Category Archives: John

Jesus’ Meat

Posted on September 19, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

Our God is merciful and gracious. These are the first two words that He Himself uses to describe His character. God is merciful and gracious. God is slow to anger. Pastor Dane Ortlund notes in his book “Gentle and Lowly” (have you read it yet?):

“Slow to anger. The Hebrew phrase is literally “long of nostrils”. Picture an angry bull, pawing the ground, breathing loudly, nostrils flared. That would be, so to speak, “short nosed”. But the Lord is long nosed. He doesn’t have His finger on the trigger. It takes much accumulated provoking to draw out his ire. Unlike us, who are often emotional dams ready to break, God can put up with a lot. This is why the Old Testament speaks of God being “provoked to anger” by His people dozens of times (especially in Deuteronomy; 1-2 Kings, and Jeremiah). But not once are we told that God is “provoked to love” or “provoked to mercy”. His anger requires provocation; His mercy is pent up, ready to gush forth. We tend to think divine anger is pent up, spring loaded; divine mercy is slow to build. It’s just the opposite. Divine mercy is ready to burst forth at the slightest prick.” (page 148).

God is not like us. When something doesn’t work out for us, we trash it, throw it away. We boil over. We blow up. God is not that way…. Continue reading →

Posted in John | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

From River To Well To Holy Spirit

Posted on September 19, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

As we come to John chapter 4, the Bible focuses on WATER. Water is a very common thing, yet something we desperately need to live.

The average human is approximately 60% water.
Our brains and hearts are roughly 73% water,
and our lungs are around 83% water.
Water regulates our internal temperature,
and keeps blood flowing to our cells.

A typical human can go without food and live for 3-4 weeks, but if you have no water for 3-4 days you will die!

Water is life. I think this is why God uses water baptism as a profession of genuine faith in God.

When John the Baptist began to preach, he baptized believers in God in the Jordan River. Why were believer’s baptized? Their baptism was an outward testimony that they inwardly had repented, and were willing to follow Father God. When John baptized, he told the people:

Matthew 3:11-12 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Those baptized by John were professing their faith in the God… Continue reading →

Posted in John, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Vision Of Hell

Posted on September 12, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

I sat in a Veterinarian’s Office waiting on the doctor to treat my dog “Scooter”. Bored, I overheard a man talking with the doctor about the problems that he had with his goats. The Vet said something I found very interesting. She said:

“The main objective of any goat is to die. They eat any number of things, regardless as to whether or not it’s good for them”.

I thought that statement was very interesting. I remember an episode of the Andy Griffith Show when a farmer named Hutch brings his pet goat into Mayberry. Men are working on an underpass for the town, and the goat gets away from his owner and eats a case of dynamite. It’s a hilarious episode that ends when Andy leads the loaded goat out of town, as Barney serenades the goat with his harmonica.

The Main Objective Of Any Goat Is To Die.

Our Lord Jesus often talked of believers in Him being “sheep”, and unbelievers were depicted as “goats”. Our Lord said, “the Son of Man {that’s Jesus}shall set the SHEEP on His RIGHT hand, but the GOATS on the left” (Matthew 25:33). Jesus said that His Sheep would be welcomed into “the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). The GOATS, however, are told:

Matthew 25:41 … Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels..

The SHEEP are those who receive the “Good Shepherd”… Continue reading →

Posted in John, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Day Jesus Became Like A Brass Snake

Posted on August 29, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

Very few people like snakes. I like them dead. But Jesus now tells the story – a familiar story to a Bible Teacher like Nicodemus – of the day a snake saved Israel. Jesus told Nicodemus:

John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

To understand this story you have to go to the Book of Numbers. God had led Israel out of Egypt by a mighty hand. Israel walked through the Red Sea as if on dry land (Exodus 14:29), and God, in love with His people, was going to given them the land of Canaan. As Israel got to the borders of Canaan, they decided to send spies into the land. The spies returned, and the majority brought back a faithless report to the people. “There we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers” (Numbers 13:33). … Continue reading →

Posted in John, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

You Must Be Born Again!

Posted on August 23, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

Jesus gives a beautiful illustration of the Holy Spirit here. The Holy Spirit – just like a wind in the trees – you do not see His coming nor His movement, but you see the effect on the trees. I did not see the Holy Spirit walk into the Church the day I was saved. But I felt Him blow through my soul. I felt my heart change. What I loved before, the sins I cherished, I now hate. The light I once shunned so that I could dance in the darkness, now I despise it. The lonely life I once lived, now I live in Christ. The Apostle put it this way:

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
16 me, and gave himself for me. Continue reading →

Posted in John, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Jesus Will Whip You

Posted on August 16, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

John 2:13 And the Jews’ Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem …

Pastor Tony Evans told this story:

“A man once robbed a bank in Ottawa, Canada, stealing $6,000. But the interesting part of the story is this: When they arrested him and took him to jail, they discovered he’d used a 1918 Colt revolver to commit that crime. Now, anyone who knows anything about guns already understands the point of this story. This gun was valued at more than $100,000, yet this man robbed a bank for only $6,000. He could have simply sold the gun and walked away with more than ten times what he got in the robbery. But he didn’t sell the gun because he didn’t know the worth of what he held in his hand.”

