What Will Be Will Be

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 29th of October, 2017.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

King David truly was a remarkable man.  Even though he sometimes strayed from God’s law, God still loved him and watched over him.  And David knew this love, he felt this love.  So many times he seemed completely out of control.  Enemies pursued him, even those from within his own family, his sons.  Yet he never lost faith, he never gave up on God, he fully trusted in the Lord to see him through.  He didn’t worry about events surrounding him, and he tells us that we don’t have to worry either, if we just trust God.

Listen and follow along as I read from King David’s Psalm number 37, verses 1 through 18, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.

9 For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

12 The wicked plots against the just,
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees that his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword
And have bent their bow,
To cast down the poor and needy,
To slay those who are of upright conduct.
15 Their sword shall enter their own heart,
And their bows shall be broken.

16 A little that a righteous man has
Is better than the riches of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
But the Lord upholds the righteous.

18 The Lord knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.

--Psalm 37:1-18 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, just as You loved David even when he sinned, You love us.  You love us and don’t want us to worry about things going on around us.  Forgive us, please Father, when our faith is shaken, when we doubt that You truly are still in control, when we wonder about all that is going on and worry about how it will affect us and our loved ones.  Speak to us this morning, Father, and help us better understand Your message and Your sovereignty.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.   Amen.


A very nervous airline passenger began pacing the terminal when bad weather delayed his flight.  During his walk, he came across a life insurance machine.  It offered $100,000 in the event of an untimely death aboard his flight, and the policy was only $3.  He looked out the window at the threatening clouds and thought of his family at home.  For that price it seemed foolish not to buy, so he took out the coverage.

He then looked for a place to grab dinner.  Airports now carry a good variety of eateries so he settled on his favorite: Chinese.  He enjoyed a relaxing meal… until he opened his fortune cookie.  It read, “Your recent investment will pay big dividends.”


I can't be certain of the author, but someone once wrote:

Worry is faith in the negative, trust in the unpleasant, assurance of disaster, and belief in defeat.  Worry is wasting today's time to clutter up tomorrow's opportunities with yesterday's troubles.   A dense fog that covers a seven-city-block area one hundred feet deep is composed of less than one glass of water divided into sixty thousand million drops.   Not much is there but it can cripple an entire city.


Que sera, sera.  What will be will be.  The future’s not ours to see.  Do you remember that old Doris Day song?  Such a simple little tune, but the message rings so true with what God provides us in scripture.  It really all comes down to faith, to trusting in the Lord and in what He tells us.

Today is Reformation Sunday and this year we mark the 500th anniversary of the movement that gave birth to Pilgrim church, among so many others.  500 years, and it all really began when Martin Luther read and pondered over a passage of scripture.  He was reading the 1st chapter of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, when verse 17 stopped him in his tracks.  Let me read verses 16 and 17 to you from the 1st chapter of Romans…

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

--Romans 1:16-17 (NKJV)

The power and righteousness of God is revealed in the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus, from faith to faith.  And the clincher for Luther came from Paul’s quote of the prophet Habakkuk: the just shall live by faith.  The righteous person trusts in God, and through that faith lives.

King David trusted in God, lived by faith, and so was able to live without overly worrying about everything that seemed to be going against him.  Martin Luther lived by faith and did not worry about standing up to the religious authorities of his day, almost as Jesus did in His day.  Do you think Jesus worried about it?  Of course not!  He had special insight into how the story ends.  And He knew what all would happen as that story, as God’s plan, nears completion.

Listen to a short discussion between our Lord and His disciples, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in chapter 24 of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 8…

1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

--Matthew 24:1-8 (NKJV)

Jesus doesn’t paint a very pretty picture there, does He?  First He tells us not to be deceived when false prophets and antichrists make claims that sound realistic and plausible, for this will happen – they will indeed come forward and try to fool us.

Other things will happen, too, and not necessarily good things.  There will be wars, and threats of wars.  We are at war right now with Islamic extremism, and North Korea all but threatens war nearly daily.  Nation will rise against nation, family against family, brother against brother.  Famines and droughts will occur more frequently.  Disease will spread across the land.  Earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and other disasters - natural and man-made - will sweep across the globe.

And Jesus warns this is only the beginning.  But He tells us all this for a reason!  He tells us ahead of time so we won’t worry so much when it happens, when His word comes to pass!

