Chardon church of Christ

Truth Be Told

Truth Be Told  
1 John 2:5

A wealthy businessman lay on his deathbed. His preacher came to visit and talked about God’s healing power and prayed for his parishioner. When the preacher was done, the businessman said, “Preacher, if God heals me, I’ll give the church a million dollars.” Miraculously, the businessman got better and within a few short weeks was out of the hospital.

Several months later, the preacher bumped into this businessman on the sidewalk and said, “You know, when you were in the hospital dying, you promised to give them church a million dollars if you got well. We haven’t received it as of yet.”
The businessman replied, “Did I say that? I guess that goes to show how sick I really was!”

1 John 2:5 But whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:
A few years back two guys interviewed thousands of people, and they published their findings in a book called The Day America Told the Truth. Of those surveyed,
91% said that they lie on a regular basis.
86% said they lie to their parents regularly,
75% said they lie to their friends,
68% said they lie to their spouses.
50% said they regularly called in to work sick when they weren’t
Doug Sherman and William Hendricks, compared the ethics of Christian and non-Christian adults. They found that almost as many Christians steal from work as non-Christians,
almost as many Christians use company phones for personal long distance ...as non-Christians.
And they found that Christians are just as likely to falsify our income taxes, and commit plagiarism, and give bribes to obtain a building permit, and ignore construction specs, and illegally copy computer programs, and steal time from work, and exaggerate our products, and selectively obey the law.
Matthew 5:33-37 – “33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

--This passage reveals some important reasons why we must live truthfully: First, dishonesty undermines our relationships
When we lie and don’t keep our promises it destroys trust and trust is what healthy relationships are built upon
Honesty helps us grow in our relationships with Christ and with others
--Eph. 4:15 – Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

Second, dishonesty is contrary to the character of God
God is a commitment-keeper
--Num. 23:19 – God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?
Satan, however, is the father of lies

--John. 8:44b – He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
There is a saying you may have heard... “Don’t fudge now.”
The slang term “fudge” in reference to stretching the truth comes from a sea captain named Fudge He became notorious for telling all kinds of lies, tall tales and exaggerations about his improbable adventures at sea.

It was said of this Captain Fudge that he “always brought home his owners a good cargo of lies.”
By the mid-1800’s the expression “no fudging” was being used in America by children to discourage friends from cheating at marbles.
--For anyone who grew up playing marbles ... I guess that’s where one would have learned the phrase.
One thing that both of my parents stressed when I was growing up: Always tell the truth
--If I did something wrong and then lied about it, I was in “double trouble” but if I told the truth, the discipline wasn’t as bad as when I ‘fessed up to what I’d done.
Being a follower of Christ means a commitment to truth
--We need to be people of our word
You want to be known as someone who keeps your promises no matter what
However, there are some common justifications that most of us give for breaking promises
I didn’t think it was all that important
I thought I might be able to keep the promise
It seemed the right thing to do at the time
I want to challenge you in three areas this evening:
1st ) KEEP YOUR PROMISES...EVEN WHEN THEY SEEM INSIGNIFICANT

When you start to justify a little dishonesty because it seems insignificant, be careful because you’re one step closer to doing what you never thought you would do
The little areas test our integrity
God takes stretching the truth very seriously
Every time a casual commitment is broken, an incremental amount of damage is done
How many of you are familiar with these common “lies”?
Honest, I only need 5 minutes of your time
Your table will be ready in just a few minutes
The check is in the mail
I will get to that 1st thing in the morning ...
If elected, I promise...
-- A busload of politicians were headed to a convention but because of highway construction, they had to take a detour down a rural road. The driver was having problems with this windy,
country lane and lost control of the bus. It ran off the road and crashed into a tree in an old farmer’s field.

The old farmer was driving to town when he noticed that that there was a gaping hole in his fence. He went to investigate and saw what had happened. He went back to his truck, got a
shovel, and buried all the politicians.
Since the politicians never arrived at their destination, a state trooper was dispatched to locate them. He backtracked their route, followed the country road, saw the wrecked bus in the field, and looked up the old farmer that owned the property. The trooper asked the farmer where the politicians had gone. The farmer informed the trooper that he’d buried all of them.

The trooper said, “Didn’t you call the coroner? After all, not all of them might have been dead.” The old farmer replied, “Well, some of them kept sayin’ they weren’t but you know how them politicians lie!”
We might be very familiar with those lies but there are other lies that destroy our integrity:
There are several ways we can be careless with the truth on a daily basis because we don’t see it as a big deal
We lie to cover up our mistakes
We exaggerate
We mislead
We give false flattery
We deceive or cheat
Rodney Buchanan, a preacher in Mt. Vernon, OH: “Who has not been startled to hear yourself say something that is an exaggeration without even thinking about it. It is not that you began the conversation with the intention of saying something that was not quite true, but before you knew it you found yourself embellishing a story.
Are you honest about your age?
Have you been thoroughly honest with your taxes?
Have you ever been dishonest about the time you claimed you worked,
or not given an honest day’s work for an honest day’s wage?
Have you ever cheated on a test?
Have you ever lied to get out of trouble?
Have you ever complimented someone when you didn’t mean it?
Have you ever kept silent when you should have told the truth?
Made yourself appear better than you are?
Lied to gain an advantage or get your way?
Misled someone to save face?”
Eph. 4:25 – Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor...
2nd ) KEEP YOUR PROMISES...EVEN WHEN YOU REGRET MAKING THEM
Maybe you regret making a promise because things didn’t turn out the way you had hoped
Maybe when you made the promise, you’d hoped that you would have:
More time
More money
More knowledge
More energy
More whatever (you fill in the blank)
Maybe you made a promise to do something because you thought you’d get something in return:
money, favors, popularity, position
--Now it looks like you’re going to have to do what you promised and not get anything.
Some people think that if they don’t commit to anything, it’s easier to get out of the obligations and responsibilities implied
However, there are times when we have to make commitments
We have to promise to do certain things whether we like it or not
It’s our commitments that define who we are
We can make promises that we don’t like but fulfill them in ways that show integrity and fortify our witness for Christ
-- Once there were two brothers who were very rich and very wicked. Both of them lived lives of sinfulness and corruption and used their wealth to cover up a lot of their wickedness. Both were
members of a local church and used their money to be in positions of influence.

The old preacher at this church had retired and a new preacher had been hired. This preacher was a man who preached the gospel with zeal and courage and lived an exemplary life. The
congregation began to grow at such a rapid rate that they needed to build a new church building.

At this same time, one of the brothers got sick and died. The new preacher was asked to do the funeral. The day before the funeral service, the surviving brother pulled the preacher aside and
handed him an envelope. He said, “There’s a check in this envelope that is large enough to pay off the new building. All I want you to do is tell all the people at the funeral tomorrow that my brother was a saint. Do you think you can handle that?” The preacher shook the brother’s hand and said, “I will do precisely what you have asked.”
The preacher immediately took the check to the bank and
deposited it to the church’s account.
The next day, the preacher stood in front of the large group of people who had come to the funeral and said, “This man in the coffin was an ungodly sinner and wicked to the core. He was
unfaithful to his wife and abusive to his children.
He was ruthless in business and a hypocrite in
the church. But compared to his brother, he was a saint!”
C. Maybe you regret making a promise because keeping your word ends up costing you more than you expected

Ps. 15:4 describes a righteous person as one “who keeps his oath even when it hurts.”
--Maybe things have not turned out the way you had hoped, but you keep your commitment anyway
There is a story told of a young minister and the suffering he endured because he kept a promise he had made to a buddy during World War I.

This friend was worried about the care of his wife and small daughter if he should be killed in battle, so the minister assured him that if that were to happen he would look after them.
As the war dragged on, the man was killed. True to his word, the minister took care of his friend’s family.
Yet no matter how helpful he tried to be, the woman was ungrateful, rude, arrogant, and domineering. Through it all, the minister kept forgiving her. He refused to let her actions become an excuse to renege on his promise.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Jesus follows His section on divorce with the challenge to keep your promises
--We seem to have a problem with that in our nation
We promise to love, honor, and cherish in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, until death do us part
Yet, almost 50% of all marriages in the United States end in divorce

For some reason, we have trouble keeping those wedding vows
-- Sometimes promises are tough to keep but we need to keep them to the best of our ability.
Another problem is that we have trouble keeping our promises to Jesus
a. We stand in front of a group of people and proclaim: “I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
The civic club meetings become more important than fellowship with the Body of Christ
Watching TV or going to sporting events becomes more important than studying the word of God
Talking to friends or business colleagues becomes more important than spending time in prayer
Our business becomes more important than God’s business
Dr. Seuss, in Horton Hatches an Egg, tells the story of an elephant, named Horton, who promises to sit on an egg and hatch it for it’s mother, lazy Miss Mayzie. As the days and weeks go by, Horton just keeps sitting there on that nest up in a tree. All his friends encourage him to forget his promise and play with them.
Do you remember his response? “I meant what I said, I said what I meant. An elephant is faithful, 100%.”
What could God do with a congregation that had that commitment?
3rd) KEEP YOUR PROMISES...EVEN WHEN YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS
When you can keep a promise to yourself, you will tell the truth to others
Promises to ourselves are sometimes the hardest ones to keep
There is no accountability and seemingly no consequences
Once you start breaking promises to yourself, it becomes much easier to break a promise to others
Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 5 that whenever we make a promise we do so in the presence of God

When we break a promise, we’re not just lying to others or ourselves
--We’re also lying to God
Back in Jesus’ day, the Pharisees had developed elaborate rules governing when a man was bound by his word and when he was not.
If I swear by Jerusalem, I am bound by my words. If I swear towards Jerusalem I’m not bound.
Any promise I make using God’s name binds me, but if I can avoid using God’s name when I
make a promise, maybe I don’t have to keep my word, they thought.
--So they began to swear by anything that sounded like it might mean something
c. In fact a whole book of their law-code dealt with making vows and promises – which ones you had to keep, and which ones you didn’t.
We have similar oaths to swear we’re telling the truth:
Cross my heart and hope to die (stick a needle in my eye)
--Oops, sorry. I had my fingers crossed
I swear on a stack of Bibles
If I’m lyin’, I’m dyin’!
May lightening strike me if I’m not telling the truth
I swear by my mother’s grave....
With God as my witness...
Some people try to reason by saying , “If you know you’re lying, and the Lord knows you’re lying, it’s the same as telling the truth.”
Jesus said in Matthew 5: 34-35 – “But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.”
What Jesus is wanting is truthfulness. all the way around
If you’re one of God’s people, then whatever you do reflects on God
Someone once said: “However hard you try, Jesus said, you cannot avoid some reference to God, for the whole world is God’s world and you cannot eliminate him from
any of it.”
God takes lying very seriously
Prov. 12:22 – The Lord hates liars, but is pleased with those who keep their word.

