22 April 2007: Psalms 104:16 - HEIRS OF HEAVEN: The Mysterious Hand of God!

TOPIC: God As Creator-Sustainer
TITLE: HEIRS OF HEAVEN - The Mysterious Hand of God! [Adapted from Spurgeon's Morning & Evening Devotional; "Morning," August 13]

TEXT: Psalm 104:16

The trees of the LORD drink their fill, the
cedars of Lebanon which He planted ... .

TRUTH CLAIM

Do we hear God? Can we hear God? Jim Havlic asked rhetorically, “Does God speak audibly?” He answered himself, “No! He speaks louder than that.” [Quoted by Jerry A. Songer in Proclaim, Fall 1997, p.3]

Actually we hear the voice of God everywhere we go. We hear Him in the testimony and praises of His creation.

The City of LaVerne, California, has been blessed with a certain wisdom in planting and maintaining corridors of deodar*, a relative of the Cedar of Lebanon. These tall, stately trees line Bonita Ave., Third Street, parts of Second Street, and will one day border the northern side of Arrow Highway.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: How are Lebanon’s Cedars Typical of a Christian?
CONCISE OUTLINE:

They are in that ...

I. THE LORD PLANTED THEM!
II. THE LORD PROTECTS THEM!
III. THE LORD PROVIDES FOR THEM!
IV. THE LORD IS PRAISED BY THEM!

EXPANDED OUTLINE:
I. THE LORD PLANTED THEM!

Lebanon's cedars are illustrative of all Christians, in that they owe their planting entirely to the Lord. This is true of every child of God. They are not man-planted, nor self-planted, but God-planted.

The mysterious hand of God’s divine Spirit dropped the living seed into a heart which he had himself prepared for its reception. Every true heir of heaven has the great Green-thumb of Heaven as his planter.

II. THE LORD PROTECTS THEM!

Again, the cedars of Lebanon are not protected by any mortal power. They owe nothing to man for their preservation from stormy wind and tempest. They are God's trees, kept and pre-served by him, and by him alone.

It is precisely the same with the Christian. He is not a hot-house plant, sheltered from temptation; he stands in the most exposed position; he has no shelter, no protection, except this, that the broad wings of the eternal God always cover the cedars which he himself has planted.

Like cedars, believers are full of sap, having vitality enough to be evergreen, even amid winter's worst storms.

III. THE LORD PROVIDES FOR THEM!

Moreover, the cedars of Lebanon are not dependent upon man for their watering; they stand on the lofty rock, unmoistened by human irrigation; and yet our heavenly Father supplies them.

So it is with the Christian who has learned to live by faith. He is independent of man, even in temporal things; for his continued maintenance he looks to the Lord his God, and to Him alone.

The Living Water of heaven is his portion, and the God of heaven is its fountain.

IV. THE LORD IS PRAISED BY THEM!

Finally, the flourishing and majestic condition of the cedar is to the praise of God alone. As David puts it in Psalm 148, “Praise ye the Lord, fruitful trees and all cedars.”

In the believer there is nothing that can magnify man; he is planted, nourished, and protected by the Lord's own hand, and to Him let all the glory be given.

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: The world needs to know their search for happiness and satisfaction is much like a search for cheaper gasoline. If someone is looking for cheaper or better gasoline by digging holes in the ground he’ll be disappointed to find crude oil. If its gasoline you want, the ground is the wrong place to look. Man in his search for meaning in life is looking in all the wrong places. Looking around in the world for what comes only from God is futile.

Without sap the tree cannot flourish or even exist. Vitality is essential to a Christian. There must be life - a vital principle infused into us by the Holy Spirit, or we cannot be Cedars of the Lord.

The mere name of being a Christian is but a dead thing, we must be filled with the sap of divine life. This life is mysterious. We do not understand the circulation of the sap, by what force it rises, and by what power it descends again. So the life within us is a sa-cred mystery.

Regeneration is by the power of the Holy Spirit entering into man and becoming man’s life; and this divine life in a believer after-wards feeds upon the flesh and blood of Christ and is thus sus-tained by divine food, but who shall explain to us? What a secret thing the sap is!

The roots go searching through the soil with their tentacles, but we cannot see them suck out the various gases, or absorb the mineral into the vegetable; this work is done down in the dark. Our root is Christ Jesus, and our life is hidden in him; this is the secret of the Lord.

The size of the root ball of the Christian is as secret as the life it-self. How permanently active is the sap in the cedar! In the Chris-tian the divine life is always full of energy-not always in fruit-bearing, but in inward operations. The believer’s graces? Are not every one of them in constant motion? He is not always working for God, but his heart is always living upon Him.

As the sap manifests itself in producing the foliage and fruit of the tree, so with a truly healthy Christian, his grace is externally mani-fested in his walk and conversation. If you talk with him, he cannot help speaking about Jesus. If you notice his actions you will see that he has been with Jesus. He has so much sap within, that it must fill his conduct and conversation with life.

*de•o•dar (dê¹e-där´) or de•o•dar•a (-där¹e) noun

A tall cedar (Cedrus deodara) native to the Himalayan Mountains and having drooping branches and dark bluish-green leaves. It is an important timber tree in India. [Hindi deodâr, from Sanskrit devadâru : deva-, divine + dâru, wood.]

RELATED LINKS: The SHEEP'S CRIB - Sermons

TAGS: Psalm 104:16, Sanctification, Spirituality

TAGS: Homiletics, Preaching, Sermons

25 February 2007: JAMES 1:22 - THE RELIABLE WORD: TRUTH APPLIED

SERIES: 4 of 4 on God’s Word.

[MOVIE] This series is like making a movie; there’s more film on the cutting room floor than in the projector! Likewise, there's more remaining in God’s Word (which you need to hear) than I could ever fit in this series.

Thus far we’ve had …

1. THE LIVING WORD: TRUTH INCARNATE
2. THE VISIBLE WORD: TRUTH REVEALED
3. THE DIVINE WORD: TRUTH INSPIRED

Lastly we have …

4. THE RELIABLE WORD: TRUTH APPLIED

TEXT: JAMES 1:22

Prove yourselves doers of the word … not merely hearers who delude themselves.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What does God expect relative to His Word?
CONCISE OUTLINE:

I. HE EXPECTS US TO PRESENT OURSELVES DILIGENT DOERS!

A. As God Approved!
B. As An Unashamed Worker!
C. As An Accurate Handler of the Word of Truth!

II. HE EXPECTS US TO PROFIT PERSONALLY!

A. Through Being taught!
B. Through Being Reproved!
C. Through Being Corrected!
D. Through Being Trained in Righteousness!

