Tag Archives: Word

Sermons

True Freedom

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This week as we celebrate our nation’s independence, I want to ask the question: are you truly free?

Most people would point to the legal freedoms that we have, such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to bear arms, and many other freedoms that are guaranteed by the law. However, there is a freedom that only a small percentage of people experience, a true freedom that no one can take away.

This kind of freedom has been experienced by people in countries where there is no freedom of speech. This kind of freedom is experienced by people who are bound to a wheelchair. This kind of freedom is even experienced by people in a prison cell. This is the freedom that Jesus gives; it is true freedom.

Freedom in Abiding

In John 8:31 Jesus addresses those who believed that he was the Messiah, saying, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.”

Abiding in the Word is still a mark of a follower of Jesus today. The Bible is the revelation of Jesus, the Word of God (see John 1:1). 

The word “abide” means to remain, to stay grounded, to remain in place for an extended period. To be a disciple of Jesus, we must be grounded in the Word of God. Jesus taught in John 15 that he is the vine, and we are the branches, and only by abiding in him will we be able to produce fruit. 

If you are a follower of Jesus, you will spend time regularly and intentionally reading and meditating on the Word. The result will be that your daily decision making, and lifestyle will be guided by the truths and principles of the Word of God.

If someone was to look at your daily life and disciplines, would they know if you were a disciple of Jesus? Would they see that you abide in the Word?

Jesus continues in verse 32, “…and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  This verse is frequently quoted on its own without the context of the preceding verses. When people quote it, they usually leave out the conjunction, “and”. From politicians to talk show hosts, this verse has crept into pop culture.

Quoting this verse on its own could lead one to believe that freedom or salvation is obtainable by some special knowledge that can be obtained. But that is a form of an ancient heresy known as Gnosticism, which is still prevalent today.

But the whole sentence reveals that it is not about human knowledge leading to freedom; it is about abiding in Jesus, growing in the knowledge and truth of the Gospel that leads to freedom.

Warren Wiersbe wrote, “When we obey His Word, we grow in spiritual knowledge; and as we grow in spiritual knowledge, we grow in freedom from sin. Life leads to learning, and learning leads to liberty.”

Not All are Free

Not everyone in the crowd agrees with Jesus (see John 8:33). They claim that as a nation they had never been enslaved. However, a brief look at the history of the nation of Israel quickly dispels that statement. The Jews were under the heavy hand of the Roman empire during the time that Jesus walked the earth.

Jesus pointedly addresses their true slavery in verse 34, “Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.”

Today many people believe that freedom is the ability to do whatever we want to do, but that is anarchy and leads to bondage.

Peter Marshall, the chaplain to the US Senate in 1947, said, “may we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.”

Freedom is Available

By abiding in Jesus and in his Word, we will be set free from the slavery to sin. You cannot keep on willfully sinning if you know Jesus as savior (See 1 John 3:6-9).

If you are tolerating sin in your life, whether it is dishonesty in business, pornography, bad language, alcohol or drug abuse, gossip, slander, or any sin that you are not willing to renounce, you are a slave to that sin. You are not free.

How do we obtain freedom? It is only found in Jesus, as he says in verse 36, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”  Freedom and life are found in no other name.

Freedom Rejected

In verse 38, Jesus addresses the people who do not believe in him, those who are enslaved to sin and don’t want to come to him for freedom, saying, “I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

Initially, it seems that Jesus is telling them that they are listening to Abraham, but that is not what Jesus is saying. Reading further, Jesus clarifies in verse 44a, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires…”

Jesus was not mincing words or being politically correct. Jesus knew the price that he would have to pay for our freedom and salvation; he knew that he was about to go to the cross to take on the full weight of the wrath of his Father.

Please don’t miss this, if you are willfully living in sin, and you are not bothered by it or compelled by the Holy Spirit to repent of your sin, you are not a follower of Jesus.

Knowing True Freedom

However, if you believe in Jesus and the work that he did for you on the cross, you can know true freedom.

Freedom from the fear of God’s wrath, freedom from the expectations of others, freedom from worry, freedom amid pain and suffering, freedom despite your situation in this life.

This is the true freedom that Jesus offers. Do you know this freedom today?

Sermons

The Glory of the Gospel

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Recently I had the privilege of traveling with a team of missionaries to South Africa, taking the Gospel message to the public schools. The message was powerfully received and changed thousands of lives. The Gospel is incredibly powerful and yet seemingly simple to proclaim. 

The Apostle Peter, writing to exiled Jewish believers, wrote the book of 1 Peter about the fact that suffering and persecution were a part of being identified as a follower of Jesus. 

But the letter is not one of hopeless suffering, rather there is tremendous hope (Sse 1 Peter 1:7). Suffering is the refining fire that produces in the believer a faith that is more precious than gold, resulting in praise and glory when Jesus returns. 

