1 Corinthians 1:17-18 (KJV) For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. [18] For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
Several times a week I get calls or visits from people who want our Church to pay their electric bill. We can’t do that. I understand that people get in a bad way, but we just cannot afford to pay every person’s electric bill. If it got out we were paying electric bills, every person of questionable nature would beat a pathway to our door to pay their bills. We contribute monthly to a local para-church ministry called “The Family Support Center”. The FSC helps people pay their light bills, and keeps a database of who has been helped. They have a great system in place to help the genuine needy, but weed out the grifters. It’s a great ministry that we as a Church will always support.
I believe local churches should help those in need who are truly in need. There are some people who approach the local church because it is easier to beg than it is to work. The Apostle said:
2 Thessalonians 3:10 (ESV) For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.
Work is ordained of God. Though Adam was placed in a perfect garden called Eden, God commanded him to “work and to keep the Garden” (Genesis 2:15).
God does not bless slothfulness.
My most recent encounter was a lady who came to our Church two weeks ago. She said she was hungry, and needed money for gas for her car. We can do that. As a Church we maintain a pantry for the hungry, and we often make “Care Bags” that we pass out to homeless people in need of sustenance. I told the lady:
We have Church services tonight. Come listen to the message, then you’ll be given access to our pantry. We’ll even put some gas in your car.
Some might question why I as Pastor would require people to come to Church. It is because I believe the Church’s primary responsibility is to make disciples, to teach the Gospel and to teach them to “observe all things that Jesus has commanded” (Matthew 28:20). We will not send you away hungry, but we want you to hear of Jesus.
That night this precious soul came back with two other ladies. Wonderful! They sat through the services, heard the Gospel, and afterwards were given access to the pantry, receiving 4 bags of food. I went with them to the local gas station and pumped $30.00 of gas into their car. They departed after I prayed with them. “We’ll be back this Sunday” the oldest woman promised. Praise God!
Two weeks passed. We did not see these ladies. Then Wednesday the head of the group came to my office.
“I need you to pay my electric bill”
I explained that we didn’t do that. I explained that we sent money to the FSC to aid people with their utilities. This lady and her friends knew about the FSC, and had abused that ministry to where they were no longer welcome. Then she dropped a bombshell.
I’ll join your church if you’ll pay my electric bill.
My heart broke, for her heart was hardened to Christ. So many today are the same way. People come by our Church, call, and want to do interviews with the Pastor. They want to “test drive” the Church to see if it is what they need.
Do you have a certain level of child care? How are the facilities? Do you have certain programs that we’d like to enjoy?
Will I be entertained during the worship hour?
Do you feed people at mid-week service?
Can we have coffee and doughnuts with our Jesus fix?
Let me say this with all the love I can muster: You may “join a church” but that doesn’t save your soul. Falling in love with Christ saves your soul. Following Jesus in faith saves your soul. A “Church” is a group of people who come together with the common goal of worshipping God and following Jesus. The Church belongs to Christ. It may be divided into “denominations” but these are human divisions. Jesus said:
Matthew 16:18 (NKJV) … on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
The Church is not an electric company. It is not a movie theater. It is not a buffet. The Church is not an entertainment center. It is not an arm of Alcoholics Anonymous, though I admire that ministry. The Church is not a grief support center.
The Church proper belongs to Jesus, for Jesus, and is about Jesus. Lost souls do not understand this, and sadly, many professing Christians seem to have forgotten it. The Church exists because of Christ, and those who are it’s members are broken creatures who crawled to Jesus for healing.
The Church is those who heard the message of the Gospel and said “Yes” to Christ.
Beloved, the most important possession you have is your soul. Christ did not come to this earth to pay your electric bill. Christ came to this earth to die for your sins. Christ came so that you – believing on Him – can have eternal life. We are all broken in the eyes of God. We all fall short. But the Scripture says that while we were yet sinners, God the Father sent Christ to die for us (Romans 5:8). The Church exists to be the lighthouse of God’s salvation message. The Church will help. But the primary calling of the Church is to share the Gospel, to preach Christ crucified, to offer the salvation that is only available through Him. God help us as a nation if the Church does not begin to do as it should, promoting Christ and displaying the love of God.
We are not the electric company. But we’ve got the power! We love Jesus!
As we move through the Book of Matthew we now come to the passages where the Lamb is examined. What do I mean by this?
The final plague God sent on Egypt was the plague of the Passover. Egypt would not release God’s people. So God decreed to Israel:
Exodus 12:3-7 (KJV) Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house: 4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
It was the Blood of the Lamb without spot or blemish that God would look for. Not just any Blood, but a pure Lamb. God told His people:
Exodus 12:13-14 (KJV) And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. 14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.
The Lamb slain must be without spot or blemish. This is why the Lamb was taken into the home on the Tenth day of the month and was held until the Fourteenth day of the month. The Lamb was thoroughly examined those 4 days. The Lamb was to be without spot or blemish both inside and out. The Lamb might look good on the outside, but it might be possessed of an epilepsy, or some staggering disease, or some diarrhea or something else not immediately evident to the eyes. So the Lamb was examined.
The Lamb was taken into the home on the Tenth day. That is a significant number. Ten symbolizes the coming withdrawal of the judgment of God. When Noah and his family were on the Ark the Bible says:
Genesis 8:5 (KJV) … the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
The water was not gone for another fifty four days, but Noah and his family could see that God’s judgment was withdrawing. Ten is the tithe that God’s people return to their Lord. God gives us everything by Grace, but expects His children not to be selfish, but giving. As Jacob swore before God:
Genesis 28:22 (KJV)22 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
The Lamb was examined thoroughly. Christ – the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). This Sunday morning we will look at the Garden of Gethsemane – that is a good Gospel message for a Sunday morning crowd. Perhaps the Holy Spirit will break a heart and bring a soul from damnation to eternal through His Word. Tonight we examine the Lamb in distress. Jesus has finished praying at Gethsemane. What happens? Let’s read this together. I’ll lead us.
Matthew 26:47-56 (KJV) And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. 49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. 50 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. 51 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear. 52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. 53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? 55 In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. 56 But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.
I want to start at the end of this examination. Why did this all occur? The Word tells us in verse 56:
But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.
Not ONE Scripture was quoted here, but we are told that what happened was so that “the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled”. The Scriptures are a testament to Christ. All that was written in the Old Testament spoke to the Coming Christ. The great Preacher Martin Luther said:
“The Scriptures are Christ’s swaddling clothes”
Jesus declared to those who would hear:
John 5:39 (NKJV) You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.
And
John 5:46-47 (NKJV) For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
It was through Moses that God revealed the Passover. It was through Moses that the covering of Adam and Eve was revealed. It was through Moses that the sacrifice of the Lamb was given. Jesus is the Lamb “slain before the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). Jesus Christ is the Lamb without spot and blemish. Jesus came to do the will of the Father.
Jesus Would Do The Will Of His Father Though BETRAYED
It is easy to do the will of God when His will is comfortable, but much harder to do His will when even your closest associates betray you. We read:
Matthew 26:47-50 (KJV) And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. 49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. 50 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come?
Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve that were closest to Jesus as He ministered on this earth. Judas was a coward, and his cowardice and hypocrisy is seen in what he did. Judas was a false apostle. His heart was not given to Christ, but to the things of this world. We are told in
Luke 22:3-5 (KJV) Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. 4 And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them. 5 And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money.
We find out in Matthew that Judas decided to betray Jesus after a woman anointed our Lord with an Alabaster Box of very precious ointment (Matthew 26:7). The Scripture says:
Matthew 26:14-15 (KJV) Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, 15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
Thirty pieces of silver was the price of a slave in Jesus’ day, not much more than a few hundred dollars today. Jesus was sold for the price of a slave. Judas did not have the courage to point Jesus out to the Temple guards who would come and take Him. He was such a coward that he said:
Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast
A kiss on the cheek was a common greeting in Christ’s day, a sign of respect and brotherly love.
Romans 16:16 (ESV) Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.
2 Corinthians 13:12 (ESV) Greet one another with a holy kiss.
1 Thessalonians 5:26 (ESV) Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
1 Peter 5:14 (ESV) Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
The “Holy Kiss” was not delivered on the lips, but on the cheek. The student would kiss his Rabbi on the cheek as a sign of loving submission. As Judas kissed Jesus, he perverted what that kiss meant. To “kiss the Son” is to believe in Him. The Scripture tells us
Psalms 2:11-12 (KJV) Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
By “kissing the Son” Judas was saying “I believe in Christ”, even as he was possessed by Satan in his heart. Judas is the perfect picture of the unconverted professor. Outwardly he kisses the Son, but inwardly he betrays Him, mocks Him, uses Christ. Is there any wonder there is a hell?
As Judas betrays Christ I want you to see how our Master responds to this betrays. Jesus says:
Friend, wherefore art thou come?
Jesus told His disciples – we who love Him – to …
Matthew 5:44-48 (KJV) … I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
The Lamb of God did not strike out at Judas. He received his kiss, and turned the other cheek. Jesus did as He bid we do. We are to love those that do wrong to us. Not emotionally – that would be impossible. We cannot control our emotions. But we are to do good to those who do bad, to pray for them, to pray that they will reach a higher level than they are now through Christ our Lord.