III. HE EXPECTS US TO BE ENLIGHTENED!
IV. HE EXPECTS US TO BE SPIRIT TAUGHT!

TRUTH CLAIM: God's Word was established “from the beginning,” intentionally! God intended man not only listen to what He had to say [Romans 10:17] but be “doers” of it as well!

[C. S. LEWIS] Quarreling over “faith” or “works” is common with many. Concerning this, C. S. Lewis said, “it does seem to me like asking which blade ... of the scissors does the cutting." [Paraphrased]

[J. Vernon McGee] Said being a Christian is like rowing a boat, you have to put both oars in the water in order to achieve your objective. One oar is called "faith," the other "works." Use both or row in circles.

[Einstein] … is credited with offering the following simile to explain his theory of relativity. (I’ve modified it for this message) "When you and your sweetheart spend two hours working on something together, it seems like two seconds. [e.g., Jacob waiting for Rachael] When you sit on a hot stove for two seconds, it seems like two hours." [Paraphrased]

So too, when you labor together with a friend or a favorite book for two hours, it doesn't seem so long. But when you spend time with someone you don't like or are made to read a book you don't want to, a few mo-ments is like a whole day.

If Jesus is better than your best friend, His word must be better than any book?

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What does God expect relative to His Word?
EXPANDED OUTLINE:
God expects many things of us; here are just a few:

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.”

2 Timothy 2:15

I. HE EXPECTS US TO PRESENT OURSELVES DILIGENT DOERS!

A. As God Approved!
B. As An Unashamed Worker!
C. As An Accurate Handler of the Word of Truth!

“... we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in God’s sight.”

2 Corinthians 4:2

“You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.”

Deuteronomy 4:2

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate (or complete), equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17

II. HE EXPECTS US TO PERSONALLY PROFIT!

A. Through Being Taught and By Teaching Others!
B. Through Being Reproved and By Reproving Others!
C. Through Being Corrected and By Correcting Others!
D. Through Being Trained in Righteousness!

“For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being united by faith in those who heard it.”

Hebrews 4:2

And that doesn’t even address the final clause, “that the man of God may be adequate (or complete), equipped for every good work.”

III. HE EXPECTS US TO BE ENLIGHTENED [illuminated]!

“... even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, … should shine on them."

2 Corinthians 4:3-4

IV. HE EXPECTS US TO BE SPIRIT TAUGHT!

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, comparing spiritual with spiritual. For a natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

1 Corinthians 2:12-14

[SUBSTANCE] The child of God without an spiritual understanding of Scriptures is like a solar heater without the sun.

"When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside."

Matthew 13:19

Let me give you some other things God expects of us [use as you see fit and as time allows]:

V. HE EXPECTS US TO BE FRUITFUL!

“But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

Matthew 13:23

VI. HE EXPECTS US TO AVOID LIFE RULING TRADITIONS!

“making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down."

Mark 7:13

VII. HE EXPECTS US TO BE HIS FAMILY!

“But He answered and said to them, ‘My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.’”

Luke 8:21

VIII. HE EXPECTS US TO BE BLESSED!

“He said, ‘More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’"

Luke 11:28

IX. HE EXPECTS US TO DEFEND OURSELVES WITH THE WORD!

"take … [up] the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God ..."

Ephesians 6:17

"… [and] the word of the LORD is proven; [for] it is a shield to all who trust in Him."

2 Samuel 22:31

“always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”

1 Peter 3:15

[MOTION] What do a juggler, a tightrope walker, and a unicyclist have in common? They each must keep in motion at all times to do what they do!

To keep a proper balance requires action, if conflicting forces are to be combated, each must adjust to circumstances. If we’re to combat the conflicting forces of this world, we must keep “The Body” in constant motion. God did not intend His Bride sit comfortably on her collective haunch.

X. HE EXPECTS US TO BE JUDGED BY THE WORD!

“He who rejects Me, and doesn’t receive My words, [already] has that which judges him; the word I’ve spoken will judge him in the last day.”

John 12:48

XI. HE EXPECTS US TO OBEY HIS WORDS!

"He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me."

John 14:24

XII. HE EXPECTS US TO BE WASHED IN THE WORD!

“You’re already clean because of the word which I've spoken to you.”

John 15:3

[re: The Bride] "that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word"

Ephesians 5:26

XIII. HE EXPECTS US TO SPEAK HIS WORD WITH BOLDNESS!

"... they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness."

Acts 4:31

XIV. HE EXPECTS US TO HOLD FAST HIS WORD!

Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life...

Philippians 2:14-16

XV. HE EXPECTS US TO LET THE WORD DWELL IN US!

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom …

Colossians 3:16

XVI. HE EXPECTS US TO TAKE ON THE SOLID STUFF, NOT THE FLAKY FLUFF!

For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. For solid food belongs to those who are mature, that is, who by reason of practice have their senses trained to discern both good and evil.

Hebrews 5:13-14

as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow ...

1 Peter 2:2

[PRACTICE] Chas. Swindoll wrote, "What is the sign of [Christian] maturity? Practicing what you hear. Through practice you become mature.

You see, it is one thing to grow old in the Lord, but it is another thing to grow up in the Lord. There are many ... cruising from church to church, from Bible conference to Bible conference, filling notebook after note-book, wearing out Bible after Bible, who are still some of the crankiest, fussiest, most irresponsible people you [will ever] meet. Why? Because they do not practice what they hear."

APPLICATION: Remember: the pot must be on the burner if the water is to boil. It makes little sense to know why and how water boils if your pot is never placed on the burner … let alone to the sink to be filled!

I’m tempted to say: It’s a sign of our times that people want something for nothing … but it has always been that way.

Solomon wrote long ago [Ecclesiastes 12:13] a child of God really only needs to do two things:

1.) Fear God and
2.) Keep His commandments.

How could anyone do either of these without the Word of God as a guide?