Rev. 21:8 – But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars–their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
C. How do I get better at keeping my promises?
1. Admit your struggle
--At one time or another, we’ve all struggled with the truth. Sometimes it’s just easier to fib
The down side is that our culture despises dishonesty coming from people who claim to be
Christians
--We can do some terrible damage to our witness and even the cause of Christ when we’re not
people of our word.
People are looking for authenticity wherever they can find it.
Admit that truthfulness can be a struggle
--But recognize that Jesus says, “No matter what, tell the truth!”
Monitor your promises
Reliability builds credibility
--Can other people count on you to follow through and do what you say you will do?
Do you ever say, “I’ll pray for you,” just because it sound like the right thing to say?
--Do you ever actually pray for that person?
What about in business?
--Is what you advertise what you deliver?
The Message paraphrase of our text is don’t say anything you don’t mean.
This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of moral talk, saying, ’I’ll pray for you,’ and never doing it, or saying, ’God be with you,’ and not meaning it.
You don’t make your words true by embellishing them with religious
lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true.
Just say ’yes’ and ’no.’
When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.”
Just say, “yes” and “no.”
It sounds simple enough. And yet we know speaking the truth is anything but simple.
Examine your motives
--Why am I making this promise? What do I really want?
Do I want success at the cost of relationships?
Do I want acceptance, even if it means being less than truthful?
“The test of character comes when being truthful endangers what you want.”
Living an honest life, keeping our promises can be difficult
Did you know that several of the Bible’s greatest “heroes of the faith” were liars?
Abraham lied to the Egyptian Pharaoh saying that his wife Sarah was actually his sister.

Jacob lied to his father Isaac saying that he was actually his brother Esau, so he could receive the blessing meant for the eldest son.

Peter lied to the servants and soldiers surrounding the fire outside the trial room where Jesus-Peter’s friend, teacher and Lord-was being tried, convicted and sentenced to the cross, saying, “I tell you I never knew the man!”
However, the Holy Spirit can work miracles and change a liar into a person of integrity

Abraham came to a point and place in his life when he was able to trust God for everything, even the life of his beloved son Isaac.
Jacob, after a night of wrestling with God, was able to trust God with everything he had, and so he returned to face his brother Esau whom he had cheated and betrayed.

Peter was able to trust God before the same crowd that had called for Jesus’ crucifixion when he stood up at Pentecost to proclaim the same name he had denied a mere 50 days before.
Jesus faced the gut-wrenching choice of keeping a costly promise.
God had been promising for thousands of years to send His Son to save the world through His death and resurrection.

But when the moment of truth came in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus felt the weight of the difficulty of keeping this promise.
In fact, He asked His Father, “If there is any other way, please let this cup pass from me.”
--Jesus knows what it’s like to face a promise you don’t want to keep
But in that moment of truth, when He realized there was no other way to save us, Jesus became the ultimate promise-keeper.

--Jesus kept His word to die in our place, to absorb all of our sin,
so that we could live and be forgiven and be reconciled to the Father.

Showing Your Better Side

Showing Your Better Side  

Luke 6:31  and  Matthew 7:12

 INTRODUCTION: A truck driver is sitting in a crowded roadside diner ready to eat his lunch. It’s not just ANY diner and ANY lunch.
It’s his FAVORITE diner on the road and his FAVORITE lunch.
Just as the waitress brings the truck driver’s meat loaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans to his table, a motorcycle gang swaggers in the door.
Most of them seat themselves at the table next to the truck driver but there’s not room at that table for all of them. The gang members left standing turn to the truck driver and bark, “Move! We want that table!”
The truck driver calmly says, “I haven’t finished my meal.”
One of the motorcycle toughs takes his dirty finger, swipes it through the mashed potatoes and gravy, sticks his finger in his mouth and says, “Hey, not bad grub.” Another gang member takes the trucker’s cup of coffee and slowly pours it over the remaining food on the plate and snarls, “You’re finished now!”
The trucker stands, takes his napkin, wipes his mouth, walks to the cash register,
pays for his meal, and silently walks out the door. All the bikers are laughing now.
One of them says, “Ain’t much of a man, is he?”
The waitress says, “And he’s not much of a truck driver, either. He just backed his rig over your motorcycles.”
How do you react to people who make life difficult for you?
We all encounter people who are hard to live with.
--How do you treat the “jerks” in your life?
We have some direct instruction on this particular issue
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus raised the bar for those who followed Him.
a. Don’t resist an evil person.
b. Don’t try to get even.
c. Turn the other cheek.
Jesus taught His followers that they should respond differently than the world and counter to their own carnal instincts.
--You have to admit the teachings of Jesus in this section are very tough to keep
unless we are energized by the power of the Holy Spirit within.
Preachers have stated that Jesus’ words recorded in
Matt. 5:38-48, are in contrast to how his audience lived their lives and certainly what they expected to hear.
Nevertheless, His words are wise and His way is right. If we will only give them a chance, we will discover how true and – yes, once again – how simple His advice really is.”
The key to understanding this section of the Sermon on the Mount is that Jesus’ words have to be interpreted in light of other Scripture.

--God’s Word does not contradict itself. Rather, it is the best interpreter of itself.
With this principle in mind, let’s look at this section that talks about how we treat people who are difficult to live with.
--Mt. 5:38-39 – “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’[a] 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”

“An eye for an eye” was the Old Testament system of justice.
--It was the principle of exact retribution – mentioned in Deuteronomy 19:21.
It was meant to prevent crime, establish justice, and avoid overreaction.
prevent crime – by providing the knowledge of punishment before the crime occurs
establish justice – the prescription given was not for personal retribution but was designed to be administered by legal authorities such as judges and other governmental leaders
avoid overreaction – provided fair and reasonable punishment
By Jesus’ time it had been replaced by monetary penalties.
But Jesus raised the bar.
--He said, “I tell you, don’t resist an evil person.”
This needs to be taken in light of other scriptures
We’re admonished to resist evil in our society and to resist the devil

This command doesn’t apply to self-defense
Some groups use this particular scripture to say we should be pacifists and never fight back
However, the striking on the right cheek Jesus talks about is actually an insult

--Most people are right handed and you cannot strike someone on the right cheek with your right hand except with a backhand slap

I like the story of an Irishman who was a boxer but left the ring to become a preacher. He was setting up his tent in one particular town. Some of the local toughs began to jeer and sneer as the preacher set about his business.
Eventually, one of them came over and physically challenged the preacher to a fight. The preacher said, “So, you’d like to take a swing at me, would ya?” The local tough guy just sneered. So the preacher stuck out his jaw on the right side and said, “All right then, have at it.”

At that the local tough took a swing, connected his fist with the preacher’s jaw, and the preacher went down to a knee. The preacher stood up, shook his head to clear the cobwebs,
and turned his left jaw to his opponent and asked,
“Would ya like to try it again?”
The local tough takes another swing,
connects with the preacher’s jaw, and the preacher went down on his other knee.
Then the preacher stood up, took of his suit coat, rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, and said, “The Lord has not given me any more instruction.” As the local tough guy took his next swing, the preacher taught him a little bit about boxing and the nuances of endeavor he just encountered.
I’m not exactly sure that’s what Jesus was talking about
--I am sure that He meant that we would be more Christ-like if we absorb insults rather than always retaliating.
If all we ever did was to continually seek retribution from those who injure us with insults, we’d all be walking around blind and toothless
--Mt. 5:40 – 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.
In Jesus’ day, there was a difference between the tunic and the cloak.

The tunic was the garment worn closest to the skin
The cloak was the outer garment that doubled at night as a blanket.
Exodus 22 teaches that every person had an absolute right to his cloak, since it was vital to existence.
It was not permissible to sue for another’s cloak and even if you did, the Mosaic Law required you to give it back before nightfall.
Jesus said if some adversary wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
If he’s that desperate, give up your basic rights.
Don’t demand your rights all the time.
That kind of thinking goes absolutely contrary to our gut instinct.
It’s inborn to protect yourself.
--Get even. Don’t let him get by with it.
Jesus is talking about civil matters.
He’s not saying that Christians should refuse to participate in the criminal justice system.
What Jesus is saying is don’t always insist on your rights
--There are four “rights” mentioned in commentary on this passage:
1). My “right” to dignity ... to be treated without insult
2). My “right” to comfort ... to cling to what pleases me
3). My “right” to privacy ... to do only what I prefer
4). My “right” to possessions ... to keep all I wish.
Jesus says that as His followers, we shouldn’t focus so much on our rights as our responsibilities as His subjects in the kingdom of God

Someone has paraphrased this passage to say: “If someone sues for the shirt off your back, gift-wrap your best coat and make a present of it.”
I read a story about a traveler, who between flights at an airport, bought a small package of cookies. She then sat down in the busy snack shop to glance over the newspaper. As she read she became increasingly aware of a rustling noise. Peeking over her newspaper, she was shocked to see a well-dressed gentleman sitting across from her, helping himself to her cookies. Half-angry and half-embarrassed, she reached over and gently slid the package closer to her as she took one out and began to munch on it.

A minute or so passed before she heard more rustling. The man had gotten another cookie! By now there was only one left in the package. Though beside herself, she didn’t want to make a scene so she said nothing.
Finally, as if to add insult to injury, the man broke the remaining cookie into two pieces,
pushed one piece across the table to her with a frown, gulped down his half and left without even saying thank you. She sat there dumbfounded. “Of all the nerve!”
Some time later when her flight was announced, the woman opened her handbag to get her ticket. To her shock, there in her purse was her package of unopened cookies. And somewhere in that airport was another traveler still trying to figure out how that strange woman could have been so forward and insensitive!
--But he didn’t insist on his right to eat the cookies he bought. He shared with someone who demanded that she eat them.
--Mt. 5:41 – 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
The word “forces” is a word that means, “press into service.”
There was a Roman law that gave their soldiers the right to force civilians into service for a period.
--You couldn’t refuse or you would be severely punished
But there were limitations.
--For example, a Roman soldier had a right to make you carry his pack for one mile, but not any further.
Jesus said, “If a soldier demands you carry his equipment for a mile go with him two miles.”
We all have people who have authority over us.
If they are infatuated with their power they can make life miserable.
The natural instinct is to find some way to resist.
But Jesus raised the standard, don’t just go a mile, go two miles.
It’s amazing how much better we feel about ourselves when we go the extra mile.
It’s amazing how quickly most relationships are smoothed over when we do more than expected.
What a testimony to the work of Christ in our life when we perform the extra-mile service with a smile instead of grumbling and complaining the whole time and stop at the exact mile marker.

