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Drifting Away From Jesus

Posted on April 14, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Andrew Neel: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-black-shorts-sitting-on-white-boat-7400140/

Please turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 4.

Last week we saw that Jesus “must needs go through Samaria” (vs 4). Jesus had a divine appointment to share the Gospel with a Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob. As Jesus shared the Gospel with this woman, we read a parenthetical statement – John 4:8 – which said:

John 4:8 (For His disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat).

What CITY had they gone to? It’s the city of Sychar. Now this Bible is written by God, through Holy Men who love the Lord. There are no coincidences in this Bible. Every word is important. So when it tells us that the “disciples were gone away unto the city”, we need to look at the city of Sychar. This city is only mentioned one time in the Scripture, in this chapter. The name “Sychar” has an interesting meaning. The Greek meaning is “to be drunken – a place of drunkenness”. Jesus is on a mission to save the soul of a woman a a well, but His disciples – Christians – are off doing what they think is more important. They are buying “MEAT”.

Are ALL the disciples off somewhere else buying meat? No. The Apostle John, who loves Jesus, is still with the Lord. We know this because John wrote down what happened with the woman at the well.

John stayed with Jesus – but the other disciples thought it was more important to go to Sychar – a place called “Drunken” – and buy “MEAT”.

It is so easy to drift away from God in your faith. The drifting is very subtle. You have important things to do. You want to spend some time with your family. There’s something you want to see on television. You need to go to the store. So you leave Jesus sitting beside a well with a Samaritan woman while you go and do something much more important.

When we follow these patterns – when we are distracted by the less important over the much more important (Jesus) – it isn’t long before we are no better than the lost world around us. If the devil can not keep us in our state of lostness from God, he will do the next best thing for hell – he will entice us to be no better than a lost person.

Illustrate: We often see the behavior of “professing” Christians in public – and are shamed by what they do. I pulled into my bank’s drive through yesterday to purchase a roll of quarters. Pulling in behind a lady who was at the teller’s window, I could hear this woman talking with the teller about opening a charge account with the bank. I thought such things should be done inside. As she asks about the “rewards” program, and the teller dutifully answers her questions, what should have taken me just a minute is running into time. I looked to back up and go around, but I was blocked by others behind me. Trapped, I had to wait. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes pass. She and the teller are still having a leisurely discussion. I practiced praying, because I was tempted to lean on the horn. At 22 minutes she finally pulled away. When I got to the teller, she asked “How’s your day going?” I said, “a whole lot better 15 minutes ago”. As the rude woman pulled away I noticed she had a large CROSS hanging from her rear view mirror. More than likely she professed to be a Christian.

Too many who profess Christianity put the temporal and the silly above what is the most important. Our Lord Jesus traveled the distance between Judea and Sychar (a city of Samaria), some 24.85 miles. We are not told, but He was most likely on foot. This journey would have taken Him several hours, an exhausting trek, and Jesus went because the most important thing in the world to Him was that woman’s soul.

Christians, are the souls of those around you important? Or are you drifting from God, more impressed with “MEAT” than you are with the Kingdom of God? Let’s look at that word “MEAT”, what was so important to the other Disciples.

Word Study: The word translated “MEAT” in John 4:8 is an interesting Greek word. It is the word trophē (pronounced trof-ay’), and it does mean “meat, food, or nourishment”. The Disciples left Jesus to get nourishment. When they come back we read:

John 4:30-34 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. 31 In the mean while his disciples prayed (erōtáō, [pronounced er-o-tah’-o]}, literally BEGGED) Him, saying, Master, eat. 32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.

They went to Sychar to get trophē or “nourishment”, and literally beg Jesus to eat. But here Jesus uses a different word for “meat”. This time He uses the Greek word brōsis, {pronounced bro’-sis}. The word brōsis doesn’t refer to “MEAT”, but to the act of eating. What Jesus is saying is,

“I have eaten food that you have not eaten”

This puzzled the Disciples. We read:

John 4:33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?

When they left Jesus at the well, the Lord had not eaten all day. But Jesus says that He is satisfied – that He is nourished. So they wonder if perhaps someone brought Him food. Perhaps John stepped away, or the woman of Samaria fed Jesus something. But Jesus tells them:

John 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

What sustained Jesus? It was that He followed the will of God the Father. The Father sent the Son on a mission. We are told in:

1 John 4:14 (ESV) … the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

Jesus came to save “whosoever will” receive Him as Messiah. Jesus came to be the payment for our sins. Jesus came to invite the lost to follow Him. Jesus was not sent by rabbis. He was not sent by the Sanhedrin, the ruling elders of Israel. Jesus was not sent by Himself. There was no inner hunger or need for power that sent Him. Jesus – Himself God – is sent by God for the most important mission ever devised. He was sent by God to save the lost.

It is God’s Word that brings life. It is God’s Word that sustains life. Jesus told the Devil when he tempted the Lord to “make stones into bread”, that …

Matthew 4:4 … Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

The Disciples thought that the food they found was so very important. But Jesus told them …

John 4:34 … My {brōsis FOOD} is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish His work.

God sent Jesus to build the Kingdom of God on this earth. God sent Jesus to grow a Church, a collection of broken people redeemed by the Blood of the lamb. When Jesus preached His only sermon in His home town of Nazareth, He read from the scroll of Isaiah 61:1-2:

Luke 4:18-19 (ESV) …“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

When Jesus finished reading this scroll, He said

Luke 4:21 Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.

God the Holy Spirit empowered Jesus “to proclaim good news to the poor … to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed”. This was the mission that He came on, a mission He has left for us to do.

Jesus Wants Us To Not Wander Off To Sychar For Food, But To Look For Opportunities
To Spread His Kingdom

John 4:35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

The devil is very busy sowing seed, spreading misinformation and confusion, and drawing people away from God. The Soniclight Commentary notes:

“Jesus’ reference to four months was probably proverbial. That was the approximate time between the last sowing and the earliest harvest reaping. His point was that between the spiritual task of sowing the gospel and reaping belief, the intervening time may be very brief.

The disciples needed spiritual vision. They could obtain it by lifting their eyes and looking on the fields of lost people, which are white for harvest, rather than being completely absorbed in their physical needs. As with physical grain, the opportunity for harvesting spiritually is relatively brief. If left unreached, like unreaped grain, people die in their sins.”

The devil does not pause in his sowing. This is why transgenderism, transhumanism, and the LGBTQ+ movement has taken such hold. Those who follow Christ need to stay with Christ, to stay true to Him. If we drift away, and start to put other things above the Father’s calling, then Satan will triumph in America.

John 4:36-38 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. 37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. 38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor: other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors.

The conversion of Samaria was thousands of years in the making. The prophets sowed the seed f the Gospel in the Old Testament era. In sowing and reaping, there is often a long period of time between the two. There are crops I love to grow that take months to sprout, so I often sow in trays, and use heat lamps to try and coax the seed out of the soil. Hopefully I will have a sprout I can transplant, and get an early harvest.

But human souls are different. With human souls, “One soweth, and another reapeth”. We plant the seed of the Gospel, but we may never see the fruit bear. But every one of us must be as faithful as we can be to stay with Jesus, and keep doing what He has called us to do. The Bible tells us in another place:

2 Corinthians 9:6 … He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

What others have sowed, you can reap. What you sow, you can sometimes reap. If you sow much, you can reap much. But if you sow nothing, you reap nothing. The Apostle wrote:

Galatians 6:7-10 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

You ask the question, “What harm am I doing if I do nothing for my Lord?” The answer is simple. If you are not sowing, nor serving, Satan is. And there will be a harvest! There will be a harvest!

Who Can Tell What One Seed Will Do?

The Disciples saw Sychar as a SUPPLY depot for their needs, and a SAMARITAN problem without a solution. God saw Sychar as a valuable area. Jesus took the time to sow ONE SEED at a well. What happened? We read:

John 4:39-42 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on Him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. 40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought Him that He would tarry with them: and He abode there two days. 41 And many more believed because of His own word; 42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.

The ONE SEED that Jesus planted at Jacob’s well sprouted, and went out sowing throughout Sychar or “the drunken place”. Many Samaritans came to receive Jesus as Messiah, and “besought Him that He would tarry with them”. They wanted to walk with and talk with Jesus. They were able to profess, “this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world”.

My question to each and every one of you is, what are YOU sowing? Are you as professing Christians living your lives to glorify God your Savior? Or are you only following Jesus when it is convenient? God expects those whom He has saved to live in love with Jesus. The work of God is to believe on Jesus. To share Jesus with others. To share the great love of God with this present world. What filled Jesus’ so that He was not hungry was doing the will of God. He said:

John 6:38-40 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

We desperately need Christians walking WITH Christ, not apart from Him, in America today. John Stonestreet noted in a recent Breakpoint article:

“In his book, The Way Of The Modern World, author and theologian Craig Gay wrote … The most common thing we encounter (in America today) is ‘practical atheism’. In other words, what shapes our world is not so much a proliferation of people who believe that God does not exist; rather, it is that so many people live as if God does not exist, as if God is irrelevant to most of life.”

We as Christians cannot afford to be “practical atheists”. We must live as if Christ matters to us and to those around us. We must walk through our lives following Jesus. We cannot afford to be off to Sychar, looking to feed our own bellies. Oh, that God would set our souls on fire, to share Christ and His love as we are given opportunity to do so! May God the Holy Spirit and this precious Scripture move on all our hearts, and bring us back to Him, our Hope and our Lord, this very day. Amen and Amen.

Posted in John, Sermons Preached | Tagged backsliding, drifting away from God, putting God last, salvation, slow fade, walking with God, walking with Jesus | Leave a comment

When Angels Preached The Gospel

Posted on April 12, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by S Migaj: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-standing-inside-cave-776987/

Luke 24:1-12 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher. 3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. 8 And they remembered his words …

The Bible Is God’s Book!

People ask me why I believe that this Bible is God’s Book, written through the Prophets and Apostles. Why do I believe that “no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21, CSB)? It is because I have experienced the power of this magnificent Book. God has given us – you and I – a Book written by His Spirit, and taught by His Spirit (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13).

Every time I come to the Bible, if open to the Holy Spirit, I nearly always find something new.

For instance, as I read this story of the resurrection of Jesus, a message I have preached before, I thought “what could be new in this text?” then God answered.

Angels Preached The Gospel The Day Jesus Rose

I was reading a commentary the other day when I came across this statement:

“During the current dispensation in which we live – the church age – angels are not permitted to preach or share the Gospel (the message of Jesus) with people. They are, however, involved in the process of people being saved or born again”.

Christian, there are lots of good commentaries out there, and I’m sure this isn’t a bad commentary. But never take the word of man above that of God. Men and women make mistakes. I make mistakes. “Try the Spirits, whether they be of God or not”(1 John 4:1). Is it true that “angels do not preach the Gospel”? Let’s look at what the Bible says. The Apostle Paul wrote:

Galatians 1:8-9 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. [9] As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

The Apostle suggested that an Angel could preach the Gospel – and called the curse of God on any Angel that preached a contrary Gospel to that which is presented in the Scripture. I do not believe that Angels normally preach the Gospel, as the Great Commission was given to the Church by Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20). However, on the Sunday that Mary Magdalene and Mary the wife of Cleopas we are told an angel rolled the stone from the tomb of Christ, and said:

Matthew 28:5-7 … Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

An Angel preached the Gospel! In our Sunday School lesson today (I wish you would attend Sunday School – you’d be blessed!) we’ll see the resurrection account in John chapter 20. When Mary Magdalene gets to the tomb of Jesus, she sees the stone rolled away. The Bible says:

John 20:11-13 Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, 12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.

Mary thought that someone had stolen the body of Jesus. As she and the other women came to the tomb, they came to finish preparing Jesus’ body for burial.

When they took Jesus down from the Cross to bury Him, He was hastily buried because the next day was the High Sabbath, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Leviticus 23:6-7 …. on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation (Hebrew miqrā’, a special time where Israel was called together to worship) ; you shall not do any ordinary work.

Had Jesus’ body been stolen, He would have been defiled by Jewish law. His preparation was not complete! Mary was devastated. We’ll see in Sunday School that Mary will look into the Tomb and see …

John 20:12 … two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain

There are two angels there. In our text today we read in Luke that, when they looked into the tomb perplexed …

Luke 24:4 … behold, two men stood by them in shining garments…

These “TWO MEN” in “SHINING GARMENTS” were angels. Though angels do not normally carry the Gospel, God used the angels to remind the disciples to get busy and spread the Gospel.

Sadly, we as humans are fickle. Sometimes we need an angel to get us moving in the right direction. The disciples did not need to waste time wondering where Jesus is. Jesus is where He is supposed to be. Let’s get busy!

The Great Physician Luke was used to God to write both the Gospel of Luke, as well as Acts. At the empty tomb Luke tells us that “two men in shining garments” share the Gospel. After Jesus is reunited with His disciples and gives us the Great Commission, Jesus ascends into Heaven. The Bible tells us that:

Acts 1:10-11 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

I believe that this is the same “TWO MEN – ANGELS – IN SHINING APPAREL” that were at the empty Tomb. Stop staring where Jesus went up to Heaven. He is coming again. Get busy, and tell others that He has risen just as He said.

