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A Double Amen Door

Posted on September 8, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

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John 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

The Double Amen Emphasizes Truth

Jesus loved to ask His hearers questions, questions to make them think. But Jesus also loved to use illustrations. He looked at the world around Him, and used truths from that world to explain Heavenly things.

Word Study: Today Jesus starts out with “Verily, verily”, which is literally “amēn amēn”. When the Preacher is speaking in the Church, sometimes the people (if they’re not asleep) say “amēn”. When a prayer is said, we generally end it with “amēn”.

Have you ever thought about what “amēn” means?

In the Old Testament, God used the word “amēn” (also the Hebrew ‘āman) to refers to “something that is faithful, established, or unshakable”. Through Isaiah, God prophecies that Israel is going to be punished for rejecting His leadership. Though God will set up a King named Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and promises that …

Isaiah 22:23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure {‘āman} place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house.

Nonetheless Israel will fall, because they continue to refuse to repent and return to God. Israel’s fall is not God’s fault, but Israel’s fault. God established Eliakim’s reign in an AMEN place, a certain place. His reign was unshakable, because God made him unshakable. Yet Israel will still fall, because they will ignore the will of God.

Several of my commentaries note that the reign of Eliakim is an Old Testament shadow of the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Father established Jesus as “a nail in a sure {‘āman} place”. God even uses language for Eliakim that He later uses for Christ. He said of Eliakim:

Isaiah 22:22 (ESV) … I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

When Jesus addressed the Church at Philadelphia, He said of Himself:

Revelation 3:7 (ESV) {I am} the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

Jesus Christ is the Nail in a AMEN place, God the Son and the Son of God. Though God sent the Messiah to Israel, His people nonetheless fell to Rome and were scattered throughout the world in 70 AD. It was not Christ’s fault then, and is not Christ’s fault now. Our Lord is faithful. Jesus Christ is the Same yesterday, today, and FOREVER (Hebrews 13:8). He is the AMEN of God.

Yet if we reject Him, we, too, shall fall.
This is OUR FAULT, not God’s!

Before God led Israel into the Promised Land, He gave them very specific instructions. After each directive, God demanded His people respond with ‘āmēn. This was their signature on the contract, their statement that they understood what was being said. We read:

Deuteronomy 27:14-17 And the Levites shall speak, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice, 15 Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen {‘āmēn}. 16 Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen {‘āmēn}. 17 Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen {‘āmēn}.

Twelve times throughout this chapter Israel is to respond with AMEN, one time for each tribe of Israel. When you say “AMEN”, you are saying “I understand what God has said – and now I am accountable to HIM for keeping my part of this contract.

Though the Bible tells us that there is only One God (1 Timothy 2:5), but as Adrian Rogers once said “God reveals Himself to us through many different names in the Bible. No single name can describe all that God is. In fact, God uses each and every one of His names to reveal a different part of His character to us”. We have One God with many different descriptive names. One website notes that there are 967 Names and Titles of God in the Scripture. One of God’s names is “the God of truth”, or “The GOD of AMEN”. This comes from two places in Scripture:

Isaiah 65:16 “he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth {‘āmēn}”.

Revelation 3:14 unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God

God is the “God of AMEN”, and Jesus Christ is “The AMEN”. To say AMEN is to invoke the very Name of God. It is not something to be taken lightly. Unless you heed Christ, and AMEN what He says:

Matthew 18:3 … Verily {amēn} I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

You cannot be saved.

Amēn affirms that what God has said is true.
Amēn says “I understand what You said, God, and I agree with it”.
Amēn submits to God’s authority and God’s Word.
Amēn does not debate what God has said is true.
Amēn fixes on Christ as True North.
The Online Bible College notes:

“All Jewish ears tingled when they heard those words. All conversation stopped. All eyes became transfixed on this one who started his teachings with the double “amen,” for this usage not only underlined the importance of what Jesus was about to say, it also linked his words to the eternal covenant-making God.”

You Can Only Lawfully Enter The
“Sheepfold” By The AMEN Door

John 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

The “Sheepfold” is the place where the owner of the sheep stored the sheep in safety. There were two types of sheepfolds. There was the sheepfold in town, and the sheepfold out of town and near the pasture.

The sheepfold had three things common to it, whether in the town or out of town. The sheepfold had walls, hedges, or some type of barrier to contain and protect the sheep. The sheepfold had a doorway that the sheep rightly went through to get inside the barrier. And the sheepfold had … wait for it … SHEEP! The whole purpose of the sheepfold was to protect the sheep.

God described His people as SHEEP. We read:

Psalm 74:1 O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?

God’s people described themselves as God’s SHEEP. We read:

Psalm 79:13 But we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

Psalm 100:3 Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

To describe the believer as a SHEEP is not an insult, but a perfect description. We are very similar to sheep.

Actual sheep have no natural defenses against the dangers of life. Wolves and lions love to eat sheep, the only defense against the wolves and lions is the shepherd.

The believer sheep has no defenses against the devil and his lot. The Bible says,

1 Peter 5:8 “the devil prowls around like a ROARING LION, seeking someone to devour”

We have no defenses against the devil. We have no real defense against death, disease, or destruction. We need the Shepherd, Jesus Christ, to look after us. We need the words of the Shepherd to comfort and control us. Jesus warned:

Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Sheep need protection. Sheep need the Shepherd, and the sheepfold. How do we get into the sheepfold?

John 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

You can sneak into the sheepfold. But if you do not come through “the door into the sheepfold”, then you are there unlawfully. You are “a thief and a robber”. Jesus tells us in:

John 10:7 … Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

Again we see the DOUBLE AMEN in “Verily, verily”. What does Jesus emphasize this time? That He is EXCLUSIVELY “the door of the sheep”. I hear people often say today,

“There are many ways to get to God”

Jesus says, “You are a THIEF and a ROBBER”. The Pharisees and Sadducees sought to get to God through the keeping of the Laws of Moses. Yet God did not give Israel the Law so that they could work their way into Heaven. God gave Israel the sabbaths, the sacrifices, the Temple services as a foreshadowing of Christ. The various ritual that were repeated yearly taught both Israel and US that we all fall far short of God’s righteousness. The Bible says:

Romans 3:19-25 (ESV) Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith…

The Door to the sheepfold is Jesus. It is His Blood that gives us access to God. It is His Word that explains the great truths of Scripture. The Pharisees and Sadducees saw Jesus and, though it was clear He is the Messiah, they rejected Him to create their own doorway into God’s sheepfold. They did not glorify God, but did what they did to bring glory to themselves. Jesus said of them:

Matthew 23:4-7 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, 6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues 7 and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.

I was reading an article the other day called “The Greatest Danger That Any Human Being Faces” (Joe Rigney, fellow of Theology New Saint Andrews College). He wrote:

“For sinners, God is the supreme terror, and when we rightly understand our situation, we are right to fear. As the Scriptures say, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31). Jesus himself makes this point in seeking to rightly order our fears: “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! (Luke 12:4–5)”

The Door to God’s sheepfold is not my abilities, but that which my Jesus has done for me. He is the Door!

The Bible warns that “the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 5:6). What will protect from that wrath, a sure wrath, a justified wrath? Only the Blood of Jesus Christ.

John 1:29 … looking upon Jesus as He walked, {John the Baptist} said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world’ (c/w John 1:36)

That which brings us out from under the wrath of God and into the Sheepfold is Jesus. Again we read:

1 Peter 1:18-19 (ESV) … you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

Some turn to Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Ellen White, Victor Wierville, Taz Russell. Some turn away from the Bible to the Quran, the Bhagavad Gita, the Book of Mormon, the New World Translation, or some other “holy book”. Yet Jesus recognized NONE of these things. He said:

John 10:8-9 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

God’s Sheep will not hear these who try to sneak in through their own windows, or their own illegal doors. The Sheep enter in through “THE Door”. Those who try and enter into the Sheepfold apart from Christ are likewise thieves and robbers. We are told:

John 3:16-18 (ESV) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

God’s Word is very clear. You can choose to try and sneak in the Sheepfold and be labeled a thief and robber. Or you can enter into God’s Sheepfold through Jesus Christ His only Begotten Son. Pastor C.H. Spurgeon said:

“Christ has come that we may have life! If we could have obtained life without His coming, why did He need to come? If life could come to sinners apart from the Cross, why nail the Lord of Glory to the shameful tree? Why Your bleeding wounds, Immanuel, if life could come by some other door? Yet further, why did the Spirit of God descend at Pentecost, and why does He still abide among men if they can be quickened [made alive] without Him? If life is to be obtained apart from the Holy Spirit, to what end does He work in the human heart? The bleeding Savior and the indwelling Spirit are convincing proofs that our life is not from ourselves, but from above!”

Remember That We Mentioned There Are TWO Sheepfolds That Every Shepherd Had?

John 10:2-3 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. {3} To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

In this parable, Jesus not only makes Himself the DOOR, but He makes Himself also the SHEPHERD OF THE SHEEP. He said:

John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

How can our Lord be BOTH SHEPHERD AND DOOR? And WHO is the PORTER? Let’s go back to what I mentioned earlier. Every shepherd had two sheepfolds. He had one in the city, usually a barn or some type of finished structure, and another sheepfold out in the country near where the sheep pastured. The sheepfold outside of the city was made out of hedges, briers, stone, or whatever natural material could be found and assembled to protect those sheep. Here’s the application.

In the city the sheepfold had a finished door guarded by a “PORTER” (thyrōros, the doorkeeper). When the shepherd came to get his sheep, the thyrōros would only let the right shepherd take his sheep. The thyrōros would not open the door to let a stranger in. He was employed to watch the sheep in the shepherd’s absense.

But in the field, there was no thyrōros, for the sheepfold was unfinished, rough. It had a doorway that the sheep went through. Once in the sheepfold, the shepherd would stand or lay across the doorway, becoming the “door” of the sheepfold. The shepherd protected the sheep with his very life.

While we as the people of God walk this earth, we are not home, not in our permanent city. We are “strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13; 1 Peter 2:11). Our God places a “hedge” around us, making a sheepfold for us to rest in. Even the devil knows this, for he said of Job:

Job 1:9-10 Doth Job fear God for nought? {10} Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

God puts a hedge around His people. He is their Shelter from the storm. The Scripture says:

2 Samuel 22:2-4 The LORD [is] my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; {3} The God of my rock; in him will I trust: [he is] my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my Savior; thou savest me from violence. {4} I will call on the LORD, [who is] worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies ..

God is the Hedge around His people. He is our Sheepfold. He saves us, and loves us, and protects and cares for us. And Jesus is the Door of this Sheepfold.

Jesus has promised “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” He watches over us while we walk through this earth. Jesus stands in the doorway as our Door. He is there – He is always there. One day this life will end for us who have believed in Him. We will be transported to Heaven, that Heavenly Jerusalem, that great City of God. The Porter on the Gate of that City is God Himself. Not Saint Peter, not some human, but God. And Jesus – our Great Shepherd – will take us through that Gate. Only Jesus can do this.

There are two Sheepfolds: That in Eternity, In Heaven, and that on Earth. Jesus Is the Door to both Sheepfolds!

Do you know Him? If you do not, today is the day of salvation. Do not wait. Come to Christ. Give your life fully to Him. He is the Door and the Great Shepherd. Amen. Amen.

Posted in John, Sermons Preached | Tagged Following Christ, God Is Faithful, gospel, prayer, salvation | Leave a comment

Do You Believe?

Posted on September 6, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

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John 9:35-41 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? 36 He answered and said, Who is He, Lord, that I might believe on Him? 37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen Him, and it is He that talketh with thee. 38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him. 39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. 40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? 41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

God Can Heal Anything But Self Righteousness

We have been studying the longest passage in Scripture on Jesus’ healing a man born blind. Jesus healed other blind people, but the entirety of chapter 9 deals with this one man. Interestingly, we never know this man’s name. But God knows it. Jesus knows his name. Jesus healed this man to show us that, as Messiah, He came to give sight to the blind. God told Moses:

Exodus 4:11 (ESV) … Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?

It is God who makes a person. People say, “How can a loving God allow that child to be born blind, or with cancer, or with some horrid disease?” Yet what we are saying in reality is,

We have created a false god, an image of the true, in what we think is our image and in our likeness. God is not like what we want Him to be. God is as He is. God does what He does for a purpose. He is God, and we are not.

It is God – the LORD God Almighty – that makes each person according to His will. He made this man on purpose. God made this man blind so that, as we found out in verse 3, “that the works of God should be made manifest in him”. He was made blind from birth so that we all could see the power of Jesus over those who believe in Him. This man’s blindness could be healed – but the blindness of the Pharisee, the self righteousness of man made religion – cannot be fixed.

I find it interesting that Jesus waited until this man was “cast out” of the Synagogue to go to him. The Pharisees threw him out of their fellowship. Why? I believe it is because Christ cannot work with the self righteous. A person who is self righteous believes that they can be good enough for God on their own. The Bible says “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). We are all broken things, and all need Jesus.

Illustrate: Those who are in Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous know that the first thing the addict must do is to admit they have a problem. Once the problem is admitted, that person disconnects himself from others who are still in the grips of the problem. You cannot be a recovering alcoholic in a bar, nor a recovering addict in an opiate den or crack house. You must get away from those who are in the grip of that blindness.

The Pharisees were blind, not with alcohol or drugs, but with self righteousness. They might not have been physically blind, but they were spiritually blind. They saw clear indications through the miraculous that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. Yet they rejected what they saw with their eyes, because their hearts were hardened toward the Lord. They kept the “traditions of the elders” (Matthew 15:2), but disobeyed the clearly taught Word of God (Matthew 15:3-6). Jesus told the Pharisees:

Mark 7:9 Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

They did not actually guard the Law of God, so much as they modified the Law to suit their own beliefs. They are much like those who ignore the Apostolic Teaching on Pastors and Deacons (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6, “The HUSBAND of ONE WIFE) or on homosexual or heterosexual sin (1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Timothy 1:10, “The sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals shall inherit the Kingdom of God”). Though the Bible says:

2 Thessalonians 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.

Just as we are commanded to withdraw from “every brother that walketh disorderly”, to not keep company with those who reject Apostolic Teaching, God caused the Pharisees to expel this once blind man from the company of the self righteous. The charge of God against the Pharisees was:

Romans 10:3-4 (NASB) For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Those who KNOW they are right will never entertain the notion that they need Jesus, the Son of God.

