Chardon church of Christ

I Am Weak But Thou Art Strong

Mark 3: 20-27

Macho men always want to brag about how strong they are.
One day some boys on a school playground were bragging. Johnny said, “My dad has a list of all the men he can beat up—and all your dads are on his list!”
Later that afternoon a knock came on Johnny’s house
and his dad answered the door.
A big angry man said, “Are you Johnny’s dad?”
He said, “I am.”
“Well Johnny told my son said you have a list
of men you think you can beat up, and my name is on it.” Johnny’s dad said, “That’s right.”
The big guy started rolling up his sleeves and said,
“Well, I don’t think you can beat me up.
What are you going to do about it?”
Johnny’s dad thought for a moment and then said,
“I’ll will ERASE your NAME OFF my list.”

Guys are always bragging about who’s the strongest.
Since 1977 there has been a televised event called
“The World’s Strongest Man.”
Most of the winners have come from Finland, Iceland,
and Eastern Europe.
These guys are required to perform amazing feats of strength
like pulling a Boeing 747 with their teeth.
In 2024, Ryan Stoltman secured his third
World’s Strongest Man title,
solidifying his status as one of the strongest athletes
on the planet.
Standing at an impressive 6 feet 8 inches
and weighing 408 pounds he’s a force to be reckoned with.
He holds the world record for lifting
the heaviest Atlas stone ever (631 lb) over a 4ft. bar.

So who do you think was the strongest man in the Bible?

Are you thinking the guy with long hair who could
kill a lion with his bare hands?
Samson was pretty strong,
but after he got a haircut in the devil’s barbershop,
he lost his strength.

In our passage today, Jesus is going to talk about a strong man;
Hopefully, by the time we finish you’ll know the identity of
the “The World’s Strongest Man.”

Mark 3:20-27. 20 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat.
21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.”
23 And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan?
24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.
26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.
27 But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.

On June 16, 1858 more than 1,000 delegates
met in the Springfield, Illinois, for the
Republican State Convention, and they chose Abraham Lincoln
as their candidate for the U.S. Senate,
running against Democrat Stephen A. Douglas.
That evening Lincoln delivered this address
to his Republican colleagues and the main focus
of his remarks were on the issue of slavery:
“Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention.
If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it.

We are now far into the fifth year, since a policy was initiated, with the avowed object, and confident promise,
of putting an end to slavery disconcertment.
Under the operation of that policy, that disconcertment
has not only, NOT ceased, but has constantly intensified.
In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis
shall have been reached, and passed.
A house divided against itself cannot stand."

"A house divided against itself cannot stand."
That's a powerful sentence!
Did Abraham Lincoln come up with that phrase all by himself?
No. Well, where did he get it?
He was quoting Jesus.

Whose kingdom is Jesus talking about here?
Who’s the “strong man” that must first be bound?
Who’s kingdom is about to come to an end?

The main reason for Jesus’ coming was to bind Satan,
to divide and destroy Satan’s kingdom.
Now, hold that thought for a moment.

Did you ever look up verses in the Bible that have the words “division” or “divide” or something similar in them?
I found that division is not always a negative thing in Scripture. In fact, sometimes God CAUSED division to take place.
For example, in Genesis - when God created the world
– we’re told that: “God saw the light, that it was good:
and GOD DIVIDED the light from the darkness.” Genesis 1:4

I know quite a few people who when they eat…the various items on their plate CANNOT touch!

A few verses later we’re told “God made the firmament,
and DIVIDED THE WATERS which were
under the firmament from the waters which were
above the firmament: and it was so. Genesis 1:7

And these were pretty good things...
because God SAID it was good.

And then in Deuteronomy we read
“... when you see the sun, and the moon, and the stars,
even all the host of heaven...
which the LORD your GOD HAS DIVIDED unto all nations
under the whole heaven.” Deuteronomy 4:19

God divided the stars unto all nations?
Did you know that if you were in the southern hemisphere
you see an entirely different set of stars than WE see
in the northern hemisphere.
God has divided all the stars unto all the nations under heaven. And that’s kind of a cool thing.

THEN I read this passage in the New Testament:
(Jesus said) Do you think that I have come
to give peace on earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.
For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three.
They will be divided, father against son
and son against father,
mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
(Luke 12:51-53)

WAIT! WHAT???
Jesus came to bring division??
Well, that’s what He said!!!

But if (by definition) if God does something
it’s got to be good… so how can Jesus
causing division in a family be a good thing?

Well, here’s the deal: People live in one of two realms.
They either belong to Jesus or they belong to Satan.
And when you think about this
you begin to realize there are times we’ve seen
ONLY 2 or 3 members of any family come to church.
Maybe the wife. Maybe a teen.
Maybe grandparents.
And that reality can create division in the family
because some members of the family decide to
belong to Christ and others don’t.

By default – if these people don’t belong to Jesus
they belong to Satan.

You see --- belonging to Satan is not all that hard.
You don’t have to DO anything to Satan.
You don’t have to BELIEVE anything to go to hell.
In fact, not believing in God –
not belonging to Christ –
is all it takes.

Well, what about the people who have trouble
making up their minds?
There are many can’t make a decision to save their souls.
WAIT!!!! DID YOU HEAR THAT!!!
THEY CAN”T MAKE A DECISION TO SAVE THEIR SOULS!!

People who do not make up their minds
to believe in and follow God in their lives...
belong to Satan!
Satan’s kingdom is made up of all kinds of people
who simply have not decided that
they want God to run their lives.

Revelation 3:15-16 tells us
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.
And God’s focus is on bringing Satan’s kingdom to its knees.
His intention is to bind the strong man
and to invite the people who once belonged to the devil
the opportunity at life and hope and peace.

Matthew 11:28-29
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Now, the problem becomes that Satan has no intention
of letting that happen.
Satan intends to hang on to every last one of those that he has. And one of the tools Satan will use... is family.
That may end up being true.
OR your decision might just make all the difference
in the lives of your family.
They might just come to Christ because
you made that choice first.
By standing off to one side and simply being God’s child
you may begin to make your family jealous of your faith in Christ.

And if that happens, you may be able to
help divide up Satan’s kingdom
and change the eternal fate of those that you love.

Jesus faced continued bitter criticism
from these religious leaders throughout His ministry.
That lets us know that if you’re serving God,
you can be assured that you’ll face criticism.
When Jesus faced false accusations and criticism,
He usually asked His critics some questions,
and answered with a parable.
He turned their rants into teachable moments.
In this case He asked, “How can Satan drive out Satan?”
And then Jesus, the Master Teacher shared one of his shortest, and most enigmatic parables.

Let’s REREAD Mark 3:27… examine the parable Jesus spoke,
27 But no one can enter a strong man's house
and plunder his goods,
unless he first binds the strong man.
Then indeed he may plunder his house.

THE PARABLE: Jesus came to reverse the work of Satan.
The Pharisees were insulting Jesus when they claimed
that He was possessed by Beelzebub.
In Jewish literature, Beelzebub was a chief demon, and sometimes even identified as Lucifer himself.
Jesus used this event as an opportunity
to give a short but powerful parable.

What is the spiritual meaning behind this short parable
Involving the world’s strongest man?
Satan is strong, but Jesus is the strongest!

Jesus announced to the world that He came to drive out Satan, the prince of this world.
He said, “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.” (John 12:31)

I could have said Jesus is stronger,
but He’s the strongest.
Satan is real, and he is strong.
But sometimes we make the mistake
of give him qualities that only belong to God.

God is omnipresent—He is everywhere all the time.
God is omnipotent—He is all-powerful.
God is omniscient—He knows everything.

Satan, which means adversary, is Lucifer, a fallen angel.
He isn’t omnipresent, but he’s fast
and has an army of demons.
Lucifer isn’t all-powerful,
but he is like a roaring lion roaming about
seeking whom he may devour.
Lucifer isn’t omniscient, he can’t read your thoughts.
But, like a snake, he is shrewd and crafty.

So the strong man in this parable is the devil,
but Jesus is stronger.
Satan’s house is this world.
Satan is called the prince of this world
but this isn’t the only world there is.

Jesus is the one who came into the world
and He has bound Satan and then stolen his possessions.
But Jesus wasn’t really stealing anything from Satan.
He was only reclaiming what Satan stole in the first place.

Jesus isn’t a thief sneaking in and ripping off someone.
He’s like a policeman going into a robber’s house
and handcuffing him to retrieve stolen property
that the devil took.
Jesus called Satan a thief. He said in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill destroy; I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full.”
Satan’s “possessions” are people without Christ
The Bible describes people without Christ this way:
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” (Ephesians 2:1-2)
The Bible says Satan is at work in the lives of people
who don’t know Christ.
Now if you told an unbeliever that they were
under the control of Satan, they would laugh at you.
They would probably say, “Are you crazy?
I don’t even believe in Satan!”

But the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:4,
In whom the god of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,
lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Even for people who don’t believe God or the devil exists,
Satan is actively keeping their minds shut
to the truth about Jesus.
They are slaves to Satan without even knowing it.

Jesus bound and overcame Satan on the cross
The Bible says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” (1 John 3:8)

“By his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil.” (Hebrews 2:14)

So what does this mean to us?
The devil is a defeated foe.
He is still active,
but he was rendered powerless on the cross.
He knows his doom is sealed.

He’s smart enough to read
Revelation 20:10 that says, “And the devil,
who deceived them,
was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur,
where the beast and the false prophet
had been thrown.
They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
You may be thinking, “OK if the devil is a defeated foe,
he sure is causing me a lot of misery.”
He’s like a wounded animal.
He’s going to fight to the end, although his defeat is sure.

It’s like when the Nazis realized the war was lost,
Hitler issued the Nero Decree.
He told his retreating armies to destroy everything of value. Satan is doing the same thing.
He continues to steal, kill, and destroy.
But he no longer has any authority over you.
He will try to kill your joy,
steal your peace, and destroy your testimony,
but his power is broken.
You can say to him, “Get away from me, Satan,
because greater is he who is in me
than he who is in the world!”

You’re strong, but I have the strongest man living in me!
So that’s the parable.

CONCLUSION
On the evening of June 18, 1850,
a man stood in the bell tower
of London’s Winchester Cathedral staring anxiously out to sea.
All of England was waiting for a report of
the Battle at Waterloo between British general,
the Duke of Wellington,
and the French dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte.

The torch signals from a ship in the English Channel
were sent by code.
The message read: “Wellington defeated...”
At that moment a thick fog rolled in.
The man in the tower signaled the news across the city
To which there was great gloom and sadness
because that meant Napoleon would next invade England.

But hours later the fog lifted
and the rest of the message could be read:
“Wellington defeated the enemy.”

Sadness and despair was replaced with joy and celebration.
When Jesus died on the cross,
it would seem as if He had been defeated.
But when Jesus rose from the dead
the rest of the message was received.
Jesus defeated the enemy!
And we can rejoice today.
The World’s Strongest Man has defeated our enemy!

INVITATION

Using Our Gifts - Part 3

Romans 12:3-8

INTRO:
Good morning. Today we are going to continue to look at Romans 12. Just as a reminder if you hear me say anything that is not according to scripture please let me know and we can look at it together. This morning I would like to continue in our study of this chapter beginning at verse three and continuing through verse 8.

Annie Johnson Flint lived between 1866 and 1932. She suffered from early onset arthritis yet she wrote many beautiful poems. With a pen pushed through bent fingers and held by swollen joints she wrote without any thought that it might be an avenue of ministry, or that it would bring her returns that might help in her support. Her verses provided a solace for her in the long hours of suffering. Then she began making hand-lettered cards and gift books, and decorated some of her own verses. Her life was beset by many problems and suffering. I would recommend you read about her sometime. In considering her life it brings again the question to mind; “Why do good people sometimes suffer?” Of the many poems she wrote I want to mention one titled; The World’s Bible, of which I will read just the first few verses.

Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work today;
He has no feet but our feet to lead men in His way;
He has no tongue but our tongues to tell men how He died;
He has no help but our help to bring them to His side.

We are the only Bible the careless world will read;
We are the sinner's gospel, we are the scoffer's creed;
We are the Lord's last message, given in deed and word;
What if the type is crooked? What if the print is blurred?

What if our hands are busy with other work than His?
What if our feet are walking where sin's allurement is?
What if our tongues are speaking of things His lips would spurn?
How can we hope to help Him and hasten His return?

I would suggest that's what we need to think about. Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work today.

I would also suggest that this is a basic truth of the passages that we've been studying in Romans 12 concerning offering our bodies as spiritual sacrifices to God. God has given us the responsibility to do the work. Not only has He given us responsibility but He has given us the tools and functions as well.

This evening we're going to talk about the gifts God has given us to do His work. Christ has no hands but our hands. He has no feet but our feet. He instructs us to use what we have, to do what God has given us to do.

Turn to Romans chapter 12 if you are not already there. Let’s read starting in verse three again the passage we've been studying.
Romans 12:3-8 – “3. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5. so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7. or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8. he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”

We’ve examined these passages in past weeks to try to understand what our responsibility is in terms of service. What serving God is all about. We found as we studied earlier that the attitude of service is humility. That we must not think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, but to be always willing to put the other person above ourselves.

We also recognized that in the relationship of service, there are many members in one body. Last week we talked about not being stand alone Christians, we are not isolated from one another, but as the physical members of our body make up a single unit, so we as spiritual members make up a spiritual body. As such we are to focus attention on one another, to care for one another, and to serve one another.

This morning I would like to look at verses 6 to 8, and this aspect of gifts.

I. The activity of service is using gifts: It is functioning in a way that God has given us, not only as a body together corporately, but more specifically as individuals who would do their own work and thereby build up the body of Christ. There are a lot of those in religion who seem to misunderstand what the Bible says about spiritual gifts. In fact, the term gift as it relates to what God has provided for us is looked at in many religious circles as a mystical term that can't really be defined, can't really be explored in any concrete way. That is unfortunate because what the Bible tells us about the things God has provided for us, using the term gifts, is very concrete. It's very particular and practical about way that we are to serve before God.

A. The Apostle in Romans 12, uses a word that is very familiar in the New Testament translated into English as the word “gifts”. The Greek word is charisma [khar-is-mah] which means a gift of grace. It is from the common Greek word charis [kha-res] from where we get the word grace or mercy as it is used throughout the Scriptures. In fact it is used in this very verse that says we are given gifts according to the grace of God.

1. Three times in this passage Paul mentions the aspect of grace or mercy. One of those times is in the definition of the word gift itself. That a gift is an act of mercy. When you receive a gift from someone it is not because you earned it. It means the giver was not under obligation, but rather they gave of their own free will.
2. Before we begin talking about the gifts that God has provided for us and discerning what it means to you and me, to have these gifts from God, we first have to recognize, that we have what we have, and we are what we are by the grace of God. God has given us the tools that we need to function in a spiritual way. These gifts then are not earned; they are that which God has given us of His own free will.
3. In fact, other passages indicate, as Ephesians chapter four does, that God has placed these gifts in His church at His own pleasure. That He has placed the structure of the church according to His own desires. It’s not up to man to decide the leadership characteristics of the body either corporately in terms of the local congregation or even universally in terms of God's church as we can talk about it in a universal sense.
4. Back up a little bit and recognize what Paul said in verses three and four of this particular passage.

i. Paul just said; God has dealt to each one a measure of faith for as we have many members in one body but all the members do not have the same function. So what are the gifts here? What are these things that God has given us?
ii. In the context itself Paul saying they are functions. They are practices or deeds that need to be accomplished. This is not in terms of rank or position as we mentioned last week, but in terms of work that needs to be done.
iii. The implication here is that all of us have received or do receive from God the responsibility to function in a certain way and the ability to function in the way needed. He has given this freely to us through His grace.

B. “Differing according to the grace”: What the text also says is that these gifts differ. That though we all have gifts, we all have functions, we all don’t have the same function, we don't all have the same gifts. We recognize that aspect in the physical body when we make the analogy that Paul makes. We have a physical body. We have different parts, members, of the body and these different parts of that body do different things. They differ.

1. This diversity of gifts or functions makes up the benefit of the whole and so the body is able to function, it is able to do what it does as a whole because each individual part of the body works its own work. The diversity of gifts then is a part of the biblical discussion of the church that Paul presents in a couple of other places.
2. Last week we turned to First Corinthians chapter 12, and I ask you to turn back over there again, because I want us to notice that Paul uses the same concept there. Paul uses the aspect of the diversity of gifts to talk about the actual activity or the functioning of the church at Corinth.

i. In First Corinthians chapter 12 I believe what Paul's talking about are the temporary, miraculous gifts, given by the Holy Spirit at that time. We'll talk about the distinction between this discussion and Romans chapter 12 in just a few moments.
ii. We see in the context of First Corinthians chapter 12 there are these spiritual, miraculous gifts that were given by the laying on the hands of the apostles and they differed from individual to individual. Not everyone that was a Christian in the first century had a miraculous spiritual gift. Some did but they did not all have the same gift. Paul is making it clear here this diversity lends to the unity of the whole.
iii. I Corinthians 12:4-7 - “There are different kinds of gifts but the same spirit. There are different kinds of service but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the spirit is given for the common good.” [para]
iv. Each manifestation of the spirit, gift, is so that the body itself can grow as a whole and can function as a whole. Certainly he’s saying there are different kinds of gifts and this diversity must be recognized.

3. The reason Paul wants them to realize that there are different kinds of gifts, is because he's going to point out later on, particularly as he gets to Chapter 13 and 14, that no gift is better than another. There are different kinds of gifts but any gift, such as the gift of speaking in tongues, is no more spiritual than any of the other types of gifts that were given such as the gift of prophecy.
4. Before we go any further in terms of our discussion of Roman 12 the question comes to mind: Do Christians today have spiritual gifts? We recognize from the study of miraculous gifts that the apostles are no longer around to lay hands on people. The miraculous gifts in the first century were temporary, and therefore there is no miraculous measures of the spirit given to individuals today. In the sense of First Corinthians 12 there are no spiritual gifts today.
5. We see the term spiritual is not used in connection with the gifts in Romans chapter 12. When Paul talks about God giving differing gifts in Romans 12 he doesn't use the term spiritual, and that is significant. In comparison to that, looking at 1 Corinthians 12:1 we recognize that when Paul begins talking about spiritual gifts that the word gifts is in italics which means that Paul doesn't use the word gifts. He simply uses the word spirituality or spiritual. It's clear from what takes place in the rest of the context of 1 Corinthians 12 that what he's talking about there are individual miraculous activities, which benefit the whole spiritual body.

C. Miraculous or not: I wondered, how do the spiritual gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12 relate to Romans 12? In Romans 12 when he says we all receive gifts; is he talking about spiritual gifts that are miraculous or not miraculous?

