What is the "Epilogue of the Resurrection"? Isn't an epilogue the result or aftermath of the end of a story? So, in this case, what then is the result of Jesus' resurrection? I believe the result is found in the expectations that Jesus has for those who believe in Him. Just what are those expectations? What did Jesus say to them?
For those who are saved by grace, through faith in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus on their behalf, the bible calls them disciples. And Jesus said three basic things to His disciples the first time they saw Him on Sunday night. He told Mary Magadalene, the first and only human being to see Him on resurrection morning, to go and tell His brethren that He was ascending to "My Father and your Father." Mary obeyed her Master and they must have wondered what might happen next. So they gathered together in a hiding place, "for fear of the Jews" and waited. What were they waiting for? Confirmation? Criminal charges and arrest? And while they were waiting, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said three basic things.
First He said "Peace be with You." And then He repeated it, "Peace to you." And then He said the all important second thing, "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." This is part of the "peace." You may have heard of the gospel shoes of peace." Disciples are sent with peace, the same kind of peace Jesus was sent with. The peace of salvation through belief in His death to atone for their sins. So the second thing, "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you," is really attached to the first thing, "Peace to you."
But, since Jesus said He was sending them as He Himself had been sent, then He must send them with power. They needed the Holy Spirit, for without God, they could do nothing. So, the Scripture says that Jesus "breathed on them" and said "Receive the Holy Spirit." Now this sounds like a third thing, but it is really part of the second. For Jesus "breathed on them" to confirm "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." You see, there is power in the breath of Jesus. It was this same Jesus who created the heavens and the earth. He stood alongside God the Father during the Creation week of this earth. And it was Jesus who said, "Let there be light." And it was Jesus who said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures." And it was Jesus who said, "Let Us make man in Our image after Our likeness." And after Jesus had spoke everything else into existence by the word of His own mouth, the Scripture reveals that this same Jesus knelt down on the ground and with His own two hands, the holy hands of the Son of God, He formed a man of the dust of the ground and named him Adam, whose name means ground. And then Jesus breathed into Adam's nostrils the breath of life and Adam became a living soul.
Imagine that. The same Jesus who breathed into Adam's nostrils and gave him life is now breathing on the disciples and saying, "receive the Holy Spirit." Are you His disciple too? Feel His breath on you today. Receive from Him the Holy Spirit and realize that you are also to be sent in the same way that the Father sent Jesus. With Power. With the power of the resurrection. It was the Apostle Paul who desired nothing more than to "know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if by any means I might attain to the resurrection of the dead." Do you know Him like that? Do you know the power of His resurrection. I am not talking about sentimental feeling or mere intellectual knowledge concerning the resurrection of Jesus. I am talking about true, pure and raw power. Because that's what the Bible is really talking about when it speaks about Christ's resurrection. Remember that Jesus Himself said, "I am the resurrection and the life."
I am talking about a power, not only to resurrect the dead just before Jesus Comes again to redeem His own, but also about power to live your life today. Right now. Before Jesus returns. Power to live the Christian life as Jesus intended His followers to live it. To go and sin no more. To say, not my will but God's will. To die to self and take up your cross and follow Jesus. To live with power. The power of His resurrection. Do you want to live like that? Feel Him breath on you as He breathed on His disciples and send you out to do His will. To lead lost souls to the foot of Jesus' cross and believe in Him and receive the power of His resurrection to live a new life in Christ. If by any means you might attain to the resurrection of the dead.
And if you do that, you just might learn what Jesus meant when He said that third thing: "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." If Jesus' modern day disciples take this power seriously, the power of His breath on your very soul, then many more people will come to know Jesus before He returns to redeem the saints.
The epilogue of the resurrection is almost over. How many people's sins will be retained because many of Jesus' modern day disciples have fallen short of reaching them for Christ. May your sins be completely blotted out before the epilogue of the resurrection comes to an end.
Click the link to download the sermon and listen to:
Epilogue of the Resurrection
Psalm 85:10
Monday, December 21, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The Path To Glory, Part 7--The Cross
The Cross. What can you say about it? What does The Cross mean to you?
