MATCHLESS MARY
#207 MATCHLESS MARY
Scripture Luke 1:26-33, 2:41-58; John 19:25-28 NIV Orig. Date 12-24-1961
Rewr. Dates 12-1975; 9-16-1990
Passage: Luke 1:26-33 The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
Luke 2:41-48 The Boy Jesus at the Temple
41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
John 19:25-28
25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman,[a] here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
The Death of Jesus
28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”
Purpose: Continuing a Sunday evening series on New Testament characters, here describing the mother of Jesus.
Keywords: Biography of Mary Devotion Christ as Saviour
Timeline/Series: New Testament characters
Introduction
Back in 1981 we witnessed by means of television, the wedding of Charles and Diana. Thirty-four years prior to that (1947), some of us, through the medium of news reels at the picture show saw similar ceremony when Charles’ father and mother were wed. It was a remarkable time for England.
Not only were the British people in a festive mood, dignitaries from around the world were on the scene. Among these important people were representatives of royal families. One monarch present was King Faisal II. Back when Iraq ad a king, he was then the twelve-year-old sovereign.
The processional was underway. People lined the street from the palace to Westminster Abbey. King Faisal was one of those looking on. Though dressed the part, and attendants were at his side, few knew who he was. His interest was not in the nuptial couple, but in the horses pulling their carriage. As the carriage approached, he stepped through the line of policemen to see better. Doing so, one of the policemen grabbed bodily for the young king and thrust him back into the crowd.
How do you apologize for the abusive treatment of royalty? The English people were stunned. Newspapers for days carried accounts, and efforts to make amends not only to young Faisal, but to the Iraqi people as well. What they were attempting to say was, “King Faisal, we didn’t know who you were!”
It puts us in mind of another apology. That which rings out so clearly in the old spiritual, “Sweet little holy child, we didn’t know who you was.” Do you wonder how Mary knew?
I. The First Consideration is of the benefit of Maidenhood. Luke 1:38 “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”
She is clearly a young woman of virtue and self-esteem. She was already spoken for in marriage. Joseph had claimed her in contract that only infidelity could break. Oliver First: “When a girl ceases to blush, she has lost the most powerful charm of her beauty.” Not only the maids, but the men also planned for the eventuality of marriage.
In addition, the angel had spoken to her. The angelic message must have been received with wonder and question. How would Joseph respond to the question of a baby? She surely must have suspected the response of the community. Why she went to Elizabeth’s.
In addition to this self-worth, she was apparently known for her faith/allegiance. She lived in open acknowledgement of God’s unique plan for her life. Make no mistake, God chose the best there was. Our study of Balaam didn’t suggest he must have been the best at that time. How much she knew of that plan? Her baby the “son of God,” but then, aren’t we all in one way?
Were thoughts conjured up of the Jewish Messiah? Did she understand that her baby would have no human father? The consummation of her marriage to Joseph was only weeks away. She understood the need, now, as never before, of obedience. A word is needed relative to virgin birth. Some well-meaning people reject. Jesus was God’s son (monogena), not because of Mary, but by the Holy Spirit. Tracing genealogy to Joseph is for convenience only. (Matthew 1:16 and Luke 3:23).
It is the submission of Mary that establishes choice. Luke 1:38 “Be it unto me according to thy word.” There would be other, normatively born, but this is not one of them. “Firstborn” Matthew 1:25/13:55.
II. Our Next Consideration is of the Burden of Motherhood. Luke 2:35 “Yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
Though [he was] the son of God, Mary is not spared any of the agony of childbirth. I heard a medical critique that women experience more pain in childbirth than men experience in a lifetime. Probably the most important person at a birthing is the grandmother. I have been in the waiting room at many of these. My own and my daughter’s. With fathers joyous at prospect. In the city hospitals, I’ve seen them who grumbled through it.
She would be the major factor in childrearing. At some point, she had to carry on as a single parent. She gave birth to six other children. Mark 6:3 “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joseph, and Judas, and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us? Parenting is always difficult, made especially so by the uniqueness of the child. Imperfect parents—perfect child. God, in the flesh.
Susanna Wesley, mother of John, spent an hour every day praying for her children. She took each child aside for one hour each week for the purpose of discussing spiritual matters. Oh, yes, it is important that you know that there were seventeen of them. John, and his brother Charles, would be figureheads of protestant religion in America during the 18th Century. She was known by the people around her. Not as the mother of God, but as a woman trying to do right.
III. Finally, We Must Consider the Blessing of the Mediator. John 19:26f “And he sayeth to his mother, woman, behold thy son. Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy Mother.”
The great heart of Jesus reaches out to Mary in a special way, and that John did not burden the gospel with tidbits re: childhood and youth of Jesus! We know His special affection for John. For practical spiritual reasons, Jesus chooses for His mother to be in John’s care. This may be in part for John.
The consideration given her is in keeping with the degree of her own faith. Obedience was the cardinal virtue. She expresses her faith in submissiveness. Luke 1:45 Elizabeth to Mary: “You believed that God would do what He said; that’s why He has given you this wonderful blessing.” She bore God’s own son. John 1:4 “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not.”
Understand one final word. Mary needed Jesus as her own redeemer. At the last He no longer calls her “mother.” “Woman, behold thy son.” She, like the rest of us, stands empty before God. I Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ.”
Conclusion
Not knowing who He was should no longer be our excuse. The evidence is clear enough for one who seeks it out. H.D.M. Spence’s poem tells a different story.
“They opened their treasures, the wise men old,
And prostrate they fell on the ground;
Exultant in spirit, they worshipped the Lord,
For Jesus, the Saviour, they’d found!
