Chardon church of Christ

Signs From God

TEXT: Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:21-23, 2:1-15; Luke 2:8-20

This time of year brings the question : WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR?
We ask children, grandchildren, spouses, and friends to give us a list of items they might like for Christmas.
I would like to start my lesson this morning by asking you ….
if you could ask for just one thing this year …
no matter the cost…
what would it be?

I decided to look on the internet for some “EXPENSIVE” gift ideas
and this is some of the things I came up with…

• Your Own Private Islands
• A Luxurious London Mansion
• A Trip To Near Space
• A NEW CAR of your choice
• 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO
• All Expense Paid Vacation All Around the World
• Neiman Marcus Limited Edition Motorcycle
• Viktor&Rolf Perfume
• Lange 1 Tourbillon 25th Anniversary Watch
• The World’s Most Expensive Bottle Of Wine
• ETC

I WILL GIVE YOU MY ANSWER AT THE CONCLUSION OF TODAY’s LESSON 😊

I’m sure that as you look around this week
you will see more & more signs of Christmas rapidly approaching.
And what I want us to consider this morning is–
“Signs sent by God.”

The Bible contains numerous passages that are signs from God. These signs can take various forms and are often seen as a means through which God communicates with humanity.
Here are some examples:

1. Natural Phenomena: The Bible describes instances where God uses natural events to convey messages.
For example, the parting of the Red Sea during the exodus of the Israelites is seen as a miraculous sign
(Exodus 14:21-22).
2. Dreams and Visions: God communicates with individuals through dreams and visions.
In the Old Testament, Joseph and Daniel are known for interpreting dreams,
and in the New Testament, Joseph (the husband of Mary) receives messages from God in dreams.
3. Miracles: Miracles, such as the healing of the sick,
raising the dead, and turning water into wine,
are often considered signs of God's intervention
and there were miracles performed by Jesus in the New
Testament).
4. Prophecy: The fulfillment of prophecies is often seen as a sign of God's guidance and involvement.
The Old Testament contains numerous prophecies that were fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ.
5. Symbolic Acts: God sometimes instructs individuals to perform symbolic acts to communicate a message.
For example, the prophet Hosea marrying a prostitute is considered a symbolic act representing God's relationship with an unfaithful Israel (Hosea 1:2-3).
6. Burning Bush: In the book of Exodus, God appears to Moses in the form of a burning bush, which is not consumed by the fire. This is considered a significant sign, and God speaks to Moses from the bush (Exodus 3:1-4).
7. Pillar of Cloud and Fire: During the exodus, God led the Israelites with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, symbolizing His presence and guidance (Exodus 13:21-22).

God was in the business of providing signs from the very beginning.
After the flood, when the rainbow appeared,
God told Noah it was a sign that He would not flood the entire earth like that again.
So, whenever we see a rainbow, that sign reminds us of His promise.
Through Moses & Aaron
God gave very dramatic signs to Pharaoh to force him to set the Israelites free.
And in the wilderness during the next 40 years God provided multiple signs of His power
and His guidance
& of His love for His people.

I. PROPHECY
A. He gave the Prophets (& later the Apostles) the ability to perform signs & wonders.
Since God is in the business of giving people signs,
it makes sense that he would give a sign when it came to the most important birth in human history.

Isaiah 7:14 says, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child & will give birth to a son, & will call him Immanuel."

A prophecy is a foretelling of a future event.
The Prophet was given insight regarding something previously unknown.
The fulfillment of prophecy would be proof & a sign that God could be believed & trusted.
Sometimes a prophecy was fulfilled soon after it was made.

Sometimes the fulfillment was hundreds of years later,
like this one. This prophecy was written 700 years before it was fulfilled.

B. We are familiar with the angel telling Mary what was going to happen, & her response.
But when Joseph found out Mary was pregnant,
he thought she had been unfaithful to him.
Then an angel appeared to him, assuring him that Mary had done no wrong.

Matt. 1:21-23 tells us the angel told Joseph, "She will give birth to a son, & you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins”“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child & will give birth to a son, & they will call him Immanuel” – which means, “God with us”.

So, both Mary & Joseph received signs that confirmed what they were told.
There are other prophecies concerning the birth of Jesus.
When the Magi came to King Herod,
they told him they were there to worship the newborn king.
This disturbed Herod, so he asked the chief priests & teachers of the law where the Christ was to be born.
Matt. 2:5-6, “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied,
“for this is what the prophet has written:
‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’”
This prophecy is from Micah 5:2.

Interestingly, there's an added line at the end of this verse in Micah that reads, "whose origins are from old, from ancient times."
Some translations have, 'from eternity' or 'from everlasting' which raises the question,
“How could there be someone coming in the future who has ancient origins?”

But it makes sense when you're talking about Jesus.
His birth was not his beginning.
It was his beginning in human form,
but Jesus existed long prior - from the very beginning.

It set out the odds of any one man in history fulfilling even 8 of the 60 major prophecies fulfilled by the life of Jesus.
The probability that Jesus could have fulfilled even 8 such prophecies would be 1 in 100 quadrillions (100,000,000,000,000,000).
That's 1 with 17 zeros after it.
It has been estimated that if you had that many silver dollars it would be enough to cover the face of the entire state of Texas two feet deep.

A mathematician satated, "I've been to Texas. Who in his right mind would suppose that a blindfolded man, heading out of Dallas by foot in any direction, would be able,
on his very first attempt, to pick up one specifically marked silver dollar out of that many?"

So, I think that would confirm it. The signs are there to provide the evidence that Jesus is the only one who could be the fulfillment of prophecy.

II. THE BABY IN THE MANGER
Luke 2:8-20 says, "There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
An angel of the Lord appeared to them,
& the glory of the Lord shone around them,
& they were terrified.

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.
I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;
he is Christ the Lord.
“This will be a sign to you:
You will find a baby wrapped in cloths & lying in a manger” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God & saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
& on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

“When the angels had left them & gone into heaven,
the shepherds said to one another,
“Let’s go to Bethlehem & see this thing that has happened,
which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off & found Mary & Joseph, & the baby,
who was lying in the manger.
“When they had seen him,
they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, & all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
But Mary treasured up all these things & pondered them in her heart.

“The shepherds returned, glorifying & praising God for all the things they had heard & seen, which were just as they had been told."

A. We see their first reaction was fear. Not fear over the announcement but fear over the angels appearing.
In fact, it says the shepherds were terrified. The way the Greek reads it signifies being seized with a mixture of reverent fear & awe.
And who wouldn't be?
it's not like angelic appearances were commonplace.
In fact, God had pretty much been silent for the previous 400 years, so I'm sure this came as quite a shock to them.

Not only because of what they were seeing but also because it was happening to them.
Shepherds were certainly not considered to be in the upper echelon of society.
An angelic appearance would've been expected to happen to the religious leaders but not to a bunch of shepherds.
This was the greatest announcement in the history of mankind, & it was given to those least likely to receive it.

The angel calms them down & tells them not to be afraid.
He gives them the good news.
"A Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."

That's the good news that will turn our fear - fear of trouble,
fear of the unknown, fear of death into joy –
joy of salvation, joy of the presence & power of the Lord,
joy of a future inheritance in heaven.

B. Then we see that the angels gave the shepherds a sign.
They would find a baby wrapped in cloths & lying in a manger. That would be a distinct sign.
You wouldn't normally find a newborn in a smelly stable.
So this sign would be unmistakable.

God is in the business of providing unmistakable signs. Unfortunately, some people pass God's signs off as just some weird coincidence.
But the shepherds didn't do that.
They believed & were excited.
"Let's go to Bethlehem & see this thing that has happened ".

Notice they didn't say, 'let's go see if it's true'.
They said, 'this thing that has happened'.
They didn't need the sign to believe.
The sign was a confirmation.
You'll see this principle in other places.
When the disciples asked Jesus for a sign,
it was to understand something,
or to know what to look for regarding what they would experience.

The religious leaders asked for signs out of skepticism & unbelief. Asking for a sign when we need clarification is one thing,
but demanding a sign in order for God to prove Himself is not good.
There are many examples of religious leaders who asked for signs out of skepticism and unbelief,
but here are some of the most prominent ones:

• Pharisees and Sadducees: These were two rival sects of Judaism in the first century AD.
They often challenged Jesus with questions that tested his authority and knowledge of God’s will.
For example, they asked him to show them a sign from heaven, to interpret the law, to predict the future, and to reveal his relationship with God .
They did not believe in Jesus as the Messiah or the Son of God,
but rather as a clever teacher or a false prophet.

• Satan: He is the enemy of God and his people, and he tries to deceive them with lies and temptations.
  He is also called the accuser, the deceiver, the dragon, and the devil.
  He asked Jesus for a sign when he tempted him in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11).

• Judas Iscariot: He was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, but he betrayed him for thirty pieces of silver.
He was motivated by greed and hypocrisy, rather than by love or faith.
He asked Jesus for a sign when he agreed to hand him over to the Jewish authorities (Matthew 26:14-16).
He did not care about Jesus’ mission or message, but only about his own gain.

These are just some examples of biblical religious leaders who asked for signs out of skepticism and unbelief.

They all faced different consequences for their actions:
some were rebuked by Jesus (Matthew 16:6),
Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

some were rejected by God (Matthew 26:24),
The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”

and some were destroyed by Satan (Revelation 12:10).
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down, the one who accuses them before our God day and night.

We can learn from their mistakes and avoid falling into their traps.
We can trust in Jesus’ words and deeds as sufficient signs of his identity and authority.
We can also examine our own hearts and motives when we ask for signs or doubt God’s promises.
Do we seek God out of love or fear?
Do we believe in Jesus as the Son of God?
Do we follow him with faithfulness or disobedience?

The shepherds believed the angel,
followed the sign & saw the evidence.
Because they did this,
they experienced a joyous event
that undoubtedly changed their lives forever.
Those who ignore the signs miss out on the joy that would change their lives forever too.

ILL. Someone once said, “Although there is truly nothing more desirable than knowing Christ, many people just can’t see it. Their eyes haven’t been opened.
They look into the manger, & they don’t see a king.
They don’t see the Savior of the World.
They don’t see “the Mighty God,
the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace”.

All they can see is a baby, an ordinary human being.
And so, they pass by the child in the manger
& instead seek after the presents.

Going back to the question asked in the beginning of the lesson today…
What one gift would ask from GOD?

INVITATION: Which do you value more,
the toys & trinkets of this life
that will eventually crumble into dust,
or a relationship with Jesus Christ that will last forever?
Do you want to find what you're looking for?
Follow the signs to Jesus.

God’s Grace

The Transformative Power of Gratitude

Luke 17:11–19

It was the usual schedule: up at 4:30 a.m., out the door by 5:00 a.m. to take my son to ice hockey practice, pickup another hockey team mate on the way to the rink, dash home, get ready for work and head out the door again. On this morning though, I realized I had not done the grocery shopping. At this point, I knew the grocery list by heart. So as I drove the boys to hockey practice I realized I’d be very close to a grocery store that was open 24 hours a day. So I made a mental shopping list and headed straight to the grocery store from the ice rink.

There were only a few shoppers in the store, but the aisles were full of staff stocking the shelves for the rush of grocery purchases. I zipped along. The last aisle was the frozen food section. As I stood in front of the glass door contemplating the frozen vegetables, I noticed my reflection in the frame of the freezer door. I WAS IN MY PAJAMAS!! I laughed out loud!

