Who Will Not Be In Paradise?

Posted on March 22, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=147290&picture=tropical-beach

The Book of Revelation is a vision that the Apostle John had when he was exiled by the Roman Government to the prison island called Patmos. Left on that island for dead, Jesus came to John, and showed him things to come. One of the greatest parts of this Book (and all parts are wonderful) is when John looked into Paradise, the Kingdom of God. What did John see there?

Revelation 21:1-7 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

The Bible Begins And Ends With Paradise

The Bible begins with Adam and Eve in a perfect Paradise called Eden, a place on this earth. But Adam’s sin brought corruption to this entire world. Every person born of Adam, every plant reproduced from that time, every animal, every creature, even the bacteria unseen – all things became corrupted by Adam’s sin. The bad news of the Scripture is:

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

Everything poisonous, deadly, pain creating, harmful, hurtful came into this present world with Adam’s sin. Not only did Adam bring spiritual death on himself and his descendants, he brought corruption into the animal world. God told Adam, “Cursed is the ground of earth because of what you did. You will labor and sorrow because of this curse all the days of your life. The ground will bring forth thorns and thistles – and you’ll have to labor in the field to be fed” (paraphrase of Genesis 3:17-19). Adam’s sin brought what Darwin erroneously called “The survival of the fittest” into what had previously been the Garden of God. Blood was spilled in Eden because of Adam’s sin. The Scripture says that the animal kingdom itself groans, waiting for the end of sin’s reign on this earth. We read:

Romans 8:19-24 (ESV) … the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved.

The world itself now groans under the misery
of sin and corruption.

But once God completes His Church, once the saved are gathered into Heaven, at the end of time God will create a new heaven and a new earth. This is a reference not to the Heaven where God is, but the heavens or the atmosphere around this earth. God will recreate this world, and all that is in it. Sin will be eradicated. God will put a New Jerusalem on the earth, a place where God the Son will rule and reign over this planet. When that happens there will be no more tears, nor suffering, nor death. Jesus upon the Throne, ruling from the New Jerusalem, will decree “I make all things new”. Jesus is the “Alpha and Omega” (Revelation 22:13-16) Who will live with us on this new earth forever.

What a day that will be,
When my Jesus I shall see;
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace.
When He takes me by the hand,
And leads me through the Promised Land;
What a day, glorious day that will be!

Not All Will Enter Heaven, Nor The New Paradise

But then – we come to a glaring stop! Right after talking about this wonderful restored Eden on earth, the Apostle records these words:

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Not everyone will be in the New Jerusalem, nor on the restored earth. Some will reject the Alpha and Omega. Some will reject the Gospel of salvation, and continue living their lives in darkness. When He walked this earth, Jesus said:

John 3:17-20 (ESV) … God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

Many have heard the Gospel since Jesus died on Calvary, but many reject it, for to be saved is to turn from darkness to light. Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will NOT walk in darkness, but will have the LIGHT of life” (John 8:12).

Those who reject Jesus as Christ AND Lord, as Messiah AND God, will NOT enter Paradise.

When Adam sinned, both he and Eve were cast out of Paradise. “God drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24).

The unrepentant sinner will not be in Heaven, nor in the recreated Paradise of the New Jerusalem. Where will the unrepentant sinner be? John is quite specific:

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death

Here we see eight categories of unrepentant sinners that will not be in glory with Jesus, but will be cast into “the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone”. We are introduced to this horrible lake in Revelation 20 at the Great White Throne of God. This the Throne that every unbeliever will one day stand before. When an unbeliever dies rejecting Jesus, that unbeliever immediately goes to a place called hades or hell. Our Lord Jesus believed in this place of torment. In Luke Chapter 16 Jesus spoke of a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. When the beggar died, he was “carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom”. All believers go to that place of faith. But the “rich man died, and IN HELL lifted up his eyes, being in TORMENTS” (Luke 16:23). The rich man was not annihilated. He felt torment, and knew what a horrible place he was in. The rich man was in HELL, the Greek ᾅδης háidēs, {pronounced hah’-dace}. He could not leave that place, nor could anyone come to him to give him relief.

Hades is a horrible place. It is a prison of fire, a prison where the sinner, rejecting the light of Christ, stays until the
Great White Throne Judgment.

At that Great White Throne the dead, small or great, stand before God to be judged. I believe they stand before the Jesus that they rejected in this life. Jesus said, “The Father judges no one, but has given ALL JUDGMENT to the Son” (John 5:22, ESV). Those who stand before the Lord Jesus to be judged will have their works exposed as sinful. None will escape. “Death and HELL (háidēs, Hades) deliver up the dead which were in them” (Revelation 20:13). All unbelievers stand before Jesus. The Bible says:

Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Who Will Be Consigned To The Lake Of Fire?

The believer in Christ – the “workmanship of God” (Ephesians 2:10), the “Good Shepherd’s sheep who follow Him” (John 10:4) – will be eternally in a restored Eden called New Jerusalem. We will be on an earth without sin, an earth where there is no sin and no killing.

Isaiah 11:6-9 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

But unbelievers will not be there. Unbelievers are characterized as:

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful … shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone…

Word Study: “The fearful”, the Greek “δειλός deilós, {pronounced di-los’}” means “the faithless”. Jesus equated a surrender to fear as an outward expression of faithlessness or unbelief. The same word is used by Jesus when He was asleep on board a ship when a storm arose. The disciples “woke Jesus up, saying, “Lord, save us, we perish” (Matthew 8:25-26; also Mark 4:40). Jesus told them,

“Why are ye FEARFUL (deilós), O ye of little faith?”

There are times when we all experience fear, but to live in fear rather than faith is the action of an unbeliever. The Apostle John wrote in another place,

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

Those who are daily living “fearful” rather than faithfully may not be saved. The “fearful” will one day be in the Lake of Fire.

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving

Unbelievers in Jesus will be in that Lake of Fire forever. The soul is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27; 9:6). Though man is a sinner, “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

If a person rejects Jesus as the One Messiah, the Christ, and dies in a state of unbelief, that person will FIRST be cast into Hades then at the Great White Throne
into the Lake of Fire.

The Bible warns that to leave this life without Christ is to be in a state of condemnation.

Revelation 22:11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

Oh Beloved, do not leave this life unbelieving. Turn to Jesus. Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2)!

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable …

Word Study: The word “abominable” is the Greek βδελύσσω bdelýssō, {pronounced bdel-oos’-so}, which means “that which stinks, is disgusting, or detested by God – an abomination”. God told Israel:

Leviticus 18:29-30 For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. 30 Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.

What were the “abominations” that God said would not be among His people. Well, if you read Leviticus chapter 18, God is quite explicit.

Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination (Hebrew תּוֹעֵבַה tôwʻêbah, {pronounced to-ay-baw’}, “that which is abominable, an abomination, morally repugnant”)

Many balk at this, saying, “Well, that was the OLD Testament. We are people of the NEW Testament. That’s true. But in the NEW Testament the Apostle says in

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NKJV) “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

Those that are excluded from Paradise are sexual sinners, unbelievers, greedy people, drunkards, and those who harm others financially or physically. These are not the only abominations God speaks of. In the Book of Proverbs there are seven things listed as “an abomination to God” (Hebrewtôwʻêbah):

Proverbs 6:16-19 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Sexual sin is a violation of God’s design (for male and female He made them – Genesis 1:27). But pride, a false witness, killing an innocent, the wicked imaginations of the heart, the troublemaker, the one continually stirring up trouble – these are all abominations before God.

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers…

Word Study: “Murderers” are those who, without justification, take a human life. Whether we punish the murderer or not in this life, God will punish them in the next. The word “whoremongers” is the Greek πόρνος pornos, which refers to “sexual sinners”. The Bible refers to sexual sins as homosexual, bestial, sexual intercourse with someone outside of marriage, or sexual intercourse that breaks the vows of marriage. Our Lord Jesus said:

Matthew 15:19-20 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

Sexual sins defile people. Those who are saved by faith in Christ step away from the darkness of sexual sin in order to walk with Jesus in the light of God’s Grace.

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters…

Two words are used here to designate faith in anything BUT God. Those who are “sorcerers” (Greek pharmakeusin) are those who use drugs, portions, charms, or enchantments in order to invoke the spirit world to meet a need. God said of sorcery:

Deuteronomy 18:10-12 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. 11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord …

Those who reject Christ, and cling to the darkness doing those things which God has said are unacceptable in this life – they shall not enter Heaven, nor shall they be a part of God’s restored Eden, the New Jerusalem.

But no one has to have, as their final destination, the Lake of Fire that burns forever. Jesus calls whosoever will to come to Him, and receive Him as Christ and Lord. Jesus tells us as this wonderful Book of Revelation closes:

Revelation 22:14-17 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. 16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. 17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Heaven or hell, it is each person’s choice. Will you receive Jesus as Christ and Lord? Or will you cling to the darkness into eternity. The choice is entirely yours. May you make the right decision. Receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Do so this very day. Jesus Christ came to this earth to save sinners from their sins. Praise Him for it! Amen and Amen!

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

The Nature Of Marvelous Faith

Posted on March 20, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash

Luke 7:1-10 Now when {Jesus} had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. 2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. 3 And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: 5 For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. 6 Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: 7 Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. 8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 10 And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.

Faith is a very important thing.
There are all types of faith in our world.

Atheists and humanists have faith. They have faith that there is no God, no Creator Who made all things. Their faith is in themselves, in what they do or perceive. These people believe that “I can do all things through myself who strengthens me”. There are many like this in the world. What does God say of those who are atheists? “The FOOL hath said in his heart, ‘there is NO GOD’. They are corrupt. Their works are abominable, and no good at all” (Psalm 14:1).

Some have faith in technology. They believe that technology will make our lives great. Medical technology will, they believe, extend life indefinitely. Artificial intelligence will usher in a paradise on the earth.

Some have great faith in politics or philosophy. They believe that, if their party or position were dominant, that America would blossom. Others put their faith in money or riches. They are like the farmer Jesus spoke of in Luke chapter 12. He had a good year of crops, so he decided to:

Luke 12: 18-19 … This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

Was this man blessed? No, for God said unto him,

Luke 12:20 … Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

The Bible tells us that Faith is “the substance on things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. It is to believe in something that has not yet come to pass. Biblical faith is not based on ourselves, but on the God Who made us. The Bible says:

Romans 14:23 … whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

Genuine faith believes in the God of Scripture. Saving faith believes in God the Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. And faith cannot come from a place of pride. Faith is humbled, trusting in Someone outside of yourself.

The Truths Found In Scripture Context

As we look at our text today, we would be tempted to just dive in and talk about this Centurion. When I studied for this sermon, I wanted to rush into Luke 7 and focus on this interesting man. A Centurion is a highly skilled soldier, a Commander of a Roman Century, a group of skilled Legionnaires. Each Century could have up to a hundred skilled men. This Centurion is a highly successful man, an important man by Roman standards. I want you to remember that. But let’s take a good look at the first verse of our text.

Luke 7:1 Now when {Jesus} had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum.

“when {Jesus} had ended all his sayings”. Let’s not skip these words, because they are important, and explain much about this Centurion. In Luke Chapter 6, Jesus preaches what is called His “Sermon on the Plain”. You have probably all heard of the “Sermon on the Mount”, but few have been exposed to the “Sermon on the Plain”.

The “Sermon on the Mount” is the first recorded sermon Jesus preached, after He called Simon Peter, Andrew, and James and John, the sons of Zebedee to follow Him. Jesus went throughout Galilee, preaching, teaching and healing Jews. As the Jewish crowds began to follow Jesus, our Lord went up into a mountain, sat down, and began to preach (Matthew 5:1). What Jesus did was directed toward the Jews.

Many years before this day, God spoke to Israel from Mount Sinai, through the Prophet Moses. God made a covenant with Israel. On that day Israel said:

Exodus 19:8 … All that the Lord hath spoken we will do …

Israel’s faith was not in God, but in their ability to be good enough to please God. While Moses was on Sinai receiving the Law from God, in just those 40 days Israel rejected God, and created a golden calf to replace God. Throughout the history of Israel you see a nation that relied on itself, and not on God. As Jesus started His ministry, Jesus preached His Sermon on the Mount.

Just as Moses’ message from Sinai was addressed to Jews, Jesus’ message from the Mount was addressed to Jews.

The Sermon on the Plain is different from the Sermon on the Mount. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus goes up a mountain, sits down, and teaches Jews. In the Sermon on the Plain Jesus comes DOWN from a mountain after praying all night (Luke 6:12) and stands on flat land. Here He speaks not primarily to Jews, but to both Jews and Gentiles. We read:

Luke 6:17 {Jesus} came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;

“Judaea and Jerusalem” are predominantly Jewish territories, whereas “Tyre and Sidon” are Gentile territories.

Jesus prayed all night long before the Sermon on the Plain, as He needed to address not just Israel, but people from diverse Gentile backgrounds.

The Sermon on the Mount has 9 Beatitudes or Blessed Teachings, whereas the Sermon on the Plain has only four. But both sermons focus on what God expects of faith.

Luke 7:1 Now when {Jesus} had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum.

“Capernaum” is a very interesting place. When Jesus returned to His hometown of Nazareth and preached, He was driven from Nazareth (Luke 4:16, 28-30). So Jesus walked away from Nazareth and began to minister in Capernaum. Jesus has ministered in Capernaum before, both teaching and preaching, as well as healing people. We read:

Luke 7:2-5 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. 3 And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: 5 For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.

The Centurion heard that Jesus was in Capernaum. As I said before, a Centurion is an important man. He leads 80-100 skilled soldiers. He is a commander, an officer of importance. But notice something about this Centurion.

This man loved his men. His men were not tools, things to be used then thrown away. This man cared deeply for his men. He was an important man, but he realized his importance comes only because the men that follow him are cherished. His “servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die”. The Centurion wanted Jesus to heal his trooper.

