Chardon church of Christ

Who Is The Strongest Man?

Who Is the Strongest Man?
Mark 3: 20-30

Macho men always want to brag about how strong they are. Some boys on a school playground were bragging. Johnny said, “My dad has a list of all the men he can beat up—and all your dads are on his list!” Later that afternoon a knock came on Johnny’s house and his dad answered the door. A big angry man said, “Are you Johnny’s dad?” He said, “I am.” “Well Johnny told my son said you have a list of men you think you can beat up, and my name is on it.” Johnny’s dad said, “That’s right.” The big guy started rolling up his sleeves and said, “Well, I don’t think you can beat me up. What are you going to do about it?” Johnny’s dad said, “I’ll mark you off my list.”
Guys are always bragging about who’s the strongest. Since 1977 there has been a televised event called “The World’s Strongest Man.” Most of the winners have come from Finland, Iceland, and Eastern Europe. These guys are required to perform amazing feats of strength like pulling a Boeing 747 with their teeth. These aren’t body-builders; they are bulked up dudes. One of the competitors from Iceland, who is nicknamed Thor, stands 6’9” and weighs 435 pounds.
So who do you think was the strongest man in the Bible? Are you thinking of the book of Judges and the guy with long hair who could kill a lion with his bare hands? Samson was pretty strong, but after he got a haircut in the devil’s barbershop, he lost his strength.
In our passage today, Jesus is going to talk about a strong man; then He’s going to mention a stronger man. Hopefully, by the time we finish you’ll know the identity of the “The World’s Strongest Man.”
Mark 3:20-30. 20 Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.
21 But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”
23 So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan?
24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
26 And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.
27 No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.
28 “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter;
29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”—
30 because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
On June 16, 1858 more than 1,000 delegates met in the Springfield, Illinois, for the Republican State Convention, and they chose Abraham Lincoln as their candidate for the U.S. Senate, running against Democrat Stephen A. Douglas. That evening Lincoln delivered this address to his Republican colleagues and the main focus of his remarks were on the issue of slavery:
“Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention. If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it.
We are now far into the fifth year, since a policy was initiated, with the avowed object, and confident promise, of putting an end to slavery agitation. Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only, NOT ceased, but has constantly augmented. In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached, and passed. A house divided against itself cannot stand."
"A house divided against itself cannot stand." That's a powerful sentence! Did Abraham Lincoln come up with that phrase all by himself? No. Well, where did he get it? That’s right ... he was quoting Jesus.
Whose kingdom is Jesus talking about here? Who’s the “strong man” that must first be bound? Who’s kingdom is about to come to an end?
The main reason for Jesus’ coming was to bind Satan, to divide and destroy his kingdom.
Now, hold that thought for a moment.
Did you ever look up verses in the Bible that have the words “division” or “divide” or something similar in them?
I found that division is not always a negative thing in Scripture. In fact, sometimes God CAUSED division to take place.
For example, in Genesis - when God created the world – we’re told that: “God saw the light, that it was good: and GOD DIVIDED the light from the darkness.” Genesis 1:4
Was that good? God said it was good!
A few verses later we’re told “God made the firmament, and DIVIDED THE WATERS which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. Genesis 1:7
Again, this was a pretty good thing... because God said it was good too.
And then in Deuteronomy we read “... when you see the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven... which the LORD your GOD HAS DIVIDED unto all nations under the whole heaven.” Deuteronomy 4:19
God divided the stars unto all nations? Did you know that if you were in the southern hemisphere you see an entirely different set of stars than WE see in the northern hemisphere. God has divided all the stars unto all the nations under heaven. And that’s kind of a cool thing
So when GOD divides things... that’s a GOOD thing. I mean just by definition - if God does something it’s got to be good --- doesn’t it???
So THEN I read this verse in the New Testament: (Jesus said) Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:51-53)
Jesus came to bring division?? Well, that’s what He said!!! But if (by definition) if God does something it’s got to be good how can Jesus causing division in a family be a good thing?
Well, here’s the deal: People live in one of two realms.They either belong to Jesus or they belong to Satan And when you think about this you begin to realize that entire families belong to Satan. Entire families are outside of Christ.
Now sometimes an entire family will come to Christ. We’ve seen it here. And other times we’ve seen ONLY 2 or 3 members of any family come to church. Maybe the wife. Maybe a teen.
Maybe grandparents. And that reality can create division in the family because some members of the family decide to belong to Christ and others don’t.
By default – if these people don’t belong to Jesus they belong to Satan.
You see --- belonging to Satan is not all that hard. You don’t have to DO anything to Satan. You don’t have to BELIEVE anything to go to hell. In fact, not believing in God - not belonging to Christ - is all it takes. And people who do not make up their minds to God in their lives... belong to Satan! Satan’s kingdom is made up of all kinds of people who simply have not decided they want God to run their lives.
Is that God’s fault? Of course it’s not! But it would be God’s fault if He was satisfied with leaving things that way. Thus, because God’s intention is divide the Kingdom of Satan. A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. And God’s focus is on bringing Satan’s kingdom to its knees. His intention is to bind the strong man and to peel off people who once belonged to the devil and give them life and hope and peace.
Now, the problem becomes that Satan has no intention of letting that happen. Satan intends to hang on to every last one of those that he has. And one of the tools Satan will use... is family.
That may end up being true. OR your decision might just make all the difference in the lives of your family. They might just come to Christ because you made that choice first. By standing off to one side and simply being God’s child you may begin to make your family jealous of your faith in Christ. And if that happens, you may be able to help divide up Satan’s kingdom that much more and change the eternal fate of those that you love.
Jesus faced continued bitter criticism from these religious leaders throughout His ministry. That lets us know that if you’re serving God, you can be assured that you’ll face criticism.
When Jesus faced false accusations and criticism, He never tried to defend Himself. He usually asked His critics some questions, and answered with a parable. He turned their rants into teachable moments. In this case He asked, “How can Satan drive out Satan?” And then Jesus, the Master Teacher shared one of his shortest, and most enigmatic parables.
Let me read it to you from Mark 3:27: 27 But no one can enter into the house of the strong man, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
Let’s examine the parable Jesus spoke, and then we’ll talk about the warning Jesus gave.
I. THE PARABLE: Jesus came to reverse the work of Satan
The Pharisees were insulting Jesus when they claimed that He was possessed by Beelzebub. The name “Beelzebub” literally means “Lord of the flies.” (The same name of a novel and a 1960s movie.) Beelzebub was a pagan deity of the ancient Phoe-ni-ci-ans. He was a god of death, filth, and feces.
In Jewish literature, Beelzebub was a chief demon, and sometimes even identified as Lucifer himself. So now you realize the depth of the insult they leveled against Jesus. But He used it as an opportunity to give a short but powerful parable. What is the spiritual meaning of this short parable of the world’s strongest man?
A. Satan is strong, but Jesus is the strongest!
Jesus announced to the world that He came to drive out Satan, the prince of this world. He said, “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.” (John 12:31)
I could have said Jesus is stronger, but He’s the strongest. Satan is real, and he is strong. But sometimes we make the mistake of give him qualities that only belong to God.
God is omnipresent—He is everywhere all the time.
God is omnipotent—He is all-powerful.
God is omniscient—He knows everything.
Satan, which means adversary, is Lucifer, a fallen angel. He isn’t omnipresent, but he’s fast and has an army of demons.
Lucifer isn’t all-powerful, but he is like a roaring lion roaming about seeking whom he may devour.
Lucifer isn’t omniscient, he can’t read your thoughts. But, like a snake, he is shrewd and crafty.
So the strong man in this parable is the devil, but Jesus is stronger. His house is this world. Satan is called the prince of this world but this isn’t the only world there is. Jesus is the one who came into the world and He has bound Satan and then stolen his possessions. But Jesus wasn’t really stealing anything from Satan. He was only reclaiming what Satan stole in the first place. Jesus isn’t a thief sneaking in and ripping off someone. He’s like a policeman going into a robber’s house and handcuffing him to retrieve stolen property that the devil took.
Jesus called Satan a thief. He said in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill destroy; I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full.”
B. Satan’s “possessions” are people without Christ
The Bible describes people without Christ this way: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” (Ephesians 2:1-2)
The Bible says Satan (who is a spirit, like all angelic and demonic beings) is at work in the lives of people who don’t know Christ. Now if you told an unbeliever they were under the control of Satan, they would laugh at you. They would probably say, “Are you crazy? I don’t even believe in Satan!”
But the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:4, “The god of this age [Satan] has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God.” Even for people who don’t believe God exists or the devil exists, Satan is actively keeping their minds shut to the truth about Jesus. They are slaves to Satan without even knowing it.
There is a species of ant in the Amazon area of South America called the Slave-making ant. Hundreds of these ants periodically swarm out of their nest and attack colonies of weaker ants. After destroying the living ants, they carry back the larvae of un-hatched ants. When these young ants are hatched, they are forced to be slave ants. These worker ants are born thinking they belong to the colony never realizing they were forced to be slaves from the time they are born. That’s a picture of humanity. We all need a Savior to come and rescue and reclaim us from the strong man. That’s what the strongest man, Jesus came to do!
C. Jesus bound and robbed Satan on the cross
The very act where the strongest man, Jesus robbed the devil was at the crucifixion. The Bible says, “Having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2:14-15)
The Bible says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” (1 John 3:8) “By his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil.” (Hebrews 2:14)
So what does this mean to us? The devil is a defeated foe. He is still active, but he was rendered powerless on the cross.
He knows his doom is sealed. He’s smart enough to read Revelation 20:10 that says, “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
You may be thinking, “OK if the devil is a defeated foe, he sure is causing me a lot of misery.” He’s like a wounded animal. He’s going to fight to the end, although his defeat is sure. It’s like when the Nazis realized the war was lost, Hitler issued the Nero Decree. He told his retreating armies to destroy everything of value. Satan is doing the same thing. He continues to steal, kill, and destroy. But he no longer has any authority over you. He will try to kill your joy, steal your peace, and destroy your testimony, but his power is broken. You can say to him, “Get away from me, Satan, because greater is he who is in me than he who is in the world!” You’re strong, but I have the strongest man living in me!
So that’s the parable. But because these religious leaders accused Jesus of being in union with Satan, Jesus responded with a stern warning about their spiritual blindness.
II. THE WARNING: Jesus will forgive every sin except persistent rejection of the Holy Spirit’s conviction
Jesus said: “When he [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.” (John 16:8) Before you can ever be saved, you must experience a sense of guilt over your sinful condition. Jesus said this is the role of the Holy Spirit. It’s not my job to make you feel guilty, that’s the job of the Holy Spirit. Scary stories may bring fears and sad stories may bring tears, but only the Spirit of God can bring true conviction of sin.
The word blasphemy means to “speak against.” So blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is when a person says, “No” to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. In that moment they are “speaking against” the Holy Spirit.
I like the paraphrase from the Message: Jesus said in Mark 3:28-29, 28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”
“The unpardonable sin involves the total and irrevocable rejection of Jesus Christ. It is rejecting, completely and finally, the witness of the Holy Spirit, which declares that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who alone can save us from our sins.
So, the only sin God won’t forgive is terminal unbelief. And the reason God won’t forgive that sin is because the person who commits it will never ask God to forgive them. If you are someone who considers yourself to be an unbeliever, I appeal to you to trust Jesus today. Every time you say, “No” makes it easier to say, “No” the next time. There is more to life than this life. And the moment after you die, you will realize this. One day we will face eternity.
CONCLUSION
On the evening of June 18, 1850, a man stood in the bell tower of London’s Winchester Cathedral staring anxiously out to sea. All of England was waiting for a report of the Battle at Waterloo between British general, the Duke of Wellington, and the French dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte. The torch signals from a ship in the English Channel were sent by code. The message read: “Wellington defeated...” At that moment a thick fog rolled in. The man in the tower signaled the news across the city and there was great gloom and sadness because that meant Napoleon would next invade England. But hours later the fog lifted and the rest of the message could be read: “Wellington defeated the enemy.” Sadness and despair was replaced with joy and celebration.
When Jesus died on the cross, it would seem as if He had been defeated. But when Jesus rose from the dead the rest of the message was received. Jesus defeated the enemy!
And we can rejoice today. The World’s Strongest Man has defeated our enemy!

Live Like You Were Dying

Live Like You Are Dying
John 14 : 1 – 3

A few years back Tim McGraw wrote a song titled “LIVE LIKE YOU WERE DYING”
Some of the lyrics go like this:
He said
"I was in my early forties
With a lot of life before me
And a moment came that stopped me on a dime
I spent most of the next days
Looking at the x-rays
Talkin' 'bout the options
And talkin' 'bout sweet time"
I asked him
"When it sank in
That this might really be the real end
How's it hit you
When you get that kind of news?
Man, what'd you do?"

A Bible study group was discussing the unforeseen possibility of their sudden death. The leader of the discussion said, ” We will all die some day, and none of us really know when, but if we did we would all do a better job of preparing ourselves for that inevitable event.”