The Gospel Is That Jesus Died, But Rose Again

The Gospel that Jesus gave us – a Gospel first preached by Angels – is very simple. We read:

Luke 24:5-7 … Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

The Angels redirected the gaze of the disciples, reminding us that death has no hold on Jesus. Jesus repeated told His disciples that He had to die on the Cross. In this same Gospel we read:

Luke 9:22 {Jesus said} The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and BE RAISED THE THIRD DAY.

Jesus often used the title “Son of Man” for Himself. In the Old Testament the term “son of man” was used to describe fallen man. The Prophet compared man to God, saying …

Job 25:6 How much less man, that is a worm (rimmâ, that which causes decay)? and the son of man, which is a worm?

Though God put man on a perfect earth, and gave us all that we needed for a great life, man chose to try and be like a god (Genesis 3:5). It came to my attention the other day that some of these television preachers are saying that we as humans can be gods This is hogwash! God has said,

Isaiah 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me …

There is NO GOD beside our God. We cannot be gods. We are sons of men. But Jesus Christ – Eternal God in the flesh – became the Son of Man so that He might bring us to God. Jesus Christ – the Only Begotten Son of God – became the Virgin Born Son of Man. “What is man, that God would remember us? What are the sons of men, that God would come down to visit us?” (Psalm 8:4).

Jesus is the Son of Man prophesied in Daniel, the Messiah come to bring us to God (Daniel 7:13).

Jesus told His disciples …

Luke 9:44-45 .. Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men. 45 But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.

Jesus would be “DELIVERED” over to judgment to make payment for our sinfulness. Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in Scripture. Just three days before the empty Tomb, Jesus told His disciples:

Luke 18:31-33 … Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. 32 For he shall be DELIVERED unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: 33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: AND THE THIRD DAY HE SHALL RISE AGAIN.

“DELIVERED unto the Gentiles” Jesus was beaten and bruised.
“DELIVERED unto the Gentiles” Jesus was stripped and mocked.
“DELIVERED unto the Gentiles” Jesus was spitted on and scourged.
“DELIVERED unto the Gentiles” Jesus as nailed to the cross, and died.

Pierced with a spear, Jesus’s dead body yielded blood and serum (John 19:34). Hastily buried, the Disciples came looking for His body. Three days and three nights Jesus did as He said:

Matthew 12:4 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of a great fish because of his disobedience to God. Jess, however, stayed three days and three nights among the dead. He has paid the penalty for our sin, fulfilling the promise of God in the Scripture. The Scripture says:

Galatians 3:13-14 Christ (the Son of Man) hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Jesus died to make PAYMENT to God for our sins. Jesus rose from the grave to give us CONTINUING REDEMPTION from sin.

Titus 2:13-14 … Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

He lives, so we live. He died, so that we will never die. Jesus defeated sin and Satan, death and destruction. The Angels preached:

“Why seek ye the living among the dead?”, the Angels preached. He is not here – He is risen, just as He said!

The Resurrection Is A Key Part Of The Gospel

When the women ran to tell the disciples what the Angels preached, we are told:

Luke 24:11-12 … And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. 12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulcher; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

Peter went to the Tomb to inspect it for himself. When he got to that tomb, he found something interesting. If Jesus’ body had been stolen from that tomb, the grave robbers would not have taken the time to take off His linen burial cloths, laying them neatly to the side. When a person was buried, the Jews would tightly bind a NAPKIN, the Greek soudarion. The soudarion is a larger version of what I carry in my pocket, a handkerchief or a veil, also equated to an apron (Acts 19:12). When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the Bible says:

John 11:44 … he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin (soudarion). …

The “soudarion” was not laid on the head, but bound AROUND the head. Lazarus had to be released from his “soudarion” (also John 11:44). When Peter saw the “soudarion” the Bible says:

John 20:7 … the napkin (soudarion) that was about {Jesus’} head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

This was not the act of grave robbing. Grave robbers would have taken the body of Christ along with all His coverings. Instead, the body was carefully unwrapped, the grave cloths neatly folded. Jesus’ death was carefully planned by God to save us. Jesus rose from the grave to walk with those whom He saved.

The Apostle Paul puts it this way:

1 Corinthians 15:3-5 I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen …

The actual death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very foundation of the Gospel of salvation. You cannot be saved unless you believe Christ both DIED then ROSE AGAIN. Jesus walked on this earth for forty days following His death and resurrection. He was SEEN by many who, in turn, were willing to die affirming that they saw a Living Savior. The Apostle Paul said:

1 Corinthians 15:17 … if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

In order to be “saved” a person must “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that GOD HAS RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD” (Romans 10:9-10). Without the resurrection death is still man’s greatest enemy. But since Christ has conquered death we can say with the Apostle: 1 Corinthians 15:55O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

One day, dear soul, physical death will come to each and every one of us. If you have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, death will have no hold on you. Where Jesus is, we who love him will someday be. But to those of you who have resisted the Gospel, rejecting Christ as the Son of Man – you will not only die PHYSICALLY, but you will remain in SPIRITUAL death. Your ending will be never ending. You will be relegated to a place where the Son of Man says,

Matthew 7:23; 25:41 … depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. I never knew you, you who work at iniquity.

The choice is yours. Believe He died for you, and rose again for you Receive Him as SAVIOR in His death, and SOVEREIGN in His resurrection. May God the Holy Spirit guide you to give yourself to Him today. Amen and Amen.

Posted in Easter Messages, Luke, Sermons Preached | Tagged Celebrate Salvation, Easter, Ressurection, salvation, Son of God, Son of man | 1 Comment

Resurrection Sunday Sunrise Service: What The Tomb Teaches Us

Posted on April 9, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Tetyana Kovyrina: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-wheat-1600139/

Mark 16:1-4 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.

2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun.

3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher?

4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.

Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James (the mother of the Son of God), and Salome (perhaps one of Jesus’ sisters – Matthew 13:56) went to the Tomb following the end of the weekly Sabbath. It was their intention to finish preparing Jesus’ body for burial. The question foremost in their minds was,

“Who shall roll us away the stone
from the door of the sepulcher?”

A large stone covered the entrance to Christ’s grave, a cave borrowed from Joseph of Arimathaea. When the stone was put in place three days before,

Matthew 27:65-66 Pilate said to {the Pharisees and chief Priests}, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the Tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

When the Tomb was sealed, it was done by the King to prevent anything happening to the contents. When Daniel was cast into the lion’s den we are told,

Daniel 6:17 And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel.

By sealing the stone, it became an act of treason to open the door. This is much like the police tape put on a crime scene that says, “Do not enter, on penalty of law”. Jesus was laid to rest, but He was also effectively locked up. To insure that the seal was not broken, Pilate put his guards – Roman soldiers – on the door to guard it. The stone was in place, and it “was very great”. Who would move the stone for the women? Or would their trip be all in vain.

As they got to the sepulcher they found out:

Mark 6:4 … they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.

The seal of the Law was broken. The immense Rock was already moved. The Roman guards – seasoned and worldly soldiers – were no where to be found.

Jesus was not in the Tomb!

Entering the Tomb, we read:

Mark 16:5-11 entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.

6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.

8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulcher; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.

9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.

10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.

11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.

Leaving the empty Tomb, the two Mary’s and Salome were frightened and ran away – but Mary Magdalene came back to the Tomb. It was when she returned to that empty Tomb that Jesus came to her. Telling her “touch Me not, for I have no yet ascended to the Father” (John 20:17), Jesus tells Mary to return an tell the disciples what she has seen. Jesus has risen!

What are the three great truths we get from the empty Tomb of Christ?

1 The Lawful Seal on the Tomb was removed.

Pilate as Governor lawfully sealed the Tomb of Christ, sealing His dead body away from the Living. The Bible tells us that our God is “the Living God”. And yet the Scripture says that

We are ALL dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13).

God is LIVING, but we are naturally spiritually DEAD.

Romans 3:23 … all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God…

Romans 5:12 … by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned …

The seal of the Law stands between us and God. He is perfectly righteous, but we are NOT. He is perfectly HOLY, but we are not. Like David, we cry out for God.

Psalm 42:2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

How can we stand before the Living, when we are dead? As the Prophet said in Deuteronomy 5:26, “For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?”. The answer is, no one can of themselves approach God.

But Christ died for our sins! Our Jesus came “not to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to FULFILL them” (Matthew 5:17, ESV). By believing on Christ, He takes away the seal of the Law that keeps us from God. Just as the Tomb cannot hold Jesus as the seal of the Law is removed, the seal of the Law does not keep us from the Living God. God has “quickened us” given us life, because Christ fulfilled the requirements of the Law once and for all.

Romans 10:4 (ESV) For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Romans 7:12 (ESV) So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

Romans 8:3-4 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

The Law no longer holds Jesus in the Tomb, nor does the Law hold the Christian in spiritual death. Jesus broke the seal of the Law.

2 The stone was rolled away.

The two Mary’s and Salome, though they had every intention of serving Jesus, could not do so unless the stone was rolled away. There are many people today who believe that they can “get on God’s good side” by doing “good works”. Yet the Scripture says:

Isaiah 64:6-7 (ESV) We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7 There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.

Though we may want to work our way to God – and are as sincere as the Marys and Salome were – yet we cannot. Like Paul we cry out, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24, ESV). We are not strong enough to roll the stone away. But Jesus rolled the stone away. As the Apostle said:

Titus 3:3-7 (ESV) For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Jesus did what was impossible for us, so that we can be children of God.

3 The soldiers were chased away.

The world, the flesh, and the devil did all that they could to keep us in the Tomb, just as the Roman guards tried to keep Jesus in the Tomb. They could not keep Jesus in death, and cannot hold the believer in death. Those who belong to Jesus by faith will not continue to walk in darkness. The seal is broken. The stone is rolled away. The soldiers are gone. Jesus promised:

John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

There is a lot of nonsense spouted off today about “I was made this way, so I can – guilt free – stay this way”. Hogwash! The Scripture tells us that

1 John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

You who are saved by faith in Christ do not belong in the grave no more than Jesus belongs in the grave. The Tomb is empty. Blessed be the name of the Lord. May God lead you to Christ’s side this very day.

He is not in the Tomb. He is risen, just as He said!

Amen and amen.

Posted in Easter Messages, Mark Sermons, Sermons Preached | Tagged Easter, Following Christ, Resurrection, Resurrection Sunday, salvation | 1 Comment

The Enemy Within

Posted on April 4, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by David McEachan: https://www.pexels.com/photo/gray-pyramid-on-dessert-under-blue-sky-71241/

Turn with me in your Bibles to Judges chapter 8. When we ended last week, Gideon or Jerubbaal (Judges 7:1) at the direction of God led 300 men to utterly destroy the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the men of the east (other Canaanites). God only wanted 300 men with trumpets, clay jars, and lamps to come to the enemy. On smashing the clay pots and blowing their trumpets, the forces of Midian ended up killing one another with their own swords (Judges 7:22).

The Enemy Within

When you have a mountaintop experience with God, it doesn’t take long before the enemy will attack. The enemy doesn’t normally come at us from the outside, but the greatest enemy is the one who comes from the inside. When you serve God – Jesus said – “a person’s enemies will be those of his own household” (Matthew 10:36). It was prophesied that the Messiah – our Jesus – would be betrayed by “My close friend in whom I trusted, who ate My bread – he lifted up his heel against Me” (Psalm 41:9). Though Jesus chose Judas Iscariot to be an Apostle, and even gave him a trusted position as treasurer of the Apostles, Jesus did so knowing that Judas would betray Him with a kiss (John 13:18) for just 30 pieces of silver – the price of a slave.

The worst evil comes at us not from the outside,
but from within the house!

Judges 8:1 And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply.

Gideon and his 300 warriors are still chasing the enemy, fleeing for their lives, when they cross the boundary of the land of “Ephraim”. Gideon had previously sent messengers throughout Mount Ephraim …

Judges 7:24 And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan.

Gideon is from the Tribe of Manasseh. Manasseh and Ephraim were the two sons of Joseph (of the coat of many colors, right hand to the King of Egypt) that together shared in the blessing of Jacob (see Genesis 48:5). Ephraim was therefore very close to Manasseh, and felt as if their brothers had betrayed them. Furthermore, Ephraim is the largest and most powerful tribe of Israel – the Tribe of Joshua and Samuel.

Ephraim felt that they had been disrespected, discounted, and discarded. They felt they should have been with Gideon and the 300 at the outset of the battle.

Word Study: Ephraim “did chide with him {Gideon and Manasseh} sharply”. This is the Hebrew rîyb ḥāzqâ, which literally means “pushed to fight him with all their strength”. Ephraim wanted to make war with Gideon! Their pride was hurt. The Bible tells us that:

Proverbs 6:16-18 (NKJV) These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.

God despises pride. It is pride that led to the fall of man. Pride is the king of all other sins! The Bible says that “when PRIDE cometh, then COMETH SHAME” (Proverbs 11:2) and “only by PRIDE cometh CONTENTION” (Proverbs 13:10). How does Gideon respond to this attack?

Gideon lets fear rather than faith lead him. It was God’s decision as to who to use in the initial battle. It was God’s decision to choose the 300 men who Gideon used. Gideon was following God’s orders. Gideon should have said, “I was following Gods orders”. God had already promised to protect Gideon if he would just be obedient. But Gideon allowed his eyes to get off of God and focus on Ephraim.

Judges 8:2-3 And {Gideon} said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? 3 God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.

