"God's Power in Your Life"
Mark 4:36-39
Sunday, November 4, 2012

Introduction: Illus. “The Big Rock,” Hot Illustrations, p. 36. One day a young boy was playing in his sandbox. He decided to dig a hole to make a tunnel from one sand building to the next. As he dug down he discovered a large rock in the middle of the sandbox. He decided he wanted that rock out of his sandbox, so he dug some more, and then tried to push it out. However, the rock was just too big and heavy for the boy to move! As this was happening the boy’s father was watching it all from the kitchen window. After watching his son struggle for some time, he finally walked out to the sandbox. Then he asked his son: “Son, why didn’t you use all the strength you had available?” “I did. I pushed with all my strength!” his son answered. “No, son,” corrected the father, “You didn’t use all the strength you had. You didn’t ask me!”

            This morning I want to talk about this exact situation, how we are in the same place as the boy. We try and try with all of our strength, thinking that we are using all the power we have available to us, but forgetting that God is there willing and waiting to give us His strength! I want to talk about how you can have God’s power at work in your life.

I.                   Evidence of God’s Power- (Romans 1:20; Mark 4:36-39; 1Peter 5:8;

                        Luke 5:12-13, 7:12-15, 8:26-39; Matthew 4:1-11; 1 John 4:4)

All we have to do is look around to see the evidence of God’s power. Romans

1:20 (New Living Translation) tells us, “From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God.”

 We can look at the world and see God’s affects. From the power of the sun, to

the great oceans and massive mountain ranges, the power of God is visible. But God didn’t just want to leave it there, and so God chose to come in human form, in Jesus Christ. One of the reasons Jesus came was to show us who God truly is, and for Him to share with us God’s power. And while I am not going to make an exhaustive list here about God’s power, I do want to show us how God’s power is seen in Jesus over nature, sickness, death, and Satan.

a.      Over nature- Nature is amazing. In good ways and bad. We are

thankful for the rain, for it helps things to grow and supplies us with the water we need; the water we couldn’t live without. But we see the power of water when there is so much rain that it causes floods, or when the water of the ocean becomes a tidal wave. We are thankful for wind, for it provides a cool breeze, and we can even harness it for power. But as we just saw this last week, when the wind becomes a hurricane, it can cause great damage.

All throughout time, people have experienced this power of God through nature. And in its extreme, nature does cause us to fear.

            In the Gospel of Mark, we have just such an occasion. Mark 4:36-38- “And leaving the crowd behind, the disciples took Jesus with them in the boat… A great windstorm arose and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But Jesus was in the stern of the boat, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him up and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’”

            In this passage we have two things going on. A storm has arisen, and it has caused the disciples great fear. Yet for Jesus, He is unafraid, unconcerned, as He sleeps in the back of the boat. You know that the disciples are afraid, because they wake-up Jesus, and they think they are going to perish. Now I have never been in a boat where the wind and storm is so great that I think I am going to die, but I have been on my brother’s boat when it is fairly windy. It is an interesting feeling when the bottom of the boat feels like it is starting to come out of the water!

            But the passage doesn’t stop here. What does Jesus do after He is woken up?

Verse 39- “He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ At Jesus’ voice the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.” WOW!!!

            What a demonstration of God’s power; calming the wind and the sea. The stillness must have been almost as eerie as the powerful wind.

b.      Over sickness- Another time Jesus was walking in one of the cities

when He came across a man covered with Leprosy. Now most sicknesses we encounter affect us mostly on the inside. But Leprosy is one of those diseases that affects you on the outside; it is very visible. It is a disease that eats away at your skin. But this isn’t the worst of it. In Jesus’ time, if you had Leprosy, if anyone came near to you, you had to yell out, “Unclean, unclean.” You couldn’t be touched. So this disease affected you mentally and emotionally because you were separated from society. How it must have worn on people to have to categorize themselves as unclean!

            When Jesus comes upon this man, the Leper bowed humbly before Jesus and said: “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” (Luke 5:12) The scripture tells us that Jesus “…stretched out His hand, touched him, and said, ‘I do choose. Be made clean.’ Immediately the Leprosy left him.” (Luke 5:13)

            Jesus not only showed that He had power over sickness, but Jesus could restore wholeness as well. This person was healed body, mind, and spirit. This person, who was untouchable, could now be touched and held and loved and accepted!

c.      Over death- It is amazing to me how there are many people who want

to cheat death. A true story: In 1960, Californian millionaire James McGill  died. He left detailed instructions that his body should be preserved by freezing in the hope that one day scientists might discover a cure for the disease that killed him. This sounds amazing, but today it is quite popular to have your body frozen. In fact, the new technology is called “neuro-suspension” which preserves just the head. And you might have heard that the great baseball player, Ted Williams, after he died, his son had his father’s head frozen.

            There are least 3 instances recorded in scripture where Jesus raised people from the dead. The most famous of course is Lazarus, whom Jesus raised after Lazarus had been dead for 3 days. The second is the daughter of one of the synagogue leaders. And the third happened during a funeral procession. The boy, the only son of a widow, was surrounded by many mourners. When Jesus saw this, He had compassion on the woman, “touched the coffin, and said: ‘Young man, get up.’ At this the boy did get up and began to talk to those around him!”

            However, at some point these people did die again, and go to heaven to be with the Lord. That is why Jesus died, so that our death would lead to a resurrection where we would go to be with the Lord in heaven. Jesus conquered death by His death and resurrection!

d.      Over Satan- The last example of Jesus’ demonstrating God’s power is

how God has power over Satan. There are two main mistakes people make when it comes to Satan. The first mistake is that people think that Satan is not real, and therefore they are ignorant to the power that Satan can wield in a person’s life. But the Bible warns us, in 1 Peter 5:8, “Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.” Satan is real, and is our enemy. Do not disregard Satan in this world.

