Tag Archives: life

Sermons

Sermon Sunday March 27, 2022 – I am the Good Shepherd – John 10:1-15

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In John 10 verse 11, Jesus called himself, the Good Shepherd, contrasting himself to a hired hand who simply cares for the sheep to get paid. Then Jesus called the Pharisees, “hired hands” in verse 12.

Jesus continues (verse 11 and 15) to say that the Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. To those listening, a shepherd was supposed to be brave and fight off wild animals, but dying for the sheep was a tragedy and not the intention of the shepherd.

In John 10, Jesus stated five times that he was going to lay down his own life, and Jesus clearly affirmed the sacrificial nature of His death. He did not die as a martyr, he died as a substitute, willingly laying down his life for us. Remember how John the Baptist identified Jesus when he met him (see John 1:29).

Furthermore in John 10:14 Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.” How well do you know Jesus?

When we think of Jesus as the Good Shepherd many of us think of Psalm 23. It is a wonderful Psalm, but utterly meaningless if you don’t know the Shepherd personally. When you go to church or open the Bible, do you simply want to know about God, or do you desire to know Him personally. This is the personal relationship that Jesus offers us.  

Because God knows our natures, He also knows our needs before we are even aware of them. As the shepherd cares for the sheep, the sheep get to know their shepherd better. The Good Shepherd knows His sheep and His sheep know Him. They get to know Him better by listening to His voice (the Word) and experiencing His daily care.

There are three important aspects between the Shepherd and his sheep.

1: The Shepherd knows his sheep.

The Bible describes close relationships between shepherds and their flocks (See John 10:14-15a). There is an intimacy and a closeness of relationship between Jesus and his followers. Jesus goes on to say in John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me…”

In the Gospel of John, the word “know” means much more than intellectual awareness. It speaks of an intimate relationship between God and His people. The shepherd knows each of his sheep personally and therefore knows best how to care for them.

How is your relationship with Jesus? Do you listen for his voice daily? Are you following him as he leads you besides still waters? This is the normal Christian life.

Christ, as the Good Shepherd, knows his sheep perfectly. There is nothing about you that he does not know, from the most obvious to what you think is the most hidden, he knows it all!

Spend a few minutes reading and meditating on Psalm 139:1-4. Verse 4 says, “Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.”

He doesn’t just know it after I say it, he knows it before I say it. Who else would we want to know us this well but the one who promises to be with us, to hem us in, to safeguard us, and to minister to us in our weakness? (Psalm 139:5).

Wherever I go, Christ is with me. He surrounds me and never abandons me, because he knows me. He knows that I am weak, and that I need the good shepherd. He gently cares for us and deals with us according to our need.

2: The Good Shepherd Protects His Sheep.

Jesus willingly died in order to save us. It is through his sacrifice that we are protected.

D.A. Carson wrote, “The shepherd does not die for his sheep to serve as an example, throwing himself off a cliff in a grotesque and futile display, while bellowing, ‘See how much I love you!’ No, the assumption is that the sheep are in mortal danger; that in their defense, the shepherd loses his life; and that by his death (and only by his death) could they be saved. This is what makes him the good shepherd above all else: he willingly dies for his sheep, to protect them.”

Normally, if a shepherd dies, the flock is abandoned to wild animals. There is no-one to protect them. So it is never a good thing for the shepherd to die.

In contrast Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, knows that if he does not die, his flock will be abandoned. Jesus is intentional about the sacrifice he offers. Jesus said in both verses 11 and 14, “I lay down my life for the sheep.” A shepherd may be willing to sacrifice his life, but Jesus doesn’t just say that he’s willing. He’s planning and pursuing it. It was his knowledge of what we needed and his willingness to meet that need that led to his death.

It wasn’t the power of Satan or even the Roman Empire, but the authority of the Son, that leads him to lay down his life, so that he might take it up again for us.

3: The Good Shepherd Provides for His Sheep

In Genesis 22 Isaac was spared and God provided a ram to be the sacrifice (see Genesis 22:14). We are introduced to God as our provider. A foreshadowing of the time when the Good Shepherd would lay down his life for his sheep.

It is still true today that the Good Shepherd is providing for his sheep even in the midst of the multiple crises that the world is facing. Our Good Shepherd sees us and provides for us.  

The last verse of Psalm 23 says, “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life…” God’s goodness is guaranteed for all our days.

God is still providing manna and multiplying food for the multitudes (see Philippians 4:19). The Lord knows what you need even before you do. Goodness and mercy follow you all the days of your life: it’s a promise that’s evidenced in his great provision in sacrificing himself for us. He provides for us now and will provide for you forevermore.

Do you know the Good Shepherd?

Sermons

Sermon Sunday March 13, 2022 – I AM the Light of the World.

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I am the light of the World – John 8:12

Let’s be honest, we have all been afraid of the dark at some point in our lives. Clinical Psychologist Alicia Clark said, “We are not as afraid of the dark as we are afraid of what is in the dark that we can’t see.”

That’s why this “I AM” declaration of Jesus is so powerful, …” I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Jesus provides light where there is darkness like a flashlight or lantern, so we know we are not alone. Jesus also shines a light for us along the path of life, directing us as we go.

But there is so much more to this statement. We read in John’s introduction to the Gospel, “In him was life and that life was the light of all mankind” (John 1:4). The first few verses of John chapter 1 point us to Genesis 1 and in verse 3 we read, “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”

Jesus, the very source of light, said “Let there be light” at creation. Now, he’s saying it again, “Let there be light.” This time he’s depositing that light into us who believe.