The Weight of Glory

But what is glory? Travis Hamm preached a great message on glory on New Years Eve (click on this link to view: https://youtu.be/hcidSSny1FY?si=hP1akziFHzVWHKb9).  

Glory is something that possesses weight and significance. It can be defined only by pointing to something that is glorious. Something that is larger than we can grasp (See Isaiah 6:3 and Psalm 19:1). The Gospel is glorious; the Gospel is unfathomable. 

1 Peter 1:8b says, “Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.”

As we are empowered by the Holy Spirit, we see Jesus revealed in the Scriptures, and we believe in him. This belief leads to inexpressible joy. This is not a dead religion; this is joy through knowing Christ as our personal savior. 

In this life there will be trials, but because of our relationship with Jesus we have an inheritance kept for us. We have the certainty of glory. When we love Jesus, our perspective of the trials of life change. We rejoice in him and are able to live a life filled with joy, even in times of suffering. 

We are a forward-looking people, a people filled with hope and a certain salvation (See 1 Peter 1:9). 

The Hope of Salvation

But what is salvation? What are we saved from? 

The doctrine of hell is not often talked about; it makes us uncomfortable. But hell is a real place. Jesus spoke about hell more than anyone else in the Bible, and he describes it vividly. Jesus came to save us from hell. 

Jesus didn’t come to make us better people, wealthy people, or influential people who had our act together. Jesus didn’t come so that we would have nice big churches and Christian ministries. Jesus came on a rescue mission to save us from our depravity. Hell is the default destination for everyone on the planet. That should make us very uncomfortable. 

If we don’t grasp the reality of hell, we won’t appreciate the glory of the Gospel. 

Without hell, there is no need for the Gospel, and there is no need for a savior. 

We have a great salvation that was prophesied about for hundreds of years before Jesus was born (see 1 Peter 1:10-11). The Old Testament prophets saw the suffering of Christ (see Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22). The prophets also saw the future glory of King Jesus coming to establish his throne. 

We live in the church age, the time between the suffering of Jesus and the return of Jesus, where we have the privilege of proclaiming the Good News to a dying world. 

Peter is telling his readers that the Scriptures, the inspired word of God, inspired by the Spirit of Christ, all point to Christ—to his suffering and his glory. 

The Power of the Gospel

In 1 Peter 1:12 we read that the Holy Spirit revealed to the ancient prophets that they were writing for future generations. There is a significant difference between our age and that of the Old Testament prophets; we are living in the age of the ministry of the Holy Spirit (see Romans 8:9).  

That is why when we share the Gospel, and God empowers His word, there is an exhilaration and a joy inexpressible. There is no greater privilege than being a tool in the hand of the Almighty.  

What an honor we have to declare the Gospel. The greatest message ever to be told. 

If we have the privilege of declaring the Gospel, sometimes we will be called upon to embody the message of suffering leading to salvation. When this happens, we can suffer well because we have a future hope. This is  sometimes the open book that God uses to declare the Gospel to a lost and suffering world. 

Verse 12 ends with an interesting statement, “…things into which angels long to look.” This Gospel message is something that even the heavenly beings long to look into. We as the church have the privilege of having  this message revealed to us by the Word of God through the Holy Spirit. 

The Glory of the Gospel

I love to ask Christians, “What is the Gospel?” 

Firstly, there is the “Sunday School” answer, and then there is the awe and wonder answer. The Gospel is so glorious, so weighty, that we can hardly begin to understand it. 

The Gospel is so much more than we could possibly imagine. It touches every aspect of every life. There is no sinner outside of the reach of the Gospel. There is no suffering that the Gospel cannot turn into joy. There is no circumstance that is beyond the power of the Gospel. 

We are privileged to be the ones to take this message to the world: what are we doing with this privilege?

Maybe today you need to begin declaring the Gospel, even through your suffering. 

Maybe today you need to apply the Gospel to your life, your marriage, your family situation, and even your future. 

Focused Thoughts

What is of First Importance?

As I type this, I am sitting in a small cabin at Shalom retreat center near Mound City, KS. I try to begin the year with a time of prayer and fasting, asking the Lord for refreshing and His wisdom for the year ahead. This has been a particularly good time with the Lord, and I feel excited to jump into the new year. If only I can get home…the snow seems to have blocked all the surrounding roads.

As I was reflecting on what is the most important thing that the Lord wants us to focus on in 2024, I was reminded of two seemingly competing scriptures. Let me explain.

In Matthew 22, Jesus is asked by a lawyer, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” To which Jesus responds, ““You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:36-40.

We understand that this is the Great Commandment and as Jesus says, it is the most important law for us to obey. But in reading 1 Corinthians 15, Paul seems to have a different priority. We read in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”

Paul gives the most succinct declaration of the Gospel that we have in the Bible, and he says that it is, “of first importance.”

So, does Paul’s exhortation supersede Jesus’ teaching? Or is the Great Commandment the most important thing for believers?

