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The Glory Of His Grace

Posted on November 7, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Ephesians Chapter 1.

When Paul wrote the Book of Ephesians (under the leading of God the Holy Spirit – 2 Peter 1:21), he was in his first Roman imprisonment. Paul was under house arrest, living in his home, but guarded by Roman soldiers. Acts 28:16 tells us that “Paul was {allowed} to dwell by himself with a soldier that {guarded} him.” He was not chained in a prison cell until his second imprisonment, and could still receive visitors. Acts 28:30-31 tells us that “Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.” Paul’s imprisonment is a picture of the great Grace of our God. Though we may go into valleys, our Lord will be with us. If we are in a valley, our Lord will adjust the situation so that we can minister to others for Him. Though Paul’s home is invaded by the enemy, Paul is joyous. Why? We read:

Ephesians 1:2-6 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Paul is joyous in prison because of Grace

Ephesians 1:2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is the “Grace” of God that brings the “peace” of God into the life. If you are enjoying God’s Grace, then God is your Father, and Jesus is your Lord. No matter what you are going through, you need not fear it. Our God can do all things, and sees all things, and loves you as His child. And Jesus Christ is your Lord. Not the trial you are going through, but Jesus is your Lord.

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Our “God and Father” has given us “all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ”. How did God the Father give us these spiritual blessings?

• God the Son became the perfect Son of Man. Jesus Christ is 100% God and 100% Man. We are told in John’s Gospel:

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.

Jesus Christ is “The Word” – not a human’s word, but God’s very breath. This Jesus, this wonderful Word of God:

John 1:14 … the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us …

God became Man. He did not become Man through the normal, everyday means. Jesus Christ became flesh through supernatural intervention. Jesus Christ was born of a virgin woman. It was by man (Adam) that sin entered the world, and death by sin (Romans 5:12), so God circumvented man when He created the body that Christ would inhabit. God did this by prophecy:

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

and fulfilled this in Mary:

Matthew 1:23 … Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

You must believe that Jesus was virgin born, by God’s supernatural intervention, else you cannot be saved. Gabriel told Mary in Luke 1:35, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

If Jesus were born like we are, of sinful parents, then He would be just as sinful as we are. Among humankind the Bible says that

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

All humans who have ever been born through the beautiful union of man and woman in matrimony have been born broken. But Jesus Christ was not born broken. He is without sin. When a woman taken in adultery was cast before Jesus to judge, Jesus said “he that is without sin among you, cast the first stone” (John 8:7). Every accuser left. If any could have cast a stone against the woman that day, it could have been Jesus. Jesus Christ is the High Priest of our faith. The Bible says of Him:

Hebrews 4:15 {Jesus was} … in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Jesus Christ is God become Man, but Who is still fully God. The Father told the Son:

Hebrews 1:8 … Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.

• We have “all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” because the perfect Son of Man Who is the Son of God died in our place on the Cross.

Sin separates every human who has ever been or ever will be from a relationship with God. God said through the Prophet:

Isaiah 59:2 … your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

It was sin that caused God to cast Adam and Eve out of Eden. It is sin that keeps us all from entering into God’s Heaven. Thom Mollohan wrote in his article, “A Hunger For More: Sin Separates us From God”:

“the idea of sin, as given to us by the Bible, is simply this: a rejection of the authority of God in our lives and a giving of our ourselves to something less than our Creator. Sin in this way is really about our refusal to be subordinate to God Himself and exalting something to the position of devotion and worship that only God deserves. Sin separates us from God. It is not religious issue. It is a life and death issue. Sin debases us, even when we strive to exalt ourselves, because it diminishes the image of God within us. See, we are created in His image and reflect it much like a mirror reflects our own. So if He is not shining upon us because we’ve turned away to serve ourselves, then the image of God cannot be seen in us. Furthermore, sin is a crime because it robs God of what He alone is worthy of…”

The pandemic that is gripping America today is not the Coronavirus, but full blown paganism masquerading under the title “Progressivism”.

God the Son was once born (only begotten) through a virgin to become the perfect and sinless Son of Man. Only the Son of Man – Jesus – has power on earth to forgive sins (Matthew 9:6; Mark 2:10; Luke 5:24). Paganism or as others love to call it, Progressivism seeks to find blessing in more sinful and forbidden ways. There will never be any blessing found in sin. The Bible says:

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

1 Peter 3:18 … Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

Jesus Christ – the perfect Son of Man – died on Calvary to make full payment for our sins. Jesus was very clear that He and He alone would bring in the New Covenant for those who received Him as Lord and Savior. At the last Passover, Jesus told those who believed in and followed Him:

Matthew 26:27-28 … he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

When a cancer patient hears that their cancer is “in remission”, they rejoice, for their life is extended. Jesus Christ died on the Cross to cure a much greater thing than cancer. He died to cover our sins. He died for us who, once we believe in Him, are in remission from sin, but in the Family of God. The Apostle said,

John 1:12-13 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Jesus Christ was born supernaturally into this world as a Son of Man, so that we, sons of men, can be supernaturally re-born into the Family of God. Jesus took our place so we can now take His place!

• Just as God the Son – the perfect Son of Man defeated death, we who belong to God will one day defeat death. If you do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus, you are NOT a Christian.

The Apostle said in Romans 10:9, “if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

Two things are required for salvation. First, you declare for all to hear the “Jesus is Lord”. Jesus is not one Lord among many, but is THE Lord. Second, you must “believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead”. The Lordship and resurrection of Christ are non-negotiable for the Christian. When Thomas saw the Risen Savior he declared, “My Lord and My God” (John 20:28). That is exactly what the Christian believes, that Jesus is both Lord and God. Peter preached:

Acts 2:23-24 (ESV) this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

Jesus did not “swoon”, nor “Pass out”, but died on that Cross of Calvary. He died for your sins and mine. He died so that we might be saved, if we would believe in Him.

Paul Was Joyous In Prison Because Of Grace’s Effect

Ephesians 1:4 According as He {God the Father} hath chosen us in Him {God the Son} before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

The Apostle now shows us how deep the love of God is. We are “chosen us in Him {God the Son} before the foundation of the world”. Before God created the world, before He called the first light into being, He knew that Adam would fall in Eden. God told Adam:

Genesis 2:17 … of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Our God is omniscient – He knows all things before they happen. “God knows everything” (1 John 3:20). God knows the number of the hairs on your head (Matthew 10:29-30). God “declares the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things not yet done” (Isaiah 46:9-10). Knowing that Adam would fall, the earth would need a Savior, God the Son, “before the foundation of the world”, agreed to pay for our sins. This theme is repeated by the Apostle:

2 Timothy 1:8-9 … Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; 9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

God knew Adam would fail, but created him anyway. God knew that you and I will fail, but created us anyway. He saved us with a salvation that was planned in Christ “before the world began”. If you are saved, you are saved by an omniscient God. He knows your weaknesses, but by His power He will save and keep on saving you. You are His Child by faith.

Ephesians 1:4 … that we should be holy and without blame before him in love

The believer is not saved by his works, but once saved is both “holy” and “without blame”. The Christian is – because of God the Spirit Who indwells him – “holy”. This is the Greek ἅγιος hágios, {pronounced hag’-ee-os}, a person set apart to be a son of God. We are to be like our Father. The Lord tells us:

1 Peter 1:15-16 (ESV) … but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

The Apostle quoted Leviticus 20:7 as he wrote this text. Jesus said, “Because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:19). The Christian is not called to be Republican or Democrat, “Woke”, liberal or conservative. The Christian is called to be like God, to be like Jesus, Who is God manifest.

If you profess to be saved, but walk like a worldling, then you are not saved at all. You are “without blame” because Jesus took your blame on the Cross. You are a son of God heading toward Heaven. You are to act as a son of God.

Grace always has an effect on the believer. If you are saved, you are “his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)”

Ephesians 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

Each Christian has an appointment with God. During that future appointment in Heaven, we shall be “adopted” into the Family of God because of our faith in Christ.

We Who Belong To God, Glorify God

Ephesians 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

We are “accepted in the beloved”. God the Father accepts us for God the Son’s sake. We who believe in Christ unto salvation glorify our God. Note the phrase, “To the praise of the glory of his grace”. The Apostle repeats this formula twice more in this text:

Ephesians 1:11-12 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

A Christian has a purpose in life, and that is to glorify God. We are to live “to the praise of his glory”. God should be honored an what we say and do. Again, in

Ephesians 1:13-14 … ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory…

God the Holy Spirit indwells the believer, the “earnest” or proof of our future inheritance. We are to live our lives not as worldlings, but as those who belong to Jesus. We glorify our God by how we live our lives.

1 Corinthians 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Those under saving Grace will live to the glory of God. We live so as to please and honor the God Who saved us. We read:

Colossians 3:17 … whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

We do not follow the crowd. We follow Jesus. We live for God. We know that we are eternal creatures, that will live in glory with the God-Man that saved us. So we praise our Lord, and glorify His Name daily. Listen Beloved:

It is possible to LOOK saved, but to LIVE damned. The first generation of Israel were saved from Egypt, but not from themselves. They created a golden calf, a false god to follow, and lost the Promised Land. God will not share His glory with another. “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images” (Isaiah 42:8). “For My own sake, for My own sake, I do this. How can I let Myself be defamed? I will not yield My glory to another” (Isaiah 48:11). Those who love the Lord, live for the glory of the Lord. We pursue His pleasure, His will, His command. We love Him, for He first loved us (1 John 4:19). Do you belong to God, or to this world? Choose wisely. Choose Jesus.

Posted in Ephesians, General, Sermons Preached | Tagged Following Christ, God Is Faithful, gospel, Jesus Christ, love, love God, salvation | 1 Comment

God Makes Everything Beautiful In His Time

Posted on November 7, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

Ecclesiastes 3:10-11 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. 11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

Someone wrote Pastor John Piper and asked:

“… why did God make some people ugly and unattractive? How can I accept the fact that God, though capable of making me beautiful or at least average looking, chose to create in me an unattractive manner? As an unattractive person myself, I can say life is tough for us. Our opinions and ideas are most often sidelined. We have it tough in offices and schools and colleges. I can’t express in words how difficult it is to be confident.”

I can understand where this person is coming from. My earlier years were – in my young mind – a living hell. I nearly failed first grade until the teacher noticed me squinting at the blackboard. A trip to the eye doctor showed I was not unintelligent, but unseeing – I needed glasses. When the teacher wrote on the blackboard, I couldn’t clearly see what she wrote. Mama asked why I never said anything about it to anyone. The truth is, I was painfully shy, an introvert. A shy child doesn’t speak up!

When I was given eyeglasses, this didn’t solve my problems, but added to them. They were large, black rimmed things that stood out on my face. This gave the bullies a target to aim at. I was a “four eyed freak”. Children try to adjust their lives according to peer pressure, but what do you do if your “peers” are all against you? As self esteem plummeted, my weight increased. Add to this that I had to wear my dad’s white socks, and as I grew my dad’s old clothing. Well, the school years were rough. I have yet to have any desire to attend a “High School Reunion”.

There are many others in life who suffer terribly because they are different from the crowd. One who comes to mind is Joseph Merrick (August 5, 1862-April 11, 1890), also known as “The Elephant Man”. Born with a disorder called the Proteus syndrome, his head and body deformed more and more with each passing day. When Merrick accidentally pushes down a little girl one day, an angry mob chases him. He cried out, “I am not an animal! I am a human being. I am a man!”. There are many born into this world deformed, against what many consider the “norm”. In this world little children are sometimes born with terrible diseases. St. Jude’s Hospital ministers to children born with cancer. There are many things that appear ugly to us in this world.

Why would a loving God allow the ugly, the disfigured, the carnival “human freak show”?

It Is Because God Is Loving That We Have That Which Some Consider “Beyond The Norm”

Ecclesiastes 3:10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

Word Study: As Solomon – the wisest man who ever was – looks at the “travail” that is on mankind, he writes “which God hath given”. God ultimately either causes or allows everything that ever happens within the framework of humanity. The word translated “travail” is the Hebrew עִנְיָן ʻinyân, {pronounced in-yawn’}, which means “miserable or evil work”. The word is only used in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon in essence is saying “I have seen how people have struggled at work – toiling slavishly”. God gave to man and woman hard – often horrible – circumstances to go through. But the fact that God gives it does not diminish His love.

God took a perfect Adam, and placed him in a perfect Eden. The Bible says:

Genesis 2:15-17 (ESV) The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

This was an absolute. God is not a man that He should lie, nor the son of a man, that He should change His mind (Numbers 23:19). What God has said will always stand. “The day that you eat of it you shall surely die” is the promise of God’s Law. We all know the story. What did Adam do? He disobeyed God. He ate of the forbidden. The promise of the Law was “The day that you eat of it you shall surely die”. The very day you disobey Me, said the Lord, you “shall surely die”. Did this happen? Well, yes and no.

On the day that Adam did what he was not supposed to do, both Adam and Eve’s “eyes … were opened” (Genesis 3:7). Humanity fell under spiritual death. The Bible says:

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

“By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin”. It was ADAM who brought sin into the world, not Eve but ADAM. When ADAM ate that which was forbidden, both he and Eve his wife died spiritually. But they did not die physically until much later. Why? Because:

1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

God is JUST, and does as He promises. But God is also LOVE, and offers redemption to the sinner. Adam physically lived 930 years before he died. God had told Adam, “in THE DAY you eat of it, YOU SHALL SURELY DIE”. If God were purely justice, and purely Law, then Adam and Eve and any progeny would have been destroyed by death on the day Adam sinned. Instead, God kept His Word by allowing Adam to live physically, but cast Adam and Eve out of Eden for they were both spiritually dead. .

The Law demandsimmediate death for sin.
The Love of God demandsgrace to the sinner.

As Solomon speaks of our lives as “travail” {ʻinyân}, the very fact that we are here at all is due to the love of God. God could have destroyed humanity, but Love found a way to give us life. However, the punishment for sin corrupted not just humanity, but nature itself. God told Adam:

Genesis 3:17-19 Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: 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 demanded death, but the Law of God gave grace and life. Since Adam’s fall, the Bible tells us that creation itself became warped by sin. The Apostle write of this, saying:

Romans 8:19-23 (ESV) For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

The whole creation groans in suffering because of Adam’s sin, but still exists because of God’s Love.

Creation groans until the day when the Children of God are fully redeemed, when with glorified bodies we come back to this earth to reign with Jesus. The Apostle said that on that grand day, the “creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God”. Man and nature are bound together by God in the Garden, and bound together by sin outside of the Garden. What a glorious day it will be when sin reigns no more! Sin will be no more on God’s earth when Christ rules from His millennial Kingdom. When Jesus returns,

Isaiah 11:6 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.

There will come a day when sin will be totally eradicated from this earth. But until that time, there will be cancers, sicknesses, deformities, ugliness. There will be the fading strength of old age. On top of this, sometimes God allows these sicknesses so that He might reach yet MORE with His glorious Gospel.