As I drove home with my groceries I realized that in my hurried, helter-skelter life I was not living graciously. I was like the plate spinner at the circus. Recognizing that something needs to change and actually doing it can be a true challenge. I realized that I needed to make a change in my daily prayer practice. Instead of listing all of the day’s activities and then asking for help to accomplish them, I took a different approach. I began my prayer with gratitude that God was an ever-present, all power of good; I listened more. This change wasn’t just for a day or a week, it became my regular daily prayer routine. And life became less chaotic and more joyful.

There are researchers who have been focusing on the beneficial effects of gratitude. One study (sited in a Harvard Health News Letter) found that, “gratitude…helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals.” Another effect was, “fewer visits to physicians.”

September 1923 - a devastating earthquake rocked the islands of Japan. And just in the city of Tokyo it destroyed nearly 75% of the buildings. The New York Tribune called the earthquake “Undoubtedly the greatest disaster in recorded time.” It was estimated that nearly 300,000 people died, and 2.5 million were left homeless. Japan was so devastated by disease and despair that it seemed that they’d never recover.

THEN HELP CAME!
Help from United States for helpless Japan. Food, clothing, medical supplies & volunteers came by the shipload. The American Red Cross collected $10 million dollars from the citizens of the United States to help Japan. And the Japanese people were grateful. They even put their gratitude into writing. Their very words were, “Japan will never forget!”

BUT … JAPAN DID FORGET.
Less than 19 years later, the AMERICAN ships of mercy were forgotten and - on December 7th 1941 - Japanese planes were sent to Pearl Harbor to wreak death & destruction. (Baptist Bread 2/9/09 Craig Burcham)

How could they forget???

In our Text today we read of 10 lepers that Jesus healed. He sent them to see the priests, and as they were on their way, they were cleansed. Now, undoubtably these men were grateful because Jesus had delivered them from a terrible fate. According to the Old Testament Law, lepers were required to live outside of the city. They were literally quarantined - required to keep a “safe” distance from others so that they wouldn’t touch anyone and make them unclean. Lepers were unclean - both physically & spiritually. A leper was required to keep a distance of six feet between others… including their family members.

Leviticus chapter 13 says: “The person with such an infectious disease (like leprosy) must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp.”

In a small village nestled between rolling hills and meandering streams, there were ten individuals whose lives were intertwined by a common affliction—they were lepers. Banished to the outskirts of the village, they formed a close-knit community, finding solace in each other's company.

One day, as they sat together on the outskirts of the village, they heard whispers of a healer passing through. Rumors of a man named Jesus, who had performed miraculous acts of compassion and healing, reached their ears. Though society had rejected them, a glimmer of hope ignited in their hearts.

Determined to find this healer, the ten lepers set out on a journey. Their tattered clothes clung to their frail bodies, and their faces bore the scars of their illness. Guided by the stories they had heard, they traveled until they reached a dusty road where a crowd had gathered.

Suddenly, through the murmurs of the people, they heard the name Jesus. Hope surged within them, and with feeble yet determined steps, they approached the crowd. "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" they cried out in unison, their voices echoing with desperation.

Hearing their plea, Jesus turned his gaze toward them. "Go, show yourselves to the priests," he instructed. As they followed his command, a miraculous transformation began. The leprosy that had marred their bodies disappeared, leaving behind skin as smooth as a newborn's.

Overwhelmed with joy, the ten lepers marveled at their newfound health. Yet, among them, one man felt a deeper stirring within his soul—an overwhelming gratitude that surpassed the joy of physical healing. Unable to contain his emotions, he turned back, falling at Jesus' feet.

With tears streaming down his face, he exclaimed, "Thank you, Lord! Thank you for restoring my health and granting me a new chance at life!" Jesus smiled warmly at the grateful man and said, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

As the man rejoined his fellow lepers, he couldn't help but share the good news of his gratitude. The other nine, however, continued on their way, perhaps too caught up in the thrill of their healing to realize the source of their restoration.
Jesus, watching the departing crowd, sighed with a mixture of compassion and sadness. The physical healing was evident, but the deeper healing—the gratitude that transformed the soul—was a gift received by the one who returned to say, "Thank you."

And so, the village echoed with the story of ten lepers healed, but only one made whole—his body and soul forever touched by the grace of gratitude.

Lepers were outcastes! Totally ostracized from society. It was a devastating and a very lonely life. And then they met Jesus. All 10 of these men came to Jesus because they believed He could heal them. And He did… He healed them. And I suspect they were all kind-of grateful… but ONLY ONE of them came back to thank Jesus personally. The other nine didn’t show up. They didn’t come back. They seemed to have forgotten all about Jesus.

How could they forget?

Well… maybe they didn’t forget. Maybe they just thought they’d have gotten well anyway.

Maybe Jesus just showed up at the right time. I mean (after all) Jesus didn’t really do anything TO them when they stood before Him. Someone once suggested that: One of the lepers might have been waiting to see if the cure was real; Another believed he’d go back and see Jesus later (he just never got around to it): Still another decided that he had never really had leprosy to begin with; And another said he would have gotten well anyway; One might have given the glory for his healing to the priests; Another might have said, “Any rabbi could have healed me”; And still another might have thought: “I was already much improved.”

Now those are all interesting suggestions, but I really think the issue here goes deeper than that. I think the real reason they didn’t go back to Jesus was that they were afraid. They were afraid Jesus would ask them for a commitment. Maybe He would ask them to follow Him. Jesus did that alot.

In Matthew 8 we read that someone suggested they wanted a closer relationship “Lord, let me first go and bury my father." And Jesus said to him, “FOLLOW ME and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” (Matthew 8:21-22) Later, in Matthew 9:9 we read that Jesus saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “FOLLOW ME.” And then in Matthew 10:32-39 Jesus told His 12 disciples “Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and FOLLOW ME is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

FOLLOW ME… FOLLOW ME… FOLLOW ME! Jesus was constantly calling people to commit to Him, to surrender to Him, to take up their cross and follow Him. And essentially, that what the 10th leper was declaring. When he returned to Jesus… the 10th leper fell face-down before Jesus THAT was the posture of surrender.

But where were the other NINE???

ILLUS: Just a thought: At this congregation we have many people we help every month. We help with: A Food pantry; $20 or $30 worth of gas so people can take their kids to the hospital or to get to their job; Or we’ll pay for a night or 2 at a local hotel because these folks no place to sleep; Or we help pay utility bills -which always seem to come due TOMORROW (If the bill isn’t paid by 9 am tomorrow… the gas/ electric WILL BE shut off)!

And these folks will often say: “I’m really planning to come to church”. But (of course) they never do. They never show up. And there’s been times when I’ve gotten a little cynical about that. I’ve even said “They want our money… but not our Jesus.” They’re just like the 9 that Jesus healed but who never came back. And so I have to admit, there’s been times I’ve asked myself – why bother? They just want our money… they don’t want our Jesus, so why keep on helping these folks?

So why SHOULD we bother? Why bother helping people who really don’t want Jesus? Well, because Jesus did! Do you think Jesus knew the 9 lepers wouldn’t come back? Of course He did - but He healed them anyway. SO… why did He do it? Perhaps because others were watching and needed to see what He did. Perhaps because the lepers would remember what Jesus did that day and make a decision to come back to Him later.

Every time Jesus healed somebody it was a declaration of WHO He was and a declaration of WHAT He’d come to do! He didn’t come just to heal people’s bodies… He came to heal their minds and hearts and souls. And every time WE help somebody in need it’s a declaration of WHO we serve (JESUS) and of WHAT He wants to do in the lives we touch. We serve a Jesus who cares for these people… but He wants to do more than pay their bills and rent them a room for the night. JESUS wants them to SEE WHO He is!!! And the only way He’s going to get that done - is we are His hands and feet to a lost world.

That’s why Jesus said: “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) The GOOD that we do should point to Jesus, and to His love for the lost.
Of the 10 lepers that were healed… one of them really was lost. Luke 17:16 tells us “he was a Samaritan.” Samaritans were the lowest of the low - despised & rejected. In the eyes of the Jews they were “sinners” and “outcastes”, unworthy of God’s love or mercy. And yet, this was the man who returned to thank Jesus. Even Jesus said “Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Luke 17:18

We’re told that “when (the Samaritan) saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks.” This guy this man wasn’t just thankful… he was shouting his thanks! He didn’t send a nice little thank you note… he personally came and fell on his face at Jesus’ feet and praised Him. This man was thankful… with a capital “T”!

But why would he do that? I mean... granted he was truly thankful, but there’s more to it than that going on here. You see – he was a Samaritan. He KNEW he didn’t deserve to be healed. Someone once observed: “You can’t be grateful for something you feel entitled to.” (Steven Furtick) You can’t be grateful for something you feel you deserve. And this man was truly grateful because he KNEW he hadn’t deserved to be healed. He’d been an outcast – despised and rejected and unworthy of God’s love.

Now, this is my final point. Of all the people on the face of the earth we should be the most thankful because we’ve received something that we did not deserve. And Ephesians 2:3-5 says “we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by GRACE you have been saved.”

We didn’t deserve for Jesus to come and die for our sins. We were “children of wrath”; We were “dead in our trespasses”; We were outcasts – unworthy of God’s love. BUT HE LOVED YOU AND ME ANYWAY.
(PAUSE) It’s virtually impossible to be grateful for something you feel entitled to, but you and I were NOT ENTITLED to be saved. We hadn’t done anything that earned God’s love and forgiveness. That’s why it says “by grace you have been saved.” Someone once explained that “Grace is undeserved favor.” And Romans 6:23 tells us “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

And that’s why we take Communion every week. We eat and drink of the Lord’s Supper to remember we did not deserve God’s love. We drink from the cup which says – Jesus shed His blood for us, and we eat of the bread which says – Jesus’ body was broken for us. At this table we declare we WERE sinners, but now we’re saved by GRACE. Every week, you and I gather here to declare: WE DIDN’T DESERVE THIS!! At the communion table we come before Jesus… and fall on our face and we say “thank You Jesus!”

CLOSE: We’re not told… but I’m convinced that everywhere that 10th leper went he told people about what Jesus had done for him. He told everyone ABOUT Jesus. A veteran missionary once told this story to a preacher named Roland Allen. He said that he’d been a medical missionary for years in India and had served in a region where people were often born with healthy vision, but (over time) many of them began to lose their sight.” Many became blind. Well this missionary had discovered a process that stopped progressive blindness. And when people came to him and he performed his operation, and they would leave realizing that they would have become blind, but now they were going to be able to see for the rest of their lives.

The missionary said they couldn’t say, “Thank you,” because that phrase was not in their dialect. Instead, they spoke a word that meant, “I will tell your name” And everywhere they went, they told the name of that missionary… because they were so grateful!

The question this morning is this? Are you truly thankful to Jesus for what He has done for you? And if you are… DO YOU TELL HIS NAME to others?

INVITATION

Miracles For Moses

Exodus 4:1–9

“I believe for every drop of rain that falls,
a flower grows.
I believe that somewhere in the darkest night,
a candle glows.
I believe for everyone who goes astray,
someone will come to show the way.

I believe, I believe.
I believe above the storm the smallest pray'r
will still be heard.
I believe that someone in the great somewhere
hears every word.
Every time I hear a newborn baby cry,
or touch a leaf
or see the sky,
then I know why I believe!”

I have always liked that song. It’s been sung by Frankie Vale, Frank Sinatra, The Lettermen, and many others.
And what appeals to me (and the millions that have loved it also) is that it declares that there is hope in this world.
And the reason there’s hope is because we believe in a God ... who does mighty things. In fact, as Christians, that’s the power of what we believe: we believe in a God who does stuff. A God who does mighty stuff.