The Centurion could have dressed up in his military gear, and marched to where Jesus was, arrogantly demanding Him to come. He could have, but he didn’t. The Centurion went to the “elders of the Jews” and asked that they represent him before Jesus. These “elders of the Jews” were more than likely highly regarded Pharisees or Sadducees, important people in Israel. The Centurion sent these elders “beseeching {Jesus} that He would come and heal his servant”. The word “beseeching” is the Greek ἐρωτάω erōtáō, {pronounced er-o-tah’-o}, which means “to request, to ask, to pray to”. The word erōtáō tells us that, though this man was a “Very Important Person”, he realized that Jesus was MUCH MORE important.

When these elders come to Jesus, we see something else about this Centurion. We read:

Luke 7:4-5 … when they came to Jesus, they besought Him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: 5 For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue

Word Study: The word “besought” is an interesting compound word, the Greek παρακαλέω parakaléō, {pronounced par-ak-al-eh’-o}, which means “to come alongside, to beg, to comfort, to intimately request”. These elders are pleading with Jesus to come and minister to this Centurion’s servant. This Centurion – though a commander of the soldiers of Rome – has not used his position to drive down Israel. No, as a matter of fact, this Centurion did what Jesus preached in his Sermon on the Plain. Jesus said:

Luke 6:27-28 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, 28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

The average Israelite hated Rome for conquering and occupying Israel. This Centurion understood Israel’s hatred of Rome, and did not hold their hatred in his heart. This Centurion did as Jesus said:

Luke 6:31-36 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. 32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. 33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. 34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

The Centurion “loved Israel”, though he was part of the occupying force. The Centurion proved his love for Israel by “building a synagogue” in Capernaum, a place where Jesus had taught, and the Bible was shared to Israel.

How did Jesus respond? He didn’t say a word. Jesus saw the Centurion’s faith in what the elder’s said of him. We read:

Luke 7:6 … Then Jesus went with them. …

God responds to faith. Genuine faith moves the heart of God. Why? Because:

Genuine, God Honoring Faith Is Humble

The faith that saves, the faith that brings a blessing, is the faith that is humble. Humility is in short supply in our world today. Sadly, human pride gets more out of control every day. The Bible says:

1 Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Human Pride!: Over the last two plus years, America has been humbled by the Coronavirus. Not just America, but the whole world has been humbled by the Coronavirus. Churches and businesses went through lock downs. We were told to cover our faces with masks. Vaccines were developed, and we were ordered to get vaccines. Some local churches dissolved under the pride, as various groups lobbied for one side or the other. During the worst of the virus, people in arrogance destroyed private and public property. Racism flourished, and rather than join hands we pointed fingers, because we all felt that we were superior to the other side. The Prophet Amos said:

Amos 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?

King Nebuchadnezzar, once arrogant, thinking himself to be a god, repented once he experienced the disciplining hand of the True God. Nebuchadnezzar said:

Daniel 4:35 … all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing {compared to God}: and {God} doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and NONE can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest thou?

The God of the Scripture, He is LORD of all. The Pandemic should have humbled us as a nation, but instead we found other things to be arrogant about. The “devil like a roaring lion, went about seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8), and he got a belly full.

The Centurion, a man who had lived through numerous battles, paid attention to God. He put his trust not in his own abilities, but in the coming Messiah. This Centurion humbled himself. We read:

Luke 7:6-7 … And when {Jesus} was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: 7 Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.

The Centurion had not sent the elders of Israel to fetch Jesus because HE was important. The Centurion asked the elders of Israel to go to Jesus because his mindset was “I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof”. As Jesus preached His Sermon on the Mount, the Pharisees thought that THEY were worthy, but JESUS was UNWORTHY. But this Centurion said, “I am not worthy”. The words translated “NOT worthy” is the Greek οὐ ἱκανός ou hikanós, {pronounced hik-an-os’}, which means “I am not sufficient, I am not much, I am not enough”. The Prophet John the Baptist made the same statement when the Pharisees asked if he were the Christ, the Messiah. John said, “I am not worthy to carry Jesus’ shoes” (Matthew 3:11). This Centurion said,

Lord, trouble not Thyself: for I am not worthy

Jesus is Lord. The Centurion is nothing. Oh, by the world’s standards, this was an important man. But this man had a humbled heart. God can bless those with the humbled hearts. Greatness comes from those with humbled hearts. God can use the humble. God can save the humble.

God used a humble Moses to write the foundation of Scripture.
God used a humble Noah to save a world from destruction.
God used a humble Joseph to save two nations from destruction,
so that Messiah could come into the world.
God used a humble David to kill Goliath with a stone and a sling.
God used a humble Daniel to plant faith in Babylon so that
Wise Men would one day worship Jesus.

The Centurion says:

Luke 7:8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.


The Centurion doesn’t say, “I am a man IN authority”. No, but he says, “I also am a man set under authority”. The arrogant can never lead. The arrogant can never be blessed. Note first the word “also”. The Centurion saw Jesus as a man under authority. Our Lord Jesus was sent to this earth by the Father. There is no arrogance even in the Trinity of God. The Father leads the Godhead. The Son is sent of the Father. Jesus said,

Matthew 10:40 (ESV) … whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me.

John 5:22-24, 37 (ESV) For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 37 … the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me.
John 7:16 (ESV) … My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.

John 8:16 (ESV) … My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me.

I could go on and on, but you need to understand this. There is power in humility. God Himself models humility. It is the devil who promotes “Just do you” mentality, or “be yourself”. The Son of God says, humble yourself. This is where power with God is.

Humble Faith Is Marvelous To God

Luke 7:9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

Word Study The Centurion had a faith that caused Jesus to “marvel”. Do you see it? “When Jesus heard it, He MARVELED”. This is the Greek θαυμάζω thaumazō which means “to hold in admiration, to wonder at, to marvel”.

When we look at Jesus and see all that He did, we marvel at Him. When Jesus calmed the storm with but a word, His disciples marveled at Jesus (Matthew 8:27). When Jesus healed a paralyzed man, the crowds marveled (Matthew 9:8). When Jesus cursed a fig tree, and it died in a day, His disciples marveled (Matthew 21:20). Jesus is marvelous (Matthew 21:42). Why would Jesus love us so? The love of Christ is indeed marvelous!

Do you know there are two places in scripture where Jesus is said to marvel? It is here, and in

Mark 6:6 … and Jesus marveled because of their unbelief …

When Jesus went to His hometown of Nazareth, He marveled at their unbelief. Their unbelief was so strong that Jesus could do no mighty work there. Oh, He healed a few people. But Jesus could not do as He did in Capernaum.

Leaving Nazareth, marveling at Nazareth’s unbelief, Jesus went to Capernaum and marveled at the faith of not a Jew, but a Gentile, a Roman Centurion!

Beloved, God cannot work in your life unless you possess genuine faith. The way you achieve genuine faith is by humbling yourselves under the mighty hand of God. We hear God’s Word, trust it, and DO it.

When Jesus ended the Sermon on the Plain, His last word was this:

Luke 6:46-49 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

Jesus never met that Centurion face to face, and yet Jesus marveled at his faith. Once more, Jesus never said a word. Faith moved Him to go to the Centurion’s home, and faith causes Jesus to heal the Centurion’s servant. The Scripture says God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6), those who humble themselves in His mighty presence. Let us learn to say with David,

1 Chronicles 29:10-13 … Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. 11 Thine, O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. 13 Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.

May God draw us all to the same place as this Centurion. For Christ’s glory, and for the spread of God’s Kingdom we pray. Amen and Amen!

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

Memorial Service for Bill Tanner

Posted on March 19, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=168575&picture=verdun-memorial-cemetery

Memorial Service for Bill Tanner

Prelude (Violin)

Welcome & Introduction (David Buffaloe)

I’d like to start out by thanking the family of Bill Tanner for allowing me to be here today. I had the honor of officiating the memorial of Bill’s wife and your mother and grandmother, Lois Gertrude Potts Tanner on July 26, 2016. At that time they had been married 66 years. Bill lived on this earth without Gertrude for nearly 5 ½ years (5 years, 4 months, 6 days) before he rejoined her on December 2, 2021. I know there was shouting in glory when Bill and Gertrude reunited!

When Steve asked me to officiate this service, he sent me an autobiography that Bill wrote entitled “My Story”. As I read it, I thought it would be fitting to hear Bill’s words at his memorial. In a sense Bill – though now with Jesus – will help in officiating his own memorial. As the Scripture says (Hebrews 11:4), “he being dead yet speaketh”.

Bill lived a tough life. He went through the Great Depression, and as a boy helped pick cotton on the farm of Aunt Mae and Uncle Ernest in Red Hill, Tennessee. Bill’s mother worked in Lawrenceburg, and later Columbia, Tennessee. While living on Cemetery Avenue in Columbia, the family was listening to the radio Sunday, December 7, 1941 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Bill fished in the Columbia Duck River, and being poor made his own fishing tackle out of straight pins. He attended Whitthorne Junior High (now a Middle School) in Columbia, graduating from the eighth grade in the spring of 1941. Entering the Army Medical Corp at 17 years old, he trained and was qualified as a Psychiatric Social Worker.

In our Church we sometimes have “Testimonial Services”. In Bill’s autobiography, he “testified” that as a young boy … these are his words:

“… I had never been to Church or attended any type of worship service. While in junior high school a friend invited me to visit his church one Sunday. I mentioned it to mother, but she seemed to think that I didn’t have proper clothing to wear. Since she never attended we didn’t discuss the matter further. I often wonder what a positive difference church attendance and faith in God would have had in our lives.”

I’m afraid that often happens to people seeking the Lord. They don’t “go to Church” because their clothing is shabby, or their morals are off. So many people tell me “When I straighten out my life, I’ll come to Church”. They misunderstand. The Church is a body of people who are broken, and who need the Lord Jesus Christ. When I read this section in “My Story” my heart broke. I rejoiced later in reading where Bill spoke of meeting and marrying the love of his life, Gertrude Potts. He wrote:

“I asked her to marry me and she agreed. This was undoubtedly one of the best decisions I ever made (the best one was when I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior several years later!).”

In 1956 Bill and his family moved to Judson Road in Wheaton, Maryland. Bill once more speaks:

“During this time a friend at work who was a devout Christian … began to talk to me about becoming a Christian. This man’s name was Robert R. Hudson. He was the accountant for our small company. Bob was persistent. He told me what being a Christian had meant to him, and kept asking if Lois and I would like to visit his Church, First Baptist Church of Silver Spring, Maryland. … Lois had been baptized early in life while a member of the little Nazarene Church in Fly, Tennessee. We both accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and were baptized by Reverend Frank Brasington at First Baptist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland. We began attending on a regular basis and became involved in Sunday School. This was a turning point in our lives.”

Bill’s faith in Jesus was proved by his life. While in Anderson, South Carolina, Bill was ordained a Deacon, and was active in the North Anderson Baptist Church.

One thing that was evident in reading Bill’s autobiography was that his life was not easy.

Throughout his life on this earth Bill and his family changed residences many times.

When Bill retired, he and Gertrude moved to Sun City, a gated community near Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Toward the end of his autobiography, Bill again speaks …

“Our social life centers around our Church (First Baptist Church of Bluffton) where we attend both morning and evening services on Sunday plus other activities during the week. We have many friends there and do enjoy the fellowship and worship experience.”

Bill made his final move December 2, 2021. He carried nothing of this earth with him, but moved into a prepared place, a place Jesus has promised to all who believe in Him. Jesus said:

John 14:2-3 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

This Promised Land is available to all who receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. I expect to see Bill and Lois one day, and get to know them personally in what is called that “sweet by and by”. May God the Holy Spirit draw every heart here today to Jesus, “the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to God the Father but through Jesus” (John 14:6).

Opening Prayer (David Buffaloe)

Music: It Is Well With My Soul (Violin)

Reflections: Steve Tanner

Message (David Buffaloe)

One of the greatest and most well known texts in this Bible is found in …

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.

This verse is taught to children in Vacation Bible Schools. Most every person I meet has memorized the text. But this verse is part of a conversation that the Lord Jesus Christ had with a Rabbi named Nicodemus.

Nicodemus thought that he was in a good place with God. He was religious. He came to Jesus by night to commend the Lord. Nicodemus was a good man. But was he where he needed to be with God? No. Though he was good and moral, Jesus told Nicodemus:

You must be born again. Unless you are born again,
you cannot enter the Kingdom of God.

Heaven is God’s Kingdom. Heaven is God’s home.

I have in my hand an ancient lock that a dear friend gave me. I have taken this lock to various locksmiths who have said they cannot open it. Why? It needs a specific key that I do not have, and have no idea where it is. Heaven is a gated community, a locked community. Only those who are “born again” – not just born physically, but are born spiritually – can enter Heaven, God’s Home. I may never find the key to this lock, but I tell you – no – JESUS tells you – HE IS THE KEY TO HEAVEN. Jesus said:

John 3:14-15 .. the Son of Man must be lifted up. That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God the Father sent God the Son to this earth – not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (John 3:17). Jesus, speaking of Himself in the third Person, told Nicodemus and us …

John 3:18 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.

Though we are all born broken with sin (for there are none righteous, no, not one – Romans 3:10), and because of sin are separated from God spiritually, Jesus came to unite us with our Creator. Dying on the Cross of Calvary, Jesus made payment for our transgressions and sins. The Bible declares:

1 John 1:7 … the Blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin …

Jesus took the penalty of our brokenness on Himself, so that – if we believe on Him – His standing before the Father is placed on our Heavenly accounts. There are not many ways to God. There is but one way to God, and that way is through faith in Jesus. The Apostles preached:

Acts 4:12 (ESV) … there is salvation in no one else {but Jesus}, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved…

The Apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy 2:5, “there is ONE GOD, and there is ONE MEDIATOR between God and mankind, the Man Christ Jesus”. Through Jesus God has reconciled to Himself all things, making peace by THE BLOOD OF CHRIST’S CROSS (Colossians 1:20).

You have had the privilege of hearing Bill’s testimony. Bill is not dead, but He is with Jesus this very day. Jesus has said “I am the resurrection and the life. Whosoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26).

Jesus asks us all, “Do YOU believe this?”