• Could man fear an unknown God?
• Could anyone keep commandments which have never been heard?

God's Word applies to each of us equally; no one is exempt from its reach:

• We are either washed in the Word or we are not!
• We are either equipped for works of service or we are not!
• We are either obedient or we are not!
• We are either pleasing to God or we are not!
• We either love the Book and its author or we do not!

God's true child should take very seriously God's admonition to be "doers of the Word," for Jesus, His Son, is The Word!

I am not a Solomon but I can give you some free advice:

1.) Read your Bible frequently.
2.) Read your bible fearfully.
3.) Read your Bible prayerfully.
4.) Read your Bible expectantly.
5.) Read your Bible humbly.
6.) Read your Bible faithfully.
7.) Read your Bible personally.
8.) Practice what it preaches!
9.) Don't cheapen God's grace … count the cost!

RELATED LINKS: The SHEEPS CRIB

SPECIFIC TAGS: Bible, Scripture, Word

GENERAL TAGS: Homiletics, Preaching, Sermons

18 February 2007: THE DIVINE WORD: TRUTH INSPIRED!

SERIES: 3 of 4 on God’s Word
TOPIC: God's Word; bible, scripture
TITLE: THE DIVINE WORD: TRUTH INSPIRED!

TEXT: 2 Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

The first message in this series directed our attention to "THE LIVING WORD: TRUTH INCARNATE."

There we looked at the word as a living organism, God's Word and God's Son being one and the same, God divine and human … without division.

Then we looked at man as he searches for truth … as he is confronted by the Living Word of Truth, his sin nature simultaneously denying the very truth searched for!

We also asked the question: IS THE WORD OF GOD AUTHORITATIVE? We answered with a confident YES!

IF THE AUTHOR IS AUTHORITATIVE, THEN HIS WRITINGS ARE AUTHORITATIVE! [Matthew 7:29]

The 2nd message turned to “THE VISIBLE WORD: TRUTH REVEALED."

We should have examined how God reveals Himself, and how the word of God is a revelation of God about Himself. We would have found the truth to be a person; the visible word ... Jesus ... "TRUTH REVEALED."

Today we turn to the inspired truth of 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

The Bible is not just the cleverly created work of man, but rather the divinely superintended work of Almighty God Himself.

IF A THING IS INFALLIBLE IT CAN’T BE THE WORK OF A FALLIBLE CREATURE (man) RATHER IT MUST BE INFALLIBLY PRODUCED!

IF GOD IS THE AUTHOR AND GOD IS INFALLIBLE, THE WORK OF THE AUTHOR IS INFALLIBLE; THEN WHAT HE SAYS OR WRITES IS INFALLIBLE (i.e., without error).

This is where the rubber meets the road; where the incarnate and revealed and inspired word of the living God meets the believer.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What must we know about inspiration?
CONCISE OUTLINE:

I. WE MUST KNOW WHAT INSPIRATION ISN’T!
II. WE MUST KNOW WHAT INSPIRATION IS!
III. WE MUST KNOW HOW INSPIRATION PERTAINS TO US!

TRUTH CLAIM: The text literally says "All Scripture is God breathed" and points back to Genesis, creation's beginning, where God breathed life into the dust of the earth and man became a living creature. [Genesis 2:7]

[STRONG (edited)] G2315 θεόπνευστος, theopneustos, theh-op'-nyoo-stos; divinely breathed in: - given by inspiration of God … pneustos (breathe) being related to pnuema (spirit).

The God who gave life to inanimate dirt is the same God who has given life to the inanimate and abstract content of what we call "the Word of God."

Any wonder we claim it has profound and eternal importance to mankind? Any wonder the umbilical cord of our faith is firmly attached to the very cover of your bibles?

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What must we know about inspiration?
EXPANDED OUTLINE:

I. WE MUST KNOW WHAT INSPIRATION ISN'T!

Many theories about the Bible have been proposed these past 3,000 years.

A. The Bible is not the result of man's natural effort!

“no prophecy was ever made by an act of will, but [as] men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”

2 Peter 1:20-21

It is not the superior intuition or insight of natural man into the realm of spiritual and moral truth. Not human speculation about God, independent of God's influence (revelation).

It is not the heightened perception of man resulting from centuries of contemplation about God's existence [no guru on Mountain tops here].

B. The Bible isn't the result of recording man's traditions!

Not man’s fallible record of fallible traditions which “contain” elements of truth, mixed with personal and subjective elements.

[COFFEE] Those who see the Bible as errant but inspired ... meaning the Bible contains God’s truth, but is mixed with the errant writings of errant authors won't like the true story of the pastor's wife who poisoned three husbands with her coffee. There was plenty of good coffee in there, but a little arsenic killed them all.

So too an error in God's Word …

C. The Bible is not the result of a God-alone action!

The Bible did not come about by way of God overpowering the personalities of the writers, like a typist does a typewriter, making it do what it’s told to.

D. The Bible is not a religion-only thing!

The Bible’s truth is not restricted to spiritual matters alone, excluding such things as history, science, and philosophy; there are a minimum of five genre’s present (history, prophecy, poetry, lyric, and doctrine).

II. WE MUST KNOW WHAT INSPIRATION IS!

A. Definition

Inspiration is God's superintendence of the human authors, by His Holy Spirit, in such a way that, the authors composed and recorded without error, God's supernatural revelation, in the words of what we call the original autographs, while retaining their own personalities and styles.

FOR EXAMPLE:

[Jesus asked the Pharisees], “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They answered, “The Son of David.” So He responded, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'? ... And no one was able to answer Him a word....’”

Matthew 22:41-46

So, even the Pharisees understood the inspiration of the Scriptures by God through His Holy Spirit!

This is what God means when He says through the apostle Paul, "ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD BREATHED ..."

B. Limitations

Inspiration only applies to the original autographs! However, to the extent they’re faithful to them, our bibles are also inspired!

C. Reliability

[APPARENT] Any allegation of contradictions or errors in the Bible must be understood as apparent, not real.

Like the head of the Australian lizard, whose tail looks more like a head than the head; the tail has the appearance but not the reality.

The Bible is like that: people who claim it is fallible do not really understand inspiration and most likely do not know or understand the Lord!