You have several exemptions as a Christian.
1. First you are not to do anything unethical or illegal.
2. You have a right to confront and not just be run over

--Acts 22:25-29 – As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?” When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.” The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I am,” he answered. Then the commander said, “I had to pay a big price for my citizenship.”
“But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. Those who were about to question him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.
--Mt. 5:42 – “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”
We’re quick to point out that there’s a difference between Jesus’ day and ours.
In Jesus’ time people begged on the streets as their only means of survival.
But Jesus said, Give to those who ask, don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
--If we work hard to find a reason not to give, it’s probably because we want to follow our natural instincts rather than walking by the Spirit
There are some qualifiers to this command however.
You don’t give children everything they ask for.
We are not to loan to people at an excessive interest.
--If you know they can’t repay it, give them a gift with no expectation of repayment.
We are instructed not to give to a person who can work but refuses to work.

--2 Thess. 3:10 – For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”
We shouldn’t give money to a person we’re sure will spend it on something destructive. (However, we can still help them)
-- example of man, wife and kids that came to the church building asking for money ... but when we offered to go with them to buy food for the kids they declined ... they were really only interested in money ... not feeding the kids!
Matthew 5:43-48 – 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Even the best of Christians are going to have some enemies.
Jesus said, “Beware when all men speak well of you.”
Gal. 5:11 says that the gospel is going to offend some people.
But not all of our enemies are because of the gospel
Rom. 12:18 – If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Some people are just mean, nasty, and hateful
--Not much you can do about it but be a good servant of Christ and to pray for them
Jesus said, treat your enemies with compassion.
Your instinct tells you to lash out and do to others before they do it to you.
On the contrary
--Rom. 12:20-21: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this,
you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
a). If an enemy refuses to speak to you, smile and speak anyway.
b). If an enemy cuts at you behind your back, you be positive in return.
c). If someone tries to hurt your reputation, you respond with kindness.
d). If an enemy tries to undermine your business, you find some way to help him.
Hate is such powerful thing.
--It destroys your life both inside and out.
Hate should not be a common thing in your life.
--We should hate evil. We should hate sin.
Loving an enemy means choosing to let our love OVERRIDE our feelings of disgust.
Granted we do not love our enemy the same way we love God, our spouse, our children, our fellow church members, or our friends, but we must love them..
When you show mercy and grace, you’ll remind people of your Father in heaven.
-- I came across a story about a burly platoon sergeant who had at one time lived a life of drinking, cursing, swearing, and sexual immorality. He could be arrogant and rude to his soldiers.
However, he had become Christian and turned his life around.
When asked about what made the difference, he told about a private in his platoon that was courageously Christian in his outlook and behavior.

This private was frequently harassed by other but was faithful to Christ.
One night the private came into the barracks quite late. It was a very rainy night. Before getting into his bunk, he knelt, as was his custom, to pray.
The sergeant in a foul mood picked up one of his own boots, which was heavy with wet mud, threw it across the room and hit the private in the side of the head. The private said nothing. He wiped the mud from his face and crawled into bed.

The next morning, however, when the sergeant woke up, he found his muddy boots cleaned and polished by his bedside.
The Sargent then stated : “It broke my heart.”
Jesus requires us to pray for those who behave like enemies toward us
Lk. 6:28 – “Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Pray for you enemies.”
It has been said that: “Prayer is the forerunner of mercy. ”
We’re also told to forgive one another
--Eph. 4:31-5:2 – “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”

CONCLUSION: Jesus Himself is the perfect example for us to follow.
1. He was arrested, roughed up, insulted by the police.
2. The authorities spat on Him, blindfolded Him, and slapped Him in the face.
3. Then the Roman soldiers mocked Him by crowning Him with thorns and putting a
purple robe on Him, and a weak reed in His hand as a make-believe scepter.
--They jeered at Him, “Hail King of the Jews!” Then they scourged Him.
Jesus had the power to strike them blind, to paralyze their hand, to choke them on their own spit, to condemn them to hell, but, with the divine dignity, He held His peace.

1 Pet. 2:23 – When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he
suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly”
Jesus prayed, “Father forgive them.”
--He didn’t return evil for evil, but He silently turned the other cheek. He did all that for you;
And, he asks you to follow in His steps.

Too Close For Comfort

Too Close For Comfort  
Genesis 19: 1 – 29

OPEN: Just like today, back in the 1690s Jamaica was an island paradise. Palm trees in the sand, tropical breezes, beautiful beaches. People of wealth sought it out then just like they do now. And many of them built huge mansions at a town called Port Royal.
Now, Port Royal wasn’t a “tourist trap.” It was a Pirate city - hailed as the “17th Century Sodom.” And those who lived back then knew it as one of the wickedest and most depraved cities on earth.
If you could think of something evil people would do... they did it. But then - in 1692 – God came down and brought judgement on Port Royal. In the space of less than 10 minutes, the thriving
sea port was shaken by 3 earthquakes (one of which at about 7.6 on the Richter scale) which was followed by a tsunami. Port Royal literally sank into the Caribbean, never to rise again.
An eyewitness described the scene: "The earth heaved and swelled like the rolling billows, and in many places the earth crack'd open, open'd and shut, with a motion quick and fast.
And in some of these places people were swallowed up, in others they were caught by the middle, and pressed to death. The entire event was filled with the noise of falling mountains at a distance, while the sky was turned dull and reddish, like a glowing oven"
Of the city’s population of approximately 6,500 people about 2,000 died in earthquakes and tsunami. Afterwards, lacking of shelter and clean water, nearly 3,000 more died of disease. The people of Jamaica were so shaken by what took place, and they were so convinced that it was God who’d destroyed the city that a religious revival swept through the island and they promptly outlawed piracy. To this day, many Jamaicans believe that Port Royal's destruction was the price exacted by an angry God for its sins.
They called it the 17th Century Sodom. Someone else referred to it as the Sodom of the West. Now, why would they do that? Why would they refer to this city as... Sodom?
Well they did that, because Port Royal’s sinfulness and destruction sounded a lot like the story of Sodom in the Bible. In the Bible, Sodom is synonymous with wickedness... and judgment.
The Prophet Isaiah wrote: “Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the glory of the Babylonians’ pride, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.” Isaiah 13:19
Jude 7 declared that: “just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.”
Peter agreed – in 2 Peter 2:6 we’re told “by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes (God) condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly”
And Jesus said that His coming would be like "the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulphur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.” Luke 17:28-29
Sodom is mentioned 26 times outside of Genesis in Scripture. And it’s spoken of as a place that had existed and stood for God’s judgment.
But, did Sodom and Gomorrah actually exist? And were they actually destroyed as Genesis describes? For a long time skeptics would scoff and say “Nahhh, I don’t think so.”
But they don’t say that anymore. In late 1960s archaeologists found the ruins of a major city in the area called “Ebla.” Over 4,000 years ago, this city Ebla was a major merchant center
with a population of more than 250,000 people. And there, archaeologists found tablets written about 800 yrs. before Moses... written in a language very much like ancient Hebrew. And on these tablets were the names of various cities throughout Palestine. Places like Joppa, Damascus, Gaza... and Sodom and Gomorrah.
Nowadays NOBODY questions whether these cities existed. They’ve discovered that these cities lay along a major merchant route of the day (the King’s Highway). Up until a few years ago, many scholars thought these cities lay underneath the Dead Sea, but more recently, they believe they’ve found their remains to the West and South of the Dead Sea.
You can read about certain archaeologists who have found strong evidence about these cities and how they were destroyed. They stated that the evidence from radiocarbon dating... indicates that a group of civilizations flourished in the area for over two millennia, until approximately 1700 BC, when the mud-brick walls of the buildings in the region simultaneously disappeared and only the stone foundations remained.
At the same time, the pottery in the settlements was heated into glass in the space of milliseconds, according to the results of an analysis of the Zircon crystals formed in the process, indicating that they were briefly exposed to temperatures of approximately 4,000 to 12,000 degrees Celsius, comparable to the temperature of the surface of the sun.
Evidence seems to indicate that approximately 40,000 to 60,000 people living in the region were killed, and a 500-square kilometer area was rendered uninhabitable for about 600 to 700 years. They believe that the area was stripped of its topsoil, and that salts from the nearby Dead Sea were spread over the land, destroying its fertility.
“The Bible records the Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed with “fire and brimstone.” Brimstone is Sulphur.
Throughout Sodom and Gomorrah... brimstone is found embedded in the ground. It is highly flammable and when ignited it produces a toxic gas, Sulphur Dioxide (SO2). There is only one area on earth where Sulphur “stones” are found... Sodom and Gomorrah. Sulphur found elsewhere on earth rarely exceeds 40% purity. The Sulphur at Sodom and Gomorrah is approximately 96% pure.”
So, Sodom and Gomorrah DID exist, and they WERE destroyed by God. But now the question is... what can we learn from that? The most obvious lesson is this: You REALLLLLY don’t want to tick God off. There is a point where God won’t look the other way any longer.
Now, there are many people who talk about God being a God of love who wouldn't do something like this. And to some extent they're right - God is a loving God. John 3:16 says “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son...”
He loved us so much He was willing to offer a precious sacrifice so that our lives could be changed. But God is also a God who despises evil, and when push comes to shove He HAS and He WILL destroy those who go too far.
***So, the first lesson is this: you REALLY don’t want to tick God off. But for most people that’s not an issue. Most people don’t wake up in the morning and say: “Hey, I want to make God angry today.” Instead, most people kind of “back into” sin. They don’t start out being evil. They just start hanging around evil people... and that changes them.
For example, do you know how Lot ended up in Sodom? I mean, he had to know it was a wicked city. In fact, when the angels came to town, Lot insisted they stay at his house that night because HE KNEW the evil the sodomites would do to them if they were caught on the streets by themselves. So how did Lot end up in the city to begin with?
Well in Genesis 13, Lot and his uncle Abraham were tending their flocks not too far away from that city,
and their herdsmen weren’t getting along real well. So, Abraham looked the situation over and he said to Lot “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left." Genesis 13:8-9
The next few verses say “Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) ... Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom.” Genesis 13:10 &12
So, we’re told Lot moved his tent as far as Sodom. Another version says he moved NEAR Sodom. He wasn’t IN the city... but he was close. But why? Why did he move near this evil city? Well... because it looked pretty good... it was like the garden of Eden.
But in the next chapter we read that Lot has moved. It says “(Lot) was dwelling IN Sodom.” (Genesis 14:12) So, he had been living NEAR the city of Sodom. Now, he’s living IN the city of Sodom. But wait... . In Genesis 19:1 we’re told that “(When) the two angels came to Sodom in the evening... Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom...”
Lot was “sitting in the gate”? What was Lot doing at the gate? Well, in ancient cities, there was no “courthouse” in town. If you had a dispute with your neighbor, you took your case to the wise men at the GATE of the city, and that’s where Lot was. He was an honored member of the community. People respected his judgment.
So, Lot starts living OUTSIDE of Sodom. Then we find that he’s living INSIDE Sodom.
And then we find that Lot is a leading citizen (at the GATE) in one of the most evil and wicked cities on earth. Why would he do that????
Well I believe his thinking can be summed in 4 words: “I CAN HANDLE IT!” He believed Sodom wouldn’t affect him... he was too righteous to be changed by the evils of the city.
But... could he? Could Lot handle Sodom? Well, let’s think about that. When the Sodomites come to his door demanding to sleep with his visitors Lot said: “Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” Genesis 19:8
Hmmm. Did I hear that right? Lot offered to give his DAUGHTERS to these evil men... That’s what it says.
Would you do that? I’d hope not. It doesn’t sound right to me, but it apparently sounded right to Lot! But why would he do that? Because he lived in Sodom and that’s the kind of thing that Sodomites would do. Lot thought he could handle it! But he couldn’t. Sodom changed him. God tells us “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’” 1 Corinthians 15:33
So, Lot couldn’t handle it. How about his family? The text tells us that the angels are rushing them out of the city and they’re told NOT to look back. But Lot’s wife looks back... and she never left town.
And then there’s Lot’s daughters. “Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, 14So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.” Genesis 19:14
What happened to those sons-in-law? Well, they died! Why didn’t the angels try to convince these young men to leave town?
Well, because they were as wicked as everyone else in Sodom. Lot was allowing his daughters to marry wicked men.
APPLY: Many Christians will say “I CAN HANDLE IT.” I can handle the alcohol/drugs, I can handle the negative peer pressure from friends, being surrounded by cursing and foul mouths. I can handle ... you name it. They know that what they’re doing is probably something they wouldn’t want Jesus catching them doing... but they think it won’t affect THEM.
And maybe they’re right. But what about their kids/grandkids/nephews/nieces? YOU might start out pure as the driven snow and just get a “little dirty.” You might say “I’ll only go THIS far... and no farther.” But the young ones who look up to you will use that “little farther” as their base line. That’s where they’ll START - where you stopped - because you accepted it as normal.
One of the lessons of Sodom is – hanging around sinful atmospheres does bother you, whether you realize it or not.
One last thought. What do you do if someone you love is in Sodom? What do you do if they’ve allowed themselves to live too long in an evil world. You know they’re hurting themselves, you know they’re headed for destruction. And you just feel SO helpless! Is there anything you can do?
Well, there’s one more part of this story. Before God sent his angels to destroy the city of Sodom, He paid Abraham a visit. And God told Abraham what He had in mind. Do you remember what Abraham did? He bargained with God.
23And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? Genesis 18:23-24
Yes, God said... He’d spare the city if there were 50 righteous within the city.
Now, why would Abraham ask that? Why ask if God would spare the city if he found only 50 righteous people? Because he knew LOT was in that town and he wanted to save him.
But he also knew Sodom was a wicked city... so he bargained some more. "Suppose 40 are found there." He answered, "For the sake of forty I will not do it." Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there." He answered, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there." He said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it." Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it."
Of course, God knew there weren’t even 10 righteous people in the city. But you know what... God knew what was important to Abraham. And for the sake of Abraham... and his prayer, God did what He could to save Lot and his family.
Now, one observation – who did God send to Sodom to rescue Lot and his family? Angels! The Bible teaches that when we pray God sends angels to work on our prayers (Daniel 9:23 and 10:12).
Hebrews says they are “ministering spirits ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation” Hebrews 1:14. When we pray, we unleash the very powers of heaven.
Be aware, no matter what we pray, God will not ignore the freewill of those we pray for. If they chose to ignore God, our loved ones do so at their own risk (as Lot’s wife experienced). However, our prayers are mighty and make it so that even the most difficult of our loved ones will feel their impact. Prayer our most powerful tool. Thus, we should always pray to God for Him to save your loved ones and work in their lives. As Jesus taught us, we should ought to always pray.... And NEVER GIVE UP!
INVITATION

