Chardon church of Christ

What Does It Mean To Be Content?

Philippians 4:10-13

This is reportedly a true story about George Phillips of Missouri, who was going to bed when his wife told him that he had left the lights on out in his workshop.
George went out to turn off the lights but saw through the window that there were people in there in the process of stealing his tools.
He immediately went back into the house & phoned the police, who asked "Are they inside your house?" George answered, "No, they’re out in my workshop."

The officer replied that all the officers were busy right now, & that he should simply lock his door & a patrol car would be sent out when one was available.

George said, "Okay," hung up, stayed right where he was,
Then he slowly counted to 30, & phoned the police again.
"Hello, I called you a minute ago because there were burglars in my workshop. Well, you don't have to worry about them now because I've just shot them all." Then he hung up.

In less than 5 minutes, three squad cars, an armed response unit, & an ambulance showed up. And the police caught the burglars red-handed.
But one of the officers said to George: "I thought you told me that you had shot them!" To which George replied, "And I thought YOU told me that there were NO officers available!"

Now, I would NOT recommend trying this to get the attention of the police; but I did use this story to grab your attention this morning.

Listen to these words of the Apostle Paul written while he was in a Roman prison: “I know what it is to be in need, & I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any & every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (Philippians 4:12).
This verse is part of the text I will focus on this morning which is taken from Philippians 4:10–13.

Do you consider yourself a patient and content person?
Are you satisfied with your life?
Are you content with your job?
Do you get along well with others in your life?

When you get up in the morning, do you look in the mirror & say, “Oh God, I thank you for making me the way that I am"?
Or do you look in the mirror & say, “Oh God! I need help!”?

Are you happy with your income?
Do you feel you have been paid what you’re worth?
Are you aware that the average income of a major league baseball player this year is over 4 million dollars?
Of course, some baseball stars are being paid millions more than that. But other ballplayers are struggling along on the minimum salary of only $545,000 a year.

When the Apostle Paul says, “I have learned the secret of being content in any & every situation...” it seems to me that he deserves a hearing.
Paul is getting old. He doesn’t have much - yet once he was rich.

His health is beginning to decline - but once he was strong.
Now he’s in prison - but once he was free.
Yet he says, “I have learned the secret of being content.”

There are 2 major points I want us to consider this morning:
The Enemies of contentment,
& then the Sources of contentment.

I. The ENEMIES OF CONTENTMENT

A. There are several enemies of contentment, & the first is “Unrealistic expectations.”
Many of our grandparents grew up during the great depression & had very little. And when they married they had to work long & hard to get what they needed.

But today, it seems when many young people get married, and they expect to have everything from day one that it took their parents years to accumulate. The level of expectations has changed!

Again, sometimes people get married & then discover their spouse is not perfect.
Or they go to work, & discover that their boss is not perfect,
& their friends aren’t always perfect, either.

Perhaps they become Christians, thinking that Christians are perfect & that they, too, would be perfect once they become a Christian. But they find that’s not the case, either.
They’re still being attacked by temptations, & sometimes Christians do sin.
So, there is disappointment & discontent simply because of “unrealistic expectations.”

B. A 2nd enemy of contentment is “Unfair comparisons.”
When you compare yourself to others, you’re sure to find someone else more attractive, or more gifted & talented than you, someone younger or stronger. And you’ll always be discontented if you're constantly comparing yourself to them.

One of the interesting things about Paul is that you never find him comparing himself to others except once here in Philippians to make a point.
Tradition says that Paul was short. And if Paul compared himself to Simon Peter, he could have felt inferior because tradition says that Peter was big & tall.
Tradition also says that Paul had stooped shoulders, and was rather homely looking.  So, if he had gone around comparing himself to others, he could have had a tremendous inferiority complex. But he didn’t yield to “unfair comparisons.”

C. A 3rd enemy of contentment is “Unnoticed blessings.”
We live in the most affluent nation in the world. We have more possessions, more freedoms, more opportunities than almost anyone else. And yet, Americans are among the most dissatisfied people on earth, & our suicide rate is extremely high.

The problem is that we take so many of our blessings for granted.
Is air-conditioning a necessity or a luxury?
“Well, here in Ohio there have been days that the temperature got pretty hot. So, we close our windows, shut our doors & turn on the air-conditioning. And we expect our homes to be delightfully comfortable. The only time we even think about it is when it breaks down & we have to sweat a bit.

What about automobiles – luxury or necessity?
Well, mom and I would still be out on the road somewhere this morning if we didn’t have a car to get here! 😊

What about television?
Well, many need a big screen, surround-sound, a DVR recorder, & so on. We want all the modern electronic devices.

Yet, Paul writes about himself & the early Christians in 1 Timothy 6:8, “If we have food & clothing, we will be content with that.”

Today we have a lot more than just food & clothing. But we tend to take most of those blessings for granted. Truly, we have many “Unnoticed blessings.”

D. The 4th enemy of contentment is “Uncontrolled ambition.” Now 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.  James writes, “For where you have envy & selfish ambition, there you find disorder & every evil practice” (James 3:16).

ILL. A number of years ago Time magazine reported that a mugger held up a woman at gunpoint & demanded her money. But when she only had $12.50 in her purse he became very angry. Then he saw her checkbook & insisted that she write him a check for $1000. The next day he was arrested when he tried to cash that check. That’s pretty stupid, isn’t it?

Yet, "uncontrolled ambition" can sometimes dull our thinking to the point that we aren’t thinking logically.
In Luke 12:18-20, Jesus tells about the rich farmer who had a bountiful harvest.  But instead of thinking about others, he said,
“I will tear down my barns & build bigger ones, & there I will store all my grain & my goods. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink, & be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’”

The Bible never says, “Be content with who you are.”  But it does say, “Be content with what you have.”  We are to be ambitious, but ambitious for the right things.

II. SOURCES OF CONTENTMENT
Now let’s look at sources of contentment.
There are at least three.

A. The 1st source of contentment is an “Attitude of Gratitude.”
All the way through Philippians Paul talks about attitude, & he is saying, “If you have an attitude that causes you to be grateful for everything God has given you, you’ll find contentment.”

The story is told of a German preacher of the 14th Century who struck up a conversation with a beggar. "God give you a good day, my friend." the preacher said. The beggar answered, "I thank God I never had a bad one."

Then the preacher said, "God give you a happy life, my friend."
"I thank God," said the beggar, "I am never unhappy." This caused the preacher to ask, "What do you mean?"

"Well," said the beggar,
When the weather is fine, I thank God;
when it rains, I thank God;
when I have plenty, I thank God;
when I am hungry, I thank God.
And since God’s will is my will,
& whatever pleases Him, pleases me,
why should I say I am unhappy when I am not?"
The preacher looked at the man in astonishment.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I am a king," said the beggar.
"Where then is your kingdom?" asked the preacher.
And the beggar answered: "In my heart."

Isaiah 26:3 says, "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You."
Now, you can begin each day by saying,
“God, this is going to be a tough day.
I hate my life.
I hate my work.
I hate my family.
I have NO FRIENDS.
I don’t know how in the world I’m going to make it.”

OR you can say,
“God, thank you for this new day you’ve given me.
Help me to do something today that will last for all eternity.
Use this day, Father, to your glory. And use me to your glory, too.”

B. The 2nd source of contentment is to “Seek to please Jesus” & quit worrying about pleasing people.
Jesus said, “But seek first His kingdom & His righteousness, & all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

That is a lesson we’ve never really learned. But if we do, then we’ll discover one of the secrets of being content.
And Paul tells us, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)

Bill McCartney retired as the head coach of the Univ. of Colorado football team a number of years ago. His reason for retirement was not because he was unsuccessful as a coach. His teams had won the national championship. They had been in the top 10 many times.
McCartney said that he retired because he wanted to re-evaluate his priorities. And during that year, he rededicated his life & talents to Christ, & threw his efforts into founding the great gatherings of men that came to be known as “Promise Keepers.”

In 1 Thessalonians 2:4 Paul says, “We are not trying to please men but God...” And may that dedication be evident in our lives, too.

C. Here’s the 3rd source of contentment - “Love people, & show your concern for them.”
In today’s text Paul writes, “I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.” (Philippians 4:10)
Then he goes on to write in vs 11 and 14,
“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”
... “Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.” (Philippians 4:11,14)

Paul thanks the church in Philippi for being so concerned about him, not just for the money they sent, but for the fact that they really cared about him. He was in prison & he was sick. So they wrote to him, & sent Epaphroditus to comfort & help him. And he tells them, “Your love means so much to me.”

Now if you have someone who cares about you,
someone who really loves you,
someone who prays for you,
someone who encourages you,
& if you truly treasure that kind of relationship
you may soon, like Paul, be able to say,
“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”

There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace.
Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures. But there were only two he really liked, & he had to choose between them.

One picture was of a calm lake.  The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

The other picture had mountains, too. But these mountains were rugged & bare. Above them was an angry sky, from which rain fell & in which lightning played.
Down the side of one mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall.
This did not look peaceful at all. But when the king looked closely at the waterfall, he saw behind it a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock.
In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest - in perfect peace.

Which picture do you think won the prize? The king chose the second picture.
Do you know why? "Because," explained the king, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, no trouble, nor hard work.
Peace means to be in the midst of all those things & still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace."
How about you? Do you have peace this morning? Are you content? If you are not, then learn the secrets of contentment from the apostle Paul.

INVITATION: This morning we give you the opportunity to come & confess your faith in Him, following His example & command in baptism, being raised to walk in a new life, a new relationship with Him. If you are ready to make that decision we invite you to come as we stand & sing.

Christians and Politics

Titus 3:1-3

INTRO: Good morning church! I was reviewing a lesson from a few weeks ago and it got me thinking. Scripture often warns God’s people about deception and evil influences. For example, in Luke 21:8, Jesus said, “Take heed that you not be deceived.” Also, in 2nd Thessalonians 2:3, the Bible says, “Let no one deceive you by any means…” In the Old Testament we read about the influence of the surrounding nations and in the New Testament we read where Paul had to warn Christians of outside influence, 1st Corinthians 6:9-11 for example. The congregation in Corinth, which consisted of Jews and Greeks, were constantly challenged by society in two ways: the first was that many of the Christians originated from a heathen background, and second, they were continually exposed to their evil surroundings.

I wondered what particular challenges that we face being a Christian in this culture, as a Christian at this time. I think it's an important question for us to ask ourselves, and it's kind of hard to see sometimes because the culture is what we're used to. That is a broad topic I know, and would take many lessons.

Since this is an election year, I thought we might look at one point. How much should we care about politics? What role does that have in our life? Often we use the term “apolitical”, which is defined as, “having no interest or involvement in political affairs”. When people hear that term some think that we don’t care about the problems people have. There are people in this country with needs, “I guess you just don't care about them because you don't want to help them”, right? No, that's not it. Christians should care about people in a deep and important way. There is a difference.

Christ teaches us to have a better perspective on this life, have a better perspective on the problems that we face. We are to see things like God sees them. God gives us better tools to help people than this world has to offer.

Need for Leadership. People throughout time tend to lean on politics. Our leaders, our officials, our police force, our military, you name it. We tend to lean on our country and those people in power when we have problems. We see there's a problem over here, and say we wish the government would fix that. We see some thing going on in our society, and say that's the government's job. The thinking is we need to encourage the government to do this or that, and that thinking feeds the idea of being political. After all they're the ones that are supposed to be “solving” everything.

Instead of thinking the government's going to solve everything, we need to realize that government may never solve those problems. The government’s action can't be where my hope lies. God gives me better tools than that to be able to help people. It's really a different way of thinking about how to help the people around us. Do we care about people? Absolutely!

Here are the three points we are going to look at this morning.
Number one: The New Testament tells us to submit to the government. That's a clear theme of the teachings of the New Testament.
Number two: An Old Testament emphasis is that God is in control over kings and over nations.
Number three: Americans care too much about the economy.

I. First let’s examine three key passages in the New Testament that speak about Christians’ relationship with the government, and our attitude toward the government. We will start in Titus 3, than look at 1st Peter 2 and finally Romans 13. What we will find is there are a lot of similarities in these passages.

A. Titus 3:1-3 – “Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.” Paul speaks of government as “rulers and authorities”. Be submissive to rulers and authorities, and in that context, the need to be obedient.

1. In his letter to Titus, Paul admonishes Titus to be a pattern of good works, to the young men especially. Here he says “be ready for every good work”.

a. He reminds Titus that we were “once foolish”. We were disobedient, led astray, slaves to our lusts, slaves to just doing what the flesh wants, our pleasures. Hating people and being hated by people.
b. Do we see that in the political world today, hating people, being hated by people, passing our days in malice and envy?

2. We are to “speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing humility to all men.” People feel free to say things about politicians without a lot of evidence, just kind of throwing out things about them or what they suppose their motives are.

a. Speak evil of no one, not being slanderous. Avoid quarreling, bickering and fighting, even on social media.
b. We are to be gentle, kind, compassionate, meek, and humble. We are to show courtesy towards all people. Being respectful, polite, and gracious. How poorly people seem to do that today!

3. When we think about today, do we have politicians and media that sound like they are not being slanderous, not quarreling, not bickering and fighting but are being gentle and showing courtesy towards all people?

a. Does what we hear from them sound like religious people? People who are claiming to be followers of Jesus? People who are claiming to be disciples of Jesus and following God's word?
b. In those religious contexts, do we see people behaving this way on social media, news outlets, and blogs? Not from my observation.

4. I suspect there is a reason. There are Christians and there are Bible believers all over this world that do behave the way Paul tells Titus to. You don't see it though because that doesn't get the “clicks”. It’s not exciting. Who wants to read a humble blog about politics?

a. What gets the “clicks” gets the views, the attention? It's the snarky comments. It's the sarcasm. It's the rudeness. You know, the shove it back at them attitude. That's what's… “newsworthy”. That's not following what God has said, that's disobedient to the gospel call.
b. What if every person who claimed to be a Christian avoided quarreling, bickering and fighting, was gentle, kind, compassionate, meek, and humble? What if they showed courtesy towards all people, were respectful, polite, and gracious in the political scene? Wouldn't things be different?

5. I fear our world is the opposite. We write and say things to slam others because we “know” that they are slamming people. It should not be that way. The world would be so much better if we always behaved the way Christ calls us to.

B. Another principle that we see, is that it's our job to work with the authorities, those rulers, those people who are over us. And working with them, (not against them), speaks of being submissive. Submit yourself to those rulers and authorities; be obedient, following the laws of the land, and doing what we should.

1. In the book of Titus we see that the way we live, the way we conduct ourselves, shows the goodness of the gospel. It demonstrates what the gospel is really all about, and that we're not about being hateful.
2. There were false things being said about Christians 2000 years ago, just like there are false things being said about Christians today.
3. Today Christians are accused of being bigots, unloving, etc., fill in the blank. 2000 years ago they said followers of Christ were atheists, rejecting the wisdom of their forefathers. They said all kinds of crazy things about Christians. That's going to happen today and we are to counter that by the lives we live.
4. Paul tells Titus in Titus 2:9-10 – “Exhort servants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.” “adorn the doctrine of God” What a great phrase. Adorning the doctrine of God, adorning the gospel. We do that by the lives we live, our lives make it look beautiful. To adorn something is to show the beauty of it. When we say make it look good it does not mean its bad so wrap it up in something fake. It means show the goodness of it. Show the goodness of the gospel. Live it out and show what God is really all about.

C. Now let’s consider something from our current Bible study in 1st Peter 2:13-17. “13. Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, 14. or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 15. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men 16. as free, yet not using your liberty as a cloak for vice, but as servants of God. 17. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”

1. This should sound familiar, not just because of our study but in comparison to what we see in Titus. The lesson is obedience, submission and not just to the highest figure but to every human institution set up by God.
2. Again, we see this idea of submission coupled with living lives that show the goodness of the gospel. Peter says, “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men…” They may say things about Christians, but the Christians they know individually should show that that stereotype isn't true, because they really do live out the love of God towards people.
3. We show respectful behavior and that shows the goodness of the gospel. Honor all. This is the idea of showing courtesy towards all people. I’m sure we have all heard jokes and slanderous things said about people on the other side of the political aisle. That's not honoring everyone. That's not honoring the emperor, the king, the president, the representative, the mayor, the police chief… you name it.

D. Turn to Romans 13:1-7 – “1. Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority?” Would anyone want to live their life always looking over their shoulder, about to get arrested, about to get in trouble? I certainly don’t want to live that way. “Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4. For he is God's minister to you for good.” Live a righteous life and you'll receive that governor's approval, for he is God's servant. “But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain;” That is a real threat, that has real potential. “for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake. 6. For because of this you also pay taxes,” We don't like paying taxes. They didn't like paying taxes 2000 years ago when this was written. We pay them because “they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing. 7. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.” Respect. Respect to who respect is owed. Honor to who honor is owed.
E. Here are the three things we keep seeing in these passages. Submit to the government. We are to obey them, do what they say, are to be respectful to them, showing honor to whom honor is due. Showing courtesy towards all people and living lives that are doing good, to show them the goodness of the gospel.

