Chardon church of Christ

The Practice of Mercy

The Practice of Mercy

Luke 10:30-37

 

INTRO:

Good evening.   This evening I would like to go back to one of the parables of Jesus we have already looked at. In Luke Chapter 10 is the parable we most often call the parable of the Good Samaritan. Although we talked a little about this parable last April when we started the parable series I thought that in view of this morning’s lesson on The Mercy of God, that this would be a good time to take another look at the Good Samaritan.

 

The lessons we see in this parable of the Good Samaritan come as a direct answer to the question of the lawyer and I think they provide for us a clear calling for mercifulness.   The story in this parable teaches us about mercy and that we should be merciful to people.  It might be better if we were to call this the parable of the Merciful Samaritan rather than the Good Samaritan.

 

The story ends in Luke 10:36-37 when Jesus says; which of these do you think was neighbor to him?   The lawyer said; he who showed mercy on him.

 

I think that's interesting because the Samaritan was good in the way we understand things.   Why would he do what he did?   Well he was good as people would say.   He did for someone something that was not bidden by any obligation.   He was good because he showed mercy, because he was a merciful person, because there was a feeling in his heart that was born out of the activity that he engaged in.

 

That is the standpoint I would like us to take, as we look at this particular parable.   There are a lot of lessons to be taught from this story. Often the parable is viewed in an allegorical framework.   But there is a consideration in which the lessons of the parables are simple, sometimes single faceted in the sense that there's one literal, primary lesson of the story that Jesus wants us to see.

 

I think the parable of the Good Samaritan may fall into that category.   There are a number of things to see about ourselves, about God, about circumstance, and about obligation from this particular story but there is one primary thought.

 

1. Let’s start with the question; “What is the comparison between the lawyer and the Samaritan?”   That's not an obvious contrast in the parable because these are two individuals, one's real and one's imaginary or simply a character in the story, the Samaritan.
   1. The lawyer who asks the question is a real person that talks to Jesus and Jesus interacts with.   Jesus draws in the lesson a contrast between the one who's asking the question and the one who's the main character of the parable.
   2. The lawyer was a man who would have much to recommend him as he comes to Jesus, his credentials.
      1. He was a man by occupation who knew the law.
      2. He wasn't a lawyer in the sense that we would think of a secular lawyer but the lawyers in the scripture were those who had studied the Law of Moses.
      3. They are individuals who were well versed in the particular applications of law and even the traditions that surrounded the law, the traditional interpretations and applications of the law.
   3. This man comes with a good and relevant question.   He says; “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
      1. That is a valid and important question for someone to bring to Jesus.
      2. Jesus does not dismiss this question.  He doesn't in any way approach it from a standpoint that it is not relevant or important.
      3. In fact Jesus recognizes the legitimacy of the question and answers it in a context that this man should understand.
   4. The lawyer himself is no doubt an intelligent person even an individual who could be respected because he has studied and he's come to knowledge.   He knows the law and he can quote it accurately.
      1. We see in verse 27 and 28 that's precisely what he does.  He quotes the law. In fact, he quotes the law in a very similar fashion to which Jesus quoted the law in His own summery.
      2. If you recall when asked the question of what was the greatest commandment Jesus summarized all of the commandments in His answer.   “Thou shall love the Lord thy God all thy heart and love thy neighbor as thyself.”  He says; “on this hangs all the law and the prophets.” Jesus had made a similar statement or summary to the law that this man makes in verse 27.
      3. It was the right way to look at the law, not that there were only two commandments, but if you were to ask the question of what it meant to keep the law, it is a very good way to answer that question.   Everything depends on the relationship you have with God and the relationship you have with your fellow man. Your relationship to God and to your fellow man summarizes the obligations of love.
      4. This lawyer was intelligent and had studied so he knew the answer and Jesus says you've answered rightly.
   5. But there is a deficiency in that His understanding of the law. His understanding of the law was what we would call orthodox.   His orthodoxy is not accompanied by practical righteousness. By this I mean that he had the right information but not the right application.  A person may know and approve the law and yet not keep it.  He answered right but was not righteous. We find that in religion today.
      1. That's seen by how he reacts to the answer that he’s just given. He next attempts to justify himself by immediately bypassing the implications of the commandment of Love and asking Jesus another question. “Who is my neighbor?”
      2. He goes right over the obligation to put the question back on Jesus to come to some further understanding or for some further interpretation of the law.  There are some folks like that.
   6. Obviously we do not know enough about this man to come to a full conclusion yet the pattern I see here is familiar. I have met people I think fits this pattern. They want to know it all, they want to know what God said, they have an interest in knowing the truth but that's all they want, the knowledge.  
      1. Even when you bring them to the point of clearly making application of the law to their lives, bring them to the point that you think is the point of conviction, they immediately turn sideways and ask another question.   Rather than confront what is before them they simply want more explanation.  
      2. I do not know if this man was like that but I know some people are.     They simply want to speak and talk about the law.  They don't want to apply it.
      3. That's why I suspect that may be a deficiency in this lawyer.   He simply wants to know and approve of the law but he's not interested in really keeping the law. He answered right but he wasn't righteous and that's the point that Jesus confronts in the story.
   7. Now let’s compare him with the Samaritan who is a character in the parable.   Jesus tells us enough about this man that we can come to some conclusions.   We know for the fact that Jesus names him as a Samaritan.
      1. Just taking that at face value, the Samaritan was religiously wrong as opposed to the lawyer.  There were things about the law that the Samaritan probably did not know or understand correctly.   He probably couldn't give you God's word, God's revelation on it in an accurate way because the Samaritans, as Jesus even points out in John Chapter 4, had some things they missed.
         1. Salvation was of the Jews.   There were questions that could be answered about worship only in the context of the revelation that God had given the Jews.
         2. These were interpreted rightly by the Jews and the Samaritans would have given the wrong interpretations.  
      2. Jesus names him as a Samaritan interestingly enough not to commend his Samaritanism but rather to commend his character.  
         1. What does Jesus recommend about this man?
         2. What is it that's good about the Samaritan?
         3. He's a person of true human compassion.
         4. He is an individual that is not met on every street corner, you don't find them everywhere.  He comes across a circumstance and reacts in a very extreme way to that circumstance.
         5. He acts mercifully in response to a person who's in deep distress.   In the context of the parable he acts as a neighbor ought to act to this injured man and that becomes the single point of the parable we want to look at.
      3. Jesus answers the question of who is my neighbor not by pointing to who the neighbor is but rather points to the man who acts in a neighborly way.
         1. The question what must I do to inherit eternal life is an important part of the story. The lawyer's answer to it was right and summarized the whole law, love God and love your neighbor.
         2. Jesus told him “do this and he would live eternally”.  Jesus does not discount that the aspect of obedience to the law is the way to life.
         3. Contrary to the Calvinist ideas Jesus does not dismiss this man's answer and say well no you're being legalistic about this.   You really don't need to keep all the commandments.
         4. Jesus doesn't put in opposition faith and obedience.   Jesus recognizes that this man's understanding of law and the necessity to keep law - was right.
      4. Rather then confess that he would not and had not done this, which is possibly what Jesus wanted to man to do, the lawyer simply excuses himself and asks; “Who is my neighbor?”
         1. He assumes something about law.  He assumed that there was a limitation to the law of love whether it is to God or to his neighbor.
         2. He assumed that there were some parameters that he needed to be aware of, that there was something about the law that maybe Jesus could explain to him or there was some interpretation that would in essence get him off the hook in some instances. I believe he sought a loophole or as the Bible says he sought justification.
         3. He also attempts to qualify and we'll look at this as we go along.   But any time we look at a law God that places obligations upon us and then immediately attempt to qualify, we show an attitude about ourselves that God does not approve of.
      5. I suspect that Jesus tells this parable to turn his perception around. The law of love to God and to man that this man summarizes in his own words, was not conditional on the proximity or the status of the recipient.
         1. He could not judge whether or not a person is his neighbor by how close he was, or by whether he was the same social class, or by whether he was a Jew, or by whether you agreed with him on certain opinions or by whether he was of a certain economic status.   There were no parameters, in terms of who was his neighbor that Jesus would give to this man.
         2. Jesus taught him what it meant to be a neighbor and what it meant to act in love towards a neighbor by showing him what a neighbor would do under the circumstances.   This is the lesson, and it is a lesson on love and mercy.
         3. John MacArthur wrote about this; Jesus instead of talking about who qualifies to be your neighbor talks about the quality with which you love.  If you're even asking the question who is qualified for you to love, you can't fulfill the commandments to love.  It's not about who qualifies.  It's about your character, the character of your love.

• Jesus is talking about the love of the individual to someone in need, not about where the person in need qualifies to be loved. Notice that it is an integral part of the parable that this mans needs cannot be dismissed.  It's certainly assumed in the story that he does not qualify in any way to be helped by those who are given the responsibility to help him.  Think about the story for a moment as we read it.
  1. Luke 10:30 – “Then Jesus answered and said: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. "Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. "Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. "But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion on him, "and went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. "On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, `Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.' "So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?''” [NKJV] I find a good way to start is to look at the context.
  2. Starting with verse 30, Jerusalem sits on hills and the man was going down from the hills to Jericho which is a bit below sea level, a drop of 3000 feet in about 17 miles. It was a place with hills and cliffs and deep crevices, a place where there were a lot of caves and steep drops and a place where traveling was going to be difficult.  It provided a geographical opportunity for robbers and thieves to hide and ambush people as they came along the road.
     1. It was known for that in Jesus’ time. So the familiar thing happened to this man.   He traveled the dangerous road and what usually happens on dangerous roads is people get taken advantage of. He was robbed, beaten and left for dead.
     2. His condition, apart from any outside aid, appeared rather hopeless.  This man was left for dead. Jesus uses this language to indicate that if nobody comes to his aid, he's going to die.
  3. Verse 31 by chance a certain priest comes by. By the opportunity that's given to this priest there is a hope that this man will be rescued.   Certainly on the surface it seems that way doesn't it?
     1. If you're left for dead on the side of the road and you don't have anybody to help you, who would you want to come by?   A religious man or an irreligious man?   A man who believes in God or a man who didn't believe in God?
     2. Here is a religious man.  He is the best of the pious among them. He would have been familiar with the law. Leviticus 19:34 – “But the stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself”   It is told in the law you have to love him as yourself. Exodus 23:5 – “If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.” The law says even if you do not want to, you must.
     3. This is a general requirement of benevolence among the Jews and was a part of the law, if anybody knows that the priest knows it. If anybody is going to help it's going to be somebody who knows the law, right?  No.  He passes by on the other side.
  4. Verse 32 Likewise a Levite… The Levite was the other end of the scale of the religious ladder. The priests were at the top the Levites were at the bottom. They did certainly do service within the temple but they were not as high class as the priest.
     1. Again we see represented in the parable those who knew, those who understood the law.   Those who by spiritual obligation would be given an opportunity to help.  Yet, they pass by on the other side.
     2. Did you ever wonder why?   Why does the priest go by?  Why does the Levite not stop? We are not told.   There are many comments on the priest and the Levite but they are conjecture trying to imagine what these two were thinking. We know this is a parable and Jesus doesn't fill in all the blanks for us in terms of what's happening in the mind of the priest as to why he passed by.  
     3. Jesus doesn't really tell us what's missing in the life of the priest or the Levite.  What Jesus does do is simply tell us what was in the heart of the Samaritan and that's the lesson.  
  5. Verse 33 - But a certain Samaritan…, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion on him Why did the Levite and priest go on the other side?   I would suggest because they had no compassion.   We don't know what their duties were or what would have happened or what might have happened, or if they were afraid of the robbers. The Bible doesn't tell us any of that.  What we do know is that the Samaritan stopped because he was a compassionate man.
     1. Think about the expectations. This injured man by implication is a Jew.   We might assume that since he's coming down from Jerusalem.   If we do assume that then everything points to the fact that this man could not have expected this Samaritan to help him.
     2. The Samaritans hated the Jews and the Jews hated the Samaritans.  The racial differences and the cultural differences were enormous. What we recognize is that he had met an enemy on the way, and an opportunity.
     3. Usually when enemies meet each other they can't expect to be treated in any way other than with animosity.  He would know nothing about this man's circumstance.  He would know nothing about why he was where he was.   There seemed to be no motivation for him to stop, yet stop he did.
     4. It was this element of human compassion that made him stop. When he saw him he had compassion.  
  6. What we also see is that there's no evidence of any qualification.  Jesus is saying to the lawyer there is no process of qualification in the act of being a neighbor.
     1. The Samaritan that stopped would not have thought that the Jew qualified as one he should help.
     2. The priest and the Levite could never have looked at this aspect from a standpoint of qualification. Surely in the context of law.
     3. The Samaritans inclination, we can phrase it that way, his inclination when he saw the victim was injured, was to help.
     4. What's our inclination when we find somebody in trouble?  Do we use it to assess the circumstance from a standpoint of whether or not they are a good person or a bad person, to qualify them as the neighbor?   Or is the first inclination to be merciful?
  7. Verse 34-35. “and went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. "On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, `Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'”
     1. The Samaritan himself is not the center of the parable though he becomes the main character.   What becomes the story here is what he does.  That's really the focus of what we're talking about tonight, the activity of mercy.  We need to not miss this because what we see is not just one act but several.   Not just a little help but a deep involvement in the distress of the victim.
        1. Verse 34 says he went to him.  It simply means that he went to where the injured person was. This is the first thing that he does; he goes up to the man.   He does not try to evaluate from afar off.  He does not dismiss him by looking at him from far away like maybe the priest and the Levite did.  He goes up close and he evaluates the man's circumstances.
        2. He sees what his needs are and assesses his condition.  After investigating he does not turn away.  You see if we don't go look then we are less compelled to be involved.  If we go look we might through some form of compassion be drawn to be involved.   However if we look real close and we see how bad it is we might be compelled to turn and go the other way. It can work both ways.
        3. By not looking we might step away from it.   By looking we might step away from it. But not this Samaritan. He sees what's there.   He sees the stressful and difficult situation this man is in and that he's ready to die – but he doesn't turn around. It says and went to him and bandaged his wounds.  The Greek word for wounds there is the word trauma (Strong’s G5134).   It indicates wounds that needed immediate attention.  That's the aspect here.
     2. What did he bandage his wounds with?   We are not told but we are told he fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing
        1. The victim was lacking in material for bandages so if there's anything to use for a bandage it probably came from the Samaritan, perhaps his own clothes ripped to make bandages and stop the bleeding.
        2. In says he poured in oil and wine into the wounds [para].   Wine was an antiseptic and the oil was used to lubricate the wound and keep the tissue soft so it would heal and not be as painful.  
        3. This is all part of the process of making the man more comfortable and seeing to his ultimate healing. These things that he gave were probably his own.  There's no indication in this that the victim had anything with him he could use and since he had been robbed of even his clothes it would be unlikely.
        4. Why would the Samaritan use his own supplies? Because of his compassion.
     3. The text says; pouring on oil and wine. The word pouring here in the original language is actually a phrase which indicates the Samaritan generously poured it on the victim’s wounds.   He didn’t just dab a little bit.  He was pouring it on to make sure that he was applying enough.  
        1. What I see in that is the Samaritan was a man who was compassionate but not just that, he was generously compassionate.   He was lavish in his compassionate activity.
        2. Next it says he set him on his own animal. We don’t have enough information to really know if that would mean the Samaritan had to walk.   Was the animal loaded with goods or not? Being used for riding or not?   But we can recognize that there would likely be some inconvenience in doing this.
        3. Whatever the case he puts him on his animal and he takes him.  That's not minimum care that's maximal care.  He doesn't leave him on the side of the road to fend for himself. He doesn't leave him with a first aid kit.   He's got to follow through with it.
        4. A question at this point occurs to me, How far is the Samaritan going to go?  He has already acted as EMT now he is an ambiance service. How far is he going to follow through with his activity?   He's getting in deeper with every line of the text; in everything that he does he becomes more involved.
        5. On occasion we may start out with somebody that just needs a little bit of help and so you give a little bit but they’re still in trouble. So we'll do a little bit more and... Sometimes that turns us away.   Sometimes that extinguishes the compassion and compassion turns into annoyance.  Not the case here with the Samaritan.
     4. The text says; he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. He transports the victim to a place where he can be protected and cared for and he personally takes care of him!
        1. Do we see the contrast?   The lawyer wanted at the very beginning, before he even understood the application of the law, he wanted to hedge the law and limit it.
        2. The Samaritan in Jesus parable never gets to that point where he says Okay I've done enough.  He bandages his wounds, he brings him to the inn, and he cares for him there.  He negotiated the place to stay and he cared for him.
        3. Well for how long?   All night. Text says; On the next day, when he departed… He stayed with him through the night and cared for a stranger he knew nothing about. He was compassionate to the victim and stayed with him until the next day even though he was socially his worst enemy.
     5. The text continues when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, `Take care of him… His mercy compelled him not only to do everything that he could, but to engage somebody else to take care of the man.
        1. He was willing, not only to extend himself, but he was willing to go far enough to say I'm will ask somebody else to help me here. We sometimes balk at that point don’t we?
        2. We feel an obligation to do this ourselves but true compassion doesn’t stop there. It recognizes that other individuals can help this person as well or perhaps even better because of skill or position or resources.  If we really care about someone we'll assist, and we'll get those in a better position to help to assist as well.
        3. Here is another place where there is much speculation about how long the two denarii paid for. Some suggest that it could have been as much as several weeks but we are not told and so we really don’t know.
        4. We also don't know how long the Samaritan’s journey was or when he’s going to be back.  Again that's all speculation. But this is pretty amazing, pretty generous, for a total stranger. He doesn't qualify him, he simply… did.
     6. Verse 35 and said to him, `Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you. Wait a minute.  The Samaritan gave the innkeeper money upfront to take care of the victim for the 24 days, 12 days, or however long it was, two days…we don’t know.
        1. Then he says OK, keep a tab. If he runs up the tab, if you spend any more when I come back let me know.  I'll take care of that too.  The man has really exposed himself to serious extortion here.
        2. He's exposed himself to being taken advantage of on a large scale. Its one thing to be taken advantage of standing right there and watching people do it.
        3. But if you go away and you're not around to take care of what the money’s spent on and see how is done, you really open yourself up.  The picture here is rather impressive to me. It's shocking but it's impressive.
     7. Now verses 36 and 37 – “36. "So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?'' 37. And he said, "He who showed mercy on him.'' Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise.''” Jesus brings the question back on the lawyer. But wait, it is not exactly the same question is it?  It wasn't who is my neighbor but Who was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?
        1. The question is not who qualified to be a neighbor but who acted like a neighbor.  Which of these three individuals would you suppose did what was neighborly?   What would fulfill all the requirements of the law?
           1. How could anyone in the frame mind of the lawyer, remember he wanted to limit the application of law for himself, how could he comeback in any way and say that the Samaritan, this man who was despised culturally, had not kept all that God required in the law to love his neighbor as himself?
           2. He couldn't bring himself to make that conclusion.  He couldn't bring himself to say the Samaritan either, notice that. He is asked which one of these and he doesn't say that it’s the Samaritan. Maybe he can't bring himself to say the word. What he says here is the one who showed mercy.
        2. This is a picture of mercy in action in a very powerful way. Mercy is a powerful force. Compassion is a powerful force.
           1. It gives an individual the ability to transcend racial and social barriers.  It provides an opportunity to do what is in the heart of an individual, to overlook differences that become roadblocks and barriers to other people.
           2. I believe what Jesus teaches us here is that just the knowledge of what is required, even in law, does not provide that opportunity.  It doesn't provide the motivation for an individual to go beyond and transcend these barriers and to be generous.
           3. The only thing that does that is the feeling of compassion, of human compassion that exists in the heart of an individual for someone else.

 

CONCLUSION:

Tonight we looked at this parable with a single focus on the aspect of not attempting to justify, not attempting to apply limitations of the application of law or to qualify the recipients who would receive our mercy.   Rather that we are to be truly people of compassion. We extend that mercy and compassion in a generous and extensive way.

 

We need to be careful however to recognize it's not legitimate to use the story of the Good Samaritan to authorize unlimited benevolent activity for the church corporately, to activate the church in some way to feed all the poor of the community.

 

Jesus isn’t talking about what the church should do corporately.  He's not talking about what we should do institutionally.  He's talking about what you and I are to do in our own lives when we see someone who's in need.   He's talking about our personal responsibility to be merciful to another individual.   To have the type of heart that would motivate us to be compassionate and in no way attempt to justify or set aside what the implications of God's law is to us as individuals.

 

The Christian must be merciful.   This story gives us a pretty clear picture of what that involves.  It also makes me recognize that in terms of what was said earlier, that prompted this particular story, it leaves me rather short.  What must I do to inherit eternal life?   Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself.  How well have we done that?

 

Jesus is able to put parables in such stark contrast to where we are really, that it compels us to see, not only what God requires more clearly, but how far away we are from that.   The challenge that's before us is to truly be merciful people like God is merciful. The parable helps me to better understand what Jesus means when He says I desire mercy and not sacrifice.  Sometimes we feel satisfied with just giving the sacrifice.

 

In conclusion, I believe that it's this type of merciful activity that we see in the life of the Samaritan that we see in the heart of our own salvation. It illustrates to us in the person of the Samaritan, who God is.

 

Are there any limitations that God has placed on Himself and what He will do in order to save us?   Is there anything that He will hold back?   We did not look at this as an allegory of the Gospel story but when we look at what the Samaritan did, how the only thing that provoked his action, the only thing that made it happen, was the love and the compassion he had for another human being, we recognize that's precisely the Gospel story.

 

Why did Jesus die for me?   Were there any qualifications?   Was there anything that obligated Him?   Or was it just as we sing so often… because He loved me so?  That was it.  God is a compassionate and merciful God and that's the reason we are saved.   Jesus came without any limitations on what He would do but He went all the way to the death of the cross.   He gave everything that we might be saved.   That's the aspect of mercy.

