HE MUST AND I MUST ALSO

#860b                                                        HE MUST AND I MUST ALSO                                                                                 

Scripture  John 3:22-36 NIV                                                                                                                         Orig. 8/27/1961

                                                                                                                                                                           Rewr. 11/30/1989

Passage: 22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.) 25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”[a]

31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God[b] gives the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

Purpose: In a series from John’s Gospel, sharing this passage related to the early ministry of Jesus as to our dependence upon Him

Keywords:           Bible Study                         Christ as Lord                     John Series                                                                        

Timeline/Series:               Sequential                                         

Introduction

                One of the distressing realities of our time relates to public figures who are indicted following some scandal.  We read, and hear about it with great dismay in the lives of prominent religious leaders.  It is made to be a public spectacle when these, and well-known political figures compromise certain standards, and are accused, tried, and convicted.

                We struggled last week with the sentence directed against James Bakker.  On the same day, an actress was convicted of hitting a policeman.  A few days before, one of America’s wealthiest women was indicted for tax evasion.

                It is not new.  We well remember the Nixon years and the Watergate scandal.  One of the men who figured prominently in that was the man who was counsel to President Nixon, a lawyer by the name of Charles Colson.  Colson was found guilty and sentenced to several years’ incarceration.

                During his time in prison something different happened.  He acknowledged his own involvement and guilt, realized that the wrong was in himself, and sought to change his life.  And the help he sought was spiritual.  Mr. Colson became a believer in Jesus Christ.  He later wrote his autobiography with the title, Born Again(1).   

                Many people were skeptical.  “Oh, no, not again,” was a commonly heard refrain.  It has been ten years or more, and Charles Colson is out of prison, still holding his new birth experience, and is involved in ministry to men and women who are in, or recently released from, prison.

I.             The First Theme that We Encounter is Summary. V22 “After these things came Jesus and His disciples into the land of Judea; and there he tarried with them and baptized. And John also was baptizing in Aenon.”

                Here is a bridge between two important texts.  Some called John 3:16 the most important verse in the Bible.                  W.O. Vaught tells about a prior Little Rock Crusade back in the fifties.  He was sent with a committee from the ministerial association to Fort Worth to check out Mr. Graham.  And, he said, though they brought back a glowing report of Graham’s message and manner, twenty-three of his ministerial colleagues signed a petition saying in effect, “this is not the kind of man we need in Little Rock.”  John the Baptist had his critics also, but they will get very little of our attention this morning. 

                Others refer to chapter 4 as the single most significant chapter in the Bible.  1966 JL Sullivan—John’s Witness to Jesus(2).  1989 HH Hobbs—The Gospel of John:  Invitation to Life(3).  So much more than just a bridge.

                The summary is that of perspective.  John 3:1-21 has provided perspective of the new birth.  John Newton:  “I am not what I ought to be, but thank God, I’m not what I used to be.” Separation from the past, commitment to life of discipleship.

                John 3:22-36 insists that we take note of the increasing centrality of Christ to the believer.  Pilgrimage might begin with loyalty to none. Shifted with loyalty to none but Jesus. Being a follower calls forth two requirements: a statutory commitment, and a circumstance of growth.

                It is summary also of personality.  Facts about Jesus and John otherwise unknown.  Of Jesus early ministry: Matthew 19:1, Mark 10:1—come to Judea, Luke 4:44 Judea (KJV reads Galilee).

                Jesus public ministry before John imprisoned.  Mark 1:14 “After John was delivered up, came Jesus into Galilee.”

                Jesus’ affirmation of baptism.  Synoptics never mention Jesus baptizing.  John 4:2f clarifies this about administering.

                That John continues an independent ministry after Jesus’ baptism at a place called Aenon near Salim.  “There was much water there.”  Summary statement on baptism.  Are you distressed about baptisms?  Some say that John chooses a less promising site to open the way for Christ.

                Finally, there is seen an abrupt change from this revival . . . for Jesus.  Luke 3:3 and Matthew 4:17 depict the common mode of their message.  “Baptism of repentance.” “Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”  After John is imprisoned, Jesus goes into Galilee (Mark 1:14) with same style and message.  But change is in the wind.  Perhaps this explains John’s uncertainty.  See Matthew 11:1,2.

II.            Next, There is the Theme of Subordination.  V25 “Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples . . . .  Rabbi, [Jesus] baptizeth, and all men come to him.”

                In regard to the ceremonial washing, it was major concern to Jews, and a way to make money.  In Cairo ten years ago coverlets; in Jerusalem no admission to the Dome of the Rock.  Regeneration dealt with inside, therefore they wouldn’t pay the tax.  Discussion turned to Jesus and His prominence over John.

                Matthew 14:1f: “Herod had arrested John . . . because of his brother Phillip’s wife.”  From this diatribe on religious ceremony, John shows us what Christian grace ought to be.  His followers are uneasy because Jesus has come to a more favored posture.  They have no idea what is ahead.  The concept of cross is unknown. 

                He reaffirms the centrality of Jesus.  “I am not he!  You know who is!”  John 4:26f same without the negative.  He sees himself as “friend,” philos.  His role in the wedding is to protect interest of bridegroom.  He guards the chamber where the bride awaits.  John will not usurp Christ’s place.

                To what degree do you subordinate yourself to Jesus? I was envious of a friend when 200 of his people were present at S.C.  I had 20 who had chosen to come to the M.C. to hear warmed over Th. Ms. (Meaning unknown.)  Don’t do it for Brother Lamar’s sake.  There is a reason for doing it, and

Remainder of paragraph lost.

                Someone tells about the passenger who went trackside, found his train, and went aboard. He found the car empty, chose his seat, got comfortable.  After a few minutes a grease-stained trainman came through.  “You’ll have to go up to the forward car.”  “Why? What’s wrong with this one?” “Well, nothing’s wrong with it.  It’s just not hooked up to anything that’s going anywhere.”

III.           Finally, There is the Theme of Superiority.  V31 “He that cometh from above is above all . . .   V35 The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hand.  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life . . . he that believeth not the Son shall not see life.”

                Here is the eternal two-fold choice.  It is not that they are “saved” or they are “lost.”  The choices are: they are saved or lost, or there is nothing.  Then, you can conclude that since there must be something, we are either saved or lost.  Or, are you too sophisticated (worldly) to believe that.

                The choice epitomized here is of life or death.  Deuteronomy 30:15 “See I have set before thee this day, life and good, and death and evil.”  Joshua 24:15 “Choose ye this day whom you will serve.”

                John reminds us that the same choices are still much in vogue today.  Herschel Ford wrote: [The sinful man}

• Shuts the door on his highest possibilities.

• Puts himself in the way of others.