Bill and Lois did. They are now in glory with the Lord, a place where all of God’s Children will go. If you have received Jesus as He is, both Christ and Lord, then you will see this beautiful couple again one day. The Kingdom of God is our present and eternal home.

What does this Kingdom look like? The Apostle John gives us a glimpse of Paradise:

Revelation 21:3-5 (ESV) … God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

Bill is not only my brother in Christ, but a fellow veteran. I now turn this service over to the America Legion:

Veteran Honors/ Tribute: American Legion

Music: How Great Thou Art (Violin)

Blessing:

Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: 25 The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

For Jesus’ glory and honor, amen and amen!

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

Faithful Is The Word (Part 3): Gospel Truths

Posted on March 18, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=269874&picture=john-316

This past Sunday we looked at several of the Apostle Paul’s “faithful sayings” that he gave to Timothy and Titus. Timothy was chosen of God to build the Church in Ephesus, whereas Titus was building the Church in Crete. Paul introduced these faithful sayings with πιστός λόγος {pistos logos}, or literally, “Faithful is the Word”. Our Jesus is faithful. God’s Word is faithful. Tonight we turn to,

1 Timothy 4:9 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.

When We Are Saved By The Word Of God,
We Must Feed Our Souls On The Word Of God

Word Study:We read “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation”, pistos logos, which means “Faithful is the Word”. This pistos logos focuses on the word of the world, and the Word of God.

God’s Word is faithful, but man’s word is not.

In our world today there is the unprecedented spread of evil, spread liberally by technology. Now, I’m not against technology. I love technology. I program my own computers with the Linux Operating System, because – to me – Bill Gates and Microsoft are greedy for money. I use the internet to study and research Scripture. There are amazing resources available freely to those willing to use them, resources that used to cost hundreds of dollars to access. Praise God for the internet. Praise God for technology. But Beloved, you need to know that Satan himself uses the same devises to evil.

Satan and the fallen world has always used God’s
good gifts for evil, and always will!

“Faithful is the Word”. What does God tell us? Read with me:

1 Timothy 4:1-2 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

Word Study: It is the Holy Spirit Who “speaks expressly”, ῥητῶς rhētōs, pronounced hray-toce’}, meaning “directly, to the point”. This is NOT PAUL’S OPINION, but GOD’S OPINION. That’s why the Apostle uses this phrase.

The Holy Spirit of God characterizes the teachings of the fallen world – teachings that have crept into many local Churches – as “seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils”.

Word Study: The “seducing spirits” is the Greek plános pneuma, literally a “wandering spirit, a vagabond spirit, deceiving spirit”. The devil and his demons are con men. They wander about looking for people whom they can convince to disrupt the kingdom of God. There is the “Spirit of God” (Exodus 31:3; 35:31) and “the spirit of this age” (Ephesians 2:1-3; Revelation 12:9). There is the Doctrine of God’s Word (“Faithful is the Word”) and the “doctrines of devils”. A recent article in the Devotional “Our Daily Bread” noted:

“Jesus intends for us to live in the world (John 17:15), so worldly influence is nearly impossible to escape. But He’s given us His Word to so permeate our thinking that we don’t have to become conformed to the world’s values (Romans 12:1-2). Instead, God helps us walk in His light (Ephesians 5:8), in the Spirit (Galatians 5:25), in love (Ephesians 5:2), in truth (3 John 4), and in Christ (Colossians 2:6). As we walk in God’s power and spend time in His Word, He gives us the strength to live according to kingdom values and not the spirit of the age.”

The “spirit of this world” stands against what God says is normal, and normalizes the evil. The spirit of this world through the publication USA Today listed as “Women of the Year”

recently listed a number of “inspirational women” gymnast Simone Biles, Kizzmekia Corbett, one of the women who helped develop the COVID-19 vaccine, and Linda Zhang, chief engineer behind the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning. They also listed Rachel Levine, the first transgender assistant secretary for health for the Department of Health and Human Services as one of the “Women of the Year”. A man who has medically transitioned to a woman is a “Woman of the Year”.

This is confusion, and God is NOT
the Author of Confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33)

The spirit of this world has – from the Garden of Eden unto now – tried to twist God’s design. This spirit attacks Biblical Marriage,

1 Timothy 4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

Our standard as God’s people is to ALWAYS ask ourselves, “Does God’s Word support and affirm what I believe is true?”. If God’s Word doesn’t support what the world calls “true”, then we are to default to God’s Word – ALWAYS. The Word that saved us is the Word that nourishes our souls, and guides us in the “paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3).

No one is above the temptation of the spirit of this world. The spirit of this world – driven by Satan – came to a hungry Jesus in the wilderness, saying:

Matthew 4:3 … If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

How did Jesus respond to the Tempter? Jesus invoked the Scripture, the Bible, the Word of God! Quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, Jesus told the devil:

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

Many “professing” Christians today spend much time on the Internet, on Social Media, and in front of a television or phone screen, but little time in God’s Scripture.

The spirit of this age invades pulpits.

Andy Stanley, the son of Charles Stanley, himself a pastor (North Point Community Church, Alpharetta, Georgia) posted to his social media,

“The Christian faith doesn’t rise and fall on the accuracy of 66 ancient documents (a reference to the Bible). It rises and falls on the identity of a single individual: Jesus of Nazareth”.

Beloved, we only know the identity of Christ through the infallible Scriptures. We only know that there WAS a Jesus of Nazareth because the Holy Scripture IS reliable, God driven, and true. Our Lord Jesus proved His claim of being Christ/ Messiah on what the Scriptures said. Listen to His words:

John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me.

If the Scriptures are not accurate, then Christ has no claim in Jesus. Yet, Jesus affirmed the Scripture. Sitting with His disciples one day, we read:

Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, {Jesus} expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself.

The Scriptures – this Bible – teach us the way to salvation.
The Scriptures teach us how God wants us to think.
“Faithful is the Word”.

Jesus said, “everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44). Jesus chose Judas Iscariot to be one of His Apostles, knowing that Judas would betray Him, because the Scriptures must be fulfilled. Hear Jesus:

John 13:18 … I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.

Jesus praying, told the Father in …

John 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

Jesus picked Judas because the Scripture demanded it.

Luke 22:21-22 … behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. 22 And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed!

You can see the prophesies of Scripture of Judas’ betrayal of Jesus also in Matthew 27:9-10 and Acts 1:16, 20. If the Scripture is not reliable, if it is not “God breathed” as the Apostle declared in 2 Timothy 3:16, then Jesus has no ancient witness that He is the one and only Messiah. If you cut the umbilical cord of the Scripture and declare it untrustworthy, then even our salvation is suspect.

The Word of God is TRUE.

When Jesus walked the earth He chastised the liberal of His day, the Sadducees, telling them:

“You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29).

The only way you can know the POWER of God is through the WORD of God rightly divided. It is these sacred writings we call “the Bible” that are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:15). It is the Bible that makes a Christian mature, able to deal with the horrors that this life can throw at you.

If you are saved, then “Faithful is the Word”. Resist the spirit of this world. The Apostle says:

1 Timothy 4:7 … refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. 8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

You who are saved by faith in Christ Jesus (for “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”) are to love and live by the same Scriptures that our Jesus loves and lives by. “Godliness is profitable unto all things”.

What is “Godliness”, but to imitate God as
He has presented His truth in this Bible?

We are not to – as the world says – “Be True To Yourself”, nor are we to “Just Do You”. What does the Scripture command? We are to …

Romans 12:1-2 … present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

I commend you all for your faithfulness is attending and participating in Worship Services, for being a part of Sunday School and Discipleship Training. When the disciples of Christ sit down and feed their souls on the Word of God (Faithful is the Word), we grow spiritually. But we must ALSO daily seek to feed from God’s Word. As believers in Christ we are called to HEAR the Word, then DO what you have been told. It is through this faithful Scripture that we have …

2 Peter 1:3 … all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue

Godliness is DOING God’s Word!

We are to walk with God on a daily basis, seeking to be pleasing to Him in our lives. Godliness is not just a warm fuzzy good feeling. It is like Enoch, who walked with God, pleasing Him (Hebrews 11:5). Let us walk with God, pleasing Him. The Scripture that saves us is the Scripture we live our lives by. Choose to serve the Lord Jesus.

Jesus told us …

Matthew 7:24-27 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

God Equips His People Through The Church

Let’s look at one more “true saying”. This one is somewhat obscured, because the King James translators didn’t translated pistos logos the same as they did in the other passages we’ve studied. We read:

1 Timothy 3:1 .. This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

Word Study : The first five words of this text – “This is a true saying” – is still the Greek πιστός λόγος {pistos logos}, or “Faithful is the Word”. In this particular “faithful” statement, Jesus speaks of His Church.

The spirit of this world rebels against
authority in any form.

During the 2019-2021 riots we saw people looting and burning property that was not their own. We saw mobs of people take over city blocks in major metropolitan areas, declaring them “Police Free Zones”. We heard while people march speak of defunding the police, and then wonder why crime sky rocketed.

Many liberal Americans have rejected lawful authority in every area of life. Citizens have felt that they could – with impunity – tear down and destroy statues and monuments that were purchased with our corporal tax dollars. The rot has drifted so far into the bone that mayors of cities have ordered the police to stand down and watch while anarchy rules.

The devil rejoices at this! The demons have a party every time ordained authority is mocked. The devil despises order. It was he who slithered into the Garden of Eden, and asked our first parents Adam and Eve:

Genesis 3:1 … Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

When Adam did not speak up, and chase the serpent out of Eden with a stick, he went on to say:

Genesis 3:4-5 … Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

The devil wants us to overthrow any authority, for the Scripture says, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God” (Romans 13:1). The Prophet Daniel said:

Daniel 2:20-22 … Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: 21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: 22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

When Jesus established His Church – the local gathering of believers, saved by faith in Him – He established oversight on the Church. The Apostle told Timothy:

1 Timothy 3:1 If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

Word Study: What is “the office of a bishop”? This is the Greek ἐπισκοπή episkopḗ, {pronounced ep-is-kop-ay’}, which means “the office of Overseer”.

The Overseer is not the “Boss of the Church”.
The Overseer is a servant leader.
The Overseer is a steward of the House of Christ.

The Overseer lovingly guides the body of believers toward unity and Christlikeness. The Overseer is a MAN under authority, a MAN who is following the Lord. The text says, “If a man desire the office of a bishop”. The desire is placed in the heart by God the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle’s charge to the Overseers is thus:

Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy {Spirit} hath made you overseers {episkopos}, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

It is the Holy Spirit that makes the Overseer, and the Overseer lovingly and carefully must follow the directions of the Master. The Overseer is to “feed the church of God”, not the swill of this world, but the Good Word of God. The Overseer is under authority, just as the Christians in his care are under authority.

God establishes lines of authority where
ever He has created.

In the Biblical Marriage, “the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church” (Ephesians 5:23). The Apostle directs,

Ephesians 5:24 as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

As the leader in the family, the Husband is to (Ephesians 5:25) “love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it. You need to be willing to die for your wife! You lead in the marriage, but not as a Roman Emperor, but in love.

The Parents rule the children. The fifth Commandment of the Decalogue is:

Exodus 20:12 Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Jesus Christ repeated this commandment in Luke 18:20, “Honor thy father and thy mother”, as did Paul in Ephesians 6:2. Our God is a God of order, not of disorder.

Jesus Christ is the Head of His Church (Colossians 1:18), and through God’s Holy Spirit Overseers watch over the Body, teaching and loving its members. Staying true to the Word of God no matter what society may foolishly support. Regardless as the position you have been called:

Overseer
Husband
Parent

you are to be guided by the Word of God, and by humility to the Head, which is Jesus Christ. When the Apostles fought amongst themselves to see who would be the greatest, Jesus told them:

Matthew 20:25-28 … Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. 26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; 27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: 28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

The leader – be it Overseer (pastor), Husband or Parent – is to lay their life down for that which they have been given stewardship of. And the stewardship are to follow the Godly leader as they follow the Lord. It is my eternal joy to be the Overseer at Riverview Baptist. Jesus Christ is our Leader, and we are His Body, following His Word daily as He has commanded. Pray for me that I will stay true to this grand calling. For Christ sake, and for the growth of His Church. Amen and Amen.

Posted in 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Sermons Preached, topical | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Faithful Is The Word (Part 2): Gospel Truths

Posted on March 15, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

Please turn with me in your Bibles to 2 Timothy. This morning we began to look at the “faithful sayings” the Apostle Paul shared with two young men, Timothy (a Jewish Greek) and Titus (a Gentile). Paul left these men in Ephesus and Crete to establish local Churches in those areas. We see Paul repeating a phrase:

“This is a faithful saying”
the Greek pistos logos, or literally
“Faithful is the Word”

In these phrases the Apostle is emphasizing the faithfulness of God in saving souls. This morning we saw that (1) God came to this earth the save sinners, and (2)God has given us a Faithful Word, the Holy Scripture, to grow us in our salvation.

The Lord Who Saved Us, Owns Us, And Will Keep Us

2 Timothy 2:11-13 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 12 if we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 13 if we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

This “faithful is the Word” is tied together with FOUR Ifs. We’ll look at these in order.

  • The first IF deals with the death of the WILL of the believer. Let’s look at the first IF: “if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with him”. The phrase “we be dead with” is the Greek συναποθνήσκω synapothnḗskō, {pronounced soon-ap-oth-nace’-ko}, and that’s what it means. It means to be bound to Jesus unto the death!

The day that every Christian is saved, that believer surrenders his or her life – our WILL – to God, in exchange for the life of Christ. Christianity is an unconditional surrender to God. We believe that He died for us. Repenting of our sin and self service, we bow the knee to Calvary. We give our lives over to Jesus. The Bible says:

Galatians 2:20-21 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

My righteousness is based on my surrender to Jesus, not to an animal sacrifice, nor to the keeping of a feast of a festival. Jesus is my entire Hope. My righteous standing before God does not come because of any good works that I do, but based on the good work of Christ on the cross.