God Turns The Bad To Beautiful In His Time

In John chapter 9, Jesus sees a man who was blind from birth. The disciples asked Jesus:

John 9:2 … Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

The Jews knew – and taught through the Old Testament scriptures, that sin – the sin of Adam – brought sickness and deformity into the world. Was this man blind because of his “parents”, his heritage? Or did this man himself sin, and by his sin bring the sickness upon himself? Jesus tells His disciples:

John 9:3-5 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. 4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

This man was born blind so that we could see Jesus healing him. Our Jesus is “the light of the world”. Light is useless to a blind man. But Jesus is miraculous light, the Light that gives sight to those who cannot see. This man was allowed to be sick to showcase the glorious Gospel of Christ.

Adam’s sin brought sickness and deformity into a perfect world. But there is yet another reason for suffering and deformity. In Luke 13 our Lord Jesus encounters a woman while teaching in the Synagogue:

Luke 13:11 (ESV) behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself.

When Lucifer the Arch Angel rebelled against God, he enlisted a third of the angels of Heaven (Revelation 12:4) to follow him. These are creatures we call “demons”. This woman was disfigured for eighteen years because she had a “disabling spirit”. We read:

Luke 13:12-16 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” 13 And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. 14 But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” 15 Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”

God makes all things beautiful in His time!

Her deformity was because Satan had afflicted her by sending one of his followers to her life. Jesus banished that demon and that precious woman was healed. But once more we see the Love of God in action. When Lucifer rebelled against God, and led a third of the angels in Heaven to follow him, the love of God allowed that devil and his traitors life for a time. But the day is coming when Satan and his followers will be cast into a lake of fire, to be bound forever more.

If You Are Afflicted Run To The Arms Of Jesus

Ecclesiastes 3:11 {God} hath made every thing beautiful in his time

Earlier I shared my testimony, how I felt “less than” and an ugly duckling in my school years. I was given eyeglasses to correct my sight. But I needed more than eyeglasses – I needed Jesus! Finding Jesus at a Youth Rally just before I entered the Air Force, I found my esteem not in

my peers
my strength
foolish drugs
mind numbing alcohol

but in JESUS. The woman afflicted by the “disabling spirit” is just like many in our America today. People feel “less than”, so they are seeking normalization through that which Scripture calls perversion or abomination. A pair of eyeglasses did not “fix” all of me, but I needed Jesus. A surgeon’s knife will not fix you. No medical science can fix you. Listen Beloved, just as Jesus healed the woman afflicted with the disabling spirit, Jesus can and will heal you. God promises that He will make “every thing beautiful in his time”.

When you give your life to Jesus, God promises to eventually make you beautiful. Jesus will give sight to your eyes, so you can see as He writes on life’s blackboard.

God will give joy to your heart so that you can feel as He feels. To those who love the Lord, Solomon said:

Ecclesiastes 2:26 For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up…

Word Study: Jesus gives good to those who trust in Him. But to the sinner who rejects Christ, their lives are confusion and travail” {ʻinyân}. When I was young and bullied, every day was travail” {ʻinyân}. But when I found Jesus, He gave sight to my eyes, and joy to my soul. Fearing God, I ceased fearing man, and the bullies vanished. Elizabeth Cheney (1859) wrote:

Said the Robin to the Sparrow,
“I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so!”
Said the Sparrow to the Robin,
“Friend, I think that it must be
That they have no Heavenly Father
Such as cares for you and me!”

The God Who has made you, loves you no matter what you think of yourself. Look to Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Are you thirsty for joy? Jesus said:

John 7:37 … If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

I am convinced that the cure to our miseries is Jesus. Come to Jesus with your pain, not to a drug dealer. Come to Jesus with your loneliness, not to a bar or a liquor store. Come to Jesus with what you think is ugly, and let Him have your life. Become His possession. Become His bond servant. Jesus will forgive you of your sins, and by His blood adopt you into His family. The Apostle said to the seeker:

Romans 8:1-2 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

To those who receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, there is “no condemnation”. God loves you for Christ’s sake. When you come to God, God comes to you. He brings His Heaven to your heart. The Holy Spirit comes to walk with you:

Romans 8:11 (ESV) If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

The Holy Spirit comes to bring the life of Heaven into our hearts. Once we receive Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit changes our hearts. We begin to walk with God daily, seeing things as God sees them. We are loved. We are adopted into the Family of God. We are not ugly, but beautiful in God’s eyes. We are Heaven bound! The Apostle said:

Romans 8:14-18 (ESV) For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

There is a glorious Heaven waiting for those who are owned by Jesus. But better than that, there is a glorious life awaiting those who belong to Jesus NOW. He has said “I will never LEAVE, nor FORSAKE you”. He will be with you every step of the way, if you will give yourselves to Him. He makes all things beautiful in His time.

Do Not Allow Yourselves To Be Robbed
Of The Beauty Found In Jesus

On this earth, all suffer because of sin. Do not sell yourself to sin. Sin is the “thief who comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy”. Jesus Christ came to be your Shepherd. Our Shepherd gives us “life, abundant life” (John 10:10). Jesus knows your aches and pains. He suffered so that you can enjoy the love of God.

You may not know this, but Jesus was not beautiful according to man’s standard.

The Scripture says of Jesus:

Isaiah 53:2 (ESV) … He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.

When you get to Heaven, don’t look for Jesus using the pictures that people made, pictures that hang in museums and homes, and even in my office. Jesus had “no beauty that we should desire him”. When you get to Heaven, look for Jesus by looking for the scars on His hands, head, and feet. When you see those scars, you will know this is Jesus. Because He died for you and I, we will inherit the Heavens, and a new earth. God will make everything beautiful in it’s time. That is, if we have received Him as Lord and Savior. There is a better day coming for the child of Christ.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

Word Study: The word translated “the world” is the Hebrew עוֹלָם ʻôwlâm, {pronounced o-lawm’}, which would be better here rendered as “eternity”. God has put “eternity” in our hearts. We know that there must be something more than just this life. God has put a hunger for Heaven in each person’s heart. We know that this world is not as it should be. When I read what Solomon wrote, “no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end”, this sounds so much like:

1 Corinthians 2:9 … Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Our limitations only point us to a wonderful future where all things are possible, and all hurts are erased. Augustine wrote:

“You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.” (Confessions, Book 1, Chapter 1)

This world and this suffering that we are going through is but temporary for the believer in Christ. “Our citizenship is in Heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). God has prepared a city for us (Hebrews 11:13-16), a place where no suffering shall be. A better day is coming. Look to the Lord Jesus! Rest in the Lord Jesus! May God draw you into His embrace this very day. Amen and Amen!

Posted in Ecclesiastes, Sermons Preached | Tagged Following Christ, God Is Faithful, gospel, Jesus Christ, salvation | 1 Comment

It’s All About The Bread

Posted on November 5, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

Turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 6. I love the Gospel of John, for it shows very clearly that Jesus Christ is THE Son of God. It is a book very much focused on His deity. John also has great narratives. Tonight we’re going to read a familiar narrative – the time Jesus fed above 5000 people. We are very familiar with this story, and it might seem to be a re-run with you. But I believe there is more great truth to be found in these texts.

The Feeding Of The Five Thousand Is the ONLY Miracle Found In All Four Gospels (Here, and Matt. 14:13-21; Mark 6:32-44; Luke 9:10-17)

John 6:1-2 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. 2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.

“After these things”. After Jesus healed the crippled man by the pool of Bethesda (remember the FIVE porches around the pool. FIVE is the number of Grace). After the Pharisees sought to kill Jesus for healing someone on the Sabbath (John 5:16). After Jesus told the Pharisees that He, the Son of God, was both equal to God the Father, as well as a follower of God the Father. After Jesus told the Pharisees that the Scriptures they studied – the Old Testament writings – were all about Him. Jesus said:

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

John 5:46-47 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

John 6:1 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.

The Bible has no accidental words, but every word is the pure Word of God. It all has meaning. The body of water Jesus crossed was called the “sea of Galilee” by the Jews, but the “sea of Tiberias” by the conquering Roman forces. The two sets of names are given because Jesus did not just come for the Jews – but for all people. The Bible says:

Colossians 3:11 … there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

John 6:3-4 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. 4 And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.

The focus of Jesus’ ministry was teaching the Word of God. Jesus did not come to this earth to primarily heal people (though He did). Jesus came to share the Word of God with whosoever would listen. A crowd of people began to follow Jesus because of the miracles He did (verse 2). But

Preach: Jesus did not come to this earth to bring us temporary relief from suffering. He came to this earth to show us the love of God, and to show us how to love others. Jesus came, not to bring us to Heaven, but to bring Heaven to our hearts.

If you love God, you will love others. The two always come together. Jesus said that the protos, or foundational commandment is:

Matthew 22:37-40 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.

If God is in you (that is, you are saved by faith in Christ, and the Spirit of God indwells you [“now if anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His]), then you will love others. Love demands that you treat others the way you would be treated. We read:

John 6:5-6 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? 6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

Jesus Knows What He Is Going To Do. Do We?

God the Son had been teaching His disciples. The day is slowly waning. So Jesus asks Philip a simple question, one that God often asks His people. He asks, “Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”. Love is concerned about the welfare of others. How can we feed this mass of people? The answer is very easy. How do we feed them? Jesus! Jesus will feed them! But it is ingrained into us as humans – fallen creatures from the days of Adam – to say “let ME fix it. I know what to do!” The right answer is, “the same Jesus Who healed the cripple in Bethesda, the same Jesus who rebuked the Pharisees, the same Jesus of Who the Old Testament prophesied – this same Jesus can feed this multitude”. Philip answers just as we would often do:

John 6:7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

Philip’s suggestion is no suggestion at all. Philip just acknowledges that this is impossible. Looking at it from a human point of view, Philip says “Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them”. That is equivalent to about 200 days of labor, as the “penny” (the “dēnarion” or denarius) was about a day’s wage. Philip is looking at the size of the problem and comparing it to human ability. Of course, neither Philip nor any (or all) of the disciples can fix this problem. Love demands that these people be fed – but it is impossible by human standards that it be done. The task is just impossible. Philip is the “business meeting wet blanket”. “It can’t be done – let’s just walk away”.

Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother (verse 8) speaks up. Andrew was the first disciple to come to Jesus in faith. Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist. He was there when John said of Jesus:

John 1:36 … Behold the Lamb of God!

Andrew immediately left following John the Baptist, and began to follow Jesus. Andrew, after staying with Jesus for a day, went and found his brother Simon (Peter), and told him:

John 1:41-42 … We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. 42 And he brought him to Jesus.

Andrew knew Jesus was the Messiah. But confronted with the problem that Jesus put before them, Andrew followed Philip’s negative lead. He says:

John 6:9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

When that young boy (“lad” is the Greek παιδάριον paidárion, [pronounced pahee-dar’-ee-on] – “little boy”) left home that day to go and see Jesus, his mama, loving him, packed him a lunch. It was just enough for a child to eat. It was “five barley loaves, and two small fishes”. Just a tiny amount – five crackers and two little boy sized fish. I don’t think that Andrew robbed the boy. I think the little boy heard Jesus’ ask “Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”. When the little fellow heard it, I believe he walked up to where Andrew was, and tugging on robe, showed him his little lunch. Andrew takes the little lunch, shows it to Jesus, and says “what are they among so many?”.

We as humans have, throughout our history, considered all of our problems through the puniness of our possession. We need to consider our problems with a single focus on God. Jesus said in another place:

Matthew 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

The word “single” is the Greek ἁπλοῦς haploûs, (pronounced hap-looce’) which means “simple, whole, sound”.

When we are challenged, we often get flustered, and run around in confusion, looking here and there for a fix. We’re not simple, but often simple minded!

If your eye is focused on the simple fix (which is JESUS), then your whole body will be filled with light. You will be joyous, blessed, overwhelmed with love. But if your eye is focused on the negative, on the impossibility, then your whole body will be filled with darkness, negativity, misery (Luke 11:34).

Philip, who had seen Jesus do miraculous things, is not focused on Jesus, but on the size of the problem before him. “It can’t be done”. Andrew, who was first to follow Jesus as Messiah, is not focused on Jesus, but on the size of the little boy’s meal. “It’s too little – it’s just not enough”. Neither has a suitable answer for the problem because their eye is not single, but wicked. Their eye is looking at the wrong thing.

Then there’s the little boy.
The paidárion, [pronounced pahee-dar’-ee-on].
Just a child.

The little boy hears Jesus’ question, runs to Andrew, and says “give this to Jesus”. The boy’s eye is single. His eye is focused. He’s not looking at the crowd. He’s not looking at the size of his meal. He’s looking at Jesus. He’s looking at Jesus.

The secret to the blessed life is to become like that little child, and simply focus on the Lord

When Solomon was given the daunting task of ruling Israel, he went to God in prayer:

1 Kings 3:7 And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.

Lord, Yahweh, I do not know what to do. I’m just a little child – show me. Make me a good King, a King you can be proud of. And God did.

When Naaman the leper wanted to be healed, God told him to dip himself in the Jordan River seven times. When he became like a little child in his spirit, and did as God said:

2 Kings 5:14 Then went {Naaman} down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

When Jesus our Lord wanted to show us the faith that pleases God, the Bible says:

Matthew 18:2-4 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

“A little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6). There is nothing that our God cannot do. There is nothing that Jesus cannot fix.

In the Book of Zechariah, Zerubbabel led an exiled Israel back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple, seventy years destroyed by Assyria. When the returnees saw what was before them, they wept. Such a monstrous task was before them – it was impossible to fix! But beloved,

“With men, this is impossible; but with God ALL THINGS are possible” (Matthew 19:26)

There is nothing that God cannot do. There is nothing beyond the scope of the love of God. When Israel wept at the destruction of the Temple, God spoke through the Prophet, saying:

Zechariah 4:7-10 Who art thou, O great mountain? {for the task before them was MOUNTANOUS} before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain {God will do the impossible}: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. 8 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. 10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice…

Who can fix the Temple? God can!
Who can heal Naaman of Leprosy? God can!
Who can give the King wisdom? God can!
Who can feed five thousand? God can!

“Zerubbabel shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it”. God will use Zerubbabel to kill the problem, and the headstone placed on that grave will say “Grace, grace unto it”. DO NOT DESPISE THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS!

Our God Is A Mountain Leveling God!

Take another look at that little boy’s lunch. When his mama packed it that day, what did she put in it? Five barley loaves, and two small fishes. Did you catch that? FIVE barley loaves. FIVE is the number of Grace! Jesus healed a cripple on one of FIVE porches in Bethesda. The little boy’s lunch had FIVE barley loaves.

Let’s read on.

John 6:10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

Jesus said “Make the men sit down”. He doesn’t need anybody’s help to do this. Sit down. You MUST sit down. Wait on the Lord.

Proverbs 20:22 … wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.

How many men sat down? FIVE thousand. What is the number of Grace? FIVE. Do you understand now? Sit down – wait on God.

John 6:11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

Who did the work? The Father. “Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples”. Jesus gave thanks to the Father, for the Father caused the multiplication. Jesus is the visible Member of the Godhead. “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father” (John 14:9). “I work, and My Father works” (John 5:17). How did Jesus teach us how to pray?

