Nothing On Our Own

[The following is a full manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 24th of June, 2018.  Look for the video of the service on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Today I’ll be continuing our little series based on statements our Lord Jesus made during His ministry.  These statements are fairly simple, yet very important.  We know they are important because Jesus prefaced each one by saying, “I tell you the solemn truth”.  He wanted to make sure that we understand what He is about to say is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Please listen and follow along as I read from the 5th chapter of the Gospel account of the Apostle John, verses 16 through 23, from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible…

16 Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began persecuting Him. 17 So He told them, “My Father is working until now, and I too am working.” 18 For this reason the Jewish leaders were trying even harder to kill Him, because not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was also calling God His own Father, thus making Himself equal with God.

19 So Jesus answered them, “I tell you the solemn truth, the Son can do nothing on His own initiative, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He does, and will show Him greater deeds than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever He wishes. 22 Furthermore, the Father does not judge anyone, but has assigned all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him."

--John 5:16-23 (NET)

Let us pray…  Father God, You showed Your Son Jesus exactly what He was to do during His time on earth.  You were explicit in Your instructions to Him because our eternal lives were at stake.  And Father, Jesus did exactly as You told Him.  Help us, please Father, to be more like Jesus and willing to do exactly as You show us.  Help us to understand that it is for our own good to obey You.  Speak to us now with the message we need to hear this morning.  Help us to understand the truth of Jesus and of what He said.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.   Amen.


In 1978, during the fireman's strike in England, the British army took over emergency firefighting. On January 14 they were called out by an elderly lady in South London to retrieve her cat. They arrived with impressive haste, very cleverly and carefully rescued the cat, and started to drive away. But the lady was so grateful she invited the squad of heroes in for tea. Driving off later with fond farewells and warm waving of arms… they ran over the cat and killed it.


I think this little story illustrates the inescapable fact that even when our intentions are the very best, we can still mess things up pretty badly.  These soldiers managed to save the cat, right before killing it accidently.

I don’t know of anyone who hasn’t made a mistake in their life.  Some of us seem incapable of not goofing up.  We’re human – we’re going to make mistakes.  And the biggest mistake of all, perhaps, is thinking that we can do anything on our own.


The Apostle John tells us of yet another time when the Jewish leadership was giving Jesus a hard time, trying to trap Him in some mistake or misstep.  In this particular instance they accused Him and His disciples of doing some form of labor on the Sabbath.  Jesus replied that since His Father was working, so was He also working.  And then He shares what to us should be a remarkable truth.  Jesus says He can do nothing on His own initiative, but only follows the lead of His Father.

Like Father, like Son – what the Father does, the Son does likewise.  Now remember that Jesus is one with God, one of the three persons of God, Jesus the Son of God the Father.  If Jesus can do nothing on His own, what makes us think we can?!?


The Jewish hierarchy really didn’t like Jesus.  He patiently tried to explain to them who He was and why He was here among us mortals, but they refused to listen.  I like the response He gave them once, in John’s chapter 10, verses 25 through 33…

25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one.”

31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”

33 The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”

--John 10:25-33 (NKJV)

“My sheep hear My voice and they follow Me.  You are not My sheep.”  That should have been bad news for them, had they understood the truth.  Instead, they accused Jesus of making Himself out to be God, when in fact He indeed is God.

Now this also shows that Jesus did not shy away from telling everyone the truth that He is the Son of God, and that the Jews knew this.  But Jesus never really made Himself out to be God, nor to put Himself on the same level of authority or even capability of God, of God the Father.  He always acknowledged God the Father as the absolute authority under whom He worked.  He clearly stated time after time that He only did what His Father God told Him or showed Him to do.  Such as in John’s chapter 5 verse 30…

30 "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."  

--John 5:30 (NKJV)

Or chapter 6 verse 38…

38 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." 

--John 6:38 (NKJV)

John even captured a moment when Jesus told the Jews that when they finally succeed in having Him put to death, only then will they realize the truth of what He had been telling them.  Listen to what Jesus said in John’s chapter 8, verse 28…

28 Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things." 

--John 8:28 (NKJV)

Jesus told us the solemn truth: “I can do nothing on My own initiative”.  “I do all works in My Father’s name.”  “I can of Myself do nothing.”  “I came not to do My will but the will of Him who sent Me.”  “I do nothing of Myself.”

Family, I think this points out two very important lessons for us.  The first I have already mentioned: if Jesus could do nothing on His own, what makes us think we can?  That’s nothing but pride, isn’t it, to think that we can actually accomplish anything on our own?