            The second mistake people make regarding Satan is the thinking that Satan is more powerful than he truly is. In this case, people allow themselves to be overcome with fear of the evil in the world. This fear paralyzes them, or affects them mentally to not see the reality of our world.

            Another important reason Jesus came to this earth was to show God’s power over Satan. He did it by: showing us how to resist temptation [when He resisted Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11)], He did it when he cast out demons (i.e. Luke 8:26-39), and ultimately He did it by dying on the cross, and giving us the power over sin and eternal death through our faith in Jesus! As the Scripture tells us: 1 John 4:4- “….greater is He that is in you (Jesus) than he who is in the world (Satan).”

II.                Experiencing God’s Power- (Ephesians 1:19; Philippians 2:13;

Isaiah 40:31)

Illustration: “Yukon Ho!” Calvin and Hobbes, p. 92- Have

you ever imagined what it might be like if you were God? Well,

in this particular Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, Calvin does…… It says:

“First there was nothing….                  then there was Calvin!            Calvin, the mighty god, creates the universe with pure will!                From utter nothingness comes swirling form! Life begins where once was void!                     But Calvin is no kind and loving god! He’s one of the old gods! He demands sacrifice!            Yes, Calvin is a god of the underworld! And the puny inhabitants of earth displease him!                        The great Calvin ignores their pleas for mercy and the doomed writhe in agony!

            Then in the last frame Calvin’s dad says to his wife: “Have you seen how absorbed Calvin is with those Tinkertoys? He’s creating whole worlds over there!” To which Calvin’s mom says: “I’ll bet he grows up to be an architect.”

      The good news for us, is even though God is all-powerful, He is a merciful

and loving God. And even more, He wants to pass on this power to us. As Paul says in Ephesians 1:19 (NLT), “I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of His power for us who believe Him.”

a.      God’s power to get going- How does God pass on His power to us?

Well, the first way is that God knows that sometimes we lack energy, desire, or drive to do what we need to do; sometimes we get unfocused or off track. So God passes on to us the power to get going. As the apostle Paul says in Philippians 2:13- “For God is working in you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what  pleases Him.”

            To really live a great life, we need to obey God, and we need to do the things that pleases God. But that isn’t always easy to do. To do this, we need the desire to do this. So where do we get the desire? From the power of God’s Spirit working in us. The more we allow God to work in and through us, the easier it will be to do what pleases God, and the better our lives will be.

b.      God’s power to keep you going- Let me encourage you to do a certain

practice that will help with this. Every day when you get up, say to God: “Okay God, give me the desire to follow You today.” The reality, is that once we are out into the world, we will be bombarded with frustrations, deadlines, hurtful words, temptations, etc… It doesn’t take much to get us off track again. It doesn’t take much to lose the desire to do what pleases God. So we need to repeat this statement throughout the day: “Okay God, give me the desire to follow You today.”

            Example- When my children were young, I loved to watch them play. In fact, I tried to do it without them noticing me, because I enjoy their creativity and their focus. Tiffany particularly liked this carpet we had bought that had a city embroidered on it. It has roads, a library, an airport, and more! However, it didn’t take long before Tiffany got bored of the cars and moved over to playing with her Barbies. The next thing you know, she was in Tyler’s room wanting to play with him. Young kids can get easily distracted and move quickly from one thing to another!

            Believe it or not, we are just like that in life. We get easily distracted from God’s ways, and move on and on to what the world broadcasts as the way to live or the thing to do. Or maybe it is not being distracted, but we try hard to do things on our own, and then we get tired.

            We are reminded in Isaiah 40:31- “But those who wait on the Lord will

                        find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They

                        will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”

God wants us to be able to not only get going, but to sustain it once we do. So God gives us power to keep going. Instead of allowing the distraction to derail us, or let our frustration cause us to falter, we turn to the Lord and wait on Him!

Conclusion: It is easy to think that God is all-powerful, but not think about it much further than that. Or to think that God is all-powerful, but His power was only important for Him to create the world. I hope this morning you caught a deeper understanding of how God not only has great power, but has exhibited that power to us for the purpose of helping us to believe in Him. He has exhibited this power so that we might trust Him more. He has exhibited this power so that we might give Him our love. And in trusting Him and loving Him we open ourselves up to Him to receive His power into our lives. God cares about us so deeply that He wants us to have His power, so that we might be able to live as He created us to live; with purpose, and the ability to do great things. To receive this power we have to come to God and seek Him out. To receive God power we have to ask for His help. To receive His power we have to live as faithful servants of the Lord. Receive today the power of God into your lives, and know that when you do, you will never be the same! Amen.

"Saturated by God's Word"
Romans 12:1-2
Sunday, October 28, 2012

Introduction: Last week we talked about being on the front lines. We talked about how important it is to stand strong in our faith for God. Today I want to talk about how we need to be saturated by God’s word so that we can be strong and wise in how we live for the Lord. We need to be saturated by God’s word so that we can know what God calls us to do. We need to be saturated by God’s word so that we can know what is true and what is false.

            The Bible is God’s word to us. The Bible is God’s way of sharing His truth to His people so that we can know who God is and what this life is to be about. Too often we find ourselves in predicaments or struggles because we have made poor choices. Knowing the Bible helps us to make good and wise decisions. Knowing the Bible helps us to have a clear idea of the path we are to walk.