Jesus called Judas “Friend”
Not because Judas was a “Friend”
But because the love of Christ reaches out.
2 Peter 3:9 (KJV) The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
If Judas had repented and come to Christ as his “Friend” then Christ could have saved even Him. Heaven will be filled with sinners who repented and came to Jesus as Lord and Savior. Hell will be filled with well intending people who rejected Christ, and instead followed the world. We are told in the next chapter that following this betrayal:
Matthew 27:3-5 (KJV) Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. 5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
Judas “repented HIMSELF”. He did not repent to God. He did not come to Christ seeking forgiveness. His faith was never in God, but “in Himself”. So Judas “repented HIMSELF” and went to the Chief Priests and Elders who colluded with him, seeking soothing salve for his conscience. Finding nothing there this coward “cast down the pieces of silver in the Temple, departed, and went and hung himself”. Would that he had turned to Christ!
But oh, the Lamb. Betrayed He called Judas “Friend”. His love extended even in betrayal.
Jesus Would Do The Will Of His Father Though EMPOWERED
Matthew 26:50-52 (KJV)…Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. 51 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear. 52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
As this armed guard roughly “laid hands on Jesus” we are told that one of those with Christ drew his sword and cut the ear off of one of the soldiers. We are told in:
John 18:10-11 (KJV) Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. 11 Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?
Simon Peter had a sword on him. He had told Jesus earlier that he would not betray Him, and I suspect that Peter was still thinking of the vow he made. As the soldiers grabbed Jesus Peter pulled his sword and struck out, cutting the ear off of Malchus. Jesus said:
Put up thy sword into the sheath:
the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?
Jesus must go to the Cross to drink the Cup of God’s wrath. I will speak of sin and God’s wrath this Sunday, and the Cup that Christ promised to drink. Pastor Steven Lee wrote:
“Key passages in the Bible connect God’s wrath with the imagery of a cup. Jeremiah 25:15 tells us, “Thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: ‘Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.’” Then Isaiah 51:17 says, “O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering.” In Revelation 14, an angel speaks, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger” (verses 9–10).”
The wrath of God will one day be poured out on all sin and sinners. What hope do we have before a Holy and Righteous Judge?
We have Jesus.
Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath on Calvary. He drained the Cup to the last dregs. Our sins were poured out on Him, and the wrath of God was poured out on Him. He paid our penalty in full.
The Lamb of God is confronted with an armed guard. Peter cuts the ear off of one soldier. Then Jesus says “Put up your sword Peter. I must drink the Cup which My Father has given Me”. Thank You, Jesus, for taking that Cup. Thank You Jesus for being the Lamb of God! Jesus told that armed crowd:
Matthew 26:53-54 (KJV)… Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?
Jesus was not locked in to the Cross. He still had a choice. Unlike the Lambs of the Old Covenant who were dragged kicking and screaming to the altar of sacrifice, Jesus had a choice. Had He chose He could have prayed and the Father would “presently give Me more than twelve legions of angels”. How many is that?
I thought “twelve legions” was twelve thousand angels. I was wrong. A Roman Legion was around 6000 soldiers. Twelve Legions would be 72,000 angels. But Jesus said “If I asked, My Father would send MORE than twelve Legions of angels”.
If a single angel killed 185,000 people in one night (see Isaiah 37:36) then the combined strength on ONE Legion of angels could kill 1,110,000,000 (one BILLION one HUNDRED AND TEN MILLION) people in the same amount of time. If TWELVE LEGIONS of angels came they could have killed 13,320,000,000 (thirteen BILLION three hundred and twenty MILLION) people. The population of the earth in 2016 was 7.442 billion. If Jesus had called out to the Father the angels who came could have utterly destroyed ALL LIFE on the earth in but one day – and then some.
Jesus didn’t need Peter’s sword.
God doesn’t need us.
God loves us so very much.
Jesus didn’t have to go to that Cross, but He did.
Matthew 26:55-56 (KJV) In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. 56 But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.
Jesus stood for us when no one would stand for Him. He died on Calvary for our sins. What a glorious Savior we have. What a wonderful Lord is our Jesus.
Preached at Riverview Sunday Night August 6th at 798 Santa Fe Pike, Columbia, TN
Matthew 22:31-32 (KJV) But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, [32] I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
Mark 12:26-27 (KJV) And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? [27] He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.
The Pharisees were constantly attacking Jesus. You see them – over and over again – challenging His authority. But periodically the Sadducees would jump in and attack our Lord.
The Pharisees were religious Conservatives, but the Sadducees were religious Liberals.
The Pharisees studied the Scriptures but did not know the power of God.
The Sadducees studied humanity and ignored both the Scriptures as well as the Spirit.
God’s Word Must Be In You
One day after the unbelieving Pharisees tried to get Jesus and once more failed, the Sadducees“who say there is no resurrection” (Mark 12:18; Matthew 22:23) decided to try and trip up Jesus. Being liberals they didn’t use nor respect Scripture, but used twisted logic. You’ve heard weird logic used before by liberal unbelievers to try and disprove the existence of God. Statements like:
“If God is all powerful and can do anything, can He make a weight too heavy for Him to lift? If He can, then He’s not all powerful.”
That’s a stupid argument. God is all powerful, and God can do anything, but God is not stupid. God wouldn’t make something that He couldn’t lift, because God is also all knowing and wise. So unbelievers come up with weird logic.
The Sadducees came to Jesus saying:
Matthew 22:24-28 (KJV) Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. [25] Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: [26] Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. [27] And last of all the woman died also. [28] Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.
They thought they had Jesus with this weird logic. They could have just stopped at two brothers. The Law of Moses said that if a man died and left a widow and his brother were unmarried, the brother was to take the widow as his wife. God did this so that the line of that family would continue, for one day Christ would come of Israel. The Sadducees could have just stopped at two, then asked “which one shall she be married to in the resurrection”? But they sought to hammer our Lord, to mock Him, to drag Him down.
They were no match for Jesus! He simply replied with the truth.
Matthew 22:29 (KJV) Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
You cannot know the power of God if you do not know the Scriptures!
The Sadducees – like most lost liberals who reject God’s Scripture – know neither the Scriptures, neither the power of God.
It is through the Scriptures that we learn the power of God.
It is through the Scriptures we learn the Gospel.
It is through the Scriptures that we come into His Family.
It is through the Scriptures that we gain power for living.
It is not through politics or science or humanitarianism that we move toward the image of Christ. It is through the Scriptures.
Galatians 2:20 (KJV) 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 me, and gave himself for me.
You cannot be crucified with Christ unless His Word is in you.
You’ll keep spinning your tires in the mud hole of life until you bind yourself to His Word.
The Sadducees – like many who profess to be “Christian” today – know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. If you do not love and cherish the first you will never be empowered by the Second.
The Sadducees toyed with marriage to try and trip up Christ. Marriage is not a toy.
God gave us marriage in this life to give us companionship. He placed Adam with Eve – forming Eve from Adam – to show that in this blessed union man is to lead whereas woman is to support. The union of marriage was established – one man and one woman – to propagate humanity.
Genesis 1:28 (NLT) Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”
With marriage came responsibility.
With marriage came the responsibility to procreate, to dominate, but also to teach.
The child was to be taught Scripture, to bind Scripture to his or her life.
Proverbs 22:6 (KJV) Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Deuteronomy 6:5-7 (KJV) And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. [6] And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: [7] And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
The focus of marriage was not the joy of sex, though the Scripture declares:
Hebrews 13:4 (KJV) Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
The focus of marriage is unity and oneness with God. Following the resurrection (and there will be a resurrection) and the blessing of our glorified bodies Jesus said:
Matthew 22:30 (KJV) For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
You will know your saved spouse in Heaven, but you will know her (or him) as a fellow Child of God. There will be no procreation in Heaven, for there will be no need of it. Just as God replaces the sun and the moon – for His light shall light Heaven – our unity with God will replace our finite unity with our spouses.
Heaven is a place where the Living enjoy God forever. It is a place where the Scripture says:
Revelation 21:3 (KJV) And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Because the Living God will be in the midst of His Living People the Bible declares that:
Revelation 21:4 (KJV) And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
The Scriptures Tell Us God Loves The Broken
Matthew 22:31-32 (KJV) But as touching the resurrection of the dead, HAVE YE NOT READ that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, [32] I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
God comes to those who are broken. He is the God of the Living. He loves to restore life.
Job 33:4 (NASB) The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
God loves us. He reaches out to us, but often we do not hear Him until the storms come.
When we are on the mountaintops of life we often become our own gods.
God will not bless while we worship other gods, or while we wallow in sin.
But God loves to heal those who come unto Him. He calls.
Psalm 147:3 (ESV) {God} heals the BROKEN HEARTED and binds up their wounds.
God loves those who come to Him broken, but the prideful He cannot help.
James 4:6 (NKJV) But {God} gives more grace. Therefore He says: God RESISTS the proud, But GIVES GRACE to the humble.
The first five Books of the Bible were written by a broken person named Moses.