And, that brings me to our story this morning.
Moses has been commissioned by God who tells him
"Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:10)

The problem is, Moses doesn’t want to go,
and he’s been trying one excuse after another to get out of it.
But I believe today’s text from Exodus 4:1–9 gets to the heart of why Moses doesn’t really want to go.
I don’t think Moses believes... anymore.
He might have believed once.
He might have felt he was ordained by God to save the people of Israel. I mean, that’s probably why he struck and killed the Egyptian who’d been beating an Israelite.

But God hadn’t rewarded him for stepping up and defending His people. And so Moses had become a fugitive from justice and an exile for the last 40 years.
Now God has come to Moses and asks Moses to believe in Him. And Moses is saying “Thanks... but no thanks.”

Moses says in verse 1 "But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’ ”
They WILL NOT BELIEVE!

And under his breath I can sense Moses saying: “I don’t either. I don’t believe... either.”
Moses is struggling with unbelief, and so I think these 3 miracles are as much for Moses’ benefit as they would have been for the Israelites he was being sent to.
The miracles are there to give Moses confidence. I
t’s something he desperately needs.

Now, before we get to these 3 miracles, we need to understand the nature of miracles.
1st - when God does something miraculous ...
He always has a reason.
In the Bible (for example) there were 5 seasons of miracles where God used numerous miracles to establish something He wanted done.

At the CREATION He did miracle after miracle.
He spoke and the Sun appeared.
He spoke and the dry ground appeared.
He spoke and there were Fish and Birds and numerous Animals.

Then, when God FLOODED THE EARTH there was miracle upon miracle –
God brought the animals to Noah and He flooded the earth.

When MOSES LED ISRAEL out of slavery until they settled. There were the 10 plagues God brought upon Egypt;
the parting of the Red Sea,
the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai,
the miraculous giving of water and Manna in the wilderness.

When God used PROPHETS LIKE ELIJAH AND ELISHA
He again used numerous miracles to try to draw His people back from paganism.

And, of course, during JESUS’ MINISTRY up thru the establishment of the church there were numerous healings,
raising people from the dead and the casting out of demons.

It has been noted that “If these miracles were happening every day,
they wouldn't be called miracles, they'd be called regulars.”

But when God did miraculous things...
there was always a reason.
A 2ND thing to remember about miracles is that God does them when HE’S ready.
If God does something spectacular in your life
it will be on HIS timetable... not yours.
And that can be frustrating.

ILLUS: There was once an old time minister who was known for his great faith. But one day a friend of his saw him pacing the floor obviously agitated.
His friend asked him “What’s the problem?”
The Preacher replied, “The problem is – I’m in a hurry... but God isn’t.”
God’s not always in a hurry to do things on OUR timetable.

That’s why the Bible repeatedly tells us – WAIT!
Psalms 37:7
“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him...!”

Psalms 27:14 “Wait for the LORD; be strong,
and let your heart take courage...!”

Isaiah 40:31
“They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.”

The key thing for us to remember
is that God commands us to WAIT!
God will do mighty things when He sees the need
and when He’s ready to do them,
but not until then.

Now, I believe in a mighty God who does mighty things.
Don’t you?
Great.
I am sure you wouldn’t want me up in this pulpit if I didn’t believe that GOD is powerful and is capable of MIGHTY THINGS.

In Matthew 13:58 we’re told that
“(Jesus) did NOT do many mighty works (in His hometown), because of their unbelief.”
Their lack of faith robbed them of God’s power in their lives.

HOWEVER, there was one instance in Jesus’ ministry where that wasn’t completely true.

In Mark 9:17-24
"17Then one of the crowd answered and said,
“Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.
18And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down;
he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid.
So, I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out,
but they could not.”
19He answered him and said,
“O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?
How long shall I bear with you?
Bring him to Me.”
20Then they brought him to Him.
And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him,
and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.
21So Jesus asked his father,
“How long has this been happening to him?”
And he said, “From childhood.
22And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
23Jesus said to him, “If you can believe,
all things are possible to him who believes.”
24Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; HELP MY UNBELIEF!”

And Jesus healed the boy!!!
For me, that’s one of the most comforting verses in scripture.
The very idea that I could say to God
“HELP MY UNBELIEF!!!” and He’d have mercy on me (as He did for that father) is mindboggling.

And I think that’s kinda where Moses is at right now.
I think Moses WANTS to believe,
but it’s been a long time since he thought God even cared about him or even gave him a 2nd thought.
And so (in his unbelief) God has mercy on him,
and shows Moses his power! God does the Miraculous in Moses’ life because that’s what Moses needed at that time.
Now, what I find interesting about these 3 miracles God allows Moses to do is that they’re all kind of... parlor tricks.
You know what a parlor trick is, don’t you?
It’s a minor magic trick that it’s simply meant to entertain you, but isn’t all that impressive.

But this is Moses!
This is the man that God used to bring the plagues down upon Egypt; to part the Red Sea;
to bring water from a rock when the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness;
and to feed those same Israelites with Manna every day.

By comparison, these 3 miracles aren’t really... all that impressive.
So, I got to thinking that maybe there might be more to these 3 miracles than first meets the eye.
I believe there’s something about these miracles that teach us something special about our God.

Let’s take them one at a time.
What is the first miracle Moses is told to do?
(His staff turned into a snake)
“The LORD said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’
He said, ‘A staff.’ And God said, ‘Throw it on the ground.’

So, he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it.
But the LORD said to Moses, ‘Put out your hand and catch it by the tail’ —
so he put out his hand and caught it,
and it became a staff in his hand. (Exodus 4:2-4)

ILLUS: A preacher once noted:
Why would God turn that rod into a snake in the 1st place? Couldn’t He have made it a mouse, or a dog or cat,
or some less frightening animal?
I think God turned that rod into a snake because the serpent was the symbol of power that was worn on the crown of Pharaoh.
It was as if God was saying to Moses,
“I created the power and glory that Pharaoh claims as his own... and I can... take that power from him at will”

So, this preacher felt the serpent represented Pharaoh,
and God turning Moses’ staff into a snake –
was God’s way of declaring that He had power over Pharaoh.
And that got me to thinking...
who else is symbolized by a serpent?
SATAN!

That’s what Revelation 12:9 says
“And the great dragon was thrown down,
that ancient SERPENT,
who is called the devil and Satan,
the deceiver of the whole world—
he was thrown down to the earth,
and his angels were thrown down with him.”

In Scripture we’re told God has power over Satan.
You don’t have to be afraid of him because when God takes hold of your life Satan can’t harm you.

In 1 John 5:18 we read
“We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin;
the one who was born of God keeps him safe,
and the evil one cannot harm him.”

Now, there is a caveat there.
If you continue to sin,
if you allow bitterness or lust or greed
(or some other sin) to rule your life,
you might be giving Satan an opening.
You’ll be giving him an opportunity to harm you and set up camp in your life.
You CERTAINLY don’t want that.

But if you give that sin to God (like Moses gave his staff to God) God can use your repentance as a way to destroy Satan’s power. And that was the first miracle – God showing His power over Satan.

Now, what was the 2nd miracle Moses was asked to do?
(Put his hand in his cloak/leprous)
“Again, the LORD said to him, ‘Put your hand inside your cloak.’ And he put his hand inside his cloak,
and when he took it out,
behold, his hand was leprous like snow.
Then God said, ‘Put your hand back inside your cloak.’
So, he put his hand back inside his cloak,
and when he took it out,
behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh.” (Exodus 4:7-8)

ILLUS: One scholar noted that leprosy was the scourge of the ancient world.
Nothing evoked more fear, dread, and revulsion
than the sight of the walking dead.
The smell of decaying flesh would announce their coming long before you could hear their rasping cry of "Unclean! Unclean!"

The disease slowly destroyed their bodies,
and made them untouchable to society.
Most scholars explain that leprosy was a vivid and graphic picture of the spiritual defilement of sin.

Like leprosy… sin is an ugly, loathsome, incurable
and contaminating disease and it separates us from God
and makes us outcasts.

Leprosy was a horrible picture of what sin does to us.
And so, as the serpent represented God’s power over Satan,
the miracle of the leprous hand represented God’s power over sin.
Moses was being sent into Egypt to free the Israelites from slavery.
And in the same way Jesus was sent to free us from the leprous slavery of sin.

In Romans 7, Paul goes to great lengths to describe the power that sin can have over us and then he says
“Wretched man that I am!
Who will deliver me from this BODY OF DEATH?
(Just as leprosy made its victims be the walking dead, so also sin made us the walking dead).

"Thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ!...
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” Romans 7:24 - 8:2

We are freed from the power of sin by the blood of Jesus.
We’re no longer the walking dead.
The leprosy-like destructiveness of sin has been washed away. Now there is no more shame and no more guilt.
We are free because of God’s power over sin.
That was the 2nd miracle.

Now, what was the last miracle that Moses was to perform?
“God said ‘You shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.’” Exodus 4:9

The Nile brought LIFE to Egypt.
It was literally - the lifeblood of Egypt because without the Nile, Egypt would die.
Thus, as the serpent represented God’s power over Satan,
and leprosy represented God’s power over Sin,
so also the water of the Nile represented God’s power over life and death.

ILLUS: The Bible tells us about a man named Jairus –
the leader of the synagogue where Jesus was at.
Jairus came to Jesus because his 12 year daughter was terribly sick and he wanted Jesus to come to his home and heal her.
But as Jesus and the father were walking to their home,
they’re about ½ way there when a servant comes and tells Jairus “Don’t bother the teacher anymore... your little girl is dead.”

The first time I ever heard this biblical account in the life of Jesus I was in shock!
We had to feel that this isn’t the way the story is supposed to turn out.
If Jesus had been there in time...
that little girl wouldn’t have died!
And death seemed so final!
This part of the story disturbed me.

Jesus told Jairus it would be alright,
and then went on to the home.
When he entered the room where the child lay dead,
Jesus took her hand in his and say “Child arise!”
And the girl came back to life.

Many are asked if they feared death... and most did.
That’s not surprising - the Bible tells us everybody fears death, but that’s why Jesus came.

Hebrews 2:14-15 “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things,
that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
and deliver all those who through FEAR OF DEATH were subject to lifelong slavery.”

You see, when we belong to Jesus,
we don’t have to be afraid of death.
Jesus conquered death in order to give us life and the promise of eternal life.

ILLUS: One day in a Sunday school call a 10 year old girl asked the minister if death would be a time of eternal blackness.
She was serious, and it deeply bothered her.
The minister smiled and said “Oh no.
When we become Christians, death has no power over us.
That’s the imagery God uses in baptism.
When Jesus died for us He was buried in a tomb...
but He didn’t stay there. He ROSE from the dead!

In baptism, the Bible says WE “DIE” to our sins.
And what do you do with dead people?
You BURY them.
That’s why baptism is a burial in water...
you’re being buried with Christ.

But you don’t stay buried.
Just as Jesus didn’t stay in the tomb...
you don’t stay in the water.
You literally rise from the dead to walk in newness of life

That’s why Romans 6:2-4 tells us:
“How can we WHO DIED to sin still live in it?
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
We were therefore buried with him by baptism into death,
in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father,
we too might WALK IN NEWNESS OF LIFE.”

INVITATION

Sermon Contributor: Jeff Strite

Jesus Worked and Taught His Followers to Work

Acts 1:1-3

INTRO: Good morning church. Turn in your Bibles with me this morning to Acts 1:1-3. “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach until the day in which He was taken up, after He, through the Holy Spirit, had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”
As Luke began the Book of Acts, he referred to what he had written earlier. He was referring of course to the Gospel of Luke. In his Gospel Luke wrote about all that Jesus began both to do and teach. I emphasize that particular statement because that's the proper order. Jesus began both to do and teach. As we have studied the Bible we observe that when our Lord gives us a commandment, He sets the proper example.