“Everybody shook their heads in agreement with this comment.”
Then the leader said to the group, “What would you do if you knew you only had 4 weeks of life remaining before your death, and then the Great Judgment Day?”

A gentleman said, ” I would go out into my community and minister the Gospel to those that have not yet accepted the Lord into their lives.”
“Very good!” ,said the group leader, and all the group members agreed, that would be a very good thing to do.

One lady spoke up and said enthusiastically, “I would dedicate all of my remaining time to serving God, my family, my church, and my fellow man with a greater conviction.”
“That”s wonderful!” the group leader commented, and all the group members agreed, that would be a very good thing to do.

But one gentleman in the back finally spoke up loudly and said, “I would go to my mother-in-laws house for the 4 weeks.”
Everyone was puzzled by this answer, and the group leader ask, “Why your mother-in-law’s home?”
“Because that will make it the longest 4 weeks of my life!”
The day before Thanksgiving a man in Phoenix called his son in New York and said to him, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; 45 years is enough. We’re sick of each other. So please call your sister in Chicago and tell her."

Frantic, the son called his sister, who exploded on the phone. "There’s no way they’re getting a divorce," she shouted, "I’ll take care of this." She immediately called Phoenix and said to her father. "You are NOT getting a divorce. Don’t do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother back, and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing. DO YOU HEAR ME?"

The man hung up his phone and turned to his wife. "Okay, honey. It’s done. The kids are coming for Thanksgiving, and this time they’re paying for their own flights."
Well, I guess that sometimes people do strange things or go to extraordinary lengths in order to accomplish their purposes.
For example, think about “Surprise” parties
or events and all the effort put into planning and putting them on
and making sure that the guest or guests of honor are properly surprised.
For those who are involved, such an event can turn out to be something really special and precious.
Folks, I’m anticipating a very special event, too. In fact, Jesus Himself talked about it the last night that He spent with His apostles before His arrest and crucifixion.
Do you remember?
Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen to Him.
He had told the apostles again and again that His kingdom was not of this world, and that the time would come when His enemies would kill Him,
but that He would rise again. But somehow it just didn’t sink in.
They couldn’t understand how that could possibly happen to Jesus, their Messiah and their Lord.
But on this last night, in the upper room, Jesus told them plainly that the time had come, and that one of them would betray Him. Jesus even went on to say, “You will all fall away.”
That’s when Peter declared, “‘Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.’” (Luke 22:33-34)
You can imagine the confusion and gloom that settled over them.
And then Jesus began to speak some of the most familiar words in all the Bible:
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am." (John 14:1-3)

Did you hear His promise? Jesus is coming again!
A few weeks later angels repeated that promise.
Forty days after His resurrection Jesus met with His disciples on the Mt. of Olives for the very last time, and (Acts 1:6-11). says,
“They asked Him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’

“After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go....

It is true! Jesus is coming again!
B. Years later, the apostle Paul writes to the Christians in Thessalonica: (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
“Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope...
“For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

It has been stated that the books of the O.T. from Genesis through Malachi could be summed up as saying, "Jesus is coming."
The N.T. books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John proclaim, "Jesus is here."
The remaining 23 books of the N.T. tell us, "Jesus is coming again!"
There’s no doubt about it. God’s Word tells us more than 300 times, Jesus is coming again!
But when He comes, some will rejoice and others will be terrified.
The apostle Paul tells us,
"The coming of the Lord will be like a thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:2).
However, for the Christian it won’t be a terrifying experience.
It will be an exciting experience, like the anticipated arrival of a long...awaited friend.
The Bible also says, "We who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air" (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
Does that excite you? If you’re a Christian it should thrill you.
However, there is an old Biblical principle that will trouble many.
It is that we will surely reap what we sow [Galatians 6:7].

A story is told that many years ago a man conned his way into being a member of the orchestra of the emperor of China although he couldn’t play a note. Whenever the group practiced or performed, he would hold his flute against his lips, pretending to play but not making a sound. As a member of the orchestra he received a salary and enjoyed a comfortable living.
Then one day the emperor requested a solo from each musician. The man was terrified. So he pretended to be sick, but the royal physician wasn’t fooled. On the day of his solo performance, the impostor took poison and killed himself.
The explanation of his suicide led to a phrase that later found its way into the English language: He couldn’t “face the music.”
Today someone can pretend to be a part of God’s orchestra by just blending in with the crowd and going through the motions.
No one notices, because you say the right things, go to the right places, and hang out with the right people.
But there will come a day when you and I must “face the music.”
On that day you will stand alone before God and give an account for your life,
your decisions, and your relationship with Jesus.
2 Thessalonians 1:7 says, "This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels."
Some will rejoice, but others will be terrified.
For in that moment when Christ appears in the sky,
they will suddenly realize that it’s too late. They will reap what they have sown.
They gambled with their future, and lost!
God allows us the freedom to make our own choices, but as Christians, we have a responsibility to warn the world that Jesus is coming again!
EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE READY
I know there are many predictions and calculations concerning His Second Coming,
but Jesus said, "No one knows the day or the hour" (Matthew 24:36).
That’s why we must always be ready and constantly helping others to get ready, too.
God stands waiting and willing to forgive. He has patiently postponed His judgment to give us more chances to come to repentance, and more opportunities for people to see and hear a sermon through our lives. Eventually that patience will be replaced by justice, and evil will be punished.
Some years ago an old time minister was Johnny Carson’s guest on the "Tonight Show." At one point Carson asked him, "Sir, what do you think would happen if Jesus came to earth again? I’d bet we’d do Him in again."

To which the minister leaned forward in his seat and said, "You know, Johnny, Jesus said that He would return. But the first time He came in love.
The next time He’ll come in power, and no one will do Him in."
Believe me, when Jesus returns, He won’t have to announce His arrival.
He won’t have to say anything, for every eye will see Him, and every knee will bow.
On the dome of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC, is the following inscription, "One God, one law, one element, and one far-off divine event toward which the whole creation moves." Folks, we must be prepared, for Jesus is coming again!
Had you been on the British Coast in 1845 you might have seen 2 ships boarded by 138 of England’s finest sailors setting sail for the Artic. Their task?
To chart a Northwest Passage around the Canadian Artic to the Pacific.
The captain, Sir John Franklin, hoped this effort would be the turning point in Artic exploration. History shows that it was.
Not because of its success, but because of its failure.
You see, the ships never returned. Every crewmember perished. And those who followed in the expedition’s path to the pole learned this lesson: "Prepare for the journey." Apparently Franklin didn’t.
Though the voyage was projected to last 2 or 3 years, he only carried a 12-day supply of coal for the auxiliary steam engines. But what he lacked in fuel, he made up for in entertainment. Each ship carried a "1,200-volume library, a hand-organ,
china place settings for officers and men, cut-glass wine goblets and sterling silver flatware."
Was the crew planning for an Artic expedition or a Caribbean cruise?
The sailors carried no special clothing to protect them against the cold.
Only the uniforms of Her Majesty’s fleet, thin and inadequate.
The silver knives, forks, and spoons were as lavish as those found in the dining rooms of the royal Navy officers clubs. Years later, some of these place settings would be found near a clump of frozen, cannibalized bodies.
The inevitable had occurred. The two ships had sailed ill-prepared into frigid waters.
Ice soon coated the deck, the spars, and the rigging. The sea froze around the rudder and trapped the ships.
The sailors set out to search for help.
Inuit Indians reported seeing a group dragging a wooden boat across the ice. A boat was later discovered containing the bodies of 35 men. Other Indians discovered a tent on the ice and in it, 30 more bodies.
Many miles from the vessel, the skeleton of a frozen officer was discovered,
still wearing trousers and jacket of "fine blue cloth...edged with silk braid...with a black silk neckerchief."
Strange how men could embark on such a journey ill-prepared, more equipped for afternoon tea than for the Artic sea.
But stranger still how we sometimes do the same. Just like Sir John Franklin, we sometimes act as if life is just a cruise. We have little fuel but lots of entertainment.
We are more concerned with looking good than with being prepared.
We give more thought to table settings than to surviving the journey. We give little thought to the destination, but make sure there’s plenty of silver to go around.
But God is not to blame. If we sail unprepared it’s not God’s fault.
He left detailed instructions. His Word is our map. The Holy Spirit is our compass.
He outlined the route and described the landmarks we should seek.
And someday, if we follow them, we will stand before Him and hear the words,
“Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
But the sad thing is that the Bible says that there will be many who will not choose to prepare themselves. We can read one example in Matt. 25 : 1 – 13
25 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Many in our society today choose to follow the road, the broad and easy road, to destruction. Matt. 7:13 – 14
And we come together this morning with wonderful news - Jesus is coming again!
I look forward to that with anticipation. Now I have no idea, and neither do you,
if I will go to meet Him before the day He comes to call us.
Whatever the case may be, I want to be ready.
And I pray that you are, too.
It is our privilege to make known the joy that we have, and to invite others to share that joy, to lift each other up when we fall, to strengthen each other when we are weak, to cry together, to pray together, to rejoice together. That’s a privilege that we have.

The new testament states that “He who has ears to hear.... Let him hear the word of God!”
By hearing God’s word we realize that we are ALL sinners and need to repent of our sins.
Then we need to be baptized to cleanse us of our sin.

Was It Worth It?

WAS IT WORTH IT? 
MATTHEW 5:3 – 12

There is a bumper sticker that sums up life on earth like this:
“Many who seek Repentance from God at the 11th hour of their life...
Die at 10:30!

We often hear the question... “Was It Worth It?”
We can ask Adam & Eve as we read Genesis 2:8-9
8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Then verses 15-17: 15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
And finally Genesis3:2-6: 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
We can ask Noah in Genesis 6:5-7
5 Then the LORD[a] saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
7 So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

And then Genesis 7:19-22 we read 17 Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. 22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit[a] of life, all that was on the dry land, died.

Or, what about Job?

Or what does Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:3-12?
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
"It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,
Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,
So bravely run the race till we see Christ."

Those words make a beautiful song, but some of the Jewish Christians to whom the letter of Hebrews was written were not sure that it was really worth it all to continue following Jesus.
As Jews they had endured cruel persecutions at the hands of both the Syrians & the Romans. But after they had become Christians, the persecutions were worse than before. Not only were they being persecuted by the Romans, but now as Christians, they were also being persecuted by the Jews themselves.

So all through the letter of Hebrews, the author seeks to encourage them - to help them understand that being a Christian is really worth it all. He reminds them that those who have been faithful to God have always faced persecution, but that the end result will be a glorious victory even beyond their imagination.

In Hebrews 11:32-34 he says, "What more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised;
"who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

He continues on in vs's 36-38, "Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword.

"They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated - the world was not worthy of them."
Then in the next few verses he tells them to do 3 simple things. #1, Remember your heritage;
#2, Throw off everything that hinders;
& #3, Fix your eyes on Jesus. Listen as we go on to chapter 12 of Hebrews, vs's 1, 2, & 3.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
"Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

What a heritage is ours - not only all the heroes of our faith - but most of all, Jesus Christ, our Savior & our Lord!

I. REMEMBER YOUR HERITAGE
Paul tells them that it is important for them to remain faithful because of the example, the witness of all who have gone before. And he portrays it like they are in a race, & the stands are filled with those who have already run the race & won the victory.
For some of us today that is a very good motivation, because, like it or not, we realize that we are being watched.

ILL. A friend of mine tells about the time when he & his family & a bunch of relatives rented several cabins for a vacation.
And, of course, they took lots & lots of pictures.
On the last day together they decided they wanted a picture with all 16 of them in it. But then, who would take the picture? Well, one of them had a camera with a delay system where someone could push the button & still have time to run back & get in the picture before the camera shutter clicked.

So that is what they used. And here they were, all 16 of them on the porch - their arms around each other, with smiles frozen on their faces - waiting for the camera to click. A few moments passed & then someone muttered, "I didn't hear it click. Did you hear it click?"

There they stood, not daring to move, but becoming acutely aware that people walking by, who couldn't see the camera, were staring at them, evidently wondering what in the world they were doing. All they saw was 16 people with their arms around each other, standing absolutely still & grinning.

Well, why do we care what people think about us, & the way we look? What is it about us that wants people to be concerned about who we are & what we do?

Now I realize there are some who proclaim, "I don't care what anybody thinks or says about me!" But deep down, most of us do care, & we want to be respected & appreciated.
But very frankly, when the author speaks about a great "cloud of witnesses",

I'm not so sure that he is saying that they are busy watching us, & that O.T. patriarchs like Noah & Abraham & Isaac & Jacob, are all standing on the edge of heaven looking down at us, watching what we are doing right now.

My personal opinion is that he is saying that there is a great host of people who have already experienced even worse trials & temptations than we will ever face, & they overcame them. They remained faithful in spite of it all. And he is saying that if we are faithful we can win the victory, too!

However, we must recognize that people around us - our family, our friends, neighbors & co-workers are watching us, how we live, what we say & what we do - maybe even more than we realize. And what are they seeing?

ILL. Do you remember the murder trial of Sherri Wolfe? Her ex husband had complained repeatedly to his lawyer about the way she was treating him when he tried to exercise his visitation rights with their children.