A man named Moses grew up in the Egyptian Palace. Raised among the false gods of Egypt, when he came of age Moses saw an Egyptian beating one of his Hebrew brothers. Moses killed the Egyptian, hiding him in the sand (Exodus 2:12). When it became known what Moses did Pharaoh wanted to kill him, so Moses ran away. He went to Midian, married Zipporah, and had a child he named Gershom (meaning a traveler), because he said, I am a stranger in a strange land (Exodus 2:22). Moses was dispossessed. Broken. Lonely.
But God loved Moses. God loves the broken. He calls sinners to His side.
Luke 5:32 (ESV) I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.
Moses spies a bush burning in the desert of Midian. As he comes nearer God reveals Himself to Moses. He says to Moses:
Exodus 3:6 (ESV) … “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” …
This is what Jesus refers to today. Moses recorded the words of God. The God Who spoke to Him – and to us today – is not the I was God, but the Great I AM. He is ever present with His people. God watched Moses as he hid in the desert. God is the Living God.
Jeremiah 10:10 (ESV) But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
God has no beginning, nor any ending. God is I AM. He is eternal. And He is the God of the Living. Moses, you cannot stay hiding here in the desert. Follow Me, Moses, and I will bless you.
Matthew 22:32 (KJV) … I am the God of Abraham …
God is the God of Abraham.
He is not the God of Abram, but of Abraham.
Abram was a broken man. God gave us marriage so that we could procreate. I passed a car today that had a bumper sticker that read:
“I Support Planned Parenthood”
It could have just as well said:
“I Support The Murder Of Innocents”
How horrible the abortion industry is. How horrible that we fund it! Abram was a man who desperately wanted children. His line was going to die. His wife was well past child bearing years. Then God came to Abram in his brokenness.
Genesis 12:1-3 (NKJV) Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
There were five “I wills” in the statement that God made to Abram, FIVE is the number of Grace.
God in Grace reached out to Abram. “If you will follow Me, I will bless you. I will give you a family. I will grow that family to be a nation. And I will bless the whole world through you”.
God calls us all as Abrams, but will not leave us here. God is the God of the Living. He will not leave us broken, but will work out His blessing in our lives as we follow Him in love.
Deuteronomy 31:8 (ESV) It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
Abram feared at times, but he followed God as best he could, and trusted the Lord with all his heart.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
God will triumph. Abram became Abraham, and you will be blessed as well. You must just continue to follow Him.
Our Ever Living God Keeps His Promises
Matthew 22:32 (KJV) I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac …
Our God is the God Who keeps His promises. It took some time for Abram to turn into Abraham. Abram could not have a child. Abram was learning to trust God. Abram tried to help God out by offering one his servants to be his child. Abram tried to help God out by going into Hagar, having a child named Ishmael.
Genesis 17:18- (ESV) And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.
When time passes and the promise does not come we are often, just as Abraham did, seek to “help God out”. We say “Lord, I’ll do this with my hands because I know you’re so busy running the universe”. What we’re saying in reality is that we want God to bless our efforts and our mistakes. God does not need us to fulfill His promises. What He has said, He will do. The Apostle Paul preached at Athens:
Acts 17:24-25 (ESV) The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
God loves us, but He does not need us. He promised Abraham a son, and God will deliver on that. God will choose when Abraham gets his son. God chooses when to bless. God calls us to follow Him if we want to be blessed.
God will not bless disobedience. God will not bless faithlessness. God will not bless sinfulness. God blesses those who follow Him.
The Psalmist said:
Psalm 116:12–14 (ESV) What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? 13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, 14 I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.
God wants us to follow Him. This is why God gave us the example of Isaac. After Abraham had Isaac God told him “Go and sacrifice that boy”.
Lay your Isaac down!
What did Abraham do? He laid his Isaac down, trusting that God keeps His promises. ALWAYS!
What did the Apostle say?
Hebrews 11:17-19 (NKJV) BY FAITH ABRAHAM, WHEN HE WAS TESTED, OFFERED UP ISAAC, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” 19 concluding that GOD WAS ABLE TO RAISE HIM UP, EVEN FROM THE DEAD, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
God keeps His Word. God does not lie. The Scripture declares:
Deuteronomy 7:9 (NIV) Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.
Our Ever Living God Calls Us To Life
Matthew 22:32 (KJV) I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
Our God is the God of the Living – He calls us to life. Jacob is a picture of every Christian who has ever lived. Jacob was a deceiver. Jacob was a sinner. Jacob was shiftless. But God loved Jacob, and called Jacob to follow Him.
And Jacob became Israel, the Prince of God.
God will make you His if you will come to Him by Christ.
God will make you royalty, a King and Priest unto Him, if you will follow Him.
But our God is NOT the God of the dead, but of the living. The living God rules a living people. Jesus said:
John 10:10-16 (KJV) The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. [11] I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. [12] But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. [13] The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. [14] I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. [15] As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. [16] And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
God is the God of the Living. We are alive because Christ gave His life for us. We are alive because we receive Him as Lord and Savior. We are alive because we cherish His Word. We are Jacob, but will not remain Jacob. We are Jacob moving toward Israel because God does not leave His people incomplete. Our God is taking us to life.
Matthew 26:26-29 (KJV) And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. 27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.
8:30 AM Audio Follows:
11 AM Audio Follows:
The Lord’s Table has confused many people. The Catholics have been taught that when the priest blesses the Table that the “Cup” literally becomes the Blood of Christ and the Bread becomes His Body. We know this is not true because Jesus – whose Body had not yet been broken – took the Bread and said:
“Take, Eat, This is My Body”
The Bread was clearly symbolic of His Body being broken for us. His Blood would be shed for us. Who would benefit from His Broken Body and His Shed Blood.
The Lord’s Table Is NOT For UNREPENTANT Sinners
To whom did Jesus say “Take, Eat” and “Take, Drink”? To those who sinners who intimatelyreceived Him.
Judas Iscariot did not sit at this Lord’s Table. He has gone to betray the Master for thirty pieces of silver. The eleven that remain will also betray Him in various ways, but not for profit. His followers are all sinners. His followers have always been sinners. But Christ is:
Revelation 13:8 (KJV) … the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Jesus shed His Blood for His people, for those who receive Him as He is.
John 1:29 (KJV) … Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
There is no other Savior, no other way unto God. Men have tried to work their way unto God. From the beginning man has tried to work to secure favor in God’s eyes. When Adam sinned what did our forefather do?
Adam made clothing of fig leaves, trying to cover his sin. Adam his himself in the Garden. Adam his himself by blaming his wife, and his wife the serpent. The works of our hands do not cover our sins.
After God uncovered Adam’s sin He made Adam and Eve clothing. The Bible says:
Genesis 3:21 (KJV) Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
To cover their sins the innocent animal would die. What skins did God use? Though the Scripture does not say, I believe it was the skins of the Lamb or the Sheep. The Old Covenant sacrifices focused on taking the lamb without spot or blemish (Exodus 12:5). It was the Blood of the Lamb, the innocent Lamb, that covered the sin of man.
The Lord’s Table Illustrates The Work That Pleases God
Sin brought suffering. Paradise was lost because of sin. The Lamb had to die to cover Adam and Eve’s sin. The Old Testament is filled with blood sacrifices. The Temple was entered through a place of sacrifice. But year after year sacrifice was made because God decreed it, but also because the works of our hands could provide no permanent offering for sin.
There is nothing that I can do to make myself right with God. There is nothing you can do to make yourself right with God. There is but one work that I can do to please God.
Jesus said in John 6:29 (KJV) … THIS IS THE WORK OF GOD, that ye BELIEVE ON HIM WHOM HE HATH SENT.
The lambs slain in the Old Testament and under the Old Covenant were but a shadow of the Coming Christ. God sent Christ for us who are broken. To offend God by sin is to incur His wrath. To do that which God forbids is to place yourself under judgment, His judgment. That is the bad news. But the Good News is that Jesus gave Himself for us.
John 15:13-15 (KJV) Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. [14] Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. [15] Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
Jesus laid down His life for us. Here is the proof of God’s love, that Jesus …
Galatians 2:20 (KJV) … loved me, and gave Himself for me.
He loved you more than He loved Himself. Knowing that He was going to be betrayed, Jesus offered the Cup.
Matthew 26:27 (KJV) … He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
Drink ye ALL of it.
Do not mix anything with it. The Blood of Christ is not a fruit cocktail, nor is it blended with any human works. Drink it pure. Drink it knowing there is no other cure for sin. Drink it knowing that His Blood is all of Grace, that:
2 Corinthians 5:20-21 (KJV) … be ye reconciled to God. [21] For {God the Father} hath made {Christ} to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
His Blood was poured out to satisfy the justice of God. We are right with God because of Christ. Jesus said:
Matthew 26:28 (KJV) … For this is MY BLOOD of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Jesus gave vup what was His so that we can have Heaven. Jesus said “this is MY BLOOD”. No one took His life from Him. He laid down His life. In the Old Covenant the lamb was led by a rope, picked up, and placed on the altar. The lamb was forced to die, tied to the four horns of the altar. Jesus was not forced.
John 10:17-18 (KJV) Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. [18] No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
We were separated from God because of our sin, but through Christ we have the atonement. Think of the word “atone”. You can break the word into two words, “at one”. We are “at one” with God because we have received what Christ did for us.