Luke in his gospel told of Jesus giving commandments to the apostles. He showed how Jesus spoke to the apostles of the things about the Kingdom of God. And how after Jesus was resurrected, He taught His apostles on some very important matters.

Sometimes people try to make a distinction between what Jesus said during His ministry and what the inspired writers recorded in the New Testament. We need to remember it is the inspired writers of the New Testament who recorded the Lord's teaching and we make a mistake when we try to make a distinction. We find that even unbelievers will quote Jesus’ words, such as “Judge not” or, “Love one another.” They treat these words as if they are some sort of trump card against what the rest of the Bible teaches about sin and the need to live righteously.

Every passage of Scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments is inspired by God. This means that all Scripture is equally backed by the authority of God and comes from Him. It is true that the New Testament is the word of the Lord. Hebrews 9:15 says He is the mediator of the New Covenant. The prophet Jeremiah in chapter 31 of his book indicated that at a later time, God would establish a new covenant with His people and that it would be far greater than the one that He gave through Moses. Under this new covenant, their sins and iniquities “I will remember no more”.

The Hebrew writer quotes the prophet Jeremiah in Hebrews 8 to show that God had foretold the abrogation of the old covenant and that God had, from the first, intended to abolish it. In Hebrews 10 the writer dwells upon the fact that true and total forgiveness was likewise a foreordained purpose of the new institution.

Luke, in His Gospel, wrote about all that Jesus began both to do and teach. We study the Scriptures to know the will of the Lord. We certainly want to know His will, and that knowledge comes through a careful study of the Bible. As we study, we need to pay careful attention to what Jesus did, that is, His example. We also need to pay careful attention to the instructions that He gave to the apostles that they revealed through their teaching and their writing.

I. Let's first look at the Scriptures telling us of how Jesus worked.

A. Jesus showed dedication to God’s affairs from a very early age. Look at Luke 2:41-52. We won't read the entire account. Here Luke wrote about the time when Joseph, Mary, and Jesus went to Jerusalem to observe the Passover feast, a very important feast for the Jewish people.

1. We learn from verse 42 that Jesus was twelve years old at the time. You all know what took place. After the feast had concluded, Joseph and Mary were on their way home and quite often, it's my understanding, that groups would travel together for companionship as well as protection. They were on their way home and they assumed that Jesus was in the group. He wasn't.
2. Let’s read Luke 2:44-47 – “but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day's journey, and then sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers.”
There are four things we notice about the way Jesus related to these teachers.

1) He sought out teachers and sat in their midst;
2) He listened;
3) He asked questions; and
4) He gave answers.

3. I can picture that his parents must have been frantic to find Him. They find Him and we read in verse 48 “So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, "Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.''” Keeping in mind Jesus is twelve years old, what was His response? Verse 49 “And He said to them, "Why is it that you sought Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?''”[NKJV]. Some translations say “I had to be in My Father’s house?” Jesus indicated His strong interest in God’s work when He was just twelve years old.

B. When Jesus was about 30 years of age, He began His ministry and He indicated that He was sustained by doing the will of the Father and finishing the Father's work. Let's turn to John 4:34, “Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” Jesus says that He is fed by doing God’s will and finishing His work.

1. Luke said that he wrote in his Gospel about all that Jesus began both to do and teach. We're looking at the Lord's example He set concerning work. Jesus said that doing the work the Father gave Him to do actually sustained Him.

C. Jesus was dedicated to the work He had been given. In John chapter 9 we read how the Lord gave sight to a man born blind. In John 9:4 Jesus says, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.” Jesus said this knowing what would come next. We are told in John 9:14, “ Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.”

1. Of course, the Pharisees objected to this healing on the Sabbath. Again it is revealed to us the incredible damage of mingling human traditions with God’s word. All of those rules and regulations that they had added to God’s commandments are not harmless little embellishments of sacred law, but flagrant violations of it.
2. Considering their own legislation as part of God’s law blinded their eyes to when the “Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings.”[Malachi 4:2]
3. When Jesus made that statement in John 9:4, He indicated that He had a strong sense of urgency about His work. What we have seen so far should help us to appreciate the Lord's work.
He was dedicated to doing the Father's will.
He set a great example before us.
Jesus did indeed have a sense of urgency about His work.
4. We sing a hymn, number 116, that references John 9:4, “Work For The Night Is Coming”.

D. As we examine the Lord's ministry, we see that He worked diligently, and His purpose was to fulfill His mission. Let's look at a few verses in the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew gives us some, what we might call, summary statements concerning the Lord's work. As we look at them, we see that the Lord's work consisted primarily of teaching, preaching, and healing various sickness and disease.

1. Matthew 4:23 says, “Now Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.”
2. Matthew 9:35 is similar, “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.”
3. Jesus worked diligently to do the work the Father gave Him to do. He traveled from place to place, and as He did so, He was teaching, preaching and healing people.

E. A preacher told of the first time he visited a friend in the VA hospital in Memphis. He said he could not believe the huge number of men and women who were there to be treated. Some of them had some serious problems, and when he saw that crowd of people, (this is a big hospital) he just wanted to sit down and cry. He said it led him to imagine what it was like when Jesus traveled from place to place and people would gather to our Lord to be healed. No wonder the people were amazed at what He was able to do, realizing that He truly is the Son of God.

1. Looking at Mark 7:37 we read; “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.''” Jesus had just healed a man “who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech”[verse 32], and I notice that the people when they saw the cure, did not say merely that "he has healed this man," but that "he has done all things well," showing that they recognized in this one example the mightiness of the power that could do "all things."
2. When Jesus did something, He did it well. I've always been impressed with that statement. The Lord never put forth a half-hearted effort to do anything. That tells us about the quality of the Lord's work.

F. Jesus prayed just before He was arrested, and His prayer is recorded in John chapter 17. He prayed first for Himself, then He prayed for His apostles, and then He prayed on behalf of all of His followers.

1. As He was praying for Himself, we notice something He said concerning His work. John 17:4 – “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” According to this verse, Jesus completed His work.
2. Our Lord's ministry lasted for approximately three years. We might wonder what our Lord accomplished during that short period. John’s Gospel concludes with these words; “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” Jesus completed His work, and when He was on the cross, He said, it is finished.

G. These verses tell us some things about the Lord's work.

He had a strong work ethic from a very early age.
He was sustained by doing the work that the Father gave Him to do.
Jesus had a great sense of urgency about His work.
He worked diligently to fulfill His mission.
He did all things well, and we know that He completed His work.

II. Now we turn our attention to Scriptures which teach us that Jesus taught His followers to work. Let’s look at Acts 1:1-3 again, “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach until the day in which He was taken up, after He, through the Holy Spirit, had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” Luke said, that he had previously written about the things that Jesus began both to do and to teach. Jesus gave commandments to the apostles and He spoke to them about things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

A. It's important that we keep that in mind because when Jesus gave the great commission in Matthew's account, He told the apostles to teach disciples everything that He taught them.

1. In Matthew 28:19-20 He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
2. Just before He ascended to be at the Father's right hand in heaven, He told the apostles what He wanted them to do; to teach the Gospel, to baptize people, and then teach those new disciples everything that He had taught them.
3. The apostles had to go forth teaching everything that Jesus taught them. They did not have the Bible as we do… and the apostles would need some help. The Lord took care of that. John 14:25-26, “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
4. This verse has been misapplied many, many times. We see that Jesus was speaking to the apostles, and He says; the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, shall teach you all things, and notice this, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you.
5. Jesus spoke to the apostles, gave them commandments, and told them about things pertaining to God's kingdom. Then He said, I want you to teach all these things to people who become Christians.
6. Jesus told them that the Holy Spirit would assist in various ways. One way was by bringing to their memory everything that Jesus had taught them. The Spirit would also guide the apostles as they went forth teaching and as they went forth writing down the Lord's commands.

B. We need to keep that in mind as we search the Scriptures to know the Lord's will concerning our responsibility to work. We look at the Lord's teaching He gave to the apostles and in doing so, we can know what He requires of all of His followers. I’d like to look at some passages that have to do with Christian work.

1. Let’s start with Matthew 5:14f, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Jesus tells His followers that they would have a positive influence on other people by doing good works. That's the way that we allow our lights to shine.

a. An example of this is found in Acts 9:36f, where we read about Dorcas. She was full of good works and almsdeeds, but this lady passed away and Peter was asked to come. All the widows present were weeping, and they showed Peter the various garments and coats that Dorcas had made for them.
b. What did Dorcas illustrate? She illustrated what Jesus said in Matthew 5 about doing good works and allowing your light to shine. She had a tremendous impact on a number of people. By doing good works, we're able to have an opportunity to influence others for good.

2. Let's look at Galatians 6:9-10, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” This reminds us that when we do good works, in due season we will reap the reward. That being the case, we must not become weary.

a. Doing good works may not always achieve the results that we would like to see. If we become too focused on those results, we can become discouraged and want to give up.
b. The Bible teaches us there will be a great reward to those who are steadfast. Therefore, as we have opportunities placed before us, we need to take advantage of them and be of assistance to all, especially our brethren.

3. Consider Ephesians 2:8-10. In verses 8 & 9, Paul showed how we're saved by grace through faith. Notice what's mentioned in verse 10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” We've been created in the Lord for doing good works. We're God's workmanship.
4. In Paul’s letter to the Colossians he tells of his prayer, his desire for them, and in Colossians 1:10 he says, “that you may have a walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;” The Lord teaches us about the importance of bearing fruit.

a. In John 15:8 Jesus says “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” Does that mean that every child of God has to be capable of doing the very same things? No, it doesn't mean that at all.
b. God, in His infinite wisdom, composed the church in such a way that is made up of people with various talents and abilities. There are certain things that you can do that I cannot. There might be something that I can do that you can't do.
c. Remember the parable of the talents? There was a person given 5 talents, a person given 2 talents, and a person given 1 talent. There are no “zero” talent people in that parable. Why? I suggest that is because the Lord sees to it that we receive blessings. We need to be able to recognize them and use what we are blessed with for God's glory. He will bless us even more in return, and we're to strive to be fruitful in every good work.

5. Let's look at 2nd Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable (Now notice the four areas in which the Scriptures are profitable) for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The Scriptures will equip us with what we need to do the work of God.

a. James said it like this in James 1:25, “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” Once again the perfect law of liberty provides that which we need to furnish us unto all good works.
b. That's why we need to be careful students of the Word of God. As we study the Scriptures, we learn information that will help us to do what God wants us to do.

6. Now let's turn to Titus 2:11-14. We should remember that Titus was an evangelist serving on the island of Crete. Paul wrote this letter to teach him about his conduct as well as what he was to teach the people. In the first chapter, Paul outlined the qualifications of the elders whom Titus was to appoint, referred to the character of the false teachers operating there, and warned Titus concerning the unsavory reputation of the Cretan population.

a. There were people on Crete who believed and became Christians, and becoming Christians meant their lives were to change. Titus was there to teach them how to live as Christians. “11. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12. teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13. looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14. who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”
b. These Christians were changed people, and they were to be zealous for good works.
c. Look at Titus 3:8, “This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.”
d. Then look on to Titus 3:14, “And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.” Do you notice in this one short letter, that Christians doing good works is emphasized?