Almost ten years ago now, the Lord gave our church at Grace Point a picture of four pillars on which the foundation of the church rests. Worship, Word, Mission, and Compassion. You may have seen the slightly faded prints behind the coffee station. If you haven’t already, take some time to read the scriptures and inscriptions below the pictures.

As I was reflecting on the four pillars, I realized that the instructions of Jesus and the letter of Paul are not competing, but rather complimentary.

To Worship is to Love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37).

The Word of God is what Jesus was talking about when he said, “On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:40).

The Mission of the church is to proclaim the Gospel to the lost world around us, and this includes loving our neighbor and sharing what Paul declares is “of first importance” (1 Corinthians 15:3).

The Church is called to acts of Compassion, and we do this by obeying Jesus when he said,  “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).

As we enter into this New Year, many of us are making new year’s resolutions. We tend to spend time refocusing and committing to things that we value, things that are important to us. I want to challenge us all to prioritize our lives and our commitments around the things that the Bible teaches are of First Importance.

My prayer for this year is that we will grow together in love for God, love for our neighbor, and passion for the Gospel.

Sermons

Get Back on Track

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Have you felt that the past three months were a bit of a blur?

It has been a busy summer and we have seen God work in amazing ways in Kansas City, Tahlequah, and South Africa.

The danger of coming to the end of a sprint or a summer of outreach is to look back and to rest on our laurels. However in sports, any winning team knows that the very next day, they need to get back into the gym and get back to the discipline of training in order to achieve the same results.

As we come off a season of spiritual warfare and victories, we need to slow down and get back to the basic disciplines of preparing ourselves for what God has in store for us.

What I am talking about is getting back on track with our spiritual disciplines. Those things that we do that few people see but produce a life of faith and spiritual strength.

Don Whitney said, “The spiritual disciplines are those practices found in Scripture that promote spiritual growth among believers in the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Sadly many Christians are unfit spiritually, because they are undisciplined. Nobody drifts into discipline. Just as the undisciplined body becomes sluggish and fat, the undisciplined spirit becomes weak (See 1 Timothy 4:7-8).

This is why Paul coaches Timothy (1 Tim 4:7-8).

There are many spiritual disciplines but let’s look at four today:

  1. Prayer:

Prayer is the one thing that you can do, that will have the greatest impact on your life. There is nothing more important, strategic, or more rewarding than prayer.

While Jesus was on earth, he was constantly in prayer. As followers of Jesus, shouldn’t we be a people of prayer, constantly asking God for direction, wisdom, healing, and interceding for those around us.

Personal holiness is not just being a good person, it flows from a powerful and intimate relationship with God through prayer.

I invite you to commit to joining one of the scheduled church prayer times during the week, or one of our bi-monthly nights of prayer.

2. Bible reading/ study:

In John 17 Jesus asked the Father for his disciples, that He would “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” Jesus said that the Word of God is the truth that transforms us and brings about our sanctification.

The truth of God’s word does not change, it is our plumb-line and our authority for all aspects of life. However, we are tempted to redefine truth to fit our own personal preferences or desires. Let us be careful not to ignore or discard selected truths, just because we find them hard to receive or difficult to understand. Above all, we must be careful not to become lazy or apathetic with the truth of God’s word because it is not socially acceptable or because the cost of defending or standing on the truth becomes too demanding.

As you read the Bible, you will encounter Jesus, the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit will reveal his glory and majesty to you.

Will you get back on track with the daily reading, studying, and Memorizing God’s word.

3. Disciple making

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he left a commission for us (Matthew 28:19-20).

Jesus said, “go and make disciples…”, which means, to win people to Christ.

Disciple-making is a spiritual discipline, it does not happen by accident.

To make disciples, as the Bible commands, we must actively seek out opportunities to share the Gospel, baptize new believers, and teach them how to obey everything that Jesus commanded.

All Christians should practice disciple-making. Sadly, many leave it to just the hired professionals.

Most of us don’t make disciples because we don’t discipline ourselves to do it.

Making disciples will cost you something. It may cost you your reputation or even a promotion. But in many parts of the world, it will cost you your life.

Sharing the Gospel is valuing the message and the person you are speaking to, more than your own comfort, finances and even life. This is what it means to be a follower of Jesus. To value Jesus more than our own lives. Didn’t Jesus value you more than his own life?

Will you determine today to develop this discipline in your life?

4. Fellowship/ Community

Finally, I want to invite us all to get back on track in fellowship.

Fellowship is so much more than a handshake, a hug, or a pat on the back. Fellowship in the church is doing life together, growing together, challenging one another, and picking one another up when we stumble.  

God has put us in community, so that we can build one another up and walk together through the challenges of life.

Fellowship is one of the keys to the effectiveness of the church. A church will never be able to grow beyond its fellowship. If the fellowship is healthy in the church, it will continue to minister and grow in maturity and in number. The early church did this well (Acts 2:42).

Fellowship is also staying in community even after a disagreement. True fellowship is fighting for restoration and unity. That’s hard work, that requires discipline (Hebrews 10:24-25).

One of the first signs of drifting away from fellowship with God is a tendency to pull away from fellowship with each other.

Together the embers of a fire glow red-hot. But scattered, they soon grow cold. That is why the discipline of fellowship is so important. We all need brothers and sisters united in Christ to strengthen our faith.

These are four foundational disciplines. If you are waiting to rekindle a particular discipline when you feel like it, you will never begin the discipline.

Discipline does not come from desire; it comes from decision and determination.

I encourage you to enter into discipline, get back on track, and see how God uses your commitment.

Sermons, Uncategorized

The Awesome Word of God

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The Bible, the Word of God, is one of the foundational pillars of the church.

The opening verses of John’s Gospel is one of the most profound pieces of scripture and probably the greatest introduction to a book in the Bible. He goes back to Genesis 1 and uses the same language that was in the Torah, “in the Beginning, God…”. And then he uses the term “Word” for Jesus.

He writes that the Word was with God, and then he makes a bold statement, “the Word was God”. In fact, in the Greek, the order of the sentence reads, “and God was the Word”. But the definite article makes the “Word” the subject of the sentence.

If that wasn’t enough, he declares that this God/man is the one who spoke all of creation into existence by the power of his word.

This is Jesus, the creator God, and the revelation of Jesus in the Word of God carries more power than we could possibly imagine. It is not a collection of ancient texts that offer some wisdom.

God has been speaking to His creation from the beginning. Psalm 19 is a picture of God speaking through His creation, His general revelation. God spoke directly to Abraham, Moses, Samuel, and then through the prophets. God ultimately revealed himself through Jesus (see John 14:9).

In verse 4 of John 1 we read, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Life is a key theme in the Gospel of John, the word is used 36 times in the book. One of the essential requirements for life is light.

When Jesus ascended into heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit fills the followers of Jesus and enables them to be the light of the world. The Holy Spirit is the one who reveals truth, gives wisdom and understanding, as we feed on the Word of God.
And then in verse 5 we read, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” This is the ultimate spoiler, John hints at the beginning of the book, “hey, I want you to know how this ends, the light wins!”

The light always shines, and the church is now the carrier of the light. In the world in which we live, this is not a losing battle, there will always be opposition as long as there is darkness, but light always dispels darkness, it is a law of God’s creation established in Genesis 1:3. The church that has the Bible as its foundation, will always be the light in the darkness.

And there is a promise in this verse, it is not written in the past tense, it is a present aorist continuous sense, simply meaning, “the light has overcome, will overcome and will keep overcoming the darkness.”

We are living in an age of fear with all the information that we are exposed to from the media and entertainment world. Fear controls, fear paralyses. What are you afraid of today?

  • What about the economy and the predicted financial collapse?  “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

    • What about the LGBTQ agenda for our children and grandchildren? “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

    • What about the seemingly endless reports of murder and violence in our city? “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

    • What about the war in Ukraine and Chinese saber rattling, what about a third world war? “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

    • What about churches closing? It seems that we are losing ground in an increasingly secular world. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

The light of the Word of God will never fail. Isaiah 25:3 reads, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

Keep your eyes on the Word of God (Jesus) and keep your eyes in the Word and you will know peace, because the darkness has not overcome it.

The Bible is by far the most printed book in all history, with somewhere between 6 and 9 billion copies printed. The next most printed book is the “Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong”, with about 900 million copies in print. The Qur’an has approximately 800 million copies printed. In the 21st century, Bibles are being printed at a rate of around 80 million per year.

The Emperor Diocletian (AD 284-316) boasted, “I have completely exterminated the Christian writings from the face of the earth!” The very next emperor, Constantine, became a Christian and ensured that all churches received Bibles immediately. Every dictator who has been controlled by Satan throughout history has sought to eradicate the Bible, yet it stands (see 1 Peter 1:23-24).

The Bible is by far the most published, most read, most sold, most attacked, most offensive, most critiqued, most studied, most ignored, most influential, and most powerful book in all human history. So why do we not consume it every day?

Why do we think we can resist temptation, raise children, be the light, and live as overcoming Christians, by ignoring the reading and memorizing of the Word of God.

The church has the word of God as a foundation and pillar. Any church that removes or contradicts one part of scripture to satisfy a secular worldview, has ceased to exist as the Body of Christ. If the word cannot be trusted, then it cannot be foundational. If the Bible is not our authority, then what authority do we have?

We must remember that Jesus, the Word of God, is the head of the church and the bridegroom of the church.

Are you feeding on the Word? Allowing the Word to shine brightly in the darkness?

Sermons

Sermon Sunday October 31, 2021 – The Word of God – Part 2

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Hebrews 4:12-13

Do we value the power of the Word?

The Word of God has the power to transform lives. The Holy Spirit, who inspired the Bible, takes the words and empowers them to transform hearts and minds.

AW Tozer said: “The Bible was given to us not to satisfy our curiosity, but to sanctify our personality.

The writer to the Hebrews spends the first four chapters focusing on Jesus, highlighting the supremacy of Jesus, the Word of God (John 1:1).

He does this to focus our attention to the fact that when God speaks, whether through the inspired written word or through Jesus the living word, it is different to the words of man.

The theme of Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 is the rest promised to God’s people. The promise of eternal salvation and heaven. The author writes that this eternal rest is only found by faith in the Word of God. These verses are a warning, as the author points to the Children of Israel under the leadership of Moses, who didn’t pay close attention to the Word of God and lost their promised rest. He also points to Joshua who led the nation into the promised land, but only into a temporary rest, because they didn’t adhere to the Word of God.  That is why verse 11 says, “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” (See also Romans 10:17).

The point of Hebrews 4:12-13 is that God’s Word has come to man with such authority, that it cannot be disregarded.

Hebrews 4:12-13 highlights four attributes of the Bible:

1 The Bible is a powerful book – “For the word of God is living and active”, – Hebrews 4:12a

The Greek word for “living” used here is Zoe. It depicts more than just living. We get the word zoology from this word. It is animated life, meaning that the Bible is alive and life giving.

It is active. The Bible is not a historical book with dead promises. It is living and brings life to the heart of every believer.

The written word of God introduces us to the living word of God (See 1 Thessalonians 2:13)

The Word of God cannot be ignored, and it will impact people with power. Everyone who hears the word of God is forced to make a conscious decision to accept or reject the Word’s offer (See John 6:63).

Throughout History, whenever people have taken God’s word seriously, it has transformed people, cities and nations. Amazing things happen when we take God’s Word and apply it.

God’s word is not a textbook to be read, memorized, or studied in Bible school. The Word of God is something to be unleashed, it is a book of action and life. The Word of God energizes people and nations, speaking life into dead situations.  

The Word of God has the energy and the power of the Holy Spirit that activates it, and always accomplishes the purposes of God (See Isaiah 55:10-11).

2. The Bible is a piercing book – Hebrews 4:12b, “…sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow,”

The Word of God cuts to the heart of sinners. It is used by the Holy Spirit and brings conviction.

The Word of God doesn’t rest passively on us. It either causes anger or joy, discomfort, or peace (see Acts 7:54). The Word of God is a litmus test of a person’s relationship with God.

Not only is the word of God a sharp word, but it also pierces and separates. The piercing word of God goes right through the outer shell of self-confidence and the façade that we put on in order to convince others that we have it all together.

The Bible addresses our intellect and our emotions, so both aspects of our person are penetrated by the piercing of God’s word. The Word of God is the scalpel that the Holy Spirit uses to cut out the cancer of sin in our lives.

The scalpel of the Word may be painful for the initial cut that exposes the cancer, but it is wielded by a surgeon who loves you more than you will ever know and is working to bring about your good and healthy growth.

3. The Bible is a probing book – Hebrews 4:12c, “…and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

The Bible probes and analyzes the thoughts and intentions of the heart, judging and exposing our real intentions. The Bible has the ability to probe the inner recesses and bring light to the darkness of our inner being.

The outward life comes from the inner thoughts and desires, the outward manifestation of the inward problem. The solution is allowing the Holy Spirit to use the Word of God to sanctify our inner man.  

The Bible is deeply personal because the Author desires a personal relationship with us.

That pain you hide, the hidden yearning of your heart, the secret jealousy of covetous thought that you harbor, God knows them all and His word exposes them to bring us to health and peace.  

4. The Bible is personal – see Hebrews 4:13.

As you read the Bible and hear the voice of God speaking to you, you will find that the Bible is deeply personal.

The Bible is the only book where the author sits down with us when we open it and read it. Can you imagine that? As you are reading, the Holy Spirit is pointing out passages, leading us on a journey through verses.

In the searchlight of God’s Word, we are all naked and exposed, God knows our very thoughts.

Has the Bible transformed your Life?

Your Christian growth is directly linked to your time spent with Jesus, allowing his Word to search your heart.

Sermons

Sermon, Sunday October 24, 2021 – The Word of God part 1

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2 Timothy 3:10-17

The Bible is the foundation and authority for our Christian lives and for discipleship. Without the bible, discipleship is merely giving advice. True discipleship is based on the Word of God. The only resource for consistent life transformation.  

Paul wrote two brief letters to Timothy a young man he had trained for ministry. Second Timothy dates during Paul’s second imprisonment in Rome, just months before his execution. Paul gives his final encouragement to Timothy and reminds him of the power of the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16).

Paul says, “all scripture is God breathed…” we believe that this means that the whole bible, all 66 books and multiple authors written over 1500 years, is fully inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Despite the multiple authors and duration of writing, the Bible does not contradict itself. The authors all present different perspectives, but they all proclaim the same one true God, and the same way of salvation: Jesus Christ.

The Bible is the revelation of Jesus Christ. The Psalms and the prophetic books constantly point to the coming Messiah and his suffering for our salvation. The four Gospels record the life of Jesus and the rest of the New Testament speaks about the ongoing work of Jesus through the church, and the Revelation of his second coming.

2 Timothy 3:16 reads, All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,”

  • The Word is profitable; for teaching correctly, giving clear doctrine
  • The word is used for reproof, which means conviction of sin. It is a bright light that exposes our very hearts and intentions.
  • The word of God is good for correction, for setting things right.
  • The Word is used for training in righteousness, that is discipleship.

Verse 17 continues, “that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work”.

It enables the child of God to become a man or woman of God, matured in the things of the Lord. The word, “complete” does not mean perfect, but rather, prepared for the work that lies before us.

The Bible transforms the child of God into a mature person in Christ. The better we know the Bible, the better we are able to live and work for God.  I will always encourage people to begin the day getting equipped by taking up the Bible.

The purpose of Bible study is not just to understand doctrines or to be able to defend the faith, as important as these things are. The ultimate purpose is the equipping of the believers who read it. It is the Word of God that equips God’s people to do the work of God.

The Bible is our authority that we turn to when we face difficult decisions in life.

The Bible addresses the real issues of our lives, for example, the Bible speaks frequently into the area of our finances. Giving to the poor (Matthew 25:37-40). God takes caring for the poor seriously. Giving to the local church (Malachi 3:10). We have such a distorted view of tithing and giving to the church. We feel we have to give, out of guilt and need, but the truth is that the Lord promised to bless the giver. The Bible addresses every aspect of our finances, taxes, inheritance, investing and more.

The Bible teaches us how to resist temptation. At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he went to the wilderness and fasted for forty days in preparation for his ministry. At the end of that time, Satan came and tempted him three times as we read in Matthew 4. Each time Jesus used the authority of Scripture to rebuke Satan. We need to know this weapon and use it against the enemy of our souls.

The Bible addresses every area of our relationships, from parenting to work relationships.

The Bible addresses how we treat widows and orphans (James 1:27).

The Bible addresses our career choices and what we do with the years we have been given.

The Bible addresses our physical health and care for our bodies.

The Bible also addresses the big questions that the world wrestles with: abortion, immigration and refugees, poverty, same sex marriage, transgenderism, caring for the environment and more.

The Bible says that we are to be praying for our government, our president, vice president and all our governing authorities. That means to pray for their blessing and salvation. Praying for God to bless and guide our leaders, even if we didn’t vote for them! Listen to what Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:1-4. Do we desire all people to be saved?

The Bible is our ultimate authority, meaning that if the government makes laws that are opposed to the word of God, we hold fast to the word of God. But to discern whether the government is ruling incorrectly, we need to know the Word of God. We must never be led by the opinions and the thoughts of someone we watched on the internet. We must not allow anything that opposes God’s Word to dictate our actions or control our thinking.

We have been given the Word of God, written by our Heavenly Father who knows us better than we know ourselves, and who knows every moment and situation of our lives. Yet we turn to people who are not invested in us at all and ask their opinion for our life decisions.

Many Christians are struggling today because they don’t know the Word of God. My simple goal as a pastor is to get people to feed on the Word of God. Study and meditate on the Word. Let God’s Spirit speak to you as you read.

The Bible is no ordinary collection of pages and ink.

It is supernatural in its authoring,

it is supernatural in its reading, and

it is supernatural in its application.

Let us be known as people of the Word, who know and apply the Word of God to all situations in our lives.

Sermons

Sermon, Sunday October 25 2020 Faith and the Elections.

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1 Samuel 8

Over the last few decades there has been a lot of discussion about the separation of the church and the state. While I don’t believe a pastor should direct the congregation to vote for a specific candidate, I also don’t think that the church should stand idly by and allow corruption and immorality to govern our nation.

DR. Adrian Rogers once said, “the church and state should remain separate institutionally, but the church should be the conscience of the state. “

The church is supposed to be the moral compass of the nation, unfortunately the church has largely compromised with culture to gain acceptance and numbers. As a result, the church has lost the authority to be the voice of morality. Churches and Christians see themselves as poor victims, a weak and victimized minority. But Jesus said in Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world…” As Christians and as the church, we are Christs ambassadors and when we sit idly by, Satan will continue to destroy this nation.

“Great nations rise and fall. The people go from bondage to spiritual truth, to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back again to bondage.” (Alexander Tytler 1747 to 1813)

In 1 Samuel 8 the nation of Israel was going through a leadership transition. The great prophet Samuel was old and the people began asking for a King. Under Samuel’s leadership, the nation had expanded, their enemies had been subdued and the nation’s surrounding Israel were at peace. But the people were not satisfied, they wanted a king and God gave them what they desired.