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He loved me, and gave Himself for me.
The Blood Of Christ Moves Us To A New Covenant
Matthew 26:28 (KJV) … For this is My blood OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, …
Before Jesus died the Old Covenant bled animals. Animals were killed, and their blood provided a temporary atonement for sin. After our Lord died we came from under the Old Covenant to a New Covenant. The blood of the Grape symbolically reminds us of Christ. Blood is no more shed on an altar to cover sins, but the Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sins.
The Old Covenant gave man a knife and demanded a lamb, but did nothing to change the person making the offering. The New Covenant wrought by God brings a change to the worshiper. God told His people:
Jeremiah 31:33-34 (KJV) But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. [34] And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
And again:
Jeremiah 32:40 (KJV) And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.
And again:
Ezekiel 11:19-20 (KJV) And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: [20] That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
The Old Covenant said “keep the Law and live”. The New Covenant says “receive Christ – His Body and His Blood – and I will make you live”.
The Old Covenant declared “make a sacrifice, a covering of Blood”. The New Covenant says “I lay down My life. Receive My Blood and you will be covered.”
I heard the story of a hardened criminal, a man who was imprisoned for multiple murders. The chaplain told him that Christ died for him, and that it was written of in the Book. The criminal said “What have I to do with that Book? I am past all feeling.” Striking the iron door of his cell with his fist he said “my heart is as hard at this door. There is nothing in any Book that will touch me.” The Chaplain read him these words:
Ezekiel 36:26-28 (KJV) A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
The criminal said “I never dreamed of such a promise! I never believed it possible that God would speak to me in such a way as that to men. If He gives me a new heart it will be a miracle of mercy..”
God offers a new start, a new life, a new heart through Christ to whosoever will receive Him. Jesus used the illustration of eating to describe saving faith. To receive Him is to eat Him. To believe in Him is to intimately take Him into your life. What you eat becomes part of your life force. Being saved by faith in Christ is more than just lip service – it is absorption of the Divine, ingestion of His promise.
His Body was broken for you. Eat this.
His Blood was shed for you. Drink this.
There is no merit in eating or drinking. There is no price in eating. The precious Blood of Christ cleanses you from all sins. Cleansed, you are now free to live your lives for God. C.H. Spurgeon wrote:
“He forgives our sins with the design of curing our sinfulness. We are pardoned that we might become holy. God forgives the sin that He may purify the sinner. ”
Christ died for our sins, so we know sin is no trifle.
The wages of sin is death – so Christ died for us.
His Blood Is Shed For MANY
The Bible says that:
2 Corinthians 5:15 (ESV) Christ died for ALL ….
and
Hebrews 2:9 (KJV) But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Jesus Christ died for ALL. He gave Himself for the “sin of the world”. Yet Christ says in His Table that
Matthew 26:28 (KJV) … For this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for MANY for the remission of sins.
His Blood was shed for MANY. Not for ALL, but MANY. Why the difference? Because you must RECEIVE Him as He is. What does the Scripture say?
John 1:12-13 (KJV) …. as many as RECEIVED HIM, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: [13] Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
The ritual of the Lord’s Table will not save you. Christ saves you. Receive Him as your Lord and Savior. Believe He died for your sins. Believe that He finished your salvation on the Cross. Call on Him, receiving Him as your only Hope, your only Savior. He that believes on Him has everlasting life.
Acts 13:38 (KJV)… through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
Through which man? Me. No. Not through me, but through Him. I cannot wish you into Heaven, but He can. I cannot cover your sins, but He can. I cannot give you a new heart nor a new covenant, but He can. Receive Him. Believe Him. Follow Him. May God make your hearts sure in Him, for in Him and Him alone is the blessedness of life.
Romans 12:13 (KJV) Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
1 Peter 4:8-9 (KJV) And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. [9] Use hospitality one to another without grudging.
A new Hyundai car dealership recently opened in Columbia, Tennessee. There are several things I want to say with all the love in my heart I can muster:
I’d rather be beaten by a wet belt than go to a car dealership.
I’ve been abused by car dealerships and car salesmen in the past. Now I know that not all are bad guys, but many are. I seem to meet all the bad ones.
I went to Church in Valdosta Georgia with a car salesman and owner of a dealership. “Chuck” was supposed to be a deacon in our Church. My wife needed a car, so we went to see “Chuck”. “Chuck” told me that the car had a clear coat over the paint, a clear coat that would keep the car from rusting forever. “Chuck” tapped the roof of the car just above the driver’s door with his gold ring to show us how tough the clear coat was. A year later rust popped through in exactly the place he tapped with his ring. No, I’m not kidding.
“Chuck” also bragged on the great air conditioning in the car, air conditioning that failed less than 8 months later. Just so you’ll know, when I took the car back to “Chuck” he told me neither the air conditioning nor the so called clear coat were under warranty. Sorry, it would cost me around $1000.00 to fix the air, and only the Good Lord knows how much to fix the paint. Oh, and “Chuck” would be glad to fix it for his price.
So I avoid car dealerships like a naked man avoids poison ivy.
I have a nice van that I got from a good dealership. Another man – a dear friend and Christ Follower named Bobby Crowell – helped me get this van. Bobby is with Jesus now and I miss him, but he was one of the good car salesmen. He found me a great van for my ministry, and I try and take care of it.
Taking care of a vehicle means routine oil and filter changes. I generally take my van to the local WalMart. The workers are surly and slow. It often takes about 3 hours to get the oil changed. However the cost is very reasonable – $19.95 for oil and filter, and they even check my fluid levels and tires. That’s a great price. Most of the “Minute Lube” places around here charge 59-89 dollars to change the oil and filter. So I’ve been using WalMart.
Here’s where Hyundai comes in.
The dealership sent me a advertisement.
“Grand Opening Special! Oil change with filter for $19.95”.
I got the advertisement in July but put off going until August, as it wasn’t time to do the oil change just yet. So Wednesday I headed to the Hyundai, skepticism bubbling in my heart.
I pulled up to the “Oil Change” dock and a man waved me in. “How much for an oil change?” I asked. “We charge $29.95”. I didn’t read the small print in the advertisement. The “Oil Change Special” was just till the end of July. I thanked him and said “I’ll just head toward WalMart”. The man – who’s name was Larry – smiled at me. “Is this your first visit here?” I replied, “Why yes, it is.” Larry said “We’ll do it for the $19.95”. He handed me a clipboard where I needed to put my name, address, and phone number, then said:
“You can leave the keys in the van – it’s safe with me. Please step inside, and help yourself to a soda, popcorn, and a soft seat. It’ll take a little time because there are two cars in front of you. I’ll come and get you when it’s finished.”
“It’ll take a little time”. Great. I’ll be here two hours. I walked inside expecting to be over run with car salesmen. I wasn’t. I could walk around and look, and everyone was friendly, but there was no pressure. I expected to pay for my soft drink. Nope. There was a soda machine with Coke products, plenty of ice, and fresh popcorn. Televisions were scattered throughout the very neat and comfortable waiting area. I sat down, and got out my computer so I could work on some sermons, expecting to be there a couple of hours.
I was there 20 minutes. 20 minutes. T-w-e-n-t-y.
That was the long wait that Larry warned me about. I had barely sat down when I looked up, and here’s Larry. He shakes my hand, and tells me I can pay outside at the kiosk. He told me the girl’s name but I’ve forgotten it. But I remember Larry. I will be going back to Hyundai of Columbia because of Larry. I’ll never step foot on “Chuck’s” property again, but Larry has my business. I don’t mind paying $29.95 or $39.95 for great service like that. The Hyundai of Columbia website is here. What did I experience at Hyundai?
Hospitality. Good old Christian Hospitality, something sorely lacking today.
I have visited Churches where there is no hospitality. I went to one Church to preach revival. I had to ask people where the Sunday School class for my age group was. When I and my wife went in the class people sat whispering, glancing at us with sidewise looks. Finally some blurted out:
“Who are you?”
When I explained who I was, and that I was the guest speaker, suddenly we had a room full of happy to see us “friends”. My buddy “Chuck” had more sincerity. I went as a guest to a wedding at another Church. I walked up to a group of supposed to be elders and stuck out my hand. Ignoring my hand, one said “Who are you, and what do you want?” I wanted to say “I’m a child of God going to Heaven. Where are you going?” But I didn’t. No hospitality. If I were a visitor looking for a Church I’d never go back to that place.
As a pastor I often visit people. Years ago when I visited people at their homes one of the first things they would ask is:
“Would you like something to drink?”
Folks, that’s called “Hospitality”. Nowadays people rarely turn off their televisions when the preacher comes calling. There’s something wrong when a Christian does not exercise hospitality.
God expects His Children saved by grace to be gracious. He expects the Children He invited undeservedly into His family to be welcoming to others. There’s hardly a week that goes by where I don’t read something else from some expert on “Church Growth” who tells me some miracle thing they’ve discovered to pack the pews. Do you want to know how to pack the pews?
Every member needs to be gracious and hospitable.