 

Think about the lesson Jesus taught in John Chapter 13 when He went got down on his knees and He washed the disciples’ feet, an act of absolute servitude. It was the act of servitude of the cross that was coming that was to motivate them to be servants of one another. It was not just an explanation of the Gospel story.  It was the application of the Gospel story to their life.  This is as well.

 

James 2:13 – “For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” To those who have shown no mercy or judge others with partiality and have not learned to live by the law of love, there is only judgment without mercy. Those who triumph are those who learn to be merciful.  Mercy triumphs over judgment. It is a very comforting thing to know that mercy triumphs over judgment. Why? Because God is merciful, and God is a God of justice.

 

I also would suggest that there is application in this life.   As long as we're people that want to extend mercy and do good for the other person, as long as we're generous and we want to even go to the farthest degree we possibly can to help other people, there is a triumph in our lives.   There’s a triumph over the judgment and the condemnation that exists among classes of people and individuals in society today.

 

Mercy triumphs and it opens up doors for evangelism to teach people who might be far away from the Gospel. If they see mercy, if they see people that are willing to help, they may be more malleable to what God said.  They open their hearts. If God's people are not people of love they have no right to even claim to be children of God.

 

We're going to sing a song of invitation.

 

If you're not a Christian and you're here tonight we want to encourage you to do what you need to do and respond to the mercy of God.

 

He's willing to forgive you of your sins and the mercy of God will triumph over the condemnation of your own sin and you can be free. If you need to respond in any way we invite you to make it known while we stand and sing.

 

Invitation: 636

 

Reference Sermon: Dave Schmidt

Psalm 37 - Do Not Fret Because of Evil Doers

Do Not Fret Because Of Evil Doers

Psalm 37, Psalm 73

 

INTRO:

Good morning.   We're continuing our series of sermons from Psalms.   As I reviewed some of the Psalms I thought about the ones that are my favorites.  I invite you to take out your Bible and turn over to Psalm 37.

 

Psalm 37 is actually one of my favorites and the reason it is one of my favorites is like the reason that Isaiah 41:10 is a favorite verse from the Old Testament because the text speaks to me and my spiritual needs.

• Let’s start right off then by reading Psalm 37:1 – “Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.” We find this verse quoted in Proverbs 24:19. The beginning of the text is talking about those who are evil doers or in another translation, the wicked.   As we look at the world around us we see that the majority of the world is in darkness. They're not making any effort to try to follow the Word of God and as a result we see the majority of mankind living in sin.

1. We're living in the age of information where you can turn on the screen and see all the news, not only in our state, but our country, and the whole world. We have access to knowledge of actually how much wickedness there is.
   1. Notice how the verse begins, it says “do not fret”. The idea of that word “fret” is don't be anxious, don't be worrying, and don’t be afraid. As a verb it means to be constantly or visibly worried or anxious and the second definition is enlightening; “gradually wear away (something) by rubbing or gnawing.”
   2. The British use it as a noun to indicate “a state of anxiety or worry”.  
   3. As we look at the news on television, computers or smartphones, we see all the things that are happening around us and sometimes we find ourselves struggling with worry, being anxious, even afraid... fretting.
2. Let’s jump down now to verses 7 and 8, Psalm 37:7-8 – “7. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. 8. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret, it only causes harm.”
   1. Here the psalmist is talking about our seeing people that are prospering doing things “their way”.  It seems like they're doing well and yet they're living in wickedness. They're getting away with it.
   2. Do we sometimes watch the news and after we turn it off we find our self being angry?   Or after we turn it off we find our self being afraid?   I know we do.
   3. I actually quit listening to a number of programs for that very reason. One night at about 3:00 in the morning I experienced something I'd not experienced since the cold war days—a panic attack.
   4. I was not actually afraid for myself, after all I've been blessed to live a long life of freedom in our country.  My fear was for our children, and our grandchildren; wondering what kind of country will they have in the future?   Are they going to have the same freedoms we have?    Or is socialism going to take over and all of a sudden all of our freedoms are gone?    Are we going to lose the freedom of religion? It just started snowballing. Amazing how one worry piles onto another, fretting.
   5. I thought of Psalm 23 – “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” I read Isaiah 41:10 – “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'” .
3. Guess what?   It didn't work. Rather than pulling out of the fear it just built up and got worse.  That's what a panic attack can do, it can consume you.
   1. I finally had to ask myself the question, what's wrong with me? I got out of bed, made a cup of coffee and did a lot of soul searching and the conclusion I came to is my problem was not that I could not find things in God’s words to help me.
   2. My problem was, that at least at that moment, doubt.   Is God really with us?   When you see the world going crazy… isn't God the ruler of this world?   Well yes.   Isn't Jesus the King of Kings and the Lord of lords?   Isn't He the King over all the world? Isn’t this is His domain, His kingdom? Well yes.
   3. Don't you see what's happening God?  Don't you see what's happening to your kingdom Jesus? Don't you see what's happening in the world? Are you aware?
   4. You see the problem was not God, the problem was my trust.   That's why I was afraid. The text says fretting only causes harm.
4. In general I have stopped watching CBS News and MSNBC news.  I would get angry after I watched them and then I would have to calm down.   I'm tired of it. I watch now only sparingly, enough to be sure I have not buried my head in the sand.   But as soon as my face starts to flush, “click”.  
   1. Here is something interesting.   Fake news has actually helped me. I know a long time ago someone said “Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see”. The problem is today because the things we see and hear are so well presented we tend to believe more then we should. Coming to realize that a large portion of what is out there is false, either in fact or in presentation, (out of context, misquoted, and so on) has helped me damp down my anger.
   2. When you see the news do you find yourself becoming afraid because of what you see happening in the world?   It seems like there's so much wickedness and it seems like they're getting away with it.
      1. Is the republic going to fall?
      2. Is socialism going to take over?

• Are our children going to be persecuted?

1. Are we going starve?

1. All of a sudden it just starts going crazy and we find our selves struggling with anger and fear. That's why this is one of my favorite Psalms.  It speaks to me where I really am and my spiritual struggles.

• By the way if you don't know this, a good cross reference to Psalm 37 is Psalm 73.  Look at Psalm 73:3-5 and here scripture is speaking about not being envious; “3. For I was envious of the boastful, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4. For there are no pangs in their death, But their strength is firm. 5. They are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like other men.”  
  1. That attitude plays well to us. I remember decades ago when there was a show that we sometimes would watch “lifestyles of the rich and famous”.  
     1. We like to watch shows about fancy houses and the big cars and all the money and all the wealth. We look at that world and start thinking; they’ve got it made.  Look how good their life is. Look how wonderful their life is.
     2. We wish we had a life like that. We find our self starting to be envious of them.   Envy because their life is so good and ours so tough.
     3. The scripture says don't envy.   Don't fret.   Don't envy.   Don't be afraid because of what we see going on out there and don't start wishing we had that lifestyle.
  2. The same text continues in Psalm 73:17-19 to say; “17. Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their end. 18. Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. 19. Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors.”
     1. I’m sure we all realize that just because somebody is wealthy doesn't mean their life is good.   On the other hand just because somebody is wealthy doesn't mean that life is necessarily bad.
     2. The mistake we sometimes make is we equivocate wealth with a good life.   We assume if a person has a lot of wealth their life is good and it doesn't really matter if what they're doing this wicked and sinful.   They will get away with it because of their wealth.   We see this in films all the time and on occasion in real life.   They can buy justice. Or their wealth can be an excuse. Think of the affluence teen who is in the news again.
     3. From that logic people reason all you have to do is try to get money.  It's all about how much money can you get in your life and so therefore this is what you want.
  3. I see on the covers of the magazines when I walk out of Wal-Mart or the grocery store that they never say these people with wealth and fame have a life that is wonderful.
     1. It is always the next divorce or the next turmoil or how their life is miserable.   Those magazines on the covers talk about addictions, infidelity, illness and betrayal.
     2. The scripture here is talking about how there are those that are wealthy and they are in slippery places where they are continually falling.   Their life is falling apart and they're miserable.
     3. We may think their life is great just because they've got wealth but in reality not many would want to change places with them.  We do not want to be in their shoes because we do not want the destruction, grief and the sorrow that is in their life.
• Going back now to Psalm 37:2 it says about those who are evildoers; “For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb.”  Then in verse 10 “For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look diligently for his place, But it shall be no more.”
  1. For those that are wicked there will come a time when they're not going to be here anymore.   All the evil that they've done that we fear is going to stand forever blows away like the wind and they are soon forgotten.
     1. If we find our self being wicked and prospering in sin, we need to realize because of that choice there will be consequences in this life.  God's going to set us in slippery places.
     2. The text says here he went into the house the Lord and he understood their end…their end in this life and their end in judgment.
  2. Going back to Psalm 37:16 – “A little that a righteous man has Is better than the riches of many wicked.” You won’t find a show about lifestyles of the middle class.   It would not make a good show as far as the world is concerned. Who would watch something about a life where there is a good marriage, peace and joy? About people who are right with God?   People that are content with who they are and what they have right now?   Don't look at the wicked and the prosperity of the wicked and start thinking my life stinks because I don't have all that stuff.
     1. To the contrary, your life is good if you've got God in your life.
     2. If you've got God in your life you are a winner in this life and on judgment day you are a big winner.
  3. Notice in the text as we go further in this; Psalm 37:12-13 – “12. The wicked plots against the just, And gnashes at him with his teeth. 13. The Lord laughs at him, For He sees that his day is coming.”  The point to see is this.   The wicked have all kinds of problems in their life because of the choice to live wickedly.   Even though they may have a lot of money God has set them in slippery places that continually cause them to stumble and have all kinds of grief and problems.
     1. He talks about God sees their day coming.   If we think anyone is getting away with sin we need to understand they're not getting away with anything when it comes to God.
     2. They may be able to buy off judges in this world and buy off, get out of and avoid justice in this world, but they're not going to avoid the judgment of God and True justice from God. Their day is coming.   They're going to have difficulties in this life and they're going to lose big time in judgment.
     3. Again the other side of the coin if God is in our life, because of that fact and that fact alone, our life is blessed now and we're really blessed on Judgment Day.
  4. Let's go back to Psalm 37.   Psalm 37:3 – “Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.” In the beginning of the Psalm he laid out the problem.   The problem is we see wickedness and wicked individuals who are financially prosperous and it seems like they're getting away with it. We see this wickedness and evil out there in the world.   We find ourselves struggling with fear. We find ourselves being angry sometimes because of circumstances and situations that we see in the world around us.
     1. As I told you earlier when I found myself struggling with a panic attack at the very heart of it was this problem… I didn't trust the Lord.   Do you honestly believe that this is God's world? Well yes.   Do you honestly believe that Jesus is Lord of Lord and King of kings now?   Yes. Is Jesus in control?   Is God in control? Yes.
     2. There's something I've found that has helped me immensely.   First of all I love our country.  As many here know I love the Fourth of July celebrating our freedom. But when I see the rise of some of the ideas that being openly talked about in American politics I have to fight being afraid again because I know the history of the last century.
     3. When I find myself again struggling with the fear of what's coming then I have to step back and realize—I am a citizen of another nation, another kingdom. I am a citizen of the kingdom of Christ.
        1. That comes first and Jesus really is king and God really is in control of this world.   What it really comes down to is this.
        2. Do we trust God?   Or do we think God doesn't know what's going on, or that God is not aware of what these people are doing, or that God doesn't realize they're getting away with what they're doing? Is God being fooled? Of course not!
        3. God is not being fooled.   God knows exactly what's going on in everybody's life and God is in control.
        4. In the final analysis; the way to overcome the fretting and the fear is by trusting in the Lord…absolute total confidence in God.
     4. Psalm 37:5 – “Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.” There are two things there. Trusting in the Lord again but then committing our way to the Lord.   What we need to be doing when it comes to our walk in life is to commit it all to the Lord.
        1. That takes us back to the giving of ourselves in Romans 12:1 as living sacrifices to God. My life is yours Lord, everything connected to me is yours.
           1. God I commit myself totally over to you.  I trust you, I trust that you're telling me the truth about how to live my life, to get the most out of it now and how to live my life to make it to heaven.  
           2. I believe you when you say you're in control, and when you say you're going to have a time of judgment.
        2. It always comes down to this, do we trust God?   Do you trust His word enough to obey it to realize this is the truth?  
           1. At the very heart, the very core of our relationship with God, is trust.
           2. That is what God desires of all of us.  Just trust in Him enough to do what he says…to have confidence in Him, and remember when it seems like the world's going crazy; God is in control.
        3. This can be a very difficult thing for us at times. Proverbs 3:5-6 – “5. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6. in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
           1. What we see in this verse is what we saw in Psalm 37 Commit your way to the Lord.   In all your ways acknowledge him it says in Psalms.   God tells us how we are to conduct our life, our walk, our way. He tells us about our relationships with family, how to handle our job, our brother, our neighbors, our own life and we are to acknowledge Him in all of our ways.
           2. We do not lean upon our own understanding of our fears, our fretting, our worrying, and our anger.   We are not going to use that to guide us but we are going to trust in the Lord.   What we see in the scriptures, even in the Old Testament, the primary message is that what God desires of all of us is trust. That is where the Israelites failed and where even Christians fail today. Trusting God to where we'll acknowledge His word, His ways… in everything.
        4. Going back to Psalm 37:23-25 – “23. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. 24. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand. 25. I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.”  That verse should be very encouraging to us.  God knows if you trust him, God knows if you've committed your ways to Him. God knows if you're acknowledging Him in all your ways and following His word in your life.  He's talking about this good person here.  If that is our life and we are trusting in the Lord, following His word by faith, we are that good person.
           1. The Psalm says the good persons steps are ordered by the Lord.  The idea is the hand of God is in your life, protecting you.  He's with you.
           2. The Psalm talks about “though he fall”, wait – fall?   Stop right here.  Have any of us by any chance had a fall spiritually at different times in our life?   Yeah.   That's me.  Then the Psalm says “he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand”. Whew!   I don’t know about you but that gives me comfort because it says the Lord upholds him with His hand.
           3. Because we trust the Lord we're acknowledging His ways in everything, and are trying to follow His word by faith.   In those moments when we do fall the Lord knows that we've committed our way to him. He provides for forgiveness and gives us the opportunity to get up and get back into the race.  
        5. With this confidence he says; “ I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.” I told you earlier I had a panic attack and it was not about me.   My panic attack was about my children and my grandchildren.
           1. I wonder what's coming for them.  What's the future going to be like for them.  What's this country going to be like, and I started being afraid.
           2. This verse gives me comfort, that not only will God take care of me he'll take care of my children and my grandchildren.  Again it goes back to trust and belief.   Do we believe the verse?   Do we trust that God will take care of us?   That he's ordering our steps?
        6. I learned, as I am sure many of you have, that delighting in the joy and peace of our Lord, having peace in the mind is directly connected to our trust in God.   The reason I could not bring my panic attack under control was because my trust faltered.   My fear was consuming me and it was sinking my trust.

• Let's get back to Psalm 37:4 – “Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” When we're going to God in prayer and we cast before God all our fears, all our anxieties, all our worries, all the things we're fretting about, He hears our prayer and He will answer our prayers.    We realize the hand of God is in our life and we can take our problems, threats, fears, worries, all to God and then cast all our care upon Him because He cares for us. In that realization is where the delight in the Lord comes from.
  1. Let me give you a New Testament verse on this; Philippians 4:4 – “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”  Notice the comparison. Delight yourself also in Lord from Psalms, rejoice in the Lord always from Philippians, “… the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…” from Galatians.
     1. Joy and Peace.  The joy and the peace of Christianity is a product of trust.   I want to say that again because that's the main point we need to internalize, the joy of Christianity and the peace of Christianity is a direct product of our trust in God and our commitment to the Lord.
     2. Just trusting God is in control I'm going to do the best I can, by faith, with what I have and where I am.   If I fall again I'll ask God's forgiveness and get up and get back into the race and keep going forward, by faith.
  2. Psalm 119:174 – “I long for Your salvation, O Lord, And Your law is my delight.”  Psalm 1:2 – “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.” How is it that God speaks to us?   It is not by a wee voice in the middle of the night. God speaks to us today through His word.   If you want to draw nearer to God and if you want to strengthen your trust in God, your relationship with God, you need to let God speak to you through His word.   Find the scriptures that fit where you are in your spiritual journey and in your struggles and then read those particular verses and meditate on them.
  3. I find that I do not fully grasp things sometimes when I first look at them and I need to think about them a bit.   Sometimes I need to see other things in God’s word on the subject to try and round out the picture.   I need to come back to it again.   Something happens over time.
     1. I’ve found that over time you find yourself falling in love with the word of God to where you delight in the scriptures and you delight and rejoice in meditating on the scriptures.
     2. You come to understand their strength and how they shape your life. How they help and guide you in your life.   When you find yourself delighting in the scriptures in reality you are delighting in the one who gave the scripture.
     3. I’ll say that again.   If you're delighting in, rejoicing in, the scriptures, you're actually delighting in the one who gave you the scriptures. You're delighting in God. You're rejoicing in the Lord.   Find the scriptures that fit you. Meditate on them, read them over and over again.  

• Going back to Psalm 37:39-40 – “39. But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble. 40. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him.”
  1. Do we see the emphasis in this Psalm?   It keeps coming back to this; because they trust in Him.   It's because they trust in Him that God is going to give them salvation.  It says the salvation of the righteous is how? It's from the Lord.
     1. We want to go to heaven.   We want to be saved.   Who's going to take care that actually in the end for us?   God.
     2. The only reason we are going to make it to heaven is because of the Mercy and the grace of God.  You've got to let that sink in.
     3. If you think you're going to get heaven because you deserve it… you're going to be afraid all the time.  
     4. The truth of the matter is the only way we're going to make it is to be forgiven and it is God that's going to forgive us.   And we've got to come to God His way.
  2. We've got to trust in the Lord and acknowledge His way.   His way is the gospel and His way is Jesus Christ.   If we don't come to the gospel and we don’t come to Jesus Christ, then we don't come.
     1. When you realize that we have salvation and that it is just from the Lord, that God has mercy on you and that God is showing grace to you, then you will find delight in the Lord.   You will be thanking God and wanting to be with God and loving the Lord.   Then your relationship with Him will grow stronger and stronger.
     2. Do you ever have times of trouble? We all do fairly often.   Sometimes for some of us it may seem nonstop.  He is our strength in time of trouble. He'll help us. He'll deliver us. Do you believe it?   Do you believe the Lord is with you in your time of trouble or are you all alone?   If you think you're alone you're going to be what? Afraid.
     3. If you look at your sins and you think I'm going to go to hell because I'm a sinner and I've messed up yet again, you've got reason to be afraid.   Unless you deal with the guilt of sin in God's way and take it to him and pray for forgiveness.
  3. You draw strength from this relationship with God by trusting in Him and by knowing (there is a key, trust leads to knowing) knowing that God will help you and God will deliver you.
     1. From that knowledge, comes joy.   That's where the delight in the Lord comes from.   It comes to those who trust in him.   Romans 12:11-12 – “11. not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12. rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;”.
     2. One more verse on this.   Hebrews 3:6 – “but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.”  From Romans 12:12 the phrase rejoicing in hope.  Then from Hebrews 3:6 the rejoicing of the hope.   Hope is an aspect of faith where we honestly believe the promises of God, that He's telling us the truth about the forgiveness of our sins.   The truth about the resurrection that's coming, the truth about eternal life, and the truth about heaven.
  4. For our own self-examination some questions to ask are; is what the scriptures are telling us about the forgiveness of sins true?   Is what the scriptures are telling us about the resurrection true?   Is eternal life in heaven with God for eternity a myth or is it true?
     1. Our joy is directly connected to the answers we give.
     2. If we answer I'm not sure, then we may never have the joy of Christianity.
     3. If we answer no we'll definitely never have the joy of Christianity.
     4. Our joy is directly connected to the trust that the promises of God or true. See the connection in these two verses rejoicing in hope and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. He wants you to hold onto that confidence.
     5. It is the trust in the Lord that is the way to the joy when we believe He's telling us the truth about what's coming.
  5. Psalm 37:7 – “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.” We've talked about trusting in the Lord, committing it all to the Lord, delighting in the Lord and now the last part of this psalm is rest in the Lord.
     1. This next phrase says to wait patiently for Him.   Whenever we talk about God's judgment and God's punishment do we sometimes in our mind find ourselves thinking God, punish these people?  
        1. We see wickedness and think Lord, please deal with this now.
        2. Well the text here says wait patiently for him.   This is His world.   God knows what He's doing.  Do we?   This is Christ’s kingdom; do any of us think the King needs our advice?   I think He knows what He's doing.
        3. The best thing that we can do when it comes to the world and the prosperity of the wicked, when we see that they seem to be getting away with it and we're wondering what's going to happen in the future… is just trust God.   Pray for those that are going wrong that they may wake up in time and then just trust God.
     2. Don't be afraid because of all the craziness that's going on around us.   The way we avoid the fear and overcome it is by trusting in God.
  6. Going back to Psalm 37:37 – “Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; For the future of that man is peace.” Peace is in opposition to fear isn't it?   Peace is calmness.
     1. Isaiah 26:3 – “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Again we see it is all because we trust in Him.  
        1. There is a peace the Lord described as perfect peace. He tells us the way that we get to this level of perfect peace is by keeping our mind set on him.
        2. In this crazy old world when there are all kind of storms around us, we need to do the best we can to keep our mind set on the Lord and trust in Him.
        3. We can not allow the craziness to cause us to start fretting and being afraid and worrying.   It only causes harm. It doesn't help us in any way to worry and fret.  
     2. Just a bit more and the sermon is yours Philippians 4:6-7 – “6. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7. and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”  Do we see that? Psalm 37 – “Do not fret”. Philippians 6 – “Be anxious for nothing”
        1. Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication (there it is taking it to God) with Thanksgiving (what do you do when you've got problems, fears, worries, take it to God in prayer and he says) let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding Doesn't that sound like perfect peace from Isaiah 26:3? Yeah. This is the same kind of peace. The peace which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

 

CONCLUSION:   Here we are told that to get this peace that passes all understanding we are to pray in trust and make our request known to God. James says in James 1:6-7 – “6. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;” James talked about how the man who doubts can not expect to receive anything from the Lord.   Doubting is like a leak in the boat, it can cause us to sink.