The treasure of heaven in Bethlehem lay,
Incarnate was God from above;
No wonder their treasures they opened to Him—
Their feeble expressions of love!
We may not have treasures of glory or gold,
Nor perfume to pour out at His feet;
Though if we but knew the true worth of the Christ,
We’d give Him our homage complete.”
CRUCIFIED TO DEATH
#485 CRUCIFIED TO DEATH
Scripture John 19:13-22 Orig. Date 4/14/1968
Rewr. Dates 3/14/1991
Passage: 13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. 15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.
16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews. 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
Purpose: In a series on Christ’s nature for Easter, point to His death as an essential criterion.
Keywords: Christ/Death Easter Crucifixion
Timeline/Series: Nature of Christ
Introduction
Dr. James Stewart, noted New Testament scholar, writes of the resurrection of Jesus, “Not one line of the New Testament was written . . . not one sentence, whether of Gospels, Epistles, Acts, or Apocalypse, was penned apart from the conviction that He of whom these things were being written had conquered death and was alive forevermore.”
For the present, however, we must deal with, not His resurrection, but His death. Easter cannot reach us at all if we do not pass through the burdensome stage of crucifixion and death.
Death, of course, touches all of us. We want to make light of it as often as we can. I read about a West Texas rancher who went to his local undertaker to make arrangement for his burial when the time came. “I want to be buried in my trusty old pick-up truck,” he said. Well, the funeral director saw the difficulties and tried to talk him out of such a notion. “It’s like this,” said the rancher, “I ain’t never seen a hole that truck couldn’t get me out of.”
Then I read about the Louisville, KY, woman whose husband was a retired electrician. The local priest made arrangements for him to repair an electrical shortage in one of the confessionals. He would have to crawl across the rafters in the highest and least protected part of the church. She decided to be on hand if anything went wrong. She was sitting in a pew below the work space. Congregants entered the back part of the building for a special mass. Unaware of the presence of the other people, and concerned because she was hearing no sound, she called out, “Sam, Sam, . . . are you up there? Did you make it okay?” [The people in the mass] hear a voice answer back, “I am doing fine, Christine. Stop worrying!”
I. First, Consider the Covenant and the Cross. V19 “And Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was, Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews.
Pilate, an enemy of the covenant, calls Jesus King. I remind you, it was not done in faith. This was a man of evasive action. Don’t do anything if you can help it. The Jews: “Take Him yourselves.” Herod’s jurisdiction: sent Him back.
Pilate: “I find no fault.” But then he would beat Him, a faultless man. Then he brought up Barabbas. Did Pilate really think the Jews would fall for that? Vengeance, not justice. Finally, Pilate tries to blame others for his own irresponsibility. “I am innocent of the blood of this just man.”
Such people are all around us. Pretending that they are beyond the claims of the gospel. Blaming others for their own sins.
Interestingly, the people of the covenant disclaim His sovereignty. John 19:13 “he maketh himself . . . king.” Mark 15:15f “purple, . . . crown of thorns, . . . Hail king.”
But it was his message to which they objected. Matthew 3:7 He called the Pharisees and Sadducees “generation of vipers.” He accused religious leaders of being hypocrites. Matthew 23:13. Matthew 10:38 “He that taketh not up his cross and followeth me is not worthy of me.”
Faith was a volatile commodity. They who believed, believed the more strongly because of the covenant. The Messiah had come to them. They disbelieved, crucified. Their hands were stained with the sin that wrought His death. How about your hands, and mine? Only the hypocrites see themselves as guiltless.
II. [SUBTITLE LOST]
V16, “Then delivered he him unto them to be crucified.” Most significant were the occupants of the other two crosses. “They crucified him, and two others with him.” On those two crosses were the prototypes of all who would pass by. One would find in Jesus a source of strength. He would die with Jesus, But it would be remorseful, repentant, forgiven. To the other Jesus was an anomaly. He was no more dead than the other. But it was an angry, accusing, hopeless death. It was also a Christless death.
L. Wade spoke of a lady at nursing home who asked about ______ Prison—“Why would a man die without the Lord?” Does it concern us that there are others all around us who know the Lord?
Speaking of crowds, there was a Roman Legion there that day as well. They wanted to think that they were in charge. Doing the procurator’s (Caesar’s) bidding. Punishment meted out by the book.
But this is God’s doing, and “is wondrous to behold.” Psalm 72:18 “Blessed be the Lord God, . . . who only doeth wondrous things.”
Jerry Clower tells about Uncle Versie Ledbetter and his mule named Della. She fell in a cistern (reservoir for rain water). Tried to get Della out. Finally, rather than see her starve, he’d bury her there. But every time he threw in a load of dirt, she shook it off, stomped on it, [CLIMBED on it], and waited for the next load.
Whether you understand the crucifixion or not, it’s the means of God’s choosing, to deal with our sin. You can’t help Jesus bear that cross. But it’s foolhardy to think that it is no more than man’s work.
III. Lastly, We Examine Christ and the Cross. V17 “And He bearing His cross went fort into a place . . . called . . . Golgotha.”
You will note that it was a cross of commitment to the will of God. RSV and NEB both translate “his own cross.” It was expected that His followers would show evidence of their commitment. “If you were accused of being a Christian, is there enough evidence to convince you?” Where between 6 and 8 tonight? Last Wednesday at 6:30, four deacons for mission emphasis. When was the last time you did something/anything for Jesus’ sake?