When Jesus came to this earth on Our Father’s mission, He came to open our eyes to what is most important.
We are to love God our Savior, and love one another.

We often forget this great truth and, when we do …. Jesus will get your attention. In fact, if you are his, Jesus will whip you!… Continue reading →

Posted in John, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Our Business Is God’s Kingdom

Posted on August 9, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

When Sherry and I were stationed in England for the United States Air Force we had the wonderful opportunity of riding these big red double decker buses in London. We’d taker our boys to the top floor of the bus – an upper “uncovered” floor – and enjoy a wonderful view as we rode around town. It was wonderful to ride those buses – that is, when you could get on them.

There were several times when our family was waiting at a bus stop, excited to ride the bus … and the bus driver passed us by without stopping! It wasn’t just us, but this happened frequently throughout London. Someone finally complained about this to the London Transit Authority, the organization that maintains the city buses. The London Transit Authority issued a public paper that stated the following:

“It is impossible for us to maintain our schedule if we are always having to stop and pick up passengers”

The Transit Authority forgot what its purpose is. Without passengers, the bus is useless. Without passengers, the Transit Authority makes no money. The business of the London Transit Authority is to take people around town in buses.

What Is The Business Of The Church?… Continue reading →

Posted in John, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Slow Down And Look

Posted on August 1, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

John the Baptist was given a simple commission from God. He was to go into the wilderness, and to baptize those whom God sent. It was in the wilderness – unplugged – that John found the Messiah.

John 1:29-33 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. 31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. 32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew him not:…

This passage fascinates me. In the passage we see the witness of John the Baptist concerning Jesus Christ. Twice John tells us, “I knew him not”. This is the Greek eidō autos ou, and it carries the sense that

John knew Jesus as COUSIN, but not as CHRIST.

John the Baptist and Jesus were cousins. When Mary became with Child of the Holy Spirit, the Angel Gabriel told her:

Luke 1:36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Elisabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, were cousins. Their children were cousins. They grew up not far apart, and perhaps played together as children. And yet John says, “I knew him not”. He knew Jesus as a cousin, but had no idea that He was the Messiah. How did John come to know that Jesus was the Messiah? … Continue reading →

Posted in John, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Mark Of The Lost

Posted on July 30, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

Do You Love Jesus, Or What Jesus Gives?

Word Study Let’s break this verse down. Jesus had “disciples” who followed Him. The word translated “disciples” is the Greek μαθητής mathētēs, which means “a student, a learner, a pupil, a follower of another”. There were a great deal of people who followed Jesus. What were they following Him for? Were they following Jesus because they loved Jesus? No, they were following Jesus because they loved what Jesus gave them.

The disciples who left Jesus were not following Him out of love for Him. They followed Jesus out of love for what Jesus would DO for them.

We see this in our context. You always need to read the context. If you flip back just one page in my Bible to the beginning of chapter 6, you read of the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus took “five barley loaves and two small fishes” (verse 9) and blessing it, fed five thousand men (verse 10). The Bible says:… Continue reading →

Posted in John, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Do You Have Christ’s Fullness?

Posted on June 20, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

This Jesus, this “Word was made flesh”. The word translated “made” is the Greek γίνομαι gínomai, {pronounced ghin’-om-ahee}, which means “to begin to be, to become”. Though Jesus was born (Greek γεννάω {pronounced gennaō}) into this world as children have always been born, John previously made the point that Jesus preexisted with God the Father in eternity. Jesus did not just come to be when Mary bore Him (Matthew 1:16), but existed with both Father and Spirit from eternity past. Through the operation of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35) and without the assistance of man, Jesus was conceived. He, Eternal God, took on flesh. The Biblical Illustrator notes:

“It was a custom of old among the shepherds, they {clothed} themselves with sheep-skins, to be more pleasing to the sheep; so Christ clothed Himself with our flesh, that the Divine nature may be more pleasing to us {Less frightening}. The human nature {of Christ} is {like} a glass, through which we may see the love and wisdom and glory of God clearly represented to us. Through the lantern of Christ’s humanity, we may behold the light of the Deity shining.”… Continue reading →

Posted in John, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , | Leave a comment