We see from scripture that God wants us to trust Him and commit our way to Him in our trust.   By your trust and by your faith - you obey His Word. If you do that He'll take care of you spiritually.   He'll even take care of you physically.  He'll bless your life now and on judgment day you'll be with him forever.

As we grow in our trust of God, in our confidence in God, we will leave doubt behind and we will see the joy and the peace and the love that is the life of a Christian.

 

The Christian life is directly connected to our trust in our God. Keep examining yourself, increase your understanding and you will realize; Yes, He's telling me the truth. Yes, I'm going to follow His truth by faith all the way to the close of my life. The resurrection is real. Eternal life is real.  Eternity in heaven is real.   We're going there. That'll make you smile won’t it?   That'll give you peace. That'll give you joy - even in a crazy world.

 

If there's anybody here this morning who’s not a member of the one body, if you honestly believe that Jesus Christ the son of the Living God, if you are willing to openly confess your faith and then motivated by your trust and your faith in God commit your way to him. Committing your way to the Lord, trusting him completely and then you follow His word by faith that is repentance.

 

If you're willing to make that great commitment of repentance we will be glad to assist you and baptize you into the body of Christ for the remission of your sins.

 

If your child of God and you realize there is sin between you and God as we learned earlier God knows that, trust him.  God knows those that love him.

 

Those who are righteous, when you stumble, when you fall, because you are following Him you take it to God in prayer.   You ask for forgiveness yet again and then you get up to follow him again.

 

If you realize there is sin between you and God deal with it.   We'll pray for you, we'll pray with you and we'll do the best we can to try to encourage you.  If you're a subject of the Gospel call in any way let us know while we stand and sing the song selected.

644—Trust and Obey

The Ultimate New Year's Resolution

The Ultimate New Year’s Resolution  

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

 

INTRO:

Good evening.

This morning was dark, drab and wet.   It reminded me of this story a preacher from Scotland told.   I wish I could use tell it with a brogue but I’ll have to let you imagine.

 

It was a cold, rainy Sunday evening in the North of Scotland. The preacher was standing at the front of the building and as he looked around the building there was only him and a scruffy looking guy right at the back of the church. When six o’ clock struck, the preacher walked over to the man and said: “Look, it’s cold; it’s wet; it’s only you and me. Do you think we should just cancel the service”?

 

The guy looks up at the preacher and says: “Son, I’ve farmed in this area for thirty years. Hail, rain or shine, I go out to feed my sheep. I don’t worry if one turns up or a hundred turn up. I do my job and feed the sheep”. This upsets the preacher. He storms down to the front, marches into the pulpit and preaches solid for an hour and a half.

 

When he finishes, he walks smugly up to the man at the back and says: “Well, what did you think of that then?” The shepherd looks up at the preacher and says, "Son, I’ve farmed in this area for thirty years. Hail, rain or shine, I go out to feed my sheep. I don’t worry if one turns up or a hundred turn up. I do my job and feed the sheep. But, son, if only one turns up, I don’t dump the whole load on it!”

 

A couple of days ago, most people we know were thinking about the birth of Jesus Christ, remembering the greatest Gift ever and remembering the greatest Giver ever.   Later this week we begin a New Year, which means that many people will make New Year’s Resolutions.   It also means that people will be reminiscing. We like to look back on “the year in review” and recall what happened.   The newspapers, tv, and internet are full of things like “What was Christmas like the year you were born?”  

 

Sometimes it is fun to look back, sometimes entertaining and sometimes saddening.   When we review what has happened before, we can uncover a range of emotions and hopefully learn some things as well. As we see things that are perhaps less positive we often take the opportunity to resolve to avoid issues that have happened, to change behavior that has produced less then desirable results, in short we resolve to do things differently.  

 

Today I would like us to look back at something that I hope will help us appreciate what will be happening between now and the middle of the week as we consider our resolve.  Certainly we need to always appreciate and be thankful for all things that God has given us.   God gives us material and spiritual blessings that we each enjoy to help us in this life and to prepare for the one to come.   He gave the gift of His Blessed Son who came into this world by human birth, and gave Himself as a sacrifice that we may have redemption from our sin.  

 

There are things in the Old Testament that are a type of what is seen in the New Testament and what God spoke to Israel has lessons for us.   What we will look at this evening is what the Lord told Israel in Deuteronomy 8, and if you have never read this before, you might think that it is talking about America!

 

1. Remember God’s Commandments – In Deuteronomy 1:1 we learn that these are the words Moses spoke to all Israel on the side of the Jordan in the wilderness. Deuteronomy 8:1 – “Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers.”  Israel was told they could not neglect any command. They could not pick and choose what they want to do and what they don’t want to do.
   1. God had a reason for these commands which is stated in this verse.    
      1. If they followed every commandment, as they stood at the border of Canaan, God promised that they would live and multiply.
      2. They could go into the Land of Canaan and possess it, just as the Lord had sworn to their fathers.
      3. God keeps His promises, but did they keep His commandments?
   2. Jesus gives us our commandments of the New Testament. Will we keep His commandments?
2. Remember God’s Leadership – Deuteronomy 8:2–4 – “2. "And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3. "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. 4. "Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.” Israel, remember how God brought you through everything.
   1. He sustained you during those years wandering in the wilderness. But He also humbled them and tested them, to know what was in their hearts, whether they would obey Him or not.
      1. He wanted them to see how they responded to the difficulties of life and thus knew whether they would follow Him in all circumstances.
      2. He humbled them by allowing them to hunger, giving them special food, and not allowing their clothes to wear out or their foot to swell.
      3. God showed He would take care of their physical needs. All He wants is for them to do what He asks.
      4. They would then learn that man does not live by bread alone, but by everything that God says. He knows that they need more than bread.   That’s why He gave them His word.
      5. Israel, did you learn that God has been taking care of you? You didn’t have to bake bread or make new clothes because God understood you were in a difficult situation.
   2. Jesus tells us in not to worry about material needs. Do we believe Him?

• Remember God’s Chastening – Deuteronomy 8:5 – “So you should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you”
  1. God tells Israel I know you’ve had some rough times here in the wilderness.  It’s not because I want to hurt you. It’s because I love you.
     1. “Look at how you treat your own children”.   They chastened their own sons, and the Lord did the same with them, not to destroy them or hurt them, but as part of the growth process.
     2. Israel, did you learn to be corrected, did you grow?
  2. Paul tells us in Hebrews 12 the Lord disciplines whom He loves and receives and in Second Timothy that “scripture is profitable for correction”.   Do we know how to be corrected?   Do we understand that reading scripture can sometimes be uncomfortable and if it is, are we willing to see our error in our Father’s eyes and make a change?

6. Remember God’s Blessings – Deuteronomy 8:6–10 – “6. "Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. 7. "For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; 8. "a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; 9. "a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10. "When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.”
   1. I don’t know if the land of Israel today is in the same condition that it was 3500 years ago.   It sounds to me as if they would have whatever they needed.
   2. Knowing how the Lord had sustained them, and what He had taught them, they were then to keep His commandments, walking in His ways and fearing Him.
   3. Israel was about to go from a wilderness to a land that had an abundance of natural resources, so much so that they would not have to be in want again, because they would have everything they needed.
      1. God would fill them in that new land. Then verse 10 said that they needed to bless the Lord for what He had given them.
      2. God wants them to remember Him and bless Him.
      3. Israel, did you learn to thank the Lord for everything continually or did you think it was by your own hand you were blessed?  
   4. Paul tells us in First Thessalonians 5 – “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Do we do that?
7. Remember God – Deuteronomy 8:11–17 – “11. "Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12. "lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13. "and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14. "when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15. "who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the rock of flint; 16. "who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end   17. "then you say in your heart, `My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.'”
   1. It’s like Moses could see what’s coming.   You needed God when you were struggling, don’t you need Him just as much when things are good?
      1. This section begins with the stern warning not to forget God, and Moses even identified the way in which they could forget God, by not keeping His commandments, judgments, and statutes.
      2. Moses is not saying just remember Him in your mind, but remember Him with your actions. In other words, do what He says. Here the Scripture provides insight into the nature of man, that once we are doing well, we lift up our hearts and forget what God has done for us.
      3. Israel, did you remember God in times of plenty? Or did you turn to idols of stone and wood and give them credit for the plentiful harvest?
   2. Do we remember God in all our blessings?
8. Remember God’s Power – Deuteronomy 8:18 – “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
   1. Remember that the Lord God is the One who gives the power to gain wealth.
      1. It does not come from the government.  It does not come from businesses.  It does not come from universities. It does not come from natural resources. God gives the skill necessary to do well.
      2. He saw that Israel was thinking that maybe I just did it all myself.
   2. Is that how we think?

• Remember God’s Warnings – Deuteronomy 8:19-20 – “19. "Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. 20. "As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God.”
  1. I wonder how much it hurt Moses to say that. His whole life had been about Israel.   He has lived for no other reason.   He has been the intercessor between God and Israel for the past 40 years.
  2. Now he has to say if you forget God after all He’s done for you, you shall surely perish.   The chapter ends with these warnings and they should remember them.
  3. Here then is another insight into human behavior.   If we forget God, we will turn to other things. We will attribute God-like power either to ourselves or to someone else or to something else.
     1. Moses tells Israel; you are about ready to go into that land and you know that the nations there are wicked nations. God is going to use you to remove them.
     2. If you follow the course that they have followed, God will do the same thing to you. He will bring in foreign nations to be your downfall.
  4. Guess what? It happened. That’s what Old Testament history was about and it’s what world history is about. God sent prophets to remind Israel to turn back to Him until finally God said that’s enough.   If Israel misplaced their faith, the Lord laid out clearly what He would do, they would perish just like the nations before them.
  5. Centuries later the great man Daniel, confessed to God in prayer, Daniel 9:13 – “As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth.”
     1. God had been truthful.
     2. It happened just as God said it would.
     3. God kept His promises both for the blessings as well as the curses.
     4. Here is Daniel praying to God and you can almost hear him weeping as you read his words.
     5. He understands that God has been true to His word and they have not.

 

 

 

CONCLUSION:

 

What shall we do as an American Christian?

We read - Remember God’s Commandments – Deuteronomy 8:1

Millions of people have come to America.  God has blessed countless numbers of people, because they tried to obey Him.  Therefore, He gave us a good land.

 

We read - Remember God’s Leadership – Deuteronomy 8:2–4

America has also suffered much in her history, and she will in the future because that is part of a nation’s life. God allows those things to happen so we may see what we would do.  Have learned that man does not live by bread alone, but by everything that God says?

 

We read - Remember God’s Chastening – Deuteronomy 8:5

God loves the United States of America even as He loves all the nations and peoples of the earth.   Therefore, He let us experience severity that we might learn to lean upon Him.

 

We read - Remember God’s Blessings – Deuteronomy 8:6–10

I cannot read these verses without thinking of us. We have a land with an abundance of natural resources, so much so that we do not have to be in want again. How many of us have ever really been in want? Why is that?   It’s because those who have gone on before us have honored God. They have loved God. God has blessed us for that.   Then as verse 10 said let us bless the Lord for what He had given us. We need to continue to bless Him and be thankful.

 

We read - Remember God – Deuteronomy 8:11–17

We cannot forget God, for even as He has given us blessings, so also He can take them away. Yet it seems the further we have gone in our history, the more we have prospered; the more we have kicked God out of national and individual life. We don’t need you. He were good in the beginning. We needed that.   He was okay while we struggled, but now that we have all we need, we see no need for Him.

 

Many now seem to think we have a big government that will take care of us and insurance companies and everything else so we don’t need you God. At some point He is going to respond to that.   We believe that we can do without Him, that our national prosperity had nothing to do with Him, we did it ourselves.

 

We read - Remember God’s Power – Deuteronomy 8:18

Remember that the Lord God is the One who gives power to get wealth.

It does not come from our government.

It does not come from our businesses.

It does not come from our universities.

It does not come from our natural resources.

It does not come from the fact that we are Americans.

As our national motto says, “In God We Trust.”

 

We read - Remember God’s Warnings – Deuteronomy 8:19, 20

As I said, these verses provided an insight into human behavior.  If we forget God, we will turn to other things.  The faith that the average American used to put in God, now goes into government, insurance, business, the economy, etc.  

Verses 19 and 20 showed to us that if Israel forgot God, He would cause them to perish from the land.

 

If God did that to Israel, if God did that to the Canaanites, if God did that to the Egyptians, if God did that to the Babylonians, if God did that to the Persians, if God did that to the Greeks, if God did that to the Romans, and countless nations after them--do you think He will ignore us?

 

If He ignores us He would have to apologize to them.   I don’t think He’s going to apologize.   He’s still the same God.

 

We should also understand where we as individuals stand in our own part, if the nation serves God, but I fail to serve Him, I shall perish.   If the nation fails to serve God, but I serve Him, I shall live forever.   Remember God now, and He will remember you later.  Forget God now, and He will forget you later. “Depart from me I do now know you”

 

At the Judgment He shall cast away from Him, those who forgot Him, but He shall invite to be with Him, those who remembered Him. Remembering God brings blessings now and later.

 

Even as parents want their children to remember them, so the Lord wants us to remember Him. For this reason, He set up the Lord’s Supper during which we remember the sacrifice of His body and His blood.  He doesn’t want us to forget that, so that’s why we observe it every single week. Failing to take part in this memorial will result in the Lord forgetting us.

 

Why do we take the Lord’s Supper every week? The Bible tells us to remember God,

Ecclesiastes 12:1 – “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, "I have no pleasure in them'':”

Psalm 20:7-8 – “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stand upright.”

Isaiah 44:21 – “"Remember these, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me!”

 

God is saying if anyone is going to forget it’s not going to be Him.

 

Paul says in Second Timothy 2:8 – “Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel,”

 

What do you think about all that the Lord has done for you?  What has He done for you as a Christian?   He’s forgiven you of your sins.   What does that mean? It means Hell is no longer your eternal destiny.

 

What has He done for you as an American?   To me being a Christian means you are the most blessed person on earth.   To be an American Christian is a double blessing.

 

Of all the people on this earth right now, the people who should remember God more than anyone are Christians and American Christians in particular.

Whatever your struggles in life have been, you have somehow made it to this day.

How have you made it through the incredible struggles you’ve had?   Someone has been working behind the scenes.   Someone has been working in your life to bring you where you are today that you might remember Him today.   God has poured out His blessings on each of us and if you are not living a Christian life then who is the one holding back.

 

Remember God. Remember Him now.   He remembers you in all things. Remember how He sent His Son that we might be redeemed?

 

How about if you start remembering Him now?  You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

 

He has poured out many blessings upon you, but if you are not living a faithful Christian life, He has withheld several.   Did you get around to remembering Jesus a few days ago?   Good, but make a resolution that starting now, starting the New Year, you will remember Him everyday for the rest of your life.

 

Let us help you make that resolution!

 

The sermon is yours.   The invitation is available, if you are subject to the gospel call in any way, come forward and make it known while we stand and sing the invitation song.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Psalm 23

Psalm 23   

INTRO:

Good morning.   This morning we will continue our look at the Psalms. Our text is Psalm 23. I don’t think I could do sermons from the Psalms without including the most well-known Psalm in the world and that is Psalm 23.   It is a very short psalm, we will be breaking it down and as we study it I believe we will see how the Psalm explains Christianity to us extremely well.

 

Let’s read the psalm, Psalm 23 – “1. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. 4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.”

 

1. Verse 1 is describing a relationship.   It is a relationship that we have between our self and our Lord Jesus Christ.
   6. Peter tells us in First Peter 2:25 – “For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” And if that sounds familiar that is because the first part of this verse in First Peter is taken from Isaiah 53:6. In Isaiah it talks about how “we all like sheep have gone astray” “we've each turned our own way and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” In this text Peter is helping us understand that unfortunately we've all sinned. We've all left God.   We've all gone our own way and done what we want to do contrary to the will of God.
   7. Those who are Christians have returned to the shepherd. Those who are Christians are returning to a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and we are submitting like sheep, recognizing that Jesus is the shepherd and we are the sheep of His flock.
   8. I’m turning now to John 10 and there will be a couple verses that I want us to consider in this chapter.   The first is John 10:11 where Jesus says; “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” Then in John 10:14 He says; “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.”
      1. The shepherd was the individual who watched out for the flock.
      2. He would see to it that the flock was well fed and watered.
      3. He would see to it that the flock was protected.
      4. He would see to it that they were led to good pastures, and that they were cared for.   The shepherd over a period of time got to know the sheep individually.
      5. The sheep recognized who the shepherd was and what the Shepherd did for them. There was a connection that existed between the two, where the shepherd knew every one of his sheep and the sheep recognized the shepherd as being the one that cared for them and provided for them.
      6. That describes a relationship doesn’t it?
   9. At the beginning of Psalm 23 the important questions that occur to me are these:
      1. Is the Lord Jesus Christ my shepherd? Do I recognize Him as being the good shepherd, who loved the sheep so much that He laid down His life for the sheep?
      2. I would suggest to you that if the Lord is not your shepherd the rest that follows after this in the psalm is not going to apply to you.  
         1. For everything else to apply to us in Psalm 23, the first condition which needs to be met, is that we actually have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  
         2. A relationship where we recognize Jesus as the Good Shepherd, the one that we are to be following by faith all the days of our life, totally trusting Him, totally trusting His guidance.
      3. The last part of this verse talks about how He knows those that are His.   I take great comfort in that. If you are a child of God, if you are a sheep in the flock of God, God knows about you. He knows you by name. He knows everything about you even the hairs on your head. He knows everything about you and He loves you.
      4. What I see in the verses which follow is scripture describing how we have this relationship with God through Jesus Christ, how that the Good Shepherd is our shepherd, and we will find benefits and blessings that come from this relationship.

