choice.

B. God’s desire is for reconciliation.

1. Yes, there will come an end to all things. Peter writes about it in – 2^nd Peter 3:10 – “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”
2. We have no idea when it will come - but come it will. To all the people that are saying “these are the signs of the end of time” “these are the signs which herald the coming of the Lord”, the nicest thing I can say is that they are terribly mistaken. They have not read their bibles correctly and carefully. Yes, there will come an end. According to Matthew 24:26f Jesus explains “But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”
3. Because there will come an end, it is our pleasure and our privilege to proclaim the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We can speak of the love of God and the mercy of God, of the grace and forgiveness of God, because though there is an end coming, in the intervening period still it is God’s desire for reconciliation.

C. God’s love is filled with grace, mercy and forgiveness

1. I cannot review God’s history with man without being sobered and awed by the amazing love and mercy that God has shown to us. It is everywhere found in the scriptures.
2. As I review that history I come to the conclusion that all of this is pointing ahead to Jesus Christ, that One, that King, that Messiah, that Savior, of whom God spoke through His prophets for hundreds of years. – I mentioned to you earlier of the announcement in Luke and how the words of the prophets are fulfilled. Read with me now. Luke 1:31-33 - “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
3. Who can forget the words of John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”— or “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)?  The wonderful, matchless love of God, evidenced in the cross.

D. Still, there must be a response from each of us to God’s grace, mercy and love. It requires that each individual make a decision about their relationship with God.

1. “Universal salvation” is not the way it is ... or, will be! God is not going to save without regard to a persons choices in their life.
2. The response may be called “obedient faith” (see Acts 6:7 - “And the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.”) Faith requires obedience.
3. In Acts 18:8 we find a great illustration of this obedient faith. “Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.” There folks, is obedient faith.

CLOSE: Clearly, folks, God desires that we be reconciled to Him. He loves you; He cares about you; He does not want you to be separated from Him for eternity. His love, however, allows you to make the choice. You still must chose. What do you want? Where do you want to spend eternity?

I would this morning, urge in the most loving way, and most concerned way that you make the decision today to respond in faith and obedience to what God teaches in His word, and receive this reconciliation which is His desire to give. If you believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, if you will repent of your sins, if you will confess the name of Jesus, and be buried with Christ in baptism; your sins will be forgiven, you will be admitted into the body of Christ, and added to the church of our Lord. You will be a child of God. And you will be able to say “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon me that I should be called a child of God.”

God has blessed us with many things; the ability to choose is one of them. He has also blessed us with the ability to learn, given us His word and this wonderful universe to learn from. In addition He has given us in this ability to choose, the ability to change our minds as we learn. We see this all the time as we study the natural world and learn more. Perhaps as a Christian you have grown in knowledge and found a correction is needed to return to the path of reconciliation.

If you need to come in obedience this morning I would pray that you do so while we stand and sing.

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Adopted from Sermon by: Cecil A. Hutson

The Problem of Sin - Preaching The Cross

Romans 5:12

INTRO: Good morning church. Last week we talked about the importance of understanding the cross. The scandal of the cross is central to everything considered Christian. How we think about the cross will affect our behavior. If we want to be the right kind of person and do the right things, then we need to understand the Cross. We said when our thinking is based on the Cross; we are going to start living right.

In 1^st Corinthians 1:18 the apostle Paul said about the preaching of the cross, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Inspired writers of the New Testament did not forget the cross and the crucifixion of Jesus. Central to what they wrote was the cross and its effects on humanity.

Admittedly, though, over the years, our preaching has gone in numerous directions and may often have become very application-oriented. That is not all bad, but I wonder if possibly in the preaching of application, we have neglected the preaching of the cross. Is it possible that the underpinning has been forgotten to the extent that our application preaching is very subjective?

What I'd like to do for the next few lessons, the Lord willing, is to preach the cross of Christ because it truly is the underpinning of everything else we might say. It all begins with the cross, the crucifixion, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

A Sunday school teacher asked her class, “Does anyone know what we mean by sins of omission?” A little girl raised her hand and said, “Aren’t those the sins we should have committed, but didn’t?” This morning, as we begin this series, what I need to do is to talk a little bit about the problem of sin, because it was sin that sent Jesus to the cross. It is sin which is the reason for the cross.

I. A BRIEF HISTORY REVIEW ABOUT SIN. Let's start by briefly reviewing the history of sin.

A. We will start with a definition. How does scripture describe sin?

1. In 1^st John 3:4, there is a very brief but simple definition. John says, “…sin is the transgression of the law.”[KJV]
2. Sin is a violation of the law or commandment of God. It's that simple. In the New Testament, this word sin comes from an original word, which means “failing to hit the mark”, (Strong G266). Think of this in terms of archery for a moment. When you go out to the archery range, there is a target, and there is a place within the target which would be perfection, the perfect shot. We call it the bull’s-eye. The archer raises their bow, draws back the bow string and lets fly the arrow. If they miss the mark, the bull’s eye, the word for that miss is the word from which our word sin comes. Sin is the violation of the law of God. Sin is missing the mark of perfection.

B. Sin enters human experience with Adam and Eve

1. In the Book of Genesis 2:16-17, God gives instruction. He says, “… Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”[NKJV] There is the instruction of God.
2. Then in Genesis 3:6 we read this: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” There is the violation, the transgression. There is the sin. The commandment of God had been violated.

C. Sin in Cain’s murder of his brother. Starting at Genesis 4:7f “If you do well, (God is speaking to Cain) will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”[ESV] SIN is the violation of the law of God and God tells Cain he must rule over it. What happens? “Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” And the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.”… I’ll pause there.

1. We need to note what is written next carefully. “So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. "When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.'' And Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment…”[NKJV]
2. When does punishment come? When there has been a violation of the law. We see that in Genesis 3. Punishment comes with sin. “My punishment” Cain says, “is greater than I can bear!”

D. This question may occur to us. We know from Genesis 2:17, what God had instructed concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but what about Abel and Cain and instruction concerning the sanctity of human life? Where is that instruction?

1. Obviously, from what scripture tells us, we do not see specific instruction concerning this matter, but where there is sin there must be a violation of the law of God. It is proper then to assume that Cain knew he should not have taken his brother's life because of God's law concerning the matter. Yet he took his brother's life, and in doing so committed sin.
2. I'd also like us to look at Romans 5:12f. Something is said here that is very helpful as we think of these ancient times and the matter of sin. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned." Look at verse 13, "For until the law (talking about the law of Moses) sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.”

a. If you'll notice in verse 13 the apostle Paul, by inspiration of the Spirit, writes that sin was in the world before the giving of the Law of Moses. If sin was in the world before the giving of the Law of Moses, there had to have been law existing in the world.
b. That law has not been revealed to us in the Book of Genesis, but it was nevertheless revealed to those people who were subject to it. When they violated the law, they sinned. It's that simple. Sin is the transgression of the law. If there is sin, there's got to be law, and there was law.

E. What about the people in the days of Noah?

1. As we read Genesis 6:5-6 - we discover God's assessment of the situation in these words. “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” How can there be wickedness and evil if there is no law? Answer—there was law. Thus, God could assess these people were being wicked and evil. “And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.”
2. Peter refers to these people as “the ungodly” in 2nd Peter 2:5. How can you be ungodly if there is no law which you must observe and within which you must walk? The answer is you can't be, but if there is law, you can violate it and become ungodly. These people in the days of Noah were ungodly. The sin of these people almost resulted in the end of human life on the earth.

F. Question - did not God know that men would sin?

1. I want to tell you that I do not understand the all-knowingness of God. I frankly admit to you that I'm just not that smart.
2. What we're will find though, is that God did foreknow that mankind ultimately would sin. Let’s continue.

a. God has given us this thing called freewill. Freewill means I can choose and that very thing with which human beings are endowed, led to sin at the beginning. God has given His law for our benefit. Moses would say to the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 11:26-28, “I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today,” Here is a positive indication of the freedom of the human will. If the Israelites were not free agents, they could not be punished for disobedience, nor could they, in any sense of the word, be rewarded for obedience.
b. We talk about instinct. When baby sea turtles hatch on the beach they instinctively and quickly head to the ocean to escape the predators on land. Their mothers did not teach them to do that. It is programmed into them. Programming a specific action is very efficient.
c. In contrast to programmed actions, is freewill. When we tell our children what to do they may do something else entirely. The child can understand our instructions but still refuse to follow them. The reason is the child finds other things they want to do more appealing.

II. SIN CONTINUED TO BE A PLAGUE FOR HUMANITY

A. In the book of Isaiah 59:1-2 we find verses familiar to many of us. Isaiah writes, “Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities (or your sins, if you choose) have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.” - This is the assessment of God through Isaiah, and it is not unique to Isaiah's time.

1. These two verses may well be a commentary on human history to that point and yes, beyond. Sin from the very beginning of its introduction into humanity, has continued to be a problem. It's been the curse of humanity.
2. In these two verses, something else is seen, and this is so important, the effect of sin on the man-God relationship. Sin inevitably is going to separate you from God. It isn't something God chose to happen. He didn't want you to sin. Sin is going to separate you from God because in His Holiness, He cannot abide in the presence of sin. Sin has to be dealt with in one way or another. That's the whole purpose of the cross. God is dealing with the problem of human sin.