It’s human nature, though, that whenever we manage to do something, to make something happen, that we swell up and get all proud of ourselves and think we actually did it ourselves, without help.  Or even if it’s a group effort, we still get proud of our role in the effort, of being in the group, and of the group as a whole.  Even the simplest things, we tend to think we managed them on our own.  We don’t acknowledge God’s role, we don’t give Him all the glory, all the thanks.  Jesus, the Son of God, could do nothing on His own, nor can we.

And the second point is related to the first.  Jesus did nothing on His own, but only what God the Father showed Him or told Him to do.  Isn’t that kind of a strong indication that we too should only do what our Father God shows us or tells us to do?

Have you ever tried to do something and it just keeps crashing down at your feet, no matter how hard or often you try?  While that might be Satan trying to trip you up and make you stumble, it might very well be God telling you, “This is not what I want you doing.”

There was a point during one of his missionary journeys when God’s Holy Spirit prevented Paul from going into Asia to preach the Gospel.  God knew the time wasn’t right yet, so He instructed His Holy Spirit to stop Paul.  What do you think might have happened had Paul gone on, thinking he could do it on his own?  My guess is he would have failed miserably and the early church might have suffered for it.  Later on, when the time was right, the Holy Spirit directed Paul’s steps into the very land He stopped him from entering earlier, and we know how that turned out.  When Paul did what God showed him to do, he was wildly successful.


Jesus told us the solemn truth – the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  We can do nothing on our own.  We should only do what God our Father tells us to do, what He shows us to do, what He guides us to do by His Holy Spirit.  For even the simplest tasks, we should go to our Father in prayer and seek His guidance.  Since we can do nothing on our own, we shouldn’t even try without first asking for His help.  And this is especially true when our actions will have an effect and impact on others.

Let’s only do what God shows us, for we can do nothing on our own.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You showed Jesus everything He needed to do to carry out Your great plan to reconcile mankind to Yourself.  And even though You gave Him all authority in heaven and on earth, Jesus did everything You showed and told Him to do.  Forgive us, please Father, when we are not as conscientious about serving our own role in Your plan, when we fail to do as You will.  Forgive us for taking liberties with the grace and salvation You mercifully provide.  Please help us to do as You would have us to do, to serve as You would have us serve, to do Your will and not our own.  Help us to be more like Jesus.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, promising to turn from our sin, and asking for Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, even though You were still God while living among us in the flesh, You did exactly as our Father God told You to do.  And it was all for our benefit.  Help us to remember that we can really do nothing on our own, that without God we are nothing.  Help us to be more like You and to do as God wills for us.  Help us to set aside our own wishes and goals in better service to 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.

Born From Above

[The following is a full manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 10th of June, 2018.  Look for the video of the service on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

A couple weeks ago I introduced a little series based on statements Jesus made during His ministry.  Now these particular statements are special in that Jesus felt it necessary to preface each by saying, “I tell you the solemn truth”.

We consider our Bible, as God’s word, to be holy, inerrant, and true… especially the things that Jesus tells us in it.  And that’s why these particular statements are so important to us, because Jesus let us know right from the start that what He is about to say is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Today’s solemn truth once again comes to us as recorded by the Apostle John in his Gospel account.  So please listen and follow along as I read from the 3rd chapter of John, verses 1 through 15, from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible…

1 Now a certain man, a Pharisee named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council, 2 came to Jesus at night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs that You do unless God is with Him.” 3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time, can he?”

5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

9 Nicodemus replied, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things? 11 I tell you the solemn truth, We speak about what We know and testify about what We have seen, but you people do not accept Our testimony. 12 If I have told you people about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven — the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.”

--John 3:1-15 (NET)

Let us pray…  Father God, when Your Son Jesus came back to heave to be with You, He asked that You would send Your Holy Spirit to us, to be our Companion and our Guide.  And You did just as He asked, sending Your own Spirit to live within us, to always be there for us.  Help us, please Father, to live more spiritual lives, to allow Your Spirit to lead us.  And help us, please, to understand Your message for us this morning.  Touch our hearts, and show us Your way.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.   Amen.


Although Jane was raised a Methodist, she started attending a Baptist church when she moved to a new community. One day she was helping a group of women clean the church kitchen. She emptied the large electric coffeepot and handed it to the lady washing dishes.

The lady washing dishes asked, “Can this be washed like everything else?”

“No,” Jane replied. “This is a Methodist coffeepot. It says right here, DO NOT IMMERSE.”


That could just as well have been a Reformed coffeepot, couldn’t it.  Most of us prefer to be “sprinkled” rather than full immersion.  And of course we’re talking about baptism here.  Just as was Jesus, kind of, in His little discussion with Nicodemus.