C. All through these scriptures we find instructions having to do with doing good works.

CONCLUSION:

We've seen from the Scriptures both that Jesus worked and that He taught His followers to work.
Are we saved by good works? No, we're saved by God's grace through faith. Yet, the Bible tells us many times that what we do while we are here is important to our salvation.

Galatians 6:7-8 tells us, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”

Jesus said in John 6:27 – “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” He said to labor. You can not labor without working.

We know that no matter what good we may do in life, our works neither promote nor compel God to offer us salvation. Then why is it so important that we work, so important—that
He taught His followers to work? Because work is a part of faith. If we truly have faith, love Jesus, love God, and love our neighbor, we will work to please God, follow Christ, care for our neighbor, and teach the lost.

The lesson is yours.

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

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

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Reference Sermon by: Raymond Sieg

It’s Time To Wake Up

Luke 22: 31 – 62

A rooster and a fox lived in a forest. The rooster was very intelligent and clever. One day a fox was hungry and spotted a rooster sitting on a tree branch. On seeing the rooster, the fox thought of capturing it, but for that, he would have to call the rooster down.

The fox thought that he could fool the rooster into climbing down. He asked the rooster to come down as he no longer needed to be afraid of other animals. He said that the king had passed an order and no animal could harm any other animal. The fox said that they could together go to the king and clarify this with him.

The rooster smelled something fishy and said let’s go to the king and take some of our friends with us as well. The fox told the rooster that to go to the king, he needed to come down first.

The rooster was listening to the fox and knew the fox was trying to fool him. The rooster thought quickly and said that some hounds were coming their way, and they could take them along to the king.

Hearing this, the fox panicked and ran away, saying that the news had not yet reached the hounds. The fox immediately fled from there, and in this way, the rooster saved his life.

Moral Of The Story
The moral of this story is “CLEVERNESS always saves you from danger.” The clever and intelligent rooster outwitted the cunning fox and escaped from danger.
1 Corinthians 3:19 tells us "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”;

How many of us have ever fallen asleep in Church? Statistics show that most people have – at least once.
In the days of the Pilgrims, churches had a person they called a “tything man”. His job was to keep people awake during the sermons, which usually lasted 2 to 3 hours in length, by using a long pole.

The following are just a few reasons individuals have given for falling asleep in church...
• They got up too early
• Or they’ve been up too late the night before
• Or the sermon’s boring....
WHICH I’M SURE DOESN’T APPLY TO ANYONE OF YOU HERE IN CHARDON
• Or because they’ve worked hard all week and they just can’t help themselves

BUT then there are other times, when people fall asleep but have their eyes “wide Open”...
Years ago (when I was younger) I remember being in love with a special girl. She often occupied my thoughts - even when I was at church. One day, at church, during the sermon… I began thinking about her. And, during this daydreaming I reached over and squeezed her knee (right there in church).
Only problem was, she wasn’t seated beside me at the time. I was sitting next to my sister.

It took a long time to explain to my sister why I had done what I’d done.
Literally, I was asleep in church even while I was awake.
My mind was on other things. And I needed to be woke up
Even the Apostle Peter fell asleep “in church” a couple of times.
In Luke 9, we’re told that Jesus took Peter, James and John up on the Mountain of Transfiguration. While Jesus was praying Moses and Elijah appeared with Him... but verse 32 tells us…
“...Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep” Peter was falling asleep!

Then in Luke 22:45 we’re told that Peter fell asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus “...rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep.”
And this happened, not once, not twice, but three times!

Peter did worse than fall asleep in church. He fell asleep on Jesus.
But even worse than that, Peter was often asleep “in church” even when his eyes wide open. He was there with Jesus – he was listening to the preacher – but his mind was on other things. And he needed to be woken up.

In Matthew 16, for example, Jesus was teaching Peter and the other Apostles about His death, burial, and resurrection.
But somewhere along the line Peter fell asleep to what Jesus was saying: verse 22 Peter says "Never, Lord!"… "This shall never happen to you!"

His mind was elsewhere He was asleep to what Jesus was saying
And so Jesus WOKE him up: Jesus turned and said to Peter in verse 23, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

Now in our text this morning, we find that Peter has done it again. His eyes are open but he’s asleep ”in church”. He’s gone to sleep and Jesus wants to wake him up
How do I know that Jesus wanted to wake Peter up?

Well, last night I knew I needed to wake up this morning… So, what do you think I did to make sure I did that? I set my alarm. I needed something to wake me up.

In the same way Peter needed to have something wake him up. So Jesus used a rooster. For centuries roosters have served to wake people up. And that’s what Jesus used this rooster for.

This bird was the tool God used to wake up Peter to some basic truths. What was it that Jesus wanted Peter to wake up to?

1st – Peter needed to wake up to the fact that he wasn’t strong enough to handle everything on his own. Peter was a “man’s man” He was a powerful, towering giant. Peter was a force to be reckoned with.

Peter might not have been the type to start fights... but he could finish them. One of Peter’s basic problems was that he always thought he could handle anything.
• When Jesus said He was going to be betrayed... Peter said “Others might... but not ME! I’ll follow you to prison or even to death! Nothing can stop me from protecting you.”
• And when Jesus was arrested, Peter pulled his sword and whacked off the ear of one of the men. No one dared to touch Jesus with him around. He could handle anything or anyone. He was sure of himself. Sure of his strength.

He believed there was nothing he would face, that he couldn’t handle. But he was wrong. Peter couldn’t handle everything.
Luke 22 verse 31: “Peter” (Jesus said) "Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.”
Peter – there’s someone you can’t beat
Peter - there’s someone you can’t handle
Peter - there’s someone who’s bigger, smarter and more powerful than you are... and his name is Satan.

Peter’s not the only person who’s ever had this problem.
1 Corinthians 10:12 warns us: “... let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”
That’s a wakeup call to ALL believers: you’re not as big and smart and powerful as you might think you are. You can’t handle everything on your own. Don’t be so foolish as to think you can do much of anything without talking to God about it.

Too many Christians fall into the SUNDAY ONLY mindset. They put in their hour in worship… and then they leave God back at the church building. They make decisions without Him. They face their challenges and difficulties without Him.

They may not deliberately do this with forethought... but they do it. And they do it because they don’t want to bother God. They’re big boys and girls now. They don’t need Him to involve Himself in their daily lives.

I admit to you… that I don’t always ask God’s guidance about things when I should. I don’t always pray as often as I might. I wonder if it is something that has happened to all of us at some time.

We need to wake up to the fact that – without Him we’re not going to be able to handle the difficulties of this life.And that was what Jesus was telling Peter – WAKE UP!

WAKE UP and realize you aren’t as big and as bad and as brainy as you think you are. Because there is someone out there just waiting to take you down.

Former heavyweight boxer James “Quick” Tillis recalled his 1st day in Chicago after his arrival from Tulsa.
"I got off the bus with two cardboard suitcases under my arms and stopped in front of the Sears Tower. I put my suitcases down and I looked up at the Tower and I said to myself, ’I’m going to conquer Chicago.’ And when he looked down, the suitcases were gone.

He was a heavyweight boxer. He was a big, bad, rather scary kind of man. AND he was going to conquer Chicago. But somebody took all that he owned away from him.

“Wake up” Says Jesus– take heed lest you fall. Know that there are forces in this world that you can’t take on ... BY YOURSELF.
That was the first thing Jesus wanted Peter to wake up to: You CAN’T do this on our own...

So… the 2nd thing Jesus wanted him to wake up to was… he didn’t have to do everything on his own. Jesus was still in control.

Luke 22:59-61 it tells us that “About an hour later another said,
"Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean."
Peter replied, "Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!"
Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed.
The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.
IT IS Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him:
"Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times."

How did Jesus know Peter would deny Him 3 times?
How did Jesus know that rooster was going to crow when it did?
Because Jesus is God.
He created the rooster. He created Peter.

In Isaiah 46:9-11 God declared:
9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.

Jesus knew the temptation Satan had planned for Peter. And He knew how Peter would respond to that temptation. And Jesus wanted to wake Peter up to the fact that He knew that and that HE was in control.

When OUR life turns sour.
When WE ARE in over OUR heads.
When everything you THOUGHT you had under control suddenly collapses.

REMEMBER THIS
Jesus is still in control. Now that’s hard for Peter to believe. Jesus has just been betrayed by a friend. He’s been arrested. He’s been put through an illegal and humiliating trial. And that’s going to be just the beginning. Jesus is going to be beaten and He’s going to be whipped.

He’s going to be taunted and spit on by some of the very people who praised him just days before. He’s going to be forced to drag His cross down the streets of Jerusalem. And He’s going to be nailed to that cross, and lifted on that cross as it’s put in position and dropped into place. And then He’ll die the slow agonizing death of those who are crucified. And when He dies, they’re going to bury His body in a borrowed grave.

And, as far as Peter can see,... that is where Jesus will stay.
WAS Jesus in control? Absolutely, EVEN THOUGH Peter couldn’t see that!
And, SO MANY times in our lives we have DOUBTS… BUT GOD is STILL IN CONTROL!

Jesus was still in control.
Now, one last observation:
Why do Roosters crow?
Roosters crow for one basic reason: The Sun has risen... and there’s a new day coming.

The OLD Peter needed to wake up the fact that he couldn’t do it all on his own.
But then he didn’t have to because Jesus was God in the flesh – Jesus was God come down in human form. And Jesus had come to change Peter’s OLD life forever.

A new day was coming. It would be a day when the OLD Peter’s life would be buried and all forgotten.

As God tells us in Romans 6:2-7
“We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
If we have been united with him like this in his death,
we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—
because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”

When we’re buried in the waters of baptism our “OLD MAN” dies.
Our OLD LIFE is buried.
And we rise up to a NEWNESS of life.
Ephesians 5:14 says to you
"Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”

INVITATION.

Contributing Sermon By Jeff Strite

Trapped by Temptation

JAMES 1: 13 – 15

Back in the 14th century, in the region we now call Belgium, there was a duke by the name of Raynald III. Raynald had a nickname – Crassus.
Crassus means fat, and he was fat because he really liked to eat.
He liked to EAT ... a lot!
In the course of time, he had a violent quarrel with his younger brother Edward which resulted in Edward leading a revolt against him. Edward took Raynald prisoner and took him back to Nieuwkerk Castle where he had a special room built around him.
He promised his brother he could regain his title and property as soon as he was able to leave the room.

Now, for NORMAL SIZE people, that wouldn’t have been a problem. There were several windows and a door of normal size, and none of them were locked or barred. The problem for Raynald was his size. In order to leave the room he had to lose some weight.
But Edward knew his brother’s weakness and he made sure trays of delicious food were delivered to his room each day.  Thus, instead of dieting his way out of prison, Raynald grew fatter.

When Edward was accused of cruelty, he readily replied: “My brother is not a prisoner. He may leave ... when he so wills.”
Being delivered from evil depends on not being led into temptation. No trial or temptation is neutral. They are ordeals that either strengthen or weaken, depending on how they're handled.

Christ teaches us to pray to be delivered from not only evil, but also from what carries us there.
James 1: 13 – 15 says "13Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death."

Temptation isn't sin, but sin can't thrive without temptation. Or in Raynald's case, his fight wasn't in how to get through the door, but in how to get around the food.
Raynald stayed in that room for 10 years and wasn’t released until after Edward died in battle. By then his health was so ruined that he died within a year. He died a prisoner to his own appetite.

As I read this tragic story, I was struck by several truths:
FIRST: Satan takes us prisoner by capitalizing on our desires, weaknesses and tastes. He doesn’t need to create those things in us, he just takes advantage of our appetites. And then he sets out to do his best to see to it that we stay sated with the pleasures of sin.

