CLOUDS WITHOUT WATER
#746.1 CLOUDS WITHOUT WATER
Scripture Jude 11-16, NIV Orig. 7/25/1979
Rewr. 9/20/1988
Passage: 5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord[a] at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
8 In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. 9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”[b] 10 Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.
11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion. 12 These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead.
Purpose: Continuing a series from Jude, here encouraging my people to be honest with themselves as to where they are in faith, and to work at a stronger commitment to Christ.
Keywords: Bible Study New Testament Characters, Jude Commitment Faith Revival
Timeline/Series: Jude
Introduction
The last couple of Mission Allocation meetings the same concern has been voiced. Some of our state mission work is suffering because of governmental regulation. These churches/missions are having to spend money they do not have in providing services for the handicapped, although they do not anticipate any such participation. The services need to be provided, even if it does work a hardship.
By the same token, it early was noted that such service would be offered without question by commercial ventures. As more and more states moved into the gambling business, they determined to provide such services. New Jersey started the pattern by providing machines that were in braille for the blind, and others that were nearer the floor for those who were in wheelchairs.
In fact, Jesus reminded us that this is the way it would be in a world where money takes precedence over everything else.
Luke 16:8, “. . .the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.”
But that wisdom was a worldly, secular wisdom that served only a temporal purpose. The so-called “children of light” to whom Jude has written, are to open their eyes and their hearts, to the need to recognize what is not in their best interest, or the gospel’s, and to live accordingly.
I. First, We Need to Consider Jude’s Three-Fold Description of the Unprincipled Church Member. V11, “They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.”
The first problem is that they are without faith. Remembering who Cain was. Hebrews 11:4 tells us that “By faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice” than he. Two people performing the same deeds, giving the same offering, studying the same lesson, yet one is accepted, the other- - - - Whether of Cain and Abel, Of Jude’s fellowship of concern, Of any 20th Century church.
We need to keep going back to Hebrews 11. A later verse will also be found. V6, “But without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Thank God for what the verse does not say, as much as what it says. Not “effectively serve Him”; But “earnestly seek Him.” Christians are not always required to do the right thing, but we are expected to have a Christ-honoring attitude. So, remember, faith does not result from righteousness, it issues in righteousness.
The second problem is a materialist mindset. Any time Balaam is discussed then spiritual blindness is at the key. An angel of death barred his way. He could not see past his material success. The jack-ass kept him from danger. Jeremiah 8:7, “Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtledove and the crane, and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord.”
Brethren, we must not ever become dependent upon those who are spiritually blind. We need to resort to God’s leadership. We need men and women who move to His beat.
Thirdly, there was misplaced ambition. It wasn’t just the equality issue. How many men and women have risen above their roots, and have concluded that their achievement merits more?
II. We Must Also Heed a Prophet’s Warning about Instability. V12f, “These men are blemishes , . . . clouds without rain, . . . trees without fruit, . . . waves of the sea, foaming their shame; . . . stars, for whom the blackest darkness has been reserved forever.”
They are unstable in doctrine. Reference is to the Lord’s Supper. Partaking of the supper without the slightest regard for its deepest meaning. It ought to be the most regularly attended, most touched with prayer and commitment, of any gathering. Like it because it’s brief. Find it mindlessly boring. See yourself in hell apart from the substitutionary work of Jesus.
They are unstable in their direction. Jude refers to “clouds” that offer no relief to parched earth. We all know there are different clouds. Many are worried about changing weather conditions. Are we moving to an era of drought? Even so, are we living in a time when people dry up in spirit? I heard recently that three to four million acres have burned. The National Forest fire was said to continue to burn until snow. What a terrible thing it would be if people were looking for hope but knew no one who could share.
Recall the words of Amos 8:11, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.”
They are unstable in their devotion. It is an interesting corollary of the fruitless tree. The Bible speaks of “fruit” of repentance. John [the Baptist] (Matthew 3:8) announced Jesus with that call to repentance, “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.” What is the source of true religion? Benign religious activity. Borrowing faith from parents. Bootlegging on our culture. Repentance is the only safe source of such activity.
Sholem Asch, in his piece called The Apostle, tells of one Simon, the preacher, preaching John’s “fruits meet for repentance.” In the call to decision, a wealthy man brings his riches. Simon sends him away. A strong, poor man brings his strength. Again Simon disallows. A third comes bringing only his sin. He hears Simon say, “You have given more than the others for you have given what is yours to give.”1
But we are told also of the fruits of righteousness. Philippians 1:11, “Filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.” We involve ourselves in many good social activities. But the things done in the name of Jesus are the things that impact our culture.
