What More Proof Do We Need?

[The following is a full manuscript of my sermon delivered on Easter Sunday morning, the 27th of March, 2016.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

In just one week, we have run the gamut of emotions ranging from great triumph to the most dismal and devastating defeat and loss imaginable.  Last week we paraded into Jerusalem alongside our Lord Jesus.  The people filled the streets and rooftops to greet their King.  They shouted, “Hosanna!”  “Save us!”

During the week Jesus cleared the Temple of crass materialism, healed the sick and lame and blind, cast out demons and unclean spirits, and taught in the synagogue – all the things He normally did when He hit town.  But this was the time of Passover and the Jews needed a spotless lamb for a sacrifice.  And they chose the perfect, spotless Lamb of God.

Thursday evening we sat with Jesus and shared His last meal on this earth, and all He asked was that we remember Him.  As if we could ever forget.  Then one of His closest followers, His closest friends, betrayed Him to the chief priests of the Jews.

He was arrested and carried off to face a mockery of a trial.  Those same people who cheered Him and begged for salvation just a few days earlier now called out for His blood.  “Crucify Him!”, they shouted.  “Crucify Him!”

So on Friday, they nailed Him to a cross where He gave up His mortal life - took His last breath as a man and died.  They laid His lifeless body in a borrowed tomb, sealed the entrance with a huge boulder, and placed armed guards at the door so that none of His followers could come and take His body.


For us – mere mortal humans – that would have been the end of the story.  But Jesus was no ordinary man.  Listen to what happened next, according to the Gospel account of the Apostle John, the entirety of chapter 20, reading from the New Living Translation of our Bible…

1 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 2 She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put Him!”

3 Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. 4 They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, 7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. 8 Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed— 9 for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. 10 Then they went home.

11 Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. 12 She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her.

“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put Him.”

14 She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize Him. 15 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”

She thought He was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will go and get Him.”

16 “Mary!” Jesus said.

She turned to Him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).

17 “Don’t cling to Me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find My brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”

18 Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them His message.

19 That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” He said. 20 As He spoke, He showed them the wounds in His hands and His side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! 21 Again He said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

24 One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. 25 They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in His hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in His side.”

26 Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” He said. 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at My hands. Put your hand into the wound in My side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

28 “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen Me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing Me.”

30 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in Him you will have life by the power of His name.

--John 20 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, Your Son Jesus gave everything for us, ending His mortal life on a cross before You resurrected Him back to His life eternal.  While we are saddened beyond words that He had to die for us, we celebrate with great joy that He still lives!  Our risen Lord and Savior lives!  Speak to us this morning, Father, and touch us with Your Holy Spirit, that we might better understand what this all means to us.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.  Amen.


The staff at Outreach Incorporated once wrote this little illustration of what we celebrate today:

In 1887, twenty two years after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, his coffin was dug up and opened because there were constant rumors that his body was not in the grave.  So they dug it up and the body was there.  But the rumors persisted, so 14 years later they had to dig it up again.  Both times witnesses were present who testified that Lincoln was still in the grave.

Three days after the death of Jesus Christ, similar rumors began to spread throughout the land of Israel.  Only this time there were no witnesses who could say that they had seen His body.  In fact, to the contrary, many witnesses claimed to have seen him out of His grave and even talked with Him after the resurrection.

As great a man as Lincoln was, there were witnesses to prove he was still in the grave.  If one of our Presidents or another leader in our government were to cry out today to Lincoln for help, there would be no response.  If a scientist were to cry out to Einstein for help today there would only be empty silence.  If someone were to call out to Mohammed or Buddha or Gandhi today there would be no help.  But if you and I call out to Jesus Christ there is instant power available to us... power to change lives.  Why?  Because He lives!


Poor Abe.  Apparently, a bunch of people ignored the age old epitaph of “Rest In Peace”.  They dug him up twice to ensure his remains were indeed in the grave.  You can’t help but wonder just how much proof these people needed!

And sure enough, Abe’s bones were there, right where we would expect them to be.  Just as are the bone of Mohammed and Buddha.  Just as are the bones of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Every man who has ever lived, left behind earthly remains when they died.  All but one.

Jesus of Nazareth was crucified and verified dead.  His lifeless body was prepared for burial and then placed in a freshly dug tomb.  A stone that required many men to move was rolled into the entryway to seal it and armed men were posted to guard it.  The Jewish leaders suspected that some of Jesus’ more radical followers would come and take His body so they could say He had been risen from the dead like He had promised He would, and the chief priests did not want that to happen.

So everyone involved was quite surprised when, on the third day, Mary Magdalene came to the grave and found that the huge stone had been rolled away.  She went to get Peter and John, who ran to the tomb to see for themselves.  The tomb was empty.  Nothing remained but the burial cloths they had wrapped Jesus with.  The small cloth they had covered His face with lay aside, neatly folded.  As my good brother Pastor Rickey Payne mentioned during our joint Palm Sunday service, Jewish custom had it that if a diner left his plate with his napkin neatly folded, it meant he planned to return.  Jesus left the small cloth neatly folded, because He does indeed plan to return someday.

But the point of today’s message is that there was no body in the tomb, no physical remains of flesh and blood.  Nor have any been found in over 2000 years!  in fact, counter to remains left behind, Jesus appeared in the flesh after His death and burial to over 500 people!

No remains in the tomb.  No refutes of the eye-witness accounts of His resurrection.  Nothing to dispute what our Gospel accounts record of God bodily raising His Son from the grave.  What more proof do we need that our Lord Jesus Christ lives!?!