Finally, the lawyer suggested that he hide a recording device under his shirt & just before going into his ex wife's home that he start the recorder so that they would have proof that he was being berated & abused when he went to pick up his children.
Little did he know that was the day they planned to murder him.
Before entering the house he switched on the recorder, & went in & sat down on the couch. When he did, Mrs. Wolfe's new husband & another relative attacked him from behind & repeatedly beat him over the head with an iron bar.
On the recording you can hear the sounds of the blows striking his head, & his groans as he died.

The District Attorney, when he addressed the jury, said, "Ladies & gentlemen of the jury. Sherri Wolfe is convicted by her own silence on this recording. The whole time her ex-husband was being beaten she said nothing."
Now he was dead. But even though he was dead, through the recording he was a witness at his ex-wife's murder trial.
And all throughout our lives we are being a witness, too!

II. THROW OFF EVERYTHING THAT HINDERS
If we were to read all of the 11th chapter of Hebrews telling about some of the great heroes of the faith, most of us would be inspired - challenged to get in there & run the race with them. But that doesn't guarantee that we will actually do it.
Most of us in our hearts, really want to run our race well, don't we? Those who have gone before us have passed the torch & given us a heritage & a faith to carry on.
Hymn #222
1. Faith of our fathers, living still,
In spite of dungeon, fire, and sword;
Oh, how our hearts beat high with joy
Whene’er we hear that glorious Word!
o Refrain:
Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.
2. Our fathers, chained in prisons dark,
Were still in heart and conscience free;
How sweet would be their children’s fate,
If they, like them, could die for thee!
3. Faith of our fathers, we will strive
To win all nations unto thee;
And through the truth that comes from God,
We all shall then be truly free.
4. Faith of our fathers, we will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife;
And preach thee, too, as love knows how
By kindly words and virtuous life.
But sometimes there are things in our life that hinder us from doing it. And in this passage the Apostle Paul pinpoints 2 of them.
A. He says, 1st of all, that we need to "throw off everything that hinders." Or as another Bible translation puts it to "lay aside every weight." Now notice that word "weight."
Paul used a interesting word here that was translated "weight."
Normally, we think of a "weight" as something that we wear or carry around. But the word that he used is the word for a tumor, a growth something that is actually growing as a part of us.
He is talking about that "weight" as a growing part of you that you wish to get rid of. You pray about it, & you wrestle with it but somehow it is still there. And that gets you into all sorts of trouble.

How many of us have prayed, "God, if I just weren't the way that I am if I just didn't get irritated & angry so quickly if I could just get along with people easier my life would be so much better."
Well, the biggest problem with most of us is pride - our pride that gets us into trouble. And a sure way to invite trouble is to do the following:
1. Think & talk only about yourself.
2. Use "I" as often as possible.
3. Expect to be appreciated.
4. Be suspicious, jealous & envious.
5. Be sensitive to the way people slight you.
6. Never forgive a criticism.
7. Trust nobody but yourself.
8. Demand agreement with your views on everything.
9. Sulk if people don't show gratitude for your favors.

I guarantee that you will be weighed down by things that hinder if you do those things.
B. But there is a 2nd thing that he tells us to get rid of
"the sin that so easily entangles..."

ILL. There is a troubling passage of scripture about Judas. John 12:6 says that while Judas was one of the 12 he served as their treasurer & was stealing from them. Evidently it was something that he did more than once.

Finally, the time came when Judas found himself with a perfect opportunity to betray Jesus for money. And at that point the Bible says that Satan "entered Judas."

Now what does that mean? I suggest that it means Satan decided, "This is too important to mess up now. I'm going to take charge of Judas myself."
I wonder how many people today find themselves entangled & are thinking, "Well, that's just the way I am. I can't change. And after all, a lot of other people are just like me."
Don't go down that path! Throw off everything that hinders, & fix your eyes on Jesus!
III. FIX YOUR EYES ON JESUS
ILL. Do you remember being young & having your mother say to you, "Look at me when I'm talking to you." But you didn't want to because you knew you were in the wrong.
I wonder if sometimes Jesus is speaking to us & saying, "Would you look at me for a change? You would get in a lot less trouble, & be able to run the race successfully, if you would just fix your eyes on me."

ILL. There is a story told of a student who was stopped by a highway patrolman for speeding. The officer told him, "I'll give you a choice. You can either take this ticket & appear in court, or you can look at a picture album that I have in my patrol car."
The student happily replied, "I'll look at the picture album." So they went back to the patrol car, & the officer got out an album full of pictures of automobile accidents, & showed those pictures to him one by one.
The student later said, "I wish I had taken the ticket." Do you know why? Because when we look at the results of our mistakes, we generally don't like what we see. And that young man was shaken by what he saw.
That is why we need to fix our eyes on Jesus, & remember the price He paid for our sin & the love of God that sent Jesus to be our Savior & our Lord.

And one day - "It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,
Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,
So bravely run the race till we see Christ."
Invitation

Based on a sermon
given by Melvin Newland

Using Sigh Language For A Deaf Man

Using Sigh Language For A Deaf Man
Mark 7:31 – 37

This morning we’re back in the Gospel According to Mark and continuing the series of lessons I am calling, “The reMARKable Power of Jesus.”

What you don’t know can hurt you—or embarrass you. It’s important to understand what things mean. I found an actual text message a mother sent to her son. It read:

Mom: Your great-aunt just passed away. LOL.
Son: Why is that funny?
Mom: It’s not funny, David. What do you mean, FUNNY?
Son: Mom, LOL means Laughing Out Loud!
Mom: Oh, my goodness!! I sent that message out to everyone!!! I thought it meant Lots Of Love. YIKES!!! I have to start calling everyone to EXPLAIN!

In our text today, it’s important to understand what
Jesus was SAYING and what He was REALLY DOING.
In our passage today, we’re going to study a miracle in which Jesus heals a deaf man who also has a speech impediment.
We’ve read about this miracle dozens of times before, but as we study it today, there is one detail that has always escaped me.

Just before Jesus healed the deaf man, He did something that surprised me. He looked up to heaven and expressed a deep sigh. He really did use SIGH language for a deaf man.

Mark 7:31-37. 31 Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. 32 Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. 33 And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears,
and He spat and touched his tongue. 34 Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”
35 Immediately his ears were opened, and the [a]impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. 36 Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”
If you ever visit Venice, Italy, chances are you’ll take an expensive gondola ride through the crowded canals. You’ll probably go under a famous bridge called “The Bridge of Sighs.” It has another Italian name, but Lord Byron gave it the English name. It’s a bridge that leads from a courtroom to a prison.

Convicted prisoners would be led through this bridge on the way to prison. For some of them, it would be their last glimpse of Venice, thus it was named the Bridge of Sighs. Our lives are one long bridge of sighs.

Today I would like to look at five lessons we can learn from this amazing miracle.
1. The best thing you can do for a hurting friend is to bring him/her to Jesus
“Some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk...” Jesus had been on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and He relocated to the area of ten Gentile cities call the Decapolis. Nine of these cities were on the Eastern side of the Jordan River, in modern day Jordan or Syria. They were not Jewish cities.

When Jesus came into the region, His fame as a miracle-worker had already spread. There is an unnamed man who was deaf and could hardly speak. The Greek language is very descriptive of his speech problem. It says his tongue was “tied up with a string.” Today, we talk about someone being “tongue tied.” This speech impediment could have been stuttering, or perhaps, it was difficult for him to pronounce words since he was deaf.

It’s interesting this man didn’t seek out Jesus himself. The Bible says some people brought him to Jesus. These might have been family members or friends. But their compassion for their friend and their belief that Jesus could make a difference caused them to escort their friend to Jesus.

Does this remind you of another healing miracle? In Mark 2 we read about the four friends who brought the paralyzed man to Jesus and tore up the roof to lower him in front of Jesus. My favorite part of that miracle is where it says that when Jesus saw THEIR faith, He spoke to the paralytic man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Jesus honored the faith of those four men.
This man couldn’t call on the Lord, or hear the Word of the Lord. He needed help. People without Jesus need help as well. Do you have a friend or family member who needs Jesus? They need your help because they are spiritually disabled.

2 Corinthians 4:4 says that “The god of this age [the devil] has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they CANNOT see the light of the gospel.”
You may be thinking, “Jesus has ascended into heaven, and is at the right hand of God, how can I bring my friends and family members to Him?” I’m glad you asked. When you bring them to bible study or church services, you’re bringing them to the knowledge of knowing who Jesus is and what he has done for each and every one of us!!!
Acts 8:27 – 38 27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”
30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this:
“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
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.”
34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”
And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.

2. Jesus came to save the world, but He relates to each of us individually
When they brought the deaf man to Jesus the Bible says, “He took him aside, away from the crowd.” There were many miracles Jesus performed publicly. But I love the fact Jesus took this man aside and dealt with him privately and personally.
Jesus had such tenderness with this deaf man. He acted out what He was about to do. He placed His Divine fingers in the man’s ears to indicate He was going to fix that problem.

Then Jesus placed some of His Divine saliva on the man’s tongue to indicate that He was going to fix that problem as well.
Then Jesus spoke a word in Aramaic. He said, “Ephphatha.” It meant, “Be opened. Be loosed.” Suddenly, this man could hear Jesus. He could hear the wind. He could hear the birds singing for the first time. The string binding his tongue was opened and he began to speak plainly for the first time—and he could hear his own voice.

Can you imagine his reaction? Today, there are roughly 360 million people on the planet who suffer from hearing loss:
That’s about 5% of the world’s population. Only 10% of those have access to hearing aids and medical science. Today, there is a surgical procedure called a cochlear implant in which many people with profound hearing loss can hear again, or hear for the first time.

You can go to YouTube and watch the reaction of little children and adults when they hear for the first time. When little kids hear their parents’ voices for the first time, they have two reactions: wide-eyed amazement, and then smiles and laughter.

When adults hear for the first time, there is wide-eyed amazement, and then they collapse into grateful tears as they can hear. I can imagine this poor man expressed amazement and then tears of gratitude to Jesus.

For God so loved the world [that’s over all 7 billion of us] that if anyone believes on Him [that’s each of us] they will not perish but have eternal life. Jesus loves you individually, as if you were the only person on earth to love. He came to die for sinners, and if you had been the only sinner, He would have died for you.

Jesus doesn’t save groups of people together: He saves each person individually. He wants to take you aside from the crowd today and touch you and open your ears so you can hear Him, and open your mouth so you can make His name famous.

3. As a man, Jesus understands our pain!
Just before He healed the deaf man, Jesus used sigh language. The Bible says, “He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him...” As I said earlier, this is the part of the story that grabbed my attention for the first time. Jesus sighed.

There are all different kinds of sighs. There’s a sigh of relief when the doctor tells us that the tumor is benign.
There’s a sigh of fatigue after we’ve finished a long, hard job.
And there is the sigh of anguish and grief when someone we care about is no longer with us.

Some of us in the audience this morning have recently lost a family member or dear friend. It causes us to SIGH and possibly even say out loud “I am really do MISS them.” Life is one long bridge of sighs. Job said, For my sighing comes before I eat,
And my groanings pour out like water. (Job 3:24 NRSV)

Sighing is part of the human condition. Jesus was 100% God, but He was also 100% man. He feels what we feel. He is moved to compassion when we suffer. The Bible says, 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

Jesus was a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. Someone did a word search for the Greek word stenazo, and it appears eight times in the New Testament. It can be translated “sighed” or “groaned.” When Jesus showed up at the tomb of Lazarus and saw the tears of Mary, He groaned because He shared in Mary’s grief. Jesus isn’t the only one who groans and sighs.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:4 that this body we live in is like a tent that gets battered and old. And inside this tent, we groan, we sigh. Have you groaned lately when you’ve tried to get out of bed in the morning? That’s the same word that was used of the times that Jesus sighed. It was a cross between a groan and a sigh.
In Romans 8, we read that the entire creation sighs, we sigh, and even the Holy Spirit groans and sighs. “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies... In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” (Romans 8:22-23, 26)

Sometimes we are so burdened we can’t even express words in our prayers. That’s when our compassionate, loving God sighs and groans in us with words that cannot even be expressed. When you’re praying if you don’t know the words to say, don’t worry. God understands sigh language.

We sigh because we’re part of a fallen world. That’s why Jesus sighed that day. Someone shared this reflection on this Biblical account: “Jesus was about to heal the deaf man. Why then should He have sighed? In that poor afflicted man Jesus saw but one more sign of that vast crack and flaw which sin has caused in everything good God created. When God finished His work, He saw that it was very good. But since that time the devil has sown evil tares amid God’s wheat; an alien element of suffering intruded into God’s world; a jangling discord clashed into God’s soothing music. Earth is no longer Eden.”

Some people blame God for the suffering in this world. But God is a good God who created a good world. Sin and Satan have created the havoc and suffering. And that’s why Jesus sighed and it’s why we will sigh until we see Jesus.