There is also the “fruit” of reconciliation. John 15:16, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit.” Jude calls this “fruitless” tree twice dead. Bearing no fruit, it is uprooted.
Time doesn’t permit attention to “wild waves.” Beach litter, erosion. Matthew 16:18, “Upon this rock I will build.” Or, “wandering stars.” Shooting stars may draw attention. But they quickly pass from consideration. The stars of worth, are the ones in their places to guide ships as the track the trackless ocean.
Conclusion
Filed with this sermon:
“Reputation, it is said, is about who you are when people are watching; character is about who you are when you are alone in the room.
“There is a similar duality in modern faith, a tension between faith externalized for public consumption and that which wrestles despair in the midnight hour.
“Each has its place. But only one will see you through till the morning comes.”2
*** The remainder of this sermon has been lost.***
1Asch, S. (1943). The Apostle. G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
2Pitts, Jr., L. (2012, February 9). Public faith versus private faith stirs debate. The Times, p7a. https://www.shreveporttimes.com
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/628995.The_Apostle
FOUR INDISPENSABLE THINGS
#753 FOUR INDISPENSABLE THINGS
Scripture Hebrews 13:1-22, NIV Orig. 8/26/1979
Rewr. 5/24/1989
Passage: 1Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”[a]
6 So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?”[b]
7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 9 Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. 10 We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
17 Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you. 18 Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. 19 I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.
Benediction and Final Greetings
20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
22 Brothers and sisters, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you quite briefly.
Purpose: To share with my people the call of the gospel for believers to know and live by the indispensable mandates of God’s message.
Keywords: Blood of Christ Christ as Saviour Faith Forgiveness Sin Works Revival
Timeline/Series: None
Introduction
It never has been easy to convince others, or ourselves, to get involved. There are times when, after it is all over, we hear someone of lesser heart say, “Well, it is your own fault for getting involved.” I wonder how many people have said as much about the family fishing at the D’Arbonne spillway last week (5/20). Going to the assistance of two stranded fishermen, all three drowned. Too many come away from such as this even more firmly resolved to mind their own business.
When we enter the electrified air of the New Testament, however, we stumble over a totally different concept. The chronological accounting of Jesus’ ministry began when He became “involved” at a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. He went from there to Jerusalem for Passover. In the temple, He found money-changers polluting not only the temple, but the spiritual tone of the people as well. He drove these men away with a scourge. He made enemies that day who would dog His trail until they saw Him die on a cross.
There is no greater sign of His involvement than that cross. He came not only to touch the world, but to involve Himself in your life and mine. Had He chosen not to do so, things would be considerable different for all of us today.
Getting involved means taking a chance. There is the possibility of being misunderstood, of getting hurt, even of losing one’s life. We are told quite candidly “the disciple is not above his master” (Matthew 10:24). For Jesus, involvement was costly. What does your involvement cost you?
I. Without the Shedding of Blood There Is No Forgiveness. Hebrews 13:12f, “Wherefore, Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him . . . .”
It was not God’s view of man that had to be changed. He had no interest in divesting Himself of His holiness. He had no intention of compromising His position relative to man’s sin.
The attitude that must be changed is that of man, himself. You see, the cross was not to the point of changing God’s mind about us. Rather, it was to the point of changing man’s view of himself before God. Man, with his potential to reason, would her be motivated spiritually.
News articles told of the need of true spiritual experience: Eddie Tuinman abandoned at rest stop on I-84 near Boise, Idaho (1989/1-11); Pennsylvania teenager who starved to death—Father had $3,700 in tithe money; Steven Stayner—stolen at seven.
Old Testament law confirms sin’s hold on man, and the issue of blood forgiveness. Leviticus 16:27, “And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place . . . carry forth without the camp; and . . . burn.”
The New Testament removes bulls and goats and substitutes the blood of Jesus. God accomplishes man’s pardoning. The agent of pardoning is Himself man. When such a price as this has been paid, who would dare to voice reservations? Sanctification, then, is not an attainment, it is the state into which God calls us in grace through the blood.
The place where Jesus suffered was outside prescribed religious ritual. We still do not find Him by human directive. It is the blood drawing us outside the camo drawing us to Himself alone.