In this sermon, you will be challenged to not just look at the suffering of Jesus. My purpose is not to emotionally move you to tears, though that may happen. How many people get emotionally moved by the cross, and then later walk away as if nothing had happened. It was Winston Churchill who said, "Occaisionally a man may stumble across the truth. But most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on as if nothing had happened."
But I want you to take a deeper look at The Cross. What does it mean to you, not just spiritually, but also practically? I think all Christians will be challenged by what is spoken here, but especially Seventh-day Adventist Christians. The Bible teaches that a "shaking" is coming in the last days just before Jesus returns. Seventh-day Adventists have taught this for over 150 years. But what is that shaking? And what does that shaking have to do with The Cross? Do you feel like your church is headed down the road of apostasy? Or do you feel that your church is not progressive enough? Perhaps you will benefit in taking a close look at The Cross.
No! Wait a minute. If you refuse to take a close look at The Cross then you will lose all benefit that Jesus wants to give you. It is not a perhaps. It is an imperative. It is your greatest need if you are to survive the shaking and not be shaken out. Jesus is coming soon and this is the only way that anyone can get ready to receive Him at His Coming. It is time to take a deep look
at The Cross of Christ and really know. Be prepared to own what you know.
Just what does The Cross mean to you?
Take a look inside. Download the sermon:
The Path To Glory, Part 7
The Cross
In this sermon, you will be challenged to not just look at the suffering of Jesus. My purpose is not to emotionally move you to tears, though that may happen. How many people get emotionally moved by the cross, and then later walk away as if nothing had happened. It was Winston Churchill who said, "Occaisionally a man may stumble across the truth. But most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on as if nothing had happened."
But I want you to take a deeper look at The Cross. What does it mean to you, not just spiritually, but also practically? I think all Christians will be challenged by what is spoken here, but especially Seventh-day Adventist Christians. The Bible teaches that a "shaking" is coming in the last days just before Jesus returns. Seventh-day Adventists have taught this for over 150 years. But what is that shaking? And what does that shaking have to do with The Cross? Do you feel like your church is headed down the road of apostasy? Or do you feel that your church is not progressive enough? Perhaps you will benefit in taking a close look at The Cross.
No! Wait a minute. If you refuse to take a close look at The Cross then you will lose all benefit that Jesus wants to give you. It is not a perhaps. It is an imperative. It is your greatest need if you are to survive the shaking and not be shaken out. Jesus is coming soon and this is the only way that anyone can get ready to receive Him at His Coming. It is time to take a deep look
at The Cross of Christ and really know. Be prepared to own what you know.
Just what does The Cross mean to you?
Take a look inside. Download the sermon:
The Path To Glory, Part 7
The Cross
Monday, November 23, 2009
The Path To Glory, Part 6--Jesus' Prayer
This sermon is about Jesus' Prayer in John 17. Why did Jesus pray that prayer? Examine the passage and you will see who He prayed for. First, He prayed for Himself. Next He prayed for His disciples and then He prayed for those who would believe in Him through His disciples words. He did not pray for the world, He prayed for believers. This is the sixth sermon in the path to glory series. The path to glory for Jesus was the path to the cross. This whole series of sermons surrounds the last week of Jesus' life on earth. We have examined the passages from John 12 up through John 16 in the previous five sermons. We have found one underlying theme in these sermons concerning Jesus' path to His glory. That underlying theme is love. Love for God and love for our neighbor. Jesus loved us so much that He stepped down from the glory He had before the world was, stepped down from His heavenly glory equal to that of God the Father, stepped down to this unglorious earth in order to save and redeem sinful human beings.
The last sermon, from John 16 dealt with how the Holy Spirit would glorify Jesus. How you ask? The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus by guiding disciples of Jesus into all truth. We saw that the Bible teaches two aspects to that truth. One aspect is knowledge of intellectual truth, the facts of the Bible. The other and greater aspect is to intimately know Jesus and the Father. And that is why Jesus prayed the prayer of John 17.