The Scripture says in Hebrews 13:1-2 (KJV) Let brotherly love continue. [2] Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
The English Standard Version put’s it this way:
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers
Hospitality is love in action, a practical outworking and manifestation of love. If we want to have full services we need to stop blaming it on society, the preacher, the deacons, or whatever. We need to look at ourselves. When that visitor comes into your midst are you being “Chuck” or Larry? Do you ask their names? Do you try and make them feel comfortable. Do you maybe leave your place of comfort and sit near them, explaining what we do as a Church. The world needs love. The world appreciates hospitality. It’s time to turn off our i-phones and look our neighbor in the eye, loving them and showing hospitality for the glory of God. That’s what grows a Church.
Preached at “Prayer Meeting” August 2, 2017 at Riverview Baptist Church
Matthew 26:30 (KJV) And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
Sermon Notes: We will be having our Lord’s Table this Sunday. At the end of every Communion – a celebration of the Passover of our Lord Jesus Christ – I quote the above text. I always say:
“When they had sung a song, they went out into the darkness.”
The Bible tells us that “they went out into the Mount of Olives”. I’m not misquoting the text, though, because as they go out Jesus says:
Matthew 26:31 (KJV) Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me THIS NIGHT: for IT IS WRITTEN, “I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad”.
Jesus is going out, and it is night. It is physically night, and it is spiritually night. Jesus is going to a dark place. His next stop is Gethsemane, a Garden of suffering. Jesus would wrestle in prayer with God ALONE. “Father, if it be Thy will, let this cup pass from Me”. Jesus has been offered a cup of suffering, the cup of judgment. He must drink this bitter cup to the bottom. Unlike Maxwell House it is “bad to the last drop”.
Jesus says “ALL shall be OFFENDED because of ME this night”. There will be no one on His side, neither in Heaven nor on earth. His enemies,
the Scribes and Pharisees, would be offended because of Jesus.
The Roman government would be offended because of Jesus.
The Temple Priests would be offended.
His own disciples would be offended.
And even His Heavenly Father would be offended.
Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachthani.
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
It will be a dark night indeed. Jesus quotes Zechariah 13:7 ..
“I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad”
God’s Man – the Shepherd – will be struck and beaten down, and that all the flock shall be scattered. The disciples are going out into the night. His flesh would be broken for them, and His blood would be spilled. Judas Iscariot has already departed, and sold our Master for thirty pieces of silver.
It is dark. It is night. A horror is coming.
But Jesus led them in singing.
“When they had sung a song, they went out into the darkness”
Genuine Faith Demands We Sing
The Bible tells us “THEY” had sung a song. This leads us to think that they just dashed off a song then moved on. That’s not true. “When they sang a song” is the Greek ὑμνέω hymneō, where we get our word “hymn” or “hymnal”. They didn’t sing A song – they sang the hymnal. What is that talking about?
At the beginning of the Feast of the Passover the Jewish people sang from what they called the Hallel. The Hallel was a collection of songs from the Hebrew Hymnal that we call the Book of Psalms. The Hallel was Psalms 113 through 118. When the Feast of the Passover began Israel would sing Psalm 113-114. The focus of these Psalms was to glorify God, to look to God and to remember how God had blessed Israel. Though I don’t know the tune I want you to listen as I read Psalm 113:
Psalms 113:1-9 (KJV) Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD. 2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. 3 From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’S name is to be praised. 4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. 5 Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high, 6 Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth! 7 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; 8 That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people. 9 He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.
The Feast of the Passover reminded Israel at it’s start that it is God Who brings the victory, God Who causes us to triumph over our enemies. The songs were designed to focus the heart of the believer on the size of God, not on the size of the trial.
Israel was in Egyptian bondage. Israel was enslaved. Israel had no hope but God. So Israel cried out to God, and God said:
“Take a Lamb without spot or blemish”
“Take the Lamb into your home”
“Examine the Lamb from the 10th to the 14th”
“Kill the Lamb with your hand, and sprinkle His Blood”
Faith demands obedience. Blessing demands obedience. Those who obeyed were blessed.
God saved Israel from Egypt, just as He saves all who follow Him. At the end of the victory Israel stood on the far side of the Red Sea, and the armies of Egypt – with it’s Pharaoh – lay drowning in the water. God told Moses:
“Write Me a song, Moses, and teach it to Israel”
So Moses wrote God a song. I’ll just read part of it:
Exodus 15:1-3 (KJV) Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 2 The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3 The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.
Years ago when I served with Youth With a Mission we sang this:
I will sing unto the Lord For He hath triumphed gloriously The horse and the rider He’s thrown into the sea. The Lord, My God, My Strength My Song, Has now become my Victory. He is my God – I will praise Him The Lord is God – I will exalt Him The Lord is Victor all eternity.
Because singing was such a large part of Israel’s victory that the Feast of the Passover ended with singing. At the end of the Feast of the Passover Psalms 115, 116, 117, and 118 were sang. This was not a quick song as we normally do at the end of the Lord’s Table. “They sang hymns” before going out into the night. The Jews usually had one person “call” out part of the hymn, then the people would repeat the phrase. It was not passed around nor written down, but the song leader memorized the text to be called.
Jesus was the Song Leader. It was His Table. As He sang, the disciples – minus Judas Iscariot – sang with Him:
Psalms 115:1-11 (KJV) Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake. 2 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God? 3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. 5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: 6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: 7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. 8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them. 9 O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. 10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. 11 Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
Psalms 116:1-19 (KJV)1 I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. 2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. 3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. 4 Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. 5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful. 6 The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me. 7 Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee. 8 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. 9 I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living. 10 I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted: 11 I said in my haste, All men are liars. 12 What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? 13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD. 14 I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people. 15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. 16 O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds. 17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD. 18 I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people, 19 In the courts of the LORD’S house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.
Psalms 117:1-2 (KJV)1 O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. 2 For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.
Psalms 118:1-29 (KJV)1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever. 2 Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever. 3 Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever. 4 Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever. 5 I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place. 6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? 7 The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. 8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. 9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes. 10 All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them. 11 They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. 12 They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. 13 Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the LORD helped me. 14 The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation. 15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly. 16 The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly. 17 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD. 18 The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death. 19 Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD: 20 This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter. 21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. 22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. 23 This is the LORD’S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. 24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. 26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD. 27 God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. 28 Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee. 29 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
The focus of these Psalms or Hymns was to remind God’s people that – no matter how dark it might seem – that God is in control. Jesus led the singing. Jesus led the singing! Think on this.
Though The Darkness Came, Jesus Sang
Jesus knew full well what was coming. He knew that in the next few hours He would suffer betrayal and torture such as no person has ever endured. Yet He sang. Why would He sing? Because Jesus was a Singer.
Singing is central to our faith because Jesus sang.
It is through singing that God brings victory.
Singing and praising God brings His Presence into our midst.
It is not just entertainment.
It is life.
If God’s people would sing and follow the Savior we would be better blessed.
I am reminded of the time when the Moabites and the Ammonites – a GREAT MULTITUDE from Syria – came to destroy Israel. Israel’s King Jehoshaphat was frightened. What could a small army such as Israel’s do against such a huge host?
So Jehoshaphat called a prayer meeting.
You know, like the “Prayer Meetings” we have that so few attend?
Jehoshaphat said “I don’t know what to do Lord”.
And God said “Pray!”
So they prayed.
2 Chronicles 20:6-7, 9 (NKJV) … “O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? 7 Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? … 9 ‘If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’
God spoke to Israel.
2 Chronicles 20:15, (NKJV) ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. … 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”
So Jehoshaphat and Israel rose up early the next day. And King Jehoshaphat did something unexpected. He put the singers at the head of the army of Israel. The singers led the way, praising God and glorifying Him. And God defeated the enemy.
Jesus led His disciples in singing, though what was coming looked oh so dark. He knew that there is victory in obedience to God. Jesus sang. When darkness comes, we should sing. We should praise our Lord. We should magnify Him. Oh God save us from the entertainment industry. Oh God save us from singing to bless ourselves only.
Jesus Sang Because He Knew God Would Triumph!
We can learn from the singing of Jesus. C.H. Spurgeon said:
Let us, O fellow-heirs of salvation, learn to sing when our suffering time comes, when our season for stern labor approaches! Yes, let us pour forth a canticle of deep, mysterious melody of bliss when our dying hour is near at hand! Courage, Brothers and Sisters! The waters are chilly, but fear will not by any means diminish the terrors of the river! Courage, Brothers and Sisters! Death is solemn work, but playing the coward will not make it less so! Bring out the silver trumpet—let your lips remember the long-loved music—and let the notes be clear and shrill as you dip your feet in the Jordan! “Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.”
Where singing is, faith grows. The Apostle said:
Ephesians 5:1-2 (NKJV) Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
Let us imitate our Master. As He led His disciples out into the darkness He sang, and led them in singing. Why? Because in the end Christ would triumph. He would lead us, like Israel, from Egypt. Our sins, like the armies of Egypt, would die in the Red Sea of His Blood. Through Him we would have atonement. Through Him we would have peace with God. Jesus sang, and we must sing.
Ephesians 5:18-21 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.
The heart that sings to God and submits to others is the heart that cannot be defeated. The Shepherd was beaten and the sheep scattered because they did not sing together. They let fear take them, and lost the blessing. Jesus sings in His Church when His Church sings. The Scripture says:
Hebrews 2:10-12 (KJV)10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the MIDST OF THE CHURCH WILL I SING PRAISE UNTO THEE.
and
Romans 15:8-9 (KJV)8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: 9 And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.