1. Are we going to do this? Are we going to submit to the government, even if things don't go our way? We have this idea in our world, I should say, in this country; it's like, well, because it's a democracy and I didn't vote for that guy therefore he's not my president. I'm not going to do what he says. If things don't go my way, I’m going to fight against the government in that.
2. What if they start taking away our “rights”? What if they start persecuting Christians? We put “rights” in quotations because it's only a “right” if the government actually gives it to us. Take freedom of speech for example in the First Amendment “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech…” They say I have a right to free speech but what if they take that away? -- That’s my right! No, it's not if the government says it's not. The government used to allow it, now they don't. It's not your “right”.
3. We submit to the laws of the land, and however the current politicians are going to interpret the constitution, we submit to that. By the way the courts have already modified what Freedom of speech includes and what it does not include 12 times since 1943. Then in the disclaimer about the list of modification it says; “this is created by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts for use in educational activities only. It may not reflect the current state of the law.”

F. What does the Bible say? Peter says in 1st Peter 2:18f, "18. Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. 19. For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. 20. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer for it, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. 21. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:”

1. When we talk about submitting to the government, even when they hurt us, or take away our “rights” or push us around—that is not some side issue, some peripheral discussion of Christianity, something that the theologians talk about in dark rooms.
2. Peter says this is what you're called to as a Christian, because that's what Christ did. Christ suffered unjustly. We also may have to suffer unjustly; to this we've been called.
3. It's pretty straightforward. We are to show the glory of God instead of fighting against the government. We will submit as best we can without sinning. Of course, we can't sin if they tell us to sin.
4. We will submit and we will suffer unjustly because we're called to that. In this is the “… strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age…” in Hebrews 5:14. Some don't like to hear this but that's what Christianity is. That's what we've been called to do, follow in the footsteps of Christ.
5. Some think they are smarter than God, they think they know better. “No, here's how I’ll fix it. I'll be really sarcastic and I’ll push the buttons of the authorities.” No, you're not smarter than God. We need to do things God's way.

G. Philippians 2:14f “Do all things without murmuring and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,”. We don't grumble. We're not constantly bashing people. We are thankful. We're appreciative. That will shine as a light in this dark place.

II. Second: we will look at the Old Testament but segue back through Romans 13:1f in so doing – “1. Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves."

A. Government exists as put there by God. He says it over and over again. There's no authority except from God. Those governments that exist have been instituted by God. Paul was not the first person to say that.
B. The Old Testament emphasized that God is in control over kings and nations.

1. There is no better place to show this than in Daniel. Daniel 4:17b – “to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.” [ESV] God is ruling over the kings of men. He puts in authority those whom He wants to rule.
2. Daniel is explaining to Nebuchadnezzar his dream in Daniel 4:25bf – “… seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules.” [ESV]
3. In Daniel 4:32b – “… They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.''”

C. If God's in control, then we have nothing to do with it, right? Does that mean Christians shouldn't vote? No, that's not what that means.

1. Think about it. In every area of our life we work with God, trusting in Him, but also doing our part.

a. Does God give us our food? Yes. Does that mean we don't have to plant crops and harvest them? Does it mean God's going to provide for my family, so I can just sit around?
b. Here is a good one, God takes care on things so if I become ill I don’t need to go to the doctor, just leave it to God, right? No, that's not how any of this works
c. How about this—God is the one in control of the souls of this world, and so I don't need to evangelize. No, that's not how it works. God is in control, but we need to do our part, whatever that part might be.

2. We live in a democracy and we're blessed to have a voice. You have a vote and you should use it as your conscience leads you. I'm certainly glad when Bible-thinking people go out and vote because I believe that is going to bless our country.
3. Even though we vote, don't think for a second that God is not involved. God's will is going to be accomplished. Trust in God.
4. When it is in our control to do something that is fine. When we do act we will behave differently if we trust in God's guiding hand. We won't have anxiety about it. We won’t feel the need to stay up till three in the morning to find out who won.
5. We trust in God and we do our part. We pray and we trust God with the rest. Most of all we pray for God's will to be done and pray for God's blessing. That is where the power is.

D. 1st Timothy 2:1f – “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Pray for our leaders, for government officials, for the people in this land and for other countries as well.
E. Pray that we are living in a world where people can have Bible studies, where people can have a regular job, where they live their life and can grow spiritually and not in chaos and tumult which are not helpful for people to hear and obey the gospel.

1. Pray that we can lead these quiet lives where we do our work. Pray that we will be a blessing to others around us.
2. Paul says this is good and pleasing in the sight of God.

III. Third: Here I’ll pose a question. Do we, as Americans, care too much about the economy?

A. I was looking at a Gallop poll chart about the percent of Americans who believe economic issues are the nation’s most important problems. The poll covered from 2001 through March of this year.

1. There was a spike in 2008, 2009 where 86% of people answering the poll said the economy was the biggest issue.
2. This was in the worst economic downturn in the U.S. since the Great Depression. Domestic product declined 4.3%, the unemployment rate doubled to more than 10%, home prices fell roughly 30% and at its worst point, the S&P 500 was down 57% from its highs.

B. Let me say that a different way. Of all the problems around us, the biggest one was we didn’t have enough money. It was not education, the things they're teaching in schools, the moral decline we see in areas of our world, and the acceptance of immorality around us. No, those were not the biggest problems facing us. The biggest problem was we didn’t have enough money.

1. I wondered if we were thinking money could solve all the other problems. I suspect that thinking was involved.
2. During the pandemic the percent of people thinking the economy was the most important thing dropped to 10% at the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, a dramatic change. Suddenly there was something more important.
3. Much more recently, this year, those saying that economy issues are the most important problems, hovers around 30-34%. Literally a third of the poll respondents say the biggest problem in our country is that our economy isn't good enough or the direction of our economy is wrong. As Christians, do we see how ridiculous that is?

C. As rich as we are, people still think the top problem is we don't have enough money. There are people in this room who have seen the growth of our nation in the years since the great depression and many of us had parents who lived through that time. We know how rich a people we are. It seems to me a little ridiculous to think that the biggest problem in our country is that our economy isn't strong enough.

1. Christians should not be thinking that our biggest problem is the economy. Do we see how worldly that is? How rich do we need to be as a nation before we stop making money our priority?
2. Remember what Ecclesiastes 5:10 said? “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.” It seems that it doesn't matter how much money we have, we just want more of it.

D. When it comes to voting we have likely all heard the phrase “it’s the economy stupid”. I think that phrase is what is stupid. Why do we still care so much about it? Elijah prayed it would not rain so that the people would turn back to God. It didn't rain in Israel for three and a half years. Would we be willing to say those kinds of prayers instead of praying for the economy?
E. We pray that God's will be done. Christians should not grasp and cling to our economic situation; so much that we're not willing to let it go for the sake of people's souls.

CONCLUSION:
What are we going to do in this election year? Care more about souls. Care less about politics, and the headlines, he/she said that and he/she responded this way. Care less about “this or that” person winning and pray for God's blessings. Pray for God's will to be done in this country, and then trust in Him. Be content with the life that God has given to us. Be content with what we have.

We understand there may be people in this room who are having a hard time paying their bills. We understand there may be people in this room that have a hard time getting the food they need. Of course not every person in America is sitting fat and sassy. There may be ways we need to help others financially, even people here, but we can also be content with what we have and look to God to provide for us those needful things. When we do this we'll be a light in a dark world and we'll just be different. God will be glorified.

Psalm 146:3 – “Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save.”[para] That's not who we're going to trust. That's not who we're going to look to. We're going to look to God and do His will. Pray for God's Will to be done, and look to Him. Care about souls, care about the kingdom, care about the things that are to come when Christ returns.

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

# ??? Reference Sermon by: Jady Copeland, Lakeview church of Christ

The Heroines Of God

Judges 4:1-9

I overheard the following conversation between a young lady and her friend:
“I tried to find out what my boyfriend would get me for our anniversary and he finally told me that it was something round that I’ve wanted for a long time. I was happy because I thought it was a ring, I wanted to marry him. I come home and I see A BASKETBALL HOOP WRAPPED IN RIBBONS!!!”

Then I came across this poem:

A WOMAN'S POEM
Before I lay me down to sleep,
I pray for a man, who's not a creep,
One who's handsome, smart and strong.
One who loves to listen long,
One who thinks before he speaks,
One who'll call, not wait for weeks.
I pray he's gainfully employed,
When I spend his cash, won't be annoyed.
Pulls out my chair and opens my door.
Massages my back and begs to do more.
I pray that this man will love me to no end,
And always be my very best friend.

Someone once said that “It is important for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!"
To that person's mind the term “she-roes” was a unique and eye-catching way to talk about heroines.
And I like that word.

In the Bible there are many heroes, but there aren't that many “she-roes”. But of those “she-roes” that are in Scripture, one of the most impressive is the woman mentioned in Judges 4:1-9, which is our text for today’s lesson… her name is Deborah.

4 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.

2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

3 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.

4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?

7 And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.

8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.

9 And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

Now Deborah’s only mentioned in these two chapters (Judges 4 and 5) but hers is a powerful story. In these two chapters we’re actually told quite a bit about her. And amongst the things we’re told is that she’s:
• vs 4 A prophetess
• vs 5 A judge who “used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment.”
• vs 6 A woman who was used by God
• then in Judges 5:7 She described herself as “a mother in Israel”
• And the entire chapter of Judges 5 is dedicated to a song of praise she sang to honor the power of God in conquering Israel’s enemy.

Now, Deborah was an extremely unique judge.  She was different than any of the other judges mentioned in this book about “Judges.”

For example, unlike several of the other judges in the book of judges, there’s not a single word of condemnation about Deborah. The Bible speaks nothing but praise for her faith and actions in her service of her God.

2ndly, unlike several of the other judges in the book of judges she isn't called by God to go to war as a military commander. I mean, she does go to battle beside Barak, but she wasn't called to lead the army to war. She went as an encouragement to Barak.

And 3rd - she’s the only judge in the book of Judges that behaves even close to what we’d call a judge. All the other judges seem to be called to go to war… but not her. She’s called a judge because she acts like what we’d think of as a judge. People come to her to have her arbitrate their disagreements with one another.

ILLUS: Now, when you think of a judge, what images come to mind?

A court room.

A judge dressed in black robes.  And there’s usually a bailiff or a deputy, who’s armed with a gun or Taser, and is charged with keeping order in the court.

Judges in our culture are those who can pass judgment, and have the power to impose penalties, and even to punish people by sending them to prison.

But that’s not quite how things worked back then.

In the days of the Old Testament, “judges” were more like “arbitrators”. There were no police or prisons to enforce their rulings. Often times the leading men of the city would serve as these arbitrators. And you wouldn't find them in a beautiful court room. Instead, you'd find them down at the city gates. That’s where they “held court”.

People who needed their disagreements settled would go to the city gates because that was where they’d most likely find the wise men of the community.

Now, by contrast Deborah didn't need to go the gate of the city.  She sat under her own palm tree.

Judges 4:5 tells us “She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment.” (ESV)

Deborah was one of the most famous of the judges of her day.

In our culture, many of us couldn't begin to give the name of a judge in their city, but we could give the name of an advice counselor in the local newspaper. In my day it was Ann Landers, and her sister who’s by-line was “Dear Abby.”

Just as people would flock to Deborah for her advice, people in our day flock to send their letters to the “Dear Abby’s” of our culture to have them arbitrate disagreements between them. They serve the same function as the “judges” of the Old Testament.

So Deborah was a judge in Israel.

But she wasn't only a judge… she was also a prophetess.

When you think of a prophet in the Old Testament who do you think of?

Isaiah or Jeremiah or Daniel?

These Old Testament prophets were well-known because of books of prophecy they wrote. Or they were known because they would make declarations of a future event (like Isaiah, who’s known as the “Messianic” prophet because of the many futuristic descriptions of the coming of Jesus). Or these prophets were well known because they would give long sermons in which they would declare the judgment of God upon the people of Israel.

She doesn't write a book.

She make no statements about the future.

And she doesn't seem to be into giving long speeches.

So if Deborah didn't do any of those things, what is it that would have qualified her as a “prophetess”?’

What did she do that MADE her a prophetess?

Well, there was one thing that she did that was common to some prophets in the Old Testament. We don’t commonly think of this as part of a prophet’s role because it doesn't get much press in the Bible. But the Jews of Deborah’s day would have understood this action as being something prophets and prophetesses did.

She sang.

The entire 5th chapter of Judges is dedicated to Deborah’s song of praise to God.

God often used singing as a way to declare His majesty.

In fact, that’s what God did through Miriam (the sister of Moses/Aaron) in Exodus 15:21
21 And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea

Miriam’s song of prophecy was exactly like Deborah’s song in its declaration of God’s power and in its declaration that it was God who triumphed over the enemies of Israel.

So Deborah was a judge and she was a prophetess.

And the Bible wants us to clearly understand that she was a very WISE woman.

But that wasn't why she was a SHE-RO of the Old Testament.

Her being a judge and a prophetess and her being wise were not the reasons Deborah was listed in the book of Judges. Deborah is listed in Judges because she allowed God to use her for something special. She’s in the book of Judges because there was a CRISIS and she was used by God to help solve that crisis.

Vs 2 of our Text in Judges 4 tells us:

Israel has fallen back into their old ways of worshiping false gods and their idolatry and rebellion had angered God much that we’re told “the LORD sold them into the hands of Jabin, a king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera...”

Now, Israel had an army of 10,000 men under the leadership of a man named Barak but they were no match of Sisera and the army of Canaan. The reason? Sisera had 900 iron chariots… and Israel didn't. Pitting Israel’s army of 10,000 against Canaan’s 900 chariots would have been like sending an army of riflemen against 900 armored tanks. They’d have been massacred.

But God has Deborah tell Barak it was time to go war and she went with Barak as he led his army into what seemed like a hopeless battle with a superior enemy.

But the story in Judges tells us that Barak had an edge in this fight.

God had promised His people that if they obeyed Him: “You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.” Leviticus 26:7-8

With God on his side, Barak couldn't lose.

But there is an odd thing about what we’re told here.

How many soldiers does Barak have to go to war with? 10,000.

That’s a pretty good sized army.

But a few Sundays back we read about Gideon and we’re told that he had 10,000 soldiers too. But what did God tell Gideon do with his 10,000 men?  God told Gideon to send most of them home. God explained: “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’” Judges 7:2 (ESV)

So, why were 10,000 soldiers too many for Gideon and just enough for Barak and Deborah? Well, in this case, God was using Barak’s army as “bait.” In fact, that’s what God said was His intention in vs 7 of the text “I will LURE Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.’"

I’m convinced that God intended to use Barak’s 10,000 soldiers as a way to lure Sisera chariots into the field of battle. Sisera wouldn't have committed his heavy armament for only 300 men in the field (as Gideon had under his command). Israel's army had to be force big enough for Sisera to feel it worth his trouble. But once ALL Sisera’s chariots were committed and in the field… God destroyed them.

When Deborah sang her song of praise in Judges 5:4-5 she declared “O LORD, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the land of Edom, the earth shook, the heavens poured, the clouds poured down water. The mountains quaked before the LORD, the One of Sinai, before the LORD, the God of Israel."

You know what happened?

When Sisera was committed, God brought a storm out of the south and… it began to rain. And it rained and it rained and it rained.

ILLUS: I enjoy watching war documentaries on YouTube. And I was particularly intrigued by one of the common explanations of why Nazi Germany lost in their battle for Russia. You see, the power of the German war machine was wrapped up primarily in its tanks. These tanks were the best military machines of their time.
They had the been the key to Hitler's annihilation of the Allied forces in France. But these tanks were designed for war in on the Eastern front… not the Western one.

What defeated Hitler’s tanks was not so much the military might of Russia… it was Russia’s land. When that land got wet it got really muddy and the German tanks often bogged down in that mud and were unable to move. When that happened the German panzers became little more than huge pieces of metal that were at the mercy of the Russian forces.

And that’s essentially what happened to Sisera’s forces. The rain came down… and the IRON chariots got stuck in the mud. They could still move, but they had limited mobility.

Then, in addition to the mud, God threw in an earthquake.

Faced with the obvious reality that Israel’s God had entered the battle - and Barak’s forces weren't far behind - Sisera’s forces panicked and began to run away.
And so did Sisera.

Sisera ran away to the north into the mountains and hid in what he thought was the tent of friends. The woman there fed him and gave him milk and made him comfortable. But after he fell asleep (this is kinda gory) she took a mallet and drove a tent peg through his forehead.

And he died.

A friend of mine observed that “this is why I never sleep in a tent with a woman who has a mallet and a tent peg... just in case”

There was no mistaking the fact that God had won the victory over Sisera that day, and Judges chapter 5 is totally dedicated to singing God’s praises and it was written down a Psalm of Thanksgiving to God.

But now… there’s odd twist to this story.

Before any of this fighting happens.

Before Barak leads his men out to battle.

Before the army is even assembled to fight - God has Deborah tell Barak he needs to go to battle. But Barak isn't excited about the concept.
Vs 8-9 of the text “Barak said to her, ‘If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.’
‘Very well,’ Deborah said, ‘I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman.’”

What’s THIS all about?

Well, what this is all about is – men and women.

It’s all about the difference between men and women.

You do realize that there’s a difference between men and women don’t you?

How many of you realize there’s a difference between men and women?

• Men are bigger and stronger and more aggressive.

• Women tend to be more spiritual and religious.

• Men want to fix problems.