1. We have to be careful to recognize the context of the times in which Paul and the other apostles mention the list of spiritual gifts.
2. Paul has a list in 1 Corinthians 12. He also has a list in Romans 12. Peter has a list in 1 Peter 4. There are lists of individual gifts that are given by the Apostles. Are those lists miraculous or are they non-miraculous? Can we make a clear distinction in the list between what is miraculous and what is non-miraculous? I would suggest that first we have to recognize the context of each passage.
3. The context of 1 Corinthians focuses on the Corinthians misuse of miraculous gifts. Some of those Christians were saying speaking in tongues was more important than any other gift. It was more visible, showier if you will; therefore those who had the gift of speaking in tongues seemed more “spiritual” than other people who did not have that gift. Do some religious people think that today?

i. Paul corrects this. He says there are a variety of gifts God provides for all of them and in the end a person should really seek for love which is far beyond any temporary miraculous gift that was given. You should seek for that greatest gift first, love. 1 Corinthians 13
ii. In the Corinthian letter where Paul deals with the aspects of miraculous gifts he provides a certain context.
iii. The context of Romans 12 is different. The context of Romans 12 is that every Christian has an obligation to offer his body as a spiritual sacrifice to God, verses 1 and 2. The list here then, verses 6 through 8 certainly includes what we would recognize to be non-miraculous functions. Notice what he says here. Paul says there is ministering, there’s teaching, there’s exhorting, there’s giving, there's leading, there’s showing mercy. None of those things require miraculous activity or a miraculous ability to function.
iv. There are no implied miraculous gifts in Romans 12. In fact the only one on the list, I believe, that seems to demand miraculous activity or miraculous measure is the first one when he says if you go into prophecy do it according to a measure of faith. We also find in 1 Corinthians 14:3 – “he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.”

4. What's this mean to us? I think the first thing it shows us is the willingness of the apostles to mix miraculous with non-miraculous gifts. It shows, in some sense, that the church in the first century held them as equal functions. In the congregation you had people who did particular work that they couldn't do without a miraculous measure, such as speaking in tongues. There were other individuals who functioned in what we might think of as a regular capacity, who had been given gifts of ordinary measure of the spirit and performed functions in non-miraculous ways.
5. When the apostles talked to the church about gifts, they lumped them together and recognized that all of these were the product of the Holy Spirit in the life of the individual and given by God. They were equal functions from the same spirit.
6. Later Peter uses the term “gift” in 1 Peter 4:10-11 and notice that he applies it to the aspect of that which is non-miraculous. “10. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever.”

D. We’re familiar with these verses. We use these words of Peter to make the point that if a person is going speak or preach he needs to do it as the oracles of God. Meaning what? That he’s going to receive a special miraculous manifestation? No, he’s going to take the word of God as the oracles of God and on that he's going to base his statements and not speak anything other than what God has spoken.

1. Peter indicates that speaking is itself a gift. It is itself a product of the Holy Spirit and therefore spiritual in its very nature. The focus of what Peter said, the focus of what Paul says, in both places, is that the gifts are from God. The glory ought to be given to God when the gift is utilized, or used.
2. When we get through considering the context of each list we should recognize that the term spiritual certainly applies to both miraculous and non-miraculous gifts. It's not wrong to recognize that you and I do have spiritual gifts and that God has given all of these things to us by His power through the Holy Spirit, but that doesn't involve nor necessitate any miraculous activity.

E. These are spiritual functions that benefit the spiritual body of Christ to build it up. They have been acquired through the influence of the Holy Spirit through the word of God. I think that's an important distinction, but sometimes we talk about passages like Romans 12 where it says that we have been given gifts, and we are to use our gifts to the glorify God, and we think simply in the terms of obvious ability.

1. If someone has the ability to run fast or if they can jump high or has some athletic ability or they are very smart, has a lot of intellect, or excels in math, they needs to use that ability to the glory of God.
2. Certainly we are to be using all of the things that God has given us in terms of ability to serve God but recognize in the context of Romans 12 that's not all that Paul's talking about. He's talking about spiritual gifts that have been given to us by the influence of the Spirit of God in our life to do spiritual work.
3. He mentions or lists these things that come from the Spirit of God that an individual ought to be able and willing to use. As a person uses these gifts in the work that is what makes the gifts productive. Makes these gifts function. We are the hands.
4. Consider that for a minute. Now in Philippians 2:13 Paul says; “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

i. The person is influenced by the word of God.
ii. The Holy Spirit provides gifts or functions that we can engage, that will build up the body of Christ.
iii. The implication there is that if the person does not spend time in the word of God they are not influenced by the Spirit of God, then they can’t have many spiritual gifts.

F. Certainly then, when we think about this aspect in searching after ways in which we can serve God, we have to recognize that the source of the ability and the knowledge and strength to use it comes from the word of God. Making sure that we spend time in the word of God and we meditate on the word of God and we live in obedience to the word of God in our life, so that the things God has given us to do become the functioning of the service that God provided to us.

II. Use Them: Then we come to the text. “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them:” This then is the activity of service—use of the gifts that God provides. The growth and development of the body of Christ through the gifts that God provided, is the way that Paul says the church has built up. What gifts does Paul mention here? Let me take a couple of minutes to talk about these gifts because I think that even though the list is not exhaustive, there are some thoughts contained in it that help us to understand what our gifts may be or what our functions may be.

A. The first one he mentions here is prophecy. He says “if prophecy let us prophesy in proportion to our faith.” As I mentioned before the Greek word here prophēteia [pro-fey-tie-ah] is defined as; speaking forth of the mind and the Council of God, according to Vine’s. It simply means the aspect of speaking what God has given the person to speak. In nearly every occasion in the Bible, prophesy is used to describe the activity of someone who has been given a message directly from God.

1. The apostles were inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak and write. God brought things into remembrance that they wouldn’t have known had not the Holy Spirit been given unto them.
2. The prophet was one, both in the Old and New Testament, who could predict the future, reveal undiscoverable things from God, and therefore I believe that this aspect of prophecy always relates in its use to the miraculous measure or the Holy Spirit. It is by definition a miraculous gift.
3. The prophets and the apostles are talked about as laying the foundation of the church. Ephesians 2:20 so their work was by its very definition temporary. They were to receive the word as the apostles did and when they preached that word it became the basis on which the church was built.
4. Other men would preach the word of the apostles even as the apostles preached the Old Testament prophets to lay the foundation of an individual coming to God.

B. Today if we try to make an application of this aspect of the gifts we recognize that prophecy most clearly relates to someone who would stand up and preach or teach the word of God. This someone would not be receiving a direct revelation but would preach the word that came through direct revelation as recorded in the Bible.

1. If we think about the gifts there are some individuals who have a gift to stand up and preach the word of God, because they know what the word God says. That is, they've come to understand and recognize and discern what the word of God teaches and therefore they can stand up and they can take the prophetic word and they can make it known unto those listening.
2. That's exactly what Paul told Timothy to do to commit the word to other faithful men who would be able to teach others also.
3. Vine’s New Testament dictionary says that with the completion of the cannon of scripture prophecy apparently passed away. In this measure the teacher has taken the place of the Prophet. The difference is that whereas the message of the Prophet was a direct revelation of the mind of God for the occasion, the message of the teacher is gathered from the completed revelations contained in scripture.
4. You see then as mentioned in 1 Peter 4 the implication is; we dare not preach and teach anything other than that which is written in scripture, for which we have prophetic word. As Peter said in 2 Peter 21 “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”.
5. In the text Paul says, “let us prophesy in proportion to our faith”. The faith here may refer to the objective measure of the revelation. I think that's probably the best understanding. The prophet received a message. He was to prophesy according to that. He was not to go beyond that or leave anything out. He was to make known to others what God had made known to him. That's the very same principle we’re talking about here in speaking the oracles of God.

C. Then he mentions the word ministers. He says one of the gifts is ministry. If we have the gift of ministry let us use it in our ministering. The Greek word here is diakonia [de-aka-ne-ah] which means to serve. It’s used to describe all types of service. Physical servants who would serve a master or Paul as he talks about himself being a servant of Jesus Christ, as the apostles were talked about as being servants of the church.

1. The word there is diakonia [de-aka-ne-ah] referring to these as servants of the church. The word minister simply means Servant. Are you a minister? Yes, you are if you’re a Christian. You can't be anything other than a minister if you’re a child of God. Someone who recognizes their responsibility to serve others, and by the influence of a Holy Spirit has the ability to serve, to help another person.
2. Then we look at people as they help one another today and we recognize the spirit still gives the ability to individuals in a non-miraculous way to help one another even through the experiences of life and certainly through an understanding of the word of God. To understand what it means to sympathize and have empathy for another person, to read what Jesus did and know what Jesus did to help others and follow that example. All of that ability comes through the power of the Spirit influencing a person’s life. If one has the capacity to serve, to help in any way, Paul is saying you must use that gift. You dare not hold it back if you can serve another person you must do it. In a very real sense then we are all to be ministers.

D. He also says he who teaches in teaching. The word here again is the very general term. The original word simply means someone who stands up and through systematic and regular instruction tells another person what he needs to do or what he needs to know. In school your teachers would stand up and they would tell you things you didn't know before you studied and that's the aspect of teaching here.

1. The teacher in the biblical context has an enormous responsibility. In fact James says in James 3 that he has a heavier responsibility than a person who doesn't teach. “let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment” His is a greater degree of condemnation because if he teachers something wrong and leads someone astray there’s a problem there. He is not only responsible for his own life he is also responsible for the life of the person he’s teaching.
2. Teaching is something that a person should never engage in without serious consideration, without recognizing the serious responsibilities involved. However, on the other side of that, every Christian must be a teacher.
3. Teachers are not simply a select group of individuals here that we set aside to do the teaching for us. The Bible nowhere in any way, condones the clergy-laity distinction among God’s people. In that sense we’re all clergy in the sense that we are all to be priests before God serving him and sacrificing and certainly teaching.
4. We look at Matthew 28:19 where the great commission is given to the apostles to go out and preach the gospel to every creature. He says they're to teach them to observe all things I have commanded. Everybody needs to be involved in the process of teaching. Titus 2:4 even older women are to teach the younger women how to love their husbands.
5. The word teach is used over and over again in the scriptures to talk about this aspect of imparting to someone information that they need to know.

Are you a teacher?
Do you know how to teach? Perhaps not in the official capacity or before a group. Consider...
Can you teach your children?
Can you teach others’ children?
Can you teach your spouse?
Can you teach your neighbor how to become a Christian?
Teach the very basics of what you did to become one.
Can you replicate that in teaching someone else?
Maybe the more pressing question is: Have you ever done that?

6. By becoming a Christian God gave you and me responsibilities to teach others how to become a Christian. Have you ever converted someone to Christ?

E. Paul also uses the term exhort here. He who exhorts. The compound word parakaleō [para-ka-layo] in the Greek language, para meaning alongside kaleō meaning to call. It literally means to call someone to your side. You're traveling a path that you have chosen and you call another person to go along with you. Side by side you encourage, you exhort this person.

1. In Ephesians Paul uses parakaleō and the English translation of that word is encourage. It means to advise, to plead with someone, to beseech, to warn someone, to strengthen someone, to comfort someone as this particular term is used to describe the Holy Spirit as the comforter, the paraklētos [para-kla-tos], the one who would bring assurance to Christians even through miraculous measures.
2. The Christians then is obligated to learn to exhort another person. It might involve comforting a brother and sister who is going through some emotional distress, who is facing trouble or suffering physically or is facing spiritual problems, who is involved in some trouble or some temptation. The Christian has an obligation to use the gift that they have to call that person along to their side and to exhort them.
3. How important is it for the church to have individuals utilize the gift of exhortation? We should recognize that there is a potential for all of us stray, become weak, fall away, just head down the wrong path, and if there is not someone there to bring us back, if there is not someone there to exhort us, someone who's close to us who can relate to us in a personal way, who can go to us even in privacy and talk about these things, we may very well be lost simply because there is no one to exhort.
4. In Galatians 6:1 Paul called on those who are spiritual. Notice he says; “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” Do we see the context here? The person who through the power of the Holy Spirit has learned a function and God expects them to use it. If you have a person that's spiritual they have an obligation to use that spiritual function or gift to bring someone back, to restore someone who's fallen away.
5. They have to do it in a spirit of gentleness. They may have to bear that other person’s burdens but they must use the gift. Perhaps many times we do not. Many times people fall away from church and become weak. They don’t come to the assemblies anymore and they don't associate with other Christians, they get involved in sin. What do we do? Do we stand back and watch? We have the ability to go talk to them, visit them, and try to encourage them. We can give an example of faithfulness to them but perhaps we don't use our gifts.

F. Then Paul says he who gives, do so with simplicity [KJV] or liberality [NKJV - ASV]. The idea of the word here is sincerity, free from pretence, not self seeking, openness manifested in generosity.

1. All of us give. I suspect Paul knows that some do not give from the heart, not giving as cheerful sharing but perhaps with other motivation. Paul is saying that God has given you the ability of the function to give, to understand the importance of giving, not just in the aspect that you have something to give but understand the importance of giving, and also to know how to give so that other people can benefit from it.
2. You remember what Jesus said in Luke 3:11 “"He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.''” That passage is pointing out what we have determines our responsibility. If you've got two tunics and think someone else needs one you should give him one. You can give to him abundantly.
3. Let him give it to him who has none certainly that applies the physical blessings but I believe it applies spiritually as well. A person is to give with liberality, generosity. While this carries with it the aspect of the amount that a person should give freely, it’s important to recognize that what the apostle is talking about here is that a person gives with no strings attached. He gives in an untainted way without any ulterior motive. That they are to give for the sake of the one they are giving to, for what God has called them to do. They do not give to be recognized as a giver, they do not give to get back or to have the applause of man.
4. Those who have the capacity to give should never be discouraged or prohibited from giving. One way we can deter people from giving—is by not receiving. Sometimes we are simply too proud to receive help. We don't want to admit that we need something.
5. I’m not just talking monetary here. Giving can take many forms and sometimes we are inclined to refuse it. Here's the problem: The person who is trying to do what is right, giving liberally and using their gift for good is turned back and discouraged from giving.
6. Or we're simply not willing to let them be anonymous in their giving. We want to shower them with Thanksgiving and bring them out into the open and give them applause. What we need to realize is that sometimes our human fleshly propensities and ideas of helping one another stand in the way of true spiritual giving where a person can give simply, for the purpose of serving God anonymously, seeking nothing in return, doing it out of the conviction of the heart.

G. Paul says he who leads to lead with diligence. I strongly suspect that this particular Bible passage refers to those who are in positions of leadership, the elders in the capacity of overseers. The same words used to describe their work is translated in 1 Timothy 5:17 – “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.” The word here is translated rule. That they need to rule over their families. They need to rule over the church.

1. Those who have been given the capacity to lead—need to lead. If they have the ability through their knowledge and through the Spirit’s influence in their life to lead others, they should lead. They should not be held back from their function of leading, and they need to do it with all diligence. The word there means zeal. This means you do something not casually, in a leisure way, you do it with great intensity towards a purpose. If you take on a position of leadership you need to take it seriously.
2. There's something here that really stands out to me where a person has been given the spiritual function to lead, whether they like it or not...and that's when you’re a father. You are the spiritual head of a family. You may not have consciously chosen that. You didn’t get that position because you were qualified from a training class, because you had a checklist, met all the requirements to be the head of a family.

i. You got that when you entered into the relationship of marriage and then you had children. You’re a father and a husband and God says by His very decree, without any necessary explanation, you are the leader.
ii. God will give you the capacity to lead. Not in some miraculous way, He’ll give you the capacity to lead in his word. If you spend time meditating on the word of God, listening to the example of Jesus, trying to be a spiritual person, if you use the gift that you already have in a way that pleases God, you will learn through the power of the Spirit of God how to lead.
iii. Not just how to lead but how to lead seriously your family into spiritual health.

H. Then lastly Paul says he who shows mercy with cheerfulness. Look at the list. Does it seem a little odd that this would be included in a list of spiritual gifts? I can understand leading, some people are leaders and other people are followers. In the aspect of giving some people have something and some people don't. But showing mercy? Isn't that something everybody should do? Yes it is.

1. Showing mercy and showing sensitivity to suffering and sorrow and then responding, is a gift. It is something that God gives us through the influence of the spirit in our lives. The way of the flesh says I'm for myself and I only care about myself and a person ought to get what they deserve. Isn’t that the way the world looks at it?
2. A person becomes a Christian, the spirit influences their lives and they recognize I am what I am by the grace of God. If I am going to be a spiritual person I need to learn how to show mercy to others. I need to learn how to look at other people and see their suffering and empathize with that suffering, to see the suffering and sorrow that go unnoticed by others. To see the suffering that takes place within the heart of an individual and tries to do something about it.
3. I believe this is particularly seen in the Christian who visits the hospital, who goes to the sick, who visits the prisoner in jail, who helps the young mothers struggling with their children. The one who cares about other people, who aids people with disabilities, who recognizes that other people don't have as much as they have and wants to provide help for them. Those are the activities of mercy that were vital to the first century church.

I. One of the first visible manifestations of the Lord’s Church in Acts chapter two was that they cared about one another. Individuals that didn't have immediately received from those that had, so that everybody had what they needed. They didn't deserve that, they didn't earn that, those weren’t acts of obligation. They were Christians using the gift that God gave them through the power of the Holy Spirit to help another person, to show mercy.

1. How do you do that? If you have to bite your tongue when you're saying a kind word, if you have to grudgingly squeeze the nickel out of your hands, God doesn't want it and neither does the person who’s going to get it. It has to be given from the heart. It has to be given cheerfully.
2. One cannot show mercy out of obligation because showing mercy is giving to someone who does not deserve it. That's how I got the Mercy I got. That's how you received mercy as well. We didn't deserve it. God gave it to us. If I'm going to give to someone else, I have to be willing to give it cheerfully.
3. One writer wrote in talking about this as a spiritual gift and comparing to other spiritual gifts in the Bible: “Would all the Christians with this gift not only administer it cheerfully but also regularly and consistently there will be fewer needy who have to depend on a Godless and impersonal government or social agency and if Christ’s people patterned their lives after His gracious example, far more people would hear and respond to the saving gospel that meets their greatest need.”

CONCLUSION:
Oh, if we were just people who would use the gifts that God gave us. If we could just show mercy, as basic as that is, we might even bring people to Christ.

It's critical to understand that spiritual gifts are not given for us; they're given for other people. In order to properly use our gifts we have to be willing to serve other people and use our gifts for the development of the whole body of Christ. It is into our hands these gifts have been given.

We are personally blessed, when we're able to use the gifts that we have for other people. Not only that, it is helping the other people that makes the gift powerful.
1 Peter 4:10 a passage we looked at earlier and we’ll close with this; “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Stewardship, folks, is how we use the grace, the gifts, given us.
What do we do with our gifts? Do we minister to somebody else? Do we give to other people? Help other people with it. A thief steals it for himself. Christians give to somebody else.

No ability, gift, spiritual or otherwise is of any value if it is not used. Think about this; what if all the worlds beautiful sculptures and paintings were in private hands, in collections not to be seen by others. They would simply be a collection. That's not what God means for us when He says we have been given gifts. They have to be used to be beneficial. It’s tragic when we keep our spiritual gifts stored rather using them to serve our Lord and to provide for the benefit of His spiritual body.

We are about to sing the song of invitation. If you are not a Christian, we with all our heart plead with you to make a decision for Christ today. To decide to be His child, step out in your faith and be baptized in water for the forgiveness of sin. That faith becomes access to the grace of God, made possible by the blood and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We believe in that and we rest our hope in that blood.

We invite anyone who has that need or any other need to come forward while we stand and while we sing.

Invitation song: ???

Reference sermon: David Schmidt

Using Our Gifts - Part 2

Romans 12:3-8

INTRO:
Good morning. Today we are going to continue to look at Romans 12. Just as a reminder if you hear me say anything that is not according to scripture please let me know and we can look at it together. In general I will be using the New King James or the King James Version for reference. This morning I would like to continue in our study of this chapter beginning at verse three and continuing through verse 8. Please turn there with me now.

Romans 12:3-8 – “3. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5. so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7. or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8. he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”

In our last lesson we looked closely at the first part of these verses and talked about Paul’s admonition to humility. We cannot think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. True humility is the environment for serving one another and for serving God. That was the lesson last week, to have a proper attitude for service.

In the continuation of our study I want to look two other aspects of service that are contained in these verses. First is the proper relationship of serving. We will talk about that this morning. God has placed us in a relationship with Him and with one another. That's the perfect environment in which we can serve Him and each other. Second we will look at the activity of serving. Paul gives us a list here that talks about different activities which are to be involved in serving one another and serving God. These activities flow from the attitude and the relationship that he just discussed.

I. The Proper Relationship of Serving: As I thought about that I wondered, what is the proper relationship of serving? I believe it may be found in the verse where he said we have many members in one body. Earlier in this chapter the apostle used the term body in the literal sense when he said we should offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God. He was talking about the use of our physical bodies in such a way as they are consecrated to God. In verses 4 and 5 he uses the term body in a different way, a symbolic way, illustrating the spiritual sense. He says; For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

A. The term body here is referring to the body of disciples, the assembly of individuals. The analogy is easy for us to see. In the physical reality we have one body, one physical body. In the spiritual reality there is one body of God’s people, one body of disciples. That tells us some things about the body of Christ, about the singular nature of the body of Christ, or as we refer to it, the church. In the Bible the church is not a conglomeration of various denominated congregations. The Bible does not teach that the church in the universal sense is made up of different denominations or even of different congregations.

1. The Bible describes the universal body of disciples as made up of individuals who are individually consecrated and given to God. Who individually belong to Him in the same way that the members of your physical body belong to you. Those members, in the strictest aspect of the analogy, all submit to the leadership of the single head.
2. I don't believe we can possibly understand the Biblical use, and particularly Paul’s use of the terminology “body”, without looking closely at what it refers to in the analogy.

i. That is, the physical organism that you and I live in—the physical body.
ii. In these verses Paul is not using physical body in an institutional sense. He is not talking about a body in the sense of being an institution or an organization, but in an anatomical sense—in the aspect of an organism or a living thing as our bodies are living things.

3. Paul identified the church as the body of Christ. We can use that analogy to further understand the spiritual relationship that we have with God, and the spiritual relationship we have with one another. Now there are several times in scripture where Paul talks about the body as being the body of disciples. He identifies the body of Christ as the church in Ephesians 1:22-23 – “22. ... He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23. which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”. Also Colossians 1:24 – “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,”

i. Paul uses this illustration in several different ways to help us understand that the body is the universal group of God's people. It is the church. I think that in many ways we can recognize that this destroys the idea of the denominated church such as exists today. In this country we seem to have the view it is ok that there are many churches with different beliefs and different creeds, different confessions, and with different congregations. I’ll talk more about that in another lesson.
ii. In our text in Romans chapter 12 that's not really the way Paul uses that particular terminology or at least that's not the main point when Paul says that we are members of one body.
iii. The only head of the church as His is body, is Christ. That concept can never be divorced from the Biblical use of the terminology that the church is the body of Christ. When Christ is referred to as the head of the body it’s referring to this aspect of the mind or the spirit of the body—the control of the body.
iv. Jesus is the head of the church in the sense in which you and I submit to His leadership we submit to the mind of Christ. We submit to His desires and it is Christ that animates the church in the same way that the mind animates the body in the physical realm.
v. When a body loses its mind or loses its spirit it becomes dead, it is nothing more than a corpse. If a group of individuals, or if a congregation of the church of Christ loses its connection with the head, if it fails to follow the mind of Christ, it is nothing but a dead corpse of individuals, spiritually. That concept is important for us to recognize. The church may be properly organized may have an institutional reference to being a church of Christ, but if it does not follow spiritually the head it is certainly not the body that belongs to Christ.

4. The same picture, I think, of the body of Christ is utilized by Paul in his discussion of miraculous gifts in I Corinthians chapter 12. I would like to look at a couple of passages from that as well to help us understand the point. First Corinthians Chapter 12:12-14 – “12. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14. For in fact the body is not one member but many.” Here Paul again utilizes this aspect of the body to make a point about the diversity of spiritual gifts that existed in Corinth, how they were misusing those gifts and how their attitude towards those gifts was certainly not indicative of the spirit in which they were given.

i. In this discussion Paul makes it clear that the unity of God's church is based upon their common obedience to a single head, the Lord. In this passage he mentions this aspect of the single nature of God himself. One Spirit. There is one God. As there is one God, there is one body. In verse 13 he says “have all been made to drink into one Spirit”. The singular nature of God, the singular nature of the spirit, singular nature of the revelation makes it clear that there can’t be many different bodies. There must be one body because there is one head, because there is one mind, because there is one spirit.
ii. That tells us something. That the unity of God's people in the church is based upon the unity or the singular nature of the objective message of the Spirit of God. It's contained in the written word. We become the church that belongs to Christ when we obey the word, the revelation of the mind and the spirit of God.
iii. When we as members of a body submit to the head, we become the church that belongs to Christ. The physical body has many members but one mind. That one mind tells each part of the body what it is best suited or fitted or equipped to do. The members of that body work in conjunction with the other members of the body and they make the decisions they do and actions that they take based upon what's good for the body as a whole. All of that is orchestrated. All of that is made possible because there is a will, because there is a mind, because there is a head.
iv. In Ephesians chapter 4 Paul says that we are not to create the unity of the spirit that we are to maintain the unity of the spirit because the unity of the spirit, the unity that is created by the spirit of God, is already in place, by the written divine Spirit given by God.

5. What makes the church one? It's not me saying it or you saying it. It’s not by putting it on a banner or making it a mantra of the church that we are one. What makes the church one is the singular nature of the mind of God revealed through scripture. God had given His body one direction, one mind.

B. In Romans Chapter 12 Paul uses the term one body. In this context Paul is showing that there is one body and there is a diversity of members of that body. How obvious that is to us in the physical sense. There is only one of us, but there is one body that works together, we just have different members.

1. The implication of that is what Paul is able to show here. He makes a point about using the gifts that we have for the benefit of the church as a whole. He says this one body has many members, just as we do in a physical sense. What does that mean? As I mentioned, I think, there are implications.

i. One of the most basic implications of that statement is that God's church is not a homogenized group of spiritual clones; we are not all exactly the same. We come from different backgrounds, different cultures, different races, different social classes, different nationalities, we come from different places.
ii. Ultimately our backgrounds contribute to make us who we are. It is an arrogant mistake, I think, to see Christians or to visualize Christians as being American, white, middle class Northerners, who sing 4 part harmony. That may, in some way, describe some of us, but in no means describes all of us and certainly does not describe who all Christians are. Even in a local group of individuals there are different people from different cultures from different backgrounds who have ultimately different thoughts and ideas. Maybe even to the point they have different convictions on what God has said in his word, and are very likely at different points in their spiritual growth.

2. Paul deals with that in the book of Romans and again in the book of First Corinthians. Individuals are at different levels. Some are more knowledgeable and some are not as knowledgeable, and some are strong, some are weak. All those individuals make up a single body—many members making up a single body.

i. God demands within that body, even with all of that diversity, He demands that there be what we might call “practical unity” among the group. As God has established unity on a spiritual level so He demands unity on a practical level. By that He means we’ve got to get along as God’s people. The way that we get along as God's people in this context, is that we recognize that we have a job to do, that we have tools to be used, and that God has made possible practical unity among His people even in diversity, through the use of their gifts.

3. What we recognize in this is the individual diversity is consistent with practical unity. The fact that we are all different and come from different backgrounds does not mean that unity is not possible, nor is that individual diversity inconsistent with the fact that God demands unity. It is as big a mistake to force unity by trying to make everyone alike, a clone, as it is to elevate diversity to the extent that each individual member looses contact with the mind and unity becomes impossible. There's diversity in God's body but that body works together because the single mind has given each individual member a function to perform and as it performs that function—the body has benefited as a whole.

i. The body is like unto a football team, you've got 40/50 guys on the roster. What happens if all of them want to be the quarterback? How about if there are just a couple of guys that want to be quarterback, and who have the skills to be quarterback? You know what has to happen; one has to be selected as the quarterback. He will operate as quarterback and nobody else on the team can be him. They have to be somebody else. Everybody on the team has a job to do and as those individuals work together—the team functions.
ii. Practical unity of the body is based upon individual function. Individual function does not destroy unity it creates unity. Certainly that's true from a spiritual sense. Paul addresses that Ephesians 4:13-16 “till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;”. There’s the body, there’s the measure. “14. that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive, 15. but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head Christ 16. from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. ” Paul tells us in using the analogy of a physical body, that all parts have to function together and it is the head that directs. We all grow up under a single head and if every part does its share then the body grows. A body that is unified grows stronger.
iii. A body where the parts rebel and the members don't do their job is a body that will die. Think about that in the spiritual sense.

C. Now turn back to Romans chapter 12 and a further description of the unity of diversity. Paul says in Romans 12:5 that we are individually members of one another. What does that mean—individually members of one another? I suggest to you that is the biblical picture of interdependence. Not independence but the opposite, interdependence. What Paul's telling us is that we cannot in the spiritual sense function in isolation from each other any more than a member of the physical body can say to the rest of the body I'm not connected. I don't have anything to do with you.

1. The members of my body cannot exist nor function in isolation from other members of my body and we are the same way in the spiritual sense. There is no independence in the body of Christ. There is interdependence in the body of Christ. Again go back to First Corinthians chapter 12. First Corinthians 12:21-25 - “21. ... the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you''; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you.'' 22. No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. 23. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, 24. but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, 25. that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.”

2. Paul compares again the spiritual parts of the body of Christ to our human body. He says there are different kinds of parts to your physical body.

i. I'm not well versed on anatomy and all there is to know about parts of my body, but I think what Paul says here is obviously true of our physical bodies. There are parts that are more visible, that are more prominent, that are out in front, that everybody notices.
ii. If a person walks up to you and they don't have a nose you're going to notice that right off. It's a presentable part in the middle of a face that should be there and if it's not, you notice. There are parts of our body that are up front and prominent such as our eyes and our hands and our arms and our legs or our ears.
iii. There are those members which by the way they are placed on the body would seem to be more important or stronger than other parts of the body. We know that's not so. There are members of our body that are in that sense less strong, more vulnerable, yet are more important in terms of the life of the body itself.
iv. In terms of Paul's discussion here think about the physical body and ask, what are our vital organs? Is your ear a vital organ? If you lose it, it's a bad thing or if you lose an eye, it's a bad thing, but you can live without it. There are people who have no eyes or no ears who live. If however someone were to lose their heart or their lungs or one of their vital organs that are on the inside of the body they cannot survive.
v. Isn’t it interesting in terms of the physical body those organs we consider to be vital, organs that need to be protected, in the physical sense they are protected. The lungs and heart are skeletally protected in your body away from the view of others and away from that which might harm them, so that they can be vital to life. They are weaker but they're more important.
vi. We can lose an eye or an ear or a leg and still live. Certainly the work of your hands is more prominent, what do you do with your hands is seen by all, the work of your heart that goes unseen almost unnoticed—yet is absolutely essential. I lose my hands and I can't work where everybody can see what I do, that's bad. But if my heart stops working--that's critical. Just because a member is weaker does not mean that the member of the body is less important to the body as a whole. In fact the natural aspect of it is that the body itself protects those members that are more vulnerable because those members that are more vulnerable are sometimes and in many ways more important than those that are not as vulnerable.
vii. Think about that on the spiritual level. We all have different vulnerabilities spiritually before us and we could use the term weaker and stronger to apply to ourselves as members of the body of Christ. If there are weaker and stronger members of the body of Christ, which of those members are more important to the body as a whole. Which of them are more vital?
viii. Could it be that sometimes the members who appear the weakest, who are less prominent, are the most vital to the life of the body itself? Could that possibly be what Paul’s telling us? We have to recognize that we are members one of another. I cannot stand in isolation from others and say “well you know they are just not that important”. I can not say “it doesn't matter about them and that I can overlook them, I can neglect them”; when they are members of the same body.

3. Paul's using this analogy to get us to recognize that we have a mutual responsibility. In Verse 25 and 26 he gives two necessary admonitions that flow from the illustration. He said but the members should have the same care for one another. I Corinthians 12:25. Mentally underline the word same there because while we are willing to say “I care about everybody”, that’s not all the Paul’s saying. He's saying you have the same care for every member of the body of Christ. If this person is hurting and this person has spiritual problems and this person's marriage on the rocks... that is just as important as this member over here, when they suffer.

i. We have the same care for one another, that we value each person in the body, and sincerely care about them as well as the others in the physical and social and spiritual sense. We are all members of one another in the body of Christ.
ii. If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it or if one member is honored all the members rejoice with it. That’s true physically isn’t it?
iii. Sometimes members that are seemingly insignificant in our physical body when they start hurting, everybody else hurts too. I never even gave my thyroid a thought through most of my life, but when things started to go wrong with it believe me the whole body felt the effect! When one member suffers all suffer and there is no insignificant suffering going on in the body of Christ. Because there is no insignificance part.
iv. There's also no insignificant honoring going on. If there is an occasion for rejoicing among seemingly the most insignificant member of the body of Christ, members of the body need to rejoice over that. They need to be happy about it. We need to be willing to honor one another.

4. What this tells me is that in the whole body of Christ there is no place, there can be no place for competition and for envy among God’s people. Envy destroys the ability in us to rejoice about something good that happened to somebody else—in somebody else's life. It's the very antithesis to this aspect that Paul’s talking about here. When envy is there honor doesn't happen it simply doesn't happen.

D. Turn to Romans chapter 12 Verse 4 again. In verse four he says; “we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,”. Not every member has the same function. Again that's one of those ideas when you apply it to the physical body that’s easy to see. In fact we diagnose problems depending upon the function of a particular member of our body. If we're having trouble hearing we don't examine the big toe because we know that we don't hear through our big toe. There's a place to look if we can’t hear and there's a place to look if we can’t see because there are members of our body that are distinguished by their function.

1. Paul uses the words function in this particular passage of the NKJV and the King James uses the word office which I think is probably one of those unfortunate translations of the original word. The word here is praxis which means a doing, an act or a function or a deed. It is best rendered I think as function. When we talk about a doctor and say: Does he have a practice? We might mean does he have an office somewhere but we may mean more. Does he have a place for his patients to come? We mean does he have a function of serving as a doctor. The term office in the 1600’s did indeed carry that meaning though not so much here today.
2. That's the aspect here. Not all members have the same function in the body of Christ. Paul is not talking about position or rank, which is what we might get from the word office today. That's not the thought. There are many in the church who do not have an office so to speak, but they all have a function to perform. That's what Paul's saying here.
3. The question that comes to mind, what is your function? What is your practice? That's an important question to our discussion unfortunately we're low on time. We're not going to discuss all that this morning. Lord willing next week this is where we're going to pick up at this particular passage and talk about how we function as an individual, diverse members of the body of Christ.

E. But let me give an overall answer to the question before we close. We're going to try to answer it to some extent from the scriptures in a particular sense by looking at the things that Paul mentioned here. What’s my function? What’s my job? What is important for me in terms of the overall working of the body of Christ?

1. Think about this on a local level as this body of Christ exists today. I believe the answer is found in verse six. My function is to use the gifts that God gave me. That's my function. That takes some spiritual discernment, not only does it take courage and faith to exercise the gifts God gives me but before that—I have to find out what the gifts are!
2. What is it that God has given me to do, for which I am equipped and which I am able to perform in such a way that benefits the body as a whole? Never be mistaken or deceived into thinking that each one of us does not have a function for the performance of the body as a whole. That's exactly what Paul’s saying here. You and I, each one of us have a function. We all have a gift if we use that terminology as Paul does.

i. We all have a gift given to us by the grace of God that we need to utilize to benefit the body of Christ and for our own salvation. In fact, if I'm not mistaken Paul's making it an absolute criterion of my own salvation in Romans chapter 12, that I learn to exercise my spiritual gifts. Don't be thrown off by the word spiritual there because sometimes we take the word spiritual and apply it to the word gift and immediately assume we're talking about miraculous activity. There are times the Bible where the term spiritual gifts, particularly in First Corinthians 12, where it’s talking about that which came in miraculous measure in the first century by the Spirit of God.
ii. The word spiritual in the general sense applies to those things that come as a result of the working of the Spirit of God in my life. God expects me to be a spiritual person not in some miraculous measure but with the spirit of God influencing my life to the point that I would do and think and act in ways that I have never acted before. That are contrary to the carnal way, the natural way that I might act. God would turn me around and make me a spiritual person.
iii. There are spiritual gifts that all of us have. There are things that God could create within us through the power of the His Spirit to get us to do things that we wouldn't ordinarily do. Some of them we've already mentioned in the passage such as; to be able to have the same care and concern for people that are not like us; to be unprejudiced and open minded towards the lives of others; to be compassionate towards those who are suffering things that you and I have never suffered. Where do we get the ability to do that? We get it from the Spirit of God. That does not come naturally.

3. I have to say this, naturally men divide. They divide on the borders of nationality and culture and thinking. They are carnal by their very nature. There is not a natural unity among people today. There is a natural disunity. When God's people, diverse as they are, come together to work together, coming from different backgrounds all for the purpose of doing what is right, that's a spiritual thing that comes from the Spirit of God.

i. Paul tells us be filled with the spirit of God not with dissipation. Learn to love your enemy, give to those who do not give to you, that is doing things that are unnatural. In this society that applauds self-sufficiency, that applauds independence; it is easy for us to fall prey to the notion that we don't need each other. It's easy for us to fall prey to the thought that we can stand alone in our relationship to God.
ii. Paul dispels that forever here in these passages. You and I are a body. We are not only members of the body but more specifically and particularly we are members of one another. God redeemed us and called us not only for Himself, He's called us and redeemed us for each other so we could benefit each other in the quest to live for God.

4. In Hebrews 10:24-25 the writer says; “... let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” I wonder about the overall emphasis of what the writer is exhorting here.

i. These verses are not simply to be used to encourage people to attend an assembly. As important as attending an assembly is and as absolutely essential as it is that we not forsake the assembly of ourselves together, he prefaces this aspect of the necessity of the assembly by saying; we must first consider one another. We first have to care about one another.
ii. We first have to really be involved in one another's lives to stir up love and good works. We can't do that by forsaking the assembling of ourselves together! It’s the coming together that provides the arena and the environment in which the true stirring up can take place. Let us recognize that without the care and concern the assembly loses meaning. We have to care as members one to another and to serve one another.

CONCLUSION:
Let me close with this thought.

You cannot fulfill your responsibility of being a member of another individual in the body of Christ if you are outside the body, if you’re not under the head. Paul told the Corinthians in the passage we just studied that they had been baptized into one body by the Spirit of God. He makes known to them the time at which they became a member of that body because that's an important consideration in terms of their responsibility.
They can't simply stand aloof from the responsibly when they become a Christian and just say oh that's nice. There are a lot of people that take that approach to religion. They want to ignore the clear indication of what it means to become a Christian and do things in obedience, to come into the body of Christ. Yet they want to extol the aspect of unity and interdependence and mutuality among us.
We all ought to love one another. Of course the concept of love is portrayed more clearly in the body of Christ than anyplace else. That is the true and proper relationship of service that you be a part of the body of Christ. You cannot serve God apart from being a part of the body of Christ. That doesn't make the body an institution to save you. It makes it the environment and certainly the organism that you must be a part of to ever be saved.

Certainly the Bible describes the body of Christ as those that are saved. We submit ourselves to the headship of Christ. That's the question we end on this morning because that's the question that's most related to our understanding of the body of Christ as the Bible describes.

Are you willing to submit to the headship of Jesus Christ? That was the call of the Gospel from the first century. In the very first gospel sermon the thing that Peter made known to them was that this Jesus they had crucified is both Lord and Christ. The question was What must we do. What can we do to submit ourselves to the authority of Jesus Christ? The answer to that question was You must repent and be baptized for the remission of your sins.

Do you believe that Jesus Christ is head over all things to church the fullness of Him who filleth all in all. Do you believe that Jesus died for you and rose again on the third day and by that He has all authority in heaven and on earth? You as a creation of God must submit yourself to Him before you can ever be pleasing to Him. If you believe that and are not part of the body, come and be baptized this morning. When you repent of sins and you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior and are baptized for the forgiveness of your sins you are baptized into a body.

That's not a local congregation; you're baptized into the universal body that belongs to Jesus Christ because you in the exercise of that faith have submitted yourself to the head of that body. He alone is the one who directs you. You've all been made to drink of one Spirit and are of one body. We invite anyone who has that need or any other need to come forward while we stand and while we sing.

Invitation song: ???

Reference sermon: David Schmidt

Be Ye Angry and Sin Not

Ephesians 4:26-27

INTRO: Good morning church. For our text this morning I invite you to turn to Ephesians 4. In just a moment we'll read verses 26 and 27. There are people that I know who have expressed concern to me about a family member or a close friend who is not listening to their doctor. I suspect many of us have seen this problem. We go to the doctor, the doctor tells us what to do, and then it seems we think we know better and do what we want to. Unfortunately, we sometimes pay the price. There are times when we need help medically. We go to a doctor that we trust, and we want their recommendation. Then, of course, we need to put this recommendation into practice. I wonder, if we don't listen to what the doctor says, then why go to them? We need to follow the doctor's orders.

There's a doctor I want to speak about today that we read of in the Bible. He's called the great physician. His name is Jesus. What good does it do to go to Him for spiritual healing if we don't listen to what He says? That just doesn't make any sense for us to go to the Lord, have Him tell us what He wants us to do so that we can be healed spiritually, and then not pay any regard to what He tells us.

By inspiration, the apostle wrote in Ephesians 4:26-27. “Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.” Here the Lord speaks to us through the apostle Paul. Today, we will base our lesson on the opening words of verse 26, “Be angry, and do not sin”[NKJV].
That's the title of our lesson.

These days it seems we are constantly exposed to angry people, and we see the effects of uncontrolled anger all the time. We're concerned about all the violence taking place in our country and throughout the world. We hear about a person with a gun taking innocent lives. Often the root problem is anger. There might be other issues, but sometimes they are a symptom rather than the real problem. The Bible has a lot to say about anger.

We're constantly exposed to outbursts of uncontrolled anger. There have been many appalling instances, but one I recall was reported on February 24th of last year by the MetroWest Daily News. Two ladies, (if you want to call them that), got into a brawl in a store. Someone recorded it with a phone, and I thought, how sad. To make matters worse, there happened to be a little boy there, I would guess, about five or six years old. He was the son of one of the women and his mother encouraged him to get involved, and he started kicking the other woman. I thought, ah, there's my nomination for Mother of the Year. I'm being sarcastic, of course. Just last month there was a video of 2 men fighting outside of a Miami Publix Grocery over a parking spot. One man pulled out a gun and fired a shot fortunately missing the other. What leads to fights like that and other things that are even worse? Uncontrolled anger. We're constantly exposed to outbursts of anger, and if we're not careful, it can rub off on us. What takes place in the world will affect God's people if we're not watchful. We have to guard against that influence.

I. Let God in His word, teach us some things that He wants us to know about being angry and yet not sinning. First, we consider some general principles that relate to anger.

A. We just touched on this, but as you examine the scriptures, you can't help but see that anger leads to irrational behavior. That particular point is made numerous times in the scriptures. Let’s look at three illustrations.

1. In Genesis 4, just a few chapters into the beginning of the Bible, you read about Cain and Abel. In Genesis 4:5 it says “…Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.” [NKJV]. In other words, he was filled with wrath. He was filled with uncontrolled anger. Why? Because God did not respect the offering that he gave. By faith, Abel gave of his flocks. He presented an animal sacrifice unto the Lord, and the Lord was pleased, and He had respect for Abel and his offering.

a. Cain presented an offering of the fruit of the ground, his produce. God was not pleased with that, and He had no respect for Cain and his offering. Consequently, Cain became very angry.
b. What did his uncontrolled anger lead Cain to do? Genesis 4:8 tells us that he killed his brother Abel. At almost the very beginning of the Bible, we see that uncontrolled anger leads to irrational behavior. A man killed his brother.

2. In 2 Kings 5:10-11, we read about a man named Naaman. He was the commander of the army of the king of Syria, a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master. He was also a mighty man of valor, but he had leprosy. He learned that there was a prophet, Elisha, who could cure him. So he went to Samaria to be healed, and he was told what to do.

a. “Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.'' But Naaman became furious,” How did Naaman respond? He was furious, - angry, - mad because of what the prophet told him to do. His irrational behavior was that He refused to do what the prophet told him so that he could be cleansed of his leprosy.
b. Thankfully, that's not the end of the story. After he cooled down, his servant came and reasoned with him and said, “Sir, if that prophet had told you to do some great thing, you would have done it. Why don't you just go wash and be cleansed?”[para] His anger had subsided, he went and washed in that old muddy Jordan River seven times, and he was cleansed of his leprosy. As long as his heart was filled with anger, he refused to do what he needed to do so that he could be cleansed.

3. There's a third illustration I want to mention. It involves the parable found in Luke 15, the parable of the prodigal son. I’m sure you recall it.

a. He had an older brother. After the young son returned home and his father received him so graciously and prepared a great feast, the older brother wanted to know what was going on, and a servant told him, 'Your brother's home and your father has received him safe and sound, and we're going to have a great feast.
b. The Bible says in Luke 15:28 “But he was angry and would not go in…” What did his anger lead him to do? What was his irrational behavior? He refused to go into the feast that his father gave for his younger brother.
c. These are three illustrations in the Bible that show anger leads to irrational behavior. Even if we didn't look any further, that ought to get our attention and help us understand how important it is that we be angry and sin not, as we're taught in Ephesians 4:26.

4. Anger not only causes irrational behavior but there are some other principles that we need to mention.

B. Did you know that anger is habit-forming? Let's look at Proverbs 19:19 which says, and I paraphrase, “A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty; rescue them, and you will have to do it again.”[para]. That verse has to do with the fate of those who are overcome with anger, but listen to this; if you rescue them, you will have to do it again. In other words, anger becomes a habit. It has to be dealt with. If it isn't, it will continue and will probably get even worse.
C. Did you know that anger is contagious? Let's look at Proverbs 22:24-25, “ Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go,” Why? “lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul.” Have you ever heard it said, “It’s easy to be good when you're around good people”? Unfortunately, it's also easy to be bad when you're around bad people. Any parent who has worried about the friends their child has knows this instinctively. It's also easy to be angry when you're around people who are prone to be angry. That's what the writer is teaching us here, Solomon, of course, was a wise man. Anger is contagious.
D. Sounds to me like maybe a visit to the doctor is necessary. Anger leads to irrational behavior. Anger is habit-forming. Anger is contagious. Let's go on. Anger leads to other sins. Look at Proverbs 29:22, “An angry man stirs up strife, and a furious man abounds in transgression.” Anger leads to other sins. It opens the door to doing things we might not otherwise do.
E. Let's look at Proverbs 30:33. This verse shows us that anger causes strife. “For as churning milk produces butter, and as striking the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.”[para] Notice how strife is associated with anger. Anger causes strife. It doesn't reduce strife. It doesn't eliminate it. It causes strife. These are some general principles that relate to anger. Let me mention them again very quickly. Anger leads to irrational behavior. Anger is habit forming. Anger is contagious, anger leads to other sins, and anger causes strife.

II. With those general principles before us, let's go back to our text in Ephesians 4:26-27.

A. As we study these verses we need to look at them in the context. Always study passages in the proper context. That will avoid a lot of misunderstanding.

1. Chapter 4 has to do with the way that God's children are to walk. Notice how it begins in Ephesians 4:1, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to have a walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,”.

a. Reading on through verse 16, we're shown how we are to walk. We are to walk worthy of our vocation.
b. Notice the change in Ephesians 4:17, “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.”[ESV] Continuing through verse 24, we are taught that we're not to walk like people in the world. This chapter begins by showing that we're to walk worthy of the vocation by which we've been called. Then beginning at verse 17 and going down through verse 24, we find that we're not to walk like people in the world. These are general instructions related to our walk. Next Paul gives some specifics.

2. In verse 25, he dealt with lying. Then in verses 26-27, the verses that we're studying, he gives us some instructions that relate to anger. As we strive to understand the meaning of what's written in Ephesians 4:26-27, we need to look at them in the proper context. Christians are being shown how to walk.

B. What do these statements in these two verses mean?

1. I’m using the NKJV here. Verse 26 says, “Be angry” followed by a comma, not a period. If there was a period, then we would be commanded to be angry, but that is not what it says.

a. What is anger? How do we define it? Anger is an emotional response. It's an emotional response we have to something or someone that displeases us. Something happens to us that causes us to be displeased, and the emotional response to that can be anger.
b. Let me point out right here that not all anger is wrong. Mark 3:5 says that Jesus looked at some people with anger. “So when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts,…” Jesus was angry, being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts.

He was in the synagogue on the Sabbath day. There was a man there with a withered hand, the Pharisees were present, and they were watching to see if Jesus was going to heal this man on the Sabbath day so they could accuse him. They were looking to bring an accusation against the Lord. Jesus, remember, knew people's minds. He knew what was inside man. Jesus knew the condition of these people's hearts, and He was filled with anger. He went ahead and healed the man. They left and started a conspiracy to try to bring something against the Lord.

c. There are times when people try to pass off a sinful type of anger as righteous indignation, but there is a difference. The Bible doesn't condemn all anger.

2. There is a particular anger that the Bible does condemn, and that's what we're concerned about today. We all have emotions and some of us are probably better able to control our emotions than others. We also have things that displease us. Some people have more things that displease them than others. Since we all have emotions and we all have things that displease us, we're all subject to being angry. It can happen. It can happen to the best of us. These verses teach us not to sin as a result of being angry. Notice what it says, be angry, and do not sin. What we're being taught is not to sin as a result of being angry.

C. It is the anger that leads us to sin that scripture condemns. We're all subject to it, but the Bible teaches us to have it under control. As we examine the scriptures, we see that often this particular anger is also referred to as wrath. Anger that causes sin is condemned, not justified, not rationalized; it's condemned in the scriptures.

1. Let's look at Ephesians 4:31-32. “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.” Verse 31 is very clear in teaching us that wrath and anger are to be put away. In my Bible, it says, all, all of it. Not some of it, not just a little bit of it, but it says, Let all of it be put away.
2. In Galatians 5: Verses 19-21, the works of the flesh are listed. These are serious matters because they'll keep people from inheriting the Kingdom of God. Verse 20 includes wrath. That's the uncontrolled anger that we're concerned about.
3. Colossians 3:8. “But now you must also put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.”
4. I think it's interesting that a long, long time ago, back in the first century, it was necessary for these instructions about wrath to be given to the Lord's people in various areas.

a. Ephesians was written to the Christians living in the city of Ephesus. Galatians was written to the Christians living in the area known as Galatia. Colossians was written to Christians living in Colossi. It was important for them to be taught about the perils of anger.
b. It is important for us as well. We live in the same old world, and the same old things that were present in the first century are still present today.

III. We are being taught in Ephesians 4:26-27 that our anger must be controlled and we must not allow it to result in sin. That being the case, let's turn our attention to some instructions that will help us to control anger.

A. Ephesians 4:26 says, Let not the Sun go down upon your wrath.

1. In other words, let go of your anger the same day it arises. Easier said than done you might say. Yet it can be done and must be done. Otherwise, God wouldn't tell us to do it. The problem is not God and His word. The problem sometimes is our implementation of what He wants us to do.
2. What good is it to go to the doctor and they tell us what to do, but then we don’t do it? The great physician tells us to not let the sun go down upon our wrath. We have already seen from the Book of Proverbs that anger leads to other sins. If it's not turned loose, if we do not let it go, then it leads to things such as malice, hatred, and even a desire for revenge. Don't let the sun go down upon your wrath.

B. Look at Ephesians 4:27. This verse says that we're not to give place to the devil. We must determine in our hearts that we're not going to give Satan the opportunity to lead us into sin.

1. As James said, Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. The devil has many tools at his disposal. The Bible teaches that he's crafty. He's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve. He knows our strengths, and he knows our weaknesses. Do you think he's going to attack us where we're strong? No. He'll attack us where we're weak. If he knows that we have a problem with anger, you better believe he's going to attack it with all he's worth.
2. The Bible says, Resist the devil. We have to stand up against him. Anger is a point of temptation. When we're tempted to become angry and fly off the handle, as we sometimes say, we have to resist the devil. If we do that, he will flee from us. That doesn't say he won't come back because he will. He walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, 1 Peter 5:8. If he's resisted though, he will flee.

C. These are some very helpful instructions. Don't let the sun go down upon your wrath and don't give place to the devil. Let’s look at some additional instructions. I’m going now to the Book of Romans, and in chapter 12 there are some very short instructions given to us that are very, very helpful in leading us to live as the Lord wants us to live.

1. Romans 12:19 teaches us to remember that vengeance belongs to God. “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.””[ESV] Often these days we hear about or even find ourselves exposed - to road rage. Do you know what the root problem behind a lot of that is? It’s anger on behalf of the person who started it. Often the other person responds by wanting to take vengeance. It can lead to very serious consequences. We have to remember that vengeance belongs to God. He can enforce it a whole lot more fairly and a lot more forcefully than I can.
2. Vengeance belongs unto the Lord. Let's look at Romans 12:20-21. “Therefore if your enemy hungers, feed him; if he thirsts, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”[NKJV] These verses teach us to overcome evil with good. If we respond to evil with evil, that's the wrong way to go. That's going to lead to a conflict. You know that as well as I do. If you respond to evil with good, even though the other person may not change, you just might give them something to think about. You never know how that might lead to a change of life later on for that person.
3. A man was in a public setting, and some various opinions were being batted about. This man let an offender go instead of avenging himself for an insult he had received. His friend Bob criticized him for that, telling him he should have stood up to the man. The man replied, “Tell me Bob, if you were climbing a hill, and a great stone rolled down toward you, would you consider it disgraceful to step aside and allow it to roll past? There is no disgrace in avoiding and giving way to a person aroused by anger until they have had time reflect on their actions.” To overcome evil with good… that's not always easy, but it's still the right thing to do. It's the right thing to do, and the Lord will bless us for it.
4. As we think about instructions that will help us control anger, we have to look at James 1:19-20. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath. Notice the order given here. Why do you suppose it is important we follow that order? James says, “for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God”. Man's uncontrolled anger won't lead him to do God's righteousness.

a. Anger will lead us to participate in unrighteousness. We need to follow this order. Develop the habit of being swift to hear. Rather than spout off with something before the other is done speaking, take the time to listen. Rather than be quick to speak, be slow to speak. Don't be hot-headed and quick-tempered. The Bible says, be slow to wrath.
b. If more people would follow those instructions, our world would be a lot better place. The Lord's Brother wrote in the first century to Christians. It was important for them to learn this, and we need to learn the same lesson today.

5. Let’s recap these instructions that will help us to control our anger. Don't let the sun go down on your wrath. Don't give place to the devil. Remember that vengeance belongs unto God. Remember to overcome evil with good. Then we need to follow the instructions of James to be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath. If we treat people according to the first promptings of anger, we shall always do them wrong.

CONCLUSION:
Let’s look at Proverbs as we close. It's amazing to me how much the Book of Proverbs has to say on this subject that we're studying. Let's look at Proverbs 15:1. So far, we emphasized the fact that we are to control our anger, but we're also responsible for avoiding things that will cause other people to become angry. Listen to this verse, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” When we respond to someone else's anger, we have to do so in the right way. We have to refrain from doing and saying things that will cause others to become even angrier. This is one of the reasons I will never attend a demonstration. Solomon here is dealing with defusing a serious situation. You've got a volatile situation where an explosion can take place. What has to be done? It's got to be defused. Just like an unexploded bomb. How do you do that? Respond to someone else's anger with a soft answer. Remain in control. That will defuse the situation many times. If we do our part, then it's the other person’s responsibility to not escalate. We, however, are still obligated to follow the Lord's will. A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up even more anger.
We are responsible for controlling our anger, and scripture teaches us to refrain from doing and saying things that will cause others to become angry.

Let's turn to Proverbs 14:29. Notice the contrast here, “He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly.” There's a contrast made here between someone slow to wrath and someone who is hasty of spirit. These verses teach us that we need to consider ourselves and ask; am I slow to wrath? Or, am I hasty of spirit? Am I able to keep things under control, Or am I prone to fly off the handle? Some people have the mistaken idea that being quick-tempered and quick to say harsh words is a sign of strength. Nothing could be further from the truth.

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.” I'm amazed at the great illustrations that are presented to us in the Bible. You think about a mighty warrior as someone who's able to take an entire city, a great military leader. We would consider him to be a strong person, wouldn't we? Well, here the Bible is teaching us that someone who has his anger under control is a really strong man or a strong woman. One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, a mighty warrior. And someone who can control his spirit is better or stronger than one who can take an entire city. So while men might have a problem looking at that in that way, we know how the Lord views it. He teaches us that true strength is having our anger under control. And a soft answer turns away wrath. I'm very concerned about things we see happening in our country and our world. One of the reasons why there's so much evil and why there's so much harshness, even to the taking of innocent lives, is because people don't have their anger under control. I want to say this, any religion that teaches people to act on their anger and take the lives of other people didn't come from God.

We know from our study today what God Almighty has said in His word. In our own country, we find a lot of things to blame for irrational behavior. But let's go to the heart of the matter. Uncontrolled anger is what we need to deal with. Unfortunately, we don't find too many people willing to control their anger.

Isn't it interesting that this old book that's been around for a long, long time tells us what we need to know? Yet, so many reject what it says. God help us to open our Bible, study it afresh, learn the Lord's will, and then put it into practice to the very best of our ability. We will be pleasing the Lord. We will have a good influence on others, and we'll be prepared to meet the Lord on that last great day. Let's remember these very important passages and consider them regularly. They can change our lives for the better, and as that happens, other lives will be changed for the better as well.

The lesson is yours. If there is anyone in the assembly today who has the need to be buried with Christ in baptism or anyone who desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage you to come forward while we stand and sing. 

# ??? Reference Sermon by: Raymond Sieg

Using Our Gifts - Part 1

Romans 12:3-8

INTRO:
Good evening. Today we are going to continue to look at Romans 12. Just as a reminder if you hear me say anything that is not according to scripture please let me know and we can look at it together. In general I will be using the New King James or the King James Version for reference. We’ve already talked about presenting ourselves as living sacrifices to God. We talked about not being conformed to this world, but being transformed by the renewing of our minds. We saw that there is no middle ground, if we do not become transformed by the renewing of our minds we will be conformed to the world. This evening I would like to continue in our study of this chapter beginning at verse three and continuing through verse 8. Please turn there with me now.

Romans 12:3-8 – “3. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5. so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7. or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8. he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”

It has been said that even the brightest people use only about 11% of their brains capacity. When I think about that particular statistic I realize how many use much less than that! It makes one wonder, what kind of place would this world be if we all used more of our brain? What if we used 100%? Certainly it would be a different world.

I wondered, if we get by as well as we do by using only this small portion, what if we could access all there is to access in the human mind and put it to use? Then I thought about that in terms of God’s word as well. If we do as well as we do using only small portions of the resources that God has placed before us, (what Paul describes here as gifts), what could we do if we used more of what He has given us? What would it be like if we would use, to the full extent, the gifts that God has given us as individuals? I strongly suspect that things would be different.

The purpose of living as sacrifices to God (vs. 1-2) is not mystical or monastic but eminently practical. It’s not simply coming to a thought or an idea. It is the renewal of our mind toward God so that we can put into practice what God has revealed to us and use it in our everyday lives.

It is for the purpose of devotion. Devotion is for the purpose of worship. Worship is to please God. Those two things are very intimately connected. Devotion and worship are connected to our active obedience and ministry to the Lord.

When I think about the particular passages that we’ve looked at already, the aspect of being given over to God and devoted to God and renewing our minds to give ourselves to God, I recognize there is practical application for us. That’s where Paul goes in the remainder of chapter 12. He talks about practical applications. He talks about what it means to be living sacrifices. As a transformed person, God expects us to do something. We are expected to be involved. He expects us to use the gifts He has given us to serve and be involved in service. Isn’t that what he said in verse one?
This is your reasonable service to offer yourselves as sacrifices unto God. Then Paul goes on to explain what he means.

Now keep that in mind as we continue to look at the passages. Verses three through eight will give us an outline of how we are to use the gifts that God provides for us or at least it is encouragement for our usefulness to Him. We need to look at our own lives and ask ourselves whether we are very useful to God. In the whole scheme of things do we play a part? Is that part important or significant? By that I do not mean important in the sense that we see importance, but important in the sense that we actually bear fruit in the efforts that are going on.

Do we play a part? Do we serve? In the next few verses the apostle outlines 3 important elements of our usefulness to God:
1) The proper attitude of serving;
2) The proper relationship of serving;
3) The proper activity of serving

I. The Proper Attitude of Serving: Humility. Let’s begin at: Romans 12:3 – “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Humility in our attitude of using gifts. This is vitally important because sometimes it is the use of gifts, even the active use of gifts that can become a threat to humility in us. If someone has a lot of talent, or has a lot of resources, they can be threatened by pride and arrogance. We have to be careful about that. It should not surprise us that when Paul is talking about our utilizing ourselves in the service of God, that he prefaces it with a remark, and a commandment, concerning attitude. The effectiveness of what we do and the validity of what we do is very much determined by the attitude that goes along with it. This morning let’s look at humility in more detail and see how Paul addresses it.

A. Notice how Paul begins his admonition: “through the grace given to me”. The word for grace is a common New Testament word that is sometimes translated as grace and sometimes translated as gift. I believe the word grace here as Paul uses it refers to Paul’s commission to preach the gospel. We might identify this “grace” as his apostleship. Paul was given something. He was given a gift. Being an apostle was not something that he had earned.

1. Nobody understood that better than Paul. It was given to him as an act of grace. He was one who had previously blasphemed against God and persecuted God and Christ. Now he was given the ability and the power through the Holy Spirit to preach the truth of God through inspiration. It was a gift.
2. Notice that Paul’s admonition to humility is given humbly. He would not be one to stand before others and say you cannot think too highly of yourself if he thought too highly of himself. Paul has to show an example to others in the gifts that God has given to him and the way that God has blessed his life. It didn’t go to his head. He was always humble before God and recognized that what he had was by the grace of God.
3. This also teaches us that humility does not preclude authority or leadership. Paul was admonishing with the authority of an apostle, but he humbly refers to the source of this authority as a grace given to him by God. Paul in this passage is recognizing his position before God. He knew that the thrust of what he said did not come from him, but comes from the One who gave it to him.
4. Paul was able to be humbly authoritative because he recognized his position before God. He was able to be a humble leader because he recognized his position before God. He could never rightfully ask another to be humble if he failed to be humble himself. Paul begins by saying it is through the grace that was given to me, because I have already received a gift, and I recognize this is what I need to say to you.

B. He says “to everyone who is among you”. He addresses these words to every Christian. That’s important for us to recognize. There are some of us who have more difficulty in this area than others. Who among us is not tempted to think of themselves more highly than they should?

1. We are always tempted to put more attention on our needs or what’s going on with us or how things affect us. The aspect of being absorbed in ourselves is part of our human experience. Its part of the world we live in with the propensity of the flesh to conform, and follow Satan rather than to follow God.
2. Renewing our minds is not just a matter of functioning differently or picking out certain activities. It’s a matter of changing the way we think. Paul says that pride is everybody’s problem. Paradoxically, even spiritual growth and knowledge can be a source of human pride. Even when we receive all of the rewards and honors of godly living, those very things may quite easily, and often do, lead to pride, conceit, arrogance, and self-righteousness, which are totally abhorrent to God.

C. Paul continues; “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think...” Human pride is a continuing problem for us and the world reinforces that attitude. When we think we’ve overcome our pride it might be that our pride has overcome us. In the original language, Paul uses a form of ‎phroneo ‎(to think) four times in verse 3. He talks about thinking and thinking highly and thinking soberly. In the first instance he attaches the prefix “hyper” which means to exceed, or go beyond.

1. You might say that part of the problem is sometimes we think too much! Let me explain, it’s not thinking too much about things, not thinking too much about scripture. The subject and object of our thinking is that we think too much about ourselves. We think of it in terms of outright pride but sometimes we think too much of ourselves in the quantity of time we spend on ourselves.
2. A Christian is not to exceed in his estimation of himself, but to think of himself as he really is. We spend our time focused on us because, to us, we’re more important than anything or anybody else. Paul would call us to not exceed our estimation of ourselves. “For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself” (Galatians 6:3). Staying focused on ourselves and thinking we are more than we are, is a form of self deception. It’s not reality. It’s thinking something’s true that’s not really true. That’s where Paul is going to take this discussion. The instruction that he’s giving us is not to be self-absorbed, not to think that which is not real and not to be deceived.
3. Paul’s self estimation in 1 Timothy 1:13ff would not make a very acceptable resume today. He referred to himself as a former blasphemer and persecutor and an insolent man. In his own words he was the chief sinner. Paul spoke badly about himself as he talked about his previous life.

i. Why would Paul say those things about himself? He told the truth. That was reality. He was one who was leading the fight against Christianity at one time.
ii. However talking bad about one’s self is not synonymous with being humble. A lot of people, who are willing to talk about themselves in very low terms, actually do it because they want to—draw attention. That activity itself might be evidence of pride.
iii. Paul was humble because he understood what he was and the work of God in his life. He understood his position before God. He said “God enabled me... putting me in the ministry ...I obtained mercy”[para] (1 Timothy 1:12-16)
iv. We should not think too highly of ourselves, but we need to think highly of God and put God in the proper position in our lives. God is always held above ourselves.

4. God could use Paul because he was willing to be humble. Paul is not alone in teaching this. Peter admonished all elders in the church, young and old, to “clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5).
5. It is a sad reality that those who think too highly of themselves often think too poorly of others. This sort of thinking is a natural fruit of pride. We not only think we’re good, but we think others are not as good. We easily dismiss others or seek to put them down. Peter says the opposite is true.

i. True humility requires that I submit to others, allowing them to lead. 1 Peter 5:5 – “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Notice in this passage that he says “all of you be submissive to one another”. We know there are God ordained roles. Children are to be obedient to their parents. Wives are to be submissive to their husbands. Congregations are to submit to the rule of the eldership. Submissiveness is an aspect of our relationship with each other. We can not claim true humility unless we allow others to lead us and submit to what they say and what they do.
ii. True humility keeps me from hypocritically judging my brother – James 4:10-11 – “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. 11 Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.” James, as he does on a couple of occasions, connects this aspect of faith and activity. If you sit around and complain about other folks you dismiss yourself as a doer of the law and you are a judge of the law.
iii. True humility causes me to treat every brother with the same mind and compassion. He who speaks evil of his brother is judging his brother. He has put himself in a rank over his brother. True humility forbids this because it requires us to treat everyone alike. This is a real challenge for us, and it’s been a challenge for people all along.
iv. In every society there have been social ranks. There have been those who have and those who have not. There have been those who were masters and those who were servants, those who were leaders and those who were followers. There has always been this aspect of social class and rank. The gospel transcends all of that and puts the Christian in the position of equality among all. True humility makes us have the mind and the compassion to make that possible.
v. Later in Romans 12 Paul admonishes them to “15. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.” (Romans 12:15-16)
vi. If we treat each other with equality we must first work on ourselves to make sure that we’re not thinking too highly of ourselves, that we are not arrogant about ourselves. It is just a fact that when we think too highly of ourselves the natural fruit is we will think less of others.
vii. Scripture gives us an example in Diotrephes. God (and John) opposed Diotrephes because he sought preeminence above others. (3 John) How did that bear out in his life? He did not receive the brethren, and talked against the apostles. He put other people out of the church. He threw them out and spoke evil against them because he wanted to be first. This has played out in religion ever since.
viii. True humility means esteeming others better than myself. I am to treat everyone equally whatever their social status, or economic status, or political status. I must treat everyone equally AND at the same time in my mind I must esteem them better than myself. Philippians 2:3 – “ 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” Paul’s ambition was for us to esteem others better than ourselves.

6. Let me pose this question: Don’t we find at times that it’s not too difficult to esteem someone better then us because there are folks that are better than us, even in the eyes of the world? While you are mulling that over; What if we think someone is not better than us, are we to force ourselves to think that maybe they are better than us? That’s not the context of the passage, that is not the mind of Christ. What does Paul think we are to do then?

D. “but to think soberly” – The phrase indicates “clear thinking” or according to reality. The opposite of thinking soberly is thinking too highly of ourselves. What does soberly mean here? The intoxicated person loses their inhibitions, is not the same person they are in reality and they make poor judgments. When they sober up, they return to reality and are able to make good judgments again. Also when they sober up they may realize they acted stupidly. Now they are thinking soberly and see the world as it really is. That analogy helps us understand what Paul is saying here in the spiritual sense.

1. To think too highly is to see things different from reality. We think we’re great, but we’re not. We think we’re something, we’re not. We think we’ve accomplished great things, we haven’t. The reality is that we’re not much.
2. That’s not a very popular message today. Many folks think that’s a destructive message. They think people ought to be told they’re good people and be told that they accomplished much. We are not to suffer from a low self-esteem. To that point, we certainly do have to recognize our worth. After all, Jesus died for us and that in itself tells us that God decided what we are worth by what He sacrificed to save us.
3. Paul warned the Corinthians against making judgments about themselves and others which would promote pride. 1 Corinthians 4:6 – “6 Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other.”
4. We have to think soberly of ourselves and learn not to think above that which is written. We should not make judgments about ourselves and others that would promote pride.

E. Let’s look at the next part “As God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” There are differing views concerning Paul’s meaning here.

1. Some say that the “measure of faith” is a portion of faith that God gives to each Christian. This portion of faith differs from one person to another and is defined by our abilities and responsibilities. In this view the scripture here is seen as mystical and arbitrary.
2. Moses Lard says that this “measure of faith” refers to the miraculous portion of faith that was given to some as an accompaniment to a miraculous spiritual gift (such as prophecy). One who had this gift was not to go beyond the degree of revelation that went along with that gift. They were not meant to think of themselves more highly than what God revealed about that particular gift. Certainly Paul does warn those who have received miraculous gifts to not think one’s gift is more important than another’s. There is another view.
3. R.L. Whiteside disagrees with the view that the portion of faith only has to do with miraculous activity. He states that the term “measure” as it is used in scripture indicates “a measuring instrument” (like a ruler would be called a measure or a scale). It’s used as a measure to measure something else, a standard. In this sense, the objective faith that God has given is the measuring stick by which we measure our thinking.

i. I must, therefore, govern my self evaluation by what I believe concerning God’s revealed will. My self evaluation can not be measured by what others think of me or what I think I’ve accomplished. How do I know who I am? How do I know what I’m worth? How do I know how to estimate myself?
ii. There is a ruler, a measure, given by the revelation of faith that God has provided for me. Scripture. If I spend time in the faith given, if I spend time measuring myself by that standard, I will not think of myself too highly.

4. It is baffling that people who spend a lot of time with the Bible come away thinking they should raise themselves up or that true religion is raising their self-esteem when those who served God before said just the opposite about themselves. I’m fairly certain that modern religionists would have an issue with John the Baptist. I can hear them saying “You should not go around talking about not being worthy to tie a person’s shoe.” “You can’t talk about yourself that way.”

i. In the context of what today some might think of as disparaging speech, there is a Bible concept of who Jesus was. John the Baptist knew who Christ was and held Him up for who He was. In this way John the Baptist was able to serve God because of his humility.
ii. One commentator said; “No one under the influence of the teaching of the scriptures, and thereby regulated and controlled, can ever become egotistical. There is no quality of human behavior more contrary to the spirit of the Master than egotism.”
iii. That’s true, isn’t it? What we recognize in Paul’s words is that humility is a prerequisite to serving.

F. Humility as a Prerequisite to Service. When we read the scriptures can we see the attitude of those who serve?

1. I heard a story about a young man who wrote a letter to the elders of the church, expressing his disappointment that he had not been used for song leading and preaching as often as he thought he should be. He stated confidently, “I have the knowledge and experience that would be an asset to any congregation.”
2. Perhaps he did, but the attitude indicated by those words is different from the attitude of those whom the Lord has always considered an asset among His people. What kind of people can God use? Let’s consider those He did use.

i. First let’s consider Moses. Moses was confident at the age of 40 that he had qualities that would enable him to deliver God’s people from Egyptian bondage, but he failed miserably. After forty years as a shepherd his attitude toward himself changed. When God called him to do the work his response was, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11). God never told him he was somebody. Once Moses was humble enough to recognize his own limitations God could use him.
ii. Then there was Gideon. Gideon was totally surprised when the Angel of the Lord addressed him as a “mighty man of valor” (Judges 6:12). He was even more taken aback when the angel said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites.” To this he replied, “0 my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house:” He was already a man accomplished in battle, but he did not view himself as one who could win everything with his own strength. God’s use of this humble man to gain a notable victory is well known.
iii. Think about Saul. Very good example to us all of how pride destroys. Saul’s response when he was called to be king over Israel was, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Why then do you speak like this to me?” (1 Samuel 9:21). Saul’s response was: I’m nobody. I’m not the person to do this. Later God made a point of the fact that this was his attitude when he was anointed. “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel?” (1 Samuel 15:17). After Saul started to disobey God he became great in his own eyes, even to the point of substituting his own wisdom for that of God. Then God said through Samuel, “You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel” (1Samuel 15:17, 19, 26).
iv. Then there’s Isaiah. Isaiah felt himself entirely unworthy of the great vision God granted to him in the temple in Isaiah 6:1-4. His reaction: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.”
v. Jeremiah, when called by God to be a prophet replied, “Ah, Lord God! Behold I cannot speak, for I am a youth” (Jeremiah 1:6).
vi. Now for another example, Simon Peter. Simon Peter‘s proclamation, “though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended” (Matthew 26:33). Everybody may leave but not me. I will never leave you. That attitude was not only a profession of faith, but I believe, ultimately a liability for Peter. It was that boastful attitude that gave Satan a cause to come in. It was only after contrition and a repentance that God was able to come back to Peter. Then he was ready to tend the Lord’s sheep (John 21:15-17).
vii. Saul of Tarsus was useless to the Lord when his resume was: “circumcised the eight day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless” (Philippians 3:5-6). His usefulness flourished, however, when he had come to say, “I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am” (I Corinthians 15:9-10).

CONCLUSION:
In Romans 12 the next verses describe active service. Next we’ll talk about actually doing things to encourage the church, as the body of Christ, to accomplish its work through 100% of the members using 100% of the gifts that God has given. That will make a difference.

Can we imagine what a different world this would be if that happened everywhere? Before we get there we must check the attitude. Let us begin by cultivating that attitude behind the service. Let’s humble ourselves before God that we might serve. Nobody, but nobody, ever deserved salvation. Even the fulfillment of conditions upon which God gives salvation cannot merit the gift. It is a gift.

Next week we will begin verse four, the Lord willing, and go through verse eight and talk about the relationship and serving God.

We’re about to be led in the invitation song. If you’re here and you’re not a Christian, it is our sincere desire for you to come to Christ in all humility. We do not invite you to come to a church or a religious organization, or a religious leadership.

The Bible calls people to Jesus Christ. If you want to be saved, He will save you.
If you want to be redeemed, His blood will redeem you. If you profess your faith, you must profess it to Him. We ask you to do that in the way the Bible prescribes and the way Christians here have done it.
Scripture tells us: believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and that He shed His blood for you; repent of sins committed in the past; proclaim that Jesus Christ is the Son of God before men and be baptized for the forgiveness of sin.
If you have done those things and become a child of God but have slipped away you can come back and ask His forgiveness. In either case the blood of Jesus Christ can make you new. We encourage you to come while we stand and sing.

Invitation song: ???

Reference sermon: David Schmidt

Jesus Preached the Kingdom of God

Luke 4:40-44

INTRO: Good morning church. Our text this morning is from the gospel of Luke 4:40-44. “40. Now when the sun was setting, all those who had anyone sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. 41. And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!'' And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ. 42. Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; 43. but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.'' 44. And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.”[NKJV] In these verses we read about the two main activities of Jesus during His ministry.

One activity was healing. - Imagine what it was like when Jesus would be in an area and people would bring their loved ones, relatives and friends to the Lord to be healed. All those people with their various diseases and afflictions coming to Him, and Jesus healed them.

The other activity was preaching. - Jesus indicated in verse 43 that He was compelled to preach the Kingdom of God. The people wanted Him to remain with them but He said, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also…”. Jesus was endeavoring to reach as many people as He possibly could and He says, “… for this purpose I have been sent.”

Earlier in this chapter at verse 16 we find Jesus teaching in the synagogue in Nazareth. There He read from the Book of Isaiah where Isaiah had prophesied about 700 years earlier that the Lord would come to accomplish certain objectives. Two of those were to preach deliverance to the captives and to heal people. (Isaiah 61) Those were the two main activities of Jesus during His ministry.

Preaching the kingdom was very important to the Lord. In Matthew chapter 4 we read of Jesus fasting in the wilderness, His being tempted, His baptism by John and then in verse 17 His beginning to preach. Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.''” That message was not new because John had already been preaching it. The Kingdom was soon to be established. Jesus called upon people to repent, to be ready for the Kingdom.

In Matthew 4:23 it says, “ Now Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.” Jesus preached and healed.
Matthew 9:35 says, “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” In Luke 8:1, “Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him,”
Jesus preached the Kingdom of God throughout His ministry.

I find this interesting in Acts 1:1-3. “1. The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach. 2. until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3. to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” Following His resurrection, Jesus was with His disciples for a period of 40 days during which He spoke to them of things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. Not only did Jesus place great emphasis on preaching the Kingdom of God during His ministry, but after His resurrection He continued to speak to His disciples about God's everlasting Kingdom.

As Jesus preached, He gave His requirements for entering God's kingdom. Today we will take a look at six of the Lord's requirements. It's important for us to be aware of this as we endeavor to enter the kingdom and we also need to keep this information in mind to remain in the kingdom.

I. We must be POOR IN SPIRIT – In Matthew 5 let’s consider several things that Jesus preached in His great sermon. He begins with what we call the Beatitudes and the first one is found in Matthew 5:3. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” One requirement for being in the Kingdom of Heaven is being poor in spirit. Exactly what does that mean?

A. We're fortunate to have a number of passages that explain what it means to be poor in spirit.

1. The first one is Psalm 51:17. David composed this Psalm after it was pointed out to him by Nathan the prophet, that he was guilty of adultery and murder. He had committed adultery with Bathsheba, and then he had her husband put in a position that led to his death.

a. David was filled with remorse for what he had done, and he composed this psalm. Psalm 51:1 “Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.”
b. Now look at verse 17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. These, O God, You will not despise.” That's a good inspired description of what it means to be poor in spirit.

2. Next let's look at Isaiah 57:15. “For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Notice that God is associated with those who are poor in spirit. Isaiah uses the word we have as “contrite”, ( dakā'), which means crushed, destroyed to powder, and the word “humble”. Isaiah talks of those who were humble before God, who are contrite, and who want to have their spirit revived and be in good standing with God.
3. In Isaiah 66:2 God is talking of all things in heaven and earth and says, “For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,'' says the Lord. "But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.” This is another passage that helps us understand what it means to be poor in spirit.

B. We find indications of this in requests like David made in Psalm 19 and 139. First Psalm 19:12f “12. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. 13. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression. 14. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.” And in Psalm 139:23f “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Statements such as these are made by someone who is poor in spirit, someone who wants their life to be right with God.
C. Let's consider one other illustration found in Luke 18. Jesus used a parable and made a contrast of two people who prayed. One was considered to be a religious man and the other a publican or a tax collector. I’m sure you all recall the parable. As it begins in Luke 18:9 we see who Jesus is telling this parable to. “He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:” Very quickly in the parable we see that one was poor in spirit, one was not.

1. “"The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, `God, I thank You that I am not like other men extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. `I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'” The prayer of the Pharisee was a monologue, acknowledging no need, seeking no blessing, confessing no lack, admitting no sin, and beseeching no mercy; it was as cold and formal as an icicle. It enumerated the virtues of the Pharisee and closed with an insult cast in the direction of the publican! It showed that he had a big eye on himself, a bad eye on the publican, and no eye at all upon God! Although God was mentioned, the prayer was actually with himself, presumably rising no higher than where he stood.
2. “And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, `God be merciful to me a sinner!'” The prayer of the tax collector, on the other hand, was short, informal, and warm with the earnestness of a soul burdened with sin. It confessed his sin, besought the Lord for mercy, and was attested by the sorrow and shame that smote his breast.
3. This was one of few prayers Jesus ever commended, verse 14. “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be abased, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” The prayer of the tax collector resulted in his "justification." This is a big word which shows that God had received him accounting him righteous to the extent this was possible under the law.

D. All of these passages help us understand what it means and does not mean to be poor in spirit.

II. We must EXCEED THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES - Let's look at another requirement for entering God's kingdom. Matthew 5:19-20, “"Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”

A. In order to enter the Kingdom, we must exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees who were the religious leaders of the Jewish people.

1. They disobeyed certain commands of God, and they taught others to do the same. These very people had developed a set of traditions over the years that in some cases, they considered to be weightier than the actual laws that God gave through His servant Moses.
2. Jesus rebuked these people because they put so much emphasis on paying tithes even of the least materials in their homes. They were very careful to give a 10th of that unto the Lord, but they overlooked things such as judgment, mercy, and faith.

B. Let me give you one quick example of how they disobeyed the commands of God by their own traditions. I’ll be referring to what is in Mark 7:2-13.

1. These religious leaders were very quick to point out to the Lord that his disciples ate food with what they considered to be unwashed or defiled hands. In other words, the disciples had not gone through this ritual ceremony of cleansing themselves before they ate.
2. They had a tradition from the elders which said, unless you go through that ritual of cleansing yourself, you can’t eat food, can’t eat a meal. This was a binding tradition which said, if people did not go through this ceremony of cleansing themselves, then they could not eat.
3. If they did, then they were violating the tradition of the elders. These leaders came to the Lord and condemned his followers for eating food with what they considered to be defiled hands. They underestimated the wisdom of the Lord.

C. In verse 6f He said, “"Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: `This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' "For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.''And He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition”

1. Jesus continues and quotes from the law in the books of Moses that talked about taking care of parents. He said, that’s what the law says.
2. Then He tells them; but you've come up with this tradition of Corbin, which says, if you take a portion of your estate and you call it Corbin, it's dedicated to the service of God, and you if were going to use that amount to take care of your parents when they were aged, then you are no longer bound to take care of your parents.
3. That's the tradition that they had, and Jesus pointed it out to them. It was to those very people, He said, “in vain they do worship Me teaching for doctrines the Commandments of Men.”
4. That's just one illustration of how the Scribes and the Pharisees disobeyed certain commands of God that they did not like, and they taught the people to do the same thing.

III. We Must DO THE FATHER'S WILL – Jesus emphasized the importance of obedience to what He had taught. Matthew 7:21-23. “"Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. "Many will say to Me in that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' "And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'” Jesus indicated that in order to enter God's kingdom, we must do the Father's will.

A. Jesus preached the Kingdom of God and as He did so He revealed the requirements for being in the Kingdom. Here Jesus says that many will be lost who claim to have done great things in the name of the Lord.

1. Why are they going to be lost? Because they failed to do the Father's will. The Lord requires us to submit to the will of the Father.
2. That's a part of being poor in spirit. One who is poor in spirit wants to do the will of the Father.

B. In verse 24 Jesus says, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man…” The key to everlasting life is in Jesus’ saying, "these sayings of Mine!" The final, ultimate and exclusive authority in true religion is the word spoken by Christ. Jesus commanded the church to teach "whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20). He declared that the words He spoke would judge men at the last day (John 12:48). “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God…” (2 John 1:9). "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly" (Colossians 3:16), Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)

IV. We Must BE CONVERTED AND BECOME AS LITTLE CHILDREN – Next look with me at Matthew 18:1-4.

A. The disciples wanted to know who was the greatest in the kingdom. That question seems to have been very much on the minds of the disciples because that issue came up on several occasions. In His teaching of the disciples Jesus dealt with it differently on each occasion. Let's see how He dealt with it here.
B. “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?'' And Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. "Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Before Jesus answered their question in verse 4, He told them how to enter the Kingdom in verse 3.

1. Picture this scene of our Lord and His disciples. They're all grown men and they want to know who is the greatest in the Kingdom.
2. Jesus responds to that by putting a little child in the middle of these grown men. Picture in your imagination the expressions on the faces of those men. I've also thought about the expression on that little child's face and I suspect maybe the child would have been intimidated somewhat to be in the middle of those grown men. That would have been an interesting situation.
3. Before Jesus explained who is great in the Kingdom, He says to enter the Kingdom, you’ve got to be converted, (turn or change), and become as this little child.

C. What does that mean? When we think of a little child we think of humility, freedom from prejudice, teachable, lovable, trustful, faith, lack of anxiety, and innocence.

1. How do we accomplish humbling ourselves as a little child? The Lord makes us innocent when we come to Him on His terms.
2. To enter God's kingdom, we must be converted and become as little children. That is innocent in the sight of God.

V. We Must ELIMINATE THINGS THAT WILL CAUSE US TO STUMBLE - Mark 9:43-48. “43. "And if your hand makes you sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched 44. "where `their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.' 45. "And if your foot makes you sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched 46. "where `their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.' 47. "And if your eye makes you sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into hellfire 48. "where `their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.'” Jesus taught that to enter God's Kingdom, and to remain in God's Kingdom by the way, we must eliminate things that will cause us to stumble.

A. Jesus illustrated His point by referring to important parts of the body that we would not want to lose, including a hand, a foot, and an eye. These would be things that are very special to us.

1. The lesson Jesus was teaching is that anything that will cause us to stumble must be eliminated. Even if it's something as important as a hand, a foot, or an eye.
2. He tells us to pay whatever price is necessary to remain in the Kingdom of Heaven. Get rid of anything that will cause you to stumble, even if it is something we hold dear, something we find so desirable that it will be hard to set aside.
3. We can't help but think about the rich young ruler who came to the Lord and wanted to know about eternal life. Jesus told him the price to pay. Jesus knew the young man's problem when he came to Him. He told him to sell all that he had and give it to the poor and then “come and follow me”. He wasn't willing to pay the price, was he? That was something that caused him to stumble and he wasn't willing to give it up. It's very sad when the Bible says “he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”

B. The Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God, is very special. There are sacrifices to be made to enter and to remain in the Kingdom. The Lord wants us to pay the price, but He assures us that He'll bless us in return.

VI. We Must "BE BORN AGAIN," – Now we look at John 3:3-5. “3. Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'' 4. Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?'' 5. Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

A. Jesus was approached by Nicodemus. He acknowledged the Lord's greatness. In verse 2, he said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” It would appear that Nicodemus had some questions in his mind.

1. John 2 ends with these words, “… He knew what was in man.” I believe Jesus knew what was in Nicodemus' mind when Nicodemus came to him. Jesus immediately started talking to him about the new birth.
2. As Jesus preached the Kingdom, He talked about the necessity of being born again to enter the Kingdom. Nicodemus struggled with this and after Jesus talked about the necessity of the new birth, Nicodemus asked some questions in verse 4. He was confused about the nature of this new birth.
3. Jesus explained it in verse 5 “… unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” This is a very important requirement. In order to enter the Kingdom of God, we must be born again.
4. Jesus said this new birth consists of being born of water and of the spirit. It's not possible to be born physically a second time. Jesus wasn't talking about a physical rebirth, but about a spiritual birth.

CONCLUSION:
As Jesus preached the kingdom of God, He gave His requirements for entering that special kingdom. In order to enter the Kingdom, we must be poor in spirit, exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees, do the Father's will, become as little children, eliminate things that would cause us to stumble, and finally, in order to enter God's Kingdom, we must be born again. That is, born of water and of the spirit.

Jesus made things very plain when He preached and when He taught. We can understand these matters if we want to. The Lord wants us to pay the price in order to be members of His kingdom. What each person needs to do is examine them self and determine if they are complying with the Lord's requirements. If we find that we're not, we need to repent and do the Father's will.

The lesson is yours. If anyone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism or anyone that desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage you to come forward while we stand and sing.

# ??? Reference Sermon by: Raymond Sieg

Sometimes We Should Just Sit Still

Mark 1:28-38

Memorial Day is a time each year when we pause to remember those who laid down their lives for family, friends and freedom.

One week after the Pearl Harbor attack President Franklin D. Roosevelt said,
“Those who long enjoy such privileges that we enjoy forget in time that others have died to win them.” Freedom is never really free; it’s almost always bought with the blood of patriots.

And, as Christians we read in John 15:13,13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

If I asked you what your favorite part of the Sunday morning worship is, I would probably get answers like, “I like the song service, I like seeing everyone, I like the prayer time, and so on.

One minister actually asked some of his congregation that question and one person said it was the reflection time at communion that he liked most.

The minister looked at this person and was surprised.
“You mean it is not the sermon?” 😊
”Oh no, preacher. It’s definitely the communion reflection time.”

So, the minister asked what made that time so meaningful. To which the church member said it was because his whole week was so full, and so busy, and so intense. But when it came time for communion and the associated time for reflection, it was the only time all week when he could just sit back, be quiet, and be with God.

We sing song #163 titled, “Near To The Heart Of God”.
There is a place of quiet rest.
near to the heart of God.
A place where sin cannot molest,
near to the heart of God.
There is a place of comfort sweet,
near to the heart of God.
A place where we our Savior meet,
near to the heart of God.
There is a place of full release,
near to the heart of God.
A place where all is joy and peace,
near to the heart of God.

Back when I taught, I remember how much I enjoyed working in my classroom after coaching when all the other teachers had gone home. What a refreshing time it was. The hallways were quiet giving me a peaceful time to reflect on the National Board assignments I was completing.

Today, our text is from Mark 1: 28-38.
28 And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.
29 Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue,
they entered the house of Simon and Andrew,
with James and John.
30 But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.
31 So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up,
and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.
32 At evening, when the sun had set,
they brought to Him all who were sick
and those who were demon-possessed.
33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door.
34 Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.
35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
36 And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.
37 When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”
38 But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.”

Most of us are simply just too busy to stop and do nothing for even a few moments each week. Most of us feel like we need to be active every minute of the day. We confuse busy-ness with being productive, successful, effective and meaningful. So, it comes as a BIG surprise to read our New Testament lesson and to find Jesus, not being so busy with life. In fact, in the midst of a very busy time in His life, He sneaks off to a solitary place and prays.

Quiet time – doing nothing but talking to God. Most of us are too busy to do anything like that! Most of us feel like we need to be busy doing something. And for some reason, prayer just doesn’t feel “busy” or “active” enough. We are a people and a society in which being busy makes us feel like we are worthwhile.

If we are not doing something, there is something within us that makes us feel like we are lazy, or that we are wasting our time.

A generation or two ago, the life of the family was going to be revolutionized by the automatic washing machine. Up until then, washing the family’s laundry literally took an entire day. People referred to one day of their weekly routine as wash day.

Then technology came through with the washing machine, and you could throw the clothes into a machine, and then leave it and go do something else. What a time saver. So, what happened?
Did we get more time to relax? No, we filled our time with other duties.

The computer was the same way. It enables us to do more work in a lot less time. But do we get off work early? No. We simply do more work. There is something within us that compels us to fill up every moment of our time. Even if we are not talking about work, our families are stretched to the limit with activities as we go from ballet classes, to soccer, to outings at the beach, to concerts, to this and to that. It is as if we are afraid of what might happen if we would just be still for a moment.

In our Passage today, Jesus is very busy. In fact, Mark’s Gospel is the most compatible Gospel there is to our current society. Because Mark gives the impression that everyone is always in a hurry – always busy. The word “immediately” appears over 50 times in Mark’s Gospel. Mark tells the story of Jesus being baptized and then he says, “And immediately the Holy Spirit sent him into the desert.”

Then Jesus encounters Simon and Andrew fishing and invites them to be disciples and Mark says, “Immediately they left their nets.”

Jesus heals people and casts out demons, and “immediately and quickly the news spread about Jesus.”

And finally, after a fast-paced beginning, Mark says in verse 35 of our text that “very early in the morning, while it was still dark,
Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

Even in the fast paced, and very successful and meaningful life of Jesus, there was the need to sometimes retreat to a quiet, lonely place for reflection, meditation, prayer and communion with God.
This is absolutely necessary in our busy lives.