There’s a little something we need to be aware of regarding Nicodemus.  One of the neat things about our Bible is that we can read a passage in it and gain a lot of good information and insight.  We can learn the things Jesus tried to teach us.  But we gain even more when we read through it all and tie passages together.

For instance this man Nicodemus - who came to Jesus one night to question Him for his own reasons, to try to understand Him a little better – this man was a leader and teacher of the Jewish people.  He was a Pharisee and a member of the ruling body, the Sanhedrin.  Now this is the same Nicodemus that we read of in chapter 7 of John’s Gospel account, who tried reminding his colleagues in the High Council that their law does not allow them to convict a man without first hearing from him.  When they were in fact condemning Jesus, Nicodemus tried to defend Him.

And then, in chapter 19 of John’s account, we read of how Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man, asked for and received the body of Jesus after His crucifixion, to lay the body in a tomb he had recently had dug.  But if you remember, there was also a man named Nicodemus mentioned, who brought a large amount of a mixture of myrrh and aloe to anoint the body.  This is the same Nicodemus.  Through this discussion with Jesus, this man ultimately became a believer.


So what is it Jesus really tried to tell Nicodemus?  The man’s confusion is understandable, perhaps, because we know no one can be born a second time in the flesh.  But Jesus wasn’t talking about physical birth, but spiritual birth.  Being “born from above” is that spiritual birth.

God is a spiritual being, not a physical one, so to truly be closer to Him, we must become more spiritual in our lives, in how we live.  Jesus said that it is the solemn truth that we must be born of water and the Spirit if we are to gain eternal life with God in heaven.

There are a couple of ways of looking at that “born of water” part, and one of them could be considered when we are physically born of our mother, and the amniotic sac bursts right before labor, releasing its fluid, or “water”.  We all must be born into life, or we would not exist, and if we don’t exist we can’t believe.

Another aspect of the phrase has to do with baptism and the cleansing effect of water, both physical and symbolic.  John the Baptist saw the connection between being born of water and Spirit and being baptized with water and the Holy Spirit.  Listen to what the Apostle Matthew recorded for us in chapter 3 of his Gospel account, verses 11 through 17…

11 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”

15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.

16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

--Matthew 3:11-17 (NKJV)

John baptized with water, even baptizing Jesus.  God baptized His Son with His Spirit, as we see the Spirit descending like a dove and alighting upon Jesus.

Our Lord Jesus also baptizes with God’s Holy Spirit.  How?  By asking God to send His Spirit to dwell in each and every believer, and by God granting that request.


But this isn’t really about baptism, neither by water nor the Spirit.  It’s about living.  Jesus is looking at two aspects of our lives: the physical, or the flesh, and the spiritual, that which gives life to our flesh.  Here, He is trying to impress Nicodemus and us on the greater importance of living a more spiritual life.

Once we have been baptized by the Spirit, as believers, we need to follow the lead that the Spirit provides!  We might not know where the Spirit will lead, where He will take us next, but God does, for God directs His movements, actions, and words.  We need to follow, because God loves us and is trying to get us to do what is best for us!

The gift of the Holy Spirit is like the gift of faith.  Both come from God, both are freely given to believers, and it is up to us to use them both to benefit from them.  Just as we need to exercise our faith to keep it strong and vibrant, we need to follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance to keep strong spiritually.


I said this wasn’t about baptism, but baptism is an important aspect of our spiritual life.  If we are baptized as infants, that is the action of our parents saying they will guide us in our spiritual and Christian growth.  At some point in our maturing process, we become capable of making the decision on our own whether to accept Jesus as our Lord and Master, to give our lives to Him, to do His will.  At that time, we may wish to be baptized as an outward sign of our inward faith, our belief in Jesus as the Son of God – as a visible and public acknowledgement of our invisible and private baptism by God’s Holy Spirit.

This is the type of baptism Jesus spoke of, when He commissioned us to carry on His work here on earth.  Listen to His command, from chapter 28 of Matthew’s Gospel account, verses 18 through 20…

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

--Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)

We’re quite familiar with that command to go and make disciples.  We are to make believers, teaching them all about Jesus, showing them what Jesus has done in our lives.  And we are to baptize them, with water, to complement their baptism by God’s Spirit.

We don’t know if Nicodemus was baptized with water, but by the end of John’s Gospel account, we can see that he had been born from above, baptized by God’s Holy Spirit, for he served our Lord.  We can’t see it in this morning’s reading, but he listened to what Jesus told him this day and took it all to heart, and perhaps especially the parts about the only way to heaven is by being born from above, the only way to the Father is through the Son.  What Jesus said put this Pharisee on the path to redemption and everlasting life.

Will we take to heart what Jesus said?  He spoke the solemn truth to us.  We need to be more spiritual in our lives, and less concerned about things of the flesh.  God will see to our physical needs, so we can attend to our spiritual needs.