Israel saw the nations around them and asked for a king to be like those nations (1 Samuel 8:5). The people were crying out for a savior, they thought that Samuel would give them a King and he would solve all their problems. On the surface to ask for a king seemed like a reasonable request, it seemed like Israel was coming of age as a nation and needed to fit the mold of a successful nation. But this request upset Samuel because he realized that the nation had rejected God as their King and were looking for an earthly leader (verse 7).

Israel was once again turning their back on God. God’s chosen people, the people of the promise to Abraham, the same people of the covenant that God made with Moses on Mt Sinai, they wanted to settle for an earthly king to rule over them.

Sadly, in America today we are not much different, we look to a president or the leaders in Washington to solve our problems, instead of turning to the only one who can solve the problems of this nation and the world – Jesus Christ.

Israel had forgotten who they were, they had lost their moral compass. In response God tells Samuel to warn the nation that a king will require from them a heavy burden of taxes, their sons and daughters will be required to serve in his army and in his courts. The burden on the people will be heavy, but yet they demanded a king. God gave the children of Israel what they wanted, God in his great mercy and sovereignty gives nations what they ask for because ultimately God uses the leaders of nations for his purposes.

God chose Saul, a Benjamite, to be the first King of Israel. We read in chapter 9 and 10 of 1 Samuel, how God chose Saul, who seemed to have amazing leadership skills and potential to be a powerful King. Unfortunately, Saul became a bad king and just as God had said he would, the nation became his slaves. Bad leaders enslave their people, and that is what Saul did.

We need to prayerfully consider the choice of the election ballot, as a nation God will give us the president we ask for. As believers we have a divine voting guide, it is the Word of God. Don’t be misled for one minute into thinking that the Word of God does not apply to your choice on Tuesday November 3, it has everything to do with it (see Psalm 119:105 and Proverbs 29:2).

Our nation is facing some incredible challenges. As Christians, who are we looking to? If we place our hope in the next president, whomever that may be, we will be disappointed. The day after the election, God will still be on the throne, ruling and managing the worlds affairs. God has never needed a king or a president, he raises them up and he puts them down for his purposes.

There are so many issues that we can identify in the world that need fixing, there is no human leader who can possibly solve all of the nation’s problems. Our only hope is in Jesus Christ, the King of Kings.

There is nothing wrong with being involved in politics or voicing our frustrations with the leaders of our country, but we must view everything from an eternal perspective. As followers of Jesus Christ this world is not our home, we must put our trust in Jesus Christ and in no one else.

Do you have an eternal perspective?

Some Christian’s are more afraid of their political party losing the election than they are afraid of their friends and loved ones spending eternity in hell.

Sometimes we get so anxious about the temporal kingdoms here on earth that we forget about God’s eternal Kingdom (1 Peter 2:9-10).

Join with me in praying with repentance for God to heal our nation.

Sermons

Sermon, Sunday September 20, 2020 – Walking in the Spirit

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Ephesians 5:18-21

2020 has been a year that has challenged us all in many areas of life, but the area of relationships has been under the most stress as we look at society. People have begun to appreciate the value of being connected and living in community.

When we become followers of Jesus, we take on a new identity as we have seen in Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus. One of the most important results of this new identity is that we have new relationships, we have become part of a new family that is an eternal family (Ephesians 1:5). Our relationships within the Body of Christ is eternal, any relationship outside of the fellowship of believers is temporary. 

But sin is the great separator; it separates us from God and separates us from other people. One of the first signs that someone is struggling with sin in their lives, is that they separate themselves from family fellowship.

In Ephesians 5:18-21, the Apostle Paul exhorts his readers to be filled with the Holy Spirit in order to live in healthy relationships. These verses are all about how we are to relate to one another within the Body of Christ. How we speak to one another in verse 19 and how we submit to one another in verse 21. A Spirit filled believer is someone who lives in a right relationship with God and fellow Christians.

Paul uses the example of a person under the influence of alcohol as the opposite of what it means to be filled with the Spirit of God. Drunkenness leads to a diminished ability to control one’s behavior, whereas one of the fruit of the spirit is self-control.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not an experience that is reserved for a select few followers of Jesus. This is the normal Christian life and it is a command from the Word of God. While every true follower of Jesus is sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13), we all need a constant filling to be able to live a life of joy, thanksgiving, and love.

So how are we daily filled with the Holy Spirit? It is an ongoing discipline of prayer and spending time meditating on God’s Word. The Word and the Spirit are connected, as He is the author of the Word (Compare Colossians 3:16 and Ephesians 5:18-19). Daily asking God for a fresh sense of His Spirit, knowing that the Father loves to give His children good gifts (Luke 11:13).

As we walk in the Spirit, being filled with the Spirit we experience results, effects of the overflow of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We see this in verses 19 to 21.

1: The first effect of being filled with the Spirit is joy. This overflows in a heart that is constantly singing. Notice in verse 19 that we sing to one another and to the Lord. There is a vertical and a horizontal dimension to our expression of joy. As we sing corporately, we also encourage one another through worship, that is why the active participation and gathering is so vital for the spiritual health of the believers in the church. We have all discovered that sitting and watching a sermon on the internet is not the same as experiencing the presence of the Lord in a gathering of believers.

The Spirit-filled believer has a song in their heart. In spite of the circumstances, the believer knows a deep sense of joy, this is singing from the heart.

2: The second result of being filled with the Spirit is thankfulness (Ephesians 5:20). The words gratitude and grace share the same root, and the Spirit-filled believer who has experienced the grace of God understands that every good and perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17). As a result, the thankful heart is a humble heart.

Paul commands his readers to be thankful at all times, this is impossible to do in our own strength, hence our daily need to be filled with the Spirit of God. When we face challenges in life, we should turn to the Lord with thanksgiving by the power of the Spirit to keep our heart from complaining and anxiety. The Devil creates chaos in our minds when we start complaining and feeding the fire of anxiety. Thanksgiving, by the power of the Spirit of God, defeats the enemy of our souls (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

3: The third effect of living the Spirit-filled life is submission (Ephesians 5:21).

In our sinful nature, we balk at the idea of submission, but submission simply means to prefer others, not always getting what we want. Submission is essential for healthy Christian community and it is only possible as one is filled with the Spirit of God.

The word submit has military roots and means “to arrange under”. Any soldier serving in the military knows that in order to defeat the enemy, he needs to submit his own desires to the orders of the commanding officer. So, it is with the Christian, we submit to the leadership of the Holy Spirit as we together serve one another and the mission of the church.

This does not come naturally, anyone who acts brash or arrogant is not walking in the Spirit. As we walk Spirit-filled we will display the meekness and the gentleness of Christ.

These three effects of being filled with the Spirit are not simply ideals for us to experience, rather they are essential for living in a Christian community. The fountain of healthy relationships within the Body of Christ is the Holy Spirit in our lives.

As we look at the church today, do we see evidence of Spirit-filled lives?

As the Holy Spirit convicts, repent and invite the Holy Spirit into your life to fill you and control you for the glory of God and for the health of the church.

Focused Thoughts

Thoughts on the Unexpected June 28, 2020

Unexpected things happen all the time and how we respond sometimes has significant implications. This past Thursday, I received a call from Lynn and the first words out of her mouth were not the words a pastor or any leader likes to hear, “Athol, we have a huge problem…”

Usually when I hear those words, I downplay them and try to minimize my stress response. But something about her tone of voice, indicated that this really was a “huge problem”.

I was on my way down the hill from the church, and I rushed back as quickly as my 2008 Kia could get me up the hill. On my arrival I was greeted by many anxious faces and saw water all down the hallway and flooding into the sanctuary. I headed to the back of the church and found that the backflow valve was expelling as much water as a four-inch line would allow.

I was able to shut it off and then the process of cleanup and calling companies to help began. As usual, Nicole was on top of it and had people there to begin the cleanup within the hour.

It is going to take a few days until we can get the water on, and unfortunately as a result we were unable to hold services today. But in spite of all the drama, God is still in control. We see a setback, but God is following His eternal and perfect plan.

We decided not to use Zoom, or stream a service this morning, but rather we encouraged everyone to spend time alone or in your families with the Word of God, allowing God to speak to you.

Last week, as I was preaching through Ephesians 4:13-16, I spoke on the four attributes of spiritual maturity. The second one was, “spiritual maturity involves doctrinal stability”.

That sounds very much like, “seminary speak”, but the bottom line is that we need to feed on God’s word for ourselves in order to mature. And as we mature we will be able to discern between false doctrine and the truth found in God’s word.

So, on this day, you and I have the wonderful opportunity to feed on the glorious riches of the Word. Allowing the author, the Holy Spirit to give us a feast.

This morning I was reading Deuteronomy 30. Moses is giving his final instructions of the Law of God to the children of Israel. Moses was encouraging them to choose life, to choose to worship God alone and not to be distracted by the false gods and idols of the nations around them.

In Deuteronomy 30:11-15 we read, “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off.It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.”

Notice the emphasis I underlined. If the truth of God’s word was close during the time of Moses, how much more for us under the New Covenant. We have the blessing of the 3rd person of the Trinity, living in us as true followers of Jesus.

Jesus prepared his disciples for the coming of the Holy Spirit and in John 14:26-27 we read, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

In June of 2020, we certainly have a lot going on in the world around us. It would be easy for us to be so consumed by the events of the world that we become fearful and lacking peace.

Whether it be a sudden flood in a building, the Corona virus, political chaos or an earthquake in Mexico, our God is still the one who gives us peace. Our Heavenly Father does not react to the events of the world, rather, He is perfectly orchestrating all of the worlds events in preparation for His son, Jesus, to come again in glory.

In this season, if you are not spending time in God’s word, allowing the Holy Spirit to bring you peace and comfort, you will be easily swayed. Let us be a people who discern the season through the lens of God’s word.

Who are you listening to?