Little Faith wandered along life’s way,
Never looking up, obsessed with play.
God took Little Faith through Red Seas deep,
Rather than grow, Little Faith sleep.
God cried “Follow Me to a better place”,
Little Faith refused to God’s disgrace.
As the lost world watched, LF sat and stewed,
We can’t go across – you’re in my pew!
Little Faith would not go, nor grow,
“Before I do, I have to know”.
Mo money, mo money, and people too,
Never enough, LF is always blue.
“Why don’t God do something?” Little Faith said,
God can do nothing where faith is dead.
Follow Jesus, not the crowd, as Little Faith do,
Read and do His Word and God will use you!
A “dear” friend, Ruth Ward, emailed this to me today. I can’t verify the truth of it, but it is about the funniest thing I have ever read. Here goes …
“(A letter from a Texas farmer who wants to remain anonymous, who farms, writes well and actually tried this).
I had this idea that I could rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it. The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away), it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home. I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope. The cattle, having seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They were not having any of it. After about 20 minutes, my deer showed up– 3 of them. I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the feeder, and threw my rope. The deer just stood there and stared at me. I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I would have a good hold.
The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation. I took a step towards it, it took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope … and then received an education. The first thing that I learned is that, while a deer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, they are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope. That deer EXPLODED. The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range I could fight down with a rope and with some dignity. A deer– no chance. That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no controlling it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I had originally imagined. The only upside is that they do not have as much stamina as many other animals.
A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up. It took me a few minutes to realize this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out of the big gash in my head. At that point, I had lost my taste for corn-fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope. I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would likely die slow and painfully somewhere. At the time, there was no love at all between me and that deer. At that moment, I hated the thing, and I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual. Despite the gash in my head and the several large knots where I had cleverly arrested the deer’s momentum by bracing my head against various large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognize that there was a small chance that I shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in. I didn’t want the deer to have to suffer a slow death, so I managed to get it lined back up in between my truck and the feeder —a little trap I had set before hand … kind of like a squeeze chute. I got it to back in there and I started moving up so I could get my rope back.
Did you know that deer bite? They do! I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would bite somebody, so I was very surprised when I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist. Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite you and slide off to then let go. A deer bites you and shakes its head — almost like a pit bull. They bite HARD and it hurts. The proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back slowly. I tried screaming and shaking instead. My method was ineffective. It seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds. I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that claim by now), tricked it. While I kept it busy tearing the tendons out of my right arm, I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose.
That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day.
Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on their back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and their hooves are surprisingly sharp. I learned a long time ago that, when an animal – like a horse – strikes at you with their hooves and you can’t get away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud noise and make an aggressive move towards the animal. This will usually cause them to back down a bit so you can escape. This was not a horse. This was a deer, so obviously, such trickery would not work. In the course of a millisecond, I devised a different strategy. I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run.
The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back of the head. Deer may not be so different from horses after all. Besides being twice as strong and 3 times as evil, the second I turned to run it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down. Now, when a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it does not immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed. What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you while you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering your head.”
This is where the email ended. What a hoot! I’m sure I’ll get a lot of comments that this is just an urban legend – and it may be – but it’s still hilarious. A few years ago GEICO had a series of advertisements on “We All Do Dumb Things” that were hilarious. We do all do “Dumb Things”, and it’s possible someone tried this. The Bible says:
Proverbs 14:12 (NKJV) There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
We do foolish things that hurt us. The worst thing that we do is to ignore our spiritual lives until it is too late. God loves us, and calls us to receive Him by faith. He bids us to “call upon the name of Jesus”, to trust Him, to follow Him. Don’t rope a deer. Follow Jesus. Read His Bible. Pray to Him. Listen to His call:
Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV) Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Matthew 25:31-40 (KJV) When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: [32] And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: [33] And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. [34] Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: [35] For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: [36] Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. [37] Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? [38] When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? [39] Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? [40] And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
There are days when I wake up tired, restless, and sometimes discouraged. I turn to the news and see that wickedness abounds and it seems as if no one cares. My joints hurt. My body ages. How do I get out of the doldrums? How do I rebuke the devil when he whispers? …
I’m winning
What do we do when we are in the valley?
We look upward.
We look toward the horizon.
We look toward the Son as He rises.
We remind ourselves that we labor NOW for Jesus
But we will not RECEIVE OUR REWARD until our Lord comes.
The Prosperity Preachers will tell you that God wants every believer to be a millionaire. That’s not true. Our Lord said:
Mark 14:7 (NIV) The poor you will always have with you …
The only ones who get rich on the “prosperity gospel” is the “prosperity preachers”. Like politicians with their millions dollar homes and their thousand dollar suits they fleece the sheep while leaving the ones they have stripped shivering in the cold. Beloved, we are not to look for our reward in the present, but in our FUTURE. Jesus blessed His disciples and sent them out with His power. They returned and said:
“Lord, even the devils are subject to us”
To which Jesus replied,
“Do not rejoice in this, but rejoice that
YOUR NAMES ARE WRITTEN IN HEAVEN!”
We will have good days and bad days on the earth, but our reward is not now. Our reward is WHEN.
Matthew 25:31 (KJV) WHEN the Son of man shall come in his glory,
There is coming a day when our Lord will reward us with a crown. There is coming a day when Jesus returns in His glory, and WHEN we shall be blessed. No one receives their reward NOW but the Pharisees and the self righteous, the goats who live not for Christ but for themselves. Jesus spoke of them when He said:
Matthew 6:2 (KJV) Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, THEY HAVE THEIR REWARD.
They gave to the poor not because they wanted to bring glory to Christ, but because they wanted to be seen of men. THEY HAVE THEIR REWARD.
Matthew 6:5 (KJV) And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, THEY HAVE THEIR REWARD.
They are not praying TO God but FOR MEN to see. Many a “Special” has been sung in front of a Church or a stadium for the applause of man. Many a sermon has been preached so that men will say “well done, you good and faithful servant”. But it is not done for God, but for applause, for pay, for adulation. THEY HAVE THEIR REWARD.
For those who are Christ’s will not receive their reward NOW, but WHEN. The Bible says “WHEN the Son of man shall come in His glory”. We will be rewarded at the end of the race, at the end of our mission, at the end of the course.
2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NASB) I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
There is no prize handed out to the also rans.
This is not like modern education where every child receives a prize just for participating. Such things do not build character, but embody and enable weakness and sissification. The crown of righteousness is not rewarded to those who stop in the middle of the race and sit down defeated and discouraged. The Scripture says over and over again:
Revelation 2:7 (KJV) … To him that OVERCOMETH will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Revelation 2:17 (KJV) … To him that OVERCOMETH will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written …
The Child of God – born again by faith in Christ – overcomes and runs because God runs with Him. Christ is with us. We “look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith”. It is He who runs before us as we:
Hebrews 12:1 (KJV) …. let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us RUN WITH PATIENCE THE RACE THAT IS SET BEFORE US,
We who are His will be rewarded by He Who saved us.
The Victors Come And Stand With The King
You have probably watched the Olympics at some time in your life. Do you remember at the end of the race when the judges are handing out the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals? Don’t you remember that the judges call up every spectator in the stands, and the crowd stands to be honored? Don’t you remember that? Of course you don’t. It never happens. The crowd has no prize. The crowd is not honored. The judges call up the runners who won first, second, and third place. The winners who struggled and finished the race were called forward. Our King is our Judge, and He will call us forward:
Matthew 25:34 (KJV) … THEN (at the end of the race) shall the King say unto them on his right hand, COME, ye blessed of my Father,
The Law said “Go” but Grace says “Come”. Jesus became a curse for us so that we could become the righteousness of God in Him. “Come, you BLESSED”. You who are saved will be blessed beyond measure when the day of your reward comes. You will be called into communion with Christ forever. All suffering shall be passed.
2 Timothy 2:12 (KJV) If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him …
Jesus calls us now to His side, but we are called to suffer. The world does not love the Christian. “If they hated Me, they will hate you”. Darkness despises the light. To follow Christ now is to suffer reproach, to be thought mad, to be considered weird because we are not of the world. At this time God calls His Children and says:
2 Corinthians 6:17-18 (KJV) Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
In this present age our Lord says “Come out from among them”. Do not be like the world. At present we are tempted and tried by the world. Many have succumbed to the whispers of the serpent’s seed. But God says “As Abram came when I called, you come. You will not be Abraham until you come to Me.”
Come unto Me, I will give you rest;
Take My yoke upon you, hear Me and be blessed.
I am meek and lowly, come and trust My might.
Come, My yoke is easy, and My burden’s light.
Our Reward Will Be On His Right Hand
Now we come apart from, but in the future reward Christ will set us apart.
Matthew 25:31-40 (KJV) And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: [33] And HE SHALL SET the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. [34] Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
There will be no darkness nor unsaved in that future reward. The bullies will be gone, cast out into outer darkness where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. James and John came to Jesus and asked:
Can one of us sit on your right hand, and the other on the left?