The Pharisees were a ground untilled, rocky, filled with weeds. When Jesus’ disciples asked Him “Why do You speak in parables?”, Jesus replied:

Matthew 13:13-15 (ESV) I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah (from Isaiah 6:9-10) is fulfilled that says: You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. 15 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. (see also John 12:39-40; Luke 8:10; Mark 4:12)

The Pharisees had forgotten that the purpose of the Law was to lead mankind to the Christ, to “believe on the Son of God”. They thought they were fine because of their knowledge of Scripture, but their hearts were far from God (see Matthew 15:8-9). Jesus called them “blind guides” (Matthew 15:14; 23:16, 24), “blind fools” (Matthew 23:17), and “blind men” (Matthew 23:19). The Pharisees had the worst type of blindness. Each and every person born into the world is born “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1-2), walking according to the ways of this world, and following the direction of the “prince of the power of the air – satan” (Ephesians 2:1-2). Jesus told the Pharisees:

If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth

One of my commentaries notes:

The Pharisees repeatedly listen to the preaching of Jesus. They are not absent when he performs amazing miracles. They witness his consistent kindness toward the lowest of their society’s low. Yet they reject him as God’s Messiah or even as a man from God (John 7:30-32; John 8:16). What’s more, they call him a glutton and a drunkard, a Samaritan, demon possessed, in league with the prince of demons, and even Beelzebul himself (Luke 7:34; John 8:48; Mark 3:22; Matthew 10:25). We ask ourselves, how can the Pharisees be so blind?

Separating The Once Blind Man From The Blind Pharisees, Jesus Asks A Simple Question

John 9:35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?

Jesus waited until He heard that “they had cast him out” of the Synagogue. Separated from the Pharisees our Lord asks him simply:

John 9:35 Dost thou believe on the Son of God?

Jesus has already seen this man’s heart. He sees that the man is prepared to be saved. He is out of the company of the self righteous and the confused. Jesus asks this man the question that is the key to eternal life. Jesus does not say, “Do you believe on Jesus of Nazareth?” Jesus is of Nazareth. He is “Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph” (John 1:45). But Joseph is not actually Christ’s father, but he is Jesus’ stepfather. Christ is born of God. He is born of the Virgin Mary. The Angel told Mary:

Luke 1:35 … The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Jesus is the unique Son of God. He was MADE Perfect Man, but has ALWAYS been the Son of God.

The Angels of Heaven are called “The sons of God” (Genesis 6:2, 4; Job 1:6; Job 2:1; Job 38:7) because they were CREATED by God. Likewise, Adam himself was called “the son of God”:

Luke 3:38 … Adam, which was the son of God

because he was CREATED of God. But Jesus – unlike Adam and the Angels – was not created the Son of God, but He was created the Son of Man. Jesus has always been THE Son of God. The Devil himself knows Jesus is THE Son of God (Matthew 4:3, 6). When Jesus met the two possessed of devils in the country of the Gergesenes, the demons themselves cried out:

Matthew 8:29 …. What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

The devils and their Ruler know that Jesus is the Son of God, but they will not repent. The Pharisees knew the Scripture, but refused to acknowledge Jesus is the Son of God. The Gospel that saves is that “Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). Salvation comes when a person recognizes Jesus as Nathaniel did, saying:

John 1:49 … {Jesus is the} the Son of God; … the King of Israel.

He is the Messiah, the One prophesied of the Father in the Old Testament, the One Who would come and lead those who believe in Him to salvation. When we receive Jesus as “THE SON OF GOD”, the Bible says that we become “sons of God” by New Birth.

You say that you believe Jesus is THE Son of God? Then why aren’t you OBEYING Him? Why aren’t you WORSHIPING Him? Do not believe your ritual – whether circumcision or water baptism – will get you into Heaven. “Dost THOU believe on the SON OF GOD?” If you do, it will show in your lifestyle. It will show in how you spend your money, in how you dress and act, in how and what you worship.

The key to God’s Kingdom is confession and submission to Jesus as THE Son of God! The Scripture says:

1 John 4:15 Whosoever shall confess {this is PUBLIC confession} that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

1 John 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? {you obey JESUS, not the world}

1 John 5:10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. {You believe Jesus is UNIQUELY THE SON of GOD}

1 John 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. {you do not BRIEFLY believe Jesus is the Son of God, but HOLD ON to Him as such}

You may believe that Jesus was a good Man, a carpenter’s son, or even a master Rabbi – and you will remain dead in your sins. But if you have received Jesus as “THE Son of God”, the Scripture says:

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

When you RECEIVE Jesus as THE Son of God, God sends the Holy Spirit to you. You receive “power to become the sons of God”. Jesus Christ is Creator God in human perfection. The Scripture declares:

Colossians 1:15-17 (AP) … Jesus Christ is the very image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation: For by Him all things are created, things in Heaven and earth, things visible or invisible, whether thrones, dominions, principalities, or powers: all things were CREATED BY HIM AND FOR HIM, and He is preeminent and before all things, and by Him all things are held together.

This Once Blind Man Shows Us The
PROGRESSION Of Saving Faith

Jesus is more than mere man – He is the God Who became incarnate as Perfect Man. He is the Son of God from eternity. He asks this now seeing but who was once blind man, “Do YOU believe on the Son of God?”. God has been working on the heart of this man. When this man first was healed, he told people that he was healed when …

John 9:11 … A MAN that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes…

Jesus was just a MAN at this point. He was a person like the ex-blind man was a person. Jesus is indeed a Man, but He is not like us. He is a PERFECT Man. Jesus is our “High Priest, Who was tempted as we are, but remained SINLESS” (Hebrews 4:15). As this blind man began to contemplate the miracle of his healing, in his heart he knew that Jesus had to be MORE than just a man like himself. When the Pharisees approached him later, asking who healed him, the once blind man told them:

John 9:17 … He {Jesus} is a prophet.

He must be a Holy Man like John the Baptist, or Elijah or Elisha. After all, the great prophets of the Old Covenant sometimes healed people.

Elijah raised a widow’s son from death (1 Kings 17:17-24).
Elisha raised the Shunamite’s son from death (2 Kings 4:18-37).

Maybe Jesus was a Prophet, sent of God. But now this Person Who healed him stands before him, and asks,

vs 35 Dost thou believe on the Son of God?

The man once blind asks Jesus,

John 9:36 … Who is he, LORD, that I might believe on him?

Word Study: The context of the Greek text tells us that the word rendered “LORD” would be better rendered “SIR”. The healed blind man speaks to Jesus respectfully, but he has never (to his knowledge) seen the “Son of God” with his own eyes. Perhaps he recognizes Jesus’ voice – but he does not call Him “LORD” yet, but respectfully “SIR”. In his mind Jesus has come from common man, to Prophet, to a “Sir”. He asks Jesus Who is the Son of God. Our Lord replies:

John 9:37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.

Jesus declares He is the Son of God. To the Pharisees, Jesus now commits a terrible blaspheme. When they would later bring Jesus before Pilate to be crucified, they would tell the governor:

John 19:7 … We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

They rejected Christ because they thought that “he made himself the Son of God”. But Jesus did not “MAKE HIMSELF” anything. He was clearly the Son of God. Only God could create eyes in a man born without sight. When His friend Lazarus died, Jesus brought him back to life (John 11:42-44). Martha said to Jesus:

John 11:27 … Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

Jesus did not MAKE HIMSELF anything. He is THE Son of God. His works proved His profession.

Jesus has told this man He is the Son of God. The man responds:

John 9:38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him.

The natural outflow of faith is WORSHIP. As a Pastor, if I have to chase you to get you to come and WORSHIP Jesus, then dear friend, YOU ARE NOT SAVED. If you do not love and worship Jesus, then you do not believe in Jesus. He is the Son of God. He is co-equal with God. Jesus told the devil:

Matthew 4:10 … it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’

Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy 6:13-14 as well as other texts. Only God is to be worshiped. Yet this once blind man WORSHIPS Jesus – and Jesus receives that worship.

Jesus was worshiped as a toddler (Matthew 2:11).
Jesus was worshiped by a leper (Matthew 8:2).
Jesus was worshiped by a ruler (Matthew 9:18).
Jesus was worshiped by His disciples (Matthew 14:33).
Jesus was worshiped by the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:25).
Jesus was worshiped by Legion (Mark 5:6).
and Jesus will be worshiped in Heaven (Revelation 11:16).

Jesus is the Son of God. He came into the world to show us the truth of God, and to open our eyes, if we would but come to Him. He came,

John 9:39 … that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

May God the Holy Spirit open your eyes to Christ this very day. If you are saved, live for Him. Worship Him. Please Him by your lifestyle. And if you are not saved, today is the day of salvation. Make your choice. May God lead you to Christ Jesus. Amen and Amen.

Posted in John, Sermons Preached | Tagged Christ, Following Christ, love, salvation | Leave a comment

Jesus Christ Our Example

Posted on September 6, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

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1 Peter 2:18-21 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. 19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

The Big Lie Told From The Pulpits

Several years ago a horrible lie was pushed through the Protestant pulpits and seminaries, a lie that continues to this day. This lie caused a lot of harm. It basically said this:

“Salvation is a free gift of God. Once you are saved, you don’t have to do anything else. There is a second level of Christianity called “Discipleship” that you can choose to follow – or not. You’re still saved and have a free ride to Heaven no matter how you live your life.”

They may not have used those exact words, but that was what was preached. Using this formula, the “Church Membership Rosters” filled with members, and for a time the number of attendees rose. I actually saw one preacher do this – play along with me. “How many of you want to go to Heaven – raise your hand? All right, how many of you believe that Jesus died to save you from Hell, to give you Heaven? Raise your hand. All right, everyone who raised their hand is saved! Let’s praise the Lord!”

After a while though, the Churches began to empty out. Do you know why? Because if you’re going to Heaven no matter what you do in this life, you can be a serial killer or a rapist. You have no incentive to become a “disciple”, that second tier of Christianity, if everyone goes to the same place and gets the same reward. This is the reason that Hugh Hefner, when he died, was depicted as entering Heaven in numerous editorial cartoons. He and his Playboy Empire helped create a $10 Billion a year porn industry.

There is another reason (among a myriad of reasons) that “Two Tier Christianity” failed, and the Churches are emptying out. Many believe that once they were saved, that they would not only miss hell, but would also miss out on suffering. But that’s not true. All people suffer.

So called “Two Tiered Christianity” will not stand
through the fire of suffering.

One of my favorite Bible Teachers was Dr. Tim Keller, an ordained Pastor of the Presbyterian Church in America. Keller pastored the 5000 member Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, New York City. He wrote 34 Books on various Bible subjects. Though I didn’t agree with him on everything he wrote, he asked those who professed Christ:

1. Is There EVIDENCE OF GOD’S PRESENCE In Your Life?
2. Is There EVIDENCE OF SCRIPTURE Changing Your Life?
3. Is There EVIDENCE OF A GROWING APPRECIATION for God’s Mercy?

Listen to me, Beloved. If you are saved, YOU ARE SAVED INTO A FAMILY. If you are saved, YOU ARE SAVED INTO A KINGDOM. There are not two levels of Christianity, but one. Life will try your faith. Bad things happen to the best of people. Tim Keller died of Pancreatic Cancer at the age of 72, but he died praising God for His goodness. Tim Keller’s last words were these:

“There is no downside for me leaving, not in the slightest.”

Christians Will Suffer. Is God Present
With You In Your Suffering?

1 Peter 2:18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.

Word Study: The Apostle starts with the word “Servants”. This is the Greek oikétēs, {pronounced oy-ket’-ace}, which means “a menial domestic, a live in maid or butler”. Jesus used this same word in:

Luke 16:13 No servant {oikétēs} can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

One of the lowest jobs a person could have is to be an oikétēs or a live in servant. This job was usually held by slaves, though it could be a very low paying position. The oikétēs did the lowest jobs, washing the feet of the master and his family, cleaning up after those in his or her charge, waiting on the Master’s family hand and foot. The word oikétēs speaks to those who are in a miserable job with little wage – a hand to mouth existence.

Word Study: The oikétēs is told to “be subject to your masters with all fear”, to willingly and respectfully serve them. He says, “not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward”. The word “froward” is the Greek skoliós, {pronounced skol-ee-os’}, which means “the crooked, the wicked, the surly or mean spirited”. Your level of service and your attitude is to be attentive, respectful, and patiently longsuffering toward the “master”, regardless as to how you are treated, or what you think you deserve. Though you are a “SERVANT” in this person’s employ, and though this person may treat you badly, you are nonetheless a “Child of God” in the House of God. You belong to God. You represent God. You represent the Kingdom of Heaven.

1 Peter 2:19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.

Word Study: The word translated “THANKWORTHY” is the Greek cháris, {pronounced khar’-ece} which means “GRACE”. When you do good to those who do bad to you, you are demonstrating Christ in your life. You are showing people what Grace looks like. This is what Jesus did for you. We are told in:

1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

“For even hereunto were ye called”. This is the reason God called you. You were considered by all else to be less than or the least of these. The Bible says:

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 (NKJV) For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence

God called the weak. He called the broken. He called the lowly servant. Look at who Jesus Christ called to be His Apostles. He did not call rich people, or Bible Scholars, or Doctors of Theology, or great Rabbis. Jesus called fishermen. Jesus called despised tax collectors. Jesus called stewards. Jesus called merchants. Jesus told these men, “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19).

We are called to imitate Christ.
We are called to model Grace as Jesus did.

If you “endure grief, suffering wrongfully”, then you are following in Christ’s footsteps. Jesus endured grief. Our Lord Jesus came from the glorious Throne of Heaven, down to this earth, to make us right with God. As Jesus went through this life the Bible says:

Hebrews 5:7-9 (ESV) In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to Him who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. 8 Although He was a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. 9 And being made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him…

All of us have experienced suffering at times. We have all been placed in positions where we were brought low. Jesus went through the same things. Though Jesus never did evil, and was “without sin” (Hebrews 4:15), He was accused of being empowered by the devil. The Pharisee said:

Matthew 12:24 This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

They accused Jesus of blasphemy (Matthew 26:65). They plotted against our Lord, and told lies about Him, and mocked Him. Jesus told them:

Matthew 26:53 (ESV) Do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

Our Lord Jesus is the “Man of Sorrows”. Oh, how He suffered while on this earth. The Prophet said:

Isaiah 53:3-4 He is despised and rejected of men; a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

How did Jesus respond when He – the “Beloved Son in Whom God the Father is well pleased” (Matthew 3:17; 17:5) – suffered as He did? Did He curse the Father? Did He rail at His tormentors? No. The Bible says:

1 Peter 2:22-23 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:

Jesus did not allow His pain to bring Himself into a state of sin. Being sinned against, He “did no sin”. Jesus did not lie nor hide in the gray shadows of the truth. There was no “GUILE {dólos, [pronounced dol’-os], deceitfulness, trickery} found in His mouth”. Jesus stayed within character, and continued to espouse the Word of God as truth. We are told that “when he was reviled, reviled not again”. How did Jesus use His mouth as the worst stage of His suffering?