It makes our busy lives worthwhile and bearable. More than bearable – times of being in a solitary and quiet place with God enable us to do the work we are to do. Jesus doesn’t just go to that quiet and solitary place and stay there. He goes there to recharge his spiritual batteries. Being there enables him to then get up and move on to find other places to preach his message.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could, in the midst of work, family pressures, schoolwork, just turn off the television, turn off the cell phones, and just pray.
Being still and quiet from time to time is God’s will for our lives.

ARLINTON CEMETARY – PLACE of SOLITUDE & RESPECT
Rows and rows of white wooden crosses.
Changing of Guard at Tomb of UNKNOWN SOLDIER.
The echoing sound of TAPS.
ALL CAUSES US TO REMEMBER the LIVES
Of ALL the MEN and WOMEN: PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE
Who are RESPONSIBLE for OUR FREEDOMS!

We all need times in our week when we slow down and become still and quiet because it is vital for our soul. So important is this principle, that God made the command for a day of rest, a Sabbath, part of the Ten Commandments.

There’s a story that occurred in the deep jungles of Africa. A traveler was making a long trip on foot. Natives of the area were hired to carry the loads. The first day they marched rapidly and went far. The traveler had high hopes of a speedy journey.

But the second morning these jungle tribesmen refused to move. For some strange reason they just sat and rested. When asked about the reason for this strange behavior, the traveler was informed that they had gone too fast the first day, and that they were now waiting for their souls to catch up with their bodies.

There are times when our lives move so fast, that we need to slow down and let our souls catch up with us – not literally, but figuratively.

There’s an old legend told of a preacher in biblical days in Ephesus. His hobby was raising pigeons. On one occasion a hunter passed his house as he returned from hunting.

When the hunter saw the guy playing with one of his birds, he gently criticized him for spending his time so frivolously. The preacher looked at his critic’s bow and remarked that the string was loosened.
"Yes," said the hunter, "I always loosen the string of my bow when it’s not in use. If it always stayed tight, it would lose its rebounding quality and fail me in the hunt."
"And I," said the preacher, "am now relaxing the bow of my mind so that I may be better able to shoot the arrows of divine truth."

When we have that time in a solitary place, we need to pray. That’s what Jesus did. He went to his solitary place to pray.
Prayer is not always a matter of talking to God, or giving God a list of things that we need for him to do. It is an interesting insight. Many think that prayer is just talking to God, giving God a list of things we want him to do.

“Heal me from my headache,
make my car last another week,
bring down the gas prices,
do something about these medical problems I am facing,
Help me have more finances.
Help me get a better job. ETC.”

But prayer is spending time with God.
It might involve asking for things.
It might involve thanking God for things.
It might be simply being with God.

Have you ever simply spent time with someone, and you are both just quiet? Not really saying anything. Just quietly being together.
Perhaps with your spouse. Or holding your child. Or at the bedside of your sick parent. We need more of that time spent with God. Quiet time with God. We will rarely find God in the hectic moments in our lives, but we will often find Him in the quiet moments.

The Psalmist tells us in (Ps 37:7),
"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him."

Then in (Ps 46:10) we are told, "Be still, and know that I am God."

There come times when we need to slow down and let our souls catch up with us. The Apostle Paul said in his letter to the Thessalonians, “pray without ceasing.” (1Thes 5:17)

In our passage today, Jesus slips off for prayer in a quiet solitary place. The disciples find Him and at the end of the prayer time, Jesus gets up and gets on with life.

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples, "Let us go somewhere else-- to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."

At the end of your prayer, when you say AMEN, what ACTION do you do?
Do you pray for the sick and then leave it at that? Or do you pray for the sick, and then pick up the phone and call them to let them know you are thinking about them.
Do you ask if you can do anything for them? A hot meal brought to their home? Medicine they need to have picked up?
Do you pray for the poor and hope God does something about the poor? Or do you pray and ask God to use you?”

That’s the point of today’s message. Our lives are so busy. We need to stop from time to time and go to that solitary place for prayer. And then at the end of the prayer, get up and get busy with the things that are most important – the work of God

Just as Jesus prioritized prayer, we should seek solitude to connect with God and discern His will for our lives. May we follow Him wholeheartedly And trust in His unmatched power!

INVITATION

The Characteristics of A Good Fisherman

Mark 1: 14-20

Gone Fishing
Alex had a terrible day fishing on the lake, sitting in the blazing sun all day without catching a single one. On his way home, he stopped at the fishmonger and ordered four rainbow trout. He told the fishmonger, 'Pick four large ones out and throw them at me, will you?'

'Why do you want me to throw them at you?' Asked the salesman?' So that I am able to tell my wife, in all honesty, that I caught them.' said Alex.

'Okay, but I suggest that you take the salmon.' Why's that? 'Because your wife came in earlier today and said that if you came by, I should tell you to take salmon. That's what she'd like for supper tonight', replied the fishmonger with a grin.

An OLD MINISTER recalled a vacation he took to Israel:
I was walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus called His disciples.
I got up before sunrise and went out with my Bible to watch the same sun rise over the same mountains around the same lake where Jesus walked. After the sunrise, I saw a fishing boat chugging out to spread a net to catch fish.

I was reminded again that the story of Jesus isn’t some religious myth. It’s a real story about real people and how Jesus changed their lives.

TEXT
Mark 1:14-20.
14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
16 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
19 When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.
20 And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.

Jesus didn’t say, “Follow rules.” He said, “Follow me.” When we follow Jesus we want to do what He does. Jesus didn’t come primarily to heal. If that had been his focus,
He would have established a hospital.
He didn’t come primarily to teach or else He would have founded a school.
He came to seek and to save that which is lost.

When we follow Him that will be our passion as well. Fishing for men means bringing people to Jesus.
Do you know why Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James and John to be fishers of men?
Because they were already fishermen. They knew how to catch fish. When Jesus called Matthew, the tax collector, He didn’t tell him to fish for men. But Matthew went fishing anyway; he hosted a dinner so all of his tax-collector buddies could meet Jesus.

Jesus wants you to use whatever you already know to bring people into a relationship with Him. For instance, here’s what He might say to you according to your profession:

If you’re a banker or investment advisor He might say, “Follow me and you can tell people about the best eternal investment they’ll ever make.”

If you’re an Educator, He might say, “Follow me and you’ll teach eternal truth.”

If you’re a CPA He might say, “Follow me and I’ll show you how to help people balance their lives.”

If you’re a physician, “Follow me and I’ll show you how to practice spiritual healing.”

If you’re in sales, “Follow me and you can sell the world’s greatest product – eternal life.”

If you’re a builder, “Follow me and you’ll show people how to build stable lives.”

If you’re a dentist, “Follow me and you can fill the void in people’s lives.”

Whatever it is that you do, Jesus wants you to use what you know to bring people into a relationship with Him. So, what would He say to you? “Follow me and ... you fill in the blank.”

Jesus talked about fishing for people to four fishermen, so I want to share with you five fishing tips. But you can apply these to whatever field you work in as well.

1. GOOD FISHERMEN GO WHERE THE FISH ARE LOCATED
I saw a funny picture once about a guy fishing in a large pothole in the middle of the road. It had water it, but he picked the wrong place to fish because there weren’t any fish there. You’ll never catch fish until you’re willing to leave your house and go to where the fish are.

People without Christ aren’t knocking down the doors of our church to get in. We have to go out after them. That’s why the Great Commission of Jesus begins with the word, “GO.”

In Luke 14 Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to a man who threw a party. All the local VIPs were sent invitations. But they all came up with phony excuses why they couldn’t come. Jesus said, “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.’” (Luke 14:23)

God wants His house to be full. There are thousands of people who aren’t yet in the Family of God, and God wants us to go after them and tell them that He loves them.

2. GOOD FISHERMEN UNDERSTAND HOW FISH BEHAVE
One of my favorite episodes of the “Andy Griffith Show” was about fishing. Opie was little and Aunt Bee came to visit on a trial basis. She was trying desperately to fit in so Opie would like her. She agreed to go fishing with Andy and Opie. She didn’t know much about fishing because she was holding her bait a few feet above the surface of the water.

When Opie pointed it out, Andy was quick to give an answer that saved Aunt Bee any embarrassment. He explained to Opie that Aunt Bee was such a good fisherman that she was “fly fishing.” That satisfied Opie. It was obvious Aunt Bee didn’t understand how fish act.

If we are going to reach people for Christ, we must understand their world. We need to study their culture without buying into it. You don’t have to become a fish to understand how a fish acts.

Jesus was a friend of sinners. He spent time eating and fellowship with the worst of the worst. The Jewish leaders criticized Jesus for eating with sinners. He responded that only sick people need a doctor.

The Jewish leaders were sick too; they just wouldn’t admit it.
In Luke 16 Jesus told one of His strangest parables. He also said to His disciples:
1“There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.
2 So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’
3 “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.
4 I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’
5 “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’
7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’
8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light."

Notice Jesus divided all the people of the world into two categories. There are “the people of this world” and “people of light.”
The people of this world are those who don’t know Jesus. They have bought into the values and culture of this world—that’s all they have. But we are people of the light; we’ve been shown a different way.

We must never forget Jesus wasn’t really talking about catching fish. He was talking about capturing people who are lost and bringing them into a saving relationship with Him. Jesus Himself said He came to seek and to save those who are lost.

3. GOOD FISHERMEN USE A VARIETY OF STRATEGIES
There are a lot of different ways to catch fish. You can use a net from a boat, a cast net, a trotline, or a rod and reel. When it comes to reaching people for Christ, good fishermen use a variety of methods as well. The first time I ever caught a fish I was using a bamboo pole with a cork and a worm on the hook. No two people are alike so there is no single approach to personal evangelism that will work. Different people need different approaches. The same strategy won’t work for everyone.

That’s exactly what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:22,
“I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.”
He used one approach when he talked to Jews and another approach when he talked to Gentiles.

When he spoke to the wisest philosophers in Athens, Greece, he used an intellectual argument and even quoted one of their own poets.

4. GOOD FISHERMEN EXPECT TO CATCH FISH.
One of the funniest stories about fishing was told by the country comedian, Jerry Clower. He talked about Claude Ledbetter in Mississippi who was catching a boat load of fish when nobody else was bringing any home. A state game warden decided to ride out with Claude to investigate his fishing methods.

After arriving in the middle of the lake, Claude reached under the seat, pulled out a long stick of dynamite, lit it and tossed it into the water. KABOOM! In a few seconds, dead fish floated to the surface all around the boat, and Claude used a dip net to bring them into the boat. The game warden was enraged. He flashed his badge and said, “Bubba, that is illegal, and I’m going to arrest you. You can’t fish with dynamite!”

Old Claude didn’t say a word. He just lit another stick of dynamite and thrust it into the game warden’s hand. While the fuse sizzled Claude said, “Are you gonna’ TALK or are you gonna’ FISH?” I don’t recommend his method, but Bubba was expecting to catch fish!

Good fishermen always EXPECT to catch fish, even if they don’t. There’s a measure of faith involved because you usually can’t see the fish. You suspect they’re there, and you’re hoping that they’ll take the hook. It takes real faith to share your faith with others as well. You’re not putting faith in yourself, or your skill. You aren’t putting your faith in the person who needs Jesus. You put your faith in Jesus. You have to believe Jesus can and will help the person.

In Matthew 9, two blind men came to Jesus asking for help. Jesus said, “‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said,
‘According to your faith it will be done to you.’” (Matthew 9:28-29)

If they hadn’t believed Jesus could heal them, they wouldn’t have experienced sight.
But their faith was rewarded with the power of Jesus. In order to be an effective witness, you have to have absolute confidence that Jesus can make a difference in the lives of the people you know. If you don’t expect people to accept Christ, chances are they won’t.

5. GOOD FISHERMEN ARE PATIENT IF THEY DON’T CATCH FISH IMMEDIATELY
Good fishermen are patient. If they don’t catch fish after the first twenty or thirty casts, they don’t load up and go home. They may move to another spot, or try different bait, but they’re going to keep on fishing.

Sometimes believers feel guilty because they don’t have a great deal of success landing fish. They hear stories of people who have led hundreds of people to Christ, and they feel intimidated. They say, “I even have a hard time starting a conversation with someone about spiritual matters.”

Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will MAKE you fishers of men.” In other words, it’s a process. The longer you follow Jesus, and the more closely you follow Him, the more He will make you into a fisher of men.

The Bible says, “Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm.” (James 5:7-8)

When you’re fishing, patience isn’t just a virtue; it’s a necessity. Not too many fish are going to jump into your boat. A fish is easily spooked and will try to get away. A person without Jesus may often resist and even resent your attempt to share Christ with them.
That’s okay. Love them, and keep showing them God’s love. Keep praying for them.

CONCLUSION
I know most of us here have been fishing, but there are probably a few folks who haven’t. Let me ask: If you have never gone fishing, raise your hand.

Now, here’s the next question: how many of you who just raised your hand have ever caught a fish?

You say, “That’s a foolish question. If they haven’t ever gone fishing, of course they haven’t caught a fish.”
That’s my point. I don’t have to ask how many of you have ever led a person to Christ.
Instead, a better question is “How many of you have ever initiated a spiritual conversation with someone?”

If you don’t ever go fishing, for sure, you’ll never catch fish.

Sometimes you go fishing and you don’t catch a thing but it’s still called going fishing because you went to where the fish were, and you wet your hook. You tried. God won’t ask you how many fish you’ve caught.

He’s more interested in how many times you’ve gone fishing. He judges us on our obedience. Our job is to share the gospel, The results are up to God. I saw a sign in front of a church recently that said: “Fishers of men. You catch ‘em; and Jesus will clean them.”

Radio commentator Paul Harvey once said, “Too many Christians are no longer fishers of men, but the keepers of the aquarium.” Based on that comment, I’ve written a short parable I call, “The Fishing Society.”

Once there was a group of people called the Fishing Society. They gathered every week to talk about the importance of fishing, but they never fished. They decided to build a big new aquarium, so they pooled their money (no pun intended) and built a sparkling new meeting hall they named “The Aquarium Center.”

Then they hired an expert who had a Doctor of Fishology to teach them from the Fishing Manual. Each week they gathered in their beautiful building and read portions of the Fishing Manual. The meetings ended with the expert dramatically casting a net in the large tank in the center of the Aquarium Center. The members rushed to the edge and were hopeful some fish would be caught. None were ever caught, of course, because there were no fish in the tank.

This led to disagreement among the members of the Fishing Society. Why weren’t there fish in their beautiful aquarium? Some said, specialization was the answer so they built smaller tanks specially designed for fish of all ages and sizes. But, still, there were no fish.

They bought the newest and most modern fishing equipment on the market. They elected numerous committees to operate the Fishing Society more efficiently. One group regulated the water in the Aquarium. Others worked to keep the glass walls polished; others sorted and arranged the expensive fishing gear.Finally, the Fishing Society decided to send a few brave members to go and live near the lakes and oceans. They called them “fishinaries.” These foreign fishinaries emailed pictures of themselves standing by the water holding their catches of fish.

Over the years, some members of the Fishing Society forgot about fishing altogether. After all, there was plenty to keep them occupied in the aquarium. Some even suggested they change their name from “The Fishing Society” to just “The Society.” After all, they didn’t want to offend the fish.

One day a bearded stranger appeared at their aquarium. This longhaired, sandaled man claimed to be the Master Fisherman. He extended His hands to ask the members
to follow him out and He would teach them how to catch fish with Him. They noticed the man had ugly scars in His palms—probably from fishing. Nobody moved.

As He turned to leave He said, “If you never go fishing, you have no right to call yourself a fisherman. I’m going fishing, and if you aren’t fishing—well, then, you aren’t following me.”
After their initial shock, the members of the Fishing Society resumed their busy activity of maintaining their beautiful hall. They were glad their beautiful hall had not been built in vain. If nothing else, it made them feel good about themselves.

Contributor: David Dykes

Moses as An Example

MOSES AS AN EXAMPLE
Deuteronomy 32:48-52 & Numbers 20:1–12

48 Then the LORD spoke to Moses that very same day, saying: 49 “Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, across from Jericho; view the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel as a possession;
50 and die on the mountain which you ascend, and be gathered to your people, just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people;
51 because you trespassed against Me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin, because you did not hallow Me in the midst of the children of Israel.
52 Yet you shall see the land before you, though you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving to the children of Israel.”

I would like to start my sermon this evening with a puzzle and wonder if you can figure it out:
What is it that is greater than God?
More evil than Satan?
Rich people DON’T have it?
Poor people DO have it?
And if you eat it... you will die?
Answer: NOTHING

Nothing is greater than God
Nothing is more evil than Satan
Rich people don’t have nothing
Poor people do
And if you eat nothing... you’ll die

The puzzle makes sense once you know the answer.
But until you know the answer, it is really confusing.
AND that’s the case with our story this evening.
Moses is taken to the top of Mt. Nebo and told by God: “take a look before you die, because you’re not going to get into the Promised Land. This is all you get to see.
Really? Why?

Deuteronomy 32:51 explains:
“This is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites.”
What was this all about?

Well, let’s go back and read the story.
It only shows up in Numbers 20:1-12
“In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.
Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron.
They quarreled with Moses and said, ‘If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the LORD! Why did you bring the LORD’s community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here?
Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!’

Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. The LORD said to Moses,
‘Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together.
SPEAK to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.’
So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, ‘Listen, you rebels, must WE bring you water out of this rock?’
Then Moses raised his arm and STRUCK THE ROCK twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.’

What had Moses done wrong?
1st – he got angry with the mob of protestors.
2nd – he claimed HE was getting water from the rock... when it was actually God.
And 3rd he’d disobeyed God. God said speak to the rock... Moses struck it with the staff.

For that, Moses was refused entry into the Promised Land and died in the wilderness.
That’s it!
That’s the whole story.
• He got mad
• He claimed credit
• And he disobeyed God

But something about this story just doesn’t make sense.
It’s like a puzzle with a couple of pieces missing.
Moses has been leading the people of Israel in the desert for 40 years, and for most of that 40 years it’s been no picnic.
These people have been extremely difficult.
• They’ve complained, and bickered and they’ve been rebellious.
• They’ve insulted Moses.
• They’ve rejected God’s will.
• And frankly, they’ve basically been a real pain to work with.

But in spite of that, for most of that 40 years Moses has been the ideal leader. He seems to actually care for these folks.
• He’s prayed for them.
• He’s reasoned with them.
• And he’s interceded with God for them.
At one point God got so angry with the Israelites that God says “stand back and let me destroy these wicked people. Then we’ll start over again with just you.” But Moses refuses and intercedes for God to spare them.

On top of that, Moses seems to have been one of the few men in Scripture that God personally praises.
We’re told in Numbers 12:3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)
It’s like God was saying that Moses shined so brightly the rest of the world seemed tarnished.
That’s high praise from God.