B. In Romans 3:23 the apostle Paul wrote, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” This is the judgment of God upon all of responsible age

1. At some point in your life, at some point in each person's life, sin will enter as a matter of the individual's choosing.
2. If there is no law, there would be no sin ... but there is law. There are people who today preach the idea that there is no law; instead they say we are under total and complete grace, and that the grace of God is going to overlook all of our foolishness and our unrighteousness. Those people who preach that message have forgotten how to read. They have not read their Bibles. Or if they've read them, they have not understood. They found something else more appealing. There is law—God's law, and ignorance of the law does not excuse.
3. When you violate that law, you sin. Sin is going to come into your life by your own choosing. Death passes to all people because all have sinned.

C. Then in Ephesians 2:1-3, as if what we've already said wasn't enough, the apostle Paul talks about the effects of sin. “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

1. You see, physical death passed to humanity because we were deprived of the tree of life. Genesis Chapter 3.
2. But spiritual death comes to each person because of their own sin. Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned”. Each and every person is dead to God, spiritually dead, at some point in their physical life, and that is because of sin. Spiritual death, unresolved, will lead to eternal death.
3. We're by nature the children of wrath. What is the effect of sin? It'll kill you. We die spiritually when sin comes in our lives. That is, we become dead to God. That's why the cross was so important. That's what the cross is all about, to take care of this problem that happens when sin enters our lives.
4. Jesus died on the cross to make life possible for eternity. He died on the cross so that we wouldn't have to continue to be dead in sin and thus spend eternity in hell because we've died spiritually.

III. SIN IS STILL YOUR PROBLEM AND MINE

A. In 1^st John 1:8-9 where John is writing to Christians he says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

1. Again, this is written to Christian people like us, not to people who are out of Christ. These are people who have enjoyed the blessing of forgiveness through the cross of Christ—Christian people.
2. It's written to Christian people who recognize that sin can continue to be a problem for them. People making every effort to walk as they should.
3. Now let’s look at 1^st John 1:6-7, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” We can not have fellowship with God when we are walking in darkness. As you know, "walk" in this passage, as frequently in the New Testament, is an idiom for the totality of human conduct.
4. The grammar, the language in verse 7, indicates that cleansing by the blood of Jesus comes as one is walking in the light. Walking in the light shows up our sins and frailties, revealing the need for constant cleansing.

a. This cleansing, however, is not necessarily automatic. It is based upon confession, penitence, and renewal. 1^st John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This might be paraphrased, “If we confess our sins to God with a firm resolution to forsake them…” It is difficult for a person to admit blame and guilt, society is hardly capable of any such admission. The trend today is to deny sin exists. Drunkards have merely contracted an unfortunate disease. Adulterers and philanderers are schizophrenic. Thieves, murderers, outlaws, etc. are not criminals, but anti-social. Sinful behavior is not Sin, but the natural response to one’s heredity, environment, deprivation or other things beyond the sinner’s control. This way of thinking is called "self-deception."
b. Then in 1^st John 1:10 – “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” To go to the length of denying past sin and present guilt, is not only self deception but to give the lie to God himself. God gave His only begotten Son upon the cross that man might be saved from sin, a salvation that was impossible for any man apart from God’s redeeming act. John’s language here is not too strong. Those who deny their need of redemption from sin, through the pretense of not ever having sinned, are the most guilty and contemptible. To say that we have not sinned is not just to tell a deliberate lie, or to be self-deceived, but actually to accuse God of lying, to make Him a liar.

B. The question then occurs to me, how seriously do we take sin?

1. Are we casual about it? Are we even, some of us, flippant about the fact of sin in our lives, our Christian lives?
2. Do we choose to do wrong things without even a second thought of the consequences?
3. Do we not realize that if we do not deal with our sin problem, that we are setting ourselves up for an eternal calamity?
4. I have a strong suspicion that folks don't like to think about sin. They don't see their unrighteous actions as sinful and can cause them to lose their soul.

C. A preacher wrote that he had preached a sermon about the subject of sin. He said one of his dear friends came to his office on Monday morning and these were her exact words, “I don't like for you to preach about sin.” She went on to explain it's an unpleasant subject saying, “I don't want to hear about it.”

1. This person, in her honesty, confronted him with the idea—I don't like to hear about sin. Perhaps she verbalized in those words thoughts that have been on many of our minds.
2. I just don't want to talk about sin, I don't want to hear about sin.
3. Truly though we haven't talked enough about sin. We haven't talked enough about the effects of sin. We haven't talked enough about how sin can condemn a soul to hell for eternity.
4. People might say; “I'm not so sinful”. What about that expression? … Sin is sin. It's a violation of the law of God, and it will condemn your soul to hell if you do not deal with the problem.

IV. BEFORE TIME BEGAN, GOD LAID PLANS. God did something wonderful. He established a plan by which we could be forgiven for our sins. We can be redeemed from the curse of sin.

A. In 1^st Peter 1:20 Peter is talking about Jesus and says, “He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” A perfect atoning sacrifice was planned before time began!

1. We can now answer the question… God did know that humanity would sin.
2. And with that foreknowledge, He made His plan for our redemption and set it in motion. The entire journey of the Bible, from the first chapter in Genesis, through the last chapter of Revelation, is all about this plan. Peter says, first in prospect, and now in reality, God set His plan in motion.

B. Speaking of Revelation lets take a look at Revelation 13:8 where the beast is being described – “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.”[para] It is these last words that I want you to notice. Slain from the creation of the world. This is talking about Jesus, the lamb we've read about in 1^st Peter 1:20. Jesus Christ, slain from the creation of the world.

1. Wait a minute. I thought Jesus died on the cross about 30 to 32 AD, right in there somewhere. He did, in fact.
2. What we see here is the wonderful plan of God, the knowledge of God, the desire of God. Understand that God's plan, which He formulated, and set in motion, was so immutable that even in the time of Genesis 1, it could be said the Lamb has been slain. God’s plan was so unalterable as to be “accomplished” before it was actually accomplished.
3. That's just the way it is with God. It could be said of Jesus, He was slain from the foundation of the world. Of course, ultimately, Jesus died on the cross, just outside the walls of Jerusalem, in a place called Golgotha.
4. The plan of God was set in motion. The Lamb was prepared, and it was as if the Lamb had already been slain, but His blood was shed at Calvary for our sins. God’s plan involved the cross, the crucifixion - Acts 2:23. It is no wonder the writers of the NT emphasized the cross

CONCLUSION: In God's grace, He has provided both the means and the instruction that we need to know how we can be reconciled to Him. We can overcome our sin problem.

As Christians, we resolve the problem of sin in our lives by confessing and repenting of our sins, and striving to live obedient lives every day.

There are people who have become Christians and know better, yet choose to live their lives in a way that is rebellious to God. Rather then living in obedience they find other things more appealing. We are not the judge. We can see what God's word says about that though. Matthew 7:21-23 where Jesus says, “"Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. "Many will say to Me in that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' "And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'”

Remember how John defined sin saying, “…sin is the transgression of the law.” Jesus tells us that those who practice lawlessness are going to be lost for eternity.

Those folks who have not yet become Christians need to know that God's grace has provided in the gospel message the means and the instruction to deal with sin.
God waits for your obedient faith in the waters of baptism. Scripture tells us we need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God; and be baptized for the remission of sins. The wonderful news is that all of those sins we've committed to that point in time, God remembers them no more. They're gone. They're gone because of the Cross.

Christians who have sinned presumptuously, not caring that their life is not as it should be, I urge you to do something about that. Confess your sins and ask God's forgiveness. God is faithful to forgive those with a repentant heart.

If you need the prayers of brothers and sisters on your behalf, all you have to do is come to the front here and say, I'd like you to pray with me and for me. There’s no time like the present because the present is the only time we are assured of.

I urge those in need to come while we stand, while we sing the invitation song.

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Adopted from Sermon by: Cecil A. Hutson

Let The Cross cross Your Mind – Preaching The Cross

Philippians 2:1-11

INTRO: Good Morning Church. This morning we will take a look in Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi and in particular the first eleven verses of chapter 2. This is one of the great texts in the New Testament, sometimes called “The Christ hymn”. It spells out in such beauty who Jesus is and what He did.

Philippians 2:1-11 – “1. Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,
2. fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”[ NKJV]

Paul begins chapter 2 with a plea. It’s a poetic plea, punctuated with four uses of the word “if”: “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion...” Paul knows they have these things, so he really means “since.” “Since you have all of these things...” He continues in verse 2, “Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.”

Back in the days of the military draft there was a young private, who had been in the army only a few weeks; He was going through basic training. Everyone noticed his behavior was rather odd—rather strange. Whenever he had a free moment, he would just walk around aimlessly on the base, picking up scraps of paper. He picked up an old Skittles wrapper, looked at it and said, “This isn’t it”. He found an old newspaper, and picked it up, looked at it, and said, “This isn’t it”. Other soldiers became concerned and assumed he must not be right in the head. This certainly was not normal behavior. His sergeant took him to the doctor, the doctor sent him to the base physiatrist. The psychiatrist thought he was becoming unstable. After the staff received the psychiatrist’s and doctor’s reports they decided to discharge him from service on medical grounds. As he was walking out the camp gates holding his discharge papers, he smiled and said, “This is it”…

The point of the story is: who gets to decide what normal thinking is? Consider those people who don’t think in the main stream, those people who don’t go along with what everybody else is thinking; maybe they’re the people that are more normal. Do we ever consider that those people, who consistently seem to go against the grain of the culture and think totally different, are the ones who have their heads on straight?