Well, there were some who tried to refute the amazing story of resurrection: the Jewish high priests.  Remember those guards they placed at the tomb so no one would take the body of Jesus?  When they returned to the Temple with their story of angels and huge boulders effortlessly rolled away and an empty tomb, the priests couldn’t handle it.  They must have believed the guards, because they bribed the men to not tell that story again.  But was this enough for them to believe that Jesus was truly the Messiah?  Apparently not.  What more proof do you think they needed!?!

One of those more than 500 witnesses to the living Jesus was Thomas, who refused to believe until irrefutable proof was given to him.  Believe he did, but only because he had the proof right there in front of him.  Jesus acknowledged it was good that Thomas finally believed, but our Lord added that those who believe in Him without having proof are blessed by God.

Then Thomas and the other disciples watched over the ensuing days as Jesus performed other miracles before finally going home to be with His Father and sit at the right hand of God.  They saw all this with their own eyes, and recorded it in their Gospel accounts so that others might believe and be blessed.  Are we willing to accept their word for it, or do we need more proof?


Believe and be blessed.  Believe, even without the benefit of tangible proof.  Believe without needing more proof that what the Apostle John and his brethren recorded for us.  You’ve heard me read before what the author of the Book of Hebrews says in chapter 11, verse 1…

1 Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see.

--Hebrews 11:1 (CEV)

I read that from the Contemporary English Version of our Bible because it puts it into our language, our lingo, our way of speaking today.  And I think it answers that question: what more proof do we need?  Faith gives us proof of what we cannot see.

We can’t see the holes in Jesus hands left by the nails nor the slit in His side from the Roman spear, like Thomas did.  We can’t even see Jesus in the flesh, like over 500 folks did, because He is now home with our Father God in heaven.  We cannot see Him, but God gave us this wonderful gift of faith, and with it we have all the proof we need.

Believe, even without proof, and be blessed.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, this is Resurrection Day and we joyously celebrate You raising Your Son bodily from the grave, restoring Him to life, letting Him be seen by so many witnesses, just so that we might believe.  Jesus took all our sins to His grave and left them there so that we might stand before You some day, washed clean by His precious blood.  Thank You, Father God.  Thank You, Lord Jesus.  We believe, and You bless us so very much.

Lord God, we repent of our sin against You.  We beg for Your forgiveness and Your help to be righteous in Your eyes.  Hear us now, as we come before You this morning with bowed heads and humbled hearts, calling out into the silence directly from our hearts…

Lord Jesus, in just a few minutes we will share in Holy Communion with You.  Your Apostle Paul reminds us to only come to the table if our heart is right with You and our Father God.  Jesus, we pray that if anyone among us this morning needs to get right with You, if anyone has not yet accepted You, if anyone still struggles to believe, that You will touch them with the Holy Spirit and move them to seek Your righteousness now before taking of the elements of Your body and Your blood.  Bless us, Lord Jesus, in our belief and in our faith.  In Your glorious name, Christ Jesus, our living God, we pray.  Amen.


[Holy Communion followed in the service.]

Seeking Jesus

[The following is a manuscript of my Easter Sunrise Service meditation, Sunday morning, the 27th of March, 2016.]

1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.

--Matthew 28:1-9 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, this is the most holy day, the day when You resurrected our Lord Jesus, when You brought Him bodily from the grave so that He could defeat death. And You and Jesus did it all just for us.  Your Son suffered, and You had to stand by and watch it, just so we might enjoy eternal and everlasting life in paradise with You both… if we only believe in Him and follow His voice.  We believe, Lord Jesus.  We believe that You are the one true Son of God, and we believe that You rose bodily from the grave.  We are here this morning to celebrate that glorious day.  Bless us Lord, and help us to better serve You and to never falter in our belief and faith.  In Your sweet name, Christ Jesus we pray.  Amen.


Jesus of Nazareth was executed on a cross and buried on Friday.  The following day was the Sabbath, the day of rest.  On the third day, the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joses went to the tomb to try to anoint the body of their Master with oils and spices.  The tomb had been sealed by a huge boulder, so they likely could not have gotten inside, but I’m sure they would have remained outside a while, probably weeping and remembering the times they shared with the Son of Man while He lived.

And that shouldn’t seem too unusual to us, since we often visit the graves of our loved ones who have gone on to their reward before us.  We go, pay our respects, maybe place some flowers or some small token of our affection, probably shed a tear or two because we  still miss them.  We do this knowing full well that our loved one is not there.  Even atheists know that nothing is there but the remains of the person that once lived.  We Christians understand that the soul of the person we love has gone to be with Jesus.  The only thing left in the grave we stand before is the container that once held that soul.  Someday, that soul will be given a new body, just as we will.

Well, the Mary’s didn’t understand this promise, nor did the disciples, not yet.  Jesus had spoken of this a number of times, but they didn’t quite get it.  All they knew was that He was dead and they went to visit His grave.  And what they found completely astonished them – an empty tomb, the huge stone rolled away, shaking, speechless guards, and an angel whose countenance was like lightning.

“Don’t be afraid”, the angel told the women.  I bet he didn’t say that to the guards.  “I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified, but He is not here; for He has risen.”

Now we know the angel meant that Jesus had been raised from the dead, had risen from the grave.  But He had not yet risen – ascended – into heaven to be with His Father.  He still had to prove His resurrection to over 500 people before He could go home.


The Mary’s came to the now empty tomb seeking Jesus and found He was no longer there.  Where do we seek Jesus?  Or maybe the question should be, are we still seeking Jesus?  Are we looking to get to know Him better, to build a better relationship with Him, to serve Him in more meaningful ways?  I feel that many of us are, as are many believers.