Luke 23:33-34 And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. 34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment {clothing} , and cast lots.

As Jesus hung naked and bleeding, making payment for your sins and mine, at no point did He curse His captors nor the audience who mocked Him. Jesus prayed for them.

Jesus epitomized Grace in how He suffered. We Who are His Children are to follow the same standard.

How did Jesus do it? He kept His focus on the bigger picture. He kept His eyes on the Father’s intent. We are told that when Jesus “suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him”.

Jesus gave the situation to His Father.
In His suffering, Jesus focused on the “big picture”.
He focused on our salvation.

The oikétēs or lowly servant focused on the miserable job or the hateful employer will let his emotions draw him downward into depression or hatred. He will, in time, look for ways to “get even” or to pay back the master for what he suffered. But the oikétēs focused on pleasing the Heavenly Father and glorifying the Son of God will praise the Lord in spite of the suffering. That oikétēs will trust that the Father is in control of all things, and that if the oikétēs do his part, that our God will do His part. The Bible tells us that “God is faithful” (1 Corinthians 1:9):

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV) No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Our Heavenly Father is faithful. He is always right in what He proposes and good in what He disposes. Jesus trusted this, and so should we.

1 Peter 2:20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

Illustrate: If you suffer for something you did to yourself, there is no glory in that. Sometimes we purposely do the wrong thing, knowing to do better, and cause ourselves suffering. There is no GLORY in that. It’s like a comedian once said, “Doctors can fix all types of sicknesses and diseases. If you were born with defects, specialized doctors can fix you up, make you look like a movie star. You can fix a hair lip, or crossed eyes. But there’s one thing you can’t fix. You can’t fix STUPID”. When you do something STUPID, or against God’s commandment, you can bring misery to yourself – misery you deserve.

What does God want us to do? We are told that when we “do well, and suffer for it” if we “take it patiently” that this is ACCEPTABLE TO GOD. This is what God wants us to do. When we suffer, invite God into the suffering with us. Follow Jesus’ footsteps. The suffering is not without purpose, but God is giving you an opportunity to display what GRACE is.

Has The Scripture You Heard Today
Changed Your Life In Any Way?

Christianity brings not only the Presence of God, but it also modifies your life as you study God’s Word. Jesus bore up under suffering because He knew that what He suffered would conquer death and bring salvation to us. The Scripture says:

Hebrews 2:9-11 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. 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,

Jesus “TASTED DEATH FOR EVERY PERSON”. He died for the sins of the world. He did that so the He could “bring many sons unto glory”. To come to Jesus in faith is to REPENT, and to RECEIVE HIM as He is – both LORD AND SAVIOR of His people. Did Jesus die on that Cross just to bring us to Heaven? NO! We read:

1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Jesus Christ, who is Perfect and Unbroken, was broken on Calvary to fix us. Because He died for our sins, we are ourselves “dead to sins”. The Apostle Paul said it this way:

Romans 6:1-2, 6, 11-18 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

We who are saved, are now sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus. We do not serve sin, but serve righteousness. We who are His “SHOULD LIVE UNTO RIGHTEOUSNESS”. If you are saved, you were saved INTO a FAMILY. If you are saved, you are saved INTO a KINGDOM.

We’ll end with this:

1 Peter 2:25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

We live close to our Great Shepherd. We look to Him. We trust in Him, no matter what may come. Do you know Him? If now, please call upon Him now. REPENT, and turn to the Master. Give your broken life to Him, and He will make you whole. Amen and Amen.

Posted in 1 Peter, Sermons Preached | Tagged Following Christ, Jesus Christ, love God, salvation | Leave a comment

The People Of God

Posted on August 30, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

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1 Peter 2:9-10 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light; 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Opening: In the days before the Internet, when people had no cell phones nor smart phones, when “cable television” was the only clear television you could watch, people listened to a strange device called the “radio”. When I was young, working with my dad in the upholstery shop, we listened to the radio as we worked. I didn’t stop periodically and fiddle my thumbs over a glass covered square, intensely mesmerized and hypnotized by pictures of some one elses life. We listened to radio. We enjoyed music. We also enjoyed radio personalities. We didn’t have “Shock Jocks” who spouted irreverent and blasphemous things. We had one man who spoke on ABC News Radio. The things he said made you think. His voice reached 24 million people each week. That was a lot prior to the Internet.

His name was Paul Harvey.

One of his greatest broadcasts was in 1965 simply entitled, “If I were the Devil”. Listen to this:

“If I were the Prince of Darkness I’d want to engulf the whole world in darkness. And I’d have a third of it’s real estate, and four-fifths of it’s population. But I wouldn’t be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree………………THEE. So I’d set about however necessary to take over the United States. I’d subvert the CHURCHES first. I’d begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve, “Do as you please”. To the young I would whisper that “the Bible is a myth”. I would convince them that man created God, instead of the other way around. I would confide that what’s bad is good, and what’s good is square. And the old, I would teach to pray after me, Our Father – which art in Washington. And then I’d get organized. I’d educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting, so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting. I’d threaten TV with dirtier movies. … I’d peddle narcotics to whom I could. I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. I’d tranquilize the rest with pills. If I were the Devil I’d soon have families at war with themselves, Churches at war with themselves, and nations at war with themselves. Until each in it’s turn, was consumed. … If I were the Devil I would encourage schools to refine young intellects, but neglect to discipline emotions. Just let those run wild! Until before you knew it, you’d have to have drug sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door. Within a decade I’d have prisons overflowing. … Soon I could evict God from the courthouse, then from the schoolhouse, and then from the Houses of Congress. And in His own churches I would substitute Psychology for religion and deify science. … If I were the Devil I’d make the symbol of Easter an egg, and the symbol of Christmas a bottle. If I were the Devil I would take from those who have, and give to those who wanted, until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious. What will you bet I could get whole states to promote gamblingas the way to get rich. I would caution against extremes in hard work, in patriotism, in moral conduct. I would convince the young that marriage is old fashioned, that swinging is more fun, that what you see on TV is the way to be. And thus, I could undress you in public, and I could lure you into bed with diseases for which there is no cure. In other words, if I were the Devil I’d just keep right on doing what he’s doing.”

Paul Harvey died in February 2009, and this broadcast is about 58 years old. Many of you have never heard it. When I heard it again the other day, it could be broadcast today and be just as applicable. What the Devil did 58 years ago, he did 580 years ago. As Paul Harvey said, if he were the devil “I’d subvert the CHURCHES first”. That is what’s happening in America. It’s been going on for years.

The devil has enticed Churches and Christians to fall away from following God’s Bible in order to become more “culturally sensitive”. Instead of pleasing God we want to please the “seeking soul”. That’s not our calling!

In an article entitled “What’s Behind America’s ‘Great Dechurching’?” John Stonestreet and Shane Morris of the Colson Center Breakpoint note:

“U.S. church membership, as a percentage of the population, is now at a record low—down more than 20 points in the twenty-first century. … the Southern Baptist Convention, America’s largest Protestant denomination, lost half a million members last year … ”

Why is this happening? The article goes on to note what I’ve believed for years. I want to read you what they wrote:

“If Christianity is merely a kind of hobby or weekly pep talk designed to enhance psychological well being or career success, then we can find better stuff on YouTube or Spotify. Why make time for this type of church every week?

But what if Christianity is a way of life, the thing it’s all about. What if it demands our allegiance? What if following Christ restructures our priorities and pursuits, our beliefs and our behavior—including career, family, and even personal identity?

Everything else in our society directs our gaze inward, to ourselves, our feelings, our priorities, and our problems—as if every individual is the center of his or her own universe. Churches that accept and even participate in this idolatry may be leading millions away from Christianity, not by demanding everything of them but by demanding nothing.”

Salvation Is A Gift Of God BUT…

Beloved, Christianity is not merely “Fire Insurance” for the day you die. Jesus Christ is the “Gift of God” (John 4:10) given to the lowest of us. The “Gift of God” cannot be purchased with money (Acts 8:20). The Bible tells us:

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the Gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God gave His Son to us as His Gift to us. When we receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior – which He is – we receive with Him NEW LIFE. We are BORN AGAIN, and SPIRIT INDWELT. God gives us membership in the Family of God. The Scripture says:

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

You are saved by RECEIVING the GIFT OF GOD, our Lord Jesus Christ. You call upon His Name, surrendered to the Cross. When you do so, then…

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

I heard one preacher put it this way: “We are not saved THROUGH our good works, but by surrendered faith in Christ Jesus. But we are saved UNTO good works”.

Salvation Changes Your Citizenship

1 Peter 2:10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Here Peter quotes what God said in

Hosea 2:23 (NKJV) … I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; Then I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’ ”

God did this in the Old Testament with Israel. God came to Abram – who would one day be Abraham – and promised a Nation would come from his seed, and that this Nation would bless the whole world (Genesis 12:1-3). When God established Israel on the Day of Pentecost, He told her:

Deuteronomy 7:7-8 (NKJV) The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; 8 but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Israel was nothing before God called it. Then it was His People. As His people, Israel was to follow Him. As God called Israel, God called the Church. God did not call us to His side because we were “special” or “better”, but because God made a promise to Abraham our forefather. God sent His Son Jesus through Israel – born of a Virgin – born to make payment for our sins. Before we met Christ we walked in darkness.

Ephesians 2:2-3 in time past ye walked according to the {ways} of this world, according to {the devil} the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now {works} in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our {way of life} in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Before Christ, we were NOT the people of God. We satisfied “the lusts of our flesh”. We practiced “You do you”. We fulfilled “the desires of the flesh and of the mind”. We pursued the things that made us happy. But NOW we are the people of God. We are not bound to darkness, to the ways of this world. Listen Beloved:

Colossians 1:13 (ESV) He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

We belong to Jesus, not the darkness. The devil is not our master!

Romans 13:12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

We belong to Jesus, not the darkness. We live to please our Lord. Jesus said,

John 8:12 (ESV) … I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

What we who are now Christians WERE was lost. The lost walk through this life without Christ. But now …

Ephesians 5:8 (ESV) For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light…

If you are LOST, walk as the LOST. That is your place. But if you are SAVED, walk in the LIGHT with Jesus. Live as He lived. Love as He loved. Follow God’s Word. If you can SIN and not be bothered by it, YOU ARE STILL LOST. The Bible says:

1 John 3:8 (ESV) Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

God raised up Moses to lead Israel out of slavery to Egypt. God raised up Jesus to lead the Church out of slavery to sin. Just as Israel left Egypt, we who are saved leave sin.

The Four-Fold Change That GRACE
Brings To The Saved

1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;

In the Bible, numbers have meaning. The number four is the number of REST. It is the fourth commandment that states:

Exodus 20:8-9 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work:

When God called Israel out of 24/7 slavery, a life with absolutely NO rest, He gave them the gift of one day of rest in each seven. This was a great blessing! So four is the number of rest. God says four characteristics are true of His people:

you are a chosen generation

You, dear Christian, are special to God. He said:

Isaiah 43:20-21 … I {the Lord your God} give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, 21 the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.

Where there is no water, where the lost would die of thirst, God provides water for His people. We are chosen to be blessed of Him. But we are also chosen to bless Him, to praise our God. We are a “chosen” people. Jesus said:

John 15:16 (NKJV) You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

Jesus called us to Himself. Jesus “first loved us” (1 John 4:19). When we heard the Gospel preached, the Holy Spirit came and took the chains of sin from our eyes. Jesus bid we come, and hearing the whosoever will of the Gospel (Matthew 16:25; Mark 8:34-35; Luke 9:24; Revelation 22:17) we came. Jesus chose us, and we grabbed His hand and walked with Him – and walk daily with Him. Jesus told us as His people that …

John 15:19 (ESV) If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

We are not to receive the accolades of the world. If the world recognizes you as the “best place to worship”, perhaps you are not in the right place. We do not cultivate the hatred of the world, but loving the Lord and His Word, we will be hated and mocked.

you are a royal priesthood

When God first called Israel to His side, He told Moses in

Exodus 19:6 (ESV) … you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.

Every Israelite was to be a Priest before God. A Priest is someone who stands between God and man. The Priest represents man to God, and God to man. A Priest offers sacrifice to God on behalf of the people. A Priest shares the Word of God to the people without modification. Israel was to be a nation of Priests. But when Moses went up on Mount Sinai to receive the Law from God, while he was on the mountain Israel created an idol and began to worship it. When Moses came down the mountain, he cried out:

Exodus 32:26 Who is on the LORD’S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

Since only the “sons of Levi” stood with Moses, the Levites became the Priests of Israel. The Rulers of Israel were from Judah, which made Judah royalty. In Israel, it was impossible to be a royal priest. You were one or the other, or neither. But in the Church Age God changes things through Christ.

When you receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, you become “children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26). God is King of Kings, and as His Children you are Royalty! We are “sons and daughters of God”, members of the Royal Family. But Jesus Christ is the “High Priest of our profession” (Hebrews 3:1), our “Great High Priest” (Hebrews 4:14-15). Jesus is a “high priest after the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 5:10). Because the Son of God (royalty) made us sons of God (royalty), and because Jesus is our High Priest we are priests.

As Children of God and Priests through Christ, we live to please our God, and to lead others to Him.

You are an holy nation

We as Christians are imitators of our Father. When God called us to salvation, He called us from the company of the lost to His side. We have previously read:

1 Peter 1:15-16 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Many are leaving the Church behind because they see no real difference between the professing Christian and the atheist. We are called to be

Ephesians 5:1-5 … followers of God, as dear children; 2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor. 3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; 4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Jesus tells us to love as the Father loves (Matthew 5:48; Luke 6:35-36; Matthew 5:45).

you are a peculiar people

Word Study: The word translated “PECULIAR” is the Greek peripoiēsis which means “a purchased possession, a valuable property that one is jealous over”. You are valuable to God because of the price He paid for you. God the Holy Spirit indwells you (Ephesians 1:14). The Blood of Jesus Christ was shed for your sins. God will not long allow you to wander. You belong to Him. You are called to walk “in His marvelous light” (vs 9). C.H. Spurgeon wrote:

“EVERYTHING about a true Christian is marvelous. He is a marvel to himself, and a marvel to all who are round about him. Mere professors—men-made Christians—people who have made themselves Christians by their own free will apart from the Spirit of God, have nothing marvelous about them. You can make professors of that sort by the score, and you can see them dissolve by the score, for what man made, man can unmake, and what is merely natural has its season, like the leaves on the trees, and by and by, it withers away because its time to fade has come. But a true Christian is a God-made man, a twice born man, and he is a partaker of the divine nature. He is a mass of marvels, for he is dead, and yet he is alive, he is one who lives here, and yet his life has gone away up yonder, he is one who is a citizen of earth, and yet his citizenship is in heaven. He is a true man, but he is more than a man, for God has lifted him up above the level of other men, given him a life which other men do not possess, revealed to him secrets which others do not know, and prepared for him a place into which the ungodly can never enter.”