The old me died on the day I received Jesus as Lord and Savior. I now belong to Jesus. The old David is dead, thank God! The Christian is the property of Jesus, the property of God. I hate to infuse myself into a message, but I do have to give my testimony. The devil is only overcome by “the Blood of the Lamb, and the word of our testimony” (Revelation 12:11). If you are saved, you will identify with this:

ONE DAVID went to Church and heard the Gospel,
ONE DAVID that owned himself. But hearing the Gospel,
ONE DAVID was killed at the altar by the Spirit of God
ONE DAVID died with Jesus that day, but
ANOTHER DAVID was raised up with Christ.

This is the testimony of every saved person. You died at the altar, and rose from the grave of your life on the day you met Jesus. The Apostle says in another place:

Colossians 3:1-3 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.

Christ did not RISE until Christ DIED. Christ have His life to the Father, and to us. He DIED, and ROSE AGAIN. I am dead with Christ, and so are you, if you are saved. I no longer own me. Jesus owns me. He is in charge of my life. He is in charge of my frame, my diseases, my weaknesses, my everything. I am His son and His servant. He will keep what He owns unto eternity!

The Apostle told the Corinthian believers:

1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

You do not belong to yourself anymore, dear Christian. You belonbg to Jesus. You belong to God. You are to walk in the light of eternity. You are to walk glorifying the Lord Who loved you, and gave Himself for you. The Apostle continues …

1 Corinthians 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

You belong body, soul, and spirit to God. Thus you are to “glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s”. We are to live to please Him Who owns us. We are Children of the Most High, and God is our Father. Live to make Him happy. Live to be like Jesus in all you do. Do not live to please this world. Do not live for a large social media following. Live for Him Who died for you, Who rose again for you, and Who will be with you throughout all eternity.

1 Corinthians 7:23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

You cannot please the world, and should not please the world. The flashlight does not please the darkness. The lighthouse does not please the night. We are to live pleasing our God, our Jesus, being more like Him every day. We have a destiny. We will never be famous, adored by millions. But we have a beautiful place we are headed. Let’s live like children of that Place we call “Heaven”.

  • The second IF deals with the suffering of the believer. We read:

2 Timothy 2:11 It is a faithful saying …. 12 if we suffer, we shall also reign with him:

In this fallen world, all suffer.
Christians often suffer greater than others.

Christians are martyred for their faith. We are targeted with slurs: “racist”, “homophobe”, “transphobe”, “haters”. Our Lord Jesus Himself was persecuted, and then executed by those who were supposedly “religious”. Our Jesus said:

John 15:18-21 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.

We will suffer. We suffer less in America than in other nations, but I expect that to increase rather than decrease. With the widespread acceptance of what the Bible calls abnormal (such as homosexual and heterosexual love, Critical Race Theory, White fragility, heretical marriage contracts), we will face a choice as to whether we will stand with the Scripture or stand with the world. Beloved, we must stand with the Scripture. We have the promise of God that “if we suffer, we shall also reign with him”. As the Psalmist said:

Psalm 30:5 … weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

  • The third IF deals with DENIAL of Christ. We read:

2 Timothy 2:11-13 It is a faithful saying… 12 if we deny him, he also will deny us: 13 if we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

Word Study: Verses 12 & 13 seem to be contradictory, but they are not. There is a difference between denying Jesus and in having a crisis of faith. We read “if we deny him, he also will deny us”. The word “” is the Greek ἀρνέομαι arnéomai, {pronounced ar-neh’-om-ahee} means “to contradict, to reject or disavow, to refuse”. This means to say of Jesus, “I know not the Man – I am not one of His people”. Jesus told us:

Matthew 10:32-33 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Jesus used a different word in …

Mark 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Word Study: The word translated “ashamed” is the Greek ἐπαισχύνομαι epaischýnomai, {ep-ahee-skhoo’-nom-ahee}, which means “to feel shame for someone you are associated with”. If you deny knowing Jesus, Jesus will deny knowing you. If you are ashamed of your relationship to Jesus, Jesus will be ashamed of you.

Let’s look at two well known people to explain this text. Let’s consider first the Apostle Peter. As Jesus headed toward the Cross, He told His disciples:

Matthew 26:31 … All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

Peter heard this, and quickly replied:

Matthew 26:33 … Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.

Jesus told Peter, “Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice”. But Peter was unwavering. “Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples”.

We all know the story. When Jesus was captured, the disciples scattered. But Peter followed the bound Jesus from a distance. The Bible tells us:

Matthew 26:69-74 … Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. 70 But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. 71 And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. 72 And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. 73 And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. 74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.

Peter “denied” (arnéomai, {pronounced ar-neh’-om-ahee}) Jesus. This is the same word we see in our 2 Timothy chapter 2 text. Peter denied Jesus three times – and Jesus knew that he was going to do so. But what happened after Peter denied Jesus the third time, and “the cock crowed”?

Matthew 26:75 … Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

“Peter remembered the word of Jesus”. Jesus was impressed on Peter’s soul. Peter gave up everything to follow Jesus, and he was saved. On denying Jesus that third time, Peter remembered what Jesus said, and “went out, and wept bitterly”. Peter’s faith was genuine.

There was another Apostle, one who followed Jesus as long as Peter did, but who never loved Jesus. He is like so many fake Christians we see in the world today. Outwardly he looks good – but inwardly he is a recepticle for Satan. Who is this person? The Apostle Judas Iscariot.

Jesus knew who Judas was when He chose him. Jesus asked His disciples one day:

John 6:67-71 Will ye also go away? 68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. 69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. 70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? 71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.

The testimony of the genuine Christian is that “we believe and are sure that {Jesus is the} Christ, the Son of the living God”. But there was one in the midst that – though he looked good outwardly – he was not a believer in anyone other that himself. Jesus said of Judas, “one of you is a devil”. Why did Jesus choose Judas? I believe it served two purposes.

  1. It was prophesied that a betrayer would sell Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12-13). This same person would be a “friend” of Jesus, someone whom Jesus loved and cared for. The Psalmist prophesied:

Psalm 41:9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. And again,

Psalm 55:12-14 For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: 13 But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. 14 We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.

Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray Him.

  1. I think Jesus also chose Judas to show us what a false Christian looks like. The true Christian is impressed by Jesus. The false Christian is an empty vessel, waiting for the devil.

John 13:1-2 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. 2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him;

The devil is communing with Judas. “The devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot”. Judas is not having a crisis of faith. He has followed Jesus for as many years as the other eleven have. Yet Judas is not serving Jesus, but himself. The Scripture tells us that “Judas Iscariot was a THIEF, and had the {treasury} bag, and bare what was put therein”. Somehow Judas got elected keeper of the treasury of the disciples. He had a habit of skimming a little “off the top”, hoping no one would notice. The disciples may not have noticed, but Jesus did, and so did Satan.

After Jesus ministered to all twelve disciples, the Bible tells us:

John 13:21 {Jesus} was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.

Jesus’ heart was breaking. He had given everything to these twelve men, but one was yet a betrayer. When the disciples asked, “Lord, who is it?”, Jesus said:

John 13: 26-27 … He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.

Judas was indwelt by Satan. His false faith made him a willing recepticle for the master of darkness – and Judas went band sold the Lord Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.

What was the difference between Peter’s denial of Christ, and Judas’ denial of Christ? It is in what they did afterwards. When Peter realized what he had done, he “wept bitterly”. What did Judas do after he realized what he had done?

Matthew 27:3-5 … Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. 5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

Peter repented, but Judas “repented HIMSELF”. The genuine believer cannot continue to deny the Savior. The false believer will “deconstruct” their faith because they never believed in Jesus – but only in themselves!

  • The fourth IF deals with our humanity, and when we have a crisis of faith.

2 Timothy 2:11-13 It is a faithful saying … if we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny himself.

Every Christian will, at times, have a crisis of faith like Peter had. The Scripture says:

2 Timothy 2:19 (ESV) But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

There are all times when we have momentary doubts, or wonder if God our Father has forgotten us. Yet God has promised never to leave us. Jesus Christ is impressed on the soul of the believer, and God the Holy Spirit indwells us. Though we may stumble, we will never absolutely fall – for our Jesus is faithful!

2 Timothy 1:12 … I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

As one pastor put it, “Christ did the most for us at salvation. Will He abandon us now that we have been purchased by his blood? No!”. Our Lord is faithful.

Finally, turn with me in your Bibles to Titus, just one book over. Our final point is …

Christians Are Not Saved By Works,

But If Saved, Will Do Good For God

Titus 3:4-8 But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; 7 that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

No Christian is saved by works. But once we are saved, we WILL work for God. We WILL be good citizens of the Kingdom of Light. The Apostle said in another place:

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

Salvation is an entirely free gift from God. But note the very next verse in Ephesians:

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

Saved by faith, the Christian is a new creature in Christ: old things are passed away, behold, all things are new (2 Corinthians 5:17). The person who says “I am saved” but walks as an unbeliever walks IS A LIAR. These are not my words, but Scripture’s words. The Apostle said:

1 John 2:3-5 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

Jesus said, “he that follows Me shall NOT walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). The Apostle said, “you were at one time darkness, but now you are light in the Lord: walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8). And John again said:

1 John 1:5-7 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

You cannot be saved, and be the same as you were before. Jesus changes you. If you know Him,you know these five sayings to be true. And if you do not know Him, today would be a great day to call upon the name of the Lord.

For whosoever calls upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved! May God touch your hearts with His blessed Spirit this very day. Amen and Amen!

Posted in Love One Another, Sermons Preached, topical | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Faithful Is The Word (Part 1): Gospel Truths

Posted on March 13, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

Turn with me first to 1 Timothy 1:15. As you are turning there, I want to talk about Timothy (A Jew-Gentile believer)and Titus (a Gentile believer).

Timothy was a teenager when he met Paul the Apostle. His father was a Gentile unbeliever (a Greek), but his mother and grandmother were faithful Jews (see Acts 16:1; 2 Timothy 1:5). Timothy and his mother and grandmother heard Paul preach the Gospel of Christ, and they gave their lives to Jesus. Timothy would grow up to work with Paul, and eventually ended up working with the Church in Ephesus. When Paul went to Macedonia, he left Timothy in Ephesus. Paul wrote two letters to Timothy to guide him as he established Churches and served the Lord in Ephesus.

Titus was a Greek who heard Paul preach the Gospel. After Titus was saved, Paul carried Titus to Jerusalem to show the Apostles that God could (and did) save not just Jews, but Gentiles as well. When Paul was released from the Roman Prison, he and Titus went to the island of Crete, and shared the Gospel of Salvation. Paul left Titus in Crete organizing Churches, and wrote to Titus to guide him in his missionary work.

1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Word Study: Let’s start by looking at the first five words of our text, “This is a faithful saying”. This is only two words in the Greek, πιστός λόγος, pistos logos, which means “Faithful is the Word”. This phrase is found several times in the books of Timothy and Titus. This is it’s first use.

Our Lord is Faithful To Save Sinners

Our Lord has some fifty names in Scripture. He is:

The Dayspring from on high (Luke 1:78)
The Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8)
The Amen, the Faithful & True Witness (Revelation 3:14)
The Bread of Heaven (John 6:32)
The Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4)
The Deliverer (Romans 11:26)
Immanuel, God With Us (Matthew 1:23)
The Door Of The Sheep (John 10:7-9)
The Heir of All Things (Hebrews 1:1-2)
The Horn of Salvation (Luke 1:69)
The Light of the World (John 8:12)

One of the earliest descriptive names of our God is FAITHFUL:

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God …

Our God is FAITHFUL. Our God is Father, Son, and Spirit. Our God is “The Word”. Remember those wonderful words:

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.

Faithful is THE WORD! Oh, this Jesus, this Eternal Son of God, of Whom the Scripture says …

Colossians 1:17 {Jesus} is before all things, and by him all things consist.

This Jesus, this Eternal God the Son, this FAITHFUL GOD was given to us by the Father.

This FAITHFUL WORD was born in a manger, the lowest place, so He could reach the lowest person.

This FAITHFUL WORD is described by the Prophet:

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Preach This!: Faithful is the Word! Faithful is our Jesus. What was His mission. For what did He come to this earth for? To heal the sick? To raise the dead? To teach us of God? Yes, all these things. But His primary target, His number one mission is this.

1 Timothy 1:15 {FAITHFUL is the WORD} … that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…

Here is why Jesus came – His first reason. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”. Christ Jesus came to save sinners from their sin. He came to draw as many as would come to Him from Satan’s devilish grasp, and into the Kingdom of God. Jesus came to save sinners from their sin! He said:

John 12:44-46 .. He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. 45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. 46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

Jesus – God’s Eternal Son – came to this earth representing the will of God the Father. Faithful is the Word! Jesus Christ came to save sinners from their sin! The great Pastor and Preacher C.H. Spurgeon noted:

“Pardon and mercy are not for innocent people, they are for the guilty. If you have never sinned, well then, you need not listen to me. Jesus came to save sinners without any other qualification. Christ Jesus came to save HARDENED sinners, for He softens the heart. He came to save AGGRAVATED sinners, for He breaks the iron sinew of the neck and subdues the stubborn will. With sinners He sat at meat; with sinners He lived; with sinners He died. He made His grave with the wicked;He entered Paradise with a thief. Sin is a CURSED thing. God has NEVER BLESSED SIN, and He never will do so. Wherever sin reigns, the power to do good dies out. If Jesus does not save sinners, then His entire mission was a failure. Christ Jesus came to save sinners!” (The Gospel in a Single Verse)

Illustrate: The devil has always been the master of twisting truth. He twisted it in the Garden of Eden, and twists it today. In our America, we “celebrate” sexual sin. We have “Pride” marches on sexual sin. We advertise sin on the television as normal, just the way a person is. “You do you” is the catch phrase. A “husband” and a “wife” can be two women or two men, or a person and an animal, if you so desire. It is quite sophisticated to say so. In our America, we glamorize vengeance and murder. We say that such things are normal, that we should be able to torture the torturer, to “get them back”. We hoot and holler, loving the look of it on the screen of our phones or televisions. There is no sin anymore. Only what we feel.