During the second world war, the people in Britain would set lights out in the field so that the German bombers would bomb the lights in empty fields thinking they were hitting a factory or town. The light didn’t need a sign telling the pilots that they were there, they testified for themselves.

Light bears witness to itself, it tells you it is there, and Jesus told the Pharisees this in John 8:14. Jesus didn’t need another witness, he gave witness and God the Father gave witness to them through His word (see John 5:37-38).

How tragic that these experts in the Law did not even know their own Messiah as he stood before them! They claimed to know the Law of God, but they did not know the God of the Law. They did not have His Word abiding in their hearts. They saw the light of Jesus but did not acknowledge it or believe in him.

To be a follower of Jesus, is to believe in him, to submit to his lordship over your life and have the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. As a result, we become Christ’s ambassadors, we become the lights of the world, representing Christ.

In the sermon on the mount, in Matthew 5, Jesus said to his disciples that they were the light of the world (see Matthew 5:14-16). The problem with many so called “Christians” is that they compartmentalize their lives. They are Sunday Christians, but during the week, they are far from Christ’s ambassadors. They do not shine the light of Christ before their co-workers or even their families.

You will not be able to shine the light of Christ to those around you unless you truly have an encounter with the living God.

In Exodus 34, we see that Moses’ face shone, it radiated light from spending forty days on top of mount Sinai in the presence of God when he received the law for the Children of Israel. You might say, “well, that is Moses, he was in the presence of God, naturally his face shone.” But those who are true followers of Jesus have an even better position with God. In Ephesians 2:6 we read, “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,”

We have to remember that we have the Holy Spirit, and we have the privilege to enter into the presence of God. That is why it is crucial to set aside a daily time with the Lord in prayer, and his word. As you do, the world notices, you shine because, like Moses, you have been with the Father. Does your life shine with the light of Christ? This is what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 5:14-16.

Jesus places his light into us who believe, and his light source is actually life. The light of Jesus in us is life that will keep us living for eternity. The light is also to be dispersed from us to produce good works that will bring glory to God.

What does John 8:12 mean for you today? “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

We all face darkness and uncertainty in our lives. In fact, the greatest epidemic in the world today is not COVID, it is fear. Fear and uncertainty are all around us. Just ask your neighbor or co-worker. The media fuels this and the marketing companies feed on this. They know that if they can tap into your fears, they can take advantage of you. Fear is formed in the darkness of uncertainty.

Jesus said, “…whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” John 8:12b. If you claim to be a follower of Jesus, but you are overwhelmed by fear and uncertainty, either you don’t know who you are in Christ or you aren’t a true follower of the one who is the light of the world.

Ephesians 5 we read, “But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:13-14.

Allow the light of Christ to shine on you and through you to a lost and dying world.

Sermons

Sermon Sunday March 6, 2022 “I am the Bread of Life”.

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How easily do you get offended?

Jesus was not afraid to offend in order to reveal the heart. In John 6:35, Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life…” And it offended his followers.

(Please read John chapter 6 before reading any further.)

Aware that his disciples were grumbling about his statement, he said in verse 61, “Does this offend you?”

Throughout his time on the earth, Jesus asked many great questions, but this is one of the best.

The Greek verb for offense here is “Scandalizo”, which means to cause to trip or stumble.                       

When’s the last time Jesus offended you

What causes us to stumble in the Gospel’s?

How about…

  • Blessed are the meek? (Matthew 5:5)
  • Love your enemies? (Matthew 5:44)
  • Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. (Luke 6:28)
  • For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.  (Matthew 7:14)
  • Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  (Matthew 7:21)

As we read the Bible we should be “tripped up” all the time as our neatly packaged Western Christian mindset is challenged. It’s one of the only ways that we know that we’re truly following Jesus and not crafting him into our image, squeezing him through the lens of our expectations and sensibilities.

There are two reasons why we should be offended by Jesus.  

1. Jesus wants to confront our idols.

Jesus should always be offending our; theology, politics, lifestyles and our love for comfort and possessions (1 Corinthians 1:23).                      

Today, Christianity, true Biblical Christianity will still offend us and the world around us.

At the core of this is the question of Lordship. Jesus wants no other competing affection or anything that takes the place or priority of Jesus in our decision making.

2. Jesus wants us to grow more into his image.

The offense of Jesus is one of the best and most effective ways for us to grow into who he wants us to be (1 John 2:5-6).

We are saved to be transformed into the image of Christ and yet too many so-called Christians have a “jesus”, that they have created in their own image. One who will never confront their sin, who will never rebuke them and never ask them to give up anything. That is not Biblical Christianity.                              

When Jesus said, “I am…”, his followers were offended that he was referring to himself in the same way God revealed himself to Moses in Exodus 3.

They were offended when he said that the manna from Heaven was not as lasting as his own Bread.

They were offended when he declared that he was better than Moses.

And they were offended when Jesus said that they would have to eat his flesh and drink his blood.

We must remember that Jesus said everything he said with specific intent. He is not putting down Moses, the Manna, and their worship, rather he was saying, “I am the fulfillment of those things that were simply a picture”.

Jesus had to offend them to reveal the truth to them of who he was. And so must he do with us!

Sometimes we need to be offended by the truth of who Jesus is in order to put away some of what we have believed or been taught about who Jesus really is.

We get offended, we wrestle with truth and it is uncomfortable. However, we need to be confronted in order to grow in our Christian walk.

So, we need to experience his transformational offense in our lives for our own good.

Here are three practical ways that we can invite Jesus to offend us.

1.           Read the gospels and the Bible. Repeatedly.

As we read things in the Bible that we don’t know what to do with, we are challenged, and if we are honest, we get offended, and it is good for us as we wrestle with the truth.

2.           Invite his Spirit to offend. As we read the Word, invite the Holy Spirit to bring conviction and truth to us (Psalm 139:23-24).

3.           Allow people into your life who will speak truth.                                   

Who’s someone in your life that has offended you deeply and yet, it was the best thing that could have ever happened to you?

Sadly, we live in a culture where if someone offends you, you simply walk away. We sever relationship and maybe even leave the church. Rather, we should be pressing through the offense, growing through the truth and granting grace for one another in the process.

If Jesus offends you, either through his Word, the Holy Spirit, or through another believer who you trust, ask, “What about that offends me? Why?”

If you believe and receive the truth it becomes healthy to you. We grow through those experiences. But, in order to grow, we have to confront them.                                                                                                    When Jesus offended the disciples with the truth, many left him as we read in John 6:66. Jesus turns to the twelve in verse 67 and says, “do you want to go away as well?”

Peter quickly responds, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” John 6:68-69

What are you wrestling with today?

Maybe there is a difficult scripture that doesn’t fit your view of who God is?

Maybe you are offended at God because of a prayer that was not answered the way you wanted it to be answered?

Maybe you have an offense toward someone else in the church, who spoke the truth and you rejected it.

Humbly lean into the offense and see what the Lord might be teaching you. Ask a trusted Christian who has walked with the Lord for many years, and allow Jesus to continue to conform you into His image.

Sermons, Uncategorized

Sermon, Sunday August 1, 2021, The Holiness of God

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Have you discovered the purpose for your existence?

That’s a deep question, but the answer is very simple and yet infinitely complex.

I am reminded of a frequently used phrase, “God loves you and has a plan for your life”.

While that sounds good and it is true, it is not the overarching truth. If we really think about it, the subject of the sentence is, “you” and ultimately that comes from our humanistic focus on self.

God is about God. It really is all about His glory being displayed in all the universe. That sounds harsh to our western ears, because we are so consumed with our own glory and achievements. But the reality is that God is the only uncreated One, from whom all other beings owe their existence, and He is infinitely holy.

Instead of, “God loves you and has a plan for your life”, I propose that, “God’s plan for your life is the display of His glory.”

I want to try to answer two questions:

  1. What is the glory of God?
  2. How do we display the glory of God?

In Romans 11 we see a chapter that some scholars say sums up the entire narrative of the Bible. It is all about God’s plan and purpose for the people of Israel. As Paul writes verses 33 to 36 of chapter 11, it is as if he is reaching the crescendo of a symphony and flows into praise of God.

Verse 36 is the cymbal crash of the chapter, “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen”.

God is the source, the means, and the goal of all things. That is so contrary to what we see portrayed in the world around us and sadly in many churches, where we ultimately see that the god that many people worship is created in their own image.   

  1. But what is the glory of God?

John Piper said, “The glory of God is the manifest beauty of his holiness. It is the going-public of his holiness.”

The word Holy means to be separate, a distinctly different being, in a class all by Himself. The holiness of God is the foundational quality of His character.

In Isaiah 6:3, the prophet has a vision of heaven where he sees the Seraphim calling to one another above the throne of God, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

The heavenly creatures, declare the holiness of God and then say that His glory is over the whole earth, not His holiness. The Glory of God is the public display of His holiness (see Psalm 19:1 and Psalm 8:1).

2. So how do we display the glory of God?

Verse 36 tells us that every believer has their source in God. So, as we live on this earth in this church age, we are part of the glory of God being displayed. We get to reflect His glory. We are designed to make the glory of God shine, making it visible to others (see Matthew 5:16 and 2 Corinthians 4:6-7). People seeing your life on display, should declare, “God is glorious!”.

Once again, we run into the idol of self and our culture of humanism. We must realize that God does not need us, but He chose to create us in His image for His glory (see Isaiah 43:7).

The Westminster Catechism begins with the question, “What is the chief end of man?”. To which they answered, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” If we really grasped this, we would realize that we have been created for so much more than we can ever imagine.

But our flesh rises up and says, “hey, what’s in it for me?” If we are honest, we might believe that God is not concerned about us, He is using us for His glory. However, when we live as God intends us to live, we are most satisfied. The answer to the first question of the Westminster Catechism is two-fold, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.”

As we glorify God, we experience joy, the joy of living out our original design (see Psalm 73:25-26)

So, the question is, am I satisfied in God? Is He enough? Do I have full satisfaction in God, or do I chase after the things of this world? We chase after good things; friends, health, careers, family and also not good things; wealth, sex, fame, to name a few.

We chase after things, because we don’t find full satisfaction in God.

John Piper writes, “He is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”

We struggle to grasp this, because we are so easily satisfied with the things of this world.

C.S. Lewis described it perfectly, “It would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

  • We display the Glory of God, when we serve gladly and give sacrificially of our time and our resources.
  • We display the glory of God, when we put our agenda on hold to help someone or stop to pray for them.
  • We display the glory of God when we share the Gospel with someone.
  • We display the glory of God when we care for the widows and the orphans and stand up for the unborn.
  • We display the glory of God when we boldly take a stand against the immoral mainstream of our culture.

These are just some of the many examples of what it means to be living for the glory of God.

What if we woke up every morning with the prayer, “Lord display Your glory through my life today?”

Sermons

Sermon, Sunday January 31 2021 – The Sanctity of Life

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Psalm 8

Do you know your net worth?

What if I told you that your net worth is infinitely more than you can imagine?

It may shock you that in America today there is an abortion every 96 seconds, or 2362 Lives taken every day. As tragic as that is, there is a sinister and extremely worrying shift that has taken place in our world today. With an increase in atheism and godless narcissism, life is under attack at both ends of the spectrum, the unborn, the elderly, and even the disabled.

When it comes to the sanctity of life, Psalm 8 has a poignant message for us. No other Psalm draws attention to the dignity and value of mankind as this one. It begins and ends with worship, placing God the creator of all things, at the place of ultimate worship and glory.

In verse 2, the Psalm then takes a sharp turn, from the glory and majesty of God, to the weak and helpless babies and infants. Of all the scriptures speaking to the sanctity of human life, this one gives us the clearest evidence of why Satan is on a mission to destroy the unborn. Abortion is not a decision regarding freedom of choice, it is a war against the giver of life Himself.

Jesus himself quoted this verse in Matthew 21. He had just cleared the temple of the money changers and the traders, there was pandemonium, and the children were running around the temple shouting, “hosanna to the son of David!”. The chief priests are furious, but Jesus simply quotes this verse and leaves.

There is tremendous power in the prayer and praises of innocent children. If you are struggling to pray, invite your children into the prayer time.  There is power in the praises of children to break down spiritual walls of opposition. Satan quakes at the sound of children praying.

In 2007 we took a mission planning trip to Philadelphia as a family. Joshua was ten days old at the time. On one of the days, we decided to visit some historic sites and took the tour of Independence hall, the room where the declaration of independence was adopted on July 4th, 1776. As we were listening to the tour guide, he wanted to find the youngest person in the room. Joshua was by far the youngest and Debbie took him to the front. As he looked at Joshua, he made his point, “here is the person in the room with the greatest potential”.

At the time we thought his statement was quite special, but Joshua’s life has been filled with challenges. He has Autism, Epilepsy, and a host of other diagnoses. On two occasions, we have sat at his hospital bed, not sure if he was going to wake up.

Today, does Joshua still have that potential?

We say, “absolutely”, the fact that the enemy tried to destroy him, points to the fact that God has a special calling and purpose for his life. Every life is valuable and has unlimited potential when given over to the calling and purposes of God.

The Psalmist then goes back to gazing at the magnificence of the universe – the general revelation of God (Psalm 8:3-4). If you are struggling to worship and encounter God in your daily life, take a few minutes on a cloudless night and look up at the sky. Within a few moments you will be worshipping as you see a glimpse of the magnificence of God.

The next two verses of the Psalm seem jarring considering the world we live in today. Some educators and environmentalists tell us that the world would be perfect, if only mankind was eliminated. According to them, man is the problem, the weak link in the order of things.

Considering what we see in Hebrews 2, we know that Psalm 8, is a messianic Psalm. Verses 5 and 6 find their fulfillment in Jesus. When Jesus died and rose again, God put all things under his authority (Hebrews 2:8).

It was God’s original plan in Genesis chapter 1 for mankind to have dominion over creation.

But when Adam sinned, he lost that dominion. The original sin damaged the original design. Instead of being a king, mankind has become a slave.

When Jesus came, he began to show us the original design of God. Jesus displayed in many miraculous ways, the power and dominion that he has over creation, by calming storms, commanding fish, walking on water, multiplying food and much more.  The fact that Jesus died and rose again, is all the assurance we need that one day, when he returns, his people will reign over a renewed earth. Jesus is the firstborn of the new creation; he has the first resurrected body that is incorruptible and eternal.

What makes mankind so incredibly valuable, is that we are created in the image of God and as followers of Jesus, we have been adopted by God and have become co-heirs with Christ. God places no greater value on any other part of creation.

Post-modern teaching has lowered man to an animal and rejected the image of God in creation. All around us, we are seeing the effects of this because we don’t see human beings as being created in the image of God.

Whenever you are tempted to gossip or speak angrily to someone, remember they are created in the image of God. Next time you are tempted to dismiss someone or look down on them for their dress or personal decisions, remember that they are created in the image of God and God views them with incredible love and value.

This applies to all people, the unbeliever, the criminal, the homosexual, the disabled, the elderly, those suffering from Alzheimer’s or any other debilitating illness, it does not matter. God puts priceless value on every human being. Even those that the world says are of no value.

The value of something is based on the price someone is willing to pay for it.

How much is someone willing to pay for you?

Your creator has demonstrated your value (Romans 5:8).

Jesus gave his life for you and he redeemed you.  The cost of your redemption was the perfect priceless spotless lamb of God.

You are infinitely valuable (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

How does this fact change the way you view yourself and the people in your life?

Sermons

Sermon, Sunday October 11 2020 – Abiding in the Vine part 1

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John 15

Abiding in Jesus

Immediately after Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples, he led them out of the room and on a walk up towards the mount of Olives. Little did they know that this was the most significant night in all of human history.