Matthew 6:9-11 … Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread.

The Father is feeding the FIVE thousand with FIVE tiny loaves of bread. The Father is using the Son to do this. There is but ONE MEDIATOR between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). The Son takes the little, and depending on the Grace of God, thanks the Father for what He will do. The Father multiplies the loaves, as Jesus breaks them and passes them out. The disciples take this bounty from the grace of God, and distribute it to those sitting. All eat their fill.

John 6:12-13 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

When they were done, and all had eaten, they gathered the leftovers. Let me ask you: Is the focus on FISH or BREAD?

According to this story, there’s NO FISH left over – at least, not that it’s mentioned. There were FIVE barley loaves, FIVE being the number of Grace. There were “twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves”. Why twelve? Because Jesus was feeding Jews, and there are twelve tribes in Israel.

God’s Grace is more than enough to feed Israel. God fed Israel in the wilderness under Moses. Now God is feeding Israel in the wilderness by Jesus. There is nothing our Jesus cannot do!

No matter what problem you encounter, Beloved, encounter it as a little child. Let your eye be single, simply focused on the Lord Jesus. Give Him the little you have, and let Him bless it, and make it sufficient unto the day. Our God is able. Our Jesus is able. Do not despise the power of Jesus! Let us now go to Him in prayer. Amen and Amen.

Posted in John, Sermons Preached | Tagged Bread, Jesus Christ, love, manna | Leave a comment

Choosing The Best Part

Posted on November 1, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

Luke 10:38-42 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. 40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

“We’ve GOT To Do SOMETHING OR…”

I’ve often heard these words spoken over the last 25 years I have been in ministry. The words are uttered by sincere people seeking to “fix” something. As humans, we love to “fix” things. It started with Adam in the Garden of Eden. When he discovered that eating of the forbidden “opened his eyes”, the very first thing Adam did was “fix” it. He made aprons of fig leaves (Genesis 3:7). It didn’t help.

Our efforts never help. But we feel that we must “do something”. The Bible says:

Psalm 127:1 (ESV) Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

I understand the “We’ve got to do SOMETHING” mentality. I read an article the other day written by the Executive Editor of Christian Post, Richard D. Land. The article was entitled “How badly have we lost our way?”. A quote:

“… The moral compass of a significant number of our fellow citizens has been desensitized and demagnitized… somewhere along the way, America veered seriously off course and we are now confronted with a collapse into full-blown paganism. … I have seldom been both as shocked and saddened as I was after reading the Rev. Rebecca Todd Peters op-ed in USA Today, “Faith Guided Our Decision on 2 Abortions”. Rev. Peters identifies herself as a Presbyterian minister. … The Rev. Peters also states that she is a “wife and a mother of two” and that she has “also had two abortions”. She immediately follows this by asserting, ‘I did not make my abortion decision despite my Christian identity and faith, but rather because of it.’”

I have no doubt that she is sincere. You can be sincere, and be wrong. When rebuking Jesus for saying He had to go to the Cross, Jesus told Peter:

Matthew 16:23 (ESV) …. “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a hindrance to Me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Peter was no doubt sincere, but wrong. Pastor John Piper notes how the moral fabric of America has changed in just a few years. He notes, “ten years ago, recreational cannabis was illegal in all fifty states”. At present, 37 states have legalized medical-use of Marijuana, and in 15 states you can use it recreationally. John goes on to note:

“Now stop and think of the number of behaviors that were once illegal and are no more. Divorce was once illegal. Adultery and fornication were illegal. Homosexual practices were illegal. Indecency was illegal, in such a way that what’s considered acceptable in movies and on beaches today would have been forbidden. Sabbath-breaking was illegal. Abortion was illegal in every state.”

As William Barclay notes, “{Man} has so erected an altar to himself in the center of things that he worships himself to the exclusion of God and man”. We could say the same thing about America today. The Church is falling. Our society is falling. In a panic, I along with you think, “I’ve GOT to do something”.

The Mary Mentality Waits Upon Jesus

Luke 10:38 Now it came to pass, as they{Jesus and His disciples} went, that he entered into a certain village {Bethany}: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.

Jesus goes to Bethany with His disciples to pay a visit to a family He had never been with. He was going to visit with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. This family had heard about Jesus, and Jesus was coming to their home. Actually, Jesus was coming to Martha’s house. That’s what we read:

“a certain woman named Martha received him into her house”.

Martha was the owner of the home.
Mary was a resident in Martha’s home.

The fame of Jesus had gone throughout that whole area. Jesus is coming! Now Jesus is on the front stoop, knocking on the door. Martha thinks, “I’d better DO something”. But where is Mary’s mind? We read:

Luke 10:39-40And she {Martha} had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. 40 But Martha….

This is the first time that Mary met Jesus. This is NOT the same Mary called Magdalene, “out of whom {Jesus cast out} seven devils” (Luke 8:2). the name “Mary Magdalene” literally means “Mary of Magdala”, that is, she lived in Magdala in Galilee. The Mary now sitting at Jesus’ feet is “Mary of Bethany, which is in the province of Judea. Mary DID Something!

Mary “sat at Jesus’ feet”, a place we all need to be. She RESTED.
Mary “heard his word”. She listened to what He said. The word “heard” is the Greek ἀκούω akoúō, {pronounced ak-oo’-o}, which means “to give audience to, to focus on and hear”. Mary was doing as the Gospel demands. Jesus said in another place:

Matthew 11:27-30 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. 28 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

The only way you can know of God the Father is through Jesus Christ. And NO ONE knows Jesus Christ completely BUT the Father. This is what Jesus said. Jesus says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”. Rest for the soul is in Jesus. Put your body at His feet. Hear Him, and do as He says. Cast your hurt and suffering on Him. Jesus said “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me”. Jesus is Lord! Jesus is Lord! Let Him put His yoke upon you. This is what God wants us to DO.

A Christian Is Saved By Sitting At Christ’s Feet.
A Christian Grows By Sitting At Christ’s Feet.

We as Christians are to DO, not SOMETHING, but WHAT JESUS SAID DO. Mary did not rush about cleaning the home and cooking the meal. Mary was not trying to impress Jesus with her works. So many of us try to do this. We try to do SOMETHING because OTHERS are looking at us. We want to do SOMETHING because we sincerely want to please our Lord.

But we must first rest at His feet. We must let Jesus be Lord. This is what Mary is doing. Jesus is Lord, so she sits at His feet and waits, and listens. She “learns of Jesus”.

God wants His Kingdom to expand upon the earth. He wants us to DO – but only WHEN He says. At the beginning of this chapter we are told:

Luke 10:1-2 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. 2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest.

“After these things” – after Jesus fed 5000 with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread; after Jesus stood on the Mount of Transfiguration with Moses and Elijah, “the Lord appointed other seventy”. Jesus had His 12 original Apostles, and appointed 70 men to go out 2 by 2 to spread the Gospel. What was Jesus doing?

Word Study: When Moses was raised up by God, each tribe of Israel had a leader (12), and God told Moses to set aside 70 elders (Exodus 18:13-26; 24:1) to help rule God’s Israel. These 70 men eventually became known as the “Sanhedrin”, or the Ruling 70. Moses ruled Israel under the Old Covenant.

John 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Moses was the Mediator of the Old Covenant, but Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant (Hebrews 9:15). As Moses chose 70, Jesus chooses 70, and sends them out to share the Gospel throughout Israel. Jesus conveys special powers upon His “Sanhedrin” so that they might share the message that “the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you” (vs 11). Jesus told them:

Luke 10:16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.

The 70 were ecstatic when they returned to Jesus. They said, “Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name”. Jesus told these men:

Luke 10:18-20 I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

You Bless The Lord When You Treat Him As the Lord. Sit At His Feet, Do What He Says When He Says.

The Bible says:

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

Do not DO SOMETHING. DO what Jesus tells you to do. Sit at His feet. He is Lord. Read His Word. Pray. The Psalmist said:

Psalm 37:34 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.

We are losing the land in America. As American Christians, we are too often:

sitting at the feet of anger
sitting at the feet of fear
sitting at the feet of greed
sitting at the feet of ungodliness
sitting at the feet of vain philosophies
sitting at the feet of social media
sitting at the feet of television
sitting at the feet of celebrities
sitting at the feet of politicians
sitting at the feet of socialism
sitting at the feet of selfishness

This is no good. We must sit at the feet of Jesus. Jesus said:

John 18:37 … To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

It is imperative that we sit at Jesus’ feet and hear His Word. “Forever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled in Heaven” (Psalm 119:89). What God affirms as true is true, though all the world rail against it. What our Lord says in this Bible is of paramount important to the Kingdom of God, and for the future of this nation. The Psalmist said of the Lord:

Psalm 119:160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

Pastor Kevin DeYoung notes,

“God does not lay down arbitrary rules. He does not give orders so that we might be restricted and miserable. He never requires what is impure, unloving, or unwise. His demands are always noble, always just, and always righteous.”

The danger of DOING SOMETHING without first sitting at Christ’s feet is illustrated by our Lord. Many “DOERS” will end up in hell. Jesus said:

Matthew 7:22-27 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24 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.

Doing a work without first sitting at Jesus’ feet is not doing a good work, but a bad work. Those who sit at Jesus’ feet and “heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them” has built his house on a rock that nothing on this earth can destroy. That is what the Lord wants of us.

Martha In Her Doing Cut The Lord Out

Mary is WAITING on the Lord by hearing and applying His Word. Martha is WAITING on the Lord by presuming what He wants – then complaining because Jesus does not want it.

Luke 10:40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.

Illustration: Imagine this: You go to a fancy, five star restaurant, and are quickly seated at your table. Before anyone asks you anything, the waiter come up and opens a bottle of wine, pouring it into your glass. He walks away as another waiter comes with a meal. Putting it down in front of you, you have escargot (snails), sushi (raw) octopus with black ink gravy, and braised chitlins. The waiter drops the plates in front of you, and walks away. You try complaining, but no one wants to hear it. Then you get a bill for $500.00, and the waiters want generous tips.

This is the type of “waiting” that Martha was doing. This is the type of “waiting” we often do for God. This type of “waiting” irritates God as much as we would have been at that five star restaurant. It also wears us out.

Word Study: We are told “Martha was cumbered about much serving”. Martha is working very hard. The word translated “cumbered” is the Greek περισπάω perispáō, {pronounced per-ee-spah’-o}, which means “to drag all around, to be over occupied and thus distressed, to be driven about mentally”. It is interesting that this word is only found HERE in the Greek New Testament. Martha was singularly – as no other New Testament character had been – about to have a melt down! She says to Jesus:

“Lord, dost thou not care that my sister
hath left me to serve alone?”

Martha calls Jesus “Lord”, but in her heart Jesus is patently NOT Lord. If Jesus were Lord (and He is), then she would be at His feet instead of standing over Him upset and demanding. Beloved, Jesus is LORD. As LORD, He NEVER asked Martha to do what she was doing. Martha was doing what she was doing because it was HER house, and SHE wanted to look good for Jesus and His disciples. SHE wanted to be a good hostess. There’s nothing wrong with that – but Jesus is LORD.

Jesus went 40 days and 40 nights without food, and just made a banquet for over 5000 people out of two fish and five little biscuits. If He is hungry, He will tell Martha.

Jesus tells us in another place:

Matthew 4:4 (ESV) … Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

We all desperately need the Word of God.
We do not need another strange philosophy out of Hollyweird.
We do not need a 3.5 TRILLION dollar tax burden from Valhalla.
We need to be at Jesus’ feet, listening to Him.
We need to be at Jesus’ feet, worshiping Him.

Luke 4:8 (ESV) … It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve”.

Martha was not serving the Lord. She was serving herself. It was her house, and she was putting on airs – unrequested airs. Furthermore, Martha is making out that Jesus is heartless. “Dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?”. Jesus, if You loved me, you would (fill in the blank). How often have we all done this, jumping out ahead of God’s direction, doing it – like Frank Sinatra sang, “My Way”.

Please note that Jesus does not chastise Martha until she, overwhelmed, comes to Him. Jesus just continues teaching Mary until Martha gets enough. When we jump out on our own and get ourselves wrapped around the axle, sometimes the Lord will just let us go until we – overwhelmed – come crying to Him. “Jesus, don’t You care?” Yes, He does. Jesus corrects Martha:

Luke 10:41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things..

Notice how Jesus speaks to Martha. He says “Martha, Martha”.

Martha is one of 7 people that God calls their name twice – and the only woman Jesus calls by name twice.

Abraham, Abraham (Genesis 22:11)
Jacob, Jacob (Genesis 46:2)
Moses, Moses (Exodus 3:4)
Samuel, Samuel (1 Samuel 3:10)
Martha, Martha (Luke 10:41)
Simon, Simon (Luke 22:31)
Saul, Saul (Acts 9:4)

Word Study: Martha’s mind is on overload because she is doing “many things” – but NOTHING that Jesus told her to do. Jesus told her “thou art careful and troubled”. The word “careful” is the Greek μεριμνάω merimnáō, {pronounced mer-im-nah’-o}, which means anxious, filled with anxiety. The other word “troubled” is the Greek τυρβάζω tyrbázō, {pronounced toor-bad’-zo}, meaning “to be stirred up and confused, to be troubled in mind”. Two of the greatest enemies of our faith is anxiety and confusion. Where anxiety and confusion is, Jesus is NOT. The Bible tells us:

Philippians 4:6 (ESV) … do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

In other words, if you are ANXIOUS, stop what you’re doing, and sit at Jesus’ feet listening. Open the Word of God. Pray, and look for God’s face. Recognize that HE IS LORD and WE ARE NOT. We are not to be anxious today, nor about tomorrow. Do as Jesus said:

Matthew 6:33-34 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

One of my favorite Bible texts is “God is not a God of confusion but of peace”(1 Corinthians 14:33). Martha was taking too much on herself, running herself ragged. Jesus told her:

Luke 10:42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

The Apostle Paul understood that the greatest thing any of us can do is to hear and know Jesus. He wrote:

Philippians 3:8-10 (ESV) Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ … and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

The best thing in life – the thing that brings joy to every day – is to know Jesus, to hear His Word, and to be worshipful in doing what He has said. Mary chose “that good part, which shall not be taken away from her”. As we learn of Jesus, we, through the Holy Spirit of God, become daily more like Jesus. We DO His Word. Let us commit to give our lives to Jesus. Let us have a Mary mentality, sitting at the Lord’s feet daily, seeking HIS will. Let us be GOOD WAITERS. May God the Holy Spirit draw us all into a deeper relationship with Him, for His glory, that His Kingdom might grow. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen and Amen.

Posted in Luke, Sermons Preached | Tagged follow Christ, Following Christ | Leave a comment

A Mighty Mite!

Posted on November 1, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

Mark 12:41-44 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. 42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. 43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: 44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

A Little Technical Information To Start 🙂

That which I gave you this morning is a reproduction of what we today call a “widow’s mite”. The “widow” in our scripture would have dropped two of these into one of thirteen “chests” or “trumpets” found in the Temple. The Jewish commentary Mishnah Shekalim (6:5) notes, “There were thirteen chests in the Temple, and on each of them was inscribed …”. Each chest or trumpet was labeled with the name of the fund it was supporting. One of the funds that people gave to as a widow’s and orphan’s fund.

Word Study: A little technical details on the reproduction I gave. I had to give you reproductions because the genuine “widow’s mite” – which can still be bought online – can cost anywhere from 40 to 400$ apiece because of collector demand! The “widow’s mite” I gave you has an anchor on one side, and the points of a star on the other. The actual name of these coins is lepta(singular = lepton). Lepta were the lowest denomination of coin that circulated in Jerusalem when Jesus walked the earth. Two lepta [KJV “mites”] were equivalent to one quadrans [KJV “farthing] (Greek κοδράντης kodrántēs, [pronounced kod-ran’-tace]), the smallest Roman coin. The quadrans was worth 3/8 of a cent. The widow gave less than a penny to the collection at the Temple.

Word Study: As Jesus watched people putting money into the various chests, He saw a poor widow come into the Court of Women. It was obvious that she was poor by the state of her clothing. Jesus calls the woman πτωχός ptōchós, {pronounced pto-khos’}, a “pauper” or “like a beggar”. The others wore either fine clothing, or better than average clothing. This woman’s raiment was worn. When Jesus preached His Sermon on the Mount, He said:

Luke 6:20 … Blessed be ye poor {ptōchós}: for yours is the kingdom of God.

This Unnamed Widow Was A Genuine Believer:
She Loved The Lord!

As Jesus saw this poor widow head toward a chest, He called His disciples to Him. Jesus often made teaching points from things that were going on around Him. Jesus pointed to the widow, and told His disciples:

Mark 12:43-44 … Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: 44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living

Word Study: This woman “cast in all that she had, even all her living”. The word translated “living” is the Greek βίος bíos, {pronounced bee’-os}, which means “that by which life is sustained”. She gave all she had. This woman literally put her life on the line. She had no more funds, nothing else of note. And yet, she cast all in.

This woman put her life on the line, because her heart was filled with love for her God.

Jesus noted that. Jesus was watching. The woman did not know that Jesus was watching, but Jesus is always watching over His people. Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd. Jesus said:

John 10:11 I am the Good Shepherd: the Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

The “Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep”. The “Good Shepherd” is not an employee, a hireling. The “Good Shepherd” watches over His sheep, His charges, because He loves His sheep. The “Good Shepherd” is always watching His sheep. And the “Good Shepherd” has a relationship with His sheep. Jesus said:

John 10:27-28 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

The Sheep of God know that – even if they cannot see Him – the Shepherd is near. Jesus is a Good Shepherd. He is not here one day, then gone the next. Jesus was watching the treasury in the Court of Women because He was watching for His sheep. He wanted to show His disciples – and US – what the Sheep of God do. This woman gave her all to God. She had little by the standards of those who were in the Temple that day. As people walked around her, they dropped hand-fulls of coins into the trumpets. Some fed their money into the trumpets – the collection plates – one coin by one, pausing for effect between each drop. CLINK …… CLINK …… CLINK….. CLINK. Those who were giving with such animation were well off. They had much money, and gave much money to the Temple.

But in reality, it cost them nothing! Jesus said:

Mark 12:44 … For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living

They “cast in of their abundance”. They are to be commended for their tithing, for this is a good thing. The tithe will go to help those in need. But their tithe cost them little to nothing. But she, the Sheep of God, gave all that she had. It cost her everything. Jesus recognized this, an applauded her faith. She gave her all because she knew she belonged to God.

Matthew 6:25-33 (ESV) … do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?[g] 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

This widow was not worried about her life. She loved the Lord. Many can recite that beautiful Psalm of David, Psalm 23:

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

This woman LIVED her faith. She knew that God was watching over her. Not one hair of your head will fall to the ground, but that Jesus sees it (Matthew 10:30; Luke 12:7).

Are You Religious, Or In A Relationship With Jesus?

God the Son does not want you religious. He wants you in a relationship with Him. In this same chapter we read an encounter between Jesus and a Scribe. The Scribes worked closely with the priests and the Temple, as the Scribes were not only copiers of the Scripture, but experts in Biblical Law. A Scribe comes to Jesus at the end of a conversation He had with the Sadducees.

Mark 12:28-30 … one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Word Study: The Scribe asked Jesus “Which is the first commandment of all?”. The word translated “first” is the Greek πρῶτος prōtos, {pronounced pro’-tos}, which means “the foremost or greatest and most important”. The Scribe was asking Jesus – in essence – “what is the primary or foundational commandment of God on which all other commandments are based”. Jesus knew what the Scribe was asking. Jesus replied, “The Lord our God is one Lord”, that is, there is NO OTHER GOD BUT THAT OF THE SCRIPTURE. All others are imitators, false, liars and thieves. If the God of the Scripture is YOUR God, then you are to love Him with “all”. God wants all of your heart. You may love…

your spouse,
your children,
your parents,
yourself,
your friends,

but your love for them must be SECONDARY to your love for God. Christianity is a loving relationship through Jesus Christ to God. Your love for God will be the sun and the sum of your life. This is the prōtos.

Christian faith is not a lease – you have to own it. Does God own your heart, or is your Christianity leased?

Illustrate: A surgeon was briefing a little boy and his family on what he intended to do. He said, “Tomorrow morning, I’m going to open up your heart …”. The little boy interrupted. He said, “You’ll find Jesus there”. The surgeon looked at the parents, but they said nothing. A little annoyed, the surgeon said, “Son, I’m sure when I look in your heart, I’ll find damaged muscle and weakened vessels. But I intend to fix that, and make you well.” The child said, “You’ll find Jesus there, too. He lives in my heart.” The surgeon left. The next day, following the surgery the surgeon sat quietly in his office. The child had a damaged aorta, widespread degeneration. It was so bad there was no hope for a transplant. The prognosis was bleak. The child had little time to live. The surgeon bowed his head, and prayed. “Why God. Why did You do this? Why did You allow this?”. The Lord answered him. “That boy is my little Lamb. He was not meant for your flock very long. He’s a part of My flock, and will soon forever be with Me. His parents are also of My flock, and will one day be united with him in My glorious Heaven. This child did what he was supposed to do. I brought him into this world to retrieve another lost person – YOU.” The surgeon wept. Later as he sat with the boy and his parents, the little boy asked, “Did you cut open my heart?” The surgeon said, “Yes, son, I did”. The little boy asked, “What did you find?” The surgeon, with a smile on his face, said “I found Jesus there”.

The widow loved God with her all though she suffered poverty. The little boy loved Jesus with all his heart though he suffered sickness. Love for God will lead to the second commandment:

Mark 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Until God in Christ possesses your heart, your other relationships will; be but cheap imitations of God’s best. The Scribe, hearing Jesus, replies:

Mark 12:32-33 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: 33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

The Pharisees and Scribes believed that the rituals of the Law, “burnt offerings and sacrifices”, were the most important thing to God. They aren’t. The Prophet Samuel told King Saul:

1 Samuel 15:22 (ESV) Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

You enter the Kingdom of God by falling in love with Jesus. You enter the Kingdom of God by allowing Jesus to possess your heart and guide your life.

Mark 12:38-40 And {Jesus} said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, 39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: 40 Which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.

The Scribes leased their faith for celebrity, for affirmation, for profit. Do not lease your faith!

The Scribes are like many religious people today. They dress up in “long clothing”. They wear doctoral robes. They “love salutations in the marketplaces”. They love to be called “Doctor”, and introduced to others as “The Immanent ___”. They want to be in the “Amen Corner” in the local Church, and in the best seats at the feasts. They “for a pretense make long prayers”. It is all smoke and mirrors. Pastor Greg Morse wrote:

“If an old-time preacher, one who believed in uncomfortable realities like the wrath of God … rode his horse through some of the streets of American Christianity, what might he experience? … Sounding the alarm as Paul Revere, this watchman might gallop down our paved roads yelling,

‘Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming! Make way for the King! Repent and believe! Stay awake! Keep the faith! Only those who endure to the end will be saved! Put the flesh to death by the Spirit! Obey Him! Finish the race! Look to Jesus! Trust Him for His grace! He is coming to judge the world in righteousness!’

… to his amazement, some voices would shoot back … “We have heard of your kind before … more emphasis on our works than Christ’s. Listen here, Christ lived a perfect life for me and died in my place. I have failed, will fail, and often fail – but Christ, sir, Christ such a life in my place, I refuse to return to the law. I am gospel-centered, you see!’

Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone. Once saved,
your God will possess your heart and your life.

1 Peter 2:24-25 (ESV) {Jesus} himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Like the Scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day, we were straying from God. We were walking about “DEAD in TRESPASSES and SINS” (Ephesians 2:1,5). But born again by faith in Christ Jesus, Jesus now occupies our hearts. We love the Lord with all. We love our neighbor as ourselves. The lost do neither.

Mark 12:40 … {Beware of the scribes} … Which devour widows’ houses,

Word Study: The word translated “devour” is the Greek κατεσθίω katesthíō, {pronounced kat-es-thee’-o}, which means “to gobble up, devour”. If you pretend to love God, you will not love your neighbor. This is not the first time Jesus called out Scribes and Pharisees for “devouring or gobbling up widow’s houses” (see Matthew 23:14; Luke 20:47). Under God’s Law, He told those who were believing landowners:

Deuteronomy 24:19-21 (ESV) When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.

Those who suffered, like a sharecropper’s widow, was not to be thrown out of her home because her husband died. God told His people to leave a “sheaf in the field”, to allow those who were poor to enjoy the second harvest of the “olive trees” and of the “grapes of your vineyard”. When a field was reaped, the corners of the field were to be left untouched for the poor. God did two things by this.

Preach This: If you love the Lord your God with all your heart, you love your neighbor, too. And loving your neighbor did not mean giving a handout, but a hand up. The stranger, the orphan, the widow were to go out and put a little labor in gathering that which was left in the field or on the tree. In this way, all learned RESPONSIBILITY.

Religion Destroyed The Temple, And Religion Will Destroy The Church

After commending the widow, we read:

Mark 13:1-2 And as {Jesus} went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! 2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

In America today many mega-Churches, rega-Churches, and little Churches are falling apart. A number of “celebrity” Christians (like Kevin Max from the group DC Talk and Joshua Harris who wrote “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” or the late Ravi Zacharias) have become “deconverted”, or have said that they are “deconstructing their faith”. In reality, they are proving what the Scripture told us about false believers. The Apostle John wrote:

1 John 2:19-20 (ESV) … They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One…

As the disciples left the Temple, a beautiful structure that was built by King Herod, they remarked on it’s fine construction. Jesus told them “there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down”. The Roman Empire would lay siege to the city of Jerusalem in April 14, 70 A.D., three days prior to the beginning of Passover. The Temple would be destroyed by Rome in August, 70 A.D.

I often wonder what happened to that poor widow that Jesus commended. Though her destiny is not revealed in Scripture, I know that my God is faithful. As a Good Shepherd, Jesus tended to her needs, and she rests in glory with Him in eternity.

I believe that God is separating the wheat from the tares in America today. If we deny Jesus, Jesus will deny us (2 Timothy 2:12). If we sow corruption, we reap corruption (Galatians 6:7-8). Those who are Christ’s sheep will, as Hebrews 3:12-14 notes, “share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end”. The Bible is very clear. Eternal life is certain for those with overcoming faith (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26, 3:5, 12, 21). Genuine faith in Christ causes a person to fall in love with God. We love God with our ALL. And God indwells us, gently guiding the believer through the valleys of this life. Genuine faith is not here today, and gone tomorrow. The Christian delights to do God’s will. The Christian loves to worship God with other saints. Do you love Jesus? Do you know Him? Oh, I pray that you do! Run into Jesus’ arms this very day. Do not delay! Trust Him, and commit to loving Him with your all. May God the Holy Spirit convict you this very day!

Posted in Mark Sermons, Sermons Preached | Tagged love God, Love One Another, loved of God, mite, widow | Leave a comment

Solomon’s Folly A.K.A. The gods Among Us

Posted on October 24, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

Is The Grace Of God Fully Operational In Your Life?

The Grace of God (God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense) was not just given to get you into Heaven. The Grace of God is given to the believer to get Heaven into us. I believe – along with the Apostles – that it is possible to be saved by Grace, and yet not enjoy the fullness of Grace. The Bible calls this “Receiving The Grace of god in Vain”. The Apostle Paul spoke of this when he wrote::

1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

The Grace of God will take you to Heaven. But the Grace of God should take God’s Heaven to your heart. If you are under Grace, you should joyously labor for God’s Kingdom. Jesus said “the Kingdom of God IS WITHIN YOU” (Luke 17:21). It is Grace that saves us. It is Grace that keeps on saving us. It is Grace that makes us children of God, as opposed to children of Adam. The Apostle reiterated in:

2 Corinthians 6:1, telling the Church: “We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain”.

Grace changes you.

When Enoch found Grace, he walked with God till he walked into Heaven.
When Noah found Grace, God had him build a boat.
When Abraham found Grace, God had him leave home and go to Canaan.
When Joseph found Grace, he left prison and became co-regent with Pharaoh.
When Moses found Grace, he stopped being a fugitive and led Israel from Egypt.
When Joshua found Grace, he led Israel to take the Promised Land.
When Shamgar found Grace, he defeated 600 Philistines.
When David found Grace, he left the pasture, defeated Goliath, and became king of Israel.
When Daniel found Grace he kept on praying, until he led a den of lions into a prayer meeting.
When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego found Grace, they found Jesus in a fiery furnace.

The Grace of God transcends the Old as well as the New Covenants. The only way people have ever been saved by God is through His GRACE. The Apostle wrote:

Galatians 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

The Grace of God can indeed be received in vain. What robs the believer of the power of God’s Grace? When the believer begins to share his or her affections with the world. When we blend our faith with the gods of this world, we rob ourselves of the joy of the power of Grace.

Solomon Was Saved By Grace: He WALKED With God

Please turn with me in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 12. We’re going to look at the wisest man who has ever lived, a man called Solomon.

Solomon was the second child of David and Bathsheba, the first child dying as a judgment from God on that couple’s adulterous behavior (2 Samuel 12:13-16, 24). In Walter Vogels “David’s Greatness in His Sin and Repentance”, he notes: “The child {of adultery}cannot belong to David. He cannot enrich himself through his sin, and in a sense, justice is done to Uriah
{Bathsheba’s murdered husband}.”

After their first child died, God allowed David & Bathsheba to have a second child. This is GRACE.

2 Samuel 12:24 … and {David} called his name Solomon: and the Lord loved him.

Word Study: The name “Solomon” is Hebrew: שְׁלֹמֹה‎‎, pronounced [Šəlōmō], meaning “peaceful”. There are two reasons for this name.

The birth of another child proves that David & Bathsheba’s sins are forgiven by God’s Grace. They are “at peace” with God.
Solomon as king of Israel would lead the nation in a time of unprecedented “peace”. Israel would be united and blessed by God, and the Temple would be built.