4. When Jesus has touched us, we can’t resist telling others
The Bible says, “Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it.” This is the great irony of the Gospel. This wasn’t the only occasion where Jesus told the recipient of a miracle to keep quiet about it. And in every case, they didn’t stay quiet; they told everyone about Jesus. And yet Jesus has commanded us to tell everyone the great things He has done for us and yet most of us remain silent. That’s the irony.

So, WHY did Jesus tell this man to keep it under wraps? There’s a simple reason. Jesus was already being overwhelmed by crowds demanding a miracle. Jesus’ primary mission to Planet Earth wasn’t to heal the sick. His primary mission was to die on a cross for the sins of humanity. Jesus knew that the more people talked about His healing miracles, the more people would crowd around Him just for a miracle.

But in other cases, Jesus told those set free from demonic influence to spread the word. Remember the man who was tormented by a legion of demons that Jesus cast into the pigs. Then they died of swine flu as they flew into the water and drowned. We read in Luke 8, “The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘Return home and tell how much God has done for you.’ So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.” (Luke 8:38-39)

Jesus has called us to do the same thing. Notice Jesus told the man to tell people what GOD had done for him—and the man talked about what Jesus had done. Have you been telling people what Jesus has done for you?

One of the songs we sing contains the thought: O, WILL YOU NOT TELL IT TODAY! If the ....

5. Jesus’ miracles provide proof that He is the Messiah
You might not have recognized the importance of this final verse. “People were overwhelmed with amazement. ‘He has done everything well,’ they said. ‘He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.’”

The Jews as well as the Gentiles around Israel had been looking for a Messiah since Isaiah and the other prophets predicted His arrival. One of the ways people knew to recognize the Messiah was by the miracles He would perform.

Over the preceding four hundred years, many Jewish leaders had arrived on the scene and claimed to be the Messiah. But none of them had performed miracles. But Jesus fulfilled all the Old Testament prophecies.

Seven hundred years earlier Isaiah prophesied: “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.” (Isaiah 35:5-6)

Jesus opened the eyes of the blind, healed the deaf, raised paralytics who jumped like a deer, and opened the mouths of the mute to shout for joy.
Jesus touched this man at the point of his pain. What is your point of pain today? Are you struggling with a physical problem? Jesus wants to touch you and say, “Be healed.”

Are you struggling with the guilt and shame from your past? Jesus wants to touch you there and say, “Be forgiven.”

Are you struggling with terrible grief over the death of a loved one? Jesus wants to touch your broken heart and say, “Be comforted.”

Will you let Jesus touch you today?
CONCLUSION
The bottom line of this miracle is that the people said Jesus has done all things well. Can you say that?
We all sigh because we live in a world full of pain and adversity. None of us are immune from suffering. We don’t have a choice about pain. But what we do have a choice about is how we react and respond to our pain.
Through the years, I’ve been fascinated by studying the lives of American Presidents. One of our most obscure presidents was Franklin Pierce, our 14th President, who served from 1853 to 1857.

Historians agree he was one of the five worst presidents, along with, John Tyler.
When the Democratic National Convention was held in 1852, nobody expected Pierce to be nominated. The frontrunners were Sam Houston from Texas and James Buchannan from Pennsylvania. But the party was split and no candidate got a majority. Finally, on the 49th ballot, Pierce was nominated. In the general election he easily defeated the Whig candidate, General Winfield Scott, who had been nominated on the 53rd ballot.

Five weeks before Pierce’s inauguration, tragedy struck his family. He and his wife, Jane, and son Benny, were riding on a train. There was an accident and the train derailed. Benny was killed, while Franklin and Jane were uninjured. Franklin and his wife were devastated by this accident, and they became angry with God.

Jane Pierce didn’t attend the inauguration, and Franklin Pierce chose to “affirm” the oath of office rather than swear it on a Bible. Jane Pierce was not seen in public for two years, she hid in the White House writing letters to her dead son. When she finally appeared she wore the clothes of a mourner. She was so seldom seen she was called “the Shadow of the White House.”

After four uneventful years, Franklin Pierce wasn’t nominated for a second term. Here is the sad example of a couple that faced adversity and it made them angry and bitter toward God. Their lives spiraled down into depression and despair. Jane remained a recluse until her death. Franklin Pierce fought alcoholism and died of cirrhosis of the liver at age 64.

But let me tell you about another person who lived when Franklin Pierce was president. This person suffered from adversity as well, but she refused to blame God. Fanny Crosby was born as a healthy child with sight. At six months, she developed a bad cold and a quack doctor applied a mustard compress to her eyes. This mis-treatment blinded her for life. But she refused to be angry and bitter about her blindness.

At age 8 she wrote this poem: “Oh what a happy soul I am; Although I cannot see; I am resolved that in this world; Contented I will be! How many blessings I enjoy; That other people don’t, To weep and sigh because I’m blind; I cannot, and I won’t!”
Fanny Crosby went on to write over 9,000 hymns including “Blessed Assurance” and “To God Be the Glory.”
On the day Franklin Pierce was inaugurated as President, he was angry and better toward God.

Fanny Crosby was 33 years old and she wrote these powerful words: “All the way my Savior leads me;
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my Guide?
Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.”

What is your attitude today toward you pain and adversity? Like President Pierce, has it caused you to be bitter? Or like Fanny Crosby, has it made you better?

Have you come to a place in your life where you can say, “For I know whatever befalls me, Jesus does all things well?”

Our lives will be full of sighs—but cheer up, Jesus understands sigh language. And at the end of your sighs, remember, Jesus does everything well!

Based on a sermon
given by David Dykes

Do I Practice What I Preach?

Do I Practice What I Preach?
Matthew 23: 27 – 28

ILL. When was the last time you overheard a conversation like this? “Madge, how come you never shop at Walmart?” And Madge answers, “Well, I used to. But the last time I was there the place was just full of hypocrites. So I’ll never go back there again.”

You’ve never heard such a conversation about Walmart, have you? We don’t hear that kind of excuse in regard to grocery stores, schools, or the country club. But sometimes we hear it used in regard to the church.

ILL. Zig Ziglar said that he invited a friend to go to church with him. The man answered, “Well, I’d like to go. But the church is so full of hypocrites.” Ziglar replied, “That’s okay. There’s always room for one more.”

A. Turn with me to Matthew 13:24-30. In this passage Jesus is talking about the presence of good & evil in this world.
“24 Another parable Jesus put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
In this parable Jesus says that as wheat & weeds grow side by side they look a lot alike. And if we try to pull up the weeds we would likely uproot the wheat as well. So we’re told to let them grow until the harvest. Then it will be easy to see which is which, & to treat them accordingly.

Jesus told this parable nearly 2,000 years ago. But the lessons He was teaching are just as pertinent today. So let’s consider some of them this morning.
A. The first one is the presence of hypocrisy. Jesus says that there will be both good & evil people in this world, and they’ll be living side by side. Even the church will not be immune to this mixture.

On the one hand, it seems unfair to say that the church is full of hypocrites, because I know a lot of people who have been faithful and true and authentic in their Christian lives, and they’re wonderful Christian people.
B. Now there is a difference between a Christian struggling with sin & a hypocrite. A Christian struggling with a sin comes to God saying, “God, this is a weakness in my life & I really need the help of the Holy Spirit to deal with it.” God welcomes that prayer & He promises to help.

But the hypocrite doesn’t really struggle to overcome his sin. He just tries to hide it. He thinks, “When I’m in church I’ll behave like a Christian. I’ll say the prayers.
I’ll sing the songs. I’ll obey the rules. But when I’m out in the world I’ll act differently & behave exactly the way those around me behave.”

You see, the word “hypocrite” originally came from a word used in Greek drama that meant “one who is play-acting, wearing a mask.” The symbol of Greek drama, as some of you may know, is a two-faced mask.
That’s why a hypocrite is often called “two-faced,” someone who is trying to deceive, pretending to be different than he or she really is.

ILL. A preacher in the Midwest tells about a young couple in his church who boasted to all their friends & neighbors that they were flying to New York City.
They were only going to be able to spend one day there, but the highlight of their trip would be to go & see the Broadway play, “My Fair Lady.” They were so proud of this, & everyone was really impressed because no one else in that small town had ever been to a play on Broadway.

The day came, & when they arrived in New York they took a taxi to the theatre where “My Fair Lady” was playing. To their dismay, they found that the play was completely sold out for the night.
They thought, “What do we do now? Everybody knows that we came to see ‘My Fair Lady.’ We don’t dare tell them that we didn’t.” So they found a couple of ticket stubs on the sidewalk & picked them up.

They bought a program that described the various acts of the play. They went home singing “I Could Have Danced all Night.” And they told everybody that they had gone to see “My Fair Lady.”
The preacher said, “That’s right. They had the ticket stubs. They had the program. They had been to the theatre & they knew the music. But the trouble is, they didn’t see the performance.”

Then he added, “A lot of Christians are like that. We come to church. We have the bulletin. We know the songs. We know what to say & what to do. The problem is that some of us have never really let Jesus enter and change our lives.”

ILL. One of the questions that arose in recent years as the lives of some politicians came under scrutiny was, “Can someone be one thing in his private life, & another in his public life?” Now that’s a legitimate question. And Nathaniel Hawthorne answered it a long time ago.

He said, “No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself & another to the multitudes without finally getting bewildered as to which is the true one.” You can get so confused that you’re not sure who you are anymore.
Jesus condemned hypocrisy. Listen to His words in Matthew 23:27-28.
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
ILL. The story is told about a little boy who found a rat in his back yard. He jumped on it. He stomped on it. And he killed it. He was so proud of himself, & he ran to show it to his mother.
But he didn’t realize that the preacher had come to call. So the excited boy ran into the house, carrying the rat by the tail, hollering to his mom, “Mom, look what I found. I found this rat. I jumped on it, I stomped on it, &...” Just then he noticed the preacher & he finished by saying, “And then the Lord called him home.”

SUM. It’s terrible to have to remember to change your behavior depending upon the people you’re with. And that’s hypocrisy.
Now for Part 2 of our sermon ...
A man walked into a flower shop and asked for some potted red geraniums.
"I’m sorry," said the clerk in flower shop, "we are completely sold out of all of our potted geraniums. But I’d be more than happy to give you a deal on something else. Could you use African violets instead?"
Replied the customer sadly, "No, it was geraniums my wife told me to water while she was gone."

APPLY: You’d think that a simple task like watering the plants wouldn’t be too hard for a guy. But speaking from experience, I can sympathize with this man. I realize there are people here that really like gardening, but I don’t. Watering plants just doesn’t make it for me. If I want some vegetables, I’ll go down to the grocery store and get some.

But – of course – somebody had to grow that vegetable that I bought at the store. And our nation has some of the finest farmers that have ever walked the face of the earth. They have the finest tractors and plows and combines, and because of their skill and the tools they can use... America literally feeds the world.

Back in the days of Jesus, however, farmers had a lot less to work with. And the picture we see in Matthew 13: 1 – 9is that of the common farmer. He doesn’t have the tools to properly fit the ground and prepare for seed, so he simply reaches into his bag, takes out handful after handful of seed and flings it across the ground.
Because of the haphazard way he’s throwing the seed...
· Some of it falls on a nearby hard-packed pathway
· Some falls amongst the rocks
· Some falls on weedy ground...
· But then, some of it falls on fertile ground and the seed takes root and gives a bountiful crop

Now Jesus is telling a story, and He’s telling this story to illustrate how God intended to spread the Gospel across the land and bring people to salvation.
But there were a couple of things about this story that struck me as odd:
1st – The parable seems to give the impression that God isn’t all that concerned about which soil He allows His seed to take root in.

Just think about that for a minute:
The Seed is the Word of God.
The Seed belongs to God.

Now, since the Seed belongs to God... don’t you think He’d be a little more selective about which soil even gets to receive this gift?
But that’s not how it plays out.

The footpath and the rocky soil and weedy soil... they all get a shot at this seed... WHY?
Why would a farmer plant corn in a rock filled yard? Well, if the man wanted a crop... he had to scatter his seed in the land that he had... and then trust that the seed would bear fruit.
And the farmer in Jesus’ parable did the same thing.
He’s scattering His seed over all the land He had... trusting that the seed would bear fruit.
In Isaiah 55:10-11 God declares
10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
You see that’s the power of God’s SEED - the Word of God
God scatters it all over the earth, because it has power to take root in the harshest ground. And once it takes root, it can bear fruit.
God doesn’t care about the condition of the soil.
Of course, the harsher the soil, the harder it becomes to get a crop... but you can still get a crop.
Isaiah 53:2 tells us
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Anybody have an idea about who that prophecy referred to???? (Jesus)
Jesus was a root out of DRY GROUND
The soil shouldn’t have yielded a harvest - but it did. It gave us OUR SAVIOR
So God doesn’t seem to be concerned about which soil His seed falls on. He’s confident of the power of the seed. The soil doesn’t matter, it’s the harvest He’s looking for.
The best soils were the ones that yielded a harvest of 30 to 100x’s more than what was sown.

The question to ask yourself today is: “what kind of harvest have you been yielding for Jesus?
How deeply has the seed taken root in your souls?