• No prophecy of Scripture has ever failed to be fulfilled!
• No reasonable criticism has stood up to examination!
• The claim of fallibility denies God's infallible nature.
• In every case where the word has been accurately applied it has enhanced life!

When all the facts are known, the Bible will be found completely true in all that it claims and affirms to the degree intended by God. The Bible, quite simply, has the God given quality of being insulated from error.

III. WE MUST KNOW HOW IT PERTAINS TO US!

One group says, "[Scripture] is the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried." [“Scripture”; Baptist Faith & Message, 1999]

[BONES] Other folks do not read the Bible because, they say, there are too many things in it they can’t understand. They say these things trouble them. Of course this is just an excuse.

These same people will eat fried chicken. What happens when they find bones in their chicken? Do they excuse themselves, and say, "We can't chew the bony parts of the chicken; so we won't eat any of it?" Hardly; they merely enjoy their chicken and set the bones aside. Why not put at least this much effort into Bible reading? [2000+ Illustrations; e Sword]

Though not exhaustive in its inclusion of subjects, the Word is divinely-sufficient for use as a standard for all life and living.

In this sophisticated day, with its massive ability to communicate huge amounts of misinformation, we must labor to defend our faith.

[LOGIC] For anyone who believes in the virgin birth and the resurrection of Jesus, belief in the divine inspiration of the Scriptures is just another step of faith.

For anyone who doesn't accept the inspiration of the Bible, that individual's claim of belief in the virgin birth and the resurrection is open to suspicion.

He who miraculously created the baby Jesus without the agency of a human father, is the same One who wrote the Bible with the agency of a human author.

• To the extent you allow for errors in the Bible, to that extent you weaken the Bible's divine nature.
• To the extent you weaken its divine nature, to that extent you garble the revelation of God.
• To the extent you garble God's message to man, to that extent you the lives of man.
• To the extent you make the lives of men dysfunctional, to that extent you exclude God from the message.
• To the extent you exclude God from the message; to that extent you deny God's authority over His creation and creatures.
• To the extent man embarks on this sea of subjectivism, to that extent he sails with the fleet of uncertainty, following the winds of destruction!

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: What if?

• What is the probability you would be able to raise a child successfully if that child did not acknowledge your authority over him or her!
• What if your every dealing with your child carried an element of distrust in it?
• What if he acknowledged you as his parent but never listened when you spoke?
• What if (when she did) she made whatever she wanted to of what you said?

These questions apply to us in our relationship with our Father, who is in heaven. And if Christianity is not a religion but a relationship, think what this means.

If His word has no authority or we make what we want of His word, we deny Him! Since Jesus is the Word and the is God we find ourselves in the state of denying both our Creator and our Savior.

It is His Word which gives us confidence in Him, allowing us to be the children He wants us to be! How can you say you believe in Jesus but not the Word?

Get it together! Do it today! Go home, take your Bible and ask yourself, "How can I say I believe in Jesus but not in His word????"

RELATED LINKS: The SHEEP'S CRIB SERMONS

TAGS: 2 Timothy, Bible, Scripture, Word

TAGS: Homiletics, Preaching, Sermons

11 FEBRUARY 2007: THE VISIBLE WORD - Truth Revealed

SERIES: 2 of 4 on God's Word
NOTE: This was a Lord's Supper Sunday and the message was tailored to transition in the series as well as segue into the communion service.

TITLE: THE VISIBLE WORD – TRUTH REVEALED!
TEXT: ROMANS 10:17

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

TRUTH CLAIM: This verse is critical to understanding our faith; Scripture says, “by grace you have been saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8).

So if faith is the conduit through which God’s grace is received for salvation, then we need to know how and where to obtain such faith … we find it in faith comes from hearing. But where do we get the hearing? Through the word (concerning) Christ.

[JUNK MAIL] Now man has an unfalsifiable bias against truth; this bias is hard to over-come. So hardened is this bias that if God "emailed" a revelation of Himself, most Internet providers would classify it as “Junk Mail” and most people would delete it.

Man's fallen nature causes him to deny truth; no matter how it is revealed, especially if it casts light on his own sins.

You see, truth is "a person”; God's Son is that person and God's Word reveals God's Son! [John 1:1-3, 14, & 14:6] And sinful man is offended by something this personal and near.

God's word is truth, His Son is the Word; in His word is His Son revealed, and in His Son is the Father revealed. [Matthew 11:27; 1 Timothy 1:16; Revelation 1:1] God has graciously chosen to meet the spiritual needs of man by revealing Himself to man in a personal and redemptive way through His Word.

In last week's message: "THE LIVING WORD: TRUTH INCARNATE”; we looked at "the Word became flesh," or "in the fullness of the time ... God sent forth His Son, born of a woman" (Galatians 4:4). We were reminded that from the beginning man has yearned for truths like he yearns for riches, only Greater Riches … yet man has done everything imaginable to avoid satisfying his yearning.

Recall how an 18' ladder isn’t sufficient to reach a 24' fire; nor will half-truths meet the need for the Whole Truth!

God's word, we agreed, must be united by faith in order to receive God's gift of Grace.

And the following answers were provided for the question, what do we know about God’s Incarnate Truth?

I. WE KNOW GOD HAS FREELY GIVEN THIS TRUTH!
II. WE KNOW MAN SEARCHES FOR THIS TRUTH!
III. WE KNOW MAN HAS A BIAS AGAINST THIS TRUTH!

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteous-ness, because that which is known about God is evident in them, for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

Romans 1:18-2

[REVEALED TRUTH] It is a miracle of unity: like 40 men designing a mosaic independent of each other, over a period of two millennia, each having responsibility for a single piece ... yet the whole is pro-claimed a masterpiece at completion.

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: In this crazy world of nothing plumb and everything crooked, it's good to know some things never change.

[AHAB’S LAMP] Like Melville's lantern in Ahab's quarters in Moby Dick. No matter how the ship rolls the lantern is true to a fixed-line, straight through the earth's center.

So too does the Word of God; it reminds us of the plumb line of Jesus [Amos 7:7-8], no matter the roll of the world, Jesus is true to a fixed-line, drawn straight through the center of the Holy of Holies.

Melville, in referring to the gimbaled lantern said, "It reveals the false lying levels" of everything else.