But what of the rest?  And especially, what of non-believers?  It’s been my experience that people who don’t seek Jesus look for other ways to fill the holes in their lives.  They listen to the enticements of the world, and the ads on TV, and try to fill those voids with things, thinking that will make them happy and satisfied.  They are looking for Jesus - although they don’t see it quite that way - and they’re looking in all the wrong places.  If they only believed, they could grasp that the Holy Spirit, given to us by Jesus, will more than fill those holes in their life!  He will fill the holes and all the little nooks and crannies and hollow spaces and overflow out of them and onto all those they meet.

And you know, if we are truly seeking Jesus, we don’t have to go to some tomb in a far off land.  We don’t have to drive over to the church and sit in the pews for an hour or so on Sunday.  We don’t have to go anywhere.  All we have to do is pray, and the Holy Spirit within us will show us our Lord.  Jesus is here, all around us, no matter where we are.  He is within us in the person of God’s Holy Spirit.  He is in heaven sitting at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.  And some sweet day we will stand before Him, face to face, flesh to flesh, because He has risen, and we will too.  Jesus promised that to us, and I believe Him.


The angel said of Jesus, “He is not here”, meaning in the tomb.  Our Lord conquered death.  His Father, our Father – God - resurrected Him from the grave.  He was no longer there, confined to a hole in the ground, bound by death, constrained by earthly ties.  But because of that, He is here!  He is here all around us.  He is here within us.  Our Lord lives even to this day!  And for that, we rejoice!  For that, we worship Him!

Christ the Lord is risen today!  Alleluia!  Amen.


Let us pray…  Lord Jesus Christ, Savior, Redeemer, Master…  We stand before a representation of the cross upon which You suffered and died, but You are no longer there.  We see in our mind’s eye the tomb where they laid Your lifeless body, sealed it with a huge boulder, and placed armed guards in front of it.  Yet Your grave is empty!  The stone has been rolled away, the guards shake in their stunned fear.  We hear the angel’s words and we look inside… and awe fills us.  Too amazed to believe what our senses tell us, we hear You speak: “Rejoice!”  And all we can think to do is to sing Alleluias and worship you.

You sacrificed everything for us, You died for us, You were buried for us.  You bore no sin of Your own so You carried all the sins of the world to the grave and left them there, just so we might be washed clean when we stand before God at our last.

We praise You, Lord Jesus, and we thank You!  Words alone could never convey just how thankful we are, so we give You our hearts in gratitude.  We give You our lives – take and use them as You will.

In Your glorious name, Lord Jesus, we pray.

And now, Father God, hear us as we pray to You as Your Son taught us…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.  Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.  Amen.

Nails In His Hands

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered during our Maundy Thursday service on the 24th of March, 2016.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

15 During Passover the governor always freed a prisoner chosen by the people. 16 At that time a well-known terrorist named Jesus Barabbas was in jail. 17 So when the crowd came together, Pilate asked them, “Which prisoner do you want me to set free? Do you want Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” 18 Pilate knew that the leaders had brought Jesus to him because they were jealous.

19 While Pilate was judging the case, his wife sent him a message. It said, “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man. I have had nightmares because of him.”

20 But the chief priests and the leaders convinced the crowds to ask for Barabbas to be set free and for Jesus to be killed. 21 Pilate asked the crowd again, “Which of these two men do you want me to set free?”

“Barabbas!” they replied.

22 Pilate asked them, “What am I to do with Jesus, who is called the Messiah?”

They all yelled, “Nail him to a cross!”

23 Pilate answered, “But what crime has he done?”

“Nail him to a cross!” they yelled even louder.

24 Pilate saw that there was nothing he could do and that the people were starting to riot. So he took some water and washed his hands in front of them and said, “I won’t have anything to do with killing this man. You are the ones doing it!”

25 Everyone answered, “We and our own families will take the blame for his death!”

26 Pilate set Barabbas free. Then he ordered his soldiers to beat Jesus with a whip and nail him to a cross.

--Matthew 27:15-26 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, we open our ears and our hearts to Your message this evening.  Speak to us in words we can understand, that we might know Your will for our lives.  In the holy name of our Lord Jesus we pray.  Amen.


Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent and is the day usually associated with scripture that describes covering ourselves in ashes as a sign of repentance and the recognition of our own mortality.  Many folks left their churches that day with the sign of the cross marked in ashes upon their foreheads or the backs of their hands.  And they immediately went home and washed those ashes right off.

During Lent we seek to grow closer to our Lord Jesus by trying to experience at least a little of what He went through while He walked this earth.  The Lenten period is our observance of the journey Jesus made starting with His 40 days of temptation by Satan in the wilderness and ending at the cross.  On that cross, man dealt a cruel judgment against our very Savior.  He took the punishment that should have been ours.  He chose to accept the nails, so that we wouldn’t have to suffer eternal death.  Jesus took the nails for us.  He allowed Pilate’s soldiers to nail Him to that cross, there to suffer a horrible death.

Those nails left marks that will last forever.  Yet those nail-scarred hands proved useful, at least once.  You probably remember this passage, from the Gospel of John, chapter 20, verses 24 through 29…

24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

--John 20:24-29 (NKJV)

I pray that we never lose sight of just how blessed we are.  We have not seen those nail-scarred hands nor His spear-pierced side, yet we still believe in Jesus as Lord.