Yes, we may get caught up in some of all this nastiness.  Yes, we or our loved ones may lose everything, may even lose our mortal lives.  But if we truly trust in God’s word, we know that our future, in the kingdom of heaven, is assured and we will be richly rewarded for our faith!  The Apostle Peter bears this out in his first letter to the scattered church, chapter 3, verses 13 and 14, when he says…

13 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.”

--1 Peter 3:13-14 (NKJV)

If we are followers of the good, of Jesus, then who can really harm us?  Sure, we may have to suffer, maybe just because we get caught up in some cataclysm or maybe because of our faith, our belief.  But even then, we are still blessed simply because of our faith!

So don’t be afraid of the threats of the wicked.  Don’t let all the mess going on around us trouble us.  This is what Jesus wants us to remember.  He warns us about all that will happen so we’ll be prepared for it and not have to worry.  In the Gospel account of the Apostle John, chapter 14 verse 27, Jesus reassures us with these words…

27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

--John 14:27 (NKJV)

Don’t let all this trouble you, don’t be afraid.  Don’t worry, be happy.  Happiness comes from our confidence in God’s word.  For God says these things will happen!  They will happen because they must happen!  And they must happen because God said they would.  What will be will be, and no amount of worry will ever change that.  Worry only doubles our trouble.

Trust in God, have faith in His word.  And don’t worry.  In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You are firmly in control of Your creation.  And You are working out Your great plan to save mankind.  Help us, please Father, to remember You are sovereign.  Help us to understand that everything that happens must happen, that it all happens for a reason even when we cannot grasp what that reason might be.  Forgive us when we have our doubts, when we question You because we just don’t see all You can see, when we fear what is going on around us and let the world trouble us so.

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

Lord Jesus, You warned us about what the future holds and what must happen, just so we would be prepared and not worry when the bad stuff comes.  You comfort us, telling us not to let our hearts be troubled or afraid because You give us Your peace, a peace that transcends this world, a peace that lasts.  Help us, Lord, to trust in You and our Father God.  Help us to have faith sufficient for the times in which we live.  Help us to not be so worried because what is happening must indeed happen as our Father continues His great plan toward its fruition.  Grant us Your peace.

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.

God Gives Much, Asks Little

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 22nd of October, 2017.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

I am always amazed at the special insight the Apostle Paul had into who Jesus is and what He wants of us.  Even though Paul did not walk with Jesus during His ministry, and indeed worked against our Lord at first, the Apostle had an incredible grasp of just what it means to be a Christian.  And through Christ, Paul was also given a clearer understanding of our Father God and the mysteries of heaven.  Paul constantly proclaimed his thanks to God, and with good reason.

Listen and follow along as I read from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, beginning with chapter 1 verses 3 through 10, then skipping over to end with chapter 3 verse 20 through chapter 4 verse 3, from the New King James Version of our Bible…

1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

3:20  Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

4:1  I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

--Ephesians 1:3-10; 3:20-4:3 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, You give us so very much.  Everything we have, in fact, comes from You.  And your greatest gifts are Your forgiveness and our salvation.  Forgive us, please Father, when we take all this for granted.  Please share another gift with us this morning, Father.  Speak into our hearts through Your Holy Spirit and help us better understand Your message and Your will for our lives.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.   Amen.


A story is told of a man who loved old books.  He met an acquaintance who had just thrown away a Bible that had been stored in the attic of his ancestral home for generations.  "I couldn't read it," the friend explained.  "Somebody named Guten-something had printed it."  "Not Gutenberg!" the book lover exclaimed in horror.  "That Bible was one of the first books ever printed!  Why, a copy just sold for over two million dollars!"  His friend was unimpressed.  "Mine wouldn't have brought a dollar.  Some fellow named Martin Luther had scribbled all over it in German."


It would seem we know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.  Why else would we pay movie and sports stars millions of dollars a year to entertain us, yet pay barely a livable wage to our educators who teach us and our children what we need to get along in the world?  We need to be more cognizant of the true value and worth of people, things, even our beliefs.

I started our service this morning, as I usually do, with a call to come together and worship our Father God.  The word “wordship” evolved from the concept of worthiness, or of being worthy.  To worship God is to recognize His worth, His worthiness.  It is to look God-ward, toward the Father, and to acknowledge in all ways the true value of what we see.