According to the Talmud (the Jewish Rabbi commentary), Solomon was considered a Jewish Prophet, as well as a King. He wrote – as inspired by God – Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. He also was a contributor to the book of Psalms.

Solomon was loved of God, and he loved God.

Little Known Fact: He was not only named Solomon, but was also named Jedidiah(2 Samuel 12:25), meaning “Beloved of Jehovah” (יְדִידְיָה Yᵉdîydᵉyâh, [pronounced yed-ee-deh-yaw’]). When King David knew that his death was imminent, he called for Solomon, and crowning him King said:

1 Kings 2:3 … keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself…

Solomon heard what his father David said, but did not DO what his father said.

1 Kings 3:1 And Solomon made affinity (חָתַן châthan, [pronounced khaw-than’], “joined families by marital covenant”) with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.

As King over a united Israel, and as peace was throughout all the land, Solomon went about reconstructing and rebuilding that which had been destroyed by war during the time of David. Solomon’s biggest projects were to “build his own house”, the palace that he lived in. He also built “the house of the Lord”. Up to this time Israel worshiped God in a tent called the “Tabernacle”. Solomon built the Temple for God. Solomon also extended and fortified “the wall of Jerusalem”, a necessary defense against marauders and other enemies. Solomon was doing some great things for God. None of what he did in construction was intended to be sinful. But we read:

1 Kings 3:1 Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the city of David

Solomon married “Pharaoh’s daughter”, making an alliance with Egypt in order to help protect Israel from war. There was a problem with this. You see, Pharaoh’s daughter was a believer in false gods and goddesses. God told His people …

“thou shalt not take a wife … of the daughters of the Canaanites (Genesis 24:3) … Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods … (Deuteronomy 7:3-4)”.

God knows us. Listen my Beloved: We are all broken.

Saved or lost, born again or child Adam, Blood bought or flesh empowered, Christian or non-Christian, we are all broken. But those who belong to Jesus are supposed to obey Jesus, and to love Jesus, and to follow Jesus. If we who are children of God intermarry with children of false gods, they will drag us down to their level. The Apostle Paul told the Church age believer:

2 Corinthians 6:14-16 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

I have heard some say, “Solomon didn’t really sin, because he didn’t marry a Canaanite”. But Solomon, a very wise man and a prophet of God, knew that – though he did not marry a Canaanite – he knowingly violated the intent of the Scripture. Did Solomon love the Lord? The Bible says:

1 Kings 3:3 Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.

Solomon went to the “High Places” where people often sacrificed to false gods and goddesses. Solomon went to Gibeon and sacrificed to the God of Truth. God met Solomon at Gibeon, and said to him “Ask what I shall give thee” (vs 5). The God of this Creation, the God of all that you see, comes to you and asks, “What can I give you?” There is “nothing impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). What would you ask? What you would ask, reveals the condition of your heart. If you asked for a new car, or to win the lottery, or to live forever, this would reveal your heart as selfish and conceited.

Solomon’s words showed that he loved the Lord.

1 Kings 3:7-9 O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in {I don’t know how to WALK}. 8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. 9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

Solomon loves God. Solomon loves his stewardship, Israel. He doesn’t want to disappoint God, nor to harm his people. So Solomon asks God for wisdom. God replied:

1 Kings 3:11-14 … Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; 12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. 13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honor: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. 14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days

Solomon is to WALK with God – not with false gods!

God in Grace, heaps blessing upon Solomon. God makes Solomon the wisest person who has ever lived. From this moment on, Solomon would know how to rule Israel and yet avoid breaching God’s Word. Solomon would soon be put to the test, as he ruled from the throne of David. The Bible says:

1 Kings 3:28 all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.

Solomon’s house grew, as God gave him wisdom to rule. The Bible says:

1 Kings 4:29-31 … God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. 30 And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was wiser than all men…

The essence of Grace is to WALK daily with God.

When you walk with God, following Him as you go about your day, God will bless you. This is what happened with King Solomon. The Bible says, “the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace” (1 Kings 5:12). God told Solomon:

1 Kings 6:12 Concerning this house {the Temple} which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee…

Solomon lived by Grace. He walked with God. The Lord said, “walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments”. You cannot walk with God and the gods. “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). Solomon told Israel:

1 Kings 8:57-58, 61 The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us {Solomon is saying God, WALK with us}: 58 That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers… 61 Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

God heard Solomon’s prayer, and promised to “establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever” (1 Kings 9:5). God also warned Solomon,

1 Kings 9:6-7 … if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: 7 Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them

God will not walk with other gods. He does not mind walking with us, frail as we are. But our affections must not be divided. We dare not become inclusive with other gods, or with the world.

Our God Will Not With Us And The gods

1 Kings 11:1-11 But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites: 2 Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father. 7 Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. 8 And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. 9 And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, 10 And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded. 11 Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.

Solomon did not lose his salvation by blending his faith with the gods of this world – but he did lose his blessing. His son Rehoboam would succeed Solomon as king, and Israel would go through a terrible civil war because of the son.

You cannot walk with God and the gods.

Are YOU Walking With Strange gods?

The God of the Bible is the God Who calls us to salvation. The God of the Bible is the God Who sent Jesus Christ, His only Son, to be our Savior and Lord. Are you walking with the God of the Bible, or are you walking with the gods of this world? Our God will not walk with strange gods. He would not do it with Solomon (who wrote three books of scripture [Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs], and contributed to the Psalms), and will not do it with you.

There are many strange gods trying to crawl into the Christian Church today. I don’t have time to talk about all of them, but I do want to mention four:

There is the god of wokeness, and Critical Race Theory.

I recently finished reading “Christianity and Wokeness” by Owen Strachan (research professor of theology, Grace Bible Theological Seminary). The Bible prohibits “man stealing” (1 Timothy 1:10), which is race based chattel slavery. The Bible commands that we “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39). We are to treat others the way we want to be treated. The Bible tells us that “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34). As our Heavenly Father loves all people regardless of color, we must do the same if we expect to walk with God. However, so called “wokeness” and “Critical Race Theory” is more worldly and of the gods of this world than it is of Scripture. Strachan in his book quoted from the “woke” book Divided by Faith (Christian Smith): “All white evangelicals are complicit in the racial inequalities that exist, mainly because ‘they support the American system and enjoy it’s fruits’ … In combating racial inequality, whites, as ‘the main creators and benefactors of the racialized society, must repent of their personal, historical, and social sins.’ ” (pg 36)

As believers in Christ we MUST REPENT of our personal sins, and of any racism that we ourselves have engaged or are engaging in. Romans 14:12 notes “each of us will give an account of ourselves to God”. Each person is accountable for their own sin. However, it exceeds Scripture to say we need to repent of “historical sins”. The Bible says:

Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

Each person is accountable to God for THEIR OWN SIN, not for the sins of others. I cannot “repent” of anything an ancestor did. Such “repentance” is no more than show. My duty before God is to love God and love my neighbor. Period. One of the founders of “Woke” doctrine, Ibram X. Kendi notes in the book How To Be An Antiracist: “there is no neutrality in the racism struggle … One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an antiracist. There is not in between safe space of ‘not racist.’ The claim of ‘not racist’ neutrality is a mask for racism.” This is confusion and nonsense, and my God is NOT the God of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33), but of peace.

Each person is accountable for how they live their own life before God. And no, you are not automatically racist just because you are white. You are racist when you behave racist. Period. Jesus loved every person, and treated each person with the respect He wanted for Himself. This is what we do.

There is the god of sexual sin.

Whether is be homosexual sin, heterosexual sin, transgenderism, or an alphabet soup of letters, the god of this world is pushing for the destruction of the family. Transgender “women” are fighting to be included in women’s competitions, women’s locker rooms, and women’s bathrooms. What did Jesus say about gender and marriage? He said:

Matthew 19:4-6 … Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

God designed men and women in a specific way, and called men and women to marry one another. For thousands of years this has been the standard of marriage.

In America, we have extraordinary freedoms. If you wish to pursue sexual sin, there is no law stopping you from walking that path. However, God will not walk with you.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (ESV) Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

1 Timothy 1:9-10 … the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,

In Romans 1:18-32 the Apostle indicts those who reject the Gospel of salvation in order to chase after a variety of sins. The Apostle makes it clear that sexual sin and violation of God’s design puts you where God will not walk with you. Again, as Americans there are things that the Bible condemns that are “lawful” in our present society. But as Christians, God’s will and God’s glory take precedent over what we feel or want.

The god of abortion.

All life is precious, even the life of the developing child. God made us in His image (Genesis 1:27), and that alone makes every person precious. The Psalmist said to God, “Your hands made me and formed me…” (Psalm 119:73). It is God Who gives life, and Who forms every human being (Psalm 139:13-16; Job 10:11-12). God “formed you from the womb” (Isaiah 44:24). And God has a purpose for every child. God told Jeremiah “Before I formed you in your mother’s body I chose you. Before you were born I set you apart to serve Me.” (1:5). When John the Baptist was still in his mother’s womb, he “leapt for joy” when brought near to the expectant virgin Mary (Luke 1:41, 44). The Prophet Isaiah said, “the Lord called me from the womb” (Isaiah 49:1, 5). The Apostle Paul said “God set me apart from the time I was born” (Galatians 1:15). Though Roe vs Wade may make allowance for abortion of a child, the Bible considers all life to be precious.

The god of social media.

People walk about staring at their phones. Parents and children go out to eat, and never talk to one another – but watch and respond to social media incessantly. Don’t get me wrong – I use social media to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with as many as possible. I use a blog, and post to Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. To use social media is one thing. To have it consume you is quite another. People have become quite belligerent, difficult, and yes, mean on social media. This is because actual face to face interaction with another human develops a set of skills that you do not have to have on social media. If you disagree with someone on social media, you can just “flame” them. There are no consequences for your actions except, perhaps by being blocked.

Our Lord Jesus tells us 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.

You cannot do this on social media. Love is something you cannot text, something you cannot do through a machine. Loving as Jesus calls us to love requires an in-person touch. People need that personal touch. I have read horror stories where students have abused others through social media. I myself have experienced so much nonsense on my own website that I took away the “comments” section intentionally. People can be brutal through social media. This is not the way of Christ. The stepbrother of Jesus said:

James 3:14-18 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

Have you “married” your life to strange wives? Have you blended your faith with the gods of this world? James goes on to tell us “do you not know that friendship of the world is to make yourselves the enemy of God? Whoever befriends the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4). We cannot blend our faith with the false gods of this world. Let us come to the God of the Scripture through His Son Jesus Christ (John 14:6). Let us believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and rose again to lead us in the paths of righteousness. Let us live our lives sold out for Jesus!

The days are short, dear friends. I believe that the end of this present world could come any day now. Let us all love God with all our hearts, and walk with Him daily as He has called us. May God the Holy Spirit and this His Word touch your hearts this day. Amen and Amen.

Posted in 1 Kings, Sermons Preached | Tagged false gods, goddesses, gods, walking with God | Leave a comment

Understanding Jesus In The Trinity

Posted on October 24, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

Turn with me to John chapter 5.

Not long ago we talked about the man Jesus healed on the Sabbath day, the man who had been crippled for 38 years. Jesus approached him as he lay on a porch overlooking the pool Bethesda. Jesus told the man to “Rise, take up your bed, and walk” (vs 8) – and the man immediately was healed and did just that. Because Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath day, “the Jews … sought to slay Jesus” (vs 16). Jesus told the self righteous Pharisees:

John 5:17-18 … My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. 18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

Jesus Made Himself Equal With God

Jesus did TWO things that offended the Pharisees. He “broke the sabbath”, but He also said “God was his Father, making himself equal with God”. This was highly offensive to the Jews. To say that “God is my Father” is to claim equality with God.

I was born to E. J. Buffaloe, Jr. That was my daddy. Being born from him, I am of the same composition, the same genes, the same DNA as my father. I have certain traits that were passed down from my daddy. I look a lot like my daddy. I have diabetes and high blood pressure, just as my daddy did. My daddy had seniority on me, and I respected him as my daddy – he was the head of our family. But we were equal physically because of birth.

No Jew would claim God to be his Father. There are places in the Old Testament where God is called “Father” of Israel as a nation. But you will not find God calling Himself “Father” to an individual.

A few examples. God told Moses to tell Pharaoh:

Exodus 4:22 – 23 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

Israel the nation is the son of God. God said through the Prophet:

Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

It is the nation Israel – not an individual but the group – that are “God’s son”. When the priests of Israel failed to bring glory to God (for they did not “keep God’s ways, but were partial in the law” [Malachi 2:9]), the Prophet told Israel:

Malachi 2:10 Have we not all one Father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?

God is the “Father” of Israel. “He was their Savior” (Isaiah 63:8). God saved Israel His son from Egypt. And though Israel wandered from God as a prodigal son, God loved Israel anyway. It was and is His child (Isaiah 63:16; 64:8).

Word Study: “Father” is the favorite title that Jesus uses for God. The word “Father” is found 116 times in the Book of John alone, most of these times in reference to God. Jesus said that “God was his Father”. The word translated “” is the Greek πατήρ patḗr, (pronounced pat-ayr’), which means “the generator or male ancestor, the parent of”. This word is used instead of the word Ἀββᾶ Abbâ, (pronounced ab-bah’), which is often used as a term of endearment.

How is God the “Father” of Jesus Christ? Did Jesus only come into being when He was born of the virgin Mary? No, absolutely not. The Bible teaches that God the Father is God:

Philippians 1:2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father..

but Jesus is also God. We are told in:

Colossians 2:9 For in {Jesus Christ} dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

In Hebrews, the Father told the angels when Jesus was brought into this world through Mary:

Hebrews 1:6 … let all the angels of God worship him.

Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. The Father told Jesus, “Thy throne, O GOD, is for ever and ever..” (Hebrews 1:8). Jesus is God. He was there at the creation of humanity. We are told in:

Genesis 1:26 … and God said, let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness …

Jesus is God the Son Who, with God the Father and God the Spirit created all things. The Bible says that Jesus is …

Colossians 1:15-17 (ESV) … the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Word Study: Jesus is equal with God. He is the “image”, Greek εἰκών eikṓn, {pronounced i-kone’}, the “likeness, profile of, manifest vision of”. The same word is used when Jesus, speaking of a Roman coin, asks “whose image is this?” (Matthew 22:20). Though Caesar was not with the disciples at that moment, the eikṓn on the coin was Caesar. Though the Apostles could not see God (for the Bible says NO MAN HATH SEEN GOD AT ANY TIME – John 1:18; 1 John 4:12), they could see God the Son for He is the manifest Member of the Godhead. The Angel in speaking to Joseph, quoting Isaiah 7:14, said of Jesus:

Matthew 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Jesus Christ is “ Emmanuel … God with us”

There are so many other things I could tell you, where Jesus, according to the Scriptures, is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Spirit.

Jesus as God has no beginning and no end. Jesus as perfect Man has a beginning through the virgin Mary.