It was a cross meaning pain and suffering. It was so in the ultimate sense with Jesus. The disciples were affected by the crucifixion as by nothing else. Remember Stewart: “Not one line of the New Testament . . . not one sentence , . . . was penned apart from the conviction . . . that He had conquered death and was alive forevermore.” How does the crucifixion touch and change your life? The lives of those around you?
But leave here this morning remembering that it was a cross of glory.
“In the old rugged cross stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ‘twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.
To the old rugged cross I will ever be true,
Its shame and reproach gladly bear.
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.”
Conclusion
Listen to Donald Miller in The People of God. “The sentimentalized Jesus of our time is not one before whom men of our time would fall on their faces, and certainly, He would frighten away no devils! He is one whom nobody would crucify, and for whom, few, if any, would be willing to die. He could not have brought the church into being, nor could He have sustained it through all the tortuous course of the long centuries.” Which Jesus do you follow?
THE IMMEDIACY OF “NOW”: How Important is “Now”?
#466b THE IMMEDIACY OF “NOW”: How Important is “Now”?
Scripture John 9:4 Orig. 2/25/1968; 5/4/1974
Rewr. 2/10/1989
Passage: As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
Purpose: To speak to my people about commitment that does not measure up to God’s expectations.
Keywords: Commitment Discernment Resolution Covenant
Timeline/Series: Before Easter
Introduction
Unresolved commitment is no new thing. Our problems are not in knowing what to do, but rather in the stick-to-it-iveness to do what we know what we ought to do. Unfortunately, irresolution and commitment do fit in the same sentence. They don’t buck away at each other like the opposing poles of two refrigerator magnets. They won’t stick to one another, but they will sit there side-by-side.
You remember the children’s tale of the “little boy who cried ‘wolf.’” He was supposed to be a shepherd, but he found a game that he could play to be more exciting.
Occasionally, the father had other work to do and the lad would be sent out into the hills to tend the sheep. When he became bored, and wanted to see some other human shape, he cried “Wolf”! When there was some sound that he did not recognize and he wanted companionship, he cried “Wolf”! If he became afraid of some shadow in the dusk, he cried “Wolf”!
The bond of the shepherds in the hills was strong. If anyone needed help, all who heard the cry of alarm went to his aid. But arriving to the sound of the little shepherd’s plaintive cry, they never found any sign of the wolf. The shepherds were leaving their own sheep in danger to answer the supposed need of the little shepherd boy who was more interested in games than he was in being a shepherd.
So one day, the wolf really came.. The lad saw him as big as life. He knew his sheep were in danger. So he called, and called, and called, but no one came. Our text this morning is a short one, but it addresses our commitment. Are we Christians in deed, or just in word? Are we interested in making our faith easy on ourselves, or do we really want to follow the teachings of Jesus?
I. Jesus Begins the Lesson Reminding Us that We All have Assigned Tasks. “It behooves us to work the works of the one who sent me.” Make sure we read what the verse says. The King James catches the spirit of Jesus’ own commitment. “I must work.” The NIV catches the plural: “As long as it is day, we must do the work.” The New King James adds a footnote: “We.” Another [the Living Bible] says “All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned.”
This helps us in not expecting too little of ourselves, and too much of others. We really are overly protective of us. And genuinely judgmental of others. Proverbs 26:20 “Where no wood is, . . . the fire goeth out. Where there is no tale bearer, the strife ceases.” Need I remind you that the last two of the “Ten Commandments” were so directed? “Thou shalt not bear false witness” [and] “Thou shalt not covet.”-
Be honest with yourselves, and others. What it boils down to, is that IF we spend our effort energizing our own commitment we will let others energize their own. Nehemiah 8:10,”for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
The joyous task of each of us ought to be in seeking God’s will. We do so in serious Bible study. We do so in engaging prayer. To avoid these is to avoid the search. Unresolved commitment is where we wind up, or, perhaps, “wind down.”
It was Becky Thatcher, I believe, telling Tom Sawyer of her plans to be a missionary. Tom’s interest was the river, and all the exciting places one could go. So, he asked where. To China, Africa, other places then discussed. “I might even go to New Orleans.” Might our, your, New Orleans be a small part of Union Parish where people need Jesus?
A small word should be said about the required translation “must,” or “behooved.” “Dei” in the Greek dictionary means “moral obligation.” Found in Luke 24:26 “Did not the Christ have to suffer these things?” John 4:4 “And he must needs go through Samaria.” Revelation 1:1 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass.”
“Ought we not to work the works of the One who sent Jesus?”
II. The Lesson Continues with a Call for Response. “You must quickly carry out the tasks assigned.” Isn’t that what Jesus meant? Working the work of God while it is day? Get on with the business at hand while we have the wherewithal to do it?
It is response born of faith. It is getting ourselves ready for the opportunities with which God will confront us. If you think the time of opportunity has passed, then you’re dead already. You’re just occupying a living body.
Some remember the “Old” days when every Baptist church in the state had a posted copy of the “Church Covenant.” To strive for advancement in knowledge, holiness, comfort.” I don’t know a church anywhere that has not striven for “comfort.” We had a “flap” in our seminary church because $1M had been spent on a worship center. More than spent on buildings by Lottie Moon gifts that year.
Do we strive as well for knowledge? Parents faithful to school. On third snow day: “WE are going to be there demanding they open.”
But how faithful to Sunday School? I was at College Place. Darryl W. was on his way to St. Francis Medical Center to visit a man who, the next Sunday, would miss the first Sunday in 58 years. First Baptist Church-Bernice must return to that quest for knowledge of God.
We’ve not yet said a word about striving for holiness. Do you have any scars from that kind of battle? All that most of us can say about “holiness” is that we’ve heard of such people. Missionaries. Ancients. It just isn’t “today,” we conclude.