Now the Bible does not often complement the way men think. The problem with man’s thinking is that our minds are heavily influenced by the world. The Bible says in Romans 1:28 – “Since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind.”[para] You might say our thinking in this world is very messed up.

Of course it is. People have depraved minds, so why should we expect them to have their heads on straight? Listen; if we’re going to be pleasing to God, we need to learn a new way to think. We’ve got to think differently. What we’ve got to do is let the cross of Jesus, cross our minds. That’s what I want to talk about this morning—about how we need to think.

Starting with this very important principle: what we believe… affects how we believe. The Bible says so. Look in Proverbs 23:7 - “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he...” Decide what kind of person you want to be and then learn how to think to be that kind of person. Romans 8:5 – “those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.”

I. This is one important reason why we teach Christian doctrine. I am fully aware some people say, “That doctrine is so boring and they wished the preacher would preach something more practical.” Actually there is nothing more practical then sound doctrine. Teaching explains to us what everything is, how everything works and how it is connected. The Bible tells us, “Only when you’ve got your thinking right, are you going to make the right choices that will help you live right.”

A. That’s why all through the New Testament you find the little word “Therefore”. Whenever a church has a problem, Paul never writes about the problem first. What he always does first is start with doctrine and then after he’s got their thinking right, he says, “Therefore, in light of what is true and how you ought to think, this is how you live.” The Bible says in Colossians 3:2 – “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
B. Is that easy for us? Well, not at the beginning, not until we have matured a little as Christians. The world’s view of life is a powerful force. The next time someone says to you, “That’s not how everybody else thinks, or that’s not how everybody does things.” You tell them, “That’s irrelevant, because the world does not tell us how to think; we get our thinking from another source. Our minds have been renewed by what the Bible says.”
C. Where does that begin? Let me give you the principle that is the primary influence on our ethics. It is our understanding of the cross. The scandal of the cross was central to everything that Paul considered Christian. How we think about the cross will affect our behavior. In other words, do you want to be the right kind of person? Do you want to do the right things? Then you need the cross to cross your mind because when you’re thinking is based on the cross, you’re going to start living right.
D. The reason people have problems in church is simply, “because they are not thinking right about the cross.” For example: Many churches struggle with division because people follow the teachings of men. People will divide over issues that are absolutely ridiculous. Paul says in 1^st Corinthians 1:13 – “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” The reason there are so many fractures, is because they haven’t figured out, they do not understand, the cross.

II. Let’s consider some problems people have. How about the problem of purity? Why is it that some of us struggle with lust? It’s because we haven’t understood the cross. We were bought with a price, we are not our own. “Therefore”, Paul says in 1^st Corinthians 6:20 - “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.” “Honor God with your body”.

A. How about racism? Those who practice it do not understand the cross. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:15-16 – “… so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.” We can’t be a racist and understand the cross of Jesus. We can’t have it that way. No one who is a Christian can be a racist.
B. What about bitterness? How many people do we know that have problems with their brothers and sisters in the Lord? How many are having struggles forgiving somebody? Ephesians 4:32 says; “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.” Over and over again when someone brings up something about a problem or behavior Paul is going to say, “Let’s get our thinking back to the cross.”
C. Look at marriage. Ephesians 5:25 says, “Husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” We as Christians must never forget that central event. It sustains us and nourishes us. We must constantly allow the shadow of the cross to renew our minds and reshape our thinking.

III. When Paul was in prison in Rome he received word that the church in Philippi was having some struggles over unity.

A. Two of the women there were at odds and it was affecting the whole congregation. What’s the first thing Paul does? Does he talk about the problem first? No! He talks about the cross. That’s what he does in Philippians 2. He tells them and us; “1. Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2. fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,”
B. Notice he said, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,”, “Your mind should be like that of Christ’”. In other words, “If we’re going to fix the problem, we have got to get our minds right.” Paul continues in Philippians 2:6-11 – “6. who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7. but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10. that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11. and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
C. Our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who being in His very nature God, took on the nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Then being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!
D. Paul is saying, “Listen Christians, when tension arises, let the cross of Jesus cross your mind.” Or put it this way, “The cross of Christ controls how we think and act towards each other.” Paul wrote this for a very practical reason. He’s telling us, “Jesus is the supreme example of unselfishness. Jesus is the ultimate model when it comes to dealing with other people”.
E. I wonder why sometimes we can’t see that. One reason may be that we do not understand the cross; another is that the world shouts a different message; and still another… may be pride. There is nothing that keeps people apart like pride. Once we have made a position for ourselves where we think we are right… we forget about the cross and lose site of what it means.

IV. Perhaps another reason we have tensions and fights, whether it’s at church or at a job or at home is because we are by nature “clutchers”. When a baby is first born, you will see them working their hands as if they want to grab something. One word a child will learn quickly is the word “Mine”. A reason we fuss, a reason we fight, is we have a little bit and were going to hold on to it. We’re not going to give up our place, our position. We’re not going to give up our privilege. We’re not going to give up our “rights”, were going to look out for No1… What we get is a world full of competition and strife.

A. What if we tried a Jesus’ kind of thinking? Instead of clutching, what if we let go? Instead of looking out for “me”, what if we looked out for one another? Ohhh there is a concept, isn’t it? What if we tried to think about the cross, when it came to dealing with people?
B. The Bible says in Philippians 2:6, “He did not think that being equal to God, was something to be used for his own benefit.”[para] In other words, He looked out for the interest of others even when they were not looking out for his.
C. Verse 7 is saying, “Of his own free will, he gave up all he had.” That’s a radical way to think, isn’t it? Here is the One who had everything, who had every right to have everything. The One who had done no wrong, and He is looking out for a world full of people, full of envy and hate, those who had a right to nothing. Instead of clutching, He let go—to serve.
D. What if we tried to think like that? What if we thought like Jesus thought? The problem is, we come together, we read verses from the Bible about the cross, and we sing about the cross, some people put crosses on their necks; some put crosses on their church buildings. But then—we walk out the door, leave the building and we go home. We don’t think about the cross again for six days. Someone once said, “All heaven is interested in the cross of Christ, all hell is terribly afraid of it, while men are the only beings, who… more or less,… ignore its meaning”.

V. The apostle Paul tells us, “Those scared hands of Jesus have determined once for all, for us, who we listen to, what we think about, how we live.” We’ve got to let the cross, cross our minds.

A. It’s not easy, and I think God knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Do you know what He said? God said, “To help you out, here’s what I want you to do, Every 7 days, every first day of the week, get together, just to remember the cross, just to keep the cross of Jesus on your mind. Break some bread, drink some fruit of the vine together, and when you do… think about the cross”. We do that don’t we?
B. Remember this too. We are not supposed to come to the Lords table, if we have got problems with one another. God says, “It’s an affront to Him if we do that.” Because we can’t come to the Supper, if we won’t let the cross be on our mind. When Paul wrote these beautiful verses about Christ in Philippians 2, he was trying to change the behavior of the lives of Christians. This is not addressed to those who are not Christians. If any of us sitting here are at odds with brothers or sisters—are we being Christ like? Are we being Christians?

VI. I know that are those who do not understand why we let Jesus control our lives the way we do. Why do we? Why do we give Him the attention that we give Him? Why do we want the cross to cross our minds? Why do we want to think like Jesus thought and try to live like He lived? These verses tell us something about Jesus that I want to be clear about, and one day, hopefully, we will tell it to more people. Whether you name the Name of Jesus or not, I don’t want anyone to stand before God someday and say, “I never understood what Jesus did.”

A. We as people have a problem. That’s why our world needs Jesus. God made a perfect world. He put Adam in it and asked him to take care of it. Very quickly things got messed up.
B. Perhaps some remember those vinyl albums before CDs came along. Not the ones we called 45s but the 78s. I remember when I was a kid I got a drill and drilled a little hole in one of the records, just about a half inch off center and put it on the record player. It would go around and round. It played, but it would make noise that didn’t sound right because it was off center. That’s what’s happened to the world. We have gotten off center; we have left the correct center. The world sort of works but not the way it should. The center is supposed to be God. We were made in the image of God to look up to Him and worship Him.
C. We know what Adam did. He listened to a lie which came from Satan, and he decided he would try to clutch or grasp at being God. Satan came along and said, “…you will be like God…” What did Eve and Adam do? They said, “I’ll be like God, I’ll be my own God.” They passed that attitude down to us today. That’s what people have been trying to do. They’ve all been trying to be their own God… and the world has the wrong center.

VII. I don’t know how many of us know this but sometimes Jesus is referred to as the 2nd Adam in the Bible. Turn with me to 1^st Corinthians 15:45-49 – “45. And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being.'' The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. 48. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.”

A. The Bible says Jesus did 2 things. “He emptied himself and humbled himself.”
B. First of all He emptied himself, so that He could be a servant. Verse 7 says, “He made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”
C. Then who was Jesus when He walked the earth? Was He God? Was He man? Who was He? He was both. He was God & man. When the Bible says, “that he emptied himself”, it doesn’t mean He became less than God here on earth, it means He became more in a sense. He was God, but now He was also a man. He didn’t get rid of deity, He emptied deity into humanity. He could never stop being God, God’s His nature. So how do we think about what He did?
D. He relinquished His glory; He concealed it in human flesh. Every now and then we get a glimpse of it. If you remember, one time He was up on a mountain, with 3 disciples and He was transfigured. They saw His glory. Paul saw it on the road to Damascus. John in Revelation 1 in his vision got a glimpse of His glory. Someday we’re going to see the bright, brilliant glory of Jesus, too. When He was on earth as a man, He concealed that glory.
E. Why was that done? So that we can approach him. So that He can come near to us and serve us and meet our needs. So He could heal the sick and wash feet and tell about God’s plan. He humbled himself, or emptied himself in order to serve. That’s not the only reason though He needed flesh.