ILLUS: Henry Ford gave away millions of dollars to many different causes in his lifetime, but he was notorious for the fact that he refused to give any money at all to schools. He felt that well-meaning but nonbusiness-like people frequently mishandled those gifts.

Now, there was a woman named Martha Berry who had begun a school in Mt. Berry, Georgia. She’d started the school because she was shocked to discover that many of rural children attended neither a church nor school and were unfamiliar with stories from the Bible. So she decided to start a school where the poor could learn to read and write and do arithmetic and to know basic Bible stories.
But she needed more money than she had.
Now, she was aware of the fact that Ford never gave money to schools but she went to him anyway and asked for an endowment. As expected, Ford refused.
So Miss Berry, said “Well, then, would you give me a dime to buy a sack of raw peanuts?”

Ford was a little taken back and he asked why she wanted just a dime. She replied: “A dime is all I want, Mr. Ford, but I do want to show you what I can do with 10 cents”
Berry returned to her school and she and her students planted and replanted the peanuts. Then she sold the crop for $600 and took the money to Ford.

She stood face-to-face with Henry Ford, and said, “See how practical we are in the use of money at the Martha Berry School?”
Mr. Ford was so pleased with what she’d done, he gave Miss Berry the $600 back... and added $2 million to it. Martha Berry took the money and built the buildings that became Berry College in Mt. Berry, GA.

The difference between God and Henry Ford is – God believes we are capable of making good use of what He’s given us. He believes in us, and He trusts us to be faithful.
The question for us today... what have we done with the seed God gave us?
And a 2nd point I want to make about our text – Jesus tells this parable to the crowd... but He doesn’t explain what it means

(pause...) Why would He do that?
Well some have speculated that Jesus used parables to get the people’s attention. That’s why I use stories in my sermons. I hope they keep you interested and they help illustrate what I’m trying to get you to understand. But there’s an even deeper reason why Jesus told the people parables.
Look with me at
Matthew 13:10-16
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Now at first glance you might think Jesus told parables because He didn’t want everybody to understand what He was saying. But that’s not actually what that passage in Matthew is telling us. He’s not saying He didn’t want people to hear or see God’s truth... He was just being realistic. Jesus knew that there are people out there who really don’t want to understand what God is trying to say. He could explain Himself to those folks until He was blue in the face... but they’d just given Him a blank stare.

ILLUS: About 10 yrs ago Time magazine had an article on something called the “Jesus Seminar.” Apparently some self-appointed scholars got together and questioned the authenticity of the Gospels we find in the Bible. So they had been meeting together twice a year to vote on which sections of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John they felt actually recorded the true history of Jesus. When it came to the parables... the article explained that “these ‘scholars’ decided that they preferred parables without explicit applications.
In other words, they liked the parables - they just didn’t want to be told what they meant. They had eyes to see, but they refused to see... ears to hear, but they didn’t want to hear it.
1 Corinthians 2:12-14
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Until we become Christians, the stories of Jesus can catch our attention but we can never FULLY comprehend what those truths mean... until we God’s Spirit dwells within us.
Acts 2 tells us how we can lay hold of God’s Spirit
In that chapter, we’re told that Peter preached such a powerful sermon that the crowd interrupted his message to ask him what they could do. And in Acts 2:38 tells us that
“Peter said unto them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive (what???) the gift of the Holy Ghost.’”

Notice what it says:
When you repent of your sins
And your baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins...
Then God gives you His Holy Spirit to dwell inside you.
It’s like signing a contract.

When we bought our house, Debbie and I went into a bank office and sat down at a long table across from the sellers. Between us, on the table, was a contract, listing the physical description of the house and some legal jargon. But down at the bottom of that contract were two sets of lines. One set of lines was for us (as the buyers) to sell, and the other set of lines was for the sellers.

So also with salvation. We “sign” the contract by our faith, repentance, confession of Jesus, and baptism. But then God signs the contract. He signs it by placing His Spirit inside of us.
The Spirit is not a dormant thing that sets inside like some inanimate object on a wall. No! The Spirit of God is a living active force that not only marks us as belonging to God, but works within us to comfort us and help us... and to “teach us” spiritual truths.
And one of the tools that Spirit uses to teach us with is God’s Word (the seed). That’s why it is so critical for us to constantly expose ourselves to scripture on Sunday mornings, and in Sunday School, and in Bible studies, and in personal study time. The more we study God’s Bible, the more material God’s Spirit can work with to teach us more... and deeper... spiritual truths about God and our relationship with Him.

The Wisdom of a Mother

The WISDOM of a Mother
Proverbs 3:5-7

As you have probably figured out by now we have a SPECIAL GUEST in our audience this morning. This young lady was born on this day 90 years ago. Herbert Hoover was the President of the United States at that time. She is a mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and a sincere friend. All of us here wearing the white shirts are the various units of my mom and dad.
We as mom’s family would like to acknowledge all the spit she produced to wash dirty faces, all the old gum she held in her hands, all the noses she wiped, & all the bloody knees she 'made well' with her kisses.
We appreciate all the times she made us finish something we said we couldn't do, and continued to believe in us, even when we ourselves had given up.
There is a story told of A husband and a wife in their 60s who were coming up on their 40th wedding anniversary. Knowing his wife loved antiques the man bought a beautiful old brass oil lamp for his wife. When she unwrapped it a genie appeared. He thanked them and gave them each one wish. The wife wished for an all expense paid first class around the world cruise with her husband. Shazam. It took place. Instantly she was presented with the tickets for the entire journey plus expensive side trips dinners shopping etc.

The husband however wished he had a female companion who was 30 years younger than him. Shazam. Instantly he became 90 years old.

If God gave you just one wish, what would it be? I know I would probably wish to get a thousand wishes, but assuming that was not the case what would you wish for?

Solomon was given kind of that choice,
the Lord appears to Solomon in a dream. He offers him whatever he asks for.
In 1 Kings 3:5-9 and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?”

You notice it says, ask for whatever you want and I will give it to you. What would you want if you were given whatever your heart's desire as they say? What would you want? Gold? Glory?
Greatness? Pleasure? Do you look for fame and fortune?

Power and prosperity or longevity maybe? Personal looks? None of this was the case for Solomon. What did Solomon ask for? Wisdom.
Why you may ask
or you might ask what is wisdom?
Proverbs 3:5 – 7 says 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 [a]direct your paths.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and depart from evil.

And Proverbs 9:10 says 10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
Then in the new testament we read in James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you”

The researched definition of Wisdom, is the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight.

A philosopher Cicero said the function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and evil. Good, basic.

Robert Green Ingersoll says it is a thousand times better to have common sense without education
than to have education without common sense.

Frank Whitmore said the biggest difficulty with mankind today is that our knowledge has increased so much faster than our wisdom.
Lets think about that for a moment. Knowledge is increasing so fast, wisdom hasn't caught up with it.
Then We can think about what we learned from our mothers: 😊
We learned foresight: "Make sure you wear clean underwear in case you’re in an accident."
We learned logic: "If you fall out of that tree and break your neck, don’t come crying to me."
We learned religion: "You better pray that comes out of the carpet."
We learned about time travel: "If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!"
AND, we learned about the circle of life: "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

Socrates says the only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
That is where we are as Christians, isn't it?
By ourselves, what do we know about the creation of Earth? Nothing.
We realize true wisdom is being aware that we aren’t the ones in charge. True wisdom starts with “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”.

In the Old Testament we have examples of how God acted towards man. We see the history of the human race. We see relationships, how family got started. The goods and bads, the dos and don'ts and then we are offered Jesus coming down from heaven to be an example for each one of us.

John 3:16 tells us... 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
We see that God loved the nature of Solomon's request from what we read in (1 Kings 3: 5 – 9)

I now want to look at what it says in verses 10 - 14 “And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee
And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.”

We see Solomon's request was not selfish nor self-centered. It showed both reverence for God and respect for God's people. Isn't that what God asks of our lives today? Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these other things shall be added unto you. Notice that Solomon asked not personal things. He asked for God's guidance. He asked for the wisdom to serve God.

Notice that Solomon took that seek ye first approach that Jesus talks about.

Then as you continue to read 1st Kings 3 : 16-20. We read of the story of the 2 mothers and Solomon must decide who is telling the truth.
The real mother knew the unique characteristics of her son. She knew the color of his eyes. She knew probably the way he smelled. She knew the softness of his skin by touch. So it is with mothers. We know that our mothers know everything about us. Think about our heavenly father and how much more God knows.
He knows our thoughts He knows our intentions.
we know that He knows the number of hair on our head, AND
for some of us that hair is probably easier to count than others. But we know that the Bible says He knows the very hairs on our heads. He knows. He’s the creator of all.
Matthew 6:26 – 34
26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one [a]cubit to his[b]stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not [c]arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
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. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Jesus says Our Heavenly Father will care for you more than all of these.

Do you ever wake up in the morning and ponder what is the purpose of life?
Your boss might ask you, what is your purpose of being here?
He's referring to the job but you can think about that in a whole universal sense. What is our purpose of being here today. Why are we here?
We have Solomon making his judgment. Here is a man who prayed for wisdom. He asked for wisdom. He made a judgment this was just one of the judgments that happened in his life. The people marveled at and realized and notice that his wisdom came from God. It came from heaven. It wasn't just Solomon ...it was directed by God.

now I would like to read from Ecclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 what does he say? This wise man which we believe may be viewed as the wisest man in the world because he was directed by God says what?
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter.
He's basically says I've pondered my whole life. And if I leave one last final statement with you it is this: the conclusion of the whole matter is fear God and keep his commandments. For this is the whole duty of man.

Then
It makes me think about us as Christians. What shall we give in exchange to our very own souls?

When you ask what is my purpose? Today why are we here? Solomon a wise man who asked for God's wisdom says fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man for God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing whether it is good or whether it be evil .
As Christians we can obtain wisdom by reading God's word. God is the one that is in control and may we follow that example that love that Solomon had, the love that that mother had for her family. May we have that love for our family. May we have that love for our Christian family. May we have love for those that we've come in contact with.

In Matthew 7:24-27 it says 24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

Those of us in the white shirts today have been blessed.
Mom has taught us ... not only by her words BUT also by her actions. Mom is an example of someone who walks by faith not only to us as her personal family, BUT to you as her church family. I would be amiss if I didn’t mention my mom’s 2 great loves who are unable to be here today ... my dad and my oldest brother Ron. But they celebrate with us today in our hearts.
The wisdom of this Hull family.....
Juanita Lavern Fidler Hull’s purpose in life was to be our mom and to be a Christian role model for each one of us.
Lo I am with you always even until the end of earth. We think about what we have. Today if we are in a need of either taking the steps to become a Christian or if we have taken those steps and fallen a way and need the prayers of the congregation whatever our need is we have the chance to make it right as we stand and sing our song of invitation.

A Man Just Like Us

A Man Just Like Us
Hebrews 11: 1 – 5

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. 4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. 5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
James 5:17. It says this: "Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, & it did not rain on the land for 3 1/2 years."
You remember Elijah. He was one of the greatest prophets of the OT. He is the one who stood before wicked King Ahab & looked him eyeball to eyeball & said, "Ahab, if you don’t straighten up the heavens will be sealed & there will be no more rain on our land."

Someone described Elijah as a "blood & guts" prophet. Elijah is the one who climbed to the top of Mt. Carmel for a "call down fire from heaven" showdown with the priests of Baal, & who said to the people of Israel, "Who are you going to worship, Baal or Jehovah? Let’s settle it once & for all."
You remember Elijah. When his life’s work was over he was the one who was caught up in the whirlwind & a chariot of fire sent by God.

And when Jesus was on the earth, Elijah & Moses were the ones whom God chose to meet & talk with Jesus on the Mt. of Transfiguration.

Listen again as God speaks in Malachi 4:5-6: "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great & dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, & the hearts of the children to their fathers...."
When John the Baptist started preaching, the crowds said, "Elijah has come back." And when Jesus hung on the cross & cried out, "Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachthani?" the crowds said, "He is crying for Elijah to come."

In every Orthodox Jewish home at Passover time even today when they put the chairs around the table & spread all the emblems of Passover, there is always one empty chair because they are waiting for Elijah to come.
Elijah, the OT prophet of God, was a very special person indeed! And yet, there is this amazing statement in James 5:17that says, "Elijah was a man just like us." And that phrase, "just like us," is only used one other time in all the Bible.

The 14th chapter of Acts tells about Paul & Barnabas in the city of Lystra. They healed a crippled man & the miracle was so amazing that the citizens of Lystra decided that Paul & Barnabas were gods. They called Paul "Mercury" & Barnabas "Zeus" & began to worship & offer sacrifices to them. But as the crowd surrounded them, Paul cried out, "Wait. We’re not gods. We’re men, just like you."

What does James mean when he says, "Elijah was a man just like us?" To be honest with you, I’m having a little trouble with that also. Can you picture Elijah driving up & down the roads of Chardon? Can you see him in line at McDonald’s, ordering a Big Mac & french fries? or shopping at Walmart? Rather hard to imagine, isn’t it? Yet, James says that "Elijah was a man just like us."