• Women want to listen to people and sympathize with their problems.

• And men, because they are bigger/stronger/aggressive, tend to dominate and mistreat women.

• And women, because they are generally smaller/ weaker than men strive for security and protection.

This all creates a conflict between the sexes.

And often, men – because they are bigger and stronger than women – win that conflict. And when that happens in a society, we call that a “male dominated” society

That’s not healthy. And it’s not Biblical.

When men DOMINATE women it proves they've taken God’s place.

Such men view themselves as being “in charge”… not God.

And thus women become their servants.

In that kind of atmosphere women are abused, misused and mistreated.

Men who create that kind environment have no place in their lives for SHE-ROS. There is no room for women to shine.

But in Matthew 20:25-28 Jesus said “the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

God hates it when His people dominate and enslave others to their will.

God hates a male DOMINATED society.

And the Bible does not teach it.

But because so many men (including supposedly “Christian” men) do dominate women, godly people react badly to what the Bible actually does teach… which is male-LED society.

The Bible consistently teaches that men were created to lead and have a position of responsibility.

That’s why the Bible says that women should not teach or have authority of adult men. Teaching and having the responsibility of making decisions for the church is the job God designed men to do. When MEN do that job, the church is stronger and better protected. When they don’t step up and do their job… the church suffers.

And wise women in the church won’t let that happen.

Wise women will always challenge their men to step up and lead.  And that’s kind of what’s happening here with Barak.

Deborah understands that going to war to protect the nation is a man’s responsibility. That’s Barak’s job. It’s his job to lead men into battle. But he doesn't really want to do it. He wants to lean on Deborah/ he wants her to help him lead the army.

He’s ducking out on his job… and Deborah won’t let him do it.

She’ll go with him, but I suspect she kept challenging him to MAN UP and LEAD.

CLOSE: And that’s kind of the way Godly women have always been. Godly women (and Godly men) have always been more concerned with being servants of God and of others than they ever have of having positions of authority and influence. When Jesus said the greatest among you will be those who are the servants of all I think He may have been thinking about women like Deborah.

Someone once pointed out that women were instrumental in much of Jesus’ ministry.

• It was a woman (His mother Mary) who prompted Jesus to perform His first miracle

• It was women (Mary & Martha) who ministered to Christ during His public ministry.

• It was woman (Mary) who anointed the body of Jesus before He was crucified.

• It was the women (Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome) who stayed with Jesus throughout his trial and crucifixion.

• It was women (Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and others) who were the first witnesses to the resurrected Savior.

• And in today’s churches - it is women who make up the majority of the population of most congregations.

In our congregation there are many Deborah’s who are known for their wisdom and insight

In our church there are many great women of God

In our midst there are many She-ros of faith.

And we would be much weaker and poorer without them.

Do I hear an “amen?”

INVITATION… but you can’t be a woman of faith (or a man of faith) until you FIRST belong to Jesus.
1. You have to be willing to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
2. You need to be willing to repent and turn from your sins.
3. You need to confess that Jesus will now be the Lord and Master of your life.
4. You need to submit to being buried in the waters of Christian baptism, and rise up from those waters to live a life for Jesus.

Sermon Contributor: Jeff Strite

He Is Able To

Text : 2 Timothy 1 : 8– 14

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson go on a camping trip. After a good dinner and time relaxing , they retire for the night, and go to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes wakes up and nudges his faithful friend.

"Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see."
"I see millions and millions of stars, Holmes" replies Watson.
"And what do you deduce from that?"
Watson ponders for a minute.

"Well, astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo.

Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow.

Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful, and that we are a small and insignificant part of the universe.
What does it tell you, Holmes?"

Holmes is silent for a moment, and then he replies,
"Watson, you idiot! It tells me that Someone has stolen our tent!"
Years ago there was a radio program whose announcer would loudly proclaim, "People do the craziest things!" Whether from stupidity, carelessness or foolishness, some things people do make absolutely no sense at all. For example, the following stories are absolutely true.

A few years ago the telephone company in Sacramento, CA., set up a very modern Service Center where customers could call in to report troubles on their line, request repairs or installation of new equipment, & inquire about their bills. There was only one catch. When it opened, the Service Center had an unlisted telephone number.

Then again, in Springfield, IL, a funeral director listened in amazement to a coffin salesman’s criticisms of a competitor’s coffins. What the salesman said doesn’t make much sense, but here it is. He said, "Our coffins are lined with real silk. But their coffins are lined with a synthetic material which may cause skin irritations."

I guess that radio announcer was right. People do the craziest things! But I am convinced that there is nothing as foolish as some of the reasons people give for their lack of commitment to Jesus.

In 2 Timothy 1:12 the apostle Paul said, "For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
Then just two verses later, Paul tells the young preacher, Timothy, “Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”(2 Timothy 1:14)
In both of those verses the Apostle Paul uses a special Greek word, which means "a treasure or a deposit left with someone you trust completely."

There were no banks back in Paul’s day where you could deposit your money & keep it safe. So what did you do with your wealth when you went on a journey? Then again, if you were to die, who could you trust to be the executor of your estate?

How could you be sure that your family would receive what was rightly theirs? The person you ask to take care of your possessions must be someone you know very well, & whom you trust completely.

And that is what Paul is saying that Jesus is in this verse when he said, "I know whom I have believed & I am convinced that He is able to keep that which I have entrusted to Him until that day."
"I KNOW HIM!"

Isn’t it exciting when we have the occasion to say: “I KNOW HIM or HER!”
(Examples: Caitlynn Houlihan on Broadway as an actress
OR
The members of the US Olympic Swim Team because of Keenan and Kalyn Robinson (Keller).

Here in our text Paul is NOT saying, "I know about Him as an historic figure," or, "I know about Him as a name that appears in the books."

But rather, "I know Him as my Savior, as my friend. I know Him as one who walks beside me & guides me. I know Jesus, & I know “He is able to keep that which I have entrusted to Him.”
I am sure that as Paul wrote these words he must have thought back over his life & the terrible things he had done when he had persecuted the church as he persecuted the Christians who were a part of that church.

But then he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, & from that moment on his life was never the same again. Where once he had imprisoned Christians, now as a Christian he was in prison.
Sitting there in that prison cell in Rome, Paul must have remembered all the horrible things that had happened to him the suffering he had endured the times that he had been arrested & beaten & left for dead the times he was hungry & cold & lonely.
Yet, when compared to the joy that was his because of his friendship with Christ it was worth it all. So he writes, "I know Jesus Christ, & I want you to know Him, too!"

You see, the greatest news is not that Paul knows Christ or that John knows Christ or that Peter knows Christ but that we can know Jesus Christ, too. That is the greatest news of all.

We are told that when we accept Him as our Savior, repenting of our sins & are baptized into Him, that He takes our sins away, forgiving us & forgetting our sins & washing them all away.
When we keep His commandments we show our love for Him, & He becomes the Lord & the Master of our lives. We receive the gift of His Spirit to live within us & give us guidance & strength & direction for every day.
I heard of a minister from Hartford, Connecticut who was an invalid most of his life but he was never heard complaining about his circumstances or seen feeling sorry for himself. Instead, he found it as blessing to be able to preach to others about Jesus and what Jesus has done for all mankind.

In the very last sermon he ever preached he said, "I know Jesus better than I know any man in Hartford." What a wonderful thing to be able to say! "I know Jesus!" The joy of knowing Jesus!
Do you know Him? Can you stand with Paul & John & Peter & all of the others who have walked the corridors of time, marching in the army of God & say, "I know Jesus?"

That should be a personal goal for each and every one of us here this evenin!
The 2nd thing we see in this text is the power of Christ. "I know Him," Paul said, "& I know that He is able." Those are great words, "Christ is able."
Think of the might of Christ & think of all the things which Almighty God can do.

He is able to create. We read in John 1:3 that "All things were made by Him; & without Him was not anything made that was made." He created this world & this universe & everything in it. He created it out of nothing.

Man has built magnificent cities, but we have built everything out of existing materials, & one day everything we have built will return to dust.

I have felt the mist of Niagara Falls in my face. I have flown over some areas of the Rocky Mountains and have seen the purple mountains’ majesties. I have stood on the shores of the Atlantic & the Pacific & listened to the restless waves.
I have gone down to the depths of some of the Caverns in the U.S.

I have looked into the starry sky & seen the Milky Way at night. People, when we look at this world we must be over-whelmed at the creation that God has given to us.

But the greatest news is not that God is able to create, but that He is able to recreate us. God made man in His own image, & He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.
But what God created,
Satan sought to destroy.

Satan tempted man, & man gave in to that temptation & sinned separating himself from God.
So God sent Jesus to cleanse us from all sin & bring us back to God. That is the best news that I can tell you this morning. He is able!
He is also able to comfort us & inspire us.
Over the years I have read various church papers. Some of them have a column headed with these words, "He Is Able."
Underneath are the names of those who are sick & those who are bereaved. What a beautiful promise when tears come & hearts are broken. "He is able!"

The 1st Century world marveled at the attitude that Christians had about death. They couldn’t understand how Christians could rejoice when one of their number died. But we are told that we can rejoice because Jesus has won the victory over sin & death.
Look at some of the paintings of that time. There is one that is particularly outstanding. It is a picture of Christians in the center of the Coliseum at Rome. Behind them are hungry lions ready to devour them.

In the stands are people filled with hatred, shouting at the Christians, cheering on the lions.
But on the face of every Christian there is a look of peace & life & hope, because "He is able."

Despite everything that we encounter on this earth, "He is able."
He is able to comfort us & inspire us to the greatest heights of service in His kingdom. So Paul writes, "I know Him, & I know that He is able."

"TO KEEP THAT WHICH I HAVE ENTRUSTED TO HIM"
Paul goes on to say, "I know that He is able to keep that which I have entrusted to Him." What had Paul entrusted to Christ?
Obviously, he had entrusted his life. He had committed his body & his soul & his spirit completely to Jesus.

The Bible teaches that our eternal spirit is worth more than anything else in all the world more than silver or gold. It is the most valuable possession we have, & Paul says,
"I have entrusted that valuable possession to Jesus, & He is able to keep it safe, to protect it from all the temptations of the world & to keep it that way throughout eternity."

He is also able to keep track of all that we have done.
The 26th Chapter of Matthew tells of an interesting event that occurred during the last week before Jesus was arrested & crucified. Beginning with vs. 6 it says,

“While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume,
“which she poured on His head as He was reclining at the table.”

“When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. ‘Why this waste?’ they asked. ‘This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.’ (Matthew 26:6-9)

But Jesus didn’t think it was wasted. In fact, He commended her for what she had done. He said, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me.

“When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.”
Then Jesus said something that I think we ought especially to remember. He said, 13 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.” (Matthew 26:10-13)

Not only did all four of the gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) record this event, but I am convinced that God is keeping record also.

In fact, the Bible tells us that every good thing we do for someone else every time we witnessed to the lost & brought them to Christ God is keeping record, & He will never forget.

Paul said, "I know whom I have believed, & I am convinced that He is able to keep that which I have entrusted to Him until that day."

Paul is obviously referring to that day when all the people of the world will stand before the judgment throne of God. Jesus tells us about that day in Matt. 25:33-40.

“All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
“...Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you...’

‘For I was hungry & you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty & you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger & you invited me in,

“I needed clothes & you clothed me, I was sick & you looked after me, I was in prison & you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry & feed you, or thirsty & give you something to drink?

“When did we see you a stranger & invite you in, or needing clothes & clothed you? When did we see you sick or in prison & go to visit you?

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:33-40) What a day of rejoicing that will be!

But for others, it will not be a day of rejoicing. Jesus says that some will hear the words, “Depart from me. ... Whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me.” (Matthew 25:45)

If we are His, then on that day when God’s people stand before the throne we will hear the words, "Well done, good & faithful servant." (Matthew 25:21)

I ask you again, "Do you know Jesus?" Regardless of your needs this morning, our God is able.
He is able to forgive our sins. He is able to recreate you in the image of Almighty God. He is able to keep that which you entrust to Him your life & your eternal spirit. He will keep it & protect it & love it for all time & eternity.
People, that day is coming. No one knows when, but it is coming, & we must be ready. Again & again God tells us, "Be prepared. Be ready for that day when it comes."

Will you heed that advice this morning? If you are not ready, Christ is here to help you get ready. He invites you to come.
Will you come as together we stand and sing the song of invitation?

Sermon Contributed
By Melvin Newland

The Heart of A Mother

I Kings 3:5-28

Our text this morning will be 1 Kings 3:5-28. A husband and a wife in their 60s were coming up on their fortieth wedding anniversary. Knowing his wife loved antiques he bought a beautiful old brass oil lamp for her. When she unwrapped it a genie appeared. He thanked them and gave them each one wish. The wife wished for an all expense paid first class around the world cruise with her husband. Shazam. It took place. Instantly she was presented with the tickets for the entire journey plus expensive side trips dinners shopping etc.
The husband however wished he had a female in companion who was 30 years younger than him. Shazam. Instantly he became 90 years old.
If God gave you just one wish, what would it be? I know I would probably wish to get a thousand wishes, but assuming that was not the case what would you wish for?
Today in our text Solomon was given kind of that choice, and he chose wisely. The Lord appears to Solomon in a dream. He offers him whatever he asks for. I'd like to begin by reading in our text 1 Kings 3:5-9 “5. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?”
You notice it says in verse five, ask for whatever you want and I will give it to you. What would you want if you were given your heart's desire as they say? What would you want? Gold? Glory? Greatness? Pleasure? Do you look for fame and fortune? Power and prosperity or longevity maybe? Personal looks? None of this was the case for Solomon. What did Solomon ask for? Wisdom. Why you may ask or you might ask what is wisdom. I have often told the grandkids if you ever get lost in a crowd, if you ever get separated from us there is one thing you must remember, find a mother with children that is walking, pushing a stroller and go ask them for help because a mother ninety-nine percent of the time will look to help you and keep you safe and you'll be OK.
Why?
Because we know of a mother's love, there is probably nothing greater than that. They know how they care for their own family and they know what it would be like if they lost their own children so they would seek the help you out. There couldn't be wiser sayings from the quotes of wisdom that I'm going to read. I would like to read just a few that I found on: What Is Wisdom.
A philosopher Cicero said the function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and evil. Good, basic.
There is a philosopher Kant says the distinction between science and wisdom. Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.
Robert Green Ingersoll says it is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense.
Sam Levinson says it is simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then say the opposite. Don’t laugh so much, I think that's how I go through life. Okay what's the first thing you would say? Now say the opposite.
Frank Whitmore said the biggest difficulty with mankind today is that our knowledge has increased so much faster than our wisdom.
We think about that for a moment. Knowledge is increasing so fast, wisdom hasn't caught up with it.
Yet another individual said you can tell whether a man is clever by his answer. You can tell whether a man is wise by his question.
Socrates the only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
That is where we as Christians look, isn't it? By ourselves, what do we know about the creation of Earth? Nothing. We realize true wisdom is being aware that we aren’t the ones in charge. True wisdom starts with “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”.
In the Old Testament we have examples of how God acted towards man. We see the history of the human race. We see relationships, how family got started. The goods and bads, the dos and don'ts and then we are offered Jesus coming down from heaven to be an example for each one of us.
That is what we look at today. We think about the wisdom our mothers teach us.
The mother's foresight: "Make sure you wear clean underwear in case you’re in an accident."
Mothers teach us about logic: "If you fall out of that tree and break your neck, don’t come crying to me."
Mothers teach us about maturity: "Eat your vegetables or you’ll never grow up."
Mothers teach us about religion: "You better pray that comes out of the carpet."
Mothers teach us about time travel: "If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!"
Mothers teach us about contradictions: Think about this one. "Shut your mouth and eat your dinner!"
Mothers teach us about contortionism: "Will you look at the dirt on the back of your neck?"
Mothers teach us about perseverance: "You are going to sit here until you eat every last piece of that broccoli."
Mothers teach us about genetics: "You’re just like your father."
Mothers teach us finally about the circle of life: "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."
We know most of all, the mothers teach us about love. God loved the nature of Solomon's request like a mother requesting what would be best for her family. Solomon, remember, he was just young you read those verses when he was speaking. He was young, he was a youth and the numbers of the people the multitude was humungous. He says I'm so young I'm not even sure I know the way in and out, but he sought wisdom to rule the people that he says are special. Why? Because God chose them and he asked for the wisdom to rule, as a mother would ask for the wisdom, as we as leaders or members here at this congregation. May we ask for wisdom in leading our congregation, that we always strive to do things that please God, that we are always a light to this community that we try to spread that message as best we can out to others. We see that God loved the nature of Solomon's request.
I want look at versus 10 through 14 “And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honor: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.”
We see his request, Solomon's request. It was not selfish, it was not self-centered. It showed both reverence for God and respect for God's people. Isn't that what God asked of our lives today? Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these other things shall be added unto you. Notice that Solomon asked not personal things. He asked for God's guidance. He asked for the wisdom to serve God.
Notice that God added things to that list because you did not ask God says I will add these things to you. God was pleased to grant this request and then God added to the request both physical and material blessings in addition. Solomon took that seek ye first that Jesus talks about.
I'd like to look at First Kings now at versus sixteen through twenty. “Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him. And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house. And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it. And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.”
Now both women claim the living child as their own.
In essence one woman ends up by rolling on her baby. It dies. She switches or she has the baby switched. Without other witnesses or evidence Solomon must figure out a way to solve the case. He must figure out which mother is lying. What we must notice is the difference between the two mothers. We see that the false Mother's only concern is for herself. She doesn't care about the child. She's just trying it looks like to hide her sin. On the other hand the real mother is concerned about the infant. She is concerned for the well-being of her son.
It was the real mother who brought the case before King Solomon because of the love that she had or her child. We know that a real mother knows her children inside and out. It says that she had examined her son. The real mother tells Solomon when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was dead but when I had examined him in the morning indeed he was not my son whom I had born. She looked at the child in her arms saw that he had no life. Imagine the panic she must have had gone through her when the realization came that her child was dead, yet she had enough sense then to examine and to realize that it wasn't her own child. She realizes because she knew everything about her son even though he was newborn and she had only known him for a short period of time. She knew every wrinkle or every crease you would say on his face everything about him. There was a unique characteristic of her son. She knew the color of his eyes. She knew probably the way he smelled. She knew the softness of his skin by touch. So it is with mothers. We know that our mothers know everything about us. Think about our heavenly father and how much more God knows. He knows our thoughts He knows our intentions we know that He knows the number of hair on our head for some of them or for some of his probably easier to count than others but we know that it says He knows the very hairs on our heads. He knows. He’s the creator of all. I love the verses that say you know when you look at the birds that fly and how beautiful they are and if He does that for the birds and the for the flowers as the rain is going to water them and we'll see them sprouting, the beauty of the fields and how much more Jesus says Our Heavenly Father will care for you than all of these.