They didn’t know what they were asking for. Their request was foolish. ALL of Christ’s Children will be on the right hand of the Savior, and ALL of those who rejected Him will be on His left hand. In this present life it seems as if the wicked prosper:
Psalm 37:35 (KJV) I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
Psalm 73:7 (KJV) Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish.
As C.H. Spurgeon once said, “The world is upside down now; the Gospel has begun to turn it the right way uppermost, but when the day of grace is over and the day of glory comes, then shall it be righted”. When Jesus returns the wicked and the unrighteous will be cast away. Those who love neither God nor their neighbor will be placed with all the other selfish and immoral people. In this life the rich man steps over Lazarus and feeds the dogs while the beggar starves. In the next life we will be in a place where:
Revelation 21:3-4 (KJV) … the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Those on the right hand of Christ will be in a right place.
Matthew 25:34 (KJV) Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Come from your graves.
Come from among the ungodly.
Come and wear a crown.
Come receive your reward.
Come and sit with Me in My throne.
Come My Beloved.
Come receive the mansion I have made for you.
John 14:2-3 (KJV) In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
The right hand of Christ is where the blessed are. We inherit the Kingdom prepared for us. We receive the mansion then, in the when of Christ’s coming. What a glorious day that will be!
I remember when we first bought our home here in Columbia. We have two tiled bathrooms, but we’ve never had tiled bathrooms. We have marble sinks where we’ve never had marble sinks. Both Sherry and I have never had fancy things like this. But God blessed us, and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t touch the marble sinks and marvel at it. But as blessed as we are now, this is not our reward. Our reward is coming. We have a place prepared for us where the street of it is paved with gold. But this is not what is important. What is important is that we will be with our Savior. We will be with Him forever. We shall inherit the KINGDOM PREPARED FOR US. The Bible says:
Revelation 1:6 (KJV) He hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father;
We will inherit a kingdom prepared from before the foundation of the world. There will be nothing missing from our reward.
Who Shall Enter This Reward?
Who are those who will enter Christ’s glory? Who will be placed on His right hand forever? For whom is this reward? To those who are indwelt of Christ. To those who love because God is love, and God operated through their lives.
Matthew 25:34-35 (KJV) Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: [35] For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: [36] Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Those who are “blessed of the Father” are distinguished by their hospitality and their charity.
There are some who call themselves “Christian” who are distinguished by their harshness and their willingness to judge others, to demean, to discourage. They are GOATS, chewing up anything and everything. These goats tear down rather than build up. But those who ran their race and are rewarded by their Master showed evidence that they were actually born again. Jesus said that the basis of the future reward is that..
Christ was hungry, and you fed Him.
Christ was thirsty, and you gave Him drink.
Christ was lonely, and you took Him in.
Christ was naked, and you clothed Him.
Christ was sick, and you visited Him.
Christ was in prison, and you came to Him.
The listeners asked the King:
Matthew 25:37-39 (KJV) Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? [38] When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? [39] Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
When did we do these things, Dear Jesus? And Jesus replies:
Matthew 25:40 (KJV) And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
A Christian is a person who has a present relationship with God. This relationship is intimate and leads us to imitate Christ. What does the Scripture say?
Romans 8:9 (NASB) … you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the SPIRIT OF CHRIST, he does not belong to Him.
The day you were saved God’s Holy Spirit came to you. As you read God’s Word, hear His Word, speak to His Word you change more and more into the image of Christ.
1 John 4:13 (NASB) By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
God is love, and God indwells His people. If God is in you, then it is evidenced by how you live for Him. Do you love your brother or sister in Christ? Do you love the family of God? Or are you selfish, loving only YOUR way and YOUR stuff? The world is selfish, but the future Kingdom will not be. The Lord said:
inasmuch as you have done it to the least of THESE MY BRETHREN
Another translation makes it clearer:
… to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine,
even the least of them, you did it to Me. (NASB)
The faith of a Christian – if genuine – effects him from the inside out. If your faith does not touch your wallet your faith is false. There will be no discouragers in Heaven, only encouragers. Who shall be cast into outer darkness? Those who saw a brother or sister in Christ in need, but did nothing about it.
I was hungry, and you gave me good advise – but no food.
I was thirst, and you gave me a prayer – but no water.
I was naked, and you gave me good wishes – but sent me away naked.
I was sick, and you told me about your doctor – but had no time to visit me.
The family of God is a family of love. Love requires effort. Love lifts up. Love cares.
So keep loving, dear Christian. Keep giving. Keep running.
Matthew 26:1-5 (KJV) And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, [2] Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. [3] Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, [4] And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety, and kill him. [5] But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.
If you knew the day of your death, what would you do?
Several years ago there was a movie called The Bucket List. Two men – one rich and one not – discovered that they were dying of cancer. They knew their days were numbered. Though they didn’t know exactly when they were going to die, they knew they were limited in time, so they made a “Bucket List” of things to do before they “kicked the bucket”. Interestingly enough of all the things on “The Bucket List” no one put “Get right with my Maker”. The Bible tells us:
Hebrews 9:27 (KJV) And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
We all have an appointment with death. We all will die. What if you knew the time of your appointment? What would you do differently? If you knew that your death was going to be horrible, that you were going to be betrayed by a trusted friend, that you would suffer an unimaginable agony before death’s sweet kiss, what would you do?
If you knew you were going to die in flames in a terrible car accident on such and such a day, what would you do? If it were me, I’d avoid driving and highways that day. Wouldn’t you?
If you knew you were going to drown while swimming on such and such a day, would you go to the beach that day, or head toward a desert?
If you knew an assassin would surprise you at a prayer meeting, would you go pray that day?
The truth is, if we knew the day and the manner of our deaths we would probably seek to avoid that day and that manner with everything we had at our disposal.
Jesus Knew The Day And Manner Of His Death
Jesus spent the third day before His death talking to the Pharisees and His disciples. Jesus told His listeners that He was coming again, and spent that third day explaining answering questions like ….
Matthew 24:3 (KJV) …. what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Jesus explained that a Judgment Day was coming, and that He would be the Judge. He spoke of the separation of the believer (the sheep) and the unbeliever (the goats), the believer to the right hand and the unbeliever to the left. Those who are Christ’s are to “go into eternal life” but the rejectors of the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls will “go away into everlasting punishment”.
Matthew 26:1-2 (KJV) And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, [2] Ye know that AFTER TWO DAYS IS THE FEAST OF THE PASSOVER,
As Jesus finished His great teachings He said “You know that in two days is the Feast of the Passover”. The disciples knew this. This is why they gathered in Jerusalem. The Passover was a time of celebration, a commemoration of the time that God fought for Israel. Israel was in bondage to Egypt, enslaved, and cried out to God for deliverance. God told Israel to take “a lamb without spot or blemish” (Exodus 12:3-6). The lamb was to be taken on the tenth day of the month, and killed on the fourteenth day of the month. The blood of the lamb was to be placed “on the doorposts and the lintel of the house”. God said:
Exodus 12:12-13 (NKJV) For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. 13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
When I see the Blood, I will PASS OVER you.
The Judgment of God “PASSED OVER” the home where the Blood was.
After God judged Egypt, and Israel was released, they were to continue this PASS OVER yearly.
Jesus said to His disciples “In two days is the Feast of the Passover”.
You know this.
“Yes Lord, we know this.”
And then Jesus blew their minds. He said:
Matthew 26:2 (KJV) … and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.
If you or I knew we would die in two days, and knew the nature of our deaths, we would probably try and avoid it at all costs. But Jesus did not. Let us admire Him! Let us adore Him!
Jesus was calm, though He knew He would be BETRAYED Nothing hurts worst than to be BETRAYED. The word translated “betrayed” is the Greek παραδίδωμι paradidōmi which is a compound PARA + DIDOMAI. The word PARAKALEO means “to call alongside”. Paradidōmi means that someone who is alongside of you – a friend – hands you over. Betrayal makes suffering greater. To walk with someone and love someone, then have that person stab you in the back, that intensifies the suffering.
Jesus knew that He would be betrayed.
John 6:70 (ESV) “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.”
Judas Iscariot would betray Jesus. Jesus knew this was coming. In fact, the Messiah HAD to be betrayed by a close friend.
Psalm 41:9 (ESV) Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
Jesus knew that He would be betrayed by Judas. But Jesus was not just betrayed by Judas Iscariot, but by ALL His disciples. He just finished telling His disciples that He was going to be crucified. In two days is the Feast of the Passover, and the Son of man will be betrayed to be crucified. Right after this the Bible tells us that:
Matthew 26:6-9 (KJV) Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, [7] There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. [8] But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? [9] For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.
Jesus was invited to eat with Simon the leper, a Pharisee. This was two days before Jesus was to be crucified. A woman came in and took an alabaster box filled with precious ointment. We are told in Mark 14:3 “it was pure and very costly spikenard”, an amber colored oil harvested from a rare flower that grows only in the Himalayas of Nepal, China, and India. Mark tells us that …
Mark 14:3 (NKJV) she BROKE the flask and poured it on His head …
She made a commitment to use all this oil on Jesus. She BROKE the flask. This was her way of honoring Christ, the Lamb of God without spot or blemish. Did the disciples love Jesus enough to appreciate what she did? No. We are told “they had INDIGNATION, saying TO WHAT PURPOSE is this WASTE”. Oh Beloved, anything expended on the Savior is not a waste. No effort, no cost, nothing is too much to give the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. The disciples betrayed Christ even before the Cross, and cloaked their betrayal as many a hypocrite has, saying:
We could have sold that ointment and given the money to the poor!
