Where Satan Has His Throne

[The following is a manuscript of the message I delivered at Paul's Chapel Church in Lexington, NC at their revival service on Monday evening, the 25th of September, 2017.]

Brothers and sisters, family, we have gathered here tonight as the faithful.  We come seeking a revival in our lives, a revival of our spirits.  We ask to be made fresh again so that we might better serve our Lord.  And we also ask that this revival ripple out from here and into the greater community.  For that is where the work truly needs to be done.

Sadly, the people who most need to be “revived” will likely never set foot into this beautiful building.  They won’t come sit down with us to hear about the Lord.  They are lost, and don’t even know it.  They’ve either rejected Jesus outright, fell away by the wayside due to neglect or the busyness of life, or they’ve just plain never really heard or understood the Gospel, the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ.  And they are all around us, just as is Satan and those who serve him.

Lest we think this is some new phenomenon, know that the church of our Lord has been surrounded by non-believers and by the devil’s forces from day one.  Listen and follow along as I read from the Revelation of Jesus Christ as shown to the Apostle John, chapter 2 verses 12 through 17, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

12 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the One with the sharp two-edged sword:

13 “I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to Me. You refused to deny Me even when Antipas, My faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan’s city.

14 “But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. 15 In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching. 16 Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

17 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what He is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it."

--Revelation 2:12-17 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, we have come together tonight to worship You and to seek a refreshing of our spirit by Your Holy Spirit.  Fill us anew, please Father.  Stoke the fire within us that we might be of more service to You and to Jesus, Your Son.  Speak to us now, Father, through Your Holy Spirit directly into our hearts, that we might better understand Your will for each of us.  Imprint Your message on our hearts so we never forget.  Prepare and enable us to carry our Your commands and our Lord’s great commission.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.   Amen.


During World War II, General Creighton Abrams found himself and his troops surrounded on all sides by enemy forces.  With optimism characteristic of the General, he told his officers, "For the first time in the history of this campaign, we are now in a position to attack the enemy in any direction."


Talk about putting a positive spin on what most would consider a dire situation!  The reports come in that the enemy is on all sides.  There’s no way out, no escape route left.  In that situation, some would raise the white flag and surrender.  Not General Abrams.  No, he looks out and sees that his men can strike at the enemy in any direction!

Family, it’s kind of like that today, for Christians.  I see three factions at work in this world.  There are those who believe in Jesus, those who don’t believe but don’t make any big deal out of it, and those who work fervently against Jesus, doing everything they can to keep the second group in disbelief and to shake the belief of the first group!  The second group has a chance of still being saved, if they can come to know our Lord and accept Him as their personal Savior and Master.  Those in the third group are pretty firmly in Satan’s camp, with hardened hearts and blinded eyes.  And they surround us on all sides.

But rather than surrender to what the world would say is the inevitable collapse of Christianity, we need to follow the example of General Abrams.  No matter which way we go, we can strike at the enemy and his forces in any direction.  And even though we sometimes get into heated and bitter arguments among ourselves within our churches, our true enemy is Satan, not other Christians.


Pergamum was already a fairly old and rather important city in Jesus’ day.  Located near the Aegean Sea in Greece, it reached its greatest heights under Roman rule.  The city had a long history of paganism, first under the Greeks and then the Romans.  The people worshiped all manner of gods, with temples and shrines everywhere.

And in this environment a Christian family took shape.  In this soil a church was planted.  How many of us would have given them a snowball’s chance on the sun of making it?  What odds do you think Las Vegas would have given?  Surrounded on all sides by one of Satan’s greatest inventions: idolatry, the worship of false gods.  The people even worshiped the Roman Emperor, with a temple to him erected there.

Surprisingly enough, though, the church was making it.  Jesus noted that even in the face of all the wickedness around them, the church managed to remain faithful and loyal to Him.  One of their own was executed, martyred, yet they refused to deny Jesus as Lord.  There in Satan’s city.