• Going back to Psalm 23:1 the last part of the verse says; “I shall not want”. This is the leading thought, the essential idea; and it is carried throughout the psalm. In the next verse Psalm 23:2 the writer says; “He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.”
  1. His sheep are not going to need to wander around looking for food because they will be led to green pastures where they are blessed with good grass close at hand. Sheep will never lie down when they are hungry. Here they are well fed.
     1. Green pastures to me bring the picture of lush, tender grass.   It is in the green stage, not dried out.   Tender, healthy grass good for grazing. Here are the green pastures where the sheep have eaten their fill and then when no longer hungry they lie down.
     2. It says the water is still water.   The literal Hebrew here reads "waters of rest." This entire verse speaks of the tranquility that belongs to one in fellowship with God. As far as the metaphor goes, "the still waters" would refer to any undisturbed watering place for the sheep; but the human application to a life of tranquility appears to be very much in mind.
     3. Everything you're going to need is going to be provided for you by the shepherd.   There is an extremely important lesson that we need to learn in our life and our relationship with God through Jesus Christ… That is God will provide.
  2. That is the primary lesson of the Bible going all the way back to Genesis 22 when Isaac and Abraham were going up on Mount Moriah.   You remember the question Isaac asked Abraham?   Father here's the fire and here's the wood where's the sacrifice?  That's when Isaac was told by Abraham - the Lord will provide.
     1. When they get up on Mount Moriah, Abraham builds the altar and then he takes Isaac and is about to sacrifice him but the Angel of the Lord stopped him. Abraham looked and behind him there is a ram with its horns caught in a thicket.
     2. Where did the Ram come from?   Who provided the ram? God did. What is the name that place?  The Lord will provide.
     3. This is one of the overriding messages of the Bible.   If we will just trust God, if we will just trust the good shepherd Jesus Christ, and follow him, He will provide everything we need—everything. We will have no wants physically or spiritually.
  3. Let me draw your attention back to Isaiah and in Isaiah 40:11 – “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.” This is a prophecy of the Messiah.
     1. He knows His sheep and He recognizes exactly where we are in our journey. The shepherd is going to feed the flock. What if you can't even walk? He’ll take you up in his arms.  He’ll carry you.
     2. What if it’s difficult for you to go forward? He realizes exactly where you are. He understands your emotional and physical conditions and He will see to it that you're taken care of even if you can't go further, even if you've got nothing left to give, even when you have given all.   He’ll carry you.
  4. It is put this way in the Sermon on the Mount.   If you turn to Matthew 6:31-33 – “31. "Therefore do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' 32. "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33. "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
     1. As I study sometimes questions come up that I have not expected.   In preparing these studies of the Psalms, Isaiah and the New Testament references, some very important question occurred to me. As I thought about them, and asked them of myself, I realized these were good self examination questions for any Christian.    
     2. Do I believe the Lord will provide?
     3. Do I believe that when I seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness that all of my physical needs will be taken care of?
     4. The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.
     5. Do I believe that?
     6. If we answer no to questions like that then we need to consider where we are lacking.
  5. In our relationship with God and our relationship with Jesus Christ, what God wants from us is absolute trust, total trust, with no doubting what so ever.   That doubt is like a leak in a boat and it is the doubt that causes us to sink.
     1. It is the doubt that causes us to fear.
     2. It is the doubt that makes us start wondering am I going to be able to make ends meet.
     3. Am I going to be able to survive?  Can I pay all the bills? Can I pay my taxes? Can I cover all these things that have to be taken care of?
     4. The answer is for us to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.   Just trust the reality that the Lord is our shepherd.   The Lord will provide.
  6. Not only will He provide physically but look at this next verse from John.   John 10:9 – “9. "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved” We're talking about spiritual needs. If we desire spiritual salvation there’s only one way to get to it, we've got to go through the one and the only door; and that is Jesus the Christ.
     1. He says we “… will go in and out and find pasture.” There are our physical needs.  
     2. Then in verse 10; "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, (notice the last part of this) and that they may have it more abundantly.”
     3. What kind of life is He talking about in this verse?   He has come that we may have life, that we may have it more abundantly. He's talking about eternal life.
     4. This text is talking about our spiritual needs.  If we go through the door we will be saved.   If we go through Christ we will be saved.
  7. Again we have come back to the concept the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.
     1. It’s the idea that in our relationship with God, through Jesus Christ, the Lord will provide everything we need physically and everything we need spiritually for all eternity.
     2. The way it’s put over in John 15:5 – “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
     3. I cannot live physically without what God has provided and provides.
     4. I cannot have the resurrection without God.  I cannot have eternal life without God. We are totally dependent on God, it is reality.  Just recognize that reality and accept it.   In our relationship with God through Jesus Christ we trust Him enough to follow, to seek first the Kingdom of God, His righteousness and the Lord will provide for us in this life and then when we die the Lord will provide for us in eternity.
     5. All the way, for eternity, always the good shepherd will provide for His sheep.
  8. Let's go to the next verse.  Psalm 23:3 – “He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.” This is the thought of the shepherd metaphor in Jesus' parable of the lost sheep. The human application is that of restoring Christians who have fallen away from duty.  Some writers would soften what is said here by rendering "refresh" instead of "restore".   The rendering “refresh” is unfortunate and wrong. Scholars have pointed out; "The verb used here refers to `repentance or `conversion.'" In this context, the "restoring" or "bringing back" of the sheep, pictures the deeper renewal of the man of God. (James Burton Coffman on Derek Kidner p110)
     1. “He leads me in the paths of righteousness”. If we follow the Good Shepherd, where is He going to lead us? He is going to lead us in a path, and if we follow it, we are going to be living a life of righteousness.
        1. Going back to the verse we saw earlier from Matthew 6:33 - Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness...
        2. We are following the paths of righteousness when we're following the Good Shepherd, and that's exactly where Jesus is going to be leading us.
     2. In John 10:4-5 – “4. "And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5. "Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.''” .
        1. What Christianity basically is, would be this; Christians follow Christ by faith.
        2. We trust that Jesus is telling us the truth, the truth about God, the truth about sin, the truth about salvation, the truth about death, resurrection, and eternal life.   We believe He's telling us the truth.
        3. He guides us and says go this way, live this way, we trust Him enough to just follow.
     3. More questions to consider are; in my life who am I following? - Am I following myself and as some say; going my own way? Am I following my culture? Am I following my family? Or am I following Christ?
     4. In Christianity we follow Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God.
        1. We follow Him by faith all the days of our life.
        2. We do not follow a stranger.
        3. If a stranger calls us and tries to get us to follow him, we say, No I'm not going that way.
        4. I'm not going to follow other people out there in the world, there's only one individual and I'm going to follow Him by faith and that is Jesus Christ.
        5. Again, we defined Christianity as those that follow Christ by faith and if we are following Christ He is going to lead us in the paths of righteousness.
     5. Psalm 23:3 again, “… For His name's sake” He restores my soul, He leads me in the paths of righteousness, For His name's sake.
        1. This passage is where many commentators have missed it altogether. Why does God do this, not for His reputation and not merely because it is His nature.  
        2. Think about it, why does the shepherd care for the sheep? Because they are His. It is because the ones cared for are called by God's name. The prophet Isaiah gave the correct answer in Isaiah 43:1-7 - "I have redeemed thee ... thou art mine ... I have called thee by my name ... I have created thee for my glory".
        3. Those persons who are the object of the kind of protection and guidance assured in this psalm, in the present dispensation, are Christians. Today those who are "called by God's name" (Isaiah 43:7) are the ones baptized into Christ.   Nothing in the Bible emphasizes the exclusiveness of these marvelous promises quite as effectively as Isaiah 43:1-7.
     6. Another place I would like us to look is in Second Timothy 3:16-17 where the text is explaining the purpose and the function of scripture in our lives. “16. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17. that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
        1. We are to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.   If we're going to be seeking the righteousness of God, we will find it in the Word of God.   If we just follow the Word of God then we are following the Good Shepherd.
        2. Whenever we follow the Word of God it is going to be leading us into a life of righteousness.   Just trust our shepherd and follow Him by faith.
     7. In First John 2:29 we read; “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.” If we practice righteousness we're following the Good Shepherd who is righteous.   Living our life, practicing righteousness proves in reality that we have a relationship with Him, that we're born of God.  You are a child of God.
        1. How can you know that somebody is truly a Christian?   We look at who they are following.
        2. How do we tell who they are following?   By their life.   By their fruits.
     8. Getting back to what the Good Shepherd does for his sheep.   The Good Shepherd protects sheep. Psalm 23:4-5 – “4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.”
        1. In the shepherd metaphor we can imagine a time when the shepherd might need to lead his sheep through some dangerous, forested valley, where lions and other enemies of the sheep were lurking; but the safety of the sheep is assured by the presence of the shepherd.
        2. In reading the text, try to imagine that you are in the valley of the shadow of death. Imagine that you're right down in the very center of it and death is all around.   You're not on the outskirts looking in. You're down in the middle of it.
           1. Then realize you are with the Shepherd and you do not need to be afraid because He is with you.
           2. That is so vitally important for us to understand as sheep in the flock of God. God is with you, He will never leave you nor forsake you.
        3. Isaiah 41:10 – “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'” I will strengthen you.   I will help you.   I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Do we believe that?
           1. The beginning of the verse yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil.  We're not going to be afraid, not because of how strong we are, but because of how strong the one who is with us is, the shepherd is.
           2. The shepherd will protect you. Let’s go and look at some versus on this.
        4. John 10:27-28 – “27. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28. "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” What wonderful comfort! No one, including Satan himself can snatch us out of the hand of the Good Shepherd.
           1. That is because we are being protected by the Good Shepherd.
           2. He knows what wolves are out there after you.  He will protect you.  He knows you're struggling.
           3. He will protect you and He will see to it that you get to the destination and the destination in the text here…eternal life.
           4. The soul that trusts in the Lord will most surely pass through many a dark valleys, even that of death itself at last; but no fear will be felt because the Lord will be with His own, "Even unto the end of the world" Matthew 18:20.
           5. We're going to go through life being attacked by the enemy right and left.  We just keep following the Good Shepherd.
        5. Let’s consider for a few moments the text of Psalm 56:4 – “In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?” Look at the question and think, what can flesh do to me? The answer is quite a lot isn’t it?
           1. They can take all of your possessions.   They can put you in prison. They can torture you. They can kill you.
              1. Kind of sounds scary. It does, but they cannot take your soul.
              2. They may be able to take all of your physical possessions and even your physical life but they cannot take that primary gift of God that God gives you through Jesus Christ and that is eternal life. They cannot take your salvation.
              3. Just trust the good shepherd that He will provide.   Follow him and He will lead you in the paths of righteousness.
              4. Trust the good shepherd that He will protect you.   Even Satan cannot snatch you out of the hands of Christ.
           2. We do need to look at another point though. It doesn't mean you can't leave.
              1. If you continue to trust in the Lord, Satan cannot snatch you out of His hands but if you draw back in unbelief and you leave God, you have chosen to let go of your relationship with God.
              2. You have chosen to leave and as freewill beings we can choose to leave God and depart.   But as long as you are staying and trusting in God and following Christ, even Satan himself cannot snatch you out of the hands of the Good Shepherd because you’re protected.
           3. The text of verse 4 continues, Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Shepherds of the time carried both. I like Matthew Henry's comment that these are, "The rod of correction and the staff of support."

• Going on to Psalm 23:6 – “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.”
  1. Isn’t that wonderful?   If we're following the Good Shepherd in our life there's going to be goodness.   In our life mercy will follow us wherever we go. We will be blessed wherever we go.
     1. He will prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies.   That's the idea of people trying to harm us but they can't do any harm because the Lord is with us.
     2. The Lord’s sitting at the table and giving you everything you need.   Our cup is over flowing we've got so many blessings.
     3. He is our shepherd and we are following Him by faith.   Goodness, mercy, and blessings are showered upon us daily in our life and then in the end… I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.
  2. Let's look at this in the scriptures going back to Psalm 122:1 – “I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go into the house of the Lord.''”  The psalmist is describing his attitude about going into the house of Lord. You want to go down to the Lord? Yeah! Let’s do it, let's go worship God.
     1. I wonder about the attitude people have today about this?   Sometimes even those that are in the congregation.   Exactly what is our attitude about worshipping God now, on this side?
     2. For some it is wearisome, like we read about in Malachi 1:13 where their attitude was; “…`Oh, what a weariness!'…”
     3. For some their attitude is “okay I'll go because if I don’t someone will bug me about it”.
     4. If anyone has that attitude about coming and worshiping God I would ask them, plead with them and pray for them to change that attitude.
     5. Folks, this earth is going to be a dark memory in the mist. We must keep our eye on the shepherd and follow that Good Shepherd, then when we cross the Jordon we will come out on the other side snow-white and will be in the presence of God and Jesus Christ, worshipping them for eternity.

 

CONCLUSION:

Now I wonder, are we glad when it's the Lord's Day and we come to the house of the Lord?   Folks look with me at Psalm 92:13-14 – “13. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord” Let’s stop right there. What's the idea of being planted in the House of the Lord? You're here and you’re always here. Our roots are here.   There are some here today that are always here.   They come here because if the doors are open they are going to be here.

 

This is what he had to say about those who are planted in the House of the Lord. They “… Shall flourish in the courts of our God. (Look at this.) 14. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing,”

Guess what?  Those of you that are planted, even your old age you can still bear fruit!   You can still flourish because you're planted in the House of the Lord, because your roots run deep in your relationship with God.

 

We read not long ago in class First Timothy 3:15 – “but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” In Psalms we were talking with the Tabernacle and the temple of the Old Testament.    What's the house of God today? The Church of the Living God, the congregation is the house of God.   It is the temple of God today. What is our attitude when it is the Lord's Day and we gather together to take the Lord's Supper at the Lord's Table?  Is it a wearisome burden to you or are you glad to go to the house of the Lord?

 

When the doors are open for us to worship God, and you are here because your roots run deep then your relationship with God will be strong and you will be able to bear fruit even in your old age and flourish all the way down to the close of your race.

I’m going to close with Revelation 7:14-17 – “14. And I said to him, "Sir, you know.'' So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15. "Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16. "They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17. "for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.''”

If we follow the good shepherd, in the end we will be in heaven with God Almighty - forever. That is what the twenty third Psalm is trying to teach us about Christianity today.

I come back to my opening question.  Is Jesus, the good shepherd, your shepherd?  Do you recognize Him as the Good Shepherd and are you following him by faith?

If you're not, you're missing out; you're missing out on everything.   If you miss heaven you've missed it all. Don't miss it. Come to God through Jesus Christ.

If you honestly believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God, if you understand He died on the cross at Calvary for your sins, was buried and rose again the third day, if you believe this then be willing to openly confess that faith.

Then motivated by that faith to make the great commitment to repent and be baptized in His name for the remission of sin, and then continue to follow the Good Shepherd by faith.   That is what repentance is all about, it is following the Word of God and He will lead you in the paths of righteousness.

 

If you're in Christ already and you've stopped trusting and you've stopped following the Good Shepherd, you need to come back home, put your trust in God, put your trust in your Shepherd, get up and start following by faith, putting off whatever sin is standing between you and your God.

If there's sin between you and God deal with it. He’s merciful. He's gracious, He knows you and He will forgive you. Just take it to God for forgiveness, then get up and get back into following Christ.

 

If you're subject to the Gospel call in any way let us know while we stand and sing the song selected.

 

#73—The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want

 

It's Not a Talent Contest

It’s Not a Talent Contest 
Matthew 25:14-30 

INTRO:
Good evening. It is good to see each of you that have returned this evening. We are going to continue our studies on the parables of Jesus. This will be the last one of this series. It has not been an exhaustive coverage of all the parables of Jesus, but it gives us the idea.

I hope we have learned some things and have been challenged about some. One thing we need to always remember is that it is about context, context, context. If you get that, right then half the battle is won.

There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus really was and still is ‘The Master Teacher’. If you remember back to last Lord’s Day evening Jesus shared with His disciples, ‘The parable of the ten virgins’. These virgins were pictured as waiting for the Lord’s arrival.
We saw that we, as Christians, need to be watchful and ready for His arrival. In the parable which we are going to look at today, which is ‘The parable of the talents’, we are going to see that the servants in this parable are pictured as working for their Lord.

‘The parable of the ten virgins’ stresses the duty of constant alertness and ‘The parable of the talents’ stresses the duty of faithful service. When we place them together as they should be, they both teach Christians that as we watch, we must not be idle.
In short the best way to be ready for Jesus’ return is to be busy in the Master’s business.

If you would open your bibles to Matthew 25 this will be our text for this evening. Before we begin I would like to tell you a story told to me by a preacher from England about a learning experience from his youth. He said; “when I was young, my parents would occasionally go out and leave me in charge of the house. My dad would give me £5 to buy fish and chips for my supper. One time I decided to have a party and so I invited some my friends around and we started drinking, dancing and just generally being silly.
As the night went on I knew my parents would get home about 1:00 am, so around 12:30 my friends and I picked up the house, to make it look like nothing had ever happened.
My friends left and I went to bed, only to be woken up with a friendly slap to the face from my father. Of course playing ignorant I asked, “Why did you do that?”.
He said, “I know you had a party and I don’t mind but you forgot to empty the ashtrays.”
I had been entrusted with my parent’s home and the money they gave me was to buy my supper from the chip shop, not to buy beer.” The preacher said; “He never mentioned the beer but I got the point.”

I recalled this story of his when looking at this parable. In a similar way Jesus tells us in this parable that the master entrusted His property and His money to His servants.

There is a similar parable which Jesus shares in Luke 19:11-27. We need to keep that in mind because some people see ‘The unprofitable servant’ in Matthew’s account as the main character.

They believe that the unprofitable servant represents the Scribes and the Pharisees and other Jews who wouldn’t run the risk of giving full pledge of allegiance to the Christ. There is possibly some truth to this view, but what we need to ask ourselves is; to whom was Jesus speaking to in Matthew’s account?

If we go all the way back to Matthew 24:3 we find the answer. “As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately.” “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”[para] Matthew tells us quite clearly that the only people present with Jesus were His disciples.

In Luke’s account Jesus is speaking with the Scribes, Pharisees and other Jews who are listening, but not in Matthew’s account. What’s the point? The point is simply that Jesus is speaking to His disciples and the focus of attention is not on Jewish leaders but upon the 3 scenes of the parable.

I. Here is scene number 1...the gifts. Matthew 25:14-15 – “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.”
A. Jesus says before the master went on his journey. He called all his servants in and gave each of them a definite sum of money.
1. The 1st thing we notice is the amount of money varied. It varied not because of favoritism but because of ability. We notice in each case the unit of money involved was a talent.
2. As we know a talent in Biblical times was no small sum of money. It wasn’t £5 to go and buy fish and chips. In the time of Jesus a talent was worth a lot more.
3. Remember that these servants were not only placed in charge of their master’s money, they were also in charge of their master’s property, but the point is that each man received something. Not a single servant was left out; each one was left with something in their pockets.
B. Folks, God still works that way today even in a congregation this small. Not a single person responsible to God is left out in the divine distribution of gifts. Every one of us receives something. In fact I would say every one of us receives much, even the one talent man received the large sum.
C. Remember when we looked at ‘The parable of the two sons’? What did Jesus say the father called the two sons to do? Matthew 21:28-30 tells us that the father said to both sons, “Son, go, work today in my vineyard.”
1. He called them to work. Why? Because there was work to be done. God calls us the same way. We are told to go work in His vineyard. Why? Same reason, because there is work to be done.
2. God has work for us all to do and God gives us enough capital to accomplish the work which He intends for every one of us to accomplish.
3. 2 Peter 1:3 – “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,” Peter tells us that we have everything we need, and not just for life but for godliness too.
D. Like I mentioned earlier each servant was given a different amount according to their abilities.
E. We read in 1 Corinthians 12:14-21 something I’m sure we have heard; “14. For in fact the body is not one member but many. 15. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,'' is it therefore not of the body? 16. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,'' is it therefore not of the body? 17. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? 18. But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. 19. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? 20. But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 21. And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you''; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you.''”
1. The point is that God knows we are not all the foot, or the eye, or the ears. It is sad in today’s church that so many want to be the mouth, but that is not how God has set it up. He gave us different gifts and He doesn’t expect us to use a gift which we don’t possess.
2. Even in our natural abilities, we’re different. Some people are born with strong and active bodies, while others enter into the world in poor health. A few people are gifted with superior intellect and others are not so intellectual.
3. It’s the exact same with our spiritual gifts. A young man may grow quite rapidly into a Christian leader in a small congregation, but if you take that same young man and place him in a large congregation, he may not grow as fast because he may feel he is not needed as much.
4. Aren’t you glad that we are part of a small congregation and we know that we are much needed? Aren’t you glad you are part of a congregation who wants to promote and encourage the use of our talents? I know I am.
F. It is sad when you hear “they will not give me anything to do”. I know we appreciate when someone wants to be busily employed in the work of the Lord (or they say they do). But I wonder, is the lack of an assignment a reason for inactivity? What happened to initiative?
1. There are always opportunities to serve and I understand that sometimes the opportunities may not be as desirable or as many as others have.
2. Not all fields at any one moment are glowing with a golden harvest. In other words, there are some fields where the ground needs preparing. There are some fields that are waiting for the sowing. Remember when Jesus taught ‘The parable of the Sower,’ He says in Matthew 13:8 “Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop--a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”[para] Every farmer knows and we need to realize, that not all fields when sown are capable of producing the same crop.
II. Scene number 2... Let’s look at the way the talents were used in the parable. What was the result of the master’s confidence in His servants? To what use did they put His money while He was away? Matthew 25:16-18 – “16. "Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17. "And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18. "But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money.”[NKJV]
A. The servants who received the larger amounts of money went to work immediately. They invested their money in profitable enterprises and succeeded in doubling their fortunes. I think we would be mistaken to assume that these men weren’t tempted to do something else with their talents.
1. We certainly are not told but temptations flow around us all the time like the waters of some great river. While the big ones are easy to spot and avoid leaving us unharmed, sometimes a little significant incident may cause our down fall simply because we are not looking for it.
2. How many times have we been in a hurry, maybe tired or hungry and have decided to take a shortcut to accomplish the task before us? That little shortcut may cause us to stumble.
3. Again, we are not told but temptations come to us all and I am sure they came to these men as well. I would suggest it is a mistake to put their success down to just pure luck. They were successful because they worked, they took their responsibility as something active, not just to preserve but to improve. Not taking the easiest way.
B. Let’s look at the third man in the parable. We know that he failed his duty. Matthew 25:18 says, “He dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.”[para] I doubt he deliberately set out to fail. He probably left his master’s presence with the firm intension to justify the confidence that had been placed in him. Why then did the third man fail?
C. There are a few possibilities I would suggest. The 1st is this: he failed because he didn’t have faith in himself. We all have talents from God but how many of us feel as though our talent is small and insignificant? Perhaps the one talent man was unsure of his abilities and when he compared his gift with the larger gifts, he was afraid that he couldn’t do as much as them, and so in not wanting to do the least - he did nothing.
1. If that’s any of us this evening and we’re thinking well, if I can’t have a leading part, I’m just not going to do anything at all. If you think your gift is small and not that necessary - then think again! If you think your gift doesn’t deserve much honor then I beg you to think again!
2. Paul clearly tells us otherwise in 1 Corinthians 12:22-25 – “22. No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. 23. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, 24. but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, 25. that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.”
3. You see folks, when it comes to serving the Lord it’s all about recognizing the different talents that each of us have and we all have different talents. No gift is greater then any other gift in the Lord’s eyes. In imperfect human sight maybe, but in God’s eyes my gift is not greater than yours and your gift is not greater than mine.
4. I do recognize there are some things I do well and some tasks where I am far less capable. There is no shame in recognizing we can’t do certain jobs for the Lord, but there is shame if we know we have a talent and we don’t use it, just bury it in the ground.
D. Perhaps another reason why the man failed was because he didn’t have the courage to work. Jesus calls him in Matthew 25:26 - “You wicked and lazy servant!” Was he afraid to work? Isn’t this the cause of most failures in life? If a person doesn’t work, if a person isn’t willing to pay the price in hard labor, they will never be crowned with success.
1. Proverbs 10:4 – “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.”[para]
2. This was true thousands of years ago and it is just as true today. It is true in the physical sense, and it’s also true in the spiritual sense. Hebrews 6:10-12 – “10. For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12. that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
i. Would we think that Abraham would have become the father of all nations, if he didn’t follow God’s instructions?
ii. Would the walls of Jericho have fallen if the Israelites just went around the city once?
3. God has no room for laziness because He has given each of us a gift to use in His kingdom. If we just bury those gifts in our hearts then God’s work won’t get done as His will wants it done.
E. Maybe another reason why this fellow failed was because he didn’t have enough faith in his master. Maybe he thought he just got a bad deal. Matthew 25:24 tells us that this guy “Knew that his master was a hard man.”
1. It amazes me how many people look at God in that way. In spite of all God and done and continues to do for us, all the Love He has shown; doesn’t it seem many people have a picture of God as a hard man in their minds?
2. It amazes me how many people see God as this stern power that is either making unreasonable demands or someone who is pushing people around to get His own way. Yet, if this were true wouldn’t that be all the more reason why we should all strive to use the talents He has given us?
3. We know this is not true because that’s not a clear picture of God. God loves us and extends His arms to us in mercy. When He gives us a task, He gives us the means to accomplish the task. He is not going to give us a task we are not able to do.
F. Ephesians 3:20 – “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,” God has more power then we can imagine and He will help us. All we have to do is ask Him for it, because according to Paul that power is already at work within us.
III. The final scene I want for us to look at is the consequences of using and not using our talents. When the master came home it was time for reckoning. Matthew 25:19-23 – “19. "After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20. "So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' 21. "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' 22. "He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' 23. "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'”
A. Jesus says the same thing was said to the man with the 5 talents and the man with the 2 talents. Their reward was to be two-fold, they were made ruler over many things and they were admitted into the joy of their Lord.
1. This meant they were granted an extended and more dignified office certainly something on this earthly side we can relate to.
2. The second part of being admitted into the joy of their Lord indicates participation in the fullness of joy which the Lord’s presence ensures as we find in Psalm 16:11 – “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
B. We know that an inheritance awaits all Christians who work and do His will. Peter tells us about it in 1 Peter 1:3-5 – “3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4. to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5. who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
1. That is the very reason why we keep going, even though we go through all kinds of trials in our lives. Read on in 1 Peter 1:6-9 – “6. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7. that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8. whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9. receiving the end of your faith the salvation of your souls.”
2. That’s why we faithfully work for our Lord. It is because we have a goal and because of our faith in our Lord - we want to reach that goal. What is that goal? Not just an inheritance which will never fade or spoil, we will receive the most important thing of all, the salvation of our souls.
C. Is that not why you’re a Christian? You want to go to heaven.
1. Please remember that we don’t work hard for our reward, we work hard because of our reward.
2. Ephesians 2:8-9 – “8. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9. not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
IV. Now let’s continue in that final scene and take a look at the man with one talent in the parable. Matthew 25:24-28 – “24. "Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25. 'And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.' 26. "But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27. 'Therefore you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28. 'Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.”
A. Wow, he was forbidden to come in and take part in his master’s happiness and everything he had was taken from him. Some folks would say this is a picture of a harsh master. I don’t think it is. I think it is the inevitable consequence of doing nothing.
1. Too many people question God about the way He deals with people. We hear questions like this all the time. Why would a loving, caring God send someone to hell?
2. God doesn’t do that. People choose to go there. Why would God send someone into hell because they haven’t totally obeyed all His commandments but have just served Him in their own way all their lives?
3. Questions like this are not new. In Romans 9 when Paul is describing how God does things the way He wants to do things and people are questioning.
4. Paul says in Romans 9:21 – “Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?” Paul says that our creator has the right to use our life for His purpose. You’ve all heard the saying, “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.” It is a law of life that we will lose what we fail to use. In the spiritual realms every gift given by God must be put to work or else it will be taken from us.
5. Matthew 25:29 – “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.”