“Faithful is the Word”. God’s Word is true, and accurate, and right. No Christian should ever endorse as right anything that God has called “abomination” (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:24-32) or “vile”. When we normalize sin, we destroy society. Consider if a law passed in our land that legalized theft as normal. Suppose every business were required to post a sign on the front door that says,

“Theft and shoplifting is NOT prosecuted, but considered normal – just the way you were born. Please help yourself.”

How long would that business stay alive? Not long, a daresay. Sin is destructive. A copperhead and a rattlesnake are poisonous, no matter how you feel. Sin is wrong, and counter to all civility. God knows this, and loves you enough to tell you. Jesus said:

John 3:17 God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Faithful is the Word! Jesus Christ “came into the world”, sent from the Father, sent through a virgin, made of the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus Christ is the “seed of the woman” prophesied in Genesis 3:15. Christ the Creator and Director of Creation stepped onto the stage He made. He enter history with His Story. Jesus Christ came to save sinners.

That the world MIGHT be saved.

Why “might”? Because some of you think, “I am not a sinner. I am a moral person, a clean living sort”. If that is your attitude, Jesus did not come for you. Jesus says to you:

Luke 5:32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Mark 2:17 … They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Jesus came to save sinners in their pollution, to take us from our pollution. Jesus sat eating with sinners. Jesus welcomed sinners where ever He was. He did not tell the leper to cleanse himself before coming. The leper came, and “knelt before Jesus, saying, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean’”. Jesus told that dear man, “I am willing”, and touching the unclean man Jesus said, “You are clean!” (Matthew 8:1-3). Jesus is willing to cleanse the sinner, the broken. Will you come to Him?

I have heard it said that “The Church is filled with hypocrites and people, many of whom, are worse than I am”. I say, “Praise God for it!”. If you are a sinner, you are in a good place this morning. Those who stay away from Church because sinners are here are as foolish as those who stay away from the hospital because “there’s sick people there”!

The truth is, regardless as to how you FEEL, the Bible says ALL are sinners. “Faithful is the Word”. Hear what God says:

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

Romans 3:12 … there is NONE that doeth good, NO, NOT ONE!

Jesus came into the world for sinners, just like WE ALL ARE. If you are a sinner, you are in the best place you can be. To the Pharisees among us, I remind you that the one whom God used to write this text, the Apostle Paul, was once a Sinning, Slaughtering Saul! As Paul He writes:

1 Timothy 1:15 … Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Before the Apostle met Jesus, the Sinner ran up and down the Damascus Road, looking for Christians to kill. Our Lord Jesus has a great sense of humor. He often saves the absolute worst sinners (like I am), and humbling them brings them into a place of service.

Once Jesus made Sinning Saul into the Apostle Paul, he wrote:

1 Timothy 1:12-14 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; 13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

Paul “was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious”. He blasphemed God by pretending righteousness while killing his brother. He was a persecutor of the Church, hurting many Christians in his activities. Paul perhaps had believers murdered for their faith. His eyes now opened, he said “I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief”. Grace changes a life. When Jesus saves, He saves the soul, and corrects the body.

A saved person does not continue in their sin. The Abortionist, the Adulterer, the Bigot, the Blasphemer, the Hater, the Homosexual, the Thief, the Murderer – whatever you were it becomes BEFORE. The saved are new creations in Christ.

Salvation begins by repentance. Repentance is when you realize you are a sinner in need of the one and only Savior, Jesus Christ.

The devil may be whispering to you that you need not repent, but this is a lie. The message of the Gospel is to repent and believe, to turn to Jesus as your Savior and Lord. Once the Holy Spirit comes and opens your life to the Gospel, you no longer see yourself as “doing ok”. No, you, like Paul, are chief of sinners. The Apostle Paul was at one time as self righteous as YOU are. He went about capturing and killing Christians at the behest of the Sanhedrin. But then Saul met Christ on the Damascus Road, and Saul turned into Paul. Even as an Apostle, Paul says “I am the chief of sinners”.

If Paul is chief, then I often wonder if I am not in second place. The self righteous never see themselves as sinners, but as perfect beings in comparison with others. But the Christ Converted, those who have met the Holy Spirit and seen the Savior on Calvary, they wonder why does God love us so? We see our flaws daily, and chafe at them. Like the Apostle said in:

Romans 7:21-25 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

No Christian wants to sin. We know how much Jesus paid for our sins. But when we struggle and fall short, we cry out to Jesus once more. Repenting, we cling to this faithful saying:

1 Timothy 1:15 … Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Our Lord Is Saving Changes SAULS To PAULS:
We Are To Listen ONLY To The Faithful Word!

Turn a few chapters over to …

1 Timothy 4:9 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.

Word Study:In 1 Timothy 1:15 we read “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation”. Here we have the exact same phrase in 1 Timothy 4:9, pistos logos, which means “Faithful is the Word”.

God’s Word is faithful, but man’s word is not. In our world today there is the unprecedented spread of evil, spread liberally by technology. Now, I’m not against technology. I love technology. I program my own computers with the Linux Operating System, because – to me – Bill Gates and Microsoft are greedy for money. I use the internet to study and research Scripture. There are amazing resources available freely to those willing to use them, resources that used to cost hundreds of dollars to access. Praise God for the internet. Praise God for technology. But Beloved, you need to know that Satan himself uses the same devises to evil.

Satan and the fallen world has always used God’s good gifts for evil, and always will!

“Faithful is the Word”. What does God tell us? Read with me:

1 Timothy 4:1-2 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

The Apostle characterizes the teachings of the fallen world – teachings that have crept into many local Churches – as “seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils”. The “seducing spirits” is the Greek plános pneuma, literally a “wandering spirit, a vagabond spirit, deceiving spirit”. There is the “Spirit of God” (Exodus 31:3; 35:31) and “the spirit of this age” (Ephesians 2:1-3; Revelation 12:9). There is the Doctrine of God’s Word (“Faithful is the Word”) and the “doctrines of devils”. A recent article in the Devotional “Our Daily Bread” noted:

“Jesus intends for us to live in the world (John 17:15), so worldly influence is nearly impossible to escape. But He’s given us His Word to so permeate our thinking that we don’t have to become conformed to the world’s values (Romans 12:1-2). Instead, God helps us walk in His light (Ephesians 5:8), in the Spirit (Galatians 5:25), in love (Ephesians 5:2), in truth (3 John 4), and in Christ (Colossians 2:6). As we walk in God’s power and spend time in His Word, He gives us the strength to live according to kingdom values and not the spirit of the age.”

The “spirit of this world” stands against what God says is normal, and normalizes the evil. God designed marriage to be one man and one woman for one lifetime. The spirit of this world – a spirit of disobedience – forbids Biblical marriage

1 Timothy 4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

Our standard as God’s people is to ask ourselves, “Does God’s Word support and affirm what I believe is true?”. The spirit of this world – driven by Satan – came to a hungry Jesus in the wilderness, saying:

Matthew 4:3 … If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

How did Jesus respond to the Tempter? He replied:

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

Many “professing” Christians today spend much time on the Internet, on Social Media, and in front of a television or phone screen, but little time in God’s Scripture. The spirit of this age invades pulpits. Andy Stanley, professing pastor, posted to his social media, “The Christian faith doesn’t rise and fall on the accuracy of 66 ancient documents (a reference to the Bible). It rises and falls on the identity of a single individual: Jesus of Nazareth”. This is nonsense. Our Lord Jesus said:

John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me.

Our Lord Jesus cherished the Scriptures. He sat down with His disciples and taught them the Bible. We read:

Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, {Jesus} expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself.

The Scriptures – this Bible – teach us the way to salvation. The Scriptures teach us how God wants us to think. “Faithful is the Word”. Jesus said, “everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44). Jesus chastised those who professed to be saved but were not, saying, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29). It is the sacred writings of the Bible that are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:15). It is the Bible that makes a Christian mature, able to deal with the horrors that this life can throw at you.

If you are saved, then “Faithful is the Word”. Beloved,

1 Timothy 4:7 … refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. 8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

You who are saved by faith in Christ Jesus (for “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”) are to love and live by the same Scriptures that our Jesus loves and lives by. Though we no longer sacrifice animals on an altar, we are nonetheless called to …

Romans 12:1-2 … present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

It is valuable to attend Church services, to hear the sermons, the Bible teaching, the Sunday School and Training Union classes. But you must also spend time in the Word of God yourselves if you are to grow spiritually. You must actually HEAR the Word, then DO what you have been told. God has given to each Christian

2 Peter 1:3 … all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue

Godliness is actually devotion to God IN ACTION.

We are to walk with God on a daily basis, seeking to be pleasing to Him in our lives. Godliness is not just a warm fuzzy good feeling. It is like Enoch, who walked with God, pleasing Him (Hebrews 11:5). Let us walk with God, pleasing Him.

The Scripture that saves us is the Scripture we live our lives by. Choose to serve the Lord Jesus.

I close with this warning and promise our Lord gave use:

Matthew 7:24-27 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Choose blessing. Choose to walk with Jesus. May God the Holy Spirit apply this faithful Word to our hearts today. May many bed saved by it’s preaching. For Christ sake, I pray. Amen and Amen.

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

Exodus Texts: Face To Face Prayer With God (Sermons For Mid-Week Prayer Service)

Posted on March 11, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

Turn with me in your Bibles to Exodus Chapter 33. This will be our starting point, though we will travel through this Book tonight.

Last week we looked at the Father of Faith, Abraham, and his prayer life with the Lord. We saw how Abraham drew near to God, and interceded with God for Lot and his family. This week I want to look at Moses’ prayer life. The Bible says:

Moses Spoke To God Face To Face

Exodus 33:11 And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

What does this mean, that “the Lord spake unto Moses face to face”? Does it mean that Moses saw God’s face? No, because just a few verses later God tells Moses:

Exodus 33:20 And {God} said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

The Bible tells us that “God is Spirit” (John 4:24). As “Spirit”, God has no face as we do. I can look on your face and live, but God’s face is part of His immensity. God is everywhere, infinite. He told the Prophet Jeremiah (23:23-24), “Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.” (ESV). King Solomon, purportedly the wisest man who ever lived, said “Will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27, ESV). God is everywhere. God is fully present everywhere. God is fully powerful everywhere. God is not like us. No, HE IS GOD!

The text tells us that “the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend”. This means that

Moses and God were intimate friends,
just as Abraham and God were friends.

Isaiah 41:8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. (see also 2 Chronicles 20:7 & James 2:23).

Was Moses A Friend Of God Because He Was Perfect?

Was Moses a perfect man? Let’s see. Moses was raised in the Pharaoh’s palace, by the Pharaoh’s daughter. When Moses was forty years old (see the words of Stephen in Acts 7:22-23) he discovered that he was not Egyptian, but Jewish, a Hebrew of Israel. We read in:

Exodus 2:11-12 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

Moses murdered a man. Our text tells us that before he murdered that Egyptian, “he looked this way and that way”. Moses’ act was not in the heat of the moment, but an act that could be called “in cold blood”. Moses planned what he did. His action was calculated, first degree murder. The Lord has decreed:

Genesis 9:5-6 (ESV) for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. 6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image”.

Human life is sacred. As Moses was a resident of the Palace, he could have ordered the taskmaster to stop beating the Hebrews. But he did not. Moses took a life, breaking one of the earliest commandments of God. Moses ran away when the murder was discovered, and spent 40 more years in the land of Midian before meeting God at the burning bush (Exodus 3:4).

At 80 years old God calls Moses to go and represent Him in Pharaoh’s Palace (Exodus 3:4).

Moses was not a tower of faith when he was called. Moses made excuse after excuse as to why he could not go to Egypt and speak on God’s behalf.

“Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh”? (Exodus 3:11)
“Israel will not believe me, nor hear me”. (Exodus 4:1)
“I am, not eloquent, but am slow of speech” (Exodus 4:10)

Moses refused to go so many times that “the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses” (Exodus 3:14). God had to tell Moses that He would let Aaron speak, for “he can speak well” (Exodus 4:14). God spoke to Moses, and Moses spoke to Aaron, and Aaron would speak to Pharaoh and the people of Israel. No, Moses was not a tower of faith.

He was broken, just as we all are.

Moses Was God’s Friend Because He
Fully Relied On The Lord

When trials came to Israel and to Moses, Moses did not murmur – He cried out unto the Lord. When the waters of Marah were undrinkable,

Exodus 15:25 {Moses} cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet…

When Israel came to Rephidim and found no water there, Moses did not organize a well digging crew. What did he do?

Exodus 17:4 and Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready to stone me.

When Israel got to the base of Mount Sinai, God established His covenant with Israel through Moses. God told Israel:

Exodus 19:5-6 … Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. ..

Whatever God told Moses to tell the people, Moses told it. He did not embellish nor add to the Word of God. Moses exhibited absolute truth in God’s Word. We read:

Exodus 19:7 … Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him.

Moses was a faithful friend to God, so God treated Moses as a friend.

Exodus 19:8-9 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord. 9 And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord.

Moses was the perfect go-between, a perfect mediator. He faithfully delivered the Word of God to the people, and faithfully relayed the people’s needs to God. Moses loved God, and Moses loved the people.

What God looks for in a friend is a person who understands and applies the Law of Love.

God is love (1 John 4:8, 16) and God is light (1 John 1:5). God tells us in His Word:

Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

God is a Friend to those who love Him. God said, “I will show mercy to thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments” (Exodus 20:6). When we obey God as God, we show our love to Him. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). “If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love”. (John 15:10). We must love God if we want our prayers to be heard, if we want to have intimacy with God.

We love VERTICALLY.

We must also love OUTWARDLY. Jesus told us to “love our neighbor as ourselves”. We are to treat others in our periphery – whoever we come into close contact with in our daily lives – with the love we want to receive on ourselves.