SECOND: Raynald had a choice – he could only eat as much as was truly necessary, he could have exercised in his cell, and he could have walked through the cell door after losing enough weight.

But Raynald was too fond of his sweets and tasty delights – thereby becoming his own warden, held in a prison only by his own weaknesses.

The same is true for us – Satan can’t keep us in the prison. It is our choice – to continue to smother ourselves and indulge in our passions and sin, or to leave the prison behind.

THIRD: We think that the things we long for in our human nature are what will make us happy – that if we have enough of something, then we will be free at long last, not realizing (or at least not admitting to ourselves) that we are only perpetuating our imprisonment. Freedom awaits us outside the imprisonment of our desires. What would you rather have: freedom or another piece of cheesecake?

Jesus tells us: If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross.
This morning we read a warning from Paul specifically to new Christians in Ephesus where he urged them: Don’t die a prisoner to your appetites.

Ephesians 4:17-20  "17So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. 20But you did not learn Christ in this way,"

Now, that’s not the way they “learned Christ” BUT that’s how they grew up. They once walked as the Gentiles did because they were Gentiles, and they lived in Ephesus.

Ephesus was a thriving seaport, proudly referred to as the “Treasure House of Asia.” And it was highly prized by the Romans. They had invested a huge amount of money in building the city up so much that it was the center of the area. Because of that, the Roman Governor would often go there to hold legal proceedings.

But it wasn’t a very nice city. It was home to the Temple of Diana/Artemis – the goddess of fertility. Her temple was a huge structure… that could accommodate over 24,000 people… and is thought of as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

But because Artemis was the goddess of fertility, the worship there included the burning of incense and the playing of flute music and the whole atmosphere which was designed to arouse the worshipers into an emotional frenzy and engage in shameless sexual behavior (we’ll leave it at that).

Ephesus was also a city of criminals. The tradition in Ephesus, was that if any criminal reached the Temple of Diana they were granted asylum for their crimes. They couldn’t be punished, so that’s where criminals ended up living.

Because of that, Ephesus was an extremely popular city, but also an extremely im-moral city. And that’s where these Ephesian Christians grew up and that’s where they lived.

As you might imagine...
it would be a very difficult to live a Christian life there. The temptation to do evil things existed on every street corner, and the Ephesians lived RIGHT THERE in the midst of some pretty nasty stuff.

The question arose, how could Christians avoid getting dragged back into their old lifestyles? How could Christians avoid becoming imprisoned in their appetites?

These are the same questions we face in our present world.
Well, one way would be to get bad folks to stop doing their bad stuff. I mean; if we could just convince people to stop:
listening to vile lyrics in their music,
or stop going to inappropriate movies;
or convince them to stop sleeping with their friends,
or committing adultery/
treating women like sex objects;
or if we could convince them to stop cursing,
and saying (or writing) mean or hateful things...
I mean, if we could just DO THAT.

Then being a Christian would be so much easier, don’t you think?  But Paul tells us that’s not going to be real successful.

Going back to verses 18 and 19 of Ephesians 4 tells us “(The Gentiles) are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.”

These folks have lived like this for so long That if you’d asked them to stop, they’re gonna be like... WHY? They’re alienated from God. There’s a hardness and callousness in them. They’re so imprisoned by their lifestyles that Paul says they’ve “given themselves up to sensuality etc.”

They’ve gotten to the point where they ask – What’s the point? It’s so hard to stop doing it... why bother?

Someone once stated that The Seven Deadly Sins (pride… lust… greed…, etc) are not evil acts, but rather universal human compulsions that can be troubling BUT highly enjoyable.”

In other words, many have accepted their PRISON of “compulsions” and accepted the idea that “I’M NOT GETTING OUT OF HERE!”

By contrast, the reason that WE (Christians) don’t buy into that is that is Jesus has promised to FREE us from the things (like this) that have made us ashamed. The pagan world isn’t gonna change just because we say they should.

Another way to escape the prison of sin would be to practice Social Distancing. Go live in a corner, lock yourself up in a monastery, or go and live in cave somewhere. That’s what people did back in the Middle Ages.

But Paul tells us... that’s just NOT practical.  In I Corinthians 5:9-10 he states "9I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or envious,"

There’s no avoiding the fact that we live in a fallen world, and that’s where we’re gonna stay until Jesus comes again.

So if I can’t convince the bad folk to change their bad ways, and if I can’t practice effective social distancing by living in a cave somewhere, how can I avoid being imprisoned by MY appetites, just like everybody else?

Well this what Paul says we should do – go back to Ephesians 4 and verse 22 " that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,"

In other words: determine not to live by your appetites. Decide YOU are not going to live like a pagan. That’s what repentance is all about. Repentance is the decision to turn around and leave the old lifestyle.

ILLUS: Let’s say you’ve been out in the garden, digging in the dirt, pulling weeds and sweating up a storm. You get all done, and you realize you that are supposed to go out to eat with friends that night. So, what do you do?

You go inside, take off your dirty clothes and take a shower. Once you towel off... are you ready to go out and eat??? I hope not. You’re naked!

They arrest people for going around in public that way. So, what do you have to do? Well, you have to PUT ON clean clothes. It’s not enough to take off your dirty clothes and take a bath. You have to put on clean garments!

And in the same way, it’s not enough to TAKE OFF the sins of the past, you have to replace those sinful behaviors with something else. You have to put on clean deeds and clean thoughts and clean words.
Let’s now read verse 24 of Ephesians 4
“PUT ON the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

And, just to help us out, Paul gives us some examples. In Ephesians 4:25, for example, he writes: Therefore, putting away lying, “ Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,”
for we are members of one another.

What am I taking off? “Lying!!!”
What am I putting on? “Truth Telling!”
Do you remember my telling you Ephesus was a home for criminals? There were probably a good number of ex-thieves in the church there, and I suspect they were tempted to go back to their life of crime.
And what Paul telling them to take off – stealing!
And what are these thieves supposed to put on? Get a job!

Now, this is interesting –
Paul doesn’t stop by telling them to get a job. He tells them WHY they should get a job. They should get a job so they have something to share with others.
This goes to the heart of changing a thief’s motivation – he used to steal because “what’s yours is mine, and I can take it.”
But now, he is to think of his money (which he earns in a job) as something to give to others. His money is now the money he can give away.

And lastly –
Ephesians 4:29-32 " 29Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."

What am I supposed to TAKE OFF?
Corrupt talk!
Vulgar words!
Curse words!
Profanity!

And what am I supposed to PUT ON in their place?
Words that build others up and make people feel good.
But that’s not all.
Profane language isn’t all about using curse words. You can have corrupt language that doesn’t have a single curse word in it. You can have unwholesome talk that isn’t filled with profanity. In fact, there’s a CORRUPT talk that grieves God’s Spirit which is inside of you!!!

These are words filled with bitterness, hatred, and slander of other people. And God says... get rid of that!!! Do not tear others down by what you say. God despises that kind of language!!!!

But why? Why would God hate that of language? Well, because God knows you and I... and He knows enough about us that He could say all kinds of nasty things about us. He knows things He could say about you that YOU don’t want others to find out about.

But He doesn’t. He won’t repeat those words about your past because, in Christ HE forgave you and me! IN CHRIST... all our shameful behavior been erased.

Since that is true, it’s inappropriate for us to gratefully accept HIM forgiving us...and then us turning around and NOT forgiving others of their behavior.

CLOSE: Now in the midst of the conversation about TAKING OFF sinful deeds and PUTTING ON good deeds, we must not lose sight of the fact that we’re NOT doing all this because we’re nice people.

We may think we are... but that’s not possible. Isaiah 64:6 tells us “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags” before God."

In other words, we won’t be able to stand before God at the judgement and say “Hey, look at how nice I’ve dressed myself! Aren’t I pretty?” Oh no! This isn’t about dressing up in OUR righteous deeds. It’s about dressing up Christ’s righteousness.

In Revelation 3:18 Jesus said "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see."

It’s Jesus who clothes in pure garments. It’s HIS blood and His forgiveness that covers the nakedness of our sins. In fact, that’s how we come to salvation.
When we’re baptized in Christ, Paul says “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have PUT ON Christ.” Galatians 3:27

Sermon Contributor: Jeff Strite

Judge Not

Matthew 7:1-6

INTRO: Good morning church. Turn in your Bibles with me this morning to Matthew 7:1-6. This will be our main text though we will be looking at other scriptures.

This is a part of the Sermon on the Mount as Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7:1-28 is called. In this sermon, the Lord proclaims the principles of the kingdom of heaven. In chapter 5 are what we call the beatitudes, and the relationship to the law. In chapter 6 we read about seeking the kingdom of God and in chapter 7 the narrow path.

This is a sermon from which we can glean a large number of practical lessons on how to live our lives. The content of chapters 6 and 7 are practical instructions in righteousness for the citizens of the kingdom, forming a striking contrast to the ideas of righteousness that was current among the Scribes and Pharisees. Alms, prayer, forgiveness, fasting, wealth, freedom from anxiety, rash judgments, reserve in communicating sacred knowledge, persistence in prayer, the necessity of good works, and stability of character

The particular lesson or theme that we are dealing with this morning is “to judge or not to judge”. Understanding this topic is something that is very much needed in our society. Something we need to consider carefully because it is often misunderstood.

As to this particular text, it is a text that from time to time we mention in dealing with the type of judgment that is condemned and also the type of judgment that is not condemned.

In our lesson this morning, I want to look at that in greater detail. We're living in times when we're not supposed to judge anyone, especially when it comes to their moral behavior.

Sadly, as we know, this is not exclusive to dealing with what we would describe as the worldly mindset. There are many so-called believers in Jesus Christ, who would tell you the same thing, that we should not judge others.

Even among some of the Lord’s church, there are those practicing things with no authority. They use this text to say; “You should not judge me in my conduct, or you should not judge us in what we are doing.” Is that really what the Bible is teaching? What does this passage mean? What is involved here? I suspect that judging is something all of us struggle with from time to time.

In Matthew 5:20 Jesus says “… unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” Then Jesus gives illustrations of what He's talking about. He gives several examples of how they had dismissed what the law truly taught or what the Law was demanding of them.

Now our text, “1. "Judge not, that you be not judged. 2. "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3. "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4. "Or how can you say to your brother, `Let me remove the speck out of your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5. "Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother's eye. 6. "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.”

In this message Jesus is dealing with the subject of judging. What exactly did Jesus mean as He was talking about judgment? Jesus gives us an illustration when He talks about how you want to remove the speck in your brother's eye when there's a plank in your own eye. Jesus says, take care of your plank first before you worry about your brothers spec.

Let’s look in scripture and see if we can identify:
First what Jesus was not talking about.
Secondly what Jesus was talking about.
Thirdly, let’s look at how to judge, and some principles to give consideration to.

I. What was Jesus not talking about - .

A. From the scriptures the first observation we make is Jesus was not saying that we should never question somebody or criticize somebody concerning their behavior. If somebody is doing wrong, there's nothing to discourage us from pointing out that error.

1. Jesus is not saying we should not take note of people who are in error. We need to be constructively concerned about somebody doing that is wrong, rather than just fault finding.
2. I'm reminded of Galatians 2:11, where Paul says, “But when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed;”

a. Paul called Peter out publicly. Paul gives the example where Peter was playing the hypocrite. Before certain men came from James he would eat with the Gentiles. But when those men had come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.
b. Peter was being inconsistent in the way that he was dealing with brethren, and the rest of the Jews played the hypocrite with him so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.
c. Paul goes on to say, I challenged him. Paul “called him on the carpet”, as the saying goes, and pointed out to Peter his error.
d. We should understand, when somebody is in error, Jesus is not saying you should not point out what that error is and even go to the individual critically and challenge them on that error.