HOW IS GOD'S TRUTHS REVEALED?

“For God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.”

2 Corinthians 2:10

Last week we found truth incarnate, the Living Word; now we've truth re-vealed, the Visible Word.

We will now turn to the Lord’s Supper and give witness to our faith and our salvation …

The Lord’s Supper Sevice
Scripture Reading

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh."

Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in your-selves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for-ever."

John 6:47-51

The Bread

Sharing the Loaf - Elders
Scripture Reading 1 Corinthians 11:23-24
There Is a Redeemer 308

The Cup

Sharing the Cup - Elders
Scripture Reading 1 Corinthians 11:25
And Can It Be 347

Benediction and Blessing

RELATED LINKS: The SHEEP'S CRIB SERMONS

SPECIFIC TAGS: Bible, Scripture, Word

GENERAL TAGS: Homiletics, Preaching, Sermons

4 FEBRUARY 2007: John 1:14 - THE LIVING WORD: Truth Incarnate

SERMON SERIES: The Living Word

This message is the first of a 4-part series on the Word; I have selected an Old and New Testament Scripture as foundational texts for the series:

“The whole of Thy word is truth, and every one of Thy righteous judgments is ever lasting.”

Psalms 119:160

“So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’”

John 8:31-32

The Series is:

THE LIVING WORD: Truth Incarnate! [John 1:14]
THE VISIBLE WORD: Truth Revealed! [Romans 10:17]
THE DIVINE WORD: Truth Inspired! [2 Timothy 3:16]
THE RELIABLE WORD: Truth Applied! [James 1:22]

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: Why is it important Truth came in the flesh?
CONCISE OUTLINE

BECAUSE WE NEED …

I. A FLESH AND BLOOD MEDIATOR/SAVIOR!

A. In Order to Fulfill the Law & the Prophets!
B. In Order to Save That Which Was Lost!

II. A DOOR INTO THE HOLY OF HOLIES!

A. In Order to Tear Down the Wall Between God and Man!
B. In Order to Open the Way In To The Promises of God!

TEXT: John 1:14

“... the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

TRUTH CLAIM: Our text is meaningless absent the following –

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John 1:1

“... when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman ….”

Galatians 4:4

“... by common confession great is the mystery of godliness: God who was revealed in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, beheld by angels, proclaimed among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”

1 Timothy 3:16

[GOLD RUSH] During California’s "Gold Rush" men from all over rushed to the western territories. They dropped everything, left everyone, forsaking all to achieve the impossible dream. GOLD! AH, GOLD!!

Search, search, search; traces, traces, traces; signs, signs, signs! They found traces (flakes and nuggets), they found small veins, and they heard rumors. And there was "fool's gold," and they bought into "salted" mines (fakes), they reopened old mines that had been mined many times before, and they followed every rumor ever spoken by the lips of man.

But search as they might, they never found the Mother Lode, the source of all the gold.

Likewise men from all over the world rush to and fro, here and there to this very day ... looking for the truth. TRUTH! OH, TRUTH!

Search, search, search; traces, traces, traces; signs, signs, signs! Oh, they find traces of truth, small nuggets, but most are flakes. But the Source of Truth evades the searching.

There are small veins found now and then, and from time someone happens on an eternal truth, but it’s called by another name. Romans 1:20 says …

since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

And then there are the rumors of truth seen here and there, and many are those who follow them.

"For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many."

Matthew 24:5

Jesus said, "Sanctify them by Your truth. Thy word is truth."

John 17:17

Christ is Truth and vice versa –

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

John 8:31, 32

"So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

John 8:36

It is insufficient for man to place his hope in a mere shadow of The Rock, it must be in The Rock Himself; and faith in an inanimate object is useless, it must be personal, relational, and reciprocal.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: Why is it important Truth came in the flesh?
EXPANDED OUTLINE

BECAUSE WE NEED A …

I. FLESH AND BLOOD MEDIATOR/SAVIOR!

A. In Order to Fulfill the Law & the Prophets!

“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law”

Galatians 4:4

Philip found Nathaniel and brought him to the Lord,

"We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

John 1:45

When God spoke of the Paschal Lamb He said,

“For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh”

Romans 8:3

“Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.”

Exodus 12:5

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

John 1:29

The Word says,

"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

John 4:24

And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Hebrews 9:22

Spirits don’t have blood

B. In Order to Save That Which Was Lost!

“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil”

Hebrews 2:14

So we would then be literally united with His flesh so that Romans 6 would be real rather than hypothetical.

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

John 14:6

[LADDER] Any truth which is not all truth is NOT truth at all ... when you need a 24' ladder to rescue your family from a burning building and all you have is an 18' ladder ... well, you're short! You might as well have none at all!

I don’t know about you but I want a Savior who can reach me!

Those who reject His truth reject it to their own peril; they have what we call an “unfalsifiable bias against truth”.

II. A DOOR INTO THE HOLY OF HOLIES!

A. In Order to Tear Down the Wall Between God and Man!

“by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh”

Hebrews 10:20

B. In Order to Open the Way In To The Promises of God!

Beware, brethren, lest there should be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, while it is called "Today;" lest any of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Hebrews 3:12-13

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.

Hebrews 4:1-2

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: It's our ministry to reach all people with the living truth …

You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ ... written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

2 Corinthians 3:2-4

So, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. For we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

2 Corinthians 4:2-6

We are to break the bonds of bias against God's truth:

1. By being a mirror of His light ...
2. By being His tablet of flesh, written in the blood of the Lamb ...
3. By proclaiming the gospel of truth, and ...
4. By preaching Jesus – crucified, dead, buried, and resurrected.

Remember – He who died for your sins must have first been alive. I order to atone for those sins it must be sinless life which is sacrificed. Only Christ Jesus satisfied the Law and the Prophets and conquered sin and death,

“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit”

1 Peter 3:18

Homiletics, Preaching, Sermons

28 January 2007: POWER CHALLENGE – The Race Set Before Us

TOPIC: Endurance; church health, commitment, perseverance, preparation
TITLE: POWER CHALLENGE – The Race Set Before Us. [Adapted from Spurgeon’s Morning & Evening devotional; January 2 “Evening” and January 3 “Morning”]
TEXT: Hebrews 12:1-2 [Cf. Isaiah 41:1 & 49:8-10]

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of faith, Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

TRUTH/CONTEXT:
These two verses come directly on the close of the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, a section we call "The Hall of Faith." Here God tells us He favors some real rascals of the past. He then turns to telling us these are "a great cloud of witnesses." Huh?