Instead of glorifying God in the battle, Gideon minimized the great victory of the 300. Gideon told them, “What have I done now in comparison of you”? He made the victory of God a small thing, and made out that Ephraim’s part in the battle – the cleanup – was much greater. He said that the “gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim {is} better than the vintage of Abiezer”. Ephraim’s “gleaning” or harvest of the running Midianites was “BETTER THAN THE VINTAGE or WINE of ABIEZER {Gideon’s Family}”. Gideon went on to say that Ephraim’s capture of the warlords “Oreb and Zeeb” made the victory of the 300 insignificant.

Gideon’s sin in excluding God from the victory in order to pacify Ephraim would not just hurt him
but it will hurt Ephraim.

What would have happened in the early Church if, when the Pharisees and Chief Priests commanded the Apostles not to reach Christ – they had submitted in order to “keep the peace”? Had they done so, the Gospel would have never went into the world. But when commanded to stop preaching, the Bible says ….

Acts 5:29-32 (ESV) … Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

The Devil will often suggest we “compromise” our faith – just go along to get along. This is an ancient trick that he has often used.

When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were commanded by the King to bow down to the golden idol, or be cast into a fiery furnace, they said:

Daniel 3:16-18 … O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

Jesus protected the Hebrew Children from that furnace – but there have been many times when believers have been martyred for the faith. There is always a temptation to go with the flow, to go along to get along, to submit to what is politically correct in order to find peace. Yes, the Bible says “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9, NIV), we are never to make peace at God’s expense. The Apostle Paul said:

Galatians 1:10 (NLT) … I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.

Is God Who “sets the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him” (1 Corinthians 12:18). As God’s people we have a stewardship “with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4, ESV; Colossians 3:23).

Gideon Drifts From God’s Glory

Judges 8:4-9 And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them. 5 And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian. 6 And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army? 7 And Gideon said, Therefore when the Lord hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers. 8 And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him. 9 And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.

When God found Gideon, he was hiding in a winepress while he gleaned his wheat. Fearful, God called him from the winepress to lead 300 to defeat a much greater Midianite army. Now Gideon’s faith burns! He knows that God is with him. Gideon leads his men to pursue the fleeing Midianites, moving south along the Jordan River.

Word Study: Gideon comes to the town of SUCCOTH (Hebrew Çukkôwth, [pronounced sook-kohth’], which means “booths”). Succoth is a place rich in history. It was where Jacob put up booths for his cattle (Genesis 33:17), as well as the first stopping place of Israel when they were freed from Egyptian slavery (Exodus 12:37). When Moses prepared the people to go into the Promised Land under Joshua’s leadership, two of Israel’s Tribes came to Moses – the Tribes of Reuben and Gad – came to him with a request. The land they were on was just before the Promised Land. Reuben and Gad said:

Numbers 32:5 (ESV) … If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.

Reuben and Gad wanted to stay in the safe place, to take the easy ground of faith. They are much like the “easy believism” we see so frequently in our Churches today. Faith is a battle – not a party! Moses told them:

Numbers 32:6-12 (ESV) “Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here? 7 Why will you discourage the heart of the people of Israel from going over into the land that the Lord has given them? 8 Your fathers did this, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. 9 For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the people of Israel from going into the land that the Lord had given them. 10 And the Lord’s anger was kindled on that day, and he swore, saying, 11 ‘Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me, 12 none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lord.’

God caused Israel to wander in the wilderness 40 years until the rebellious were destroyed. Moses warned Reuben and Gad, “if you turn away from following him, he will again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all this people”. That very day the Tribes of Reuben and Gad promised God:

Numbers 32:16-18 “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, 17 but we will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance.

What does this have to do with Succoth? Succoth was the place given the Tribe of Gad – along with Penuel – when they promised to support the other the tribes.

Gideon stops at Succoth not asking that they participate in the battle, but asking for “loaves of bread” to support God’s work. The men of Succoth – the Tribe of Gad – decided that they would take the low ground. They in effect told Gideon, “When you’ve captured Zebah and Zalmunna, then and only then will we give you bread!”. Gideon makes them a promise:

Judges 8:7 when the Lord hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, THEN I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers

Gideon doesn’t say IF I capture these kings, but WHEN the LORD DELIVERS THEM to me. After he is done with God’s work, Gideon will complete God’s work by punishing their faithlessness. Gideon next goes to “Penuel” – inhabited by the Tribe of Gad – and once more they refuse to assist. Penuel had a tower that they thought made them invincible. Gideon told them …

Judges 8:9 When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower

When we put our faith in anything but our God and His Promises, we deserve the thorns and thistles of Succoth and the false towers of Penuel to fall.

Judges 8:10-12 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the east: for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword. 11 And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host; for the host was secure. 12 And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host.

Of the 135,000 Midianite warriors Gideon battled, only 15,000 remained – and Gideon still had his 300 original men. Not one person who followed God was lost. The enemy thought they were in a safe place. There was more of them than there was of Gideon’s – but with God there is a majority. God told us:

Malachi 3:11 (ESV) I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of hosts.

Though Midian was like a plague of locusts, they could not stand against one man focused on God. When the Apostle spoke of our calling and adoption as God’s sons, he wrote:

2 Corinthians 4:7-10 (ESV) we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

God’s will will be fulfilled! Before the day was over, Gideon destroyed the last of Midian’s forces, and conquered their warlords. But he hasn’t forgotten the promise he made to Succoth and Punuel.

Sin Is Punished Righteously –
Those Who Knew Better Are First Punished

Judges 8:13-16 And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up, 14 And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him: and he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men. 15 And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary? 16 And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.

Our Lord Jesus said in

Luke 12:47-48 (ESV) … that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

Word Study: God reserves His greatest punishments for those who knew better, but would not do. When Gideon goes to Succoth after finding out who are the PRINCES (Hebrew śar, “rulers” or “governors”) and ELDERS (Hebrew zāqēn, “those who were sage or older in the faith”). God expects those whom He has placed in positions of authority to do the right thing.

If the leadership fails to follow God,
the people will fail to follow God.

The Leadership knew that Gad promised to support their brothers and sisters in the battle for the Promised Land. When they refused to assist Gideon, they refused to obey God. Gideon took “threescore and seventeen men”, or 77 men who should have known better. We are told that Gideon “took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth”. The 77 elders were publicly punished for disobeying the Covenant that Gad made with God. Public punishment taught the other men of that city that obedience to God is not optional – but MANDATORY. God expects those whom He saves to follow Him. Beating the men with THORNS AND BRIERS very possibly brought death, and certainly produced scarring that would long remind the survivors the dangers of sin against God.

Judges 8:17 And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.

It seems that Gideon only killed to 77 leaders of Succoth, but destroyed all the men of Penuel. Why is this? Perhaps because they stood behind the “high tower” of their human works rather than the High Tower of God.

2 Samuel 22:3 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.

Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

Did Gideon destroy the whole city? Matthew Henry’s Commentary notes:

“He slew some of the men of the city that were most insolent and abusive, for terror to the rest, and so he taught the men of Penuel”.

Judges 8:18-21 Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king. 19 And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the Lord liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you. 20 And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth. 21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.

As Gideon prepared to kill the Midianite warlords, he first asked his son “Jether” to kill them. This would not only give the honor of the kill to his son, but it would also humiliate the warlords to be killed by a youth. Gideon killed the warlords, and “took away the ornaments that were on their camels’ necks”. Professor Herbert M. Wolf (Wheaton College) notes:

“The crescent-shaped ornaments (lit. “little moons”) on the camels’ necks are still in common use among the Arabs. Made of silver or gold, they are mentioned again in Isaiah 3:18 among articles highly prized by women. The Midianites, along with many other Semite people, probably worshiped the moon-god.”

Gideon Honors God – Almost

Having defeated the enemy, the people come to Gideon and ask him to rule over them as King:

Judges 8:22-23 Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. 23 And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you.

Gideon refused to be made king. He told Israel, “the Lord shall rule over you”. He had the right attitude. Only God shall reign. It was God Who gave Gideon and the 300 their victory, so only God should be honored. Gideon only had one request. As Gideon’s troops killed the Midianites, they took their gold earrings as trophies of their kill. Gideon asked that …

Judges 8:24-26 And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25 And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey. 26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels’ necks.

Here Gideon failed God. He took all the earrings – 1700 shekels of gold – about 71 pounds – and melted it down into an EPHOD (verse 27), a free standing idol (Judges 17:5; 18:14, 18; 1 Samuel 2:28; 14:3; 21:9). This became a thing that Israel began to worship. Gideon meant to show honor to God, but God forbade that any image be made of Him (Exodus 20:4-5). Though the land rested for 40 years while Gideon lived, as soon as he died we read:

Judges 8:33-35 And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god. 34 And the children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side: 35 Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.

If we will be blessed, we must stay the course in following the Lord our God. Amen and Amen.

Posted in Judges, Sermons Preached | Tagged battling evil, fighting Satan, obedience, obey God, obeying God | Leave a comment

Try The Spirits

Posted on April 4, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

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

1 John 4:1-4 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. 4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

I was listening to a “Christian” Radio Station the other day, hearing some of the “Contemporary Christian Music” that is being put out by Millennials and Generation Z. It was a song called Banks by a group called Needtobreathe. They’ve released 8 albums, have been nominated for a Grammy in 2014. The tune was catchy But as I listened to it, I realized –

It had absolutely nothing to do with God, the Bible, or anything Christian.

There are a lot of songs out there that sound Christian, but are not. There are a lot of things out in the world that sound Christian but are not. There are a lot of preachers out in the world that sound Christian, but are not. There are a lot of sermons out in the world that sound Christian but are not. The devil is the master of deception.

Opening Illustration: One of my favorite television shows is The Andy Griffith Show. I know that Millennials (born 1981-1996) and Generation Z (anyone born 1997-2012) will probably have never heard of this show, but it’s a classic. A single father, Sheriff Andy Taylor, raises his young son OP along with his Aunt Bee. The show ran October 1960 – September 1968, and never placed lower that seventh in the Nielsen ratings. In one episode Aunt Beewas feeling her age, and went to the doctor. The doctor told Bee, “We’re no spring chickens anymore” – about the same thing the doctor told my brother Bill when he said “It’s age related”. There’s nothing that can be done to fix it if it’s “age related”. As Bee came home from seeing the doctor, she came across a Medicine Man selling elixir named Colonel Harvey (John Dehner). Buying a few bottles, she does feel better. In fact, she feels so much better that she convinces her friends at the Ladies Aid Church Committee to invest – and drink – the 100 proof tonic. When Andy comes home he finds Aunt Bee and the Church Committee all roaring drunk! When Bee sees Andy, she says, “Oh girls, look who’s here – Sheriff Matt Dillon! Where’s Chester?”

So many Christians fall into Satan’s traps, just as Aunt Bee did. It looks good – but IS it good? The devil is constantly setting up traps. He is constantly spinning lies.

On of Satan’s greatest lies is that you can be a Christian, you can be Heaven bound, and yet live no different from the world around you. That’s just not true.

This is a philosophical confusion of Grace. Several years ago Evangelists began to teach that since salvation is a free gift from God, there are no strings attached to salvation. Salvation is necessarily a free gift from God. There is no way that you can earn nor deserve salvation. Salvation is offered through Grace, not through works. One of the best explanations I can find in a few verses is one that I have oft quoted:

Ephesians 2:8-10 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.

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

In verses 8-9 we are told that salvation is a gift given by God’s Grace, and received by faith. It is “not of yourselves”. As Paul often does, he repeats himself, saying “not of works, lest any one should boast”. You are not saved because you are worthy. You are saved because Christ is worthy. You are saved because Jesus gave Himself for your sins. But verse 10 tells us that there are strings attached. When you are saved, you become “His workmanship”, the property of God. When you are saved as His property, as His children, you are to do good works – which God orders us to do. Salvation changes your state in God, and your relationship to God. Whereas you once walked in darkness (Ephesians 2:1-2), you now walk in light with God. Whereas you once walked with Satan (Ephesians 2:2-3), you now walk with Christ in God.

The Christian Is Beloved Because
The Beloved Became Man

1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

As Christians, we are “Beloved”. Why are we “Beloved”? It is because what God did for us. What did God do for us? We read:

1 John 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

How can we determine the false prophets from the true? The true prophets – backed by the Spirit of God – “confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh”. The word “confesseth” is the Greek homologeō, which means “to say the same thing about”. In the Old Testament, God foretold that Christ would come in the flesh. The very first prophecy of Jesus is found in the Garden of Eden, and was spoken to the devil by God. God told the serpent:

Genesis 3:15 … I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

When the Messiah came, He would come as “the SEED of the woman”. Women do not have SEED, but EGGS, so God foretold a supernatural event. Christ would come in the flesh – but He would come differently than any other. His birth would be miraculous. Later God would tell King David:

2 Samuel 7:12-13 (ESV) When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

Though David as King would reign a relatively few years, God promised David a Son to come from his line. This Son would come, and He would have a never ending throne because Gd Himself“will establish the throne of his kingdom forever”. How can a mere man have a throne that lasts forever? He cannot. We as mortals come and go. But God promised a Messiah Who would last forever. How can this be? The Prophet said:

Isaiah 7:14 (ESV) … the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

The name “Immanuel” (also “Emmanuel”) means “God with us”. God would become Man. God would come in the flesh, lowering Himself to be with us, lowering Himself to save us. The “Word that was with God, and was God” (John 1:1-2) would “become flesh and dwell among us” (John 1:14). The Only Son of God would allow Himself to be born among humanity. He Who is “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Price of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6) would come down from glory to be with us. Jesus Christ came into this world flesh, not by the normal means that most are born. He was born of a virgin. The Angel told Mary:

Luke 1:35 … The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God

Jesus Christ came in the flesh! He is the One and only Messiah.