3. In James 5:19-20 James concludes with this point, “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”. When somebody wanders from the truth, we need to do whatever we can to bring them back. We are making a judgment on their actions, and determined that it is in error. Then we need to deal with that error.
4. Galatians 6:1 is similar, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”
5. There is a time then to deal with a speck in your brother's eye. Did Jesus say you should never do that? He didn't say that, did he? He just said; Take care of the plank in your own eye first.
6. If somebody is in error, it needs to be challenged. Jesus is not saying that we should not question someone on their teachings or their behavior when there is error.

B. Furthermore, Jesus is not saying that we should not practice, and I'm putting this in quotes, “church discipline” today, that is withdrawing from the ungodly. That is taught very clearly in 1st Corinthians 5:4-7. Paraphrasing 5:1 first, “It is reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife.”[para] Paul goes on to say they should be mourning the situation.

1. You hear some people say, you can't judge me in what I do. Paul says, “4. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5. deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6. Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7. Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened.”
2. Look at Romans 16:17, “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.” Paul warned these brethren to note those who cause divisions, and mark them.
3. In 2nd Thessalonians 3:6 Paul says, “But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.” He says, we are to withdraw from everyone who walks disorderly. This is practicing discipline.
4. The world says, “You shouldn't judge people like that, let God take care of it”. Scripture says—we have a responsibility to try to help someone in error to turn from it and that may include withdrawing.
5. In Matthew 18:15-17 Jesus teaches about a brother who has a fault. “15. "Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16. "But if he will not hear you, take with you one or two more, that `by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' 17. "And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”
6. How do you deal with it? You go to him first, and if he doesn't respond, if he doesn't repent, take two or three witnesses. If that doesn't work, you tell it to the church. If that doesn't work, you let him be to you as an unbeliever, no longer a brother in Christ—you withdraw from them. That's the standard that Jesus gives us.

C. Having said that, Jesus didn't mean we should be involving ourselves with those that are in darkness and have no desire to understand the truth. If somebody is in darkness, if they are living a life of immorality and engaged in sinful behaviors, don't play around with that. It would be like somebody playing with a poisonous snake. Jesus isn't saying you should refrain from making a judgment against somebody in that type of circumstance.

1. We're told in Ephesians 5:11, “… have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”
2. In 2nd Corinthians 6:14 Paul says, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” Paul follows this with examples. Light has no fellowship with darkness, and Christ has no fellowship with Belial.
3. In 2nd Corinthians 6:17 Paul says, “"Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.''”
4. We are not to say; “I can't judge those who are practicing immorality in the world. I'm just going to hang out with them anyway. Even though they're doing things that are sinful, I'm not going to say anything to them and I’ll just act like it's no big deal.”

a. In 1st Peter 4:3-4 Peter says, “For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles when we walked in licentiousness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.” We don't do that anymore. We've changed. We choose our friends based upon a different standard.
b. In our text Matthew 7:6, Jesus says, “do not cast your pearls before swine”. This calls for us to make a determination, a judgment, “Am I casting my pearls before swine if I continue dealing with this individual?” We need to determine (i.e. judge) whether or not we should deal with someone.

5. Nor does Jesus mean we should not expose false teachers or false doctrine. Galatians 1:6-9 “6. I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7. which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.”

a. There's only one gospel, and if somebody preaches something different than the truth of God's word, you are to reject that person. We are not to sweep false teaching and false doctrine under the carpet.

6. In Titus 1:10-11 Paul is in the process of giving instructions to Titus to appoint elders. Among the qualities needed in elders are maturity and integrity. Paul says, “For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.” These people need to be challenged, they need to be identified, and they need to be marked. When somebody is teaching error it needs to be identified.
7. In 2nd John 9-11 we have a very strong passage where John is warning about those not teaching the doctrine of Christ. “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.” John says whoever does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. Do not fellowship with such a person. If you do… you will share in their evil deeds. We are not to support somebody that is teaching false doctrine.

a. Incidentally, do you have to make a judgment when you identify somebody as a false teacher? Yes, you do.
b. 1st John 4:1 tells us to “test the spirits”. In Matthew 7:15f Jesus warns, “… "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.” You will be able to make a judgment based upon the fruit that they're bearing. That's in the same sermon where Jesus says, “judge not, that you be not judged.”

II. What was Jesus talking about -

A. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is teaching about the Kingdom. He is correcting some misunderstandings (example: Matthew 5:43-44) and extending His followers understanding beyond following points of law (example: Matthew 5:27-28). Remember Jesus is not teaching based on reinterpretation, He is teaching based on HIS OWN AUTHORITY. What Jesus teaches superseded the Old Law. I suggest that here He was addressing unjust and unfounded judgments. Let’s consider some scripture.
B. We have studied in James about prejudice and that's one of the ways that our text applies. Somebody that looks at a person's outward appearance and they make a prejudgment without knowledge. They determine if someone is bad or good based upon outward appearance.

1. In James 2:1-10 James says we are not to judge with partiality and gives an example. James says, if you do so you've become judges with evil thoughts. In verses 8-9 there he says “ If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself,'' you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.”
2. That's the type of judgment that he's talking about. Prejudice is unjust judgment.

C. Another example is assuming the worst in others or assuming the worst in a given situation.

1. There are those who out of hatred will assume the worst in their perceived enemy or rival. We hear of those who think a certain person can never do anything right. Everything is scrutinized and attacked with the assumption that person must be wrong.
2. Jesus was constantly judged wrongly because His enemies did not WANT to accept Him. Just consider His trial, and how they accused Him of casting out demons in the name of Beelzebub.
3. We see this in politics all the time, don't we? We see it in the way that politicians treat each other, both sides of the aisle. So much hatred and animosity expressed in an ungodly attitude of judgment toward those who you don't like, toward those who disagree with you. “Everything that so-and-so says, it can't be right, it has to be wrong.” That's the attitude.
4. Look in Matthew 12:24 “But when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.''” Does that answer the question of how Jesus can cast out demons? Is that an honest judgment of what Jesus was doing? Absolutely not. It was made out of hatred. It was made assuming the worst in Jesus because they didn't want to assume the best.

D. I’m sure we have all known or know some individuals who, if you talk to them, it's almost guaranteed they will have something negative to say. They just approach life and other people with the idea that, it has to be wrong, rather than it being right. Instead of assuming there might be other motives behind what is being done, they assume the worst. Every little thing is nitpicked and criticized and people can't do anything right.

1. That's unjust judging, unrighteous judging. There are some people that approach life with everybody's bad, and I'm going to assume that you're bad until you prove to me that you're good. Would you think that's the approach we should take?
2. I suggest perhaps we ought to reverse that, give a person the benefit of the doubt. James 5:9 “Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!”

E. Another type of judgment that is wrong judging is passing judgment with ulterior motives, which is something Jesus dealt with all the time. There are many people who pass judgments, some pass judgments constantly condemning, and others constantly justifying.

1. When you know someone has exposed something negative about you, you may be tempted to find fault with them or try to attack them and their character. Perhaps you want to divert attention from your errors and what you're doing wrong.
2. We find this in debates today dealing with who is God and whether the Bible is the word of God. (And politics) People engage in what is described as an ad hominem attack. What it means is they attack the speaker when they can't answer his argument.
3. You impugn the integrity of the speaker as if that will invalidate the argument. Folks, let me tell you right now, in logic—it doesn't. Nevertheless, that's what people do. Isn’t that exactly what the enemies of Jesus did over and over and over?
4. There's another side to this, which is created by favoritism. It is saying here is a person who can do no wrong. They may be in error, but because they're on your side or whatever, you say, “I see nothing wrong with what they're doing.” Isn't that wrongful judgment just as much as the unfounded condemnation?
5. Look at John 11:47-50 in speaking of Jesus. “47. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. 48. "If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.''” In other words if we leave him alone, we're in trouble. Does it matter whether what He's doing is right? Does it matter whether what He is teaching is worthy of consideration?
6. Verse 49f – “49. And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, 50. "nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.''” That's a chilling statement. It's more expedient to kill Him than have to answer to the Romans. Is that a righteous judgment?

F. Something else that is sinful judging is prideful judgment. There are many people that pass judgments on others to make themselves look good. They think they're better than everybody else.

1. I think of Luke 10:25-29 where the lawyer asks Jesus what is needed for eternal life. Jesus asks the lawyer what the Law says. The lawyer answered correctly but then in verse 29 “But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?'” That’s an ungodly attitude—prideful judgment.

G. Another thing we need to be concerned about is being hypocritical in our judgment.

1. In our text at Matthew 7:5 we read, “Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother's eye.” The idea here of a hypocrite is someone who will impose a standard on you that they won't follow themselves. Unfair judgment.
2. Another passage where Jesus used the word hypocrites to describe that very thing in Matthew 23:4, “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” I suggest that's the type of judgment that Jesus is condemning.

H. When Jesus said, judge not, lest you be judged, I think we need to give consideration to every one of those qualities we have looked at.

III. How should we judge - From studying the scriptures we see there are judgments we should not make and there are judgments we should make. How are we to do this judging?

A. It ought to be righteous. Jesus tells us that in John 7:24, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” There's a time then for righteous judgment. We need to make sure that in whatever way we render judgment, that we're doing it to the best of our ability to be right.
B. Why do we need to judge righteously? It is because we desire to be right with God. When you're dealing with how you judge others based upon their behavior, based upon their teachings, do you want to be right with God? And - Do you want them to be right with God? That's really the attitude that we need to have in mind.

1. We find in The Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:23-24, Jesus says, “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” You bring your gift to the alter because you have a desire to be right with God but Jesus makes the point you need to be reconciled to your brother before you offer your gift.

C. Something else that's associated with righteous judging is taking the time to investigate before we pass a judgment. 1st John 4:1 reminds us, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” Make sure that you know what is really going on when you judge.
D. I suspect this next point may be a little difficult but we need to judge with respect for the liberties of others. There are some things that we may not like. We may not be comfortable with the way someone is doing something, but what they're doing may not be wrong within itself. And just because we don't like something, doesn't mean it's wrong.

1. This is a tricky area and people sometimes abuse this principle to justify what is sinful. I'm not talking about things that are sinful. But there are areas, we call liberties, where God doesn't care whether you do them or not. Think of Romans 14, God doesn't care what kind of food you eat and the observing of days and so on. As example Romans 14:10 – “Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.”
2. The point being, when we consider judging, we need to respect differences that are not contradictory to God's word. Colossians 2:16 – “Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,” We need to make sure when we judge that we respect the liberties of others.

E. In addition to that, when it comes to judging others, it needs to be done with love. This, folks, is one of those things that cannot be emphasized enough. 1st Corinthians 13:4-7. Paul says, “4. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5. does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6. does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7. bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” I strongly suggest that every one of these qualities need to be in place when we start judging others.
F. It needs to be done with love, with a proper attitude, with understanding, and it also needs to be done with mercy. James 2:12-13 – “So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

1. We talked about the person with ungodly attitudes, the one that looks for faults, passes judgment without knowledge and so on. Why not do it the other way? Why not give the benefit of the doubt and assume maybe a person had proper motives in what they were doing, rather than improper motives?
2. If somebody is teaching error, until they prove differently, assume that they don't mean to be teaching error, and that they want to be taught the truth. Go to them before passing judgment. Galatians 6:1 – “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness,” Give the benefit of the doubt that they want to do the right thing.