Family, think about where Christ’s church is today.  I don’t mean Paul’s Chapel or Pilgrim Reformed here in Lexington or Emanuel Reformed in Thomasville.  I mean the entire body of Jesus left on earth to continue His work here.  Where are we?  Doesn’t it sound kind of like we’re in Pergamum?

We’re surrounded on all sides by people who worship all manner of false gods, who practice idolatry daily.  They worship the gods of convenience, of self-centeredness, of wealth, of hatred, of lust, of sex.  They spend far more of their time and resources on entertainment than on Jesus or our Father God.  They make idols of sports and movie stars, of singers and politicians.  They make gods of themselves.

Family, the church is surrounded on all sides by the enemy’s forces.  We live where Satan has his throne.


Unfortunately, there’s one other point we share in common with the church in Pergamum.  We tolerate some among us who teach and practice committing all manner of sin.  It is, it would seem, very difficult to sit in the midst of the enemy, surrounded on all sides, and not have some slip in unnoticed from time to time.  Just as in Pergamum, the church has allowed the world in through its doors.

Now in all honesty, that is something we kind of want, isn’t it?  We want the worldly to come in, in the hopes and prayers that they might be saved.  But the problem is, rather than changing the worldly into more righteousness, we – the church - have adopted the ways of the world and become more wicked.

We don’t have to look too far to see this.  Watch TV a while, or browse a Christian bookstore.  You’ll see preachers and church leaders teaching apostate ways.  “There’s more than one way to heaven besides Jesus.”  “Just do good – that’s all that matters.”  “No one is going to hell – God loves us too much for that to ever happen.”

According to my understanding of our Bible, God’s words, those statements are blatantly false teachings, leading people to sin.  The result is that we too sin.  We too lust for the sinful pleasures this world offers.

The Apostle Paul understood this.  Listen to what he told the church of Ephesians, in chapter 4 of his letter, verses 17 through 24…

17 With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against Him. 19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

20 But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. 21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from Him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God — truly righteous and holy.

--Ephesians 4:17-24 (NLT)

We must stop living as the Gentiles – the pagans – live.  They are confused.  They don’t understand what is truly important.  Their minds have been clouded by Satan and his endless temptations.  They have no shame.  They live only for the lustful pleasures this world offers and practice every imaginable kind of impurity, of sin.

Even we who are followers of Christ can fall prey to this lifestyle and wander far from our life with God.  But this isn’t what we learned from Jesus.  We have no excuse.  We know all about Jesus and what He did for us, and why, and we know the truth that comes from Him.

So we must throw off the sinful nature of the world.  We must resist those temptations that the world says is really OK to indulge in.  We need to get rid of that “everyone else is doing it so we can too” mentality.

This is not the way of Jesus!  This is not the way of God!  We must be careful of what we allow into our homes through our TVs and computers, in our books and magazines.  We must guard our hearts from the wants and desires of the worldly.

We live where Satan has his throne!  We must not let him into God’s home, the Holy Spirit’s home – our hearts, our lives.  We have no choice but to live in the world, but we can choose to not live worldly lives.


In the last two verses of what I just read from Ephesians, Paul reiterates why we are here tonight.  We are here to let God’s Holy Spirit renew and refresh our thoughts and attitudes.  We are here to be revived, to rededicate ourselves to serving Jesus.  If we remain faithful and loyal to Jesus, as was the church in Pergamum, and not stray from His teachings where they failed, we will be victorious with Christ when He returns to set the world aright.  And our rewards will be great, more wonderful than we could ever imagine.  We just need to stand strong, surrounded here as we are by Satan’s army.  Even as we open the doors to our buildings and invite the world in, we must bar the doors to our hearts and resist the world’s inroads into how we live our lives.

We’re surrounded, here in the city where Satan has his throne.  So it doesn’t matter which direction we take to attack our foe.  Let’s leave here tonight revived, reinvigorated, rededicated to the fight to win souls for Jesus.  Let’s go out and help save the world from itself.