            So let’s talk about becoming saturated by God’s word!

I.                   Saturation is a process- (Psalm 19:4; Romans 12:1-2; Jeremiah 29:11)

a.      A sponge- I have two sponges and two bowls. When I place the

sponges in the bowls, they become saturated with whatever is in the bowl. When I squeeze the sponge, we will see what is in the bowl. As I squeeze the first sponge, we see that it is filled with clear water. As I squeeze the second sponge, we see that this bowl is filled with red colored water.

What this object lesson tells us about our lives, is that we are filled with whatever we allow to enter into our lives. When we are squeezed, what is in us will spill out. SO, if we you are an anxious person, when life becomes hectic and you are squeezed, worry will come out. If you are an angry person, anger will come out. If you are a materialistic person, then what comes out is the desire to seek more and more.

It is important that we include God’s word, the Bible, in our regular routine each day. We need to make sure that we are putting God’s word into our minds; into our daily lives. This is because when we are living our lives each day, we want to make sure that when we are pressured in any way (and we all know that most days are filled with some kind of pressure), we want God’s word to flow out of our mouths, and thoughts, and actions!

The psalmist says in Psalm 19:4, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” The only way we can know that we will please God with our words and our hearts is by having God’s word thoroughly in us. This all comes from the desire of wanting godly things to come out of our lives. Without this desire, we will not be motivated to include God’s word in our lives. Without this desire, we will allow the things of this world to distract us away from God and His word!

b.      Daily saturation- Because of the sin in our lives, we don’t always

desire the things of God. We don’t always desire to know and live out God’s word. We don’t always think that God’s word will lead us into the wonderful life we picture for ourselves. Beyond that, as we live out our Christian lives (and sometimes face persecution, as I talked about last week), we don’t always think that being saturated in a godly lifestyle is what is best. So, we have to ask God to fill us with this desire. We have to ask God to help us see that knowing and following His word is what is best.

            We have to take to heart the words of Romans 12:1-2. We have to let God’s word transform us into the people we were created to be, not the people our sin leads us to be. We have to present our bodies to God daily as a living sacrifice. We have to understand that we honor God by living for Him each day.

            When we daily saturate our minds with God’s word, we begin to see the difference between the ways of God, and the ways of the world. We can see how easy it is to pick up the customs and practices of this world. We begin to see how the world deceives us into thinking that we have to look out for number one. We can see more clearly how the world makes us think that we have to have all that great new devices and possessions.

            The phrase “do not be conformed” is meant to be an ongoing action. This is why we must daily saturate ourselves with God’s word, so that we are daily led to be conformed to God’s ways, and not the world’s ways. We have to create for ourselves godly patterns. It is only in doing this daily that we can see God’s will for our lives!

            Do you believe that the God of creation has a plan and will for your life? I hope so, because He does. As Jeremiah 29:11 says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.’”

II.                Revealing our Hearts- (James 2:14-18; Ephesians 4:29)

a.      Behaviors that aren’t Christian- Think again about the sponge. The

only thing that comes out of the sponge is what it has absorbed. This is true for us as well. Our behaviors will show what we have absorbed into our thinking. Our behaviors show our desires. Our words reveal our heart. So let’s think for a moment what behaviors we might think are not Christian.

            When surveyed, some of the answers that came out were smoking, alcoholism, drugs, having an affair, pornography, swearing. When people see Christians doing these kinds of behavior, they do not think that they are being Christian. They do not think that this is how God would have them to live. They do not think that this is how Christ would live.

            Why is this? Because what they proclaim (that they are a Christian), and how they live (in unchristian ways) do not match. In the book of James, chapter 2, we see this teaching as well. James says in 2:14, 17-18 “What good is it my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?…So faith by itself is dead if it has no works. But someone will well say, ‘I have faith and you have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.’”

            As Christians we are called to match our behavior with our words; our actions with our faith. We cannot just say we believe, and not have it affect our lives. If this is the case, then we are allowing the world to squeeze us into its mold, instead of allowing God to transform our lives. The Bible has much to say about behavior and lifestyle. When you know what the Bible says, then you can begin to put it into practice into your life. That is why sermons are so important. With my sermons I can challenge and encourage you in how you should live. That is why Bible study is so important. In Bible study we can understand what the scriptures are telling us to do all the more!

b.      Avoiding these behaviors- So let’s think about some of these behaviors

and see how saturating ourselves with the Bible can help us to be transformed into a new person.

EX, 1. Before I became a Christian I developed some bad behaviors. One of those was swearing. In high school it is easy to swear, because it seems to be the cool thing to do. But when I became a Christian, I knew that I needed to change my behavior. I knew that swearing was not consistent with how God would have me talk. The challenge was that because it was a part of my normal conversation when I was with my friends, I found it difficult to just stop. So I decided to memorize a scripture verse that had to do with speech. By memorizing this verse, and saying it often, I was saturating myself with the word of God.

I decided to memorize Ephesians 4:29, which says, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification, according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.” In other words, the words that come out of our mouths should be edifying to God and to those to whom we are speaking. The words we speak should be appropriate for the moment, and beneficial to the situation. Whenever I would start to swear, or even think about swearing, I would say this verse. In time I was broken of this practice!

            EX, 2. Another example could be that of someone who has a problem with drinking. This is a very difficult problem, and I don’t think that just quoting scripture could help an alcoholic completely stop, but it definitely will help them to transform their lives for the Lord! So maybe they memorize Ephesians 5:18, and saturate their minds with this verse.