The only thing that can make a Christian unmarvelous is sin in their lives. As we come to the Lord’s Table, know that salvation is a free gift unto good works. Those saved do not live as unbelievers live. We are God’s children. We are God’s family. Do not believe that you can go back to Egypt and be a child of God. You either belong to Jesus – or you belong to the devil.

May God lead you to the everlasting arms of Christ. Amen and Amen.

Posted in 1 Peter, Sermons Preached | Tagged Following Christ, love God, salvation | Leave a comment

Jesus Healing The Blind

Posted on August 25, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

Last week we started looking at “the man born blind that Jesus healed” in John chapter 9. This was not the only blind man Jesus healed. When John the Baptist had a crisis of faith, and sent messengers to ask if Jesus was indeed the Messiah, our Lord said:

Matthew 11:5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

Jesus listed “The blind receive their sight” first, making it more important than “the dead are raised up”. Jesus came to give spiritual sight to whosoever would listen to Him. He illustrated this by “being Light” (“I am the Light of the world” – John 8:12), but also by healing the blind. Jesus healed two blind men in Matthew 9:27-31, one of whom was called Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52). Jesus also healed a blind man in Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26).

This Passage in John 9 Is The Longest And Most
Detailed Account Of Christ Healing The Blind

The other passages dealing with the blind are covered in about 17 verses of Scripture – but here we have an entire chapter devoted to blindness. The man born blind from birth starts the chapter, and triggers other events. But he is not the only blind person in this chapter.

The Man Is Physically Healed, But Still
Blind To Who Jesus Is

John 9:7 And {Jesus} said unto {the man born blind}, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.

Jesus made mud out of spittle and clay, and anointed the man’s eyes with it. He then sent him to the “POOL OF SILOAM”. The name “SILOAM” means “that which has been SENT”. The Bible Commentator William Barclay notes:

The water for the pool of Siloam came through Hezekiah’s tunnel, a remarkable engineering feat built in Old Testament times. “It was called Siloam, which, it was said, meant sent, because the water in it had been sent through the conduit into the city.”

Anglican Archbishop Richard C. Trench said:

“It was from the Siloam stream that was drawn the water which was poured over the great altar at the Feast of Tabernacles just past, which pouring out was regarded by the Rabbis (and is still) as typical of the pouring out of The Spirit in the ‘latter days’.”

When Jesus sent the man to Siloam, He was showing us that all healing He did while on this earth was through the Holy Spirit. The water of Siloam (Sent) represented the Sending of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that when He went away, He would send the Holy Spirit to the Church” (John 16:7).

Jesus did not do the miraculous in His own Divine Power. The Bible says that when our Lord came to minister on this earth, that …

Philippians 2:7-8 (ESV) {Jesus} emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Our Lord told the Pharisees,

Matthew 12:28 (ESV) … if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Though Jesus as the Eternal Son of God has the power to do anything He wants to do (even the devil knew He could turn rocks into bread – see Matthew 4:3), Jesus did the miraculous through the power of the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. It was the Holy Spirit, the Finger of God (Exodus 8:19) by which Moses did miracles in Egypt. It was the Holy Spirit, the Finger of God (Exodus 31:18; Deuteronomy 9:10) by which the Ten Commandments were written on Stone. It was by the Finger of God (Luke 11:20) that Jesus cast out demons, and did the miraculous.

Jesus sent the blind man to Siloam so that we would see him healed by the waters, the same waters that were poured on the altar during Sukkot, translated “Booths” or “Tabernacles” in Deuteronomy 16:13 and Leviticus 23:34. When this was done back in John chapter 7, Jesus tied the waters of Siloam to the Holy Spirit:

John 7:37-39 (ESV) On the last day of the feast {of Booths/ Tabernacles}, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Faith in the Messiah, Jesus Christ, brings the indwelling Holy Spirit to our lives.

It is the Holy Spirit Who causes us to be born again (John 3:6, 8).
It is the Holy Spirit Who gives the gift of healing (1 Corinthians 12:9).
It is the Holy Spirit Who gives us spiritual sight (1 Corinthians 2:9-12).
It is the Holy Spirit Who “guides us into all truth” (John 16:13).

The Spirit is only received after a person receives Jesus as Lord and Savior. Like Jesus SENT this man to Siloam, He SENDS us to the Spirit, and the Spirit to us.

John 9:8-12 The neighbors therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? 9 Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he. 10 Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? 11 He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight. 12 Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not.

When the blind man asked how he was able to see, the man said “A man that is called Jesus” anointed him with clay and sent him to Siloam. He calls Jesus “A man”. Jesus is a man, but He is also more than a man. The Apostle wrote:

1 Timothy 2:5-6 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Jesus is a man, but He is a Perfect Man. He is the “ransom for all”, the payment for our sins. If Jesus were a sinner like we are, then how could He ransom us? He could not. A sinner cannot pay for the sins of sinners. A sinner is bankrupt before God. But Jesus is our High Priest, representing us before our Holy Father:

Hebrews 4:15 … we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Hebrews 9:28 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.

Jesus Christ called Himself “The Son of man” (Matthew 8:20), but declared that as the perfect “Son of man”:

Matthew 9:6 … the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins …

As “the Son of Man” Jesus is the Messiah, the Incarnate Son of God. God become Man, Perfect Man. Jesus said:

Matthew 12:8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

When the Woman of Samaria finished talking to Jesus, she went and told her neighbors:

John 4:29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

She was saved, She was a believer in Christ. She was blind, but now sees.

This blind man – who now can physically see – is spiritually blind. He has encountered Jesus, but has no idea Who Jesus is. He is still blind in the worst way.

Why Did Jesus Heal On The Sabbath?

The people are curious as to how this man – born blind – could now see. So we read:

John 9:13-14 They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. 14 And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.

The Pharisees – along with the Scribes or Lawyers – were the Bible scholars of that day. If you have a question about the Scripture, they are the “Encyclopedia Britannica” that you would go to. We are told that Jesus healed this man on “the sabbath day”, what the Jews called “Shabbat”. God gave the seventh day as a day of rest for Israel after Israel was saved from Egyptian slavery. The Israelite as slave had absolutely NO days off, but worked in the harshest of conditions. As it was with circumcision, God gave Israel a Shabbat or Sabbath:

Exodus 31:12-17 And the Lord said to Moses, 13 “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. 14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17 It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’

The Pharisees and Scribes had taken the Sabbath and distorted it by adding rules that God never gave. Called “The 39 Melakhot” (39 Categories of Work), the Jews were forbidden to plant, plow, reap, gather, thresh, winnow, sort, grind, sift, knead, shear, scour, launder, spin, weave, tie, tear, trap, kill, skin, cure, smooth, score, measure, erase, construct, demolish, ignite, extinguish, carry … and on and on. Neither the Church nor the Gentile was given a Sabbath. The Apostle Paul, himself a Pharisee of the Pharisees (Philippians 3:5), wrote:

Colossians 2:16-17 (ESV) Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

There is no evidence that – after Jesus rose from the grave on the first day of the week (John 20:1; Luke 24:1) – that the Church ever kept Shabbat. The Church worshiped Jesus on the First Day, the Day of His resurrection from the grave (see 1 Corinthians 16:2; Acts 20:6-7). They called that day “The Lord’s Day”. God rested after creating the Heaven and the earth. Once Jesus died on the Cross and rose again, by His resurrection He brought about the Kingdom of God on the earth.

The Pharisees And Scribes Were Spiritually Blind. When they found out that Jesus healed this man on Shabbat, the Sabbath, we read:

John 9:15-17 Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. 16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them. 17 They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.

When Jesus spat in the ground and kneaded a bit of clay to anoint the man’s eyes, this was one of the forbidden Melakhot. Based on that little bit of kneading, they condemned Jesus as “a sinner”, Someone Who purposely violated God’s Laws. Why didn’t Jesus heal on another day? He could have avoided the controversy, and after all, the man had been blind from birth. Why heal him on Shabbat?

Jesus did this because Israel was not only imprisoned under Roman Rule and Law, but Israel was also enslaved by the Pharisaic interpretation of the Law. The Apostle Peter called the Law as given by the Pharisees:

Acts 15:10-11 (NKJV) … a yoke on the neck … which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear …

Under the Law if a person’s ox fell in a ditch, they were allowed to get it out. If their animals needed watering, they were allowed to water their beast (Luke 13:15). It was – according to Jesus – “lawful to do good on the Sabbath, to save life” (Mark 3:4). Jesus chastised these religious leaders for:

Mark 7:7 (ESV) … teaching as doctrines the commandments of men …

Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). It was a gift from God, not a yoke. Jesus healed on the Sabbath to show the foolishness of the teachings of the Pharisees and Scribes, but also to show the love of God toward His creation. The Pharisees made Jesus out to be “A SINNER”, but the man that was healed that “He is a prophet”.

Jesus MUST have been from God, or else I would not be able to see! A Prophet, according to the Rabbis, was sent of God. Therefore the Prophet could dispense with the observation of the Sabbath, just as the Priest who did circumcisions did, because he was doing the work of God.

Bible Commentator Adam Clarke wrote:

“Works of necessity and mercy never could be forbidden on that day by Him whose name is mercy, and whose nature is love; for the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath; were it otherwise, the Sabbath would be rather a curse than a blessing.”

The Pharisees could not believe what they were told. We read:

John 9:18-23 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. 19 And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see? 20 His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: 21 But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. 22 These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.

The parents of the healed man would not answer for their son. They were afraid that the Pharisees would have them “put out of the synagogue”. A person cast out of the Synagogue was excommunicated for thirty days for the first two offenses. The third time that person could be excommunicated forever, making them much like a leper. This was a formidable threat. The Scripture says:

John 12:42 (NKJV) Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess [Him], lest they should be put out of the synagogue

John 9:24-29 Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. 25 He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. 26 Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes? 27 He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples? 28 Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. 29 We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.

The man who was healed did not try and argue the Bible – or about Jesus – with the Pharisees. He just stuck with what he knew to be true. He said simply, “I was blind, now I see”. Likewise, we as believers do not need to know the answer to every theological or philosophical question in order to tell someone what Jesus did for us. We just need to tell of our experience. “I was blind, now I see”.

John 9:30-34 The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvelous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. 31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshiper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. 32 Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. 33 If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. 34 They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.

The man who had been blind stuck to what he knew. He knew that the Scripture teaches that “GOD HEARETH NOT SINNERS”. The Scripture is clear on this:

Psalm 34:15-16 (ESV) The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

Psalm 66:18 (ESV) If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

Proverbs 15:29 (ESV) The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

Proverbs 28:9 (ESV) If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.

The only prayer that God hears from the sinner is the prayer of repentance. The Bible promises that God hears that prayer. “I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.” (Psalm 116:13). “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).

The only answer the Pharisees had to what this young man said was to “cast him out”. Of course, they insulted him before the excommunicated him. “Thou wast altogether born in sins”. You were a sinner from birth. That’s why you were blind. You were sinful from your mother’s womb. Though we are all born in trespasses and sin – even the Pharisees – that was not why that child was born blind.

It was to glorify Christ. It was to show us great truths concerning our Lord Jesus. It was so that He would be shown to be Messiah, the Savior of the world.

We will come back next week at verse 35. May God move you to live for Christ this very day. Amen and Amen.

Posted in John, Sermons Preached | Tagged Following Christ, God Is Faithful, gospel, love God, salvation | Leave a comment

Wherefore, Part 2

Posted on August 22, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/bullion-gold-gold-bars-golden-47047/

1 Peter 2:6-10 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. 7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, 8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. 9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light; 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Sadly, we have yet another scandal in the Southern Baptist Convention. In our paper The Baptist and Reflector I saw the headlines,

MCLAURIN RESIGNS AS INTERIM PRESIDENT OF SBC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

I thought it might be good news, that Willie was being called as President of the SBC Executive Committee. Willie took over as Interim President when it was alleged that Ronnie Floyd was guilty of sexual abuse. To quote another article, “McLaurin … brought calm to a battered organization in the wake of former president Ronnie Floyd’s resignation and to the EC’s handling of sexual abuse claims related to SBC churches. ”

Sadly, that was not the case. Brother McLaurin submitted a resume that – Willie admits – “included schools I did not attend or complete the course of study”. McLaurin wrote, “To the Southern Baptists who have placed their confidence in me and have encouraged me to pursue the role of President & CEO of the SBC Executive Committee, including pastors, state partners, entity servants, colleagues, and SBC African American friends, I offer my deepest apologies. Please forgive me for the harm or hurt that this has caused”.

Though I do not endorse what Brother McLaurin did – it is a violation of God’s Word to lie and misrepresent – I personally am praying for our entire Convention. We are not recognizing elders who are Spirit Filled and God Led, but are approaching God’s Word in the power of the flesh. It does not matter how many degrees you have. The reported Prince of Preachers, C.H. Spurgeon had no seminary training whatsoever. He was God led.

Beloved, are we GOD led, or are we FLESH led?
What is our goal every Sunday at this Church?
What do we expect of ourselves as Christians when we walk out of here?
I don’t care what your resume says –
If you’re not walking in the Power of the Spirit,
If you’re not walking in the LIGHT of Christ,
You’re in the wrong place! Period.

Our Chief Focus Is Not Human Qualifications,
But CHRIST. Jesus is PRECIOUS.

1 Peter 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I {this is God the Father speaking} lay in Sion {actually Zion, a reference to God’s Kingdom} a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

It is IMPORTANT to realize when reading the Bible you are reading the Word of God. It is also IMPORTANT to understand our Bible is translated from Hebrew, Chaldean, Aramaic and Koine Greek to English. It pays to look at the original text, because sometimes the translation may mask a Biblical truth.

Word Study: Take for instance the word “Wherefore”. We saw this word last week in

1 Peter 2:1 WHEREFORE laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings …

We saw that this was the Greek Conjunction oun, found499 times in the Greek New Testament. Oun can be translated “accordingly, consequently, or these things being so”. Now we come to “Wherefore” once more, but this time it is the Greek Conjunction dio. Dio is used only 53 times in the Greek New Testament – about 1/9th of the time that Oun is used. Dio appears to be more emphatic. For instance, it is found in:

Luke 1:35 {Gabriel told Mary} … The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you: therefore (dio | διό | conj) the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God.