II. Without Faith it is Impossible to Please God. Hebrews 13:15. “By him (Jesus) therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”
It is more directly said earlier, Hebrews 11:6, “Without faith it is impossible to please God: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he rewards those who seek him.” “Diligently” (KJV), “earnestly” (NIV) is not found. Verb is present participle teaching repeated action, “those who keep on seeking.”
We are taught that there are two parts to this act of faith. To believe that God is: childhood teaching, reading, fear/uncertainty, little more than mental combustion. Agnostic concludes that there may be a God; atheist will sometimes doubt [his] doubt. I can count the atheists on one hand. To believe that He is rewarder of those who seek Him: First, He communicates His presence; He is able to bless in personal encounter.
There is a necessary result of such faith. Offering the sacrifice of praise. Nothing changes disorder to order like praise. Nothing answers enigmas like praise; see Psalm 73 for answers: V17 “Until I went into the sanctuary of God.” Nothing adds vitality to life like praise. Understand that such praise is not a passive thing: Hebrews 13:15, “the fruit of our lips giving praise”; Hebrews 1:16, “doing good for others”; Hebrews 13:22, “suffer the word of exhortation.”
III. Without Works Faith Is Dead, (James 2:17). Hebrews 13:20f, “. . . The God . . . that brought Jesus from the dead . . . through the blood of the . . . covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will.”
Faith is born in the heart of the believer at the initiation of God. It is not accomplished apart from will. But the initiation is God. The mark of such faith is confirmed through one’s labors. It attests to sufficiency of faith; it affirms the satisfaction of faith. Matthew 7:16, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” Titus 3:8, “This is a faithful saying, . . . these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God, might be careful to maintain good works.”
IV. Without Jesus We Can Do Nothing. Hebrews 13:20f “Now the God of peace . . . working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever.”
I call you to the One who died outside. Outside the camp of Israel. Outside understood religious systems. Separated from human compromise.
He is not hiding, but we are too reluctant to seek Him where He is known to be. The Old Testament goat (scapegoat) was turned loose to be stilled by the hand of Providence. So the God-anointed substitute in the wilderness away from Jerusalem. Raised to life again, he transports the believer from sin-death to spirit-life. Jesus Himself attests to this sufficiency. John 15:5, “Without me ye can do nothing.” If nothing significant happens without Him, every sufficient thing happens in Him. John Newton, the great song writer (Amazing Grace, etc.) late in life memory almost gone, “Two things I remember: that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour.”
Conclusion
Charles Dickens began A Tale of Two Cities1: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything behind us, we had nothing before us, we were all going straight to heaven, we were all going direct the other way.”
Dickens lived long before the oldest of us. The time he described was long before his own time. But how well it describes this late 20th Century. The one way out of the inharmonious times that he described, then and now, is Jesus.
He who calls us to Himself, calls us to commitment. He reminds us that it is to “total” and not “token” commitment.
1 Dickens, C. (2013). A Tale of Two Cities. (Reprint). Collins Classics.
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY CHURCH UNDER FIRE
#686 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY CHURCH UNDER FIRE
Scripture Hebrews 10:25, NIV Orig. 12/1/1977
Rewr. 1/16/1985
Passage: 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Purpose: To state the three essential criteria for the contemporary believer.
Keywords: Believer Evangelism Revival Church Worship
Introduction
One of the great art galleries in our country has a famous painting by G.F. Watts called Hope. The painting itself may not elicit the interest that has centered around an absurd little story about the painting.
To describe the painting is to see a blindfolded woman seated on a sphere with her head bowed, holding a lyre. She seems to represent human fertility in a shrinking world. The musical instrument which she holds retains only one string. The space around the sphere contains one star against a backdrop of blackness. The artist wanted those who viewed his work to see it as he did. He therefore labelled it Hope.
Watts, G.F. Hope1
The story is about two cleaning women who worked in the gallery. One of the women regularly cleaned in this part of the museum, the other was on her first round. When she came to Watt’s display she stopped dead in her tracks and looked with wonderment at the painting. Finally, she said aloud, “Hope! Hope? Why is it called ‘Hope’?”
The other replied, with little wonderment, and probably some agitation, as she turned her attention to the precariously perched figure, “Why, I suppose because she hopes she won’t fall off.”
There are people around us, some who identify themselves as Christian, who view the contemporary church scene with the same doubtful perplexity. What does “church” mean? Has it become an art-form symbolizing that is no longer meaningful? Is it only a supplier of sanctimonious symbols?