Today is known as “Palm Sunday”, a day often recognized as the “Triumphal Entry of Christ”.

This is one of the few events in the life of Jesus that are found in all four Gospels (Matthew 21:1-17; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-40; John 12:12-19). On that day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a borrowed donkey’s colt – one that had never been ridden before. The Bible says that His disciples laid their cloaks on the back of the donkey for Jesus to sit on. Crowds went before Jesus laying palm branches before Him, shouting:

Mark 11:9-10 (ESV) … Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!

Jesus’ purpose in riding into Jerusalem was to make public His claim that He is Messiah and King. In ancient times when a King rode into a city, if He rode in on a white horse this signified he came as conqueror. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, showing that He was not there to conquer, but to bring peace. Jesus was fulfilling the Messianic prophecy of:

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Israel believed that Jesus was coming to conquer Rome and free Israel from her oppressor. Jesus will one day free Israel – but Israel’s true oppressor was not Rome, but the sin that so easily beset her (Hebrews 12:1). The people praise God for Jesus because they see Him defeating Caesar. As the crowd celebrates Christ, The Pharisees tell Him:

Luke 19:39-40 (ESV) … “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 {Jesus} answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

The people did not see Jesus as SAVIOR, but as a LORD, One Who would give them temporal blessing. Jesus would fix their trials, then move on. This is how so many see Jesus today.

Jesus did not enter Jerusalem to conquer Caesar, but to save His people from their sins. He entered Jerusalem to pay our penalty, to take our place of punishment.

In the Scripture, the Fig Tree symbolized Israel. The day after Palm Sunday Jesus cursed a fig tree (Mark 11:12-14), because the Israel that loved Him the day before would begin to call for His crucifixion. When Jesus comes into Jerusalem, what does He find on this holy Passover Week? He finds people buying and selling in the Temple. Jesus chased the blasphemers out of the Temple, saying:

Mark 11:17 … Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.

The Pharisees, who should have known better, plot Jesus’ death. The Fig Tree withers. Why? Because …

sin has enslaved Israel, and secularism is ruling as a god.

Rome is not the problem. The lostness of God’s Israel is the problem. Our lostness is the problem.

1 John 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Why did Jesus have to come in the flesh? Because of sin. Because of Adam’s failure. The Bible tells us that Adam, disobeying God, brought the entirety of his progeny into sinful separation from God. People think of sin as BIG SINS and little sins, but to God sin is sin. When Adam failed in the Garden he brought the curse of his sin on all creation. One man – Adam – failed in the Garden.

Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as BY ONE MAN sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

God could have allowed civilization to end at this point. He could have said “That’s it! I told Adam, Adam failed, he’s made his bed, let him lie in it!” But God did not do this. The God Who is holy could not compromise where sin is concerned. The same God, Who is love, moved to act on our behalf.

Romans 5:15 … if through the OFFENSE OF ONE {Adam} many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is BY ONE MAN, JESUS CHRIST, hath abounded unto many.

The Man Adam was made out of the dust of the ground. He was perfect, but followed Satan into sin and death. The Eternal God the Son Jesus Christ is come in the flesh to make restitution for what Adam did. When we receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, what Jesus did on the Cross – in the flesh – is applied to our lives.

Romans 5:17 For if BY ONE MAN’S OFFENSE DEATH REIGNED by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness SHALL REIGN IN LIFE BY ONE, JESUS CHRIST.

Adam, formed of the dust of the ground was made perfect, but caused all to fall. We could not live up to God’s Law – we could not save ourselves. Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.

Romans 8:2-4 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. {3} For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: {4} That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Jesus Christ came in the flesh to bring us peace with God. The Apostle said:

1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Because the Father said of Jesus, This is My Beloved”, we who believe on Him are “Beloved”.

Just As Jesus Is Unique, The Christian Is Unique

1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

God the Holy Spirit became the Agent that caused Eternal God to enter humanity through a virgin. God did this so that He could pay for our sins. Once you receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, God enters the temple of your body. You enter into a daily relationship with God. Your life and all that you have belongs to God! You are the “Beloved” of God.

Illustrate: A missionary and his wife was working in Dutch New Guinea, far in the bush. They had a small shop and a small mission there, and were trying to reach the people for Jesus. One day the missionary decided that he would import and plant some pineapple plants, and hire a local farmer to plant them. This is what he did, and after about three years the pineapples started to bear fruit. When the missionary went out to pick ripe pineapples he discovered they were all stolen! When he asked the farmer about it, the farmer said “if I plant it, I eat it”. This angered the missionary, and out of anger he shut down the store and the local clinic to punish the thieves. The missionary tore up the pineapple plants, imported more, and had a local farmer plant them. Again, three years pass, and three years later the locals steal the pineapples. The missionary asks the farmer why he is stealing what doesn’t belong to him and the farmer says, “My hands plant them. My mouth eats them.”. That was the Law of the Jungle, and the people understood no other Law. The missionary tried everything to protect that which belonged to him, but nothing worked. Every year the locals stole what was his and used it for themselves, angering the missionary.

Then the missionary gave the field to God. When the pineapples were stolen, he didn’t get upset. The farmer asked him why, and he told him “the pineapples belong to God”. That story got around, and no one stole pineapples anymore. The missionary began to give the pineapples away – and souls began to come to Christ.

If we are saved, we and all that we possess belongs to God. We are immortal creatures because of the Blood of the immortal and flawless Christ. The Scripture says:

Colossians 3:1-4 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. {2} Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. {3} For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. {4} When Christ, [who is] our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory

We who are saved re not like the lost souls looking for Jesus to give them a temporary blessing. Our blessing is that we are the Beloved of God. Recognize the Primacy of Jesus. He is Lord, Lord of you, Lord of your circumstances. If you are submitted to the Spirit, then you will give all glory to Jesus. If submitted to the flesh or the world, then these will receive the glory. Surrender yourselves to the Lord, to God Who abides within you, and recognize your limitations. Make yourselves sensitive to His desires, listen for His calling in your heart.

Christ did not save you so that you can be waited on. Christ saved you so that you can make a difference in this evil world. Christ saved you to serve God, to glorify Him, and to bring souls into the Kingdom. We are not to be part of the problem, but part of the solution.

1 John 4:5-6 They {the false prophets} are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

If you are saved, you are saved because Christ became flesh. If you are saved, Christ is in your flesh through His Spirit. The false prophets will not remain. The Apostle said:

2 Peter 2:1-3 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. {2} And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. {3} And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

Do you know Him? Do you know my Jesus? I will end with these words from Adrian Rogers:

“You may know all sorts of facts, but if you don’t know the Lord, it’s all wasted. You can understand biology, but if you don’t know the Giver of life, you’re still uneducated. You can comprehend geology, but if you don’t know the Rock of Ages, you don’t really know anything of importance. You can know all about botany, but if you haven’t met the Lily of the Valley, your knowledge is useless. You can know all the facts of history, but if you reject the central figure of history, your time has been wasted.”

Do you know Him? He rode into Jerusalem to die for your sins and mine. He rose from the grave to rule a people immortal. Do you know Him? My prayer is that you will give your lives to Him this Holy Week, this very day. Amen and Amen.

Posted in 1 John, Sermons Preached | Tagged born again, God of Living, living for Jesus, living water, Simple Gospel | Leave a comment

Jesus Came To Defeat Sin And Satan

Posted on March 30, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-holding-red-apple-fruit-4661297/

Let’s turn in our Bibles to John 3:26-36. Last week we finished studying the words that Jesus said to Nicodemus, telling us that He is the Savior of the world. John the Baptist introduced Jesus to the world as the Christ, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.

John is still preaching, and John’s disciples hear that Jesus is preaching, and baptizing people. This bothers John’s followers, so they come to John and tell him:

John 3:26 And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.

What Does John The Baptist Think About Jesus?

What do you think they expected John to say? They expected John to speak harshly of Jesus. Jesus is getting followers from John. Jesus is hurting John’s Church. But what did John reply? He said:

John 3:27-30 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. 28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. 29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

John started with “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven”. God is in control of all things. It is God that gave John the Baptist his ministry, not John. But John goes on to say that he told them at the beginning that “I am not the Christ”. John is the Herald of Christ, the Messiah. John compared himself to the best man at a wedding. Jesus is Heaven’s Bridegroom. Jesus is the main attraction. Without the Bridegroom, there would be no Bride. Without Jesus, there will be no Church. John played a supporting role, and knew it. He said, “He must increase, but I must decrease”.

The reason we come to Church is to learn more about Jesus – to not only be SAVED by Him, but to be CLEANSED by Him, SANCTIFIED or set apart from sin. Only Jesus can cleanse us from our sins. John said:

John 3:31-34 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. 32 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. 33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. 34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.

Jesus is “He that cometh from above”. Before Jesus was born of a virgin, He was eternal God. Jesus still is eternal God the Son, though He is in human form. Jesus would later say:

John 8:23 … You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

The Bible says that “Christ is God over ALL, blessed forever” (Romans 9:5). Jesus is the

John 6:33 … Bread of God … Who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world..

Jesus Christ came to us from Heaven to tell us the things of God. John said “what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth”. Jesus has the Holy Spirit without measure, for God walks with God. Why did Jesus come?

Jesus came to destroy the power of sin and of the devil.

There is no other way to defeat sin, but by Jesus. John speaks of this in absolutes:

John 3:35-36 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. 36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Jesus will heal people’s sicknesses. He will cause the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the cripple to walk. Jesus will raise the dead, and cure the leper, Jesus will cast out demons. He will be able to do this because “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand”. Only Jesus has the power to destroy sin.

Sin Will Destroy Us If We Do Not REPENT
and COME To Jesus as Lord and Savior

People do not think that sin is deadly. It is. They think a little sin is fine. It isn’t. Sin always leads us down a terrible path.

Illustrate: I love to drink water. It’s good for you! I have a bottle here with a little color to it (prepare bottle with 3 drops red food coloring). Let’s say this bottle represents you and I. The devil comes along and whispers to us, “A little sin won’t hurt you. Jesus just wants to control your life, and keep you from being happy.” So you say, “Sure, I’ll try a little sin”. When you do (put 3 drops of green food coloring in the bottle) it shakes your life up (shake the bottle). Look at what’s in your life now! How can we fix this? We can’t. But Jesus can. When you hear Jesus and give yourselves to Him, He will save you. When He does, He will come into your life, and make you more like a child of God each and every day. He will teach you to love yourselves, and to love others. My prayer is that God will reach each one of you for Himself!

Dismiss the children at this point! The following is adult content.

On March 27, 2023 a confused and sin ridden young lady named Audrey Elizabeth Hale went into the Covenant School, a Presbyterian private school in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee. Just 28 years old, this confused woman shot her way into the school, and killed six people. One victim, 9 year old Evelyn Dieckhaus, is being grieved by her 5^th Grade sister Evelyn. She cried as she said, “I don’t want to be an only child”. Little 9 year old Hallie Scruggs was the daughter of Chad Scruggs, the Senior Pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church. William Kinney, also 9 years old, was murdered. A substitute TeacherCynthia Peak, was but 61 years old when evil called.Also murdered was the Principal Katherine Koonce, 60; and the Custodian Mike Hill, 61. Mike was a father of seven children and 14 grandchildren. When the police thankfully stopped Audrey’s evil rampage, she was killed just 14 minutes after the first emergency call.

Sin is no toy. Sin is a horror. I watched the video as this disturbed young woman stalked through the halls of the school. Dressed in military camouflage, she was intent on killing all she found. The liberal news outlets were incensed that – when the police reported the incident – they identified Audry as a “woman”. Bowing to public pressure, police later said that Audry “was a transgender man assigned female at birth”, which is just more anti-Christian hogwash from Satan and his forces. The President Joe Biden declared,

“We have to do more to stop gun violence. It’s ripping our communities apart, ripping the soul of this nation, ripping at the very soul of the nation. And we have to do more to protect our schools, so they aren’t turned into prisons.”

The problem isn’t gun violence, but sin. It is sin that told this young woman she could be a man. It is sin that whispered to her, that she could be happy if she but kill innocent people. Sin dressed her up. Sin speaks through the President and the news channels. Sin calls “she” a “he”. Back in 1972 when I was 13 years old Lou Reed came out with a song, “Walk on the Wild Side”. The song celebrated sin. The very first stanza is (in part):

Holly came from Miami, F.L.A.
Hitch-hiked her way across USA
Plucked her eyebrows on the way
Shaved her legs and then he was a she
She says, “Hey, babe – Take a walk on the wild side”

The devil wants us to “Take a walk on the wild side”. Jesus came into this world to defeat sin and Satan – not to enable it. Jesus said, “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).

Hale did not become a murderer overnight. The 5 gun shops that she bought her weapons from did not make her a murderer. She became a murderer when she began to slip away from God and His Word. The Scripture says:

Galatians 1:4-5 {Jesus Christ} gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

As Hale was a past student of this Christian school, I suspect she was presented with the Gospel of salvation. Sadly, the Presbyterian Church (USA) which sponsors that school has a confused view of what the Bible determines is sinful. The Gospel demands REPENTANCE toward God.