            Ephesians 5:18 says, “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.” If we desire to be transformed into the person God would have us to be, then we do not want to participate in acts of debauchery. So, by saying this verse over and over, by saturating yourself with the word of God, you are consistently reminded about what not to do: get drunk. You are also reminded of what you are called to do: be filled with the Spirit of God.

III.             Meditation Causes Saturation- (Matthew 10:16, Psalm 145:9, 149:4;

2 Corinthians 6:14, 7:10; Ephesians 4:26)

a.      What do you accept of the world?- This leads us to understand that

meditating on the word of God is the best way to bring the saturation of God’s word into our lives. If we are going to change the way we think, then we have to know what is right, and what is wrong. We have to know what God wants for us.

            Don’t be fooled, the world is constantly saturating us with what it wants us to believe, and do, and think. We are in the middle of a presidential race. Both candidates are spending a great deal of money on commercials, and on phone calls. Why? Because they believe that if they saturate people with their message, and their presence, then people will vote for them.

            So if we are saturated with the things of the world, we have to saturate ourselves with the word of God to combat the world. We accept things of the world without even realizing it. What do you accept of the world because the world has saturated you with it?

            Movies? Music? Language? Practices? When you decide to go and see a movie, does it bother you if there is bad language in it? Does it bother you if there is nudity in it? What causes you to say, “I will not go and see that movie, even though it got great reviews”?

            When you listen to music, what would cause you to not by an album: the lyrics aren’t Christian? Or maybe, the artist is not Christian? How do you determine what is okay and what is not?

            These questions are important for all the areas of life. The world would have us to believe that anything and everything is okay. But God would have us to be a little more discerning. That is why the Bible says be in the world, but not of it.

This is also why Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:16, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” The Bible helps us to be wise and shrewd. The Spirit of God helps to keep us innocent as doves by leading us away from the things of the world.

b.      Listening to God- When we look at the Bible, it tells us what is right,

and what is wrong. There is a book called The Bible Promise book, which gives you topics, and then scriptures that go with the topics. This book is really helpful to lead you to the verses you might need as you saturate yourself with God’s word!

Let’s say that you struggle with anger. You might look up Psalm 145:8, which says: “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.” Anger is not usually a useful emotion, so we, like the Lord, need to be slow in our anger; controlled in our anger. Or you might look up Ephesians 4:26, “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” We need to make sure that we have control of our anger and can let it go!

            Another area where people struggle, is guilt. The world tries to make us live in guilt. The world wants to control us with guilt. But God doesn’t want us to go around feeling all guilty. God wants to remove our guilt through forgiveness. God wants to use our guilt to lead us to the cross so that we can then be made free through the blood of Jesus Christ. When we hold on to guilt too long we become sorrowful and depressed. We read in 2 Corinthians 7:10, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”

            I’ve been talking to my children lately about dating and marriage, and how it is important to marry a Christian. We read this in 2 Corinthians 6:14, which says: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness, and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”

            Let me give you one more example: that of pride. The world tells you to believe in yourself. The world tells you to get all you can get. The world tells you to be the best you can be. This all sounds good, but the focus is on me, me, me. God has a different model in mind. God wants us to be humble and to entrust ourselves to Him as our Lord. In the book of psalms it talks a lot about the humble. We are told that God will “save the humble” (Psalm 18:27), “guide the humble” (Psalm 25:9), and “crown the humble with salvation” (Psalm 149:4).

            I could go on and on, but I think you see how the Bible can help lead us to a transformed life for the Lord.

IV.              Biblical Saturation Pleases God- (2 Timothy 3:14-17)

Let me close by reading 2 Timothy 3:14-17, and then wrapping things up.

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of,

because you know those from whom you learned it, ¹⁵ and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

a.      Knowing what is true- We know that God is pleased with us when we

saturate ourselves in the Bible, because the Bible is what helps us to know what is true. The world does not believe in absolute truth. There is no one truth when it comes to those who do not have faith in God. But God believes in absolute truth. God, through the Bible, wants us to become convinced of what is true.

b.      Wrong exists in our lives- A second truth that 2 Timothy 3:14-17 tells

us, is that we all have wrong in our lives. When you become a Christian, you don’t become perfect, you are just forgiven of your wrongs! Because of this, we need to daily evaluate our lives and discover what wrongs, what sins, we have committed. This is why scripture is so valuable, because it helps us to see what is sin. Once we have recognized our sin, we can then take it to God and receive forgiveness for it.

            Many people like to try and ignore their sin, or deny their sin. This is neither helpful, nor fruitful. When you ignore your sin, it will lead you away from God. When you ignore your sin, you will allow it to control you. When you ignore your sin, you will fail to acknowledge your need for transformation. When you ignore your sin, you get to the place where you feel you don’t need a savior!

c.      The Bible corrects us- Lastly, we need to understand that the Bible is

there to correct us by helping us to see right from wrong. The Bible is the most powerful tool for correction, because it is the Word of God. It has been established by God to be the governing word in our lives. It is established by God to set forth all that is good, and right, and pure. The Word of God is “God-breathed” so that when we allow it to work in our lives, it will set us on the right path, and correct us when we stray! The Bible is there to equip us so that we will be prepared to live in this world for the Lord, and to avoid the temptations of the world.