Based on a sermon by Jeff Strite

He Is Alive!

HE’S ALIVE!!!
Mark 16: 1 – 20

There’s a story about a wealthy man who was terminally ill. The doctor said, "There’s only “one thing” that will save you. “A brain transplant.” - It’s an experimental operation. And it’s very expensive." The wealthy guy said, - "Money is no object. Can you get me a brain?"
The doctor said, - "We have three available right now. The first one was from a college professor. But it’ll cost you $10,000." The guy said, "Don’t worry. I can pay; it will make me much wiser.
What about the second brain?" The doctor said, "It was from a rocket scientist. It’ll cost you $100,000." The man said, "I have the money. And I’d be a lot smarter too. But tell me about the third brain."
The doctor said, "The third brain is from a Politician. But it would set you back a million dollars." The man said, "A million dollars? Why so much for his brain?" The doctor said, "It’s never been used."
· We too have unused power in us, above us, around us,
it is called The GOSPEL!
My wife keeps telling me I’m losing my hearing. Some husbands call it “selective hearing.” An older couple was sitting outside in their rocking chairs one afternoon. She looked at her husband of 60 years and said, “I’m proud of you.” He turned to her and said, “I’m tired of you, too.” She said, “Thanks!” She looked around at the trees moving and said, “It’s windy today.” He said, “No it’s not. It’s Thursday.” She said, “Me too, I’ll go get us some lemonade!”
Hopefully we won’t be hard of hearing when it comes to listening to God’s Word.
It has been said that:
'atheism is a fairy story for people afraid of the light'."
The resurrection story of Jesus:
• Is either the biggest fairy story ever invented;
• Or the greatest miracle and the most significant event in human history!
I believe it is the greatest miracle that the world has or will ever see!
• I don’t know if you have noticed this observation.
• But in the Old Testament when talking about the power of God;
• The writers always refer to creation.
• The miracle of God creating the world out of nothing.
• In the New Testament when talking about the power of God;
• The writers always refer to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead!
• Because there is nothing greater that you can compare with it!
Now one word you have to associate with Jesus Christ is ‘miracle’.
• He entered our world in a miraculous way;
• Conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
• During his three years of ministry, the four gospels record 37 miracles of Jesus.
• Most scholars tend to agree with this number.
• John the apostle tells us (John chapter 21 verse 25);
• Jesus performed many other miracles to these 37 that were not recorded.
• So Jesus entered our world in a miraculous way;
• He lived a miraculous life;
• And even in death, he has that word ‘miracle’ attributed to him!
Peter Larson writes:
• "Despite our efforts to keep him out, God intrudes.
• The life of Jesus is bracketed by two impossibilities: a virgin's womb and an empty tomb.
• Jesus entered our world through a door marked 'No Entrance';
• And left through a door marked 'No Exit’”
Our text this morning is found in Mark 16:1-20.
Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. 2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” 4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.
6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. 7 But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going [a]before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.”
8 So they went out [b]quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
9 [c]Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
12 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.
14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who [d]believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they[e] will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.
Because the empty tomb was discovered on a Sunday morning, every Sunday should be a resurrection celebration. The title of this message is “He’s Alive! Do you Believe Him?” At first I was going to ask, “Do you believe IT?” But the resurrection is more than just an historical event that you believe IN. Jesus is a risen Savior, and salvation comes by believing in Him and being obedient to his will.
In this message we’re going to hear the announcement of the angel, consider the unbelief of the disciples, and hear Jesus give us our marching orders.
I. THE ANGEL ANNOUNCED, “HE’S ALIVE!”
Once again we must admire the women who followed Jesus. They were there at the cross. They were the last ones in the garden when Joseph and Nicodemus placed Jesus’ body in the tomb. And early on Sunday morning, they were the first ones heading back to the tomb. They were carrying additional spices to anoint the corpse of Christ. They’re biggest concern was how they were going to roll the huge stone away from the opening of the tomb.
But they were totally surprised to arrive and find the stone was already rolled away. These brave women went into the tomb. Jesus wasn’t there, but they saw a young man dressed in white. This is a description the Bible often uses for angels. Of course, the women were confused and terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I know you’re looking for Jesus. He isn’t here. He has risen! Then the angel gave them two sets of instructions. These are the same instructions we should follow today.
A. He said, “Come see!”
He invited them to examine the tomb and look for the evidence. The tomb was empty, but it was full of significance. In John’s account, we’re told the strips of cloth that had covered the body of Jesus were stacked up along with the sheet covering His body. These women had to be wondering if this was a dream. They had seen the torture and crucifixion of Jesus. They watched as His body was removed from the cross and placed in the tomb. They knew He was dead. But they were confronted with an empty tomb.
In Acts 1:3 the Bible says Jesus offered the disciples many more “convincing proofs” that He was alive. If you are going to examine the evidence of the resurrection, you have to start with the empty tomb. Even the enemies of Jesus admitted the tomb was empty. Then you are confronted with only three possibilities. First, Jesus really didn’t die; that’s the swoon theory. Second, His body was stolen, either by his enemies or by his disciples. Or third, God raised Jesus from the dead. Come see.
Decide for yourself. But as I said earlier, it’s not about believing IT; it’s about believing Him.
B. He said, “Go tell!”
The angel told the women to go tell the disciples that Jesus was alive and He would meet them in Galilee. However, notice their reaction in verse eight. It says trembling and bewildered they fled: They didn’t tell anyone because they were afraid. I can’t really blame them. They were in shock. A little while later Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and she delivered the message.
We’ve been given the same command to “go tell” the world that Jesus is alive. How often have we been guilty of the initial behavior of the women? Like them, we are too often too afraid to share the Good News.
The best tool to use is your personal faith story. Just tell people naturally what the risen Lord has done in your life.
II. THE DISCIPLES DOUBTED THE REPORTS
Meanwhile the eleven disciples (twelve minus Judas), were hiding behind closed doors weeping and mourning. Mary and the women come running in, “Jesus is alive.” The Bible says they didn’t believe her.
Mark mentions that later two other people show up claiming they had seen Jesus alive. In Luke 24 we read the story of Jesus appearing to two disciples who were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, a distance of about eleven miles. They didn’t recognize Jesus. I would have loved to have been on that original walk to Emmaus, because the Bible says Jesus started with Moses (that’s Genesis) and took them all the way through the Old Testament telling how all the scriptures predicted the Messiah would suffer and die. When they finally arrived at their house, they invited their companion to join them for dinner. Jesus, who was the guest, became the host, because the Bible says when He broke the bread, their eyes were opened
and they recognized it was Jesus. Then He, poof!, just disappeared. They were so excited they turned around and traveled eleven miles back to tell the disciples. I imagine they ran this time. Out of breath, I can hear one of them telling Peter, “We saw the Lord! He’s alive!” Mary probably chimed in, “See I told you!” But it says the disciples still didn’t believe.
Of course, Jesus is aware of all of this, so He appeared in the room and rebuked the disciples. He said, “Where’s your faith, guys? I told you I would come back from the grave, and then these witnesses told you. But you guys are stubborn as a mule. Here I am. Now do you believe?” I’m sure they backtracked and said, “Sorry, Lord. Yes, now we believe!”
I think we learn an important lesson from this episode. The best proof of the resurrection isn’t an empty tomb. The best proof of the resurrection is when you meet Jesus.
I know Jesus is alive not because of any of the arguments about the historical resurrection. I know He’s alive because He’s my best friend. He lives inside of me and I talk to Him all the time.
When Saul was persecuting the church, he heard all their claims that Jesus was alive, but he didn’t believe any of them. In fact, he approved of Stephen’s death, and was active in arresting Christians. But one day on the road to Damascus he suddenly believed in the resurrection, because he had a close encounter of the Jesus kind. Later he wrote about the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. “He presented himself alive to Peter, then to his closest followers, and later to more than five hundred of his followers all at the same time, most of them still around (although a few have since died); that he then spent time with James and the rest of those he commissioned to represent him; and that he finally presented himself alive to me.” (1 Corinthians 15:5-8)
Paul had heard all the arguments, but he didn’t believe it. But when he met Jesus, he believed Him.
It’s great if you ever get a chance to visit the empty tomb in Jerusalem, but you don’t need to see that. You just need to know Him. Salvation isn’t knowing about Jesus; it is knowing Jesus.
III. JESUS GAVE US A JOB TO DO
In these final words of Mark’s writing, he packs the great commission, God’s promise of protection and the ascension together. Jesus has given us three tasks to do.
A. “Tell everyone the good news about Me!”
Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14) There are 2.3 billion Christians, twice as many as the number of Muslims. Christianity is the fastest growing faith in the world. There are over 400,000 missionaries taking the gospel to every people group on the planet.
B. “I will equip and empower you!”
Jesus said, “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49) It’s a dangerous plan to start driving your car across a desert with your gas tank on empty. You won’t make it. And it’s frustrating to try to serve the Lord without the power of the Holy Spirit. If the disciples had immediately gone out and started sharing, they would have failed. But they prayed for ten days after Jesus ascended and they were filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and they were empowered and equipped. Thousands were saved and added to the church. We’re the same way. We must always pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit. “It’s not by your might, or by your power, but by my Spirit says the Lord.”