Repentance does not mean to continue in your current behavior, but to stop doing what God says stop,
and turn to Jesus.

Repentance is the first step in salvation. Hear the Scripture:

Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Luke 5:32 {Jesus said} I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.

Matthew 12:41 {Jesus said} The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

Luke 13:3, 5 {Jesus said} Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

Pastor John Piper notes:

“The first demand of Jesus’ public ministry was, “Repent.” He spoke this command indiscriminately to all who would listen. It was a call for radical inward change toward God and man. … Repenting means experiencing a change of mind that now sees God as true and beautiful and worthy of all our praise and all our obedience. This change of mind also embraces Jesus in the same way. We know this because Jesus said, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God.” Seeing God with a new mind includes seeing Jesus with a new mind. … No one is excluded from Jesus’ demand to repent.”

A Good Example Of Repentance & Salvation

John 4:1-6 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, 2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) 3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. 4 And he must needs go through Samaria. 5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

The Pharisees hated Jesus from the very beginning. The Pharisees believed in a “SHOW religion” not a “KNOW religion”. They loved to SHOW everyone how holy and righteous and good they were. Jesus spoke of the Pharisees some 80 times in the Gospel, and in most cases it was negative. Jesus said,

Matthew 5:20 (ESV) … unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven…

Jesus said “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees”. Their doctrine promoted outward righteousness to be seen of men and not of God, and as a result was hypocritical and unsaving. When Jesus called them on it, it enraged them. So Jesus leaves Galilee and moves into Samaria. The Bible says that

vs 4 {Jesus} MUST NEEDS go THROUGH SAMARIA

Why does Jesus feel the need to go through “SAMARIA”? Because there was a woman here who needed to hear not Pharisaic nonsense nor politically correct, virtue signaling silliness. This woman needed to hear THE TRUTH. The Enduring Word Commentary notes:

“Because the Samaritans had a historical connection to the people of Israel, their faith was a combination of commands and rituals from the Law of Moses, put together with various superstitions. Most of the Jews in Jesus’ time despised the Samaritans, disliking them even more than Gentiles – because they were, religiously speaking, “half-breeds” who had an eclectic, mongrel faith. The Samaritans built their own temple to Yahweh on Mount Gerizim, but the Jews burned it around 128 B.C. This obviously made relations between the Jews and the Samaritans even worse.”

Jesus gets to this well “about the sixth hour”, which would be six hours from daylight or about noon. All the other women have already gathered their water in the morning while it was cooler. This woman waited until noon to get her water. She has been bullied, or shunned because of her lifestyle choices. She expected to see no one – but here comes Jesus! Alexander Maclaren wrote:

“She is frivolous, ready to talk with strangers, with a tongue quick to turn grave things into jests; and yet she possesses, hidden beneath masses of unclean vanities, a conscience and a yearning for something better than she has.”

She needs Jesus. Our Lord “Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (vs 7)” Barclay notes in his commentary,

“The strict Rabbis forbade a Rabbi to greet a woman in public. A Rabbi might not even speak to his own wife or daughter or sister in public.”

A Pharisee would not have asked to drink from a Samaritan’s cup. Yet this is what Jesus does. It startles the woman. She questions Jesus.

John 4:9 … How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

Jesus doesn’t answer her question. He is not drawn into silly side issues, but sticks to the power of the Gospel. The Apostle said:

Romans 1:16 … I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

The devil loves to draw us away from the Gospel and the promise of the Scripture. If he can get us onto side issues or endless debates, he can keep us from sharing Jesus. Jesus ignored her question, and said:

John 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee Living Water.

Jesus tells this woman that He alone is the Giver of “Living Water”. In the Old Testament God called Himself the Fountain of Living Waters:

Jeremiah 2:13 (NKJV) My people have … forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters

Jeremiah 17:13 (NKJV) … All who forsake You shall be ashamed. “Those who depart from Me Shall be written in the earth, Because they have forsaken the LORD, The fountain of living waters.

God is the “fountain of living waters”. Jesus applied this prophecy to Himself when He would later say:

John 7:37-39 … 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

Those whom Jesus saves receive the Holy Spirit of God. This is why a person saved is a “IN CHRIST A new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Saved, a person is brought from death unto life, from sin unto saint, from cripple unto whole, from blind unto seeing, from child of Adam to Child of God. The woman asks Jesus another question:

John 4:11-12 … Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

Again, Jesus does not answer her questions. He continues to share the Gospel.

John 4:13-14 … Whosoever drinketh of this water {the well water} shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Those who come to Jesus and “drink of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst”. Those who come to Jesus are spiritually blessed and – becoming children of God – are released from the power of sin and Satan. Is this woman ready to be saved? No for she is still bargaining with Jesus.

Many people come to Jesus for a temporal or passing blessing. Jesus did not come to give us “Consumer Christianity”. He came to give us life.

The woman says, “Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.” (verse 15).She wants a temporary blessing. She wants to not have to come to this well at noon because of her messed up life. She wants to avoid the comfortableness which her sin has brought into her life, and in the life of her family. Jesus tells her, “Go, call thy husband, and come hither.” He didn’t promise to give her anything, but Jesus wants to expose her SIN. She replies:

John 4:17-18 … I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.

The woman has made numerous bad lifestyle choices in her lifetime, choices that now keep her from interaction with the moral society of her day. She next seeks to argue with Jesus about the proper place of worship. She and the Samaritans believe they should worship in the mountain. The Pharisees and priests believe that all worship must be in the Temple of Jerusalem. But Jesus will not argue with her. He says:

John 4:21-24 … Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Worship is not a thing tied to one place. It is tied to one Person, to God. God cannot be worshiped unless He is worshiped “in spirit and in truth”. God calls people to worship Him not just on Sunday, but every day of the week. The woman’s heart opens up to Jesus. She is ready to repent and turn to Him. We read:

John 4:25-26 … I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

The woman has been search for the Messiah, the Christ, our Lord Jesus. Jesus confirms that He is the One and Only Messiah. The woman is saved. How do we know? We know by her actions. The Bible says:

John 4:28-29 The woman then left her water pot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

She received Jesus as the One and Only Christ, then went her way to ask her friends to come see Jesus the Christ. The life saved does not stay in sin, but moves away from evil and toward God. Though no Christian is perfect, the Scripture is quite clear:

John 8:34-35 (ESV) … Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.

Sin I not a friend or an associate, but a SLAVE MASTER. It binds you to death. May God lead you to Christ TODAY while there is time. TODAY is the day of salvation (Psalm 95:7-8; Hebrews 3:7-8). Amen and Amen.

Posted in John, Sermons Preached | Tagged gospel, repent, repentance, Simple Gospel, sin | Leave a comment

God Works With a Few

Posted on March 28, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Hakan Erenler: https://www.pexels.com/photo/flaming-gray-candles-289770/

Last week we ended with Gideon being given a mission from God. He was to go to his father Joash’s Altar to Baal and, using a 7 year old bull, tear the altar down. Tearing it down he was then to kill the bullock, and offer a sacrifice to the God of Israel.

God’s Leaders Must Publicly Stand Up For God

Gideon’s action was a public profession of his faith in God. Those who claim to be children of God are to publicly stand up and affirm their faith in God, regardless as to what others think. Jesus said in

Luke 9:26 (ESV) For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Matthew 10:32-33 (ESV) So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Luke 12:8-9 (ESV) And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

I have often heard people say, “I have faith, but my faith is a private matter”. It cannot be a “private thing” if you’re saved. John MacArthur rightly said in reference to Luke 12:8 …

“If you have a very private, personal faith of your own, you’ll take it to hell. …

We do not come together as people who have a personal, private faith. We come together as people who have made a public confession …”

After destroying the Altar to Baal, the people demanded Gideon’s death. Joash renamed Gideon “Jerubbaal” which means “The One Who Threw Down Baal”.

God demanded Gideon stand up for his faith before he become a Judge, just as God demanded that Moses circumcise his son (Exodus 4:24-26) before he could lead Israel.

Judges 6:33-35 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel. 34 But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him. 35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

As the Midianites (descendants of Abraham through his second wife Keturah) and Amalekites (descendants of Esau) gathered with the Children of the East, the Bible says:

the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon

Word Study: The Hebrew for “came upon” (lāḇaš) literally means “to clothe, to cover with clothing”. This phrase occurs only three times in the Bible – here, and in 1 Chronicles 12:18 and 2 Chronicles 24:20. As Gideon felt vulnerable and fearful, God “clothed” him and gave him the courage to blow the shofar, rallying Israel to prepare for war. We are told that Gideon – emboldened by the Spirit – SENT MESSENGERS to the Tribes of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and unto Naphtali. Manasseh was Gideon’s Tribe, and the other three tribes were adjacent to Manasseh. As the troops began to show up, Gideon – like Simon Peter – started looking at the water rather than at Jesus.

So Gideon asks God for a sign.

God’s Leaders Must Call On God To Declare His Will

Judges 6:36-38 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, 37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. 38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.

Though God had already promised to be with Gideon (see Judges 6:14, 16), he was still uncertain in his calling. So he asked the Lord to give him a sign. Gideon would “put a fleece of wool ON the {threshing} floor”, and leave it there overnight. When he woke up he asked that God make the threshing floor dry, but the fleece full of water. Yet Gideon was still uncertain.

Judges 6:39-40 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. 40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

Gideon asked that God reverse the miracle, and let the fleece stay dry while the ground be very wet. Gideon knew that he was treading on dangerous ground. He told the Lord, “Let not thine anger be hot against me”. Why did he ask for the second sign? The Keil and Delitzsch Commentary (pages 339-340) notes:

“The woollen [sic] fleece represented the nation of Israel in its condition at this time, when God had given power to the foe that was devastating its land, and had withdrawn His blessing from Israel. The moistening of the fleece with the dew of heaven whilst the land all round continued dry, was a sign that the Lord God would once more give strength to His people from on high, and withdraw it from the nations of the earth. Hence the second sign acquires the more general signification, ‘that the Lord manifested himself even in the weakness and forsaken condition of His people, while the nations were flourishing all around’ (O. v. Gerl.)…”

When people came after Jesus looking for a sign, He said:

Matthew 12:39 … An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign …

God gave the Pharisees sign after sign that Jesus was the Messiah. God had given Gideon sign after sign that He was going to bless his work. And yet, Gideon still asked for signs. People today talk about “putting a fleece before the Lord” as if that is a good thing. We live in a different age, under a New Covenant.

Gideon did not have the completed Scripture as we have.
Gideon did not have the Cross and empty Tomb to look back on.

God’s people today are to “let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16) while we “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17). We rely upon a – as Peter wrote:

2 Peter 1:19-21 (ESV) we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Gideon did not have a full Scripture. He did not have a Temple to seek God’s face in. So Gideon called upon God, using the two fleeces to determine the will of God. God tells us in the Scripture that we are to call on God. We are told:

James 1:5-7 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

God did not “upbraid” or chastise Gideon for the asking. Gideon cried to God in his weaknesses and uncertainty, and God – without condemnation – answered his prayers.

God’s Leaders Must Understand It Is God Who Works

Judges 7:1-3 Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 2 And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. 3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.

God knew the heart of His people. He knew that Israel would take the credit for defeating the Midianites if there were too many Israelites in battle. This s a common problem among humans. We love to take credit! God says:

Isaiah 42:8 (NASB) I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images

Very few people in America today worship graven images like Buddhas or Hindu gods, but we do worship ourselves. Even the most religious can fall into self worship. Jesus chastised the Pharisees because:

Matthew 23:5-8 (ESV) 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.

The Pharisees loved to be seen of men. Their prayer, their giving, their attendance at Synagogue, whatever they were doing was for their own glory. This is idolatry, a violation of the 1^st and 3^rd commandments. Only God is to be glorified. The Lord says,

Isaiah 48:11 … How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another …

God will not give His glory to others because “all glory, honor, and praise belong to God alone” (1 Chronicles 29:11). One of the greatest defeats in the history of Israel was when King David wanted to “number” or take a census of his armies (1 Chronicles 21). Though his General Joab begged David not to do so, he commanded it anyway. What did God do in response?

1 Chronicles 21:7, 10-14 (NLV) God was not pleased that Israel was numbered so He punished Israel. … 10 “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says. “I give you three things to choose from. Choose one of them, that I may do it to you.”’” 11 So Gad came to David and said, “This is what the Lord says. ‘Choose one of these. 12 Three years of no food in the land; three months to be destroyed by the sword of those who hate you; or three days of the sword of the Lord. This would be a disease sent upon the land. The angel of the Lord would destroy with disease through all the land of Israel.’ Now decide what answer I should give Him Who sent me.” 13 David said to Gad, “I am in much trouble. Let me fall into the hand of the Lord. For His loving-kindness is very great. But do not let me fall into the hand of man.” 14 So the Lord sent a disease upon Israel. And 70,000 men of Israel died.

God will not be mocked by His people! He alone is to be glorified. He tells Gideon, “Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand” (7:3). Having lost over half the people, God tells Gideon:

Judges 7:4-7 And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. 5 So he brought down the people unto the water: and the Lord said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. 6 And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. 7 And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.

What is interesting about this test is that God was examining the position of the warriors. There are two ways to get water out of a river. You can lower your head down to the water, and drink directly from the river. But here’s the thing: if you do this, your eyes will be on the river, and not on the things that are around you.