We look at this mother that knows everything and she knew something was wrong. She knew this child was different in so many ways. Notice how strongly she felt about this before she says indeed he was not my son whom I bore. Her statement is strong and it's also emphatic. This is not my son. The real mother knows everything about her child. Likes and dislikes joys and sorrows triumphs and failures. If he's hurting she finds out why. If we're in trouble they find out why. If we're acting peculiar they investigate. Above all a real mother knows her children because she has spent time with her family, as she prays on her knees to God for them and their care. We see here Solomon needs the wisdom to decide which mother is telling the truth. We look at how would we find out things.
Often the common thing today is what the mystery of life is. How would we find out what we need to do? Do you ever wonder that sometimes you wake up and what is the purpose? Your boss might ask what is what your purpose of being here is. He's referring to the job but you think about that in a whole universal sense. What is our purpose of being here today. Why are we here?
We know that a mother loves her children. We continue reading in verses 23 to 28 “ Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.” If I were one of these mothers I'd have to start questioning, what does he need that sword for. The last thing I pictured you know, bring me a sword!
“And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.” You are now sitting in the audience. What is your thought? I I think I would just be in awe, shell-shocked as they say.
“Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king,” I picture there was no hesitation. It doesn't say, but I picture almost immediately a response.
“for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.” That would be fair. “Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.”
The wisdom of Solomon is seen in his solution to this problem. He says bring me a sword. They bring a sword, he says divide the living child in two and give half to each. He decides to try the case based on the woman's maternal instincts and her human compassion. Calling for a sword he orders the child cut in half. Solomon knows that the real mother is not going to let this happen to her son. From the beginning when he asked for that sword he was granted that wisdom to know the reaction of the mothers.
It makes me think about as Christians. We were talking in our Bible study today about what individual’s reactions to God's word when God says what shall we gain if we profit or gain the entire world but lose our very own souls. What shall we give in exchange? It is a question and we look at what our individual reactions are. We are told to that that a day is coming, a day of judgment but yet some say drink and be merry the reaction might be. Then we might hear the world words that we also hear in the Bible today or tonight thy soul is required of thee.
We know what Solomon's reaction or Solomon knows the reaction of the mother is going to help him make him his decision. He knows that the false mother will agree because she simply doesn't care about the child. The text says then the woman whose son was living spoke to the King. She yearned with compassion for her son and she said Oh Lord give her the living child and by no means kill him. There was a deep bond of love for her son. Rather than see him killed she was willing to let him go, to let him live.
On the other hand the false mother did not care did not have that connection with the son. We know that the contrast in the actions of these two women made Solomon's job easy. He said give of course that first woman the child. We look at what we have. We have Solomon making this judgment. We have Solomon who is viewed upon, word went out immediately. The wisdom that Solomon and then you do know what Solomon's final conclusion was.
Here is a man who prayed for wisdom. He asked for wisdom. He made a judgment this was just one of the judgments that happened in his life. The people marveled at and realized and notice it said that they realized his wisdom came from God. It came from heaven. It wasn't just Solomon that it was directed by God.
I'd like to now go to Ecclesiastes. It's really easy to remember go in numerical order Ecclesiastes twelve verse 13 and 14.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 what does he say? This wise man which we believe may be viewed as the wisest man in the world because he was directed by God says what? Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter.
He's basically says I've pondered my whole life. And if I leave one last final statement with you it is this: the conclusion of the whole matter is fear God and keep his commandments. For this is the whole duty of man.
When you ask what is my purpose? Today why are we here? Solomon wisest man asked for God's wisdom says fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man for God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing whether it is good or whether it be evil .
I'd just like to swing over to the New Testament. These are Old Testament. Some people would say what does it say in the New Testament. There are many, I'm just going to look at one in Matthew 7 verse 24
In Matthew seven versus twenty four to twenty seven it says Therefore whosoever heareth theses sayings of mine (This is Jesus himself speaking.) whosoever hears these sayings of mine and do with them I will liken him unto a wise man who's built his house upon a rock and the rains descend and the floods come and the winds blow and beat upon that house and it shall not fall. (Why? Because it was founded upon a rock. What is the rock? God's truth. It is founded upon God's wisdom God's truth God's word as we read in the New Testament.) Everyone here at these sayings of mine and does them not (Now Jesus is saying okay what about those that say Oh I'm better off by myself, I don't need to worship with other people, I can do my own thing, they believe not) they shall be likened them to a foolish man who has built his house upon the sand and the rains descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and (what's going to happen?) it fell and not only did it fall -- great was the fall.
I'd like to conclude with this. I would like to go back to Psalms and just the first chapter of the book of Psalms.
Psalms chapter 1 which is 6 versus long says Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Obviously from the beginning of time. Growing up you always had the good guys and the bad guys. The good guys usually wear white. The bad guys usually wear black and that's just how it's been. We think about where it started. You think about a lot of things people say. You know there's a lot of people that don't believe in the Bible but when you look at what we do in real life a lot of it all relates back to the teachings of the Bible good versus evil, God versus Satan. God talks about a place of light, brightness and light, because he and the Son will light it. Hell, destruction of Satan, outer darkness, evil being dark. We see when we grow up I was I say give you these passages just to let you realize that God is that light. God is the way the truth and the light and no man go to them.
We think about we how we need to believe we need to repent we need to confess we need to be buried with him in baptism to come in contact with the blood that Jesus shed for us. We see that is the wisdom that the Bible speaks of. Solomon prayed for that wisdom.
As Christians we can obtain wisdom just by reading God's word. God is the one that is in control and may we follow that example that love that Solomon had, the love that that mother had for her family. May we have that love for our family. May we have that love for our Christian family. May we have love for those that we've come in contact with that they can be spared and turned on to God before it is too late. That is what Jesus meant when he sent the disciples out saying go ye therefore unto all nations teaching them to observe all these things that I have given to you and commanded you. Lo I am with you always even until the end of earth. We think about what we have. Today if we are in a need of either taking the steps to become a Christian or if we have taken those steps and fallen a way and need the prayers of the congregation whatever our need is we have the chance to make it right as we stand and sing our song of invitation.

The Serenity Prayer

INTRO:
It is good to see all of you back again this evening.

The Serenity Prayer is one of the most widely known prayers in existence. It was written and published by Reinhold Niebuhr in 1951, although he had used it much earlier in a sermon in 1943. Although only the first four lines are usually quoted there is more to it. The full quote is;

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.

Please understand the Serenity Prayer is not found anywhere in the bible. However, I do like the message that is found in it, especially those first 4 lines. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference between the two.

I want to start the lesson this evening talking about things that we cannot change, that we may wish were different, but learning to just accept them, be at peace and be content, with where we are, who we are, and the condition that we're in. Second, I also want to look at things that we can change, we should change, and we are expected to change.

I. Accepting Things I Can Not Change: We're going to start by talking about things that we cannot change that we need to learn to be content with. In Jeremiah 13:23 the text says; “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.” I'd like to answer this first question here.

A. Can the Ethiopian change his skin? If you don't know an Ethiopian is an African, a black individual. Can he change his skin? No, he shouldn't want to change his skin. He should be quite comfortable in his skin. A leopard can not change its spots, nor is it likely a leopard would want to.

1. There are certain things that we can not change, that we may wish were different, we may even pray that they're different, but we can't change them.
2. The best thing we can do is to learn to be content with whatever it is and remember what the apostle Paul said, he learned to be content in whatever condition, whatever state he was in, What we recognize here is we, like Paul, can be content and at peace even though there are circumstances and situations that are not the way we want them to be.

B. Over in Matthew 6:27 it says; “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” Answer that question for yourself. How many of you by worrying about how tall you are can make yourself taller? You may be able to wear platform shoes but you're still just as tall as your body is going to be and you're not going to get taller.
C. There are some things that you may be able to change about your appearance physically.

1. You may be able to dye the color of your hair, but it's still the real color underneath the dye. You can't change your age physically. I'm as old as I am. That's just the way it is. Now age change is legal act. I have read it is recognized in practically all legal systems, and allows a person to adopt an age different from their age at birth. The procedures and ease of an age change depend on the jurisdiction. In general, common law jurisdictions have rather loose limitations on age change, while civil law jurisdictions are quite restrictive. But I ask you, if a person were to legally change their age, would their length of time on earth really be any different? Some people get very concerned about how old they are.
2. My word to you is, be at peace with where you are and who you are. Be at peace with the body God has blessed you with. There are some things you may be able to change, you may be able to exercise and get a little bit more physically fit. You may be able to lose a little weight, but the truth of the matter is physically speaking, you are who you are.
3. Be content and be at peace with who you are. Worrying about things you cannot change in your physical body, that are there regardless of how much you may wish they were different, won’t change them. Worry is not going to change your age, nor is it going to change your height.
4. Skin color is not going to change. You may be able to put some dye on it or tan it for a little while, but it's going to come right back to whatever color it normally is. Be at peace with who you are.

D. In Second Samuel chapter 12, in the context David has committed adultery with Bathsheba. Bathsheba conceives. David has been told by the prophet Nathan that this child is going to die. I'm going to begin reading and Verse 19; “19. When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, "Is the child dead?'' And they said, "He is dead.'' 20. So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate.21. Then his servants said to him, "What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.'' 22. So he said, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?' 23. "But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”

1. Unfortunately there's going to be times in your life when people you love, people you know, people in your own family, are going to die. When those moments come it is going to tear you apart inside. Please remember what David said here. Can I bring him back again? The answer is no.
2. People I know and love have passed away. They cannot come back to me. I can go to them.

i. I believe what the Scriptures mean when they say to die is better; to die is gain, to be with the Lord is far better. I believe what the scriptures say when they talk about when we depart from this life we will be the Lord. I draw great comfort from that.
ii. Those dear ones cannot come to me but I can go to them. The truth of the matter is I wouldn't want to bring them back even if I could, because we need to understand, finishing the race in Christ is what it's all about.
iii. There are going to be people whom you love, people that are very near and dear to you in your own immediate family, your father, your mother, your husband, your wife, perhaps even your children, who are going to finish the race ahead of you.
iv. It hurts to be separated from them. We need to realize to be with the Lord is far better. Be at peace and realize they finished the race ahead of us. Focus on doing the very best you can to finish the race, also in Christ, but there are things you cannot change. You cannot bring back your loved ones who have already finished the race.

E. In 2 Corinthians, in chapter 12, you see a situation where the Apostle Paul is involved in a circumstance that he does not like at all. He has a physical problem, he has an infirmity and he goes to God three times praying this infirmity would pass from him. 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 says; “7. And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.'' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

1. The Apostle Paul tells us he has an infirmity, a thorn in the flesh, the specific nature of it we're not really sure. Many have ideas but we're not really sure. The fact of the matter is he didn't like it. He didn't like living with this infirmity and he wanted it to be gone and he wanted to be healed. He went to God and prayed three times that the infirmity, the thorn, would be removed.
2. The answer given back to him was “my grace is sufficient for you for my strength is made perfect in weakness”. The fact of the matter is there are going to be times in our lives when we are going to have thorns in the flesh. We may find ourselves afflicted with some type of infirmity, illness, or sickness and we don't like it. We wish it were gone, we wish it were different. We may find ourselves going to God time after time, and day after day, praying “please Lord please remove the thorn please let me be healed. Let me feel normal again.”
3. We need to realize that the thorn may never be removed and that we may die with that infirmity and carry it all the way to our grave. That may be hard to hear, but we need to learn to be content in whatever condition we are in.

i. It will not be easy, it may be extremely difficult. Draw strength from the Lord remembering the Apostle Paul when he was imprisoned over in Rome and he was facing the possibility of having his life taken from him. Realize that he still had that infirmity while he was in prison, and that is where he says in the fourth chapter that he learned to be content in whatever condition that he was in. He followed up by saying in one of my favorite verses, I believe it's my most favorite if there is such a thing, Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
ii. In the text here he is talking about drawing strength from God and God is allowing this thorn to remain in order to strengthen Paul. It is the trying of your faith that is going to produce patience.

4. Sometimes God is going to allow us to go through fires and suffering in our life, in order to produce patience in our life, in order to make us stronger so that we can actually finish the race. It may be difficult to understand but there are times God allows the thorns to remain. If we cannot change it, continue to be at peace and content, even though the thorn is there.
5. Philippians 3:13 – “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,” You'll find if you read the writings of the Apostle Paul that it seems that the sins he committed at the very beginning of Christianity, when Christianity was growing, when Jews started persecuting the church, and Paul led the persecution against Christianity; those sins seem to have haunted him.

i. As a matter of fact when he wrote to Timothy he called himself the chief of sinners and he spoke about the situation time and time and time again in his ministry and his life as an apostle.
ii. But there's something very important here in Philippians 3:13. “Forget those things which are behind”. Let me ask you. Can we change yesterday? No.

F. The fact of the matter is we've all sinned, folks. We've all fallen short of the glory of God. There are things in each and every one of our lives that we are ashamed of. Sometimes these sins seem to hang on our conscience like chains of guilt. Learn to let it go, forget what is behind. You can be forgiven and make peace with God, to where the blood of Christ washes you, and where you are made as white as snow.

1. As I often tell people when you make peace with God make peace with yourself. When God forgives you don't be harder on yourself than God is.
2. Be at peace with yourself and forgive yourself. You can learn from your past sins but you cannot change the past. You can be forgiven of your past sins but you cannot change the past.

G. There are some things that we just cannot change, I cannot change my age. I cannot change my height, I cannot change the color of my skin, so the best thing for me to learn is just to accept Tom Blackford for who he is and be at peace with who I am.
H. I cannot change the fact that I have had loved ones pass from this life. The best thing I can do is use it to strengthen me, to give me a greater drive to want to go to be with my Lord and finish the race in Christ myself.
I. I can't change the fact that certain people I love and know have thorns that have not been removed yet, but we can use that to be strengthened rather than let it tear us down. I cannot change my past sins but I can be forgiven of them and learn from them and move on—and be at peace knowing I've been forgiven by God.

II. Change the Things I Can: Then there are some things that we can change. Colossians Chapter 3 is going to be the primary text we're going to be using. We're going to begin here in Colossians 3:5 – “5. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7. in which you also once walked when you lived in them.” Look at this. When he says put to death your members he's talking about various kinds of sin they were involved in from fornication to covetousness to idolatry to evil desire, we need to understand when he's telling them to put these things to death that the idea is; get rid of them completely. When something is dead it's gone.

A. We're talking about repentance. The point we need to understand is this. We have the power within us to repent. We do have the power within us to put off the old man. You do not have to sin. It is not genetically locked into your actions. It is not something that you are predetermined or predestined to do, to where you must sin.

1. You can and I can put off the old man. Continuing in the text now at verse 8. “8. But now you must also put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, ” Here again he tells you to put it off. From that we can derive it is possible to put these things off.
2. If you have a problem with your anger the worst thing you could do is say; “that's just the way I am, you-all are going to have to deal with it.” No. That is not the way of Christianity.

B. Listen folks, somewhere in this text that I'm reading to you from Colossians will be something hitting you. Every one of us here has spiritual weaknesses. Every one of us here has spiritual flaws where Satan has attacked us, he may be attacking us now and he will attack us in the future to get us to sin in these particular areas. This text is hitting every one of us. What we are expected to do is recognize where it's hitting us, where we have our spiritual flaws and we are to deal with it, by putting it off.