Look. It is there in verse one. Jesus prayed to the Father to "Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You." And then He directly connected that glorification to giving us eternal life. That's right, Jesus' path to glory which is the path to the cross was a path that He took so that He could give eternal life to His disciples. It is right there in verse two. But wait a minute. There is something else there too. Something about His glory. Something about our receiving eternal life. Jesus states it boldly in verse three. Do you see it? Jesus said, "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
So Jesus connected His glorification and our having of eternal life to our intimately knowing God the Father and Himself. Do you know Him? Do you really know Him? Intimately? If you do then His prayer is for you. He said so Himself. He said, "I do not pray for the world, but for those whom You have given Me." "I pray for them." (see verses 9 ). So if you know Him, then His prayer is for you. And if you want to know Him then His prayer is also for you, because He also prayed, "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word." (verse 20).
What specifically did He pray for them?
1. That He would be glorified in them.
2. That they would be protected from the evil one.
3. That they would be kept by the Father through Jesus' name.
4. That they would remain in His word which they had received from Him.
5. That they might have His joy fulfilled in themselves.
6. That they would know that the world hated them because they were not like the world.
7. That they would not be taken out of the world, but be kept from evil.
8.That they would be sanctified by the truth as they are sent into the world
9. That they may be one just like the Father and Jesus are One, so that the world may believe that God the Father sent Jesus into the world.
10. And that the glory which the Father gave Jesus, Jesus in turn has given to His disciples.
We as Christians are called to join Him in His path to glory, which is the path to the cross, for we are all called to take up our own cross and follow Him. We are called to bear witness about the character of God in everything we do. So that whatever we do, someone is watching and judging about what the God called Yahweh is really like--by examining the lives of those who claim to be Christians.
What kind of picture do you paint about God by your daily habits and practices or words and deeds. Can you say that you know Him. That's why Jesus prayed the prayer of John 17. He knew we would be weak erring human beings who did not always give an accurate representation of the God in whom we believe. So He prayed for us so that we could and would. It is possible. But without Him we can do nothing, so we must abide in Him in order to paint the right picture of Him to the world.
Remember, He prayed,
"that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in Me, and I in You;
that they also may be one in Us,
that the world may believe that You sent Me."
"And the glory......................................................
which You have given Me..................................
I have given them...............................................
that they may be one..........................................
JUST AS WE ARE ONE."
Download, The Path To Glory, Part 6--Jesus' Prayer
The last sermon, from John 16 dealt with how the Holy Spirit would glorify Jesus. How you ask? The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus by guiding disciples of Jesus into all truth. We saw that the Bible teaches two aspects to that truth. One aspect is knowledge of intellectual truth, the facts of the Bible. The other and greater aspect is to intimately know Jesus and the Father. And that is why Jesus prayed the prayer of John 17.
Look. It is there in verse one. Jesus prayed to the Father to "Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You." And then He directly connected that glorification to giving us eternal life. That's right, Jesus' path to glory which is the path to the cross was a path that He took so that He could give eternal life to His disciples. It is right there in verse two. But wait a minute. There is something else there too. Something about His glory. Something about our receiving eternal life. Jesus states it boldly in verse three. Do you see it? Jesus said, "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
So Jesus connected His glorification and our having of eternal life to our intimately knowing God the Father and Himself. Do you know Him? Do you really know Him? Intimately? If you do then His prayer is for you. He said so Himself. He said, "I do not pray for the world, but for those whom You have given Me." "I pray for them." (see verses 9 ). So if you know Him, then His prayer is for you. And if you want to know Him then His prayer is also for you, because He also prayed, "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word." (verse 20).
What specifically did He pray for them?
1. That He would be glorified in them.
2. That they would be protected from the evil one.
3. That they would be kept by the Father through Jesus' name.
4. That they would remain in His word which they had received from Him.
5. That they might have His joy fulfilled in themselves.
6. That they would know that the world hated them because they were not like the world.
7. That they would not be taken out of the world, but be kept from evil.
8.That they would be sanctified by the truth as they are sent into the world
9. That they may be one just like the Father and Jesus are One, so that the world may believe that God the Father sent Jesus into the world.