God wants to use people who are careful in how they do His work. He wants their focus on His instruction.

The other way to drink water from a river is to keep looking around, but dip your hand into the river and lap it like a dog. Of the 10,000 men that were there, only 300 used this method to drink. God told Gideon, “Those are the men I want – men focused on My will and My work!”. 9,700 men were sent home.

Judges 7:8-11 So the people took victuals (tsêydâh, provision, food) in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley. 9 And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand. 10 But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host: 11 And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host.

After sending the 9,700 away, the Bible says that God told Gideon “the same night” to go down to the Midianites with his soldiers. God knew that Gideon was still frightened, so He told him to go down to the enemy camp with his armor bearer “Phurah”. God had given a dream to a Midianite Warrior, and He wanted Gideon to hear what this man would say. So Gideon and Phurah head down to the encampment.

Judges 7:12-14 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude. 13 And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. 14 And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.

Though the Midianite forces were overwhelming, Gideon and Phurah heard one soldier tell another how he dreamed that Gideon would destroy their forces because “God delivered Midian, and all the host”. With this, Gideon stopped WORRYING and started WORSHIPING.

When We Do As God Says, the Enemy
Will Defeat Themselves

Judges 7:15-22 And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshiped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian. 16 And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. 17 And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. 18 When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon. 19 So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands. 20 And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon. 21 And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran, and cried, and fled. 22 And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the Lord set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.

It was the “beginning of the middle watch” (vs 19), the darkest part of the night, when the Midianite watchmen changed their shifts. As they are changing the shift, Gideon blows his horn – and his 300 men that surround the caps blow their horns. Inside of empty food containers – clay jars – they have lamps. They shatter the clay jars, which causes the light of the lamps to pour out suddenly. They have the clay pitchers and lamps in one hand, and trumpets in the other.

They have no hands available to hold a sword – but they don’t need a sword. All of the flashes of light and crashes of pottery along with the trumpets and the shouts of “The Sword of the Lord and Gideon” convinces the enemy that they are overwhelmingly surrounded. They begin to strike out with their swords in a panic, killing whoever is closest. In a panic, the Midianites and their forces run home. As they run we read:

Judges 7:23-25 And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites. 24 And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. 25 And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.

What is happening here? Of the 32,000 soldiers that were gathered at the beginning of this chapter, all but 300 were sent home. But once the Midianites and their forces began to run, the 31,700 who were sent home left their homes and started chasing Midianites. The Midianites were defeated by God Himself, not by Israel. The lesson we learn is that …

It is not our responsibility to understand how God is going to keep His Word and accomplish His work. It is our responsibility to obey Him and to do what He commands (Inrig)

May God grow our faith through his Word and His Spirit. Amen and Amen!

Posted in Judges, Sermons Preached | Tagged defeating enemy, Faith, Holiness, Judges, obedience, Trusting God | Leave a comment

Divine Love

Posted on March 26, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Anna Shvets: https://www.pexels.com/photo/sphere-shaped-miniature-of-earth-with-googly-eyes-5217883/

Please turn with me in your Bibles to:

1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

We Desperately Need To Understand What “Love” Is

One of the most misunderstood (but most popular) verses in the Bible is what our Lord Jesus Christ said to a Rabbi named Nicodemus. Yes, I’m talking about

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Children are taught this verse in Vacation Bible School and Sunday School It is well known and probably the most memorized of all scripture. But it is misunderstood, because people do not know what the word LOVED means. In our world the word “LOVED” refers to a positive emotional response that leads to happiness and satisfaction. Years ago it became popular to say in the pulpit:

God loves the sinner but hates the sin.

The Bible doesn’t say this. People are always quoting things from the Bible that are NOT in the Bible. For instance,

God helps those who help themselves.

Is not in the Bible. This actually comes from Aesop’s Fairytale “Hercules And The Wagoner”. Aesop was a Greek storyteller, and the actual quote is “The gods help them that help themselves”. Then I’ve heard,

Cleanliness is next to godliness.

Our Lord Jesus told us to be more concerned about the sinfulness of our hearts than the dirt on our hands (see Matthew 15:16-20). “The evil which comes from the heart defiles a person, not to eat with unwashed hands”. The statement,

God loves the sinner but hates the sin.

Doesn’t come from the Bible is a loose quote of non-Christian (Hindu) Mahatma Gandhi, who said in 1929, “Hate the sin and not the sinner”. What does the Bible say?

Psalm 5:5 (ESV) The boastful shall not stand before your eyes {O Lord}; You HATE ALL EVILDOERS.

Psalm 11:5 (ESV) The Lord tests the righteous, but HIS SOUL HATES THE WICKED AND THE ONE WHO LOVES VIOLENCE.

Hosea 9:15 (ESV) Every EVIL of theirs is in Gilgal; THERE I BEGAN TO HATE THEM. Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house. I will love them no more …

Leviticus 20:23 (ESV) … You shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, FOR THEY DID ALL THESE THINGS, AND THEREFORE I DETESTED THEM.

Matthew 7:23 (ESV) And then will I {Jesus} declare to them, I NEVER KNEW YOU; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WORKERS OF LAWLESSNESS

I could go on an on. God hates sin – and God regards the sinner an enemy of His. You then say to me, “Well, why does it say that “God so LOVED the world”. I’ll tell you why.

Because we misunderstand Biblical Divine Love. We confuse Biblical Divine Love with emotional love. Part of our problem is that the Bible speaks of four types of love.

Eros – Sexual or Romantic love. This is passion, and emotional.

Phileos – love between friends. This is emotional.

Storge – love within the family. This is emotional.

But then there is a FOURTH LOVE that God references and commands. This love is not tied to good feelings or happy desires. This love – AGAPE – is a Divine Love.

AGAPE is a love that DOES GOOD regardless as to how you feel.

Divine LOVE Is To Do GOOD To Your Enemy Regardless Of Feeling

So let’s go back to …

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The word translated “loved” is the verbal form of AGAPE {agapaō}. AGAPE is not tied to emotional love. It is tied to doing the right thing. Since the world was doing the WRONG thing (chasing sin), GOD LOATHED THE WORLD. We were enemies of God. The Scripture tells us this:

Romans 5:6, 8-10 (ESV) Christ died for the ungodly. … 8 … God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

Before God LOVED the world, God LOATHED the world. But even though God hates sin and is the ENEMY OF SINNERS (that is so clearly in our text just quoted), though we DESERVED WRATH (and rightfully so), God gave his Son for us.

So how do we PERCEIVE the love of God? How do we understand the statement:

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Go back to today’s focal text.

1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Even though God despises sin – even though everything in His nature says to eradicate it, to purge it from the face of the earth – God “laid down his life for us”. When people began to reinvent God in their own image, God was not pleased. When God looked down on the world in Noah’s day, did God say “I will hate the sin but not the sinner?” No. The Bible says:

Genesis 6:5-7 (ESV) … The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

Emotionally God hated what mankind had become. And yet – there was Grace. The Bible says that (Genesis 6:8) … Noah found GRACE in the eyes of the Lord. Grace is the undeserved LOVE (Agape) of God in action. God could have totally erased humanity from the face of the earth. Instead, “God so LOVED the world”.

God did GOOD to those Who do BAD to Him.
This is DIVINE LOVE. It is not emotion, but DOING.

God LAID HIS LIFE DOWN FOR US. Eternal God the Son became incarnate, that is, He took upon Himself human flesh. Why did He come to us? There are a myriad of reasons.

Jesus came to make God known. It is hard to understand God as a Person until we see Him. Jesus not only came from God, but came from the right hand of God to make Him KNOWN to us (John 1:18). Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen ME has seen the FATHER” (John 14:9).

Jesus came to fulfill the Old Testament promises. Jesus is the “Seed of the Woman” prophesied in Genesis 3:15. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3. Jesus is the Son of David that reigns forever (2 Samuel 7:12). Jesus is the “Son of the Most High” God promised to Mary (Luke 1:31-33).

But the greatest reason that Jesus came was to bring peace between God and man. When man sins, he breaks the Law of God. Jesus came to pay the penalty for that breaking (Matthew 5:17-18). Because we sold ourselves to sin, Jesus came to be our Ransom for sin (Matthew 20:28). Whereas we were the enemies of God – and justly due His condemnation – Jesus came to put us in a right relationship with God.

We are reconciled to God because
God laid His life down for us!

2 Corinthians 5:19, 21 (ESV) God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the ministry of reconciliation . . . he made him sin for us that we may be made the righteousness of God in him

We who are saved are no longer bound to Satan nor this world. We are bound to God by the LOVE DOING of God. We are bound to God by the Cross of Calvary.

What Does this Mean From A Practical Standpoint?

1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

What should we PERCEIVE as a practical application of the Cross? Very simply, “because he laid down his life for us”, that is, while we were undesirable and sinful, Jesus died for us. Because he did that for us – and we are children of God – “we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren”.

Illustrate Every time I pick up the Southern Baptist Paper “The Baptist and Reflector”, I cringe a little. The most recent article came across was, “Johnny Hunt Sues SBC, EC, And Guidepost”. The article states in part:

“The suit seeks unspecified damages related to allegations of defamation and the invasion of privacy based on accusations made against Hunt in the 2022 Guidepost report stemming from an investigation into the alleged mishandling of sexual abuse by the SBC EC {Executive Committee}.

Hunt filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Nashville on March 17. Hunt is represented by Nashville-based Cole Law Group.

In the report, Guidepost stated, “During our investigation, an SBC pastor and his wife came forward to report that SBC President Johnny Hunt (2008-2010) had sexually assaulted the wife on July 25, 2010.”

I’ve heard Johnny Hunt preach. I’ve been to His Church. I was shocked to hear that not only he, but other well known pastors were accused of wrong doing and sexual misconduct. I’ve seen this more and more, not just within the Southern Baptists, but among numerous denominations and so called non-denominations. Ravi Zacharias, a preacher I well respected, was found guilty of sexual misconduct following his death. God used Johnny Hunt and Ravi Zacharias, even though deep flaws were found.

There but for the grace of God go you and I. Any of us can fall at anytime if we get our eyes off of Jesus! There is no need for you to tell me, “I’d never do that”. Pharisees are more likely to “do that”, because self righteousness blinds. Given the right circumstances, you can fail just as grievously!

But here’s the problem that I have with the article,“Johnny Hunt Sues SBC, EC, And Guidepost”. Even if Johnny did NOT sexually sin with another pastor’s wife, even if the allegations were totally false, Johnny has no right to sue Christians. The Bible is very specific on that. The Apostle Paul addresses this in:

1 Corinthians 6:1-8 (ESV) When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? 2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! 4 So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? 5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, 6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? 7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!

As Jesus laid His life down for us, we are to lay our lives down for others. Johnny Hunt has no scriptural right to sue the SBC, or any Christian. The lawsuit states, “[Hunt]’s life forever changed when the Defendants publicly released their report. He lost his job; he lost income from speaking engagements; and he lost income from publishing opportunities. His losses are substantial, and Defendants should be held liable.” Johnny’s focus should be on promoting the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As Christians we are to “lay our lives down for our brothers”. We lay our lives down just as Jesus laid His life down. Even if Johnny was totally misrepresented, so was Jesus. We are told that when Jesus went on trial,

Mark 14:56 (GNT) … Many witnesses told lies against Jesus …

When Jesus cast out devils, the Pharisees spread the lie that

Matthew 12:24 (GNT) … “He drives out demons only because their ruler Beelzebub gives him power to do so.”

Jesus was often falsely …

– accused of breaking the Sabbath (Matthew 12:10; Mark 3:2, John 5:14; 9:14–16), and

– accused of blasphemy (Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26; John 10:30-33)

– accused of being insane (John 7:20; 10:20; Mark 3:21), and

– accused of being illegitimate (John 8:41)

As Jesus hung dying on the Cross, He did not rail against His accusers, but prayed,

Luke 23:34 … Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do …

As He laid His life down for us, we are to lay our lives down for Him. We do this by “doing good” to even our enemies.

When Jesus was establishing what He expects us to do as Children of God, He was very clear. Jesus said:

Matthew 5:43-48 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

If you are saved, you were saved because “while you were an active enemy of God, God laid His life down for you”. If you are a Child of God by faith in Christ, then you are to do good to those who do bad even to you. You are not to compromise with the world and its standard of “truth” whatsoever. You are to look unto Jesus, believing and following Him.

In Conclusion

I gave you a white stone today with 1 John 3:23 written on it. The white stone is a reminder as to who you are, if you are a Christian. One day you will – if you are a Christian – stand in the presence of Jesus. Jesus said:

Revelation 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

In ancient Greece, if you were put on trial, at the end of the trial you were given a black stone if found guilty, but a white stone if found innocent. If you received the white stone your name was cleared. We who are saved are cleared of the barrier of sin because God laid down His life for us. The Scripture says:

1 John 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

The text doesn’t say “this is his commandment(s)” {plural}, but “this is his commandment” {singular}. What is His commandment? That “we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ”, because there is no other way whereby we might be saved. He laid His life down for me that I might be redeemed, a Child of God by faith in Him and Him alone. But His Commandment s ALSO to “love one another, as he gave us commandment”. The two go hand in hand. This is a supernatural thing. We see this in the next verse

1 John 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

If you believe in Jesus and have been saved by Him, then the Spirit of God indwells you. You MUST love your neighbor. You MUST love your brother or sister in Him. That is not a reference to emotion, BUT TO DOING. You are to do the right thing to others, regardless as to what others do to you.