In His Unique Nature, Jesus Is
BOTH Equal To AND Lesser Than God

When Jesus is called “the Only Begotten Son” (John 1:18; John 3:16, 18; Hebrews 11:17; 1 John 4:9) or “the Only Begotten of the Father” (John 1:14), this is addressing the humanity of Jesus. The humanity of Jesus Christ has a beginning in the virgin birth. To Mary, Gabriel declared “the Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the highest shall overshadow you; therefore that holy thing which shall be born to you shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). Jesus as God has no beginning nor end, but as Man has a beginning. Jesus as God is equal to Father and Spirit, but Jesus as Man follows the direction of God. Though Jesus made Himself EQUAL to God in His eternal state, in His human state Jesus followed God. He said:

John 5:19-20 Then answered Jesus and said unto them {the Pharisees}, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. 20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

When Jesus took upon Himself humanity – allowing Himself to enter the world through Mary – Jesus lowered Himself to our level (but WITHOUT SIN). When Jesus says, “The Son can do nothing of himself”, He was speaking of Himself as “the Son of Man”.

As the “Son of God” Jesus is one with God, i.e. co-equal and co-eternal, with infinite power and knowledge. In His “Godness” we see scriptures affirming:

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 10:30 I and My Father are ONE.

John 14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

As the “Son of Man” Jesus is subservient to God. Jesus lowered Himself from Heaven’s Throne to be like us – yet without sin. In His “humanity” we see scriptures affirming:

John 5:20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

John 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

As “Son of Man” Jesus walked this earth PERFECTLY doing the will of the Father. Whatever Jesus did while He ministered among us, it was endorsed and directed by the Godhead. Jesus repeatedly said in His humanity that

“I do nothing of myself” (John 8:28)
“The Father Who sent Me gave Me a commandment” (John 12:24)
“My Father is greater than I” (John 14:28)
“I have kept My Father’s commandments” (John 15:10)
“Father, I gave them the words You gave Me” (John 17:8)

Jesus Christ as “The Son of Man” (a term used for the Messiah through the Prophet Daniel. See Daniel 7:13) is the visible member of the Godhead, the Trinity. He came as God’s Representative to fallen mankind. Here is an important point we all need to understand.

Though the Trinity is three Divine Persons, each Person has His function. The Father leads and decrees. The Son is sent as the Mediator. The Spirit empowers and assists the Son. There is no jealousy nor diminishing within the Trinity. Each Person does His part in union with the other Persons, each working flawlessly and perfectly in union with the next. The Trinity is “One God”.

Before Jesus started His earthly ministry, He went to John the Baptist to be baptized in the Jordan River. John initially refused to baptize Jesus, but Jesus told him, “It is necessary for US to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). Jesus had to be publicly baptized as “The Son of Man”, just as all believers in Christ are publicly baptized. Once Jesus fulfilled what He, as the Son of Man was to do, we read:

Matthew 3:16-17 … the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

The Father is not seen, but heard. The Spirit is seen, but not heard. Each member of the Trinity does His part for the salvation of mankind.

The Trinity Made A Decision In The Garden Of Eden To Save Whosoever Will THROUGH JESUS

God told Adam to not eat of that which was forbidden, saying,

Genesis 2:16-17 … Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Adam was promised that he would die “in the day that thou eatest” what was forbidden. “In the day”. Though Adam continued to live physically after he disobeyed God, he died spiritually immediately. “In the day”. From that moment onward, every human born into this world were born physically alive but spiritually dead. In Dr. Charles Stanley’s In Touch devotional (August 30, 2021), he writes:

“Human beings are composed of a body by which they interact with the world around them, a soul with which they relate to themselves and others, and a spirit through which they can commune with God. If the spirit is dead in “trespasses and sins,” the person may still lead a successful earthly life, but he won’t be able to connect with God … However, the good news is that no one has to stay dead. Whenever anyone turns from sin and trusts in Jesus Christ for forgiveness and salvation, God in His mercy makes that person alive with Christ.”

This is what Jesus is talking about in this next section. Read with me:

John 5:21-24 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. 22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: 23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Word Study: The word “quickeneth” is the Greek “ζωοποιέω zōopoiéō, {pronounced dzo-op-oy-eh’-o}”, which means “to bring to or make alive, to cause to live”. God the Father has the power to quicken. God said in the Old Testament:

Deuteronomy 32:39 … I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

The power of life and death is in God’s hands ALONE. When Jesus says “the Son quickeneth whom he will”, He is making His power equal to the Father’s power. God is the Source of all life, and He alone can give life to the spiritually dead. Jesus Christ is God. Jesus further states that “the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son”. This declares the exclusivity of Jesus Christ in salvation. The Bible says:

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

All authority to give life is vested in Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ ALONE. In an article in Relevant Magazine entitled “Survey … Jesus Isn’t The Only Way To Salvation” notes:

“… of the born again Christians between the ages of 18-39 surveyed, 60 percent agreed with the statement ‘Buddha, Muhammad and Jesus are all valid paths to God.’ … ”

If this is true, then Jesus Christ is a liar. For Jesus said “the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son”. Not just some, but ALL. There is no life apart from the Father and the Son, and the Father has given all judgment to the Son. The pathway to spiritual life is, indeed, a “narrow way” (Matthew 7:13). The devil would have us call Jesus a liar, and preach instead that “wide is the gate that leads to life”. But this is not what Jesus said.

Only God can save. God has decreed that
all salvation come through His Son Jesus.

1 Timothy 2:3-6 (ESV) This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

As I read that article in Relevant Magazine, it became apparent to me that the phrase “Born Again” has been hijacked from the Scripture by the devil, just as he has hijacked the rainbow of Genesis. You cannot be “born again” outside of faith in Christ. What did Jesus say?

John 5:23 all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

Jesus is to be treated with exactly the same respect that you treat God the Father. God the Father has decreed that salvation from spiritual death and the second death (eternal damnation) can only occur through faith in Christ Jesus. Jesus said:

John 5:24-26 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;

Those who “hear the voice of the Son of God” – not of Buddha nor of Muhammad nor of Joseph Smith nor of some Hindu god – but the “voice of the Son of God”. Jesus said “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10:27-28).

The Lord Jesus Christ is the only Savior. The world despises this message, and constantly pushes the Church to adjust the Gospel call. But Beloved, we cannot because God has not. Jesus Christ is the only Savior, and faith in Him the only way to be saved.

When the Russian Comedian Yakov Smirnoff came to America, someone asked him what he loved most about our nation. Smirnoff said, “I love American grocery stores. I walked down an aisle and saw powdered milk; just add water and you get milk. Right next to it was powdered orange juice; just add water and you get orange juice. Then I saw baby powder and I thought to myself, ‘What a country!’”.

In America we have great technology, great products, and do great things. But we cannot change God’s formula for salvation. If a person wishes to be saved, that person must know the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation. Then you must believe that He – Jesus Christ – died for your sins, and rose from the grave to lead you daily throughout the rest of your life. Listen Beloved. “What does the Lord thy God require of you?” (Deuteronomy 10:12). You are to “fear the Lord your God, and to walk in His ways, to love Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and soul”. There will be many who will stand before Jesus as He sits on a Great White Throne and judges the dead. All judgment is committed to Jesus’ hand. The Father has given all judgment into Jesus’ hand. We close with this:

John 5:27-29 {the Father} hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. 28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Those “that have done good” are those who believed on the name of Jesus, and were saved because of that faith. The ones who have done good will have “believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). Jesus very clearly stated:

John 6:29, 40 … This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. … 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Have you believed on Him? Have you received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? If not, I pray that you will do so this very day. May God cause this to be, through His Word and His Spirit. Amen and Amen!

Posted in 1 Kings, General, Sermons Preached | Tagged Jesus Christ, Trinity | Leave a comment

Put On Your Best Suit

Posted on October 21, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

Romans 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.

Word Study: The phrase “put ye on” is the Greek ἐνδύω endýō, {pronounced en-doo’-o}, which means “to sink into clothing, to clothe yourself with”. If you are a Christian, you are to put on your best suit. You are to clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ.

What Are YOU Wearing Today?

Opening Illustration: As I walked through the local Walmart the other day, I was amused, amazed, and sometimes astounded at some of the clothing I saw people wearing. Young women – not all teens – have taken to wearing either very tight and very short shorts, or thin body stockings (I guess you call it that) that leaves little to the imagination. Some people (men or women) wear jeans with holes in them, some holes in places that would make a Playboy Bunny blush. When I got holes in my jeans, my mamma patched them with those iron on patches. There were some people wearing their pajamas. I get tired in Walmart, but have yet to find a section where there are beds you can lay down on. When they get that “bedding” section, I may wear my pajamas to the store as well.

What are you wearing today?

Clothing is a very big topic in the Bible. How you clothe yourself will reflect how you feel about yourself, about your ego. Clothing also will cause others to think of you in a certain way. The Bible tells us to “clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ”.

To clothe yourself with Jesus means to
not hide your sins from God

When our first parents, Adam and Eve sinned, what did they do after their sin? The Bible says that the first thing they did was:

Genesis 2:7 (ESV) … they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Adam and Eve covered up their sin – then they hid from God. It is foolish to cover up our sins, attempting to hide them from God. The Bible says in Proverbs 28:13:

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and
forsaketh them shall have mercy.”

God sees our sins. He knows what we have done. To cover up our sin with fig leaves, or to deflect our guilt by blaming others, it just doesn’t wash with God. When Adam and Eve’s attempt to cover their sins were quickly discovered, Adam blamed both Eve AND God:

Genesis 3:12 (ESV) “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”

The woman likewise blamed the serpent. The truth is, Adam had free will, and chose to disobey God of his own will. Adam was at fault, not God nor Eve.

There is a way to cover sin, but it is not by fig leaves or blaming others. The Bible says “blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered” (Psalm 32:1). We do not cover sin with our own works of righteousness. We “clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ”. The Bible tells us that God sent His Son Jesus to make payment for every sin we would ever commit. The Bible says:

1 John 1:7 (ESV) … the blood of Jesus Christ {God’s} Son cleanses us from all sin ..

The Lord Jesus Christ is the only acceptable covering for our sin. The Bible often uses the word “propitiation” when it discusses Jesus. For instance:

1 John 2:2 And {Jesus} is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son {Jesus} to be the propitiation for our sins.

Romans 3:25 {this Jesus} 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;

Word Study: The word translated “propitiation” the Greek ἱλαστήριον hilastḗrion, {pronounced hil-as-tay’-ree-on} or ἱλασμός hilasmós, {pronounced hil-as-mos’}. The latter word means “the means of appeasing God, the covering for sin”. The former word means “to atone or cover”. What Jesus Christ did for us on Calvary is the only acceptable covering for sin.

When God saw Adam and Eve in fig leaves the Bible says that God took away their fig leaves and clothed them Himself:

Genesis 3:21 (ESV) … the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

God had to kill innocent animals in order to clothe Adam and Eve. This is a foreshadowing of the death of Christ Jesus on the Cross. Jesus “put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26). “Jesus also suffered outside the gate {of Jerusalem} in order to sanctify the people through His own blood” (Hebrews 13:11-12). It is only in Jesus that we have “redemption through His Blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His Grace” (Ephesians 1:7-8).

Jesus and Jesus alone is the covering for our sins. Do not hide your sins from God. Confess them to God, and plead the Blood of Christ over each sin. “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ”.

To Clothe Yourself With The Lord Jesus Means
To Live Your Life Primarily Loving God

If you “Clothe Yourself With The Lord Jesus Christ” you will literally consider how you practically live out your faith every day.

I earlier talked about how people clothe themselves as they go to the local Walmart. The Bible is explicit in that God’s people are to be careful in how they cover themselves. God told His Old Covenant saints:

Deuteronomy 22:5 A woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man put on a woman’s cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.

This is NOT a command that women should not wear “slacks” or “pants”. In the days that this was written, most people wore robes. It is a command that women are not to dress so as to intentionally look like a man, nor are men to dress in such a way as to intentionally look like a woman. Why is this? Because God says that “whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord”. Why?

Because when God created humanity, the Bible says “He created them male and female” (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:20-25). When the Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth, He did not eradicate what the Old Testament said. When asked about marriage our Lord Jesus said:

Matthew 19:4-6 (ESV) … “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

What God has established in the design of creation, we are told by Jesus to leave it alone. “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mark 10:9). We are not to fool with, or in any way bring confusion to, God’s rule of order. The Apostle Paul said:

1 Corinthians 7:17 But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches.

Live your lives as our Lord Jesus Christ did. Live your lives so as to please the God Who made you. The Apostle Peter told the wives of believers:

1 Peter 3:3-4 (ESV) Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

Women are beautifully made by God. Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. Do not let your outer adornment – makeup, hair, clothing – the the greatest thing in your life. Dress so as to honor the Lord Who saved you. Dress so that the characteristics of Jesus Christ can shine through your lives. The Apostle said:

1 Timothy 2:9-10 … women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.

I do not believe the Apostles – nor our Lord – were being misogynistic (deeply prejudiced against women). Our Lord Jesus said:

“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (ESV Mark 7:20-23)

The human heart is “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9). No one is naturally good at heart. “all have sinned” and are sinners (Romans 3:23). Everyone is broken. If we dress provocatively, that is like pouring fuel on a fire. Dress with others in mind. Dress so as to show Christlike love toward others. I am sure I’ll be flamed on social media for some of what I just said, but it is God’s Word, not mine. But you can be angry with me if it makes you feel better. As Christ’s servant, I seek to please Him – not to please my listeners (Galatians 1:10).

To Clothe Yourself With The Lord Jesus Christ Means To Live As He Lived, Reliant Upon God

Romans 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.

The Bible tells us that David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). Does this mean that David did not err, was not a sinner as we are? Absolutely not! But David had a trait that we all need to follow. He clothed himself with the Lord Jesus Christ.

When David was going to battle Goliath, no one – not even King Saul – felt that they could do battle with that giant monster of a man. The Bible says “Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were DISMAYED and GREATLY AFRAID” (1 Samuel 17:11). They were being driven by their flesh, by their fear, by their human logic. But David’s reply when he heard Goliath’s threats was:

“who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26)

When David volunteered to fight Goliath, he was met with scorn from King Saul. “You are but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth” (vs 33). But David had his eyes not on Goliath, but on Jesus. David said, “The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine” (vs 37).

Saul clothed David with his armor (vs 38), and gave David a helmet of brass and a coat of chain mail. Though David tried it on, he quickly took them off. David said, “I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them” (vs 39). David had clothed himself with the Lord. The Lord that saved him out of the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, would certainly deliver him from Goliath.

And God did!

When trials and testing comes, the Bible tells us that the safest thing we can do is “clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ”. The Scripture says:

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Let Jesus Christ, the Lord of Heaven and earth, cover you! Let Him be your clothing. Only in Jesus do we have power for living. Only in Jesus can we defeat the Goliaths of this world. Be like the Hebrew Children before the angry pagan king:

Daniel 3:17-18 (ESV) our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

To Clothe Yourself With The Lord Jesus Means To Love As He Loved, Treating Others With Respect

The Apostle tells us:

Romans 13:8-10 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

“love is the fulfilling of the law”. When Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, came to this earth, He fulfilled the ceremonial and sacrificial portions of the Law. But Jesus never erased the moral codes found in the Old Testament. We who are saved by Jesus are to clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make NO PROVISION for the flesh. The Bible says that:

Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

The believer in Christ is NOT to clothe themselves in the “works of the flesh”. The believer in Christ is to flee all sexual sins – including homosexuality (1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Timothy 1:10). We are not to pursue the ways of the world. Why? Because we belong to Jesus. We are to

Romans 13:12-13 … cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

Let us clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us hide ourselves in Jesus (Colossians 3:3). The Lord that saved us is the Lord we are to walk in. Let us honor the Lord Jesus Christ, and do as He says do. For the glory of our God forever. Amen and Amen!