So here we have Moses - just months away from crossing the Jordan River and he slips up ONE TIME.
He loses his temper ONE TIME.
And he’s denied access to the Promised Land.

Over the years in Bible Studies, Sermons presented, etc. many individuals have felt that This just didn’t seem fair!
That it just doesn’t seem right!
This shouldn’t happen to someone like Moses!

And if this were the “last chapter” of the story, they’d be right.
It’s not fair.
But this isn’t the last chapter.
There’s more to the story than appears at first glance.
We can often see in our reading of the scriptures how our God loves to paint pictures?
All through the Old Testament God repeatedly gives us images that tell us about Jesus and what He’d be like... and what He’d do.

If you look through the Law you’ll see pictures of Jesus in the sacrifices.
If you examine the instructions on how they were to construct the Tabernacle, you’ll find images of Jesus that show up in all the materials and measurements of every corner of that tent.

And in the Old Testament stories of the heroes and heroines you’ll not just see true stories of those people, but you’ll see how God weaves that truth in such a way that their very lives and stories point to Christ.

For example, Abraham offering his only begotten son Isaac as a sacrifice was a portrait of what God was going to do through Jesus.
And here – with Moses – God’s doing it again.
Let’s look at this thru God’s eyes.

The people of Israel have been in the wilderness for 40 long years and now they are about to be led into the Promised Land. Moses won’t get to lead them there, however.
Who does lead them into the Promised Land?
That’s right – Joshua. Keep that in your mind and we’ll get back to that.

For the Christian - crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land - has always been symbolic for crossing over into Heaven when we die.
The chilly waters of the Jordan = Death.
The glory of the Promised Land = Heaven.
Many of the old hymns reflected that truth.
For example, there’s an old hymn written by Tullius C. O’Kane in the 1800’s titled “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks” which is Number 461 in our song book.

On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand, and cast a wishful eye;
To Canaan’s fair and happy land, Where my possessions lie.
We shall rest in the fair and happy land by and by,
Just across on the evergreen shore, sing the song of Moses and the Lamb
By and by and dwell with Jesus evermore.
But now, how do we get INTO heaven?
Do we get in by doing good works?
Do we get in by obeying the commandments of the OT law?
NO, we get in by following Jesus.
The LAW (Moses) could not lead His people into His Promised Land.
Only JESUS (the Savior) could do that.

Paul wrote in Romans 3:20 “no-one will be declared righteous in (God’s) sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.”

Galatians 2:16 says “a man is NOT JUSTIFIED by observing the law, but by FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ
and NOT BY OBSERVING THE LAW, because by observing the law no-one will be justified.”

No matter how good you’ve been, when you stand before God at the judgment, you can’t point to YOUR righteousness and expect God to be impressed.
Your righteousness won’t get you into heaven.
Jesus’ Righteousness will!
Now let’s review:
Why couldn’t Moses get into the Promised Land? (HE SINNED)
How many sins did Moses commit that we know of?
One!
Did you realize that it only takes ONE sin to keep you out of heaven?
That’s what God was teaching us here with Moses... it only takes ONE sin.

James 2:10 says “whoever keeps the whole law and yet STUMBLES AT JUST ONE POINT is GUILTY OF BREAKING ALL OF IT.”

So, we have Moses – one of the greatest men who ever lived.
A man greatly respected by God.
A man who dealt gently with one of the most quarrelsome difficult people on earth.
A man who KNEW the Law... and had his ducks all in a row.
This man commits ONE SIN... and he doesn’t get into the Promised Land.

How many sins have you committed in your life?
Do you think maybe I’ve committed several sins in my life?
You don’t have to be so eager to agree with me on that

If Moses couldn’t get into the Promised Land because he committed one sin... what makes you think you (OR I) can get into heaven committing more than that?
That's it. Game over. We may as well go home.

But one last thought:
Did Moses EVER get into the Promised Land?
Well, let’s look at Matthew 17:1-3:

“After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.
Just then there appeared before them MOSES and Elijah, talking with Jesus.”

So did Moses get into the Promised Land.
Yes he did!
But how did he get there?
Only thru Jesus.
Moses didn’t make it because he was a great man, or a man made righteous by the Law. The only way he got in was because Jesus brought him.

But there was more:
“Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for MOSES and one for Elijah.’ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. LISTEN TO HIM!’

When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. ‘Get up,’ he said. ‘Don’t be afraid.’ When they looked up, THEY SAW NO-ONE EXCEPT JESUS.” Matthew 17:4-8

Moses was there, and Elijah was there.
These were the two greatest men of the Old Testament.
Moses was the representative of the Law and Elijah the greatest of the prophets.
And Peter was amazed and sought to honor all of them.
But then a cloud came and a voice said:
“This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. LISTEN TO HIM!”
The disciples fell to their knees and when they looked up... what did they see?
Only Jesus.
Moses and Elijah had disappeared in the mist because God was making a point:
LOOK AT AND LISTEN TO Jesus.

Moses and his Law won’t get you into heaven.
Elijah and the power of miracles won’t get you into heaven.
We need to LOOK AT and LISTEN TO no one except Jesus - because HE is our only hope of salvation.

Peter apparently learned his lesson well.
In Acts 4:12 Peter declares:
“Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

So was it unfair for God not to let Moses lead the Israelites into the Promised Land? Of course not!
God was honoring him by delaying his arrival.
God had given him a gift that made him greater than he ever would have been had he only been known as the giver of the Old Testament Law. That gift? To be allowed to make his life all about pointing to Jesus.

And that’s the same gift you and I are offered.
Moses didn’t deserve to get into the Promised Land. He sinned. Only Jesus could bring him there. And so his hope laid only in Jesus. And that was his testimony.

"Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no-one will fall by following their example of disobedience."
If the "rest" or "Promised Land" was already attained, it would be illogical to urge Christians to "make every effort to enter that rest."
"As God buried Moses in Mt. Nebo and all hell cannot dig up his body, so Christ nailed the law to his cross, taking it out of the way forever, and though Satan constantly seeks to raise it up, Michael the Archangel stands by his finished work and pours out his grace and righteousness in the full forgiveness of sin upon his chosen (Jude 9; Zechariah 3:1-9).

(1 Corinthians 1:30-31) 'But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.'"

INVITATION

Based on a Sermon
By Melvin Newland

The Request

Mark 10:35-45

INTRO:
Good morning church. A British evangelist, Dr. George C. Morgan had 4 sons and they were all preachers. The story is told of someone visiting the whole family one day as they were all gathered in the drawing room. In conversation the visitor turned to Howard, one of the sons, and asked him: "Howard, who is the greatest preacher in your family?" Howard had a great admiration for his father and he looked straight across at him and then without a moment’s hesitation he answered, "Mother."

I’m sure we all enjoyed Mark’s lesson last week. He brought up some good thoughts and as usual he got me thinking. Open your Bibles this morning to the 10th chapter of the gospel of Mark.

First look at Mark 10:33-34 “33. "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and to the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; 34. "and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.''”

That sets the stage and now let’s read our text for today Mark 10:35-37 – “35. Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.'' 36. And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?'' 37. They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.''”[NKJV]

Then skipping down to Mark 10:41 – “And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.”[NKJV]

Human ambition is a fact. We do not all have the same degree of ambition, but in all of us there is to some extent a desire for advancement, and perhaps a desire for recognition. Add to that the fact that the desire for “more” is something that is characteristic from the lowliest to the highest. When ambition exists in any sort of “closed system”, it can become a divisive thing. This can be seen in job situations. It can be seen in sports teams. It can be seen in club settings, and, yes, it can even be found within the Lord’s church. As Mark said last week in his lesson the Bible does not condemn ambition. It encourages us to strive for excellence. But when ambition is uncontrolled, or when it selfishly fuels our ego, it is not good.

Lest I am misunderstood, I want to stress that being ambitious, in and of itself is not wrong or sinful. I’m not saying that, but ambition must always be tempered by other qualities.

When I was working as a manager if I had an employee whose ambition was to do the best possible job, I considered that person very valuable. On the other hand someone whose ambition was to find a job that allowed them to warm a chair all day listening to their favorite music… not so much. Unfortunately for the person with little ambition they probably would not even get in the door.

I have heard it said that ambition in life usually progresses through the following stages: to be like Dad... to be famous... to be a millionaire... to make enough to pay the bills... to hang on long enough to retire.

Our text presents us with a situation fraught with peril for the twelve. Ambition has reared its head and has been discovered by those who are being “left out” of the request that is made. The situation involves a request that is made by two brothers, James and John.

I. THE REQUEST OF JAMES AND JOHN - Mark 10:37 clearly sets out their request - “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.”

A. Let’s start with what these two men must have believed. They have referred here to - “Your glory”. Matthew in his account of this request says it was made by Salome (sal-uh-may), the mother of James and John. In Matthew 20:21, a parallel passage, we read “… Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.” Mark’s gospel is more direct and shorter then Matthew in descriptions, so for me if the request came directly from the Apostles or via their mother it is not an issue. It is still a request to secure for these two a ranking place in the Kingdom that is to come.

1. What is it that these brothers are asking? What these brothers are requesting is that they be given the greatest places within the kingdom.
2. This tells us one shining thing about them—bewildered as they might be at this point, they still believed in Jesus. It is amazing that they could still connect glory with the Galilean carpenter who had incurred the enmity and the bitter opposition of the orthodox religious leaders. There is amazing confidence and loyalty here. James and John might not understand at this point, but their hearts were in the right place. They never doubted Jesus' ultimate triumph.
3. Yet, it is equally evident that they are still concluding that Jesus is soon going to ascend an earthly throne. They think in terms of an earthly kingdom like those with which they were familiar.
4. In Luke 18:34, a passage very closely akin to what we’re reading here. Jesus is teaching them about what will happen in Jerusalem and at verse 34 the writer observes, “But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.” It was not hidden in that Jesus did not want them to understand. It was hidden because of their reluctance to accept it.

B. It is a favor that they ask as the result of a relationship.

1. They do not grasp at this time all the things that are going on and they really do not understand the ramifications of what they are requesting, but they make the request nevertheless, because of a close relationship they have with Jesus.
2. We know that James and John were part of a kind of inner circle among the apostles. In Matthew 17:1 we see that along with Peter, James and John went with Jesus onto the mount of transfiguration. In Matthew 26:37 we find the same three went with Jesus further into the garden in the hour of prayer.
3. Beyond that, there is every indication in scripture that James and John are the first cousins of Jesus.
4. They see themselves as having a very favored earthly relationship. Out of this favored relationship comes this request. It’s almost like children, They’re asking “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” Have you had any of your children do this to you? “I want you to say yes to whatever I ask you.” “We just want you to agree to do what we want you to do.” Of course, Jesus doesn’t do that, does He? He wants to know; “What do you want Me to do for you?”

C. I mentioned this earlier and it is interesting. Was it their mother, or was it they who made the request?

1. In Matthew’s gospel it seems that it is their mother Salome (sal-uh-may), who makes the request. Mathew 20:20.
2. Perhaps Salome is the one who made the actual request. After all, a mother wants the best for her children. It may be the request was made at the behest of her sons, James and John, who perhaps believe that Jesus will give greater weight to their request if it comes from His aunt, their mother, the sister of Mary.
3. This same logic is used today by some religious people to suggest that prayer to others can intercede for us. That is not what is taught in the Bible. Jesus is our intercessor. Hebrews 7:25 – “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them.” and Romans 8:34 – “It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”
4. Strange as it may seem to us, I want to be sure that I commend again the confidence and the loyalty of James and John. Their loyalty was well placed, perhaps for a misunderstood cause, but we commend them for their loyalty to the Lord.
5. That brings us to what I call a draught line: The Ignorance of James and John.

II. THE IGNORANCE OF JAMES AND JOHN

A. We go on and read in Mark10:38 – “But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask. Can you drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”

1. They asked for this favor in ignorance of the nature of God’s Kingdom. That is very evident.
2. Furthermore, they were ignorant of the events that were going to transpire which would be cataclysmic… overwhelming events.
3. Jesus refers to the cup and the baptism. These are descriptive words for experiences one is going to have which are so serious and so heavy that they overwhelm.
4. I’d like you to turn in your bibles to Matthew 26:37-39. In verse 37 we see that Peter, James and John went with Jesus further into the garden of Gethsemane “and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.”
5. Listen as we read of the weight, the seriousness, the heaviness of this cup that Jesus is about to drink, this baptism with which He is about to be baptized. “38. Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.'' 39. He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.''” Descriptive words.
6. We know that in the text of the New Testament baptism usually means an immersion in water, but baptism has a more general meaning than that, something that overwhelms. You hear in the military of “baptism by fire”. Thayer’s first definition is: Baptism is used topically of calamities and afflictions with which one is quite overwhelmed: Mark 10:38; Matthew 20:22f ; Luke 12:50. Indeed, in water when one is immersed, the water overwhelms. Here Jesus refers to something that is going to overwhelm.
7. It’s true that they do not understand what they are asking. Jesus says; “Can you drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” “And they said to Him, "We can.''”
8. They don’t really realize YET what is going to happen.

B. Jesus acknowledged that they would experience the “cup” and “baptism”. “And Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with, you will be baptized;”

1. Now I’d like us to look at what happens to James in Acts 12:1-2 – “1. Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. 2. Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.” James was killed by Herod. I’m not sure how much time passed after Jesus told them that they would drink the cup and be baptized with the baptism with which He was baptized, but this event takes place and James was killed for his faith.
2. In Revelation 1:9 we discover that John, who apparently died a natural death, was exiled to the Isle of Patmos, and he says his exile is for the Word of God. He is in exile. He is drinking the cup. He is being baptized with the baptism which is an overwhelming experience because of his faith, for the testimony which he held.
3. At the time of their request, these two men did not seem to have a concept of, no idea of the cup of which they would later be drinking. We’re confident that we can drink the cup. We can experience the overwhelming experience that you’re going to experience.
4. They didn’t know what they were saying. They didn’t know of what they were speaking. That was something that was out there in the future.

C. We come now in Mark’s gospel to Mark 10:40 where Jesus says, “"but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared.''”

1. There is similar language to this is in chapter 20 of Matthew’s gospel, verse 23, (Matthew 20:23) – “So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.''”. In other words what Jesus said is… privilege in the kingdom of God is not based on favor and friendship.
2. James and John are seeing things from the worldly point of view. They see things as if in the manner of political appointments, favors that are handed out by those who are rich and famous to those who are their friends and relatives. Don’t we see a lot of that in our world today?
3. Jesus said that’s not the way it is in the kingdom of God. Our future blessing in the kingdom of God rests upon our relationship with the Father and how we pursue that relationship. He says: It shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.

III. NIPPING THE PROBLEM IN THE BUD

A. Here’s the problem—selfish human ambition—and Jesus has to nip this problem in the bud. Let’s come back to verse 41 in Mark 10: “when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.” The ambition of James & John threatened apostolic unity.

1. The feelings expressed by the ten apostles isn’t all that unnatural! A request has been made of Jesus. Somehow it becomes known to the other ten.
2. Perhaps there’s a lesson in that. It doesn’t matter how secret you believe the confidence you have shared may be, confidences have a way of being known, have a way of getting out and becoming hurtful to people. In this situation that’s what happened. The ten apostles who are not part of this request are hurt.
3. They’re upset, and I think we can understand why. Among the apostles neither explicitly nor implicitly was there a difference in rank. Never was it mentioned anywhere, as far as ranking was concerned. Did they have different responsibilities and roles? Yes, that happened, but as far as rank no one of them was more important than the other.
4. James and John, though they may have been the physical kin of Jesus, were not more important at this time or in the kingdom than Peter and Andrew and Phillip and the others. The situation is a threat to apostolic unity and Jesus must do something about it.

B. Jesus took immediate, appropriate action to defuse the situation.

1. We are now looking at Mark 10:42 – "Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.”" He calls the twelve and begins to solve the problem by describing the situation in the real world. You know what goes on in the world He says. People who are considered to be great have power and authority and they exercise the power and authority over others. You know how that works.
2. Then He says in Mark 10:43-44 – “43. "Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. 44. "And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.” The world has a standard, but Jesus lays down the standard for greatness in the kingdom.

i. He says: Those who are great are those who become servants of all—willing servants.
ii. Those who are going to be considered great are those who serve others. There is no place in His kingdom for power, position and pride!

C. Jesus makes one final argument. Mark 10:45 –

1. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Not only is the world view not to be the view in the kingdom, there’s not to be in the kingdom a desire for position and power growing out of pride. Not only that, even I the Son of Man, the Son of God, the Savior, I did not come to be served. I came, He says, to minister to others.
2. In John’s gospel we read in chapter 13, verse 13 through 15, verses that so clearly illustrate this lesson, the washing of the apostles’ feet. Jesus says: “13. "You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14. "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15. "For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”
3. Again, it’s difficult for our modern, western minds to comprehend the significance of some of these things, but we must understand that in that time when one came into a house, servants would come and wash the person’s feet. He was walking in some serious dust and his feet were dirty. It was one of the marks of hospitality for him to have his feet washed by one of the servants of the house.
4. On this occasion the Bible says that Jesus took off His outer robes, girded Himself with a towel, and begins to wash the feet of the apostles. This is the thing that we need to hear: I your Lord and Master did not come to be served. I came to serve. I came to minister. I may be Lord and Master, but I am not too good, I am not too important, to kneel to the most menial task, the washing of the feet of my disciples.
5. He adds in this final argument that He came to give His life a ransom for many. There is in that statement without doubt, His reference to His own death. His subsitiutionary death.
6. In your Bibles you might want to turn to a very familiar passage in the book of First Peter where we are currently studying. 1 Peter 2:24 – Peter writes this of Jesus; “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed.” Then in 1 Peter 3:18 – Peter says; “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,”. He came to give His life a ransom for many.

CONCLUSION:
Our human nature can at times become a problem even within the Lord’s church.
Human ambition has no place among the saints of God. Zeal for the kingdom however does have a place. Repeatedly, over and over again, Jesus teaches what’s real, great and good—to please and serve others. That’s the nature of life within the kingdom.

We’re going to sing the song which was announced a while ago and as we sing if there are those present needing to take this opportunity to publically make known needs in their lives, you may step into the aisle and make your way to the front and let us know that need.

If you need the prayers of brothers and sisters, we would be glad to pray with you.
If you’ve never been baptized into Christ, your life in the kingdom has not yet begun and you need to do that.
Come believing, penitent, confessing the name of Christ, submitting yourself in loving obedience to the commandment of Jesus Christ and be baptized for the forgiveness of sin. You can do that today.
Whatever the need, we invite you to come.

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Reference sermon, Cecil A. Hutson, 06 April 2008