This is the way of the Child of God. This is the “overcoming” expected of you. You don’t have to LIKE it, but you do have to DO IT. This is Divine love. May God draw you as His Church to Divine Love. Amen and Amen.

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

The Two Lifting Ups Of Jesus

Posted on March 23, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

Photo by Donald Tong: https://www.pexels.com/photo/grey-and-brown-snake-opening-mouth-23817/

John 3:10-15 Jesus answered and said unto {Nicodemus}, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? 11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Last week we saw Nicodemus – a Rabbi of the Pharisees – come to speak to Jesus at night. Jesus told Nicodemus,

“You MUST be BORN AGAIN”

Everyone that hears my voice has been born one time – born of the flesh. But to be right with God, you must be BORN AGAIN, that is, born a second time. As Jesus speaks to Nicodemus about being born again, He says:

John 3:11 … We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

Our Salvation Is Secured By God’s Partnership

When Nicodemus came to Jesus, he said “WE know you are a Teacher from God because of the miracles you have done!” (vs 2). The “WE” Nicodemus spoke of was himself and the Pharisees. But Jesus responded with His own “WE”. Jesus was referring to Himself and the Holy Spirit of God. Though Jesus Christ is fully God …

John 1:1-3 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. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Colossians 1:16-17 (ESV) For by {Jesus} all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

1 Corinthians 8:6 (ESV) … for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

Though fully God and fully human, Jesus did all that He did on this earth in His first coming through the Spirit of God. When John the Baptist spoke of Jesus coming, he said:

Matthew 3:11 {Jesus} shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire …

The Apostle said of Jesus:

Acts 10:37-38 (ESV) you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

Salvation is something that comes upon us when God the Holy Spirit moves in our lives, opening our eyes to the Gospel of salvation, a Gospel fund only in Christ. When Jesus spoke of the need to be “born again” this is a plan that came from the Throneroom of God. Both Jesus and the Spirit – with the Father – planned our salvation. This is not a figment of Jesus’ imagination, but the plan of God. Before the earth was ever made, the Father loved the Son (John 17:24). Salvation only comes to those who are “in Christ”

Ephesians 1:4 … the {Father} has chosen us in {Christ} BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD …

Jesus was FOREORDAINED BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD (1 Peter 1:20) to be the means of salvation. Believing on Him, the Spirit moves on us to make us “born again”. Jesus alone of all of humanity has ascended into Heaven, and has face to face confirmation of our salvation through Him. Jesus said:

John 3:12-13 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

Only one Person has ascended to Heaven and returned to tell us about it, and this is Jesus Christ. Later on in the Scripture God will allow the Apostle John to look into Heaven and tell us what he sees. But of all the Rabbis – Moses included – only One has gone to Heaven, and returned to tell us what God has said. This is Jesus.

Enoch was translated that he not see death (Hebrews 11:5). Elijah went up to Heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11). But only Jesus as God has Heaven as His home. He was INCARNATE – God made perfect Man – so that He could bring us to God. Of all the other Bible Teachers who have ever been, Only Jesus has sat at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus is uniquely suited to tell us of Heaven and how to get there.

The “Son Of Man” Must Be “Lifted Up”
Like The Serpent

Since only faith in Jesus is God’s method by which we may be saved, then you would expect there to be some Old Testament allusions to the Cross of Calvary. At this point Jesus tells Nicodemus:

John 3:14-15 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Jesus Christ came from Heaven, and would one day return to Heaven. But He would also be lifted up in another way found in the Old Testament. Some have taken this “lifted up” out of context and thought that this means “Jesus must be EXALTED”. But this “lifted up” is tied to an event in Jewish history. Turn with me to Numbers chapter 21:

Numbers 21:1-3 And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners. 2 And Israel vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. 3 And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and He {the Lord} called the name of the place Hormah.

A new generation of Israel moves toward Canaan, “king Arad of the Canaanites” comes against Israel and defeats them. Israel does what she should do – Israel prayed and sought God’s Will.

Israel “lifted up” their voices to God in prayer, and God “lifted up” His people in power.

Word Study: Israel prayed and promised God that – if He gave the enemy into their hands – that they would totally destroy the pagan cities. The cities were “devoted” to destruction. God heard Israel’s prayer, and empowered them to do as they asked. The cities of King Arad were utterly destroyed. We are told that “He {the Lord} called the name of the place Hormah”. The Name “Hormah” (Hebrew ḥārmâ) literally means “Devotion”.

Someone asked Pastor John MacArthur, “If God is a God of love and mercy and compassion, and He knows people are going to go to hell, why does He continue to create them?” He replied, “This is the ultimate agnostic/ atheistic problem. We say God is all powerful, and all loving. If He’s all powerful why doesn’t He save everybody? And if He’s all loving, why would He send anyone to hell? The answer to that is simply this.

God is Who He is. And you can’t invent Him and you can’t change Him and you can’t alter Him. You can either believe in Him or not believe in Him.

You can’t accommodate Him to your own thinking. And that means if you don’t understand His perfect righteousness and perfect holiness, the problem’s with you and not with Him. I don’t expect to fully understand God because I have a jaded view point because of my own fallenness and my own sinfulness.”

When Israel destroyed the cities of King Arad, God named those desolate places filled with death “Devotion”. God was satisfied with what occurred. He was satisfied because His people called on Him and obeyed His Word. He was satisfied because evil – horrible evil – was eradicated from the earth. He and His people were in one accord. C.H. Spurgeon said:

“{Israel} did not depend upon their own prowess in war. God had enabled them to rout the Amalekites, and to defeat many other adversaries; but when this new foe appeared, they did not rely upon their own swords, or spears, or bows, but they went at once to the Lord, and spread their case before him. In humble, earnest prayer, they sought his aid.”

Then Israel went against God. The going got tough and, instead of calling on God, they spoke against God!

Numbers 21:4-5 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. 5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

God knows we get discouraged. But in our discouragement we must never speak against God. The Bible says “the people spake against God, and against Moses”. What was the nature of their blasphemy? They first of all accused God of hating them. “Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?” They said that God saved them to kill them – a horrible untruth. Then they declared God would not give them the least of necessities. They said they had no “BREAD” nor “WATER”. This was a lie. They came by the “WAY OF THE RED SEA” where there was plenty of drinkable water. As they were nomadic, they could raise no wheat, so they had no regular bread. They did, however, have what they called “LIGHT BREAD”, which was Manna from Heaven. David wrote:

Psalm 78:23-24 {God} commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven, 24 Had rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the bread of heaven.

What a wonderful blessing this was. But instead of being grateful,

Israel “lifted up” themselves instead of God!

God’s response was immediate.

Numbers 21:6 And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

Israel despised the BREAD from Heaven.
God gave them SERPENTS from earth.
Israel despised God’sGOODNESS.
God gave them burning poison.
Israel despised the life God gave them.
God gave them death.

We are reminded of the Scriptures “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) and “It is a FEARFUL THING to fall into the hands of the Living God” (Hebrews 10:31). You never want to be on the wrong side of the Almighty! Suffering, the people do NOT go to God …..

Numbers 21:7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

Their mind was in the wrong place. No MAN can forgive sins against God. Only God can forgive sins. Had Israel went DIRECTLY to God, I suspect that He would have taken the serpents away immediately. However since they went to a mere man (though Moses was a good man), God uses this as a teachable moment. Moses prayed for the people – but God did not remove the death from Israel. Instead, God told Moses:

Numbers 21:8 And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

Moses was NOT told to put a dead snake on a pole, but a bronze serpent, one that looked like a serpent. In order to pass from death to life, Israel would have to LOOK UP at the bronze serpent. Why not a LIVE or NEWLY DEAD serpent?

The serpent symbolized the sin of the people. A REAL serpent put on the pole would imply the people could pay for their sin. They cannot. A BRONZE Serpent implies that a Savior must be made, a Savior must be given. This is Jesus.

Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus repeatedly stated that He must “be LIFTED UP”.

John 8:28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.

John 12:32, 34 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. 34 The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?

Our Lord Jesus is the Bronze Serpent, affixed to the pole of crucifixion. God incarnate for us, Jesus Christ became Perfect Man to make payment for our sins. The Scripture says:

2 Corinthians 5:21 For {God} has made {Jesus} to be SIN FOR US, WHO KNEW NO SIN; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

When Jesus died on the Cross, He was not a sinner dying for sinners. Jesus was a bronze serpent. He was MADE TO BE SIN FOR US. He died in your place. He died in my place. When we look on Him believing, just as Israel looked on the bronze serpent believing, death ceases to be. We live, because He paid the penalty.

We Do Not Lift Up The Cross – But The Son Of God!

After Israel was healed by looking at the bronze serpent, they kept it and years later began to worship it (2 Kings 18:4). People today worship the empty Cross, genuflecting and bowing to it. It is not the Cross that paid the penalty for our sin. It is JESUS and JESUS ALONE Who did this. We are not to worship the Cross, but to remember that the Cross is empty and the Tomb is empty. Jesus Christ alone paid the penalty for our sin!

After speaking of being “lifted up”, Jesus gives us the Gospel in a short summation:

John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

When we look to Jesus in faith, we do not see Him as a man like us who died unjustly on a Cross. Instead, we see God become Man, Perfect Man, to die in our place. He died for my sin, in my place. I believe on Him, receiving Him as both Lord and Savior.

In order for Israel to be saved, they had to REPENT and LOOK UPWARD to the bronze serpent. In order for a person to be saved, we must REPENT and LOOK UPWARD at Jesus, made of God for us. We must believe that – looking upon Him – we have everlasting life.

John 3:18-20 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

Just as Israel had to repent of blasphemy, the Christian repents of our old way of life. We walk away from evil, and walk with God our Savior daily. Some refuse to be saved, because they wish to cling to their old way of life. This will not work Those whom God saves, He changes. God promises,

Isaiah 45:22 (NKJV) Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I [am] God, and [there is] no other.

Repentance is the necessary first step in salvation. We turn away from our sins, and turn toward Christ, receiving Him and Him alone as sin’s solution. Oh that all who read this would give themselves to Christ. Do not be confused. If you are not in Christ, that is, if you have not received Him as Lord and Savior, you are “condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God”. There is n purgatory. There are no other ways to God. Turn to Him this very day and live! May God the Holy Spirit move in your life today. Amen and Amen!

Posted in John, Sermons Preached | Tagged crucified, crucifixion, Jesus Christ, paid for sins | Leave a comment

Jerubbaal, Mighty Man Of Valor

Posted on March 21, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

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So far in Judges we have seen the judges, the Avengers of God:

Othniel, the nephew of Caleb (3:7-11) defeat Mesopotamia
Ehud defeat the fat Moabite King Eglon (3:12-30)
Shamgar defeat 600 Philistines (3:31), and
Deborah directing Barak as he defeats King Jabin of Canaan

We now come to the Judge Gideon. God spends more time discussing Gideon and Samson that He does any other judges. We will cover Gideon in at least two installments.

Before Gideon Comes, The Midianites
And A Prophet Comes

Judges 6:1-2 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.

Gideon’s calling by God is very similar to His calling of the other Judges. The phrase:

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them …

is the same pattern we see in Judges 2:11; 3:7 and 3:12. The “children of Israel” forgot that they were Children of God. Instead of following God they “did evil in the sight of the Lord”. Our God watches us as His Children. He saved us so that we can serve Him. The Bible tells us:

Colossians 3:23-24 (ESV) Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV) Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

God watches our labor IN HIM, and will eventually bless us if we continue to serve Him. But the Bible is careful to remind us to “Do not be deceived – God is not mocked. What ever you sow, you will reap (Galatians 6:7)”. If you sow GOOD, you reap GOOD. If you sow NOTHING, you reap NOTHING. But if you sow EVIL, you reap EVIL. Some call it Karma. The Bible calls it Divine Justice. When Israel did evil we read:

the Lord delivered them

Word Study: The word “delivered” means “to give as a free gift”. God gives us the free gift of salvation, and calls us His own. But when we turn away from Him, He can “re-gift” us to our enemy. God gave Israel as a gift to Midian. Father Abraham had more sons than just Isaac and Ishmael. He had six sons by Keturah, the wife he married when Sarah died. The fourth of Keturah’s children by Abraham was Midian. Though the Midianites are descendants of Abraham, like Ishmael they did not come through Sarah as the child of promise.

During the time of Moses, when he fled Egypt after killing a taskmaster and traveled to the Desert of Midian. He married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro a priest of Midian (Exodus 2:15-16). At 80 years old God called Moses out of Midian, and had him lead Israel out of Egypt. Though the Midianites initially knew the God of Abraham and Moses, they drifted away from God and into idolatry. God directed Moses to “kill the Midianites” (Numbers 25:17-19) because of their evil.

God turned the fallen Israelites over to the fallen Midianites for punishment. The moral? Act like a pagan, God will treat you like a pagan!

Judges 6:2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.

How far we as God’s people fall when we become one with the world! When God’s people follow Him, He becomes “the Rock of our salvation”. We live in power when we live in Christ. We sing with the Saints:

2 Samuel 22:47-48 The Lord liveth; and blessed be my Rock; and exalted be the God of the Rock of my salvation. 48 It is God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under me.