Jesus was walking to his arrest and was preparing himself to be crucified. But even in this incredibly stressful time, Jesus was teaching his disciples. He used the backdrop of the grapevines to teach them about the importance of bearing fruit by abiding in the vine.

Jesus opens the dialogue with the powerful statement, “I am the true vine…” (John 15:1)

Jesus is the vine the Father is the vinedresser, and the true followers of Jesus are the branches. But branches are not simply for show, they have a role to play and that role is to produce fruit. The true followers of Jesus will produce fruit.

In John 15 we have some incredible promises and terrifying warnings in the words of Jesus.

We love the promise of answered prayer in verse 7 and verse 16, but these promises must be read in the context of the teaching of Jesus. In verse 8 we read that the purpose of producing fruit is to bring glory to God the Father. If we pray that the Lord would allow us to bear fruit, he will surely answer that prayer.

Are we praying that God would bless us with lasting fruit, for His glory?

The challenge facing the church today is, what are we praying for? Are we praying for peace, prosperity, and comfort? Are we praying for a return to “normal”? All the while, God invites us to pray for fruit, fruit that will last.

DR. G.  Campbell Morgan writes, “any prayer which does not react upon my life and make it a more fruit-bearing life, is not a prayer at all”

The terrible warning of this passage is found in verse 6. These branches that are thrown into the fire were at one time attached to the vine. They were possibly attached to the vine because there was promise of peace, comfort, personal blessing, and cultural acceptance.  

However, these branches never had a desire to produce fruit, because they were never abiding in the vine.

In January 2020, I would suggest that the majority of church attendees had no desire to bear any fruit. As we read the words of Jesus in John 15, we see that the key to producing fruit is abiding in Jesus. When we learn how to abide in Jesus, we will know unshakable peace.

One of the fruit that comes from abiding is peace, we know this from Galatians 5:22-23.

If you listen to Christians today there is a lot of fear being expressed. Fear of the pandemic, the financial state of the world, the political state of our nation. Sadly, this is fear being expressed by people who claim to be abiding in the vine. Oh, they will say they are just being realistic, but they are walking in fear.

Fear is not a fruit of the Spirit. Fear is not a result of abiding in the vine. Walking in fear is evidence that you are not abiding in the vine.

One of the evidences of abiding in the vine is getting our sustenance from the word of God (see Psalm 91:1-2, Habakkuk 3:17-19, Psalm 23:4, 1 John 4:18)

The reward for not looking to the world for sustenance and trusting Jesus is life and peace.

Jesus is the true vine and we who know Jesus as Lord of our lives are the branches. In John 15:16 Jesus makes a dramatic statement, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”

We must never make the mistake of thinking that we had any part in our own salvation – we are saved by grace alone (Ephesians 2:8).

The branch is weak and useless if it is not connected to the vine. It is only good for being thrown into the fire. The branch is only as good as it is abiding in the vine.  

As Christians we are only going to be producing fruit if we are abiding in Jesus. Getting our daily sustenance and feeding on the vine, getting our life from Jesus.

Abiding in Christ is a cultivated discipline that takes time and effort.  Abiding comes from spending time feeding on God’s word, reading the Bible, praying and staying connected with other Christians.

There is a significant difference between simply being a part of the church by coming to the church when it is convenient and abiding in the vine, getting your life from Jesus through the word and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Where are you today?

Are you abiding or, are you walking in fear?

Are you simply attached to the vine, but you know that you are not really abiding in Christ?

Now more than ever we need to know the lifestyle of abiding in Christ.

Sermons

Sermon, Sunday June 21, 2020. Are You Grown Up?

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Ephesians 4:13-16

Maturity is not measured in years, rather maturity is a measure of emotional and spiritual health. Maturity is being self-aware and comfortable with who God has made you to be.

Immature people always try to be something they see in someone else.

Depending on our life experiences and trauma, we all have some aspects of our emotions that are not mature and that have not developed the way God intended them to develop and mature.

For the Christian, maturity is Christ likeness. To grow more like Jesus and to die to our flesh daily. Maturity is finding satisfaction in the approval of our heavenly Father alone.

In Ephesians 4, the Apostle Paul encourages the church to be unified, to use their gifts and to mature as a body. We see in verse 12 that maturity comes from doing the work of the ministry.

We make a mistake when we think that we cannot do the work until we are spiritually mature. The truth is that we grow and mature as we exercise our gifts in the body.

In verses 13-16, we see four traits of a spiritually mature person.

1: Mature people are Christlike.

In verse 13, we read that Jesus is our example of spiritual maturity. The fullness of Christ is the expression of completion of our Christian walk, exhibiting the character traits we find in Ephesians 4:2-3.

Sanctification is the process of becoming more like Jesus, as our old way of thinking and acting is replaced by Christ’s through the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We will only attain Christlikeness when Jesus comes again, but we need to be moving forward. If you are not more like Jesus today than you were a year ago, something is wrong with your walk with the Lord. We grow more like Jesus as we walk with Jesus.

2: Maturity involves doctrinal stability.

Spiritual maturity involves the intellect. We must not think that Christian growth is purely an emotional and spiritual exercise and that we need to check our reasoning skills at the door. Verse 13 encourages us towards knowledge of the Son of God. And in verse 14 he uses the example of children as the opposite end of the spectrum. Children can be gullible and easily swayed by false teaching.