• Puts himself on the devil’s side.

• Insults God.

• Crucifies the Son of God afresh.

• Rejects testimony of greatest men.

• Seals his doom in hell forever.

Conclusion

                We must not, in our haste to get from the greatest verse to the greatest chapter, overlook what may be the greatest concept:  “He  must increase, and I must decrease.”  He must and I must also!  Self-subordination is vital to our faith.

                A line on the drug awareness program (C12 11/30/89) said it well.  “It’s painful to take inventory of the things you’ve done wrong.  It’s painful to change.”

(1) Colson, C. (1976). Born Again. Chosen Books.

(2) Sulllivan, J. (1965). John’s Witness to Jesus. Convention Press.

(3) Hobbs, H. (1988). The Gospel of John: Invitation to Life. Convention Press.

THE WITNESS AND HIS FAITH AND CONVICTIONS

#624                                      THE WITNESS AND HIS FAITH AND CONVICTIONS                                                             

Scripture  John 1:12                                                                                                                                                  2/11/1976

Passage: “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God.”

I.             Why We Have Come to Believe as We Do.

                Because of our enduring need.  (1) Someone said, “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become sons of God”—we believe ourselves to be.  (2) What the whole world is looking for we have found: “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  (3) We came to despair in  the atonement of human worth; Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”

                Because of the working out of the great promises from God.  (1) That God can accomplish great victories through us.  Psalm 37:5 “Commit thy way unto the Lord.  Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.”  2 Timothy 1:12 “I . . .am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed unto Him.”  (2) That Jesus is the only enduring hope for people such as we. Matthew 14—Peter walked on the water until he took his eyes off Jesus.  Hebrews 12:2—"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.”

II.            What We Need to Believe. 

• The deity of Christ. (1) Divine authority—“As the  Father hath sent Me, so send I you,” John 20:21.  (2) Virgin birth, “And the virgin’s name was Mary,” Luke 1:27. (3) The personification of God, “The express image of His person,” Hebrews 1:3.
• Salvation through the blood of Christ.  We will not be disappointed if God saves some other way. (1) Old Testament prophecies: “The chastisement of our peace was upon Him,” Isaiah 53:5.  (2) New Testament identification: “Who bare our sins in His own body,” I Peter 2:24. “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood,” Revelations 1:5.
• That such salvation comes only by grace, without works. (1) “For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God,” Ephesians 2:8. (2) “Not by works of righteousness, which we have done,” Titus 3:5.
• Man’s sin nature, and his resultant lostness.  (1) Ephesians 2:3, “by nature the children of wrath.” (2) John 8:44, “Ye are of your father the devil.”  (3) Psalm 51:5, “In sin my mother conceived me.”      
• Inspiration of the Word.
• Obligation to witness.   
• Jesus’ return.    
• The Holy Spirit.

JESUS IS ALIVE

#741                                                                        JESUS IS ALIVE                                                                                               

Scripture  Matthew 28:6; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:5f; John 20:1f

                                                                                                                                                                               Date 4/13/1979

Passage:

Matthew 28:6: He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Mark 16:6:           “Don't be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.”

Luke 24:5f:          And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

John 20:1:            The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

Timeline/Series:               Easter

Introduction

                If you, as a schoolboy, remember reading Cervantes’ story “Don Quixote,” you will recall that part of the fun of the book was in his strong imagination.  He went out pretending to be a courageous knight.  He fought windmills, satisfied that they were giants.  He drove herds of sheep askew, believing them to be enemies of the kingdom.

                Good sense and timing dictate that I should be to you, what I am.  You do not need another pretender.  I will speak about that which I best know, and my conscience leads me to believe that it is what you most need.

                The gospel narrative wastes no words in dealing with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, and no more worthy subject could be claimed for this occasion.  Since we get caught up more in the crucifixion scene, I will claim the scene of resurrection for these moments.

                While all of the gospels write about a single theme, they are not simple copies of each other.  They emphasize different things out of the life of Jesus.  They single out separate events that may speak more to what they want to say.  Certain parts of the story are so important that each of these writers declares its integrity.  This is the case of the resurrection.

• Matthew 28:6: He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay
• Mark 16:6:           “Don't be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.”
• Luke 24:5f:          And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
• John 20:1:            The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

                Then there were those to whom Jesus appeared: Mary Magdalene, John 20:16; the other women, Matthew 28:9; Emmaus disciples, Luke 24:13f; Disciples Mark, Luke, John, and Thomas, John 20:26f; seven at seaside, John 21:1.

I.             This is So Important Because We Make So Much Over the Death of Jesus:  Jesus Christ, Superstar; The Late Great Planet Earth, Hal Lindsey; Jesus of Nazareth. 

                Good Friday has more appeal.  It may be for some of the same reason that  Thomas felt it necessary to touch the living Jesus before he would believe.  Without us Jesus couldn’t make it!!!?

                We’ve done our bit for poor Jesus.  More here than at the sunrise service. 

                The Turin Shroud as told in The Silent Witness.  More a case for His death than for His life.  Satisfies a human propensity for physical evidence.

II.            Of Much Greater Importance is the Reality that Christ is Alive. 

                There will always be those who want to intellectualize faith to satisfy human ideals.  1978 Act of God, Charles Templeton—a novel of the discovery of Jesus’ body and the effort of the church to hide this from the public; a few years ago, The Passover Plot; liberal theologians—Bultmann stated “A historical fact which involves a resurrection from the dead is utterly impossible.”

III.           The Early Believers did not Say that Jesus was Spiritually Alive, but that He was Resurrected from the Dead. 

                These are not all the same.  Many Jews already believed in life after death.  Jesus died, albeit horribly, for the sins of people such as we; but what is important is that death did not have power over  Him, but rather He over death.

                There are three very significant reasons why this bodily resurrection is so important.

• It establishes unquestionably, the verdict of Holy God, upon the life (obedience) of Jesus.  Acts 3:26 “Unto  you first God, having raised up His son Jesus, sent  Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.”  Romans 1:4 “And declare to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”  The disciples then and now, by the way, had to have absolute evidence that Jesus was not just another flash in the pan.
• It gave absolute credence to the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross.  Romans 8:11 “But if the spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit.”  II Peter 2:24 “Who in His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness.”  I Corinthians 15:17 “If Christ has not been raised your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins.”
• There is a third reason. It means that death is a state of being enhanced through our faith in Jesus.  Greek immortality was a state much better than cessation of being, but how much??? The resurrection proclaims that a Christ is alive, so, in Him, are we.  There is total transformation of the whole person in a new and better life.

Conclusion

                From an  unknown source*:

“I saw the conquerors riding by, With cruel lips and faces wan.