Let’s exercise our faith more.  Let others see that we have been born from above.  Help them become disciples, followers of Christ Jesus.  We’ll even baptize them if they want it.  I’ll be happy to baptize anyone, if they ask, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Be born from above.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, on the day Your Son was baptized in the River Jordan, You blessed Him by baptizing Him with You own Holy Spirit.  And then You send Your Spirit to baptize all who would believe in Jesus, to dwell within us and be our constant Guide and Helper.  Forgive us, please Father, when we fail to take advantage of this wonderful gift.  Forgive us when we refuse to follow His lead.  Forgive us when we ignore His pleadings, His presence.  Please help us to always be faithful, to listen to Your Spirit, to follow where He would guide us.  Help us to live more spiritually, to live as truly born from above.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, promising to turn from our sin, and asking for Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, when You returned to heaven, You asked our Father to send His Spirit to help us, so that we would never be alone, so that we need never be lost.  Help us, please Lord, to take full advantage of our Guide and Companion.  Help us to remember why You want us to receive this wonderful gift.  Help us to understand the solemn truth of our need to be born from above, and to live like it.  Help us to be more spiritual.

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.

Sweet Beulah Land

[The following is a manuscript of my brief devotional delivered on Sunday morning, the 3rd of June, 2018.  This Sunday we welcomed the Beulahland Quartet of Gilbert, SC, who shared with us their ministry of beautiful music.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Before we bring the Beulahland Quartet back up, I thought it might be interesting to take a few minutes and see where the term “Beulah Land” comes from.  Normally, a word we use from our Bible has many references, many places we can find that word.  The land of Beulah can only be found once – in the Book of Isaiah.  Listen and follow along as I read from chapter 62 of that great book of prophesy, verses 1 through 5, reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

1 For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
And her salvation as a lamp that burns.
2 The Gentiles shall see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory.
You shall be called by a new name,
Which the mouth of the Lord will name.
3 You shall also be a crown of glory
In the hand of the Lord,
And a royal diadem
In the hand of your God.
4 You shall no longer be termed Forsaken,
Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate;
But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah;
For the Lord delights in you,
And your land shall be married.
5 For as a young man marries a virgin,
So shall your sons marry you;
And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
So shall your God rejoice over you.

--Isaiah 62:1-5 (NKJV)

Remember that Isaiah warned the kingdom of Judah about falling into the same pattern that ended with the northern kingdom of Israel being exiled into slavery.  God showed Isaiah that Judah would also be defeated and taken away into slavery, but that someday the Hebrew people would come back to God, that God would then smile upon them once again and they would be restored to their land.  The Hebrew word “Hephzibah” literally means “My delight is in her”, and “Beulah” means married.  The people would again be the delight of God and He would marry them to their land.

In his book, Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan defined the term “Land of Beulah” as “that peaceful land in which the pilgrim awaits the call to the Celestial City”.  The land of Judah could indeed be seen as that “waiting place”, as the Hebrews awaited their promised Messiah.  A gentleman by the name of Edgar Stites was inspired by this view when he wrote the hymn “Beulah Land” in 1876.  Part of the lyrics go like this:

O Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land,
As on thy highest mount I stand,
I look away across the sea,
Where mansions are prepared for me,
And view the shining glory shore,
My Heav’n, my home forever more! 

My Savior comes and walks with me,
And sweet communion here have we;
He gently leads me by His hand,
For this is Heaven’s border land.

Stites took Bunyan’s idea that Beulah Land is that land that borders heaven, where we await our Savior’s coming, where we can look out across the distance and see our forever home.

But I think most of us are more familiar with the much more recent Southern Gospel hymn, “Sweet Beulah Land”, composed in 1973 by Squire Parsons.  It’s lyrics, in part, say:

I'm kind of homesick for a country
To which I've never been before.
No sad goodbyes will there be spoken
For time won't matter anymore. 

Beulah Land, I'm longing for you.
And some day on thee I'll stand.
There my home shall be eternal.
Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land. 

I'm looking now, just across the river,
To where my faith, shall end in sight.
There's just a few more days to labor.
Then I will take my heavenly flight. 

Beulah Land, I'm longing for you.
And some day on thee I'll stand.
There my home shall be eternal.
Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land.

Whether it’s the last stop before we head off to heaven, or that great Celestial City itself, Beulah Land is the place we all want to be, the land we are called to.  There we will walk with our Savior Jesus and have sweet and complete Communion with Him.  In that land we will live forever.  God’s Holy Spirit, dwelling within us, beckons us to our eternal home.

Beulah Land, I'm longing for you.  In the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.  Amen.