VIII. Mark 10:45 says, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” As deity there was no flesh to nail to the cross. No blood to shed. Jesus of Nazareth was born to die. He came to subject Himself to the absolute humiliation of a criminal’s death.

A. Why? Because it was the only way you and I could be saved. It’s the only way. The Bible says in Philippians 2:8 – “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Let’s pause there a moment and think about that verse. It says, “God humbled himself”.
B. How does one humble God? I can understand how to humble people. I can humble a little child because I’m more grown up than they are. Perhaps I can humble a homeless person because I’m more affluent. Maybe I can even humble an uneducated man because I’ve been educated.
C. Who is big or rich or strong enough or smart enough to humble God? The only way God is ever humbled is if He humbles himself. The Bible says, “He humbled himself and he became obedient to death”. Just think about that. Nobody here is going to become obedient to death because death is part of our nature already.
D. Death for you and me is a necessity. We’re going to die whether we want to or not. Jesus didn’t have too. Jesus obeyed when He died. He chose it. Why? Because it was the only way, you and I, have a chance. We were down here covered up in our sins believing the lie that if we just did enough good deeds, we would get to heaven. We thought we were going to work off the debt and we could work our way up to heaven, not understanding that our righteousness is but filthy rags to God.
E. The only chance we have to be saved is if we are covered up with a righteousness that was sinless. That’s not me and that’s not you. Jesus Christ came and lived a sinless life and then took the penalty that our sins deserved. He was willing to transfer His righteousness to cover us. Then when God looks at us, He sees sinlessness. 2^nd Corinthians 5:21 says, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

IX. 2^nd Corinthians 8:9 tells us, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”

A. We need to be very aware and very clear about this. Jesus of Nazareth was God in the flesh. He did this so that His flesh could be nailed to the cross. He did it so the penalty our sins deserve could be taken away, and the righteousness that we never could have, He could give. That’s what Jesus did.
B. What did God do? The Bible says in Philippians 2:9 – “God also has highly exalted Him”. That word “exalt” means to lift up. In the gospel of John, Jesus says, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” Think of it this way, men lifted up Jesus on a cross, and then God lifted Him up out of a grave, and gave Him a place above everyone and above everything.
C. Then in Ephesians 1:20-21 – we read; “20. which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21. far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” God has put Christ over all rulers, authorities, powers and kings, not only in this world, but also in the next. Do we understand what that means?
D. Jesus Christ is above our boss at work. Jesus Christ is above our addiction. He is above our disease. He is above our marriage. He’s above our family, above our leaders, and above our nation. There is not a person or a thing on this earth that has got a claim on us that supersedes the claim of Jesus Christ. He is above it all. That’s one of the reasons why we come here every Sunday and give Him praise. There is only One who deserves our worship. There’s only One who deserves our praise. There’s only One in the highest place, and it’s the God Paul talks about in the Bible.

CONCLUSION:
In Hebrews 2:8 – “In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him, yet at the present we do not see everything subject to him.” Wait… what does that say? That’s true, isn’t it? What we see are a bunch of people playing that record off center. What we see are people not making Jesus highest in their lives. What we see is a world that still seems pretty messed up. We see a world that does not want to give Jesus the place we are saying He deserves.
You and I know: The day is coming when every knee is going to bow, every tongue is going to confess, what we’re saying here right now. God not only gave Him a place that nobody else could claim. God gave him a Name that everybody is going to name—a Name that is above every name.

What is that Name? That name is Lord. Philippi was a Roman colony, and back then you might be tested for loyalty to Caesar. I have been told that if you lived there, a soldier might walk up to you one day and demand you say, “Caesar is Lord.”

Do you know what those early Christians would do? Those early Christians would say Caesar is king, or say Caesar is ruler. But they would not say Caesar is Lord. Some of these Christians would die before they would call anybody else “Lord.”

The day is coming, when every being in heaven and every demon in hell and everyone in between is going to say what that little congregation said every first day of the week when they worshiped. “Jesus Christ is Lord”. Everybody in this room is going to confess it. Everybody outside of this room is going to confess it. The only issue is when.

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Perhaps there is someone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism. If you never have done that, today would be a good day to come forward and make that great confession, Jesus Christ is Lord. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.

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Adopted from Sermon by: Mike Glover

Faith In The Midst of Life’s Storms

Mark 4

After the church service a little boy walked up to the minister and said, “When I grow up, I’m going to give you some money.”
“Well, thank you,” the minister replied, “but why do you want to do that?”
“Because” said the little boy, “my dad says you’re one of the poorest preachers this church has ever had.”

This morning I would like to focus on a question Jesus asked His disciples as recorded in Mark 4:40, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Why are you frightened? Do you still have no faith?"”

Let us look at the background to this verse. We read in Mark 4:1, “Again Jesus began to teach beside Lake Galilee. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it. The boat was out in the water, and the crowd stood on the shore at the water's edge.”

When Jesus lived on the earth, He spent much of His time teaching, and preaching to the people. Jesus was an excellent teacher. There were many who preceded Jesus, who also taught many things, but the people were not able to understand their teachings. When Jesus taught, the people could comprehend His teachings with ease, and therefore great crowds followed after Him wherever He went.

Jesus taught through parables

We read in Mark 4:34, “He would not speak to them without using parables, but when he was alone with his disciples, he would explain everything to them.”

Jesus used stories or illustrations from day-to-day life, which were called parables, to help teach the people the deeper spiritual truths, and secrets of the Kingdom of God. The crowds that gathered hears all these parables, but it was only when He was alone with His disciples, did Jesus explain the hidden meanings of these parables to them in great detail.
Let us look at four parables of Jesus as recorded in Mark 4

1. Parable of the sower verses 3–9

In this parable Jesus talks about a man who went out to sow seeds. Being in a culture where agriculture was their major occupation, the crowds could easily understand the parable. Jesus explained how when the farmer sowed seeds, some seeds fell on the wayside, which was basically hard from people constantly walking on it, and these were picked up by the birds as soon as they fell there. There are many whose hearts are hardened because of hardships, grudges, hurts and when the seed which is the word of God falls on it; it does not even stay because the evil one just doesn’t allow it to penetrate inside. Just as a farmer prepares the soil before sowing the seeds, we too must ask the Lord to prepare our hearts to receive His word, and bring transformation in our lives.

Some seeds fell on rocky places, which grew immediately but had no root to sustain the plant. There are those who come to God with zeal, but are not rooted in Him and so fall away quickly. The third set of seeds fell among thorns, which grew but got choked by the thorns. These are those who also receive the word with joy, but get overwhelmed with worries, cares and riches of this world, and so become useless. The fourth set of seeds fell on good soil, which produced bountiful fruit. The seeds which fell on good soil, died initially, but brought forth abundant fruit to bless many.

We too are called to be those who will let our egos die, so that the Lord can take us and use us to be a blessing to many. The Kingdom of God is a fruit bearing Kingdom, which satisfies the hunger of many.

2. Parable of a lamp on a lampstand verses 21–25

Here Jesus talks about a lamp that is lit, and placed on a lampstand. The lamp when lit dispels darkness in a room. We too are called to be those lights that will shine bright for the Lord, and dispel the darkness of sin from this world.

Many people lived in darkness until Jesus came to the earth, and when Jesus the true light shone on them they realized that there were so many areas of darkness that needed to be changed. The Kingdom of God is one that sheds light, and eradicates darkness.

3. Parable of the growing seed 26–29

A man sows the seeds and he just goes about his usual work. The seeds unnoticed to anyone grow and become full grown plants ready for harvest. So also, the Kingdom of God is growing unobtrusively or quietly.

4. Parable of the mustard seed verses 30–32

Though the mustard seed is the tiniest of seeds when sown in the soil, it has the capacity to become a huge plant that can provide shade for the birds of the air. The Kingdom of God is a mighty, powerful and great kingdom.

The disciples encounter a stormy sea verses 35–37

On the evening of that same day Jesus said to His disciples, "Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they left the crowd; the disciples got into the boat in which Jesus was already sitting, and they took him with them. Other boats were there too. Suddenly a strong wind blew up, and the waves began to spill over into the boat, so that it was about to fill with water.

Now that Jesus had taught all these things to the crowds and His disciples, that very same evening He beckoned His disciples that they go over to the other side of the lake. Jesus and His disciples got into the boat to travel to the other side of the lake. As they travelled on, they were abruptly challenged with a fierce and stormy sea.

We can recall a similar situation that the prophet Jonah encountered when he disobeyed God’s call to go to Nineveh and instead headed to Tarshish. Here the storm in the sea was a consequence of his disobedience.

Contrarily, the disciples of Jesus were going out with Jesus in obedience to His word, but they too were now strangely confronted with a fierce storm.

It is therefore a reminder to us that every storm that we encounter in our life is not a result of our sin or disobedience, but God allows certain difficulties so that we can have a deeper understanding of who God is. If we are walking in obedience to God and His word, the storms we face are not to drown us, but to take us to a higher level in our relationship with God.

Some of the disciples of Jesus were seasoned fishermen and were well versed to decipher when a storm was at hand. But this storm they encountered was so sudden that they were taken off guard. The storm was so fierce that it even alarmed the men who were professional fishermen, who feared for their very lives.