Oh generous hypocrite, doesn’t Jesus deserve this blessing? Jesus said:
Matthew 26:10-13 (KJV) …. Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon Me. [11] For ye have the poor always with you; but Me ye have not always. [12] For in that she hath poured this ointment on My body, she did it for My burial. [13] Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.
Jesus would die horribly in just two days, and this woman was an angel sent from God to minister to Him, to prepare Him for burial. How did the disciples respond? The Bible tells us that after this incident:
Matthew 26:14-15 (KJV) THEN one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, [15] And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I WILL DELIVER HIM unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
An act of genuine love for the Savior became the catalyst by which Judas Iscariot would betray the Lord. Yet Jesus set His gaze forward. He did not fear, nor was He bitter. Jesus knew what was coming, and went anyway.
Jesus was focused and determined, though He knew He would be CRUCIFIED He said:
Matthew 26:2 (KJV) Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be CRUCIFIED.
The worst death imaginable is crucifixion. It is horrible because it is not designed to just kill, but it is designed to mutilate and torture. No Roman Citizen was ever executed by crucifixion.
Roman Citizens could be executed, but their deaths were by the sword, by beheading. Their deaths were swift and as much as is possible, painless. Crucifixion was not painless. It was a death reserved for criminals, for slaves, for the lowest of people.
If crucifixion were like the electric chair (which few use today) it would be like the electric chair on it’s lowest setting.
If crucifixion were like lethal injection it would be a slow dripping of acid, stripping the veins.
Crucifixion was not designed to be fast. It was designed to be a horrible warning. The crucified was first stripped naked and beaten with whips embedded with sharp bone and broken pottery. The crucified was whipped until ribs showed. Vital organs were avoided, for the executioner wanted death to be slow, painful, bloody. After inflicting as much torture as possible, the one to be crucified carried his own Cross to Golgotha. At the end of the long agonizing journey, beaten like a mule, the convicted was made to lay down upon the Cross as nails were pounded through the hands and feet.
At any point Jesus could have avoided this judgment, for crucifixion is a judgment. Yet Jesus continued to move forward. He did not hide. He did not run from Jerusalem, but continued forward. The night before His crucifixion He knelt in Gethsemane and prayed, falling on His face:
Matthew 26:39 (KJV) …. O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Jesus prayed this prayer three times. “Oh My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me except I drink it, Thy will be done”. Rising up, Jesus had His answer. He told His disciples:
Matthew 26:46 (KJV) Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.
Jesus would be crucified. He knew that He would be crucified. Yet He did not accuse God. He was not bitter. Look at Jesus. Look at Jesus. The Scripture declares
Hebrews 12:2 (KJV) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus did not weep at His coming crucifixion, but went to that Cross with joy in His heart. For Jesus knew that His sacrifice would be the means by which we who believe in Him would be saved.
Jesus Is The Passover
Matthew 26:2 (KJV) Ye know that after two days is the feast of THE Passover, and THE Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.
C.H. Spurgeon wrote:
“I cannot help reading it like this – “You know that after two days is THE PASSOVER. All other Passovers have been Passovers only in name, Passovers in type, Passovers in emblem, Passovers foreshadowing THE Passover. But after two days is the real Passover, and THE Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”
Jesus Christ is THE Passover Who was sacrificed for us. The Scripture says:
1 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV) …. Christ our PASSOVER is sacrificed for us:
The judgment of God “Passed Over” Israel when God saw the Blood, but the Blood of the animal could not permanently cover sin. The Bible says that the Law of God was “a shadow of good things to come”. Christ stood in the light of God. The sacrifices and blood of animals were but a shadow of Christ. If the blood of animals or the works of our hands could save us then once would have been enough. But the Bible says:
Hebrews 10:3-4 (NKJV) But in those sacrifices there is a REMINDER OF SINS every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
We all stand before a Holy God – a THRICE Holy God. We all stand as sinners in need of the Savior. Israel – year after year – came to Jerusalem and carried a lamb without spot or blemish into the Temple. There the priests laid the lambs on the altar, slashed it’s throat, then sprinkled the blood of that lamb on the people.
But no animal can make payment for our sins.
We read earlier:
Hebrews 9:27 (KJV) And as it is appointed unto men ONCE TO DIE, but AFTER THIS THE JUDGMENT: ….
But we didn’t read the next verse. What does verse 28 say?
[28] So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
All other passovers were but a SHADOW of the Passover of Christ.
In the shadow offerings the lamb was without spot or blemish. Jesus Christ is without spot or blemish.
By man sin entered the world, and death by sin, for all have sinned (Romans 5:12).
Sin did not enter the world because a lamb sinned. Sin did not enter the world because an animal ate the forbidden fruit. Sin entered the world because MAN sinned, and DEATH came by MAN. So what does Jesus say?
Matthew 26:2 (KJV) Ye know that after two days is the feast of THE Passover, and THE SON OF MAN is betrayed to be crucified.
God came and was born once so we can be born again.
God became man, perfect Man, to pay the penalty for our sin.
Jesus is perfect Son of Man.
The Scripture declares:
Hebrews 4:15 (NKJV) For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, YET WITHOUT SIN.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV) For {The Father} made HIM WHO KNEW NO SIN to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Jesus challenged the Pharisees to find sin in Him, and they could not.
John 8:46-48 (NASB) WHICH ONE OF YOU CONVICTS ME OF SIN? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.
Jesus Christ went to that Cross, the perfect Lamb of God dying for us. He gave His life on Calvary for you and I. He did so because He loves us so. We should adore Jesus. He is the Only Way unto God as Father. He did not run away from His impending, horrible, painful, shameful death. He ran toward it.
Because He wanted to bring us to God.
The Devil And The Unbeliever Could Not Stop Him
Once more I want to read our text:
Matthew 26:2 (KJV) Ye know that after two days IS THE FEAST of THE Passover, and THE SON OF MAN is betrayed TO BE CRUCIFIED.
The Devil had incited the Pharisees to kill Jesus before. I’m told that they plotted to or tried to kill Jesus 27 times prior to His crucifixion. I’m not sure of that count, but it sounds about right. Time after time they plotted to kill Jesus. In our text today we read:
Matthew 26:3-5 (KJV) … Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, [4] And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety, and kill him. [5] But they said, NOT ON THE FEAST DAY, lest there be an uproar among the people.
The Conspirators gathered together in the Palace and, led by Satan, planned on killing Jesus by stealth. “Let’s do it quietly. Let’s kill Him, but NOT ON THE FEAST DAY, lest there be an uproar among the people”. This was the Devil’s plan. Keep it quiet. Don’t do it on the Passover. Make it like a random murder, something that the CSI team can’t figure out. Let’s sneak about and kill Jesus, and sweep Him into the dustbin of history.
But God was in control.
God is always in control.
“Not on the Feast Day” said the Pharisees.
“On the Feast Day” said the Father.
“Keep it quiet” said the Pharisees.
“Parade Him Before the Governor” said God.
“Hide Him between two thieves” said the Pharisees.
“Put KING OF THE JEWS above His head” said God.
Everything the devil did, God undid.
Everything the Pharisees plotted in secret, God shouted from the rooftops.
Perhaps the devil whispers to you now. “You are as good as any. You don’t need Jesus”. The devil is half right. You are “as good as any” but that’s no good before God. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”. Jesus Christ took your penalty so that you do not have to face judgment alone.
1 Peter 3:18 (NKJV) For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
Adrian Rogers tells the following illustration:
“I remember reading a story about a wealthy Roman who had a lavish estate, and he had a servant named Marcellus. When the wealthy Roman died, he wrote his will and left everything to his slave. The wealthy Roman also had a son, and for some reason he had had a disagreement with him, so in his will he said, “I have left my entire estate to my slave Marcellus. To my son, I leave him only one thing. He can choose any one thing from my estate he wants, but that’s all.” The son said, “Very well, I choose Marcellus.”
I choose Jesus. If you choose Jesus, you gain Heaven. If you choose the world, you lose it all, even Heaven. Choose Jesus.
Jesus died for you. He died for me. He died that we might – receiving Him as Lord and Savior – we might have life. Have you received Him? If not, may today be the day you choose to follow Him. May God touch your hearts by His Word.
Several times a week I get calls or visits from people who want our Church to pay their electric bill. We can’t do that. I understand that people get in a bad way, but we just cannot afford to pay every person’s electric bill. If it got out we were paying electric bills, every person of questionable nature would beat a pathway to our door to pay their bills. We contribute monthly to a local para-church ministry called “The Family Support Center”. The FSC helps people pay their light bills, and keeps a database of who has been helped. They have a great system in place to help the genuine needy, but weed out the grifters. It’s a great ministry that we as a Church will always support.
Matthew 26:26-29 (KJV) And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. 27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.
“(A letter from a Texas farmer who wants to remain anonymous, who farms, writes well and actually tried this).
bibleteacher.org 