If James had said that Peter was "a man just like us," I wouldn’t have as much trouble believing that because Peter was often saying the wrong thing, talking when he should have kept quiet & making mistakes.
So if James had said, "Peter was a man just like us." I would say, "Yes, I can somewhat relate to that."

Or if James had said, "David was a man just like us," I could say, "I can see that, too." David writes in his Psalms of his frustrations, & searching for God’s will, & of wondering who he can trust. David sinned. David had trouble with his kids. Indeed, David was a man that was more like us.

But James doesn’t mention them. He says, "Elijah was a man just like us." And the rest of the passage says that when Elijah prayed earnestly that it would not rain, God held back the rain. Then 3 1/2 years later Elijah prayed that it would rain, & the rains came.
As a prophet from God, Elijah did some very extraordinary things. But James’ message is that Elijah was just an ordinary person, & that God can take ordinary people & accomplish extraordinary things. So, let’s take a closer look at Elijah to see what we can learn from his example.

First of all, we learn from Elijah that someone committed to God will not compromise his faith. Elijah has an interesting name. It comes from two words, "el" & "jah." Put them together & his name means, "Jehovah is God." Now that may sound redundant, but his name was very important, & it reflected Elijah’s conviction.

Elijah believed with all his heart that "Jehovah is God, & there is no other God." And that brought him into a direct confrontation with King Ahab. You remember King Ahab, don’t you? Maybe you remember his wife better. Her name was Jezebel.

Now King Ahab also believed that Jehovah was God. The problem was that he married a woman who believed that Baal was God. And Ahab was a politician who didn’t want to offend anybody, especially Jezebel. Therefore he decided, "If worshiping one god is good, then worshiping two gods is even better."
So he built altars to Jehovah & also to Baal. Into his palace he brought priests of Jehovah & also priests of Baal, & he told the people, "You can worship whichever God you choose, or you can worship both of them if you want."

B. But Elijah confronted Ahab & condemned his idolatry. As a result of Ahab’s example, many of the Israelites were now worshiping Baal, while others were worshiping Baal one day & Jehovah the next. They couldn’t make up their minds.
Finally Elijah calls for a climactic contest on top of Mt. Carmel & in 1 Kings 18:21 he utters these words to the people of Israel, "How long are you going to waver between two opinions? If Jehovah is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him."
Elijah was saying, "You cannot serve both Jehovah & Baal at the same time. So make up your minds which one you’re going to worship."
And he challenged the priests of Baal to a contest to see which one is God & actually able to answer prayer.
The priests of Baal built an altar & called on Baal to send down fire from heaven. But nothing happened. They shouted out to Baal almost all day long until they were hoarse. They tore their clothing, & even cut themselves, but nothing happened.
Finally, when it was obvious that they had completely failed to get any response from Baal, Elijah said, "Now it is my turn." It was time to prove once & for all who is the one true God.

In 1 Kings 18:30 we read, "Then Elijah said to all the people, ’Come here to me.’ They came to him, & he repaired the altar of the Lord, which was in ruins."

Elijah rebuilds the long neglected altar of God & offers his sacrifice upon it. Then when Elijah prays, God dramatically responds with fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice. “Jehovah is God." That is the proclamation of the life of Elijah.

C. Is there a message there for the church today? It seems to me that there is. Elijah said, "I will not be contaminated by my surroundings. I will keep my life pure, my testimony untarnished. I will keep on standing up for the fact that God is who He is, & there is no other god."

Do we need to hear & proclaim that message today? You see the world will tolerate us as Christians as long as we don’t get too serious about it. It is perfectly acceptable to the world for us to believe that Jesus is the Christ as long as we conform to its standards & values & attitudes.

Several years ago an article appeared in the Wall Street Journal about a woman who called herself Reverend Terry & her new-age religion. She called it "The New Christianity" & here is what it said that she teaches.

"Happiness is limitless, & people don’t need to change for the better, but simply to realize that they are already perfect." As you look at the world around us, do you believe that? Somehow, she seems to have a very strange perception of this world.

She doesn’t believe in sin or hell. "Sin is simply self hatred," she says, "& hell is what some of us build for ourselves right here on earth."
The article described her audiences as young & suntanned, driving Mercedes & BMW’s. She teaches prosperity & happiness & says, "You should never feel guilty for anything that you do, but rejoice in your own perfection." Now isn’t that comforting?
"Do what you want to do & never feel guilty."
Her conclusion is that since there isn’t any such thing as sin, there is no need or room for Jesus Christ to come & save us from our sins.

Somehow it all sounds like the 18th chapter of I Kings, doesn’t it - where they compromised & diluted the worship of God to the place where they were no longer paying any attention to the word or will of God.

Is that what is happening today? People say, "Your god is as good as mine. You worship yours & I’ll worship mine & I might even worship yours once in a while because it really doesn’t make much difference." OR, you worship the way you want to worship and I will worship the way I want to do.

But Elijah’s message for us today is, "Separate yourselves from the world’s values... not isolate yourselves but separate yourselves." We must never be contaminated by what “the world” teaches. The PRODICAL SON’s story in the New Testament illustrates this point.

Now let’s look at Romans 12:1 2. We’ve heard it so often that I am not sure we really listen to it. Paul says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy & pleasing to God which is your spiritual worship."

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test & approve what God’s will is His good, pleasing & perfect will."

There are two words in this passage that I have underlined: "conform" & "transform."
And as you study the Bible & read about the impact made by lives of the people mentioned in its pages you’ll find that they can fit into one of two categories: those who conformed to their world, & those who transformed their world.

Ananias & Sapphira conformed. Yes, they went to church, & they said their prayers. They joined in the life of the church. They were respected in the church. But they desired to be praised, & they ended up lying to the Holy Spirit.

Judas conformed. He had the privilege of listening to the teachings of Jesus of learning straight from the lips of Jesus Himself. But he conformed & sold out to the world.

Joseph in the OT didn’t conform. He was sold into slavery. He found himself tempted to commit adultery with Potiphar’s wife. But he didn’t conform to the world, & in time he transformed the world in which he lived.

Daniel did not conform. He wouldn’t conform to the pleasures of the palace. He wouldn’t bow down to their golden idols. He kept on believing & praying & he transformed the world that was around him.

The same is true of Peter, James, John, & all the other great saints who followed God. The pressures were there, but they would not conform & finally they turned the world upside down - or right side up.

Jesus said, "You cannot serve both God & mammon. You will end up loving one & hating the other." And that’s where it is today in our society. There are other altars, & other gods beckoning for our attention & our worship.

Society says, "That’s all right. You can still go to church & be a respectable Christian. Just go ahead & serve the other gods too."
But from Elijah comes this message, "Don’t conform, but be transformed." And here is how, "First of all, offer your bodies as living sacrifices. Give yourself to God."

Secondly, "Renew your mind." Let God’s Word teach you & shape your thinking, your attitudes, & your values in a new & wonderful way.

Thirdly, "Then you will be able to test & prove God’s good & pleasing & perfect will" for your life.

CONCL. That’s God’s message for us today. We dare not compromise it. We dare not dilute it. Like Elijah, we must stand strong on it & proclaim it to the world today.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one & only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him" [John 3:16-17].

During the war in Vietnam, a young West Point graduate was assigned to lead a group of new recruits into battle. Despite difficult circumstances he did his job well, leading them to accomplish their assigned objectives. But one night they met stiff enemy resistance. And as they were making their way to the helicopters that would evacuate them to safety one of his men fell, severely wounded.

The young lieutenant & his men who had reached the helicopters knew that any attempt to save him would almost certainly mean death for the would-be rescuer. But the young lieutenant rushed back anyway.
He was able to save the soldier, but in the process was mortally wounded & died before the helicopter reached the base.

After the rescued soldier had recovered & returned to the States, the lieutenant’s parents heard that he was in their vicinity. Wanting to know this young man whose life was saved at such a great cost to them, they invited him to dinner. When their guest arrived, he was obviously drunk. He was rowdy & obnoxious. He used foul language & showed no sensitivity or gratitude for the sacrifice of their son who died to save him.

The grieving parents did the best they could to make the man’s visit a positive one, but their efforts went unrewarded. Their guest finally left. As the dad closed the door behind him, the mother collapsed in tears & cried, "To think that our son had to die for somebody like that."

Yet, that’s what Jesus did, isn’t it? He SUFFERED and DIED on the CROSS for EACH and EVERY ONE of US!!!!! Even those who were mocking and beating him! We hear him say on the cross as he hung there in ALL that pain, “Forgive them for they know not what they do”.

Contributing Sermon
Melvin Newland

Failure Is Not Fatal

Failure Isn’t Fatal
Mark 14:27-31, 66-72

Steven Spielberg, His cinematic output has grossed more than $9 billion and brought him three Academy Awards, but the master of the blockbuster was rejected TWICE by the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts.
Thomas Edison
In what might be at once the most discouraging statement and worst teaching practice of all time, Thomas Edison was told by his teachers he was ‘too stupid to learn anything’.
Edison went on to hold more than 1,000 patents, including the phonograph and practical electric lamp. Death most likely spared his teachers the ignominy of their incorrect assessment.
Albert Einstein
His name is synonymous with intelligence yet it wasn’t always that way for Albert Einstein. As a child he didn’t start speaking until he was four, reading until he was seven, and was thought to be mentally handicapped.
He went on to win a Nobel Prize and altered the world’s approach to physics. I guess he was just thinking of the right thing to say for those first four years...
Theodor Seuss Geisel
Known to generations as Dr Seuss, the much-loved children’s author had his first book rejected by 27 different publishers.
His books that weren’t good enough for these publishers went on to sell more than 600 million copies worldwide.