In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Master.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Lord Jesus, the world hates You.  Satan hates You and is doing everything he can to hurt You.  He knows You cannot be overcome, so he attacks Your people instead, Your body left here on earth, Your faithful.  He lures the weak into his service by offering temptations they cannot resist.  He uses the weak to attack the strong, to persecute the faithful, all the while tempting Your followers in the most cunning ways, that they might slowly stray from Your side until they, too, become lost.  Lord Jesus, we live where Satan has his throne.  His forces completely surround us, his armies batter at our defenses without ceasing.  Strengthen us, Lord, to stand in Your name.  Embolden us to strike out against the enemy, against Satan, even where he lives.  Show us the weak and the lost and help us bring them back to Your loving arms.

Father God, Satan’s onslaught is relentless.  He batters us constantly, and from all directions.  He uses everything this world has to offer in his attempts to pull us away from Your Son Jesus.  He has even infiltrated our churches – our houses of worship are no longer safe havens.  Help us, please Father.  Forgive us our disobediences.  Strengthen us to stand.  Refresh us with Your own Holy Spirit that we might be revived and reinvigorated to continue doing the work of our Lord, here where Satan has his throne.

This we pray in the glorious name of our Christ Jesus, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith.  Amen.

Word!

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 24th of September, 2017.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

In his old age, nearing his final days, separated from his friends but not from God, the Apostle John is visited by Jesus in a vision where He reveals what is to come.  Parts of this vision are warmly reassuring.  Parts are horrifically frightening.  I can only imagine that much of what John was shown could not be described in a way that most people could understand.  But John wrote these scenes down the best he could, as he was instructed to do, putting everything he saw into words that might make some sense to us.  These words of God were saved for us so that we might benefit and learn from what John alone witnessed.

Listen and follow along as I read from the Revelation of Jesus Christ to His beloved Apostle John, chapter 19 verses 11 through 16, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy 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, there may be no book in Your Holy Bible that fills us with more fear and greater hope than Revelation, when Your Son Jesus revealed to His Apostle John and to all of us what must take place.  You have had it all planned out from the beginning, Father.  But we have resisted Your plan all along.  Forgive us, please Father, for our disbelief and disobedience.  Help us to understand what Your will involves so that we might better accept it and bend our will to it.  Speak to us now through Your Holy Spirit directly into our hearts, and tell us what we must do.  Give us greater insight into Your will for each of us.  Help us find and walk the path that leads us directly to our King of kings, our Lord of lords.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.   Amen.


A husband read an article to his wife about how women speak 30,000 words a day while a man only utters 15,000.  The wife indignantly replied, “That’s because we have to repeat everything we say to you men.” The husband turned, looked at his wife and said… “What?”


How many of you husbands use your wife as a translator?  And how many of you have been told you have selective hearing?  I definitely have fallen in both categories over the years.  I do have a physical hearing problem, but I am pretty sure I also engaged in a bit of selective listening from time to time in my past.

And sadly, for too large a portion of my earlier life, that selectiveness also applied to what God was trying to tell me.  For too many years, I did not even want to hear His word.  Now I cherish it.  The word of God.  The Word.


Have you ever seen on TV or in a movie where two guys will meet and say “Word!” to each other?  Or maybe one will say something and the other will reply, “Word!”?  Did you wonder what they meant?

I sure did!  It seemed a funny greeting or statement response to me.  In effect, when someone simply said the word, “Word”, it meant that they were in agreement.  It’s like a short form of stating that what is said is true.

So I think that is a most appropriate way of describing our Bible, too.  Because what it says is definitely true, and it is, after all, the word of God.  That’s what we call the Bible: the word of God.

John calls Jesus the “Word of God”, both in the Book of Revelation passage I just read, and also in his Gospel account, such as in chapter 1, verses 1 through 5…

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

--John 1:1-5 (NKJV)

Jesus has many titles, including the Light of man, the Light that shines in the darkness and cannot be overcome.  If we go back to the slang use of “Word!” as being in agreement, then Jesus definitely is the “Word” of God, for He is in perfect agreement with our Father God.  As is our Bible, our Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth, our user’s manual – it too is in perfect agreement with God.  So calling Jesus the Word of God and referring to our Bible as the word of God are both correct.

Let me give you another example.  Listen to what the author of the letter to the Hebrews writes in chapter 4, verses 12 and 13…

12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

--Hebrews 4:12-13 (NKJV)

Both Jesus and our Bible are living and powerful.  Even if our Bible just sets on the coffee table or bookshelf or dresser collecting dust, it still has a strong, steady pulse as it waits for us to open it so God can reveal His word to us, His Word to us.

And notice the imagery of the sword again, like we saw in the passage from Revelation.  Jesus, the Word, comes speaking the word, and it is if He wields the sharpest two-edged sword possible.  And nothing, no one, can hide from His sight, for He sees all things.


I have to ask the question, and I want you to answer truthfully, to yourself, inside yourself…  Just how important is the word of God to us?

I think we would all agree that Jesus is very important, to us and to the world.  But what about God’s other word, our Holy Bible?  Does it indeed just sit around the house collecting dust?  Is it nothing more than a place where we keep the names and dates associated with our children and grandchildren?  Do we find it too boring or too difficult to understand when we do try to read it?  What keeps us from opening that book and reading from it at least a little every day?

We have Bible Study every Tuesday evening, yet we do good to have 10 or 11 people present.  I know many of us have commitments and things to do, but isn’t the word of God important to us too?

What if the word were taken away from us?  What if we could no longer hear or read the word of God?  Never happen?  Listen to the warning God gives us through His prophet Amos, in chapter 8 verses 11 of his book…

11 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God,
“That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But of hearing the words of the Lord.”

--Amos 8:11 (NKJV)

The days are coming, says God, when His word will be shut off from us.  The world already tried to take His Word – Jesus – away from us, but thanks to God’s great mercy, our Lord was resurrected and lives still today.  But our Bibles could indeed be taken away, as they have in some parts of the world.  What will we do then, if we don’t know what God says, if we aren’t already very familiar with His word?


Nothing of this world lasts.  Everything rots, withers, fades away.  The prophet Isaiah, in one of his moments of beautiful poetry, from chapter 40 of his book, verses 6 through 8, speaks for God when he writes…

6 The voice said, “Cry out!”
And he said, “What shall I cry?”
“All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.”

--Isaiah 40:6-8 (NKJV)

The grass withers, the flower fades away.  We are like grass – we wither and fade away.  But the word of God lasts forever, in both senses!  Jesus always was and always will be.  Our Bible is an earthly construct and will eventually rot and return to dust.  But the truths it contains, the wisdom of God, the instructions we need to live by, will last forever.  Nothing, no force in heaven or on earth, can destroy the Word of God!


Get familiar with God’s Word.  Build a closer relationship with Jesus.  Read, study, and understand the Bible.  Because our Bible is God’s word and it is how we can learn more about His Son, His Word from the very beginning.  Hear God’s word while we still can, for someday it will be too late.

Word!

In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You gave Your word for Your prophets to repeat, for Your servants to write down and preserve for us, just so we could have Your truth always at our fingertips.   And You gave us Your Word, Jesus, so that we might find salvation through Him if we only believe, and in believing repent and follow His commands.  Your word, Father, is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.  If we would only allow it, Your word will guide us safely through this earthly life and into the greater heavenly life You have planned for us.  Help us, please Father, to believe in Your Word Jesus with all our heart.  Help us to read and better understand Your word in our Bible so we can live as You want us to live.  Forgive us, please God, when we are too busy to give of ourselves and our time to Your Word.

Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You straight from our hearts, thanking You for Your great mercy, repenting of our disobedience and sin, and seeking Your forgiveness…

Lord Jesus, from even before the beginning, You have been with God as His Word.  While You lived and walked this earth, You spoke His word to us so that we might understand and obey.  When You return You will again speak His word, but this time it will cut His enemies like the sharpest sword, leaving none standing.  Help us, Lord Jesus, to heed God’s word contained in our Bible so that we do not have to fear His Word when You return.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith.  Amen.

The Lord Brings a Charge

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 17th of September, 2017.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Hosea is considered one of the minor prophets in our Bible, and is sometimes called the “prophet of doom” because of his dire warnings of destruction.  But his very name, Hosea, means “salvation”, and underneath his message of doom is the promise of restoration.  In effect, the entire Book of Hosea was a stern warning to the northern kingdom of Israel against the growing idolatry of the people.  But it also contained the promise that God would not abandon them if they would only repent – turn from their sinful worship of idols and come back to God.

This message still holds true to us today.  We may not worship graven images or false gods like Zeus or Jupiter, but too often we give more of our time and resources to our modern “gods” of convenience and entertainment, to our gods of self.  We give less and less to Jesus.

So listen and follow along as I read from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible part of Hosea’s warning I think we need to hear, from chapter 4 verses 1 through 10 of the book that bears his name…

1 Hear the word of the Lord,
You children of Israel,
For the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land:

“There is no truth or mercy
Or knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing and lying,
Killing and stealing and committing adultery,
They break all restraint,
With bloodshed upon bloodshed.
3 Therefore the land will mourn;
And everyone who dwells there will waste away
With the beasts of the field
And the birds of the air;
Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.

4 “Now let no man contend, or rebuke another;
For your people are like those who contend with the priest.
5 Therefore you shall stumble in the day;
The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night;
And I will destroy your mother.
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being priest for Me;
Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.

7 “The more they increased,
The more they sinned against Me;
I will change their glory into shame.
8 They eat up the sin of My people;
They set their heart on their iniquity.
9 And it shall be: like people, like priest.
So I will punish them for their ways,
And reward them for their deeds.
10 For they shall eat, but not have enough;
They shall commit harlotry, but not increase;
Because they have ceased obeying the Lord."

--Hosea 4:1-10 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, when You created mankind, You told us to “be fruitful and multiply”.  But as we increased, the more we sinned against You.  Forgive us, please Father.  Help us hear Your warning.  Help us repent.  Speak to us now through Your Holy Spirit directly into our hearts, that we might better understand what we must do.  Give us greater insight into Your will for each of us.  Help us find and walk the path that leads away from destruction.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.   Amen.


Bruce Goodrich was being initiated into the cadet corps at Texas A & M University.  One night, Bruce was forced to run until he dropped -- but he never got up.  Bruce Goodrich died before he even entered college.

A short time after the tragedy, Bruce's father wrote this letter to the administration, faculty, student body, and the corps of cadets:  "I would like to take this opportunity to express the appreciation of my family for the great outpouring of concern and sympathy from Texas A & M University and the college community over the loss of our son Bruce.  We were deeply touched by the tribute paid to him in the battalion.  We were particularly pleased to note that his Christian witness did not go unnoticed during his brief time on campus."

Mr. Goodrich went on:  "I hope it will be some comfort to know that we harbor no ill will in the matter.  We know our God makes no mistakes.  Bruce had an appointment with his Lord and is now secure in his celestial home.  When the question is asked, 'Why did this happen?', perhaps one answer will be, 'So that many will consider where they will spend eternity.'"


Where will we spend eternity?  That’s quite a long time, isn’t it?  This life on earth is less than a blink of an eye in comparison, yet we spend so much of our time dwelling on it, fretting over it, rushing from one place to another in an effort to get it all in before we die.

But when we die, that’s when true life begins.  That’s when eternity begins.  Where will we spend it?


Hosea is like the prosecutor in God’s courtroom.  He stands before us and announces: “The Lord brings a charge against you!”  Since this message was saved in God’s Holy Word for all ages to see and hear, it speaks to all of us today and not just those of Hosea’s time.

And it doesn’t take a lot of thought to understand that, beginning with the opening comments in this trial.  There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in this land.  Instead, we go through this life swearing and lying, killing and stealing and committing adultery.  We can’t restrain ourselves, and indeed, personal responsibility has become a thing of the past.

And God warns there will be a price to pay, even for the very land itself and all that dwell in it, even the beasts of the field and the birds of the air will suffer for our sin and disobedience.  I bet most of us never thought about it in this manner - that everyone and everything will ultimately pay the price of our sins.

According to Hosea, the biggest reason for all this, the root cause of our destruction, is that we have no knowledge of God.  We don’t know God.  Why?  Because we have rejected knowledge of God!  All along, from the beginning of time, we have been shown who and what God is, but we have rejected Him and His law.  Like Adam and Eve, we would prefer to make gods of ourselves, be our own god so that everything and anything we do is good and righteous.

But even now, God will not abandon us.  To give us a chance to have the charges against us dropped, God sent His only Son into the world to offer us salvation if we would only believe and repent.  And we rejected knowing Jesus, too.


So Jesus offered up His own warning, but it also carries a promise of restoration, just as does God’s warning through Hosea.  Listen to what our Lord tells us in the Gospel account of the Apostle Luke, from chapter 21, verses 25 through 28…

25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

--Luke 21:25-28 (NKJV)

Does any of that sound familiar?  It should, if you’ve been watching the news at all.  Family, we are seeing the very signs that Jesus and God’s prophets warned us would come!  God’s warnings are being played out on the world stage this very day!

Four major hurricanes followed each other to our continent, two of them huge and making landfall on our shores.  The destruction is horrific.  Even the land, the beasts of the fields, and the birds of the air are being destroyed, just as God promised.  For God brings a charge against us.  How much longer do you think it will be before the Son of Man returns in a cloud, with power and great glory, to execute those charges God has brought?


But there’s also that promise of restoration, there at the end of what Jesus said.  Look up, Christians; lift up your heads, because our redemption draws near.  Jesus draws near, and if we believe, we will be saved.

In the Gospel account of the Apostle John, chapter 3 verses 34 through 36, John the Baptist says these words in defining just who Jesus is…

34 "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. 35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. 36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

--John 3:34-36 (NKJV)

God the Father has given all thing – all things – into the nail-scarred hands of His Son Jesus, including carrying out His judgments, His charges.  If we believe in the Son, we will repent of our wicked ways and will receive everlasting life with our Father God in heaven.  If we don’t believe, we will not see that life, but instead will suffer the wrath of God.

Eternity – such a very long time.  How will we spend it?  In heaven with God?  Or forever separated from Him and His love, suffering forever in the lake of fire?


The Lord brings a charge against us.  How do we plead?  We have no choice but to say, “Guilty”.  For we are, all of us, guilty.

We are guilty of ignoring the warnings of the Creator of all things.  We are guilty of rejecting His law, His commandments.  We are guilty of turning our backs on His Son.  We are guilty of disobeying the only commands Jesus gave us: to go into the world spreading the Gospel and making disciples, to love one another unconditionally.  We are guilty as charged.

But we are not condemned, not yet.  We still have a very capable defense attorney standing by our side, if we believe in Him.  Jesus washed us clean of our sin with His own blood and promises to intercede on our behalf when we stand before God to face our charges.

But we must first believe in Him as God’s Son, the true Christ, who lived and died for us.  And we must repent, turn away from our wickedness, start repairing our relationship with God and with Jesus, get to know them better, while we still can.  For the time is drawing near when Jesus will return in His full power and glory to set the world aright.

Believe and repent, and the charges will be dropped.  In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You love us so much when there is no real reason to.  We break Your laws, we ignore knowing You better, we even reject Your only Son who You sent just to save us from ourselves.  Forgive us, Father, for our disobedience.  Forgive us for our wicked ways.  Thank You for loving us enough to give us another chance at redemption.  Please help us to follow the path Jesus laid for us, to turn from our sin and remain ever true and faithful to You.

Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You straight from our hearts, thanking You for Your great mercy, repenting of our disobedience and sin, and seeking Your forgiveness…

Lord Jesus, You came and gave of Yourself so that we might be saved from eternal torment.  Eternity is such a long time, Lord, and You give us the means to live it with You in paradise.  Help us, please Jesus, to turn away from our sinful ways and obey Your and our Father’s commands.  Help us get the charges against us dropped.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith.  Amen.

Restoration

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Homecoming Sunday morning, the 10th of September, 2017.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Jesus was arrested and hauled off to face the Jewish religious leaders and the Roman governor. When challenged, Simon Peter three times denied even knowing Jesus, let alone being a follower. At their last meal together, mere hours before the arrest, Peter had sworn he would never deny his Master! But just as Jesus foretold, the former fisherman did exactly that.

The realization of what he had done broke Peter’s heart. But Jesus had great compassion for Peter. After His resurrection from death but before ascending back into heaven, Jesus kindly restored Peter. He gave the rock of His church a chance to atone and regain the role and position Christ intended for him all along.

Listen and follow along as I read from the Gospel account of the beloved Apostle John, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible, from chapter 21 verses 15 through 19…

15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”

He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”

He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”

16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”

He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”

He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”

17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”  Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?”

And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”

Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. 18 Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” 19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”

--John 21:15-19 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, You are a God of second chances.  Just as Your Son Jesus gave Peter the chance to atone and repent of his sin and be restored, You offer us the same opportunity time after time.  Speak to us now through Your Holy Spirit directly into our hearts, that we might better understand how merciful You are.  Give us greater insight into Your will for each of us as Jesus showed Peter.  Imprint Your message on our hearts that we, like Peter, might go confidently into the world to do the work Jesus assigned us.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.   Amen.


I read of a circus in England many years ago that was run by a very greedy owner.  One of his most prized attractions was an elephant named Bozo.  Bozo was very popular, especially among the children who liked to crowd around his pen and toss him peanuts.  One day, though, Bozo's personality abruptly changed.  He attacked his trainer and tried to charge at the children around his pen.  The owner decided Bozo would have to be destroyed, but because he was greedy, he planned a dramatic public execution that he could sell tickets to.

On the day of the execution, a firing squad stood before a sold-out crowd facing Bozo.  Just as the owner was about to give the order to "Fire!", a small man shouted "Wait!" from the audience.  He walked up to the owner and asked permission to go in and simply talk to the elephant, that there was no need to kill him.  The owner thought the man crazy, but figured more drama would be good for future ticket sales so he agreed to let the man try if he would first sign a release stating he would not hold the circus responsible for any harm that may befall him.  The man signed the release and entered the cage, as a hushed crowd watched.

Bozo lifted his head and roared and appeared ready to charge at the man, who simply spoke quietly to the huge animal.  Those seated nearby who could hear could not understand the words, as if the man were speaking a foreign language.  Bozo lifted his head again, but this time only a plaintive whimper was heard.  The man walked over to the beast, still quietly speaking.  Bozo lowered his head and gently wrapped his trunk around the man in a loving hug.

After a few more minutes the man left the cage, to thunderous applause and cheers from the crowd.  He walked over to the owner and said, "Sir, this is an Indian elephant, and none of you speak the language he grew up hearing, Hindustani.  I spoke to him in that tongue and he calmed.  For you see, he was simply homesick - he just needed the sounds of home."  With that, the man turned and walked off.  The owner looked down at the release form in his hands and saw the signature:  Rudyard Kipling.


Have you ever been homesick?  Have you been away so long that the pull of home and hearth makes you do unusual things?

My mother was feeling homesick, and now she has finally gone home, to the home we all long to return to.  And when we do get home, what a homecoming that will be.


Today we celebrate an earthly version of our heavenly homecoming, as the Pilgrim family gathers once again.  We joyfully welcome those who have been away from the church home for a while, and we long for those unable to join us.  Homecoming - a time for family, for love, and usually for a big meal.  We'll have all that today, and then tonight we will put out a call and a prayer for revival.

And we need spiritual revival, not so much here in the family of Pilgrim but all across our world in general.  Too many people don't understand this, they don't think they can be revived, they don't know how our Lord works.  They don't realize that they can be restored, and then personal revival can truly set in.  Jesus will restore us, if we would only let Him.

Three times Peter denied being with Jesus.  He was afraid the authorities would learn he was part of Jesus' group and would arrest him as well.  Peter, the man who Christ sanctified to be the very foundation of His church, denied even knowing Him when faced with possible persecution.  And yet, Jesus forgave him.

Not only that, our Lord gave Peter the chance of restoration, to be united once again with Him and to do as He commands.  Three times, Jesus asked, "Peter, do you love Me?"  Three times, Peter responded, "Yes, Lord, You know I love You."  Three times, Jesus commanded, "Feed my sheep."  Three times - once for each time Peter denied Jesus.  And we know Peter did as commanded, and was restored to his rightful place in God's eyes.


How does restoration begin?  First by understanding what we did wrong, and then repenting of it.  Peter himself tells us what we need to do, as he preached in the temple after Pentecost.  The Apostle Luke recorded Peter's words for us, in his Book of Acts, chapter 3, verses 18 through 21…

18 “But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.”

--Acts 3:18-21 (NKJV)

Repent, so that a refreshing may come, a restoring of God's Holy Spirit within us.  For the time is coming when Jesus will return to restore all things, the time foretold since the very beginning of the world.  The Apostle Paul understood this as well, and carried it one step further based on Peter's own response to Jesus' command.  In his letter to the Romans, chapter 12 verses 1 and 2, Paul instructs us…

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

--Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV)

We are to make of ourselves a living sacrifice.  Jesus sacrificed Himself once for all time so we no longer need to offer up blood sacrifices to God to atone for our sins.  But we can offer ourselves daily as a living sacrifice.

How do we do that?  By doing just as Jesus commanded Peter - we feed His lambs, we tend His sheep.  We allow Him to restore us by refreshing God's Holy Spirit within us.


Restoration leads to revival, and restoration begins by doing as Jesus commands us and making of ourselves a living sacrifice to His service.  And it all hinges on the last thing Jesus said to Peter in our scripture reading this morning: "Follow Me."

To properly feed our Lord's lambs, to tend His sheep, we must follow Him.  And if we follow Jesus and His teachings, our service in His name will be righteous and good in God's eyes.  We will be restored, we will be revived, and some sweet day, when we are finally called home and can join that great homecoming in heaven, God will welcome us with open arms and say, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"

Until that time, ward off the effects of homesickness by listening to our native language that Jesus speaks, and follow His voice and His commands.  Feed His sheep, follow Him, and be restored.

In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Master.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You show us Your love in so many ways.  You provide so much beauty all around us just for our enjoyment.  But most of all, You showed Your love by giving us Your own Son Jesus, that through Him we might be restored and saved.  Thank You, Father, for loving us that much.  Thank You for having mercy on us and restoring us to a place of righteousness in Your eyes by our repentance and acceptance of Your Son.  Please help us remain ever true and steadfast to You.

Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You straight from our hearts, thanking You for Your grace and mercy, repenting of our disobedience and sin, and seeking Your forgiveness…

Lord Jesus, even though he denied You when it truly mattered, You gave Peter a chance to redeem himself.  You clearly showed him Your love and compassion and told him what he needed to do for his full restoration.  And Jesus, You give us the same chance.  Help us, please, to remember that we deny You too when we don’t do as You command.  We deny You to others when we do not act very much like Christians, when we don’t follow Your example, when we don’t share Your Good News, when we don’t love others as You love us.  Restore us, Lord, that we might be fully revived by God’s Holy Spirit to go into the world once again, renewed and strengthened to make disciples and spread Your Gospel.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith.  Amen.