There are times when we too are challenged with the most unexpected kinds of stormy trials in our lives. Heedless of how intense the storms are, we have the assurance that the Lord who is with us is able to deliver us from all of it, and there is no need for fear. Many people when faced with hardships question the very existence of God. At those times of severe testing, often our emotions take control of us, and we must be cautious for our emotions are constantly changing.

In those hard moments instead of depending on our emotions, we must learn to trust in the word of God, which is consistent and unchanging. It is not enough for us to hear the word of God, but must be ready to confront the tests that God sends our way, for only then we can be certain that we are growing in our faith and trust in the Lord.

Jesus slept through the storm verse 38

Jesus was in the back of the boat, sleeping with His head on a pillow. The disciples woke him up and said, "Teacher, don't you care that we are about to die?"

After all that Jesus had taught His disciples, when challenged with a crisis, the only thought that they had was that Jesus did not care, and they were about to die. Jesus was fast asleep with His head on the pillow, while the disciples allowed the storm that was outside to cause tumult in their hearts.

As believers in the Lord Jesus we must remember that when we are His children, as long as the Lord is with us we will never be abandoned, no matter what happens. Like Jesus, we too can sleep through the fiercest of storms; for we are assured that no storm will affect us as long as He is with us. Our house must be built on the solid rock of Christ, and the word of God so strongly embedded in our hearts, that no storm, no matter how fierce can disturb or destroy our faith in the Lord. In spite of the fact that Jesus was there with the disciples on the boat, the storm still came, only so that they could comprehend in a much bigger way as to who Jesus really was.

Biblical examples of those who encountered hardships

• When Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace, the ones who threw them in desired to see them being burnt to ashes. Wistfully, the ones who threw them in were burnt with the intensity of the flames, but to the astonishment of the king the three young men were walking unaffected, unhurt, having along with them the Son of God right beside them.

Only then the king realized that the God whom Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego worshipped was the true and living God.

When we are troubled by people, who desire to seek our hurt and downfall, we must ignore their taunts, not react to them, but rather trust in the Lord to deliver us from their evil plots. The Lord will not put us to shame, and when we overcome every trial that we encounter, it testifies to the world that we are indeed the children of the Most High God.

• Daniel was a man of integrity who led a blameless life. As he rose in his position in the kingdom, there were those who out of envy plotted against him. They even came up with a subtle law to trap Daniel, knowing that he was firm in his faith in God. They threw Daniel into the lion’s den, but Daniel was safe, for the Lord shut the mouth of those hungry lions, that they could not harm him in any way. The king then ordered that the ones who falsely accused Daniel be thrown into the same den, and this time God opened the mouth of the lions so that they devoured all of Daniel’s accusers.

When people are jealous of us, they will do everything possible to get us into trouble. Like in the days of Daniel, people think that the implementation of some laws will destroy our faith in God, which is an erroneous thought. The Lord is able to tie the mouth of the lions, and He’s the one who can open their mouths as well.

• When Paul was travelling as a prisoner, the ship they were in got shipwrecked. As they were stranded in an island where the weather was really cold, they made a bonfire to keep themselves warm. As everyone stood around the fire, a viper driven by the heat came out, and fastened itself to Paul’s hand. As all the people watched in shock, expecting Paul to fall dead, Paul just shook off the Viper into the fire, and sat there composed and unharmed. Initially they thought that Paul was being punished for his wickedness, but later when nothing happened to Paul, the same people changed their minds, and decided that he was god. This situation gave Paul an opportunity to preach the message of the gospel to those who were there.

We must not get carried away by the opinions of people, for the ones who praise us today, can be the ones who will tarnish our name later. Like Paul let us know that the Lord will use all our trials to become testimonies to magnify His name, and never send our way anything that will cause us to be disgraced.

Jesus calmed the storm

We read in Mark 4:39, Jesus stood up and commanded the wind, "Be quiet!" and he said to the waves, "Be still!" The wind died down, and there was a great calm.

As the disciples were terrified and screamed in fear, Jesus stood up and commanded the wind to be quiet, the winds died down and there was a great calm. It was not an ordinary calm, but a great calm that was totally adverse to what they faced.

When the storms are raging in our lives, we too have the certainty that the Lord can bring in an unexplainable calm, and that there will not even be a murmur of the problem that confronted us. The Lord alone can bring perfect calm to our lives’ tempestuous situations.

This is when Jesus asked them this question, which we read in verse 40 of our text: ‘Why are you frightened? Do you still have no faith?’

After the long discourse on faith, and after all the parables that Jesus taught, the disciples were still fearful, only because they were lacking in their faith. It was only after this incident that the disciples understood that Jesus was God, who had authority over nature, and that everything was under His mighty control.

When faith is less fear will overcome us, but when faith increases fears will cease. The storms of life are those little tests that help us realize how weak or strong our faith in God is. After every storm we are assured of total, and complete calm, as long as the Lord is with us.

Paul writing in Romans 8:28 says, “we know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.”

In the midst of life’s storms may our faith in the Lord be firm, may we not let our emotions take control but let us face every storm standing firm on the word of God. Every storm we encounter is not to destroy us but to let us know that we have an Almighty God on our side. As believers in the Lord Jesus, let us be prepared to face every storm like situation, knowing that even when it appears that the Lord is sleeping, He is still God, and in perfect control. In His time He will most certainly bring a complete calm to all of our raging storms.

Faith That Raises The Roof

Mark 2:1–12

A taxi driver and a preacher go to heaven. Upon arrival the taxi drive gets a HUGE heavenly mansion.
When the preacher saw this he thought, "surely if the taxi driver gets a huge mansion, I will get something even more grand!"
But, when it was his turn to receive his reward, the preacher was given a studio apartment.

The preacher was very surprised and asked, "why does the taxi drive get such a grand mansion, whereas I just get this studio apartment?"

“That’s simple to answer… when you preached, people fell asleep...
But when the taxi driver dove, people prayed."

As we follow Jesus through the Gospel According to Mark we come to one of my favorite miracles in the life of Jesus. It’s the story where four men tear up a roof and lower their paralyzed friend until he’s hanging in front of Jesus. These four friends created a skylight in a house so that they could get their friend to Jesus.

But this same skylight allowed Jesus to see these four men. And this unintentional skylight also filled the house with light. Part of our job as followers of Jesus is to build skylights to bring light to dark places. In this message I would like to challenge you to apply for a job working in the Faith Skylight Company.

I’m actually going to have you fill out a job application. If you have ever had a job interview or filled out an employment application, you know it can be a nerve-racking experience. You can go online and find some humorous statements people made during job interviews.

Here are a few of my favorites:
1. “I was fired from my last job because they were forcing me to take anger management classes.”
2. “Can we speed this up? I’ve got to be somewhere else.”
3. “It’s best for your other employees if I don’t work with people.”
4. “I’d prefer to work for a company that is very lax on tardiness.”
5. Provide an emergency contact number: the applicant put “911”

I seriously doubt any of those applicants got the job. But in our text this morning We read about four tactical friends who started what could be called the first Faith Skylight Company two thousand years ago.

Mark 2:1–12, “1 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.
2 Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them.
3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.
4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So, when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts,
7 “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?
9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’?
10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins” —He said to the paralytic,
11 “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”
12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

I have so many questions.
I wondered what the homeowner said when he saw his ceiling start crumbling; dirt and dust starts falling on Jesus and on everyone in the room.
If I had been the homeowner I probably would have said, “Hey, who’s going to pay for this damage?”

As the four guys keep creating an unintentional skylight, I can’t imagine Jesus could keep talking, there was too much distraction. But because He knows all things, He realized what was happening. Perhaps He said something like, “We interrupt this sermon to bring you a paralyzed man.
Please direct your attention to what’s left of the ceiling.”
I wonder if the paralyzed man felt any fear from this ordeal of being lowered by ropes to hang in front of Jesus. So, what did you do today? “Oh, I was just literally hanging around Jesus for a while.”

But I think the main focus of this miracle should be on those four unnamed friends who brought their paralyzed buddy to Jesus.
In verse 5 it says, “When Jesus saw THEIR faith...”

He saw the faith of those four friends. You may think that faith is invisible, but according to Jesus, faith can be seen. Can Jesus see our faith? Do we have an invisible faith or a visible faith? These four guys formed the Faith Skylight Company.

I think God wants everyone of us to be employed in this company. I’m going to ask you to apply for a position. But first you probably need to know what your job description will be if you work for the Faith Skylight Company.

Here it is: Creating skylights so people can meet Jesus. Real carpenters build real skylights so the light of the sun can brighten dark places in a home. When you work for the Faith Skylight Company you create openings so the light of the SON can brighten dark places in someone’s heart.

If you’re interested in applying for a position, here’s the job application.
Check each box that applies to you.

1. I CARE ABOUT PEOPLE WHO ARE HURTING
The story begins with this statement, “Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic.” These four men had a friend or a relative who was suffering.
He was paralyzed, and there was no way he could get to Jesus on his own.
These friends had heard Jesus was in Capernaum and they were convinced Jesus could help their friend. They had an unshakable faith in Him.

These four friends believed if they could somehow get their friend to Jesus that Jesus could make a difference in his life. We’re surrounded by hurting people; the question is do you care enough to bring them to Jesus? We have a lot of information that we share, but people don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care.

There were probably hundreds of sick and weak people in Galilee, but these four men concentrated on just one. That’s good advice for us. Would you ask God to lead you to just one hurting person who needs Jesus?

