Chardon church of Christ

Using Sigh Language For A Deaf Man

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Based on a sermon
given by David Dykes

Do I Practice What I Preach?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Wisdom of a Mother

The WISDOM of a Mother
Proverbs 3:5-7

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

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

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

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

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

Power and prosperity or longevity maybe? Personal looks? None of this was the case for Solomon. What did Solomon ask for? Wisdom.
Why you may ask
or you might ask what is wisdom?
Proverbs 3:5 – 7 says Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall [a]direct your paths.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and depart from evil.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Then as you continue to read 1st Kings 3 : 16-20. We read of the story of the 2 mothers and Solomon must decide who is telling the truth.
The real mother knew the unique characteristics of her son. She knew the color of his eyes. She knew probably the way he smelled. She knew the softness of his skin by touch. So it is with mothers. We know that our mothers know everything about us. Think about our heavenly father and how much more God knows.
He knows our thoughts He knows our intentions.
we know that He knows the number of hair on our head, AND
for some of us that hair is probably easier to count than others. But we know that the Bible says He knows the very hairs on our heads. He knows. He’s the creator of all.
Matthew 6:26 – 34
26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one [a]cubit to his[b]stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not [c]arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Man Just Like Us

A Man Just Like Us
Hebrews 11: 1 – 5

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Contributing Sermon
Melvin Newland

Failure Is Not Fatal

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

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

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

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

Contributor : David Dykes

The Most Important Question

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

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

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

 

 

 

Contributor: David Dykes

Learning to Trust God

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

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

The Danger of Drifting

The Danger Of Drifting
Hebrews 2:1-4

When you hear the word “drift,” what comes to your mind? If you grew up in the Snowbelt, you may think about snowdrifts. If you’re into motorsports you might think about racecars intentionally skidding to navigate a tight turn, that’s called drifting. If you’re a pilot you might be thinking about wind drift, the effect the wind direction has on your intended heading. And if you didn’t sleep much last night in a few minutes you might be drifting off to sleep. The word drift can mean many things—if you catch my drift.

Drifting away can be a good thing. In 1973 Dobie Gray sang, “Give me the beat boys and free my soul, I wanna’ get lost in your rock and roll and drift away. “If you’ve ever been at one of those nice resorts that has a lazy river, it’s nice to lay back and just drift along with the current.

But there is a kind of drifting that is dangerous. There are all kinds of warning signs on the Niagara River warning boaters of the danger of drifting too close to the falls. There is a dangerous kind of spiritual drifting that this passage addresses as well.
Hebrews 2:1-4. Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

The American Standard version says in verse 2 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that were heard, lest haply we drift away from them.
The writer is addressing this letter to believers. There is the real possibility that a believer can drift away from God and His word.

I’ve always enjoyed Tom Hanks’ acting. One of my favorite movies was “Cast Away. “Tom plays a FedEx employee named Chuck who is stranded on a deserted island. Chuck is so lonely he makes friends with a volleyball he names Wilson. Wilson is his constant companion. When he is on a raft a huge wave crashed over the raft and washes Wilson off. Chuck sees Wilson bobbing in the waves and the current is taking him away. Without thinking Chuck dives into the shark-infested waters to rescue Wilson, but the current causes him to drift away. Chuck is constantly screaming “Wilson! Wilson! I’m sorry, Wilson. “And he breaks down weeping. Tom Hanks is a pretty good actor when he can make grownups cry over a volleyball drifting away.

But there are thousands of Christians who are like Wilson. They have been slowly drifting away from a place of great joy, peace, and service for the Lord. We all know people who at one time were faithful servants of the Lord who have just drifted away from the Lord.

Drifting is something that happens slowly and gradually. But here’s the truth about spiritual drifting: You never drift toward holiness, you drift toward ungodliness. You never drift into faithfulness, you drift toward faithlessness; you never drift toward goodness, you drift toward wickedness.

It has been said that: “Most of us are not in danger of plunging into the sea of carnality. This week or next week most of us are not going to be murderers or drug addicts. The danger is not plunging into the ocean of perversity, but rather drifting away from goodness almost imperceptibly. “
Are you drifting away from God? Do you know someone who is drifting away? Let me give you four danger signs of drifting away.