C. “I will protect you until you finish your assignment!”
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God.” (Isaiah 43:1-3)
Did you catch what Jesus said about poisonous snakes and drinking poison? Obviously, there are some churches that have taken those words so literally that they have services where they take poisonous snakes out of boxes and handle them to show their faith. How many of you have heard of snake-handling churches? These tend to be small Pentecostal churches in the Appalachian region. Snake handling is outlawed in every state except West Virginia.
Wendy Bagwell was a Southern Gospel singer and comedian. He tells the story about his group being in a little church to sing and they started bringing out the rattlesnakes to handle. Wendy asked the pastor, “Where is your back door? We’re leaving.” The Pastor said, “We don’t have a back door.” Wendy asked him, “Well, where do you want one?”
Someone once asked me what I thought about snake handling and I said, “I think a lot of them are dead.” And indeed dozens of them have died. I suppose because their faith wasn’t strong enough. I don’t want to make fun of any group, because these folks are sincere. I just think they’re sincerely wrong. So what was Jesus talking about? I think the perfect fulfillment of his promise can be found in Acts 28. The Apostle Paul was shipwrecked on the island of Malta. They were building a fire on the beach. A viper came out of the woods and bit Paul on the hand. He just shook it off into the fire. All the natives expect him to swell up and die. But when he didn’t, they thought he was a god, so they took him to the main official on the island.
These words shouldn’t be a license to tempt God.
But it’s Jesus’ promise that He will protect you while you are on mission for Him. You wonder, “I am sure some missionaries have died in service for the Lord.” The Bible says our days are numbered and it is appointed once for a person to die. Sometimes God gets more glory in the death of a servant than in their living.
He’s alive! Do you believe Him? Do you know Him? Will you follow Him?

Pray For Our Leaders

Pray For Our Leaders  

I Timothy 2:1-2

 

“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.”

 

Good evening. Our text for the lesson tonight is from 1 Timothy 2:1-2. I would like for us to take some time and reflect on the instruction given in these verses.  

 

In our recent trip to Virginia we passed by Washington DC and took note of the vast increase in the activity around that city since we had last visited many years ago. Every country of the world has its seat of power, its capital. London for the UK, Paris for France, Berlin for Germany, Rome for Italy, Vienna for Austria, Moscow for Russia, and Washington DC for the United States Republic.

 

The people who live in Washington DC see more of the government officials of this nation than those who live anywhere else between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. If a Senator or Member of the House of Representatives or Supreme Court Justice or Secretary of the Cabinet or representative of foreign nation enters a public assembly in any other city, their arrival and departure are noted in the media and great attention is paid to them. In DC there are so many political chieftains in the churches, the streets, the shops, that their coming and going raises no interest. Just as the Swiss seldom look up to the Matterhorn, the Jungfrau, or Mt. Blanc, because those people are used to the Alps, they live with them – so those in our capital are accustomed to walk among mountains of official and political eminence and do not see them as a great novelty.

 

Morning, noon, and night those in DC meet the giants, but there is no place on earth where the importance of Paul’s injunction to pray for those in high office ought to be better appreciated.  At this time, when our public men have before them the rescue of our national treasury from appalling deficits, and the immigration question and the global warming question, and there are so many opposing thoughts and ideals, I would like to quote our text with a heavy emphasis—words written by the scarred missionary to the young theologian, Timothy: “I exhort, therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority.”   Paul starts “I exhort therefore ...” This form has the meaning of "I command." Paul is not revealing what would please him, but that which is the will of God. “First of all ...” Indicates the primary importance.   “Supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings ...” The general meaning of this is "all kinds of prayers". “for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority...” These are to be given for all men including bad rulers as well as for good ones.   This includes all who are in authority regardless of rank, taking in the administrative assistants in government as well as heads of state.

 

In reading this I am reminded of Paul’s writing in Romans 13:1-2 – “ Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.”

 

I suggest to you four or five reasons why the people of the United States should be making earnest and continuous prayer for those in eminent places.  

1. First, we should pray for those in authority because that prayer will put us in the proper attitude toward the authoritative people of the nation.  After you have prayed for a person you will do them justice. There is a bad streak in human nature that impels us to assail those that are more powerful than ourselves.  This is not just here either; the Australians call it “the tall poppy syndrome”, and they define it as “We take delight in unfairly knocking down those who are in positions of leadership in our country”.
   1. We seldom fully like those who in any department have risen to greater heights of authority. You will hear things like, “They are a political accident” or “They bought their way there” or “those who elected that person are blind” and there is an impatient waiting for the person in power to come down more rapidly than they went up.
      1. The best cure for such cynicism is prayer. After we have risen from our knees, we will be wishing the official good instead of evil. We will be hoping for them benediction rather than a curse. If they make a mistake, we will call it a mistake, instead of malfeasance in office.  How much happier we will be; for wishing one evil is diabolic, but wishing one good is saintly, it is Godlike.
      2. After all, did not our Lord say in Matthew 5:44 – “… love your enemies, … and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,”? Does not the apostle enjoin us in Romans 12:14 – “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.”? If we are to pray for our enemies--should we not also pray for those who have been appointed by God?
   2. There are investigating committees set up to be watch dogs, keeping watch for misdeeds and misbehavior. Sometimes these are set up with the one hope of finding something wrong.  We see this in the denominations, the general assemblies of the Presbyterian Church, in conferences of the Methodist Church, in conventions of the Episcopal Church, and we find it also in the House of Representatives, and in the Senate. There are always men glad to be appointed to serve on the “Committee of Misconduct”.
      1. After you have prayed, as in the words of the text – for all that are in authority, you will be moved to say, “Gentlemen, Mr. Chairman, excuse me from serving on the “Committee of Misconduct”.   Last night, just before I prayed for those in authority, I read that chapter in Corinthians about charity which ‘hopeth all things’ and ‘thinketh no evil.’“ “The Committee of Misconduct” may be an important committee, but I declare that we are incompetent for its work when we have prayed for those in high position.
      2. I cannot help it, but I would rather be a St. Bernard than a bloodhound, rather be a hummingbird among honeysuckles than a crow swooping down upon a field of carcasses.
   3. Second, we should pray for those in authority because they labor under so many perplexities. D.C. holds thousands of people who expect preferential treatment, and communications are full of applications and lobbying efforts. Officials are at their wits’ end to know what to do, when for some openings there are ten applicants and for others a hundred! Then there are the lobbyists each shouting for their own agenda, some even with differing propositions for the same objective.   And there are the constituents, not only the ones of the official but those of their colleagues with a seeming endless stream of requests and demands to justice for real or imagined hurts.
      1. Perplexities arise when people want a position for which they have no qualification, as we hear people sing, “I want to be a worker,” when they offer the poorest material possible for that position.
         1. There are the foolish waiting to be sent to foreign nations as ambassadors and men without any business qualifications wanting to be installed as consuls, and the unlettered, capable in one communication of wrecking all the laws of language, desiring to be put into positions where most of the work is done by correspondence.
         2. If divine help is needed in any place in the world it is in those places where patronage is distributed. In years gone by awful mistakes have been made. Only God, who made the world out of chaos, could, out of the crowded pigeon-holes of public men, develop symmetrical results. For this reason – pray to Almighty God for all those in authority.
      2. Then there are the vaster perplexities of our relations with foreign governments. For directions in such affairs the God of Nations should be implored. The demand of the people is sometimes so heated, so unwise, that it must not be hearkened to.
      3. There will never be a year when those who are in authority will not need the guidance of the Almighty. Only God can tell the right time for a nation to do the right thing. To do the right thing at the wrong time is as bad as to do the wrong thing at any time.  
         1. Look at it this way; in all national affairs there is a clock. The hands of that clock are not always seen by human eyes, but God sees them, not only the hour hand, but the minute hand, and when the hands announce that the right hour has come the clock will strike, and we ought to be in a listening attitude.
         2. In retrospect we can not know for a certainty what may or may not have happened in any instance but imagine what may have occurred if the Cuban missile crisis had come at a time when other chiefs were in charge, when measures and counter measures had not reached the stage they were at.
      4. You see, there are always in places of authority, impetuous people who want war, because they do not realize what war is, or there are designing people, who want war for the potential of making profit.
         1. They are somewhat like the child who foolishly says, “Let’s throw some cats in the pond” and then watches as his friends are clawed by the panicked animals.   He receives no wounds yet will be quick to point out that his friends should have done thus or so differently.
         2. War is an expensive proposition both in lives and material. Those who beat the drums for war never themselves get hurt. They make the speeches.  
         3. Then there are those who instigate for war because of some great injustice and in the resulting conflict all those who instigated never as a consequence get so much as a splinter under the thumbnail, and they all die peacefully in their beds.