Simon Peter was a leader among the twelve disciples. He was one of the first disciples Jesus called, and after Jesus ascended back into heaven, he was one of the leaders of the early church. However, I want you to imagine that night when Peter was sitting around the fire at the house of Caiaphas. He was brave enough to follow the mob that arrested Jesus, but he was too afraid to identify himself as a companion of Jesus. While the illegal Jewish trial of Jesus was being conducted Peter was asked three times if he knew Jesus. And three times, he denied Jesus. When we look at Peter’s life, we can see there were at least three steps on the downward path of failure. Simon says there are three steps that lead to failure. We need to know these steps, because they are the same steps to denial followers of Jesus take today.
A. His first downward step was disagreement with God’s Word
When Jesus took the disciples on a retreat to Caesarea Philippi, He asked them what people were saying. They said, “Some say you are John the Baptist, Jeremiah, Elijah, or one of the prophets.” Then Jesus said, “But who do YOU say that I am?” There was probably silence for a moment or two when Peter said, “You are the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Jesus complimented Peter on his good understanding. Then Jesus began to tell them He would be going to Jerusalem where He would be put to death. That was God’s perfect revelation.
But Peter disagreed with God’s word. The Bible says, “Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ‘Never, Lord!’ he said. ‘This shall never happen to you!’ Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me.’” (Matthew 16:22-23)
Peter heard God’s plan straight from the mouth of Jesus, but he thought he knew better. He said, “None of this business about dying!”
In the same way, you are headed for failure when you start disagreeing with this book. When a person no longer consults this book for personal morality, then that person is heading for a fall. So I challenge you personally to read and obey God’s Word.
There was a time when our national morality was based upon the morality of the Bible, but we have long since forsaken God’s Word as a source of right and wrong—and that’s one reason we are in the mess we’re in.
B. Peter’s second step toward failure was overconfidence
When Jesus predicted that all the disciples would leave him, Peter bragged that he would stick with Jesus. He said, “All these other turkeys may fly away, but I’ll stand by you whatever happens!”
But Jesus said, “Peter, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” Peter said, “Never! Not me, Lord!”
The Bible has a strong warning against overconfidence. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18) I’m not a Catholic priest, so I don’t hear confession. But through the years, I’ve had hundreds of people come and confess sins to me. Of course, I will carry all these confessions in confidence to the grave. As you can imagine, I’ve heard plenty of sins over the past forty years. But I’ve never had a single person come to me and confess the sin of pride. Pride is a condition that blinds the person who has it.
Pride is an attitude that causes you to think you are incapable of sin. But we need to understand that any of us are capable of denying the Lord at any time.
C. The third step on the pathway to failure was peer pressure from the wrong crowd
Peter sat and warmed himself at the fire with those who were hostile toward Jesus and anyone associated with Jesus. It’s hard to stand up and confess Jesus when you are with people who don’t share your beliefs. We read in Mark 14:54that Peter followed Jesus at a distance to the courtyard of Caiaphas’ house. That’s an indication that we find ourselves in trouble when we don’t follow the Lord closely. Some of you may have at one time followed the Lord closely, but you have hung back and now you follow the Lord at a distance. And before long you find yourself hanging out with the wrong crowd. Soon you find yourself doing the wrong thing.
Falling away from the Lord doesn’t happen overnight. It happens gradually over a period of time. I’ve always loved the words on the first psalm that talk about the characteristics of a righteous person. It starts by revealing what a righteous person doesn’t do. Notice the progression. “Blessed is the one who does not WALK in step with the wicked or STAND in the way that sinners take or SIT in the company of mockers...” (Psalm 1:1) Peter found himself walking with the wrong crowd. Then he stood with them, and then he sat down by the fire with them. If you find yourself walking with the wrong crowd, turn around. Don’t stand, and then for sure, don’t sit down with them.
Peter took those three steps: disagreement with God’s word, overconfidence and he submitted to peer pressure until he denied the Lord.
A little servant girl said, “I’ve seen you with Jesus; you’re one of His disciples!” Peter said, “I am NOT!” A second person said, “Yes you are, you are one of the disciples of Jesus.” The second time, Peter said, “You are wrong, I don’t know Jesus.” Then one of them recognized his accent. Galileans were the rednecks, the hillbillies of the Jews. One man said, “I can tell by the way you talk, you’re from Galilee. You are with Jesus.”
At that moment Peter lost it. It was still a long time before dawn, but God reached down and plucked the tail feathers of a nearby rooster and it let out a cock-a-doodle do to end all cock-a-doodle do’s! Then it crowed again, just to make sure Peter had heard it.
Then Peter remembered the words of the Lord. The very thing Peter said would never happen had happened.
Peter had denied his Lord. He was at rock bottom. Maybe that’s where you’ve been before. Maybe it’s where you are now. Or you may find yourself there soon. Never say never. Rock bottom is a bad place to be, but it’s a good place to meet the Lord, because there’s only one direction you can go from there.
II. THE PATHWAY TO PERSONAL RESTORATION
If you are a human creature, you’re going to fail and make mistakes.
When we have sinned, we must recognize it and repent. God’s forgiveness doesn’t save us from the consequences of our conduct, but if we’ve abandoned the behavior and are willing to accept the consequences, God will still use us.
The thing that reveals the strength of your character is what you do AFTER you fall. If you stay down, then you wallow in your failure. But if you get up and keep trying to follow God, He can still use you. We looked at the steps that lead to failure. Now let’s consider how to move toward restoration. Simon says there are three steps on the pathway to restoration.
A. The first step is to admit your failure
As soon as the rooster crowed, Peter realized he had failed the Lord. The Danish artist, Carl Bloch, captured a scene from the night when Peter denied Jesus. Luke tells us as Jesus was being led out of the courtroom, he looked across the courtyard and stared into the eyes of Peter. If you could see Jesus would see His face was already beaten, his eyes swollen, and blood caked in his beard. That look must have made Peter’s blood freeze. But I don’t think it was a look of anger or disappointment. I think it was a look of love. It was as if Jesus was saying, “I told you what would happen, now what are you going to do?” In this moment you see the rooster crowing as Peter turns his head away from the gaze of Jesus.
When it comes to failure and sin in your life, you have two options. You can try to hide it, or you can admit it. The Bible says, “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13)
Someone said, “To err is human; and to cover it up is too.” Once we have made a mistake one of the hardest things to do is to come clean and admit it. Is there an area of your life where you have failed the Lord, and you are in denial? When I was a youth pastor I used to tell students to remember these three phrases do deal with sin. Admit it. Quit it, then Forget it. Admit it: confess it to God. Quit it: stop sinning; then forget it: accept God’s cleansing. Admit it. Quit it, Forget it—it still works.
B. The second step is to repent of your sin
The Bible says Peter went out and wept bitterly. The word “repent” means to have a change of heart that leads to a change of behavior. When the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, it is often a painful experience. That’s why Peter wept. He was ashamed of his behavior. When was the last time you wept over your sins?
Sorrow and repentance often go together. The Bible says, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10)
C. The third step is to return to serve with God’s people
Do you know the difference between Judas Iscariot and Simon Peter? Judas was sorry for what he did. He had regret, but there was no repentance. He went out and hung himself. After Peter went out and wept, he repented and then he joined the disciples.
Jesus not only predicted Peter would deny Him, but He also predicted Peter would get back on track and would be the one to strengthen the other disciples. Jesus said, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31-32)
Peter failed the Lord when he denied Jesus, but his faith didn’t fail. Jesus wasn’t finished with Peter.
In John 21 Peter and the disciples were out on the lake in Galilee fishing. They had fished all night and caught nothing. They saw a man standing on the shore who called out, “Caught any fish?” They grumbled, “Nope.” The man said, “Throw your net on the other side of the boat.” That should have rung a bell. Sure enough they toss the net and it is so full of fish that they have to drag it to shore. John said, “It’s the Lord!” Peter, who had denied Jesus a few nights earlier couldn’t wait for the boat to get to shore. When the disciples arrived, Jesus already had a fire going with fish cooking. So once again, Peter is looking at Jesus across a fire. Jesus asks Peter a question three times.
Peter do you love me more than these?
John 21:15-17
15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”
16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”
17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you [g]love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?”
And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.

And four weeks later, we see Peter filled with the Holy Spirit standing up and preaching the Gospel on the Day of Pentecost. He was a failure, but it wasn’t fatal. He went on to become one of the leaders of the early church.
CONCLUSION
John Maxwell wrote, “Failing doesn’t mean I’m a failure; it just means I have not yet succeeded. It doesn’t mean I’ve accomplished nothing; it just means I’ve learned something. It doesn’t mean I’ll never make it; it just means I have a reason to start over again. It doesn’t mean God has abandoned me; it just means He has a better idea!”
The Bible is full of stories of people who loved God and failed Him on a grand scale, but they returned to God and God used them in a mighty way. Remember, failure isn’t fatal!

Contributor : David Dykes

The Most Important Question

Life’s Most Important Question
Mark 15:1-20

There are three terminal punctuation marks. A period marks the end of a stated declarative statement. An exclamation point marks the end of a statement of strong emotion. A question mark is used at the end of an interrogative statement. In written Spanish, they place the inverted exclamation point and question mark at the beginning of a sentence, which I think is a good thing. In English you may be reading along and only at the end you know to raise the tone of your voice for a question?
If you have an iPhone you can ask Siri questions. She’s pretty smart at math. You can ask her to find the square root of any number and she can give you the answer in seconds. But some of her answers can be funny. Try asking Siri, “Why did the chicken cross the road?” She will give you different answers. You can even ask her, “Where is Elvis?” But my favorite is when you ask Siri, “What is zero divided by zero.” Her answer is, “Imagine that you have zero cookies and you divide them between zero friends. See it makes no sense. And Cookie Monster is sad that there are no cookies, and you are sad because you have no friends.”
The Bible contains many questions. In fact the first recorded word of Satan in Genesis 3 was a question to Eve about God’s character. He asked, “Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the Garden?” That wasn’t what God said at all, but the devil is still trying to get people to question God’s character.
In the same chapter, God’s first question in the Bible was when He asked Adam, “Where are you?” Of course, He knew where Adam was; He just wanted Adam to admit it. God said to man, “Where are you?” And the first question of the New Testament is man asking where God is. In Matthew 2, the Magi asked Herod, “Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews?”
There are many other important questions in the Bible. Job asked, “If a man dies, shall he live again?” Jesus asked, “What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” Paul asked, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” The writer of Hebrews asks, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation.”
But of all the questions in the Bible, I believe the most important question is the one we are going to hear Pontius Pilate ask. I believe this is Life’s Most Important Question. In Matthew’s account, Pilate asks, “What then shall I do with Jesus?” (Matthew 27:22) I have to answer that question. You have to answer that question. In fact, that is a question that every person who has ever lived must answer.
Mark 15:1-20. Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “You have said so,” Jesus replied. The chief priests accused him of many things. So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.” But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed. Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead. “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them. “Crucify him!” they shouted. “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
I’m going to have you each answer Pilate’s question: “What will I do with Jesus?” It’s a personal question; it’s not “What will WE do with Jesus?” It’s a pressing question, because it’s one you must answer before you die and stand before God.
Life is full of choices. There have never been more choices. When I grew up, we had NBC, CBS, and ABC, and we had to move the antennae to pick up those different stations. Today, with cable, satellite, and streaming services you have thousands of viewing choices. We used to have vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate ice cream, and today there are thousands of different flavors including horseradish ice cream, lobster ice cream, and bacon and beets ice cream. But those are relatively insignificant choices. Life is full of important choices. Will you get married? Who will you marry? Where will you go to college? What career will you choose? Those are big decisions. But the biggest choice you’ll ever make is, “What will I do with Jesus?”
The good news is that God gives you a choice about what you will do with Jesus. God is too much of a gentleman to force anyone to accept His love. If it didn’t have a bad connotation in today’s debate about abortion, I would say God is pro-choice. He gave Adam and Eve a choice in the Garden of Eden and they made the wrong choice. In Deuteronomy 30 when Moses was poised with the second generation of Israelites ready to enter the Promised Land, he said, “God has placed before you life and death, blessings and curses, now CHOOSE LIFE!”
As Joshua faced the nation after they had taken much of the Promised Land he said, “Choose you this day whom you will serve. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!” (Joshua 24:15). When Elijah faced a nation devoted to Baal worship, He declared a God contest on Mt. Carmel. He said, “No more sitting on the fence. If Baal is God, then choose to worship him. If Yahweh is God, choose to worship Him!”
In this message I want to present five different choices you can make about how you answer the question, “What Shall I do with Jesus?”
1. PILATE: You may choose to reject Him
After Pilate interviewed Jesus, the Bible says, “He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.” (Mark 15:15) Pilate was the ultimate Roman authority on this case. He had the power to release Jesus or to have Him crucified. Luke tells us Pilate went back to the Jewish leaders three times and said, “This man has done nothing wrong. He doesn’t deserve the death penalty.” It seems clear that Pilate wanted to pardon Jesus and set Him free. But He gave into the mob mentality. In John’s account the Jewish leaders find Pilate’s soft spot. They said, “If you let Him go, you are no friend of Caesar. We heard Him claim to be a king and anyone who claims to be a king is no friend of Caesar.” Pilate only had one boss, Caesar, and he didn’t want these pesky Jews to threaten his job. So he gave into the political pressure and he chose his career over Christ.
There are people in our culture who seem interested in Jesus. They are fascinated by His claims. But it is not politically correct to say Jesus is the only way to heaven. And some people think if they followed Jesus, it would cost them their momentum on their career track. So like, Pilate, many people reject Jesus and choose their careers over Christ.
2. HEROD: You may choose to admire Him
When Pilate learned Jesus was from Galilee, he wanted to shift some of the responsibility, so he had Jesus sent to Herod Antipas, who was the governor of Galilee. This was the same Herod Antipas who beheaded John the Baptist. The Bible says in Luke 23:8, “When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort.” Herod asked Jesus many questions, but Jesus just stood there silently. This frustrated Herod, so he started mocking Jesus and put an elegant robe on Him and sent Him back to Pilate.
Herod represents those people who simply admire Jesus as a great moral teacher, like Socrates or Confucius. Richard Dawkins is a leading spokesman for atheism today. He is an Oxford University professor who wrote a book called The God Delusion. In a newspaper interview he said Jesus was a great moral teacher. He went on to say Jesus was such a radical thinker that if he lived today, he would be an atheist.
To simply admire Jesus as a great teacher isn’t a viable option. To quote another Oxford University professor : “You must make your choice: either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let you not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
3. THE MOB: You may choose to replace Him
Pilate was still trying to figure out a way to release Jesus. Since there was a custom to pardon a prisoner at Passover, Pilate suggested they allow him to release Jesus. But the crowd would have none of it. The Bible says, “But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.” (Matthew 27:20)
We’re told in the text that Barabbas had committed murder. So the crowd was faced with setting free a miracle worker, or a murderer. And they chose Barabbas.
By this time, Jesus’ approval rating among the Jewish elite was so low, that they preferred a hardened criminal to a teacher who preached love and forgiveness.
Today, millions choose a replacement for Jesus.
Even non-religious people have replaced Christ. Many atheists have replaced Christ with human reason and worship at the altar of science. Many greedy American consumers have replaced Christ with their ongoing passion to have more and more and the newest and the best. If Jesus isn’t #1 on a list of 1 in your life, you have replaced Him with someone or something else.
4. THE SOLDIERS: You may choose to mock Him
The Bible says, “They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.” (Matthew 27:28-30)
Christ and Christianity are being mocked today like never before. On one hand we are seeing some Christian movies like God’s Not Dead, War Room, Captive, and Risen.
But at the same time, we live in culture that is becoming more and more hostile toward Jesus and Christians. There has been a rise in television shows that make a mockery of our faith. Not long ago Saturday Night Live presented a vulgar spoof of the movie, “God’s Not Dead.”
There are many people who will join the Roman soldiers and continue to make a mockery of Jesus and His followers. That’s their choice.
5. GOD: You may choose to crown Him as Lord
So the most important question you’ll ever answer in your life is this: What will I do with Jesus? You have to answer that question. If you say, “I just won’t answer it, I won’t do anything with Jesus.” That is doing something with Jesus.
Basically all of the responses fall into two categories: Rejecting Christ or Receiving Christ; Crucifying Jesus or Crowning Jesus as Lord. Turning your back on Him, or Trusting Him. God gives us the only correct answer. The only choice that will lead to eternal life is to crown Him as Lord. Have you chosen to do that?
The Bible says in Ephesians 1 that “God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” (Ephesians 1:4)
God made a choice about what to do with His Son. And it’s the choice we should make. All around the world, there are people who are bowing down. Some are bowing beside their beds looking to heaven. Some are bowing down facing Mecca. Some are bowing down and praying to a statue of Buddha. But God makes it clear that one day every knee will bow to Jesus.
The Bible says, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11).