Or when the Centurion sent friends to Jesus that our Lord heal his servant, his messengers told Jesus:

Luke 7:6-7 … Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 For (dio | διό | conj) that reason I did not consider myself worthy to come to you. But speak the word and let my servant be healed.

Or when the Apostle chastised the “Woke” unbelievers in Rome, saying:

Romans 1:23-24 {they} exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore (dio | διό | conj) God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that they dishonored their bodies among themselves.

Dio seems to be a STRONG form of the conjunction. When I see Dio pop up, it is God’s way of saying “What is to follow is VERY important”. What follows the Dio in this instance is a prophecy made some 700 years before Peter’s writings.

1 Peter 2:6 Wherefore (dio) also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

This is a quotation of …

Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

Word Study: The “precious corner stone” is the main stone the building rests on. The word translated “precious” in 1 Peter 2:6 is the Greek entimos, which means “that which is held in highest honor, that which is prized or dear to another”. That which satisfies the Father is His Son.

The foundation Stone of the Church is Jesus Christ, not a Pope or a Preacher. It is God the Father that laid this Stone, not man, nor denomination. Jesus Christ is precious to the Father. The Father said,

Matthew 3:17 … This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Matthew 17:5 … This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

Jesus Christ is the only way to satisfy God. Faith in Him is the only thing that pleases God. Glorifying Him in your life and actions will always honor Him, and please the Father. Jesus is the “chief corner stone”. Any life that does not align with His is NOT precious. Any work that does not magnify Jesus is NOT precious. The Prophet Isaiah said that Jesus is BOTH:

a precious corner stone, a sure foundation

Jesus is not just the CORNER STONE that aligns the walls to true North, but Jesus is also the SURE FOUNDATION on which the walls stand. When we are here, we are here to magnify Jesus. He is PRECIOUS.

We are saved by coming to Jesus in faith, believing His BLOOD PRECIOUS:

1 Peter 1:18-19 … you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

God has made PRECIOUS PROMISES OF SALVATION to us because of Jesus:

2 Peter 1:3-4 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Our faith before God is PRECIOUS because of Jesus. Our God sends trials our way to prove our faith, to test if our faith is in Jesus:

1 Peter 1:7-8 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

Jesus is the FOUNDATION Stone. The Jews believed that the foundation of their faith was the keeping of the Law of God. Yet the Law was never given as a means of salvation. The Apostle tells us that the Law was given to convict us of our need for Christ. The Pharisee believes in approaching God without Christ. The Liberal believes in approaching God lawlessly.

Both are wrong.

Galatians 3:23-26 before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

God saved Israel apart from the Law and apart from Sinai. Israel was saved from Egypt by believing the call of God, and by following Him as Lord.

The Law was only given after Israel repeatedly refused to rely on God, instead wanting to rely on their own abilities and senses. After Israel failed test after test, God took them to Sinai. The Law was given to show Israel that their Foundation Stone cannot be Law, but must be Christ. If you have given your life to Jesus, and He to you, the Law of Moses is not what you follow. You follow Jesus. The Bible says:

1 Timothy 1:9 … the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

The Law of God applies to those who are not saved by faith in the PRECIOUS CHRIST. If Christ is not to YOU PRECIOUS, then you are yet unsaved. He is PRECIOUS. He alone is received of the Father. To those who have found Jesus to be their “Foundation Stone”, you are born again, Spirit indwelt, and want to stand before God in Him Who saved you. He is your FOUNDATION for life.

If You Stick With Jesus, You Will Never Be Shamed

1 Peter 2:6 … he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

Word Study: If you believe on Jesus, if you have called upon Him as both Lord and Savior, repenting of your sins – you “SHALL NOT BE CONFOUNDED”. The word “CONFOUNDED” is the Greek kataischynō, which means “to be dishonored or disgraced, to be caused to blush with shame”. This statement Peter made was a common one among the Apostles. We read:

Romans 9:33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offense: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. (kataischynō)

Romans 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. (kataischynō)

The most dangerous thing a person will ever do is not sky diving, nor disarming bombs, nor swimming with the sharks. The most dangerous thing a person will ever do is stand before a Holy and Righteous God without Christ.

We know that Jesus is PRECIOUS and trustworthy because He was “TRIED”. He was TRIED by the devil in the wilderness (Mathew 4:1) before His earthly ministry began. Jesus was “TRIED” by the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians. Jesus was tried by hunger and suffering. Jesus was tried in Gethsemane, tried by the Jewish Court of the Sanhedrin, and tried by Pilate in the Governor’s Court. No matter what trial Jesus went through, He never failed. Jesus was without sin.

1 Peter 2:22 {Jesus} did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

Jesus is “Him Who knew NO SIN” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus is “our High Priest … Who was TEMPTED in all things as we are, YET WITHOUT SIN” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus Christ “appeared in order to take away {our} sins; and in Him thee is NO SIN” (1 John 3:5).

Illustrate: I was reading an article the other day about the “Death Cap Mushroom”. Called “Amanita Phalloides”, this mushroom grows under oak trees. What makes it so dangerous is that it looks exactly a white mushroom you can buy in a store with one distinction: the gills of the supermarket mushroom are dark brown or black, whereas the gills of the Death Cap are white. You can eat a Death Cap, and be perfectly fine for 24-36 hours. Then the abdominal cramps, vomiting and diarrhea set in. Death comes due to organ damage and liver failure.

It looks good, but isn’t. It is deadly. In the same way, there are many paths that people try to take to God. They look good, and may seem, good for a time. But in time they prove to be deadly. The only place where there is LIFE is in JESUS. Our Lord Jesus said:

John 5:39-40 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. 40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

Choose carefully. Are you living your life to please YOURSELVES, or to please GOD? We read:

1 Peter 2:7-8 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, 8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

The thought that ALL PEOPLE WILL GO – be default – to Heaven, is devilish and foolish. Peter tells us that Jesus is a PRECIOUS Cornerstone, and a PRECIOUS Foundation offering PRECIOUS Promises to those who believe in Him. Jesus is the “stone which the builders disallowed”. The religious leaders of Israel and the architects of Rome and Roman Politicians minimized and mocked Christ. To them Jesus was “a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word”. The Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, and Roman Rulers all lived by their human traditions. They rejected that which Christ promoted, preferring instead to follow their own false gods. What was the result?

Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD. The Roman Empire lasted a bit longer. It died in 476 AD.
When will your Church die?

The Church That Lives With And For Jesus
Will Continue Until The Rapture

The Bible now uses a series of Adjectives to describe the Church of Christ, and the Christian in that Church. Because Christ is PRECIOUS, we are PRECIOUS. Because Jesus is “CHOSEN” of God, we are “CHOSEN” of God. Because Jesus is “ROYALTY”, for He is THE Son of God, we who have believed in Him are “ROYALTY”. Because our Jesus is set apart and “HOLY”, we who have received Him are set apart and “HOLY”. When our Lord Jesus walked the earth, He was considered “PECULIAR”. We likewise who believe in Him are “PECULIAR”.

**If you will share Jesus’ Heaven one day, you will be bound to Him spiritually every day.**

Christians are called to “shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light”. We are to live to please Him, not ourselves. We are to magnify Jesus in our lives. We are “now the people of God”, not the children of Adam nor the spawn of satan. We are to walk in the LIGHT with Christ, not in the DARKNESS with satan.

As believers, we live under the umbrella of Jesus’ MERCY. Let us live our lives pleasing to Him, doing what the Word of God says.

For Christ’s sake. For the sake of America. Amen and Amen.

Posted in 1 Peter, Sermons Preached | Tagged Christ, Following Christ, God Is Faithful, gospel, salvation | Leave a comment

But Jonah

Posted on August 22, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

I heard a sermon Dr. Jerry Vines preached years ago called “Jonah”. I liked it so much that I decided to take some of his points, and expand them. Since then, I’ve preached this sermon at three different Churches in two different states. The power of the text is not in me, but in the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scripture. Let’s start at the best place – the beginning of Jonah’s story.

Jonah 1:1 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

Oh, how I love the Book of Jonah. I think every Christian should read it at least once a year. Once you read it, it will fix a lot of the crazy ideas that have entered into Christianity in my lifetime. I have been invited to “Pastor Prayer Meetings” where I thought we were going to pray. Instead, when I got there, I listened to the Director of Missions tell us “The reason your Churches are not growing is because …”, and then he has some book or “expert” talk to tell us what we’re doing wrong. I remember years ago when Rick Warren published Purpose Driven Christian and Purpose Driven Churches, nearly every Church in our Association jumped on board with a “40 Days of Purpose” campaign. These rabbit’s feet were going to grow the Churches, empty the saloons and drug houses, and put the pushers and sex traffickers out of business.

It did absolutely nothing.

What grows a Church and changes nations is WHO we see in Jonah.

Jonah 1:1 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai…

Who was Jonah? He was “the son of Amittai”. Who is this? NOBODY. The Bible doesn’t tell us who this man is. We know his father’s name, but no one knows who his father actually is. You look it up. Look up “son of Amittai”. It will tell you that it’s Jonah. And who is Jonah? “The son of Amittai”. He’s nobody! Nobody!

But what I find interesting is that the Bible says “Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah”. In the King James and most translations I see, the word translated “word” is in the lower case, like “word”. I don’t think that’s right. The Bible tells us Who the Word of the Lord is. The Bible says:

John 1:1-2 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God.

Who is the “Word” that was God. We are told later in John:

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The WORD is Jesus Christ our Lord. The Preincarnate Jesus comes to Jonah, this unknown man. This is the same Jesus Who told His Church before He went into Heaven:

Matthew 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: [20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you …

God sent Jonah into a horrible place. God told Jonah:

Jonah 1:2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before Me

Jonah was not sent to a comfortable place to share the Gospel, but a horrible place. “Nineveh” is the capital city of Assyria, a nation that persecuted and attacked Israel. They have become so wicked that God says, “their wickedness is come up before Me”. It’s gotten more than our God can ignore. When wickedness became so prevalent in Noah’s day, the Bible says:

Genesis 6:5-6 … God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth …

Eventually God reaches a point of NO RETURN where He will destroy a civilization if it will not repent. Jonah, the clock is ticking.

God does not wish to destroy – but He will. God said “if the wicked will forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts, and return to Me, I will have mercy on them, and will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7, *AP).

Word Study: Jesus told Jonah, “Arise, go … and cry” (vs 2). Each of these words are Imperatives in the Hebrew text – they are COMMANDS. Three commands. God told Jonah to “Arise”, the Hebrew cum (pronounced koom). This means “rouse yourself – let’s go!”. The Lord also told Jonah to “go”, the Hebrew yawlak (pronounced yaw-lak’). This means “as you travel, carry and spread”. Just as a farmer broadcasts seed on prepared soil, God tells us to broadcast His Gospel (see Matthew 13, the Parable of the Sower). Jonah was also told to “cry against Nineveh”. The word translated “cry” is the Hebrew kawraw (pronounced kaw-raw’), and it means “to publish, call out, make known”. God was going to destroy Nineveh if it didn’t repent. Jonah, go!

But Jonah

How did Jonah respond to this call? We read:

Jonah 1:3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

The Ninevites were a horrible people! When they conquered their enemies they were exceptionally cruel. They made examples of those who stood against them by skinning them alive, or by impaling then on sharpened and greased poles. They would bury their enemies alive in sand. Often when they conquered a village they would behead many of its leaders, and stack their heads at the gateway of that place. They were so cruel that whole towns in danger of being conquered by the Ninevites would many times commit suicide en-mass rather than give themselves over to these terrible people. What a horrible people! Who would love such as this?

God would. The Bible says:

2 Peter 3:9 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.

No matter how horrible a person might have been in their lives, the Lord will call them to repentance. “There is no respect of persons with God – He treats all the same” (Romans 2:11, AP). “God so loved THE WORLD that He gave His ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, that Whosoever believeth in Him should NOT PERISH, BUT have everlasting LIFE” (John 3:16). There is no one that God cannot save, if they would but repent.

“But Jonah”.

Jonah decided that – rather than go to Nineveh – he would run from God. Listen, dear one, no one can run from the presence of God. God is everywhere. The Bible says:

Psalms 139:7-10 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? [8] If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. [9] If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; [10] Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

The Lord Jesus did not SEND Jonah to the Ninevites by himself. It was the Lord’s intention to GO WITH Jonah. When Jonah started running, the Lord is right by his side. It’s actually very comical if you think on it.

I’ve heard people say, “Well, if I don’t do it, perhaps God will get someone else”. Maybe He will will. But maybe He won’t. If God wants you to ARISE, GO, and CRY, then you had better do it. Look at this phrase again:

Jonah 1:3 But Jonah … found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it…

When you run from what the Lord commands you do, you will always “pay the fare thereof”. On top of that, you will always “go down” when you walk away from God’s light. The reason many Christians suffer sickness, stroke, paralysis, diseases, and premature death is because they decide to “GO DOWN TO TARSHISH”.

Jonah 1:3-4 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD…. [4] But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken

Word Study: We are told that “the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea”. The words “sent out” is the Hebrew tul (pronounced tool), which means “to take aim, to throw as a spear”. The Lord reached out very specifically. What happened was no accident, no coincidence. Our Lord deliberately took the wind and cast it specifically at that ship. Dr Vines said:

“The same God Who can calm the storm can also stir up the storm”

Jonah 1:5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

Neither the Church nor the Christian can afford to be asleep. The Mariners – unbelievers by all accounts – see a targeted attack on their ship. They see the ocean around them boiling, while in the distance the waves are calm. Yet Jonah sees nothing.

Sleeping in the belly of the boat Jonah was just dead weight. The believer is to be more than dead weight!

Jonah 1:6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.

The shipmaster didn’t have a clue that Jonah was a Christian! It is so sad when professing Christians become so much like the world that they cannot be seen. As we read through this section, it becomes apparent to the Mariners that the problem on board is Jonah. “They cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah” (Jonah 1:7). The Bible tells us that:

Proverbs 16:33 NET The dice are thrown into the lap, but their every decision is from the LORD.

When they cast lots – which is like throwing dice – the lot fell on Jonah. Jonah confesses his sin to the men, but not to the Lord. Jonah does not seek God’s face, but instead proposes a human solution:

Jonah 1:12 … Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.

God knows our hearts. He knew Jonah’s heart. The Lord knew that Jonah had hardened his heart – even worst than the mariners. The mariners did all they could to save Jonah. But in the end,

Jonah 1:15 … they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.

Though Jonah had disobeyed God, God still used Jonah to lead these mariners to Him. After Jonah was cast in the sea:

Jonah 1:16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.