1. I drift away when I listen to God’s Word but my life doesn’t change
Spiritual drift occurs when we stop paying attention to what we hear. Verse one says, “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”

This letter was written to Jewish believers who had heard the Gospel and had turned from all the rules and rituals of Judaism to place their faith in Jesus. But they were slipping back into their old comfortable religious rituals and rules. The first time they heard the Gospel, it was revolutionary. But the more they heard it, the less amazing it seemed. It became old hat.

That can happen to Christians today. It’s like the first time you fly on an airline the flight attendants go through the pre-flight briefing, and you are listening to every word. But after you’ve flown hundreds of times, you no longer pay attention to their briefing.

James warns about the danger of being hearers of the Word, but not doers of the Word. And Jesus asked, And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46 )

When you stop obeying God’s Word, you face the danger of drifting away. Any one of us can drift away.

You probably recognize the hymn “Come Thou Fount,” but there’s an interesting story behind it. The words say: “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing; Tune my heart to sing thy grace; Streams of mercy never ceasing; call for songs of loudest praise...” The third verse says, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. “

When someone asks, “How many members does the Church of Christ have?
“A standard answer could be, “We have thousands of members, but the FBI couldn’t find half of them. “That usually gets a laugh, but it’s really not true. We know where those non-attending members are. They are sitting at home right now, or hanging out at the lake or shopping right now.
We need to lovingly remind them that there’s an eternity of different between having your name written on a church directory and having your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life in heaven.

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25)

It has been said that going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you a car. If you love the Lord, you will want to gather with God’s people on a regular basis.

3. I drift away when complacency about sin replaces confession
Let me ask a question. What are the three areas of sin in your life that you struggle with the most? Can you answer that question? How aware are you of the presence of sin in your life? Are you daily going before the Lord and asking Him to reveal any wicked thought, attitude, or deed in your life? And then are you regularly seeking ways to overcome these temptations and weaknesses?

Once you become a Christian, sin is still present in your life. It doesn’t reign over you, but the potential to sin is still there. The Apostle John was writing to Christians when he addressed this subject: 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
(1 John 1:8-10)

I heard a dairy farmer say once that the hardest thing about milking cows is they don’t stay milked. One of the hardest things about walking with the Lord is that we must continually come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and confess our sin before the Lord.

4. I drift away when I forget that ending well is more important than a good start
The spiritual landscape is littered with the remains of men and women who started well, but somewhere along the track, they gave up. They left the race. They have drifted away.

The Apostle Paul had a laser focus toward finishing strong for the Lord. He wrote, However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me— to testify the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:24)
Paul wanted to keep his eyes on the prize of finishing well for the Lord.

A great story is told about an event that took place in the 2016 Rio Olympics. The race was the women’s 5000 meter run (3.1 miles). As the runners were bunched up in the turn, New Zealand runner, Nikki Hamblin, lost her balance and fell to the track. American runner Abby D’Agostino tripped over her and fell to the track, injuring her knee. Hamblin was devastated, and momentarily thought about quitting. But she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Abby saying, “Get up! Get up! We have to finish this race. It is the Olympics!” Then leaning on each other, they limped their way to the finish line. Neither won a medal, but they are winners in other ways because they realized the importance of finishing the race.

Here’s the reality: none of us have finished yet. But if you finished your race today or tomorrow would you be finishing well? Those followers of Jesus Christ who pace themselves in the race of life and still have enough gas in the tank to sprint across the finish line will have their eyes on Jesus and will hear the Master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

ILL.- In the course of their conversation at a dinner party, Albert Einstein’s young neighbor asked the white-haired scientist, "What are you actually by profession?" "I devote myself to the study of physics," Einstein replied. The girl looked at him in astonishment. "You mean to say you study physics at your age?" she exclaimed. "I finished mine a year ago."

Einstein never stopped working at what he did. The same must be true of us in the spiritual realm. We all must continue to work at our salvation, maintaining, keeping at it, etc.
Ps. 139:13-14 “For you (God) created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

The human body is a wonderful creation of God.
- The average human heart pumps over 1,000 gallons a day, over 55 million gallons in a lifetime. This is enough to fill 13 super tankers. The heart never sleeps, beating 2.5 billion times in a lifetime.
- The human body contains enough DNA that if it were stretched out, it would circle the sun 260 times.
- The human body uses energy very efficiently. If an average adult rides a bike for 1 hour at 10 mph, the body uses the amount of energy contained in 3 ounces of carbohydrate. If a car were this efficient with gasoline, guess what kind of gas mileage it would get? 900 MILES TO THE GALLON. Amazing body! No, awesome Creator!

I Cor. 6:19-20 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

ILL.- Many dads have their names on the title of the car that their child drives. The child may be 16 or 18 or even 20, but dad’s name is on the title. And I’ve known of some dads to say to their child, “If you don’t take care of that car. Or if I find you doing something that you shouldn’t be doing, I’m going to take your car away from you, like it or not. And there is nothing you can do about it.”

Right on, Dads! Sometimes that’s the only way to get some kids to straighten up. THREATEN TO TAKE THEIR WHEELS AWAY FROM THEM. Most teens today would die without their wheels.
Brothers and sisters, whether you realize it or not, God has the legal title to your body! He paid the price for your body on Calvary! And you have no legal right to do with it whatever you want!

God wants us to enjoy our bodies and at the same time He wants us to use them to honor Him and serve Him. We need to take care of our bodies as best we can!

James 2:26 “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.”

II Pet. 3:18 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ....”

It is obvious that we are challenged in Scripture to maintain our faith
Robertson McQuilkin wrote a poem about finishing well. It’s entitled “Let Me Get Home Before Dark.”
I fear the Dark Spectre may come too soon— Or do I mean, too late?
That I should end before I finish; or finish, but not well.
That I should, stain your honor, shame your name, Grieve your loving heart.
Few, they tell me, finish well... Lord, let me get home before dark.

The pages of the Bible are full of great servants who didn’t finish well. Samson provides a sad example of how you can drift away from God’s power and blessing without ever realizing it. He made a sacred vow to the Lord to stay pure, and God gave him great strength. His strength was not in his hair, but in his faith in God.

But Samson was a he-man with a she-problem. He gradually turned from God’s people and got involved with a Philistine woman named Delilah. He ended up getting his hair cut in the devil’s barbershop. When the Philistine soldiers attacked him Samson jumped up to repel them as he always had. Then we see a really sad verse in Judges 16:20 Samson said, “‘I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the Lord had left him.”

CONCLUSION
So, what is the solution for spiritual drifting? You need to link your life to something and someone strong and secure. You need a solid anchor. I’ve been told that the heaviest anchors ever made are the ones used on U.S. Aircraft Carriers. Each carrier has two and each one weighs. 60,000 pounds. When the navy drops those two anchors, that huge ship won’t drift in the harshest seas. We have an anchor even more powerful than that. His name is Jesus. The best way to prevent spiritual drift to stay firmly anchored to the hope we have in Jesus. The Bible says, “Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.” (Hebrews 6:18-19)

Be aware of the danger of drifting away from God. There is a powerful question posed in this passage that you can’t ignore. You could call it the big question, or the unavoidable question, or the million dollar question. But it is a personal question that everyone who drifts away must answer seriously:
how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? which having at the first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard; (Hebrews 2:3)

So how can you escape if you ignore it? You can’t. No way. It’s hopeless without Jesus. So bind your life to the solid anchor of hope in Jesus Christ and keep from drifting away.
OUTLINE
I DRIFT AWAY WHEN:
1. I listen to God’s Word but my life doesn’t change
2. Indifference replaces a desire to gather with believers
3. Complacency about sin replaces confession
4. I forget that ending well is more important than a good start

God Wants Us to Be Sure

God Wants Us to Be Sure
John 10: 14-28

What do we know for sure?
ILL. A great preacher once said, “When I was young I was sure of everything. But after a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half so sure of most things as I was before.
"And at present, I am hardly sure of anything except what God has revealed to me.”
ILL. We seem to live in a world filled with unclear messages. And the undisputed champion of muddled messages was Yogi Berra, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame & former manager of the NY Yankees. Here are a few of his better-known “Yogi-isms.”
“Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical.”
"When you come to a fork in the road, take it!"
"You better cut the pizza in 4 pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat 6."
"Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded."
“You got to be careful - if you don’t know where you’re going, you might wind up someplace else.”
"You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise they won't come to yours."
And there’s the time a lady said to him, “Good afternoon, Mr. Berra. You look mighty cool today.” “Thank you, ma’am,” Yogi replied. “You don’t look so hot yourself.”
Sometimes things are rather confusing. But our confusion doesn’t always stem from muddled messages. Sometimes the words are clear, but the message is simply untrue or has been twisted to fit the speaker's agenda.
We're seeing plenty of evidence of this today in reporters & celebrities who rush to judgment without first determining the facts, & in politicians who are quick to speak but evidently slow to listen.
PROP. As a result, sometimes it is difficult to know what is true & what is false. But surely, there are some things we can count on, some things we can know for sure. Just what do we know for sure?
I. THE BIBLE SPEAKS WITH CERTAINTY
First of all, we can be sure when God has spoken. The Bible never speaks with timidity.
The Bible never says, "It could be this or "It could be that." In His Word, God speaks with certainty. Just think how the Bible answers these basic questions:
A. "How did life begin?" The world says, "Well, maybe there was a big bang 200 million years or so ago, & somehow that started an evolutionary chain. And they go on to add, “Of course, we haven't found the missing links yet, but we're sure we'll find them some day." Now that's a rather uncertain answer.
But the Bible says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) God created all forms of life ? in the sea, in the sky, & on the earth.
Then when He reached down & fashioned man, God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, & the man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7)
You see, that answer is a certain one. God’s Word simply says, "This is the way it happened."
B. Another question, "How did we get into all the mess in which we find ourselves today?"
"Why has mankind become so violent? How did we become so immoral? Why is there so much poverty? Why are there wars? Why can't we live in peace?"
The world gives all kinds of answers. But the Bible gives only one answer. The Bible says that we got where we are because of sin.
Go back to the Garden of Eden & to the fall of Adam & Eve, & you'll realize that is the reason we have weeds in our gardens. That's the reason there is pain in childbirth. That's the reason there is disease & sickness & death in our world - all because of sin.
C. "And how can we get out of our mess?" "What can we do to solve these problems?" The world has many suggestions but no solutions.
But the Bible says, "Nothing is going to change for the better until we have been changed inside ? not until our hearts & minds are changed, not until our wills & emotions are changed & refashioned into the image of Christ."
D. Again, "What is going to happen to us after this life is over?” The world has many answers, all the way from reincarnation to "Nirvana" - eternal nothingness.
ILL. A preacher tells about conducting a rap session with high school teenagers. In it one girl asked, “The Bible says that God loves everybody. Then we're told that God sends people to Hell. How can a loving God do that?”
The preacher said, “I gave her my answer, & she came back at me with arguments. I answered her arguments, & she responded to my answers. I did not convince her, nor did she convince me. Soon the session was over.
“Afterwards I approached her & said, ‘I owe you an apology. I really should not have allowed our discussion to become so argumentative.’
”Then I asked, ‘May I share something with you?’ She said, ‘Yes.’ So I took her through a basic presentation of the gospel.
“When I got to Romans 3:23 & suggested that all of us were sinners she began to cry. It was then that this high school senior told me she was having an affair with a married man.
“The reason she refused to believe in hell was because in her heart she knew she was sinning. Her conscience condemned her, but rather than face her guilt, she simply denied any future judgment or future hell.”
Despite what the world says, the Bible says that when we finish this life, if we have but our faith in Jesus, we have the promise of heaven & life with Him for all eternity.
But if you refuse Him, if you turn your back upon Jesus & go your own way, then there is no promise of heaven, but a certainty of hell, of an eternity without God & His presence.
SUM. There is no middle ground in the Bible - no multiple choices. The Bible speaks with absolute certainty & says, "This is the way it is."
II. THE WORLD SPEAKS WITH UNCERTAINTY
And yet we look at our world & find uncertainty with many voices clamoring for our attention.
A. There is the voice of doubt that says, "If there is a God, how could He permit all these things that happen? It seems to me that God's people ought to have preferential treatment. God's people ought to have a better life than anyone else."
Yet, some of God's people find themselves victims of disease, poverty, & loss of their jobs. So those speaking words of doubt say, "If there really is a God, surely He would not permit this to happen." So they decide that there is no God.
B. There are also voices of knowledge. We have computer banks full of information. All we have to do is just push the right buttons to get all the information we want. But you go through the maze of all that knowledge & ask, "What is the truth?” And there is no answer.
ILL. As someone has said, "If you educate your children without God, all you do is make clever devils of them."
C. There are even some uncertain voices of religion. The Bible says the church is to be the pillar & support of truth.
Yet, go to some churches & you'll hear uncertain sounds – messages denying the basics of our faith: the virgin birth, the resurrection, whether Jesus Christ is really God's Son, & whether He did die on the cross for our sins. And at the same time you see others using religion to rip people off.
Too many people prefer religious leaders who say, "I don't want to lay a guilt trip on you. Just do it your own way, as long as you're sincere. It is all up to you."
III. GOD WANTS US TO BE SURE
A. And yet, God wants us to be confident, to be sure, & that's the reason His Word speaks with such certainty. Uncertainty leads to destruction, but certainty leads to confidence & courage.
Go back & study the martyrs who died for their Christian faith. Why did they die? Because they believed with all their heart that the message was true. There was no uncertainty there. They were ready to stand up for God & even face death rather than deny Him.
B. Let me read some of the confident messages in God’s Word.
1. In the Gospel of John 10:14. Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep & my sheep know me...”
Here is something we can know for sure. Jesus said, "You can know that I am your shepherd. I know every thought you're thinking. I know every worry, every concern of your life."
And then in vs’s 27-28 He says, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, & they follow me. I give them eternal life, & they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand."
2. In Romans 8:31-32, Paul says, "What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
“He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him for us all - how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?"
Paul is saying, "If God was willing to give His only begotten Son for us, then He will surely give us everything we really need."
3. Vs. 35 says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?"
Vs’s 38-39 say, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Do you hear the confidence there? Paul is saying, "Here is something you can know ? nothing in this world, nothing in heaven or on earth will ever be able to separate you from the love of God.”
4. Then, in 1 John 5:11-13, we read these wonderful words of assurance, "God has given us eternal life, & this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."
SUM. Here is something more we can know for sure. If you have the Son, you have eternal life. If you don't have the Son, you don't have life. And you make the decision!
Is Jesus Christ your Lord & Savior? Do you have the promise of everlasting life?
ILL. Tony Campolo recalls a deeply moving incident that happened during Jr. High week at a Christian camp.
Even though this was a Christian camp, many of the campers were not Christians, & they treated one of the other campers, a boy with spastic palsy, with heartless ridicule. Whenever he had to say anything, the boys would mock him, making fun of the difficulty he had in speaking.
One night some of these boys managed to have him chosen to lead the devotions for the camp. It was one more attempt on their part to have some “fun” at his expense.
Unashamedly the spastic boy slowly stood, & in his strained, slurred manner - each word coming with enormous effort - he said simply, “Jesus loves me - & I love Jesus!”
That was all he was able to say, but no one laughed. There was absolute silence, broken only by the sound of some of the boys beginning to cry.
Something wonderful happened in the hearts of the campers that week, & it was all because of his simple testimony, “Jesus loves me - & I love Jesus!”
Are you obedient to God’s word and what he expects from us? Can you say with assurance, “Jesus loves me - & I love Jesus”?
If that’s not yet true for you this evening, then we offer the invitation of Jesus Himself. He stands ready to receive you, to welcome you, to hold you in His arms as a shepherd would his sheep & to forgive you of all your sins.
INVITATION: So if that is your need we invite you to come & make your profession of faith, & to follow His example & command in Christian baptism.
Or maybe you have already taken that step & are looking for a church home, a place where you can fellowship & serve. We invite you to come & join with us here, to share in the ministry that God has laid before us. Will you come as we stand & as we sing?