CONCLUSION:
Let’s come back to our punctuation marks. There are some important questions that need answers, and God provides the answer. And when God speaks truth, that settles the issue. That’s why sometimes we’ll make a statement and then say the word, “period.” Like, “And that’s the end of that, period.” That means that there’s nothing else that can be added to what has been said.
In Acts 16 the Philippian jailer asked Paul, “What must I do to be saved?” That’s a good question. Paul said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. PERIOD.” Everybody wants to know, “How can I go to heaven?” Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, the life, no one comes to the Father except through me. PERIOD.” The Bible says, “There is no other name except Jesus under heaven given among men whereby you must be saved.” PERIOD “For God so love the world that he gave His one and only son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” PERIOD.
Mark 16:15-16 “15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. PERIOD.
Acts 2:37-38 37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. PERIOD
There’s nothing to add. And today, Satan is still trying to put question marks where God puts a period. So don’t you ever put a question mark where God puts a period.
I believe there are many statements in the Bible that deserve the strong emotion of an exclamation point. When John the Baptist saw Jesus, I don’t think he said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” I believe he said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
John wrote, “Behold what manner of love the father has shown us that we should be called children of God!” On that morning after Jesus appeared to Mary in the Garden she ran back to the disciples. Do you think she said, “I have seen the Lord.”? No, I believe she said, “I have seen the Lord!!!!!!!”
As Christians, we should be living in the exclamation points of the Bible.!”
One day, the question, “What DID I do with Jesus?” will have an eternal impact on your life.

 

 

 

Contributor: David Dykes

Learning to Trust God

LEARNING TO TRUST GOD
TEXT: Judges 6:1- 7:25

Chuck Swindoll, in his book, "Living Above the Level of Mediocrity," tells about a church in the Soviet Union during the days of the Iron Curtain that was forced to meet secretly because house church services were illegal.
They tried to be as inconspicuous as possible as they gathered on Sunday to worship the Lord, so they came at different times & casually entered the house until all had arrived. Then they would lock the doors, pull the curtains, & quietly worship the Lord.
But one Lord's Day, right in the midst of their worship, two soldiers broke into the house, & at gunpoint commanded the Christians to raise their hands & line up against the wall. Then they told them that they had a choice, either to renounce Christ & leave, or to stay & suffer the consequences.
Several hurriedly left. They waited a few moments, which seemed like an eternity to those still lined up against the wall, & then the soldiers said, "This is your last chance. You may either renounce your faith in Jesus Christ & leave, or stay & suffer the consequences."
Another left, & then another, almost hiding their faces in shame as they left. But the rest remained, children standing beside their parents, trembling in fear, some even crying.
After all had left who chose to leave, the soldiers closed the doors, turned to those remaining & said, "Now keep your hands up, but this time in praise to our Lord."
The soldiers explained that some time earlier they had been sent to another house church to arrest the Christians there. But in the process, they had heard the gospel & had accepted Jesus as their Lord & Savior, too.
But as they explained to these Christians who had stayed behind, "We have learned that you can't trust anybody who is afraid to be true to his faith."
The HS Cross Country team goes through a team building exercise at the Outdoor YMCA as part of their summer camp.The goal is for your group to move through a series of obstacles as you build trust and a spirit of teamwork. For me the most challenging obstacle is the "trust" platform. At this obstacle, each person must take turns climbing up to a platform that is located 5 or 6 feet above ground level. Once you get on the platform, you are to fold your arms, turn your back, and fall from the platform into the waiting arms of your friends. That requires a great deal of trust. That is what occurs in healthy relationships. We trust the other persons with our lives.
PROP. The story of Gideon, found in Judges 6 & 7, is a great example of just an ordinary man who faced fear & overcame it with God's help. He learned to trust God, & became a man of impressive courage.
I. A TASK FROM GOD
A. The story begins with an angel appearing to Gideon to give him the fearful task of leading Israel into battle against the Midianites. The Midianites were ruthless raiders who came in swarms to terrorize the Israelites, invading their land, stealing their crops & cattle, & burning their homes.
Judges 6:5 says, "These enemy hordes ... stayed until the land was stripped bare." And Gideon was afraid, for vs. 11 tells us he "was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites."
Wheat was usually threshed above ground where the wind could blow away the chaff. But Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress, a large cistern or hole in the ground, to keep the Midianites from seeing him & stealing his grain.
While Gideon was down there Judges 6:12-15 says, "The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, 'Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!' 'Sir,' Gideon replied, 'if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?'
'And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? 'But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.'
The angel replied, 'Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!' 'But Lord,' Gideon replied, 'how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!'”
APPL. Sometimes we, like Gideon, think our feelings of inadequacy exempt us from involvement. In fact, we like to think that our lack of confidence impresses God because we're so humble.
But humility is not low self-image. Humility is discovering the gift God has given you & using it for His glory - not for your own.
Then the angel answered Gideon, "I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites ..."
SUM. It's been said, "God plus one equals a majority." That's true even if the one on God's side is weak & uncertain. God was going to use one man - Gideon - to save His people.
II. A TEST FOR GOD
A. But Gideon wasn't convinced, so in vs. 17 he asks, "If you are truly going to help me, show me a sign to prove that it is really the Lord speaking to me." And God did.
When Gideon placed his offering of meat & bread on the rock before the angel, the angel took the tip of his staff & touched the sacrifice & fire flared from the rock & consumed it all. Then the angel disappeared & Gideon exclaimed, "I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!" (Judges 6:22).
B. Then God told Gideon to prepare another offering, "Pull down your father’s altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole standing beside it. Then build an altar to the LORD your God here on this hilltop sanctuary...
"Sacrifice the bull as a burnt offering on the altar, using as fuel the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down.” (Judges 6:25-26).
When an Asherah pole stood next to an altar of Baal it indicated that this was a place of pagan prostitution. So God was instructing Gideon to destroy the symbols of idolatry & immorality & to burn the Asherah wood as a message that a time for repentance had come.
Vs. 27 says, "So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD had commanded. But he did it at night because he was afraid of the other members of his father’s household and the people of the town.
The next morning, when the townspeople found out what had been done, they were upset & demanded of his father, "Where is Gideon? We've come to kill him."
C. Joash, Gideon's father, was courageous. Although it had been his own altar & Asherah pole that Gideon had destroyed, Joash seems to have been the first to repent & turn back to the Lord.
Judges 6:31 tells us, "Joash shouted to the mob that confronted him, “Why are you defending Baal? ... If Baal truly is a god, let him defend himself and destroy the one who broke down his altar!”
You see, courage can be contagious. One person standing up against evil can inspire others to do the same. And they needed to be inspired because vs. 33 says, "Soon afterward the armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east formed an alliance against Israel and crossed the Jordan, camping in the valley of Jezreel."
Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, & he sent messengers all over northern Israel calling them to arms. To his amazement, 32,000 men responded. They were ready to fight! All they needed was a leader to lead them.
APPL. It's a sobering day in the life of a young leader when he or she realizes, "People are following me. People are listening to what I say. They are doing what I ask them to do. I'm making a difference!"
D. But Gideon was still afraid, & he asked God for another sign. Vs's 36-37 says, "Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight.
"If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised."
The next morning, God had dramatically answered his request. Gideon wrung out a bowl full of water from the fleece! But then he had second thoughts.
Vs. 39 says, "Then Gideon said to God, 'Please don’t be angry with me, but let me make one more request. Let me use the fleece for one more test. This time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew.”
In other words, "Reverse the process, just to prove it really was a miracle."
Vs. 40 says, "So that night God did as Gideon asked. The fleece was dry in the morning, but the ground was covered with dew." There was no mistake. God truly was with Gideon!
III. A TRUST IN GOD
A. So now it was time for Gideon to demonstrate his trust in God.
Judges 7:1-2 says that Gideon & his army got up early & went as far as the spring of Harod. There the Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength.'
Now let me condense the rest of the story for you. God told Gideon, "You don't need a powerful military; you need a confident spirit. So let's begin to trim down your troops. Tell them that anyone trembling with fear may go home."
So Gideon did, & 22,000 went home, & Gideon's heart must have sunk! Big numbers almost always represent strength to us. A loss of more than 2/3rds of your army would be devastating. But God said to Gideon, "There are still too many. Take them down to the water & I will sift them out there."
"When they get to the water, watch how they drink, & send back those who kneel down at the water to drink. The ones who lift the water to their mouths & lap it from their hands you keep." Only 300 men lapped the water from their hands.
"The Lord told Gideon, 'With these 300 men I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Send all the others home." (Judges 7:7).
Only 300 were left out of the original 32,000. But Gideon did as God said. He sent the others home, but he kept all their ram's horn trumpets.
B. Now let's notice 2 things Gideon did that helped conquer his fear.
1. First, he trusted God completely. He'd seen enough to be convinced God was with Him. That's what God asks of us, too. Jesus tells us, "Don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ (Matthew 6:31 (NLT)
How many years must God provide for us before we're convinced that He will supply our needs?
2. Secondly, Gideon was obedient. When God instructed him to go, he went - even though he was afraid. Courage is not the absence of fear; courage is being afraid but proceeding anyway!
C. Judges 7:9-10 tells us, "That night the LORD said, 'Get up! Go down into the Midianite camp, for I have given you victory over them!
"But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah. Listen to what the Midianites are saying, and you will be greatly encouraged. Then you will be eager to attack."
Gideon didn't say, "Oh, no, that won't be necessary, Lord." Instead, that night, he & his servant sneaked down to the edge of the enemy camp, where they overheard two enemy soldiers discussing a weird dream.
One soldier said, "I had this dream, and in my dream a loaf of barley bread came tumbling down into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent, turned it over, and knocked it flat!"
"His companion answered, 'Your dream can mean only one thing - God has given Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite, victory over Midian and all its allies!' (7:13-14)
D. Judges 7:15 says, "When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship before the Lord."
Now it was time for boldness. When he returned to the camp, he awakened the troops. “Get up! For the LORD has given you victory over the Midianite hordes!” (Judges 7:16)
He gave every man a torch, with instructions to put the torch inside a clay jar. Every man was also given a ram's horn trumpet. Then Gideon told them, "Keep your eyes on me. When I come to the edge of the camp, do just as I do." (7:17)
IV. THREE QUALITIES OF AN EFFECTIVE LEADER
Now notice, 3 essentials of an effective leader stand out in Gideon. First is a reassuring confidence - "We're going to do it!"
Second, there is a clear communication - "This is what you are to do."
Finally, there is a positive example - "Do as I do." Gideon had now become a mighty warrior!
The Israelites silently surrounded the Midianite camp. At a given signal, all 300 men smashed their clay jars, waved their flaming torches, & shouted "A sword for the Lord & for Gideon!" (vs. 20), instantly awakening the sleeping enemy. Then they blew their trumpets, making the loudest racket they could make.
When the suddenly startled Midianites saw the torches & heard the awful racket, they panicked. They thought they were surrounded by a powerful army.
Vs. 22 says, "When the 300 Israelites blew their rams’ horns, the Lord caused the warriors in the camp to fight against each other with their swords."
Those who survived fled for their lives. Gideon & his mighty 300 were victorious, & God was once again honored in Israel.
ILL. Years ago, when many other young men were enlisting or being drafted, Roy Coop was a student in a Bible College preparing to be a preacher.
Some of his former high school classmates were critical of him for not enlisting. They accused him of "ducking his duty" & "taking the coward's way out."
One day, Roy approached a group of his former classmates, & one said, "Here comes chicken Roy! He went off to Bible College because he's afraid to fight for his country!"
Roy Coop straightened his 6'2" frame that supported a muscular 200-pound body & replied, "I joined an army that the rest of you don't have the guts to join!"
It takes courage to enlist in the Lord's army. It takes courage to live counter to the popular trends of this world today. But many are doing it!
What enemies are you facing? What has made you feel defeated & discouraged? Perhaps today is the time to take a stand. God is coming to you in this moment & saying, “The Lord is with you, Mighty Hero!”
“Who me?” you might answer. “If you are with me then why am I going through all this?”
But God is calling you to victory. He is calling you to leave your doubt & walk in faith. He is calling you to be a doer, not a complainer.
We keep wanting God to do something without our help. We keep wanting somebody else to do it. But God wants to use you & me. He always works through people.
God called Gideon a mighty warrior, but that was not who he was at first. It was who he would become - with God’s help. God looked at his potential rather than his weaknesses.
That is what God is doing now if you will walk in faith & do what He is calling you to do. The Lord challenges us, “Go with the strength you have...for I am sending you!”
INVITATION