If God Wants To Use You, He Will.
He Doesn’t Care How You Feel.

Jonah 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Why do bad things happen to God’s people? Sometimes its because the devil or the devil’s world is attacking us. But there are times, dear Christian, when the attack comes because we are disobedient. Notice the wording of our text. “The LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah”. It’s not the Lord PREPARED, but He HAD PREPARED. The Lord Jesus knew the heart of Jonah, and knew what Jonah would do, before Jonah ever did it. The English Standard Version translates this as “The LORD APPOINTED a great fish to swallow Jonah” (also the NASB 95, LSB, RSV, YLT). I kind of like that.

God APPOINTED Jonah to go to Nineveh.
Jonah ran from his APPOINTMENT.
The LORD APPOINTED a fish to eat Jonah.
Jonah kept that APPOINTMENT.

The God Who made all things, and by Whom “all things consist” (Colossians 1:16-17), made a fish that could hold Jonah for three days and three nights. This was a real event. Jesus said, “as Jonah was three days and three nights in the fishes belly; so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40). Jesus did not see this as a fairytale or an exaggeration. It happened. It is a picture of the tomb of our Lord. Our Lord Jesus went willingly to the Tomb. But for Jonah, his heart changed in the belly of that fish.

Jonah 2:1 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly,

There’s nothing that gets our attention like suffering. Jonah was suffering, so Jonah prayed like he’s never prayed before. He was running to and not away from God. An interesting thing about Jonah’s prayer is that he prayed the Scripture back to God.

Jonah 2:2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.

This is actually the text of Psalms 120:1. Several times Jonah quotes from the Book of Psalms. As a son of God Jonah prayed the Word of God back to it’s Author. The exhale of prayer is most sweet when it is based on the daily inhale of the Word of God! As Jonah repents, he promises to obey God in his calling:

Jonah 2:9-10 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. [10] And the LORD spoke unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

Once more (Jonah 3:1) “The WORD OF THE LORD came unto Jonah”.

God Will Bring Miracles To Those Who Do His Will

When people read Jonah, they think the miracle is that a man could live inside a fish three days and nights. No, that’s not a big thing with God. The miracle is that the Lord could use a nobody like Jonah to accomplish His will. The miracle is that a hard hearted people like the Ninevites could be saved. Here we see the miracle:

Jonah 3:4-9 … Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. [5] So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. [6] For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. [7] And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: [8] But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. [9] Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

Here is the greatest miracle of all. God had prepared the hearts of these people. God’s servant preached a very simple Gospel to these terrible Ninevites. Something happened that no one but God could foresee. Nineveh repented.

Look first at the SERMON Jonah preached. “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown”. This is eight words in the English language, but in the original Hebrew from which it is translated it is:

ʿôḏ ‘arbāʿîm yôm nînvê hāp̄aḵ

This is a five word sermon. Five words! In the Bible, the number 5 is the number of Grace. Jonah preached the simplest sermon ever recorded. The Bible says that “the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them”. The leadership of the nation, the King repented.

And Nineveh was spared.

While Nineveh pushed against God it was in danger of destruction. It could make some headway, but, sooner or later, God would destroy that nation. When Nineveh turned and walked toward God, He in mercy spared them.

Jesus Christ is the Lion of Judah Who will crush His enemies. Receive Him, and to you He is the Lamb of God that takes away your sin. Receive Him, and He is the Great Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

The Worst Part Of The Book Of Jonah Is Jonah

If we were to outline Jonah, we could say:

Chapter One: Jonah ran FROM God
Chapter Two: Jonah ran TO Repentance
Chapter Three: Jonah ran FOR God
Chapter Four: Jonah ran INTO God

Though Nineveh repented, Jonah was angry. Why? Because Nineveh repented. Jonah says:

Jonah 4:1-3 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. [2] …. I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. [3] Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.

Can you imagine that? Jonah was mad because God saved these people. Jonah cherished HATE in his heart toward the Ninevites because of the harm they had done to his people. But Jesus tells us:

Matthew 6:12, 14-15 … forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. … 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Matthew 5:44-45 … 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 …

God does good to those who do bad to Him every day. He loves people anyway. We are to love even our enemies, even the most hateful. The Bible says:

Acts 10:34-35 …. Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: [35] But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

Now God wants to show Jonah why He was so intent on saving Nineveh.

Jonah 4:6 And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.

The Lord prepared a gourd for Jonah just like He earlier prepared a great fish. And Jonah was exceedingly glad of the gourd. He wasn’t happy that the Ninevites were saved, but he was happy over that gourd. Isn’t it strange how Christians can sometimes be happier over the gourds of life than they are over the greater eternal things? Gourds come in all shapes and sizes, just like the things we allow to come between us and God come in all shapes and sizes.

God prepared a gourd for Jonah, but He also prepared a worm (Jonah 4:7) to eat the gourd. If you ever take advantage of the blessed gourds that the Lord gives you, He may turn around and take it right back.

As that old Prophet Job said, “The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the Name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). The gourds of life are not what is important. What is important to God is the human soul.

Jonah 4:10-11 Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not labored, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: [11] And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

God called Nineveh to repentance because there were 120,000 children who did not know the difference between their right and left hand. Jonah, you are upset over a gourd. God doesn’t care about the gourds. He cares about the children. He cares about life.

If God can use Jonah to move a city to salvation, He can use you! And, dear friend, if you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, then come to Him by faith. God is faithful! He is ever ready to save. May God touch your hearts with His Word. Amen and Amen.

Posted in Jonah, Sermons Preached | Tagged Following Christ, love enemies, love God, salvation | Leave a comment

You Are NOT Enough!

Posted on August 18, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

John 9:1-5 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. 4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

How many of you are parents? Grandparents? Do you remember the day your first child was born? The doctor delivered the baby, and that child began to cry. As you stood over your new baby, you counted their fingers and toes. You touched their hair. You looked into their eyes, and prayed that everything was fine.

A baby boy was born. His parents took the child, and counted its fingers and toes. The child looked normal. But in time, it became apparent something was wrong. The baby was blind. Now, this is not today with our medical technology, our advanced society. There were no hospitals to speak of in the ancient world. Many doctors believed if a person was sick, to let a little bad blood out, and it would make them better. Some believed that taking too many baths could lead to sickness, that dirt was what we came from, and dirt is how we ought to smell.

This baby was born blind.

Be Careful With Your Judgments

When the parents realized their baby, their precious boy was totally blind, the first thought was “How can a loving God allow this?” In the ancient world a person born blind could do little more than beg for food. If God is loving, then this baby was born blind because of sin. There must have been something that caused this child’s disease. If God is good, then the child must have been born bad. People made judgments about the child and its parents. Like the disciples asked Jesus,

vs 2 “Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?”

God is GOOD, and can certainly do not wrong. The Prophet wrote:

Habakkuk 1:13 … ESV {God is} of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong

Sin and faithlessness is foreign to God. The Scripture says:

James 1:13 ESV … Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

God cannot sin. God makes no mistakes. So WHY was this man born blind?

Perhaps God in His omnipotence foresaw
this man would be a great sinner.

The Prophet Job (23:10) said, “God knows the way I will take”. The great King David wrote in Psalm 139:4, “Before a word is on my tongue, You, O Lord, know it completely”. He also wrote, “You, LORD, are all I have, and you give me all I need; my future is in your hands” (GNT). Perhaps God looked into this man’s future and realized that, if he had grown up with good eyesight, he would be a great murderer, or a sexual predator, or some other monster in society. God was doing us all a favor by making him blind from birth.

Or maybe it had nothing to do with the man. Maybe it was “HIS PARENTS”. Perhaps they did something sinful, something evil, and the child suffered because of it. When King David took another man’s wife in adultery, then murdered the man, Bathsheba carried his baby. David thought he had gotten away with murder and adultery. Bathsheba delivered David’s son to him. But then God had the Prophet Nathan confront David. David repented. We read:

2 Samuel 12:13-14 (ESV) David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.”

Perhaps Bathsheba was forced into the relationship – the scripture does not say. But David’s action was evil, and punishable. David would not have an heir to his throne out of adultery and murder. That child had to die. The sin of David, the child’s parent, brought death on an innocent.

Sin always hurts the innocent.

The child whose mother was alcoholic is born craving drink. The child whose mother was drug addicted is born with addiction, and defection because of the drugs. The child whose mother is murderous is killed in the womb. The innocent suffer because of sin.

So the disciples ask, “Master, who DID SIN”? Someone MUST have sinned if this child was born without sight. Someone MUST be responsible if that little boy or girl in Saint Judes Hospital is born without legs, or with cancers, or twisted in the spine. Someone must be responsible for this. We cannot put it on God, for God is GOOD ALL THE TIME. So someone MUST have sinned.

This is the problem with MAKING JUDGMENTS. Jesus warned us all, “Take heed that the LIGHT which is in you NOT BE DARKNESS” (Luke 11:35). God deliberately chose to make this man blind.

This man has spent his entire adult life begging on the side of the road. He cannot see Jesus coming. There are no crowds shouting Jesus’ name. As a matter of fact, this man never says ONE WORD to Jesus – at least, not out loud. The man is miserable. The man is hurting. His whole life people have BLAMED either him, or his parents, for his condition.

Now the disciples come along and add another brick to the load.

Take heed that the LIGHT in you BE NOT DARKNESS. You might think you’re a Bible scholar, like the Pharisees, and you may be. But you do not know nor understand the mind of God. God says, “My thoughts are NOT your thoughts, nor are YOUR ways My ways” (Isaiah 55:8). Why was this man born blind? Who sinned? No one sinned. Jesus tells them,

John 9:3 Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

America, We Are Not Enough

Illustrate: People wear t-shirts with messages on them. I saw one that I think I’m going to buy for myself. The message on the shirt is:

Pastor
Warning!
Anything You
Say Or Do
Could Be Used
In A Sermon!

I thought that was cute! I saw a t-shirt the other day that had these words on it:

You Are Enough

This is what the false religion of “Humanism” tells us. “You Are Enough”. That’s not true. We’ve never been enough. We are born broken because of Adam’s sin. When God came to this earth, the Bible says that “The earth was WITHOUT FORM and VOID” (Genesis 1:1-2). It was not enough. It needed God. God filled up the emptiness, and established the light. Though Adam and Eve were put in a perfect environment, and were in perfect bodies, still “You Are Enough” was not true. Adam and Eve still needed God daily. Adam forgot that, and thought that he himself could be god. He could, but only as a little “g” god subordinate to a serpent.

This is the problem with America today. Moses warned Israel, and warns us today:

Deuteronomy 6:10-13 (AP) When the Lord your God gives you great and good cities that you did not build, houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant. When our faithful God causes us to eat and be full, take care that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of slavery. It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by His name you shall swear.

God told the Church at Ephesus,

Ephesians 2:4 NKJV … I have this against you, that you have left your first love …

You are NOT enough. I am NOT enough. We need the Lord. We needed the Lord BEFORE we were saved because we are not enough. We need the Lord NOW that we are saved because we are not enough. This blind man is a living parable to our need. He is an illustration that we all need Jesus. ALL THE TIME.

This man was made the way he is on purpose so that God could show us what Jesus can do. We need Jesus.

John 9:3 the works of God should be made manifest in him. (in Jesus)

This man did not call out to Jesus with his lips – but in his heart he probably cried out to God every day. He was empty and knew it. In her article, Nancy Guthrie wrote:

“God uniquely works in the emptiness of our lives to teach and train us to trust him. When our lives are full—full of health, full of comfort, full of everything we deem good and satisfying—it can lead to forgetting our dependence on him. It can lull us into thinking we must have these other things to be happy, rather than living as if Christ is the only thing we must have in this life.”

We desperately need God. We are all born broken – but Jesus completes us.

Jesus MUST Work The Works

John 9:4-5 I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

It is Jesus Who gives us LIGHT. It is Jesus Who helps us to SEE. He opens our eyes to the things of God. It is Jesus Who makes us whole. This man can hear Jesus speak, but he does not know Who Jesus is. Jesus said,

I must work the works of Him that sent Me

The Father sent Jesus to this earth to work HIS works. This man is born broken. Jesus will heal him. Here is a key point.

Those who came near to Jesus were healed of Jesus. If you come to Jesus, He WILL change you. The murderer will cherish life. The rapist will respect women. The thief will stop stealing and start working. Jesus does not HALF heal or HALF save. But you must REPENT and come to Him. When you do, He will fix your brokenness. If you are gender confused, Jesus will fix this. If you are sexually perverted, Jesus will fix this. But if you thing “I Am Enough”, Jesus cannot fix this. This is arrogance, and foolishness, and confusion.

John 9:6-7 When He had thus spoken, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, 7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.

Jesus Saved In Different Ways

Jesus could have healed this man where he stood. In Luke 4:40 we read, “all those who were sick were brought to Jesus, and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them”. Jesus didn’t use spit and mud, nor tell them to go somewhere and wash themselves. He just cured them. When a blind man Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus cried out,

Mark 10:47 … Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!

Jesus called for him, and asked “What do you want Me to do?”. Bartimaeus said, “I want to see again”. Jesus healed him immediately (see Mark 10:46-52). In another account, two blind men cry out to Jesus for healing. Again, Jesus asks,

Matthew 20:33 … Lord, let our eyes be opened

Jesus touched their eyes, and they were immediately healed. Jesus told the paralyzed man to take up his bed and walk (Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26), and the man immediately walked.

So why did Jesus have this man blind from birth go wash in the Pool of Siloam? I believe it was to show us that Jesus is not only SAVIOR, but He is our LORD. He saves us, but we are to obey Him.

It was right that this man be born blind. His blind birth was ordained and orchestrated of God. None of us DESERVE what we have. Everything we have, we have of God’s Grace. The Father sent Jesus to this earth to “work the works of God”, to teach us that we are NOT enough. We need God every moment of every day. Jesus spit and made mud, and putting this in the man’s eyes said:

Go, wash in the pool of Siloam

There’s no debate here. There’s no, “Let’s vote on it” in what Jesus said. Go to Siloam, wash yourself there. But Lord, there are other pools I can go to. I can go to …

Bethesda (John 5:2)
Gibeon (2 Samuel 2:13)
Hebron (2 Samuel 4:12)
Upper (2 Kings 18:17; 20:20)
Siloah (Nehemiah 3:15)
King’s (Nehemiah 2:14)
Heshbon (Song of Solomon 7:4)
Lower (Isaiah 22:9, 11)

They are all pools, and some have cleaner water than Siloam. Why can’t I go there? Because Jesus said so. Because God knows best. It was right for that boy to be born blind, and right for this man to go wash in Siloam. I truly believe some people are not saved until they are Baptized in obedience to Christ’s command. Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t believe that water Baptism regenerates you. This is what the Holy Spirit does. But God knows your heart. If you are saved, Jesus is not just your Savior, He is ALSO your LORD. The Apostle Peter said of water baptism:

1 Peter 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

I believe you are saved by faith, not by works, “lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). But you cannot be saved in rebellion. If you will not obey Jesus, if you reject Him as Lord, then you cannot be saved. If that man – anointed of Jesus – had went where he chose to be washed – he would have died in his blindness. Jesus said go to Siloam. He needed to go to Siloam. Period.