• Third - Prayer to God for those in authority is our only way of being of any practical service to them. Our personal advice would be to them, for the most part, impertinence. They have all the facts as we cannot have them, and they see the subject in all its bearings, and we can be of no help to them except through the supplication that our text advises. In that way we may be of infinite reinforcement. The mightiest thing you can do for someone is to pray for them.
  1. God hears our prayers and God answers prayer. In Psalm 91:15 – “He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.” And in Psalm 145:18 – “the Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.” Then in 1 John 5:14 – “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
     1. Every genuine prayer is a child’s letter to their Heavenly Father, and He will answer it; and as we may receive a plea from our child for something not in their best interest and instead give them something of greater worth -- so God does not in all cases answer in the way those who send the prayer hope for, but He in all cases gives what is asked for or something better when asked “according to His will”.
     2. At the time of our Civil War, prayers went up from the North and the South and they were answered by the ending of that war. You cannot make me believe that God answered only the Northern prayers, for there were just as devout prayers south of the Mason-Dixon Line as north of it.   God gave what was asked for, peace. I suspect there is not a good and intelligent person in this country who does not believe that God did the best thing possible when He restored to this nation in 1865 to a glorious unity.
     3. Think of the predicament of the Israelites on the banks of the Red Sea, the rattling shields and the clattering hoofs of an overwhelming host close behind them. Trapped between the waters and the advancing army -- they crossed the waters.
        1. How was the crossing affected? By prayer. Exodus 14:15-16 - “And the Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. "But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.” That is, “Time to stop praying and take the answer.”
        2. Then the water began to be agitated, rose into walls of sapphire. It was obliged to stand still, and there, right before the Israelites, was a road, with the emerald gates swung wide open. They passed dry-shod on the bottom of the sea as hard as the pavement of Pennsylvania Avenue.
     4. One might say Oh! What a God they had!  I say: “What a God we have!” What power we see shown in Joshua 10:12 when he prayed to the Lord that the “Sun, stand still over Gibeon; and Moon, in the Valley of ” Read Joshua 10:13 – “So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped… the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.” The Omnipotent does as He will with the great orbs of worlds, with wheeling constellations and circling galaxies, swinging easily star around star, star tossed after star, or sun and moon held out at arm’s length, and perfectly still as in answer to Joshua’s prayer. To God the largest world is a pebble. God is the creator of all things He can do all things.
  2. Fourth - There is another reason why we should obey the Pauline injunction of the text and pray for all that are in authority. That is so very much of our own prosperity and happiness are involved in their doings. A selfish reason, you say. Yes; but a righteous selfishness like that which leads you to take care of your own health, and preserve your own life.
     1. A prosperous government means a prosperous people. Damaged government means a damaged people. We all go up together or we all go down together. When we pray for our rulers, we pray for ourselves, for our homes, for the easier gaining of a livelihood, and for better prospects for our children.
     2. Do not look at anything that pertains to public interest as having no relation to you. We are touched by all the events in our national history, by the signing of the compact in the cabin of the Mayflower, by the small ship, the Half-Moon, sailing up the Hudson, and by the events that have happened in our own lifetimes.
     3. If touched by all the events of past America, then certainly by all the events of the present day. Every prayer you make for our rulers, if the prayer be of the right stamp and worth anything, has a rebound of benediction for your own body, mind, and soul.
  3. Fifth - Another reason for obedience to our text is that the prosperity of this country is great, and we want a hand in helping its continuation; at any rate I do. It is a matter of honest satisfaction to a soldier, after some great battle has been fought, and some great victory won, to be able to say: “Yes! I was there. I was in the brigade that stormed those heights. I was in that charge that put the enemy into flight!”
     1. If this nation stands aright with God, the day will come when all the financial, political, and moral foes of this Republic will be driven back. By our prayers we may stand on the mountain top and beckon our leaders on and ask God show them a better way. Yea, in answer to our prayers the Lord God of Hosts may from the heavens command them forward swifter than troops ever took the field.
     2. American citizens! Our best hold is on God. We have all seen families in prayer, and churches in prayer. What we want yet to see is this whole nation on its knees.
     3. We have as a nation received so much from God. Do we not owe new consecration? Are we not ready to become a better churchgoing, peace-loving, virtue-honoring, God-worshiping nation? Why not now let it take place? Let us pray that the God of Nations, who has dealt with us as with no other people, by the square and the level and the plumb of the Everlasting Right adjust the cornerstone of our future. Inside that cornerstone a scroll containing the names of all the men and women who have fought and prayed and toiled for the good of this nation, from the first martyr of the American Revolution down to the last one who bound up a soldier’s wounds. Pray that cornerstone to be struck with the Gospel hammer, in the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Then pray that this nation rise in Godly fear and that if it be the will of God we live in a divinely founded, divinely constructed, and divinely protected Republic.   “To God be rendered and ascribed, as is most due, all praise, might, majesty and dominion, both now and forever. Amen.”

 

CONCLUSION:

Certainly, in reading our text it seems that Paul is being a bit unrealistic when he calls us to pray for all those in authority; not just those whose policies we like, but all those who rule our nation. When politicians are more concerned in tearing each other to bits than in the welfare of the nation, who feels like praying for them? Who feels like praying for those whose particular kind of politics we dislike; those whom we believe to be dishonest and abuse their position; those whom we think aren’t doing their job.

 

We can be very cynical about our politicians, those in authority. We hear; “Oh those guys need more than our prayers!” “If he isn’t a crook before he’s elected, he will be soon after!” “Politicians are just a bunch of thieves and crooks!”   Our distrust of politicians has so hindered us that we don’t even want to pray for them. Yet we are to pray for them all, those in the party we support and those whose politics we don’t like. They are all involved in the government. They are all people whom Paul says “are ordained by God”.

 

It would have been much easier if Paul had said that we should pray for most people, or for those in authority whom we believe to be doing the right thing. Instead he says that “petitions, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks, be made for all men: for kings and all who are in high places”.

 

Being a person in authority is never an easy position. A leader makes decisions and it doesn’t matter what course of action is decided upon, there will always be those who will disagree and criticize loudly that the politician is incompetent. Then there are the constant pressures of public office and there are also the temptations. Great responsibility rests on their shoulders – how will they respond?   If force is indicated, what kind of force will be used, what countries will oppose any such attempt, what measures need to be taken to ensure that this will not lead to additional conflict? Should we commit our military forces to help, and if so in what way are we jeopardizing peace on this earth and on and on. Certainly on any single point we may feel we have the right answer but I don’t think that there is anyone in this assembly who should want to be in the position of those in authority.

 

No wonder Paul encourages us to “pray for those in high places”. Don’t sit back and criticize them. Don’t rubbish their policies or decisions. Pray for them. We may not always agree with them, but we can still take them to God in our prayers. We can go to

God and ask him to give our leaders wisdom and understanding to act in a way that will bring peace and keep peace. We can ask God to guide them, strengthen them, and give them the resolve to do what is best for this country and for the world.

 

As Christians, God’s children, even though we may disapprove of the decisions people in high office are making, nevertheless our love for them causes us to pray for them. Just as Jesus loves each one of us and intercedes for us at the throne of God even though we don’t deserve it, so too we will pray for those who have taken up the burden of high office and take their needs before His throne.

 

Because the love of Jesus permeates you and me and because our eyes have been opened to the needs of our neighbor in every corner of our community; the need for education, social welfare, crime prevention and detection, export and import, the need to respond to the terrorism, the struggles of immigration and climate change, -- then politics is laid on our consciences.  Politicians need our support and the guidance of the Lord as they seek to find the right path of action.

 

As God’s people in a world where there is so much violence, suffering, and pain, God grant that we may see the unique role He has given us. May we take all those who carry a heavy load of responsibility to almighty God in prayer.