Does not the work of Jesus compel us to response today?
III. Finally, There is a Lesson on Candidness. “The night is coming when no one can work,” It is here that now takes on the burden of immediacy. In spiritual honesty we are to be ourselves. You remember the show Candid Camera? Their byline was “People caught in the act of being themselves.” The very last threshold for pretense ought to be in the dimension of spirit. God has promised His Holy Spirit to all who are in Christ. The key, then, is to be “in Christ.”
It is through the Holy Spirit that we have a word for the world based on the WORD. Our Wednesday night study in I Corinthians 14:9 “Except ye utter by the tongue, words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken?” We rightly presume that [Paul] addressed charismatics. Intellectual snobbery as well. And a reluctance to communicate because we just don’t care. I Corinthians 14:12 “Since you want distinction, seek the kind that builds up the church.”
We are too much like ancient Israel. Deuteronomy 6:10, “When you reach the promised land, you will find cities which you did not build, houses full which you did not fill, cisterns hewn which you did not hew, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant; when you eat and are full, take heed lest you forget the Lord.”
Assurance for the believer is “doing the work of the one who sent us” in Jesus’ name. It means “now.” Job’s “now mine eye seeth thee,” Job 42:5. David’s “Now, Lord, what wait I for?” Psalm 39:7. Isaiah’s “Now, O Lord, thou art our Father, . . . we are . . . the work of thy hand,” Isaiah 64:8. Malachi’s “prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven,” Malachi 3:10.
Conclusion
Metaphor: Years ago a scientific journal was placed in my hands. It was “Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist.” The cover carried a picture of a clock. The caption read, “The Doomsday Clock.” It was twelve minutes to midnight. Some of [the] twelve have passed.
FREE TO BE
#283 FREE TO BE
Scripture John 8:36 NIV Orig. 11/16/63
Rewr. 6/29/88
Passage: 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Purpose: To share with my people an Independence Day message reflecting upon our heritage of freedom that is in Christ.
Keywords: Christ the Deliverer Freedom Heritage Religious Liberty
Introduction
It was June 7, 1776, and the Continental Congress was in session. Richard Henry Lee, grandfather of Robert E. Lee, moved that the congress adopt a declaration of independence. It took nearly thirty days to decide the issue, days of discussion, debate, and prayer. On July 2nd, the resolution was adopted.
John Adams was a member of that congress. He wrote home to Abigail, “the second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epochal day, in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of Deliverance, by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty.” (John Adams and the American Revolution—Catherine Drinker Bowen, 1950).
Adams had no way of knowing that the new American congress would pick up on July 4th as the Epochal day. To these men, the signing was mere form. The milestone was reached when representatives from 12 of the 13 colonies agreed on a policy to pursue together, fully persuaded that it was none other than the will of God.
“When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of Nature and Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect of opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. . . . We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among those are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”—Declaration of Independence.
Thus, we are guaranteed constitutional freedom, but true freedom awaits the constraint of faith. To deny to others what we hold so dear, is a betrayal of both the constraint and the faith. “Free to Be” is not worth a plug nickel if we would withhold it from any other person.
I. This Liberty Looks to the Scripture as Its Cradle. V31 “If ye continue in my word, then ye are my disciples indeed.” There is an absolute link here between this freedom and the word. We abuse freedom when we divest it of its scriptural character. The scripture mandates the criteria of liberty. Psalm 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” Psalm 119:45 “I will walk at liberty for I seek thy precepts.” John 8:32 “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Romans 8:21 speaks of “. . . the glorious liberty of the children of God.” Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and do not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” I Peter 2:16f “Live as free men: . . . Give due honor to everyone; love to the brotherhood, reverence to God, honour to the sovereign.”
And others of persuasive faith have had their say.
Samuel Adams: “Driven from every other corner of the earth, freedom of thought and the right of private judgment in matters of conscience direct their course to this happy country as their last asylum.”
Alexander Hamilton: “The sacred rights of man are not to be rummaged from among old parchments or musty records. They are written as with a sunbeam in the whole volume of human nature by the hand of divinity itself and can never be erased by mortal power.”
There must be contemporary concern for this liberty. We face more and more dangers from the anti-religionists. The Bible nowhere remotely suggest a freedom from religion. The constitution, then, was not written to mandate that conclusion. The constitution was a guarantee of freedom “in,” not “from” religion.
We can learn much from the State of Israel about this false “dogma” religion. As late as this, the atheistic Jew is welcomed and given a valued place in the hierarchy of Israel. The Christian Jew is treated as an apostate and a traitor. The dangers of materialism are real and imminent, and we must stand our guard. Abuses are evident at every level. Yet, the pre-eminent safeguard for us is in practiced stewardship.
II. Religious Liberty Grew to Maturity in the White-Hot Forge of Democracy. V36 “If the Son frees you, you really will be free.” I remind you that the religious life of the early colonies was not characterized by religious freedom. Early colonial governments dictated religious practices. In New England particularly, there was an established state church. Isaac Backus, Baptist, appeared before the Continental Congress in 1774 to appeal for religious freedom in Massachusetts. John Adams, was without sympathy: “just as well expect a change in the Solar System as to expect Massachusetts to give up her established church.” Our compatriots were Jews. Catholics who had settled Maryland.
Free people are free simply because federal, state, municipal governments have no right to dictate religious practices. But remember, that is freedom “in,” not “from” religion. By its very declaration, it affirms the link.
Thus, in those early years, Baptists became the force for public conscience and freedom.