If you are a Christian, you are saved to serve, not to be served. You are to be obedient to Jesus!

The man obeyed Jesus.

John 9:7 … He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.

May God the Holy Spirit speak to your hearts this very day. Amen and Amen.

Posted in John, Sermons Preached | Tagged Following Christ, gospel, Jesus Christ, love God, salvation | Leave a comment

Wherefore, Part 1

Posted on August 15, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

1 Peter 2:1-5 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Southern Baptist Theologian and the very first editor of Christianity Today, Carl F. H. Henry stated:

“The Christian experience is always personal, but never private”.

Though salvation is a free gift of Grace from God,
free does not mean cheap.

In order to receive this gift, you lay your life down to Him Who laid His life down to you. Some believe that you can be saved, and yet live any way that you want, regardless of what God has said. This is Biblically unsound.

When you become a Christian you enter into a lifelong partnership with God. You come to God …

Hebrews 11:6 … believing that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

There is a REWARD in DILIGENTLY SEEKING God, in living to please Him Who gave Himself for you. The Scripture says, “God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32). You are forgiven all your sins because you believe and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The Scripture says,

John 1:12-13 .. as many as received Him, to them He gave the POWER {exousia, authority, right, strength to, power} to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Peter spends a lot of time discussing the New Birth with the Church for a reason. When Jesus called Peter or Cephas, Peter initially followed Christ in his own power.

The Holy Spirit had not yet been given to the Church when Jesus walked on this earth (John 7:39), because Christ had not yet died on the Cross.

Jesus told Peter,

Luke 22:31-32 … Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

“Sinners must be CONVERTED to God” (Psalm 51:13). Jesus said “Unless you be CONVERTED, and become as little children, you SHALL NOT ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN” (Matthew 18:3). Peter did not understand this until the Day of Pentecost. But God’s CONVERSION of the believer is what changes us from sons of Adam to sons of God.

Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; 20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

Wherefore …

1 Peter 2:1 Wherefore…

Today’s text begins with the word “Wherefore”, the Greek Conjunction oun. This conjunction indicates that something naturally follows from another necessity. You could translate it as “these things being so”. There were things in front of this “Wherefore” that bring us to this conclusion. What came before?

1 Peter 1:22-23 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.

You have “PURIFIED YOUR SOULS IN OBEYING THE TRUTH THROUGH THE SPIRIT”. You have heard the Word of the Gospel. Because you both heard and responded to the Gospel, God the Holy Spirit came to you and caused you to be “born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God”.

You were radically changed on the day you came to Christ, changed from the inside out. Whereas before you considered the things of this world to be worthy of your time, and whereas before you chased those things as a dog will chase a car, you have been changed …

from wolf to sheep
from death to life
from son of Adam to Child of God
from idolater to worshiper of the One True God
from darkness to light

You are no longer a cog on Satan’s machine called “the world”, you are a child of God, a priest in the Household of Melchizedek, and Jesus Christ is your Lamb, your High Priest, and your Lord!

Wherefore.

Illustrate: I passed a broke down car on the side of the road one day that had a “for sale” sign on it. The car’s front and rear fenders were smashed. A window was broken. It had two flat tires, all on the driver’s side. I thought to myself “who in their right mind would buy such a car?” Then I realized – this is what God did for me. When I was broken down, useless, unable to go or do any good, my God and Father purchased me with the perfect life of His Son. Jesus Christ bled and died for sinners. He saves those who cannot save themselves. Have you been purchased by Jesus? Have you been born again?

The Born Again Produce A Different Fruit

1 Peter 2:1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

Word Study: That which is translated “laying aside” is the Greek

apotithēmi (pronounced ap-ot-eeth’-ay-mee). The word is translated as “laying aside, ridding yourselves, putting away, putting aside”. You were saved by the Word of the Gospel. Now God demands that the fruit of your life reflect that salvation. You are to be on the lookout for certain behaviors, things which characterize the sons of Adam. If you are saved, you are NOT to be this way. We are to rid ourselves of …

Word Study: all malice: The Greek kakia, it means “that which is wicked, evil, naughty, depraved. A desire to do harm to another”. We who are Christ’s are not to “fight fire with fire”, nor to take “An eye for an eye”. The Christian is told:

Romans 12:19-21 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

We are to speak the truth in love, and are never to compromise with the ways of this world. But we are, inasmuch as we can, continue to be LIGHT in the midst of DARKNESS. Jesus tells us to carefully judge ourselves:

Luke 11:35-36 Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. 36 If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.

Illustrate: Your behavior reflects on your Heavenly Father. If you belong to God, if God is your Father, you will love Christ (John 8:42), and do the things He commands of you. If God is your Father, you will do the works of Abraham (John 8:39). Who you follow proves whose you are!

Christians ought not to be mean. They ought to be kind and loving. When you are mean to one another then you are not a good advertisement for salvation in Jesus Christ.

Illustrate: A little girl had been naughty, so her mamma told her “go upstairs to your room – I’ll be up in a minute so we can talk”. When the mamma got upstairs she found her child – not in her room – but in her mother’s closet. She said, “Why are you in my closet?” The little girl said, “I’ve spit on your clothes, I’ve spit on your shoes, I’ve spit on your floor, and I’m standing here waiting for more spit”.

That child should have gotten a paddling. Regardless as to what that parent did, I guarantee you that the Heavenly Father will punish His children when we are mean and malicious. Mean and malicious people hinder the work of Christ in this world. Their tongues poison the atmosphere of the Church. God is not honored by malicious people. God’s people are called to unity and love for one another.

1 Peter 2:1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

Word Study: The word “all” in this text shows you how the text should be read. We put away all malice. We also put away “all guile, hypocrisies, and envyings”. These three words are all tied together. The word “envyings” is the Greek phthonos (pronounced fthon’-os), and can be translated “envy, ill will because you covet what another person has”.

When you begin to covet what another person has it won’t be long before you engage in guile and hypocrisies.

These two words are closely related. Guile, the Greek dolos (pronounced dol’-os) means “to be crafty or tricky. To be like a sneak thief”. The word HYPOCRISIES, the Greek hypokrisis (pronounced hoop-ok’-ree-sis) means “to play a part, to be an actor, to be of two faces”. Envious people tend to sneak about and have two faces. We don’t need to be envious of one another. If you are born again by faith in Christ, know that God loves you. You have a place in the Body of Christ. The Scripture says:

1 Corinthians 12:18 … God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.

If you are born again by faith in Christ you are part of His Body, part of His Church, and your gift is important. Find that which God wants you to do – and DO IT. Do not be distracted from your calling in Christ. The Lord called Judas Iscariot to be both a disciple and an apostle along with the other eleven. Judas served alongside Jesus for three and a half years. He heard Jesus preach. He was used by Jesus. He slept with Jesus, and ate with Jesus, and was there – first hand – when Jesus did miraculous things. And yet Judas ended up dying a terrible death by his own hand after betraying his Lord. I would call Judas,

“Almost Saved, the Almost Christian”

It was Judas who watched as a woman with an alabaster box of precious ointment approached Jesus. As he and the other Apostles watched, this woman anointed Jesus with the oil. Judas speaks up:

John 12:5-6 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.

Judas was filled with what Peter calls “evil speakings” the Greek katalalia, meaning “backbiting, defamation, evil speaking”. As this woman anoints our Lord just before His crucifixion, Judas speaks out, criticizing, mocking, minimizing. What you will not know unless you study the Scripture, that once Judas started the mocking, the other Apostles fell into place and joined him. The Scripture says:

Mark 14:4-5 there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? 5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.

Matthew 26:8-9 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.

Word Study: Judas Iscariot started the ball rolling with katalalia, but once it started the other disciples chimed in. Darkness grew, rather than light. Jesus told them:

Mark 26:10-13 {Jesus said} 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.

Rather than mock her, Jesus commended her. Her actions honored Him as Savior and Lord. Judas Iscariot, an unsaved man in proximity to Christ, infected the others with the evil that was in his heart. And sadly, they followed along.

Many a Church has been destroyed by those
who will not put off the evil!

If you are born again by faith in Christ you are part of His Body, part of His Church, and your gift is important. Do not become distracted as Judas Iscariot did by other things. Put away from yourselves the dark clothes of Satan, and be clothed in the armor of God’s Light! The Apostle told the Church at Corinth that evil speaking is just as bad as sexual immorality:

2 Corinthians 12:20-21 For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. 21 I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced.

The Born Again Desire The Good Word Of God

1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

You cannot grow in your faith unless you feed on the pure milk of the Word.

It is the Word of God that saved you
It is the Word of God that sanctifies you
It is the Word of God that gave you life
It is the Word of God that will empower you in life

Your faith in the preaching of the Word of God brought you from darkness and into light. Your continual feeding on His Word will keep you walking in the light. Jesus said:

John 15:3-4 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.

It is the Word of Christ that saves, secures, and grows. It is this Bible IN YOUR HEART that cleanses you, and makes you more and more like Jesus. We are told:

Ephesians 5:25-27 (ESV) … Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

As water washes the body, the Word of God washes the soul. We as Christians become more like Christ as we do more of His Word.

The reason we have sickly and useless Christians in every age of every Church is because they will not seek God’s Word. You must long for the pure milk of the Word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation. The Apostle told us:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (AP) All Scripture is God breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be mature in the faith, completely furnished to do all good works.

We Are Born Again As Lively Stones.
We Are Born Again As A Spiritual House.
We Are Born Again As A Holy Priesthood.

1 Peter 2:4-5 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

The Christian is infatuated with Christ. He keeps on coming to Jesus. As Christ is a Living Stone rejected by men we who believe are Living Stones. We work together as a spiritual house, offering spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Dr. Adrian Rogers said before he died:

“The curse of [our age] is that we have many Churches filled with baptized pagans. We have a full Church of empty people. They have culture but not Calvary, ritual but not reality, form but not force, religion but not righteousness.”

Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Righteous Lot went to Sodom and stayed for fourteen years. If he had just won six people to the Lord over that fourteen year period then Sodom would not have been destroyed. Dear friends, America is falling. God needs His people to bind to Christ. He needs us to imitate the Lord, to tell others about the Lord, to be lively stones, a holy priesthood, offering up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God.

May God touch your hearts with His Word. Amen and Amen.

Posted in 1 Peter, Sermons Preached | Tagged Following Christ, God Is Faithful, gospel, love God, salvation | Leave a comment

Who Is Abraham’s Seed?

Posted on August 11, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Nita: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-dandelion-flower-shallow-focus-photography-54300/

John 8:37-42 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. 38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. 39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. 41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. 42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

Last week we saw that the Pharisees were attacking Jesus. These were sincere people who believed in the Law of God. They were very conservative – and often added to the Law of God, making it more strident and binding. The Pharisees are also bullies, and try to bully Jesus. Jesus tells these religious zealots:

vs 37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed…

These people thought that because they were direct descendants of Abraham, that they were in a right relationship with God. As Pharisees they were physically tied to a righteous man named Abraham. But this is not how you are saved.

To Be Saved, You Must Be PHYSICALLY And
SPIRITUALLY Tied To God The Father

There will be many Jews who spend eternity in hell because they rejected Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. These same Jews will believe that they are God’s “Chosen People” because they can trace their lineage back to Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. The Apostle Paul – a reformed “Pharisee, a Hebrew of the Hebrews” (Philippians 3:5) wrote:

Romans 2:28-29 (ESV) For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

A child of Abraham is not a physical descendant, but someone who has had their heart circumcised by God the Holy Spirit. Those who are spiritual live their lives to please God the Father, not those around them! Paul wrote in:

Romans 9:6-8 … they are not all Israel, which are of Israel 7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. 8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

The Children of the Flesh – that is, those who can PHYSICALLY trace their lineage back to Abraham, are not necessarily of Israel or of God’s Chosen People. It is the Children born of FAITH, of ISAAC and not Ishmael. Ishmael was created of human works. Isaac was created of faith.

God’s children are created of FAITH and PROMISE.

When a person puts their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, God acts on that faith. He causes that person to be “born again of the Spirit”. At that moment that person becomes an heir of the promises made to Abraham. That person becomes a Child of God. The Apostle wrote:

Galatians 3:26-29 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

If you have received the “Word” of Christ,

“WORD of the Lord” (Acts 8:25; 1 Peter 1:25)
“WORD of the Gospel” (Acts 15:7; Colossians 1:5)
“WORD of Truth” (Ephesians 1:13)

then you are SPIRITUALLY tied to God the Father, and become an heir of Abraham’s promises. The Pharisees rejected the Word of Christ (Colossians 3:16). Jesus said:

John 8:37 … ye seek to kill Me, because my word hath no place in you.

They rejected the truth that Jesus was the Messiah, and would not even entertain the thought. Jesus told them:

John 8:38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

Jesus professes to have been in the Presence of the Heavenly Father. He said that He had “seen” (Greek horaō, to have PHYSICALLY seen with the eyes and SPIRITUALLY PERCEIVED with the mind) Heaven and the Throneroom of God, and understood what He saw. Jesus is a Messenger sent of the Father. The Pharisees argue with Jesus:

John 8:39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.

A tree is known by the fruit it bears (Luke 6:43-45). The Christian or lost person is proved by the fruit of life.

Illustrate: In Genesis chapter 18 the LORD appeared to Abraham while he dwelt in the plains of Mamre. The LORD appeared through THREE ANGELS (Genesis 18:1-18), and shared that He was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham did not chase away or seek to destroy these Heavenly Messengers, but welcomed them as honored guests and fed them. Bible Scholar William Barclay notes:

“Jesus was not simply a man telling other men what He thought about things; He was the Son of God telling men what God thought about things.”

John 8:40-42 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. 41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. 42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

If these Pharisees are of God, they would do the works of LIFE and not DEATH. Though Abraham was not perfect and failed God many times, He never turned away from the Word of God. Even when God asked Abraham to do the most difficult thing:

Genesis 22:2 … (ESV) “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

Abraham did not argue with God, nor plot on how he might find a loophole by which he could avoid doing what God commanded. No, Abraham trusted the Word of God, and did as God said even though he didn’t fully understand the why of it. The Bible tells us:

Hebrews 11:17-19 (ESV) By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

Abraham was bound to God BOTH Physically as well as Spiritually. God was his Father. He trusted God.