CONCLUSION:
Why were two profitable and one unprofitable? The answer lies not in the fact that the two from the beginning were more gifted. With all they were given they still could have been lazy and buried their talents. It wasn’t because they were brilliant or because they had a knack for business that they were commended.

They were commended simply because they had been faithful in the service of their absent Lord. Both men with what they possessed had done his best. We too when the day of reckoning comes and we turn to our eternal home, it may well be that some will come with an arm full of trophies. It may well be that some will come with only a few trophies, but you need to come with something. Nobody can come empty handed having done nothing.

Folks, this is a stern warning for us because He’s speaking about people who profess to follow His ways here. These men were already servants of their master.

People, as Joshua says, need to choose who they will serve. What we choose while it is yet today is going to reflect on us on Judgment Day. The undertaker can’t do anything spectacular when we die. We each have to make that choice today.

He told the foolish virgins in Matthew 25:12, “’I tell you the truth, I don't know you.’”
He told the goats on His left in Matthew 25:41, “’Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
He said about the wicked, lazy servant in Matthew 25:30, “Throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

I for one don’t want to hear those words coming from the Father’s lips. I would rather hear the words He spoke to these servants who used their talents well, in Matthew 25:21, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”
You have to decide what He is going to say to you. Remember it’s not a talent contest.
It’s about reaching our goal, the salvation of our souls. It’s about using the talents which God has blessed us with to reach others until the day He returns to take us home.

If you haven’t obeyed His commands, then you’re not prepared and you need to get prepared. You need to study His word and do what His word tells every one of us to do. You need to repent, turn from the ways of the world, turn to God and follow His ways. You’re here this evening, which tells me you have some belief in God.

You also need to believe the Bible when it says that Christ is who He claims to be, which is the Savior of the world. You need to confess that Jesus is Lord and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins. After you’ve obeyed His commands, then you continue to obey His commands, which is called faithfulness, it’s then that you are starting the preparation process. You are doing what God requires you to do in preparation for His return.

Invitation: ???

Reference Sermon
Mike Glover

Christmas

Christmas

INTRO: Good morning. I want to welcome everyone here today. It's great to see families and friends who are all wrapped up in each other and getting along. The spirit of giving and goodwill is always a welcome sight. I like to see the beautiful lights that we often see at this time of the year. They certainly put us in a mood to celebrate and that’s what we do. I enjoy the festivities at this time of the year. There is a secular side of Christmas. It's a national holiday, a civic holiday. It's a time of reunion with loved ones and friends that perhaps we haven't seen in a long time. Some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard is Christmas music and I will be enjoying that. I have some favorites; you may have some favorites too.

I do have a bit of a quibble with one thing though. The religion of Christ should not be thought of as being “a time of the Year thing”. But that's often the way it is thought of. We talk about the season, the Christmas season. Christ, Christianity is an “all the time thing”. Every day the Christian should be rejoicing that Jesus Christ came into the world and so today I'm rejoicing. I expect to rejoice again tomorrow, and I expect to rejoice in the heat of the summer as I did last summer. The question under consideration is; are Christians authorized to celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday?

It’s universal to call December 25th Christmas which is made up of two words, Christ and Mass. Mass is a religious rite. Thus from its name it is a religious event recognizing the coming of Christ into the world. However, Scriptures don’t give us the actual date of the event. Galatians 4:10-11 – “10. You observe days and months and seasons and years. 11. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.” While Paul referring to Jewish celebrations which had passed away with the old law it would seem to indicate the danger of observing any special day not authorized by the Lord.

Christmas has changed over the years and is a cultural as well as religious celebration around the world. Christmas now is a mix of pre-Christian (i.e. pagan), Christian, and secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift giving, completing an Advent calendar or Advent wreath, Christmas music and caroling, lighting a Christingle, viewing a Nativity play, an exchange of Christmas cards, special church services, a special meal, pulling Christmas crackers and the display of various Christmas decorations, including Christmas trees, Christmas lights, nativity scenes, garlands, wreaths, mistletoe, and holly. In addition, several closely related and often interchangeable figures, known as Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Christkind, are associated with bringing gifts to children and have their own body of traditions and lore. Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic impact of Christmas has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world. [Wilipedia]

I. Historical background of Christmas - Before the 5th century there was no general consensus as to the date of the birth of Jesus. It had been observed in at least six different months on various days in each month. This confusion led Roman church authorities in the year of 440 AD to set a definite date for celebrating the birth of our Lord. December 25th was selected because it fell on the old Roman feast day of the birth of Sol, the Sun god. It is said that their reasoning was because 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.” And other verses. However, it was purely due to competition to get people to the churches.
A. After all since Jesus is the light of the world. And if you have a celebration taking place culturally, and it’s in terms of other religions which celebrate to encourage the coming of light; then it would seem that if you accommodated those particular things together, you could make it easier for people to be converted to Christianity. You meld together with their physical and cultural celebrations.
1. When we look at the origin of Christmas as a celebration of Jesus’ birth, it doesn't have its origin in the Bible or in the teachings of the Apostles, or the practice of the first century church.
2. The history of Christmas didn’t begin with Christ. The winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, has been celebrated in one form or another for millennia. Northern Europeans called it ‘Jul’, a term remembered in the English word Yule, which now means Christmas, in ancient Rome it was the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, or ‘the birthday of the unconquered Sun’. Through sacrifices and feasting, pagans celebrated the beginning of the Sun’s revival.
3. The celebration of Jesus’ birth was observed primarily by the Roman church. We can see that the celebration of Christmas did not have it’s origins with God, it had it’s origins with men and many have opposed it. This is illustrated in both British and American history.
B. British opposition - In the UK Christmas was banned and even today there are those who want to see it banned again, but as someone once said, ‘it’s political correctness gone mad’, some local councils even try to ban the use of the word Christmas. This is nothing new because back in the 17th century, this was actually true.
1. The English parliament under Oliver Cromwell, and the Massachusetts Puritans, both tried to ban the celebration of Christmas, in England because it was ‘popish’ and pagan, in America, because the 25th of December was viewed as an arbitrarily selected date (which it was), rather than the true anniversary of Christ’s birth.
2. Also because Christmas was celebrated with drinking, eating, dancing and having fun, things that did not go down well with 17th century Puritans generally.
C. American opposition - The first Christmas spent in America by the Mayflower Pilgrims was devoted to hard labor such as cutting down trees, in order to avoid any frivolity on the day called Christmas. They argued that nothing in the Scriptures mentioned having a good time. To Robert Brown and his associates, it was nothing more than a ‘Popish frivolity’ and the ‘dreadful work of Satan’ in their midst.
1. In 1659 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the colonial legislature made Christmas illegal. ‘Whosoever shall be found observing any such day as Christmas, shall pay for every offense five shillings.’ One judge loudly proclaimed that people who made mince pie or plum pudding over the holiday period would surely be ‘Cursed by God for all eternity.’
2. Because of its association with pagan festivals the Pilgrims outlawed the color green. Pilgrim preachers used their pulpits to denounce holly and ivy and Christmas trees as ‘seditious badges’ which were always to be looked upon as signs of the devil at work.
3. This stern prohibition proved to be extremely unpopular and caused widespread discontent so by 1681 Christmas could again be celebrated without dire consequences in Massachusetts. Yet the Pilgrim chill on the holiday persisted for another 175 years. Children in that area of New England were made to attend school on Christmas day.
4. That law lasted until 1856. Many people in other colonies disagreed; their holiday festivities began well before December 25th and lasted until January 6th. These were Virginians and Dutch Burghers; they believed there should be a mixture of religion and revelry.
II. 25th December is a Jewish celebration - Hanukkah is the Jewish Festival of Lights and it remembers the rededication of the second Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. The feast was begun by Judas Maccabeus 164 B.C. to commemorate the cleansing and rededication of the temple after the defilement through pagan worship under Antiochus Epiphanes. Hanukkah is the Hebrew and Aramaic word for ‘dedication’. The feast is mentioned in John 10:22. Hanukkah lasts for eight days and starts on the 25th of Kislev, the month in the Jewish calendar that occurs at about the same time as December. Because the Jewish calendar is lunar, it uses the moon for its dates; Kislev can happen from late November to late December.
III. Today - I suppose if you came out of the denominational world and you had a practice of celebrating Christmas in some way before you came to the Lord's church then you've no doubt found that we take a rather unique, a different approach for the most part, at least as I speak about what the Lord’s Church conviction is. I’m sure you'd understand my tendency to do that.
1. Today most religious bodies that consider themselves to be followers of Jesus fervently celebrate and adhere to the aspect of celebration of the birthday of Jesus on December 25th. There are among Christian’s different opinions about this and different convictions. I don't in any way want to try to disrupt that. I'm fully convinced that the celebration of Christmas should not disrupt congregations or cause divisions among God's people.
2. We would certainly agree though that all of us are affected by the celebration of Christmas as a religious holiday in this country. It is so well entrenched in our culture and the elements are so much a part of our everyday life, that it's likely to stay, and its here with all of its influences.
3. Our religious neighbors as I mentioned celebrate it and they invite us to participate, they want us to be a part of that celebration. Often because of the secular aspect, the commercialism, they express a desire to put ‘Christ back into Christmas’.
4. I find that a very fascinating perspective that as Christians we're standing opposed to something that puts Christ into something. At least in regard to putting Christ into Christmas, because when we look at what the Bible teaches, the Bible doesn't say anything about Christ being in a religious celebration of Christmas. It's hard to put Jesus back into it from a Biblical perspective. I say all of that to get us to recognize the type of circumstance that we're in, in relationship to the people around us. I think Christians ought to be very careful about that.
5. I say that because I think if we really are serious about being a light to the world and preaching the gospel to others, and having an influence on others, while we can not compromise the truth, yet we should not go around beating people on the head with our personal convictions about religious holidays. I think sometimes that that's the approach that's taken and we shoo people away before we ever get them to where we can teach the Biblical principles by which they could understand what the Bible teaches about this subject and where our convictions lie.
IV. The Bible does emphasize the birth of Christ - In all, the New Testament devotes 100 verses to the coming of Christ and we cannot overlook the fact that the birth of Jesus is one of the most significant events in the history of the world. It’s one of the most profound thoughts in the Bible and we cannot in our human limitations begin to comprehend the significance of what took place.
A. We cannot imagine what it was like when Jesus left the Father, the Holy Spirit, the angels and all the grandeur and glory of heaven to come to this world and become a fully human infant with an infant mind. John wrote in John 1:14 - “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
B. So simple, yet so profound. How majestic must have been that heavenly scene when the Father, the Holy Spirit and all the angelic hosts of heaven said goodbye to the Word. What a scene it must have been to watch Him pass through the portals of glory to come into this world by way of a virgin.
C. God becoming human is one of the most amazing events in history. Angels announced His birth but only to some shepherds. The shepherds came to worship him, and later did some Magi. Yet, for the most part this event went unannounced, it occurred under the most humble circumstances, in a manger, to two poor young people.
D. How amazing that God would trust two young people with the care and raising of the Son of God. We today stand amazed and with Mary we cry out, ‘How can this be?’ Oh, the power and Divine love of God Almighty toward mankind.
E. Yet the Bible doesn't say much about Christmas. In fact the bible says nothing about Christmas as a celebration of the birthday of Jesus. We'll look at it from the perspective of the principles that are found in the Bible and while doing so look at the historical aspect of the event that Christmas is considered to represent.
V. How are Christians to observe this great and powerful event? I will start by suggesting we accept the Biblical story exactly as it’s told without any additions and subtractions. Since no date of birth is given then obviously the Lord didn’t intend for us to set aside a day to celebrate. To celebrate December 25th is without Scriptural evidence, we simply don’t know the date. There is no problem to talk about, read about, or even sing about His birth as long as we don’t teach it’s a command we must observe. It’s appropriate to talk about the Lord’s birth anytime. We can do this without implying we believe in the ‘immaculate conception of Mary,’ ‘the bodily assumption’ of Mary to heaven, or that ‘three wise men’ came to worship Him.
A. Certainly not knowing the date of someone’s birth doesn't mean you can't celebrate or commemorate their birth on a day in which they were not born. That doesn't make the aspect of Christmas illegitimate from that standpoint, but the Christmas story as it's presented in the religious world, sometimes can be rather misleading and provide for us a picture that's not really accurate from the standpoint of what the Bible teaches. That's what we ought to draw people to; what the Bible actually teaches about the birthday of Jesus. Matthew chapter 1 and Luke chapter 2 are records of biblical accounts of Jesus’ birth.
B. Many of the traditions that are associated with the Christmas holidays originated in paganism. I think that is important for us in terms of looking at the facts. To understand that point because it's possible for individuals to actually participate in traditional things, to do things that others have done, their parents the grandparents have done, without really knowing the origin of them. We realize that is not necessarily always a bad thing because traditions themselves are not inherently bad.
1. But if we go along without finding out what those traditions are related to, then it's possible for us to either misinterpret the way that we are doing the tradition or why we're doing it or it might very well lead us into honoring something that God did not intend us to honor.
2. We look at the traditions that are associated with the celebration of Christmas and we recognize that most if not all of them had their origin in the same way that the celebration of Christmas did and that is in the development of false religion.
3. We have many traditions that we follow culturally and secularly but understanding where they came from helps us to sort things out and recognize whether or not these things could possibly engage us in something that would not be what God would want us to do.
C. Lighting - The lights go back to the celebration of the winter solstice and the idea of the lighting up of the world. On the solstice the pagans would burn bonfires out in the fields in order to help the sun god to wake up and to give him strength so that the days would be getting longer and the sun would reverse its course in the sky.
D. Christmas trees – Some say the Christmas tree had its origin in Germany. English missionaries replaced the sacrifices to the Norse gods and Odin's sacred oak, with a fir tree and then decorated that tree making it a tribute to the birth of the Christ child.
1. A preacher in England related that a few years ago, a brother in the Lord and his family came for dinner on Boxing Day. He said; “we sat and chatted and enjoyed a lovely meal prepared by my wife. Everything was nice and went well and my wife and I thought it was an enjoyable evening.”
2. “However just as they were leaving the brother said to me, ‘it’s unscriptural to have that Christmas tree in your home’, to which I replied, ‘we don’t worship the tree.’ I found it interesting that they waited until they had finished eating before they mentioned the tree was offensive to them.”
3. Anyway the preacher said, “it was Jeremiah 10 that was used to tell us that we shouldn’t have Christmas trees in our homes, but a closer look at the passage shows that it has nothing to do with Christmas trees and everything to do with idol worship.” Jeremiah 10:6-10 – “6. Inasmuch as there is none like You, O Lord (You are great, and Your name is great in might), 7. who would not fear You, O King of the nations? For this is Your rightful due, for among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You. Listen to the next verse. 8. But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish; a wooden idol is a worthless doctrine. 9. Silver is beaten into plates; it is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the metalsmith; blue and purple are their clothing; they are all the work of skillful men. 10. But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, and the nations will not be able to abide His indignation.” Now if you revere the Christmas tree or the ornaments on it, that is idol worship.
4. Idol worship was a clear violation of the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20:3-6, but there is no connection between the worship of idols and the use of Christmas trees. I can erect a Christmas tree without any thought that I am raising up some pagan symbol to honor some pagan god as it was originally done. To me it’s merely a decoration and custom, nothing more. It’s a holiday, a time of joy, giving of gifts, good cheer and reaching out to those less fortunate.
i. I doubt there are many people that decorate a tree and put it in their house thinking that they're doing it as a sacrifice to Odin. That's just not part of their thinking. Probably they're not decorating that tree as a tribute to the Christ child anymore either.
ii. For example, we don’t look at the days of the week as the pagans did. To pagans Sunday referred to the pagan god Sun. Monday was ‘Moon day.’ Tuesday was Tiw’s day, the Anglo-Saxon god of war. Wednesday was ‘Wooden’s day’ the chief god of the Anglo-Saxons. Saturday refers to Saturn, the god of Agriculture.
iii. When we say these words today it never crosses our minds that we are saying the names of certain pagan gods. These words no longer have any such meaning.
E. Almost any teaching in the Bible people can have some error associated to it. When we talk about the Bible doctrine of faith, we do not mean and we try not to leave the impression that we believe in faith only. If we speak on baptism we try not to leave the impression we believe in sprinkling. When we talk, read or sing about Christ’s birth, we try not to leave the impression it occurred on December 25th.
1. In Romans 14, Paul argues the general proposition that there will be different levels of knowledge among brethren and that, to a certain extent; these must be accommodated for the sake of Christian unity. For example, some, out of conviction, choose not to eat meats, others see nothing wrong with such a practice. Romans 14:5-6 – “5. One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.”
2. Romans 14:10 – “But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.”
F. No man is to create a law in areas of convenience and then demand that all others submit. If an obvious act of sin isn’t the issue, then peace must prevail. Is it necessary for us to reject everything that has a pagan or false religion background because it has that background? There are some who take this position, and that's their reason why a Christian can have nothing to do with anything that has to do with Christmas.
1. Or even with the secular elements of Christmas, because of the background of those things, which started in Paganism. We just mentioned several things that historically are connected with pagan roots and false religion. When a person participates in those things are they necessarily giving honor to that which brought about its origin?
2. The person who takes that position will have a very difficult time with consistency. In the sense that - if that is true for one thing, then it must also be true for all of those things in our life that have those same roots. Even with the word holiday. You know we're supposed to say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas anymore? The word holiday is derived from the term holy day. Using their logic every time you use that word you're giving honor to its origin so every time you say holiday you are saying Holy Day.
3. Birthdays - Think about the celebration of birthdays. In ancient Egypt, the birthdays of the Pharaohs were considered ‘holy’ days, with no work being done. When we give our spouses birthday presents or throw a party for our children on their birthday, does this mean that we have compromised our faith?
4. Valentine’s Day - February 14th is the date that most people make an extra effort to love and be loved, this usually consists in the giving of flowers, a card and possibly going out for a nice romantic dinner. When people do this are we seriously saying that they are involved with and submitting to the Roman Catholic named Saint Valentine? Of course not. It is a made up day anyway.
5. Remembering the dead - When our loved ones pass away and we go to the cemetery to visit their resting place, most people usually leave some flowers. Again, when people do this, are we seriously saying that they are practicing what the Hindu’s practice?
6. Church weddings - Everyone loves a good wedding, and the place for which people get married is more important to some than to others. People who can afford it would like nothing less than a big old wedding in a church building. Again, when people get married in any church building, are we seriously saying that they believe that marriage is a church sacrament; which is what some teach?
G. Common sense needs to rule, it’s a shame that common sense isn’t so common. We all know that what people practiced years ago may still be practiced today, but have a totally different meaning and that’s because over a period of time, practices change, and their meanings change, and every practice has a different meaning to different people.

CONCLUSION:
Please don’t misunderstand me, I’m not suggesting that we compromise the truth, but what I am saying is that we need to be careful not to make spiritual laws for others where none exist. Christians are commanded not to allow those things that are traditions of men to dictate their worship to God. I don't believe that the church should join in the religious celebration of Christmas. That's probably something you have observed if you worship with us or if you're a member here or maybe you've seen church assemblies in other places where it is something that is manifestly absent.

We might wonder then, can the individual Christian observe Christmas as a secular or cultural holiday? It's something I think that can be answered by different Christians in different ways. But one thing is certain I think. I believe we would all agree that the Christmas celebration has both religious and non-religious elements. People are simply decorating a tree because it is a Christmas tree and because it's that time of year. Just because they do something does not necessarily tie them back in their thinking or even in the thinking of others to the origin of that tradition.

We’re commanded to observe the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus on every first day of the week. We have been given a memorial to help us remember His suffering on the cross. At the same time, I am thankful for His birth and I rejoice that the Word became flesh. Without His taking on our sinful nature, the flesh, I would have no hope. I never want to forget this.
We haven’t been commanded to observe any specific day as the birthday of Jesus. No memorial has been left to remind us of His birth, but we have been given abundant information about His birth thus the Lord expects to know about it and the events that surrounded it.

We offer the invitation at this time. If you're subject to the Gospel call in any way let us know while we stand and sing the song selected.