G. In addition, keep in mind we should judge others the way we would want to be judged. Matthew 7:12 – “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Think about that when it comes to judging others.
H. Remember also that our goal is to save souls. We should keep that in mind when we see the need to judge. Go to that somebody you have a concern with, with the goal of saving a soul. Go with a desire for them to do that which is right, not just so that you can have justification for writing them off. Hope for the best.
I. Along that line our judgment needs to be with a view toward eternity. Back to The Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:2 again, with emphasis – “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

1. Matthew 5:7 – “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
2. Matthew 6:14-15 – “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
3. On the same occasion, Jesus said, the way you forgive is the way you're going to be forgiven, the way you show mercy is the way you're going to be shown mercy, and the way you judge is the way you're going to be judged. Think about that.

CONCLUSION:
Are we to judge with a righteous judgment? Yes, but we need to take seriously the warning of Jesus, judge not lest you be judged, and understand what He's saying. Then make a proper judgment making application of that text.

The lesson is yours.

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

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

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Reference Sermon by: Thomas Thornhill Jr.

Be Encouraged

Always Trust God No Matter What

Daniel Chapters 5&6

A young man, who was preaching his very first sermon… announced his text in Revelation 22 and read, “Behold I come quickly.”
At that point his mind went blank and he couldn’t think of anything else to say.
Then he remembered being told that if this happens to you,
just repeat your text.

So, he said again, “Behold I come quickly.” but still couldn’t remember what to say.
Frustrated he decided to raise his voice and say it again.
Just as he did, he tripped and fell into the lap of a little old lady sitting in the front row.
Very embarrassed, he told the lady how sorry he was.

To which she replied, you don’t need to feel bad,
“you warned me three times you were coming…
and I still didn’t get out of the way.”
My message this morning is about a man in the Bible named Daniel & his 3 friends. What do you know about Daniel?
If Daniel could be here right now, I’m sure he would say to us: “Always trust God – no matter what!”
I would like to ask you to mentally repeat those words to yourself 3 times..
“Always trust God – no matter what!”
“Always trust God – no matter what!”
“Always trust God – no matter what!”

You see, Daniel trusted God for ALL his life. As a child he was growing up in Jerusalem.
His parents must have taught him about his wonderful God. They must have taught him that he should always follow God’s laws, no matter what.

Evidently, as a child, Daniel had some friends named Hananiah, Mishael, & Azariah. When they were all probably teenagers everything changed for them.

A Babylonian King named Nebuchadnezzar went to war against Jerusalem & he won! Now King Nebuchadnezzar had what I think was a brilliant idea.

That was to bring some of the older boys of royal or leading families back to Babylon, not exactly to be hostages, but rather to train them in Babylonian ways in order to be future leaders of their own people.
So, after winning the war, he took some of the older boys -- like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, & Azariah --- back to his country’s capitol, Babylon.
Now the people who lived in Babylon did NOT know about God. They did not know God’s laws, & they did not know that God loved them also. But Daniel remembered what his parents had taught him. Again we say “Always trust God -- no matter what!”

King Nebuchadnezzar put these older captive boys, including Daniel & his friends, in a special training program where they could learn all kinds of things that would make them capable leaders & friendly with the Babylonians.
Of course, this training program did not know or follow God’s laws. So, as favored trainees, they were served the rich foods that privileged people in the palace ate. But much of that food was the kind of food & drink that went against God’s laws for Israel.
So Daniel went to the official in charge of the trainees & said, in effect, “We want to obey our God’s laws. So please let me & my 3 friends just drink water instead of wine. And let us eat vegetables instead of what the others are eating.”
The official replied, “I can’t do that! You have to eat what the King provides!” But Daniel said, “We have to do what our GOD says. Let me & my friends eat the way my God’s Law says. After a few days, you will see that we will be stronger & healthier than any of the other young men!”

So the official decided to give it a try. God honored their efforts, & after a trial period of 10 days, it was obvious that Daniel & his friends looked stronger & healthier than any of the other young men!
And it was all because God blessed them & they remembered what their parents taught them. Again we say, “Always trust God -- no matter what!”
And if people trusted God, then we would be stronger & healthier, too --- because God’s Word tells us how to live a good & healthy kind of life!

Well, years went by, & God watched over Daniel & his friends while they grew from boys to men. King Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed with Daniel’s abilities to interpret dreams & with his wisdom that he placed him in a powerful position in Babylon.
He also gave Hananiah, Mishael, & Azariah, whose names were changed to the Babylonian names of Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego, important positions too.
For years they served God & King Nebuchadnezzar faithfully despite the fact that there were times they had to choose to disobey the King in order to remain faithful to God.

When some Babylonians reported to the King that Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego weren’t bowing down to the golden statue, the King commanded that they be brought to him. Remember that we will ALWAYS have others trying to put us down, trying to discourage us, etc.
Then the King ordered the 4 of them to bow down & worship the golden statue or be thrown into the furnace.
EXODUS 20:3-5 3 “You shall have no other gods before[a] me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them"
They refused & said, (Daniel 3:17-18) “If you throw us into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from the furnace. … But even if God does not save us, we want you, O king, to know this: We will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
Doesn’t that sound like they, too, believed “Always trust God – no matter what!”?
As a result of Daniel & his 3 friends, King Nebuchadnezzar began to respect their God even though he didn’t go so far as to worship their God himself. King Nebuchadnezzar had a long reign before he died.

Then a new king named Belshazzar became the ruler of Babylon. His father had really inherited the title & the throne, but he didn’t want the responsibilities, so he spent his time far away in a resort area enjoying himself.
Under this new King, Daniel no longer held the very important position he had under Nebuchadnezzar, & we don’t hear anything more about Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego.
Belshazzar was an arrogant ruler, & soon the combined forces of the Medes & Persians declared war & began a long siege of Babylon. But Belshazzar was confident that the defenses of the city were so good that there was no way the enemy could ever break through. And he was almost right.

This way of thinking reminds me of the FOOLISH and EARTHLY comment made by those who designed the TITANIC… that EVEN GOD HIMSELF couldn’t SINK IT.
So to celebrate how invincible Babylon was, Belshazzar threw a grand party for 1,000 royal guests. It turned into a drunken party, & Belshazzar ordered the gold & silver cups that had been taken from the Temple in Jerusalem to be brought in, & they drank from them while praising their own gods.

Suddenly the fingers of a giant hand appeared & began to write on the palace wall. The King watched this & the Bible says he “…was very frightened. His face turned white, his knees knocked together, and he could not stand up because his legs were too weak.” (Daniel 5:6)
He immediately sent for “all the magicians, wise men, and wizards of Babylon.” And he offered a great reward to anyone who could read the words & tell what they meant. But no one could, so he “…became even more afraid, and his face became even whiter.” (Daniel 5:9)

Then the King’s mother told him of Daniel who had been an advisor to King Nebuchadnezzar. When Daniel was brought in he reminded Belshazzar of all the things that had happened to King Nebuchadnezzar & how he had finally learned humility before God.
But despite knowing that, Belshazzar had not only ignored God, but had deliberately insulted God by his drunken use of the holy cups from God’s Temple to praise his own pagan gods.
Then Daniel translated the words & explained their meaning. God had passed judgment on him, & his kingdom would be taken from him & given to the Medes & the Persians.

The King ignored his words, but since Daniel had explained what the words on the wall meant, Belshazzar kept his word & ordered that rich gifts be given to Daniel & announced that Daniel would, under him, be the next most important man in Babylon.
But it didn’t make any difference. That very night the enemy broke into Babylon & King Belshazzar was killed. And within a short time the entire Babylonian Kingdom was controlled by the Medes & Persians.
The ruler of the new Kingdom was King Darius of the Medes. But no matter what King was in charge, Daniel remembered what his parents taught him.
“Always trust God - no matter what!”

King Darius reorganized his Kingdom & appointed 120 men to be Governors. Then he chose 3 men to be Supervisors over them. And Darius chose Daniel to be one of the 3 Supervisors! Now Daniel was one of the most important rulers in the new Kingdom.
Daniel was a good ruler. He was wise & fair & honest. In fact, Daniel was so good at his job that King Darius decided that he didn’t need 3 Supervisors. And he planned to make Daniel the only Supervisor of all 120 Governors.

Almost everyone appreciated Daniel. But a few did NOT. He was not a Mede or a Persian or even a Babylonian. He was just a captive Jew.
They did NOT believe in Daniel’s God, & they wanted to find a way to make King Darius stop favoring Daniel. But even though they spied on Daniel every day, they couldn’t catch him doing anything wrong.
They DID see that Daniel did something different from other people. Three times every day, Daniel would go to his window & kneel down & pray to His God. That gave these evil men an idea! They finally knew how they could get Daniel in trouble.

The men went to King Darius & said, “Oh, King, live forever…” (that’s the first thing everyone said to the King in those days). Then they said, “We have a great idea. To really unite the Kingdom, make a Law that says: For the next 30 days, no one can pray to anyone except to you, King Darius! And if anyone breaks this law they will be thrown to the lions.” Then they lied & said, “Everyone thinks this is a good idea.”
King Darius believed their lie. He thought everyone, even Daniel, thought this was a good Law. So he signed a paper that made it a Law. Now, here was the problem. Back then, if a King signed a Law, then no one could change it … not even the King!

Well, soon after Darius signed this Law, these evil men went to Daniel’s house & waited for him to come to his window & pray to his God. Daniel knew about this new Law. But Daniel thought, “All my life I have obeyed my God, & I’m not going to stop now!” Daniel remembered what his parents had taught him, “Always trust God -- no matter what!”

So, Daniel went to the window & prayed just like he did every day. Those evil men went running to King Darius & told him that Daniel broke his new Law. The King was dismayed because he liked & respected Daniel … but he couldn’t change the Law he had signed. So, he told his servants to arrest Daniel & bring him to the Lion’s pit.
When they threw Daniel into the pit full of hungry lions, the King said, “Daniel, may your God whom you always serve come & rescue you!” (Daniel 6:17)
Then the King went back to his palace afraid that he would never see Daniel alive again because he knew the lions were ferocious & hungry.
Daniel 6:18-24 says, “The King did not eat that night, he did not have any entertainment brought to him, and he could not sleep. The next morning King Darius got up at dawn and hurried to the lion’s den. …
“He called out to Daniel, ‘Daniel, servant of the living God! Has your God, that you always worship, been able to save you from the lions?’ Daniel replied, ‘O king, live forever!’ (Remember, they always had to start that way)
“My God sent his angel to close the lions’ mouths. They have not hurt me, because my God knows I am innocent. I never did anything wrong to you, O king.”
“The King … told his servants to lift Daniel out of the lion’s Den. So they lifted him out and did not find any injury on him, because Daniel had trusted in his God.”

“Then the King commanded that the men who had accused Daniel be brought to the lion’s den. They, their wives, and their children were thrown into the den. The lions grabbed them before they hit the floor of the den & crushed their bones.”
Then King Darius wrote a letter to all the people in his kingdom & in every language they spoke: (Daniel 6:26-28) “I am making a new Law for people in every part of my Kingdom. “All of you must fear and respect the God of Daniel.”
“Daniel’s God is the living God; he lives forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed, and his rule will never end. God rescues and saves people and does mighty miracles … He is the one who saved Daniel from the power of the lions.”
“So Daniel was successful during the time Darius was king and Cyrus the Persian was king.”
From the time he was a little boy -- all the way until he finally got old & died -- Daniel always remembered what his parents taught him: “Always trust God -- no matter what!”
May we ALSO ALWAYS Remember, “trust God -- no matter what!” Will you trust & obey Him?
You have that opportunity as we stand and sing.
INVITATION: