Chardon church of Christ

The Fruit of The Spirit - Gentleness

The Fruit of The Spirit - Gentleness

Galatians 5:22-23

 

INTRO:

Good morning.   Today we will have another lesson on the fruit of the spirit.   This time I want to look at Gentleness.

 

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

 

We're going to again begin with Galatians 5:22-23 – “22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23. gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”  

Gentleness is one of those words that defines itself. It is learning to be gentle in your dealings with people.

 

From what we have studied if you understand the works of the flesh and what love is then you recognize that the works of the flesh are the opposite of the fruit of the spirit.

 

One of the works of the flesh is outbursts of wrath.  When you're dealing with love you learn that love is not rude, Love is not arrogant.  Whenever you think of rudeness, arrogance, and outbursts of wrath - gentleness is the opposite.  This is dealing with how we treat people.

 

In thinking on the fruit of the Spirit, notice that gentleness, is very closely related to some of the other fruits mentioned, kindness, long suffering, and goodness.

Whenever we are showing kindness to people, we will find that part of that kindness is expressed in gentleness.

 

Whenever we show long suffering with people, not giving up on people in their frailties, in their problems, and shortcomings, in our dealings with them - we're going to be gentle.

 

1. The Actions of Gentleness - I would like to start this study on the subject of gentleness by going to James 3:13 – “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.”  In this text we are talking about a manifestation of being a real Christian.   Indeed, that is what the fruit the spirit is all about isn’t it?
   1. We're dealing with manifestations of what really walking in the faith, of what really living by faith, allowing the word of God to mold and to shape our heart - produces in our life.
      1. If we are a sincere Christian, it will show by the conduct of our life and that conduct is carried out in the meekness of wisdom.
      2. When we talk about meekness some people have a misunderstanding about what we mean.   They have the idea that meekness is kind of weak, easy, a pushover, someone kind of cowardly, who won’t stand up for themselves.   That's not meekness at all.
      3. I hope we will see in the lesson this morning that gentleness and meekness is strength, but I want you to notice James talks about the meekness of wisdom.
   2. You find the same context in verses 16-18. James goes further and says; “16. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing will be there. 17. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
      1. We see again this is talking about allowing the Word of God to mold and shape our hearts, our lives to where we are like a lump of clay.   We allow God to mold us, to shape us, to where it's no longer we who live, but Christ and God living and shining through us.
      2. This is done with the wisdom, the word comes from above.   James says it is pure, peaceable, and gentle.   And he says it’s willing to yield.
   3. What is he talking about, willing to yield?   Let’s look at Matthew 5:39-42 – “But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40. "If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41. "And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42. "Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.”
      1. Let me ask this are we turning the other cheek because we are cowards?   Are we turning the other cheek just because we're afraid and we're weak? That's not it at all. You're turning the other cheek because you can maintain control of yourself when someone else has absolutely lost it.  That is what meekness is.   It is actually a position of strength.
      2. It is the ability to maintain control of yourself despite of your environment, in spite of what other people are saying, or thinking, or doing to you.   Even if someone slaps you, you’re willing to yield. You desire peace and desire it so much you're willing to turn the other cheek.
      3. Of course, they hit you and it hurt, you did not like it, no one would.   You may be fighting to maintain control because, and we realize this, what’s the easiest thing to do if someone slaps you? You slap them back so hard they never think about slapping you again.  Isn't that the easiest thing to do?   If someone hurts you, you hurt them so badly they don't ever think about doing it again.   Well that is the way the world does things.   We see that on TV and in the movies all the time.   But that's not the way of Christianity.
      4. That's not the way of our Lord.   If we are Christians, our lives are lived trying to conform to the image of Christ, who is gentle, meek, lowly, humble and kind in His dealings with us.   Learn to turn the other cheek.   Learn to maintain control of yourself when others are lashing out at you.  Folks, that is true strength.
   4. Along those lines I must mention that while what you say is important, how you say it can be just as important, if not more important.
      1. Whenever you are communicating with people, they hear your attitude first in the tone of voice that you are using.  Look at this from 2^nd Timothy 2:24-25 – “24. … a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25. in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,”  Paul is talking about the servants of the Lord, Christians, that’s us.  We must not quarrel.
      2. It has been said that meaningful communication breaks down when you raise your voice.  Have you ever been in an argument with someone and they raise their voice to the point they're yelling at you?   Again, what's the easiest thing to do?  The response is usually to yell back, isn’t it? You vent your frustration in return.
      3. Is meaningful communication really taking place in all this venting?   Do you suppose they are really listening to what you're saying?   How many of us listen when someone is yelling at us?   You know what happens, up go our defenses.   It doesn't matter what the person is saying, perhaps it is the truth. We're not going to respond because of the way we were spoken to.  
      4. In military boot camp you are trained to actually listen to the instructions that are being yelled at you, keep your mouth shut, drop your defensive attitude and listen.   It is not a natural thing and you have to be trained.   What would your reaction be if someone screamed at you “I love you”?   Even though the message was “I love you” how would you take it?
      5. What people hear first is how you are speaking to them, because it tells them what your attitude is and that is why Christians should not get caught up in quarreling.
   5. How important is this?   For example let’s say someone is caught up in the snare of the devil in the way they are going. If they continue down that path, it is going to lead them to eternal damnation and you know the truth.   We're talking about someone's eternal destiny.
      1. We're talking about what is really important.  We're not talking about say… politics.
      2. I mean we can disagree about politics but, folks, we're talking about someone going to heaven or hell.  You can't get more serious than that.
      3. Here you are in a position where you know you can help them to get untangled and get to where they need to be.   What do you do?   Do we understand the importance of meaningful communication in this situation and maintaining control even though we are discussing something which is extremely sensitive?  
      4. When we are talking with someone about religion, it can be a very sensitive subject.   Especially if we need to tell this person who may perceive themselves as being a Christian, “I'm not really sure you're right with God.   As a matter of fact, from my studying of the scriptures I don't believe you are.”
      5. It is not an easy conversation and it is an potentially explosive one!   The person you are talking to may react very badly, especially if they are a younger Christian.   Though a mature Christian may react badly too. Even if they lose control and they start yelling at you, maintain you composure.   “a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all”
      6. Instruct in humility, in meekness.   Speak the truth in love. The whole truth.
   6. Speak to people not by speaking down to them, not with arrogance, not with a holier than thou attitude, not with the attitude of trying to prove I'm right and you’re wrong, checkmate, got ya.  
      1. People can understand why you're saying what you say.   They can read us really quickly if we’re just trying to prove we're right and they're wrong.
      2. They can also tell when we really care about them and we're just trying to help them find their way to heaven. Speak to people with dignity, respect, courtesy, humility, meekness, and gentleness - but don't water down the truth.
   7. Continuing in 2^nd Corinthians 10:1 – “Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you.” We're seeing how Paul was preaching and the way in which he was preaching.  What he was writing about was so important that he says he is pleading, but the way in which he did it was with meekness and gentleness.  I want you to notice it's the gentleness of Christ.   Paul is trying to emulate Christ and folks, that is what we are all about, isn’t it?
      1. We are trying to conform ourselves to the image of Christ to be like God to where it's no longer we who live but Christ living and shining through us.
      2. We are to take the wisdom that is from above, given to us in the Word of God and allow it to mold our will and our lives.  One of the manifestations of this is we're going to be more willing to be gentle and meek in our dealings with people.   The way in which we speak to them is not going to be abusive, sharp, angry, or rude.
      3. The fruit of the spirit will be that we will have the ability to maintain control and be gentle in our dealings with them.
   8. I want to talk about The Strength of Gentleness.   From Proverbs 16:32 – “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” When we think about someone who is mighty and has the power to take a city, we think strength.   They have the power to go with their military might and take the city, that’s strength, right?  
      1. The truth of the matter is if you're slow to anger, you're stronger than the man who was able to take the city.   If we rule our spirit and we do not allow the evil that is done to us to overcome us and turn us into the image of the oppressor, acting like them, speaking like them and responding to them in the way in which they treated us - that's strength, that's real strength.
      2. From Proverbs 14:29 – “He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly.”
         1. How many times do we come in contact with situations and people that set us off?    They get our blood pressure rising then we start screaming and yelling and hollering at them.
         2. What if someone slaps us even if we haven't done anything wrong? What's our first thought?   Hey, I didn't deserve that!  I haven’t done anything wrong!   I have the right to strike back, the Bible says so, right?   No. Willing to yield, is being able to turn the other cheek even when you aren't doing anything wrong.   Doing good to those who have done evil to you.   Loving your enemy. That’s strength.
      3. 2^nd Corinthians 10:7-10 – “7. Do you look at things according to the outward appearance? If anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ's, let him again consider this in himself, that just as he is Christ's, even so we are Christ's. 8. For even if I should boast somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave us for edification and not for your destruction, I shall not be ashamed   9. lest I seem to terrify you by letters. 10. "For his letters,'' they say, "are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.''”
         1. If we were to think about people of spiritual strength, I suspect many of us would put the apostle Paul in the top five.   Jesus obviously is number one.   Other than Jesus, when I think of spiritual strength, I think Paul.
         2. In the time of Paul there were some of the brethren that when they looked at him all they saw was his outward appearance.   They said his bodily presence is weak.  He's not a stout, big guy.  He's not like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
         3. They said his speech is contemptible.  He's not a great orator; he doesn't have a silver tongue.
         4. Often the way we determine a person’s strength is by their appearance.   Whether they are a good speaker, how strong they are physically, how big they are, the strength of their personality.
         5. We miss the point.   We miss seeing a person’s real strength because a person’s real strength is in their heart.   It is the strength of their character, an inward strength and that is what gentleness is all about.
      4. Jesus was an example of this. Mark 15:3-5 – “3. And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing. 4. Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, "Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!'' 5. But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.” In the text Jesus was before Pontius Pilate. Luke 23:10 says; “the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.” They hate Jesus and they accused Him of many things.  
         1. They see an opportunity to kill him and they are probably screaming and hollering in their accusations against him.   Here is Jesus, not saying a word, totally quiet.
         2. Matthew 27:12-13 – “12. And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. 13. Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?''” Then in verse 14 is says; “And He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.”
         3. Why did Pilate marvel greatly?   I don't think he was standing back saying “Why aren't you defending yourself?”   No. I think Pilate knew exactly what he was seeing. Scripture tells us Pilate knew of the enmity of the religious leaders toward Jesus. “For he knew that because of envy they had delivered Him.”
         4. He was seeing someone who had so much strength of character that when others around him were attacking him with all kinds of accusations He just stood there and said nothing.   Pilate understood the strength of the character of the person in front of him.
         5. That is what meekness is.   The ability to maintain control when others around you have completely lost it.  It is a strength of character to be able to turn the other cheek, to love your enemy, to do good to those that do evil to you.
         6. That is strength, not the outward appearance of strutting and showing your physical strength or screaming and hollering or using pleasing speech.
      5. I've seen in my life some of the most humble, kind, simple, people you would ever meet.   I have also seen people that I thought were really strong, yet whenever the pressure came, they completely fell to pieces.   Then there were those others, the humble ones that you would never imagine to be strong and when the pressure came, they had a smile on their face.  They were at peace and they were still in control.
         1. Often the people in the world totally misread gentleness, they misread meekness and they think; well this person is just weak.   That’s were long suffering comes in.
         2. Let me propose this. Let's look at Matthew 7:14 where He says; few there be that find it when he's talking about us going to heaven.  The straight and the narrow way, the difficulties in the narrow way, and few will find it.
         3. Wait a minute God; you want people to be saved why don't you make it where everybody’s saved then?  Certainly, God could make us obey the gospel or make us so we can't sin.  But that is not what He does. God does not want us to not have a choice, He wants us to be drawn to Him and chose Him.
         4. How is it that God draws us to Him?   God draws us to Him through love.  The greatest manifestation of that love is He gave His son to die for us.
            1. He tells us over and over and over and over again; I love you.
            2. I want you to bear with Me.

• I want you forgiven.

1. I want you to be with Me in heaven forever.

5. He wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, but all men aren’t going be saved.  Those who come to God are going to come to God because God is gentle with us.
   1. He's kind.
   2. He's loving and He’s long suffering.
6. All these things are intertwined. When you are long suffering with people, you're not going to give up on people even though they're going in the wrong direction.
   1. You will encourage and encourage and encourage and try to encourage them with gentleness and kindness, but you're not going to encourage anyone by yelling at them.
   2. You know you can not ever encourage anyone by getting in their face and screaming at them.   That will not draw anybody to God.
   3. If we're going to draw people to God, we've got to let the love of God shine through us.

• Let's talk about the fruit of gentleness – In Proverbs 25:15 – “By long forbearance a ruler is persuaded, and a gentle tongue breaks a bone.” Here we're dealing with a ruler, a very important person and a bone which is a very rigid part of your body.   What is expressed here is that with long forbearance, long suffering, not giving up continuing to stick with it, you can finally get a ruler to agree, to be persuaded.   Although a bone is very rigid thing a gentle tongue can break that rigidity.
  1. The point of this proverb is the power and strength of patient long suffering, gentleness, sticking with it, and continuing to encourage people.
     1. When we say encourage, we do not mean control, do we?   Is there anybody here this morning that can control anybody else in the world other than them selves? I can only control myself.
     2. There are people in the world that I see going in the wrong direction and all I can ever do with people like that is show them the right way to go and encourage them to go that way.
     3. Yes, it can be frustrating in how long it takes to get some people to see were they are going off the track. In frustration we may think maybe what I need to do is get a little louder, get their attention so they will listen.  No.
     4. It may take longer to get people to respond to gentleness, but when they finally figure it out, when they finally figure out that you are treating them with kindness and respect and you're not going to give up on them, they are drawn for good and they will stick. They will be drawn by the love of God not just by trying to please you, get you off their back or please the culture around them. They’ll be drawn by the love of God.
  2. Proverbs 15:1 – “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Again, you maintain control. You speak back with gentleness, respect and control and they start to realize they're not pushing your buttons!   Don't let them push your buttons and they will quit trying when they realize they're not going to get a response.
     1. Even when someone has worked up themselves into a frenzy, you put out the fire with self-control and gentleness and kindness and help them rein themselves in.
     2. Then you can get back to meaningful communication to where you may be able to get somewhere with them.
  3. 2^nd Timothy 2:26 – “and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.” If you read up a few verses you will see he is teaching Timothy that a servant of the Lord is not supposed to be quarrelsome and striving, but to be gentle to all men, to teach and be patient.   Why? So that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil having been taken captive by him to do his will.
     1. Here is seeing a fruit that comes from our ability to maintain self control and speak to people about the very important subject of their soul, their eternal destiny, - speaking to them with meekness and gentleness. Telling them the truth in love.
     2. When their minds are free of the turmoil of conflict they can begin to listen, to start opening their heart to the love of God for them and Christ crucified.   What draws people to God is His love for them.   People are not going to learn about God's love if you're yelling at them.   They're not going to be able to sense God's love for them and hear the word of God when it's all a quarrel, a big fight.
  4. Two other examples. First Peter 3:1-4 – Verse 1 says; “wives, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives,” Continuing in the text it talks about “let it be the hidden person of the heart with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is very precious in the sight of God.”
     1. This is about a man who is an unbeliever married to a Christian woman. This Christian woman should have a gentle and a quiet spirit.   The man is observing her chaste conduct, and because of this he finds himself drawn to God by the conduct of his wife.
     2. In the conduct of his wife he is seeing God. The text says what the woman is putting on, is incorruptible beauty with a gentle and quiet spirit.
     3. God says this in his word.   When God says; this is beautiful, it's beautiful—that gentle woman with a quiet spirit.    When one sees a woman like this and they see her kindness and her generosity and her patience, when she speaks to them…   She has control. What she's telling them is the truth and they are apt to listen.

 

CONCLUSION:

We'll close with 2^nd Corinthians 10:4-5 – “4. … the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5. casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,”

We're talking about the weapons of our warfare pulling down strongholds, but they are not carnal.   What then is a stronghold?   Verse 5 explains.   A stronghold is someone’s spiritual weaknesses in the major areas of their life.  

How is God going to tear down strongholds in our lives to get us to repent and turn from these things we're involved in and put on the new man?  What is it that's going to get us to change our lives?

 

It's going to be the love of God for us and our love for God in return. We said before Love is the strongest level of faith.   Now abideth faith, hope and love and the greatest of these is love.   Motivated by faith, hope, and love you can tear down strongholds in your lives.

 

Sooner or later we will meet someone who has strongholds built around their heart. We may think there's no way I can get through to that person.   They are so far from God, they are so stubborn, so self-willed, there is no way Christ crucified will ever be able to influence them and draw them to God.   The weapons God has given us are mighty; they are strong to the point of being able to tear down the strongholds in their lives.

 

In verse 5 of the text he says; casting down arguments in every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.  That's an awesome text.

When we work with someone and encourage them, we do it with respect, meekness, gentleness and the truth of the Word of God.   If they do not respond to it, and we have another opportunity later we come back again, and we encourage them with gentleness, meekness, and kindness and the truth of the Word of God - spoken in love.

 

If they do not respond we are to be patient, longsuffering and at the next opportunity we come back again.   It takes patience with some people, so we speak to them again the same word of God the same truth in gentleness, kindness, respect and love.  Eventually, if this individual will be drawn to God, it will be because we didn’t give up on them.

 

We can tear down strongholds but it's not going to be through strength of body, it's not going to be through yelling and hollering at people it's going to be by patiently, respectfully telling them the truth in love.   Sometimes people misunderstand that.  Sometimes they misread it for weakness, and it takes longer.

 

We do not put shock collars on people and tell them they will get a jolt if they don’t show up to worship. Unfortunately, in history there have been religious groups that have done the equivalent of that.   Even today there is some of that.   That's not the way the Lord wants it.   If you're going to come to worship, it will be because you have the desire to come here.

 

If you will serve God, it will be because you have a desire to serve God. It's your faith that you're going to walk by, your hope you're going to live by, your love that you’re going to want to express.   Nobody else can do it for you.

 

God is long suffering with us. He is gentle with us. He is kind with us. What He wants us, His servants, to learn is to treat our fellow human beings with that same gentleness and kindness and long suffering and love.

 

There may be somebody here this morning who is not a member of the body of Christ.

If you believe in your heart that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God we would like to encourage you to openly confess that faith.

We would like to encourage you to take up your cross and start following by faith, living by faith, repenting of your sins, putting off the old man and putting on the new man.

If you're willing to confess your faith and follow the Lord as your king, we will be glad to assist you and baptize you into the body of Christ.   You need to choose to do it.

 

If there's a prodigal son or daughter here this morning who left the Lord because your faith and your hope and your love was weak, I hope your faith and your hope and your love are stronger to the point you want to come home.

We'll pray for you.  We'll pray with you. We'll do the very best we can to encourage you and strengthen you.

If you are a subject of the Gospel call in any way let us know while we stand a sing the song that has been selected.

 

 

Invitation song: 78 “Hark the Gentle Voice”

Reference sermon by: Wayne Fancher

 

The Growing Seed

The Growing Seed

Mark 4:26-29

 

INTRO:

Good evening.   We continue our look at the parables.   We are going to look at a parable which is only found in Mark’s Gospel.    This parable is closely related to “The parable of the Sower” which is found in Mark 4:1-20.

 

Jesus often introduces parables with the phrase, “The kingdom of heaven is like.”

For example, in Matthew 13:34 Jesus says that, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.” In Matthew 13:44 He says that, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.” We looked at these not too long ago.

 

It is in Mark 4:26-29, we find “The parable of the growing seed,” which we are going to look at tonight. Again, Jesus introduces His parable with the phrase, “The kingdom of God is…” He has just finished explaining to His disciples “The parable of the Sower.”

Once again we realize that the disciples still didn’t understand and Jesus asks them in Mark 4:13 "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?” Jesus explains “The parable of Sower” to them and we pick the story up from verse 26.

 

Mark 4:26-29 – “26. And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, 27. "and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. 28. "For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. 29. "But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.''”

 

I heard a story about a preacher who went on a mission trip to Russia.  His usual translator became ill and a substitute was found.  Unfortunately the substitute got a little mixed up with the word “heirs” as in I’m an heir to the throne and the word “errors” when he was translating.

 

When the preacher began his sermon, he noticed that his audience did not seem very impressed, but he kept on going anyway.  Then he became worried that he may have offended some people, so he asked the substitute translator to tell him what he had said to the people.

 

This is what the translator said.

"My brothers, you and I who are here today are mistakes of God's kingdom.  We are the mistakes of God and fellow mistakes with Christ, who is the mistake of all God has made."

 

We know that God does not make mistakes. The point of the story is that we are not mistakes of God. We’re not fellow mistakes with Christ and we’re certainly not mistakes of God’s kingdom.

 

In fact we’re a part of the kingdom which God spoke about way back in the Old Testament.  Before we get into the meaning of the parable, I would like to say a few words about the kingdom.

 

1. The word “kingdom” literally means “reign or rule” and the idea of The Kingdom has its roots in the Old Testament.  From the beginning the people of Israel are described as being unique. They’re described as the chosen people of God. They are the recipients of His special favor and God Himself was their king.
   22. The Bible says in Judges 8:22-23 – “22. Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us, both you and your son, and your grandson also; for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian.'' 23. But Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you.''”
       1. The people wanted Gideon to rule over them and be their king, but he tells them that God is their leader.
       2. God Himself will rule over them.   If you have a kingdom, you need a king to rule over that kingdom.
   23. They said to Samuel in 1 Samuel 8:5 – “"Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make for us a king to judge us like all the nations.''”
       1. Samuel wasn’t very impressed with this saying.  
          1. First of all they had a king, namely God.
          2. Second in saying this they were saying that to “take over” from Samuel they wanted to have a selection made.

• Third they referred to Samuels ways not Gods ways.

1. Fourth they wanted to be like the other nations, something that they were not supposed to desire.

2. Samuel prayed to God and God said to him in 1 Samuel 8:7- “"Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.”
3. In other words, they already had a king, God was their king, so the Israelites weren’t rejecting Samuel.   They were rejecting God Himself.
4. Even though they rejected God we know that God gave them a king, King Saul, but as time went on, those who were truly wise, recognized that there was no other authority except God’s authority.

1. Psalm 103:19 – “The Lord has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all.” The Lord established His throne where?   In heaven. What does His kingdom rule over? All.
   1. It was during the days of King David and King Solomon that the Israelite’s kingdom reached its peak, but as we know even this was short lived.
      1. They lost their kingdom because they rejected their true king.
      2. They lost their kingdom because they rejected God’s commandments, and they ended up in captivity.
   2. It’s during this time in captivity that the prophet Jeremiah gets the word from the Lord that we read of in Jeremiah 30:8-9 – “8. `For it shall come to pass in that day,' says the Lord of hosts, `That I will break his yoke from your neck, and will burst your bonds; foreigners shall no more enslave them. 9. But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.”.
2. During the same time Daniel said in Daniel 2:44 – “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”
   1. God was saying that there was a time coming when He would reaffirm His kingly reign.
   2. His people would honor Him because they’re called by His name.
   3. After John the baptizer was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. He said in Mark 1:15 – “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Jesus said a little later in Mark 9:1 – “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.” Did that time come? Has this kingdom arrived?
   4. Surely it has or there would be some very old people walking around.  
   5. Now in Acts 2:47 we find people being added into that kingdom. As we understand it that kingdom is called the church. “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Remember we are dealing with a spiritual kingdom, not a physical one.
3. Let’s read the parable again and see if we can understand how this spiritual kingdom grows.  Mark 4:26-29 and I paraphrase; “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come." [NIV]
   1. The first thing we need to notice is that the kingdom is not something that sprung up in a moment.  It was planned. It was prepared for and brought into being in the past and even now awaits its final consummation.  In other words, it started its life in the mind of God.
      1. It was spoken of by the Old Testament prophets, like we looked at a moment ago.
      2. Jesus said it was near.
      3. In Acts 2 we see the spiritual kingdom was established.
      4. If you are a Christian today, then you can be sure that you are part of the kingdom.
   2. In Colossians 1:13-14 Paul describes the kingdom as; “The kingdom of the Son He loves.” It says; “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” [NIV]  We see very clearly that we’ve been transferred into this kingdom because we’re Christians.
   3. In Hebrews 12:28-29 it says; “28. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29. For our God is a consuming fire.” We are in that kingdom now.
   4. In 2 Peter 1:10-11, Peter says; “10. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11. for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Just as a side note whenever the Bible talks about the everlasting kingdom, it’s talking about heaven itself.
   5. Folks, this is the central truth taught in “The parable of the growing seed.”  The kingdom spreads all over the world. That’s what we’re going to look at tonight, the growth of this spiritual kingdom.  I want to share with you 4 points but don’t worry I’m not going to use a huge amount of time.

• The 1st point is this, Kingdom growth is gradual.  As in the production of grain, nature works step by step. There is a step-by-step process by which it grows. Nearly all of nature’s marvels are formed gradually.
  1. I like to watch TV programs about nature, about wildlife, especially wildflowers. If they film a plant growing what they do is speed the film up so that you can watch it grow, and it’s amazing to see the process of its growth.
     1. Those of us who are gardeners like Juanita, we will plant a seed in the ground and after a while you will see the results of that growth, but the actual process of growth is barely visible.
     2. It’s the same with the kingdom of God.   Jesus says in the 2nd half of Mark 4:28, “First the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.”
     3. If we were to apply this parable to an individual person, we would get a lesson in patience.  Christian growth is gradual.
        1. When a baby is born, they don’t walk and talk straight away.
        2. It is gradual and they need to be encouraged to walk and talk.

• The more they try, the more confident they get at it.

4. It’s the same with baby Christians.   We shouldn’t expect them to be able to preach a sermon or teach a lesson in a ladies’ class right after their baptism.  They need time to learn the simple things about Christianity. Things like learning how to pray, learning how to read and study God’s word by themselves. How to meditate on Gods word and understand how it commentates on itself to lead to fuller understanding.
5. When we think about it, just as it’s possible to expect too little of ourselves, it also must be possible that we expect too much of ourselves.   In our moral and spiritual development we sometimes want to take giant steps, and if we fail, we end up being so disappointed, disheartened in ourselves. We need to learn to walk before we can run.  The mature Christians among us should never forget nature’s lesson, the necessity of gradual growth.

1. You know people have come up with hundreds of ways to get others into their assemblies.
   1. They believe they have good plans to get people to join.
   2. Some use musical instruments to attract people into becoming members, some say, “Look how spiritual I am, I speak in tongues.”
   3. People are into all sorts of things to attract other people.
   4. We need to remember that a person doesn’t go to bed a sinner and wake up the next morning as a Christian. It doesn’t happen like that.
   5. We need to be patient and trust God.
2. Acts 5:14 – “And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,” We need to let new Christians develop gradually and we need to trust God to add people to His kingdom.

1. Second, kingdom growth is orderly.   Mark 4:26-27 – and I paraphrase; “A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.”
   1. When the seed is buried in the soil, its very existence seems to be vulnerable, but the seed’s growth is marked by an orderly process.
      1. Just like we go through different stages in our physical growth, it’s the same with the kingdom of God.
      2. We know that we go through different phases.
      3. When children are born and they go through the teething process, then they grow a little more and go through the terrible twos, threes, fours and fives.
      4. Next they start to go through the rebellious stage, which starts at about age 6 or so and goes on until they are 18 years old after which it gradually tapers off for most.   That was a joke by the way.
      5. In between all that, they go through what we call puberty, which is another fun part of growing up. Most people grow in the same order, infancy, childhood, youth and adulthood.
      6. It’s almost impossible to tell when one period ends and another period starts, but at the same time the different stages of development can be clearly recognized.
   2. It is in like manner with Christian development.
      1. Peter says that recent converts to Christianity are like newborn babies.
      2. 1 Peter 2:1-3 – “1. Therefore, laying aside all malice, all guile, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2. as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3. if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
      3. Peter tells us that we have a duty to grow as Christians. Sadly, there are some Christians who aren’t new but haven’t grown much either.
      4. 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 – “1. And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3. for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 4. For when one says, "I am of Paul,'' and another, "I am of Apollos,'' are you not carnal?”
         1. In other words Paul is saying, “You guys are still like little babies, when are you going to grow up and act like the mature Christians you are supposed to be?”
         2. Someone can be a Christian for a long time, but they’ve never grown.
      5. Then Paul reminds those who are mature in 1 Corinthians 14:20 – “Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.” He is saying, regarding evil be as infants, but in your thinking be adults.
      6. Jesus says in Matthew 5:48 – “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” We know the word we translate here as “perfect” here means “complete”.   It means maturity.
         1. In other words, there are different stages of Christian growth that we all need to be aware of.
         2. Certainly, a new Christian may do and say things that aren’t very mature because of a lack of knowledge and understanding.  Those who are mature should recognize this and give them a helping hand in their understanding.
         3. I have in other assemblies noticed that some Christians seem to complain and grumble a lot.   I now suspect that one of the reasons they complain and grumble all the time is that they haven’t grown up in Christ, they are still babies.  The point is every Christian should be growing spiritually.
      7. Ephesians 4:15 – “But, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head Christ ”  We’ve all got a duty to grow up, but we’ve also got a duty to understand that Christian growth is a process, it takes time.  We need to be patient with those who are slow to develop.
   3. Third, the kingdom growth is from God. Can anyone here explain how things grow?   Scientists understand it is because of the coding in the cells but taking a seed into the laboratory and growing it, they still can not delineate what makes a seed turn into a flower.
      1. Mark 4:26-28 - “A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain.” [para] A farmer can do a great many things to the soil.   He can break up the soil, plant crops that add nutrients to the soil, make the soil looser by adding sand or mulch, modify the soil pH with additives, fertilize the soil, weed the soil but he himself does not make the seed grow.
      2. W. Dicus says in the 3^rd stanza of the song My God and I…
      3. “Secure, is life from mortal mind, God holds the germ within His hand, though men may search, they cannot find, For God alone does understand.”
         1. He’s saying the same thing that Job is saying in Job 36:26-29 – “26. "Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him; nor can the number of His years be discovered. 27. For He draws up drops of water, which distill as rain from the mist, 28. Which the clouds drop down and pour abundantly on man. 29. Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds, the thunder from His canopy?”

He’s saying that the great minds can try to understand how the universe was formed, how the human body works, but they’re never going to be able to fully do so.

1. He’s saying that people can search but they will never fully understand because it is only God who truly understands these things.
2. The lesson here is that there are some things that God alone can do.

1. It’s the same in the spiritual kingdom of God.
   1. Whatever growth takes place in His kingdom is due to the operation of God.
   2. We may sow the seed, but we cannot make it germinate in the human heart.
   3. Colossians 4:3-4 – “3. meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, 4. that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.” We can select the seed and prepare the soil (human hearts) through prayer. We can tend and weed through teaching, but we ourselves can not make the seed grow and we need to understand that.
   4. I know sometimes we beat ourselves up when nothing happens, especially if it is family or someone we love greatly. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:6 – “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.” How does God do that?  
      1. There is the story about a young skeptic who sat in the church assembly one morning when the preacher was speaking about the wilderness wandering.   The preacher made a statement about how the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years and their sandals never wore out.
      2. The young skeptic shouted, “Rubbish, how’s that possible?”

• The preacher looked at the young man and said, “God!”

1. The young skeptic said, “Oh, I understand.”
2. The preacher said, “No son, nobody really understands.”

5. We don’t understand how God makes the seed grow, but we know He does.   Do you know how we know He does? Because we are here as Christians today, aren’t we?

1. Yet consider, just because God makes the seed grow, that doesn’t let us off the hook does it?
   1. Paul says to Philemon in Philemon verse 4-6 – “4. I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, 5. hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, 6. that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”
   2. We still have a responsibility to carry out, because we still have a vital part in the growing process and our part is an active one. We are His hands.
   3. We accept that we can’t make the seed grow, but we still need to make sure that the conditions are right so that the seed will have a chance to grow.   We till the soil, water when needed, remove the rocks and pull the weeds.   We do as Adam was instructed, tend the garden.
2. John 4:24 – “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” You see at the end of the day the kingdom belongs to God and the growth of the kingdom will be from God.
   1. The sower must sow God’s seed and wait patiently for God to do His part.
   2. We must sow the seed, but it is God who causes the growth, it is God who gives fruit. We are tenders.
3. That brings us to the last part.  In the kingdom it is God who harvests the fruit.
   1. Jesus says in Mark 4:29 – “But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” What’s He saying?  Jesus is saying that it is God who produces growth; hence the fruit, then when this fruit is ripe, again it is God who will bring the matter to a conclusion, not man.
      1. Man does not add someone to the kingdom, the church.   It is God who does the adding.
      2. The imperative “immediately” here indicates to us that when a person is ready we are not to delay in bringing them before God in baptism.

 

CONCLUSION:

It is God’s kingdom and we are His workers, we tend this garden. Look with me now at James 5:7-8 – “7. Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”

 

Here again it talks about the farmer waiting for the precious fruit of the earth but now we are talking about the coming of the Lord.   For the people who have been born again, this is our hope.   For those who haven’t been born again this will be the day when they will wish they had never been born at all.    I will close with Revelation 14:14-16 – “14. And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. 15. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, "Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.'' 16. So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.” Judgment is certain.

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

 

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

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Reference Sermon

Mike Glover

 

 

Suggested song before the lesson: 668—Our God, He Is Alive

 

The Fruit of The Spirit - Joy and Peace

The Fruit of The Spirit - Joy and Peace

Galatians 5:22-23

 

INTRO:

Good morning.   Today we will have another lesson on the fruit pf the spirit.   This time I want to look at Joy and Peace.

 

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

 

We're going to begin in Galatians 5:22-23 – “22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23. gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”  

In working on these sermons, I noticed that my sermon on Joy was almost identical to my sermon on peace.   Rather than preach two similar sermons I have combined them. In addition Mark gave a great sermon on peace just a couple weeks back.

 

When we're talking about fruit, it carries the idea of a product. The fruit of the spirit is a product that comes from our walking in the spirit, being led by the spirit, and having a close relationship with God, to where we are walking and living by faith.   In other words, if you are a Christian this is going to be a product that comes from the relationship that you have with God your Father—joy and peace.

 

I never met anyone who does not desire to have peace in their life, an inner calmness, tranquility, quietness.  Although there are times some act like it.   Nor have I ever met anyone who does not desire joy.   When we're talking about joy, we’re not talking about laughing and comedy.  We're talking again about an inner quietness, a calmness with which you can have a smile on your face regardless of what's happening to you.

 

1. Joy and peace through the word of God - We're going to see in our sermon this morning that these fruits of the spirit, joy and peace are directly related to, connected to the strength of our relationship with God.
   119. Let’s look at Psalm 119. Here we will find there's a connection between joy and peace and our relationship with God through His Word. In Psalms 119:165 The text reads; great peace have those who love your law, and nothing causes them to stumble. If we look at Psalms 119:162 - I rejoice at your word as one who finds great treasure.
        1. We find one verse talking about rejoicing at Gods word, the next verse is talking about peace for those who love God’s law.   The connection between these two verses is that they have found the law God, the word of God.
        2. As Christians we understand God has given us the truth about ourselves.   The truth about where we came from.   The truth about our spiritual weaknesses and our flaws and our problems - and how to deal with them.  The truth about where we are going.
        3. God's word is not a set of chains keeping us from enjoying life, it is guidance to help us come to understand our life and get the maximum joy and peace and tranquility out of it. It is the one who finds the law of God, His word, who is going to find joy and peace.
   120. The same thing is stated again over and Jeremiah 15:16 your words were found, and I ate them and your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart for I am called by your name O Lord God of hosts.
        1. It is not just enough to say I believe the Bible is the word of God.   I assume everybody here this morning does, but that's not enough.
        2. You’ve got do something with it. In this text in Jeremiah, he didn't just find it.   It says he ate it, in other words he consumed it.   We are to digest it mentally, take it into our mind through our eyes and our ears, letting it fill up our mind and our heart.
        3. We will find that if we do not have the word of God in our mind, in our heart, we are not going to have a close relationship with God.
        4. We have studied this before.   The strength of our relationship is dependent upon communication and if we do not let God speak to us we will be missing out on something we desperately need in our life.
        5. All of us already recognize we desire joy, and we desire peace.   We need the word of God to have joy and peace.
   121. If you were to examine your life and you think wait a minute, I call myself a Christian and a member of the body of Christ why is it I am not experiencing the fruit of the spirit… what’s wrong?   You are not alone.   Many times, there are men and women in the body of Christ who say I am just not at peace.   There is no joy in my life
        1. There's turmoil in my life and yet I'm a Christian. What's wrong?
        2. We need to realize the answer to that question is in our personal relationship with God.   It is that relationship and the strength of that relationship that is going to bear this fruit.
        3. It's not just enough to know the word of God and that it is the word of God. You've got to take it into your mind and your heart. He says; and your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.
   122. In Proverbs 3:1-2 - my son do not forget my law but let your heart keep my commandments for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.   And in Isaiah 32:17 - The work of righteousness will be peace and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.
        1. Looking at these two verses together, the one in Proverbs is talking about not forgetting the law and keeping the commandments.   It's not enough to recognize the bible as the word of God. It's not even enough to just know what it says. You’ve got to use it.
        2. Indeed, we can know what the word of God says to do and not do it.  There are many in the world like this.  When we assemble and edify one another it's not that we must convince each other of what the truth is—it is encouraging each other to do what we already know and already believe the truth to be.
        3. God knows us better than we know ourselves.   He knows exactly how we are to live our life to get maximum fulfillment and peace and joy out of it. If we do not keep His commandments, we should not be surprised when our life has turmoil.   It's really that simple.
   123. The text we read next in Isaiah is talking about the work of righteousness.   If we are keeping His commandments and His righteousness in our life, - that will bring peace.
        1. The effect is going to be peace and quietness.   There it is… quietness, peace and joy.   If we say that I'm not experiencing joy, then we need to ask are we keeping His commandments.
        2. God's word is not there to destroy our life or make us miserable.  God's word is there to set us free so we can experience joy and peace.  
   124. Joy And Peace Through Our Faith In God – Another verse I would like us to look at is Romans 15:13.   Here again getting back to the relationship with God it says; Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
        1. This verse makes the point quite clearly. How are we filled with joy and peace?   By believing.  This gets back to our faith, our trust, our confidence in God and our relationship with God.
           1. I wonder sometimes if we realize we are not alone. He will never leave us nor forsake us.
           2. Do you believe that?   Do you believe that God is with you? Do you believe He knows your name? Do you believe He loves you? Do you believe He's in your life? That His hand is in your life?
           3. We need to realize that our answers to these questions are going to determine whether we are experiencing joy and peace.
           4. If you think you're alone, if you think you're facing all your struggles and all your battles by yourself, that God is not with you, God doesn’t care, or God’s not going to help you… you're not going to have joy and peace.
        2. 26:3 says; you will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. If you want to experience this peace, this perfect peace, it is going to come from your mind on God, your eyes on the Lord with total trust in Him.
           1. It's easy to talk about how much we trust God when everything's going well.   As long as the water is smooth everything goes fine.
           2. I look at it this way; when Peter and the Apostles saw Jesus coming to them walking on the water, they thought it was a spirit.
              1. Impetuous Peter said Okay if you’re the Lord bid me to come to you.
              2. Jesus said come.