So, family, what do we see when we look God-ward?  The Apostle Paul saw only goodness and blessings.  He saw how very much God gives us, while basically asking for, and expecting, so little in return.  And filled with that special insight Jesus gave him, Paul devoted the first three chapters of Ephesians – fully half of his letter - just to tell us how good God is.

Because of God’s wonderful grace and the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf, we are blameless, redeemed, forgiven.  We are His child, His heir, His chosen.  We are holy, partakers in the promises, sealed by His Holy Spirit.

And we are also created for good works.  Think about that a moment…  A hammer was created to drive nails.  It can be used for other purposes – I’ve even used the claws to work out some stubborn large screws.  But it works best when used as intended, for the job it was created to do.  Since we are created for good works, that is the job we can do best, if we would just apply ourselves to it.


While Paul enjoyed such a beautiful gift from Jesus, he never considered himself all that special.  Just the opposite – he thought himself unworthy.  In his 1st letter to the church in Corinth, the 15th chapter, verse 9, he described himself like this…

9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

--1 Corinthians 15:9 (NKJV)

Which probably made him even more thankful for what he had been given.  And might explain why he wanted us to understand God’s goodness, too.

Look again at the ending verses of our scripture reading this morning.  God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or even think!  Not just abundantly, but exceedingly abundantly!  So we should be sure to give God all the glory.  And more than that, we should walk worthy of God’s call to us, be worthy of His love and goodness.


What does that mean, to walk worthy of His calling?  Paul gives us a very good hint.  We should walk through this life with lowliness, or humbleness, being gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love, trying our very best to remain as one with God’s Holy Spirit living within us.  We should try to be worthy of God’s goodness, and of the sacrifice Jesus made for us.

The Apostle Matthew saved pointers our Lord gave us regarding unworthy behavior, in chapter 10 verses 37 and 38 of his Gospel account…

37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”

--Matthew 10:37-38 (NKJV)

To be worthy, we must put Jesus and God first above all others, and we must follow Him and His commands no matter the personal cost.  And the Apostle Luke records Jesus saying this in his Gospel Account, chapter 21, verses 34 through 36…

34 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

--Luke 21:34-36 (NKJV)

We shouldn’t let ourselves get too complacent, avoiding getting carried away with partying and drunkenness or even the daily cares of life.  For the Day of Judgement is coming and we must be ready, lest it catch us off-guard and we not be ready for our Master’s return.  Instead, we should remain in prayer, being watchful of our actions, and our thoughts, staying true and faithful to Jesus and what He would have us do.

Paul understood all this.  So he offered counsel and instruction to the church, to us, because he wanted us to understand as well.  The second half of his letter to the Ephesians pretty much detailed how we, as Christians, should live.  He emphasized our role in being worthy in many of his writings.  Here is what he shared in his letter to the Colossians, chapter 1 verses 9 through 14…

9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

--Colossians 1:9-14 (NKJV)

If we want to walk worthy of the Lord, we will do what fully pleases Him.  We will not only do good works, but we’ll be fruitful in them, successful in them.  We will increase our knowledge of God, studying our Bible and praying at every opportunity.  We will let God’s Holy Spirit strengthen us for the patience we will need, and we will suffer with joy knowing that our reward is coming.  For we share in the inheritance of the saints, promised through Jesus, our Deliverer from the ultimate darkness, who redeemed us through His own blood.  This is how we walk worthy of our calling, worthy of God’s love, worthy of Jesus’ sacrifice.


God gives us so very much, yet asks so little of us in return.  Let’s do all we can to be worthy of His love.  In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, there is nothing You cannot do.  Since You created everything, You can give it all away if You want to.  And You give so very much to us.  Help us, please Father, to always see how You exceedingly abundantly provide for our needs.  Help us to never take Your love and generosity for granted.  Help us to be worthy of Your calling.  Forgive us, please Father, when we act in a manner unworthy of Your love.

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 cautioned us not to be unworthy, and Your servant Paul showed us how we should live so that our Father God might see us as worthy of His love.  Help us, Lord, to do the right things.  Help us to be fruitful in our good works.  Help us be worthy. 

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.

Where Is Our Faith?

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 8th of October, 2017.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

What does it mean to believe in Jesus?  That’s the very foundation of our Christian faith, isn’t it, believing in Jesus as the Son of God.  It’s all about John 3:16, right?