The writer of Hebrews sees it differently. He declares it to be what it is: What God has made it to be. It is people, alive in a dead world, with a sense of mission. It is an awesome explosive power awaiting the torch of commitment. There are 3 guidelines.
I. They were to Attend Their Church. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is.”
Though I rule it out, I wonder if boredom was ever the cause. Or fatigue: I heard of one pastor who called a meeting of the board following the service. A stranger was present. “Sir, we were happy you came, but this meeting is just for the board.” “I have trouble believing that these people were more bored than I!”
We are here instructed that our first attitude about our church is faithful attentiveness. (1)There is a triad of meaning (Romans 3): For worship and praise; for instruction from the Word; for preparation in ministry. (2)Romans 1:21 (Glorified not as God, nor were thankful.) When these go begging, no matter what other reasons we have, we have rejected our mandate.
Old Testament—Samuel anointed Saul (I Samuel 12), had the people assemble at Gilgal. They sacrificed, had great joy in praise. I Samuel 12:7, “Now, therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord of all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did to you and to your fathers.”
New Testament—Acts 11:26, when Barnabas located Paul he brought him to Antioch. “For a whole year they assembled themselves with the church and taught many people. They were first called Christians at Antioch.”
This “assembly” was essential for empowering in and to service. The young Indian brave inquired of the steps necessary to become chief. [Some text lost.] The sacred bobcat: You must bring down the great white buffalo with your bard hands. You must wrestle the brown bear [to] win two of three challenges. Then must come the trials of fire and ice. The brave interrupted with “What ever happened to wholesome good looks and a nice personality?”
II. They were to Defend Their Church. “Exhorting one another.”
This is akin to paraklētos—“comforter.” This form is never retrospective, and always prospective. (Parakaleo.) It is “beseech, entreat, admonish.” See Psalm 141:5—
"Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—that is oil on my head.
My head will not refuse it,
for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers.”
It guards against the infiltration of error. II Timothy 4:2-4, “Preach the word; exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts they will heap themselves teachers. . . .” Notice again the charge to exhort, a call to higher living. Notice the condemnation of “heaping”: Man in Oakdale who enlarged capacity of concrete plant without increasing foundation.
To defend against worldliness. II Timothy 4:10 “Demas hath forsaken . . . having loved this . . . world.” Revelation 3:14, Laodicea—“I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing; thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”
To defend against complacency. Not enough just not to oppose. One must take a vital stand.
To defend against cliquishness. Like at Corinth, people separate into factions: talents, worldly goods, gifts, pastors. “Paul is my favorite.” I Corinthians 3:11, “ For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
III. They were to Extend Their Church. “And all the more as you see the day approaching.”
Which statement he clarifies in the verses that follow. The example of the Old Testament covenant. Anyone rejecting Moses died by the witness of two or three. Rejecting Jesus is rejecting His death, rejecting God’s will, and insulting the Holy Spirit (29). It is deadly for the so-called believer and unbeliever alike.
We are to be extensions of our church: From active participation—worship, study, ministry awareness; we receive the enablement to be Christ’s representative in our community and beyond.
We might say that through this means we Commend our church. You commend it first and foremost by your support. You commend it to the degree that you support it. What think you of token support to: your job? Your children’s school? Your family? You commend your church by supporting and praying for its leaders. It is much easier to criticize another than to condition one’s own life to support just causes in Christ. You commend your church by every positive referral.
Closing
As the day approaches
***The remainder of this sermon has been lost.***
1Watts, G.F. (2020). Hope. [Oil on canvas]. Watts Gallery, Compton, Surrey, U.K. In Reitsema, E.M. Hebrews 11:1—Hope by G.F. Watts, ArtWay Visual Meditation, (16 February 2020). (Original work 1885/1886). https://artway.eu/content.php?id=2901&lang=en&action=show
Hope https://artway.eu/content.php?id=2901&lang=en&action=show
IF HE DOESN’T COME
#309 IF HE DOESN’T COME
Scripture II Peter 3:3-10, NIV; Hebrews 10:35-39, NIV Orig. 9/18/1966
Rewr. 7/24/1981
Passage:
II Peter 3:3-10 3Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.[a]
Hebrews 10:35-39 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
37 For,
“In just a little while,
he who is coming will come
and will not delay.”[a]
38 And,
“But my righteous[b] one will live by faith.
And I take no pleasure
in the one who shrinks back.”[c]
39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
Purpose: To conclude a three-part series on the second coming sharing with my people the posture of the Christian while waiting for the return of the Lord, in light of the confusion brought on by scoffers and doubters in a secular age.
Keywords: Christian Life Revival Second Coming
Timeline/Series: Second Coming
Introduction
It was another news story out of Southern California. It was not the first, nor will it be the last. There can be little doubt that the fantasy world of Hollywood induces people to engage in the spectacular and the dramatic.
It was early morning, near Los Angeles, and a group of people were gathered together on a roof-top. They were robed in white bed-sheets that were being whipped by the wind. They were waiting to greet the Lord, who was coming on a time-table that they had computed.
They had accomplished a very successful PR job because a number of reporters were on the scene. One newspaper had even set up a camera and had it directed toward the eastern sky. They were not there to record a happy reunion, but rather a dismal failure. Another weird group of people had declared somewhat about the return of Jesus What’s-His-Name, and nothing has come of it. Wow!
They probably were sincere. After waiting through much of morning, then one by one the aspirants of the return of Jesus began to slip away.
Then the reporters found out from the leader of the group how they had come to believe that this was to be the day. He had multiplied his age by the number of his children, then added 666 from the Book of Revelation, and then had divided this sum by the number of puppies in his dog’s new litter, and in this way had derived the date.
It is no wonder that the unbelieving world scoffs at any mention of the second coming. Again and again there have been such groups who, for whatever reasons, have laid the foundation for such ridicule by abusing what we are clearly taught in scripture relative to His coming.
Mark 13:32, But of the day or that hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Luke 12:40, Hold yourselves ready, then, because the Son of Man will come at the time you least expect Him (NEB).
I. As Our Lord Delays His Coming, We Must Respond with Vigilance. V9, The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Too many of us as Believers act as if we wait for some kind of escape. TS Eliot1 speaks of an inherent danger. “Hell is one’s self; there is nothing to escape from and nothing to escape to.”
We have a Biblical parallel of the danger of one’s attitude as he begins to think too strongly of his own personal safety Psalm 141:10, Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I withal escape. The Bible likewise gives us the correct believing stance, John 10:10, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 14:18, I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you. Colossians 3:4, When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Understand that what we wait for is the return of Jesus, and this waiting must be with vigilance.
We are not just awaiting the fulfillment of prophecy. David foresaw a day when Messiah would reign over Jerusalem. Psalm 24:7, Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors; and the king of glory shall come in. Malachi closes the vigilant Old Testament with such a message of hope (Malachi 4:2), But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings.
What we wait for is the fulfillment of the promise of Jesus. John 14:1-3, Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also.
Many of you came to this place from other farms where your Father and Mother just barely managed to eke survival out of marginal cotton land. Those farmers had to surrender the land to pasture and forest. But here, the promise is in the soil and the climate and every spring you begin with renewed vigilance the wonderful challenge of harvest. Even so spiritual vigilance.
II. It is a Time Also for Vision. Vv10-11, But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, the heavens . . . shall pass away . . . ; the elements . . . shall melt . . . ; the earth . . . shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be . . . ?
Vision requires knowledge of the Word. We will never understand the TIMES unless we understand the WORD. Habakkuk 1:2, How long, O Lord, have I cried to thee, unanswered? I cry, violence, but thou dost not save. Why?
His question—Why doesn’t God do something about the human leeches who live off of the blood sucked from God’s saints? Habakkuk agrees, however, to wait in a posture of vigilance and vision. 2:1, I will stand at my post, I will take up my position on the watch-tower, I will watch to learn what He will say. . . . Then God gave Habakkuk His answer, V3 “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie; though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry long.” And Habakkuk concludes 2:20, “. . . The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth be hushed in His presence. 3:2 . . . In the midst of years thou didst make thyself known, and in the wrath thou didst remember mercy. 3:19, The Lord God is my strength, who makes my feet nimble as a hind’s feet as he sets me to walk upon my high places.
That word tells us all that we shall ever need to know of His coming. Acts 1:11, This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner from heaven. Philippians 3:20, Our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews 10:37, Yet a little while, and he that shall come will come and will not tarry.
Our day is beset by the sudden and unexpected happening. On a quiet October morning 5 or 6 years ago a ship crushed a ferry crossing the river in New Orleans. Over 60 dead. Just before Christmas a year later, a grain elevator exploded and collapsed on the block house. 37 dead. I watched from Ochsner Foundation Hospital. A soft summer dance in Kansas City and 111 dead, 108 injured. [Survivor stated], “I kept asking mother, is it a dream?”