Conclusion: We who name Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord find that we must reject the ‘lordship’ of this world. We do that by turning our attention to God’s word, and away from the teaching of the world. We do that by having the courage to say “no” to this world, and “yes” to God. This doesn’t mean that we withdraw from the world and go and live in a convent. But it does mean that we become counter-cultural people. What I mean by this is that we take our lead from the Bible and what the Bible teaches us. We take seriously knowing and following what the Bible says. We make the commitment to read the Bible daily and go to church weekly, and attend Bible study so that we can saturate ourselves in God’s word. If we will do this, then we will be transformed people, who are truly children of God. Amen.

"On the Front Lines"
John 15:18-27
Sunday, October 21, 2012

Introduction: Jesus, knowing that it was almost time for Him to be killed and leave this earth, wanted to impart some important information to His disciples, and to all believers. Now we know that Jesus has told us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Jesus prays for us that we may be one. Jesus tells us that we will be given the Holy Spirit to be with us, and instruct us, and guide us. These are all encouraging words from Jesus. But Jesus has something else He needs to say that won’t be as easy to hear.

He says in John 15:18-19, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. ¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” Now, this isn’t necessarily great information, to be told that the world is going to hate you. Nobody wants to be hated.

This morning, I want to talk about how when we follow Jesus, we have to make an important choice. We have to choose to follow Jesus completely. We can’t be in the world, and still follow Jesus. It just won’t work. And when we follow Jesus completely, we will face some opposition.

           

I.                   The World Hated Jesus First- (John 6:48-51, 60-66, 10:22-33; Luke 11:37-54; Matthew 10:37-39)

a.      Jesus stirs up the crowd- Jesus was an amazing human being. In fact,

as I talked about last week, Jesus was a perfect human being. And yet, many people did not like Jesus. Jesus had a great number of followers, but many of those followers were more intrigued by Jesus, than committed to Him. Jesus did not teach with the idea of getting people to like Him. Jesus preached with the sole purpose of speaking the truth of God to people who had lost their way.

            As you read through the gospels, you see on many occasions Jesus stirring up the crowd with His teaching. Let me give you a couple of examples:

            We read in John 10:22-33, “Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. ²⁴ The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.” ³¹ Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, ³² but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” ³³ “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” Jesus was speaking the truth about who He was, and what He was there to do (to give eternal life), but the people did not want to hear this, or believe this.

            A second example comes from Luke, chapter 11:37-54. Jesus has spoken against the Pharisees and their practices, along with the lawyers and the burdens they put on people. We pick it up in verse 53: “When He went outside, the scribes and Pharisees began to be very hostile toward Him and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, to catch Him in something He might say.”

            Jesus spoke the truth, but people did not like the truth He spoke. He ruffled the feathers of the religious leaders and those in power. Because of His teaching people came to hate Him and wanted to kill Him.

b.      People stop following Jesus- Jesus also would say things that caused

people to stop following Him:            In John 6:48-51, 60-66 we read Jesus saying: “I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. ⁵⁰ But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world…On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” ⁶¹ Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶² Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! ⁶³ The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. ⁶⁴ Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. ⁶⁵ He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.” ⁶⁶ From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”

Jesus’ words were not easy for the people to hear. Jesus challenged people to live for Him and to follow Him, and not to live for or follow the world! Because of this it caused many people to stop following Jesus. Jesus wanted committed followers. Jesus never diluted His message to try and attract more people. This caused people to hate Jesus and His teaching. This is why the people were so willing to shout out “Crucify Him, crucify Him,” at His trial.

Another time Jesus said these words in Matthew 10:37-39, “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” These are hard and challenging words. Why would Jesus speak like this? Didn’t He want to have many followers? The answer is “yes” He wanted people to follow Him, but He also wanted them to understand the cost of being committed to Jesus. Jesus knew that this world could deceive people and lead them astray. There is a definite cost to following Jesus!

           

II.                Chosen out of the World- (Matthew 4:18-19; Acts 4:1-3)

a.      Persecution of Christians in the world- When it was time for Jesus to

start His ministry, He went out and called disciples to be with Him and learn from Him. As we read in Matthew 4:18-19, “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’” Jesus expected these disciples to leave what they knew and completely give themselves to Jesus. They didn’t work in the day, and go to the synagogue at night for instruction. They were chosen to be the leaders of the church.

            After Jesus was resurrected from the dead, and ascended into heaven, the disciples became the ones who were preaching the good news of the gospel. If you read through the book of Acts, you will see that this was not an easy task. They regularly faced opposition. They were often arrested, thrown in jail, beaten and whipped, and despised by others. It was not an easy job to be a disciple; a follower of Jesus.

            We read of such an example in Acts 4:1-3, “The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. ² They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. ³ They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.” It was not easy, but if they were not willing to make this commitment, the church would have never survived. Without the disciples’ total commitment to Jesus, you and I would not have this church experience we get to have each week.

            The disciples of the first century experienced persecution for their faith. This persecution continues to this day. Let me give you a couple of examples from around the world:

            In Iran: Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence ordered two officially registered churches in Tehran to discontinue Friday services. These were the last two official churches offering such services. The churches are allowed to meet on Sundays, but in Iran most people are at work on Sundays. Authorities reportedly were concerned that too many people were being attracted to the Christian services on Friday, the Muslim day of worship.

            In Indonesia: The Indonesian Protestant Church Union reported that acts of violence and intolerance against Christians in the country almost doubled in 2011.

            In Uganda, Hassan Muwanguzi lost his family and his job as a schoolteacher after converting from Islam to Christianity in 2003.

            I could go on and on about how those who commit to Christ are hated by the world and persecuted for their Christian beliefs!

b.      Persecution of Christians in the United States- We might think in the

United States we are free from persecution. And for many years this was true. This nation was founded on Christian principles. This nation was set up to have separation of church and state so that the government would not try and control the churches, as it did in England.