Word Study: Israel should have been standing above the enemy on the Rock that is Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4). But instead, they are burrowing into the mountains, and hiding in caves to get away from their enemies. For “seven years” Israel is in this state. Seven is the number of REST in the Scripture, the number of completion. God created all in six days, and rested on the seventh day. Israel is not resting in God, but in their abilities, their subterfuge, their sneakiness. Why are they hiding in cages?

Charles Spurgeon said, “The Lord does not permit His children to sin successfully”.

Judges 6:3-5 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; 4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. 5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.

The Midianites lead the Amalekites (the descendants of Esau) in pillaging Israel. When Israel sowed their crops, as the harvest came the enemy came like locusts, and stole their crop. Furthermore, the Midianites had vast herds of sheep, oxen, and donkeys along with cattle and camels without number. All these beasts ate the grass of the lands where Israel was, so much so that their own beasts starved. What was frightening about the Midianites was that “they entered into the land to destroy it”. God warned Israel when they entered the Promised Land to “dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it. … But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them. (Numbers 33:53, 55-56)

The Midianites did not want to settle the land. They moved into an area like locusts, destroyed it, then moved on. This terrible suffering caused Israel to call out to God.

Judges 6:6-8 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord. 7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites, 8 That the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;

The Children of Israel cried out to God because of the Midianites. Before God raised up Gideon, “the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel” to explain why they were being punished. This is different from all the Judges we have had up to this time. Though we do not know the name of the Prophet, he speaks for God. “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel”. The Lord speaks through this Prophet reminding Israel of His great grace given to them.

Judges 6:9-10 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land; 10 And I said unto you, I am the Lord your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.

The Israelites were not to fear the gods of the Amorites – but they were to have fear or respect for their own God. Though the Amorite “was like the height of cedars, and strong as the oaks (Amos 2:9), our God was greater. We do not fear God as you would a poisonous snake or a bear, but we fear God in the sense that we have reverence, respect, and awe for Him. The Scripture tells us:

Hebrews 12:5-6 (NASB) My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; (6) For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And he scourges every son whom He receives.

God wants Israel to know that their low estate with the Midianites is not because God has forgotten them, nor is it because God is a poor God unable to do right by His people. They are in the mess they are in because God is disciplining them – just as He does all His children. “As a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord Thy God chastens thee!” (Deuteronomy 8:5).

Enter Gideon

Judges 6:11-12 And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.

God has an unnamed Prophet speak to Israel about their failure. Now an unnamed Angel speaks to Gideon. The Angel finds Gideon hiding near a winepress. The grapes are not near harvest, but Gideon has gathered a small harvest of wheat from the fields. He is threshing the wheat – separating the grain from the chaff – so he can feed his family.

Gideon’s name (giḏʿôn) means “One who hews down, that bruises or breaks”

Gideon hewed down wheat in the dead of night, and carted it over to a hiding place near a “winepress”. Here he is gathering little in his own power. The Angel of the Lord tells him that it is God’s plan that he not just hew down and “thresh wheat” while hiding from the enemy. God wants to use Gideon as He used the unnamed Prophet. God will one day judge this earth and “cast it into the great winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Revelation 14:19-20; 19:15). The Angel tells Gideon:

The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor

This is somewhat amusing, for Gideon is anything BUT a “mighty man of valor”. But the Angel speaks of what God INTENDS Gideon to be, if he will but allow God to work in his life. Instead of worshiping God, Gideon begins to whine:

Judges 6:13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.

Now what is interesting about Gideon’s whining is that the unnamed Prophet told Israel WHY they were being afflicted of the Midianites. Where was Gideon when the Prophet shared this news?

There are times when God clearly speaks to us, but we do not hear Him. Sometimes He gives us a clear message from the Pastor or Bible Teacher on Sunday – but we decided to stay home that day. Perhaps when the Prophet preached, Gideon skipped Synagogue. Or perhaps Gideon was there when the Prophet spoke, but he was preoccupied in fixing his own problems. Gideon was too busy worrying and too little praying. He missed the memo! Gideon blames God, just as Adam blamed God when he sinned in the Garden. Adam said, “The woman whom YOU, GOD gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit and I did eat” (Genesis 3:12). Gideon blames God. “YOU, GOD have forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites”. It’s all God’s fault!

The Lord does not argue with a fool! He merely replies:

Judges 6:14 And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?

My commentary notes:

“The angel, in His greeting (“valiant warrior,” v. 12), was addressing Gideon as the man he would become, by God’s enablement, not the man he was then. In the same way, God had called Abraham the father of a multitude before he had any children. He called Peter a rock before he behaved like one. He also calls Christians saints, even though we are not yet as saintly as God will make us.”

The Bible says that when God chose Israel, that “The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people” (Deuteronomy 7:7). The Bible says of the Christian

1 Corinthians 1:26-28 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are:

God calls the broken, the weak, the unable, and makes us whole, strong, and able. We cannot, but God can. “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13), and yet Jesus said “apart from Me you can do NOTHING” (John 15:5). Gideon is God’s chosen Judge.

But Gideon is not sure.

Judges 6:15-16 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house. 16 And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

Gideon is “the least” or the youngest in his family. Normally the firstborn child would be chosen to lead the family, and to lead the warriors. Yet God often uses the younger over the older. God chose …

Abel’s offering, but rejected the elder Cain’s (Genesis 4)
Jacob over Esau (Romans 9:13)
Moses to lead Israel, though Aaron was 3 years older (Exodus 7:7)
David over his brothers (1 Samuel 16:12-13) to be King
Solomon over his older brothers to be King (1 Chronicles 22:6-10)
Ephraim was greater than his older brother Manasseh (Genesis 48)

Judges 6:17-21 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me. 18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again. 19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it. 20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.

Gideon asks for a sign from God that the Lord was really talking to him. This is the first of three signs that Gideon will ask of God in this chapter.

Gideon first asked that God stay there while he prepared a meal, just as he would do for any honored guest. This is time consuming. There are no refrigerators, nor cook tops or microwaves. The flour was already ground, but had to be mixed and cooked on a flat rock. The goat had to be killed and the meat prepared for eating. The “angel of God” waited patiently until the meal was served. The Angel had Gideon put the food on a rock. The Angel extended a staff that he held in his hands, and “touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes”. The fire came up OUT OF THE ROCK, not from some man made source. Gideon believed that this was of God. We read:

Judges 6:22-24 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face. 23 And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. 24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Gideon was at first frightened when he was assured that this Angel spoke for God. But when God assured him that he would not die, Gideon “built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovahshalom”, which means “The Lord is Peace”. God commands Gideon – the younger son – to destroy his father’s false altar to Baal. Before Gideon can lead Israel into battle, he must put God above his own family. Our Lord Jesus said:

Luke 14:26-27 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

God must be greater in our lives than anyone or anything. He demands our number 1 treatment – not second place. God told Gideon:

Judges 6:25-27 And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it: 26 And build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down. 27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.

We see some interesting parallels here. Israel has been in bondage to Midian for 7 years. Now God demands Gideon take a “bullock of seven years old” and tear down his family’s altar to Baal. An altar to the True Jehovah is to be built over top of this false altar, and a sacrifice made to Jehovah. Gideon does as God says, but “he did it by night” because he was afraid of what his family would do to him. Sadly, doing it by night didn’t protect him. We read:

Judges 6:28-30 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. 29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing. 30 Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it.

The people of the city called out for the death of Gideon. But “Joash”, Gideon’s father, refused to do so. He told them:

Judges 6:31-32 And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar. 32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.

Gideon was given the nickname “Jerubbaal” (the Hebrew yᵊrubaʿal), which means “Let Baal fight him”. If Baal was indeed a true god, he himself could take care of Gideon. From that day forth Gideon would also be known as “Jerubbaal” – mocking the gods of the Midianites. In God we have nothing to fear! Next week we’ll study the fleece of Gideon. May God bless you as you grow in Him. Amen and Amen!

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

Today The Day of Salvation
June 2026

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John stayed with Jesus – but the other disciples thought it was more important to go to Sychar – a place called “Drunken” – and buy “MEAT”.

Jesus Wants Us To Not Wander Off To Sychar For Food, But To Look For OpportunitiesTo Spread His Kingdom

Who Can Tell What One Seed Will Do?

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The Bible Is God’s Book!

Angels Preached The Gospel The Day Jesus Rose

When they took Jesus down from the Cross to bury Him, He was hastily buried because the next day was the High Sabbath, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

The Gospel Is That Jesus Died, But Rose Again

Jesus is the Son of Man prophesied in Daniel, the Messiah come to bring us to God (Daniel 7:13).

Jesus died to make PAYMENT to God for our sins. Jesus rose from the grave to give us CONTINUING REDEMPTION from sin.

The Resurrection Is A Key Part Of The Gospel

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1 The Lawful Seal on the Tomb was removed.

2 The stone was rolled away.

3 The soldiers were chased away.

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The Enemy Within

The worst evil comes at us not from the outside,but from within the house!

Ephraim felt that they had been disrespected, discounted, and discarded. They felt they should have been with Gideon and the 300 at the outset of the battle.

Gideon’s sin in excluding God from the victory in order to pacify Ephraim would not just hurt himbut it will hurt Ephraim.

Gideon Drifts From God’s Glory

Sin Is Punished Righteously –Those Who Knew Better Are First Punished

If the leadership fails to follow God,the people will fail to follow God.

Gideon Honors God – Almost

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On of Satan’s greatest lies is that you can be a Christian, you can be Heaven bound, and yet live no different from the world around you. That’s just not true.

The Christian Is Beloved BecauseThe Beloved Became Man

Today is known as “Palm Sunday”, a day often recognized as the “Triumphal Entry of Christ”.

sin has enslaved Israel, and secularism is ruling as a god.

Just As Jesus Is Unique, The Christian Is Unique

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What Does John The Baptist Think About Jesus?

Jesus came to destroy the power of sin and of the devil.

Sin Will Destroy Us If We Do Not REPENTand COME To Jesus as Lord and Savior

Repentance does not mean to continue in your current behavior, but to stop doing what God says stop,and turn to Jesus.

A Good Example Of Repentance & Salvation

Many people come to Jesus for a temporal or passing blessing. Jesus did not come to give us “Consumer Christianity”. He came to give us life.

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God’s Leaders Must Publicly Stand Up For God

“If you have a very private, personal faith of your own, you’ll take it to hell. …

God’s Leaders Must Call On God To Declare His Will

God’s Leaders Must Understand It Is God Who Works

God wants to use people who are careful in how they do His work. He wants their focus on His instruction.

When We Do As God Says, the EnemyWill Defeat Themselves

It is not our responsibility to understand how God is going to keep His Word and accomplish His work. It is our responsibility to obey Him and to do what He commands (Inrig)

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God loves the sinner but hates the sin.

God helps those who help themselves.

Cleanliness is next to godliness.

God loves the sinner but hates the sin.

God did GOOD to those Who do BAD to Him.This is DIVINE LOVE. It is not emotion, but DOING.

We are reconciled to God becauseGod laid His life down for us!

What Does this Mean From A Practical Standpoint?

As He laid His life down for us, we are to lay our lives down for Him. We do this by “doing good” to even our enemies.

In Conclusion

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“You MUST be BORN AGAIN”

Our Salvation Is Secured By God’s Partnership

The “Son Of Man” Must Be “Lifted Up”Like The Serpent

Israel “lifted up” their voices to God in prayer, and God “lifted up” His people in power.

God is Who He is. And you can’t invent Him and you can’t change Him and you can’t alter Him. You can either believe in Him or not believe in Him.

Israel “lifted up” themselves instead of God!

The serpent symbolized the sin of the people. A REAL serpent put on the pole would imply the people could pay for their sin. They cannot. A BRONZE Serpent implies that a Savior must be made, a Savior must be given. This is Jesus.

We Do Not Lift Up The Cross – But The Son Of God!

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Before Gideon Comes, The MidianitesAnd A Prophet Comes

God turned the fallen Israelites over to the fallen Midianites for punishment. The moral? Act like a pagan, God will treat you like a pagan!

Charles Spurgeon said, “The Lord does not permit His children to sin successfully”.

Enter Gideon

Gideon’s name (giḏʿôn) means “One who hews down, that bruises or breaks”

Gideon asks for a sign from God that the Lord was really talking to him. This is the first of three signs that Gideon will ask of God in this chapter.

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David Buffaloe

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Today The Day of Salvation

Jesus Wants Us To Not Wander Off To Sychar For Food, But To Look For Opportunities
To Spread His Kingdom

The worst evil comes at us not from the outside,
but from within the house!

Gideon’s sin in excluding God from the victory in order to pacify Ephraim would not just hurt him
but it will hurt Ephraim.

Sin Is Punished Righteously –
Those Who Knew Better Are First Punished

If the leadership fails to follow God,
the people will fail to follow God.

The Christian Is Beloved Because
The Beloved Became Man

Sin Will Destroy Us If We Do Not REPENT
and COME To Jesus as Lord and Savior

Repentance does not mean to continue in your current behavior, but to stop doing what God says stop,
and turn to Jesus.

When We Do As God Says, the Enemy
Will Defeat Themselves

God did GOOD to those Who do BAD to Him.
This is DIVINE LOVE. It is not emotion, but DOING.

We are reconciled to God because
God laid His life down for us!

The “Son Of Man” Must Be “Lifted Up”
Like The Serpent

Before Gideon Comes, The Midianites
And A Prophet Comes