[RACE] In Los Angeles, the LA Marathon runs at about the same time (4 March 2007) as the Iditarod (3 March 2007) is being started in Alaska. Both races are endurance races (one in hours, the other in days); competitors in both races are superior athletes … endurance is an understatement.

Perhaps the Lord will give the LA folks some Alaskan weather for the 26.5-mile run; if He did, they would probably cancel the race.

Maybe the Lord will give this year’s mushers weather like in 2003, the warmest in 80 years. So much so, they moved the starting point 200 miles north (to Anchorage). There was nothing but slush at the official start point.

Those of us embarking on this race that is set before us (the one we must “run with endurance”) will discover there will be no cancellation nor will God move the starting point if conditions are unusual.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: How does God expect us to have the power to run such a race with endurance?

In the same way the LA Marathon and the Iditarod participants do! There are two areas of focus prior to the races:

FOCUS: 1 – the preparations of sponsors and organizers.
FOCUS: 2 – the preparations of the competitors.

In the same way, God, as the Creator, recruited Christ as Sponsor, and the Holy Spirit as Organizer.

It has all been prepared “beforehand” ...

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."

Ephesians 2:10

In Isaiah 49:8 [9-13] the Lord said,

“I will … give You (i.e., His Son) for a covenant of the people.”

HE IS OURS TO POSSESS; Jesus is THE SUM AND SUBSTANCE of this covenant, and the singular consideration of it. It is “of the people”; as such, He is the property of every believer.

Scripture says, "In him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead …." Everything that is or will be is in Him to the fullest degree. No thing is lacking.

Believer, can you to ESTIMATE what you have received in Christ Jesus?

Consider the word "Godhead" and its context – INFINITY. Now, when you are finished meditating on infinity, turn to His ATTRIBUTES, and if you finish with those, turn to His atonement.

For all that Christ, as God and man … that glorious mystery we call the "hypostatic union" … is or ever was, or will be, IS OURS – out of pure free, unmerited favor, handed to us, to be ours FOREVER.

Our blessed Jesus, as God, is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent; doesn’t it comfort you to know that all these great and glorious attributes are altogether yours?

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: How does God expect us to have the power to run such a race with endurance?

The answer to this is found in who God is ...

I. Does God have JUSTICE?

Justice may seem a stern quality to modern man, with all his confusion, but even that is ours to possess. By his justice He will see that we receive all that is contained in His blood covenant of grace.

Christ is His guarantee of a just outcome OUR race.

Without justice there is no love!

II. Does God have LOVE?

There is not a drop of love in His heart that is not ours.

We may leave the shore of this world and venture out into the ocean of His love, and we may say of it all, IT IS OURS.

Will He let us sink into the abyss? No! For His love says, "I AM is 'an anchor of [your] soul.'"

III. Does He have RIGHTEOUSNESS?

That perfect righteousness which Jesus fashioned, when, through his sinless life, he fulfilled both the law and the prophets, that righteousness is OURS and imputed TO US.

This will allow us to run the race with an infinite measure of integrity.

IV. Does He have PERFECTION?

All that he has as perfect man is OURS.

As God’s perfect “Second Adam,” His Father's delight was upon Him. He stood accepted by the Most High. “Behold, My Son! In whom I am well pleased.”

If we abide in Him, He abides in us. O glory! So the race we run we should run with perfection … if, as Peter says, we are indeed in Him.

V. Does He have POWER?

That's like asking if lions growl; oh, friend, God is omnipotent - He is God almighty.

And His power is OURS to support and strengthen us, to overcome our enemies, and to preserve us even to the end of the age - or in this case to the end of the race "set before us."

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: Do you now see HOW we are to run this race? Can we imagine running it own our own power, perfection, righteousness, love, or scales of justice?

O believer, God's ACCEPTANCE of Christ is ACCEPTANCE OF YOU [Cp. Romans 6:1-3]; do you not know the love the Father set upon His Son HE SETS ON US?

Christ is in the covenant. [see 1 Corinthians 11:23-25]

Now back to the MARATHON and the IDITAROD: How would it be if the organizers and sponsors did little or no preparation? or what if the athletes refused to train? What if those responsible for the dogs didn't feed them or love them?

In Isaiah 41:1, the Lord said, “Let the people renew their strength.” [For context read 40:31 “…those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”]

Everything on earth is RENEWED; no created thing is able to continue by itself. John Donne said, “No man is an island.” The Psalmist said, "You renew the face of the year."

Even trees, which are never anxious or let stress shorten their lives, drink up the rain, absorb nourishment from the soil, and anchor themselves to the rocks. Nor is man's life sustained without renewal as ordained by God; nor will he long last unless anchored to the Rock.

Without constant refreshing, we are not ready for the continuous assaults of Satan, or for threats of condemnation, or for the trials and testing of heaven, let alone our own self-inflicted strife.

• When the HURRICANE does come, woe will be its companion for those who have not stored up the Word’s sap and grasped the Rock of Ages.
• When STORMS assault our sails, woe to the sailor who has not strengthened his mast, brought an anchor, or sought His safe haven.
• When GOOD wanes EVIL waxes strong attempting to master us, woe to the runner who has come unprepared for the competition … a painful unhappiness and humiliation follows.

Just as it is necessary to restore the wasted body by regular meals, so we must repair the wasted soul–

• by feeding upon (The Sword of the Spirit which is) the WORD of God
• Or by LISTENING to the preached Word [Romans 10:17]
• Or by the muscle building personality of PRAYER

Paul spoke of buffeting his flesh in order to make it submit to him, so earnest was his desire to serve God in the best of strength and health.

Our spirits waste when we neglect the essentials of good spiritual health! What poor starving saints we are without the diligent and regular consumption of God’s Word and the feasting on prayer!

Let us draw near to God’s footstool of mercy, and realize the fulfillment of His promise, “They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.”