Ready Or Not, Here He Comes

Ready Or Not Here He Comes 
Matthew 25:1-13 

INTRO:
Good evening. It is good to see each of you that have returned this evening. We are going to continue our studies on the parables of Jesus. Before we begin I would like to tell you a story.
This story is about two neighbors who were talking in the back garden over the fence. The first one of them said, “I went to a wedding this weekend, but I don't think the marriage will last.” Her friend asked, “Why do you think it won’t last?” The first one said, “Well, when the groom said ‘I do, the bride said, ‘don’t use that tone of voice with me.’”

I guess the point of the story is that relationships will last only if both parties look out for each other and treat each other right.

Tonight we will look at a parable from Matthew 25. In Matthew 25 we find a series of parables from Jesus on the subject of preparedness. We find “The parable of the Ten Virgins” verses 1-13, which we are going to look at tonight. In verses 14-30 we find “The parable of the Talents”, which we are going to look at next time. Finally in verses 31-46 we find “The parable of the Sheep and goats”.

In Matthew chapters 24 and 25 Jesus talked to His disciples about a time which was coming, when the city of Jerusalem would be totally destroyed and He talks about His final coming, His return, the first event being a type of the second. In Matthew 24:4-5 Jesus warns them, “4. ... "Take heed that no one deceives you. 5. "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.” Then He says in Matthew 24:13-14 “13. "But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14. "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

In verses 37-39 of Matthew 24 He talks about; “37. "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38. "For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39. "and did not know until the flood came and took them all away... ”

He talked about “Two men will be in the field”, and “Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and the other left,” in verses 40-41.
Jesus also spoke of “Faithful and wise servants who did their duty while their master was away.” He also spoke of “Evil servants who were thinking that their master was delayed and so because of this delay they were careless and positively wicked in their conduct.” Jesus says that when He does come “These evil servants will be punished”.

In short He’s telling them that He would arrive unexpectedly and He would find many people who weren’t prepared for it.

On December 26, the day after Christmas, 2004 the whole world was shaken by the events of a Tsunami. It was devastating. People’s homes were wiped out and many people lost their lives. It was a disaster on a global scale, to such an extent that people are still years later trying to put their lives back together. Waves, some 100 ft high, killed an estimated 227,898 people in 14 countries.

I don’t know if you were aware of this but a lot of the countries affected by the Tsunami were warned years before to have some sort of warning system built, so that the people could have some sort of chance to be prepared. Sadly as we saw on our television screens, these countries didn’t take that advice.

Jesus isn’t talking about a Tsunami coming. He’s talking about His coming, but this time it isn’t to dwell among us like He did before, this time He’s coming to destroy this earth and everything on it. It’s not going to be a global disaster, it’s going to be a time of Universal Judgment, where souls will either live with Him forever or be destroyed with the devil and his angels in hell.

I. Let’s read the parable together. Matthew 25:1-13 - “1. "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2. "Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3. "Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4. "but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5. "But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6. "And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' 7. "Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8. "And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9. "But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' 10. "And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11. "Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' 12. "But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' 13. "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”
A. When we were younger we used to play a game called “Hide and Seek”. I remember I thought it was great fun. The idea was that some of our friends would run and hide somewhere and whoever was “it”, would cover their eyes and count to some number, I think it was 50 and then shout out in a loud voice, “Here I come, ready or not!” Then the person would go off hunting for their friends.
B. In a sense that’s what Jesus says to His followers. He says, “Ready or not I am coming!” Jesus isn’t now talking about how His followers were to be prepared for the “Destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70”. He’s telling the whole world to be ready because He is coming back sometime in the future.
II. What I want to do this evening is to see if we can learn some lessons about ways in which we can be ready for His return. Jesus is going to share with us 3 things, which, “We cannot do.”
A. The 1st thing we cannot do is this; “We cannot neglect preparation and be ready at His coming.” Jesus wastes no time in getting straight to the point after sharing this parable. He says in Verse 13, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour”. The key word in that verse is the word “Watch.” What does it mean to watch?
B. In what way are Christians to watch for Christ’s return? It certainly doesn’t mean what His disciples were doing in Acts 1:7-10 when Luke tells us that “7. And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8. "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.'' 9. Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,”.
1. What did the two men say? Acts 1:11 – “Men of Galilee,” they said, ‘why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
2. I think that is one of the most unfair questions in the Bible. You see “watching” doesn’t mean intently looking up into the sky 24 hours a day, every day waiting for a first glimpse of His glorious appearance.
3. It also doesn’t mean that we are to talk about nothing else but His coming. Christians must “watch” with more than their eyes and their tongues.
4. That’s what Paul meant when He said in Colossians 3:1-2 – “1. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
C. To “watch” is to have some forethought of the future. It means to take some prior precautions, to make some preliminary preparation, and to continue in that preparation. Why is this preparation so important? Look back at our parable, this was the very thing the foolish virgins failed to do.
III. Matthew 25:1-3 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.”[para]
A. Verse 8 tells us that after the bridegroom arrived, “The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’”[para] In other words they had their lamps, and they began to wait eagerly, but they didn’t have enough oil.
1. It never entered their minds that the bridegroom might delay and it’s because of this that Jesus called them “foolish”. We notice they weren’t ungodly or immoral. They weren’t even hypocrites. They were simply foolish because they didn’t allow for the possibility of delay.
2. In short, when the bridegroom returned they were unprepared. One of the most inescapable lessons from life is the necessity of being prepared. Practically everything that is done requires preparation.
B. This is true of reading, writing and arithmetic. It’s true of buying and selling, sowing, and reaping. There are certain things in life, which cannot be done at the last minute.
C. If you ever go on vacation or take a trip you will understand just how much preparation is needed before you go. Preparation is essential for knowledge.
1. Just ask Mark and he will tell you that if only the students studied and worked as hard throughout the whole year as they do the night before final exams, they would all ace the exams. In other words the time of examination is not the time to make preparation.
2. When the foolish virgins realized they didn’t have enough oil, they asked the wise virgins for some of theirs. Their answer is in Matthew 25:9-10, “’No,’ they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’”[para]
D. Folks, it is necessary for everyone to make their own preparations for the greatest examination and the greatest journey in life. On Judgment Day it will be too late to make up for any previous neglect of preparation, just as we know it would be foolish of us to think that we can buy oil after the shops are closed.
IV. That brings me to the 2nd thing we cannot do. “We cannot borrow our way out of this neglect.” When I read this parable I can’t help but sympathize with the foolish virgins. I mean, they are in a tough spot even if it is their own making. We might wonder, why didn’t the wise virgins give to the foolish virgins?
A. Were they just being heartless to refuse to share their oil with others at a time of distress? The answer is quite simple; you cannot borrow something, which must be bought.
1. Our characters are like that. Our characters cannot be loaned from person to person. It is something that must be developed individually. We cannot pass our character on to someone else when we die.
2. How many times do we hear people calling upon the faith of another person? You hear people say these things all the time. A gospel preacher said that his granddad was an elder of the church for 45 years. His mother was a godly woman who spent her whole life teaching Sunday school and giving to the needy. He said; “My dad was a deacon, and his dad was a deacon and my great granddad was a deacon before him.” He said that people talk about this as though he inherited some of their faith.
3. Folks, what Jesus is teaching us here, is that obedience to God is another thing that cannot be borrowed.
B. Hebrews 9:27 – “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,”
1. Romans 14:10-12 – “10. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11. For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.'' 12. So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.”
2. You see each one is accountable individually. We live our own life, develop our own character, work out our own salvation and we each have a personal relationship with Christ and God the Father.
C. The husband can’t stand for his wife and the wife can’t stand for her husband. You can’t appeal to God on Judgment Day that your mother went to church for 50 years. You can’t say, “My father was a great man of faith.”
1. Can people be an influence, a guiding light, a great example for others? Of course they can and we are called to do so.
2. All the faith and dedication in the world on the part of parents isn’t enough for their children. All the hope and enthusiasm of a child cannot suffice for an indifferent parent. I hope and pray that our kids become Christians one day. I hope and pray that they will understand just exactly what being a follower of Christ means.
3. As a parent I realize that they can’t stand before God on the basis of my faith. They can’t go to heaven and say to God, “My daddy was a preacher”. They have to have their own faith. They need to make decisions about what to do with God’s commandments. I can’t make them understand. I can’t make them do right.
D. That’s because God requires personal submission to His commands. Your submission to God is your submission. Your faith needs to be your faith. You see it takes courage to become a Christian. It takes even more courage to stay faithful to God’s commands. Courage is not limited to the battlefield or when the Browns play the Steelers. Courage is not limited to bravely catching a thief in your house.
1. The real tests of courage are much deeper and much quieter. They are the inner tests, like remaining faithful when nobody's looking, like enduring pain when the room is empty, like standing alone when you’re misunderstood.
2. Those are the inner strengths and courage.
V. Let’s look at the 3rd thing we cannot do. “We cannot recall lost opportunities.”
Matthew 25:10 – “And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.” What a sad picture this is, isn’t it?
A. When the bridegroom came, the foolish maidens were out trying to buy oil for their lamps. On returning they found that the marriage feast had already begun and the door was shut.
1. They missed their one chance. They didn’t seize their one great moment.
2. Folks, every day brings us opportunities that we must not neglect. Opportunities to help others are all around us. These opportunities are not just in India or Africa. They are right here on our doorstep.
3. Today may very well be a day when we have an opportunity to enter an open door to do good.
B. Galatians 6:10 – “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” If we fail to go through that door when it is open, it may soon be shut.
1. It will shut us out from the joy of serving and shut us in with a selfish heart.
2. The truth of the parable is that the failure of the foolish virgins was final. Jesus says in verses 11-12 – “11. "Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' 12. "But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.'” The door was shut and it was shut forever. How much those girls desired to enter. How long they had looked forward to the wedding! They were near to the reception, so near in fact that they could hear the inexpressible joy inside and yet they were so far away.
VI. Centuries have passed after this parable was told by Jesus and taught by many, and the question always arises, “When will Jesus come again?”
A. It was a sad picture back then, when thousands of people lost their lives in Jerusalem because they didn’t take Jesus’ advice, and it’s also a sad picture, which is still to come.
1. We shouldn’t be asking the question, “When will Jesus come again?” That’s the wrong question. The real question we should be asking ourselves is, “Are our lamps trimmed and burning?”
2. That’s why Jesus says in Matthew 25:13 – “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”,
B. Jesus will return folks and we know that because He said so. We know that there are some religious groups who use His coming as a form of scare mongering trying to get people into becoming followers of their ways.
1. There’s no denying the truth. He is coming and many religious groups have tried time and time again to predict His coming and time and time again they have been made to look foolish, but still they go on predicting.
2. As we just read Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour”.
3. Nobody knows when He is going to return, so it’s not even worth the effort to try and figure out when He is coming back. That’s not the question of the Bible. The question of the Bible is, are we ready?
C. If you are ready, then you will be willing to be patient and you will be willing and ready to stand firm until He does return.
1. James 5:7-8 – “7. Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
VII. When you go on a vacation or a long trip that takes many days, after awhile you find yourself missing things about the place where you live. Missing family, friends, your brothers and sisters here in Chardon. You get uneasy and you feel uncomfortable, homesick. Let me ask you, do you ever get homesick?
A. Paul did and he talked about it in Philippians 1:20-23 – “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.” [para]
1. I wonder, do we ever get homesick like Paul did for heaven? Paul goes on to say in Philippians 3:20 – “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”[para]
2. The world began with the Word of God and when Christ returns this present world will end with the Word of God. That’s the truth and that’s a promise. It’s not my promise. It’s God promise.
B. 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 – “14. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” Those are words of both encouragement and warning. I pray that we do a better job of listening then those who lost their lives when Jerusalem fell.

CONCLUSION:
I’ll wind this up with a story you may have heard about the day when Forrest Gump dies and goes to Heaven and he is at the Pearly Gates, met by Peter himself. Remember this is a story.
Peter says, “Well, Forrest, it’s certainly good to see you. We have heard a lot about you but I must inform you that the place is filling up fast, and we’ve been administering an entrance quiz for everyone.
The quiz is short and you have to pass before you can get into heaven”.
Peter then asks him the 1st question.
“Forest how many days of the week begin with the letter T?
Forrest says, “How many days in the week begin with the letter “T”?
That one's easy.
That’d be Today and Tomorrow.”
Peter’s eyes open wide and he exclaims, “Forrest, that's not what I was thinking, but I’ll give you credit for that answer.”
He says “Here is your 2nd question.”
“How many seconds are there in a year?”
“Now that one’s harder,” says Forrest, “But I guess the only answer can be twelve.”
Astounded, Peter says, “Twelve? Twelve? Forrest, how did you come up with twelve seconds in a year?”
“Shucks, there’s got to be twelve: January 2nd, February 2nd, and March 2nd.”
Peter interrupts him and says, “Hold it, I see where you're going with this, and I’ll have to give you credit for that one, too. Let’s go on with the next and final question.”
“Can you tell me God’s first name?”
“Sure” Forrest replied, “Its Andy.”
“Andy!” Peter raised his eyebrow, “Ok, I can understand how you came up with your answers to my first two questions, but just how in the world did you come up with the name of Andy as the first name of God?”
“That was the easiest one of all,” Forrest replied. “Andy walks with me, Andy talks with me, Andy tells me I am his own.”
Peter opens the Pearly Gates and said, “Run, Forrest, run.”

Many, many people have their own ideas about what Judgment Day will be like. God isn’t going to give us a quiz like that... but there will be an examination. We all know that any examination needs preparation. It’s entirely up to each of us how much preparation we’re willing to put in.

2 Corinthians 5:10 – “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” There is really only one way to be sure that we are ready for the Day of Judgment when Christ returns and that is to be ready every day.

If you’re a Christian this evening, I don’t know how much oil you’ve got left burning in your lamp, it’s not for me to judge. If your oil is running a little low then maybe you need to ask God to help you. Or as the children’s song says, “Give me oil in my lamp keep me burning, give me oil in my lamp I pray, give me oil in my lamp keep me burning, burning, burning, keep me burning to the end of day.”

If you haven’t obeyed His commands, then you’re not prepared and you need to get prepared. You need to study His word and do what His word tells every one of us to do. You need to repent, turn from the ways of the world and turn to God and follow His ways. You’re here this evening, which tells me you have some belief in God.

You also need to believe the Bible where it says that Christ is who He claims to be, which is the Savior of the world. You need to confess that Jesus is Lord and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins. After you’ve obeyed His commands and you continue to obey His commands, which is called faithfulness, it’s then that you are starting the preparation process. You are doing what God requires you to do in preparation for His return.

Invitation: ???

Reference Sermon
Mike Glover

Prophecies Of The Christ In Isaiah

Prophecies Of The Christ In Isaiah
Isaiah 7:14

INTRO:
Good morning: It is good to see everybody this morning. I want to encourage you to take out your Bibles and look at the scriptures I mention. If you have any questions about anything I say, I’ll be glad to talk to you about it. If I’m wrong, I will stand corrected.

Over the past few weeks we have looked at the gospel of Jesus Christ from the Old Testament. Our examination of the gospel was from the Psalms and we also looked at shadows of the Christ from the Law of Moses, from Genesis Exodus and Leviticus. We have seen a sample of what Christ meant when He said; “all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” You should have a hand out that has more references.

As I said we should realize that these prophecies in Isaiah were given somewhere between seven hundred and seven hundred and fifty years before the events in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

There are many reasons why we believe the Bible is the word of God. There are many reasons why we believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. One of the primary, foundational reasons why we believe the Bible is the word of God is the prophecies found within the Bible that were fulfill later on in history. One of the primary reasons why we believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God is because there were prophecies about the Christ and Jesus fulfilled them all.

We have glimpsed the Law and the Psalms and what we will be doing this morning is looking at prophecies from the prophet Isaiah. What we can find contained within this one book, is the full picture of the gospel of Christ laid out for us many, many years before the events happened.

I. Let us begin with a prophecy that you're probably very familiar with Isaiah 7:14 – “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” When the Christ was going to come into this world He was going to be born in a very unique fashion. He was going to be born of a virgin. This was going to be the sign from God - that this individual is indeed the Christ, the Messiah.
A. We find this mentioned again over in Isaiah 9:6-7 where it says: “6. 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. 7. 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.”
1. In the text we have a prophecy about the Christ, the Messiah, the King and how the government is going to be laid upon His shoulders. There are some points that we should note:
2. He is going to be a child.
3. He’s going to be a son, but notice what the son is going to be called... everlasting father, mighty God.
4. Back in Isaiah 7:14 the meaning of the word Immanuel is literally “God with us”. The Christ is going to be God with us, everlasting father, mighty God.
5. It also says that He is going to have a kingdom that is going to be forever.
6. Notice too that in verse seven “of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end”.
7. This government, this kingdom is going to stand forever and He is going to be upon the throne of David in this kingdom.
B. Let’s turn to the New Testament books. I want us to look at how the birth of Christ is introduced in Luke 1:26-33 - “26. Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27. to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28. And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!'' 29. But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31. "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32. "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; (notice the next phrase) and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. That is the fulfillment of the text we read back in Isaiah 9 33. "And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.''” Again, Isaiah Chapter 9.
C. Let us continue in Luke 1:34 – “Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?''” She is a virgin Isaiah says in 7:14.
1. What we see in Luke is about the birth of the Christ to the Virgin Mary and the Christ is to be the one who is going to reign over the kingdom that is going to stand forever.
2. Understand that the kingdom is indeed the church today, and that it will continue all the way to when the Lord comes again.
II. When you study Isaiah, and I encourage everyone to do so, I suspect that you will find in Isaiah 53 what will become your favorite prophesy of the entire Bible. For the rest of the lesson what I would like to do is take this entire chapter and break it down starting in verse three.
A. It says about the Christ, who is going to come into the world; “He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”
1. Solomon was the son of David and since the Christ was described as the son of David many of the Jews were expecting the Christ would be like Solomon... and his kingdom like the kingdom of Solomon.
2. They’re expecting to come with him all the pomp and all the majesty of a great earthly king. Everybody was going to go: All right, here comes the Christ. Everybody loves Him, he is David’s son... but that's not the way it was prophesied.
3. The prophecy says he was going to be despised. The Christ was going to be rejected.
i. We find in John 1:11 – “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.”
ii. When Christ came into the world he was rejected.
4. It was the leaders of his people, the Jews, the chief priest, the scribes and the Pharisees that were the ones that conspired to kill Him. They were the ones that tried Him in the Sanhedrin court and found him worthy of death. He came to his own, those that knew or should have known. Yet, they despised him and they rejected him just like the prophecy said they would.
III. In Isaiah 53:7 – “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not his mouth.”
A. When the suffering servant was going be brought before trial he was not going to open his mouth.
1. He was not going to give any defense for himself at all. He was going to let happen what was going to happen.
2. He was going to allow these people's intentions for him to be realized and like a lamb being led to the slaughter he was going to allow it and go through the procedure without fighting it.
B. We find this fulfilled in Matthew 26. “62. And the high priest arose and said to Him, "Do You answer nothing? What is it that these men testify against You?'' 63. But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, "I adjure You by the living God that You tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.'' This is Jesus before the Sanhedrin and this He answered. 64. Jesus said to him, "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.''” Jesus answer was not to fight or argue but to move the process along for He knew it would never have occurred to that Satan-blinded court that His words were true and not blasphemous.
1. Look with me at Daniel 7:13-14 - “13. "I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. 14. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.”
2. Jesus was taken to Pilate who found no fault in Him. Then Pilate, after finding out Jesus was from Galilee, sent Him to Herod. In Luke 23:8-9 we read; “8. Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. 9. Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.”
3. Jesus is sent back to Pilate and we find in Mark 15:3-5 – “3. And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing. 4. Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, "Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!'' 5. But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.”
i. When Jesus was before the Sanhedrin He said nothing.
ii. When Jesus was before Herod He said nothing.
iii. When Jesus was before Pilate and they’re accusing him Jesus says nothing.
4. Isaiah 53 says He is going to go like a sheep to the slaughter. No resistance. He says nothing.
IV. Back in Isaiah 53:5 – “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”
A. The Christ is going to be wounded, He is going to be bruised, and He is going to be whipped.
1. In the New Testament in Matthew 26:67 – “67. Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, 68. saying, "Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?''”
2. Then in Matthew 27:26 – “26. Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.”
3. Finally Matthew 27:30 – “Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.”
i. He was bruised.
ii. He was beaten.
iii. He was scourged.
4. The Jews believed that if someone was to be punished it had to be done according to law of Moses with 39 stripes, 40 stripes save one, hence Paul’s reference in 2 Corinthians 11:24.
5. When the Roman soldiers scourged someone they could care less about the Jewish concept. The scourging the Romans delivered was much more traumatic, even to the point of being fatal. The flagellum was a much more torturous instrument then the whip used by the Jews, the lashes were delivered without any compassion or consideration for the victim’s health, and Roman law imposed no limit to the number of lashes inflicted at scourging.
6. This Roman instrument, called in Latin a flagellum, used to deliver this form of punishment, was much different from the bull whip that is more common in our culture. It was instead more like the old British cat o’ nine tails, except that the flagellum was not designed merely to bruise or leave welts on the victim. The flagellum was a whip with several (at least three) thongs or strands, each perhaps as much as three feet long, and the strands were weighted with lead balls or pieces of bone. This instrument was designed to lacerate. When they scourged an individual they would take them and tie them taunt with their hands extended and the body and legs extended on a post.
7. The blood would pour out and the idea was to beat the person as close to death as they could and just leave them barely alive. Every lash that came upon His body, He allowed.
B. Jesus said back in the Gospel of John no one was going to take His life from Him but He was going to lay it down of Himself. Everything that He went through, He permitted to occur. He went as a lamb to the slaughter, no resistance whatsoever.
1. He was giving Himself for me and for you.
2. Every lash of the whip, every moment of the beating was for me so that I could be healed of my sins.
3. Everything that He's allowing to happen to Him is because He loves us and He wants us healed of our sins.
V. Isaiah 53:8 says; “He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken.” .
A. The first thing we look at in the beginning of verse 8 is He was taken from prison and from judgment . We find that His judgment was taken away in John 18:38 – “Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?'' And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all.”
1. That was Pilate’s verdict. Pilate, when he comes out to the Jews says; I find no fault in Him.
2. In John 19:4 – “Pilate then went out again, and said to them, "Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him.''” Here for the second time is his verdict, I find no fault in him...not guilty.
3. John 19:12 – “From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, "If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.''”
B. When we get John 19:16 - “So he delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led Him away.”
1. He was taken from prison and from judgment.
2. His judgment, his verdict, was I find no fault in him.
3. This man who was said to be not guilty, not guilty, was taken and crucified.
4. The writer of Acts puts it this way Acts 8:32-33 – referring to scripture; “32. The place in the Scripture which he read was this: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so He opened not His mouth. 33. In His humiliation His justice was taken away. And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.''”
5. The verdict of Jesus' Roman judge was one of innocence; but the Savior’s meekness and humiliation had no effect on the mob demanding his crucifixion; therefore, Pilate took away his judgment of innocence and ordered Jesus crucified.
C. We read earlier for the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
VI. It says in Isaiah 53:11-12 – “11. He shall see the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. by His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. 12. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
A. The text here tells us the Christ is going to die. Not only is He going to be beaten. Not only is He going to be whipped and scourged He is going to die. He's going to pour out his soul unto death.
1. When we look at Matthew 27:50 it simply says; “Jesus, when He had cried out again with a loud voice, yielded up His spirit.” They hung Him on the cross for more then six hours. He poured out his soul unto death completely giving Himself as the sacrifice for our sins.
2. Why did He do it? Isaiah 53:6 says; “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
3. This again is why Jesus is beaten, why He is scourged, why He is cut off from the land of the living. It's because of us.
4. It's by His stripes we are healed. It's what we have done that is wrong, not Him. His judgment was “not guilty”. We're the ones who have, in our stubborn pride, turned away from God and sinned. The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
B. Continuing in Isaiah 53:8 it says; “...for the transgressions of My people He was stricken.”
1. Continuing in verse 10; “...When You make His soul an offering for sin,...”.
2. Then in verse 11; “... for he shall bear their iniquities”.
3. And in verse 12; “He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
C. Over and over again, God is explaining through Isaiah why the Christ, why the Messiah, why His Son, was going to be scourged, and crucified, and poured out to the point of death...the death of the cross. It was for our sins. It was for our iniquities so that we could be spiritually healed.
VII. Look back to Isaiah 53:9 – “And they made His grave with the wicked but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.”
A. We're dealing with the Christ. He had done no violence, had done nothing wrong, He had done nothing worthy of this punishment. Then in honor He is going to be buried.
1. In those times if you were a criminal they didn't take you to the cemetery. They didn’t give you a nice burial. Sometimes they left you to rot on the cross let the birds eat your flesh and then threw the bones in the trash.
2. Other times they made you dig great big pits and then would throw you in there with the other dead bodies.
3. That is not the way the Christ was buried. He was not going to be left hanging on a cross for the birds to eat his flesh. They were not going to take His body and throw it in the pit with another bunch of trash or other dead bodies and animals.
B. He was given a burial of honor because He had done no violence nor was any deceit in His mouth. We find this fulfilled in Matthew 27:57-61 – “57. Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. 59. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60. and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.”
1. Mark 15:43 gives a little more detail; “Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.”
2. He made His grave with the rich because He had done no violence. It was fulfilled when he was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.
VIII. Isaiah doesn't stop there. In verse 10 it says; “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.”
A. In Isaiah we're dealing with after the individual has poured out his soul to death. Again we learn in the text that his soul is going to be an offering for sin, but after he’s given himself to the point of death.
1. Then Isaiah says after that, after he’s dead, after he's buried, then it says the Lord will see his seed. He shall prologue His Days.
2. We asked this before, how is the pleasure of the Lord going to prosper in the hands of someone who is dead?
3. It is going to be by the dead individual, raised from the dead and his days now being prolonged. This is a prophecy of the resurrection.
B. We can read how Paul describes this in his letter to the Ephesians. Ephesians 1:19-20 – “19. and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20. which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,”
1. The Christ was raised from the dead and He is now sitting in heaven itself at the right hand of God.
2. If we continue at that location in Ephesians it says; “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. 22. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23. which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
C. He shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands.
1. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and right now He is reigning over the body of Christ, His body, the church, His kingdom.
2. What we find in Isaiah is Christ crucified preached to us from a text that is many, many years before the events happened.
3. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

CONCLUSION:
The reason Jesus fulfilled the prophecies about the Christ is because He is Christ. The point of these lessons was to look at the shadows of Christ from the Law of Moses, the prophecies of Christ from the Psalms, and the prophecies derived from Isaiah.
From all of those texts we can see the mystery of God revealed before the events in history ever happened.

We see Christ crucified where shadows are foretold in a very explicit manner. For those who are not yet Christians the purpose is to bring them to the point of faith where they can see and believe Jesus is the Christ.

As I told you in the introduction one of the primary reasons why I believe personally is because I can read Isaiah 53 and see the fulfillment in the birth, life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

For those that are a child of God already walking by faith, the purpose of the lesson was to strengthen your faith and when your faith is stronger then your relationship with God would be stronger and you are better armored against the wiles’ of Satan.

If you haven’t become a child of God yet, and you realize now that Jesus is indeed the Christ the one that was prophesied about, that He really is the son of God the one that was prophesied about Isaiah 7:14, you need to put your trust in the Lord and follow him by faith. If you are willing to confess your faith and repent of your sins we'd be glad to assist you as you, by faith, by the gospel are baptized into the body of Christ.

If you are a child of God already and you find that your faith has been weak in your relationship with God, be strengthened in faith by God’s Word and strengthen your relationship. If there is something serious standing between you and your Lord deal with it. Our God is gracious. God is willing to forgive you.

After all He was willing to give His son to die for you. That's why Jesus was scourged so that we could be spiritually healed when we obey the gospel and when we take our sin to him and beg for forgiveness of it. Be healed this morning.

If you subject to the Gospel call in any way let us know while we stand and sing the invitation song.

Invitation song: ???
Reference sermon by: Wayne Fancher

Prophecies Of The Christ In Isaiah

Attachment:
New Testament Quotations
Isaiah 40:3-5 ........ Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4-6; John 1:23
Isaiah 40:6-8 .........1 Peter 1:24,25
Isaiah 40:13 ..........Romans 11:34; 1 Corinthians 2:16
Isaiah 42:1-4 .........Matthew 12:18-21
Isaiah 42:7 ........... Mark 4:15,16
Isaiah 45:23 ..........Romans 14:11
Isaiah 49:6 ........... Acts 13:47
Isaiah 49:8 ...........2 Corinthians 6:2
Isaiah 52:5 ...........Romans 2:24
Isaiah 52:7 ...........Romans 10:15
Isaiah 52:11 ..........2 Corinthians 6:17
Isaiah 52:15 ..........Romans 15:21
Isaiah 53:1 ........... John 12:28; Romans 10:16
Isaiah 53:4 ...........Matthew 8:17; 1 Peter 2:24
Isaiah 53:7,8 .........Acts 8:32,33
Isaiah 53:9 ...........1 Peter 2:22
Isaiah 53:12 .......... Mark 15:28; Luke 22:37
Isaiah 54:1 ...........Galatians 4:27
Isaiah 54:13 .......... John 6:45
Isaiah 55:3 ........... Acts 13:34
Isaiah 56:7 ...........Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46
Isaiah 59:7,8 .........Romans 3:15-17
Isaiah 59:20,21 .......Romans 11:26,27
Isaiah 61:1,2 ......... Luke 4:18,19
Isaiah 62:11 ..........Matthew 21:5
Isaiah 65:1,2 .........Romans 10:20,21
Isaiah 66:1,2 ......... Acts 7:49,50
Isaiah 66:24 .......... Mark 9:44.

The Two Workers

The Two Workers

Matthew 21:28-32

 INTRO:

Good evening.   We are going to continue our studies on the parables of Jesus.

We only have a few left to do.

 

Turn your Bibles to Matthew 21. Let’s set the scene starting in verse 23. Matthew 21:23-27 – “23. Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?'' 24. But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: 25. "The baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or from men?'' And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, `From heaven,' He will say to us, `Why then did you not believe him?' 26. "But if we say, `From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.'' 27. So they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know.'' And He said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

 

Jesus has been in the temple teaching and the religious leaders, the Pharisees and the scribes question Him because as far as they were concerned they were the only ones that should be teaching anybody.  They asked Jesus what authority do you have to be teaching the people.

 

Jesus then asks them about the baptism of John. Where did John get his authority? They get together and start talking to one another. “If we say it came from God then we're in a hole because we didn't believe him, but if we say that it was from man then the people are going be upset at us because they believe him to be a prophet.”  They were between a rock and a hard place, either answer is going to be bad so they come back and tell Jesus we don't know.

 

The parable we are going to look at today is reveals Jesus as the Master teacher.  Gathered around Jesus was a group of Jews who were seeking His destruction. As we know the Jews always had a problem accepting Jesus’ authority.   Jesus tells them this story and asks them their opinion. As we are going to read in a minute the answer they gave was perfectly correct but what they didn’t understand was the story’s implications. It wasn’t until Jesus had finished that they realized the story was about them. That’s hard to accept. They had accused themselves and so fixed their own punishment. We have already discovered the parables of Jesus not only explain truths but they also expose the heart.

 

We are going to look at “The parable of the two sons”. Let’s go ahead and read it.

Matthew 21:28-32 – “28. "But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, `Son, go, work today in my vineyard.' 29. "He answered and said, `I will not,' but afterward he regretted it and went. 30. "Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, `I go, sir,' but he did not go. 31. "Which of the two did the will of his father?'' They said to Him, "The first.'' Jesus said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. 32. "For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.”[NKJV]

 

1. What I want to do is break this parable into three focus points this evening. The first focus point I want us to look at is ‘The call’.  Jesus asks the Jewish leaders a question in verse 28, "But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, `Son, go, work today in my vineyard.'”
   1. This is about a relationship, father and son. One of the first things that I notice when I read this parable is the direct way the father approaches his sons.   He knows he has the right to ask them both to go and work in his vineyard. This illustration reveals the responsibilities of sons.  He speaks to both sons in the kindest of terms and says, “Son go work today.” Jesus says in Matthew 21:30 – “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing.”[para]
   2. In this way God as the Father gently calls all men and women. That’s because God is ever seeking workers. It’s God who takes the initiative to bring the inactive and indifferent world into His vineyard. That’s what Jesus meant when He says in John 6:44 – “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
   3. It is God who draws people to the Savior.   We might wonder how He does this.  It is not through a weird dream, not through a fascinating vision, not through a Ouija board, not through a crystal ball. It doesn’t work that way. Then what is His drawing power? Read on in verse 45 of John 6, John 6:45 – “It is written in the prophets, `And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.”
   4. God draws people to the Savior through teaching. 2 Thessalonians 2:14 – “to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” People are brought near to the fountain of grace when they learn and receive and submit to the Gospel of Christ.
      1. A long time ago when Dr. David Livingstone was working in Africa, a group of friends wrote a letter to him.   They wrote in the letter, “We would like to send other men to you. Have you found a good road into your area yet?”
      2. According to a member of his family, Dr. Livingston sent this message in reply, “If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all.”
   5. The father in the parable asked each of his sons to work. He didn’t say it was easy work, but they were called to work. Listen, folks, God’s call goes out to the entire world. It’s as worldwide as human flesh. It’s as all-pervading as human needs.
      1. God’s call went out in the time of John and this parable is about the two different groups of people and their reactions.   The religious leaders did not accept it.  They didn't accept John. They didn't accept Christ. But the common people did it. In this we see the two sons, the common people, and the religious leaders.  Jesus is making a contrast between them.  Parables are designed to drive home points and this one is straightforward.
      2. God summons each and every one of us to preach the Gospel to all nations. Not a single soul is to be left out, the call is universal and individual.  When you read your Bible you will find that He calls me and He calls you… one by one. He wants all His children to enter His vineyard and when a person refuses to go in, they are flatly refusing to acknowledge His authority.
2. Does God call us to become Christians, and then we just sit around and enjoy the blessings of a Christian life? No! Of course He doesn’t. That’s the second focus point: ‘The call from God is a call to work.’
   1. A preacher was once asked by his friend, whom he met while on vacation, “How many members do you have in your congregation?” The preacher replied, “One thousand.” His friend said, “Really! and how many of them are active?” The preacher replied, “All of them.” He said, “Around two hundred of them are active for the Lord, the balance are active for the devil.”
   2. We ought to consider in which category we are. More importantly where are we in the Lord’s sight?  Jesus said in Matthew 12:30 – “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” If we are for Jesus -- then we will work for Jesus. When God calls us it’s not to rest and take it easy. The father’s desire is for his children to work. That’s why he called them.
   3. In Tennyson’s poem “The Lotos eaters” he tells the story of a visit to an enchanting land where it was ‘always afternoon’. ‘It’s there that the sailors ate of an unusual lotus plant. After tasting its sweet fruit, all they wanted to do was sleep and dream and live with half shut eyes. They had lost all desire to return to their homeland and were perfectly content to recline on the hills with their dreams’.
   4. Unfortunately there are those people in Christ’s kingdom who are like that. I wonder; are we like that? You see some people don’t realize what being a Christian demands.   They have not had their eyes open nor seen the clearly described cost of serving. They have entered the Lord’s church like people running to a shelter to escape a storm. When they are inside they just stand around and watch it rain.
      1. It is true that there’s a certain measure of safety and security in the church. But the church, like a vineyard, is a place of work. All those inside the vineyard should engage in its program of work. Many Christians only spend about 15 or 20 minutes a week working for the Lord.
      2. I notice the father’s call had a sense of urgency about it. He says in verse 28, “Son, go, work today in my vineyard.” Not tomorrow, not next week, today, in other words there was work which needed to be done, and it needed to be that day.
      3. Christ’s call is for men and women who will work for Him today. That is after all—all the time that there is. It is our one chance, our opportunity to serve. 2 Corinthians 6:2 – “For He says: "In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.'' Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”  If we hold back and put off, if we wait until tomorrow to do the work of today, the chances are the work won’t get done. Then in effect, we are like the son who bluntly said to his father in verse 29, “I will not.”
3. That brings us to the third focus point: “The workers.” Let’s look at the 2nd son first.  Notice how polite and respectful he replies to his father’s request. Matthew 21:30 - “I go, sir”.  Although his brother might refuse his father, he wouldn’t. He would go. How courteous he is, how sure of success he is. But why then did he fail his father? Matthew 21:30 says, “… but he did not go.”
   1. It’s not that he deliberately deceived his father.  He’s not worked out some plot of intrigue by which he hoped to bankrupt his father. He may not have even being trying to purposely lie to his father.
      1. He failed his father because in his father’s presence he probably intended to go, but in his father’s absence he found that the doing of the task was more difficult than saying the words.
      2. There is a difference between saying and doing.  We struggle with that sometimes.   We promise and then do not deliver. James 1:22-25 – “22. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24. for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work,— he will be blessed in what he does.”
   2. This son represents a large host of Christ-would-be-followers who profess much but practice little. Many people pledge their loyalty to the Master and then they fall down on their pledge. They praise love—but don’t practice love. It’s like a profession without practice, a promise without performance. When people have this type of attitude, they become an enemy to the cause of Christ.  
   3. If these people are in a congregation it shows. Anyone coming into that congregation is going to see promise without performance.
      1. Gandhi was born a Hindu but studied many other religions.   He spent some time in South Africa and he wrote in his autobiography “… I came in contact with another Christian family. At their suggestion I attended the Wesleyan church every Sunday. For these days I also had their standing invitation to dinner.
      2. The church did not make a favorable impression on me. The sermons seemed to be uninspiring. The congregation did not strike me as being particularly religious. They were not an assembly of devout souls; they appeared rather to be worldly-minded people, going to church for recreation and in conformity to custom.
      3. Here, at times, I would involuntarily doze. I was ashamed, but some of my neighbors, who were in no better case, lightened the shame. I could not go on long like this, and soon gave up attending the service.”
   4. This was not a congregation of the saints but it points out what the observer saw. What do people think when they come to Chardon to worship God?  Do they see people trying their best to glorify God and serve Him with all of their hearts, minds and soul? Or do they see a bunch of people who just like hanging out together like some social club?
   5. It is not enough to have an outward form of righteousness if you are not really born again.  The world is full of religious people like that.   Jesus said in Matthew 7:21 - "Not everyone who says to me, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”
4. Let’s look at the 1st son. The first son refused his father and rudely said in verse 29 “I will not go.”  This son offered no reason or no excuse, he simply wasn’t going. Isn’t the world full of people like this? When the Father calls them to enter His kingdom, they bluntly refuse to enter. They say things like, “I won’t have anything to do with any kind of church!”
   1. It seems to me they think that they can excuse themselves of their sins. In fact they speak freely of their sins as though a frank confession of their sins can serve as a substitute for their behavior. A person is no less a sinner when they admit they are not a saint.
   2. However the 1st son made a change for the better. He remembered his ugly mood and the blatant discourtesy he had shown his father. How many of you have heard the expression, “Oh they must have got out on the wrong side of the bed this morning?” When people say that phrase, it’s usually used as an excuse for someone who is grumpy or in a bad mood. The idea is if you get off to a bad start in the morning, the rest of the day will be the same.
   3. The 1st son began his day badly but that didn’t mean he had to carry on the rest of the day with the same attitude. He saw no reason to continue in the wrong, so what did he do? He repented.  What did his repentance consist of? Not just a twinge of sorrow, he could have grieved much without repenting.  He repented only when he changed his mind and went to work in the vineyard.
5. Jesus goes on to say in verse 29 that, “He answered and said, `I will not,' but afterward he regretted it and went.”  It’s at this point that Jesus asks the Jews in verse 31, “Which of the two did the will of his father?” It was an easy question and it was an exposing question.
   1. Out of all the questions Jesus could have asked them, He asked them the most important question of all, “Which one did the will of their father?” According to verse 31, they said “The first,” and answered correctly.  
      1. All else is of no consequence, no matter how good the intentions, no matter how many the promises, the simple fact is that one son did and one son did not.
      2. Fine words can never take the place of fine deeds and it’s now that Jesus tells them they have just condemned themselves.
      3. Jesus could have asked for example; ’which of the two sons was a good son to his father?’ Neither of them is particularly impressive though are they? Instead He asks ’which of these two did the will of his father?’ and it is clear enough that this has to be the first son.
   2. He says in Matthew 21:31-32 – “… "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. "For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.”
   3. As we think about this we realize what an insult this must have been to the Jewish leaders!   Imagine the anger and rage in their hearts as Jesus tells them that these so-called unclean people, the people that the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law despised were now in a better spiritual condition than they were. Can you imagine that? They must have been fuming. No wonder they wanted to kill Him and get Him out of the way.
      1. The meaning of this parable is crystal clear. The first son who refused to work but later decided to work represents the tax collectors and prostitutes. All their lives by their wicked deeds they had been saying “No” to God, but when Jesus comes along they could no longer continue in their sin and instead pressed on to enter the kingdom.
      2. The second son represents the leaders of the Jews. They were always making the pretense of serving God but when Jesus came along they didn’t accept Him as the tax collectors and prostitutes did. They despised Jesus’ teachings and they hated Him so much they would eventually crucify Him on a cross.
      3. They had rejected John the baptizer and they had rejected Jesus as the Christ and wouldn’t accept His authority. The tax collectors and sinners had turned from their ways but the Jewish authorities had made no amends and had cast aside the heavenly kingdom.
   4. Let’s pause there for a moment, because this is something we should consider. The truth is that most people think that being a Christian is all about what you think. To them Christianity is a philosophy of life - a series of beliefs about life, death and the universe.   I suspect that if we ask the average person in the church what it is that makes them a Christian, they will also answer in terms of their beliefs.
      1. A preacher wrote that when he talked with people and invited them to church some of the standard responses were; ’I don’t believe in any of that’, or ’I used to believe that stuff when I was a kid but now I believe in science.’
      2. The preacher went on to say; “the most depressing response I ever get when I invite people to church is the one that goes ’Yeah, I believe all that, I just don’t go to church any more.”  He said; “At least the first two responses, which say ’I don’t think the same way you do’, sort of admits that if they did think the same way I did, that it would make some difference in the way they lived.”
      3. He continued; “This last response suggests not only that Christianity is about what you think, but that it is only about what you think.   What you believe need make no difference to the way you live.”  
      4. That response is like the approach taken by the second son. He thinks that helping his father is very important. He believes in the value of work.   He believes that when your father calls you to action you should answer immediately ’yes sir’. He just doesn’t go on and do anything about it.
      5. What makes a person a Christian is not a matter of what comes out of our mouths, the words we speak.   The parable suggests that God is less concerned with what we say then He is about what we do.
      6. Christianity is about belief, love, and obedience.   Obedience not in lip service but in real service, doing the will of the Father because He loves us and we love Him. Because of that love our lives are changed and we show that change by what we do.
   5. Along those lines a preacher said that he had been invited over for dinner by a family and they listened carefully while he told them about God and the Bible. Eventually he reached the point of explaining the steps of salvation and the need for baptism. Then he said; “Now you will be a follower of Jesus Christ and God will add you to His church”. “We talked about what this meant - about how God called us to serve Him with our whole lives.... Then something finally clicked and the father said - ’you don’t mean that we have to go to church do you?’ ’Well’, I said, ’that’d be a start’.”
      1. We don’t have this problem in other areas of life. I don’t think anyone ever attempts to join a soccer team unless they want to play soccer. I can’t imagine that anyone would go to the trouble signing up, going to practice, and doing all the work involved only to say; “you don’t mean I have to play a game do you? I only joined because I liked wearing the jersey!”
      2. People struggle with commitment and that is why in many groups there is a temptation for man to come up with a “list” of things that are “expected” of the members of the church community, a creed.   At the minimum this is a disservice not only to God but to people.
      3. Some will say to such a list; “that’s a bit much isn’t it?” Others will say, “Ok I’ve done those, I’m done now.”   Then there are those that will never grow beyond thinking that is all there is.

 CONCLUSION:

A parable is like a window.  We look through the parable and see things in a different way, and then at some point we catch our own reflection off the glass.  We wouldn’t be honest here if we didn’t see a little of ourselves reflected in the second son. We are the persons who are saying all the right things, yet failing to do what we are called to do.

As Christians we are called to work. What is Jesus going to be looking for when He returns? What does He expect His fellow servants to be doing?

Luke 12:35-40 – “35. "Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; 36. "and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. 37. "Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. 38. "And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39. "But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.''” “Be dressed, ready for service and keep your lamps burning.”

 

If as a Christian we find we are struggling to find ways to serve Him then let’s be encouraged to talk to someone about it. I would like encourage each of us to pray about ways in which we can serve Him.  Many have reduced it to Sunday Morning.   We need to consider the rest of the week.  

 

There are many ways we can serve, many feet we can wash as we see the needs. Perhaps you recall the name Fanny J Crosby.   She was made blind by an early childhood illness, yet she wrote more then 8 thousand hymns over her lifetime under scores of noms de plume. Hymns like; “Blessed Assurance”, Jesus is Tenderly Calling You Home”, “Praise Him, Praise Him”, “Rescue the Perishing”, and “To God Be The Glory”.  

 

Crosby described her hymn-writing process thus: 'It may seem a little old-fashioned, always to begin one’s work with prayer, but I never undertake a hymn without first asking the good Lord to be my inspiration.' Her capacity for work was incredible and could often compose six or seven hymns a day.   Her poems and hymns were composed entirely in her mind and she worked on as many as twelve hymns at once before dictating them to a transcriber.

 

Not many of us will ever compose a hymn but Jesus tells us, “He expects His servants to be ready for service and already be serving.” From the minute we put Christ on in baptism, we declared to the world that we choose His will to be done in our life. We were called to work because there is work to be done folks, lots of work and it starts with the day.

 

If you’re not a Christian this evening then Jesus asks you “Are you willing to do the Father’s will?” Maybe you have said, “No” quite bluntly to Jesus in the past.

Just because you got out of bed on the wrong side a few times in your life doesn’t mean you have to carry on the rest of your life with the same attitude.  You can repent today and change your mind about the way your life is going.  You can start saying yes to Jesus today.

 

Fanny Crosby understood what Jesus meant when He said in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

That’s where she got the inspiration for the hymn called, “Jesus is tenderly calling thee home.”

Listen to the words of first stanza of the song.

“Jesus is tenderly calling thee home, calling today, calling today.

Why from the sunshine of love wilt thou roam farther and farther away.”

Look at the words of the last stanza.

“Jesus is pleading, O list to His voice: hear Him today, Hear Him today.

They who believe on His name shall rejoice, quickly arise and obey.”

 

Folks Christ is still calling us this day.  Maybe we’re struggling to follow His will.   Maybe we don’t understand what His will is.   Maybe there are those who want to serve God but are not sure how to do that.

 

If that is you then talk to somebody.   Pray about it. Pick up your Bible and read. Attend Bible class. Don’t sit back and twiddle your thumbs.   There’s always work to do and lots of it.

 

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

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

 

Invitation song: # 600 – Jesus Is Tenderly Calling

Reference Sermon by: Mike Glover

 

Christ In The Psalms

Christ In The Psalms

Psalms

INTRO:

Good morning.   It is good to see everybody here this morning. I would like to continue our look at the Psalms and this time I want to examine in more detail how the Psalms are connected to Christ.

 

I want to encourage you to take out your Bibles and look at the scriptures I mention. If you have any questions about anything I say, I’ll be glad to talk to you about it. If I’m wrong, I will stand corrected.

 

We have used this reference before in Luke 24:44-45 The scripture says; “44. Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.'' 45. And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.”    Then Christ goes on to say; “Thus it is written…”

 

After Jesus rose from the dead, He was speaking to His apostles and His disciples in our text, explaining to them that what had been written in the Law of Moses, in the prophets and psalms had to be fulfilled.

 

In a previous lesson we looked at the foreshadowing of the Christ in the Law of Moses and over the last two weeks we had an in-depth study of Psalm 22.   These things show to me the value of the Old Testament in increasing our faith.   Yes, we may have accepted Christ as our savior, we believe and we obey, but we also know that we are to continue to study, as Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:13, and are reminded in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “all scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”  The study of the scripture increases our faith and this faith is needed to help us in our walk as Christians, showing others the way to go and to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:16 tells us we are to be “taking up the shield of faith”.  

 

Our faith that the Bible is the Word of God is increased because of the prophecies. You can read of events that were prophesied about hundreds and thousands of years before they came to pass and then see the fulfillment of them in history.  Our faith that Jesus actually is the Christ, the Son of God, is increased as we see He fulfills the prophecies about the Christ.   The Old Testament helps us in our understanding of God and just how powerful and magnificent He is.

 

When we were looking at Psalm 22, we also looked at Isaiah 53 as a cross reference with it.   There really is a whole lot more in Old Testament scripture about the Christ and I will only touch some.   There are around two hundred prophecies of the Christ in Psalms.    I encourage you, as you read through the Old Testament, to keep the New Testament in mind and look at the connections.

 

What I want to do this morning is to look at some selected prophecies in the Book of Psalms. Some of these prophecies the New Testament talks about and some of them you are probably quite familiar with.  Some you may have never heard of are a bit more obscure and can be easily missed in reading.

 

1. The Birth Of The Christ - In Psalm 2:6-7 it says; “6. "Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.'' 7. "I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ` `You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.”    This is talking about God setting His king over His holy hill, Zion and it goes on to say, “you are my son”. It is talking about the Christ and here we learn that the Christ is the Son and God says “I have begotten you”. God Himself upon the occasion of Jesus' baptism made it clear enough who this Son is, Matthew 3:17.  
   1. This is dealing with who the Christ is and at the core of Christianity is the question - who is Jesus.   In Matthew 16 Jesus asks His disciples "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?'' Then he asks them; "But who do you say that I am?''
      1. Everybody sooner or later must face that question, “Who is Jesus” and we're going to have to come to an answer.  
      2. What we should see is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; He is the king of the kingdom.   We believe that and we have all these witnesses, these prophecies about the Christ and who He is and the nature of the Christ, fulfilled in Jesus.
   2. Another prophecy about the nature of the Christ is found in Psalm 110:1 – “The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.''” If you're familiar with the scriptures you may remember this verse from Matthew 22:42ff where Jesus is talking to the Jews there and says; “"What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?'' They said to Him, "The Son of David.''”  Then Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1 in asking “43…. "How then does David in the Spirit call Him `Lord,' saying: 44. `The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool'' '? 45. "If David then calls Him `Lord,' how is He his Son?''” The point is He's not son of David, He's the son of God.
2. The Crucifixion Of The Christ - In Psalm 41:9 we read; “Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me.”  This is a prophecy of Judas Iscariot and we read from Matthew 26:14-16 – “14. Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15. and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?'' And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. 16. So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.” We see the fulfillment of Psalm 41:9 in Judas Iscariot.  
   1. In Psalm 109:25-27 – “25. I also have become a reproach to them; When they look at me, they shake their heads. (Now when we read that particular verse I hope we remember the lesson from last week because this particular phrase is also found in Psalm 22 about how He is a reproach, and about when they see him they shake their head at him) and He says; Help me, O Lord my God! Oh, save me according to Your mercy, 27. That they may know that this is Your hand That You, Lord, have done it!” In our lesson on Psalm 22 last week we pointed out that God allowed Jesus to die.
      1. Remember that when we got to the last part of Psalm 22 we pointed out that God heard Jesus’ cry, He heard His prayer and He answered His prayer.  
      2. However God allowed Him to die, it was the will of God for Him to die on the cross.   Where it was that we see God delivering him—is in the resurrection.  
   2. The resurrection, according to Romans 1:3-4 is the ultimate miracle declaring Jesus to be the son of God with power. “His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4. and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead,”
      1. Therefore, the resurrection of Jesus is the miracle we look at and realize He really is the son of God because God raised Him from the dead, declaring him to be the son of God with power.
      2. What is happening here at Calvary, if we look at the very last part of Psalm 109:27 is the will of God. God has done this, that they may know that this is Your hand.  
      3. Christ crucified and the resurrection of the Christ, is the hand of God and the will of God for mankind so that our sins can be forgiven and so that we can overcome death and have the hope of the resurrection.
   3. Let’s go now to Psalm 118:20-24. “20. This is the gate of the Lord, Through which the righteous shall enter. 21. I will praise You, For You have answered me, And have become my salvation. 22. The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. 23. This was the Lord's doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. 24. This is the day which the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.”
      1. The builders the verse is talking about are the leaders of the Jewish nation, the high priest, the priests, the scribes, the Pharisees, these individuals rejected the Christ but He became the chief cornerstone, the foundation of the church upon which the church is built.  It says this was the Lord's doing
      2. Going back, if you remember the very last prophecy we looked at where it said, that you may know that the Lord has done this. Here again it emphasizes this is the Lord's doing.  God is doing this, God sent Jesus, the Christ; God brought Him into this world. It was the will of God for him to be crucified.
      3. Notice the very last part of this. This was the Lord's doing it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
      4. I suspect some of us when we see this last verse think; “I know this verse, it's on the wall in my house”. This is the day the Lord has made we will rejoice and be glad, is one of my favorite verses.   When I read it, I think of the day before me, but what we see this morning is that in the context of the text, the day being discussed is the day of Calvary and the crucifixion of the Christ. This is the day the Lord has made. This is from God. This is the hand of God for the sins of mankind.
   4. Continuing now in Psalm 69:21 - “They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”
      1. We find the gall in Mathew 27:34 then we read “they gave me vinegar to drink” and this particular prophesy is fulfilled in Matthew 27:48 – “Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave it to Him to drink.”
      2. Remember when we looked in Psalm 22, how does it begin? My God my God why have you forsaken me. Well here's another prophecy that you may not be familiar with Psalm 31:5 – “Into Your hand I commit my spirit…” Recall this is the last thing Jesus said before He died.  
      3. In the beginning of Psalm 22 is what He says about feeling betrayed because He's feeling like the Lord is not hearing Him the Lord is denying him, that the Lord is not going to answer.   But when we get down to the middle of Psalm 22, He recognizes He has answered, He does hear.  
      4. God heard His prayer and then here in the close of the crucifixion of the Christ, “Father into your hands I commit my spirit”,  God heard His prayer and God raised Him from the dead. We need to understand the answer given by God is the resurrection of the Christ.
   5. In Psalm 34:20 – “He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken.” We find the fulfillment of this in John 19:33 – “But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.”
      1. Pilate was amazed to hear that Jesus was already dead but when we read Isaiah 52 it talks about how He was marred more than anyone.   We talked about this in the lesson last week that when Jesus was scourged, they marred Him more than anyone.
      2. There's no telling how much blood He had lost before he even got to the cross.   We know He died after about six hours. Normally whenever someone was going to be crucified to make them die quickly they would break the legs so they can no longer push themselves up but when they came to Jesus they did not break his legs because he was already dead, prophesied about in Psalm 34:20.
   6. Psalm 69:9 – “Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up,” because zeal for your house has eaten me up. This particular prophecy is often talked about when discussing Jesus driving the money changers and those that buy and sell out of the temple.  
      1. But the last part of this verse is not talked about in conjunction with those texts because the last part of the verse says; “And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.” We will see in the verses we're about to read is the reason the Christ is dying, is for our sins, not for anything that He has done but because of what we have done.  
      2. Psalm 65:2-3 “2. O You who hear prayer, To You all flesh will come. 3. Iniquities prevail against me; As for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them.” The one to whom we pray, is going to be the one who is going to be providing what is necessary for the atonement of our sins.
      3. That's what the Lord's Supper is all about, how God gave the sacrifice at Calvary for our sins, for our transgressions, he's the one who provides the sacrifice of the Atonement.  
   7. Going to Psalm 49:7-8 – “7. None of them can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him 8. For the redemption of their souls is costly, And it shall cease forever.” We should take a moment and consider those words; for the redemption of their soul is costly.  
      1. There's nobody out there that you know that can redeem and pay the price for your soul.    Because the redemption of your soul is costly.   How costly?   You could take all the gold and all the silver and all the earth and everything on it and you could not purchase one human being's soul. God has no use for any of those things, they are all His anyway.
      2. What was the cost for the redemption of the soul of humanity?   The blood of the Christ is the only thing that can redeem the human soul, for the redemption of their souls is costly.
      3. Another Psalm 107:1-2 - “1. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 2. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,”  Christ is the one that paid the price to redeem us from the enemy, Satan.   He came to destroy the works of the devil through His crucifixion, His resurrection and His ascension; these aspects of the gospel are a victory over the enemy, over Satan.   And that is the one who He redeemed us from with His blood.
3. The Resurrection Of The Christ – We have looked at the crucifixion in Psalms now let’s look at the resurrection and remember this is recorded a thousand years before it happens. Let’s start by reading Psalm 49:15 – “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, For He shall receive me.” Then in Psalm 16:9-11 - “9. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. 10. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. 11. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
   1. We read in the New Testament that when Jesus prayed at the very close of the crucifixion; Father into your hands I commit my spirit, three days later He rose from the dead.   God heard His prayer, God answered His prayer and the answer is the resurrection because in the resurrection He conquered death, He conquered the one who has the power over death, that being Satan and has freed us now from bondage to Satan, sin, and death.
   2. Peter speaking by the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:31-33 is quoting from these verses in Psalms when he says; “31. he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. 32. "This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. 33. "Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit,”
   3. In Romans 1:4 – Paul says in his introduction “3. concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4. and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead,” The resurrection is God’s answer to Jesus’ prayer; into your hands I commit my spirit.
4. The Ascension And Glorifying Of The Christ – A lot of times when we talk about the core of the gospel we talk about the death, burial and resurrection. We need to realize the ascension, glorifying and reigning of the Christ is a major part of the gospel as well.  In Psalm 91, you may recognize this part in verses 11 through 16, Psalm 91:11-16 – “11. For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. 12. They shall bear you up in their hands, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. ” Ok, the first part here you realize you have heard before.   Indeed, you have, this is what Satan was quoting to Jesus when he was tempting Jesus to throw Himself down from the Temple Mount, from the top of the temple.  
   1. Let’s go a little bit further in the verse that Satan does not quote. A little further down in verse 13, it talks about the lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.   It reads; “You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample under foot.”
      1. I can not help whenever I read this phrase “the serpent you shall trample under foot”, remembering the very first prophecy back in Genesis chapter 3 when the curses are being given.    God tells the serpent; “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.” So, the very first prophecy about the Christ in Genesis 3 is about the Christ trampling the serpent under foot.
      2. I find it interesting here that you find the same concept in Psalm 91 where you have Satan quoting this text and the future is going to be Christ who destroys the work of the devil.
   2. As we go further in the same text; “14. Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high,” We are talking about the Christ here again, being delivered from death, the resurrection and being set on high, His ascension into heaven to be at the right hand of God.
   3. Continuing; “because he has known My name. 15. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. 16. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”    This goes back to Psalm 22, God heard, and He answered. The Christ is going to be delivered, the Christ is going to be honored, and the Christ is going to be set on high
   4. Now Psalm 68:18-19 – “18. You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; (this particular verse is quoted in Ephesians) You have received gifts among men, Even among the rebellious, That the Lord God might dwell there. 19. Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation!”  This particular verse again quoted over in Ephesians 4:8, is talking about Jesus ascending on high.  When he ascended into heaven, He conquered death and was the one who had the power over death as shown when He rose from the dead.   When he ascended into heaven scripture tells us in the Book of Revelation He has the keys to Hades and death.  
   5. Turning to Psalm 110:1 - “The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” This particular verse shows up most often in the New Testament.   Think about all those verses in the New Testament that are talking about Jesus being at the right hand of God.  
      1. This concept of Jesus being in the right hand of God we find in Acts 2 and all the way through the rest of the New Testament.  
      2. Jesus has ascended into heaven, He's sitting at the right hand of God, He's reigning now and the last enemy, talked about over in First Corinthians 15, the last enemy that's going to be destroyed is death.
   6. Let us continue in Psalm 110:4 – “The Lord has sworn And will not relent, "You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” If we go to the book of Hebrews 7:17 – “For He testifies: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
      1. In Hebrews 9:12 and following we find an important aspect of the Ascension of Christ. After He ascended to heaven, He went into the presence of God with his blood.  In Hebrews we find He functions now as our high priest in things pertaining to God and our sin.  
      2. When Jesus ascended into heaven, He was set at the right hand of God. Can we think of anything higher than being at the right hand of God? The way it's put over in Matthew 28 is he's been given all authority in heaven and on Earth.   The only one higher than the Christ is God the Father Himself.
      3. Jesus is now in heaven functioning as our high priest and from Hebrews 7:24-25 – “24. But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 25. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them.”
      4. When we're going to God, and I don’t believe that a day goes by anymore that I don't pray for forgiveness of sin, every time we are going to God and praying for forgiveness, we are going to the mediator, we're going to our intercessor, we are going through our high priest to God, seeking that forgiveness.
      5. Jesus is the intercessor, He is the mediator, He is our high priest in heaven itself after the order of Melchizedek, fulfilling the prophecy here and Psalm 110:4.
   7. Next let’s look at Psalm 45:17 – “I will make Your name to be remembered in all generations; Therefore the people shall praise You forever and ever.” Another verse, Psalm 72:17 – “His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. And men shall be blessed in Him; All nations shall call Him blessed.”   Here we see that all generations are going to remember His name and all nations are going to praise Him and bless Him.  
      1. Acts 4:12 – “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Whose name are we talking about here, we're talking about the name of Jesus.   There's only one name given under heaven by which we can be saved.
      2. Philippians 2:9-10 – “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,”
   8. We are coming back to the original question we opened with; “who is Jesus”. As we go through the Old Testament prophecy after prophecy after prophecy, about the Christ, about His birth, about His crucifixion, about His resurrection and now about His ascension and His glorification, we find our answer.
5. The Kingdom Of The Christ – Psalm 89 is where we look next.   Psalm 89:3-4 – “3. "I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David: 4. `Your seed I will establish forever, And build up your throne to all generations.'” If you don't know this is the Davidic Covenant, which was made by God to David and we find it in Second Samuel Chapter 7.  
   1. This psalm begins with the reiteration and restatement of the Davidic Covenant. Your seed I will establish forever, And build up your throne to all generations. What we find here is that Psalm 89 is a messianic Psalm.
   2. Now looking at the middle of this messianic Psalm, Psalm 89, starting with verse 26.  Psalm 89:26-29 – “26. He shall cry to Me, `You are my Father,” In the New Testament we find Jesus calling God, “Father”, in many places.
      1. “My God, and the rock of my salvation.' 27. Also I will make him My firstborn,” Speaking about the Christ He is going to be God's first born.
      2. “The highest of the kings of the earth.” There is nobody higher. “28. My mercy I will keep for him forever, And My covenant shall stand firm with him. 29. His seed also I will make to endure forever, And his throne as the days of heaven.”
      3. In John 5:18 – “Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.” Because He called God His Father the Jews sought to kill Him. That's exactly what was prophesied about Him back in Psalm 89 He should cry to me You are my father.
      4. What about I will make him My firstborn? Turn to Colossians 1:18 – “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” In fact, we find Hebrews chapter 12 where the church is called the Church of the first born.
   3. He is the first born from the dead. Jesus is the first one to rise from the dead never to die again.   If you don't know this concept of the first born, it is a phrase in reference to family. In the Hebrew family at the top of the family was the father and the second in the family, as far as authority, was the first born male.   In the family unit God is the father Jesus is the first born.    
      1. As far as authority in the universe Jesus is number two, number one is the Father. Jesus is at the right hand of God.  
      2. He has all preeminence as the text says here. He is the head of the body of the church. There's nobody higher than him.
   4. Now going to Psalm 145:11-13 – “11. They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, And talk of Your power, 12. To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, And the glorious majesty of His kingdom. 13. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.”
      1. This is talking about the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant. The Kingdom stands forever and the king, the Christ (which means anointed one) reigns forever.   He's the king of the kingdom, we are the kingdom.
      2. The church is the kingdom, and Jesus is the head of the church. He is the head of the body. He's the king of the kingdom. The kingdom came into being on Pentecost and it will continue for all eternity with Jesus, its king, at the right hand of God.

CONCLUSION:

Studying the Old Testament should strengthen our faith. Our faith that Jesus really is the Christ; He really is the son of God. He really did die on the cross, it was prophesied about and He did it.   It was the will of God the Father for Him to do it, and He was obedient to death, even the death of the cross.  

 

God heard Jesus prayer on the cross when He said “Father into your hands I commit my spirit”.   He was heard, He was answered, and the answer was three days later when God raised him from the dead.   He prophesied He was going to do it and He did it.  When He rose from the dead as I told you from Hebrews chapter 2, we learn that it is through this resurrection He conquered death and conquered the one who has the power over death, that being Satan, and has freed us from bondage to Satan, sin, and death.

 

He has redeemed us from the enemy with the power of His blood.   It was all prophesied about a thousand years before it ever happened.   That's not coincidence.   It is God’s plan.

 

We all need our faith strengthened, those who are Children of God and those who have not yet accepted Christ as their savior.

 

Jesus is at the right hand of God right now, our high priest, our intercessor, our advocate.   There's no other name given among men by which we may be saved.   He has pre-eminence in the universe and every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess.  You need to figure it out. Who is Jesus? Look at the prophecies and His fulfillment of the prophecies, look at the miracles that He did.   Hopefully, they will lead you to the conclusion He really is the Christ. Your faith will become stronger.

 

If you are subject to the Gospel call in any way whatsoever let us know as we stand and sing the song that has been selected.

 

Invitation song: ???

Reference sermon by: Wayne Fancher