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

But what does it mean to believe in Jesus, really believe?  Let’s see if our Bible can help answer that.  Listen and follow along as I read from the Gospel account of the Apostle Mark, chapter 11 verses 12 through 14 and 20 through 24, from the New Living Translation of our Bible…

12 The next morning as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off, so He went over to see if He could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit. 14 Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!” And the disciples heard Him say it.

20 The next morning as they passed by the fig tree He had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. 21 Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree You cursed has withered and died!”

22 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours." 

--Mark 11:12-14; 20-24 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, we say we trust in You, but too often we look to ourselves and our own abilities and inabilities to decide on a course of action.  Forgive us, please Father, when we fail to truly trust that You have our best interests at heart, that You can do anything and will see us through our difficulties.  Speak into our hearts through Your Holy Spirit this morning and help us understand Your message.  Show us Your will for our lives.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.   Amen.

Where is our faith?  Do we believe miracles still occur?  A little girl in a Confirmation class once defined a miracle as, "Something we cannot do, but God can."  Orator and politician William Jennings Bryan once mused:

I was eating a piece of watermelon some months ago and was struck with its beauty.  I took some of the seeds and weighed them and found that it would require some 5,000 seeds to weigh a pound.  And then I applied mathematics to a forty-pound melon.  One of these seeds, put into the ground, when warmed by the sun and moistened by the rain goes to work; it gathers from somewhere two hundred thousand times its own weight and, forcing this raw material through a tiny stem, constructs a watermelon.  It covers the outside with a coating of green; inside of the green it puts a layer of white, and within the white a core of red, and all through the red it scatters seeds, each one capable of continuing the work of reproduction.  I cannot explain the watermelon, but I eat it and enjoy it.  Everything that grows tells a like story of infinite power.  Why should I deny that a divine hand fed a multitude with a few loaves and fishes when I see hundreds of millions fed every year by a hand which converts the seeds scattered over the field into an abundant harvest?  We know that food can be multiplied in a few months' time.  Shall we deny the power of the Creator to eliminate the element of time, when we have gone so far in eliminating the element of space?


Have you ever thought about a watermelon quite like that?  It really is mind-boggling how one tiny little seed can produce multiple large fruits, each with more seeds in it than I’d want to count!  Can you even imagine a machine or device that could do that, reproducing itself in such a dramatic fashion with little or no human help?  A watermelon can, and so can a tomato, a squash, a cucumber – all because God made them that way.

God can do anything, anytime.  I think we do understand and accept that, deep down.  But what we too often fail to accept is that He will do anything for us!  Anything.

Where is our faith?  Do we believe that what Jesus tells us is the truth?  Then we should believe God will do anything for us, because Jesus told us exactly that, in verses 23 and 24 of our scripture reading.  We just need to have real faith in God and believe that we have already received what we are asking for!

And the big one, the one that holds us back, is the condition that we must have no doubt.  We cannot doubt God’s ability, nor His willingness to do what we ask of Him.  Unfortunately, our head tells us that, yes, God can move a mountain if He wants to, but He’s not going to do it for me.  Why should He?  What have I done to deserve Him doing something so great just for me?  That little seed of doubt, planted in our brains, soon reproduces itself, multiplied in our hearts.  And we don’t get what we ask for because we don’t really believe we’ll get it.


There is another factor that can hold us back as well, something besides those seeds of doubt.  James, the brother of Jesus, warns us about it in chapter 4 of his book, verses 2 and 3…

2 You want what you don’t have, so you kill to get it. You long for what others have, and can’t afford it, so you start a fight to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it. 3 And even when you do ask you don’t get it because your whole aim is wrong — you want only what will give you pleasure.

--James 4:2-3 (TLB)

Wow!  James pretty well just described a fairly large segment of our society today, didn’t he?  We don’t have what we want, so we take it from someone else who does have it.  If necessary, we’ll start a fight to get it from them.  And if we have to kill them to get it… well, that’s tough for them.  We do anything and everything but ask God, because we think – we reason – that we can only get things by our own strength, ability, skill, and effort.  That, or because we just don’t think we’re worthy of God doing anything for us.

But then James points out that even if we do get desperate enough for what we want that we finally ask God for His help, we still won’t get it because we’re asking for all the wrong reasons!  We only want what will give us pleasure.

Isn’t that one of Satan’s most enticing lures, the pleasures of this life?  There’s all these things we want because they bring us pleasure, they make us feel good, at least for a time.  The devil doesn’t mind making them available to us.  But will God grant our request for something that simply gives us pleasure?

Well, God can do anything He wants to do for any reason He wants, but James says if our sole motivation is for pleasure, our heavenly Father will likely deny the request.  Our prayers to God must be for worthwhile needs, must be asked for without any doubt of those prayers being answered, and asked as if we have already received them.


We started out this message talking about miracles.  A miracle is simply God at work.  Think of a watermelon seed.  God can do and still does miracles.

When Jesus walked the earth among us, He performed miracles as signs of who and what He was.  He turned water into wine, healed people of diseases and infirmities, cast out evil spirits, even raised the dead back to life.  To Him, performing a miracle was a simple task, because He was, after all, God.

The little girl said that a miracle is something we can’t do but that God can.  Well, Jesus might disagree with that.  Listen to what He tells us in the Gospel account of the Apostle John, chapter 14, verses 12 and 13…

12-13 “In solemn truth I tell you, anyone believing in Me shall do the same miracles I have done, and even greater ones, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask Him for anything, using My name, and I will do it, for this will bring praise to the Father because of what I, the Son, will do for you.”

--John 14:12-13 (TLB)

Where is our faith?  Anyone – any one – who truly believes in and trusts Jesus can do the same miracles as He did, and even greater ones than those!  All we have to do is ask God in Jesus’ name and Jesus will make it happen because of all the glory it will bring to God.

But we have to really believe.  We must have complete and utter faith in God our Father and Jesus His Son.  We can have no doubts whatsoever – none!  We must not be selfish in our request.  And our expectation of receiving what we ask for must be complete, so that we know we have already received what we are asking for even as we ask!

That is faith!  That is trust!  Trusting so much that God will grant our request that we thank Him for what we are asking for even as we pray for it!


Family, where is our faith?  Is it fully in God, or do we think we have to do it on our own?  I’m reminded of the pastor of a small church that needed a new roof and it would cost a bundle.  The pastor stands in the pulpit one Sunday and says, “Folks, our new roof is going to cost over $50,000.  The good news is that we have all the funds we need!  The bad news is, the money is still in your pockets.”

Family, we’ve got to stop looking only to ourselves and our own resources.  We’ve got to put our faith in God and ask for His help.  We’ve got to really believe, and to act just like He has already given us what we need.

Ask in the name of Jesus so that the Father can be glorified by the work of His Son.  Have faith in God.  He still works miracles.

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


Let us pray…  Father God, there is nothing You cannot do.  Help us, please Father, to truly believe in You and Your power.  Help us understand that You will exercise that great power on our behalf if we only have faith that You will.  Help us to ask as if we have already received.  Help us to rid ourselves of those nagging doubts that prevent You from working miracles through us.  Forgive us, please God, when our faith is less than complete.

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 want to glorify our heavenly Father by doing miraculous works through us.  Help us, Lord, to stop thinking we have to do everything on our own power and ability.  Rid us of those thoughts in our minds that affect our hearts and fill us with doubts.  Forgive us for not fully trusting in You and our Father God. 

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.

Are We Good?

[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 1st of October, 2017.   Observance of Holy Communion followed the message.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

When Jesus walked this earth, the message He tried to teach us was so radical from our normal ways of thinking that He had to come up with a means of getting His point across in a form we could understand.  So He used parables a great deal.

A parable is basically a word picture.  It uses common, everyday language and familiar events and activities to explain a complex idea.  We simply cannot understand all the mysteries of God and His heaven.  We can’t even understand why He would love us the way He does!  So Jesus painted word pictures for us, and at times even explained those because we can be so dense.

Listen and follow along as I read of one well known parable, contained in verses 1 through 9 and 13 through 20 of chapter 4 of the Apostle Mark’s Gospel account…

1 And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. 2 Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:

3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. 5 Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

9 And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. 18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

--Mark 4:1-9; 13-20 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, Your thinking and Your ways are so much higher above ours that we cannot grasp all the wonders and mysteries of Your heaven.  Forgive us, please Father, those times when we have doubts because we simply don’t comprehend what Jesus tried to tell us.  Help us to understand Your message.  Speak to us now through Your Holy Spirit directly into our hearts.  Give us greater insight into Your will for our lives.  Help us be better soil for Your word.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.   Amen.


Author David Rhodes once said: "Pride is the dandelion of the soul.  Its root goes deep; only a little left behind sprouts again.  Its seeds lodge in the tiniest encouraging cracks.  And it flourishes in good soil:  The danger of pride is that it feeds on goodness."


Human pride is another of Satan’s greatest tools.  When we are filled with pride, we can more easily be angered, we tend to ignore the needs of others, we focus too much on ourselves and our personal accomplishments rather than giving Gog the glory.  Pride digs itself firmly into our very being, to where only a little praise or a small compliment can make it spring forth and blossom once again.  Even the best of us, the righteous of us, can fall sway to pride’s power, as it feeds on goodness, flourishing in good soil.  But are we good if we still let pride creep into our hearts?

Are we good?  We have to be a little careful with that question, with how we talk about being good.  Jesus warned us about that, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in chapter 19 of his Gospel account, verses 16 and 17…

16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

--Matthew 19:16-17 (NKJV)

I find it amazing that Jesus did not consider even Himself to be good.  No one is good except God.  And with God’s goodness as a measuring stick, we certainly fall way down the scale.  But there are ways we can be good, in how we live.  And we can keep God’s goodness close to our hearts and use it and Him as our model.

In our scripture reading, Jesus tells us that God’s word falling on good soil will bear fruit thirty, sixty, even a hundred-fold.  In the Gospel account of the Apostle Luke, chapter 6 verse 43, Jesus also says…

43 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.”

--Luke 6:43 (NKJV)

So if we are like a good tree in that good soil, then we will only bear good fruit.  But we need to stay good, we need to remain as good soil.

Anyone who has ever planted a garden of any size knows that for soil to become good, it must be prepared first.  The ground must be broken, over and over again, until it becomes fine and loose.  Nutrients must be added until it becomes rich and fertile, not only at first but also over time as the soil yields harvest after harvest.  For soil, even good soil, can lose its vitality.  Jesus also warns us about this, a little later on in Mark’s Gospel account, in chapter 9 verse 50, when He says…

50 “Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.”

--Mark 9:50 (NKJV)

What good are we to God if we lose our flavor, our vitality, our fertility as soil?  Will His word prosper if it falls on us after we have let ourselves become nothing more that rocky, thorn-filled ground?  Will we still be good?


James G. Arcus once wrote in the magazine Moody Monthly…

A Sower one day went forth to sow;
His seed was the word of life,
The field that He sowed was the world of men
Where the briars of sin grow rife.
What seed by the wayside chanced to fall
The birds of the air devoured,
And that which fell in the barren soil
In the heat of the day expired.
'Mid thorns and tares some grew for a time,
Tho' weakened, and warped, and lean,
But harvest time found them withered and dead
For fruitless their growing had been.
But the seed that fell in the fertile soil
Bore fruit, some an hundred fold;
And the heart of the Master sang for joy
As He garnered His sheaves of gold.
In your heart, my friend, the seed is sown;
Oh, what will the harvest be,
A blackened field at the harvest time,
Or the joys of eternity?
Oh, think, dear friend, of the harvest time—
It may be tonight for you—
Will you yield your heart to the Master's call?
The Saviour is speaking to you!


Our Savior is speaking to us.  He is calling us to be good soil, to receive God’s word and let it grow and spread.  In a moment, He will be calling us to His table to Commune with Him in His broken body and shed blood.  The Apostle Paul warns us to be right with God before approaching the table, or we will be as guilty of Jesus’ death as those who pounded the nails into His hands and feet.  Take the time of prayer to repent and seek God’s forgiveness.

Are we good?  I hope so.  We may not be as good as our heavenly Father, or as Jesus, but we can be good soil for God’s word.  We can be good harvesters in His fields.

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


Let us pray…  Father God, You gave us Your word to instruct us, to help us live a good life.  You want us to return to You and live for all eternity in Your presence, so You told us how to live.  Help us to remain faithful and true to Your word, please Father.  Help us to be good soil so that Your word can grow and spread from us to others.  Forgive us, please God, when we let the sins of the world choke out the seedlings of Your word, when we let our busyness block out the sun, Your Son.

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 knew that in our sinful state we can never be good as is our Father God.  But You also knew we could still lead a good life, and You told us how to do so.  Help us, Lord, to be good soil.  Help us to bear only good fruit.  Help us to not lose our flavor, our vitality for serving You.

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.