10. And that the glory which the Father gave Jesus, Jesus in turn has given to His disciples.
We as Christians are called to join Him in His path to glory, which is the path to the cross, for we are all called to take up our own cross and follow Him. We are called to bear witness about the character of God in everything we do. So that whatever we do, someone is watching and judging about what the God called Yahweh is really like--by examining the lives of those who claim to be Christians.
What kind of picture do you paint about God by your daily habits and practices or words and deeds. Can you say that you know Him. That's why Jesus prayed the prayer of John 17. He knew we would be weak erring human beings who did not always give an accurate representation of the God in whom we believe. So He prayed for us so that we could and would. It is possible. But without Him we can do nothing, so we must abide in Him in order to paint the right picture of Him to the world.
Remember, He prayed,
"that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in Me, and I in You;
that they also may be one in Us,
that the world may believe that You sent Me."
"And the glory......................................................
which You have given Me..................................
I have given them...............................................
that they may be one..........................................
JUST AS WE ARE ONE."
Download, The Path To Glory, Part 6--Jesus' Prayer
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The Path To Glory, Part 5--Into All Truth
The Path To Glory, Part 5--
Into All Truth
I would like to make this blog brief. After all, I am not sure who really reads this blog anyway. It is my purpose to catch peoples attention with the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore, here is the scripture that the sermon is based on:
However, thinkers and reasoners who do such apart from the Bible have always relativized truth. Even Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. the famous Supreme Court Jurist of the early twentieth century developed and promoted the idea of "legal realism." What's that you ask? Legal realism's essential tenet is that all law is made by human beings (not by God) and therefore is subject to human frailties and imperfections. Holmes was a "Social Darwinist" who believed that law was to be determined by examining the human struggle and then improving upon it through the judicial system. It is that philosophy of moral relativism that has framed the thinking of our recent modern and now post-modern eras.
I am not saying that the founders of moral relativism and the like do not make some good and valid points. I think that many of them were honestly trying to make improvements according to their world view that there is no absolute truth. After all, those who have held the reigns of power within Christianity within the last 1500 years have made some horrible blunders in the name of truth. Even the prophesies of the Bible have revealed that there would be "Antichrist" powers within the Christian Church who would "cast truth to the ground" (Daniel 8:12). It was Winston Churchill who astutely observed that, "Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on." Churchill's statement has been borne out within both the Christian and the non-Christian world. But, that does not relegate the Bible to being just another book along side the myriad of philosophical books that have been written. And that does not make truth relative.
The Bible still cries out to be heard as the fountain of absolute truth. And Jesus Christ took His path to glory, the path to the cross, so that the Holy Spirit could "guide you into all truth" who love God and want to do His will. As Jesus spoke, many believed in Him...
Download the sermon and see if this helps you in your quest for truth:
The Path To Glory, Part 5--
Into All Truth
Into All Truth
I would like to make this blog brief. After all, I am not sure who really reads this blog anyway. It is my purpose to catch peoples attention with the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore, here is the scripture that the sermon is based on:
This is the path to glory for Jesus, which is the path to the cross. In part five of this series, the Bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit will glorify Jesus. How does the Holy Spirit glorify Jesus? Examine the passage. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would "guide you into all truth." That is a strong statement, especially when you consider that much of the so-called Christian world no longer believes in absolute truth. Truth has been relativized by philosophers ever since there were people who fancied themselves as thinkers.John 16:12-14 "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you"
However, thinkers and reasoners who do such apart from the Bible have always relativized truth. Even Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. the famous Supreme Court Jurist of the early twentieth century developed and promoted the idea of "legal realism." What's that you ask? Legal realism's essential tenet is that all law is made by human beings (not by God) and therefore is subject to human frailties and imperfections. Holmes was a "Social Darwinist" who believed that law was to be determined by examining the human struggle and then improving upon it through the judicial system. It is that philosophy of moral relativism that has framed the thinking of our recent modern and now post-modern eras.