In 1740—50 Baptist churches
By 1776—perhaps 475
In 1795 there were over 1150
Today—36,000 Southern Baptists with that many others
It is imperative that we remember who we are and whose we are. It not who we are that God has blessed. His blessing then, and now, is upon those anointed with His concern for conscience, freedom, and truth. What better expression than that of variance in convention outlook but togetherness in mission.
Conservatives sustain a doctrinal base anchored in God’s Word. Moderates remind us that we are free, and accountable for ourselves to the Father. Together, we are to open the door of faith to as wide a gathering of seekers as we can. The questionable resolution on the priesthood of the believer is something for us to chew on until next year.
Conclusion
A Baptist named John Leland was the human influence that prodded James Madison to introduce the first amendment to the Constitution. In that amendment, the basis for religious freedom would be established. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the exercise thereof.”
We call ourselves “Baptist.” Considering what it means, are we? Or are we just prostituting the name until some real Baptists take it from us?
FREEDOM AND ITS DEMANDS
#138 FREEDOM AND ITS DEMANDS
Scripture John 8:31-36 Orig. 7/4/1965; 7/1975
Rewr. 6/30/1985
Passage: 31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” 34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Purpose: To speak to my people on the eve of Independence Day on the true nature of freedom.
Keywords: Freedom Liberty Rights
Timeline/Series: Special Day
Introduction
The sight of a July Fourth parade will do it every time. I don’t have to be there in person. I can see it on television, or just hear the strains of music. To know that it is July Fourth and that a parade is underway somewhere always brings back some recollections of childhood. I remember standing on a street in my hometown watching the festivities among the people of my youth. I remember the bands and the marching people, and the soldiers, and the Colors. I remember seeing people weeping unashamedly, old men standing at attention with their hats in their hands, some in arthritic salute.
There would be a community gathering. Speeches would be made. Patriotic speeches! Speeches by people who loved their country and who had proved it in devoted service.
I remember as a young soldier, standing in uniform and looking up to see the American flag flying atop the United States Capitol. I remember going as a part of the official detachment to inter the body of a friend. My high school classmate had gone into the Navy, and had been killed in an accident aboard his ship. I remember firing the military salute, . . . folding the flag that draped his casket, and presenting it to my friend’s mother.
What are the values of freedom? Are they yet the same? Do we feel the same glow that we felt then? Is there a price to freedom that many seem reluctant to pay? What . . . are the demands of freedom?
I. There is no Liberty Without Limits. Two strong attitudes are described here. V33 “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.” V34 “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.”
Living in a free society does not of itself guarantee liberty. Too many people are the sum of their circumstance. Surrounded by cynics one will become cynical. One may become religiously oriented the same way. True liberty guides a person beyond his circumstance to truth.
The Pharisees looked upon themselves as special. “We are Abraham’s children.” We have our own set of labels. A lot of pride in Dallas. 45,000 “We’re Baptists.” Two letters in Shreveport Times: “Why cover the [Southern] Baptist Convention?”
God is not moved by our labels, but by our liability. Labels—“Dallas Cowboys”—sports are proliferating. New York Metropolitan Opera had a huge deficit. We are not drawn to art forms glorifying God, but to sports glorifying man.
Liberty is the benevolent gift of God to all such who would see all men free. It started with Jesus who would have all people free. It was passed on to His disciples who grasped its meaning only at Calvary. It reaches our hearts with the discovery that there are limits to liberty, and the limits are in Christ.
[Poet] James Oppenheim – “They set the slave free, striking off his chains/Then he was as much a slave as ever/He was still chained to servility/He was still manacled to indolence and sloth/He was still bound up in fear and superstition, by ignorance, suspicion and savagery/His slavery was not in is chain, but in himself/They can only set free men free, and there is no need of that/Free men set themselves free.”
II. There are no Rights Without Restraints. V31 “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.” There is no uncertainty about the intent of Jesus’ teaching. Singlemindedness: Elijah—How long halt ye between two opinions?” Jesus—“If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” Dedication: Revelation 2:10 (Smyrna) “Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life.” Certification of discipleship: It asks a question, “Are you My disciples?” It gives the only possible answer. It responds, “Then you will remain entrenched within My Word.” A verb form demanding continuity.
Freedom is a gift from God. It is the opposite of lust for power and greed. Perhaps it is God’s way to compensate for man’s Adamic passion.
Freedom is His gift and man’s goal. The Constitutional Convention began deliberations on May 25, 1787. June 8 found the weather warm and tempers flaring in the State House in Philadelphia.
There was total deadlock. Compromise and success seemed impossible. Benjamin Franklin called them to prayer. “And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, it is probable that an empire cannot arise without His aid.”
III. There is no Freedom Without Focus. V36 “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”
We are never really free until life begins to focus on what is beyond us.
“Within my earthly temple there’s a crowd;
There’s one of us that’s humble, one that’s proud.
There’s one that’s brokenhearted for his sin,
There’s one who, unrepentant, sits and grins.
There’s one who loves his neighbor as himself,
And one who cares for nought but fame and self.
From such corroding care I would be free,
If only I could determine which is me.” (London Newspaper, 1945)
Listen as Paul declares this to the Corinthians (I Corinthians 7:22), “He that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s free man: Likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant.” And to the Galatians (5:1), “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.” And Peter in his epistle (I Peter 2:16), “As free, and not using your liberty as a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.”
Newsweek commissioned an issue on 100 heroes. Only three mention religion: a Franciscan priest, a lapsed Mennonite, and _____________. Captioned, “I Love to Tell the Story.”