1. If the problem is anger, we are expected to put it off, to learn to be angry and sin not, to learn to be slow to wrath, to learn to pass over the transgression, to learn to not allow our anger to cause us to sin with our lips and our actions. We are expected to get it under control and put it off.
2. Getting back to the text here, what about lying? We do not have to lie. The Lord expects us to tell the truth. Whether it’s the truth about our self or the truth of the circumstances around us, Christians should be people that are known for their honesty. If you have a problem with lying or exaggerating, which again is lying, put it off. Stop it.
3. Back to the text here looking at a few others of these—filthy language out of our mouth. We should know we don't have to cuss. We don't have to use filthy language. We can control the tongue. Yes, James talks about how it is pretty tough to get that bridle on the tongue but not impossible. We are expected to get the bridle on our tongue to where we are controlling the words that come forth from our lips.

C. Continuing now in verse 10. “10. and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11. where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.”

1. I want you to notice here that now we're talking about another aspect of repentance. A lot of times when we think about repentance we think about removing, stop doing these things. I am willing to recognize that there is a lot more to repentance than putting to death the old man and putting off the life of sin.
2. It includes a transformation that is taking place which is not just stopping, it is also starting. We stop going in one direction putting off the old man and then we go in a completely new direction putting on the new man. Let me ask you this question: Who is it that we put on? The answer is Christ.
3. Think on this. You put on a new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him. We're talking about putting on Christ. Remember what Paul said, “it's no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me and the life which I now live I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Him self for me.”

D. In Christianity we want people to see Christ living through us. That is what we are doing. So much so that when someone wants to know, “what was Jesus like”, they should be able to look at us because we have put Him on. We have put on His humility we have put on His kindness we have put on His brotherly love, we've put Him on to where they see Christ shining and living through us. It's not just enough to put off the old man, put to death the old man. We are expected to put on Christ.

1. Look at this now continuing in verse 12. “12. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13. bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”
2. Put on tender mercies. Put on kindness. Put on humility. Put on meekness. Put on long suffering. Put on being willing to forbear, and put up with one another. Put on being willing to forgive as Christ forgave you—put on Christ. Put it another way, you need to have love.

III. Repentance: We all have the ability to repent—but it is an ongoing process. When you obey the Gospel you are expected to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. You are expected to put to death the old man and to put on Christ. Please understand though, you do not have the humility of Christ the day you obey the Gospel. You do not have the humility and the meekness and the longsuffering and the kindness and the tenderness of Christ—even now. You haven't reached it. Is there anyone here that can say I have in my life attained to the kindness of Jesus Christ?

A. The point here is this, repentance is not point action, it is linear, it is a walk, a journey. It is a process we began when we obeyed the gospel, and it is a process that we will continue every day of our life. That is why if we're continuing to walk by faith and live by faith, and if we find we are going in the wrong direction, we'll get up, we’ll ask forgiveness of it, and then we’ll get back into the race.
B. We are expected on a day to day basis to grow in these Christian attributes, to where eventually they are in us and abounding. We will start off as a babe in Christ, but we are expected in our life as a Christian to grow stronger, and stronger, and stronger continually, to where we have put on Christ and grown in the Christian attributes enough—so that people actually see in the way we live, Christ shining through and living through us.
C. I’ve heard it said this way and I believe it is true, repentance is the living by faith. Mull that over for awhile. Repentance is the living by faith. Remember Matthew 3:8 – “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance” [KJV] What Jesus is saying should suggest to us the true relationship between repentance and the reformation of life. The reformation of life is not repentance itself but issues from repentance and is a direct result or "fruit" of repentance. We know that repentance cannot be the reformation of life by looking at the words of Jesus who said: “if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him.''” (Luke 17:4).
D. We're talking about a product of faith and living by it, and continuing to grow in it. The point we need to see is this, we still need to change and become stronger Christians tomorrow than we were today.

1. If I sinned this day, I need to ask God's forgiveness of it and I am expected to put off the sin and try to do better tomorrow. I cannot change the sins which I’ve committed today but I can be forgiven of them and I am expected to not just say; “well that is just the way I am”. No. We're expected to continually grow and do better tomorrow than we did today. Continually being more like Christ every day.
2. We need to understand this and think of repentance as a continual process. Faith is a day to day aspect of our life, confession is a day to day aspect of our life, and repentance is a day to day aspect of our life.
3. It is a daily aspect of our life to continue to grow in the word, to continue to change into the image of Christ. There's only one thing in Christianity that you do one time and that's it—baptism. You're baptized into the body of Christ and after that you live by faith.

IV. Serving: One other point and I’ll wrap this up. In James 2:15-16 – “15. If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16. and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,'' but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?” Familiar words indeed.

A. The first text we were studying from Colossians is talking about our ability to change ourselves, our ability to repent, to put off the old man, to put on the new man, to conform ourselves to the image of Christ. We should recognize though, that we as Christians are also expected to get involved in other people's lives where we are able to bring about an actual change and effect in their life.
B. Here you have a brother or sister who is destitute of daily food. We have the power within our own hands to help this brother or sister in Christ to share with them our food. It is our gift from God. We are expected to bring about change in the lives of other people.
C. We are expected to not pass by on the other side, but to take time in our lives, to take resources from what God has granted us, to make an effort with our own hands, to get involved in the lives of the people around us, who are hurting emotionally, who are hurting physically, who are hurting spiritually, and do the best we can to bring about change for good in their lives.
D. You remember the command from Galatians 6:2 – “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” .

CONCLUSION:
Let us then consider this evening. Wouldn't you get from that phrase and so fulfill the law of Christ wouldn’t you consider that to be a pretty important command, a major part of Christianity?

Folks, when someone is hurting, they're hurting physically, hurting emotionally, hurting spiritually or they're just lonely, when you come into their life and you take time out to help them have that pain removed—that is a major part of Christianity. Striving to bring about change in the lives of people around us for the good to where we try to help them heal their wounds and carry their burdens and deal with their spiritual struggles. It's important for us to be able to recognize that we can help change other people's lives.

The serenity prayer is not part of the word of God, and I recognize that, but I like the serenity prayer. I think the message in it is very good. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. There are a lot of things I cannot change. I do not like them, but I cannot change them.

The best thing I can learn to do with them is just be peace, be content, and go forward in my life as a Christian. Be strengthened by the thorns, use the passing of loved ones to give me an even greater desire to finish the race myself, to accept who I am, and where I am. I've been forgiven. I can learn from it and move on.

You know Tom Blackford has spiritual problems and I'm expected to look at myself and see myself the way I really am, to see myself the way the Lord sees me, and when I see sin in my life and I look in the spiritual mirror, I'm expected to deal with it, and I'm expected to try to be stronger tomorrow than I am today.

I am expected to try to see people in the world around me and slow down and get involved in their lives, understanding that's what Christianity in its main part is all about. Bearing one another's burdens and try to bring about the changes which I am expected to do and able to do, with the gifts God has given me.

I appreciate your kind attention. There may be somebody here this evening who is not a member of the body of Christ. Do you know you can change? You can change that situation. You can be a member of the body of Christ tonight. You can be saved and leave this building tonight as a child of God in the body of Christ, you are a free willed being with the power of choice.

I would like to encourage you to choose to obey the gospel. If you believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God openly confess that faith, repent of your sins, start living by faith and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ as you put off the old man and put on Christ.
We’ll be glad to assist you, baptizing you for the remission of your sins and God adds you to His Kingdom.

You will be a child of God. You will be a Christian in the body of Christ. What is expected of you then is to take up your cross daily, to follow Him and live by faith.
If you are child of God already and there's sin in your life and you recognize that sin is separating you from God, I would like to encourage you to deal with it. You can change, yes you can. You don't have to do it. You don't have to sin. You can change.

Change motivated by godly sorrow, turning from your sin and coming home to the father. We will pray for you, we will pray with you and do the very best we can to encourage you. If you're subject to the Gospel call in any way let it be made known while we stand and sing the song has been selected.

Invitation song: ???

Reference sermon: Wayne Fancher

The Lion of God

Judges 3:7-11

OPEN: “Muhammad Ali” was probably one of the greatest heavyweight boxers in the sport's history. Not only was he a skilled boxer, he was very good at self-promotion, and he’d use clever pieces of short poetry to catch the imagination of his audience. For example, before his fight with Sonny Liston he said he was: “gonna float like a butterfly and sting like a bee… hands can't hit what his eyes can't see.”

But he also used that “poetry” to challenge others to do better. He once gave this message to a college audience in NY:

“Stay in College
Get the knowledge
Stay there till you’re through.
If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread,
They can sure make something out of you.”

This morning we’re reading about a man that God “made something out of.” Have you ever heard of a man named Othniel? He doesn't seem like much. Not too many Christians know who he was or what he did.

That reminds me of an incident that happened at a tea for officers and their wives. The commanding general of the base delivered a seemingly endless speech. A young lieutenant grumbled to the woman sitting beside him, “What a pompous and unbearable old windbag that slob is!”
The woman turned to him, her face red with rage. “Excuse me, Lieutenant. Do you have any idea who I am?”
“No ma’am,” the man fumbled.
“I am the wife of the man you just called an unbearable old windbag.”
“Oh,” said the lieutenant. “And do you have any idea who I am?”
“No,” said the general’s wife.

But Othniel was important to God (his name is in the book) and God thinks it’s important YOU know who this hero of the Old Testament was and what he did.
His name is Othniel (meaning “Lion of God”) and he saved Israel from their sins.

Now, just a little bit of background.
Years before Othniel was even born his uncle Caleb did something that impressed God. Caleb was just a young man when Israel was held in slavery in the land of Egypt. He was there when Moses came and challenged Pharaoh and said God told Pharaoh to “Let my people go.”

Caleb was there when God brought down the 10 plagues upon Egypt to force Pharaoh to ask the people of God to leave.

He was there when God parted the Red Sea to allow Israel to cross on dry ground and caused it those same waters to collapse upon the chariots and army Pharaoh, destroying the might of Egypt.

 

Caleb where was there when the people of Israel came to the Mountain of God (Mt. Sinai) and he would have seen God come down upon that mountain with thunder and lightning and the terrifying sound of the trumpet of God.

And he was there just a few days later when God brought Israel to the very border of land He had promised to give to His people.

Moses selected 12 men to go in and spy out the lay of the land and help him decide the best strategy for taking Palestine. Two of those spies were Joshua and CALEB (Othniel’s uncle).

Those two great men were overwhelmed by what they saw. It was literally a land flowing with Milk and Honey. They saw great cities they wouldn't have to build, orchards they wouldn't have to plant, and wells they wouldn't have to dig. And God said it was all theirs!!!!

They remembered how God brought the plagues on Egypt.
And how He parted of the Red Sea.
And how He showed His fearsome power at Mount Sinai.
And they were convinced if God was giving them this land, nothing could stop them.
But the other 10 spies didn't see it that way.

They saw exactly the same things the other two did. They saw the beauty, the splendor and the wonder of the Promised Land, but these wonders were overshadowed by something else they saw. They saw the giants in the land, and in those giants they saw defeat…disaster… and death. And they were afraid.

And their fear spread through the entire camp and the people became so frightened that they refused to obey God and enter the Promised Land.

So God said “Fine, you don’t want to go… you don’t have to. You will never enter the land I've promised you. You’ll die out here in the desert.”

So everyone there died in the desert… except two men.
Two men didn't die in the desert.
Two men were allowed to enter the Promised Land.
The two men who believed God’s promise about the Promised Land.
Two men named Joshua and Caleb.
Forty years later Caleb enters the Promised Land at the age of 85.

And he was STILL convinced that if God promised something… God would do it! And so Caleb said to Joshua in Joshua 14:12:
“… give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites (giants) were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”

God promised. Caleb believed. And at 85 years old, he cleaned out the giants in that land. And Othniel was his nephew.

Now, what was so special about Othniel?

Let’s read it again in Judges 3:7-9: “The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.
The anger of the LORD burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim, to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years.
But when they cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them.”

All through the book of Judges it’s the same story.
It’s like Israel never learned!
1. The people SIN,
2. God PUNISHES them by selling them into the hands of their enemies
3. The people REPENT and plead for God to forgive them
4. God raises up a JUDGE/DELIVERER to save them.
5. And Israel is at peace as long as that Judge lives.
What interesting here, is that Othniel is the FIRST of the judges.
And God CHOSE him to deliver Israel from the results of their sins.

But why choose him?
Why choose Othniel?
What was so special about him?
Well, there are a few reasons I can think of.
1st Othniel was a man who was infected.
He was infected with faith.
He caught his faith from someone else.
Who do you think he was infected by?
That’s right – Caleb. Othniel learned from Caleb how to have a bold faith and how to live a courageous life.

Don’t misunderstand me now. Caleb was a man of faith… but Caleb’s faith wasn't in HIMSELF. It wasn't in his own strength and cleverness or abilities. Caleb’s faith was based in a God who would always be there for him. There was no challenge he wouldn't take on as long as God was by his side.

As David wrote in Psalm 18:2 “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

That’s the kind of man or woman that God’s looking for.
He’s looking for a David.
He’s looking for a Caleb.
He’s looking for – an Othniel.
Othniel was a man of faith.

And I believe he was a man of faith because he hung around his uncle.
In the first chapter of Judges, we find that Caleb is asking for somebody to step up and take out an important city for him.
“Caleb said, ‘I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.
Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it...” Judges 1:12-13

Othniel doesn't say anything anywhere in the book of Judges. He’s not a man of words. He’s a man of action.
Caleb throws down the challenge for someone to take the city, and Othniel just gets up, goes out and takes it.
Why? Because he hung around Caleb. Caleb does stuff like. Caleb trusts God and does mighty deeds. If Caleb can do that… Othniel figures he can do it too.

Paul wrote: “I can do ALL THINGS through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 KJV
We have the same promise as Christians that Caleb and Othniel had in their day. The same God who backed them up is there to back us up as well.
I CAN DO ALL THINGS through Christ who strengthens me.

But I’m convinced that Othniel became a man of faith because he hung out with a man of faith.
And that’s what church is all about. Church is a place where we hang out with other men/women of faith.
There are people who will tell you they can be just as good a Christians without going to church. Have you ever heard someone say that? That’s a lie. Now, they CAN be Christians without going to Church, but they cannot be “just as good a Christian” that way.

Church is designed to be
• a place where we rub off on each other.
• a place where we strengthen each other.
• a place where we challenge each other to great deeds.

Hebrews 12:24-25 tells us to “…consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another— and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Meeting together as a Church and in Bible Studies is not just an end in itself. You can have all the “attendance pins” you like, but just being here is not enough. We are to be in church to leapfrog on each other’s faith. To build on each other’s faith and grow stronger together.

So, Othniel was chosen to save Israel from their sins because he was infected with faith. And …….. I believe that Othniel was chosen because he’d been prepared beforehand.

Othniel didn't just sit around staring at the sky all day. He already had an active faith when God chose him. He’d already gotten used to acting on that faith when he took that city for Caleb.
When God wanted a man… Othniel was ready.

You know, an odd thought occurred to me.
I got to thinking about some of the great heroes of Scripture. Men like Abraham, Joseph, David and others. And then it occurred to me that many of the Bible’s heroes were only known for ONE thing that they did.

• Noah for example. What’s he known for? He built an Ark and he floated on the water for a while. Big deal. But it was a big deal.
• Gideon was known for his defeating the Midianites with 300 men.
• Esther was a beautiful queen who was known only one thing - putting her life on the line to save her people, Israel.
• Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego – what are they known for? That’s right; they spent time in a fiery furnace. But that’s all they did of any importance in Scripture. But it was a big deal.
• Then there’s Andrew, one of the 12 disciples. All he did was tell his brother Peter to come and see Jesus.
• And of course Ananias is only known for baptizing Paul into Christ. Nothing else is said about him in Scripture. He’s not mentioned before or after this church changing conversion.

And you could go on and on and on about other great people of great faith like them in Scripture. Many were “one hit” wonders. They were only known for one thing. But that one thing was something that shaped the course of Biblical history.
But something else I noticed about them. God didn't just pluck them out of thin air. They’d been training for years to be the kind of people they’d become.
ILLUS: A Professor of Sociology at the University of Connecticut wrote a book called "Rescuers: Portraits of Holocaust survivors" and interviewed people who had harbored fugitive Jews in their homes despite the danger to they and their families.

What he found was that many of the rescuers had a history of doing good deeds before the war - some visiting people in the hospital, others, collecting books for poor students, still others taking care of stray animals. "They just got into the habit of doing good. If they hadn't perceived that pattern as natural they might have been paralyzed into inaction." They did what came natural.
That’s what God is looking for. People who have gotten into the habit of being faithful to Him.

2 Chronicles 16:9 tells us “… the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him….”
God’s looking for people of faith and faithfulness so He can strengthen and use them for great things. And that’s why God chose Othniel.

Lastly, I believe Othniel was chosen to do what he did because God had set him up.
I know that’s an odd thought, but I really think God sets us up once in a while. He puts us in the right place at the right time to do the right thing because He wants to prove something.

Consider these facts about Othniel:
1. He’s of the tribe of Judah
2. His name means “Lion of God”
3. He is chosen to be the rescuer of Israel
4. And he rescues God’s people from their sins

Does that sound like somebody else we know? (JESUS)
That’s right:
• Jesus was born to the tribe of Judah.
• Revelation 5:5 says he is “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”.
• And he was sent to rescue us – to save us from our sins.

But I think God even threw in an extra nugget in here for us. The bad guy in this story is named Cushan-Rishathaim. Now aside from the fact that that’s an extremely hard name to pronounce, it has a meaning.
Cushan-Rishathaim means “doubly-wicked”.
Does that sound like anybody else we know? (SATAN)
That’s right! The Lion of God came to defeat the one who is doubly wicked, so that we might be freed from the curse of our sins.