            However, in recent years, this has changed. I believe we now live in a time where there is indeed persecution of Christians. Maybe not like in other countries, but there is a definite feeling by many in our nation that Christians should keep to themselves. We are told to be politically correct, and if we are not, then we are criticized for it.

We live in a society that is said to have free speech, but if and when Christians speak out, then it is said that they are unloving, or even worse, hateful. Look at what happened when the President of Chik-Fil-A, Dan Cathy, spoke up about the companies’ beliefs that families are to be led by a man and a woman. He said that this was the biblical definition of the family unit. After he spoke these words, there was a great antagonistic response from those who disagreed. Many voted to have Chik-Fil-A removed from universities and cities.

When the church seeks to talk about how people are to give their money, this puts many off. When the church challenges people in how they should live their life, the church is persecuted for this. It is as if the society is saying, keep Christian teaching in the church, and leave it out of society. But this is not the example that Jesus gave to us. Jesus told us that we are to be in the world, and speak the good news, but not be of the world!

III.             What we do that the world hates- (Revelation 3:15-16; John 14:6)

a.      Claiming the truth- In Christ’s teaching, He is clear that you are

either for Him, or against Him. There is no middle ground. In fact, in the book of Revelations, chapter 3, when God is talking about the church in Laodicea, He says in verses 15-16, “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” When you say that you are a Christian, but you aren’t fully committed to the Lord, but act like a Christian sometimes, and a hypocrite other times, then it presents a very bad witness for God. Being hypocritical is one of the biggest complaints non-Christians have about Christians.

            One of the things that the world hates of Christians, is that we claim to have the truth. It is not a popular stance to say there is one truth. To say, as I said last Sunday, that there is only one way to heaven! But the truth is, it is not me who says this, but Christ. That is why the world hated Christ, because He claimed to be “the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me.” And as Christ’s followers, when we claim this truth, then we are hated as well.

            A second thing that the world hates is that Jesus called sin, sin. Accountability is not popular. People don’t like to be told that they are living wrongly. Especially in a society that lives with the philosophy of relativism: that is, that all things are relative, and you can live however you want to live. So when we quote the Bible and list what is a sin, then we are hated for it and persecuted for it.

            The world wants to say, can’t we just all get along? Jesus prayed for unity, but not unity in relativism, unity in the word and truth of God. Jesus wanted us to be unified in Him. Jesus wanted us to be unified as believers of Christ!

Story: There is a story of a businessman who would buy popcorn from the same

popcorn vendor each day. But one day the vendor was closing up at noon. So the businessman asked him: Why are you closing so soon? Is there something wrong?” The vendor replied: “By no means. All is well.” “Then why are you closing your stand?” came the next question. “So I can go to my house, sit on my porch, and sip tea with my wife.” But the businessman didn’t understand, so he continued: “But the day is still young. You can still sell.” To which the vendor said: “I don’t need to, I’ve made enough money for today.” “Enough,” responded the businessman. “Absurd. You should keep working.” But then they vendor questioned this: “And why should I keep working?” “To sell more popcorn,” replied the businessman. “And why should I sell more popcorn?” “Because the more popcorn you sell, the more money you make. The more money you make, the richer you are. The richer you are, the more popcorn stands you can buy. The more popcorn stands you buy, the more peddlers sell your product, and the richer you become. And when you have enough, you can stop working, sell your popcorn stands, stay home, and sit on the porch with your wife and drink tea.” The popcorn man smiled and said: “I can do that today. I guess I have enough.”

            We think that we have to be a society that is always seeking, always wanting more…More religions, more acceptance. The truth is, all we need is Christ!

b.      Will we do what Jesus calls us to do?- God has called us. If you have

accepted Jesus Christ as Your Savior, then You have accepted this call. This call is not just to believe in Christ as Savior, it is also a call to believe in Jesus as Lord. It is the call to take up your cross and follow Him. It is the call to preach the good news to those who don’t know and who don’t believe. What will you do with this call?

            Too many Christians are not on the front line. Too many Christians are afraid to talk about their faith. Too many Christians are concerned about what it would mean if they took a stand for Jesus. Too many Christians think it is okay to say yes to Jesus on Sunday, but no to Jesus during the week.

            Are you living the life God would have you live? Do people know that you are a Christian by your beliefs and actions? When your life is finished, who do you want applause from, God, or the world? When you get to heaven, will God say to you, ‘Well done good and faithful servant?’

            It is about recognizing the opportunities, and responding to them. It is about believing that God will protect us in the midst of persecution. It is about understanding that we are called to be disciples, not just church attenders.

Conclusion: After Jesus said that the world would hate us, He then said in John 15:19, “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own…” Those who want to be loved by the world speak a message that is acceptable to the world. When we speak the message of God, which is contrary to the message of this world, then we will not be liked. And at times, we will be persecuted.

            Let me give you a football example for a moment: In football, you have 5 people on the LINE. The line is the place where the offense meets the defense. Those on the line do the blocking. They keep the defense from the quarterback, or help there to be an opening for the running back to run through. Without this line, the offense would never get anywhere.

            We are called to be on the LINE; on the front line. We are called to engage people for Jesus. We are called to tell people about the good news of the gospel, that Jesus saves all who believe. We are called to remind each other that we need to know God’s truth, live by God’s truth, and share God’s truth with others. Let us be committed to do this today, and every day, for the name of Christ and the sake of the kingdom of God. Amen.