The demands of freedom are: There is no liberty without limits; there are no rights without restraints; there is no freedom without focus. The limits, the restraints, the focus are clearly Christ.
Conclusion
Boy behind Wilhites. Whoop. Running to house with fish on line. Emerges sans fish. Shortly, a second boy emerges with fishing pole to try his luck.
When the world is able to grasp our freedom in Christ, they will beat a path to our doors.
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
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!
LET THE GOSPELS SPEAK
#206 LET THE GOSPELS SPEAK
Scripture John 1:14 NIV Orig. 10/8/1961; 12/1974
Rewr. 12/3/1986
Passage: 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Purpose: To allow the different points of view of the gospels to stand out in a single message on the birth of Jesus.
Keywords: Birth of Christ Incarnation Christmas
Introduction
Some of you watched the Billy Graham crusade this past week. We have watched this faithful evangelist for many years. We have heard him share some moving anecdotes of tribute to our Lord, and praise for some example of faith.
Mr. Graham went to Korea when there was a war going on there. He went with a military chaplain to a place called Heartbreak Ridge. It was Christmas Eve, and he and the chaplain came upon a dying soldier. The chaplain attempted to minister to the young man. “May I help you, son?” the chaplain asked. They both heard the soldier say, “No, it’s all right.” They were both moved by his tranquility in the face of death, that is, until glancing down they noticed a New Testament clutched in his hand. Taking it up to read, the chaplain found it opened, and marked by a finger at the place where Jesus said, “My peace I give to you,” (John 14:27). Thus they knew the basis for the dying soldier’s confidence.
What a different point of view was expressed by Lord Grey, the British statesman, as World War I began. “The lamps are going out all over Europe, and we shall not see them again in our lifetime.”
O. but how beautifully expressive are the words of the song “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”
“O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the son of God appear.
O come, thou dayspring, come and cheer, our spirits by thine advent here,
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
O come thou wisdom from on high, and order all things far and nigh,
To us the path of knowledge show, And cause us in her ways to go.
O come desire of nations, bind All people in one heart and mind.
Bid envy, strife, and quarrels cease, Fill the whole world with heaven’s peace.”
I. Luke Addresses the Humanity of Christ. Luke 2:7 “And she brought forth her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
We will see later that Mark, who wrote the earliest gospel had other things in mind. But the humanity of this circumstance is undeniable.
- Born of very human parents: We see them respond to the law of the land. (Joseph went to Bethlehem for taxes; also to the law of God.
- Born to very poor parents: Wrapped in swaddling clothes; laid in a manger; “no room” may mean that Joseph could not afford anything else.
- But, undoubtedly, born to very loving parents: Great difference in ages; Mary chose to be with Joseph on this journey.
At some time during the Christmas season, we may see or read, O. Henry’s “Gift of the Magi.” It is a truly marvelous love story. A very poor, young couple, deeply in love, Jim and Della. Della’s pride was her beautiful, long hair. As Christmas approaches, they decide only thing they can do to have a gift for the one the love. Della sells her hair to have money to buy a fob for Jim’s watch. Jim sells the watch to buy a silver comb for Della’s hair.
How much clearer we see man, seeing Christ as man. Mencken “The cosmos is a gigantic flywheel making 10,000 RPM. Man is a sick fly taking a ride on it.”
II. Matthew Intones the Religious Heritage of Jesus. Matthew 2:1,2: “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the King, behold, there came wise men from the east, to Jesus, saying, ‘Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East, and are come to worship Him.
These were superstitious men, but religious ones. They had come from far-away Persia. They had come in response to a star-format. On a journey of some weeks, they brought gifts of adoration. Remember what the Russian Cosmonaut said. “This sublime new star may bring to pass what the star of Bethlehem promised in vain, peace on earth.”
The Jews knew better of His coming. The manner of birth was foretold. Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call His name Emmanuel.” His messianic link was proclaimed. 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.”
Harold Cook Phillips said it well. “We need Christmas. Christmas is like a beautiful island rising from the turbulent waters, with man looking for a place to land.”
III. Mark Has no Time for the Birth Story, but Great Praise for the God Who Makes It Happen. Mark 1:14-15 “Now, after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, and saying, the time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand.”
He saw Jesus come to fulfill every word of God. There had been a promise that all would be blessed in Abraham. There had been a covenant through Moses that was for the good of all.
Christ came to make plain the way of salvation. How often they had been on track. How readily their sin dispelled their hope. Christmas has come and gone, but it is not of our making. It cannot be bought across the counter. The Christmas bell is not the jingle of the cash register. It cannot even be found in the warm glow of charity.
Christmas is not what we have done, but what we have had done to us. “Unto us a child is born.”
IV. Finally, John Centers His Attention on the Holiness of Jesus. John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
We thus see, the One who had perfect Oneness with God: “glory, as of the Father.”
There are lots of human adaptations of the way Jesus looked, perhaps. But nowhere is there a more exacting one that that of Isaiah. Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born . . . and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”
At One with the Father, He became at one with us: In His life, “Tempted as we are, yet without sin;” in His death: at the behest of men, in a way despised by men, amongst men, as an example to men, for men.
Ephesians 1:7-10: “7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.”
Conclusion
A story is told of a wealthy merchant whose friend and acquaintance of many years had come to a destitute condition. The merchant was moved with pity at the plight of his friend and wanted to help. He chose a trusted servant and sent him with gifts, and with a sealed envelope.
The destitute man was out, and his wife received these offerings of friendship. The gifts she applied to the household where they were most needed. The envelope she placed in a secret place with her husband’s private papers.
Months passed and the merchant, an elderly man, died. As they discussed the time he had helped them, the wife remembered the envelope. Inside they found a blank check, signed by their friend. But now the account had been closed.
THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST (December 1990)
#574 w 878 THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST
Scripture John 1:1-14 NIV Orig. Date 3/11/1979
Rewr. Dates 6/1985, 12/9/1990
Passage: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it. 6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Purpose: To share a message on the incarnation at Christmas-time, reminding my people of the importance of this Christly intervention.
Keywords: Incarnation of Christ Incarnation Doctrine Word of God
Timeline/Series: Christmas/Sequential
Introduction
A little six-year-old girl was going to her first Sunday School Christmas party. Her mother, remembering some of the joys of her own childhood, wanted the little girl to have similar experiences. She did everything she could to prepare the child for the party. She explained more in detail about Christmas as the time of the birth of Christ. “It is Jesus’ birthday,” she told the little girl, “and you and your friends will be helping Him to celebrate that happy day.”
By party day the expectation and excitement were all she could talk about. Finally, the little neighbor, with whom she was going, came to pick her up, and off she went to the party.
She returned home a few hours later. Her mother asked her about the party. She replied, “Well, it was a very nice party, mother. There were lots of children there, and we had fun. But, mother, Jesus never showed up.”
The essence of the incarnation is that God threw a party, and Jesus was the guest of honor, and, believe it or not, He was there. He did appear! Some may disclaim it, and doubt it, but it did happen. God’s own Son came to live amongst us, and, more important, to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
I. The Incarnation Unfolded. V1 “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.” The scripture gives us a clear definition. The essence of God became man. Words are used to communicate reality. That which was not earthly became earthly.
Jesus’ name gives us insight also. Jesus/Joshua: “God is my salvation.” Incarnation means that God intervened to do for me what I could not do for myself.
Scripture open with creation, and its attendant revelation. Ten times (Genesis 1) is the phrase “and God said.” (3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29). It is a threefold message. It comes from God’s hand. It is intended to bless. Man’s will is the one thing out of God’s control.
We came to the 20th Century to discover the impact of genes on the life of man. Loss of life forms is the loss of genes. New evidence of genetic impact on disease. But it is not genetic mutation that is a threat, it is man’s will.
But in Christ, what had been essence now takes bodily form. To say He is the “word” is to say that He is the creative force of God exposed. Keep in mind that Jesus was the Son of God before He became Jesus of Nazareth. He gave specific personality to word patterns describing God. Active: “My word is like a fire . . . like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces.” Jeremiah 23:29. Passive: “Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.” Psalm 119. Of 176 verses, only five do not refer to God’s law, word, commandment.
“Last eve I passed beside the blacksmith’s door, and heard the anvil ring the vesper chime;
Then, looking in I saw upon the floor, old hammers worn with beating years of time.
‘How many hammers have you had,’ said I, ‘to wear and batter all these hammers so?’
‘Just one,’ said he, and then with twinkling eye, ‘The anvil wears the hammers out, you know.’
And so, thought I, the anvil of God’s Word, for ages skeptic blows have beat upon.
Yet though the noise of falling blows was heard, the anvil is unharmed, the hammers gone.”
II. The Incarnation Understood. V4f “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.” Early, of course, there was a lack of understanding. There was a theory of incarnation called adoption.
Acts 2:36 “Let all the House of Israel know that God hath made . . . this Jesus, . . . both Lord and Christ.” (Peter).
Romans 1:3f “declared to be the Son of God with power.”
Acts 13:33 (also in the Psalms) “You are my Son, Today I have begotten you.”
Then emerged a theory called kenosis. The word means “emptying.” Philippians 2:7 (verb) “Made himself of no reputation, but himself emptied, the form of a slave taking.” Deity surrendered His divinity as if He could not be both.
Kenosis begins above (God to man).
Adoption begins below (man to God)
A third theory was called docetism. Means “to seem.” Jesus only appeared to be human. It was the gnostic error, explaining away His humanity.
Understanding dismisses all here for what they are--“misguided theories.”
Jesus was not adopted, He is the Son.
He did not surrender His deity, we have been visited by God. Light and darkness exist together. The light is so pure, the darkness so remote, that they do not mingle. The darkness cannot fathom light. V5 “the darkness comprehended it not.”
Thus, God came in the flesh of DARKNESS. V14 “The word was made flesh and dwelt among us (“and we beheld His glory”). Jesus came to enable the creatures of darkness to comprehend the light. V12 “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the children of God.”
III. Finally, the Incarnation Unfettered. V14 “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Ultimately, only one thing commends us. There are things that earn prominence: professional status, intellectual accomplishments, social consciousness, wealth. These things can all be disavowed by one character flaw: Many sins of the flesh can be overcome. A person who does not keep their word cannot be trusted.
It is in that sense that Jesus is called the Word. He is the ultimate description of all that God is. His coming to flesh is for man’s benefit. His spoken message is eminently important. His bearing, equally so.
He came as the light in man’s darkness. Think of the inkiest blackness, a cave where lights were briefly turned off. James Weldon Johnson: “Blacker than a thousand midnights down in a cypress swamp.”
Conclusion
Donald Miller, in his book, The People of God, delivers a searing indictment of far-too-many religious people today. “The sentimentalized Jesus of our time is not one before whom men would fall on their faces, and certainly, He would frighten away no devils! He is one whom nobody would crucify, and for whom few, if any, would be willing to die. He could not have brought the church into being, nor could He have sustained it through all the tortuous course of the long centuries.”
The Christ of the New Testament gospel claims our fullest devotion. He is the incarnate One, God in human flesh. He is still in charge. “I am the way, the truth, the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me.”