 

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

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

 

Invitation song

 Reference sermons by: DeWitt Talmadge and Vince Gerhardy

The History of "Babeling"

The History of “Babeling” 
Genesis 11: 1 – 9

How many times have you heard someone say ... “I wish you would stop babbling?”
Parents frequently make the mistake of thinking they speak the same language as their children. We see this kind of misunderstanding all the time. Here are a few examples.
I can't finish my dessert." Meaning: Your child is defiantly sick and should be taken to the doctor ASAP.
"I didn't do it." Translation: It hasn't been conclusively proven that I did it.
"Frankie Smith is such a no-good rotten liar!" Meaning:
Expect a call from Frankie's parents.
"Mom said it was okay." Translation: I'm going to ask Mom as soon as you say "yes."
Several years ago, there was a tiny village in Scotland called “Lost.” It’s such a quaint name for a quaint little village... but they had a problem. Lost kept losing their sign. A local official explained, "For many years now, the sign has continually been taken because all it says on it is 'Lost.'" He said, “Many people want to have their photograph taken by it looking bewildered (because the sign said “lost”) and every so often it gets taken.”
Now that created two problems: 1st – it got expensive. The signs cost about $400 a piece. And 2nd - deliveries were often lost because some delivery drivers had no idea where "Lost" was. Eventually they renamed the city “Lost Farm” and apparently haven’t had a problem since.
Down thru history towns and cities have been named for all kinds of unusual reasons including the city we’re talking about today... the city of Babel. Why was it called “Babel?” Genesis 11:9 explains: “... its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.”
Now the story in Genesis only takes 9 verses to tell, and is never referred to again in Scripture. But, its impact on mankind has been really long-lasting. From that day to this... the world has been divided by about 5000 languages. And that diversity of languages has created misunderstandings, tensions, conflicts... even wars.
But it wasn’t always that way. Before Babel “... the whole earth had one language and the same words.” Genesis 11:1
When going over this sermon, it occurred to me that one of the first questions people might ask is this: “Is this a TRUE story?” Was there really a city called Babel
with a tower reaching to the heavens, and do all languages really come from one original language?
Those who reject Scripture mock this story. They’ll say it was “an origin myth meant to explain why the world's peoples speak different languages.” And they dismiss it as a “made-up” story created by an ignorant culture.
So, was it made up? Is it a myth? Of course not. The fact that it’s in the Bible is really all I need to convince me – that it really happened. But there are outside sources to verify that this is indeed a true story.
ILLUS: For example, the ancient culture of the Chaldeans (from about 1500 BC) retold the story this way: “The building of this temple offended the gods. In a night they threw down what had been built. They scattered them abroad, and made strange their speech. The progress they impeded”
Another ancient culture of about that time period, spoke of a golden age when all mankind spoke the same language. Speech was then confused by the lord of wisdom.
Fast forward to about 600 B.C.. Babylon had a King named Nabopolassar who was something of an ancient archaeologist. He apparently would find old temples and other ancient buildings and rebuild them. He claimed that he had found the remains of the Tower of Babel and wrote: "At that time, I was commanded to build the Tower of Babel which had become weakened by time and fallen into disrepair..."
And, from what we can tell, Nabopolassar didn’t finish the tower. That task fell to his son, a King we all know as Nebuchadnezzar. Recently, a chiseled stone came to light which is called the “Tower of Babel Stele” which has a large engraved picture of Nebuchadnezzar looking toward the tower he built.
That tower appears to have stood for another 300 years until destroyed by Alexander the Great in 330 BC.
So, this was a true story. And given the Bible’s consistent accuracy on other historical events that’s good enough for me. But what about the language thing? I mean... we have about 5000 languages now, can we seriously believe that all those languages started with ONE language?
Well, yeah... that’s what the Bible says. But, don’t take my word for it.
ILLUS: Back in 1990 - U.S. News And World Report had this on their cover of their magazine: "The Roots of Language - How Modern Speech Evolved From A Single, Ancient Source." In the article, they wrote about modern linguists who were “reconstructing the pathways by which the world's roughly 5,000 languages arose from a handful of ancient 'mother' tongues. A few radical linguists have gone even further, claiming they have reconstructed pieces of the mother of them all:
the original language spoken at the dawn of the human species.” (Nov. 5, 1990 issue of US News and World Report magazine)
The TV program Nova had a special program where they examined the phenomenal discoveries of linguists in Russia and America who had shown that all languages could have come from a single, ancient source.
So, it’s a true story. But what difference does it make? Why should I care? So what if this was an actual event that occurred in the distant past? Well Romans 15:4 explains why we should care: “... whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
You see, there’s something in this story that God wanted us to see. Something that would instruct and encourage us. But what did God want us to see?
Well 1st, it seems, He wants us to see why He did what He did. And there seems to be at least TWO reasons why He did what He did.
And the first reason that catches my attention is found in Genesis 11:6 “And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.”
What’s God talking about here? Well, He’s talking about the people of Babel becoming like the people who lived Before The Flood. In Genesis 6 we read “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.” Genesis 6:5-6
Before the flood, there was one language. And in the days before the flood, people abandoned God and embraced evil.
It says every intention of their hearts was evil. It’s like they stayed up nights thinking of ways to do bad stuff. Evil had become an easy thing... and nothing was impossible for them.
Apparently, that’s exactly what was beginning to happen in Babel. And God said, “we’re not doing this again” and He decided to fix the problem BEFORE it became a problem.
Now, what was it that these folks were doing that made it so obvious to God that they were going to do evil? The answer to that question can be found in why these people were building the city to begin with. In Genesis 9:1 we read “God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and FILL THE EARTH.’”
But just a few years later, in Genesis 11:4, we read “Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.’”
God said: FILL THE EARTH and the people of Babel said “I don’t think so. We like it right here... and we’re not going anywhere.”
Now WHY would they do that? Why would they deliberately disobey God? (PAUSE) Because they were afraid. They were afraid that they’d be forgotten so they wanted to “make a name for themselves.” And they were afraid of the unknown. If they were dispersed over the face of the earth they’d be vulnerable... and they didn’t like that idea.
Their fear was based on the belief that they could NOT trust God. God (if there was a god) would forget them, and He definitely wasn’t going to protect or supply for them.
When people don’t believe they have God to supply for them, they tend to engage in the worst kinds of evil. We’ve seen proof of that in our own recent history. Just think of nations who embraced communism – Russia, China, North Korea and so on. What stands out about these countries?
First (because they were Communist) they rejected God. And second (because they rejected God) they were known for tyranny and oppression. They allowed no freedom for their people, because they feared that free people would overthrow them, and they eliminated huge portions of their population because of any perceived threat to their authority. They were afraid and so they embraced evil.
This type of thing can even happen to Christians. If we live our lives like God isn’t there for us, we can engage in evil as well. James says in James 4:2 “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.”) WHO did these Christians NOT ask for help from? God. And because they lived like God had no influence on their lives, they fought and quarreled... and worse.
That’s what happens when you live your lives under a bad theology. When folks leave God out of the picture they can become afraid. I’ve always been amused by this “Charlie Brown” cartoon where Lucy and Linus and looking out of a window at the falling rain. Lucy says: “Boy, look at it rain.... What if it floods the whole world?” To which Linus replies
“It will never do that... In the ninth chapter of Genesis God promised Noah that would never happen again, and the sign of the promise is the rainbow.” The next frame has Lucy saying “You’ve taken a great load off my mind...” and Linus replies “Sound theology has a way of doing that!”
ILLUS: Sound theology deals with fear, because sound theology makes us focus on a God who has the power to deal with the evils of this world. By contrast, bad theology breeds fear. As I was reading the story of the tower of Babel in preparation for this morning’s sermon, an example of modern-day bad theology came to mind.
How many of you have ever heard of the conspiracy theory that there will one day be a “One World Government”.
Don’t listen to these guys, they’re crazy. It’s not going to happen. Do you know WHY?
I know this isn’t going to happen? Because Genesis 11 is God’s guarantee it won’t happen. He won’t let it happen! The people who sell this idea are really selling FEAR. They’re selling the idea that God can’t help you – and if God can’t help you, you should be afraid! Very afraid. But that’s just bad theology. It’s false thinking. It’s heresy. You need not fear. If God really wanted a One World Government... you couldn’t stop it anyway and God would still be in control.
The whole point of Genesis 11 is that God is in control. In fact, God was not just in control of Babel... He used what happened in Babel to lay the groundwork for something even greater.
Just think about this: at Babel God saw sin and turned one language into many languages. God showed His power by making it so that no one could understand what anyone else said. But about 4000 years later, God used His power to give a message to all people in the midst of their confusion.
In Acts 2 we’re told “there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.” (Acts 2:5)
It was the day of Pentecost, in Jerusalem there were a multitude of people “Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians” Acts 2:9-11
There was a multitude of people in Jerusalem with a multitude of languages. It was the day of Pentecost... the day God had chosen to begin His church. Ten days earlier, Jesus had ascended into heaven, but now (at Pentecost)
He was sending down His Holy Spirit upon mankind as He had prophesied ages before. We’re told the Apostles “... were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:1-4
And this huge crowd of Jews from all those different lands and different languages could hear what these Apostles were saying as they glorified God. And the crowd marveled at what they heard because: “... how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?” Acts 2:8
At Babel, God divided the people because of their sin. Now, at Pentecost, God united all those who would be healed of their sins. God was not limited by the confusion of languages because He had come with a message that would – forever afterward – speak with one language.
I came across a website that spoke of “sacred languages” that different religions have. They said that for the Jews, that sacred language is Hebrew; for the Muslims, it’s Arabic; for many Buddhists, it’s a language called Pali; and for Hindus, it’s Sanskrit. But, as Christians, we don’t need a sacred language. We have “ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism.
ONE God and Father of all.” And we have ONE message (the life and death of Jesus.) Christians meet, in every nation of the world and they speak in many languages we may not understand, but Christians partake of this “bread & Cup” which represent Jesus’ body and blood, shed for our sins and everyone knows what it means.
And, in every nation around the world, the message of baptism speaks of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and of our accepting His forgiveness in our lives.
We have no need of ONE sacred language because we have a message that speaks to all nations and all languages of the love of God for mankind. That’s why so many believers are dedicated to translating the Bible into as many languages as possible, so that God’s love can be read by as many people as possible.
As Revelation 5 declares “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.’” Revelation 5:9
INVITATION

Sermon Contributor: Jeff Strite

Choosing

Choosing 
Joshua 24:15

Many years ago, if you wanted a pair of shoes, you couldn’t go down to “Payless Shoes” or “Shoe Carnival”.
You couldn’t even go down to Sears or J.C. Penney to pick a pair of ready made shoes to wear. There was a time when – if you wanted shoes or boots – you had to go someone called a “Shoe Cobbler.”