Musing of kingdoms sacked and burned, There rode the Mongol, Genghis Khan;

And Alexander like a God, Who sought to weld the world in one;

And Caesar with his laurel wreath; And like a thing from Hell, the Hun;

And leading like a star the van, Heedless of outstretched arm and groan.

Inscrutable Napoleon went, Dreaming of empire and alone.

Then all they perished from the earth As fleeting shadows from a glass,

And conquering down the centuries Came Christ the swordless on an ass.”

                Jesus came to die to live; to die for your sins and mine that we might live in Him.

                John Michener captures somewhat of the essence of faith in The Source. Zadok the righteous (Abraham) hears El-Shaddai—“As long as you live old man, you will be free to ignore my commands.  But in time I will grow impatient and will speak to others as I have spoken to Epher.”

                The call of God had been to serve Him in the city.  “My home is the desert,” Zadok said in self-justification, “and I was afraid to leave.”

                “I waited,” El-Shaddai said, “because I knew that if you did not love your home in the desert you would not love me either.  I am glad that you are now ready.”

*Harry Kemp

NO CROSS, NO CROWN

#577                                                               NO CROSS, NO CROWN

                                                                               Autobiographical

Scripture  Galatians 6:14-18 NIV                                                                                                 Orig. 3/5/1972; 5/1975

                                                                                                                                                                           Rewr. 10/31/1985

TRANSCRIBER:  Preached to a congregation “in view of a call,” a term some pastors/churches use for the period when a pastor is being considered for a position, this message is a tour of churches my father had served during, at that point, 25 years in ministry. (He preached another 25 years after that.)  It has many incomplete thoughts that he employed to trigger his memory as he spoke.  Where I could, I have filled in some of the blanks to provide more information. 

Passage: 14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which[a] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. 16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to[b] the Israel of God. 17 From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

Purpose: To share with a potential church family a realistic measure of my experience and my pastoral challenge.

Keywords:                           Pastoral                                Testimony

Introduction

                Harold Cooke Phillips, in his book Preaching with Purpose and Power, touched on where we are tonight, a church in the throes of decision.  He wrote (p279), “As Hal Luccock has written, ‘Jesus was not crucified for saying “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow,” but “Consider the thieves in the temple, how they steal.”’  It is evident that He aroused the bitter hostility and determined opposition of the social, economic, political, and religious powers of His age.  An irrelevant gospel would never have done that.  And He predicted that His followers would be brought before governors and kings for his sake (Matthew 10:18), as they were and have been.  But only a word that touched life deeply and widely could have evoked such relentless opposition.  The cross, then, is a symbol of the involvement of our faith in all that most deeply affects life.  Sir George McLeod of Iona puts it vividly: ‘I simply argue that the cross be raised again at the center of the market place, as well as on the steeple of the church.  I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two  thieves; on the town’s garbage heap, at the crossroads so cosmopolitan that they had to write His title in Hebrew and in Latin and in Greek, at the kind of place where cynics talk smut and thieves curse and soldiers gamble . . . .   That is where He died and that is what He died about.’”

                It was my purpose this morning to preach to you as typically as I can.  I did not want to suggest a preaching ministry that I could not sustain.  Neither would I have you doubt what is clearly the pastor’s primal undertaking.  Tonight, I want you to get to know me.  I am a person, foremost,  a preacher.  After [this] you need also to know the man, as well as his [experience].

I.             Pleasant Hill—Grounded on a Rock.

                I went prepared.  I had the educational merit: Strong high school/all extras; good college background—Auburn, Louisiana College; Seminary.  Vocational skills: part-time jobs; summer supplements; labor force in Baton Rouge; full-time job through seminary.  Military training—U.S. Army.

                But I quickly realized that what I needed most, these skill didn’t provide: Grasp of extended preaching; ability to counsel; administrative leadership.

                A church short on sophistication and long on love and patience with their new, young pastor. During a period of personal turmoil, mid-sermon I glanced down at the pulpit and saw for the first time the inscription “We would see Jesus.”  J.O. Fogleman, elderly former pastor of Pleasant Hill, came to me and said, “Brother Pastor, if there is anything left, I want to give that, too!”   

II.            Trinity—Doctrinal Integrity. 

                It was a church in financial disaster.  A city of 8,000 with 10 Baptist churches.  Radio ministry tucked in between Trinity Baptist Church and several other churches.  It was in the throes  of practical and moral problems.  First day and a five year old lad with a mouthful of chewing tobacco.  A young girl named after a disastrous event in World War II.

                But they did respond to love and caring.  I went back to bury one of them seventeen years later, just a month ago.  Her son called just days after my return from Memphis where I had had cancer surgery.

                Every experience was a new one. Disconcerting.  Disheartening.  Deflating.  Demanding.

                Then came a providential bombshell. My neighbor pastor had invited Bertha Smith.  Go Home and Tell—Isaiah 66:8 “As soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.”   We went to every service. I listened. I prayed and she interrupted.  God owed me nothing.  If I was His, it was without conditions. 

III.           First Baptist Church—Demands of the Spirit.

                It was clear early that it would not be easy.  On first Sunday, two deaths.  80 year old member, 10 year old child.  It was a church in the doldrums.  No financial problems; I remember thinking how nice it would be to have some.  [There are] worse problems than financial.

                The greatest need was for a strong pulpit ministry.  These were city people in a Catholic culture with a mission eight miles away in Loreauville.

                Suddenly we began to lose members.  The oil patch was surging.  I had been forewarned.  But oh, how it hurt.  Within six months, half the large pulpit committee was gone.  

                For the first time, some major personal problems.  Ann had major surgery. Frith (daughter) and Claude (father-in-law) in accident; we nearly lost her.  The Holy Spirit showed Himself alive and well.  Romans 8:16. “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”  I Corinthians 12:7 “the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.”

                Curly Romero—“How’s your church doing?”

IV.          Riverside—Ministering in Metropolis.

                Learning to set priorities.  The size of the church.  The need of my family.  Ann’s difficult years teaching.

                Learning opportunity. Full-time staff.  Community on the edge of the city that knew no community.

                Continuing to feel a need for an improved pulpit ministry.  Yet, in seven years not one class at seminary; strong relationship with professors. But many pastoral ministry seminars at Southern Baptist Hospital.

                Learning to lean  on Jesus.  Fritha spent a year at Louisiana College on the staff, then to Liberia—then a political coup and the terrible ordeal of waiting and wondering, and trusting.

                Rhonda added to our family happily upon her marriage to Rob Burns, member of Riverside family.

V.            Transylvania—Finally, a Chance to Study.

                A church with few needs to meet.  Community, homogeneity, limited horizon.

                A church with a poor self-image. These five years will enhance that image.