Illustrate: Just the other day I was at Walmart (no surprise there), and went to get a shopping cart. Every cart I pulled on was stuck together. A nice lady came up who tried to help. She lifted up on the back of the cart as I pulled – then I noticed the babies seatbelt strap had become wedged in the grill of the carts. I reached in, dislodged it, and gave the nice lady that cart with a smile! “I’ll give you the first one – have a blessed day!” She smiled, thanked me, and walked away.

Did I mention this sweet lady was a person of color
with a “Black Lives Matter” mask on her face?

We must also love INWARDLY. We love OUTWARDLY people who might not be like us, but we love INWARDLY in the Household of Faith.

Jesus said in John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Moses exhibited all the marks of the Friend of God. He loved God. He loved others, And He loved Israel. Moses was forty years in the Palace of Egypt, forty years in Midian, and at the base of Mount Sinai Moses went up to talk with God for forty days and nights.

Exodus 24:12 … the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to Me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.

Word Study: While on Sinai God gave Moses “tables of stone”, or the Ten Commandments (called the Decalogue) AND “a law” (tôwrâh) or a set of teachings, AND “commandments” (mitsvâh), specific Laws related to the nation Israel. God told Moses to not just “Come up to Me into the mount”, but also “and be there”. The phrase “and be there” is the Hebrewהָיָה שָׁם, hāyâ šām which means “to be in the moment, to be focused on, to wait solely on”. To be a friend of God is to come into intimate contact with God, and to focus on Him and Him alone. During that forty days and forty nights Moses was solely focused on God.

Moses pursued God, just as our Lord Jesus pursued God, fasting 40 days and 40 nights (Matthew 4:2).

Israel promised God “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do”. But as time passed, Israel became restless. Finally a delegation got together, went to Aaron, and said:

Exodus 32:1 … Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

Word Study: The King James does not fully help us understand the depth of Israel’s depravity. They said “make us gods”. The word translated “gods” is the Hebrew ĕlōhîm (אֱלֹהִים). The word “ĕlōhîm” is the very first name of God revealed in the Scriptures. Genesis 1:1 tells us that “In the beginning GOD {ĕlōhîm} created…” This name of God refers to the Godhead, or the Triune God. Aaron agreed with the delegation, demanding their jewelry. Melting that jewelry down, Aaron made a molten calf (Exodus 32:4), and the leaders of Israel said,

Exodus 32:4 … These be thy gods {ĕlōhîm}, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

The leadership of Israel blasphemed Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The leaders – Aaron included – violated the Great Commandment (love ĕlōhîm with all your heart), and Christ’s Commandment to “love others as God has loved you”. They have broken all of the Law.

God Tests Moses’ Love: See How Moses Prays

Exodus 32:9-10 And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 10 Now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.

Word Study: God calls Israel a “stiffnecked” people. This is the Hebrewקָשֶׁה qâsheh, {pronounced kaw-sheh’}, which means “hard hearted, cruel, grievous, difficult, severe, mean spirited”. When we reject God’s love and become selfish and self centered, we become mean spirited. Some might disagree with me, but these people – I believe – hurt God’s feelings. There was a song many years ago written by Gary S. Paxton called “I Wonder If God Cries”:

“I wonder if God cries, when we do the things we do?
Do love drops fill His eyes, cause He loves us oh so true?
Sometimes I feel such hurt, When I try to realize;
That even though He’s God, I wonder if God cries?

Israel has rejected the love of God, and rejected loving Moses as well. They were entirely self focused – and Moses be cursed! Would Moses allow the evil of Israel to flood his soul, so that he would call for the destruction of these cruel, hard hearted people?

No, Moses wouldn’t. This is why Moses was a friend of God. Given a choice for God to avenge himself – and Moses – Moses shows us Godly Prayer. He says:

Exodus 32:11 And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?

Word Study: Let’s look at the first phrase, “Moses besought the Lord his God”. The word “besought” is the Hebrewחָלָה châlâh, {pronounced khaw-law’}, which means “to make oneself weak or feeble before”. Moses humbled himself before God, before “Yᵊhōvâ ĕlōhîm”. The Scripture says,

James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

Moses did not speak to God on the worthiness of Israel, for Israel was patently unworthy. What Moses did was remind God that it was HE that called Israel – broken as they were – out of Egypt. Pastor David Mathis of Desiring God Ministries said:

“When God announces to Moses the peoples’ sin, and the intention to destroy them and start over with him, Moses’s reflex is to lean into God’s own reputation. This is a good reflex. “Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’?” (Exodus 21:12). … Moses prays for God to turn from righteous anger and relent “from this disaster against your people,” for God’s own name’s sake.”

Moses loves God with all his heart. If God destroys the people that He just – some fifty days before – freed from Egypt, the lost world will mock God. His glory will be sullied, and Moses does not want this to happen. Mathis goes on to say:

“God loves for His people to pray in light of what He’s said to us, to make our pleas in response to His promises”.

Moses prays the promises of God. He said:

Exodus 32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.

God heard this prayer. We are told in verse 14, “the LORD repented of the evil {raʻ, the hurt or affliction} which He thought to do to His people”. But Moses does not stop here. After descending the mountain, he eradicates all the rebellious Israelites from the camp. Moses then returns UP the Mountain to see Elohim once more. Moses prays:

Exodus 32:31-32 Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods {ĕlōhîm} of gold. 32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.

Moses prays much like the Apostle Paul prayed for Israel.

Romans 9:3 … I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

Moses told the Lord, “Forgive Israel, Lord, or blot my name out of Your Book of Life”. God reminded Moses that each person bears responsibility for their own walk before Him. God goes on to tell Moses (who tells Israel):

Exodus 33:1-3 … Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it: 2 And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: 3 Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.

God promises to bring Israel into the land of Canaan – but tells them “I will not go up in the midst of thee”. God will send an Angel before them, but He no longer will lead them in pillar of fire and pillar of cloud. Israel has offended God. God will not be their King now, nor their Shepherd.

What a horrible thing this is!

Moses is not satisfied with this. God had previously told Moses He would destroy Israel, and make another Nation, another Israel out of Moses. Now Moses wisely prays:

Exodus 33:12-13 … Moses said unto the Lord, See, Thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and Thou hast not let me know whom Thou wilt send with me. Yet Thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in My sight. 13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in Thy sight, shew me now Thy way, that I may know Thee, that I may find grace in Thy sight: and consider that this nation is Thy people.

Moses reminds God of what the Lord said about himself. God told Moses, “I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in My sight”. Moses is saying, “God, You said You were my Friend. I believe you. As my Friend, I want You to go with me into the Promised Land. As my Friend, I want you to go with Israel into that Promised Land”. God replied simply:

Exodus 33:14 … My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.

Moses told the Lord:

Exodus 33:15-17 … If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. 16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and Thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that Thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and Thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. 17 And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in My sight, and I know thee by name.

Lord, if You’re not with us, we don’t want the Promised Land. Can you pray the same thing? Lord, if You’re not with us:

we do not want to be healed of our sickness
we do not want our friends and family healed
we do not want a blessing, or a better job
we do not want more money or stuff

Moses’ prayer reminds us that the greatest answer to prayer is to have the Presence of God with us in a very real way. May we all learn to pray as Moses prayed. For the glory of God, and the love of Christ we ask this in His Name. Amen and Amen.

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

Near To God, Built On The Rock

Posted on March 7, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Henry Be on Unsplash

This morning we studied the first part of Ephesians Chapter 2. Tonight we’ll be looking at the last half of this same chapter. Let’s start at …

Ephesians 2:11-13 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Gentiles Remember!

Word Study: We start out with the word “wherefore”. Anytime I see a “wherefore” I always ask myself, “What is it there for?” The “wherefore” points back to what we saw this morning:

We were hopelessly and helplessly lost, unable to come to God. Then God reached out to us, opened our eyes, and called us to salvation through Jesus. Receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are “God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works”. We are to be the Light of Christ to a lost world.

Word Study: We just looked at “wherefore”. The “wherefore” looks back at the text that we previously studied. The second word “remember” is the Greek μνημονεύω mnēmoneúō, {pronounced mnay-mon-yoo’-o}, which means “to think back, be mindful of”. Jesus used this word to remind His disciples of spiritual truths. He said:

Matthew 16:9 … Do ye not yet understand, neither remember (mnēmoneúō) the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?

Luke 17:32 Remember Lot’s wife …

John 15:20 Remember the word that I said unto you …

Paul is telling the Gentiles, “think back how Israel treated you”. Now, I love Israel. It is through Israel that the Messiah came. The early Church of Acts chapter 2 was nothing but Israelites. Those 120 praying in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost were all Israelites. The original twelve Apostles were all Israelites. Do you follow that?

Just before Jesus ascended into Heaven, He told His Apostles:

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Matthew 28:19 … Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy {Spirit} …

Jesus was speaking His commission to JEWS.

Jesus wanted the Jewish Church to witness His Gospel in Jerusalem (Jews), to then spread to Judaea (Jews), to go outward to Samaria (near Gentiles), and also to “all nations” (far Gentiles). What did the early Church do? It reached out to Jews. Did it go toward the Gentiles? No, other than a few isolated incidences (like Philip & the Ethiopian Ruler), Israel kept the Gospel for the Jews.

Ephesians 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

The Gentiles were known as “Uncircumcision”, a term of derision. The Church that Jesus built was suppose to be reaching out to “all nations”, but the Gentiles were being excluded.

God the Son is not pleased when His Church
does not reach out to all.

It was always God’s intent to save whosoever will by the Gospel, regardless of skin tone or ethnic background. When the Prophet Simeon saw the baby Jesus in the Temple, he prayed over the Child these words:

Luke 2:29-32 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: 30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

Though Jesus Christ is “the glory of {God’s} people Israel”, He is also “a light to lighten the Gentiles”. The Prophet Isaiah said of the Messiah:

Isaiah 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

Our Lord Jesus quoted this text in Matthew 12:17-21. The Gentiles were the “uncircumcised”.

Ephesians 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

Word Study: Paul reminds us how far away from God we Gentiles were. We were “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel”. We were “aliens” {ἀπαλλοτριόω apallotrióō, [pronounced ap-al-lot-ree-o’-o]}, “shut out from fellowship and intimacy” that Israel as a people had with God. We were “strangers”, {ξένος xénos, [pronounced xen’-os]}, “foreigners” to the covenant promises God made to Israel. Though it was God’s intent that Gentiles be reached with the Gospel of the Messiah, Israel kept her own country and to herself. We were “without hope” and “without God”.

Illustration: Every Jew in those days was familiar with the Temple of God. In the Temple there is a sanctuary, beyond the first veil. “And after the second veil, the tabernacle, the Holy of Holies, a place that only the High Priest went once a year to offer a Blood sacrifice for himself and Israel” (see Hebrews 9:1-8). The Holy of Holies was where God’s Shekinah Glory was, His manifest Presence on the earth. Oh, only the High Priest could go there! And then there is the Court of the Priests, just outside of the Holy of Holies. Here the Levites, the courses of priests came, to make sacrifices for the people. Beyond the Court of Priests was the Court of Men, where male worshipers could go. Then there was the Court of Women. Each Court in the Temple moved farther away from the Holy of Holies.

The Outermost Court was the Court of the Gentiles. The Lexham Bible Dictionary notes:

“{The}‘Court of the Gentiles’ is a later name not found in {the writings of the historian} Josephus, the New Testament, or Middoth {early treatise on the Temple}(Votaw, “Temple,” 176), the book of Revelation refers to “the outer courtyard … given to the Gentiles” (Revelation 11:2 NET). This court was where buying and selling of sacrificial animals took place … On its east side, the Court of the Gentiles had a 49-foot-wide covered walk called the Porch of Solomon or Solomon’s Portico (John 10:23; Acts 3:11; 5:12)…”

Anyone could enter the Court of the Gentiles or the Outer Court. It was the farthest from where the Holy of Holies or “God” was reckoned. But though far separated, the “Solomon’s Portico” or Solomon’s Porch was where out Lord Jesus routine taught classes while on this earth.

“The Court of the Gentiles was where Jesus did His public teaching (Matthew 21:23; 26:55; Luke 19:47; John 7:14) and might also have been where Simeon encountered Jesus as an infant and took Him in his arms (Luke 2:27; Bock, Luke, 92–93).”

As Gentiles, we were far from God. But God did not want us far from Him. Jesus taught on Solomon’s Porch in the Court of the Gentiles, reaching out to us who were considered so far away from God.

When The Early Church Would Not Reach Out
To The Gentiles, Jesus Forged A Way

Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Word Study: Sometimes the King James Translation obscures our understanding of the text. Look at the word translated “sometimes”. When I hear “sometimes” I think of something that only happened periodically. That’s not what the text is saying. The Greek is ποτέ poté, {pronounced pot-eh’}, which means “in time past”. Now, that makes sense. “In time past we Gentiles were {μακράν makrán, [pronounced mak-ran’]} a long way from God”. But now, we are not. Why?

Because of the Blood of Christ.

When the Blood of Sheep and Bullocks and Goats was being shed in the Temple, the Gentile could not even get to the priests. The Gentile could not enter the Court of Women, nor the Court of Men. The Gentile could not enter the Court of Priests. No Blood could be shed to make payment for our sins. Jesus changed all that. Jesus taught in the Court of the Gentiles. And Jesus went to the Cross, shedding His Blood not just for the Jew, but for the Gentile who was without hope and without God in this world.

Jesus Christ became our High Priest and our Sacrifice for sin. The Scripture says:

Hebrews 9:11-14 … Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, … 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Though the early Church was slow to reach out to the Gentile, Jesus intervened, and forced it to do so. Jesus started by converting a Rabbi named Saul on the Damascus Road. This Saul would become the Apostle Paul, the man God used to write the text we are studying today. Jesus said of Paul:

Acts 9:15 … {Paul} is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel …

When the Church will not do what Jesus commands, Jesus will make the Church do His command. He is Lord! He is Lord, I say! His Church will do His will, our Jesus, “the Only Potentate, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (1 Timothy 6:15). Right after calling Saul to be Paul, Jesus addressed the Head of the Apostles, Simon Peter. In Acts 10 we are introduced to a Gentile named Cornelius:

Acts 10:1-6 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, 2 A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always. 3 He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. 4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. 5 And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: 6 He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.