We all begin our relationship with Jesus as children, with childlike faith. But we must not stay as children, we need to grow and be able to feed ourselves as we read and meditate on the Word of God.

The world is full of false teachers and false doctrines, we need to think, pray, and ask God for discernment. We have a very real enemy who will use every tool available to sidetrack us on our spiritual journey of becoming more like Jesus.

Knowing the Word is the best way to avoid being distracted by false doctrines and unbiblical teaching. We can only know God’s word by spending time reading and meditating on it.

Sadly, the statistics show that most churchgoers do not read their Bibles, and this is why the church is prey for false teachers (see Hebrews 5:11-14).

3: Maturity involves Truth Joined with Love

Verse 15 has the often-misquoted text, “speaking the truth in love…” This verse has often been taken out of context and used as a “baseball bat of brotherly love”. One of those Christianese phrases that we like to use before or after we have said something harsh.

This is more than simply speaking; the Greek word is complex here and John Stott describes it as “truthing”. Speaking the truth in love is truthing in love. This includes maintaining, living, and doing the truth. We live out the truth as an example to those around us. It is the equivalent of the phrase; “actions speak louder than words.”

Mature people do not avoid tough conversations, but they speak from of a firm foundation of love and not for selfish gain.

 “Truth becomes hard if it is not softened by love, love becomes soft if it is not strengthened by truth” John Stott

4: Maturity involves Contribution

In verse 16, Paul goes back to the analogy of the body when speaking about the church.

The church is like a body with many different parts and connections, it is not a social club or a convenience. The church is the body of Christ, where each part has an important part to play.

As the church, we are dependent on Christ as the head of the church and we are dependent on each other as working members of the same body. As we grow in Christ individually, we exercise our gifts and the body becomes healthy.

Sadly, many churches in the world have a static view of the church. The members of the body are satisfied if the congregation stays about the same size, with the same familiar faces. They are happy if the programs can all be maintained, and the budget is enough to keep all the familiar programs running. In these churches there is no vision for growth through evangelism or missional engagement. This church has already died.

This is a tragedy and not God’s design for the church. God’s design for the church is to be the salt and the light in our communities, and to be the cultural influence for the glory of God.

As we focus on being a healthy church, the natural by-product is growth. But what is church growth? Is it numeric growth?

I believe church growth is first and foremost spiritual maturity, sacrificial living, healthy evangelistic relationships, and people feeding on the Word of God for themselves. Thereafter the numeric growth will follow.

If you have been a Christian for any length of time, who are you feeding?

If you have been in the church for five, ten, or fifty years and you are not feeding others the Word of God, something is wrong, you have not matured.

 “Are you growing?”

Sermons

Resurrection Sunday, April 12 2020 – The Power of God Displayed

To view the Sermon, please click on the camera and you will be taken to the YouTube account for Grace Point

Matthew 27:62-28:10

He is Risen….!

Last week was Easter, normally a joyous time, but what an unusual and sad season. We celebrate our risen Lord Jesus, with a large shadow over our celebration in 2020.

This year everything is different. The familiar traditions have been set aside, because there is something more pressing. I am not saying that traditions are necessarily bad, but it is good for us to stop and pause and look at the real reason for the celebration, the resurrection of our Lord and savior.

Jesus disrupted traditions all the time, even good ones. The time and season of his crucifixion was the Passover week, one of the most important festivals and traditions on the Jewish calendar. It was a busy time in Jerusalem, as people were gathering and feasting to remember the time when God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt.

The fact that Jesus was crucified during Passover is obvious and crucial. Jesus the spotless lamb of God who was sacrificed for the sins of the world, so that we who place our faith in him, will be saved for eternity.

The Passover was a huge celebration, and Jesus disrupted it. On Palm Sunday, he came into Jerusalem with tremendous fanfare. The following day he turned over tables in the temple and disrupted the festivities. The trial and subsequent crucifixion of Jesus caused a major disruption to life in Jerusalem.  Then there were the earthquakes, the temple veil being torn, sudden darkness and even dead people coming alive and walking through the streets (Matthew 27).

Jesus was disrupting traditions; he was establishing the New Covenant.

Jesus is still upsetting traditions and challenging authority today.

The chief priests and the pharisees wanted Jesus dead because he was a threat to their power.

Satan wanted Jesus dead because he was a threat to his domain and influence on the earth.

But Jesus did the unexpected. He rose from the dead and defeated Satan’s plan!

The primary message of the early church was the resurrection, which became the hope and foundation for the church.

A few weeks ago we looked at Ephesians 1:18-21, and the Apostle Paul’s prayer for the church in Ephesus:  “having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.”

Someone being raised from the dead is pretty significant,  and there is certainly a lot of power involved in raising someone from the dead. But Jesus raised people from the dead and it didn’t seem like a tremendous display of cosmic power. He raised Jairus’ daughter by speaking two words, “Talitha koumi”, which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” (Mark 5).  

Jesus raised Lazarus by calling into the tomb for him to come out (John 11).

But Jesus was no ordinary resurrection, if there is such a thing. When Jesus died, Satan and his demonic legions, celebrated their assumed victory. The messiah, the second person of the Trinity had failed in his quest to come and establish the kingdom of God on the earth.

Satan thought he had won the victory and he was going to use every ounce of power at his disposal to ensure that Jesus remained in that tomb. Satan planned to hold Jesus captive.

This was the battle for the ages, the culmination of all of Satan’s evil plans and God’s redemptive plan.