Posted in Romans, Sermons Preached | Tagged clothing, Faith, Following Christ, Jesus Christ, put on Jesus | Leave a comment

Benediction For The Saints

Posted on October 18, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

There are parts of the Bible that we read quickly, not looking for any depth in them. I know myself when I read through books like Numbers, and read the census lists of Israel:

Numbers 1:5-7 And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur. 6 Of Simeon; Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 7 Of Judah; Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

My eyes kind of gloss over, and my mind wanders. We all do this. We miss great Biblical truths because we undervalue every part of this Holy Scripture. The WHOLE Scripture – every word, every phrase, every nuance – is God breathed (theopneustos). The Apostle Paul told Timothy:

2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV) All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God (God’s Messenger) may be complete, equipped for every good work.

There are no accidental texts. This Word is God’s breath. He spoke it. Which brings us to:

Philippians 4:21-23 Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you. 22 All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household. 23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

I have never preached out of this text, and after research I found out few preachers have ever focused on this text. But this is God’s Word, and there are great truths in this, if God the Holy Spirit will draw it out. In most Bibles this section is labeled (if it is labeled) “Concluding Benediction”, “Greetings and Benediction”, or just “Benediction”. The word “benediction” means, according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, “ the invocation … of a blessing, something that promotes goodness or well-being”.

As the Apostle writes this letter, he is dictating it through a brother in Christ, Epaphroditus. The Apostle mentions his name twice:

Philippians 2:25 Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labor, and fellow soldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants.

Philippians 4:18 But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God.

Why was Epaphroditus a messenger for Paul? Because the Apostle is imprisoned by Rome,
and is chained to Roman guards.

The commentaries note that Paul is imprisoned in either Ephesus or Rome, and is on a journey to stand before Caesar for trial. The charge? TREASON. The Apostle was imprisoned for preaching “Jesus is Lord”, and that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way unto God.

Rome grew powerful by conquering other nations, and bringing those nations into the Roman confederacy.Conquered people could keep their own gods and goddesses, but were required to acknowledge the Roman Caesar as “Lord”. This is something that the Christians would NOT do. When the Roman Centurion Cornelius was led to be saved in a vision from Heaven, he was told to call for the Apostle Peter. As Peter spoke to Cornelius, he said:

Acts 10:34-36 Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. 36 The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all)

The Holy Spirit fell on Cornelius and his house, and they were saved. To utter or even hide in your heart that “Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all)” was an act of treason in Roman territory. And yet, the Christian missionaries went out preaching the singular Lordship of Jesus Christ. When the Apostle Paul preached in Athens at Mars Hill, he plainly said:

Acts 17:22-27 Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. 23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. 24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25 Neither is worshiped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; 26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; 27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

Paul preached the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Lordship of the God of Scripture. What happened? Paul was imprisoned. But Paul was not discouraged.

If Jesus Is Lord, He Is Lord ALL The Time

Jesus Christ is not a part time Lord. He is not like Caesar, Who must compel the people to worship him at least once a year, or else be declared treasonous. No, Beloved, Jesus is LORD of all. The Bible says:

Psalm 103:19 (ESV) The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.

When Paul was imprisoned, he was not just saying “Jesus is Lord”. He literally, deep down in his heart, believed Jesus is Lord. If Jesus is Lord, He is Lord over whatever valley you are in at this moment. Paul believed this. He wrote:

Philippians 1:12-14 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; 13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; 14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Many of us, when afflicted in the service of our King, attribute the affliction to the devil. The devil does afflict – but only at God’s permission. Satan is not greater than God. Jesus is Lord!

Paul told the Philippians that Jesus is Lord even in his imprisonment. The negative things that happen to Christians, happen because God allows them, because they further the cause of Christ. The Apostle called his imprisonment “my bonds in Christ”. Paul was not imprisoned, chained to a guard, because Satan is greater than God. God used and even endorsed the imprisonment as a means to get Paul into the inner courts of Caesar. Paul did not fall apart when put in a bad place, but looked to Jesus.

Philippians 4:21 Salute every saint in Christ Jesus.

Word Study The Christian – saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ – is a “saint”. This is the Greek ἅγιος hágios, {pronounced hag’-ee-os}, which means “one who is consecrated, set apart, or marked as apart from the crowd”. The saint is not perfect. The Corinthian Church, marked with many sinful practices, was still addressed by the Apostle Paul:

1 Corinthians 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, {hágios} with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

When you surrender to the Lordship of Jesus, you are saved. But not only are you saved, but you are set apart from this world as a child of the Most High God. The Apostle writes in another place:

1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints, {hágios}.

Word Study Dear Christian, we belong to Jesus. This means that our current circumstances, whether favorable or unfavorable, whether smooth or rough, are all engineered by our God. As Paul processed his imprisonment (which was no picnic), he said “the THINGS which happened to me have FALLEN OUT RATHER unto the furtherance of the Gospel”. The words “FALLEN OUT” is the Greek ἔρχομαι érchomai, {pronounced er’-khom-ahee} which means “to come to pass”. Imprisonment was a visitor in Paul’s life that was not a bad thing, but a good thing. As a Saint of God the Apostle said:

Philippians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Too many believers, when confronted with an undesirable situation in life, begin crying out to God for relief. Too many times we allow thieves to come and rob us of our blessings. Jesus said:

John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

The “thief” comes to rob us of the presence of our Jesus.

the thief called worry
the thief called fear
the thief called unbelief
the thief called despair
the thief called discouragement

To these thieves (and the many other unnamed worldly thieves that try and rob us of our joy) the Apostle encourages the believer to:

Philippians 1:27-28 Only let your {Greek politeúomai [pronounced pol-it-yoo’-om-ahee] behavior as citizens of God’s Kingdom} be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 28 And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.

The SAINT is a Citizen of God’s Kingdom FIRST

The Saint – the citizens of God’s Kingdom – is to act like a citizen of Heaven. We are commanded to not act like the lost, for we are not lost. We are to imitate Jesus Christ. The Apostle said:

Philippians 1:29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

Saints are Citizens of Heaven who Suffer

The Saint is set apart to live his or her life to the glory of God the Father and of Jesus Christ our Lord. As our Lord Jesus …

Philippians 2:7-8 … made Himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

… gave Himself to suffering for us, we as Saints give ourselves in suffering for others. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords lowered Himself for you and I. We must walk following Him, our King and Savior. Though it got Paul imprisoned, he is unrepentant in declaring the Lordship of Christ. Jesus has “a name that is above every name”,

Philippians 2:10-11 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We do not bow the knee to Caesar, nor to any person. We bow the knee to Jesus, and preach salvation through faith alone in Him alone.

Every Trial Is For A Greater Good In The Saint
(God Is In Control)

The Saint is set apart by God as His child – and God continually works in His child and
in the environment that child is in.

Philippians 2:13-16 … it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; 16 Holding forth the word of life

Word Study When God called Israel out of Egypt, and carried them through the Red Sea as if on dry land, two things marred the people of God: “murmurings and disputings”. The word “murmurings” is the Greek γογγυσμός gongysmós, {pronounced gong-goos-mos’} which means “murmuring, grudging secret displeasures, muttering”. God had a plan to take Israel into the Promised Land of Canaan, a land that “floweth with milk and honey” (Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:27). But Israel murmured and complained against Moses and Aaron. Eventually Israel committed the ultimate sin: they murmured against God. Moses told Israel:

Deuteronomy 1:26-27 … ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God: 27 And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.

God took His hand of blessing from the first generation of Israel because of murmuring and complaining. God said,

Psalm 95:10-11 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: 11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

Word Study The hand that blesses is also the hand that can remove blessing. God removed blessing from Israel. The other word is “disputings”, which is the Greek διαλογισμός dialogismós, {pronounced dee-al-og-is-mos’}, which means “a questioning of the truth”. It is translated “evil thoughts” in Matthew 15:19, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts”. It is translated “imaginations” in Romans 1:21, “when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations”.

The God that saved Israel from Egypt and led them through the Red Sea, is surely the same God Who can lead them through the Jordan and defeat the Canaanites. But as the Israelis focused on their trial rather than their God, this seed of unbelief grew until it destroyed the nation.

To avoid Satan’s traps, the Saint is encouraged to take control of the emotions and of their minds. Paul writes:

Philippians 4:4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. 5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Word Study The Saint is first to “Rejoice in the Lord always”. No matter what you are going through, rejoice “in the Lord”. Acknowledge that God is in control of the situation, that He is Lord of your life. You are a Saint, not a lost soul. You belong to Jesus. Do all things in “moderation”. This is the Greek ἐπιεικής epieikḗs, {pronounced ep-ee-i-kace’}, which is translated patient (1 Timothy 3:3), gentle (Titus 3:2; James 3:17; 1 Peter 2:18). The Saint is to be like Jesus was – kind and patient with others.

Adding to the Saint’s need to rejoice in the Lordship of Christ, and being patient, we are also supposed to not worry, but give our needs to the God Who is our Lord. As He gave Israel manna and water in the desert, and kept their clothing and shoes from wearing out, our God can meet ALL our needs.

Direct your minds to examine the faithfulness of God. He is Lord, and He loves us. He will not abandon the children He bought at such a high price. He will not abandon those whom He has shed His blood for!

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

The Apostle Paul refused to allow Satan to hijack his thought life. He focused on the goodness of God. Did the Apostle suffer lack at times? Absolutely! He was imprisoned. He said:

Philippians 4:11-13 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Whether Paul was full or hungry, abased or abounding, His mind was continually on doing Christ’s work in Christ’s way. Paul said, “in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content”. When you have Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you have all you need. The Apostle said in another place:

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

The Saint is called on purpose by God. Everything that happens to the Saint is for our good, and for the glory of God, whether we know it or not.

The God Of Scripture Is “My God”

Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Notice that Paul refers to God as “my God”. The Saint is owned by God, and owns God. He is ours! We belong to Him, and He belongs to us. If you are a Saint, then He is to you “my God”. When King David was afflicted, he cried out to “my God”. He prayed,

Psalm 3:7 Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.

He cried, “O Lord MY GOD, in Thee do I put my trust” (Psalm 7:1). David, like Paul, walked side by side each day with the Lord. He could say,

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

If you are saved, God possesses you, and you possess God. He is to you “MY GOD”. There is no room for the world nor for the devil to live in the House of God between us. We who are saved belong to Him.

Philippians 4:21-22 Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you. 22 All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household.

We discussed verse 21, and how the Christian is a Saint, set apart to live with God under His Kingdom authority. But note verse 22. You probably read it, and thought nothing of it. But read the words again:

All the saints salute you, chiefly they that
are of Caesar’s household

I told you that Paul was imprisoned, and chained to a Roman guard, a soldier of the empire. The soldiers are “of Caesar’s household”. As I mentioned before, Rome allowed all types of religions to flourish, as long as Caesar was worshiped as Lord. To fail to worship Caesar as Lord, to give singular Lordship status to anyone outside of Caesar, was considered an act of treason. This is why Paul is in prison, awaiting what will surely be a beheading.

Paul is chained to a Roman soldier. He’s chained to this soldier as he dictates this letter to Epaphroditus. The soldier cannot help but hear – being chained to the Apostle as he is – exactly what Paul has been saying.

A loyal Roman soldier would report what Paul wrote to his superiors. Had it been reported, no doubt Epaphroditus would have been hindered or killed, and the letter destroyed. But the letter got to Philippi. It wasn’t destroyed. Why?

I imagine Paul in bonds. He is fastened to a soldier, and left alone with him. Paul starts talking. “Have you heard about My God? Have you heard about Jesus?” The soldier replies, “Shut up! I don’t want to talk about that.” But Paul doesn’t shut up. “I notice you have armor on. I have armor, too. My armor is made by Jesus. I have a breastplate of faith and love (1 Thessalonians 5:8). My helmet is the hope of salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:8)”. The Roman soldier cannot beat Paul, for Paul is a Roman citizen awaiting trial. All he can do is listen. He tells Paul, “Shut up! Stop telling me about this Jesus!” But Paul continues. “My loins are girt about with truth” (Ephesians 6:14). The man has no choice but to hear Paul. Paul is unlike anyone he has ever been cuffed to. Most prisoners are bleak, sad, depressed, anxious concerning what was coming. But not Paul. His eyes were on Jesus.

When the changing of the guard comes, the guard going off duty has the Gospel of Christ planted in his heart. Here comes another guard, but Paul is not discouraged. God is giving him another opportunity to serve the kingdom of God, and the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Jesus is Lord! As Paul closes this letter, he says simply:

Philippians 4:23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

There is no salvation without these two things:

The Grace of God, and
The Lordship of Christ our Savior

Is Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior? You can be saved if Jesus is just your Savior, but your faith will be too weak to be of much value if Jesus is not your Lord. Is He your Lord? Dear Saint, you are set apart by God to do service for your King. You belong to Jesus, not to things. It is not things that satisfies the soul of the Christian, but the presence of the God Who controls all things. The Apostle Paul told Timothy:

1 Timothy 6:6-7 … godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

That which gives us contentment and blessing, whether on the mountain top or in the valley, is the Lordship of our God. Do you know Him? You cannot add one single hour to your life (Matthew 6:27), but the God Who owns the believer can. Rest in the God Who has saved you. Give Him all that you are. He owns you anyway. And trust that God loves you with an infinite love. Resting in the presence of Christ, we can say with David, “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance” (Psalm 16:6). May God the Holy Spirit move on our hearts, and draw us all into the Presence of Jesus this very day. In Christ’s name we pray this. Amen and Amen.

Posted in Philippians, Sermons Preached | Tagged Lord Jesus Christ, Lordship of Christ | Leave a comment

Why Sunday School?

Posted on October 18, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

Acts 2:38-42 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

The early Church, started on the Day of Pentecost by God and His people, grew and excelled. This is amazing, because the Church itself owned no real eastate, had no buildings, and usually met on “Solomon’s Porch” in the Temple. The Church grew even though it was attacked as a cult by the Pharisees, priests, and Ruling Elders of Israel (the Sanhedrin). It was also considered seditious by Roman authorities, for Christians would not acknowledge “Caesar is Lord” as all good Romans would do.