III. This Time of Delay—This Time of Vigilance and Vision—is a Time of Victory. Hebrews 10:35, Cast not away, therefore, your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward, 37 For yet a little while and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
For the believer, there is victory in death. If Jesus chooses to tarry through our life time, it will be to the end that others say be saved. John 1:11-12, He came unto his own and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the children of God, even to them that believe on his name.
For the believer, there is victory in a life cut short by the return of our Lord. He will come during the lifetime of some of us or of our children, or of our children’s children. Only then will we acknowledge this life to be what it truly is. The world’s picture is that death is unacceptable. This is life, and death is the void of life. But in reality, this place where we now live is the land of the dying, and that ruled over by Christ is the land of living.
Make no mistake, our victory is in our vision and our vigilance as we live out our lives in this, the land of the dying, waiting for the glorious reckoning of our Saviour’s kingdom.
Closing
Dr. Wayne Ward, in one of his books, tells of a trip to the Holy Land. While walking on the Mount of Olives, he came upon a man in the garb of an Arab who seemed to understand the place where they stood. Being a teacher of Hebrew and Aramaic, he greeted the man. But strangely, the man answered, “Howdy!” Dr. Ward questioned the man about his homeland. He was told, “I’m a Holiness preacher from Kansas City. I live in that shanty right over there. I intend to be Johnny-on-the-spot when Jesus comes.” You don’t have to live in a shanty on the Mount of Olives to be acceptable to Jesus when He returns, but you do have to be ready.
1 Eliot, T. S. (1988b). The Cocktail Party: A comedy. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Eliot: https://fleurmach.com/2013/03/27/t-s-eliot-the-cocktail-party-1949/
Dr. Ward: https://www.christianitytoday.com/1961/03/gospel-of-jesus-christ/
SPACE TRAVELERS
#511 SPACE TRAVELERS
Scripture I Peter 3:18 NIV Orig. 8/4/1968
Rewr. 11/22/1988
Passage: For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.
Purpose: Sharing anew the Biblical steps to God’s abundant life in Christ.
Keywords: Christ as Saviour God’s Love Separating from Sin
Cross Revival Plan of Evangelism
Timeline/Series: Any
Introduction
A new interest in outer space came about a few years ago with the marketing of “E.T.” A fantasy spoke to some need in people to believe that there may be someone else out there. The homesickness of the small alien touched a vital chord that all of us share.
The interest in the worlds beyond this planet are genuine. Efforts are already underway to break the bonds that tie us to earth. We are not doing a very good job maintaining what we have here, but that drive is galactic. What we don’t know about what is out there compels us forward.
A recent article in National Geographic depicts what is ahead. Plans are already being made for a serious venture toward Mars. Imagine going to a place where it will take seven to eight months to reach your destination, a delay of well over a year for the kind of planetary alignment that will make return possible, and then another seven or eight months making the swing toward home.
The article discussed some of the specifications required as an agenda for Mars nears. Can you imagine the difficulties involved in such gigantic plans? Things get pretty complicated over at our house when we are only making plans to have family in for Thanksgiving. The logistics of hosting family and friends for a few days is formidable indeed.
Fortunately, when God formulated the agenda that would bring us to Himself, He didn’t complicate it with insurmountable detail. We don’t have to be overwrought about food reserves, and time differentials. There is a way to reach out across time and space, and any other such mediums, to the place where God is.
I. The First Step is Accepting God’s Goal of an Abundant Life. “To bring you to God.”
This abundant life begins with a knowledge of God. David’s last, best advice to his son Solomon concerned this knowledge: I Chronicles 28:9 “If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever” (NIV). Job raised a question that has furnished a dilemma for many: “Canst thou by searching find out God?” But Jeremiah resolves it for us: Jeremiah 29:13 “Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye search for me with all your heart,”
Such knowledge comes not of the flesh but of the spirit. First, the eternal Spirit of God. John 14:16 “I will pray the father, and he will give you a comforter that he may abide with you forever.” To know God is to know what He wishes to make known. We are to be willing receptors. It is then of the human spirit.
II. The Second Step is the Admission of a Problem. “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust.”
It addresses the reality of sin; it accepts responsibility for one’s own will; it acknowledges God’s transcendence.