God destroyed Satan’s plans with a never before seen display of His matchless power. Jesus was raised back to life by the greatest display of power in all of History. And all of creation felt the impact. There was an earthquake when Jesus died and an earthquake when Jesus rose from the dead. All of creation participated in the war that took place in the spiritual realm when Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead.

More than that, everyone who has ever been raised from the dead, has died again. But Jesus was raised in an imperishable and eternal body, the eternal body that we will all get one day

Jesus was raised to life; he took on a resurrected body and has been given all authority as he said in Matthew 28:18.

Ephesians 1 says that this power is working in us, do we fully grasp and experience this power?

As followers of Jesus, we have aligned ourselves with Christ, we have been born again, into a new life with new power as we read in Colossians 2:12, “having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.”

In 1 Peter 1:3-5, we read that this salvation power is also the power that keeps us until Jesus comes again. This is the power of the resurrection working in those who follow Jesus.

Do you know the power of the resurrection in your life?

I am not asking if you are a Christian. I want to know, if you know the power of the resurrection in your life, the saving power of God in your life on a daily basis.

In these unprecedented days, you cannot go about life as usual. As followers of Jesus we need to know and experience the power of the resurrected Lord in our lives.

This is the kind of power that will enable you to thrive in this season, overcoming fear and doubt. Power to help you make the right decisions, and to display God’s glory to those you encounter.

Do you know the power of the resurrection in your life?

Spend time in prayer asking God to reveal Ephesians 1:18-21 in your life.

Sermons

What’s the Big Deal about Christmas? Part 1. Sermon Sunday December 15, 2019

Click on the camera above to view a video of the church service.

It is the Christmas season and almost everyone is talking about shopping and gifts. Society views Christmas as a big deal, it’s time off work, celebrations and family time. However, a lot of the big deal is driven by greed and commercialism. I wonder if Christmas would be celebrated the same way if we didn’t give gifts? If there was no commercial benefit in Christmas, would the malls and stores promote it so widely, if at all? Sadly, the modern-day Christmas celebration is a distraction of the Big deal that really took place 2000 years ago.

The first few verses of Paul’s letter to the Roman church is not your typical Christmas sermon text, but it is a concise record of why Christmas is such a big deal for us.

Paul introduces himself in verse 1, and in the original Greek, he used ten words to describe all that the Roman church needed to know about him. In English it is around eighteen words, “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God” Romans 1:1

Paul begins by calling himself a servant. The Greek word is Doulos, which means a humble slave or servant. Paul never exalted himself because he realized that he was a sinner saved by grace (see 1 Timothy 1:15). As followers of Jesus, we are all undeserving sinners, saved by grace, called to be servants of the King of Kings.

Next, Paul says that he was “called to be an apostle”.  Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus and called him, changing his life completely (see Acts 9). He was called to be an apostle, which means an ambassador or messenger sent by God. Paul was sent by Jesus as his messenger to proclaim the Gospel to the world.

Paul then says that he was consecrated, “Set apart for the Gospel of God”. Paul was completely transformed from his old way of life and he was set on a new path. This is what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ, to be set apart and placed on a new pathway, one that leads to eternal life for the glory of God. If you don’t know that you are set apart, you are probably not saved.

Paul was set apart for the Gospel. We sing carols at Christmas that speak about “glad tidings”, which means the good news. The good news that God reached down into this broken world. He lived amongst us, dying for our sins in order to provide the perfect sacrifice so that we could be set free from the burden of sin. Jesus was raised back to life on the third day and through him we can live an abundant life, a life of meaning and purpose for the glory of God (see Isaiah 9:2).

After Paul uses the first verse to introduce himself, he steps out of the way and introduces Jesus, the reason for his letter. He begins with the fact that the Old Testament has hundreds of prophecies declaring the arrival of Jesus, the messiah.

Jesus Christ coming into this world to live and die for our sins was not an afterthought or a “plan b” by God. This gospel message was planned and originated before the foundation of the world.  Jesus came with a primary purpose, to live a perfect sinless life so that he could offer his life as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. Jesus, the creator God, who spoke all of creation into existence, stooped down, and humbled himself for the sake of his creation.

Donald Grey Barnhouse said, “love that gives upward is worship, love that goes outward is affection, love that stoops is grace.”

This is overwhelming because we have no concept of the greatness of God. We speak about it, we sing “How Great is our God”, but we really have no idea. Moses had a unique relationship with God and in Exodus 33, we read how Moses asked God to show him His glory. God knew it would be too much for Moses, so he sheltered Moses inside the cleft of a rock and then covered him with His hand while God let His goodness pass by Moses.

In the next chapter we read that Moses came down the mountain with the stone tablets of the law and the people are terrified of him because his face is shining. Moses spent time with God, and he radiated the glory of God.

Because of Christmas, the cross and the empty tomb, we can come into the presence of God and speak to God, coming into His presence through Jesus Christ. This is prayer and this is why prayer is such an amazing privilege and source of power. Do you radiate the presence of God because you spend time daily in the presence of the most Holy God? Those around us should see the effects on our lives as a result of our prayer life.

Jesus came down from Heaven to be born in a manger in Bethlehem. This amazing God stoops down and provides a way for us to be saved and then in verse 5 Paul continues, “through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,”

We are not saved to simply sit back and live our “best lives now”. We are saved by God in order to be a witness for him, to proclaim this good news to all the world. When you are saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, you are equipped with power from Heaven, and a new purpose in life (see Ephesians 2:10).