“The Only Way”
Acts 4:5-12
(from a Billy Graham message, Decision Magazine, April 2012)
Sunday, October 14, 2012

Introduction: Let me ask you a question: Why is Christianity so different from every other religion? The answer is that it focuses on the person of Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Son of God and the second person of the Trinity. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Messiah, the One who came to this earth to save the world from its sin.

            Today there are many claims about who God is. Atheists say there is no God. Polytheists believe that Jesus is one of many gods. Others say that Jesus is the first of the divine creation, but not eternally God.

This question is not new. When Jesus was on this earth there was a debate about who Jesus was. Jesus asked His disciples who people thought that He was. Matthew 16:14 tells us, “And the disciples said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’”/     We see here that the people thought Jesus was some kind of prophet or great teacher, but not God in the flesh.

            Then Jesus asked them who they thought He was. Peter, speaking for all the disciples, answers: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

            Understanding who Jesus is, is the most important concept we can learn. It really is the difference between life and death.

I.                   The Name of Christ- (John 1:4, 9; 8:12)

a.      Title- The word Christ is really a title for Jesus. It means ‘anointed

one.’ It is the term, in the Greek language for the Hebrew word for Messiah. The Old Testament is full of prophecy of the Messiah, God in the flesh, coming to this earth to save us from our sins. Peter and the disciples, and many others, recognized Jesus as the Messiah who was promised in the Old Testament.

            However, because of their situation, living in a depressed and oppressed society, they believed Jesus to be more of an earthly savior. They believed that Jesus was going to free them from the rule of the Romans, and set them up as a ruling kingdom. Jesus was indeed a light to the people of that time.

            So Jesus’ challenge was to help them understand what kind of light He was. We read in John 1:4, 9- “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men…That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.” Jesus is the light that shines toward eternal life. Jesus expounds on this thought later in the gospel of John, 8:12- “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” Jesus never said that He would lead a rebellion against the Romans. Jesus always talked about how His presence was to take away sins and lead people to the spiritual truth of eternal life.

            The essential truths of the Gospel, and who Jesus is, never changes. It is the same today as it was in Jesus’ time. It is important to understand and believe wholeheartedly about the virgin birth, Jesus’ sinless life, His sacrificial and substitutionary death, His reseurrection and ascension to the right hand of the Father, and the glorious hope of His return. These truths should not be diluted in any way!

            Because of these truths, and the words of Jesus Himself, we believe that Jesus is the only Christ. Jesus is God. Jesus is the ONLY savior. Jesus is Lord! This is hard for many to believe because it is such an amazing truth.

b.      A wonderful truth- The Story of the Two Pebbles, (found on the Internet)

There is a story of a farmer who owed a local rich but very ugly and old man a lot of money. And the farmer had a beautiful young daughter that the old rich man favoured. The rich old man proposed to the farmer that he would waive the debt in return for the hand of the beautiful daughter. Both the farmer and daughter were shocked at the proposal.

In any case, the shrewd old man wanted to make the proposal "fairer" to the young lady. He said, I will put two pebbles into the bag and you pick one. Should you pick a black pebble, you are to marry me and I will extinguish your father's debt. If you pick the white pebble, you do not have to marry me, yet I will still extinguish your father's debt. If you picked neither, I shall have your father thrown into prison.

With that said, the old man picked two pebbles from the ground which was full of pebbles and put them in a bag. The young girl's sharp eyes caught the old man stuffing two black pebbles into the bag. What could she do, she wondered? Should she expose him as a cheat? That would probably make the old man angry and cause him to dismiss his offer. Should she go along with the game and sacrifice herself? Or should she not play at all and let her father go to jail?

What would you do?

What the girl did was she reached into the bag and picked out one pebble. As she pulled it out she “accidentally” dropped it onto the ground (which was full of pebbles) before anyone could see the color of the one she picked. "Oops,” she said. “Clumsy me. Never mind. The pebble left in the bag will prove which pebble I picked first", offered the girl, knowing very well, the other pebble left in the bag was surely black. As she pulled out the second stone from the bag, sure enough it was black.

The old man did not dare to reveal he cheated in the first place and therefore had to extinguish the debt without a bride in return. This is how the young lady turned a seemingly hopeless situation to a most advantageous result.

            When sin came into the world through Adam and Eve, it was a seemingly hopeless situation. This sin created a wall between our holy God and His people. God overcame this seemingly hopeless situation by choosing to take on flesh, come into this world, and die for our sins! It could only work if Jesus was fully God and fully human. The deity of Christ and the incarnation are fundamental truths and the cornerstones of the Christian faith.

II.                The Deity of Christ- (John 1:1-4, 8:58, 10:30; Colossians 1:15-16, 19; Hebrews 4:15)

a.      Christ is Eternal- This great truth of Christ being fully God and fully

human is spread throughout the New Testament. We read in the gospel of John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word…” The greek word for Word is “logos.” So that people would fully understand, John continues, “And the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

            Christ is from eternity to eternity. Meaning, that because He is fully God, He always existed, and always will exist! The apostle Paul echoes this truth in Colossians 1, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created…For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell.”

            When the angel came to tell Mary that she would be pregnant, Gabriel instructed her that it would be Jesus, the Messiah, and that her pregnancy was from God by the power of the Holy Spirit. He was God, but He came upon the earth as a baby; in the flesh. The invisible God was born into this world!

            This concept of the incarnation, God in the flesh, troubles many people. It troubles people because they have difficulty understanding how this could be. They have trouble understanding because they try and see with their minds, not with their spirit.