I am not saying that the founders of moral relativism and the like do not make some good and valid points. I think that many of them were honestly trying to make improvements according to their world view that there is no absolute truth. After all, those who have held the reigns of power within Christianity within the last 1500 years have made some horrible blunders in the name of truth. Even the prophesies of the Bible have revealed that there would be "Antichrist" powers within the Christian Church who would "cast truth to the ground" (Daniel 8:12). It was Winston Churchill who astutely observed that, "Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on." Churchill's statement has been borne out within both the Christian and the non-Christian world. But, that does not relegate the Bible to being just another book along side the myriad of philosophical books that have been written. And that does not make truth relative.
The Bible still cries out to be heard as the fountain of absolute truth. And Jesus Christ took His path to glory, the path to the cross, so that the Holy Spirit could "guide you into all truth" who love God and want to do His will. As Jesus spoke, many believed in Him...
Now I am not just talking about an intellectual truth. That is included. But, I am talking about something so much more. It is two fold and I hope you will take the time to listen to this sermon. Do you really want to be free?John 8:31-32 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
Download the sermon and see if this helps you in your quest for truth:
The Path To Glory, Part 5--
Into All Truth
Sunday, November 1, 2009
The Path To Glory, Part 4--How Can We Glorify The Father?
Well, How Can We Glorify The Father?
This sermon is based on John 15:7-8. What did Jesus say?
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you,
you will ask what you desire,
and it shall be done for you.
"By this My Father is glorified,
that you bear much fruit;
so you will be My disciples."
This really is related to grapevines and production of grapes. Did you know that grapvines, when left to themselves will not produce many grapes. In fact, it takes more energy for the plant to produce the fruit than it does to just grow branches and leaves. So left to themselves, grapevines will grow wildly, reach all over the place and look real good from a distance. They will even climb up other trees and the branches will grow real thick woody parts, but you probably won't find many grapes or even big, juicy and luscious grapes on them.
Many pruners know they need to cut away the dead and dying branches. But the expert pruner knows how to cut away much of the "live" wood and branches so that the plant will do what it needs to do--and that is produce grapes. Not just a few small grapes, but many clusters of big, juicy grapes.
How does this relate to you as an individual Christian and churches in general? Your heavenly Father knows how to prune you as an individual and the church as a whole. But pruning means to cut away something. Ouch! That sounds like a painful process. And indeed it is painful.
I believe God prunes us for two basic reasons. First to help you develop in character and second to help you find your lifepath in service to Him. And He does that so that you can "bear much fruit" and thus glorify the Father.
Do you want to mature as a Christian? The alternative is not to mature. What if you choose not to respond to the Father's pruning. Read John 15:2. The branches that produce no fruit are "taken away." Then what? Where are they taken? Read verse 6. They are withered and thrown into the fire and burned. Are you getting concerned?
You see, Jesus said some troubling things. Things that trouble even me. In John 14:12, He said, "He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also." Now that is troubling to me because Jesus, being just one man, did many many works. Has the church kept up with those same number of works?
But it gets more troubling. Jesus also said, "And greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father." Greater works! Have we as a church done greater works, when we are having trouble just keeping up with amount of works He did?
But Jesus is stating this as if it is a fact. It is a fact, I believe, if we respond to the Father's pruning. Only then can we produce fruit, for Jesus also said, "Without Me you can do nothing." And Jesus is showing us by this "bearing much fruit" that we glorify the Father. So, the fact becomes true when we are abiding in Him. If we are abiding in Him, then we will be willing to submit to the Father's pruning process, painful as it may be.
That does not mean that all your pain comes from pruning. Some pain comes when you sin. Then it's not pruning you need, it's repentance. Some pain comes from living in this world of trouble. But some of it comes from the Father's pruning process directly applied to your character and lifepath.
How can you tell the difference? Do you want to know more?
Click the link and listen to:
The Path To Glory, Part 4
--How Can We Glorify The Father?
This sermon is based on John 15:7-8. What did Jesus say?
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you,
you will ask what you desire,
and it shall be done for you.
"By this My Father is glorified,
that you bear much fruit;
so you will be My disciples."