If the Pharisees were God’s Children by faith, they would know Jesus as the Messiah, and would love Him as God the Father loves Him. These Pharisees were lost. Jesus told them:

John 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

Word Study: The Pharisees could not understand Jesus’ “speech” (lalia), the way that Jesus spoke. It wasn’t because Jesus was from Nazareth, but because Jesus was and is from Heaven. Since they rejected His “word” (logos), that is “His Gospel Message” they were unconverted. They could not understand spiritual things. The Scripture says:

1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

If You Reject Jesus As Lord And Savior,
Your Father Is By Default The Devil

Jesus now gets even more in your face direct! He says plainly:

John 8:44-47 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. 46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? 47 He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

Jesus challenges the Pharisees to name even one sin that He had committed. They could not. The Bible says of Jesus that …

Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Our Lord Jesus was “without sin”. They could never find a single sin that He committed, so they hired false witnesses and manufactured treasons. Jesus Christ as our High Priest is, unlike the other priests of Israel, is …

Hebrews 7:26 (ESV) … holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

The Prophet Isaiah said of Christ:

Isaiah 53:9 (ESV) And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Tempted of the devil, Jesus declared “It is written”. Tormented by the Pharisees, Jesus kept His eyes on the Father. What is the ULTIMATE sin? The Bible says:

John 16:9 … Of sin, because they believe not on {Jesus}

The sin that curses, that damns forever, is the sin that turns from Christ to follow the world. Those who follow the world are “dead in trespasses and in sins” (Ephesians 2:1). Those who receive Christ as Lord and Savior are freed from sin, and bound to God for all eternity.

John 8:48-53 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? 49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honor my Father, and ye do dishonor me. 50 And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. 51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. 52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. 53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?

As these Pharisees do not know God, and can not accuse Jesus of any sin that He committed, they resort to the same tactics that Progressives and other Humanists far from God do today.

They resort to insult.

Samaritan/ Galilee: Their first insult is “thou art a Samaritan”. These same people insulted Nicodemus (John 7:52) when he defended Jesus based on the Law of God. They said to Nicodemus, a Teacher of Teachers, “Are you from Galilee, too?” Those from Judea were separated from Galilee by Samaria, a non-Jewish territory. Those of Galilee were despised as “country cousins”, unsophisticated, who spoke what was considered a sloppy form of Aramaic. Religiously the Galileans were considered very lax in the observance of the Jewish faith.

For a Jew to call another Jew a “Samaritan” is to call them “dogs” or “half-breeds”. Samaritans were a people who intermarried with the Assyrians, contrary to Deuteronomy 7:3-5. When Israel was released from Medo-Persian captivity to rebuild the Temple, Samaritans did their best to hinder the rebuilding (Ezra 4; Nehemiah 4:2). The Samaritans held that only the Books of Moses (the Pentateuch, Genesis – Deuteronomy) were Scriptural, and rejected the rest of the Bible.

By calling Jesus a “Samaritan” they were saying that He was NOT a Rabbi, but a half breed that rejected God’s Word. By calling Jesus “Demon Possessed”
they were saying He was damned, a child of Satan.

Jesus ignored the statement about Him being a “Samaritan”. Jesus never responded to wild claims and accusations. Our Lord showed us that you do not need to respond to the statements of mad men or deluded fools. Jesus told them that He was a faithful Witness, presenting only the things the Father sent Him to present.

Faith In Christ Is The Only Way To Eternal Life

Jesus then said:

John 8:51 If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death

Word Study: Jesus starts with the word “If”. Genuine faith is tied to OBEDIENCE to Christ’s Word. The word translated “keep” is the Greek tēreō, which means “to observe, to hold fast to, to attend to carefully, to guard or cherish”. When Jesus gave His “Great Commission” to the Church, He said:

Matthew 28:20 Teaching them to observe {tēreō} all things whatsoever I have commanded you …

Jesus is LORD. We are to KEEP His Word, to rest in it, to obey it, to breath it. Those saved by faith CHERISH what Jesus has said for Christ’s sake. To those who tēreō His Word, He promises that you “shall never see death”. The word translated “see” is the Greek theōreō. This is an interesting word. It means to “study on, to watch and concentrate on”. My commentary notes:

“According to Westcott, the sight here mentioned is that of ‘a long, steady, exhaustive vision, whereby we become slowly acquainted with the nature of the object to which it is directed.’”

The great C.H. Spurgeon said:

“while {I am} unforgiven, I cannot help gazing upon {death}, and foreseeing it as my doom. When the Gospel of the Lord Jesus comes to my soul, and I keep His saying by faith, I am turned completely around. My back is upon death, and my face toward life eternal”.

**The Bible speaks of three stages of death.**

(1) Spiritual Death is when a person is bound to sin and divorced from God as Father and Savior. Spiritual death is what Adam, by his disobedience, brought into God’s perfect creation. (see Genesis 2:17; 3:1-24; Isaiah 59:2; Romans 7:10-11; Ephesians 2:1; James 1:15).

(2) Physical Death is the result of sin incarnate in our flesh. Our carbon based bodies will eventually corrode, and return to the soil of our creation. (see Genesis 3:4-5; 5).

(3) Eternal Death, also called “The Second Death” is the state of those who leave this earth with NO relationship with God through faith in Christ. (see Revelation 2:11; 20:6,14; 21:8).

Those who receive Christ as Lord and Savior are freed from death. Jesus brings us into union with the Father. Jesus conquered physical death. And those who have received Jesus as Lord and Savior will never experience the place we call “Hell” or “The Lake of Fire”. Those whose names are written in the Book of Life will never “see” death.

John 8:52-56 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. 53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? 54 Jesus answered, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: 55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

The Pharisees believed Abraham and the Prophets to be dead. Since they died, Who was Jesus to say that He had conquered death? Jesus could not possibly greater than Abraham, Moses, Elijah – or could He? Jesus said “I know him”, that He intimately knows God the Father – and that He would be a Liar if He said otherwise. Then Jesus drops a bombshell:

John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

Jesus does not say “OUR father Abraham”, but “YOUR father Abraham”. My commentary notes:

“This is a startling statement. Jesus distances Himself from “the Jews,” “the Law” (cf. John 8:17), “the temple,” and even the patriarch Abraham. There is a clear break from the Old Covenant!”

Jesus – though made a Jew through the Promise God made to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3) – now makes Himself to be Someone GREATER than any Prophet or Person in all of Jewish history. He says that Abraham “rejoiced to see my day”. When Abraham walked the earth, the Father gave him a revelation that Messiah would come through Israel. Though Abraham physically died before the Messiah came, the Bible says:

Hebrews 11:13 (ESV) These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

Abraham left this life with a smile on his saintly old face, because God gave him a glimpse of Christ. The Jews still did not understand.

Jesus Christ Is God Incarnate

John 8:57-58 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Jesus was probably – as a human – only about 30 years old at this point. There were several thousand years between Abraham’s earthly death and Jesus Who now stood before them. How could Abraham have seen Jesus? Jesus tells them:

Before Abraham was, I am

One of the most Holy Names of God is “I am” (Exodus 3:12-14), the name that God gave to Moses when sending him to Pharaoh. By applying this name to Himself, Jesus was saying that He is co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father (see John 4:26; 6:20; 8:24,28,54-59; 13:19; 18:5,6,8).

John 8:59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

Comparing Himself to God is – if Jesus is NOT God – a sin called “blasphemy”. Blasphemy was punishable by death by stoning (see Leviticus 24:16). And yet, they could not kill Jesus. He “hid himself” by perhaps shifting their perception of Himself, or by disappearance, or by blending into the crowd. Christ’s time had not yet come. When He died, He would have to die hanging on a tree, cursed by the Law of God.

Deuteronomy 21:23 (ESV) … his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.

Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

God became perfect Man so He could die for the sins of imperfect man. When you receive Jesus as the solution for sin, receive Him as BOTH Lord and Savior, then you are saved. I pray that you are not almost saved, or hope so saved, but saved in reality and truth. May God touch your hearts with His Word. Amen and Amen.

Posted in John, Sermons Preached | Tagged Following Christ, God Is Faithful, gospel, Jesus Christ, love, love God, salvation | Leave a comment

Today The Day of Salvation
April 2026

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The Double Amen Emphasizes Truth

Have you ever thought about what “amēn” means?

You Can Only Lawfully Enter The“Sheepfold” By The AMEN Door

The “Sheepfold” is the place where the owner of the sheep stored the sheep in safety. There were two types of sheepfolds. There was the sheepfold in town, and the sheepfold out of town and near the pasture.

The Door to God’s sheepfold is not my abilities, but that which my Jesus has done for me. He is the Door!

Remember That We Mentioned There Are TWO Sheepfolds That Every Shepherd Had?

God is the Hedge around His people. He is our Sheepfold. He saves us, and loves us, and protects and cares for us. And Jesus is the Door of this Sheepfold.

There are two Sheepfolds: That in Eternity, In Heaven, and that on Earth. Jesus Is the Door to both Sheepfolds!

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God Can Heal Anything But Self Righteousness

We have created a false god, an image of the true, in what we think is our image and in our likeness. God is not like what we want Him to be. God is as He is. God does what He does for a purpose. He is God, and we are not.

Those who KNOW they are right will never entertain the notion that they need Jesus, the Son of God.

Separating The Once Blind Man From The Blind Pharisees, Jesus Asks A Simple Question

Jesus is the unique Son of God. He was MADE Perfect Man, but has ALWAYS been the Son of God.

This Once Blind Man Shows Us ThePROGRESSION Of Saving Faith

Jesus did not MAKE HIMSELF anything. He is THE Son of God. His works proved His profession.

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The Big Lie Told From The Pulpits

So called “Two Tiered Christianity” will not stand through the fire of suffering.

Christians Will Suffer. Is God PresentWith You In Your Suffering?

We are called to imitate Christ.We are called to model Grace as Jesus did.

Our Heavenly Father is faithful. He is always right in what He proposes and good in what He disposes. Jesus trusted this, and so should we.

Has The Scripture You Heard TodayChanged Your Life In Any Way?

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Salvation Is A Gift Of God BUT…

Salvation Changes Your Citizenship

The Four-Fold Change That GRACEBrings To The Saved

As Children of God and Priests through Christ, we live to please our God, and to lead others to Him.

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This Passage in John 9 Is The Longest And MostDetailed Account Of Christ Healing The Blind

The Man Is Physically Healed, But StillBlind To Who Jesus Is

Why Did Jesus Heal On The Sabbath?

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Our Chief Focus Is Not Human Qualifications,But CHRIST. Jesus is PRECIOUS.

If You Stick With Jesus, You Will Never Be Shamed

The most dangerous thing a person will ever do is not sky diving, nor disarming bombs, nor swimming with the sharks. The most dangerous thing a person will ever do is stand before a Holy and Righteous God without Christ.

The Church That Lives With And For JesusWill Continue Until The Rapture

If you will share Jesus’ Heaven one day, you will be bound to Him spiritually every day.

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Eventually God reaches a point of NO RETURN where He will destroy a civilization if it will not repent. Jonah, the clock is ticking.

But Jonah

Sleeping in the belly of the boat Jonah was just dead weight. The believer is to be more than dead weight!

If God Wants To Use You, He Will.He Doesn’t Care How You Feel.

God Will Bring Miracles To Those Who Do His Will

The Worst Part Of The Book Of Jonah Is Jonah

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Be Careful With Your Judgments

Perhaps God in His omnipotence foresawthis man would be a great sinner.

America, We Are Not Enough

You Are Enough

This man was made the way he is on purpose so that God could show us what Jesus can do. We need Jesus.

Jesus MUST Work The Works

Jesus Saved In Different Ways

So why did Jesus have this man blind from birth go wash in the Pool of Siloam? I believe it was to show us that Jesus is not only SAVIOR, but He is our LORD. He saves us, but we are to obey Him.

If you are a Christian, you are saved to serve, not to be served. You are to be obedient to Jesus!

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The Holy Spirit had not yet been given to the Church when Jesus walked on this earth (John 7:39), because Christ had not yet died on the Cross.

Wherefore …

The Born Again Produce A Different Fruit

Christians ought not to be mean. They ought to be kind and loving. When you are mean to one another then you are not a good advertisement for salvation in Jesus Christ.

When you begin to covet what another person has it won’t be long before you engage in guile and hypocrisies.

“Almost Saved, the Almost Christian”

Many a Church has been destroyed by thosewho will not put off the evil!

The Born Again Desire The Good Word Of God

As water washes the body, the Word of God washes the soul. We as Christians become more like Christ as we do more of His Word.

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To Be Saved, You Must Be PHYSICALLY AndSPIRITUALLY Tied To God The Father

God’s children are created of FAITH and PROMISE.

A tree is known by the fruit it bears (Luke 6:43-45). The Christian or lost person is proved by the fruit of life.

Abraham was bound to God BOTH Physically as well as Spiritually. God was his Father. He trusted God.

If You Reject Jesus As Lord And Savior,Your Father Is By Default The Devil

Faith In Christ Is The Only Way To Eternal Life

The Bible speaks of three stages of death.

Jesus Christ Is God Incarnate

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David Buffaloe

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Recent Posts

Yesterday’s Word

Categories

You Can Only Lawfully Enter The
“Sheepfold” By The AMEN Door

This Once Blind Man Shows Us The
PROGRESSION Of Saving Faith

So called “Two Tiered Christianity” will not stand
through the fire of suffering.

Christians Will Suffer. Is God Present
With You In Your Suffering?

We are called to imitate Christ.
We are called to model Grace as Jesus did.

Has The Scripture You Heard Today
Changed Your Life In Any Way?

The Four-Fold Change That GRACE
Brings To The Saved

This Passage in John 9 Is The Longest And Most
Detailed Account Of Christ Healing The Blind

The Man Is Physically Healed, But Still
Blind To Who Jesus Is

Our Chief Focus Is Not Human Qualifications,
But CHRIST. Jesus is PRECIOUS.

The Church That Lives With And For Jesus
Will Continue Until The Rapture

**If you will share Jesus’ Heaven one day, you will be bound to Him spiritually every day.**

If God Wants To Use You, He Will.
He Doesn’t Care How You Feel.

Perhaps God in His omnipotence foresaw
this man would be a great sinner.

Many a Church has been destroyed by those
who will not put off the evil!

To Be Saved, You Must Be PHYSICALLY And
SPIRITUALLY Tied To God The Father

If You Reject Jesus As Lord And Savior,
Your Father Is By Default The Devil

**The Bible speaks of three stages of death.**