Tonight, Maundy Thursday, we observe our Lord’s last meal on this earth, His betrayal, and His arrest.  Tomorrow, Good Friday, sets our Savior’s beating, execution, and burial firmly in our hearts and our memories.  And then on Easter Sunday we celebrate the most joyous day, when Jesus rose from the grave, defeating death for eternity!

Thomas needed proof to believe in our Lord’s resurrection.  Jesus says we are blessed for believing even without the benefit of proof.  But tonight isn’t about belief so much.  It’s more about remembrance.  It is imperative that we never forget the sacrifice Jesus made for us.

And I think it equally important, if not more so, that we not make Him repeat any of that sacrifice.  He took the nails for us once, there on that cross.  Should we be responsible for driving more nails into His hands?

Each time we fail to follow His commands to us, we pound another nail right into His hand.  When we stretch the truth, cheat even a little on our taxes, take for our use something we should not take – BAM! – we pound another nail!  When we curse someone under our breath for some perceived slight – BAM!  When we avoid eye contact with the beggar, the needy, the homeless, the hungry - BAM!  When we hold onto bitterness rather than freely giving love – BAM!  When we don’t at least try to control our lusts for the things of this life – BAM!  When we fail to unconditionally, sacrificially love one another – BAM!  When we put anything else ahead of God in our lives – BAM!


I’ve driven a lot of nails into my Savior’s hands over the years.  And sadly, I’ll probably pound in a few more before my life here on earth is over.  But if I try really hard, if I stop and think of what I am about to do, maybe I can pull back on that hammer before it strikes.  I just need to remember.  The ashes may remind me for a moment of my own mortality.  But the nails remind me of my Lord’s mortality before He returned to heaven, of His pain and suffering on my behalf.

I may not be able to see the print of those Roman nails as Thomas did, not until I stand face to face with Jesus.  But I know I’ll cry when I see all the nail scars that I left there in His hands.  Jesus took the nails for me and for you.  Remember this, and drive no more into His hands.

Amen.


[Holy Communion followed in the service.]

The King Is Coming!

[The following is a full manuscript of my sermon delivered on Palm Sunday morning, the 20th of March, 2016.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Today is Palm Sunday, when we traditionally celebrate our Lord’s triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem.  The people thought their conquering king, the long-awaited Messiah, had finally come and they all turned out to cheer Him on.  They filled the streets and rooftops to welcome the King’s coming.  Can’t you just see some of them running through the city to alert their friends, shouting “The king is coming!  Our king is coming!”  I wonder why no one seemed to notice that their King rode in on a lowly donkey, rather than a fierce war horse.


While I do want to observe the coming of our King today, I also want to conclude our series on the seven churches of Revelation.  You may not think those two go together, but please bear with me as we take a slightly different path than the traditional.  Listen and follow along as I again read from the Apostle John’s Book of Revelation, flipping quite a ways ahead to chapter 19, verses 11 through 16, reading from the New King James Version of our Bible…

11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND

LORD OF LORDS.

--Revelation 19:11-16 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, Your Son Jesus gave everything for us, ending His mortal life on a cross, before You resurrected Him back to His life eternal.  While we are so sad that He had to die for us, we celebrate with great joy that He still lives.  Our risen King lives!  Speak to us this morning, Father, and touch us with Your Holy Spirit, that we might better understand what it means for our King to come.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.  Amen.


There’s this story of a ship’s captain who peered into the dark night and saw faint lights in the distance directly ahead.  Immediately he told his signalman to send out a message: "Alter your course 10 degrees south."  Promptly a return message was received: "Alter your course 10 degrees north."

The captain was angered - his command had been ignored!  So he sent a second message: "Alter your course 10 degrees south -- I am the captain!"  Soon came the reply: "Alter your course 10 degrees north -- I am seaman third class Jones."

Immediately the captain sent a third message, knowing the fear it would evoke: "Alter your course 10 degrees south -- I am a battleship."  And then the reply: "Alter your course 10 degrees north -- I am a lighthouse."

In the midst of our dark and foggy times, all sorts of voices are shouting orders into the night, telling us what to do, how to adjust our lives.  Out of the darkness, one voice signals something quite different from the rest - something the world despises.  But that voice happens to be the Light of the World, and we ignore it at our own peril.

The shrill voices of our society and modern culture distract us, pulling us in all different directions at once.  Only one voice offers a clear, concise message.  Only one voice provides a specific, straight path to follow.  The voice of Jesus, our King.


Now if we paid attention over the last few weeks, we should know the kind of church that voice is calling to.  Jesus praised six of the seven churches of Revelation for rejecting evil, for persevering in the face of adversity and trials, for having patience, for bearing suffering without complaint, for keeping faith in Christ and never denying His holy name.  Our Lord commends them for their love, their faith, their service, their patience, and encourages them to keep those all strong and steadfast.

But I think more telling than all these compliments are the criticisms the Lord raises.  Two of the seven church families escaped criticism altogether, but what Jesus had for the other five should give us great concern.  They had lost their fervent love of Christ and of serving Him.  They tolerated immorality, idolatry, and heresies.

They allow the culture of the world in which they lived to creep into their worship and practices, corrupting them.  They were dying or dead spiritually.  And maybe worst of all, they were indifferent – in their faith and in their love of the Lord.

In each case, the church was told to repent!  Turn back from their wickedness, from their wayward paths, from their sinful ways, and turn directly once more to God.  They were told to be faithful until the very end.  To do good works in service to Jesus with kindness and joy, not some sense of duty they simply had to fulfill.  To shore up and strengthen those who are weak and failing.  To be zealous in their attitudes and their service for Christ.

By the way, every time I just said “they”, I also meant “we”.  And if they and we do these things, we will be rewarded richly in heaven.  We’ll be dressed in pure white robes.  We’ll share His throne with Jesus.  I think the neatest reward is to receive a new name, a name that is only for each of us, a name Jesus picked out just for us since before the beginning of time.

Now in each and every case of these seven churches, Jesus closes with this cautionary comment:  “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”  Jesus doesn’t say “let everyone in the churches hear what the Spirit says”.  He says “let everyone who has an ear hear what the Spirit says”.

Family, do we have ears?  Have we heard, over the last few weeks, just what the Spirit had to say to these seven churches?  Then we need to hear, heed, listen to what Jesus says!  This is that one voice I mentioned earlier, the one voice we ignore at our own peril!  The one voice we fail to follow at our own risk!


In the traditional Palm Sunday readings from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, we hear how Jesus had His disciples go and get a donkey, a colt, for Him to ride on.  And we can read where He did this so that prophecy would be fulfilled.  The prophet Zechariah spoke for God so long ago of the coming of the God’s Messiah.  In chapter 9 verse 9 of his prophecy, Zechariah says…

9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.”

--Zechariah 9:9 (NKJV)

Your King is coming.  He is just, and brings salvation with Him.  And He comes lowly, humbly, riding on a donkey.  This describes how Jesus entered Jerusalem that last time, that triumphal time when all the people cheered Him and hailed Him as King, before calling for His blood only a few days later.

Family, I cannot stress it strongly enough that Jesus is coming again.  The King is coming!  And this time it will not be lowly, riding on a donkey.  This time the Conqueror comes, riding upon a white charger, with the full force of heaven’s mighty army of angels riding behind!  His eyes will burn like fire, reflecting the wrath of God.  The Word of God will issue from His mouth like the sharpest sword.  He will be the Word of God, come again, this time to judge and make war in righteousness!  And just so no one can mistake His true identity, He will be emblazoned with the words “King of kings and Lord of lords”!


Brothers and sisters, the King is coming!  Not just your King, not just our King, but The King!  The King over all kings, the King over all the earth, the King of all God’s Creation is coming!  The King is coming with the full wrath of God!  The King is coming to wage war against the forces of evil and darkness and He will win!  The King is coming to judge every human being who lives and who has ever lived!  And the King is coming soon!

Are we ready?  Are we the church Jesus wants to see when He returns, or are we lacking in some way?  Do we understand what He said to the seven churches in His Revelation, and how those words apply to us today?  Are we heeding that one voice, do we have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to us?

O the King is coming, the King is coming!  I just heard the trumpets sounding, And now His face I see; O the King is coming, the King is coming!  Praise God!  He’s coming for me!

Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You foretold through Your prophet Zechariah of how Your Messiah would enter into Jerusalem that final time: lowly, humbly, riding on a donkey.  Not at all what we would expect for a king.  But then, Father, Jesus told us how He would appear when He returns to this earth.  This time we will truly see the conquering King, the King above all kings, the Lord of all lords!  Your Son will come into all His glory and His power and might will be evident all across the face of the earth. All evil will be vanquished, and all mankind judged.

Lord God, we repent of our sinful ways.  We repent of our waywardness, of our wandering away from the path Your Son Jesus blazed for us.  Forgive us, please Father.  Help us be sincere in our desire to repent.  Hear us now, as we come before You with bowed heads and humbled hearts, pleading for Your forgiveness, calling out into the silence directly from our hearts…

Lord Jesus, You have been anointed by our heavenly Father as our King.  May we understand what that really means and serve You, and only You.  When You come again, mighty King, may You find us to be the church You intend us to be.  Help us, Lord of lords.  Help us attain that goal.  In Your glorious name, King Jesus, we pray.  Amen.

Be Zealous

[The following is the full manuscript of my sermon delivered on the 13th of March, 2016.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

This morning we are nearing the final stages of our period of self-examination during Lent as we look at the last of the seven churches of Revelation.  The seventh church is in a city called Laodicea, which is the southern- and easternmost of the seven, located along the Lycus river.  The city and the early Christian community there were mentioned four times by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossians.  In fact, Paul intended for that letter to be read to the Laodiceans after the Colossians.

All of these churches were known to the Apostles and each was vital and active in their community, in their own way.  We’ve seen that Jesus had at least a little something good to say to each of the six churches we’ve looked at so far, and quite a bit not so good to say to all but two.  Listen and follow along to what Jesus told the last of the seven churches, as recorded by the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation chapter 3 verses 14 through 22, reading from the New King James Version of our Bible…

14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, 

‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ — and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked — 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 

22 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’” 

--Revelation 3:14-22 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, we have come together in this place this morning to worship you and to receive the message we need to hear.  Speak to us, Father, directly to our hearts that we might better discern Your will for us.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.


The Reverend John Charles Ryle, an Anglican Bishop in the 1800s, once said:

"It costs something to be a true Christian.  Let that never be forgotten.  To be a (lukewarm) Christian, and go to church, is cheap and easy work.  But to hear Christ’s voice, follow Christ, believe in Christ, and confess Christ, requires much self-denial.  It will cost us our sins, our self-righteousness, our ease, and our worldliness.  ALL must be given up.  Our Lord Jesus Christ would have us thoroughly understand this.  He bids us count the cost."


Based on what Jesus told the church in Laodicea, I would hope none of us want to taste lukewarm to our Lord.  Wouldn’t it be better if He found us to be passionate, especially in our service to Him?  But what makes a passionate church?

The church that has passion is the church where…

• Lazy folks get up.
• Sleepy folks wake up.
• Discouraged folks cheer up.
• Gossiping folks shut up.
• Dishonest folks fess up.
• Disgusted folks sweeten up.
• Closed folks open up.
• Estranged folks make up.
• Depressed folks look up.
• Sanctified folks show up.
• Leading folks live up.
• Pledging folks pay up.
• Soldiering folks stand up.
• And lukewarm folks fire up.

Doesn't that sound to you like the kind of church Jesus truly wants to see?


Jesus opens this seventh letter by describing Himself as “the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God”  We think of “amen” as a closing to prayers, right?  Used in that way, the word means “so be it”.

“Amen” is one of those words that we borrowed from another language, from the Hebrew and Aramaic in this case, by way of the Greek and Latin.  One of its root meanings carries the idea of certainty or dependability.  It was used in the Hebrew to agree with or affirm or emphasize something else that was said.  I believe Jesus meant all of that when He called Himself “the Amen”, with a capital “A”, because He does provide certainty and dependability, what He says will definitely be.  And that is made even more clear when He adds He is the Faithful and True Witness of God, and the Beginning of God’s creation.

Now that is not to say that Jesus is part of what God created, but that He was there alongside God when He created the heavens and the earth.  It isn’t really a stretch to believe that God was speaking to Jesus when He commanded, “Let there be light”, or especially when He said, “Let Us make man in Our own image”.  Jesus is letting the Laodicean family know that what He says can be trusted, because He has been with God all along.


And then Jesus goes directly to the point.  “I know your works, I know your hearts, and they are lacking.  “You haven’t completely frozen Me out, but you aren’t exactly burning with desire to serve Me, either.  “Quite frankly, you make Me sick.”

As Christians trying our best to serve Christ, if He told us we acted indifferent to Him in our faith and worship and service, wouldn’t that really hurt?  Some versions of our Bible have Jesus “spitting” the Laodiceans out of His mouth in verse 16, but how much more dramatic and telling is this?  Think of how vile and disgusting that material is that spews from our mouth when our body tries to rid itself of something that shouldn’t be there.  Think of how bad it tastes, how the very smell makes us almost wretch.  Now think of how it would feel to have Jesus think of us like that, as if we were putrid vomit expelled from His perfect body.  What could bring about this violent reaction?


Much like Philadelphia, the area around Laodicea was also prone to earthquakes.  But unlike Philadelphia, Laodicea was a rich and vibrant and prosperous city, a center of trade and commerce, that could easily rebuild itself when a quake hit.

Also unlike the church family in Philadelphia, the Christian community in Laodicea was as wealthy as their city, and they knew it.  They must have flaunted their wealth a bit, because Jesus noted that they say they are “rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing”.

But yet, in all their personal riches, in the eyes of Jesus they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.  This is pretty much the opposite of the church in Smyrna, who Jesus had only good words for.  They thought themselves poor, materially, yet Jesus saw them as rich, spiritually.

If the Laodiceans as a church family are rich, then we have to wonder what are they doing with their wealth.  Are they sharing resources, like so many early churches did, to ensure no one had to go without their needs being met?  Were they giving to others in need in their greater community, helping out where they could?  Or were they putting it up in nice bank accounts and CDs and saving it for a rainy day, or the next earthquake?  My guess is, based on Jesus’ reaction, that they weren’t using their material resources in the way our Lord would want them to.  They were too wrapped up in material, worldly things to recognize their true condition.

So He tells them they must repent.  We’ve heard that word frequently in these seven letters, directed toward those churches who do not exactly fit the mold Jesus created.  He counsels the Laodiceans to, effectively, come back to Him.  He uses terms associated with material wealth because it would seem the Laodiceans would be quite familiar with those terms.  But He is really talking about spiritual matters, about getting their heads and their hearts back to the right place.

There is no mistaking His love, for them and for us.  Just as we discipline our children because we love them and want them to do the right things in life, Jesus rebukes and chastens us because He loves us and wants us to do what is right.  And if we do, we’ll be able to dine with Him and sit alongside Him on His throne in heaven.


Have you ever heard the joke about making breakfast?  A pig and a chicken were walking along the farmyard one day when the chicken said, “How about we get together and make some bacon and eggs for the farmer’s breakfast?”  The pig stops abruptly, shakes his head and replies, “No, I think not.  “For you, you would just be making a contribution.  “But for me, it would require a total commitment.”

Sadly, I believe that describes too many Christians today, lukewarm Christians.  They want to be involved, they want to make a contribution, but they don’t want to be completely committed, they don’t want to make too big a sacrifice.  Author George Orwell once observed: "On the whole human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time."

Our good brother Steve Everhart shared with me some interesting facts about the guards of the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.  While there are physical requirements to be a guard, there are also discipline requirements.  A guard must commit to serve for 2 years, after which they receive a wreath label pin marking this distinguished service.  They cannot drink any alcohol, on or off duty, nor may they swear in public, for those two years and for the rest of their lives.  They may not in any manner do anything to disgrace the uniform of the tomb.  If they do, they forfeit their wreath pin.  In 2003, as Hurricane Isabelle roared toward Washington, DC, the guard members were given permission to suspend their assignment until the storm passed.  They respectfully declined, saying this was not an assignment, but instead was the highest honor they could ever be accorded.

That speaks volumes on commitment, doesn’t it?  And isn’t it a shame that so few Christians seem willing to commit themselves to serving Christ with the same zeal and fervor, and the same humbleness, as those who guard that symbolic tomb?


Even though the Laodiceans thought themselves to be self-sufficient, Jesus saw them otherwise.  He knew they were simply deceiving themselves.  But despite all that, and especially despite their lukewarm attitude which He really disliked, Jesus still stood there at the door of the church, patiently knocking, waiting to be let in.

I want you to imagine that scene – Jesus is out there on the sidewalk knocking at our door.  If we let Him in, what will He find?  If we open our hearts fully to Him, will He see a church family on fire to serve Him, with a passion for service burning hot deep within us?  Or will we be to Him more like a cup of coffee that’s been sitting on the table too long?

Jesus is resolute in His desire to have complete communion with us, in spite of our wayward and sinful nature.  That’s why He still stands there knocking, trying to come in.  We need to be just as resolute in our passion for serving Him, in seeking to build a better relationship with Him, in our realization that we cannot make it on our own but need Him!


If you feel you may be lukewarm in your soul, then turn the burner up on your internal stove.  Reignite that fire deep within you, that flame of first love, that longing need to do anything and everything you can for Jesus.  Repent of your sin and your past ways.  Be zealous in your love of your Lord.

Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, of all the seven churches Your Son described to us in His Revelation to the Apostle John, this last one bothers us the most.  Jesus had nothing good to say about them, only condemnations and recriminations for the wrongs they did.  Father we don’t want to be like that church.  Help us to always honor Christ’s love and faith in us by serving only Him and by giving of ourselves and our wealth to all those He loves.

Hear us now, Father, as we come before You with bowed heads and humbled hearts, repenting of our sinful ways and asking for Your forgiveness…

Lord Jesus, You have shown us a face in the mirror that could easily be ours if we are not ever vigilant in our service to You.  Please help us be good stewards of all the resources our heavenly Father has entrusted into our care.  May all our works be done in Your name and may You please consider them good and worthy.  And may we open our doors to You and not leave You standing there knocking, just waiting to be let in.  In Your glorious name, dear Jesus, we pray.  Amen.

Keep the Faith

[The following is the full manuscript of my sermon delivered on the 6th of March, 2016.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Today as we continue our study of the seven churches of Revelation and our self-examination from our observance of Lent, we come to a city whose name should be quite familiar to you: Philadelphia.  That word, “Philadelphia”, comes from the Greek words “phileo” – to love – and “adelphos” – brother.  So “Philadelphia” means “brotherly love”.

And of course we’re not talking about the United States city of that name, up in Pennsylvania.  No, today we travel back to Biblical Asia, into the region of Lydia and about 25 miles southeast of Sardis, home to another of the seven churches whose story we examined just last week.  Our intent and prayer is that through this series we might better understand the church that God wants us to be, and what we might need to do to become that church.

So far we’ve looked at the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, and Sardis.  Listen and follow along to what Jesus said to the sixth church, as saved for us by the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation chapter 3 verses 7 through 13, reading from the New King James Version of our Bible…

7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write,

‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: 8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. 12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.

13 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’”

--Revelation 3:7-13 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, please shut the doors of this place to Satan’s distractions, and open the doors of our hearts that we might hear and understand the message You have for us this morning.  Speak to us of how best to be Your Son’s church, and the true family of Christ.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.


Have you ever heard the expression, “Hope springs eternal”?  There were four ladies sitting in their nursing home, chatting about all the goings-on there, when the nurse brought in a new resident… a man. He was quite dapper for an older gentleman, and one of the ladies asked him where he had been for so long.  He responded by saying he had been in prison for 25-years, serving time for killing his wife. The dear lady perked up, smiled, and said, “So, you’re single then?”


And then there was the atheist college professor who stood before his class and said, "If anyone can tell me where God is, I will give that person a hundred dollars."  One student responded, "Sir, I will give you a hundred dollars if you can tell me where God is not."


The first of those little episodes is all about hope: the woman hoping the man had changed, and hoping for a change in her own life through him.  But the second is all about faith.  That student not only had faith in God’s omnipresence, in His being everywhere, but also the faith to stand up and challenge someone that was in a position of authority over them.  In a similar situation, would we have the courage of our faith as that student showed, or would we hope the professor changed his whole outlook and got religion on his own?


Jesus opens this sixth letter as He did the others: by identifying Himself as the sender.  In this case, the message comes from “He who is holy, He who is true”.  But then Jesus adds something a little different.  He paraphrases Isaiah chapter 22 verse 22 for the last part of that identifier: “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”.

Why would Jesus quote from the Old Testament Jewish prophet Isaiah in His greeting to a Christian church?  Well, because there were quite a few Jewish converts in this particular church.  In fact, the city of Philadelphia was home to a fairly good sized Jewish population and a rather prominent synagogue.  The reference Jesus makes to that synagogue may sound familiar.  Back in His second letter, to the church in Smyrna, Jesus called the Jews worshiping there “a synagogue of Satan”.  And He uses that very same description here in Philadelphia.

Fortunately for them, He is not referring to those converted Jews in the Christian church, but rather those false Jews who have, for the most part, abandoned the Law of Moses and adopted the ways of the culture around them.  No, for His church in Philadelphia, Jesus has nothing but good things to say, just as He did for the church in Smyrna.  He knows their works, and must approve of them for He makes no negative comment about them, like He did with Sardis, when He said their works were not perfect before God.

And then the Lord proclaims that He has set before that church family an open door that no one can shut.  He is giving them an opportunity that is unlimited.  Again this is a reference to the Isaiah verse, but it holds the promise that the church family will enjoy the divine favor of God, that they will be able to do great things.

Now Jesus understands that they are a small church, in numbers.  That what He means when He says, “you have a little strength”.  That, and the fact they were probably quite poor.  You see, the city of Philadelphia was prone to earthquakes, frequent earthquakes, quite destructive earthquakes.  To pay for nearly constant restoration, the city powers-that-be levied stiff taxes on its citizens.  The Christian church there was not singled out for stiffer penalties, but since they shared resources with those in need, as the early church practiced, they likely suffered a greater financial burden than other citizens.  So they were small and poor.

We don’t know how large this congregation might have been, nor if they had suffered splits and losses over the years, like a certain church family we all know.  But they had kept enough souls in the church body to be able to do those good works, and more than that, to be able to persevere within that community and against its many temptations.  They kept the word of Jesus in their hearts and stayed true to Him, not denying Him or His name.  That last brings to mind Peter and his denial of Jesus on that night when our Lord was arrested.


All indications are that the family in Philadelphia took full advantage of that open door Jesus gave them, doing great works indeed.  Some Bible scholars compare the church in Philadelphia with the Christian church of the 19th century.  During the 1800s the church awakened from its stupor and began pushing into the far corners of the earth with a great missionary movement.  Doors opened for them that could not be shut.  Jesus opened those doors so that His Gospel message could go out and prosper.

The same goes for the church family in Philadelphia.  Whereas the church in Smyrna was told that the synagogue of Satan would not prevail against it, the church in Philadelphia received Jesus’ promise that some from that synagogue would be converted to believe in Jesus as Lord.  These new believers who Jesus described earlier as false Jews would even bow down in front of the church family and worship Christ with them.


And then Jesus makes a similar promise as He has before, that those who hold fast to their belief and their faith will be richly rewarded upon His return.  As He did for the church in Pergamos, Jesus told the Philadelphia family they would receive new names, personal names just for them from Him.  They will receive crowns that no one can take from them.  And they will become pillars – upholding stalwarts - in the very Temple of God, with no need to ever leave heaven again.


Family, this letter is all about faith.  The church family in Philadelphia had faith, rock solid faith, unflinching faith, faith that even the frequent earthquakes could not shake loose.  The author of the Book of Hebrews defines faith for us, in the very 1st verse of chapter 11…    

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

--Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)

Faith is one of the many gifts from God we’ve received, but like so many things, it is up to us how we make use of that gift.  The church family in Philadelphia must have really put their faith to work, considering all the good things Jesus had to say about them.  James, the brother of Jesus, has a little something to tell us about putting faith to work in the 2nd chapter of his book, verses 14 through 17, where he says… 

14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

--James 2:14-17 (NLT)

James goes on to say that faith is made perfect by works.  Our actions make our faith complete.


Now faith is not only a gift and an inspiration to do good works, it is also a source of power that we can renew each and every day simply by following Jesus.  It’s that power source that helps us press on when we feel like we’re just too tired to continue.

Our faith lets us move mountains, remove obstacles in our way, stand toe-to-toe with Satan as he tries to steal that faith from us.  Our faith keeps us in prayer for our loved ones and for strangers, even when man and his medicines can do no more, because we know God can do anything, if it is in His will and His time.

Like the church in Philadelphia, I know the strong faith of this church family called Pilgrim and I’ve seen that faith in action.  We don’t just watch suffering and stand by wishing something could be done about it.  We get together and put our faith into action.  Whether it’s collecting supplies to provide to those in need or spending hours and days cooking and selling chicken dumplings and pies to raise funds to help out in the community, our faith produces works and those works serve our Lord Jesus.

And when the situation is so dire and there is nothing we nor any man can do, we humbly bow our heads and pray to our Father God and beg for His intercession.  And we don’t just pray one time, here in church, and let it go at that.  We take it home and pray over it every chance we get.  We know God can do anything, and we know it has to be in His will and in His time, so we just plead that He include our request in His will and that He make the time soon.  And we pray it over and over and never give up hope.

But if God chooses to take our loved one home instead of healing them, then we rejoice over their passing into paradise and being with Jesus for all eternity, knowing that some sweet day we’ll be with them again.  On that day we’ll enter heaven and never leave, and we’ll get our crown and our new name.


Family, if any of us knows in our heart that our faith isn’t quite what I just described, if we don’t have the unshakeable faith of the Philadelphia church, if we fail to charge up that power source every day and put it to work serving Jesus, then we need to recommit ourselves to the Son of God.  We need to repent of our inaction that keeps us from our faith works, of our insecurity that prevents us from being completely sure of God’s great grace and mercy, of our human sin that has us thinking less of others just because of their station in life.

Let’s keep the faith.  And let’s put that faith to work.

Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, of all the blessings You give us, faith may be the most beautiful.  As long as we keep our faith in You and Jesus, then we also have hope and dreams, and a brighter tomorrow that we can look forward to without anxiety or fear.  Father we know that some take this wonderful gift for granted, along with so many others of Your blessings.  Help us, O God, to always hold our faith tightly to our hearts and may we never waver in our faith in You.

Hear us now, Father, as we speak to You one-on-one, silently from our hearts, seeking Your guidance and Your forgiveness of our sins against You…

Lord Jesus, our Father in heaven gives us faith so that we might serve You.  Putting our faith into action shows our love for You and for our fellow man.  Our good works, done in Your name, make our faith complete.  Help us, please Lord, to always keep our faith and to put it to good use.  In Your blessed name, dear Jesus, we pray.  Amen.