This really is related to grapevines and production of grapes. Did you know that grapvines, when left to themselves will not produce many grapes. In fact, it takes more energy for the plant to produce the fruit than it does to just grow branches and leaves. So left to themselves, grapevines will grow wildly, reach all over the place and look real good from a distance. They will even climb up other trees and the branches will grow real thick woody parts, but you probably won't find many grapes or even big, juicy and luscious grapes on them.
Many pruners know they need to cut away the dead and dying branches. But the expert pruner knows how to cut away much of the "live" wood and branches so that the plant will do what it needs to do--and that is produce grapes. Not just a few small grapes, but many clusters of big, juicy grapes.
How does this relate to you as an individual Christian and churches in general? Your heavenly Father knows how to prune you as an individual and the church as a whole. But pruning means to cut away something. Ouch! That sounds like a painful process. And indeed it is painful.
I believe God prunes us for two basic reasons. First to help you develop in character and second to help you find your lifepath in service to Him. And He does that so that you can "bear much fruit" and thus glorify the Father.
Do you want to mature as a Christian? The alternative is not to mature. What if you choose not to respond to the Father's pruning. Read John 15:2. The branches that produce no fruit are "taken away." Then what? Where are they taken? Read verse 6. They are withered and thrown into the fire and burned. Are you getting concerned?
You see, Jesus said some troubling things. Things that trouble even me. In John 14:12, He said, "He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also." Now that is troubling to me because Jesus, being just one man, did many many works. Has the church kept up with those same number of works?
But it gets more troubling. Jesus also said, "And greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father." Greater works! Have we as a church done greater works, when we are having trouble just keeping up with amount of works He did?
But Jesus is stating this as if it is a fact. It is a fact, I believe, if we respond to the Father's pruning. Only then can we produce fruit, for Jesus also said, "Without Me you can do nothing." And Jesus is showing us by this "bearing much fruit" that we glorify the Father. So, the fact becomes true when we are abiding in Him. If we are abiding in Him, then we will be willing to submit to the Father's pruning process, painful as it may be.
That does not mean that all your pain comes from pruning. Some pain comes when you sin. Then it's not pruning you need, it's repentance. Some pain comes from living in this world of trouble. But some of it comes from the Father's pruning process directly applied to your character and lifepath.
How can you tell the difference? Do you want to know more?
Click the link and listen to:
The Path To Glory, Part 4
--How Can We Glorify The Father?
The Path To Glory, Part 3--Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled
This sermon is based on John 14:1-6. Jesus said,
"Let not your heart be troubled;
you believe in God, believe also in Me." Why did Jesus say that? Didn't they already believe in Him? Why yes, of course. But many troubling things had happened that week. And so the disciples were probably unsure of the path Jesus was taking. It is the path to glory for Jesus. It is the path to the cross. But the disciples don't see it that way.
What had happened that week? It is the last week of Jesus' life on earth. But the previous Sunday began as a high day. Jesus had rode into Jerusalem on a donkey fulfilling the Scripture that said,
"Fear not, daughter of Zion;
Behold , your King is coming,
Sitting on a donkey's colt."
It seemed like everyone was shouting,
"Hosanna!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
The King of Israel!"
But the high day with great expectations soon turned into trouble. The disciples did not understand that Jesus must go through suffering and die on the cross. They were expecting Him to take the throne of David and conquer the Romans. They expected Jesus to set up an earthly kingdom. But instead, Jesus began to do many troubling things and make many enemies of the Jews and the priestly class.
He began by cleansing the Temple and driving out the money changers. Then He cursed a Fig tree simply because it bore no fruit at the time He inspected it. It was full of leaves. It looked good from a distance. But on closer inspection, it showed that it was lacking fruit. The pretty leaves should have been a sign that fruit was present. But all Jesus found was a tree full of leaves, a symbolism for the Jewish nation that bore no fruit and was getting ready to crucify their Lord.