Hebrews 2:14-15 tells us “Since the children have flesh and blood, (Jesus too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
Isn't that cool?
And it’s all tied to Othniel… a simple man who was willing to trust God, serve God and be used by God. And my point is this: God is looking for folks who are willing to trust Him, willing to serve Him, and willing to let Him set them up to do something powerful.

And you don’t have to be particularly smart to have God use you.
I’m living proof of that.

And that’s the story of Othniel. A man who God made something out of. A man who God chose to be His man at the right place, at the right time, for the right reason.

And that is what God is looking for you in you and me.
He’s looking for someone He can use.
He’s looking for you. But first you must belong to Him

INVITATION.

Giving Back to God

Numbers 18:12

INTRO:
Good to see everybody here this evening.

This evening I would like to talk about a portion of our worship that some might even not recognize as actually being worship. When you think about worship what do you think about? We come together, and we praise God in song, in worship. We pray to God, in worship. We take the Lord's Supper, in worship, but there is another thing we did this morning that quite often people do not recognize as being part of worship and that is giving back to God.

We took a portion of time to give back to God a portion of what He's blessed us with.
I want us to recognize that is indeed a manifestation of worship. Let’s go back and define what we mean when we talk about worship. Worship is an expression of our personal relationship with God from our hearts. Again I'm going to say to you, worship is an expression to God, from your heart, about your relationship with Him. You are singing praises to God your Father. You are praying to God your Father, your partaking of the Lord supper from the heart remembering the death of the Son of God.
I want you to recognize that giving is also, from the heart, to God and it's an expression of your relationship with God. We talked about this aspect some this morning from Romans 12.

I. Giving Back to God in The Old Testament: We're going to begin our sermon this evening by going to the Old Testament. We're going to be studying the nature of the sacrifices of the giving to God from the Old Testament. The reason we're going to do this is because by understanding the nature of giving in the Old Testament I believe it will help us understand exactly what God expects from you and me today as we give to Him under the covenant of Jesus Christ.

A. We're going to begin here Numbers 18:12 – “All the best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, their firstfruits which they offer to the Lord, I have given them to you.” In the text we see the nature of the sacrifices that were given by the children of Israel under the Mosaic dispensation, when they were giving to God. They gave God the best.

1. This is key to understanding the basics of Old Testament giving and it is so important that we understand this—they gave God the best they had. They gave Him the first fruits they did not give God what was left over.
2. They didn't think of themselves first, they did not say OK; what can I give to God to satisfy him and then keep all I want for me. That was not in their thoughts. At least not initially though they did fall into this later. And by the way that same trap is still there. What was in their thoughts was, the very best I have, the first fruits of what I have, that's what I'm going to give to God as my sacrifice to Him.

B. You will find over in 2 Samuel where David makes an interesting statement about sacrifice; 2 Samuel 24:24 – “Then the king said to Araunah, [a-ra-nah] "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.'' So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.” In the text David is trying to stop the plague that is coming upon the children of Israel because of his pride and numbering the children of Israel. He's trying to offer a sacrifice here on this threshing floor that belongs to this Canaanite. The Canaanite offers to give it to him. David makes a very interesting statement; “nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.” The thing David understood was that sacrifice costs you something. It is going to be from you, and it's going to put you out.

1. It is going to hurt. That's why you call it sacrifice. Yet, quite often I think whenever it comes down our thinking of giving today, it’s giving God what is left over. How little can I give to God to get Him off my back? How little can I give to God and keep Him pleased and keep everything else for me? I don't want to sacrifice anything. I don't want to put myself out.
2. In Malachi 1:18 you see this attitude among the children of Israel when it came to giving. It says; - “when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?'' says the Lord of hosts.” Asked the question at the end there what is the answer? That answer is No.
3. The governor would not accept it if you came to him and you bought a blind, lame animal and you said look what I'm giving you. “You're just giving me your discards you're giving me your left over’s, you are giving me what you don't really want, but what you want you're keeping for yourself.”

C. Let’s tie all this together. You give God the best you've got. You don't give him what's left over after you take what you desire. You give to the point where it's a sacrifice, to where there's going to be some putting out of yourself and it is going to hurt to a certain degree because you are letting go of something that is important to you, that is valuable to you and yet you are freely, willingly giving all your best to God. That's the way they did it in the Old Testament.

II. Giving Back to God in The New Testament: The reason I want to look at this is because I think our understanding the nature of sacrificing and giving in the Old Testament can better help us understand exactly what it is God wants from you and me today, in our relationship and our worship when we give back to God. That being stated let’s go over to the New Testament and study giving to God in the New Testament.

A. Again, you’ll find in Romans Chapter 12:1 that we have laid down for us the degree of the sacrifice that God wants from you and me today. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” In Christianity we need to recognize that in giving to God, what we give first—is ourselves. That's the starting point. Again please remember, what is worship? Worship is an expression of our personal relationship with God, it comes from the heart and whenever we are going to be giving to God, what we have to give first—is our self, completely as a living sacrifice.
B. Give God your all. Everything connected to you goes as a sacrifice to God. That means your family, your time, your money, and everything. Do not think in terms of your relationship with God; that I will give you this much of my life and then I'm going keep the majority of it for me. If that is the way you think about your relationship with God you've completely missed it. He doesn't want half of you. He doesn't want the majority of you. He wants all of you. That is what is meant by a living sacrifice.
C. Let us look at 2 Corinthians 8:5 – “And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.”[ para] What did they do first? They gave themselves to the Lord.

1. The idea of this in other words is they did not hold back for themselves or to give to someone else first. Remember what He said in Matthew 15:24? “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” That is what you do when you give yourself to the Lord, you deny yourself. What does that mean to “deny yourself”? What I want does not matter. It is what He wants that matters.
2. I have to deny my will, my desires and give myself over totally, completely, in service, to God as a living sacrifice. You give yourself first and you give yourself as a living sacrifice to God where God is at the very center of your life. All of your actions, everything you say and everything you do is structured around and built around your relationship with God.

i. There is not going to be a problem with giving God your time.
ii. Having your family built around God and giving back to God your finances.
iii. That's just going to be part of it because you've already given your whole self and your whole life and everything connected to you over to God.

III. Give According to What You Have: Having considered that lets go further. In 2 Corinthians 8:12 – “For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.” Here we have another major principle laid down for us in relationship to our giving back to God. First of all what we see here, is He wants it to be with a willing mind. That is, “I want to do this, I want to give back to God.” It's a pleasure to give back to God because we recognize where all our blessings are coming from.

A. Stop and think about this for a moment. We're alive right now aren’t we? Who gives us this life, God does. The breakfast that we ate this morning, where did that food come from? God gave it to us. The job that we hold down, the income that we make, where does it come from? God makes it possible for us to do this.
B. Every good gift every perfect gift, all the blessings in our life comes from the Father of life with no variation or shifting shadow. He is daily loading us and showering us with all these wonderful physical blessings, our homes, our families, the food we eat, the clothing we wear, and all the riches He gives us. Recognize everything we have comes from Him, every single physical, and spiritual blessing is coming from God. We have the honor and the privilege to willingly give back to God who has given all these things to us.
C. He says, pertaining to our giving, it's accepted according to what one has and not according to what one does not have. Putting it another way you can't give what you do not have. My dad would say; a pint can't hold a quart—if it holds a pint it is doing all that can be expected of it.

1. The widow in Mark 12:42 did not have much. She couldn't give five talents. She had two mites and she couldn’t give 5 talents because she did not have 5 talents to give. What she did have, she gave. She gave it all. You are expected to give to God according to how God has given to you.
2. Then let’s look at this over in Luke 12:48 – “... For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” This is a basic principle of our relationship with God and what God expects from us. To whom much is given from him much will be required.
3. You'll see this over in the parable of the talents. Look at this in Matthew 25:16-17 – “16. "Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17. "And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.”

i. The man who had been given five talents, how many more did he produce? Five.
ii. The man had been given two talents how many more did he produce? Two.
iii. Now think about the principle that is being laid down here. It's this, they produced 100 percent. They used it all. The man who had two talents was not expected to produce 5 talents. The man who was given one talent, how much was expected of him to produce and give back? One.

D. You cannot give what you have not got. However, it is imperative that we recognize how much we do have. Recognize how much we have been given by God; recognize the abilities and the talents and the blessings that God has showered upon us. Then recognize that all these abilities, all these talents, all these blessings, are expected to be used for His glory as we talked about this morning. You have given yourself as a living sacrifice to God and all your talents, abilities and blessings are now expected to be used for His glory, His honor and the furtherance of His kingdom.
E. Look at this over in Romans again if you will. I know this is familiar to you. Romans 12:5-8 – “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:” I want to stop right there, and look at the middle of verse 6. Here we are told that various gifts have been given us and Paul says let us use them.
F. Then he goes to the various different kinds of gifts that have been given to different individuals and he says; “ 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; Let me stop here for a moment. You know when we talk about giving what's the first thing that comes to our mind? Money, money is the first that comes to our mind. It’s right there.

1. We don’t want to think that way. That is just part of us; our money is just a part. When we are talking about our giving ourselves as a living sacrifice, we are talking about our life, our time, our effort. Our God, given abilities.
2. Abilities are amazing. Some folks have a gift for singing. They have this knack of making everything they do in song just so pleasant to the ear and by doing that they draw along us lesser gifted ones with their glorious voice.
3. Some of you have got ten talents. Being able to work and encourage people, who are discouraged and you're able to go and listen to them and comfort them. Recognize there are a multitude of talents that are given to individuals. Sometimes it is teaching, sometimes the leading singing, sometimes it is going and comforting others. Sometimes it's helping people carry their burdens. The abilities and talent you have been given whatever they may be, use them to the fullest to the glory of God. And recognize what they are, and give it all back. If we don’t think we have any gifts then we need to spend time and meditation in God’s word and the Holy Spirit will provide us gifts through our understanding.

G. Let's get to the rest of the text here in Romans 12 again. “8. he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.” We're getting down to finances. That's part of it. I'm asking, does anybody here categorize themselves this evening, as poor in the eyes of the world? I'm not saying that there aren’t people that are struggling. There are, I am certain of that. But we have food and clothing, someplace to live. We probably do not have dirt floors and we don’t have to walk barefoot to a stream for our water.

1. We have more then many and I think of Psalm 23 My cup runneth over. Our cup runs over. We have enough.
2. We are not to feel guilty about the blessings that God has given us. Please don't take that away. We just need to be conscious and aware—that God has liberally blessed us. He showered upon us wealth and according to the scripture the one who has been liberty given to is expected to give generously, ungrudgingly. We are familiar with the text that you give according as you prosper; well we need to be aware of how much we have prospered. Don't give God what's left over. That’s one of the traps people fall into. Be conscious and aware of what God has blessed you with and then, in turn, give back to God.

H. In Acts 11:29 – “Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea.” The whole point to get from this is that God does not expect more of you than you can do. The man who had been given five talents was expected to produce five talents more, 100 percent, and no more. The man who was given two talents was expected to produce 100 percent, no more.

1. We need to find out how many talents we've been given and face up to the reality of their existence, and then use them, 100 percent, to glory in the service of God. That's what a living sacrifice is all about—according to your ability. Not according to what you don't have, you can't give what you don’t have.
2. We need to be aware of what we do have. I believe God has given a us much and as a consequence of that He expects much from us.

IV. Give Cheerfully: Turn to 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 – “6. But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, have an abundance for every good work.”

A. Let’s start with verse 6 which has the very interesting concept, that he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. Realize that this statement is made within the context of us giving to God. Putting it another way, how much harvest are you going to have in the work of the kingdom. It will be determined by how much seed you sow. We understand that don't we?

1. Your harvest is going to be directly proportional to the amount of seed you sow and the seed is the word of God. Letting your light shine, and going through open doors, and bearing one another's burdens, and being involved in the work of the Kingdom, and bringing in the harvest.
2. If you keep the seed in the storehouse don't expect to have much of a harvest. You're going to find that the growth of the kingdom and the growth in the kingdom are directly connected to our labor, and our effort is going to be directly connected to us using our abilities and our talents to the fullest.
3. As we use our abilities and our talents to the fullest we will bring in a harvest. There will be an impact on people in the world around us as we let our light shine, and actually become the salt of the earth. Having a great influence on the people we come in contact with.

B. It says here “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, have an abundance for every good work.” I would tie this verse 8 back to verse 6 because this thought is directly connected here.

1. What you gave this morning who gave that to you? God did. Everything that was put in the plate this morning was given to all of us by God. Yes, sometimes I fear what people might think is; I can't give this to God I needed it. There's so many ways I can use it for... For what? For me and what I want and things I think I need or don't need but I really would like to have. Verse 8 is talking about that.

i. We need to recognize that when we give back to God and we give back to God properly, then God is just going to shower more blessing on us and make sure that we have what we need so that we can take care of our needs and even the needs of others in the world around us.
ii. God is warning us to learn to do what He has done for us. How much did Jesus give for you? 100 percent didn’t He, as a living sacrifice for all of us. It shouldn't surprise us that God is warning us to learn, as children of God, to give ourselves back to him 100 percent as a living sacrifice. Learn to do what our Savior Jesus Christ did for us.

2. Go back to verse 7. “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

i. “Okay, okay, I got it, preacher you want me to give more OK. I really don’t want to do this. I could use that money.”
ii. If that's our attitude then we should just keep it because that's not what He wants. He doesn't want to present. “Is 10% ok? I’ll do it. Okay I'll do it to fulfill my obligation.”
iii. He wants us to be cheerfully, gladly, willingly giving back to Him. “Thank you. Appreciate it. I hope it’s used for your honor and glory thank you for all the blessings you've given me and my family in this past week. I'll be glad to share back with you a portion of that which you've blessed me with for the furtherance of your kingdom.”

C. We'll close with Philippians 4:17-18 – “17. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. 18. Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.” I want us to see here in the context we're dealing again with their giving financially back to God and he says; first of all I seek the fruit that it may abound to your account. We need to recognize that the giving of our finances or any other gift, is for a purpose and it is for the furthering of the Kingdom of God. That is what it's all about. When we are told of bringing in two more talents or five more talents or bringing in a harvest what we are talking about is the growth of the Kingdom of God, that is souls for whom Christ died being brought to the Lord and ultimately making it to heaven with God.

1. That is what it is all about. I want to make it to heaven and our whole life as Children of God should be structured around and built around our desire for those in the world around us to find their way through the darkness, to the Light of the kingdom of Christ. To find the pathway that leads to heaven through Jesus.
2. Our talents what ever they may be, speaking or singing or exhortation or kindness, or mercy, or compassion, or helping, or comradeship, or hospitality or giving, are all toward this purpose. For the abounding of the fruit and the harvest.

CONCLUSION:
The last point I would like us to look at is that when we do give our portion of what God has given to us and we give cheerfully and we give freely and willingly and gladly and we've given our self first, God sees it. He doesn't look at the check and the number on it; He looks at our heart.

First and foremost and always He wants to know; are we giving ourselves or are we holding back; are we a living sacrifice. When He sees that we are a living sacrifice, giving because we love Him, it says it's a sweet smelling aroma, it's an acceptable sacrifice well pleasing to God. Folks, this is what worship is all about. We want to be well pleasing to God, not just going through the motions.

Motions—bow my head, say the words in the song, eat the bread, drink the grape juice, take my money put it in the plate, I’ve worshipped.... Have you? Have you worshipped? .
Or have you gone through the motions of worship in ritualistic fashion?

We need to examine ourselves folks and come to understand what worship really is.
Then when we do come together on the Lord’s Day our worshiping is actual, real worship in spirit and in truth from our heart to God. That is as the text says—well pleasing to God.

Real worship begins in our heart and it is an expression of our personal relationship with our God.

Maybe somebody here this evening is not a member of the body of Christ. If you believe Jesus is the Christ the son of the living God and you are willing to openly confess your faith and repent of your sins, we'll be glad to assist you and baptize you into the body of Christ for the remission of your sins. If you are a child of God and your relationship with God has grown weak and as a consequence of your faith and your love being weak, you found that you’re back in the world of sin. I would like to encourage you to come home.

Come back to the Father. We will pray for you. We will pray with you. We really will try to do the best we can to encourage you as your brothers and sisters in Christ. If you are subject to the Gospel call in any way we invite you to come while we stand and sing.

Invitation song: ???

Reference sermon: Wayne Fancher

He Has Done All Things Well

Mark 7:31-37

INTRO:
Good Evening.
The miracles of Jesus and the things that Jesus said have been placed on record as evidence of His deity, to make men and women recognize who He is and what He can do for them.

A young mother tells the story that when her son was two and a half she would send him to clean his room but each time he went in, he got distracted by all the toys and nothing got put away.
Following some principals she had learned at a recent ladies day about prayer she went in and said to him, "Johnny, what did mommy tell you to do?"
"Clean my room"
"And did you clean your room?"
"No." he replied quietly.
I disciplined him and then helped him to pray and confess his error to God and ask Jesus to help him get his room cleaned. He seemed to respond really well to all of this and I thought, "Wow, this will work."
But Johnny just got down and sat in the middle of the mess, doing nothing.
In frustration I asked, "Johnny, what are you doing?'
He replied, just as frustrated, "I'm waiting for Jesus to come and help me clean my room!"