When Ronald Reagan was a young man, an aunt had taken him to a cobbler to have a pair of shoes made for him. The shoemaker asked the young Reagan “do you want a square toe or a round toe?”

Reagan hemmed and hawed. So the cobbler said, “Come back in a day or two and let me know what you want.”
A few days later the shoemaker saw Reagan on the street and asked what he had decided about the shoes. “I still have not made up my mind,” the boy answered. “Very well,” said the cobbler.

When Reagan received the shoes, he was shocked to see that one shoe had a square toe and the other had a round toe.
Years later Reagan commented: “Looking at those shoes every day taught me a lesson. If you do not make your own decisions, somebody else will make them for you!”

APPLY: God created us to be a people capable of making choices. And God has always given His people the power of choice
In the Old Testament, Joshua told the Israelites

“... CHOOSE for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living.
But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15
God calls upon us to make a choice: to choose Him.
Some choices are hard to make. But sometimes hard choices have to be made.
The 1989 movie Indian Jones and the Last Crusade has a classic scene near the end. The Last Crusade is the final episode of three Steven Spielberg and George Lucas sagas about a globe-trotting archaeologist who battles the Nazis for possession of the world’s great treasures. Harrison Ford played the title role.
In The Last Crusade, Indiana Jones and his father seek the one great relic they have been looking for their entire lives—the Holy Grail, the chalice from Jesus’ Last Supper.
The Nazis are also looking for it because they believe the legend that its owner would possess supernatural power to control the world. When the bad guys take Indiana’s dad captive, the hero eventually tracks them to a secret temple deep in the desert mountains south of the Dead Sea.

Once inside the temple, the son rescues the father. Indiana also discovers the hiding place of the Holy Grail. In the final scenes, just as Indiana reaches the sacred altar where the Holy Grail is kept, an earthquake shakes the mountain. Rocks fall. The temple walls move and then begin to tumble. The floor of the temple parts into a great crevasse right in front of the altar.
Indiana watches in horror as the Holy Grail, the object of his life long quest, begins to quiver and then tilt. It falls over, rolls across the altar, and tumbles toward the gaping hole in the earth. Indiana leaps for it. He grabs it just before it falls into the darkness.

Just when he thinks he has saved it, the earth shakes again. He loses his footing and slides into the crevasse himself. In desperation, he grabs for anything to hold on to. His fingers find a rock outcropping a few inches below the edge of the crevasse. The chalice falls from his hands. He is clinging by his finger tips, certain death below him. Rocks are falling everywhere. The earth continues to quake. He can barely hold on.

Just then, out of nowhere, his father peers over the edge. “Take my hand,” the elder Jones cries out to his son. Indiana is about to reach for his father and safety when he spots the Holy Grail resting on a narrow ledge just inches away. If he stretches he can probably reach it. But does he risk it?
How can he forget the Grail? His whole life has been about finding it. He can choose rescue. Or he can risk his life in the hope he can reach the chalice and still grab his father’s outstretched hand. He knows what’s at stake, but he can’t take his eyes off the Grail.
Finally the pleading voice of his father breaks the spell. “Let it go. Indiana, let it go.”
He looks up at his father’s hand and away from the treasure. He lunges for the hand. His dad grabs him and pulls him to safety. They run for their lives as the temple collapses in ruins behind them.

Some choices are hard to make. Sometimes we make them harder than need be. I am reminded of that old sketch Jack Benny used to do. For those of you too young to remember,
Jack Benny was viewed as one of the great comedians of his time. Many of his jokes played off his reputation as a cheapskate. In this scene, Benny is walking down a dark street when a thug jumps out of the shadows and points a gun at him. “Give me your money, mister!” Benny doesn’t move. “I mean business. Your money or your life!” the thief repeats pointing the gun straight at Benny. Jack still doesn’t respond. Finally, the man insists, “You heard me. Your money or your life, which will it be?” Benny hesitates and then responds with that unmistakable slow, deliberate pattern, “I’m thinking. I’m thinking!”

Abraham had a choice to make!
Notice how the story begins, “Sometime later God tested Abraham.” The King James Version creates a problem here when it uses the word “tempt” where our version (NIV) uses “test.” To tempt means to entice someone to do evil. That’s not what the Hebrew word used here means.
The same word is used in Deuteronomy 13:3. “The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

The proverb says, “The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart” (Proverbs 17:3).

Abraham had been tested before. The Lord had called him to leave his homeland and family and travel to an undisclosed promised land. Later God promised Abraham, that he would be the father of many nations. Then the Lord tested him by waiting. Years passed and no child was born.

What a test this was! How can any parent be expected to sacrifice a child? Obviously there are evil parents and some who have lost their grip on reality who commit unspeakable crimes against their young. Some religions, past and present, practice human sacrifice. Child sacrifice was common among the pagan nations that surrounded ancient Israel. The Law of Moses condemned it.
Deuteronomy 12:31 says, “You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.” Here God demands that very act of Abraham.

Note how the Lord words his command. “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love.” This was Isaac, the child of promise! Abraham actually had another son. Ishmael was born of Hagar the servant when Abraham and his wife Sarah had lost faith in God’s promise of a child. But God kept his promise. Abraham regained his faith.
The boy’s name, Isaac or “laughter,” carried a double meaning. It reminded Abraham and Sarah how they had doubted, even laughed at God, when first told the promise. The name no doubt reflected the long delayed joy that the boy brought into his aged parents’ lives.
Any couple who has had a child or adopted after years of waiting knows what that joy is like. The text doesn’t tell us how old Isaac was when all of this happened. Most Bible scholars estimate his age at maybe fifteen or perhaps even twenty.
Mom and Dad had watched their pride and joy grow up. He was almost a man. Oh, how they loved him! And now God says give him back!

Undoubtedly, the death of Isaac would have broken Abraham’s heart. It would have also broken the inheritance that God had promised. No Isaac; no grandchildren. No grandchildren; no descendents to inherit the promise of God. There was more than a stack of wood riding on Isaac’s back as father and son climbed the slopes of Mt. Moriah that day.

Did you hear what Abraham told his servant when he and Isaac headed up the mountain? “We will worship and then we will come back to you.” We! We will worship! We will come back!
The New Testament cites this event and says, “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.” (Heb 11:17-19).

Who can read the words of young Isaac and not feel the drama. “Father, here is the wood and the knife. Where is the lamb for the offering?” His Father’s answer, “God will provide.”
The two walked on in silence. Father Abraham piled up stones for an altar of stones, laid down the wood for the fire, and then bound his son and laid him on the altar. He raised the knife, prepared to do the unspeakable.
Those moments must have seemed like an eternity. Like Indiana Jones at the edge of the crevasse he must have looked down at his son and then toward the Heavenly Father. First down at the treasure that his whole life had been about then toward the Father. It was as if the pleading voice of the Father was saying, Abraham, let him go. Let him go.” That was Abraham’s test.

This whole episode was about the first two of the Ten Commandments. Ultimately everything is. Commandment One: You shall have no other gods before me.
Commandment Two: You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God” (Ex 20:3-5).
Translation—Nothing—not the creation of his hands, not the creation of our hands, not his gifts to us nor our gifts to him—must be more important to us than God himself. Idolatry is choosing anything other than God.

Another subplot flows just beneath the surface of this story. Those not familiar with the rest of the Bible seldom see it. But it is there. The clues are everywhere.
When God first called Abraham, he made a point to tell him that what was happening was not just for him. It was for the whole world. God chose and blessed Abraham to start a family (Isaac) through whom would come a blessing that everyone needed.
This was a long range plan. For the next two thousand years others would point back to Abraham as the beginning.
The place where all of this happened was also a part of the plan. Abraham lived in Beersheba a small oasis in the middle of the southern desert.
God told him to travel three days north to make his sacrifice and his choice. He was to go to a place called Moriah. That name may not mean much to you. But according to 2 Chronicles 3:1, a thousand years later it was there that King David bought a piece of ground from Araunah the Jebusite to build an altar upon which to worship God.
That would become the property on which Solomon, David’s son, would build his temple for God in Jerusalem. A thousand years later still, Jesus came to that same place, cleansed the temple of the money changers, and taught people the way to God.
To this day you can see this piece of real estate on the nightly news. Jews, Muslims, and Christians refer to this very site as the holiest place on earth. It was where Abraham built the altar for his son.

It was in the shadows of Moriah that another “father” gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. The place of Abraham’s ultimate choice became the place God’s ultimate grace

Here’s the big clue. Jesus said that no one could understand him until they recognize that he came to seek and save the lost and to lay his life down as a ransom for men’s sin. He didn’t come to be just a teacher, though he was. He didn’t come to perform miracles, though he did. He didn’t come to be king. That comes next time. He was a savior! “Behold the lamb of God,” John had said.

How could God command Abraham to sacrifice his only son? While I can’t explain all the issues that surround that question,
BUT this I know. God never tells anyone to do something that he isn’t willing to do himself. Isaac’s story is Jesus story. The same place, the same devotion, the same act. God provided for Abraham at Moriah. God provided for us at Calvary. Do you see how much trouble God went to for your salvation?
He offered Jesus as the sacrifice for our sin. He also prepared and planned and pointed to that sacrifice for thousands of years in advance.

God chose Abraham. And then God asked Abraham to choose him. What would he do? Choose God or the one thing that meant more to him than anything else in the world? Which would it be? God knew the answer. Maybe Abraham didn’t.

What if the decision to go to heaven wasn’t a matter of praying, acknowledging Christ, and obeying the Gospel in baptism? What if it was like this? God tells you to prepare for a long trip. You pack all your most important possessions. Since this a dream even your most important relationships, your ambitions, your likes and dislikes, all go in your suitcases.

You arrive at the airport. There is no baggage check. You drag everything all the way to the plane. There’s the plane—Heaven Bound! But there’s no gangway, not even stairs.

Instead the Lord himself is standing at the door of the plane with a hand outstretched to personally pull you on board. What a welcome sight!

One problem! Your hands are full. You lift one of your bags toward the door expecting the Lord to set it inside. He doesn’t take it. He just shakes his head.
For a moment you are puzzled. Then you understand. You must choose!
You look up into the Father’s face as he pleads, “Let it go! Let it go!”
And that is the ultimate choice!

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