Based on a Sermon Given
by Melvin Newland

Switching the Price Tags

Switching the Price Tags
James 3:13-4:13

Years ago, Tony Campolo wrote a book about Christianity called “Who Switched The Price Tags”
He told about the time he and his best friend decided to break into the basement of the local five-and-dime store. They didn’t plan to rob the place they viewed themselves as “Sunday School boys after all”; instead, they planned to do something that was far worse for the owner. Their plan was to break in and change the price tags on everything. I don’t think they actually got beyond the planning stages... but they imagined customers arriving and discovered that radios were selling for a quarter and bobby pins were priced at five dollars each.
Campolo wrote: “With diabolical glee, we wondered what it would be like when... nobody could figure out what the prices of things really should be.”
In a store the price tags tell us the value of what we want to buy. But if someone switches the price tags, it’s hard to know how valuable something is.
In the book of James, God rebukes Christians who seemingly can’t read the price tags. They’ve lost the understanding of how valuable things should be. But now... how does God know they’ve misread the price tags?
James writes: 1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not comefrom your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. James 4:1-2
You see, when Christians get into quarrels and fights, something is wrong! And God tells is that THIS is what’s wrong: “You adulterous people!
Do you not know that FRIENDSHIP WITH THE WORLD is enmity (“becoming an enemy”) with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:3-4
In other words, when Christians fight and quarrel it shows that they’ve put a higher value on the world THAN they have put on God. In fact, Christians who fight and quarrel are called “adulterous” because they’ve apparently abandoned their commitment to God... for a commitment to the world.
So... what’s going on here? Well, the root of the problem James is talking about here is that some Christians have fallen in love with worldly possessions. And that IS an issue for many Christians. The lure of possessions and the promise of happiness is everywhere. People build their lives around how much money they have in 401K, and how many possessions they have in their homes and garages.
ILLUS: For example, say a man owned a business here in Chardon. He was always struggling financially and he came to you and asked advice. You noticed he always leased a brand new Trans Am car every couple years and suggested that maybe he should “downsize.” He was shocked and replied: “But God wants me to be happy, doesn’t He?”
This man’s problem was that he was hooked on the idea that happiness could be found IN his possessions.
ILLUS: Out West there is a General Store in the middle of nowhere. When travelers stop in - they see a sign that says "If you can't find it in this store, just ask us about the item, and we'll tell you how to get along without it."
Jesus said: “(You can’t) serve two masters, (you’ll) either hate the one and love the other, or (you’ll) be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Matthew 6:24
It’s a repeated theme throughout Scripture: Only a fool clings to things of this world
One writer explained it this way:
• Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit... and they weren’t even hungry! As a result they ended up losing all they had in exchange for shame, suffering, and death.
• Lot's wife, fled from Sodom as God destroyed it BUT then looked back at the home she couldn't keep, and became a pillar of salt.
• Achan stole a garment of gold from Jericho that he couldn’t wear, and silver and gold he couldn’t spend, and ended up losing all that he had... including his life.
• Judas, for 30 pieces of silver which he had no occasion or conscience to use, took his own life in shame and despair.
• Demas, a companion of Paul’s - loved this world more than Jesus, walked away from Christ and brought upon himself the wrath of God.
Jesus said: “What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? Matthew 16:26
Trying to GAIN the world at the expense of walking with God... is DANGEROUS!!!
As a kid, did your parents ever put soap in your mouth? I can admit that it once happened to me. It is one of the earliest memories that I have. I can still remember sitting on the bathroom counter of our house, with a bitter, unpleasant, ivory colored bar of soap in my mouth that completely filled my mouth.
My Mom was “cleaning” my mouth from the bad thing that I must have said. The sad part is that I cannot remember what I said, but it certainly must not have been good. Mom wanted me to use my mouth better.
God has plans and uses for our bodies and members other than what we may choose. He has given us our reason, senses, eyes, ears, minds, and all our members, mouths included. God didn’t give us a mouth to have both blessings and curses to flow from it. In fact, God gives us our eyes, ears, mouths, minds, and members to receive gifts from Him. In James 1:17, the Apostle says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” As James finishes his teachings on the tongue, he tells us about a gift that comes from above, wisdom. Wisdom is what proceeds from the tongue and the heart. God’s wisdom produces right speaking. But what is the wisdom from above, this gift of God, that James tells us about?
James starts by telling us what it is not. Once when I was looking around in a book store I noticed a strange arrangement. Next to the theology books and Bibles was the...self help section. It was an interesting interpretation and placement. In the mind of the organizer, it seemed to be a logical placement. They thought they went hand-in-hand, and were not that different. But this couldn’t be any farther from the truth.