We should care for people’s spiritual condition. We should care about how our friends are doing spiritually. My best friends are the ones that care about my relationship with God, those that check to see how I am doing spiritually, those that encourage me to be a better person.

That is the type of friend I want to be and want to have. A friend’s greatest desire should be for spiritual well being. If you want to be a good friend, check in on your friend’s spiritual condition. Hold them accountable to living a godly life. There are hurting people living in spiritual darkness. In order to work for the Faith Skylight Company you’ve got to care enough for them that you’ll do everything you can to let the light of Jesus fill their darkness.

2. I’M WILLING TO WORK WITH A TEAM.
The Bible says this paralyzed man was “...carried by four of them.”
They teamed up for their friend. They did as a team what none of them could have done individually. Can you imagine one of the friends trying to carry the paralyzed man? Two or three might have been able to do it. But because the cot he was lying on had four corners, a team of four people made sense.

We can learn a lot about the importance of team work simply by observing flocks of geese. Winging their way to a warmer climate, they often cover thousands of miles before reaching their destination. Have you ever studied why they fly as they do? It is fascinating to read what has been discovered about their flight pattern as well as their in-flight habits. Four come to mind.

1. Those in front rotate their leadership. When one lead goose gets tired, it changes places with one in the wing of the V-formation and another flies point.
2. By flying as they do, the members of the flock create an upward air current for one another. Each flap of the wings literally creates uplift for the bird immediately following. One author states that by flying in a V-formation, the whole flock gets 71 percent greater flying range than if each goose flew on its own.
3. When one goose gets sick or wounded, two fall out of formation with it and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with the struggler until it's able to fly again.
4. The geese in the rear of the formation are the ones who do the honking.
I suppose it's their way of announcing that they're following and that all is well. For sure, the repeated honks encourage those in front to stay at it.

As I think about all this, one lesson stands out above all others: it is the natural instinct of geese to work together. Whether it's rotating, flapping, helping, or simply honking, the flock is in it together... which enables them to accomplish what they set out to do.

You and some friends who know the Lord should team up with the goal of helping another friend who doesn’t know the Lord. You might never be able to help that person all alone, but if you enlist some people to help you, a team can accomplish much more than an individual. If you want to work for the Faith Skylight Company, you must we willing to work with a team.

3. I SEE OBSTACLES AS OPPORTUNITIES
The Bible says this team of friends faced several obstacles. “They could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd.”
The first obstacle was the crowd. I’ve seen the ruins of Capernaum many times. The lanes between the houses are so narrow there was barely enough room for two people to pass. The house was full and the narrow lanes were filled with people wanting to catch the words of Jesus inside the house.
Then there was the obstacle of the house itself. The houses were built with black basalt stone and then covered with plaster. There was only one door, and there were only a few small windows cut at the top of the walls under the ceiling.
There was no back door or window to use to bring in the stretcher. The roof of the house was another obstacle. On top of the stone walls, wooden timbers were used as ceiling joists. A mixture of palm leaves, mud, and clay were mixed into a thick mortar and placed in layers between the timbers.

When each layer dried another layer was added until there was a thick, waterproof roof. Then more palm leaves were placed on top of the roof.
These roofs were thick and hard as a rock.

But these four friends didn’t let obstacles stop them. They saw these obstacles as opportunities. They kept on moving toward Jesus. How do you react when you’re confronted with obstacles? Obstacles are often simply opportunities for faith. If you want to work for the Faith Skylight Company, you’ve got to see obstacles as opportunities.

4. I LOOK FOR CREATIVE WAYS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS.
There were obstacles, but these men of faith found a way to overcome the obstacles. The Bible says, “They made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.”

We’re always going to face problems. But people of faith should always be looking for creative ways to solve problems. I heard about a businessman from NYC who was going to take a month-long trip to London.

He went to his local Manhattan bank and asked to borrow $1,000 for the trip. He even drove in his new Cadillac as collateral. He was a good customer, so they gave him his money. When he returned he paid back the full $1,000 plus $12 interest.
The banker asked him, “So, I’m curious. You’ve got plenty of money; I wonder why you wanted to borrow $1,000 for this trip?” The businessman replied, “Where else could I park my new Cadillac in a safe place for a month in Manhattan for $12?” He was thinking creatively.

So, think about your friend or friends who need Jesus. What are some creative ways you can team up with others to expose that person to the light and life of Jesus Christ. If you want to work for the Faith Skylight Company you will need to come up with creative ways to solve problems.

5. I DON’T QUIT EVEN WHEN CRITICIZED.
What would you do if someone started digging a hole in your roof? You’d probably call the cops. What would you do if you saw someone digging a hole in your neighbor’s roof? You’d call the cops.
I think it’s reasonable to think that the homeowner or neighbor of this house probably yelled up for the men to stop destroying that roof. But they didn’t stop. They kept on digging.

Jesus didn’t tell them to stop. Why? Because Jesus knows people matter more than buildings. Jesus knew there were two miracles that were going to happen as a result of that skylight.

First, Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven.” That’s the greatest miracle in the world. That’s what Jesus wants to say to each of you today. “Your sins are forgiven.” But even Jesus was criticized. The religious leaders were thinking, “Who does He think He is? Only God can forgive sins!” They were right. Only God can forgive sins. Jesus knew what they were thinking, just like He knows what we’re thinking right now.

He said, “So, what’s a bigger miracle? Forgiveness or healing? You all expected me to heal him. Well, just so you will know that the Son of Man has power to forgive sin, go ahead, friend, grab your bed and walk out of here.”

And that’s what the man did. I can imagine Jesus looking up at these four workers in the Faith Skylight Company, and He smiled at them as they were high-fiving and hugging each other.

Do you have friends or family members who need Jesus? Don’t give up on them. Even if you are criticized don’t stop enlarging that skylight. Just keep letting them see the light of Jesus. When Jesus sees your faith, He’ll smile, too.

CONCLUSION
Of all these characters in this story, which one do you see most like yourself? You may relate to the paralyzed man. You may not be physically paralyzed, but you are bound by sin and you need to have Jesus forgive you.
Jesus is in the house today. If you will come to Him Believing that He is the Son of God, Repenting of your sins And, being BURIED with Him in BAPTISM… He will say to you the same thing He said, to that paralyzed man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

For others of you who are Christians already, you see yourself like the four friends. You want to work for the Faith Skylight Company. You want to open ways for your friends to meet Jesus.

But there were other people in this story. They were the one who were crowding in the house, even the religious leaders. In other words there were two kinds of people there. Some were ON the way to Jesus and some were IN the way of Jesus. The Boss is offering you the job today. Will you come to work for the Faith Skylight Company? The pay isn’t very much, but the retirement benefits are out of this world!

The lesson is yours as we stand and sing the song of invitation.

Worship in Spirit

Psalm 100

INTRO: Good morning church! Please turn in your Bibles to the Book of Psalms and let’s read Psalm 100 together. I will be using the NKJV.

Psalm 100 –
“1. Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
2. Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.
3. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.”[NKJV].

We don't know who the inspired writer was, and we don't know when this particular Psalm was recorded, but it's very beautiful. The Bible teaches that whatever things were written before, are written for our learning, therefore we need to pay attention to the Book of Psalms because they are a part of the Old Testament. Jesus referred to the things written about Him in the law, and the prophets, and in the Psalms.

During His ministry, the Lord revealed His requirements for true worship. You will recall that in John 4, our Lord was having a conversation with a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. One of the subjects they talked about was worship.

In connection with worship, our Lord said John 4:23-24 – “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Here our Lord reveals some fundamental requirements concerning worship.

First, He said that true worshippers worship the Father. We need to always remember that our worship is directed to God in heaven. Next, He said that true worshippers worship the Father in spirit and in truth. To worship in spirit means to worship with the proper attitude and disposition. To worship in truth means to worship according to God's will as it is revealed in the New Testament.

Worship is directed to the Father, and worship to please God must be in spirit and in truth. The Lord taught that worshiping in spirit and worshiping in truth are equally important. We must not exalt one over the other. Jesus said that they're both essential.

Today, what I would like for us to do is examine two important guidelines from Psalm 100 that will help us worship in spirit. We will look at “in spirit” because it might be a bit harder for us to grasp then “in truth”. In doing so we're not in any way indicating that worshiping in spirit is more important than worshiping in truth, they're both equally important.

From time to time we find we can use reminders of principles that will help us to not only worship in truth, but also to worship in spirit. It's just a matter of being a human being, I guess. When we do the same things over and over again, if we're not careful, they can become commonplace, and we must not allow that to happen in worship.

Each time we come together in worship we participate in the same activities. We need to use some discipline to make sure that we always worship in spirit, that is, with the proper attitude and disposition.

The reason why that's such an important matter is because of what can happen. In the last book of the Old Testament, the Book of Malachi, Malachi wrote about the coming of Elijah. Malachi closed by calling upon the Lord's people to look forward to this event. Jesus said during His ministry, that the prophecy of Elijah’s coming was fulfilled by John the Baptist.

There is a story from a time when many of us were a lot younger about a young couple inviting their preacher for Sunday dinner. While they were in the kitchen preparing the meal, the preacher asked their son what they were having. "Goat," the little boy replied.

"Goat?" replied the preacher, "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes," said the youngster. "I heard Dad say to Mom, 'We might as well have the old goat for dinner today as any other day.