• Peter stepped out and actually walked on the water a little bit. Think about that. He actually walked on the water for a few steps and then when he looked around him and he saw the wind was boisterous, the text says he began to be afraid and sink. Remember what Jesus said to him?   Oh, thou of little faith why did you doubt?

3. Why did Peter sink?   I cannot prove this, but I strongly suspect if it would have been a day when it was calm, there was no wind and he could've seen Jesus face to face and known all along that it was Jesus, by sight, Peter would have walked to Jesus.   But what Peter saw was the wind and the waves, and he became afraid, he lost his faith and began to sink.
4. We are the same way. If the water is smooth, there is no wind and everything's fine, we just think everything's OK in my life. I'm happy.  God is with me… When the storm comes, when we're surrounded by all kinds of things falling apart, it is then the real test of our faith shows up.
5. What the Lord wants from us is an unwavering faith and trust in the middle of the storm. It is easy to be at peace when the water's smooth, but the water isn’t always smooth. Trust in Him. Keep your mind focused on Him and realize He really is with you, and He is faithful.   He's not going to leave you. He is not going to forsake you. The Lord is pro nobis (for us)

1. In First Peter 1:8 - whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
   1. The text says we haven't seen him, but we love Him.   We have talked about that before. Not only do we love Him because we believe, but it goes on to say that we rejoice with inexpressible joy.
   2. Where two or three are gathered together in His name He is here in our midst.   Do we believe that? Do you believe that Christ who died on the cross for you is here with you right now?   Do we believe He is always with us?
   3. If we answer that question with a no, then we cannot expect to enjoy the fruit of the spirit.   It is by our trust in Him and by our faith and confidence in Him that we will come to experience this joy which is inexpressible.
2. The writer in Psalms put it this way in Psalms 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him.
   1. The writer says his heart trusted in Him, and he is helped.
   2. Because of this his heart greatly rejoices.
   3. Our experiencing of the fruit of the spirit is going to be directly proportional to our trust in God, our relationship with God, and the strength of that relationship.

• Joy And Peace Through Salvation In Christ - Let's continue in Philippians where Mark was a couple of weeks ago. If you do not recall what the primary theme of the book of Philippians is, I would say you will find it in Philippians 4:4; Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! It is an informal letter with no doctrinal arguments. It is a letter of love and gratitude. It is a tender, warm-hearted, loving friend and brother presenting the essential truths of the gospel in terms of friendly discourse. Paul found in them constant reasons for rejoicing.
  15. It was written by the apostle Paul when he was in prison. There were people that were preaching the gospel of Christ out of envy and strife. Philippians 1:15. He was facing the possibility that he may be executed.  
      1. What kind of letter would you expect from someone in prison, who may be convicted soon and there are those working against him?
      2. You would expect a very negative, woe is me letter, wouldn't you? Yet, the book of Philippians is the exact opposite.   The primary theme of it is rejoicing and it is not just saying rejoice, it says rejoice in the Lord.  It gets back to that relationship.  This is the whole focus of the book of Philippians.
      3. It is this joy and peace and contentment and tranquility that comes from the relationship with God.  You know what Paul said. I can do all things. How? Through Christ who strengthens me.   It always comes back to that.
  16. In Psalms 35:9 we read; And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord; It shall rejoice in His salvation.   Christians should be the happiest people in the world. We need to let that sink in.   We are children of God. The majority of us that are here this morning have obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are in Christ Jesus.
      1. The blood of Christ has cleansed you of your sins.  You have been reconciled to God. You are no longer an enemy of God.  You're a friend of God.
      2. He knows you. Your name is in the book of life. When we die, we get to go to be with the Lord which is far better.
      3. The whole point of the Philippians letter in chapters 1 and 2 tells us to live in Christ.
      4. Is the idea to stay alive?   That's clearly not it, is it?  I will rejoice in the Lord and stay with the Lord. If I die that's even better, I get to go be with the Lord.
      5. I don't see how anybody can meditate on the book of Philippians and not have peace or experience joy when they believe what it is teaching.   We are saved!
      6. Christians should be the happiest people on the face of the earth with that consciousness of our salvation, being reconciled to God, knowing we are going to heaven.  The image that Christians go around looking like we've been weaned on pickle juice, always groping and probing, thinking everything's terrible, everything stinks, and everything is negative it totally wrong.   It doesn't stink and it's not negative, it's great, it is glorious!
      7. We're going to heaven and we are going to experience eternal life with God almighty!
  17. Isaiah says in Isaiah 61:10 - I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. I dare say that most of us enjoy weddings. They're fun. Everybody is rejoicing. Everybody is happy and when the bride comes down the aisle everybody goes Wow! Everybody's happy.
      1. Folks, the church, that’s us, is the bride of Christ.   Through the blood of Christ, you have been cleansed. When you stand before God in the Day of Judgment it is going to be the most wonderful moment of your existence.
      2. John says in 1^st John 1:1-3 - That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life 2. the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us 3. that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
      3. Then John near the closing of the book says in 1^st John 5:13 - I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. [ESV]
      4. We ask our self; do we know that we have eternal life? If we don't know that, then something's wrong.    If you're sitting there thinking I'm not really sure I’m going to go to heaven, why?  If we think; I'm not sure I’m saved, why?  
         1. If we're living in sin, we may have a reason to be thinking that, but if you believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and you're keeping his commandments by faith, love the brethren, and when you do sin you ask God's forgiveness, and turn from it, then rest assured, you know Him.  
         2. Because you know Him you should know that you have eternal life and have the consciousness of your salvation.   Knowing; I’m right with God.   My sins have been forgiven.  Whatever it is that I have said and done that was separating me from God has been dealt with.   There is peace between myself and my creator and I am ready to go when I am called.

• It is from that consciousness that we learn to rejoice in the Lord and experience a joy that the text says is inexpressible because we know and believe that we have eternal life.

5. Nobody's life is always smooth, clear water.   There are good moments and then there are bad moments.  There are days when it seems like everything is going great and everything you touch turns to gold, everything is a wonderful blessing.  Then there are days, I'm sure you've experienced, that before nine a.m. comes, you're ready to hide.  
   1. I have had days where it seems like everything I touch falls apart.   Days when I was afraid to touch anything because everything breaks.   I wanted to go to bed, pull up the covers and wait for a better day.
   2. We need to remember that when those days come, we can still have joy; we can still have peace; even though everything's falling apart around us.

• Paul’s life was not a bed of roses by any means.   We know from scripture all the things that happened to him and the things that threatened. Life, even for Paul, was not a straight path.   More of a zig zag and that is the way it is for us.

1. Joy And Peace In Times Of Pain And Sorrow - Even though our life is a zig zag of high moments of good and then bad moments when everything drops out the bottom, our joy, our peace, our contentment, our quietness and our calmness can be, - listen to this, - constant.
   1. Our joy can be constant and not be taken from us by the changing of our environment, not be taken from us because of the storms of life. Psalms 42:5 - Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance. We've all been there.  The writer gives the answer, hope in God.
      1. Here again we're getting back to our relationship, our trust in God, our hope in God, confidence in God, faith in God.   Because of this we realize God's going to help us.  He's not going to leave us; He'll never leave us nor forsake us… even in the middle of the storm.
      2. Did God leave Paul when Paul was in prison? Read the 2^nd Corinthians letter in the 11^th and 12^th chapters with what Paul went through and ask yourself when did God leave Paul?
         1. When he was being beaten in Philippi did God leave him?
         2. When he was being stoned or shipwrecked did God leave him?

• He never left him, did He?

1. God allowed him to go through those things.

3. God's going to allow you to go through storms and trials and suffering, but he will help you. He will strengthen you.   He will be there for you.

1. Psalms 119:50 - This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life. Earlier we were talking about our relationship with God and by the strength of that relationship comes the strength of our joy and peace.
   1. We need to emphasize that there's a direct connection between the word of God and our joy.   When we find ourselves going through the storms of life we need to let God speak to us.
   2. I wonder, do we realize there are parts of the word of God that are given to us expressly for that purpose?   God’s speaking to us in the middle of the storm.
   3. I would encourage us that whenever the bottom drops out in our life and everything comes crashing down, that is when we go to the Word of God.   That's not the time to run from God and isolate yourself and try to stand alone and fix it all by yourself.  That's when we cling to God.
   4. That's when we draw strength from the Lord and learn the meaning of the verse, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
2. Often those who preach at funerals do so from the 1st Thessalonian It says in the close of the fourth chapter; Therefore comfort one another with these words. It's given to comfort people when they have loved ones who have died in the Lord. That part of the Word of God is given for a specific purpose.
   1. There are many of the verses in the Bible that will be useful to you in your life.   No matter what trial you're going through there are verses that hit you exactly where you are.
   2. God has given these verses for those moments in your life.   You need to feed on them, meditate on them, and let them sink into your heart and mind.  I'm telling you, brethren, it works, but you have to open your Bible and do it.
3. In Philippians 4:6-7 – we read; Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7. and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
   1. Again, what we see here is relationship.   God is speaking to us through His word and we are listening to Him and taking it into our heart and mind, and then we in turn are speaking to God, casting our cares upon Him because He cares for us.
   2. When we go through the trials of life, that's not a time to stop praying.   I strongly suggest that if you don't have a strong prayer life you need to start today.
   3. If we are not experiencing this peace and joy that we are talking about, we need to ask why. One thing we need to check is what kind of prayer life do we have?
   4. Let me put it this way to those who are husbands and wives. If you never talked to each other, what kind of relationship will you have?   I’m in general a quiet person.   Its one thing for a person to be quiet for a period of time but if they never talk, something's wrong isn’t it?   You need communication and the stronger the communication the stronger the relationship.  The more communication, the more understanding develops and the closer you get.   Talk with God.
   5. The verse begins by saying be anxious for nothing. That's telling us not to be worried. These verses indicate to me that there’s a storm going on, but there is no need to be anxious about it.
   6. So how do you deal with it?   by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.  What is the next phrase here? and the peace of God There is the peace.   It is the fruit of the spirit, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding.
   7. I would suggest to you that's not make believe.   This peace does actually exist and we can experience it.  It comes by casting our care upon Him and realizing He hears our prayers.  Having faith that the hand of God is in your life. You're not alone. He will hear your prayers.
4. Psalms 4:8 - I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. Here you are at the end of the day; and have you ever had a day that was so tough you were glad it was over? Here you are now in your bedroom and you close your day with prayer. You close your day meditating on the word of God and God being in your life. At the end of the day whenever you are close to God, you can close your eyes in peace.

 

CONCLUSION:

We’ll close with Psalms 30:5 - For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.

Just as our life is not a rocket taking off in a straight line where everything is always good and wonderful, your life is also not a rock that continues to drop with everything going bad.

It is a mixture of joy, and of trials; a mixture of wonderful blessings, and suffering.   Right now, as I'm speaking to you, every one of us has something wrong, don't we?   Something in our lives is wrong. It may be physical trials.   It may be physical ailments.  It may be loved ones dying. It may be financial struggles.   It may be spiritual battles we're going through.   We've all got something wrong but there's something else about all of us.  

 

There are a lot of things that are right. Aren't there? There are a lot of blessings. You are alive and you're here. There are a lot of physical blessings being showered upon us this very day. Then there are those spiritual blessings that we have in Christ Jesus and the knowledge that no matter how bad it may be, whatever suffering we're going through in the present life, is not worthy to be compared with the glory that's going to be revealed in us whenever we are with God Almighty.

 

Whenever we are in heaven and we will be, whenever we are there with God, and we will be, whenever we are experiencing that eternal life, we're not going to be concerned about a tough time back here on this earthly plane.   It will be a dark memory in the mist that we will probably give no thought to whatsoever because we will have reached our goal, what we're trying to get to; we will be with our God.

 

I'll close with Paul's statement.   He learned to be content in whatever state he was in.  His contentment and joy were not contingent, not dependent upon his environment and what was happening to him. How could he do that?   He could do all things through Christ.

 

The whole point of this lesson is if you want to experience the fruit of the spirit, you strengthen your relationship with God because that's where it comes from.  If the relationship is weak do not expect to enjoy the fruit of the spirit. It's a product that comes from our relationship with God.   It is because of our relationship with God we can experience the joy and peace which does not go away, which is constant, regardless of what happens to us.

 

There may be somebody here this morning who is not a member of the body of Christ.  If you believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God and you're willing to confess your faith and repent of your sins, we will be glad to assist you and baptize you. Your sins will be washed away. They'll be forgiven and when you make peace with God you will come to enjoy the peace of knowing that you're safe.

 

If you're a child of God and you wonder if you are saved, then consider why you are uncertain. Is there sin that you have committed that you haven't dealt with? If that is describing you, I encourage you to deal with it. Take it to God. Ask His forgiveness.   God is gracious and He is faithful.   The blood of Christ is there for you. You can be forgiven.  You're not going to be at peace with God until you know you're forgiven… and you know that.  Deal with the sin.

 

We'll pray for you. We'll pray with you. We will do the best we can to encourage you and strengthen you. If you are subject to the Gospel call in any way let us know while we stand and sing the song that has been selected.

 

 

 

Invitation song: 485 “Does Jesus Care”

Reference sermon by: Wayne Fancher

 

Hope For The Hopeless

A Living Hope for the Hopeless

Luke 24: 10-35

 

OPEN: A funny thing happened in Darlington, Maryland, several years ago. Edith, a mother of eight, was coming home from a neighbor’s house one Saturday afternoon. Things seemed too quiet as she walked across her front yard. Curious, she peered through the screen door and saw five of her youngest children huddled together, concentrating on something. As she crept closer to them, trying to discover the center of attention, she could not believe her eyes. Smack dab in the middle of the circle were five baby skunks. She STRONGLY HOPED that NO ONE would get SKUNKED.

Edith screamed at the top of her voice, “Quick, children...run!” Each kid grabbed a skunk and ran out.

 

A man told of going through his father’s possession’s after his dad died, and among the things he found was his father’s 7th grade report card. Back in the Fall of 1941 this 7th grade report card showed the grading scale on the back of it. There was A, B, C, D, F, and something he’d never seen before: the letter G!

 

Who would have thought there was a grade you could get that was below F. But back then there was. “F” of course meant FAILURE. But apparently there was something worse than an F ... a G! On the back of the report card, beside the letter G was this one-word explanation: “HOPELESS!”

 

In our text today, we find two men walking along the road, and their lives have become rated “G.” They have become hopeless. Their lives have fallen apart.

They said “Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people... our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” Luke 24:19-21

 

They had HOPED Jesus would be the answer to their dreams. They had HOPED He would change their lives. They had HOPED He would make a difference in their world... but He was dead now.

 

There was no longer any hope. They were filled with despair, defeat and discouragement.

Now, they HAD heard stories that Jesus WASN’T dead. “some (of the) women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that (Jesus) was alive.” Luke 24:22-23

But you can tell, by their conversation, these guys don’t believe it. Dead people tended to stay dead. For them, the stories of Jesus rising from the dead was just wishful thinking. They refused to believe in a “false hope.”

 

ILLUS: There was a recent movie where one of the heroes mockingly said “Don’t give me false hope.

And one of the other characters replied: “It’s not false hope if it’s possible.”

Hope in God is what makes us who we are.

Hope in God is the essence of our being as Christians.

 

David wrote: “Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who HOPE in his steadfast love” (Psalm 33:18). And again: “For you, O Lord, are my HOPE, my trust...” (Psalm 71:5).

 

As children of a living God, we need hope in our lives. In fact, we can’t SURVIVE without hope.

Song: My Hope is BUILT on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and RIGHTEOUSNESS!

 

ILLUS: An Air Force Instructor once wrote something called the Rule Of Threes: “You can survive 3 weeks without food;

You can survive 3 days without water;

3 hours without shelter;

Or 3 minutes without air,

BUT you CANNOT SURVIVE more than three seconds without hope.”

 

When I first read that I thought – “Yeah sure – you can’t survive without hope? Of course you can. I know plenty of people who survive without hope.

But then I got to thinking... this is a military expert explaining the truth that SOLDIERS cannot survive without hope.

 

For any of you HISTORY BUFFS reflect back on some of the greatest military battles of history.

The armies that lost their hope... lost the battles. They either believed that the other army was so powerful that they had no hope of stopping them, or they discovered that their leader had been killed or had run away.

Either way, because they’d lost hope, they often would turn and run; and when that happened the opposing army would chase them down and slaughter them on the field of battle.

 

Over the years we have seen churches that have lost their hope. We have seen preachers who have lost their hope. We have seen Elders, Deacons, Sunday School teachers, and just plain old good Christians who have lost their hope.

And when they lost their hope they were devastated.

 

They lost their faith, their trust and their confidence, and suddenly... there was nothing left but a shell of the Christian they once were. We need to understand as Christians, we cannot survive without hope.

 

Now what I found interesting about the story in Luke 24, is that these men (walking to Emmaus) didn’t realize who they were talking to. They didn’t realize it was Jesus.

 

I wonder why Jesus didn’t just say: “Hey guys, it’s me! I’m alive. It’s not a hoax! Here, put your fingers in the nail prints, put your hand in my side”

 

Didn’t Jesus say those exact words to someone else?

Thomas. So... Thomas gets a 5 minute “show and tell” and these guys on the road to Emmaus get a 3 hour dissertation. What’s going on here?

 

Well, this is my guess!

I believe Jesus took the time to deal with THEIR hopelessness so that we’d know how to deal with OURS. All have us have faced times in life when we’ve become discouraged, downhearted and filled with hopelessness.

Times when we’ve lost our jobs, or when our marriages start to fall apart around us, or when our health was deteriorating, or when People were mistreating us, or times when things just weren’t going right.

 

Most, if not all of us, have faced times when we felt boxed in and trapped.

I believe what Jesus did for these 2 men on the road to Emmaus was recorded for our encouragement and hope. I believe the things Jesus did for these men were tools God gives to US for times when we get discouraged.

 

Notice the first thing Jesus does. “And he said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Luke 24:25-27

 

What did He do there? He opened the Bible for them. Too many times, Christians forget that the Bible was the tool God gave us to give us encouragement. In fact, that’s what we’re told in Romans - “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have HOPE.” Romans 15:4

 

The scriptures were written so that we might have.... WHAT? (HOPE) The Bible is God’s tool to change our lives and give us hope. And it is a powerful tool.

Hebrews 4:12 tells us “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to the dividing the soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

 

There is power in the pages of your Bible. If you’re not reading it, you’re robbing yourself of the potential God wants to give you. It is in that book that we find power to become overcomers in a difficult and challenging world.

 

ILLUS: Back in 1942, a B17D crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, and 6 other men were adrift in 3 small rafts with no water and only four oranges. They tied their boats together, and drifted day after day. They were without food or water, tortured by the relentless sun by day and chilling cold by night, and constantly being stalked by sharks. It seemed impossible they could survive.

One of the men, Private Johnny Bartek, was a dedicated Christian who always carried a little New Testament with him so that he could have his daily devotions. And there, in the middle of the Pacific, Bartek had his daily devotions. It wasn’t very private, and eventually the other 6 men wanted to know what he was doing. When he explained to them about his daily Bible reading and prayer they asked they could be included. And so the men started having their daily devotions beginning at the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew.

 

When they got to Matthew 6:31-34... life changed for them. They read these words: “What shall we eat? What shall we drink? Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” And so, that’s what they began to pray for. As the men read those verses day after day, a remarkable series of miracles started happening.

 

Just when they were near starvation, a bird landed on Rickenbacker’s head. They grabbed it, carved it up for food, and used its innards for fishing bait. Just when they were near death by thirst, a cloud would drift over and fill their raft with water. Day after day as they read these verses, prayed, and claimed these promises, God would somehow send food and water.

 

Sometimes even a fish would jump into their raft. That went on for 21 days as they drifted under the blazing sun in middle of Pacific.

Lieutenant James Whittaker wrote "I don’t think there was a man of us who didn’t thank God for that little khaki covered book.

It led us to prayer and prayer led us to safety."

 

They found their hope in the pages of the Bible.

And the Bible has that kind of power. Its words can turn our hearts toward God, and when our hearts turn toward God we learn trust in Him... and then we have HOPE.

 

Now I want you to notice, when Jesus walked with the men to Emmaus, He didn’t just do a Bible study with them. He didn’t say “Let’s turn to the book of Leviticus and see if there is some kernel of truth we can apply to our lives today.”

 

Oh no. As He walked with them, He taught them about what the Bible said about His resurrection. “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”

 

It was a very targeted study of the Bible. A study that focused ENTIRELY on Jesus and what He had come to do. Now there’s all kinds of important things to learn out of the Bible but THE most important thing we can learn about --- is Jesus. Without Jesus, there is no hope. And without His death, burial and resurrection, this life is all you have. You live, you die, and you rot in the ground.

 

ILLUS: There’s an old Gospel hymn that declares: “I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today. I know that He is living, whatever men may say.” Jesus is our living HOPE!

 

That’s why I Corinthians 15:13-14 & 20 says: “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain... But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

 

Everything we are hinges on the living Hope of Jesus having lived, died, been buried and having risen from the dead. That’s why Jesus spent so much time focusing on what the Old Testament prophesied about WHO He was and WHAT He came to do.

 

That’s why Hebrews 2:14-15 HCSB version tells us (Jesus shared in our flesh and blood) so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death- that is, the Devil- and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.”

 

That’s why Baptism focuses on the fact that – to become Christians – God calls us to die with Christ, be buried in a watery grave and rise from the dead as Christ did. Just to become a Christian, we reenact the living Hope of a risen Savior.

And that’s why one of the great hymns of the faith says this

 

“I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today. I know that He is living, whatever men may say. I see His hand of mercy; I hear His voice of cheer; and just the time I need Him, He’s always near.

(Chorus) He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.”

 

And lastly, that’s also why we take of communion every Sunday. The Lord’s Table reminds us that Jesus came specifically to die for our sins. That’s what makes the last part of the story in Luke 24 so intriguing.

 

“... they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.’ So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.” Luke 24:28-31

 

Did you catch that? It was in the breaking of the bread that their eyes were opened and they saw who Jesus really was.

 

Now, most of you here are believers. You’ve already embraced the living Hope of Jesus by becoming Christians. Our problem isn’t so much that we don’t know what we have... it’s that we don’t share what we’ve been given.

You have a powerful tool called the Bible. You need to know it and then share it. I know you’re all smart people but none of us are smarter than God, and our words are not nearly as powerful as His. It’s time to start using God’s word to share God’s hope to a hopeless world.

 

And you’ve got a living Hope in Jesus. He offers something that many in this world do not have. When peoples’ lives fall apart around you, you need to tell them about a risen Savior who’s in the world today. A Savior that loves them so much that He wants to give them hope in a hopeless world.

 

INVITATION

 

Based on a sermon given

by Jeff Strite

Getting Ready for Heaven

Getting Ready for Heaven

2 Peter 3:10-18

 

There are three kinds of givers -- the flint, the sponge and the honeycomb. To get anything out of a flint you must hammer it. And then you get only chips and sparks. To get water out of a sponge you must squeeze it, and the more you use pressure, the more you will get. But the honeycomb just overflows with its own sweetness. Which kind of giver are you?

 

Verse 1) “There’s a great day coming, a great day coming. There’s a great day coming by and by. When the saints and the sinners will be parted right and left, Are you ready for that day to come?”

CHORUS: Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready for that Judgment Day?

 

Verse 2) There’s a bright day coming, a bright day coming. There’s a bright day coming by and by. But the brightness will be only for the ones that love the Lord. Are you ready for that Day to come?”

That’s a repeated question throughout Scripture: Are You Ready? In fact, one of the major teachings of Jesus was - you need to BE READY!

 

For example: Jesus told the story of ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13 who were part of a wedding ceremony. Back then marriages were more elaborate than the ones we have today. Part of the ceremony required the bridegroom would parade through city by night and fetch his bride from her father’s house and take her to the wedding party at his parent’s home. Part of that wedding procession included the virgins Jesus spoke of (they were kind of like bridesmaids).

 

Jesus explained that, as these virgins were waiting for the bridegroom to arrive, 5 of them were very foolish – they had no EXTRA oil for their lamps. But the other five were wise because they’d brought along extra oil – just in case. It was a good thing too, because the bridegroom was delayed, and by the time people shouted that he was coming the 5 foolish virgins were nearly out of oil for their lamps. They begged the other 5 virgins to give them some of their oil, but the wise virgins answered that there wouldn’t be enough for all of them – and that the 5 foolish girls would have to go get some for themselves.

 

While they were gone the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the foolish virgins came and asked the bridegroom to let them in. “But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

 

Jesus closed the parable with these words: Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Again and again, Jesus warned us ... BE READY!

 

In our text today, Peter tells us that very same message. In II Peter 3:10-11 He says: “The day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness”

BE READY!

 

The day of the Lord will come ... like a thief. And when that happens, there will be no more time to prepare. If you’re NOT ready, that ship will have sailed, and there won’t be another one, ever!

 

ILLUS: Let’s say a very wealthy person approaches you and says that he wants to send you on a 2 week trip to someplace you’ve always wanted to go to – all expenses paid. (Would you like that?).

There’s only one catch – because of the paperwork in lining up the trip he can’t tell you exactly when you’ll be leaving. It’s gonna be in the next few months. AND when he calls you may only have a few hours to get down to the Airport and catch your flight.

It is inconvenient... but you really want to go.

 

So how are you gonna prepare for this trip? Well – you might have to clear things down at the office or factory, or wherever you have commitments for the next few weeks. You’ll have to get your passport. You’ll have to get shots.

You’ll have to ask someone to take care of your pets and get your mail. And then you’re going to pack (SUITCASE). When are you going to start preparing for this free trip? NOW!!!!

 

Not later, because you don’t know when you’ll have to leave and if you want to get on that plane you better prepare now!!!! You realize – if you ain’t ready, you ain’t going.

 

And that’s what Peter is telling us. Prepare NOW!!! Because if you ain’t prepared, you ain’t going. But, how do you prepare for this trip – this trip to heaven?

Well, you don’t have to get a passport or shots, and you don’t have to have anyone take care of your pets or your mail.

And the suitcase isn’t going to do you any good (you’re not going to be able to take anything with you anyhow).

 

But Peter does tells us HOW we should prepare. 1st – he says (to be ready to go) we need to be holy and godly.

Now, what does that mean?

Well, it’s not that hard. Holy means “set apart”

and godly means you live for God. If you put those 2 together, Peter’s telling us to set ourselves apart (from world) to live for God.

 

It’s that simple. At least... in principle it is.   You see, a lot of people struggle with that idea because they love the things of this world more than they love God.

One of the saddest statements in the Gospels in John 12:42-43 tells us that: “... many even of the authorities believed in (Jesus), but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.”

 

I’m going to ask you a few questions about this – do NOT raise your hand... just think about how you’d answer:

Are there times you don’t talk about God because you’re afraid you’ll offend someone? Or you’re afraid they’ll make fun of you? Or you’re afraid they won’t want to have you around?

 

Do you depend upon the approval of others... or the approval of God?

WHAT you depend upon says a lot about whether or not you want to be holy and godly ... OR if you want to blend in with everyone else .

 

ILLUS: I came across an article about the South Pacific island of Tonga. Something severed the internet cable to the island. And the title of the article read “Tonga sent back to 'dark ages' after underwater Internet cable severed.” It’s affected their e-mails, airline bookings, university enrollment, wiring of money and has prevented businesses from processing credit and debit cards. It has literally thrown that small country into chaos ... all because they depended upon that cable for their daily lives.

 

Here’s the deal... what do you depend upon for your daily life?

Do you depend on the approval or others OR God?

If it came down to a choice of whether you lost the approval of others OR... if you lost you’re the approval of God... which would you choose?

 

Now, that may sound kind of harsh, but listen to these words of Jesus: “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 10:32-33

 

The Apostle John writes in 1 John 2:15: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

 

That’s what it means to live a life of holiness and godliness.

To be so much in love with God that it doesn’t matter what others think. You are going to set yourself apart for him!!!

So, 1st – to prepare yourself for Heaven... you need to set yourself apart from world and follow God.

2ndly, Peter tells us in II Peter 3:13-14

“according to God’s promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.”

 

We should STRIVE (or be diligent) to be found without spot or blemish!! Holiness and godliness speaks about WHO we’re committed to. We set ourselves apart to follow God.

BUT striving to be without spot or blemish is all about HOW we should behave as someone who follows God.

 

The spots and blemishes are the sins we commit. The things we SAY, DO, and THINK. We’re all going to mess up once in a while but we should never accept our sins as normal.

 

ILLUS: It’s like going out to eat somewhere. You’re wearing your Sunday best. Your shirt or blouse is white and (horrors) you spill something on your best white shirt/blouse. Have you ever done that?

What’s your first reaction? You’re angry... you’re upset.

This is your Sunday best white shirt/blouse and now it is stained. The rest of the garment may still be pure and white but the stain stands out and it makes you feel awkward. It embarrasses you!!

So what do you do? Well, when you get home, you spray that stain with a stain remover and you wash it!

The stain is not normal. You don’t like it.

You don’t want it, and so you strive to remove that spot or blemish.

 

That’s the difference between those who are committed to Jesus and those who aren’t. Those who AREN’T committed to Jesus tend to ignore the spots and blemish of their lives.

 

They’re kind of like the guy you’ve eaten with who is wearing a shirt that you can tell what he’s eaten over the past few weeks by the stains that are still on his shirt.

He doesn’t care! He doesn’t even try to hide his stains.

 

But those who love Jesus aren’t satisfied with just allowing the lives to permanently be part of their lives. They refuse to make excuses, they refuse to try and hide the sin.

 

When they sin they want the spot removed from their souls.

But what do we use for a “stain remover.”

Well, if you don’t belong to Christ, the first step is become a Christian – believe in Christ, repent of your sins, confess Jesus as God’s Only Son, and be buried in the waters of baptism rising up to become a new creation.

 

But if you’re already a Christian and you’ve sinned?

Well, you turn to I John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God calls on us to CONFESS our sins, and He will be faithful to remove them for us.

 

ILLUS: Confession is what God has always asked His people to do - but it has always seemed to be the hardest thing He’s asked.

Do you remember the story of Adam and Eve? They ate of the fruit God commanded them not to eat... and then God comes for a visit. Do you remember what Adam and Eve did? They hid!

God asked “Adam where are you?” And do remember what Adam replied? “I was hiding because I was naked.”

That didn’t turn out to well for Adam and Eve.

 

When Cain killed his brother Abel God comes along and asks him “Where is your brother Abel?”

But Cain hides behind his comment “Am I my brother’s keeper.” That didn’t turn out to well for him either.

All God asks is that we “fess up” and admit we’ve fallen short... then He removes the stain and we start all over again with a new “shirt.”

 

So 1st – (in order to prepare ourselves for our trip to Heaven) we need to set ourselves apart from this world to follow God. And 2nd – we strive to remove the stains of sin from our lives.

 

Lastly, Peter warns us to be careful not to lose our “STABILITY.” “There are some things in (Paul’s writings) that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable TWIST TO THEIR OWN DESTRUCTION, as they do the other Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of LAWLESS people and lose your own stability.” II Peter 3:16-17

 

You would think that if somebody quotes the Bible you could trust them. But that’s not always true. Peter WARNS us here that there are people out there who will warp and twist the Bible so it says what THEY want it to say.

Sometimes these folks have Ph.D.s and are respected scholars.

 

You see, there are very religious people out there who are LAWLESS. When the Bible disagrees with them, they warp and twist it. But notice what Peter says about them: They “twist (the Bible) to their own destruction.”

 

Now, that’s scary. These folks (and the people who listen to them) aren’t gonna BE READY when Jesus comes back. And if they ain’t ready – they ain’t going.

 

Why would God be so angry with these people?

Because it’s ONLY in the Bible that we learn about righteousness. And about God’s will for our lives. And about Jesus and WHO He is and WHAT He’s done for us.

When these folks undermine God’s Word they work at weakening our faith and our confidence.

Don’t let them do that! Because you don’t want to go where they’re gonna go.

 

CLOSE: The story is told of a man who rushed railroad train station one morning and, almost breathlessly, asked the ticket agent: "When does the 8:01 train leave?"

"At 8:01," was the answer.

"Well," the man replied, "it is 7:59 by my watch,

7:57 by the town clock,

and 8:04 by the station clock. Which am I to go by?"

 

"You can go by any clock you wish, but you cannot go by the 8:01 train – it’s already left.”

 

Be ready! Because if you’re not ready, you’re not going. That’s why the Bible stresses the immediacy of making your decision to follow Christ. As it says in II Corinthians 6:2: "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation"

 

INVITATION

 

Based on a sermon given

by Jeff Strite

When Peace Rules the Day

When Peace Rules the Day

John 20: 19-21

 

OPEN: GOT STRESS?

"The population of this country is 200 million.

84 million are retired. That leaves 116 million to do the work.

There are 75 million in school, which leaves 41 million to do the work.

Of this total, there are 22 million employed by the federal government.

That leaves 19 million to do the work.

4 million are in the armed forces, which leaves 15 million to do the work. Take from that total the 14.8 million who work for state and city governments and that leaves 200,000 to do the work.

There are 188,000 people in the hospital at any given time,

leaving 12,000 to do the work.

Currently, there are 11,998 people in jail.

That leaves just two people to do the work - you and me.

And you’re just sitting there listening. No wonder I’m tired and stressed!"

 

Dr. Don Colbert wrote a book called “Stress Less”

and noted that 75 to 90 % of all visits to primary care physicians were stress related.

He said Americans consume five billion tranquilizers,

five billion barbiturates, three billion amphetamines,

and sixteen tons of aspirin every year.

 

Much of this 'medicine' is being taken to help alleviate stress

or the resulting headaches and pain associated with stress!

What causes stress?

Stress is caused by - Worry and fear.

 

What causes worry and fear?

Well worry and fear happen when there’s something that is happening...or CAN happen... that I can’t control.

 

You could be worrying about your job, your family, your health, your finances, or your possessions... and the fear that you might lose one of them.

Essentially, there becomes something in your life you can’t control or you’ve lost control or... and panic sets in.

 

ILLUS: A few years ago I went to the dentist. He put this mask over my nose and tells me to breathe deeply of the gas. It was supposed to help me RELAX as he worked on my teeth. Apparently, it works for lots of folks... but not for me. As the gas began to go thru my system, I felt like I was losing control of my body... and I began to panic.

That’s how a lot of people react when they believe there’s something in their lives they can’t control.

 

In our text today John 20:19, we’re told that 19 when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and *said to them, “Peace be with you.”

The doors are locked. Why are the doors locked?

Because the disciples are afraid! Why are they afraid?

They’re afraid because the Jews had had Jesus put to death and Disciples are pretty sure they’re next.

They’re worried, they’re stressed out, they have no control over their fate... they’ve begun to panic!

 

Now was their FEAR real? Well... it’s possible.

Someone one said: “Just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean someone’s not out to get me.”

A lot of really dangerous and powerful people had wanted Jesus destroyed. And it wasn’t unreasonable to believe these same people would want destroy to them too.

But whether their fear was justified or not... they’ve locked the door, barred the windows, and they’re HIDING in this room.

And they ARE afraid!

 

And then Jesus shows up. And He gives them... PEACE.

Jesus had promised “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27

 

And in Matthew He said “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29

 

One of the major prophecies about the coming Messiah in Isaiah declared...: “unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; ... and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, prince of PEACE.

Of the increase of his government AND OF PEACE THERE WILL BE NO END.” Isaiah 9:6-7

 

And that’s why Peter wrote: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

 

Now, that’s great theology! That’s wonderful stuff! But just exactly HOW do we do lay hold of His peace?

Well, I believe the answer to that question is part of the reason we’re being told this story about the disciples in John 20.

They’re not feeling “the peace” right now.

They’re afraid and their lives have fallen apart.

But then... Jesus shows up. And Jesus does some things that change their lives ...

and can change ours too!

Notice the first thing Jesus does: He appears to them and says “Peace be with you.” And He doesn’t say it just once... he says it twice.

 

Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “peace be with you.” ... Jesus said to them again, “peace be with you.” John 20:19-21

 

Now, in some religious circles, this is a religious greeting. When Muslims greet one another they’ll often say “Peace be unto you.” And the reply will be “peace be also upon you.”

But that’s not what’s going on here though. This is not a greeting. This a declaration. This a promise.

 

Earlier in His ministry Jesus said: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

 

That’s what Jesus had said back then, BUT now - in this locked room - Jesus has come so that they can have that peace. It’s like He’s saying “peace IS with you!”

What exactly has Jesus DONE that would give them peace?

Well, 1st He was THERE with them.

 

ILLUS: There is a true story of a woman who was suffering from depression and went to talk with her counselor. Hers was a truly tragic tale. Her daughter had been killed, her husband was unfaithful, and now she began to believe was about to lose her job. The counselor asked her:

"When the world crashes in on you, to whom do you go?" After a long pause she said, "I guess I just go to myself."

 

Later, she said the one word that most described her was "alone." She didn’t have anybody who was THERE for her.

Now, we don’t have to worry about that with Jesus. We have this promise: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

 

We have the promise that Jesus will never abandon us and that He will ALWAYS be there with us.

But even a lot of Christians have trouble with this.

 

Because, I mean, Jesus appeared physically to the Disciples, but He’s never done that for us. I realize there are times you can “feel Jesus presence” in the room with you... but, as far as I know, He’s never appeared physically to any of us. And so the question arises: How can I have His peace WITHOUT His physical presence?

 

Well, believe it or not, it is possible. That what Paul writes this in Philippians “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice... the Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the PEACE OF GOD, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus... Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me — practice these things, and the GOD OF PEACE WILL BE WITH YOU.” Philippians 4:4-9

 

ILLUS: Paul’s saying that you don’t have to SEE Jesus to know that He’s there. For example: How many of you, in the past couple of minutes have breathed? Of course you have. If you hadn’t breathed, you’d have passed out by now.

You need air to survive. But have you ever seen air?

Of course not. But you know it’s there because it’s what gives you life.

In the same way you don’t need to SEE Jesus to know that He’s there. All you need to do is focus on what He’s done in your life – rejoice in His blessings - and you’ll be reminded of His power and love. You’ll know He’s there, and you will have his peace.

 

One person put it this way: “Peace rules the day when Christ rules the mind.”

The 2nd thing Jesus did for His disciples, took me by surprise. You see, I’ve always focused on the part of this story where Thomas hasn’t gotten to see Jesus the first time around and refuses to believe He’s risen from the dead until he can see his hands and side. Then Jesus shows up and tells Thomas to touch His hands and put his hand in the wound in His side.

 

I had never caught the fact that – before Jesus did this with Thomas – He’d done it with the other disciples. We’re told, here in John 20, that Jesus appears to the other disciples before He meets with Thomas and “... he showed them his hands and his side.” John 20:20

 

Now, why would He do that? Why bother to have them focus on the wounds in His hands and side? Well, too often many Christians forget that Jesus can do “stuff.” That certainly happened to the disciples. Many times, even after Jesus had done all kinds of miracles, the disciples had a problem believing Jesus could do OTHER STUFF.

 

For example – a little after Jesus had performed the miracle of feeding 1000s of people with just a few loaves of bread and fish, we’re told that the disciples and Jesus had crossed over to other side of the Galilee and the disciples suddenly realized they’d forgotten to bring bread along with the. It says “(the disciples) began discussing among themselves, saying, ‘We brought no bread.’” Matthew 16:7

And Jesus gets kind of upset with them. “Guys, we just got done feeding 1000s with just a few loaves of bread, and you are worried about where you’re going to get bread! THINK!!!”

 

Keith Hartsell of Wheaton, Illinois, was driving around with a friend of his in California, when he noticed that his friend's cell phone was locked with an unusual password -- pro nobis.

Keith asked him what pro nobis meant and why he chose that for a password. Keith's friend told him it was Latin and it meant "For Us," and then he suddenly started choking up.

Keith thought, "Why would those two Latin words cause so much emotion?"

 

Then his friend composed himself and explained that after walking through deep personal pain, true healing came when he learned that God is "for us" -- or the Latin phrase pro nobis.

Keith's friend said that after experiencing tough times throughout his teenage years, he entered a season when he assumed that God didn't care or that God had given up on him. But he finally found hope through those two simple words -- pro nobis (for us).

You see, when he decided to believe that God was pro nobis, that God had even sent Christ to die for him, he could then decide to lay down his life for others.

 

I believe in a Jesus who can show me his hands and his side. And because of that... I believe in the promise: “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:32

 

So, to have His peace, the 1st we need to remember that Jesus is always there for us. And the 2nd is to remember that He has done, and can do, mighty things in our lives.

 

But Jesus did one more thing that brought them peace. He said to them: "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." John 20:21

 

Did you catch that? At the heart of the peace Jesus gives us is a commission... a job to do. You see, Jesus didn’t give us His peace just so we could sit around and watch a movie or go out to eat. Not that there’s anything wrong with those things. I like to go watch a movie, and I like going out to eat.

 

The thing is – too many people believe Jesus saved them so they could kind of drift through life and enjoy themselves.

They think Christianity is all about putting in an hour or two each Sunday, singing songs, praying, taking communion and hearing a sermon – and then they can go about their daily lives without getting too “religious.”

 

But that’s not the way this works. Do you remember Jesus saying “TAKE MY YOKE UPON YOU, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29

Farmers used a yoke so that their oxen could help plow the field. So when Jesus said – put on my yoke upon you – He was saying He had a job for you to do. Put His yoke on and pull the plow together. And, if you and I allow Him to use us we “will find rest for our souls” (peace).

Now... how does that work?

 

ILLUS: Imagine that your phone is ringing, and you answer it. You the recognize voice, but it’s not somebody that you’d ordinarily talk with. The person on the other end of the line is someone who’s really important. Someone you admire and respect. It could be a famous singer, or a movie star or a politician you respect.

 

Take a moment to picture someone on the other end.

And they have called YOU to ask you for a favor.

Now you didn’t think they knew you from Adam, but they took the trouble to look up your phone number, they took the time to call you up personally. And they’ve called you because they thought enough of you to believe that only you could do what they needed done.

 

How would that make you feel? (I’d feel pretty good).

Will you do what they need done (I would! In a heartbeat).

It wouldn’t matter what else was happening in your life.

It wouldn’t matter what was bothering you, depressing you, making you fearful.

Suddenly, you were worth something.

This person was counting on you.

And you’d do whatever they wanted done, no matter what it cost. Because they thought you were important enough to entrust with an important task.

 

CLOSE: Now most of you here are Christians. But even you will struggle with worry and fear. Peace can be difficult for even the most dedicated believer. But the keys to laying hold of the peace Jesus can give us to:

1. Believe that Jesus is THERE and won’t leave you. He’ll always be there for you.

 

2. Believe that Jesus has done great things in the past... and that He will do great things in you future.

 

3. And believe Jesus knows your names. He cares about what happens in your life and He believes so much in you that He has something He wants to give you. A mission that gives your life value.

 

But if you don’t belong to Jesus, you don’t have those promises. That’s why we offer an invitation at the end of every service....

(INVITATION)

 

Based on a Sermon given

by Jeff Strite

The Lost Son

The Lost Son

Luke 15:11-32

 

INTRO:

Good evening.   We continue our look at the parables.   Tonight we will look at the parable of ‘The Lost Son’ which is found in Luke 15:11-32. Also we are going to sum up the parables of “The Lost Sheep and The Lost Coin” as we go along.

Usually we read the text together before the lesson but this evening it’s a lengthy text so we’re just going to read it as we go along.

Most people know the parable of “The Lost Son” pretty well, yet before we make some applications with this parable let’s look at the background to it.

 

Under Jewish Law the terms by which a father assigned his inheritance was quite specific.   How specific?   Let’s look at part of the law in Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 21:15-17 – “15. "If a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, and they have borne him children, both the loved and the unloved, and if the firstborn son is of her who is unloved, 16. "then it shall be, on the day he bequeaths his possessions to his sons, that he must not bestow firstborn status on the son of the loved wife in preference to the son of the unloved, who is truly the firstborn. 17. "But he shall acknowledge the son of the unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.”

 

Deuteronomy 21:17 suggests that typically the eldest son received two shares and other sons one each. A father could, by virtue of a testament, designate a younger son as the “firstborn” and reassign the right to a double share to him. He could not do so, however, if he was married to multiple women and had previously chosen to “hate” (probably meaning “demote”) the mother of the biologically oldest son. In this case, the oldest retained the status of firstborn. Quite specific.

 

The first born is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

In other words with two sons, two thirds of the father’s property went to his firstborn son, and so the son who went away in the parable we’re going to read would only get one third of that inheritance.

 

1. During Old Testament times a person didn’t have to wait until their father died to get their inheritance like they have to do today.   The father could them their share of his possessions while he was still alive.    In Luke 15:12 the younger son demanded his share of the inheritance from his father, he said, “Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.” He couldn’t wait.   He wanted his inheritance right there and then.
   1. The son in doing this was not being supportive of his father. In fact, in his request he was being callous and heartless.  What he’s saying to his father is, “Give me now the part of the estate that I’m going get when your dead anyway.”  That’s what he’s telling him.   He’s saying, “Give it to me now so that I can get out of here.”
   2. We know most children go through a rebellious stage at some point in their lives.  It’s usually when they are in their teens, and that’s possibly what’s happening here.  The younger son feels he’s been the baby of the family for long enough and now its time for him to strike out and go it alone.   As it is now, in those times this action carried some potential consequences.   Read verses 18-21 of Deuteronomy 21 if you are interested but we will not get into that in this lesson.
   3. Imagine this happened today, I’m sure most of us who have kids would certainly have a few things to say.  We wouldn’t let them go without at least a lecture on the world and morality, but I want you to notice how the father deals with the situation.  The text says at the end of verse 12 of Luke 15, “So he divided to them his livelihood.”
   4. He didn’t argue with his son, he didn’t try to persuade him otherwise, he simply let him go.  Why?  Why didn’t he give him a moral lecture as we might do?  We are not told, but as parents we might suspect the father let him go simply because he knew his son well enough to know that if his son was ever going to learn, he was going to have to learn the hard way. For some reason he gave in to his request, and some people are like that today. They will never learn unless they learn the hard way.
2. The son gets his inheritance and in some way he has it in a portable form and he takes off.   Does he use it to obtain land and start his own farm?   No. Luke 15:13-15 – “13. "And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 14. "But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15. "Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.”
   1. The young man squandered all his money. He was hungry and he was desperate. Desperate times calls for desperate measures. That’s what happened here.
      1. We might think, at least when times were hard for him, he got a job working with pigs.   To us that is ok, a way to survive.
      2. What we think of a pig is different to what the Jews thought of pigs.  In Leviticus 11:1-8 we find a list of animals that God has mentioned that the Israelites could not eat.   They are unclean animals.   In Leviticus 11:7-8 - God says; “7. `and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. 8. `Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch. They are unclean to you.”
      3. For us tending to a pig is no big deal but to a Jew, a pig was an unclean animal.   This was lower than low. To this young man this was the most degrading and humiliating task a Jew could ever do.
   2. Despite his job he’s still hungry and lonely and nobody would help.
      1. Its then that the text says in Luke 15:16 that “he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.”
      2. Did you ever run away from home? I sort of did.   I told mother I was running away, she packed a peanut butter and honey sandwich for me, told me to be careful on the barb wire and off I went.   Did I mention I was quite young?   Anyway, I went to the woods, we had nearly 190 acres with three stands of timber.   I got distracted at the first woods at a small pond. Spent time watching frogs, trying to catch tadpoles and then headed for the second woods.   I ate my sandwich there and explored some. By the time I got to the third woods my little legs were tired.   I was thirsty so I headed out of the woods to the blackberry patch in the open fields.   There were some ripe berries and I’m sure I made a mess, but I was still thirsty, so I ended up going home because I knew there would be water there. When I got home, mother gave me a glass of cold well water which I drank right down. The crazy thing was my parents never said a word about my saying I was running away.
      3. I turned around because of my need, I was thirsty.  In a very true sense that’s what happened to the younger son.  He knew he was better off at home because his father would take care of his needs.
      4. When things weren’t going according to plan, he ended up in a pigpen and then he realized what was happening.  Luke 15:17 – “But when he came to himself, he said, `How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!”
   3. I suspect that is a lesson for the church.   We know we can’t force people to stay faithful.   We can’t make Christians go to worship and attend all the services.   Guilt trips can only go so far with some people.
      1. Sometimes, we need to let people go and learn by their mistakes, so that they can come to their senses.
      2. They need to see what they lost when they were in fellowship with God and His people.   Let them see that they have made a mistake by leaving in the first place.
   4. The younger brother realized he was better off at home. He knew that there would be food at home.  He even knew that his father’s servants would have food left over and he worked out what he would say to his father when he got back home.
      1. Luke 15:18-19 – “18. `I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19. and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.''” That took courage. Yet to reach that point the young man had to be humbled. He had to learn true humility. This was true humility that the younger brother showed in verse 19 because he intended to ask his father to take him back as a hired servant, not as a son.
      2. We need to know that there is a difference between a hired servant and an ordinary servant.  The ordinary servant was in some sense like a member of the family, they had a place, but the hired servant could be dismissed at a days notice. He wasn’t part of the family because a hired servant only worked one day at a time.  He had no guarantee of employment, he lived day to day.
   5. Think about what he’s done and what he’s doing?  He left home as a son and he’s willing to return as lowly day laborer.  
      1. I suspect He didn’t just get a few things as an inheritance.   His father was likely quite successful. I base that on inference that he had full time servants and part time servants.   That was a sign of wealth back then.
      2. This was time for humility.   It’s time for submission.   It’s time for swallowing his pride.

• Let’s take a closer look at what he did.  First of all, the text says in Luke 15:17 that, “He came to his senses.”
  1. In other words, he was out of his mind when he left his father’s house.   It’s only now that he truly sees himself for the first time.
  2. Folks, it’s never easy taking a close look at yourself, is it?   It’s never easy and sometimes what you see are some very scary facts you would rather not see.
  3. When he comes to his senses, that’s the point in which he is starts his return journey back to his father.

1. Second, he says in Luke 15:18 that, “I will arise and go”
   1. When he left home, he did not have the intention of coming back.   He was only looking forward to the pleasure and “freedom” he thought he saw and wanted for himself.   Now that he saw himself more clearly, he saw his father in a different light.
   2. That’s something else we need to remember. When you look at yourself clearly, your opinion of other people changes too, doesn’t it?
2. Third it says in Luke 15:20 that, “he arose and came to his father”. When circumstances woke him up, he didn’t hesitate.   He just got up and went.
   1. There was no thinking time between the saying and doing.  His mind was made up and he did not waver or change his mind.
   2. When we think about it, there are many people in the world today who aren’t Christians who are caught between the saying and the doing.  They’re saying, but not doing. That is not where he is.
3. Fourth, in Luke 15:21 he says, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.”
   1. This is his confession.   When he reached a decision to return to his father, he already had his confession prepared.    Notice his confession. There’s no messing around with words. There’s no excuse for what he had done.
   2. He speaks the truth, “'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.”
4. In the parables of “The lost sheep, The lost coin and The lost son”, Jesus teaches us a great deal about mankind.   Jesus teaches us that men are lost.  It’s interesting that Jesus very seldom called men “sinners”, but rather He spoke of them as being lost.  
   1. When Jesus is sending out the twelve, He tells them not to go to the Gentiles or to any Samaritan towns, but He tells them in Matthew 10:6 “Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.”[para]
   2. When Jesus disciples were being harassed by a woman who had a demon possessed daughter, Jesus said in Matthew 15:24 – “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”[NKJV]  
   3. Jesus isn’t saying that He counted them as moral wretches or outlaws in headstrong rebellion against God, but simply that people were misguided.
      1. They were people that were disillusioned and needed to get back on the right road.
      2. There are still people like that today, aren’t there?    They are lost like “The sheep” described in Luke 15:3-7.  They are not consciously revolting against God, not fighting against His church. They simply slip away from Him step by step.   They wander off in search of what they are attracted to, greener grass, something more attractive then what they have, something they think will satisfy.
      3. The son here was like that.   In his view of the world what was out there was calling to him, dragging his mind away from home and family.   We see this all the time in youth.
      4. Hebrews 2:1 – “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.”  Saying it a different way; “We must pay more attention to what we have been taught, so that we do not drift away.”   That’s what happens to many Christians in the world today.  Many people do drift away. They slip away with the ebb and flow of the world and become spiritually numb.
   4. People are also like “The coin” described in Luke 15:8-10.   Although there is a difference between coins and people, the coin was lost through no fault of its own, but with men there is always the responsibility of choice that governs their destiny.
      1. The coin was lost in a sense that a man could never be.   Yet it is true that many people’s lives are wrecked not always because of their own fault, but because of the faults of other people that they become lost.
      2. Finally, some people are like “The lost son,” which we are studying this evening.  We talked about pride and “Self” before.   We all know that “Self”, (pride), can lead to sin and it’s the downfall of many a soul.
      3. Many people deliberately, with their eyes wide open, forsake the Lord and go off on their own.
      4. Folks, this is the essence of sin—to desire to please “Self” despite of its consequences; to do what one wants to do regardless of the feelings of others.    That’s the core of sin. Instead of pursuing the will of God, they pursue the will of “Self” just like this young man did when he left his father.
   5. Let’s take another look at the younger son.   He was lost but he also lost some things.
      1. He lost the fellowship of his father and the comfort of his home.
         1. Think about it, he had lived in a home with family and servants to wait on him, hired hands to assist.
         2. He had the best father a son could have, but all these things meant nothing to him until he was left friendless in a strange land.
         3. Although he knew what his father was like, he still went off to a far-off country and ended up in a pigpen.
         4. He was out of the reach of his father. He lost the fellowship with his father.
      2. He lost something else too, he lost his self-esteem.  He left home full of self-esteem and confidence, head held high in self-worth and ended up working in a field with some pigs.
         1. He threw away his family because of his pride and ended up with pigs.
         2. Have you ever been in a strange country or place where you don’t know anyone?  What he felt was probably worse, unknown, unneeded, unwanted and unloved in a far-off country where nothing is familiar.
         3. He also lost everything he had.  Luke 15:14 tells us “He spent everything he had” [para].  It’s amazing how the inheritance that he received so easily, was so easily squandered.
         4. Easy come, easy go as some may say.   Folks, he lost it all.   He lost everything.    He had no real friends, no real pleasures, no real freedom, no real independence and no real pride, he lost everything.  Now he’s in a mess.
      3. I wonder how the congregation would deal with someone who went off and lived like this and then came to their senses and came back home?
         1. You see, the shepherd with the sheep, the woman with the coin, the father with the son, were filled with great joy when they gained again what had been lost.
         2. That’s because God is kind and He is more understanding than we will ever be.  He feels deep in His heart the joy of joys when one wanderer returns home.
         3. This is obvious in Luke 15:20-24 – “20…. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21. "And the son said to him, `Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.' 22. "But the father said to his servants, `Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23. `And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24. `for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry.” Folks, that’s the example the church must follow.  No moral lectures, no making them feel inferior when they return—just pure joy.
      4. Then we come to the part in the parable that I don’t like.  I wished I could just leave it there in verse 24 because that’s a happy ending, but sadly it doesn’t work that way.
         1. God has more for us. There are some serious lessons we can learn from this older brother’s reactions. The older son was saved but lost.
            1. Luke 15:25-28 – “25. "Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26. "So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27. "And he said to him, `Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.' 28. "But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.”
            2. You see, the older brother was a self-righteous kind of man.   He could find nothing good in the life of his brother.   Everything his brother had done was bad, but as for him, he was proud of himself and proud of his life.
         2. He said to his father in Luke 15:29 and I paraphrase, “'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders.”
            1. He was very proud, and he was very much like the Pharisees who started Jesus off on these parables by accusing Jesus of associating with and receiving sinners.
            2. The older brother was so jealous he wouldn’t even go inside and greet his brother.   He decided to stay outside the house and throw himself a pity party.
            3. He decided to sulk. He says to his father at the end of verse 29, “yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.” You can almost hear the self-righteousness in these words. He’s full of pride.
            4. Most of all, the older brother was just heartless.    He wasn’t happy at all that his brother had come home.   He would probably be happier if his brother had been beaten up and kicked out.
               1. It’s a bit like the woman who went to the police station with her next-door neighbor to report that her husband was missing.
               2. The police officer asked for a description.

• She said, "He's thirty-five years old, six foot two, has dark eyes, dark wavy hair, an athletic build, weighs 180 pounds, is soft-spoken, and is good to the children."

1. The next-door neighbor protested, "Wait a minute! Your husband is five foot four, chubby, bald, has a big mouth, and is mean to your children."
2. The wife replied, "Sure, but who wants HIM back?"

5. That was the attitude of the older brother—“Who wants him back!”

1. Luke 15:30 says, “But as soon as this son of yours (notice he didn’t say my brother) came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.” He was jealous and heartless. All he cared about was about himself. He was also disrespectful to his father with these words.
2. He was angry and jealous, self-righteous even when his father says to him in Luke 15:31 – “Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.”
   1. In other words, your brother has squandered all that was his, but you’ve still got your inheritance.
   2. In fact, it is likely twice as much as his brother had, but he still didn’t want to listen.   He was hurting himself without realizing it.
   3. An illustration. It’s a bit like little Johnny who went to the army surplus store one day and bought a grenade, not knowing it was a practice grenade.
   4. He strapped it to his waist. His friend asked why he did this. Johnny said, “There’s this guy who keeps picking on me and if he pushes me today, he’s going to blow off his hand.”  He’s not thinking straight. He needs to come to his senses.
   5. Even when his father tells him in Luke 15:32 “It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive, and was lost and is found”.  Even then, his anger took hold of him.
   6. He just couldn’t see that if his father had gained a son, he had gained a brother.
3. His whole attitude shows us that his years of obedience to his father had been years of grim duty and not loving service.  There’s not a sympathetic bone in his body, and notice again that he refers to his brother, not as “My brother” but as “Your son.”

 

CONCLUSION:

The lesson from this parable is severe.  You don’t necessarily have to go on a long journey to leave God.  You can stay at home and not know your father and not know your father’s heart even though you’re still at home.  You can be lost at home just as you can anywhere else in the world.  God’s attitude is seen in the diligent search of the shepherd and woman in the other two parables I mentioned earlier.  Because it’s one thing to accept a sinner but it’s another thing to go out and look for them.

 

Once again Jesus is revealing an amazing truth here, and the truth is that it is easier to confess to God than it is to many a man.  The truth is that God is far more merciful in His judgments than we will ever be with our fellow man.  The truth is that the love of God is far broader than the love we have for each other.

 

When we’re faced with a love like that then we are lost in wonder, lost in love and praise.   The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law would have said, “Who cares its just one lost sheep.”   Jesus would say, “Rejoice with me, I have found my lost sheep.”

 

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law would have said, “What’s a coin, it’s just a coin.” Jesus would say, “Rejoice with me I have found my lost coin.”

 

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law would have said, “Cancel the party and throw him out.”  Jesus would say and still says today, “We are to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'" That’s love, that’s forgiveness, that’s worth rejoicing.

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

 

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

 

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Reference Sermon

Mike Glover

The Fruit of The Spirit - Love

The Fruit of The Spirit - Love

Galatians 5:22-23, 1 Corinthians 13

 

INTRO:

Good morning.   We have had some lessons on worship to God, what repentance is and about the ties that bind us.   Today I would like to start to look at the Fruit of the Spirit.

 

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

 

We're going to begin in Galatians 5:22-23 – “22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23. gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” Our sermon this morning is going to be a study on the fruit of the spirit, love.

Have you ever wondered; Why do you exist?   Just think about it for a moment.   We are alive.  The creator of the universe has chosen to give us existence.  Why?

Why are we here?

What's the purpose?

Why have you created me?

Why have you given me life?

What do you want from me?

 

In Matthew 22:37-39 – “37. Jesus said to him, " `You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38. "This is the first and great commandment. 39. "And the second is like it: `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'” This is why you exist.  This is what God desires from you.

 

This is what we as Christians strive, throughout our life, to attain.   To reach the point in our relationship with God where we love Him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind.  Then we strive in our relationship with people in the world around us to love our neighbor as we love our self.

 

In the text in Matthew we're talking about the Old Testament and the Old Covenant, and on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.   We realize these two commandments are also the very core, the very center of the new covenant of Christianity, the New Testament, and our relationship with God.

 

You hear the word love used repeatedly in songs, in poetry, and in the movies.   You hear the word love over and over again.   Yet it seems that in our world, where the word love is used so often, we don't understand what it is and the seriousness of it.

 

We have heard a multitude of sermons on this subject.   I ask you to listen attentively because, folks, this is what it's all about.  This is why we exist.   This is what God expects us to develop in our life, in our relationship with Him, and in our relationship with other people.

 

1. Notice the importance of love in Colossians 3:14 – “But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”    Then in 1^st Corinthians 13:13 – “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”  Notice that all these verses I have used so far, use superlatives.   The greatest commandment is love, above all things put on love, and the greatest of these is love.   It is the most important thing for us to develop in our life and since it's so important it would be nice if we knew what it was.
   1. We find that the word love is used many times in all kinds of songs.   We hear people using it in their everyday vocabulary.   Yet, I believe that there are people out there that don't know what it is or understand it.
      1. I thought about giving you the definition of love by going to a lexicon and a concordance, giving the definition of the words used for love but we have done that before.   Actually, the definition for love is found in the scriptures.
      2. It is in 1^st Corinthians chapter 13 where we find love defined by God.   The way in which God defines love is by the things that it does and the things that it does not do.   How love is manifested in someone's heart and in their life.
      3. Let’s look at 1^st Corinthians 13:4-8 – “4. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5. does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6. does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7. bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8. Love never fails.” You’ve probably read and heard these verses a number of times. In the richness of scripture God gives us even more information than this.
   2. I would like to look at another text where the Word of God helps us understand love.   We are going to look at the text dealing with the works of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit because in the works of the flesh and the list of the fruits of the Spirit we again can find a definition of what love is by its actions.
      1. Notice this if you will.   In First Corinthians 13:4 we have the first characteristic of love—it suffers long.  When we go to Galatians 5:22 where it talks about the fruit of the spirit, we find in the description of the fruit of the spirit, is its long suffering.
      2. Again, First Corinthians 13 for the very next definition of love is; love is kind.  When you go to the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22 the fruit of the spirit is kindness.
      3. First Corinthians 13:4 says love does not envy.   When you go to the works of the flesh over in Galatians 5:19-21 we find one of the works of the flesh is jealousy.
   3. Now when we look at the works of the flesh, I want us to realize that everything that is listed in the works of the flesh—that's not love.  It is the exact opposite of love.   Everything listed in the works of the flesh is the opposite of the definition of love.
      1. Look at this some more. First Corinthians 13:4 – “love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;” and in verse 5 - does not seek its own. But when you go to the works of the flesh you find the one of the works of the flesh is selfish ambitions.   Do we see the opposites?   Love is not self-seeking it does not seek its own, but a work of the flesh is selfish ambition, the exact opposite.
      2. Again, we find in First Corinthians 13:5 that love does not behave rudely.   When we go over the Galatians 5 and listed in the works of the flesh are hatred and contentions.  
      3. First Corinthians 13:5 – Love is not provoked.  In Galatians we find one of the works of the flesh is outburst of wrath.  Again, the opposite.
      4. First Corinthians 13:5 says thinks no evil.   In Galatians we find in the works of the flesh hatred and jealousies.
      5. First Corinthians 13:6 – “(love) does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;”. Go to the works of the flesh and we'll find listed among them; dissensions and heresies, people who get caught up in lies and false teaching.
      6. First Corinthians 13:7-8 – “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” When we look at the fruit of the spirit one of the fruits of the spirit is… faithfulness.
      7. By the way, notice again verse 13 in First Corinthians – “now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Faith, hope and love are the three motivators in the life of a Christian.
   4. If we want to know what love is, we read the text in First Corinthians 13. When we study the works of the flesh, we find that the work of the flesh is the exact opposite of love.
      1. I want to go a little further on that because remember in the works of the flesh, one of the works of the flesh was adultery and another one was fornication.
      2. A lot of times you can hear people say: “Oh we're in love!” when they're involved in fornication.   No, they are not, they are in lust.  Adultery is not love either, that's lust.
      3. Outbursts of wrath are not love, hatred is not love.  If we look at the works of the flesh every single one of them, that's not love.   Love is the opposite of them.
   5. God expects us to develop this characteristic in our hearts, in our life and our relationship with Him first, and then in our relationship with our fellow human beings. We should understand this is what it's all about.  This is the greatest commandment.  This is what we are to put on above all things.
2. That being said let's go to First Peter 1:8 and get down to the application of love. First Peter 1:8 – “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,” [ESV].
   1. In our relationships with each other we can see each other.   We can interact with each other. We can come to know each other by just talking with, interacting with and seeing.
   2. We have not seen God. How can we love a God we’ve never seen?
      1. I have a question for all of us. How do you feel about God? Please be honest. Answer that question in your own heart. How do you feel about your creator? Do you understand what it is He wants from you?
      2. He wants us to love Him and not just love Him, He wants us to love Him with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind. He wants us to love him more than we love anyone. Total, complete love for him.
      3. How can we love someone that much when we’ve never seen them? You see we still link love with sight, don’t we?   We may say we love an animal because they are so cute, but to love our unseen God with an all consuming love?
   3. In First John 4:19 – “We love Him because He first loved us.” We realize the only way we're going to be able to get to that level of loving God, is going to be through faith.  That's right.  Our love for God is the strongest development of our faith.
      1. Remember what we learned earlier about faith, hope and love and the greatest of these is love?  As I said. those are the motivators in the life of every Christian.
         1. Faith is dealing with things not seen.  We walk by faith not by sight.
         2. Hope is dealing with things not seen. We are hoping for eternal life in heaven which we have not seen and yet we believe in it to the point that we're rebuilding our entire life and all our actions around it.

• The strongest development of something in our relationship with God, who we have not seen, is love.  Love is the strongest level of faith.

2. You love Him because He first loved you.  How do we know He loves us? First John 4:16 says “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”  Look at this very slowly with me.
   1. We have known.
   2. And believed.

• The love that God has for us.

3. How do you know God loves you?   Do you believe the creator of the universe is conscious of you, the individual, the person, and knows you individually and loves you personally?
4. That's a very important question to answer because if you are not conscious of His love for you, if you are not aware of the magnitude of His love for you, you will not love Him back, and you will struggle in your relationship with God.

1. That's why we began this part of the lesson by asking the question: how do you feel about God?
   1. If we're struggling in that relationship, (and that's what this is all about you know, that's what our existence is all about, our relationship with God)... if we’re struggling, then we need to be trying to figure out what's wrong.
   2. Do you know and believe the love that God has for you?
   3. How do you know He loves you?
   4. First John 3:16 “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” This is how we know the love of God and the love of Christ.
2. Let’s look at it this way. Which one of us would give a child of ours as a sacrifice for anyone here? I would go as far as to say I love many of you very deeply but I'm not giving my son or my daughter to die for you.
   1. We've heard it a thousand times.   We can all quote it. God so loved the world He gave His only begotten son. Don't let that wash over your heart and brain like water over a rock. Let it sink in. God knows us personally.
   2. He knows you individually and He loves you so much He gave His only son to die for you.
   3. What about us?   Would any of us die for another in this room?   Would we be willing to go out and be scourged and beaten and whipped?   Would we be willing to be crucified and be tortured for six hours on a cross for someone here?
   4. Jesus does love you that much.   He was scourged.  He accepted every stroke of the whip, because He loves you.
3. Paul says in Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,…”[para]
   1. Notice the last part of the verse, who loved me and gave himself for me.
   2. What Paul is doing is individualizing the love of God, coming to know and believe the magnitude of the love of God in Christ for you.
   3. When we know, when we believe; - we realize, that was done for me!   He loves me that much!  He made that sacrifice and went through all that suffering for me.
   4. As we become conscious by faith of who Jesus is and what happened at Calvary, what will be developing in our heart will be love.
   5. We will find ourselves loving God, whom we've never seen, because we know and believe the magnitude of the love He has for us.
   6. We will find ourselves loving a savior whom we've never laid eyes on because we have come to know and believe the sacrifice that He made.   That is personal, individualized, love of God and Christ for us and we believe it, we know it.

• Let’s look at Luke 7:47 – “Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”  I wanted to look at this verse because I believe this is another reason why we love God whom we have not seen.   It has to do with our consciousness of forgiveness.   The reason Christ died for us, motivated by His love for us, is because He understood that sin was separating us from God.
  1. As long as that situation continued, we would have no hope of being with Him in heaven.  Is there anybody here who is not conscious of this reality?   We are sinners and left on our own we are lost.
     1. When the judgment day comes and we know it is coming, if every one of us got what we deserved we would have no hope of being with God.
     2. Is there anybody here this morning who can say I have only been forgiven a little? No.   The truth of the matter is, we have all been forgiven much.
     3. Consciousness of forgiveness and the magnitude of that forgiveness produces love.
  2. The two things for us to see in this part of the sermon is first; know the love of God for you and the sacrifice of Christ.   Be aware of the blessings of life that are given to us by God, because He loves us, but also at the same time in our relationship with God - be conscious of forgiveness.
     1. Be conscious of the sins that you and I have committed. They have been removed by the power of the blood of Christ and we stand before Him forgiven.
     2. I don't know what else to say to Him on the Day of Judgment other than thank you and I sure do appreciate it.
     3. The more I am aware of what the magnitude of this is… the more I find myself loving somebody I’ve never laid eyes on. Yet it is not enough to just have an appreciation of God and what He does, is it?
  3. God wants a perfect relationship, a total, absolute love, with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind. When that is true then in our day to day living you can see a manifestation of our relationship with God.
     1. First John 2:5 says; “But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.” Actions tell what's in our heart.   We can tell what kind of relationship we have with God by the way we speak and the way we live.   If we really love Him, we're going to want to live a life pleasing to Him.  
        1. We all understand that in the relationship of husbands and wives.   If you love someone you want to live a life pleasing to them.
        2. In our relationship with God, if we really love Him, we'll keep His commandments.   You don't want to harm the relationship.  You don't want to be separated from Him.  You want to be with Him.
        3. If we want to be with Him that sort of brings up the question; what's heaven?
        4. Let me give a good definition of heaven.  Heaven is being with God.  I don't care where it is. I don't care what it looks like.  I just want to be with Him.  That's what heaven is.   Wherever He is, is heaven.
     2. One of the spiritual health checkup questions we ask ourselves is; what kind of relationship do I have with my creator?   Understand this is why we exist.  This is why we are alive.  This is what we are expected to attain to in our existence.
  4. First John 4:11-12 – “11. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.” What is John talking about here? He is talking about the brethren. Remember what we learned earlier. The second command is likened to the first and it is to love your neighbor as you love yourself.   When we're dealing with the commands of God, the majority the commands are dealing with our interaction with other human beings.
     1. Thinking back to the Old Testament and the list of the Ten Commandments the first few of the commandments are dealing with our relationship with God, but the last ones are dealing with our relationship with people.   When we love one another, we are showing our love for God.
     2. As a matter of fact, if you continue First John 4:20-21 – “20. If someone says, "I love God,'' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21. And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”
        1. We see each other, we interact with each other.   If we do not come to the point where we love each other, the truth of the matter is we really don't love God either.   Learn to honestly love people.
        2. God loves everybody.  He loves you. He loves the vilest sinner so much that He gave His son to die for him.
        3. Jesus loves the most despicable person we could ever meet.  Learn to love our fellow human beings.

 

CONCLUSION:

Again, in First Corinthians 13:4-8 – “4. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5. does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6. does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7. bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8. Love never fails.”

Learn how not to think evil and how not to live with pride.

Learn how to rejoice in the truth and be glad when people obey the gospel.

Learn how to be patient with people; bearing all things believing all things enduring all things.  

 

Take the text and learn to live it in your relationship with everybody not just your mother and your father, your sons and your daughters—everybody.  That's the second great commandment.

 

First John 5:1-2 – “1. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begat also loves him who is begotten of Him.

2. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.” There it is again.   We're dealing with our relationship with each other by this we know that we love the children of God (how?) when we love God and (there it is) keep His Commandments.

When we're keeping His commandments, they're not chains to keep us from enjoying life. They teach us what real love is. - As I told you earlier, the word love is used all the time by people in the world who haven't got a clue what it really is.   Come to understand from the Scriptures what love is, and above all things… put it on.

 

The last verse we will look at is First John chapter 3:17-18 – “17. But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18. My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.”

Verse 18 is putting it as clearly as it can be put, getting down to what we call the brass tacks of the application of love. We come in contact with a brother, or sister and they have no food. They’re in need and we do nothing.  We pass by on the other side.

When we do that, we don't love them, and we don’t love God.  Understand both of those are true.   When we pass by on the other side what we are saying is I don't care about you, but at the deeper level we don't care about God, the one who gives them life.

 

If we're really going to come to love God and love our neighbors as we love our self, we must stop passing by on the other side.   It's not just enough to say I love you.   I hope things work out.

 

Notice the last part of this verse let us not love in word or tongue.   That is the way the world looks at love, it is something you say.   Oh, yeah, I really care about you. Oh, that’s really bad.  Hope things work out. Bye. I gotta go.

 

He says let it be in deed, there's the action, and in truth. Let it be real!  Have we reached the level of loving God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our minds?

No.

Have we reached the level of loving our neighbors as we love our self?

No.

We spend all our life working to put this on.

 

The truth of the matter is every time we sin, every time, we are showing our lack of love for God and our lack of love for our fellow human beings.

Let me tell you something. Do you know there is going to come a time in your existence when you will reach the level of love that God desires of you?

 

Do you know where that's going to be? That's what heaven's all about.

In heaven you will love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind in a perfect relationship of love with God our creator and you will come to love everyone around you perfectly.

 

Does that surprise us?   There will come a time, and as a matter of fact, think about this, it's going to be the majority, the major part of your existence, where you will have reached the fulfillment of the primary command of learning to love.   But on this side of eternity what God wants us to do is to strive above all things to put it on, realizing it is the greatest, it is the primary thing, as to why God gives us life.   It is the first of the fruits of the spirit.

 

There may be somebody here this morning who hasn't obeyed the gospel of Christ.

If you believe Jesus is the Son of God and you're willing to confess your faith and repent of your sins we'd be glad to assist you and baptize for the remission of your sins as you put off the old man and put on the new man.  

 

As you put on a new man who you're putting on is Christ who lived the life of love perfectly. His love for God was perfect. His love for mankind was perfect.  What we do is we look to that example and we strive to learn to love God and love our fellow human beings.   That's what you're putting on above all things.

 

If you’re a child of God already and you find you are no longer being described in the way love is defined, the fruit of the spirit no longer describes you in your relationship with God and your fellow man; we would like to encourage you to make a change.   We would like to encourage you to start focusing at the very core of your relationship, coming to know and believe the love God has for you, coming to be conscious and aware of how much you have been forgiven, and then motivated by your love for God, keep His commandments, and learn to love your fellow human beings.

 

If a sin is standing between you and God, we'll be glad to pray for you to pray with you to do the very best we can to encourage you.

If anyone subject of the gospel call, in any way, let us know always stand and sing the song that’s been selected

 

Invitation song: ???

Reference sermon by: Wayne Fancher

 

 

 

 

      

 

The Lost Coin

The Lost Coin

Luke 15:8-10

 

INTRO:

Good evening.   We will continue our look at the parables and we are going to look at the parable of ‘The Lost Coin’ this evening which is found in Luke 15:8-10.

 

First though I must tell you this story I came across about little Johnny.   Little Johnny’s mother and father had just finished tucking the children into bed one evening when they heard sobbing coming from three-year-old Johnny’s room.

Rushing to his side, they found him crying hysterically.

He had accidentally swallowed a penny and was sure he was going to die.

No amount of talking could change his mind.

Desperate to calm him, his father palmed a penny that he happened to have in his pocket and pretended to pull it from Johnny’s ear.

Little Johnny was delighted. In a flash, he snatched it from his father’s hand, swallowed it and demanded cheerfully, "Do it again, daddy!"

 

Now usually when we have found something we lost, we are not anxious to lose it again, but some things do become lost again despite our care, including people.

 

The parable of “The lost coin” is closely related to “The parable of the lost sheep” which we looked at last week in Luke 15:3-7.  It’s also closely related to “The parable of the lost son” which is found in Luke 15:11-32.   We will look at that another time.

 

All three parables go together because they all come from the same source, they came from the same comment.   We read this comment in Luke 15:1-2 “Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

 

In other words, the parables are told to the Pharisees and the teachers of law who were condemning Jesus for associating with sinners.   What Jesus is doing in all three parables is explaining why He associates with these people.

 

8. Turn with me to Luke 15:8-10 – “8. "Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and seek diligently until she finds it? 9. "And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, `Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!' 10. "Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.''” Nina and I grew up on farms and hard money was not easy to get.   I recall riding my bicycle down Chillicothe and Cedar roads looking for bottles that people had tossed.   I would wash them under the cistern pump and turn them in at the general store for some change.   Nina recalls finding coins when walking and picking them up.   The other kids said if the found coin was tails up you would have bad luck, but she did not care, it was spendable, found tails up or heads up.  
   1. The coin in question here was likely a silver drachma, which by our standards is worth very little, but during Jesus’ time, this was worth a lot. It was equivalent to just over a day’s wage.  We can understand why this woman was so desperate to find the lost coin.   It meant the difference between eating and being hungry.  In those days, like some people in the world today, many people lived on the edge of things.
      1. In Matthew 20:1-16 Jesus told “The parable of the vineyard workers”.  And in that parable some of the men stood at the market place all day long, waiting for the opportunity to work.
      2. The opportunity to work stood between them eating and going hungry.   The coin was of importance and Jesus says at the end of Luke 15:8 that the woman, “swept the house and searched carefully until she found it.”
      3. In other words, she turned the house upside down looking for this coin because that coin was important to her.
      4. Remember that Jesus is talking about His relationship with sinners and tax collectors.
   2. Let’s look at this parable and see what we can find out.
9. I’m going to start with something I rarely do and that is discussing a point that we are not told about.   People often do this with the Bible and in general I’m not a fan of it since it can lead to unprofitable speculation.   Nevertheless I’m going to ask us to consider; how was the coin lost?
   1. I strongly suspect that the woman herself lost the coin.  Maybe it was through stupidity, through carelessness or even neglect.  In any case the woman was likely responsible.
      1. It was her fault that the coin was lost so we can’t blame the coin, because the coin was lost through no direct fault of its own.
      2. Unlike the sheep which we looked at last week, which strayed and became lost through its own stupidity, the coin is completely passive.
      3. In other words the coin being lost was someone responsibility and not the fault of the coin.
   2. Have you ever been trying to watch a TV program but there’s a distraction in the house?  I recall one evening when I was trying to watch something and on the window was a fly, a big blue bottle fly, just buzzing around and around (preacher makes buzzing noise).  It was distracting me.
      1. The poor thing was trying to get out, but it couldn’t because it was powerless to do anything for itself.   It couldn’t open the window and fly to freedom. It couldn’t save itself.
      2. I had to open the window and let it go free.  I bet you thought I was going to say that I grabbed the flyswatter, weren’t you?   Chasing a fly around with the swatter was not in my plans, so I let it out, I had to help it because it couldn’t save itself.
      3. The point of the story is that the coin couldn’t save itself.   It could do nothing to save itself. Again, unlike the sheep, the coin couldn’t wander back.  It couldn’t shout out to the woman “Here, I am over here”.
      4. It’s a coin and couldn’t do that.   When you think about it, a coin wouldn’t even realize it was lost. The point I’m trying to make is that all the searching had to be done by someone else.
   3. Jesus says in Luke 19:10 – “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, God in the human form of Jesus Christ came on a search and rescue mission.  That’s what He did. He came to search for those that were lost and bring them to salvation.
      1. Folks, that includes us, that includes every single human being on this planet that is willing to let Him save them.
      2. Titus 2:11 says, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.”

• In these parables so far, we have seen a sheep that gets itself lost and a coin that is lost due to some action or inaction of its owner.   That brings me to my next point. I want to ask you, how are people lost?
  1. It would be very easy to go off the mark with this parable and make every little detail mean something but we know every person faces judgment on their own deeds and every person who is lost is lost because of their own sin.   Remember that the coin is passive, people are not.  
     1. No person is lost just because of the sin of someone else.
     2. God put an end to that idea in Ezekiel 18:1-4 when He said, “1. The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2. "What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: `The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'?”
     3. What is he saying there?   He is saying the proverb states that the children are being punished for what the fathers did.
     4. He goes on to say: “3. "As I live,'' says the Lord God, "you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel. 4. "Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; the soul who sins shall die.”
     5. In other words, you’re responsible for your own sins; you can’t go blaming others for your sin.   You can’t blame your father or your uncle.   You must take responsibility for your own sins.  
  2. You’ve probably heard of John Wesley, a very famous preacher in the UK many, many years ago. He worked among the coal miners in Cornwall.
     1. The story goes that during the days of John Wesley and concerning his work among the coal miners, whole villages were transformed from people that were gambling, swearing, and skipping assembly on the Lord’s Day, to men and women of sobriety and godliness.
     2. In many homes in Wales there was a picture of John Wesley, the man they all knew and loved.  The story goes that one day a stranger visited one of these humble homes and saw the picture hanging on the wall.  The visitor asked the man, “Whose picture is that?”  The old miner reverently lifted his hat and said, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.”
     3. If you read the scriptures, you know what that means.
     4. John Wesley was a powerful influence in his time with the people he met.
     5. How powerful?   Well, many took up the work do to this man and the story is told of one who became a village minister in the south of Wales.   When this village minister passed on, a well-known Welsh preacher went to deliver the address at the funeral. Hundreds of miners assembled in silence around the grave, and these were the first words that fell upon their ears: "My brethren, the greatest obstacle on your road to hell has been removed."
  3. I wonder what sort of influence we have on others.   You see the influence we have on other people can determine where they spend eternity.  
     1. Yes a person’s sin is their own responsibility but I hope and pray that we realize the power we have to influence people.
     2. Titus tells us how we can influence other saints in the church, and that we can oppose those who oppose our teachings.  Titus 2:7-8 – “7. in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, 8. sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.”
     3. Paul reminds us that it is the church that is to do the influencing not the world.  Ephesians 4:17-19 – “17. This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18. having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart; 19. who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to licentiousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”
  4. As Christians our lifestyles, teachings and beliefs should be the very things that influence the people around us, but we must be careful not to let it happen the other way around.
     1. What did Jesus say about you and salt?  Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth.” You’re not the salt in the worship place.   You’re not the salt of your house.
     2. Jesus says you’re not the salt sitting in a dish in this building; you’re the salt of the earth.   You need to go out and season and influence the people in your world with that salt.  Mix with the ungodly, influence them; season them until they become godly.
  5. Jesus also warned His disciples in Matthew 16:6 – “Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.''”.
     1. The word “leaven” is usually used in the Bible in terms of evil influence.
     2. That’s what Jesus meant in Matthew 23:15 when He tells them, “"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” The point is that people can influence people.   I believe we all know that.
  6. That’s what we do.   As Christians we should influence people for the good, but we need to be on our guard against the world influencing us with evil.
     1. Evil can come at us in many different forms.   It can come in the form of false teaching.  It can come in the form of lack of church attendance, from not taking time to be with fellow Christians and be encouraged.
     2. It can come in the form of lack of zeal in our study of God’s word. It can come in the form of a lax attitude towards sin.  Oh, God will forgive me—that sort of mentality.
     3. What happens if your influence helps someone to decide to become a Christian?   They are going to follow your example aren’t they?   What if you then become influenced by evil?
        1. The person following your example won’t think that the Bible is important, if you don’t think it’s important.
        2. They won’t think it is important to come to worship, to meet with other Christians, if you don’t think it’s important.

• They won’t think it’s all that important to give up some sin in their lives, if you don’t think it’s important to give up the sin which is in your life.

4. When we let the world influence our religion, our religion becomes worthless.  Just like the coin in the parable.   When a coin is lost, it becomes worthless.
   1. You know when a coin goes out of circulation it still has its basic worth.  In other words, a nickel lost is still worth 5 cents when found.   A dime lost is still worth 10 cents.   But any coin that is out of circulation, lost, is unusable.   It still has value but is unusable.  When a coin is lost, it becomes unusable.   Money is only good when it is usable, when it can be circulated.   When a person is lost their influence for good is lost.
   2. What Jesus is teaching us is that people could wear the name God, but were lost to God.    Their soul is still worth more than the whole world, but if their souls are not given to God, they’re lost.
5. I’m going to read from Romans 1:18-21 – “18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19. because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21. because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
   1. What is Paul saying in these verses?   He is saying there are people who are lost, and they’re not even bothered about it.
   2. Why aren’t they bothered?   Because they don’t even recognize they are lost.  A woman looses one coin, so what, it’s a coin.
   3. The Scribes and Pharisees thought that way about sinners.  Why be bothered with the lowly, the outcast and the poor?  That was their attitude.
   4. You see, a coin may be just a coin and some people may not care if it is lost, but coins can have more than their monetary value.   Such was this coin to its owner.   So she got a lamp and lit it and searched the whole house to find that which was lost. The value was not in the coin itself but it what it could do for her and her family.  
6. Let’s look at this another way.   How keen are we at searching for the lost?  Most of us are quite willing to search in the worship place.
   1. In other words we’re quite happy to sit here until some lost soul comes to us here in the building on a Sunday morning.  But what about outside? Remember we are His hands on earth.   What about the other 6 days of the week?
   2. A person doesn’t have to come to the building to find out about God, this is the place where we gather every week to worship our God.  
   3. I’m sure most of us have got friends who aren’t Christians.  Are we going to share the Gospel with people the other 6 days a week, or are we going to have the attitude of the Scribes and Pharisees?
   4. Are we going to say, “Why bother, they won’t listen anyway.”  You don’t know that, unless you’ve tried.
7. I read of a survey conducted by Christians.  It was all about church growth and was given to over 10,000 Christians.   One question was, "What was responsible for your coming to Christ and His church?"  Here’s what they replied;
   1. 5 % said I attended a Gospel meeting.
   2. 1 % said I visited there.
   3. 2 % said I had a special need.
   4. 3 % said I just walked in.
   5. 3 % said I liked the program.
   6. 6 % said I like the minister.
   7. 5 % said I like the Bible classes.
   8. Take a guess about how 79 % of people came to Christ and became a Christian?   79% of people said they came to Christ and His church because a friend or relative invited them.
   9. With all the talks, discussions, sermons and studies on how to reach the lost, the most effective way is simply this, you talk to people and invite them.   In my own case, yes, I was looking, but I could not find.   If I had not been encouraged to come and taste by Nina, I might have gone on the rest of my life without finding. I class myself in that 79%.   Those who were fortunate enough to have parents or grandparents that brought them are in that 79% too.
8. Jesus didn’t say, the preacher is the light of the world.   He said in Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world.”  We all are.   We don’t need to share the Gospel with the world in one go.  Some people are frightened by that.  
   1. We don’t need to wait until there are 3 or 4 or 100 people around us to share the gospel with them.  We need to share the Gospel with people one at a time.
   2. 1 Peter 4:10 “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.”[para]  There is no set procedure for talking to people, no “formula”.   There are all sorts of ways to go about it.
   3. Some people are confrontational, up front, other people are nice and gentle.   It doesn’t matter as long as we’re using what God has given us.  

 

CONCLUSION:

I like this story a man who was walking along a beach, and he saw someone in the distance leaning down, picking something up and throwing it into the ocean.    As he got closer, he saw thousands of starfish the tide had thrown onto the beach, unable to return to the ocean during low tide, the starfish were dying.  He observed a young man picking up the starfish one by one and throwing them back into the water.  After watching this seemingly futile effort, the man said, "There must be thousands of starfish on this beach.  It would be impossible for you to get all of them.  There are simply too many.  You can't possibly save enough to make a difference."  The young man smiled picked up another starfish and tossed it back into the ocean and said, "It made a difference to that one."   Finding one lost sheep and returning it to the fold may not seem like much—unless you are that lost sheep.

 

We all want the church to grow.   For that to happen we need to plant the seed, one at a time, in the hearts of people outside.  As God gives us opportunity, we will water that seed, then God will cause the seed to grow and then He will add to our number.

When God does add to our number, it’s a time to rejoice.

 

A preacher in the UK related this story; “I remember when I lived in Scotland, I lost my wallet and so I cancelled all the credit cards and reported it to the police.

A few weeks later our daughter Roxanne was playing with her toys.   She was playing shops.

She had a little till and a little cupboard with all sorts of things in it.   And out from behind the till, Roxanne brings out my wallet. Roxanne had it all the time.

There was rejoicing in our house that night, and as I had £20:00 in that wallet that meant we could buy Chinese takeout.  We had the Chinese and celebrated.

Although we rejoiced, we didn’t go out in the street and rejoice with our neighbors, but the woman in the parable did.”

 

Luke 15:9 “And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.'” [para]

She was overwhelmed with joy, finding that lost coin was more important to her than the other 9 coins she didn’t lose.  Why? Because the other nine were already safe, she knew exactly where they were. They were in her possession.

Jesus goes on to say in Luke 15:10, “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."   God loves us and cares for us and gives us grace and peace and eternal life.  Nothing makes Him and the heavenly hosts happier than when someone who turns their back on their sinful lifestyle and turns toward God.

 

Hebrews 12:22 says, “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly.” [para]

That’s what happens when a person decides to follow Jesus, thousands upon thousands of angels gather in joyful assembly.  Why, because when sinners repent and follow God’s ways, that’s worth celebrating.

 

When sinners say, ‘not my will be done, but His will be done’, that’s worth celebrating.

Let me encourage you this evening if you’re not a Christian, to talk to someone today about what it means to be a Christian.

Let me encourage you today to seriously think about becoming a follower of Christ.

Your decision to follow the Christ can give the saints, not just here, but all over the world and the angles in heaven a reason to rejoice with you.

Heaven will have a party because of your decision to follow Jesus.

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

 

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

 

# ???

 

Reference Sermon

Mike Glover

Understanding Repentance

Understanding Repentance

Romans 12:1-2, Acts 2:38

INTRO:

Good morning.   We have had a few lessons on worship to God and how it is the manifestation of our personal relationship with God that comes from our heart.   Today I would like to look at something related yet not discussed much except in broad terms.   It is a very important subject that I fear some members of the body of Christ and people out in the world may not understand very well; what is repentance.

 

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

 

The very first scripture we're going to look at is one you're all familiar with Acts 2:38 – “Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”.

I imagine most of you could probably quote this verse very easily but notice the first word is that Peter uses.   He says; “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins”.  

 

Repentance is an integral part of the Christian life.  You cannot be saved without it.  You cannot be a child of God without it.  Yet, I fear sometimes people view Christianity as baptism alone.  I've been baptized therefore I'm saved.  Repentance is a key part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

Over in Acts 3:19 he says; “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,”   We need to realize that repentance is a conversion.   I feel sometimes that people are convinced about who Jesus is, are convinced of baptism for remission of sins, and yet they're not converted.   Repentance involves a conversion of your life.

 

Continuing over in Luke 13:5 it says; “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”   Without repentance we're going to be lost.

 

Finally, let’s look at Romans 12:1-2 because I think this is the best text, in the entire Bible that defines what repentance actually is.  “1.  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  2.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

 

If you ask people generally what repentance is, this is what you may hear.  “Repentance is when you stop doing something that's wrong”.    If you're sinning, you stop doing that, you repent.   Indeed, that's part of it, but the mistake people make when it comes to what repentance is, they think that's all of it.   They think repentance is to stop doing something that is wrong and that’s it.  

 

What we're going to do today is to look at the full magnitude of repentance and come to understand what God expects all of us, as Christians, to do.   This concept of repentance as “to stop doing what is wrong”, leads us to viewing repentance as a point action.   The idea that if I do something wrong, there is a point in time I repent, and I stop doing it.   We think of repentance as points in time.   If we think of it that way, we've have incomplete comprehension of what God expects of us as His children.

 

Our first steps in the start of our Christian life are fairly easy.  It is easy to come to the realization that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.   That is easy to confess when we understand it.  Being baptized is pretty easy.  It's quite easy to be immersed in water.

All of that is relatively easy to do.   The real struggle, the real battle in our lives is repentance.    We need to understand what it is and what it involves.

 

We are again going to look at Romans 12:1-2.   This is the text around which we will build the sermon this morning, taking it literally a phrase at a time and breaking it down, studying it and digesting it so we can come to understand exactly what it is that God has commanded us when He tells us to repent.

 

1. Keep your Bibles open to as we continue here. Romans 12:1-2 – “1. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.    And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
   1. The first thing we see here in verse 1 is that we are expected to present our bodies as “a living sacrifice” which Paul then tells us “is your reasonable service”.  
      1. I know we studied this last fall, but it is something that we should look at from time to time as part of testing our understanding. I have a question for you.  How much of our life does God expect us to give as a sacrifice?  50 percent?  How about 60 percent and you keep 40.  Perhaps 90 percent and you keep 10 percent?   Of course not.  God expects us to give all our self as a living sacrifice.
      2. What about our life? Over how much of our life, does He expect us to give all of our self?   Some of the time?  On Sundays?  Certainly not.   God expects us to give our self as a living sacrifice all our life.
      3. All your life, every day and every moment. Right there, right at the very beginning, we can start to understand repentance is not point action. 
      4. It's not a moment here and a moment there when we stumble. It is part of our entire life, every moment of our life.   Repentance is a continual process.
   2. Over Galatians 2:20 look at how Paul puts it here; “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;”
      1. What Paul is describing is an aspect of repentance to where it's no longer I who live, but who is it that’s living? He says that Christ lives in me. How much do you think Paul sacrificed of himself?   All of himself.   It is no longer Paul who lives at all.  
      2. He gave himself over totally to the will of God to where Christ was living in him, and then he says; “and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, He gave himself over totally to the will of God to where Christ was living in him, and then he says the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.”   
   3. Looking again at Galatians 2:20 where it says; “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live”, let’s compare that with Romans 6:6 – “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him,…”
      1. We see the same phrases. I have been crucified with Christ.  Our old man was crucified with Him.
      2. The idea is putting to death the old man, that is; putting to death the way we were. Putting to death our will—so that His will then becomes - not something in our life, but everything in our life.   Christianity is not part of our life.  Christianity is our life.
      3. It is an all-consuming relationship with our God, a total giving up of self, a total sacrifice of my self and my will, to where my old man has been crucified with Him.
   4. How about what Jesus says to His disciples in Matthew 16:24 – “…If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
      1. Consider; how easy is it to deny yourself? Oh, it’s not easy.   I find there are times I want to go this way, but God's word says Tom, you go that way. 
      2. How often is the battle to deny yourself present within you? It's a non-stop battle, isn’t it?   Every moment we must suppress self, the desire to go our way, and the desire to do what we want to do.
      3. Then when we deny our self, He says we are to take up our cross and follow him. We don't go the way we want to go - we go the way He wants us to go.   We follow him.
   5. Continue in Matthew 16:25 – “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” We realize what Jesus is saying is the same thing as Romans 12:1 isn’t it?
      1. Giving yourself as a living sacrifice is the denial of self. Losing your life and again how much of it?  All of it.  How often?  All the time.
      2. If our desire is to save this life, we will lose our one in Christ but if we lose this life and become one with God’s will, we will find our eternal life with Him.
   6. Before we go any further, do we understand the magnitude of what's involved in repentance?
      1. When we are thinking – It is pointed out we did something wrong, we stopped doing it, we did something wrong, we stopped doing it… we’re totally missing it.
      2. It's all of your being, all the time, serving, living by faith, walking by faith, conforming to Christ. It's a non-stop battle.   It is a nonstop process.  It doesn't end this side of eternity.
      3. Do we see it's linear? It's a continual process.
      4. When we grasp that we are continually trying to suppress self and deny self, then we will do His will. When we surrender of our life to do His will, then we're starting to understand the magnitude of what repentance really is.
   7. Let's get back now to verse 2 of Romans 12 – “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed”.
      1. I remember my mother had Jell-O molds. We still have some hanging in the kitchen.  She would take Jell-O, pour it into the mold and put it in the refrigerator. When it was set she took it out of the refrigerator, removed the mold, and the Jell-O had solidified into the shape of the mold.
         1. That's what it means to conform, to become like, to become conformed to. We're not to be conformed to the world and to become like the world.
         2. But wait, doesn’t society want us to confirm? Might we become outcast if we do not conform?  From an early age we learn that by being different from others we become targets.   Those around us try by many methods to make us fit the mold.   All that is true, so we should see this is going to take some effort.
      2. Look at the next part, we are supposed to be transformed. A transformation is taking place in our lives.  
         1. I have a question for you. How often is the transformation?  You already know the answer by now.  The transformation is a continual process.
         2. Repentance is a continual process of being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ.
         3. By the way don’t let these two verbs throw you. The verb “conform” caries the concept of being forced into an appearance by pressure from the outside, (the inside is not changed) while “transform” has the concept of being changed from the inside.
         4. We conform to the image of Christ (that is people see Christ when they look at us) because we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.
         5. Over in Romans 8:29 the writer says, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son,”.  In other words, expected to look like Jesus.   Now in chapter 12 we learn this is through transformation.   The transformation process then is - we're conformed to the image of Christ by a changed life.   We recall Paul said, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me”. 
         6. Our objective should be to be transformed, changed on the inside, so when people look at us what they see is Christ and God shining through us.
      3. Colossians 3:10 – “I’ve have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,” Who is He that created?   Colossians 1:15-16 – “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.    For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”    We're being renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created us.   
         1. We're trying to be like Jesus. That's what Christianity is isn’t it.
         2. We're striving to be more and more like Jesus today than we were yesterday. Then the next day guess what?   We’re trying to be more like Jesus than we were the day before and more like Jesus the next day and so on.   We understand the transformation process is linear and continual.

• In Colossians 3:5-10 – we read at verse 5; “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”
  1. Remember we learned before about putting to death the old man. Here’s that phrase again.   You put to death your members which are on the earth.
     1. This is what we think about sometimes when we think about repentance. Stopping doing these things.
     2. If you're involved in fornication you put it off. If you're involved in covetousness you put it off.   Whatever kind of sin it is you're involved in you put that off.
     3. Now verse 8 and 9 continues; “But now you must also put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.   Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,”   Here again it continues with putting off.
     4. Ephesians 4:22 says; “that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,” You see these verses put off, put off, put off.   Certainly, one might be thinking from this, that all repentance is—is putting the things off that we're doing that are wrong.   That's not all of it.
  2. In Colossians 3:10 we see; “and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,” Wait, this is not repentance we might think.   Isn’t repentance stopping and no longer doing something is wrong?   This is putting on not putting off. 
     1. This is another part of repentance. Repentance is stopping, putting off the old man, then turning and going in a different direction.   There's a whole other lifestyle that you are to put on.
     2. The magnitude of what is involved in repentance is not just stopping what is wrong, putting off the old man, but you put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according the image of Him who created us.
     3. In Ephesians 4:24 he says; “…you put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness.”  In Romans 13:14 he says; “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”   You put on the new man.  You put on Christ.
     4. The putting on of Christ is a major aspect of repentance. It's not enough just to stop doing things that are sinful and wrong.   There's a whole other aspect of it and that is putting on the new man.   Putting on Christ.   Striving to be more and more like Christ every day of our life.
  3. When you obey the gospel, we read earlier in Acts 2:38, it says; repent and be baptized. OK, that's putting to death the old man and putting on the new man.   When we do that, have we attained to the fullness of Christ?      We are a babe in Christ, we are at the beginning.   Yes, we repented but we're at the beginning of the process of repentance and repentance continues for the rest of our life.
     1. It is not just the moments when we blow it and do something that is wrong. It is the process that continues for the rest of our life of trying to become more and more like Jesus every day.  Trying to put on Christ, to be stronger and more like Christ every day.   It is a linear process, a transformation, from the inside out, changing us all the time to be more like Jesus, shining more brightly, letting Christ be seen in us.
     2. What is involved, what do we do? Let’s look first in Colossians 3:12 – “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;”   This says we’re to try to get to where we have the mercy of Christ, the kindness of Christ, the humility of Christ, the meekness of Christ, and  the long suffering of Christ.
        1. I wonder; is there anybody here this morning that has attained the fullness of the statue of Christ when it comes to humility? I mean some of us may be strong, we may have these attributes in us in abundance, but even if they're in us and abounding, don’t we still have a long way to go?
        2. It's a never-ending journey, a never-ending process, transformation, where we strive to be more like Jesus today than we were yesterday.
     3. Verse 13 of Colossians 3 says; “bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.” We are to forgive the way Christ forgives and then in verse 14 “But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”   This is how we put on Christ, we put on His attributes.   We are putting on the example of Jesus and all the Christian attributes of Christ and striving to grow in them.  That growing process is a continual process of transformation.   It's not just we stop doing what's wrong.  We should be cool with that because it is a process of love. 
  4. Let's go back to Romans 12:2 – “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed (now the next phrase)  by the renewing of your mind” .   The transformation process we've been talking about is in the mind, and it is with the renewing of the mind, the changing of the mind, the changing of the heart, that ultimately is the changing of the life.
     1. We know everything we do in life is controlled by our brain, our mind. Everything starts here in the mind.  Repentance starts in the mind.   It starts there, the transforming and the changing of your heart, the renewing of the mind that leads to the changing of the life.
        1. Going over to Colossians 3:10 – “and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,” Here the text says we're being renewed in knowledge accord the image of Him who created us.
        2. Going back to Ephesians 4:23 it says; “and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,”.  Are we seeing the pattern?  The renewing process is in the mind.  It is by knowledge.
     2. Galatians 5:16 – “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” How do we do this?  Verse 17; “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.”  This verse shows the battle that we're facing.  
        1. There are the desires of the flesh and then there's the desire to do right, the flesh and the spirit are contrary to one another. How is it I get to where I put off the desires of the flesh?   How is it that I can put off the old man?
        2. The text tells us the way it's done; it is by walking in the spirit. If we do that, we won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. 
     3. Romans 8:6 – “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” See the mind there again—spiritually minded versus carnally minded.   This is where we must change.
        1. It is where the work needs to be done-- in our mind and our heart. That's where the work's got to be done so that we will be more spiritually minded.
        2. How do we grow more spiritually minded and less carnally minded?
        3. Romans 8:13 – “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Sounds like Galatians, doesn't it? 
     4. Going back to Romans 8:13 he says, “by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.” Galatians 5:16 “I say then walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”  These two verses are teaching the same thing.  Walk in the Spirit.   This is how we repent.  We learn to walk in the spirit and when we walk in the spirit, live in the spirit, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 
     5. Something else we should see is in Galatians 5:25 – “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” And in Galatians 3:11 it says; “The just shall live by faith.”  Living in the spirit and living by faith is saying the same thing.
        1. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says; “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” Walk in the spirit, walk by faith is saying the same thing. 
        2. Putting it another way - if you live in the spirit you live by faith. If you walk in the spirit you walk by faith.   
        3. Faith is what drives repentance. We repent by faith.  Faith is what drives the transformation process.
        4. Faith is what you live by. Do we understand living by something is not momentary?   It is a process of life, every moment of our life. 
     6. If you take a step is it walking? It is a step.   Walking is a process.   We are talking about living.  When you live by faith you are living by the spirit.   When you walk by faith you are walking by the spirit.  This is the key to how it is that we repent, and it must be our faith that is driving it.   Faith is the fuel that drives the engine in the Christian’s life.  “…it is no longer I but Christ who lives in me.”  
     7. We read a few minutes ago from Galatians 2:20 where Paul says; “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;” Now let’s look at the rest of the verse; “and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  We live, we walk by faith.  We live by faith to where all of our life, everything we say, everything we do, is totally controlled by our faith.   That is how to repent.  Without faith you can not accomplish it.
  5. The song says, “When for Stronger Faith I Seek”. We need to start at the beginning.  We need to go back to who is Jesus.   What He did for us and understand that He really is the Christ, the Son of God.   He really loves us.  He really died for us.  He really rose from the dead.   
     1. We need to do this because it is our faith that is going to be controlling our life. Faith is linear.  Walking is linear.   Repentance is linear because it is a process and the work of our faith.   It is the actions and the result of faith. 
     2. Ephesians 3:16 tells us “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,” God will strengthen us in the inner man.
     3. Ephesians 3:17 says; “that Christ may dwell in your hearts (how?) through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,”
     4. Look at this. He is strengthening us with His spirit in the inner man.   Paul talks about Christ dwelling in your heart.  It's in the inner man.   It's in your heart.  It's the changing of the mind.   What changes your mind is faith.   What changes your heart is faith.  What changes your life—is faith.
        1. There may have been a time in your life where you totally gave yourself over to the desires of the flesh. If you wanted to do it, you just did it because you wanted to regardless of how God feels about it.
        2. But when you become a Christian it's not your will anymore that matters. It is the will of the one who died for you.  It's the will of the Father that gave His Son for you.   It's the denial of yourself and then by faith doing His will.
     5. Keeping these things in mind, look with me at 1^st John 5:4 – “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world our faith.” In our life how do we overcome sin?  How do we win the battle?  How do we repent?   How do we put off the old man?   How do we put on the new man?   How do we transform our self? -- By Faith.   This is the victory that overcomes the world—our faith.
     6. When people think about the Spirit unfortunately, they sometimes think you have to be zapped by the Spirit taking control of you. The way the spirit works, folks, is through the word.
        1. This word produces faith and this word gives us knowledge of God. To where you understand what Jesus is like, to where you understand what God is like, and what the will of God is for you in your life.
        2. That faith, produced through the word, that knowledge, that understanding, works in us to transform us, to guide us and give us the victory.

 

CONCLUSION:

Let’s look at the last phrase from Romans 12:2 – “…that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”   We discern the will of God.   We are proving and showing what the will of God is.  We give our self as a living sacrifice, we renew our mind, we change our heart, and we are changed by faith.   We understand this is true repentance, doing the will of God, not our will, and the only way we can do the will of God is to go to His word.  We must go to His word and find out what His will is.

Colossians 3:10 told us “you've put on the new man who is renewed (notice the phrase) renewed in knowledge.”  Not the way we feel, what we like, how we want it to be—the renewing process is done with the knowledge of His will.

Ephesians 4:20-21 tells us “but you have not so learned Christ if indeed you have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus.”  “Learned Christ”, that’s an interesting phrase, isn’t it?   What you're trying to learn is what Christ is like, and then; striving to be transformed, to be converted, to be changing continually into, the image of Jesus Christ, the example of Christ.  Paul says we've been taught by Him as the truth is in Jesus.   How are we taught by Him?   We are taught by the truth, by the word of God.   This is his will.  

 

Repentance is not just stopping doing what’s wrong.  That is the first part, but repentance is a conversion.  It is stopping and putting off the old man and all the sins you're involved in, then you turn and go in another direction for the rest of your life.

As you're walking by faith if you give into temptation and you sin, do you know what you do?  You turn from it.   You stop and you ask God's forgiveness, then you turn from that path and you keep going by faith.   That's Christianity. 

 

That's then is repentance, the continual process of going forward, walking forward, running forward, and living by faith, walking by faith, doing the will of God — by faith.   As we do the will of God by faith, we are clay in the potter's hand, and we're being conformed and transformed to where we're more like Jesus every day.   It is a transformation process that is never ending; we continue to grow toward our goal of being with our Lord.  

 

Do not limit your understanding of God’s word to just the “thou shalt nots”.    If we are to look like Jesus remember that Jesus teaches more then just what not to do.  We need to be clear on how big repentance is because that is what the Lord expects of us.   Repentance is a battle to deny our self, to throw off our will and the pride of life to the point where it's the will of God we are submitting to.   Then in our life we're going to take up our cross and follow His will -- by faith.

 

There may be someone here who is not a Christian this morning but you have come to the conclusion that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and you are willing to confess that faith, we'll be glad to baptize you for the remission of your sins.   Understand that repentance and the baptism are both driven by faith.  You confess your faith, you repent by faith, you're baptized by faith, and then you live and walk by faith.

 

If you’re a child of God and you have become entangled in sin, you’ve quit running the race.   Get up, get untangled, repent, take the sins to God, ask forgiveness of them, and get back into the living, the walking by faith and doing His will in your life, striving to be more like God and Christ each day.  We'll pray for you.   We'll pray with you.  We’ll do the very best we can as your brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage you.

 

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

 

Invitation song: ???

Reference sermon by: Wayne Fancher