The wisdom that James is going to tell us about is not some sort of self-help advice. It isn’t wisdom about how Christians should behave or act. It is not a wisdom about how to make friends and keep them, or how to get ahead at business and to make some money. It is a wisdom completely different from the self-centered wisdom of the world.
What James means by wisdom is the understanding of the Gospel, made possible only by the Holy Spirit. But wisdom doesn’t just involve the acknowledgment that the Gospel is true, but also the expression of that Gospel in the life of a Christian. It is putting that truth into action.
Worldly wisdom, according to James, is often marked by jealousy and selfish ambition. It is not meek or humble. It goes against the truth. It is thoughts and actions that focus on me, and what is best for me. It is self seeking and self serving. It focuses on how to increase my influence and standing, even at the cost of others. It is about how to exert my will and influence to get what I want. The world calls this wise.
James describes and calls this wisdom for what it really is, though. He says it is earthly, that is, having no living awareness of God and lets its thoughts and behaviors be governed by the world. We hear it with phrases, “This is the new norm” or “everybody does that now.” He calls it unspiritual, that is, it directs all concerns of one’s soul and life to things this side of Heaven. It is an obsession with the self that has no regard for the spiritual. James also calls it demonic, that is, under Satan’s control and influence. We can see this with the great deception of our age: “It doesn’t matter what you do or who you are, what matters is that you are happy! Do what makes you happy!” It is often the logic to do whatever you want!
So, the root of quarreling & fighting that James is talking here is BASED on the fact that too many Christians fall in love with their worldly possessions. And when they cling to those possessions - they ultimately abandon God.
But there was something else that caught my attention here. It was that phrase where James 4:1 asks “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?” James tell us this often happens because we WANT something we can’t seem to get.
Now, sometimes folks argue over possessions (it happens a lot when families battle over inheritances). But other times, those conflicts arise because I want MY WAY. I want something MY WAY and you won’t let me have it! I can’t GET what I WANT (my way)... so I’ll argue with you.
Then, by contrast, James tells us “the WISDOM FROM ABOVE is first pure, then PEACEABLE, GENTLE, OPEN TO REASON, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” James 3:17-18
Thus, every time you or I get UPSET and argue and quarrel with someone we tend to reflect a WORLDLY wisdom... a wisdom filled with disorder and vile practices.
What’s that mean? It means that many Christians operate under the assumption that if I can insult someone enough, or curse at them enough or (and this is the most common practice) INCREASE THE VOLUME OF MY VOICE!!!! I can intimidate the other person into submission and surrender by the force of my anger and indignation.
John 15:19 “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
But, why do people get angry at us if we glorify Jesus? Mostly because – when we say Jesus saved us – we’re saying Jesus is the only way to heaven. “Jesus said ... ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:6) That’s pretty definite!
ILLUS: In ancient Rome, this commitment by Christians to Christ led the Romans to hate Christianity. They even called Christians atheists. Atheists? Why would the Romans call Christians “atheists?” Because early Christians refused to worship THEIR gods. That made the Romans mad!
And that hasn’t changed for centuries. There are people TODAY who get mad at Christians because we refuse to accept homosexuality/transgenderism/abortion, and other life choices. Why? Because they think folks ought to have the right to do as they please. But, we know that the Bible tells us these things are sin and there are consequences to those sins. And so we reject those life choices as valid. And that makes them mad.
Ephesians 5:5-11 declares: 5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
So, we’re ALWAYS going to be at odds with the world. And we are going to be in conflict with the world because of our love and commitment to Christ. But we’ve got to be careful how we respond to worldly people. We’ve got to be careful NOT to get into arguments and quarrels because - when we do get into those quarrels - we become like the world. We imitate their style of conflict!
ILLUS: There’s old saying that says “You never want to wrestle with a pig. You just get dirty and the pig enjoys it.”
Now that’s a lighthearted jab at what happens too often to too many Christians. We get upset, we say things we shouldn’t say, and we even insult people who are non-Christians
But too often, we ALSO do it to people who are brothers/sisters in Christ. Christians get mad at each other because they can’t get THEIR WAY. They’ll insult and threaten and manipulate. And God says “Don’t do that!”
Why? My point is simple. We don’t accomplish the will of God using the wisdom of this world. We can’t argue or shame people into faith.
We must reflect the wisdom of God to accomplish God’s will.
James 1: 5-6 tells us 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).
In summary, to tap into God’s wisdom, we must diligently study God’s Word
(2 Timothy 2:15), 15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
meditate on the Word, pray for wisdom, seek it with all our
hearts, and walk in the Spirit. God desires to give His wisdom to His children. Are we willing to be led by that wisdom?

Based on a sermon given
by Jeff Strite