RELATED LINKS: The SHEEP'S CRIB

GENERAL TAGS: Homoletics, Preaching, Sermons

SPECIFIC TAGS: Endurance, Hebrews, Perseverance

21 January 2007: OUR CORNUCOPIA OF CHOICE – The Fruit To Eat In Our Temporal Wilderness!

TOPIC: Providence; death, eternity, fruit, provision, reality, sanctification, walk
TEXT: Joshua 5:12

"The manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land, so that the sons of Israel no longer had manna, so they ate some of the yield of the land of Canaan during that year."

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What ought our fruit be in our earthly wilderness?
CONCISE OUTLINE:

I. A JOY-FILLED HOPE
II. A FEARLESS ASSURANCE
III. A FORETASTE OF GLORY DIVINE
IV. A PRESENT REALITY

TRUTH/CONTEXT: The manna eaten in this life will cease once with the first nibble of eternity’s provision.

It seems foolish to spend precious time and anxious energy (Df. – “greatly concerned … respecting something future or unknown) over the things of this world.

The principle is this: “things above” always trump “things of this world.”

The Scripture says on the day we eat of the fruit of the Promised Land we will no longer eat the old corn. No, in fact we won’t even recall the taste of the old meal or suffer under its insufficiency.

Israel's wearying wanderings were all over. Their promised rest was under foot: no more moving tents, no more testing, no more fiery serpents, no more giants, and no more dusty, dirty desert; they came to the land which flowed with milk and honey, and they ate.

God lifts His hand of provision from us when we take our eyes off Him … maybe not in a way we can see but He will discipline us if we don’t discipline ourselves.

Perhaps this year, this will not be your case or mine.

But God rests His hand of provision upon us when we fix our eyes on Him … maybe not in a way we can immediately discern but He blesses us if when we discipline ourselves.

Perhaps this year, this will be your case or mine.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What might our fruit be in this earthly wilderness of ours?
EXPANDED OUTLINE:
I. A JOY-FILLED HOPE

A. A Joyful Life is Ours, Should We Desire It

1. Jesus says we are to …

"Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Matthew 6:33

2. Then Paul defines the Kingdom of God with …

“The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 14:17

B. An active and liberated faith will bear authentic delight

1. The rest which remains for God’s people (the prospect of being with Jesus for all eternity) is a soothing expectation
2. To expect this indescribable glory is a double delight (sounds like a new 31 Flavors)

II. A FEARLESS ASSURANCE

A. Unbelief trembles in fear on Jordan’s eastern shore; that Jordan which yet rolls between us and Beulah Land

1. But let us rest assured Christ has removed all threats from before His children

“I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!”

Romans 8:38-39

2. Let’s drive out every apprehensive thought, and rejoice with exceeding great joy in the certain knowledge we just might be "forever with the Lord" this year.

[FEAR] Some years ago, a circus act with Bengal tigers was broadcast live. The trainer entered the cage to do a routine performance. The door was locked behind him. The spotlights highlighted the cage, cameras moved in close, and the audience watched in suspense as the trainer put the tigers through their act. However, in the middle of the performance, the lights went out! For 20 or 30 seconds the trainer was locked in a dark cage with Bengal tigers, a whip and a chair. The tigers could see the trainer, but he could not see them!

After the event was over, in an interview, the trainer was asked how he felt while in the cage. He admitted to an initial fear, but then he pointed out the tigers did not know he could not see them. He said, "I just kept cracking my whip and talking to them until the lights came on. They never knew I could not see them as well as they could see me."

We don’t have a whip but we do have a sword …

B. A remnant will tarry on earth this year, to continue in service for our Lord.

If this is your lot, there is no reason why Scripture should not be true for you …

"We who have believed do enter into rest."

Hebrews 4:3

III. A FORETASTE OF GLORY DIVINE

A. The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance
B. There the heirs are secure; so are we who remain & persevere
C. There they triumph over all enemies, here faith is our victory

IV. A PRESENT REALITY

A. The heavenly host enjoys communion with their Lord
B. This isn’t forbidden to us

1. they rest in His love; so do we
2. they have perfect peace in Him; so should we
3. they sing His high praises; so do we
4. and they count it a privilege to bless Him; so should we

C. This year we will gather eternal fruit on this temporal rock
D. Yet, as Peter says, if our faith and our hope are not in vain, our wilderness is like a garden planted by Living Water

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: We should get our minds off the manna of this world, of this wilderness experience, and get them onto things above, the things of Christ, the Bread of Life.

[LOOK] You are familiar, no doubt, with one of the most famous paintings ever done by any artist: The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, that classic portrayal of Christ and the twelve apostles at the table.

Many art historians believe the painting, when first created, was somewhat different from the version which we now see. There was initially, it is believed, an exquisite lace border on the tablecloth.

Upon completion, as the story goes, da Vinci invited a group of his students to view the masterpiece; they were immensely impressed by the delicate lacework. They praised it a great deal.

Seeing the reaction of these young men, the artist took up a brush and obliterated the lace. Then, with uncontrollable furry, he shouted, "Now, you fools, look at the face of Christ!"

Again Jesus said we are to …

"Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Matthew 6:33

Oh my friends, that we might know the Holy Spirit more; that He might forgive us our aversion to Him, overlook our fearful acknowledgment of Him, and cleanse us of our powerlessness in spite of His constant attendance to us.

Is it well with your soul?


RELATED LINKS: The SHEEP'S CRIB

GENERAL TAGS: Homiletics, Preaching, Sermons

SPECIFIC TAGS: Death, Joshua, Providence, Reality, Sanctification

17 December 2006: JUMPING FOR JOY – Experiencing the Lord’s Presence for Joy!

TOPIC: Christmas series (3 of 4); faith, foundation, joy, presence (of God), rebirth, sanctification
TITLE: JUMPING FOR JOY – Experiencing the Lord’s Presence with Joy!
TEXT: Luke 1:44

For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What may we learn from Elizabeth and John about experiencing the presence of the Lord?
CONCISE OUTLINE:

I. WE LEARN THE REQUISITE FOR HIS PRESENCE!
II. WE LEARN THE RESPONSE TO HIS PRESENCE!
III. WE LEARN THE RESULT OF HIS PRESENCE!

TRUTH/CONTEXT: Context is the annunciation (conception was soon, yet future).

Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah …

Luke 1:39

What we have here is John at pre-birth … 6 – 9 months [and Jesus just post-conception (see verse 36; I lean toward 6 months due to verse 39 “Mary arose and went in a hurry”)].

John is resting, perhaps sucking his thumb or taking a nap, minding his own business, and suddenly, he jerks his thumb from his little mouth and begins to praise the Lord.

I guess we could say that John was the world’s first Pentecostal? Regardless, the older knew he served the Younger, and rejoiced at the thought!

[STALL] From time to time we need to be reminded of what it means to be in the Lord's presence! Oh, it's true, as believers, the Lord never leaves us ... but most of us experience times when He seems far away!

When a plane goes into a stall it doesn't mean the engine has stopped running ... it means the plane's forward motion has slowed to a point where the flow of air over its wings is insufficient to provide lift. The plane, even with engines running, "noses over" and begins descent.

God has chosen a law of physics for flight; and he has placed responsibility for airspeed in the hands of a pilot. His air-borne well-being is his own responsibility!

In the same way, God has placed our spiritual well-being in our own hands; it’s our responsibility! Follow a few simple rules and the journey is pleasant! Ignore the rules and, even though saved, you nose over and descend.

Many have gone into a spiritual stall; they seem to have nosed over in their walk with Jesus, their forward progress is insufficient to sustain the "lift" they need!

Uncertainty about the future, family and finances, society, and this evil day assault them at every turn!

No one has to live this way! We can learn how to experience God's presence; let's discover how!

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What may we learn from Elizabeth and John about experiencing the presence of the Lord?

Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacha-rias and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Luke 1:39-41

EXPANDED OUTLINE:

I. THE REQUISITE FOR HIS PRESENCE!

There has to be a foundation, something on which to stand! And we have our faith in the Rock of Ages! Yet it was also …

A. MARY'S FAITH

"And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord."

Luke 1:45

There's not much argument here ... an active recurring presence of God requires an active forward moving faith!

[ADAM CLARKE] "faith here is represented as the foundation of true happiness, because it [alone] receives the fulfillment of God's promises ... we should believe whatever God has spoken – HIS … AUTHORITY IS SUFFICIENT REASON!"

Faith - Paul said:

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Galatians 2:20

And Mary "believed"! The Greek here (pisteuo) is the same as that used for Abraham when he was “reckoned righteous” for believing God.

And there has to be purity!

B. ELIZABETH'S CHARACTER

In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zacharias … and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

Luke 1:5-6

Holiness - Peter said:

… like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."

1 Peter 1:13-16

When it comes to the things God wants of us, there is not much give in God. Man, when he follows the path of least resistance, is like a river ... crooked! God knows what is best for us, and His way is straight!

And as James said: “faith without works is dead.” Friends, dead faith is inactive faith, and inactive faith is a faith that follows the path of least resistance. Jesus said: "work while it is still day!"

II. THE RESPONSE TO HIS PRESENCE!

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out in a loud voice saying, "Blessed among women are you, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.”

Luke 1:41-44

Look at Elizabeth and her baby John: the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit; and Elizabeth exalted the Lord, she was filled with praise, exuberance, and proclamation!

God inhabits the praises of His people!

And the baby “leaped” in her womb “for joy." Not with joy but “for joy.”

Yet Mary's cousin never gave up humility or transparency!

“And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me"

III. THE RESULT OF HIS PRESENCE!

The result of the Lord's presence was immediate for Mary, Elizabeth, and baby John ... joy and praise and exaltation ... yet to their mind it was not immediate. They knew they were in the very presence of "the consolation of Israel," "the Son of the Most High," even Immanuel – "God with us"!

If we believe in Him, actively, He is faithful to come into our presence and fill us with unspeakable joy! One's heart is on fire at His nearness, there is lift ... OUR FAITH WILL NOT STALL!

[ACCIDIE] The result of God's presence is best understood by His absence ... which is a feeling of spiritual letdown, a need to do something but not a clue as to what! Medieval saints knew this as "accidie"... a helpless melancholy, a dreary affliction of the soul, an awareness that the Lord is not present!

When we landed a man on the moon in the '60s aerospace personnel became victims of a type of "accidie"; a kind of industrial letdown, melancholy, or pessimism. The unspoken question was, "What now?"

They needed a second wind before they started something new! They stalled!

And the Christian is confronted with this kind of challenge ... each project seems to take so much out of us that we just don't have enough get up and go TO GET UP AND GO!

Let’s forget New Year’s resolutions and resolve today to do all that we can to maintain our spiritual airspeed.

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: This passage wasn't intended to be about the practice of our faith, BUT: IF we expect to have spiritual "lift" in our lives, THEN we must allow the Holy Spirit freedom to maintain His spiritual speed over our wings to provide that lift!

Most know, don't they, some sort of effort is needed ... but they have no heart for it ... nothing seems to have come from their efforts so far, the future doesn't look any different! They tend to be overcome with a spirit of pessimism and disillusionment! The problems of every age paralyze and demotivate!

Whether the cause is apathy, weariness, neglect, or perhaps an unwillingness to surrender to God's will, I don’t know ... but at the bottom it is a failure on the part of far too many individuals to mine the Scriptures for meaning and purpose in being a Christian ... their stall affects the Body!

Remember there just one body, one Bride! What one does affects all! We are supposed to be different!

God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

2 Timothy 1:7

The result should be LEAPING FOR JOY, an unspeakable joy! Jesus Himself ... this is our hope ... we must believe what the Lord has spoken to us ... we must praise and exalt and proclaim ... our feet should dance for joy at the very mention of His name!

SO SING OF YOUR SAVIOR, glory in the hope He gives, and REJOICE IN HIS PRESENCE ... find MEANING AND PURPOSE for the faith that is in you!

We must practice the Lord's presence! Before we may do this, however, we must (1) be prepared, spiritually, to be in His presence; then we may (2) respond to His presence; and then, and only then, we will (3) experience His presence!

You see, experiencing God is more than faith alone … experiencing God is responding to one’s faith with action!


RELATED LINKS: The SHEEP'S CRIB - Sermons

GENERAL TAGS: Homiletics, Preaching, Sermons

SPECIFIC TAGS: Annunciation, Christmas,
Incarnation, Luke, Presence, Sanctification