                Openness to involvement.  Class at NLU (Northeast Louisiana University)—gerontology.  Seminar at St. Francis/Glenwood Hospice. Enlarged work with senior adults.  Plenty  of time for myself and my wife.  Time to grow in study and sermon construction.  Even time to participate in Louisiana Baptist Convention activities—Third stint on Executive  Board, active role with state missions committee.

                Having a new door of vision and opportunity following surgery.  What does the future hold?  No guarantees!  A line from a poem came to mind “A bird with a broken pinion never flies as high again.”  It is my hope to prove otherwise! 

BELIEVING THE UNBELIEVABLE

#164                                                        BELIEVING THE UNBELIEVABLE                                                                               

Scripture  John 3:16-21 NIV                                                                                                        Orig. 3/3/1963 (2/1977)

                                                                                                                                                                             Rewr. 5/15/1988

Passage: 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Purpose: To share with my people the great discovery of new life in  Christ.

Keywords:           Belief                    Christian Life                      Salvation              Renewal              Redemption

                                Christ as Saviour

Introduction

                Well over a half century ago, H.G. Wells published his anthology “The Outline of History.”  He was a man, by the standards of many evangelicals of today, who would be perceived to have been an atheist: even more so by the standards of his own day.  Yet, his writing presents a provoking picture of Jesus.

                To Mr. Wells, Jesus was one whose closest followers and friends did not understand him.  Consider texts like:

• John 1:10  “He was in the world and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.”

• Luke 11:15 “But some of them (people) said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of devils.”

• John 13:2 “And supper being ended, the devil now having put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him.”

• John 16:32 “Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone.”

                It is so clear that what they expected was for Jesus to miraculously set himself up as king.  The Messiah they expected was to be a warrior/priest.

• John 1:49 Nathaniel:  “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the king of Israel.

                But Jesus did not perceive Rome as His principle enemy.  He saw the despotic tendency of Israel herself as His chief antagonist.

• Mark 11:15 “Jesus went into the temple and began to cast out them that sold and bought . . . He taught, saying, ‘My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer. . . .’ And the scribes and chief priests sought how they might destroy Him.”

                Thus, according to Mr. Wells, the crucifixion was nothing more than these Hebrew religious bigots attempting to rid themselves of an embarrassment and a misguided zealot, to whom the people listened.

• Luke 20:19f “And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him . . . and they watched him and sent forth spies that they might deliver him into the power and authority of . . . government.” 

                Is it so unbelievable that God would do so unseemly a thing as to provide for man’s salvation and deliverance from the burden of sin?

I.             Well, Let Me Remind You that Believing the Unbelievable Begins with a Rightful Appraisal  of Sin.  V19 “This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.”  It is our natural course to live in sin.  One of the major mandates of God’s Word is in this declaration. 

                There are purveyors of filth who accuse the Bible of being pornographic.  It is an honest portrayal of human corruption.  But it is to the end that man might be delivered from himself and his kind.  The honest presentation of sin pictures even the high and mighty.  David’s sin with Bathsheba.  How refreshing when church leaders are honest, and prayerfully entrust such honesty to their pastor.

                The Old Testament prophets spoke out with vehemence against the nation’s sin.  Isaiah 5:20f “Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil. . . . Woe to them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight.”

                And what more could warn us of man’s corruptible nature than our changing times.  Increasing numbers living out of wedlock.  Grade school children in increasing numbers involved in drug and alcohol traffic.  I recently read the sad commentary that 75% of all college students admittedly cheat on exams.  It is reported that 15-20 million sex magazines are sold monthly.  I read several years ago that 51% of all of the world’s divorces are in the USA.

II.            If One Is to Believe the Unbelievable We Must also Consider the Nature of God.  V16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

                The nature of God is as revealed in Christ.   Recent Sunday evening message on the incarnation (#130)  adoption, kenosis (that Jesus emptied himself of His own desires), docetism (that Jesus only appeared to be human). 

                No matter how powerful, or technically correct our words, we can’t do justice. 

                Jesus and the Samaritan woman, John 4—Other Jewish men were abusive; Samaritan men treated her like the prostitute she was, their wives treated her worse.  Jesus treats her as a person deserving His time and His kindness.

                The story of the adulterous woman, John 8—The men in the story brought her not to try her, but to try Jesus.  Jesus quickly turned their pride back on their own heads:  “Let the one without sin cast the first stone.”  He set her free, urging her to “sin  no more.”  He convicted them that God knew their sin also.

                His purpose though these stories and so many others is helping us experience what God is really like.  Jesus told the parable of the vineyard (Mark 12).  Leased to tenants, a servant went to collect for the owner.  He was beaten. Another injured critically.  Another killed.  Others were sent.  Finally, in one unbelievable move to reconcile, he sent  his son.  He was killed.  “What do you suppose the owner will do?” Only one answer.  It is obvious.  But Jesus told them they were wrong.  They don’t know God.  V10 “The stone which the builders rejected became the head of the corner.”  Not revenge, but reconciliation through restitution.

                The nature of God demands the response of personal faith.  Our own nature contradicts this.  Thus, we must break with our nature if we are to honor God’s nature.  L.E. Maxwell,(1) Born Crucified, p51: “Self dies hard.  In final captivity and awareness to the “carcass” of self we are brought to cry out, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

                It is believing the unbelievable.

“A Christless cross no refuge were for me;

A crossless Christ my Saviour could not be.

But, O CHRIST CRUCIFIED, I rest in Thee.”  (B85p51)

III.           Thus, Believing the Unbelievable, We Come to Terms with the Nature of Redemption.     V21, “He that doeth truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”  Living Bible  “Those doing right come gladly to the light.”

                For redemption to begin at all, it must begin with God.  We see the gist of this in creation.  Genesis 1:27 “And God created man in His own image.”  We see the finality of it in reconciliation.  Colossians 1:21 “You, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works yet now hath He reconciled.”

                And that redemption is made manifest on the cross.  I Peter 1:18f “. . . ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold . . . but with the precious blood of Christ.”  How can one excuse himself for disdaining such unbelievable love?  How can a Christian withhold our fullest commitment and service in the face of such expectation?

Conclusion (Swindoll, p 103)

                The world is full of contradictions.  We show ourselves wise, not by speech but silence.  Society is not based on more rules, stricter laws, but greater trust.  Those who give from the heart have much more than those who keep by stealth.  Believe the unbelievable.

(1) Maxwell, L.E. (1945). Born Crucified. Moody Press.