A TIME FOR CONFESSION
#734 A TIME FOR CONFESSION
Matthew 16:13-16, NIV Orig. 1-19-79
Rewr. (10-85) 11-7-89
Passage: When Jesus can to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Purpose: To use the occasion of the Lord’s Supper to challenge my people of the need to lift up life and voice in confession of Christ as Lord.
Keywords: Christ Lordship Lord’s Supper Ordinance Communion, Confession
Timeline: None
Introduction
Not many of us are generally familiar with the writings of George Buttrick. His ministry to God’s people ended [long ago]. His books are still in circulation, but may not be known except to an occasional pastor or Bible teacher.
Mr. Buttrick’s is a name often quoted in seminary classrooms. He left insightful material relating to the work of pastors. Speaking to the Senior Class of Princeton University a number of years ago, he issued a pastoral challenge. His ableness of speech came out of the fact that he then served as pastor of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City. Several in his audience were themselves going into the pastorate. He urged these graduates to “be with their people.” They were to be listeners in the marketplace to understand where their people are in life, and what they are thinking. He advised what some might find contradictory. I quote, “When you are at Coney Island, don’t tell the people of the concessions on the Boardwalk, about which they already know; tell them of the mystery of the sea, about which they do not know.”
It is a late hour in the saga of the evolution of life. We gain wonderful knowledge about our world every day. But the more informed we become about the world, the less concerned we seem to be for the mysteries of Christ. The question was asked of the disciples, for which we must have an answer: “Who do you say that I am?” I must know the answer. So must you!
I. It is Firstly a Question of Determination. V.13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” Examining the context we know that Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem. Luke 9:51: “He steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.” (He fully/finally determined.) It is with knowledge of His death. He knows it will be violent.
Caesarea Philippi arcs His course southward. It identifies the time when Jesus’ public popularity is on the wane. Matt 13:1 “The same day…great multitudes were gathered unto him.” 12:46 “So many sought him (His mother and brothers)…could not get close.” 9:8 (after healing a paralytic) “when the multitudes saw it they marveled and glorified God who had given such power to men.”
We will not again see this public acclaim until Matthew 17:1-6: After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John the brother of James and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There He was transfigured before them…The disciples fell on their faces. Matthew 17:24 “Does your Teacher not pay temple taxes?” Mt 19:1-3: “Some Pharisees came to him to test him.” Mt 21:15: And when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did…they were indignant.”
It is as if some line of demarcation has been passed. Jesus had always faced opposition. But He had lived in the sunshine of a ministry marked by blessings/benefits to people around Him. He perceives the sun slipping behind the clouds, darkness invading the land. As He faces down Mt. Hermon’s flank, He knows another mount, called Golgotha, must soon be scaled.
“Up Calvary’s mountain, one dreadful morn, walked Christ my Saviour, weary and worn;
Facing for sinners death on the Cross, that he might save them (us) from endless loss.
Father, forgive them, thus did he pray, E’en while his lifeblood flowed fast away.
Praying for sinners while in such woe; no one but Jesus ever loved so.”
II. Secondly, it is a Question of Decision. V 15: “But who do you say that I am?” There was no debate about a right answer to this question. It was answerable in different ways: Saviour, Son of God, Anointed, Messiah. But all are answers that allude to God’s forgiving grace in Christ: that man has a sin problem; that only God’s answer suffices. Matthew 3:15 John hesitated when Jesus presented Himself for baptism. (Not because he didn’t know who Jesus was, but because he did. “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
Too many today are uncertain as John was, but their confusion is from the speculation of doubt. There was speculation even back then. Healed people were instructed not to tell. (Matthew 8:4/9:30.). Evil spirits guessed His identity and were commanded to silence. Even John the Baptist later sent for confirmation. Luke 7:19 “Are you the Coming One (anointed) or do we look for another?” Jesus accepted this reticence. Luke 7:23 (His answer to John): “Blessed is he who shall not be offended because of me.”
Deal with your decision on the basis of being offended because of Jesus. Are there times when it embarrasses you for people to know you are a believer? During social upheaval do you tend to remain non-committal? Does the Swygart/Gorman controversy offend you? What about the SBC leadership stand-off? Are moral crises requiring polarization? There were reasons for reticence then. Jesus was not what the people expected in Messiah. He clearly was interested in more than mainline Judaism.
The militant sought to use Him to address their purposes. John 6:15 “When Jesus perceived that they would come and take Him by force to make Him a king, He departed again into a mountain alone.” There are even good reasons for reticence today: We faced the burden of our sin. The age grows the more complex, and the void grows wider. The lateness of the hour suggests the gravity of unbelief. The message is so unlike the means for making it known.
How do you describe a mountain panorama? The Grand Canyon? A beautiful sunset? A matchless symphony? A 50th anniversary of a devoted couple? But we do try, don’t we? And as well, we must share with those around us our faith in Christ.
“Who do you say the Son of man is?”
Conclusion
Do you recall the story from Uncle Tom’s Cabin? Tom was on the barge being taken with other enslaved people to the riverside plantation of Simon Legree. The name still makes us draw up in dread. Tom was trying to console another who had been sold away from wife and children. “Come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” “Them’s good words,” said the other, “but who says ‘em?”
In a dark hour in Thomas Carlyle’s life, someone read to him from John 14:1. “Let not your heart be troubled…in my father’s house are many mansions.” The essayist replied, “Aye, if you were God, you had a right to say that; but if you are only a man, what do you know more than the rest of us?”
It is thus the Christ who calls us to answer: “Who do you say that I the Son of man am?”