All are created for this “abundant” life. A sense in which some are elected but none are denied. Irving Stone, in his biography on Michelangelo The Agony and the Ecstasy1 tells about Michelangelo’s David. At the quarry he purchases a column cut and blocked for another sculptor, but marred. Others had looked and rejected, but from this stone of flaws, he sculpted his 17’ statue. God is able to work His miracle in any life.
All are free to choose or to deny. Look at any Biblical believer, he had the freedom to reject. Any who denied, could have believed. Isaiah 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
The Biblical concept of original sin says only that Adam’s disobedience was placed in circulation, and none of us have managed to protect ourselves from its debilitating influence ever since. We have not escaped it unscathed, nor can we.
III. Thus, the Third Step of Accepting God’s Remedy—the Cross. “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust.”
Conscience is perceived by many as the criterion for human good. It did not protect Adam. The Hebrews were not protected from their Egyptian lords. It did not prevent serious abuses of power during the middle ages. It offered no redress to the victims of the wars of this 20th Century.
When I was a teenager my family lived just a couple of miles from a place on the Tallapoosa River called Horseshoe Bend. For a lad who had never seen the Mississippi, that was an awesome spectacle. On a bluff just to the east of the river, the railroad had been laid. Every spring the talk would turn to the river undermining the railroad. After the track finally gave way, a reinforcing abutment was built. Conscience is like the dirt of the bluff that for years kept the river at bay. But clearly, of itself alone, it just wasn’t enough.
The solution, the one solution to man’s sin problem, is the cross. Conscience is a vital ally for good. But conscience breaks down. In this vein, the cross is the powerful abutment to our conscience.
We must have confidence in atoning factor. Thinking of church membership doesn’t help. Reassurance from perception is no proof. But a vital relationship with Jesus gives resolve. I Peter 1:18f “For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, . . . but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. . . . 24 For all flesh is as grass, . . . but the word of the Lord endureth.”
IV. The Final Step, then, is to Receive Christ as Saviour. “That He might bring us to God.”
The completed action of the cross is defined for us. In v21 Peter goes on to speak of “the good conscience toward God.” It is explained in terms of the “resurrection of Jesus.”
It raises the pertinent question as to which side of the cross we are on. On the one side is sin and separation. On that side we stand alone.
But seeing the cross as we must, from God’s vantage point: Conscience is not our only ally nor our enemy. We discover God’s earnest attempt in our behalf. We know that we do not stand alone. I Peter 4:1 “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.”
Conclusion
The story is told of a stranger who walked into a great London Cathedral while the organist was at practice. The organ [was] reputed to be one of the world’s finest. The stranger listened for some time and then asked to be allowed to play. The organist of course refused. The console was sensitive. It could be ruined. The stranger, however, was insistent, finally identifying himself as Felix Mendelssohn.
The organist, recognizing the name, stepped aside and listened as his genius poured through the keys. People came in to listen. As [Mendelssohn] stood to leave, the organist said more to himself than to others gathered, “Oh, the Master was here. What if I had not let him play?”
1Stone, I. (2001.) The Agony and the Ecstasy. (Reprint.) Random House.
Stone: https://www.amazon.com/Agony-Ecstasy-Irving-Stone/dp/0099416271/ref=monarch_sidesheet_image
THE LAMB OF GOD
#227 THE LAMB OF GOD
Scripture John 1:29-34 Orig. 4/4/1968
Rewr. 12/14/1988
Passage: 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”[a]
Purpose: To preach a Christmas message relating the birth of Christ to the salvation offered.
Keywords: Christ as Saviour Lord’s Supper Communion Christmas Salvation
Timeline/Series: Nature of Christ Revival Christmas
Introduction
The Book of Exodus tells us the story of the Hebrew Passover. Thus, we learn the story of the place of the LAMB in the traditions of these ancient people. In fact, Passover is the oldest, continuously observed festival known to mankind. (N25p77). It commemorates the occasion (14 Nisan-M./A.) when, “at midnight, by the light of a full moon, the Israelites were able to leave Egypt,” “free at last.”
The lamb (sheh: sheep/goat) played a vital part. On 10th Nisan the lamb was acquired, kept with family until the day of the 14th. It was then killed. It furnished a meal for the family, and blood was to be placed on the outer door of the family dwelling. It would be this blood that the death (Passover) angel would use in assessing the faith of the family residing within. When there was no blood, the first-born sons of those homes were smitten.