Malachi closed his writing with a message of hope to his people, but he primarily dealt with some of the sins of which they were guilty. One thing that Malachi dealt with was the spirit that some of the Jewish people had begun to manifest in worship. Malachi 1:13 – “You also say, `Oh, what a weariness!' and you sneer at it,'' says the Lord of hosts. "And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; thus you bring an offering! Should I accept this from your hand?'' says the Lord.” When people spoke of worship as “a weariness”, were they worshiping in spirit? Certainly not.

They had allowed worship to become “weariness” to them. That in turn affected what they were doing. Some of them were taking blind, lame, and sick animals and offering them to God. Malachi, speaking on behalf of God, said, Offer that animal to your governor — see if he'll be pleased with it. They wouldn't dare do something like that, yet they had no problem presenting that type of animal to God Almighty.

The Book of Malachi shows that a failure to worship in spirit will lead to other failures in worship. They didn't put forth the effort to make sure that they maintained the proper spirit as they were worshiping God.

I. In Verses1-3 "PRAISE" is Emphasized:

A. Let's consider two very important guidelines that will help us to worship in spirit. When we look at the first three statements of Psalm 100 we will notice that praise is emphasized. It plays a role in worship to maintain our desire to worship in spirit.

1. Psalm 100:1 – “Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!” That sounds like praise to me, doesn't it to you?
2. Then is says, “Serve the Lord with gladness…” That's maintaining a proper spirit while worshiping God. I can't help but think about what David wrote in Psalm 122:1 – “I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go into the house of the Lord.''”
3. Next we read, “… Come before His presence with singing.” All of those statements are emphasizing the importance of praise.

B. It's interesting that when we examine the Book of Psalms, we find that others of them begin in the same way.

1. Psalm 95:1 – “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.” Notice how joy is emphasized. That has to do with maintaining the proper spirit.
2. Psalm 96:1-3 – “1. Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth. 2. Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. 3. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.”
3. Psalm 98:1 – “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory." The Psalms include appeals made to God's people to offer praise to God, - to sing, to make a joyful noise, and to do so with the proper spirit.

C. The Bible teaches us to emphasize praise, but it goes further than that. The Bible teaches us why God deserves our praise. Psalm 100:3 says simply, “Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” I think that's a very good reason to offer praise to God. He deserves our praise because He IS God.

1. Psalm 95 also talks about this. Psalm 95:3-5 – “3. For the Lord is the great God, And the great King above all gods. 4. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also. 5. The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land.” The Lord, He is God, not just a god with a little g, but He is God with a capital G. God deserves our praise because of who He is.
2. There's another reason revealed to us in Psalm 100:3 concerning why God deserves our praise. “…It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves…” To go along with that, let's look at Psalm 95:6 which reads, “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” These passages help us understand exactly what is involved in worship. The Hebrew word for worship here, (שָׁחָה), (shâchâh), means; bow, bow down, obeisance, reverence. (Strong’s H7812). Worship means to show reverence to, to bow down before.
3. Let's read it again. “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” This is showing reverence is to be paid to God. God deserves our praise. First, because of who He is, He is God. Then also notice that we haven't made ourselves. God has made us.
4. There's a third statement made in Psalm 100:3, another reason why God deserves our praise. “…We are His people and the sheep of His pasture…” Notice the point that the writer is making when he writes, “We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.” Since we are His, we belong to Him, we are in His pasture. That is, He cares for us as the shepherd cares for the sheep. We have access to wonderful blessings.

D. When the writer of Psalm 100 mentioned the fact that we are the sheep of His pasture, it leads us to think about the 23rd Psalm, doesn’t it? I strongly suspect that of all the psalms the 23rd Psalm is known by all who are listening this morning. This is the favorite Psalm of many people and it is one we should spend some time thinking about often, as we go through our lives.

1. David began this Psalm by saying, “The Lord is my shepherd”. That's a key statement. David recognized the Lord as his shepherd. Remember the writer of Psalm 100:3 said, we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. That's a reason why God deserves our praise.
2. Having said that, let's consider some blessings that David mentioned in the 23rd Psalm which are associated with knowing the Lord as our shepherd.

a. Blessing number one is contentment. David said, “I shall not want.”
b. Blessing number two is providential care. “He makes me to lie down in green pastures;”
c. Blessing number three is peace. “He leads me beside the still waters.”
d. Blessing number four is restoration. “He restores my soul;” That means that God will turn back the soul if we will submit to His will.
e. Blessing number five is direction. “He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.”
f. Blessing number six is courage. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;” I've wondered if when David wrote that particular part of this psalm, did he reflect back on that occasion when he faced the giant Goliath? There was no fear in David's heart and he won a victory that day. Then he led the children of Israel to win a great victory over the Philistines.
g. Blessing number seven is companionship. “For You are with me;”
h. Blessing number eight is comfort, something we certainly all need from time to time. “Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
i. Blessing number nine is favor. “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil;”
j. Blessing number ten is abundance. “My cup runs over.” There are times we hear people refer to that particular statement who don't even believe the Bible. When they talk about enjoying a great blessing, they say, my cup is running over. David knew about that blessing. He knew all about abundance.
k. Blessing number eleven is assurance. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life;”
l. Then blessing number twelve is immortality. “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.”

3. David wrote many beautiful Psalms. They are a joy to read and to study. He wrote about half of the Psalms. Think about all the years that the 23rd Psalm has been in existence, and the comfort that it has brought to so many people. We should be grateful that David wrote it.

E. These principles revealed in the first part of Psalm 100 will help us to worship God in spirit. A lot of emphasis is placed on praise. God deserves our praise, and of course, there are reasons given to us why He deserves our praise. We need to think about those matters.

II. In Verses 4-5 "Thanksgiving" is Emphasized:

A. Let's turn our attention, though, to something else that's addressed in verses 4 and 5 as we talk about guidelines that will help us to worship in spirit. We've already talked about the important role that praise plays in worship. Now let's see the emphasis placed on being thankful in this particular Psalm.

1. Let's look at two statements that are made in Psalm 100:4. The first, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving”.
2. The second, “Be thankful to Him” These are two appeals made for God's people to approach Him with thankful hearts.

B. Similar appeals are made in other Psalms.

1. Psalm 105:1 says, “Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples.”
2. Psalm 106:1 says, “Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”
3. Psalm 107:1 says, “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” Many times the Book of Psalms teaches us that as we endeavor to worship the Lord, we are to do so with thankful hearts, we give thanks to him. Praise is important, but thanksgiving is also important.

C. Now consider verse 5 of Psalm 100. This verse gives us several statements that show why God deserves our thanks. As we saw the first part of the Psalm emphasizes praise, and the writer shows us why God deserves our praise. Next our attention is turned to thanksgiving, and now we're shown why we need to be thankful.

1. Number one, “For the Lord is good;” Certainly that is an excellent reason to be thankful. Psalm 33:4-5 says. “For the word of the Lord is right, And all His work is done in truth. He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” and Psalm 34:8, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”
2. Statement number two says, “His mercy is everlasting”. We've already read several times from other Psalms that His mercy endures forever. Psalm 103:8 says, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.” And then verse 11, “For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;”

a. You probably have all experienced those warm summer nights when you were somewhere where the sky was clear and you could see the vast expanse of stars. I recall those times and wondered at the vastness of our universe and how far those stars are from earth. When you read about the stars, distances are mentioned which we can not even imagine. Suffice it to say it's a long way.
b. “For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;” God’s mercy is everlasting.

3. Then there's a third statement made in verse 5 that teaches us why God deserves our thanks. “His truth endures to all generations.”

D. Today it seems a lot of people have the idea that what they say is truth regardless of the facts. Why I wonder? Because the person thinks it is—and that is subjective.

1. There's an objective way to determine truth. Truth is not subjective, yet a lot of people today think that it is. What's true for you may not be true for me and vice versa. That, I think, is a reflection of one of the problems that we have in our society today.
2. Truth is truth. Truth can be known objectively. God's truth doesn't change from one generation to the next. His truth endures to all generations. That's the reason why God deserves our thanks. He's the source of truth, and His truth endures. It doesn't change. It doesn't go away. It's not replaced by something else.

CONCLUSION:
The principles we looked at from Psalm 100 that have to do with Praise and Thanksgiving will help us to worship in spirit. Jesus said, that acceptable worship, that true worship, must be offered in spirit and in truth. We need to understand “why” we worship God. To worship in spirit means to worship with the proper attitude and disposition.

We need to keep in mind the “why” to help us worship in spirit so that we can avoid the mistakes made by the Jewish people of Malachi's day. They got to the point where they said, Behold what a weariness it is. That's a bad attitude toward worship, isn't it? It became a chore to them. They became jealous of giving their best and even of the giving of their time.

If we have our hearts centered on praising God and offering thanks to him, I'm persuaded that that will go a long way toward helping us worship in spirit.

What about Christian worship? To determine how to worship God, today, we want to go to the New Testament. Let's look at Ephesians 5:19-20, “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Praise and thanksgiving are included in Christian worship.

Let's also read Hebrews 13:15, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”

We should also keep in mind that praising God and being thankful are not limited to worship. They're included in worship, they will help us to worship in spirit, but they're not limited to worship.

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The lesson is yours. Perhaps there is someone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.

# ??? Reference Sermon by: Raymond Sieg

Why Forgive?

Why Forgive?

Good morning. How was everybody's week? Good to have you here. I think most of you all know this is my first sermon, so bear with me a little. I might stumble. Thank you.