Yet the Church grew. It excelled. Why would it grow in such a toxic environment? The Church did three things:

The Church Obeyed Jesus

Peter preached the Gospel of salvation, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ”. The first step to salvation is to “”, the Greek μετανοέω metanoeō, which means “to change the mind” or to “change your drive or motivation”. The Bible says that before we were saved, that the Christian:

Ephesians 2:1-3 (ESV) … you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Before salvation, the unsaved follows the “passions of our flesh”. We were no different than the rest of the lost world. Our sins might have been different – you may not have experienced same sex attraction or gender dysphoria, but you pursued other sins. Pride and selfishness drove you. But meeting Jesus Christ, you acknowledged that you were broken. Like the tax collector Matthew you met Jesus, and leaving your riches, followed Him Who is the riches of Heaven. The Christian loves and follows Jesus.

Are we broken? Yes, but we are daily growing more like Christ. As we associate with Jesus, His glory rubs off on our souls more and more. We are not ashamed to follow Jesus. Peter said:

Acts 2:38 Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ

Jesus said in John 15:4, “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you”. Jesus commanded the believer be baptized in water. He said in 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 Ghost”. Baptism is part of Christ’s directive. Why did Jesus demand His followers be baptized? It is because baptism in water is a public profession of faith in Jesus. The Apostle Paul said:

Romans 6:3-5 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

Baptism is a symbolic burial with Christ. Our old man dies and is buried with Christ as we are lowered into the water, and the new man is born as we are raised out of the water. Baptism shows our union with Jesus Christ, and publicly identifies us as children of God. The Apostle Peter likens water baptism to Noah’s Ark, saying:

1 Peter 3:20-22 Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: 22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God …

Noah and his family were saved from certain destruction because he obeyed God, and built an ark, then GOT ON THAT ARK. When we are publicly baptized in water we are affirming to the world that we, like Noah, got on an Ark. We believed in Jesus, and have committed our lives to Him. As Jesus rose from the dead, we shall too rise above the grave, and live forever because of Him.

The early Church was publicly baptized after receiving Jesus as Savior, showing they believed Him also LORD of all. Though the Church was hated by Pharisees and Priests, as well as Roman authorities, the believers were baptized nonetheless PUBLICLY. They knew what Jesus said, that is,

Luke 9:26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.

The Church Studied And Applied “Jesus” To Life

Acts 2:42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine AND fellowship

The early Church studied the Bible. Our text says they “continued steadfastly”. This is the Greek προσκαρτερέω proskartereō, which means “to be devoted to, to persevere in, to steadfastly be attentive to”. What were they attentive to? “The apostles‘ doctrine”. What the Apostles taught. And what did the Apostles teach? They taught what Jesus taught. We are told in …

Matthew 10:1-2 … when {Jesus} had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. 2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these …

The original twelve disciples that followed Jesus were called by Jesus to be APOSTLES. They walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus, saw Jesus perform miracles, and allowed Jesus to empower themselves to do the miraculous. The “apostles‘ doctrine” is what the Apostles learned from Jesus. The early Church clung to what the Apostles taught about JESUS, and how the whole of Scripture testifies of Jesus. Our Lord Jesus said:

John 5:39-40 (ESV) You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

The early Church immersed itself in the Scriptures, and focused on Who Jesus was, what Jesus taught, and the High Priesthood of Christ. Sadly, this is not true in our modern Church today!

Illustrate: I love to read. Recently I saw a “Guidepost” magazine, one that I used to subscribe to and read years ago. I grabbed it, and started reading. As I read further and further into the magazine – the lead story was about the faith of Harry Connick, Jr a musician I admire – I began to be disturbed. As I read through that magazine, I read of people who:

loved Amazing Grace
adored their Church
had “faith”

But one thing was conspicuously and insidiously missing. Throughout the magazine I saw absolutely NO MENTION of Jesus, of Jesus Christ, of Christ Jesus, of our Lord and savior. Jesus told us that when the “Spirit of truth comes, he will bear witness about ME” (John 15:26). The Guideposts I was reading at no point even mentioned Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of lords. Now, it may have been accidental to that issue, but I see this more and more in the world of “Christian” publications today. They speak of “God” and “Faith”, but no mention is made of Jesus. That Guideposts could have been a publication of the followers of Allah, Buddha, or some Hindu god.

We must know about Jesus. We teach about Jesus in our Sunday School. We must teach Jesus, if we will save the world from this present darkness.

Teaching Jesus, the “apostles‘ doctrine”, the early Church also behaved like Jesus.

Acts 2:42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine AND fellowship

Word Study: The early believer focused on Jesus’ teachings, and it showed in how they loved people. They enjoyed “fellowship”. The word “fellowship” is the Greek κοινωνία koinōnia, which means “to participate in community, to have intimate or close sharing together with others”. The Church did not just hear and respond to the preaching of it’s pastors, but it gathered together to share with one another, a pursue the deeper truths of God’s Word. This is a primary component of Sunday School – FELLOWSHIP.

A Church that does not study and share God’s Word together soon becomes filled with worldliness, and subject to failure. The Apostle Paul defined the Church when he wrote:

Ephesians 2:19-20 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens 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

The Church is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets”. The “prophets” wrote the Old Testament as moved by the Spirit of God, the “apostles” wrote the New Testament as moved by that same Spirit. The “foundation” or base of the local Church is the Holy Scriptures, with “Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone”. The ancient architects were always very careful in placing the corner stone of a building. All walls aligned to the corner stone. Every brick aligned to the corner stone. Every part of Scripture aligns to Jesus Christ, and the Church must align to Jesus Christ, else it will be built on a poor and shaky foundation. Sunday School strengthens the foundation of the Church as it focuses on the Scripture, and how the believer is to align their lives through that Scripture to Jesus Christ.

Acts 2:42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

The “apostles’ doctrine”, or teaching about Jesus and what He held dear, resulted in a Church that looked like Jesus. The early Church fellowshipped – they enjoyed one another’s company. Jesus was often found sharing with sinners and publicans, much to the chagrin of the Pharisees. As the Church grew in fellowship, it progressed to “breaking of bread”, or sharing food together, as well as to “prayers”. They shared their burdens one with another, and lifted each other up to Jesus Christ.

Sunday School Is Not Just A New Testament Concept

Dr. Elmer L. Towns is Dean Emeritus of the School of Religion and Theological Seminary at Liberty University, which he co founded with Dr. Jerry Fallwell Sr. in 1971. He teaches the Pastor’s Bible Class at Thomas Road Baptist Church each Sunday. Dr. Towns writes:

“This Old Testament verse is often used to express the fourfold nature of Sunday school:

“Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the LORD your God and carefully observe all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 31:12).

This verse reflects the four distinct “arms” of Sunday school ministry.”

Sunday School is a “Reaching Arm” of the Church. Visitors to our Church may or may not know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. If they are invited into the Sunday School, they can see the love that we have for Jesus, and the love we have for them. Many are often converted, and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, because they attended a caring and nurturing Sunday School. Sunday School is not just for children. God said to “Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates”.
Sunday School is a “Teaching Arm” of the Church. God said the whole reason for gathering is “that they may hear and that they may learn”. People need to hear what God’s Word says, and need to learn how to apply that Word practically to their lives. People need to learn about Jesus Christ! In 1996 around 27% of Americans supported same sex marriage. Today around 70% of Americans affirm same sex marriage as natural. This is because Gay Rights activists have come into the homes through television and internet, creating story lines where this activity is normalized. People need to hear and learn what God has said. In the absence of the light, the darkness will grow.
Sunday School is a “Winning Arm” of the Church. It teaches people to “fear the LORD your God”. In the intimate setting of the Sunday School, those who attend share their experiences and breakthroughs with God and His Word. People discuss how God gave them confidence and blessing as they went through some of life’s harshest valleys. God is personalized to the lost when we show Jesus as He is – a living and powerful Lord and Savior. People today have little “fear” of the Lord, but the Bible teaches that our Creator is holy, righteous, and pure. Jesus Christ is our High Priest and our Sacrifice before God. Hebrews 4:14 tells us “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession”. Through Sunday School, people can be told of the great salvation we have in our Jesus.
Sunday School is a “Caring Arm” of the Church. Though the Worship Services of the Church are wonderful and much needed by the Church, it is in Sunday School that members can get to know one another better. The Bible says that we are to “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (James 5:16).

Sunday School is a wonderful place to show hospitality to all. 1 Peter 4:9 states, “Use hospitality one to another without grudging”. The Church is to be “given to hospitality”. What a wonderful opportunity we have, when we come together in Sunday School!

As our world becomes more and more broken, people are desperately looking for a fix. That fix is only found in Jesus. Let us promote Sunday School, invite others to Sunday School, and show we care for the stranger in our midst in Sunday School. May God use this Scripture and His Spirit to empower and grow our Church to His glory. Amen and Amen.

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

Today The Day of Salvation
April 2026

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The pandemic that is gripping America today is not the Coronavirus, but full blown paganism masquerading under the title “Progressivism”.

We Who Belong To God, Glorify God

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Why would a loving God allow the ugly, the disfigured, the carnival “human freak show”?

It Is Because God Is Loving That We Have That Which Some Consider “Beyond The Norm”

The Law demandsimmediate death for sin.The Love of God demandsgrace to the sinner.

The whole creation groans in suffering because of Adam’s sin, but still exists because of God’s Love.

God Turns The Bad To Beautiful In His Time

God makes all things beautiful in His time!

If You Are Afflicted Run To The Arms Of Jesus

Do Not Allow Yourselves To Be RobbedOf The Beauty Found In Jesus

You may not know this, but Jesus was not beautiful according to man’s standard.

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The Feeding Of The Five Thousand Is the ONLY Miracle Found In All Four Gospels (Here, and Matt. 14:13-21; Mark 6:32-44; Luke 9:10-17)

Jesus Knows What He Is Going To Do. Do We?

The secret to the blessed life is to become like that little child, and simply focus on the Lord

Our God Is A Mountain Leveling God!

How many men sat down? FIVE thousand. What is the number of Grace? FIVE. Do you understand now? Sit down – wait on God.

When they were done, and all had eaten, they gathered the leftovers. Let me ask you: Is the focus on FISH or BREAD?

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The Mary Mentality Waits Upon Jesus

Martha was the owner of the home.Mary was a resident in Martha’s home.

A Christian Is Saved By Sitting At Christ’s Feet.A Christian Grows By Sitting At Christ’s Feet.

But we must first rest at His feet. We must let Jesus be Lord. This is what Mary is doing. Jesus is Lord, so she sits at His feet and waits, and listens. She “learns of Jesus”.

You Bless The Lord When You Treat Him As the Lord. Sit At His Feet, Do What He Says When He Says.

Martha In Her Doing Cut The Lord Out

Jesus went 40 days and 40 nights without food, and just made a banquet for over 5000 people out of two fish and five little biscuits. If He is hungry, He will tell Martha.

Martha is one of 7 people that God calls their name twice – and the only woman Jesus calls by name twice.

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A Little Technical Information To Start 🙂

This Unnamed Widow Was A Genuine Believer:She Loved The Lord!

This woman put her life on the line, because her heart was filled with love for her God.

Are You Religious, Or In A Relationship With Jesus?

Christian faith is not a lease – you have to own it. Does God own your heart, or is your Christianity leased?

You enter the Kingdom of God by falling in love with Jesus. You enter the Kingdom of God by allowing Jesus to possess your heart and guide your life.

Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone. Once saved,your God will possess your heart and your life.

Religion Destroyed The Temple, And Religion Will Destroy The Church

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Is The Grace Of God Fully Operational In Your Life?

Solomon Was Saved By Grace: He WALKED With God

After their first child died, God allowed David & Bathsheba to have a second child. This is GRACE.

Solomon was loved of God, and he loved God.

God knows us. Listen my Beloved: We are all broken.

Solomon is to WALK with God – not with false gods!

The essence of Grace is to WALK daily with God.

Are YOU Walking With Strange gods?

In America, we have extraordinary freedoms. If you wish to pursue sexual sin, there is no law stopping you from walking that path. However, God will not walk with you.

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Jesus Made Himself Equal With God

Jesus as God has no beginning and no end. Jesus as perfect Man has a beginning through the virgin Mary.

In His Unique Nature, Jesus IsBOTH Equal To AND Lesser Than God

The Trinity Made A Decision In The Garden Of Eden To Save Whosoever Will THROUGH JESUS

Only God can save. God has decreed thatall salvation come through His Son Jesus.

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What Are YOU Wearing Today?

To clothe yourself with Jesus means tonot hide your sins from God

The woman likewise blamed the serpent. The truth is, Adam had free will, and chose to disobey God of his own will. Adam was at fault, not God nor Eve.

To Clothe Yourself With The Lord Jesus MeansTo Live Your Life Primarily Loving God

To Clothe Yourself With The Lord Jesus Christ Means To Live As He Lived, Reliant Upon God

“who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26)

To Clothe Yourself With The Lord Jesus Means To Love As He Loved, Treating Others With Respect

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Why was Epaphroditus a messenger for Paul? Because the Apostle is imprisoned by Rome,and is chained to Roman guards.

If Jesus Is Lord, He Is Lord ALL The Time

The SAINT is a Citizen of God’s Kingdom FIRST

Saints are Citizens of Heaven who Suffer

Every Trial Is For A Greater Good In The Saint(God Is In Control)

The Saint is set apart by God as His child – and God continually works in His child andin the environment that child is in.

To avoid Satan’s traps, the Saint is encouraged to take control of the emotions and of their minds. Paul writes:

Direct your minds to examine the faithfulness of God. He is Lord, and He loves us. He will not abandon the children He bought at such a high price. He will not abandon those whom He has shed His blood for!

The God Of Scripture Is “My God”

Paul is chained to a Roman soldier. He’s chained to this soldier as he dictates this letter to Epaphroditus. The soldier cannot help but hear – being chained to the Apostle as he is – exactly what Paul has been saying.

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The Church Obeyed Jesus

The Church Studied And Applied “Jesus” To Life

The early Church immersed itself in the Scriptures, and focused on Who Jesus was, what Jesus taught, and the High Priesthood of Christ. Sadly, this is not true in our modern Church today!

We must know about Jesus. We teach about Jesus in our Sunday School. We must teach Jesus, if we will save the world from this present darkness.

Sunday School Is Not Just A New Testament Concept

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David Buffaloe

The Law demandsimmediate death for sin.
The Love of God demandsgrace to the sinner.

Do Not Allow Yourselves To Be Robbed
Of The Beauty Found In Jesus

Martha was the owner of the home.
Mary was a resident in Martha’s home.

A Christian Is Saved By Sitting At Christ’s Feet.
A Christian Grows By Sitting At Christ’s Feet.

This Unnamed Widow Was A Genuine Believer:
She Loved The Lord!

Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone. Once saved,
your God will possess your heart and your life.

In His Unique Nature, Jesus Is
BOTH Equal To AND Lesser Than God

Only God can save. God has decreed that
all salvation come through His Son Jesus.

To clothe yourself with Jesus means to
not hide your sins from God

To Clothe Yourself With The Lord Jesus Means
To Live Your Life Primarily Loving God

Why was Epaphroditus a messenger for Paul? Because the Apostle is imprisoned by Rome,
and is chained to Roman guards.

Every Trial Is For A Greater Good In The Saint
(God Is In Control)

The Saint is set apart by God as His child – and God continually works in His child and
in the environment that child is in.