Imagine the consternation of the children within those homes. Lambs were brought among the family. For three days they were like pets. Abruptly, they were taken and slaughtered for food and sacrifice. The father would, of course, try to help the children understand that the lamb must die to protect the integrity of that family in relation to God. Don’t lose sight, however, that this was a means to finalize the release of the Israelites from Egypt.
Thus, John’s opening chapter does not describe the birth of Jesus. He presents Christ, full-grown, but still, “the lamb.” John will later record that the crucifixion takes place about 3:00pm on the day of preparation, the eve of 14th Nisan, when the lambs for Passover were dying. So the LAMB, born to sinlessness, come to cleanse, strong to save, is now on the scene, no longer a forlorn hope, but a very present reality. See G. Campbell Morgan.
I. Born the Lamb, the Sinless Jesus: “The Lamb of God.” Galatians 4:4 “God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law.” Hebrews 4:15, “. . . but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
The first guideline for the selection of a lamb was “without blemish.” Not much care is given to such concerns. People are more picky about Christmas tree.
The need for such a perfect sacrifice stood in human sin. The creature has denied the sovereignty of the Creator. There is the factor called “original sin.” Romans 5:19 “As by one man’s offense, many were made sinners.”
But of greater consequence is the sin of commission. Romans 3:19 “What the law says, it says to those under the law, that . . . all the world may become guilty before God.”
Man’s sin has violated the righteousness of God. Do we presume that righteous, holy God will do nothing? Parents are expected to admonish and punish their children. Honesty testifies that we learn more from applied punishment. It becomes abuse only when administered without a potential to learn. God’s purpose is not vindictive, but that we may learn. Should He then overlook the travesty of sin? We generally think not until it is our own sin in question. When the moral order violated is godly perfection, the punishment must match the offense,
Thus, only a perfect sacrifice for such wrong can bring restoration. Hebrews 10:12 “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.” The depth of man’s sin is plumbed. The height of God’s righteousness is vindicated.
The manner of appeasement is God’s own Son. Electronic devices are used today, but in the old country store we could see this application writ large every day. Goods were bought in bulk, measured against a weight of certified volume.
II. Born the Lamb, Come to Cleanse: “The lamb of God that taketh away sin.” The picture of the lamb is so accommodating. Sin seems almost to have us in its power. We are as vulnerable to the wolf of sin as the lamb to the wolf of flesh. Child can’t put back what they tear down.
Jesus played out in so many real ways this condescension to humanity. Romans 8:3 “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.”
Thus it is that Jesus speaks to the need in all of us: The lamb who takes the cares of the world upon himself; the lamb, to whom a learned Hebrew came seeking His wisdom; the lamb, to whom sailors on a foundering ship came, seeking His buoyancy; the lamb, who at a Samaritan well offered His living water to a thirsty soul; the lamb, down from the mountain, who puts His hand where none would and cleanses the leper.
He who would cleanse must be himself clean. He was the lamb who knew the gnawing hunger of destitution. (Forty days in the wilderness.) He knew what it was to seem to be weary, alone, without hope. “He was bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh.” He was the lamb, cast aside of men, but taken up of God. He was the lamb who faced the terror of God-forsakenness, that we might not.
III. Born the Lamb, Strong to Save: “The lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.”
A salvation unique in all the world, imputed by God Himself: it will never be deserved, it cannot be reversed. Ephesians 2:8f “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.” It is a transaction of grace given impetus by the love of God.
A salvation that is of Christ. Man’s standing before God is the problem. Consider Matthew 5. Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit/ they that mourn/ the meek/ those who hunger and thirst after righteousness/ the pure in heart/ the peacemakers/ those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. “You are the salt of the earth” v13. “You are the light of the world” v14. “Your righteousness must exceed the scribes and pharisees” v19-20. Taking a life is sin, but so are anger and hard-heartedness v21. Not only adultery but lust v27. They are admonished (v38) to go the “second mile” in v43 “to love their enemies,” and in v48 counselled to “be perfect, . . . as their Father in heaven is perfect.”
Thus come the options we are given. In Christ, by grace through faith, earned by the merit of perfection. Romans 4:4f “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,”
Conclusion
So, in the fullness of time, God brought the sacrificial lamb, Christ, into His own house. For a brief time, He made His presence known. The children of faith were drawn to Him, loved Him. But the Father, to provide meat of spiritual nourishment, and blood to stay the hand of the avenging angel, had to take the lamb and slaughter it. It is so simple it is almost complicated. The blood must be placed above the door of the human heart. Have you done so? Do it now!