The final phrase of verse 5 is the purpose of it all, for the sake of His name, for the glory of God. All the redemptive story of Christmas and the Gospel focuses on the glory of God.

Christmas is a big deal, but the big deal is that God came down to His creation so that we could be saved from an eternity separated from God and that when we are saved, we are called to share this good news to a lost and dying world.

Oswald Chambers wrote: “There is only one relationship that matters, and that is your personal relationship to a personal Redeemer and Lord. Let everything else go, but maintain that at all costs, and God will fulfil His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purpose, and yours may be that life.”

Christmas is a bid deal, and it is the time of the year when everyone around us is celebrating the birth of our savior. What a tremendous opportunity we have to introduce people to a personal relationship with him.

Who are you going to tell this week about your relationship with the King of Kings?

Sermons

Sermon, Sunday August 25, 2019 – The Healthy Church Part 1

Acts 2:41-47

What is a healthy church? 1 Corinthians 12 describes the church as a body, with each part functioning well so that the whole body is healthy. But we are all broken and hurting people, how can we function together as a healthy body?

In Acts 2, we have a model of a healthy church. One hundred and twenty followers of Jesus, waiting in the upper room, were filled with the Holy Spirit and they went into the streets proclaiming the Gospel message. Three Thousand people were added to the church that day and this same church has influenced every church for the past two thousand years. But what was their secret?

The past three months have been filled with mission trips and praying for those going out to share the message of the Gospel, focusing on the lost in our city and across the nations.

This is all good, but a church that only looks at missions without caring about the discipleship of the members is not healthy. Just like a church that focuses only inward is not healthy.

There needs to be a balance of equipping (discipleship) and mission (going out).

Athletic trainers will tell you that a strong core is vital for all the body to function well, and spend hours strengthening the core. If the core is weak, the whole body is weak and cannot operate at its best. The same applies to the analogy of the church as a body. If the core of the church is weak, the whole body does not function well.

The early church was more than a gathering of like-minded believers who came together once a week for a time of fellowship and worship. It was a body of fully committed people, committed to the lordship of Jesus Christ personally, and committed to each other in fellowship and unity. This church was the healthiest and most effective the church has ever been.

Acts 2:42 begins with the phrase, “And they devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching…”

Devotion means a regular observance. Individual committed devotion is a sign of genuine salvation. Someone who does not desire to spend time daily in God’s word is probably not filled with the Holy Spirit and probably not saved. Saying that you do not desire to read God’s Word regularly is like saying that you are alive, but don’t need to drink water. The foundational mark of a true believer is someone who abides in Christ, who feeds on God’s word (see John 8:31).

So, what were they teaching? The Apostles had sat under the greatest teacher of all time for three years. In the upper room at Pentecost, they were filled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth and now they were teaching the new believers who in turn taught others. This is the pattern of the early church and sadly something that we have lost in the church. We have developed this understanding that only the pastor or person who has a master’s degree in theology can teach. We all need to carefully study doctrine, know what we believe, why we believe it and then be able to teach it. This message is intended to come to us and then flow through us (2 Timothy 2:2).

In the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), Jesus commands all of us to make disciples, to win converts and disciple them. This is not only a command to go to the ends of the earth, but also to the person sitting next to you, or the young person who is desperate for a mentor, a role model to help them walk out the Christian life in the twenty-first century.

The Dead sea is the lowest body of water on the planet and lies between Israel and Jordan. The river Jordan flows into it from the sea of Galilee but does not flow out of it. As a result, the Dead sea has ten times the concentration of salt than the oceans and is unable to sustain any life. This is a picture of many individuals and even churches who pride themselves on their theological knowledge, amassing more and more teaching, but never applying the word.

Such people and churches are deep, salty and dead!

A healthy body of water allows the life-giving resource to flow in and then out again, feeding another pond or stream. Are you stagnating on the word? Or are you allowing the word to flow through you to others?

The early church focused on the resurrection of Jesus and the Gospel message, they preached John 14:6. The Gospel is the good news that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, who spoke all of creation into being. He came to earth in the form of a baby, his mother Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit. Jesus lived a perfect life, he was crucified and buried, but he rose again on the third day, overcoming death and paying the price of the judgment of God for our sins. This Jesus ascended into heaven, where he is seated at the right hand of the Father and where he is preparing praying for us and preparing a place for us to be with him. This same Jesus is coming again to restore all things and judge the earth.

This Gospel message is the message that saves us, but it is also the message that sustains us and keeps us growing in our own personal walk with the Lord. John Piper said, “Therefore, the gospel is the power that gives us victory over temptation to despair and to pride and to greed and to lust. The gospel alone can triumph over every obstacle and bring us to eternal joy.”

We have the blessing of the eternal Word of God and a healthy church loves to devote themselves to the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17 and Hebrews 4:12).

The church and individual that studies and meditates on the Word of God will be healthy.

Jonathan Edwards, the 18th century theologian defined 5 metrics for determining a genuine move of the Holy Spirit in a church.

  1. A growing esteem for Jesus Christ.
  2. A discernible spirit of repentance.
  3. A dogged devotion to the Word of God.
  4. An interest in theology and doctrine.
  5. An evident love for God and neighbor.

Are you healthy?

Pray that God the Holy Spirit gives you a passion for the Word of God, and it will bring you life (Proverbs 4:20-22).