I guess that illustrates that sometimes we do not really understand how Jesus helps us.

With that in mind I'm going to one of those incidents in the life of Jesus recorded in the gospel according to Mark Chapter 7 and beginning to read at Verse 31 just a few verses.

It is about the miracle of a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech.
“31. And again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. 32. Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. 33. And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. 34. Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha,'' that is, "Be opened.'' 35. Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. 36. Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. 37. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.''”

In a number of the modern translations those words in Verse 37 He has done all things well, have been rendered “whatever he does he does well”. That's the theme that I want to look at tonight.

In this particular instance there is a striking miracle, isn't there? The method that Jesus used in dealing with this man is quite remarkable. The man is deaf and has an impediment in his speech which in all probability was due to the fact that he didn't hear properly. That’s a fact of life, isn't it? Very often when a person cannot speak clearly it's because they are not hearing clearly and when a person is really deaf they may have an impediment in speech. Since they don’t hear normal speech clearly they consequently are not able to reproduce it clearly.

They brought this man to Jesus and Jesus took him aside. He dealt with him privately. I find that interesting. There has been speculation on this part. We know people who have physical disabilities are often very sensitive and those of us who lack physical disabilities are not as sensitive as we ought to be. We don't always feel for them as we ought to.

Perhaps Jesus felt for this man because He knew how embarrassed the man must have been. For whatever reason, He took the man aside and dealt with him privately. Jesus put His fingers in the man's ears for the source of the trouble was the hearing. Jesus then looked up to heaven acknowledging the source of the power, and it is recorded He sighed, perhaps a silent prayer, said to him, "Ephphatha” and the man heard clearly and he spoke clearly. The word the Lord spoke, Ephphatha, ἐφφαθά ephphathá, ef-fath-ah', means “be opened!”, an imperative of the verb.

Let me suggest something else to consider. The man could not hear, he likely did not know what was to happen. Jesus takes him aside and tells the man what is about to occur using pantomime, hand gestures involving the man’s ears, tongue and then looking toward heaven and appearing to sigh. Jesus may also have taken him aside because He did not wish the multitude to have any basis for supposing that his touching the man's ears and tongue, or His use of spittle, had anything whatever to do with the man's cure. If the Lord had not done such things privately, some might have considered the Lord's healing to be accomplished magically, after the manner of Greek and Jewish magicians. That seems to be born out in the touching of spittle to the man’s tongue. In those days people believed that spittle had a curative quality. Suetonius, the Roman historian recorded this belief in writing about Vespasian’s life.

The people were so amazed that they said whatever He does He does well. Actually the Greek word here we translate as “astonished beyond measure”, (ὑπερπερισσῶς hyperperissōs, hoop-er-per-is-soce') is the emphatic and expresses they have come a settled, a firm, opinion. They are absolutely convinced that whatever He does He does well.

I. In the course of the centuries since this word was written there have been many tributes paid to Jesus by the noble, the mighty, the great, the intellectual and the moderately good. I don't think anything really surpasses this very simple, very brief, heartfelt testimony from these people who witnessed the miracle that day. Whatever He does He does well and that really sums up the life of Jesus.

A. No matter where you look in his life.

1. If we consider Him for example as the word existing in the beginning by whom all things are created - whatever He does He does well. Genesis 1:31 – “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.”
2. If we look at His earthly life and we see Him, as Peter says in Acts 10:38, he went about doing good - whatever He does He does well.
3. If we think of the sacrifice that He made, that perfect sacrifice offered for our sins, and we think of the redemptive work of Jesus - whatever He does He does well.
4. If we think of His ascension to heaven and His ministry in the presence of God, right now, as our high priest, standing before God and interceding on our behalf - whatever He does He does well.
5. Rest assured, when He comes again with all His mighty angels, and brings judgment on all mankind, the living and the dead, that second coming might be characterized in the same way. Whatever He does He does well.

B. All through the life of Jesus this was the kind of feeling that people had concerning the things He said and the things He did.

1. For example let's go back to the creation. You remember that John tells us that He was the Word who existed in the beginning with God. We know that creation began in the mind of God. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. It is a fact, the plan of creation was conceived in the mind of the great intelligence, the great intellect of God himself. He is the designer of all things, but the world’s creation according to the Bible, as you very well know, was carried out by the Word of God.
2. The Word was with God, all things were made by him by the word and without him was not anything made that was made. [para] That's paraphrased from what John says in John Chapter 1.
3. In Ephesians 3:9 Paul says very plainly, you can't get away from this, “God who created all things through Jesus Christ”
4. Hebrews 1:2 says; “in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds”.
5. I love the verse Colossians 1:16 where Paul says of Jesus Christ; “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”

C. It seems to me that this settles once and for all time the question as to the deity of Christ. You can't imagine words like this ever being spoken of a human being, can you? No matter how great that man might have been, no matter how wonderful that personality might be, you can’t say things like this of a human being, of a mortal man.
D. This is the scripture’s testimony that Jesus existed in the beginning with God. He is God, He is deity and He is God's agent, God's instrument in the creation. Consider; because whatever He does He does well, that it must have been a beautiful creation in the beginning. Imagine being back there in the garden when everything was pristine and fresh, clean and pure from the hands of Almighty God. Where there's no pollution, no decay, no death. Nothing that defiled, nothing like that at all, and to walk in the world that God made, into which He placed Adam. It's no wonder that you read; God's saw it was very good. Don't miss the word “very” there. It was very good.

II. Even today in a world that's been defiled and debased and degraded by sin, in spite of the evidence of so much going wrong, so much corruption, so much evil, in a world that's cursed by death, when everything around us is dying and decaying there's still a great deal that testifies to the beauty of God's creation. Imagine what it must have been like in those early days to have been there with Adam and Eve before sin entered, when they walked and talked with God, and had fellowship with their creator.

A. Whatever He did He did well in the beginning as the creator. Then if you think about His earthly life the same thing is true. He came into the world to deal with the problem of sin and you can say the same thing about Him, whatever He did He did well. He came into the world to put aside, to break the power of that sin in people's lives, to eradicate the consequences of evil, and thank God one day sin will go away. As Peter says in 2 Peter 3:13 - “we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” The old earth will pass away. The Bible says that plainly in a number of passages.
B. Jesus went about doing good, healing the sick, curing the lame, giving sight to the blind, and even in three recorded instances raising the dead to life.

1. He demonstrated His power over the things of this world, over disease, over nature, over death itself and what the multitudes said at the healing of this deaf man was typical of the impression made upon all who witnessed the miracles. Whatever He does He does well.
2. Has it ever struck you there's a world of difference between the miracles wrought by Jesus and the pseudo miracles performed by so-called faith healers and miracle workers today?

i. I heard this from a preacher recently telling of his experience at a meeting in a Pentecostal Church on Studfall Avenue in Corby, England. At this meeting was a faith healer and it was pretty obvious that he was extremely selective about the people that he was dealing with. The preacher went with some older members of his congregation and in particular a couple named Bert and Jean. Jean had had a stroke and she was confined to a wheelchair. It was very difficult to hear and understand what she said. In desperation Jean’s family took Jean along but each night as the meeting progressed it seems they didn't have time to deal with her. She was put to the back of the queue and she never was told to come forward to be healed.
ii. The preacher also related the story of one dear old lady who lived on Mantlefield Road whose daughter was a member of his congregation. Someone told him that she’d been to that meeting on Saturday night and that she'd been cured of her blindness, or so they had proclaimed from the pulpit. The preacher went to talk to that dear old soul on Monday morning and she made him a cup of tea as she always did and had set out a copy of The Daily Mirror. He said you know the size of the headlines that you get on the front page of The Daily Mirror. They’re huge! The preacher said to her; “I understand you went forward at the faith healing meeting on Saturday night. She said; “Yes”. The preacher said; “I understand they're supposed to have cured you of your blindness”. She had cataracts in both eyes you see. She said; “Yes”. The preacher then said he did something he supposed was very naughty but he held up the copy of the Daily Mirror and asked; “Can you see that and read the headline?” She said; “No”.
iii. That was proclaimed as a miracle and is typical of the kind of thing that goes on in so called faith healing campaigns. The preacher said he had no doubt that man left Corby with a tremendous reputation because he'd healed a woman of blindness and he’d take that story wherever he went.

3. Think of that sort of thing and then think of what happened in the life of Jesus. Jesus never performed any half cures. There were no relapses of an ailment in people He healed. Whatever He did He did well. Jesus was able to cure and He never needed to make excuses or apologize or say your faith isn't strong enough. No excuses for failure like the present day miracle workers. He never turned anyone away disappointed and He never looked for easy cures. He was the great physician in every possible sense of the word.
4. If I may I’ll make one further comment. I'm convinced that so-called faith healers will have a great deal to answer for one day. They'll have to answer for the people who have left disappointed and disillusioned and who blame God for the failure. You see that's sometimes what happens.
5. When you hear of these so-called campaigns don't look at the few who are seemingly cured but judge the campaign by the poor suffering souls who go away disillusioned and discouraged and embittered because they feel that in some way God has let them down.
6. That's not the way of Jesus. Whatever He did He did well and they glorified God when they witnessed His miracles.

III. Of course the miracles of Jesus served another purpose too and that purpose is explained in John 20:30-31 – “30. And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31. but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”. They are to convince us that He is the Christ, the son of the Living God because after all, the ministry, the earthly life of Jesus had a much more important significance than simply to go about healing a few people in Palestine.

A. When we think about it, the ministry of Jesus on earth was performed in a land no bigger than a hundred and twenty miles long and some sixty miles wide smaller than New Jersey. It's very, very doubtful that Jesus ever moved outside of Palestine, never moved outside of that narrow strip of country.

1. All of His life Jesus could only have only touched a small part of the suffering and sorrow that existed in the world because of sin. His mission was greater than that. He came to deal with sin at the root. He came to destroy sin and the one responsible for sin and the consequences of sin. He came to be a savior and as a savior, again we must say; whatever He does He does well.
2. In the first place 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.” tells you that he's able to save to the uttermost. In the original language the word we translate “uttermost” (παντελής pantelḗs, pan-tel-ace') means “completely”, “perfectly”. He's able to save completely.

B. That was the prime purpose of His coming, to offer a complete salvation and extensive salvation and an effective salvation. Let me emphasize this, the sacrifice that Jesus offered was a perfect sacrifice, and an effective sacrifice. Able to accomplish what no other sacrifice ever offered would have been able to accomplish.

1. You think for example of the rivers of blood that must have flowed under the Law of Moses. You go back to the rude stone altar erected by Abel in the distant misty days of the beginning, then you look at the altar outside the tabernacle, the one outside the temple built by Solomon in Jerusalem and you think of the constant stream of sacrifices brought to these altars, these places of worship and the animals that were killed. Rivers of blood must have been shed in the course of the centuries.
2. Why there was a lamb offered every morning and every evening for sacrifice in Jerusalem itself! Even more on special occasions, and think of all personal sacrifices, the individual sacrifices, all the burnt offerings, the sin offerings, the guilt offerings, all the different kinds of sacrifices that were made.

C. Yet it was not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. All that happened when an animal was sacrificed under the Old Covenant is that sin was covered up. The word atonement in the Old Testament is not the same as in the New Testament.

1. It's nothing to do with the forgiveness of sins in the Old Testament. It simply means that a covering was what happened. When a man came with a sacrifice and by means of that sacrifice he confessed to God that he was guilty, he believed that this animal he was bringing was his substitute. He deserved to die but the animal was dying in his place.
2. God accepted that confession of guilt and that sign of repentance and accepted the animal sacrifice and covered the sins.
3. The sins were only covered. Even on the Great Day of Atonement, when every year there was a national sacrifice for sin, no sins were taken away. Instead there was a reminder of sin made every year the writer of the letter to the Hebrew says. What happened was that when the high Priest went into the holy of holies and offered first for his own sins because he was a sinner and for the sins of his people, his family and then for the sins of the nation, God accepted that, and the sins were rolled forward for another year.

D. God did not call them to account because God was looking forward to the time when His own lamb would come to take away the sin of the world. That's what you find in the New Testament. You find Jesus as the Lamb of God. John the Baptist said Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.

1. That’s the extensiveness of Jesus sacrifice. Not just the sins of the Old Testament time, not just the sins of one particular people, the Jewish nation, but the sins of all mankind, all the sins ever committed from that first sin with Eve and Adam, right through to the very last sin that will be committed before Jesus comes back again.
2. His sacrifice is so extensive that it atones for all of this sin. Calvary looks back in retrospect to sins that were committed and it looks forward in prospect to sins that will yet be committed. Such is the power of the blood of Jesus that it avails for all sin, of all mankind, of all the ages. No half measures about the Savior. Whatever He does He does well.

E. Furthermore He deals with the guilt and the penalty of sin, He deals with the power of sin and ultimately He will deal with the presence of sin. The sacrifice of Jesus takes away the guilt of our sin. He breaks the power of sin in our lives. One day when He comes again He's going to deliver us from the very presence of sin. It's a free, full salvation that Jesus offers. It's a total salvation.
F. When we become Christians He cleanses us of the sins of our past life. As believers today, as His children, His blood avails to take away our sin. When he comes again He will deliver us from the very presence of sin to a place where sin no more troubles, where the wicked ceases from troubling as the words say and the weary are at rest. If we stay in Him that's the wonderful goal before us, the wonderful end to our existence. Whatever He does He does well.

IV. As you know, after His atoning work, we find Him ascending up into heaven. Before he ascended to heaven He gave the great commission. On the basis of that great commission the church was established. You remember that he said on the mount in Galilee. He said all authority is given to me in Heaven and on Earth, go make disciples of all nations baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all things that I've commanded you and lo I am with you until the end of the age.

A. Then later He ascended up into heaven. He told them to wait in Jerusalem till they were endued with power from on high. In Jerusalem on that first day of Pentecost after His atoning sacrifice had been offered, after His glorious resurrection, the Holy Spirit descended, Peter stood and powered by the spirit preached the Gospel in its fullness for the first time. 3000 people responded and the chapter ends by telling us the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
B. When Acts chapter two closes you have in existence the church that was in prospect in Matthew Chapter 16 where Jesus said upon this rock I will build my church. In Matthew 16 Jesus spoke of the future I will build my church, in Acts two the church has become a reality. He's done what He promised to do and ever since that time when people have responded obediently to the Gospel the church has been added to and extended to His glory. In the establishment of the church He does all things well.

1. You remember that in Ephesians 3:9-11 Paul says; “9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,” [ESV]
2. Does it occur to us that today in this age, the manifold wisdom of God is being demonstrated? That God's wisdom is shown in what He has accomplished in the church? I say God's wisdom because after all, like creation, the church began in the mind of God. Like creation, the church was born into existence through the work of Jesus just as creation was brought into existence by the work of the Word who existed in the beginning with God. It's God's church. That's why it’s the church of God. It's also the church of Christ because he died for it. He said I'll build my church. It was planned way back in the beginning.

C. Some folks today have the idea that the church was some kind of divine afterthought. There are people who think when Jesus came into the world what He really meant to do was to establish an earthly kingdom in Jerusalem. He would sit upon David’s throne and reign over the whole world. Because the Jews rejected Him, so their theory goes, they say His plans were put back a little bit. He never carried them through. He didn't become the king. He didn't establish His kingdom as He meant to.

1. One day they say He will come again and He will do what He failed to do the first time. Their doctrine says that in the meantime the church has been established as a stopgap, as a fill-in, as a divine afterthought as I said. The Bible makes it very plain that that's not the case. The church isn't a kind of second thought in the mind of God. It was planned in the beginning from eternal ages. Paul says; “which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:”(Ephesians 3:5)
2. Like light through a prism in the same way the church was designed by God to be the instrument through which His wisdom is seen in all its radiance and beauty. And not just for us on earth. The passage says; “to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,”[ KJV] Do you know what it means? It means that angels stand in wonder at what God has accomplished in the church.
3. Even the angels are amazed at what God has produced in bringing the church into existence. It was planned in perfection and it was carried out in perfection, brought into the world in perfection, so that Jesus could speak of “my church”.

D. There's a glorious destiny in store for the church. Ephesians chapter five speaks of the church as the bride of Christ. He intends one day to present the church to Himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. It exists today. It is the called out, the Christians, and it is going to be there all the time. You know somebody once said that the church would be fine if it weren’t for the members.

1. Of course, if there weren't the members there wouldn’t be the church. You have probably heard the story of one man that told Charles Spurgeon he did not go to church because there were too many hypocrites. With typical wit Spurgeon said come inside there's always room for one more.
2. The church has its imperfections it has its flaws. It doesn't look too good at times, but it's going to be transformed. He is going to present the church to Himself as a spotless bride, a fit bride for the Lamb of God and we can share that destiny, if we're faithful. If we're not Christians we can share that destiny by allowing God to add us to the church in His own special way.

V. We know that Jesus ascended to heaven and we know that He has become our high priest. When on the cross Jesus said it is finished or tetalesti it has been accomplished. He was talking about his redemptive work. His work is not finished you know. He’s not sitting in heaven like a prince without power, sitting by the side of God twiddling His thumbs, waiting to come back again, doing nothing in the meantime. We know that the Lord is still working. He said that to the apostles, didn't he?