            Jesus Himself made several claims of reference to His divine nature. In John 8:58 He declared, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” In John 10:30 He said: “I and My Father are one.”

b.      Truly God in human form- Despite the fact that we are asked to

believe, in faith, it is good to know that there is proof that helps us to see that Jesus was indeed God come in human form.

            First, there was the proof of His perfect life. This is why He could ask in John 8:46, “Which of you convicts Me of sin?” No one could answer that question because His life was perfect. He was blameless. As Hebrews 4:15 tells us, “He was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Second, there was the evidence of His power. His power was the power of the Almighty God. He could quiet the storms, raise the dead, heal the sick, restore sight to the blind, and make the lame walk. His miracles were a witness to the fact that His is Lord of all nature.

            Third, there was the evidence of fulfilled prophecy. Hundreds of years before His birth the prophets of the Old Testament spoke exactly of the place where He would be born and the manner of His death and burial. Many details of His life were spoken of by the prophets long before any of them took place. In every instance these prophecies were fulfilled in and through the life of Jesus Christ!

            Fourth, there was the evidence of His resurrection from the dead. Jesus Christ was “declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the dead,” we are told in Romans 1:4. There are many who have started religions throughout the centuries, but they have now died and been buried! But Christ is ALIVE!! His resurrection is a fact. His tomb is empty. Fifth, there is the proof of changed lives. Christ alone, the divine Son of God, has power to change the human heart. And He does. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” I could speak of the testimony of my life being changed by Jesus Christ, and I have shared this in my sermons. I know you have a testimony of your life being changed as well!

            Yes, Jesus Christ is who He said He is, God in human form. This is the crucial truth that supports the reality of our salvation. Only the divine Savior could die as the perfect and complete sacrifice for our sins. Only the divine Lord could tell us how we should live. Only the risen and ascended Son of God is worthy of our worship and our service.

III.             Knowing the Truth about Christ- (1 John 4:4; John 1:18; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 3:16)

a.      Those who don’t acknowledge Christ- In this day and age there are

many who do not believe that Jesus was God in the flesh. Some believe that it is the Bible, and the Bible alone, that talks about Jesus in this way. As I heard one person once say: “The character of Jesus is, at best, a combination of many stories and heroes/saviors/whatever rolled into one. He is not unique among gods and demigods.” Another said: “There is no contemporary evidence for Jesus.” And still another: “Most of what we have is evidence of the existence of Christians and their beliefs.”

            By faith Jesus becomes our Lord and Savior. Yet, those without faith deny that Jesus is who He said He is. Those who do not believe in Jesus, believe in themselves, or some cosmic power. Their lack of faith keeps them from seeing the truth. The evil in the world keeps others from acknowledging the Lordship of Christ. They are under the deceiving power of Satan.

            To break through people need to open their eyes to Jesus. Jesus has authority over the evil one and all of his demons. The apostle John, in his letter of 1 John, 4:4 says this: “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Those who do not have Jesus are blinded from the truth, because they do not have “eyes” that can see the spiritual truth. Only when someone gives himself or herself over to Jesus, and has confessed their sin, and accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord, can they begin to truly know the full truth about Christ.

b.      Knowing the truth- How can we know the truth about God? Is

religion just a matter of personal opinion? The Bible says no! It tells us that we can KNOW the truth—because God has revealed Himself to us. Since mankind’s fall in the Garden of Eden, God has continued to reveal Himself in history. God chose a man, Abraham, to help build a great nation. God miraculously delivered His chosen people from Egypt under the leadership of Moses. God also used Moses to help His people cross the Red Sea, and give them the 10 Commandments. After this God used prophets, who were divinely inspired, to make predictions that ALL came true.

            But most of all, God revealed Himself in the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ: “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him,” John tells us in chapter 1, verse 18 of his gospel.

            The written Word of God was prepared under the direction of the Holy Spirit, who preserved the authors from departing from God’s revelation in their writing so that they conveyed exactly what God wanted them to record. As 2 Peter 1:20-21 says, “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” Even though the writers of Scripture were human, God ensured that the words and thoughts were inspired and recorded accurately as He intended. We are reminded of this in 2 Timothy 3:16, which says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”

            Because the Bible is God’s inspired Word, it does not contradict itself or teach falsehoods—because God cannot lie. We may not understand every detail of Scripture, but we must never lose sight of the fact that it is God’s Word and not man’s ideas or opinions.

            Jesus constantly quoted the Old Testament and made it clear that it was the inspired Word of God. We who follow Christ must have just as high a view of Scripture as Jesus did! The word of God has the power to change lives.

            God has promised to bless His Word. Time after time when I quote scripture in my sermons, people come up to me and tell me that the verse was meant for them. This is the Holy Spirit prompting me and touching the lives of others with God’s word.

            From the time when I accepted Jesus as my Savior and Lord at age 15, until now, I have not doubted God’s word. Our call and power come from the infallible Word of God—the Bible. This is how we know the truth of who Jesus is.

           

Conclusion: In this day and age when it isn’t popular to believe in Jesus Christ as the Only Way, it is all the more imperative that as Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, we hold firm to this truth!! It is in the Scripture in which Jesus is revealed. It is in the life of Christ, that we see Jesus demonstrate that He is God in the flesh. It is in Christ that we believe, trust, and proclaim as Savior of all. It is in Christ that we are to confess before others that He is our Lord. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He never changes, because He is the eternal God. This is the foundation of truth that we declare. This is the foundation on which the church resides. This is the foundation of who we are as Christians. This is why we come to worship. This is why we can live with power and hope and love. This is why we rejoice. Amen.