FOR THUS LOVED GOD

#117                                                                FOR THUS LOVED GOD                                                                                      

Scripture  John 3:16-19 NIV                                                                                                                      Orig. 11/22/1989

Passage: ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

Purpose:  Continuing a series from John, here declaring the manner of God’s love as revealed through Christ

Keywords:           Love of God                        Bible Study         Sin          Christ Redeemer              Love

Timeline/Series:               John     

Introduction

                It is hard to believe that the Houston astrodome has been in place for a quarter of a century.  Twenty-four years ago this month, Billy Graham preached the first evangelistic crusade in that 8^th wonder of the world.  He stood before a full house to preach the first sermon ever preached in a completely enclosed sports complex.  Somewhere around 50,000 people heard him.  Governor Connally of Texas was there.  Mayor Welch sat on the platform with other dignitaries.  Many prominent citizens of Houston and Texas were in that crowd of interested, or curious, people.

                Dr. Graham noted the importance of the occasion.  He summed it up succinctly when he said in his opening remarks:

                “I want to speak tonight as if this were the last sermon I will ever preach.  I want you to listen as though this were the last sermon you will ever hear, and well it might be.  None of us knows what a day may bring forth.”

                Then Mr. Graham told that assembled congregation that he was not there to entertain them.  He would not be bringing the latest words of the psychiatrist, or sociologist, or report of governmental officials.  And again, I quote, “I am here to open this Bible and tell you what God has to say about our daily life, our daily problems, and all the tremendous decisions we have to make in our complex society.”  With that, the evangelist opened his Bible, invited them to open theirs, and follow as he read John 3:16.

                The last sermon that I will ever preach, or that you will ever hear?  Probably not! But the test demands that we give it our fullest attention.

I.             “For Thus God Loves” Teaches Us the Origin of Love.  “For God so loved.”  The background, you remember, is Jesus in communion with a man named Nicodemus.  He was a religious man.  He was a righteous man; recall the lesson about the righteous king Josiah in 2 Kings 22.  He was an important man.

                But he was a disturbed man.  The teachings of Jesus had forewarned him of God’s expectations.  This interview leaves him in jeopardy of soul.  “You must be born again.”  V12 “I have spoken of earthly things . . . you have not believed.  When I speak of  heavenly things you cannot believe.”

                More, he was a man to whom Jesus revealed Himself: He who was talking to Nicodemus.  He is from God, is in Oneness with God.  He will return to this Union from which He has come:  Man sends no delegation ferreting out God’s true feelings; God reveals the apex of His love.

                The love that is described here is absolute and it is infinite.  It is the aorist tense.  It was perceived in eternity  past.  It was rendered in the only way that man in his finiteness could understand.  But God stayed with the original plan until it could be fulfilled.

                The One before Nicodemus  was that plan.  “Abraham rejoiced to see my day,” Joshua 8:56.  In Isaiah 6, Isaiah spoke of Jesus.  In John 12:41: “Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory, and spoke about him.”  In Daniel 3:25, Nebuchadnezzar said “I see four . . . and the fourth is like unto the Son of God.” 

                It should not surprise us to see Him suddenly come to light in Jerusalem. It should not startle anyone that His work continues.  God’s love is past, it is present, it is future.  Love is, because God is.  There is no other source.  Love in the context of sexual reproduction is not the same as brute passion.

II.            “For Thus God Loves” Teaches Us the Opportunity of Love. “For God so loved the world.”  The extent of that love is beyond reproach.  This text is thought by many to be the most important in the Bible.  It is called the “gospel in the gospel.”  Graham uses it “as if this were the last sermon” he would preach.

                The subject of this text is the love God has for the world.  V14 is a reference to the serpent on the pole, a parable of their guilt and their potential to faith.  Thus, Christ would be expressive of guilt and faith forever, for all.  John 3:14, “As Moses lifted up the serpent, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.”  It can be seen from  any point in the camp.  With eyes of faith, the cross can be seen from anywhere.  No place so filled with evil that God’s love cannot validate.  No person so reeking with sin that he cannot gain forgiveness.

                Someone explains this verse with terms of greatness.  It tells of

• The greatest person—God.
• The greatest feeling—love.
• The greatest mass—world.
• The greatest sacrifice—gave.
• The greatest gift—God’s son.
• The greatest invitation—whosoever.
• The greatest condition—believe.
• The greatest forgiveness—not perish.
• The greatest promise—eternal life.

                The extent of this opportunity can only be seen in its measure.  “That He gave His only begotten Son.”  He is the monogene.  In one sense, we are all the children of God.  Donald Grey Barnhouse (C25p53) said that Jesus is “the only one of His kind.”

• Unique in His origin
• Unique in His birth (without father)
• Unique in His being (Pilate: “I find no fault in Him”)
• Unique in His teaching (I am truth)
• Unique in His work
• Unique in His death

III.           “For Thus God Loves” Teaches Us the Order of Love.  “For God so loved the world that He gave.”  The essence of religion is stirred up by the reminder that to love is to give.

                This is not a stewardship sermon.  The last, and least important factor in giving, is of our material goods.  II  Corinthians 8:1f Macedonians out of “deep poverty abounded not the riches of their liberality . . . but first gave their own selves to the Lord.”  And the first example of sacrificial giving is occasioned at the cross.

                Though Jesus is Himself the Gift, He perceives the mind of God.  Not only does He agree to this, He offers Himself gladly.  Ephesians 5:2 “Christ also hath . . . given himself as an offering.” 

                His agreement is in the order of love. 

                Phileo—tender affection, see John 5:20.  

                Agapao—sacrificial love—John 3:35.  For the world: here.  Aorist—indicates no new thing.

                Murphey Terry tells about the Buddhist monks in Laos who requested help in study of scripture.  God across Mekong.  We know He’s there.  We don’t swim. No boat.  No bridge.  You see Jesus’ willingness is in knowing that He is the bridge. 

                If we, as Christians, perceive any other thing as of equal importance we have missed the heart of the gospel.  It speaks in relation to belief: Belief not limited to time, place; Belief that God is committed to; Belief that must yield personal response.

Conclusion

                Dr. Clyde Dodson spoke to the Foreign Mission Board some time ago and told of his arrival in Rhodesia as a missionary.  He found a people who had no Bible in their own language.  Impressed of the Lord to do so, he spent 38 years translating the scripture.  He told the story of those years of agonizing study.   Every Hebrew and Greek word was checked again and again.  He typed the whole Bible, every word, five times.  Dr. Dodson gave a copy of that Bible to Dr. Cauthen, President of the Foreign Mission Board, and then he quoted John 3:16, greatest verse.

                “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

WHERE THE WIND BLOWS

#859                                                            WHERE THE WIND BLOWS                                                                                   

Scripture  John 3:1-15 NIV                                                                                                                                    11/15/1989

Passage: Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

³ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.^[a]”

⁴ “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit^[b] gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You^[c] must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”^[d]

⁹ “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰ “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ¹¹ Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹² I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.^[e] 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,^[f] 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”^[g]

Purpose: Continuing a series from John’s Gospel, here describing the action of the Holy Spirit in personalizing the experience of the new birth.  

Keywords:           Bible Study         New Birth            Christ as Saviour               Holy Spirit

Timeline/Series:               Gospel of John

Introduction

                One thing was clear from the start, the limit past which this message could not go.  Clearly, a message from 3:16 must grace such a series, therefore I could go no further than verse 15.  But, even at that, there is so much to cover.  There is the man, Nicodemus, the impact of the Holy Spirit on the proceedings, the requirement of an  experience called the “new birth,” and lastly, a means toward that end likening it to an Old Testament event when a brass serpent, placed on a pole and elevated before the Hebrew people (Numbers 21) brought deliverance from danger.

                There is, for all that, but a solitary subject here. Jesus encounters a Hebrew religious leader genuinely concerned about the kingdom of God.  Jesus deals with the subject of the new birth as the need of every person.  F.B. Meyer advises us as to the seriousness of this contention.

                “When Christ says must, it is time to wake up.  He is so gentle, winsome, tender.  He is always persuading, inviting, entreating. He so seldom uses the imperative mood.  When, therefore, He speaks thus it becomes us to inquire into the matter on which He insists so earnestly.”

                While we are today seeking to fathom the physical birth, Jesus declares as of greatest importance, the spiritual birth.  We are making our opinions known about abortion, defining ourselves as either pro-life, or pro-choice, we take our stand.  And scientists are attacking the presidential position that disallows the use of the tissue of aborted babies for federally financed research.  But you, and I, and they, and he and she, MUST BE BORN AGAIN.

I.             The Blowing Wind Begins with a Compliment.  V2 “Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.”

                A linking word:  The compliment comes from one named Nicodemus, “a ruler of the Jews,”  a Pharisee, probably of the Sanhedrin; committed to scrupulous observance of Old Testament law (v10); he will be referred to as “teacher.”  John ended chapter 2 with an insightful word about Jesus.  “He knew what was in man.”  Suddenly, one appears, known to Jesus.

                We must speculate as to his reasons for coming to Jesus.  John 1:19, “The Jews sent priests and Levites from Jeremiah to ask ‘who art thou?’”  He comes representing them, or on his own for certification; or, because he wanted to hear for himself.

                This is not a man with a noxious spirit.  This man is a seeker, and Jesus is whom he is seeking.  Are you one of those sad people who will learn only from those who know YOU know, and hence learn nothing?

                His reasons for coming “by night” are likewise constructive.  Rabbis taught best study at night.  Could have been arranged by Jesus; didn’t want this time to be hassled. 

                I know none closer to the kingdom than those who hold Jesus in high esteem.

II.            The Blowing Wind Next Comes in the Form of a Command.  V3 “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

                The clamor for human rights is the voice of the throng today.  It failed in Tiananmen Square last summer.  But the signs of success grace the world: Hungary, Poland assert their rights; ethnic tribes of people under Communism are speaking out; the Wall has come tumbling down; Li Phong (Chinese patriot) this week received the RFK Human Rights Award.

                When you celebrate Thanksgiving Thursday, will a grateful heart grace your home?

                In this statement of Jesus to Nicodemus is expressed the greatest of human rights: that God, in Christ, has come to save.  But it is not our right to choose the means of that salvation.  Unless one come to God as God decrees, he shall not come at all.  Jesus attests to man’s re-birth. Nicodemus is confused: re-born from beginning; or, a second time; or, from above. 

                His presence here asserts that being born a Jew was not enough.  Remember Paul’s attestation in Philippians 3:4f “a Hebrew [born] of Hebrews . . . (Philippians 3:7) what  things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.”  John described this (Matthew 3:9) of the religious “generation of vipers” saying “we have Abraham to our father.”

                Jesus does us all the kindness here to make it plain that a new birth is required.  It is not church membership, or Nicodemus would not be here.  It is  not moral excellence, or Nicodemus would not be here.  It is not birth fortune, or Nicodemus would not be here.  It is not religious heritage, or Nicodemus would not be here.  It is a sinner, by any name, facing up to his sin, and passionately turning to God to erase the guilt of  his burden.

III.           Now, the Blowing Wind Surges Forth with a Comparison.  V6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit.” Nicodemus’ mistake has been an inability to separate who and what he is.  Up to now, being a Jew covered both.  What he heard of and from Jesus unsettled all of that.  It should as well be unsettling to all of us.  V7 “Ye must be born again.”

                Jesus shows us that in the comparison, the salvation birth is a non-fleshly one. 

• It is of the Holy Spirit. V8 “The wind bloweth where it listeth.” 
• It is required.  V7 “Ye must.”
• It is of human volition. V15 “whosoever believeth in Him.”
• It is a miracle of God.  V8 “so is everyone born of the Spirit.”  Blowing wind cannot be prearranged.  It is fraught with danger, unpredictable.  Invisible itself, its impact is seen. 
• It is of sovereign will. 
• Its passing clears away litter.  James Stewart: “When the winds of the Spirit begin to blow, they may blow up some trash, but we must remember, the wind is not the trash, and the trash is not the wind.”
• It declares its presence by familial manifestations.  With physical birth there are genetic characteristics.  Even so with spiritual birth.  Rev. E.V. Hill, civil rights leader and pastor of Mount Zion Missionary Baptist in Los Angeles, “We are not brothers [if] we do not have the same Father.”

IV.          The Blowing Wind Concludes with Compassion.  V14f “. . . so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

                Jesus describes this as an arrangement of God.  Man, by his will, could never have reached God.  God has reached down to us.  V13 “He came down from heaven.”

                Jesus pictures himself as God in the flesh.  He shows Himself alive with Nicodemus.  He declares Himself to be in eternity. 

                The illustration used is an Old Testament event.  Numbers 21:8,9 tells the story of the murmurings of Israel, of self-affliction.  The antidote fit the offense; a bronze serpent raised before the people.  All they had to do was lift the level of their vision to the antidote. V14 “So must the Son of man be lifted.”  Our murmurings of sin have afflicted us with death, but when the vision is lifted to the cross, there is forgiveness. In Jesus, the old life becomes new.  In Jesus, God’s mercy heals ravages.  In Jesus, grace transforms death to life.

                Isaiah 45:22 “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God.”

MY FATHER’S HOUSE

#609                                                                 MY FATHER’S HOUSE                                                                                        

Scripture  John 2:13-25, NIV                                                                                                                     Orig. 10/20/1989

Passage: ¹³ When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. ¹⁵ So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” ¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”^{[a] 18} The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” ¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

²⁰ They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” ²¹ But the temple he had spoken of was his body. ²² After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

²³ Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.^[b] 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. ²⁵ He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.

Purpose: Leading a sermon from John’s gospel here pointing out variances in understanding relative to worship

Keywords:           Christ as Teacher                              Worship              

Timeline/Series:               John, Series

Introduction

                It is relatively easy to form opinions in regard to worship.  We know what it takes to formulate the worship experience.  We know that preaching is involved, and music.  We share in spoken prayers, and a minimal measure of ritual.  We accept a certain amount of form in the order of service (i.e. the morning offering is scheduled before the choir anthem.)  When the service is over, we leave with a sense of emptiness or of fullness as to the way we think things have gone.

                The sermon may have been second rate.  There may have been problems with the music.  The praying may have been too long or too short.  There may have been some distraction or the other with the flow of the service.  We go home disgruntled because some external circumstance denied us the real worship experience.  We blame someone or something for the failure.

                Does my spirit of worship wait upon what others do?  Or is it a quietly personal matter, affected by nothing outside of myself?  My dictionary defines worship “An act or feeling of adoration or homage.”  The Bible seems to agree with  this.   

“God is spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23

“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”  Ephesians 5:19           

                That tends to leave out other factors than ourselves.  Worship is from within, determined in its entirety by our own attitude.

I.             Jesus Does Describe the Temple of Worship.  V15 “He drove them all out of the temple . . . and said unto them . . . ‘take these things hence and make not my house a house of merchandise.’”

                It emphasizes commitment over convenience.  Accessibility has a way of rationalizing need.  Other things are more demanding.  Other things are more pleasure-prone.  Compromise lessens requirements.  Jews compromise requirements of law.  A) “without”  B) 2 dozen verses.  We compromise, not the requirement of Law, but the expectation of grace.  Why do you worship the way you do?  Is it rationalizing of convenience? Or the realizing of commitment?

                It emphasizes self-sacrifice instead of self-seeking.  As their spiritual awareness deteriorated, they sought short-cuts to form. They wanted to spend less time.  They insisted upon fewer demands upon themselves.  A market for sacrificial animals in the temple enclosure was a god-send.

                Remember how it went in the old days?  Sermons went on and on, sometimes there was more than one.  Sunday School changed it some, then BYPU was added, and evening service.  We chose TV over Church Time.  Decided in favor of Turner Broadcasting over the local church.  The good thing about tv preaching is we can end it to suit us.

                How much real self-sacrifice is there when you come to church on Sunday a.m.?

                The third thing suggested by Jesus here is the emphasis on inclusion rather than exclusion.  The temple area was the Jews’ Holy Place.  Jewish men only involved in temple exercises.  But there were courts (women, gentile) within the enclosure.  The Court of Gentiles was the area being used as a market.

                God’s original intent for Israel was to these people.  Exodus 19:4f “. . . all the earth is mine and you shall  be a kingdom of priests.”  Isaiah 42:6 “I the Lord . . . will . . . give thee for a covenant of the people for a light of the gentiles.”

                The intent of the Holy  Spirit of God wherever we find it is to bring a needy world to God.  I was interested in the article last week defining the Westminster congregation.  “The main purpose is inclusion rather than exclusion.”—Craig Henry.

                And Jesus appeals for relationship over ritual.  Ritual is not ruled out here.  The practice of religious organization without relationship to God is an abomination.  Many of the ills that have beset a dissolute society over the centuries  has been in the name of a godless religion.

II.            Jesus Goes One Step Further to Describe the Temple of His Own Body.  V19 “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”  If your Bible is red-lettered you will note there are thirteen verses here.  In only two does Christ speak: To describe the temple of worship and to describe the temple of His body, which, by the way, defines the nature of your body also.  I Corinthians 6:19: “What! Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in  you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” 

                The Jews raise the question by asking Jesus what His authority is.  By what sign?  It’s the same word John uses to describe Jesus’ works. (2:11)  They want to know what His authority is.  He defines it in terms  of resurrection.  They presumed His allusion was to the temple for it stood in God’s place.  It had taken 46 years to build, how could He replace it in 3 days?  If you understand it,  you do so from a favored advantage.  “When He was risen (v 22) His disciples remembered.”

                We need to be aware that there are two words for temple, both used here.  Jesus: naos (Holy of Holies, sacred center); Jews: hieron (entirety). V 15. They stood in the place defying God’s presence with them, but could not recognize the divine Word Himself.  We come to church because it marks God’s place in our lives.  We understand as little of His real presence as Jews, disciples.  We exit the place content to leave God where He was not found.

                The important lesson relates to this understanding  of Jesus, and of ourselves.  II Corinthians 6:16 “. . . for ye are the temple of the living God; . . . (I) will be a Father to you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters.”  Do you leave this place each Sunday with that sense of WHO  you are?  You can’t know that answer until you know WHO HE IS.  If you leave empty, it may be because you came to leave empty?  You blame it on what the preacher or Sunday School teacher said.  Or didn’t say.  Or the way it was said. 

                Or, bless God, you came to experience God’s presence, and, praise His name, every word spoken here touched a vital chord in your soul.  In the temple, His temple addressed your temple, and you are the better for it.  You make it a regular part of  your life because you need it.  Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night.  Revival speakers.  Because I have friends, relatives, neighbors who are lost.  Because I want to learn commitment over  convenience, self-sacrifice over self-seeking, inclusion rather than exclusion, and relationship over ritual.

Conclusion

                F.B. Meyer said it well: “Jesus spoke of the TEMPLE of His Body and if He was so zealous for His FATHER'S HOUSE that He drove out the unholy traffickers, and refused to allow a vessel to be carried through the courts, should we not be equally careful, we who are His FATHER'S HOUSE? We are the custodians of the DIVINE RESIDENCE, so let us be very careful that there be nothing to offend or trouble the Celestial Guest." 

                Long ago, England had a great, good Queen by the name of Victoria.  The royal chaplain was preaching on duty on the “Coming of Jesus.”  Those present saw their earthly Sovereign moved that day as they had never seen her before.  Later the Chaplain asked this gracious Christian lady what in particular had moved her.  She answered, “Because the Lord of Lords is coming, and I wish I could be here when Jesus comes, so that I might remove my crown and lay it at His feet.”

BEHOLD THE LAMB

#227a                                                                 BEHOLD THE LAMB                                                                                          

Scripture  John 1:29-34                                                                                                                                 Orig. 10/4/1989

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: Continuing a series from John’s Gospel, here declaring the Lamb, and the disordered world that needs His stability.

Keywords:            Christ as Saviour                              Salvation

Timeline/Series:               John Series                         Bible Study

Introduction

                In the years of our lives, we have watched our world become fatally, almost hopelessly entangled against itself.  Our world is more conscious of individual human rights than any world ever to exist.  But this world of ours is not a safer world.  The creation of such rights, born singularly of the gospel of Jesus, has usurped the “oughts" of our moral dilemma.

                We are reminded how far apart the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights is from our own Declaration of Independence. (B74p118).  Carl Henry reminds us that the UN Declaration is preoccupied with human rights, and neglects an emphasis on human responsibilities.  It has no voice, and apparently no stomach, for a divine source and a divine sanction of man’s freedom in society.  The Declaration of Independence, however, proclaims human equality, declaring all “created equal.”  But it takes a hallowed step further.  It reminds us that we are “endowed by our creator” with those “inalienable rights.” 

                If you care to know what makes the difference in these two documents,  you will find the answer opposite the line  on the Order of Service that says “sermon.”  “Behold the Lamb!!”

                The early church was aflame with a passion for Jesus.  We know today what the church ought to be because they are our role model.  The church of the 16th and 17th centuries, out of which American democracy was born, was also aflame with this passion for the Lamb.  What message are you leaving, are we leaving for the generations of the unborn?  Are you part of the problem, or part of the solution?

                “Behold the Lamb!”

I.             A View of the Voice.  V29 “John saith, . . . Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”  John 12:21 “We would see Jesus” read the inscription at a former pastorate.  Even the most casual view of these six verses must take John into account.  It was he who declared himself to be the voice.  It was he who down-played himself so that the Master would be magnified.  John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”  It was he who would view all men as in sin, and in need of the gospel.  It was he who saw Jesus as the timeless One. John 1:30 “Preferred before me, for He was before me.”  It was he who would give no man a preferential place with God.  The Jew would be treated exactly as the Gentile in matters of the Spirit.

                It is this man, John the Baptist, that John the Apostle describes as the true messenger.  The fact that he was a kinsman of Jesus does not enter into this at all.  V31 “I knew Him not.”  Perhaps they were strangers.  Perhaps separated since childhood.  Perhaps in the heat of spirit-control Jesus was unrecognized. 

                But now, the messenger must come to grips with his message.  The  Holy Spirit points Him out.  V33.  The message already preached requiring personal response is related to the Lamb.  A formidable picture.  Some tests suggest John could see sheepmen taking lambs to be used in sacrifice.  2:13, the Passover is at hand.

                He now, seeing Jesus for himself, calls on others to see Him.  “Behold the Lamb of God.”  Remember Simeon, “My eyes have seen your salvation.”  Uniquely, the sacrifice.  “Lamb” refers to provisioning.  And His sacrifice relates to man’s sin as no other can.

                Going beyond our text, we see John lead his own disciples to Jesus.  He won them to himself.  With approbation, he points them to Jesus. See 35-37.  “Behold!” v36.  Remember Paul’s admonition to the church at Corinth.  2 Corinthians 4:5. “We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord.”

II.            A View of the Void.  “Behold the Lamb . . . which taketh away the sin of the world.”  The void is the present generation.  Ours is a day of internal discord.  There is more to do with than ever before. V23 Wilderness.  We have  more time than any other people.  But there is minimal concern for the lostness of humanity.

                The media hypes the void for its entertainment value.  There is the void of homelessness.  The void of aging in America.  The void brought on by a bludgeoning drug war:  Many are haters of drug traffickers; their refrigerators are never empty of booze.  The void of sexual license that is opting for the murder of babies which ultimately becomes abuse of survivors.

                Has it not occurred to you that our present distress is directly attributable to the compromise of religious values?  The lack of faith is becoming a vocal unfaith.  In response to this polarizing unfaith is a militant Christian action concept.  Other non-Christian religions are more determined than ever for their voices to be heard.  Religious wars are presently underway in Lebanon, Afghanistan, Northern Ireland.  Communism’s “openness” approach may be a wait-and-see attitude for these present crises (drugs, sex) to overwhelm us.

III.           Finally, and I Use the Word with Great Deliberation, a View of the Victim.  V34 “And I saw, and bear record, that this is the Son of God.”  In this expressive chapter are eleven names by which He is called

• Word, v1

• Life, v4

• Light, v7

• The only begotten of the Father, v14

• Jesus Christ, v17

• Lamb of God, v29

• Son of God, v34

• Master, v38

• Messiah, v41

• Jesus of Nazareth, v45

• King of Israel, v49

He added one more, his own favorite designation of himself, Son of Man, v51.  A term used significantly by Daniel. 7:1 a man, but of heavenly cast.  A man identified with God’s people.

                Put aside all other names to concentrate  on Jesus, the Lamb: victim. 

                Victim in that this is the sinless Jesus:  The Jews brought lambs “without blemish.”  The greatness of man’s sin called for the greatest of sacrifice.  God’s integrity is such that sin must be dealt as is due.  Hebrews 10:12 “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.”

                Victim in that He has come to redeem.  “. . . the lamb of God that taketh away sin.” Years ago, Rhonda spilled oatmeal she couldn’t put back.  Kevin accidentally destroyed tomatoes and they couldn’t be fixed.  A teenager provided drugs that cost his brother’s life.  A Costa Rican farmer used slash and burn attack on  his rain forest: within two years erosion made it unusable.  Whether we think of wrongs as sin or indiscretion, we can’t fix them.

                Victim in that from His death comes my life, your life.  “The lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.”  John advises his own two disciples to “behold” the son V35, 36.  They hear the Word after they have heard the voice v37a.  They come to personal belief v37b.  (John’s assurance doesn’t count.)  They become followers of Jesus v39.  “They abode with him.”  (Greek meno persevere, steadfast)

Conclusion

What of the night, O watchman? Turn to the East thine eyes;

And say is there any token of the dawning in the skies?   

Or do the shadows linger, the lips, are they sad and dumb

With never a word of gladness that the tarrying morn is come?

Then answered the patient watchman from the mountain’s lonely height,

To the waiting souls in the valley, I can see the breaking light!

There’s a glow on the far horizon that is growing more wide and clear;

And soon shall the sun be flinging His splendours both far and near!

What of the night, O Watchman?  Rises to Thee our cry.

Prophet divine of Nazareth, make to our hearts reply.

Over the earth’s wild warfare comes not a time more fair?

Swords into ploughshares beaten? Peace reigning everywhere?

Wait, saith the heavenly Watchman; let not the spirit quail.

Strife shall not be eternal; harmony shall prevail.

Battle-clouds all shall scatter; hatred shall be outcast.

Love’s ever-broadening glory break o’er the world at last!

                                                                                                                                                                        Quoted by J Sidlow Baxter

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 10^th Nisan the lamb was acquired, kept with family  until the day of the 14^th.  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 14^th 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!