You want more? Take a look at Matthew chapters 21-23. He told two parables that also revealed the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Jewish religious elite. He was not making many friends here. But it got worse. Matthew 23 reveals Jesus pronouncing many woes on the Scribes and Pharisees. Examine the passage. What do you think was going through the disciples minds?
Want to know more? Click the link and listen to:
The Path To Glory, Part 3
--Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled
"Let not your heart be troubled;
you believe in God, believe also in Me." Why did Jesus say that? Didn't they already believe in Him? Why yes, of course. But many troubling things had happened that week. And so the disciples were probably unsure of the path Jesus was taking. It is the path to glory for Jesus. It is the path to the cross. But the disciples don't see it that way.
What had happened that week? It is the last week of Jesus' life on earth. But the previous Sunday began as a high day. Jesus had rode into Jerusalem on a donkey fulfilling the Scripture that said,
"Fear not, daughter of Zion;
Behold , your King is coming,
Sitting on a donkey's colt."
It seemed like everyone was shouting,
"Hosanna!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
The King of Israel!"
But the high day with great expectations soon turned into trouble. The disciples did not understand that Jesus must go through suffering and die on the cross. They were expecting Him to take the throne of David and conquer the Romans. They expected Jesus to set up an earthly kingdom. But instead, Jesus began to do many troubling things and make many enemies of the Jews and the priestly class.
He began by cleansing the Temple and driving out the money changers. Then He cursed a Fig tree simply because it bore no fruit at the time He inspected it. It was full of leaves. It looked good from a distance. But on closer inspection, it showed that it was lacking fruit. The pretty leaves should have been a sign that fruit was present. But all Jesus found was a tree full of leaves, a symbolism for the Jewish nation that bore no fruit and was getting ready to crucify their Lord.
You want more? Take a look at Matthew chapters 21-23. He told two parables that also revealed the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Jewish religious elite. He was not making many friends here. But it got worse. Matthew 23 reveals Jesus pronouncing many woes on the Scribes and Pharisees. Examine the passage. What do you think was going through the disciples minds?
Want to know more? Click the link and listen to:
The Path To Glory, Part 3
--Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled
Friday, October 23, 2009
Peter's Offense
A short sermon for communion. In Matthew 16:21-23, the scripture records how Jesus was offended by Peter. What did Peter do? He told Jesus, "Far be it form You, Lord; this shall never happen to You." What? Peter meant that Jesus would not have to go to the cross, for that was an offense to Peter and to every Jew for that matter. But Jesus knew, the path to glory for Him was the path to the cross. Jesus had to take the full offense of sin. He was already despised and rejected by His own countrymen and friends (Judas, and the Jews who were supposed to be His friends). In fact, the prophecy of Zechariah 13:6 predicts how Jesus would be "wounded in the house of His friends." Yes, wounds and bruises and putrefying sores were the lot predicted for Jesus by the prophet Isaiah (chapter 53). And all this was an offense to Peter.
But what about today? Are the principles that made the cross an offense to Peter still surviving in Christianity today? Do you call yourself a Christian? What kinds of things do we as Chrisitans do today that would cause Jesus to say to us, "Get thee behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."
I say simply this: When the Church is not mindful of the things of God, then it becomes an offense to Jesus. Put in a more positive way: When the Church is mindful of the things of God, then it is a blessing to Jesus. Offense or Blessing. What kind of Church are you a member of in this regard?
This is a shorter sermon than I usually preach. But then Peter's offense was short and to the point. And Jesus' rebuke was even more to the point. Click the link and download to listen to
Peter's Offense.
But what about today? Are the principles that made the cross an offense to Peter still surviving in Christianity today? Do you call yourself a Christian? What kinds of things do we as Chrisitans do today that would cause Jesus to say to us, "Get thee behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."
I say simply this: When the Church is not mindful of the things of God, then it becomes an offense to Jesus. Put in a more positive way: When the Church is mindful of the things of God, then it is a blessing to Jesus. Offense or Blessing. What kind of Church are you a member of in this regard?
This is a shorter sermon than I usually preach. But then Peter's offense was short and to the point. And Jesus' rebuke was even more to the point. Click the link and download to listen to
Peter's Offense.
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