A. He spoke to them concerning what would happen if they would accept His mission and go out and preach the word, and the end of the gospel according to Mark says: They went everywhere preaching the word. Now listen—the Lord working with them confirming the word with the signs which followed. Jesus is still working.
B. Whenever the Gospel is preached He has an interest in the preaching of the Gospel and whenever a soul is saved there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over the one sinner who repents.'' (there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance (Luke 15:7)) over 99 just people who don't need any repentance.

1. There’s a wonderful passage in Hebrews 9:24 “For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;”. It's true that He's gone into the presence of God but we've not lost Him because the writer says he has gone now to appear in the presence of God for us.
2. Don't leave out the “for us”. He doesn't simply say that the Lord has gone into heaven. He says He's gone to appear before God for us.
3. Don't ask me what He's doing. I don't know all of it. I know some of it because He tells us, but whatever He's doing He's doing for us.

i. He's in heaven for us.
ii. He’s our high priest.
iii. He mediates for us.
iv. He intercedes for us in the power of His blood and the power of his sacrifice.
v. Whatever He's doing it’s for us.
vi. Whatever He’s arranging is for us.
vii. Whatever He’s preparing is for us.

CONCLUSION: One day He’ll come again. It is wonderful that we have such a high priest. We don't have one who can not be touched with the feelings of our infirmity. We have one who can sympathize because He's been a man and had all the experiences of humanity in sorrow, pain, rejection, and loneliness.

He's able to sympathize and that's great, isn't it? He can be touched by the feeling of our difficulties. He knows our problems. He knows the weaknesses to which we’re prone. He's able to pick us up when we fall and He's able to do the very best for us in representing us before the throne.

If you had to appear before the court accused of a very serious crime, I think you'd want the very best advocate you could find wouldn't you. You've got Him in Jesus when it comes to dealing with God about your sin. You've got very best advocate, the very best mediator you can possibly have.

What a wonderful Savior He is. Nothing He’s ever done, nothing He ever does, ends in failure. You can rely on Him completely. You can turn to Him with utter confidence in every experience of your life. I think it's a great pity, if I may close on this note, a great pity that many Christians have not yet learned to lean on him and to trust him.
It's such a wonderful savior who can do so much for us but we don't allow him to do what He wants to do.

Let's learn to depend on him. He's worthy of our confidence and He wants us to lean on Him. What a wonderful Savior. He does everything well. Whatever he does he does well.

When we read and study the bible, attend bible class and worship services we come to realize the power of almighty God. There is nothing stronger, or more sure on which we may lean. If you have heard the gospel message and it has led you to believe in Jesus, then you need to repent of your sins, confess that belief and be baptized for the remission of your sins. God is faithful and if you do these things He will wash away your sins and add you to His Kingdom, His church. If perhaps you are a Christian and somehow your foot has slipped, you may become right with God by asking for forgiveness. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.

Invitation song: ???

Reference sermon: Frank Worgan

The Good Shepherd

John 10:11-16

INTRO: Good morning church!

Please turn your Bibles to John 10:11-16, and I’ll begin reading at verse 11 where Jesus says, “11. "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. 12. "But he who is a hireling and not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. 13. "The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. 14. "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. 15. "As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16. "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.” In these verses, Jesus identified Himself twice as the good shepherd.

Not only did Jesus identify Himself as the good shepherd, but He explained why He is the good shepherd. For one thing, Jesus gave His life for the sheep as He mentioned in verse 11. He also mentioned it in verse 15.

There's another reason why Jesus indicated that He's the good shepherd. He knows His sheep, and His sheep know Him. We learn that from verse 14. Jesus compared Himself to a hireling, that is, one who was hired to tend the sheep. The hireling doesn't care for the sheep because he doesn't have a close bond with them. He's simply doing a job. When danger approaches, he's not going to take on the danger. He's going to flee. Why? Because the hireling is concerned about their safety more than they are concerned about the sheep. What about the good shepherd? The good shepherd is going to stand there and he's going to take on that predator, whatever it is.

Why? Because he cares for his sheep, they are his. He loves his sheep, and his sheep know that. They know him; they depend on him and they listen to him. The hireling is not a reference to all who work for wages, the laborer being fully worthy of his hire; but it denotes a class of persons who merchandise holy things, not out of regard for sacred values, but purely from selfish and carnal motives. The wolf was Jesus’ usual designation of false teachers (Matthew 7:15f) and their operation always results in scattering the flock.

God appears throughout the Old Testament as the true shepherd of Israel. Let’s look at Psalms. “The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalms 23:1). “We are thy people and the sheep of thy pasture” (Psalms 79:13). “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock;” (Psalms 80:1). “For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand.” (Psalms 95:7).

The whole 34th chapter of Ezekiel contains the metaphor of God as the good shepherd and the false leaders as the evil shepherds. Since in the Old Testament the metaphor shows God as the true shepherd of Israel, how are we to understand Jesus saying, “I am the good shepherd”? It is a declaration that Jesus is God. We see that when the Pharisees finally realized what he meant, they attempted to stone him for blasphemy (John 10:33).

In today’s lesson, I would like to take a look at this statement that the Lord is the good shepherd. We will look at passages from each of the gospel accounts that demonstrate how Jesus is the good shepherd. Jesus declared in John 10 that He, Jesus, is the good shepherd, and He explained why. Let’s look at some additional passages in the gospel accounts that will let us see Him in action so to speak, and we will see that the Lord truly is the good shepherd not just a shepherd.

I. Let's begin with the gospel of Matthew chapter 9 and let’s see how Jesus demonstrated He is the good shepherd by sending His disciples out to reach lost sheep. He did that when He gave the limited commission.

A. We begin in Matthew 9:35, “… 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.”

1. We see that Jesus reached many people during His ministry. Matthew emphasizes that particular point in his gospel. He makes several summary statements of the Lord's work, and he shows that Jesus traveled from place to place, taking advantage of opportunities to teach and preach, also to heal people of their various diseases and illnesses.
2. We do not know how many people were reached by Jesus Himself. There's no way we can know that, but in thinking about all the traveling that the Lord did I would suspect it was a fairly large number. This was in about three years or so. Jesus was devoted to reaching as many people as possible.

B. Even though the Lord taught many people Himself, we learn from verse 36 that He was not able to reach everyone. We are told in Matthew 9:36, “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.”

1. Just a few verses earlier in Matthew 9:34 we see the opposition of the Pharisees “But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.''” This opposition was so evident and its consequence was confusion and distress among the people.
2. When Jesus observed the multitudes, He saw people who were still in need of what He was able to provide. He had reached many people himself, but He had not been able to reach everyone.

C. What did He do? Jesus got His disciples involved in finding lost sheep.

1. He first told His disciples to pray about the situation. Matthew 9:37-38, “Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. "Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.''”
2. Christ viewed the confusion and distress of the people and sent out His disciples to bear widespread testimony to the truth. The word "compassion" in verse 36 gives an insight into the benevolent and gracious heart of Christ. It indicated His love, pity, concern, and deep emotional feelings for the "lost sheep" of the house of Israel.
3. This takes us to the next chapter where we see that Jesus sent the disciples. Let's read a few verses beginning with verse one. Matthew 10:1-8, “1. And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. 2. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3. Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4. Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. 5. These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6. "But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7. "And as you go, preach, saying, `The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' 8. "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”

D. The Lord then had some additional instructions for the disciples as He sent them out, but for right now we're looking at the fact that although the Lord reached many people Himself, there were many more in need. He got His disciples involved in doing the work that He had been doing and He sent them out to the lost sheep. We call this the Limited Commission. He said, don’t go to the Gentiles, and don’t go to the Samaritans. Only go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. In other words, they are to only go to the children of Israel, the Jewish people.

1. As we look at what the Lord did, we see Him demonstrating that He is the good shepherd. Conditions in Israel at that time were dark and discouraging. The leaders were notoriously corrupt. The King had appeared, but His enemies were determined to prevent His acceptance on the part of the people. Yet, the people were entitled to their chance.
2. The disciples’ purpose when sent forth was to counteract the poisonous campaign of the Pharisees and to arouse Israel to the acknowledgment and reception of their true King. Jesus sent them out to find lost sheep that he had not found. That's the sign of a good shepherd. He wants to rescue as many sheep as possible. So He sends out others to do the work with him and shows powerfully why He is the good shepherd.

II. Let us next turn to the gospel of Mark. We want to point out that Jesus showed how He is the good shepherd by calming a storm. This is one of the great miracles that the Lord was involved in during His ministry, providing evidence to show that He truly is the Son of God.

A. Mark 4:35f, “35. On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side.'' 36. Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?'' 39. Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!'' And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40. But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?'' 41. And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!''”
B. The Sea of Galilee is a beautiful lake. In the time of Christ it was surrounded by at least a dozen towns and was the most densely populated area of Palestine. It is thirteen miles long, six miles wide, pear-shaped; and the surface lies 700 feet below sea level. Steep mountains rise along both the western and eastern shores. It is fed by the Jordan River which enters at the north end and exits at the south where it resumes its course to the Dead Sea. The water is fresh and sweet, abounds with fish, and is edged with sparkling pebbly beaches.

1. Because the lake lies below sea level and is bordered by mountains, it is subject to very severe and sudden storms, such as the one related here. The wind can come down the mountains and can cause strong storms very quickly on the Sea of Galilee, and they can be quite rough.

C. Our Lord with His disciples, are going across in a fishing boat, and a great storm arose. Jesus demonstrated His divine power by causing the wind to cease, and then the sea became calm. The disciples were present, and they were greatly impressed with the Lord's divine power.
D. The point that I want to make is this. On this occasion, Jesus showed that He is the good shepherd by not allowing His disciples to be overcome by that storm.

1. Did the Lord prevent it from occurring? No. Did He have the power to prevent it from occurring? Yes, and we know that because He stopped it. But the Lord did allow that storm to arise, and He allowed His disciples to deal with it for a little while. However, He proved very clearly on this occasion, that He's the good shepherd and did not allow the disciples to be overcome.
2. Having said that, let's tie in a passage of scripture from the New Testament letters. Let's go to 1^st Corinthians 10:13 where it says, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

E. Jesus demonstrated how He is the good shepherd in the Gospel of Matthew by sending the disciples on the limited commission. In the Gospel of Mark, He demonstrated He's the good shepherd by calming a storm. He did not allow His disciples to be overcome by that storm.

1. I think about a shepherd out in the field with his sheep and a storm comes up. What's the good shepherd going to do? He's going to take care of his sheep. He's going to lead them. He's going to help them get through that storm and to try to find them shelter. He's not going to leave a sheep. He's going to stay there with them. He's going to protect them to the very best of his ability.
2. I've always thought it was interesting that on the occasion we just read about in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus was asleep. If you look back up earlier to what happened in this chapter, you'll find that our Lord had been teaching and He was probably tired. On this ship, surrounded by His sheep, our Lord went to sleep. Was he concerned when that storm came up?
3. The disciples were filled with anxiety. Master, do you not care that we're going to die out here in this storm? Of course, our Lord cared! He saved them by not allowing them to be overcome by the storm, but He did allow them to face the storm. I can't help but think that the disciples learned a powerful lesson on that day. I would like to think that that lesson would help them as they would later carry out the great commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

III. Let's turn now to the Gospel of Luke. We want to point out from chapter 15 that Jesus showed how He is the good shepherd by finding lost sheep, Luke 15:1-2.

A. These verses show us how two groups of people reacted to the Lord. Verse 1 says, “Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.” Here, Luke tells of the tax collectors and other sinners. These are people who needed what the Lord came to provide. They knew it. They recognized that they were sinners. They drew near to Him. They approached Him because they wanted to hear him. That is a statement that should be appreciated. These people drew near to the Lord to hear Him.

1. In the Gospels, we read about people who were in the Lord's audiences, and who were not there with the right motives. Sometimes there were people looking for something to use against him. Sometimes He was asked trick questions that were designed to entrap Him.
2. These people mentioned in verse 1 were there with the right motives. Jesus received them… for even a single sheep, was something of eternal value in the eyes of the Father. God loves every man. They drew near to the Lord to hear Him. In my imagination I think that that put a smile on the Lord's face, knowing that these people came to hear what He had to tell them.
3. Then verse 2 says, “And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them.''” How sad that the Jewish religious leaders murmured against the Lord. They criticized Him for associating with publicans and sinners and even having the audacity to eat with them. Jesus came to save the publicans and the sinners, and He came to save the Pharisees and the Scribes as well, but they did not recognize their sins. They thought that they were in good standing with God. The Lord pointed out otherwise.
4. Here we find two groups of people reacting to the Lord in two different ways. On the one hand, the publicans and the sinners drew near to the Lord to hear what He had to say. Then there were the Pharisees and the Scribes who murmured against him. Unconsciously, His enemies spoke in these words the Master’s highest praise. Intended by them as slander of course, but these words have been treasured by the church of all ages as eternal truth. In our Hymnal is the Hymn Christ Receiveth Sinful Men, number 643.

B. In Luke 15:3-6 as well as the rest of the chapter, Jesus had some things to say for the benefit of those who murmured against him. Let us look at the first parable because it involves a lost sheep.

1. Verse 3, “So He spoke this parable to them, saying:”... This is not the only time where the Lord faced a difficult situation, and turned it into a teaching opportunity. What He had to say has been recorded for our benefit. On the one hand, we might be upset with the Scribes and the Pharisees for treating the Lord the way that they did, yet it provided the opportunity for the Lord to tell a parable, providing a lesson not only for them but also to be passed down to us.
2. Let's read the parable about the lost sheep. “So He spoke this parable to them, saying:  What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? "And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, `Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'”

C. The Lord says in verse 7 “I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.” Think about that for a moment. The Pharisees and the Scribes trusted in their righteousness. They did not see themselves as sinners. Did they cause any joy to be experienced in heaven? No. What about that one sinner that the good shepherd found and brought home? That caused great rejoicing to take place.

1. Jesus said that there's joy in heaven when a lost sheep is found. I think we can see our Lord demonstrating how He is the good shepherd. You see, He knew the value of one soul.
2. Thinking about a shepherd with a large number of sheep. If he loses one, he might take the approach of, “Well, I've got all these others. I won't miss that one very much.” That's one way a shepherd might view his flock, but not the good shepherd. The good shepherd knows when one sheep is missing. He is concerned about that sheep. Jesus knew the value of one lost soul. Only a good shepherd would have such great wisdom.

IV. Let's turn back to the Gospel of John. We will see that Jesus showed how He is the good shepherd by protecting and saving a lost sheep. Let's start at verse one. As an aside here; some say that these verses don't belong in the Bible. “Though it cannot be proved that this story is an integral part of the Fourth Gospel, neither is it possible to establish the opposite with any degree of finality. I believe that what is recorded here really took place and contains nothing in conflict with the apostolic spirit. We shall study the narrative as it has come down to us.” [Coffman]

A. Let's read what happened. John 8:1f. “1. But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2. But early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. 3. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4. they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5. "Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?'' 6. This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. 7. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.'' 8. And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?'' 11. She said, "No one, Lord.'' And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.''”

1. Jesus was asked to pass a sentence on the woman taken in adultery. I think we'd all agree that this poor woman was a lost sheep. She was caught in the act of adultery. She was accused by a hostile group of people. They are trying to use her to find something that they could use against the Lord.
2. They told Jesus what the law said about punishment for adultery, but they didn't quite get it right because the law said that both the man and the woman were to be put to death. (Leviticus 20:10, Deuteronomy 22:22) We should wonder at this point, where was the man? That very question has led some to suppose that maybe the man involved was one of the Pharisees. Anyway, the man wasn't brought forward, only the woman.
3. She was a lost sheep; she had been caught in sin. She had some hostile accusers, and she may have very easily lost her life. Jesus protected this woman. In addition to protecting her, He pointed out the hypocrisy of her accusers. It would have been easy for someone in the position they put the Lord in to say, I'm not getting involved in this situation and that is exactly what a hireling would do if a sheep was endangered. But you see, Jesus is the good shepherd, and a good shepherd doesn't act like that. The good shepherd knows the value of one lost sheep, and he's going to do whatever he can to save that sheep when it's in danger.
4. We imagine the Lord stooping down and writing on the ground… It certainly appears from what John recorded that these people continued to ask what the Lord was going to do about it. They pushed it, and finally, the Lord said, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.'' That had to do with the instructions from the Old Testament about capital punishment by stoning, Deuteronomy 17:7, “The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people.” It seems these people finally had their consciences touched, and they left.

B. They left, and they didn't harm the woman but neither did any ask for forgiveness themselves. Jesus protected this woman, this lost sheep, as a good shepherd would. Why? Because He is the good shepherd. Throughout the scriptures we find that Jesus is shown over and over again to be the good shepherd.

CONCLUSION:
In John 10, He stated twice that He's the good shepherd, and He explained why He's the good shepherd. As you go through the gospel accounts, you will see our Lord demonstrating the fact that He truly is… the good shepherd.

Let's grow in our knowledge of the Lord as our good shepherd. We are to strive to continually grow in our knowledge, and we need to especially appreciate that He is our good shepherd. A sheep looks to the good shepherd for what they need, and they depend upon the good shepherd. Are you a sheep?

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

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Reference Sermon by: Raymond Sieg