I have a question. Has anyone ever wronged you before? Have they done something that made you mad, angry, just feelings that you know aren't necessarily right. Have you ever done something to someone else that made them angry at you? Have you wronged them? Have you ever wronged someone? Has someone ever wronged you?

Did you forgive them? Have they forgiven you? Why? Why should you forgive them? Why should they forgive you? What have you done to earn that forgiveness? What have they done to earn your forgiveness? What have they done to earn that mercy?

In today's lesson, I will be going over forgiveness. I will answer the question, why should I forgive? Let’s go over a couple aspects of mercy and forgiveness that the Bible points out to us.

The first thing I wanted to go through is found in Matthew 18:21-32. It’s a scripture a lot you know. I'll start with verse 21. “21. Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22. Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. 23. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33. Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34. And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”

I think that answers the question, why should I forgive? You have been forgiven. The glory of God sent down His son, who sacrificed Himself for our sins. We are forgiven of our debt. He says here, we are to forgive 70 times 7. I've seen many people say is more likely 70 to the seventh power, which is a very large number. In other words as much as you can. Again, why should I forgive? Because the Lord has forgiven me.

In Colossians 3:12-13, it says, “12. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13. Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”

These two verses, in broad terms, epitomize what a Christian should look like. One of these things is forgiveness. Forgiveness is not an option. It is not a choice we have as Christians, it is a necessity. This is something we must do. This is something we have to do. It's something commanded for us to do.

There's Moses in Exodus 32:31-32. “31. And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. 32. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.”

This is Moses pleading to the Lord to forgive the people as they had erected statues and other gods. They had sinned, a great sin. They were fools. Moses pleaded for the Lord to forgive His people, to forgive them of their foolishness.

You have the story of Joseph. Joseph was Jacob's favorite. He was loved by his father, and his brothers were jealous. They sold him onto slavery. For years, he was tormented as a result of this burden. Then when he met with his brothers, years down the line, after he had made it to a high position, after he had gained power, after he had gotten out of those bad places, he gave his brothers the opportunity to make up for what they had done. He was willing to forgive them. It's just another example of how we should forgive.

Obviously, there's Jesus as well. We have Him saying forgive them, for they do not know what they've done as He was being crucified on the cross. If Jesus is willing to forgive being crucified, being tortured, being murdered; how much more should we be willing to forgive? We can forgive others as many times as we should.

There are a couple different ways that forgiveness is useful to us as Christians. It is not just that we should, but there are benefits to it as well.

In Isaiah 43:18, it says, “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.” I think this is telling us to forget our old sins. The Lord forgets the sins we have done when he forgives us, so should we. The things we have done in the past are not part of us. They're gone. They're forgiven. They've been washed away by the blood of Christ.
In Matthew 6:14, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:” Again, this just points out again that forgiving others is essential for our salvation, and it is something that we must do in order to be forgiven.

It will help us spiritually, mentally, and physically. There are plenty of studies out there that that show if you're willing to forgive and get rid of that burden, and then you're more likely to live a long and healthy life. To carry the burden, to carry that hate, to carry that anger, is not good for you. It never has been.

In Ephesians 4:31-32, it says, “31. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.: 32. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

We are also told to be patient. Again, more things we as Christians need to be. It's not just forgiving. We need to be patient. We need to be compassionate. Earlier, we were talking a lot about humility during Bible class and how it is important to be a humble person.

Humbleness, to me, is being able to recognize other people's strengths while being able to recognize your own weakness. When we come onto the Lord, that strength to forgive will come as well.

Another thing we need to do as Christians is ask for forgiveness, ask the Lord to forgive what we have done. Because what do we just do? What is communion for? To remind us of that sacrifice and to ask for forgiveness for what we have done so our sins can be washed away.

In 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

We must confess our sins. The Lord will not forgive us for what we do not admit. We must forgive others. We have to ask for forgiveness. We have to be faithful. It seems like there's a lot of things, but in reality, if you have the word of God in your heart, all these things will come naturally.

There are a couple of different ways the Bible says to forgive. A big one is 1 Corinthians 13:5. “Love is never rude, love is never selfish, never quick to take offense, love never keeps track, never keeps score of wrongs.”

This is saying what love is and it emphasizes it a little bit. Love keeps no wrongs. When we are filled with love in our heart, we will not keep account of these things. There's one time I was at church camp and my cousin said something to me that didn't really sit well. For a long time, every time I'd be reminded of it, it made me really mad, made me angry. It didn't feel right that I felt that way, but with love in my heart, it's just another memory that I forget most of the time. Every once in a while, I'm reminded of it, but I just laugh. Now I think, Oh, it's just saying something stupid because we were in fifth grade.

Love is never rude, never selfish. Forgiveness is a very unselfish act. You're forgiving another person for what they've done.

Selflessness. A selfless person forgives. A selfless person is compassionate and humble. Love is never quick to take offense. It's a lot easier to not have to forgive someone when you never really take offense in the first place, when you don't really think there's anything to forgive. Yeah, they might have wronged you, but, oh, well, they accidentally nicked me a little bit. They cut my arm. I don't care. It’s just a little bit of blood. It's not that bad.

Love is never rude. We are supposed to forgive, but we really should try our best to not need to be forgiven. As Christians, it is our goal to walk in the way that Christ walked. To walk in the way of Christ means we need to do our best, and our best is to strive never need to be forgiven, so one is never rude.

In Matthew 6:12, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” This is from the Lord's Prayer. I think that tells us another important part of forgiveness, especially about forgiving ourselves.

A good way to forgive is to pray. It's our strongest weapon. How can we do things without praying? How can we have the strength if we don't ask for it? How can we be forgiven if we don't ask for it?

I've heard my entire life that our strongest weapon is prayer. So pray. Pray for forgiveness. Pray that you have the strength to forgive your debtors so you may have your debts forgiven.

In John 20:22-23 John said this, “22. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: 23. Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.” It has parts about if you do not forgive, you'll not be forgiven.

I think I want to focus more on the Holy Ghost. We take on the Holy Ghost, when we put the word in our heart. We will take on the Lord, and the Lord will give us strength. It's the Holy Ghost that will give us the strength to forgive. It was the Holy Ghost that that will give us the ability to do this, even if it seems hard.

A lot of us, I'm pretty sure, have been wronged—incredibly sometimes. Inhumane things, some things you don't even want to speak about. It can be hard to forgive actions like that. It can be hard to forgive people who have wronged you so vilely. It's the only way I can say that, really, who have committed such wrongs against you. It is the Holy Ghost, it is the Lord that will give you the strength to do that. How can you have that strength? How can you have the Holy Ghost if you are not praying, if you're not asking for strength, if you're not asking for forgiveness, if you're not interacting with the word daily? Read your Bible daily. That's what I've been told. Read, pray, and walk a straight path.

So far, we've gone over the image of a Christian. What is the image? It’s a humble, compassionate, loving, forgiving person. We can see that in so many examples that the Bible gave us. You have Moses, Joseph, obviously Jesus, most of the disciples, and plenty, countless that you can look to. That takes a very long time to read through, at least in my experience. Its uses are many.

As I said earlier, it's just good for you to keep that evil out of your heart. Do good things. Be forgiving, because removing that burden can just make your life happier, longer, better. It is good to forgive yourself. It is good to forgive others. It is great to ask for that forgiveness. How can you receive if you don’t ask? Ask and you shall receive. You must ask for that forgiveness and be willing to give forgiveness as well.

How do we forgive? Keep love in your heart. Be a loving person, and not necessarily that fuzzy love, as we were talking about earlier, but in action. Forgiveness is not a feeling like we would normally think of it. It is an action, and it is a part of love, and love itself is an action.

Again, love is not rude. Love is never selfish, never quick to take offense. Love keeps no store of wrongs. If we keep love in our heart, we will be able to forgive.

Pray without ceasing and keep the Holy Ghost in our heart. The way we do that is by reading our Bible daily, and by prayer daily, and do our best to walk the straight and narrow.

Jesus’ crucifixion is the most important thing to us because it is the sacrifice that gives us the opportunity to be forgiven. It is the crucifixion that allows us to make it to heaven. We have all failed. We have all fallen short of the glory of God. We have all sinned. Everybody besides Jesus that I've talked about today sinned, Moses sinned, and Joseph sinned, all of them except Jesus. It is his sacrifice, the torment he went through that allows us to be with Him at the end of it all.

Luke 23:34, “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.”

Forgive them. He had been tortured, murdered, completely brutalized. Unspeakable things were done unto him, and He forgives them without a second thought, without hesitation. Did He want to go through that? No. But He was willing to go through it for us, and He was willing to forgive them and us. They were the ones who put them up on the cross, but it's our sins that are responsible for that, each and every one of us. It's our sins that put him on that cross that made it necessary for that sacrifice.

If Jesus is willing to forgive that much, a deed done onto him like that, how much more should we be willing to forgive? How much should we? Again, Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother? Up to seven times? No. 70 times 7. Always forgive. Whatever has been it is. It might be hard. When it's hard pray and read your Bible. Ask for the strength to do what is hard. Ask for the ability to do what you know, as Christians, we have to. It is not an option to forgive. It is a necessity.

If anyone here has not yet asked for forgiveness, has not yet been baptized for the remission of their sins, I ask you, why wait? Come up here. We have a baptistery that's mostly full. You're going to be saved today. There's no reason to wait. It only prolongs. You're only making it riskier because, yes, we can be forgiven, but only with the time we have here on earth. As I conclude with that, let’s stand as Doug leads 606.