Cornelius knew there was God, and loved God, but knew nothing of Jesus. As He is praying an angel of God comes to Cornelius and tells him to send for Simon Peter. Once Peter came, “he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do”. Cornelius does this. He sends two of his soldiers to find out Peter, and to bring him back.

Now here’s a question: WHY didn’t the Angel of God just tell Cornelius to believe on Jesus? WHY have Cornelius send a delegation to Peter? Or, WHY not just tell Cornelius, “You go find Peter and he’ll tell you what you need to do”? WHY? WHY? WHY?

I’ll tell you why.

It is Jesus’ command that His Church
tell others about His Gospel.

This Jewish Church needs to be reaching out to Gentiles, just as Jesus commanded at the beginning. Jesus did not command the seeker to come to us, but for US to go to the SEEKER. Cornelius sends two soldiers to tell Peter to come see Cornelius. Love demands this!

But Jesus is not done. He wants to prepare Peter’s heart.

Acts 10:9-16 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: 10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, 11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: 12 Wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. 14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. 15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. 16 This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.

Peter has a vision on his rooftop “about the sixth hour”. He sees a sheet lowered from Heaven, with all manner of creatures in it, both “clean” and “unclean” creatures according to the Law of Moses. The Lord tells Peter, “Rise and eat!”, but Peter, a good Jewish man, will not eat anything unclean. “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean”. Jesus said,

“15 What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.”

Three times the Lord does this. This all occurs at “the sixth hour”. What is significant with “the sixth hour”, which would be roughly around noon? When Jesus went through Samaria and met a Samaritan woman at a well:

John 4:6 … Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

Jesus witnessed that He was the Messiah, the One Who gives Living Water to this Gentile woman. But what else happened at the “sixth hour”? As our Lord Jesus hung on the Cross of Calvary, suffering, dying for our sins, the Bible tells us:

Matthew 27:45 (also Mark 15:33 & Luke 23:44) Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.

I’m sure Peter would never forget this. He who would never betray Jesus, ran away while our Lord went to that terrible Cross. And as Jesus hung on the Cross – at the noon hour till around 3 pm – what should have been the brightest time of the day, “there was darkness over all the land”. From the midst of this darkness our Jesus cried out:

Matthew 27:46 … Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Preach!: Jesus did not just die for the Jew. Jesus died for the Gentile. Jesus died for the homosexual. Jesus died for the transsexual. Jesus died for the sexual sinner. Jesus died for the pedophile. What does the Scripture say?

1 Timothy 1:15 … This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners …

Jesus died not to make our sins acceptable unto God. Jesus died to save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21). Evangelist Billy Graham said:

“Sex is front-page copy everywhere. [But] nothing can alter the fact that God calls perversion sin. … Be assured that there is no sin you have ever committed that the blood of Jesus Christ cannot cleanse.”

But the sinner must be told of Jesus. We must share His Cross, His Death, His resurrection, His commandments.

Peter went downstairs and, finding two soldiers, accompanied them to where Cornelius was. Peter told Cornelius:

Acts 10:28 … Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

Following this, Peter shares the Gospel with Cornelius. The Bible says,

Acts 10:43-45 … through {Jesus’} name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. 44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. 45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Any Divisions That Exist Are Man Made

Ephesians 2:14-15 For {Jesus} is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

Going to the Cross, Jesus took away any divisions between those who believe. God’s Family is no longer just the nation Israel. God’s Family is a spiritual family that no longer makes animal sacrifices, nor observes feasts. We are not under the hygienic codes of the Law, nor the symbolic codes of “clean and unclean” meats. Our sins are covered, and we have peace with God because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

Romans 5:6-10 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

Ephesians 2:16-20 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

There are no divisions in the family of God. If you have received Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior, your sins are covered, and you are a child of God with all others who have received Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. Salvation comes to all by FAITH ALONE IN CHRIST ALONE.

We who were once represented by an outer court are “no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God”. What is our “foundation”?

Is it “wokeness”?
Is it “politics”?
Is it “political correctness”?
Is it a “denomination”?

No. “We are built upon the FOUNDATION {θεμέλιος themélios, [pronounced them-el’-ee-os]}, that is, “the first principles” or “the system of truth”, and yes, you can say “foundation” of “The APOSTLES and PROPHETS”. We have one thing that the “APOSTLES and PROPHETS” wrote, and it is this Bible. That is the Foundation of the Church.

What God demands we repent of IN THIS BOOK, we repent.
What God demands we affirm IN THIS BOOK, we affirm.
The truths of this Book are our FOUNDATION. With “Jesus Christ being the Chief Cornerstone”. God’s Word is true. It is always true! If we or any local Church drift away from the foundation, we are no longer a Church. The Church is built on the FOUNDATION of the Apostles and Prophets, with Jesus Christ as our Chief Cornerstone. Let us live for Him!

May God the Holy Spirit draw us closer to His design for the Church. Amen and Amen!

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

For By Grace

Posted on March 6, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Austin Schmid on Unsplash

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.

Today we’re going to look at one of the most profound Scriptures in the Bible. I love John 3:16. They are the words of our Lord, who said:

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.

These are beautiful, cherished words. But I also love this text. In three short verses the Apostle defines the Christian way of life. You learn first of all,

Salvation Is BY Grace THROUGH Faith

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved …

It is GRACE that saves the believing sinner. GRACE is the opposite of WORKS. GRACE is a free gift. God tells us in …

Romans 11:6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

The Pharisees sought salvation by WORKS. They thought that – by the animal sacrifices, the feasts, and the rituals like circumcision, they could be good enough for God. But we can never be good enough for God in our own power. We need GRACE.

Word Study The word translated “GRACE” is the Greek χάρις cháris, {pronounced khar’-ece}, which means “unmerited favor, good will, loving kindness, unearned love”. One of my commentaries said, “of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues.”

Grace is found – like a glorious red thread – from Genesis to Revelation. In the Garden of Eden God warned Adam that “the day you eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you will SURELY die” (Genesis 2:17). Though God plainly told Adam, Adam nonetheless ate the forbidden.

The LAW demanded Adam and Eve’s death.
The LAW was clear, and Adam failed.
The LAW told Adam:

Genesis 3:17-19 … cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

The Law of God must fulfill what it said. “By one man sin entered the earth, and DEATH by sin, for all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). Spiritual death came on Adam, and physical death became a part of life. “In Adam, all die” (1 Corinthians 15:22). It was the LAW that pronounced rightful death on Adam and his children.

The LAW demanded death – but GRACE demands life!

Adam and Eve should have died for their sins – or at the least, cast out of Eden naked and afraid. Grace allowed an innocent to die for them – and for us.

For Adam and Eve, an innocent animal was sacrificed to cover their sins. We read:

Genesis 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

But it was BY GRACE that God allowed Adam another day of life. It was by GRACE that God clothed Adam and Eve by killing the innocent creature. Pastor John MacDuff said:

“No sinner would have sought God – but “by grace”. The thickets of Eden would have proved Adam’s grave, had not Grace called him out.”

Illustrate Grace The writer of this Epistle to the Ephesians, Paul the Apostle, well knew the Grace of God. As a Pharisee under the LAW, Saul sought out Christians to destroy them. But then Saul met Jesus Christ and GRACE on the Damascus Road, his life changed. Paul would later testify:

1 Corinthians 15:10 … by the GRACE of God I am what I am …

Illustrate Grace: It is GRACE that saves. One of the clearest pictures of this in the Scripture is on the Hill of Calvary, on the very day our Lord Jesus died. Two thieves hung next to Jesus as He hung on the Cross. One thief mocked Jesus. “If You are really the Son of God, get us down and yourself as well”! This thief did not believe in Jesus, nor in Grace. But the thief on Christ’s right hand BELIEVED in Jesus, and cried out:

Luke 23:42 Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

The thief BELIEVED in Jesus. Hanging, hurting, bleeding, dying, gasping for air, this thief focused on the Son of God next to Him.

Illustrate: And it is FAITH that caused Jesus to focus on this man. Jesus told him, “Truly I say unto you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). Think about this unnamed thief:

The thief never partook of the Lord’s Table.
The thief was never baptized in water.
The thief never joined a Church.
The thief never went to a prayer meeting.
The thief never heard a sermon.
The thief never tithed or gave any money to charity.
The thief never even sat on a Church Committee.
The thief never knelt at an altar, nor folded hands in prayer.
The thief never lived a moral life.
His life was defined by the word “thief”.
The “thief” robbed God of glory, and man of goods.

The thief comes to steal, to kill, to destroy. But Jesus came that He might give all – even this thief – abundant and everlasting life. (John 10:10)

I believe the repentant thief would have served Jesus had he been able. After all, he called Jesus “Lord”. But he couldn’t do good, nor bad. Nailed to the Cross, he could not even physically follow Jesus. The thief did the one thing that he could do in his current state.

He believed on the Lord Jesus – and Jesus received him into glory!

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves

Salvation is BY Grace, THROUGH Faith. Salvation is a gift of God. Sin is a function of the flesh that brings death. The Scripture says:

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

The “gift of God” comes BY Grace THROUGH Faith – and that NOT OF YOURSELVES.

We Have No Ability To Save Ourselves

Just as the thief had no ability to save himself, we have no ability to save ourselves. Without Christ and God’s intervention, we are all born into this life spiritually DEAD. Read with me:

Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Word Study: Let’s clean this verse up a bit. The words “hath he quickened” are not in the original text, but were added by the King James translators. The translators italicized these words showing they added them, believing their addition would add clarity to the translation. The words are not needed. Take the added words out, and read the text:

Ephesians 2:1 And you who were dead in trespasses and sins;

The Apostle is telling the Ephesian believers – and us – that Christians “were dead” – that’s past tense – “in trespasses AND sins”. “Trespasses” are violations of God’s Law and God’s directives. “Sins” refers to the lost person’s state of being.

Every person born physically alive into this world is also born spiritually estranged from God.

The theologians call this “Total Depravity”. What does this mean? It means that, because of Adam’s fall, his progeny – that’s us – are born physically in this world corrupted by sin. Sin effects everything we do, and penetrates to the very core of our being.

Jesus put it this way. He said, “Every good tree bears good fruit, but bad trees bear bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit” (Matthew 7:17-18). We are born into this life broken, far from God. Since God is the Source of Spiritual Life, and we are born broken and without life, we are naturally inclined to follow – not God – but the ways of this lost world and its master, the Devil.

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

When we were lost, without God, we lived our lives following our “lusts”, and our “desires of the flesh”. Like animals, we followed our appetites, doing what gratified ourselves. We sought only glory for ourselves. We were – as the Apostle puts it – “by nature the children of wrath”.

We, like the world, were far from God. But this is not the end of the story. The Apostle goes on to say:

Ephesians 2:4 … But God …

Word Study: I love the phrase “But God”. This phrase is used to introduce the Grace of God throughout Scripture.

Psalm 49:15 BUT GOD will redeem my soul from the power of the grave …

Psalm 73:26 … BUT GOD is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever

Romans 5:8 BUT GOD commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us

Separated from God (Isaiah 59:2) because of sin, “alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Ephesians 4:18)

God reached out to us. We heard the Gospel of Christ. We heard that Jesus Christ died for our sins, died so that we might have eternal life. We who are saved believe on Jesus and Jesus alone. When we believed on Jesus:

Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

Word Study: Oh, the richness of God’s love! Oh the power and all encompassing mercy of God! When we call upon the Name of Jesus, believing He and He alone is our Lord and Savior, God “quicken(s) us together with Christ”. That word “quicken(s)” is the Greek συζωοποιέω syzōopoiéō, {sood-zo-op-oy-eh’-o}, which means “to make us ALIVE WITH CHRIST”. This same word is found in:

Colossians 2:13-14 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him {syzōopoiéō}, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

When you received the Grace of God THROUGH faith in Jesus and Jesus alone, God the Holy Spirit binds your life together with Christ. Jesus is the Son of God. Bound to Him, you are a son of God. Jesus is without sin. Bound to Him, God views you without sin. Jesus is the Heir apparent of Heaven. Bound to Him, you are “joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17). As Jesus died and rose again, defeating death forever, bound to Jesus you will one day die, but you will rise again! Death has no hold on the believer, and sin is no longer our master.

But – HEAR ME. Salvation is only possible THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. Jesus said, “I AM the DOOR of the sheep” (John 10:7). Jesus is the only One that you can have faith in to be born again (quickened together with Him). Jesus warned:

Matthew 7:13-14 Enter ye in at the {narrow} gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 because {narrow} is the gate, and {tight} is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Ephesians 2:5 {we are} quickened together with Christ (by Grace ye are saved)

BY Grace – THROUGH Faith in Jesus. This is what brings about salvation. And salvation always brings about a NEW LIFE.

Quickened People Have A Different Master

When we were dead in trespasses and sins we followed after the prince of the power of the air. We were just like the rest of the world. But now that we have BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH believed on Jesus, and are bound to Jesus, we serve a different Master.

Illustrate: The lost are like lumps of clay, spinning on a pottery wheel. Two hands press in on that lump, molding and making it into what it desires. One hand, worldliness, presses into the clay of that life. The other hand, Satan’s, presses and shapes. The lost person may not be as evil as he could possibly be, but the lost are the product of their potter.

Illustrate: We who are saved are lumps of clay spinning on a pottery wheel, but it is the hands of Jesus that mold us. One hand, Grace, presses and shapes us, while the other nail scarred hand Mercy effects our lives. We are the Property of Heaven. When we get to eternity we are told:

Ephesians 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

We have “ages to come” because we are bound to Jesus. One day we will walk in the direct Presence of God, and will forever be trophies of God’s Grace. God will be glorified. Not us, not Satan, not this world. But God!

Ephesians 2:10 … For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus …

“We are His”. We are His Lump, His Sheep, His Possession.

We do not belong to Satan.
We do not belong to Sin.
We do not belong to SELF.
We belong to the SAVIOR.

“Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under Grace.” (Romans 6:14). Because of Christ our spiritual position has changed. The Apostle said:

Ephesians 2:11-12 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

When we were without Christ, we were cut off from the blessings that God offered Israel. We were without promise from God. We were in a helpless and a hopeless place, “without God in the world”. But now?

Ephesians 2:13 but now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

We as Christians are brought near to God, so that we can walk with God daily.

  • We are brought near to God literally, for God the Holy Spirit indwells our bodies.

Romans 8:9-11 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

  • We are brought near to God as His sons and daughters. We are no longer sons of Adam, but are children of God.

1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit {Himself} beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Galatians 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

  • We are brought near to God in our behavior. We are to love as Jesus commanded, as Jesus loves. The Apostle said:

1 John 4:11-13 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

1 John 4:20-21 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? 21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

We are not saved by faith – but once saved, we live
our lives for the One Who saved us.

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

We are created in Christ to do the good that Christ would do. We are created in Christ to be like Jesus.

Word Study: We who are saved by faith in Jesus are “before ordained” to do good works. That phrase is but one word in the Greek, “προετοιμάζω proetoimázō, {pronounced pro-et-oy-mad’-zo}”, which means “to be predestined in purpose”. What does that mean? The word is also found in:

Romans 9:23 … that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared (proetoimázō) unto glory,

Preach: If you are saved, God has a plan for your life. He plans for you to do good works, to be the Light of God in this present darkness. You are to shine for Jesus. You are to love your enemies, and do good to them. You are to live so as to bring glory to the Lord Who saved you!

Those who say “I am saved” but never do good works for God’s glory are not truly saved! The Bible says:

James 2:17, 20 faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. … 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Jesus died for us, to bring us to God, so that we might be “the light of the world” (1 Peter 3:18; Matthew 5:14). Christian, you are a “new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17) in Christ. Live your lives for Jesus! If, dear friends, your life shows no good works, no works to glorify Christ, then you may not be saved. If not, come to Jesus this very day. Lay your life down at His feet. Surrender, as a lost sheep to the Great Shepherd. Surrender, as a piece of clay to the Heavenly Potter. Jesus loves you, and bids you come to Him. Will you come? May God the Holy Spirit open your eyes to come to Jesus. Amen and Amen.

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

The Firsts Of Prayer: A Message For Mid-Week Prayer Service

Posted on March 4, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Samuel Martins on Unsplash

Turn with me in your Bibles to the Book of Genesis.

I am told that there are 650 prayers listed in the Bible, and around 450 recorded answers to prayer. The Bible records our Lord Jesus praying 25 different times, though we know He prayed much more than this. The Apostle Paul mentions prayer 41 times. The Gospel Coalition notes:

The Bible lists at least nine main types of prayer:

  • Prayer of Faith (James 5:15)
  • Prayer of Agreement (or corporate prayer) (Acts 2:42)
  • Prayer of Supplication (Philippians 4:6)
  • Prayer of Thanksgiving (Psalm 95:2-3)
  • Prayer of Worship (Acts 13:2-3)
  • Prayer of Dedication (Matthew 26:39)
  • Prayer of Intercession (1 Timothy 2:1)
  • Prayer against your Enemies (Imprecatory – Psalms 69)
  • Prayer in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:14-15).

If I were to ask you where the first prayer in the Bible was, you would probably guess in the Book of Genesis. If I asked you where that first prayer was at, you would probably say “the Garden of Eden”.

You would be wrong.

The first recorded words man spoke are in the Garden of Eden. When God gave Adam his Eve, Adam said:

Genesis 2:23-24 … This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Adam cherished his wife, but please note Adam did not thank God for the marvelous gift he had been given. Adam did not praise the Lord, nor glorify our God. He acknowledged the gift. Can I tell you this, dear ones?

The devil watches us.

Prayerlessness Was The Primary Reason
For Adam’s Fall From Eden

The devil cannot read minds, but he watches our behavior pattern. Adam adored his wife, and spoke of her in covenant language. But Adam never praised the Lord for what he had. Adam never thanked God for the splendors of Eden, nor for the gift of his wife. As Adam never “called upon the name of the Lord” upon receiving Eve, it should come as no surprise that the Serpent (Satan – see Revelation 12:9) saw this as an opportunity. When Satan attacked, he addressed his temptation to Adam’s wife, subtly accusing God of withholding good from our first parents.

The prayerlessness of Adam intrigued the devil, who asked Eve “Has God really said you shall not eat of every tree of this Garden?”

A prayerless life leads to trouble. Oswald Chambers wrote:

“Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work”.

Industrialist Henry Ford said,

“Those who walk with God, always reach their destination”.

And Evangelist Leonard Ravenhill said:

“Smart men walked on the moon, daring men walked on the ocean floor, but wise men walk with God”.

A prayerless Adam led to the fall of all mankind. “by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men” (Romans 5:12). A prayerless parent teaches their children to be prayerless. It was a lack of prayer that led Cain to kill his brother Abel. I believe Abel prayed, for after his murder – a murder Cain denied – God told Cain:

Genesis 4:10 … What have you done, Cain? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground! (my paraphrase)

Tragedy Caused Men To Call
Upon The Name Of The Lord

It often takes tragedy to wake us humans up to the need of prayer. After the tragedy of Cain murdering his brother Abel, the Bible tells us:

Genesis 4:25-26 Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. 26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.

It is after the birth of Enos that we are told “then began men to call upon the name of the Lord”. This is prayer, to “call upon the name of the Lord”. When you call upon God’s name, you recognize God as God, and ask Him as God to move a mountain in your life. God is able to do anything that God wants to do. Thus we call upon “His Name”, His authority, His ability. Jesus told us:

Mark 11:22-23 Have faith in God. 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

“Calling upon the Name of the Lord” is surrendering whatever mountain is confronting you to God, to ask God to address the burden, the pain. The Scripture says “Cast your care upon {the Lord}, for He careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Dr Joe Pettigrew notes:

“ Now, Jesus didn’t relocate any physical mountains during His ministry that we know of, so what was He talking about here? The problems we face in life! And notice something important: {Jesus} talks only once about our need for ‘faith’—and three times about our need to ‘speak’ His Word. Why? Because if you don’t have enough faith to move your mouth and speak God’s Word, you won’t have enough faith to move your mountain!

The Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17) Something wonderful happens when you verbalize God’s Word. Your ears hear it, your mind is renewed, your focus is changed, and the thing God responds to—faith—rises up within you. And when you hold that position of faith, refuse to budge, and keep speaking God’s Word, the mountain in your life starts to shift.”

The tragedy of Abel’s murder leads to the blessing of another child named Seth. Seth has Enos, and at this point, people begin to “call upon the name of the Lord”.

Prayer Is Walking Daily With God

Now we come to Genesis 5, we read a list of names that we are tempted to skip over. If you do, you miss another lesson in prayer. We read in:

Genesis 5:22-24 Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: 23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: 24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

The phrase “walked with God” is a reference to prayer, daily prayer. Enoch sought out the companionship of God every day, and for the 365 years Enoch was on the earth, he never faltered in walking with God. The Prophet Amos said:

Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

Illustrate: To “walk with God” is to be in communion with God, to agree with God. I was watching an old show on television called “Picket Fences”. During that show someone asked a young girl, “Do you believe in God?” Her reply was typical for an unbeliever. She said, “I believe in God, but I don’t understand Him. How can He allow …” then she began to list a series of self perceived injustices that she thought God should stop.

If people stopped blaming God for humanity’s failures, and started walking with God by prayer, much of the evil we see would cease!

The reality is that there IS a God in Heaven, but He created us with freedom of will. We can, like Enoch, “walk with God” all the days of our lives, and we will be blessed. Or we can walk our own path, as Adam, Eve, and Cain did. God is not responsible for our messes. If we would walk with God daily, I guarantee we would have less mess in this world of ours.

The reason this world is messed up in that we want God to be God when it comes to eliminating anything we find objectionable, but we want God to be gone when His way does not match our way.
In short, WE want to be Gods.

Enoch walked with God daily until one day, Enoch just walked into Heaven with God. We are told in Hebrews 11:5, “Enoch was not found, because God translated him”. Enoch went to Heaven without dying. Enoch “walked with God” by frequently seeking God’s presence in prayer.

When God looked down at the mess this world was in, and decided to destroy it:

Genesis 6:7 … the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

Who was it that God would choose to save the world? The Scripture says:

Genesis 6:8-9 Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. 9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

God was not an afterthought to Noah, but a daily necessity. Noah realized what we should all realize – we are broken creatures that need the Presence of God day by day.

We have no recorded prayers of Enoch or Noah, but these men walked with God. The Prophet said:

Micah 6:8 {God} hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Pastor J.C. Ryle said,

“We want more men and women who walk with God and before God, like Enoch and Abraham.”

When we walk with God, doing what He directs us do, heeding His commands, He blesses our lives. God told Israel:

Deuteronomy 8:6 … thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.

When You Walk With God In Prayer,
God Is Never Far Away

The first notable prayer whose words are recorded in the Bible is the prayer of Abraham in Genesis 18. Abraham has been walking with God, and now is waiting patiently for God.

When we walk with God, we need to be careful never to walk ahead of Him, but to stay in step with God.

Psalm 27:14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Genesis 18:1-5 And the Lord appeared unto {Abraham} in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: 4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.

If this text doesn’t intrigue you, you’re not paying attention to it. “The Lord appeared unto {Abraham}” is in verse 1, but in verse 2 Abraham sees “three men”. Abraham runs to these “three men” and addresses them as “My Lord”. Abraham wants the Lord to “rest yourselves under the tree” and eat with him. Three is the number of God in the Scripture. Some commentaries note that “the rabbis understand all three of these visitors to be angels who simply represented the Lord”. I don’t believe this was the case.

I believe ONE of the men was an Old Testament manifestation of Jesus, whereas the other two men were angels.

In a few moments two of the “men” or ANGELS will head toward Sodom (see Genesis 19:1, “there came two angels to Sodom”). Jesus said of Abraham in John 8:58, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad”. I believe our Jesus often appeared to Abraham in preincarnate form. Notice what Abraham does as he prays to the Lord:

  • Abraham waits on God. He goes where God says go, but when he has no direction, Abraham waits upon on the Lord. “Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it” (Psalm 37:34).
  • Abraham runs toward God. He leaves the comfort of his tent, and pursues God with all his heart. “By my God I run through a troop. By my God, I leap over a wall!” (Psalm 18:29; 2 Samuel 22:30).
  • Abraham bows down before God. God is great, and Abraham is not. “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up” (James 4:10). “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5:6).
  • Abraham accommodates God. Neither God the Son nor the Angels with him get hungry or thirsty as we do. God said “If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof” (Psalm 50:12). Though God needs nothing, Abraham made God welcome in his life.

God promises Abraham once more that he will have an heir when the time is right. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14). Yet this is not the reason that God is with Abraham today.

When you walk with God, God will tell you things that He will not tell those who do NOT walk with God.

God is preparing to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. God tells two of the men – the Angels who are with Him –

Genesis 18:17-19 the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; 18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. 22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.

The Lord knows what He will find in Sodom and Gomorrah, but He is specifically telling Abraham about it because his nephew Lot is in Sodom. What happens next is beautiful. We read:

Genesis 18:23-25 Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? 25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

“Abraham drew near” to God. Abraham calls upon the Name of the Lord. He knows that God is righteous, and that God will not punish the innocent with the guilty. Abraham starts with “fifty”. Fifty would be a significant number in the history of Israel. Fifty days after the first Passover, Israel arrived at Mount Sinai to receive the Law of God. Because of this the Day of Pentecost is also called Matin Torah or “giving of the Law.” It was on the Day of Pentecost (Shavuot) that Peter and the Early Church went out and preached the Gospel of Christ, and 3000 were added to the Church (Acts 2:41).

When God told Abraham “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes” (Genesis 18:26). Securing this promise, Abraham humbles himself, saying “I am but dust and ashes”, and then lowers the number, asking God:

“What if there are 45 righteous?”
“What if there are 40 righteous?”
“What about 30 righteous?”
“What about 20 righteous?”, and finally,
“What if there are 10 righteous?”

If I were God, I would have been irritated by Abraham’s auctioneering! Yet note the patience and kindness of God. Our God knows our hearts. “The righteous God trieth the hearts” (Psalm 7:9). Our Lord knew exactly what Abraham was after. He knew that Lot and his family were in Sodom, and Abraham loved Lot. At no time did our Lord get angry or irritated, but each time Abraham asked that Sodom be spared, and adjusted the numbers of the righteous, the Lord in kindness adjusted His will.

That amazes me.

The Prayer Warrior – and Author of a number of books on Prayer, E.M. Bounds wrote in Purpose In Prayer:

“Perseverance {in prayer} counts much with God as well as with man. If Elijah had ceased at his first petition the heavens would have scarcely yielded their rain to his feeble praying. If Jacob had quit praying at decent bedtime he would scarcely have survived the next day’s meeting with Esau. If the {Gentile woman} woman had allowed her faith to faint by silence, humiliation, repulse, or stop mid-way its struggles, her grief-stricken home would never have been brightened by the healing of her daughter.

Pray and never faint, is the motto Christ
gives us for praying.

It is the test of our faith, and the severer the trial and the longer the waiting, the more glorious the results. … Praying {people} must be strong in hope, and faith, and prayer. They must know how to wait and to press, to wait on God and be in earnest in our approaches to Him. Abraham has left us an example of {persistent prayer} in his passionate pleading with God on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah, and if, as already indicated, he had not ceased in his asking, perhaps God would not have ceased in His giving. “Abraham left off asking before God left off granting.”

We learn a final lesson from this. Never stop praying. Keep seeking God’s hand when you pray for yourself or for others. Let prayer be – not an afterthought – but the bulk of your Christian walk.

You will never grow in your faith as a Christian, nor will our Church grow, until prayer becomes a priority in your daily life. May God the Holy Spirit impress upon us all the necessity of prayer. In Christ’s Name, and for the glory of God we ask this. Amen and Amen.

Posted in prayer, Praying Like Jesus Series, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment