Jesus Rescues

[The following is a manuscript of my brief devotional delivered on Sunday morning, the 29th of July, 2018 - the first Sunday following our annual Vacation Bible School.  This Sunday we lifted our songs of praise to our Lord in a Congregational singing.  Look for the video of this and other of our services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

As our Vacation Bible School progressed through each day and each lesson, God’s Holy Spirit stirred me to consider just how often Jesus comes to our rescue.  Our Bible is filled with many examples.  One that quickly came to mind was when Peter tried walking on the surface of the sea like he saw Jesus doing.  He was doing pretty good until he took his focus off Jesus and started worrying about the waves.  Jesus had to reach out His hand to Peter and rescue him or the disciple would have drowned.  We know God sent Jesus to save us spiritually, but here He saved Peter physically as well.

But the saving I’d like to look at came from Daniel’s experience in the lions’ den, when God rescued him from certain death.  King Darius was very impressed, to say the least.  Listen and follow along to what Darius did next, as reported by Daniel in chapter 6 of his book of prophesy, verses 25 through 27, reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible, followed by a message from Jesus Himself, from John’s Gospel account, chapter 3, verses 16 and 17 from the New King James Version…

25 Then King Darius sent this message to the people of every race and nation and language throughout the world:

“Peace and prosperity to you!

26 “I decree that everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel.
For He is the living God,
and He will endure forever.
His kingdom will never be destroyed,
and His rule will never end.
27 He rescues and saves His people;
He performs miraculous signs and wonders
in the heavens and on earth.
He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.”

--Daniel 6:25-27 (NLT)

And from the Apostle John’s Gospel account…

16 "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. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

--John 3:16-17 (NKJV)

God rescued Daniel from the lions’ den.  Jesus rescued Peter from the sea.  God showed His great love by sending His Son Jesus to rescue us all, to save us from ourselves and our lives of sin.


In Vacation Bible School we looked at some of the ways Jesus rescues us in our daily lives.  On the first day we learned from Hope the jaguar that when we’re lonely, Jesus rescues.  In Psalm 27 verse 10, King David tells us that the Lord will hold us close.

Next we learned from Beacon the Toucan that when we worry, Jesus rescues.  David also supports this statement in Psalm 34 verse 19, saying that the Lord comes to our rescue each time.  Not some times but each and every time!

On day three, Rae the manta ray assured us that when we struggle, Jesus rescues.  The Sons of Korah told us how to react to our struggles, in Psalm 46 verse 10, when they spoke for our Lord, saying, “Be still, and know that I am God.”  When we struggle, we should just settle down, be still, and know that God is at work in our lives.  Be still, and let Jesus rescue us.

The fourth day introduced us to Guac the iguana, who reassured us that even when we do wrong, Jesus rescues.  Now, Jesus promised that in this life we are going to make mistakes, bad things are going to happen to us.  That’s just the way it’s going to be.  In the Apostle John’s Gospel account, Jesus says, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

On our last day of Bible school, Moe the sloth told us that when we feel out of control, when we’re utterly powerless, Jesus rescues.  The Apostle Paul explains how, in his letter to the Ephesians, chapter 1, verses 19 and 20 when he writes, “This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead.”  Jesus will use the same power that was used to raise Him from the dead to rescue us when we have no power to save ourselves.


When we’re lonely, when we worry, when we struggle, when we do wrong, when we are powerless…  Jesus rescues us.  Praise the Lord!  In the name of Christ Jesus, our Rescuer.  Amen.

Obey His Teaching

[The following is a full manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 22nd of July, 2018.  Look for the video of this and our other services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

A woman caught in the act of adultery was brought before Jesus.  The Jews wanted to stone her for it but Jesus said that whoever is without sin should throw the first stone.  As usual, He then had to defend His words and actions to the Pharisees who accused Him of all manner of rubbish.  That’s when He responded that He speaks the truth, that if we know Him we know the truth, and the truth will set us free.

What follows next is rather interesting and contains two more solemn truths.  Listen and follow along as I read from the 8th chapter of the Gospel account of the Apostle John, verses 48 through 59, from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible…

48 The Judeans replied, “Aren’t we correct in saying that You are a Samaritan and are possessed by a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I am not possessed by a demon, but I honor My Father — and yet you dishonor Me. 50 I am not trying to get praise for Myself. There is one who demands it, and He also judges. 51 I tell you the solemn truth, if anyone obeys My teaching, he will never see death.”

52 Then the Judeans responded, “Now we know You’re possessed by a demon! Both Abraham and the prophets died, and yet You say, ‘If anyone obeys My teaching, he will never experience death.’ 53 You aren’t greater than our father Abraham who died, are You? And the prophets died too! Who do You claim to be?” 54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is worthless. The One who glorifies Me is My Father, about whom you people say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 Yet you do not know Him, but I know Him. If I were to say that I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know Him, and I obey His teaching. 56 Your father Abraham was overjoyed to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”

57 Then the Judeans replied, “You are not yet fifty years old! Have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, before Abraham came into existence, I am!” 59 Then they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus was hidden from them and went out from the temple area.

--John 8:48-59 (NET)

Let us pray…  Father God, You glorified Your Son Jesus because He obeyed You and did Your will, not His own.  Help us, please Father, to be more like Jesus.  Show us Your will for our lives and help us to fulfill it.  Speak to us now, Father, 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.


A Father and his small son were out walking one day when the lad asked how electricity could go through the wires stretched between the telephone poles.  "I don't know," said his father.  "I never knew much about electricity."  A few blocks farther on, the boy asked what caused lightning and thunder.  "That too has puzzled me," his father replied.  The youngster continued to inquire about many things, none of which the father could explain.  Finally, as they were nearing home, the boy said, "Pop, I hope you didn't mind all those questions."  "Not at all," replied his father.  "How else are you going to learn!"


I’m not too sure this particular father would make a very good teacher.  Now granted, we want folks, especially students, to be able to think for themselves.  But sometimes we need to be able to help them along, provide some clues, give them a starting point, provide a solid foundation to build upon.

Throughout His ministry, Jesus took great care and showed infinite patience in giving us much to think about.  He not only provided a starting point for our mental exercises, He answered questions, He showed by example, He went to great lengths to explain the more difficult concepts.  He spent an enormous amount of time and energy teaching His disciples, teaching the people that gathered around Him everywhere He went, teaching us through His words and actions as recorded by the Gospel writers.

Jesus did all this not to glorify Himself, not for bragging rights among men or in heaven.  He tells us in our scripture reading that to do so, to brag on Himself, would be empty and worthless.  Instead, God the Father glorifies Jesus, and that’s all anyone needs.  No, Jesus went to such great lengths to teach us all the truth for one simple yet very important reason: so that we might never see death.


Those new to the Christian faith, or who have not spent much time in their Bible, might be confused when Jesus talks about death, about not dying.  The confusion comes in when we fail to take the resurrection into consideration.  What we call death, Jesus considers to be merely a time of sleeping.  Jesus promises that we will all be brought back to life once He returns and conquers evil.

All of us, all who ever lived, will be resurrected to stand in judgment before God.  Everyone who practiced evil in their lives, who did not believe in Jesus, will be sentenced to a second death.  The second death will be eternal, everlasting pain and torment in the lake of fire.  But all those who believed in Jesus as the true Son of God and who accepted Him in life as their Lord and Master, who knew Him as their Savior, will be spared this second death and instead will live forever in paradise with God.  They - we - will not die the second death, but will escape it.

But with this greatest, most wonderful gift comes a commanded responsibility.  We must obey Jesus’ teachings.  This is a solemn truth He left us.  And one of the simplest of His teachings is right there in the second solemn truth He shared in our scripture reading today.  Jesus told the doubt-filled Pharisees, and us too, that “before Abraham came into existence, I am!”.  Jesus has been with God from before the world began and will still be long after the world as we know it will cease.  In the opening of his Gospel account John tells us this, and here Jesus reaffirms it.  This is a truth and a lesson to share: Jesus has always been with us and always will be with us!

But there is so much more, so very much more.  All four of the Gospel accounts - of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – are literally filled with Jesus’ teachings.  Of course the two main teachings center on belief and love.  Believe in God and in Jesus, the One whom He sent.  Love God and love one another as we love ourselves.  These teachings we must obey.


We must keep in mind, though, that the teachings we are to obey include helping others understand and obey them, too.  That’s part of the “love one another” command.  If we truly love someone else, we will want them to be saved, too, just like we are saved.

But it’s also a command that Jesus directly and plainly stated, and one you’ve heard me repeat often.  It comes from chapter 28 of Matthew’s Gospel account, verses 19 and 20…

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 28:19-20 (NKJV)

It’s not enough that we obey our Christ’s teachings, but we must teach others to obey them, too!  That’s what making disciples is all about, teaching someone else all about Jesus and helping them become one of His followers.  Showing them how and why to obey His commands and what it means to be a Christian.

And He reminds us that we don’t have to go this alone, that He is with us and will be with us until the end of time.  Before Abraham He was, and long, long after Abraham He will still be.


Escaping death is easy.  Jesus did all the hard work and paid the full price.  All we have to do is believe in Him as the One true Son of God and accept His Lordship over us.  Of course, part of that acceptance of Him as our Master is that we will do as He commands.  Not only that, if we love Him, if we are truly thankful for the gift He provides by the breaking of His body and the shedding of His blood, we will do as He commands of our own free will, joyfully, thankfully, lovingly.

So we come back to belief and love.  We believe in Jesus, but do we really love Him?  Have you ever heard the expression, to know someone is to love them?  So maybe my question becomes, we believe in Jesus, but do we really know Him?

Listen to what John wrote in verses 3 through 5 of the 2nd chapter of his 1st letter to the early church…

3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.

--1 John 2:3-5 (NKJV)

Do we keep Jesus’ commands?  John says that if we proclaim, “I know Jesus”, but we don’t obey Him, then we are a liar and the truth isn’t in us.  But if we do obey Him, if we do keep His commandments, if we do keep His word, then the love of God is made perfect and complete within us.  And by this we know that we are in Jesus and He is in us.


Jesus told us a couple solemn truths.  He always was and always will be, so we can depend on Him to help us to believe and to love.  Know Jesus, love Him, serve Him.  Heed the lessons our Lord teaches and never die.  And teach others all about Him, help them obey His commands, so that they too might have eternal life.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, we know how much You love us.  You gave Your own Son just so we could be saved.  Father, we long to have Your love perfected in us.  Forgive us, please Father, when we take for granted all that You give us.  Forgive us when we disregard those of Your commandments that inconvenience us.  Help us to better see and do Your will for our lives.

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, You taught us so much in the three short years of Your ministry on earth.  Help us to understand and remember the lessons You left us, that Your Apostles recorded for us.  Help us to obey Your commands.  Help us to teach others all that You taught us through Your lessons and Your word.  Help us to believe and to love.  And help us to share Your truth, and Your teachings, with a world that needs to hear and learn.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, our only hope.  Amen.

For Eternal Life

[The following is a full manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 15th of July, 2018.  Look for the video of this and our other services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

The people followed Jesus, as they so often did, to a remote area to hear Him preach and teach.  As the day grew late, His disciples worried about what the huge throng would eat.  A boy in the crowd happened to have brought along five loaves of bread and two small fishes.  Jesus took those loaves and fishes, gave thanks to His Father for their provision, then began breaking them into pieces that were distributed by the disciples to the people.  In all, well over 5000 men, women, and children were fed from that boy’s humble lunch.  What followed might be considered the moral or lesson of this story.

Our scripture reading this morning is rather long, but I think it important that we hear the whole story to better understand what Jesus was trying to tell us.  So please listen and follow along as I read from chapter 6 of the Gospel account of the Apostle John, verses 22 through 58, from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible…

22 The next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the lake realized that only one small boat had been there, and that Jesus had not boarded it with His disciples, but that His disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came to shore near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

25 When they found Him on the other side of the lake, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?” 26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, you are looking for Me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate all the loaves of bread you wanted. 27 Do not work for the food that disappears, but for the food that remains to eternal life — the food which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put His seal of approval on Him.”

28 So then they said to Him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds God requires?” 29 Jesus replied, “This is the deed God requires — to believe in the One whom He sent.” 30 So they said to Him, “Then what miraculous sign will You perform, so that we may see it and believe You? What will You do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

32 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the solemn truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but My Father is giving you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 So they said to Him, “Sir, give us this bread all the time!”

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to Me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in Me will never be thirsty. 36 But I told you that you have seen Me and still do not believe. 37 Everyone whom the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never send away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do My own will but the will of the One who sent Me. 39 Now this is the will of the One who sent Me — that I should not lose one person of every one He has given Me, but raise them all up at the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father — for everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him to have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

41 Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus began complaining about Him because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” 42 and they said, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can He now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus replied, “Do not complain about Me to one another. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to Me. 46 (Not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God — He has seen the Father.) 47 I tell you the solemn truth, the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that has come down from heaven, so that a person may eat from it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

52 Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus began to argue with one another, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” 53 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood resides in Me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who consumes Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread your ancestors ate, but then later died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”

--John 6:22-58 (NET)

Let us pray…  Father God, as Your chosen people wandered in the desert for 40 years, You sent bread from heaven to provide for the physical needs.  And Father, as Your children still wander in a wilderness of our own making, You give us the true bread of heaven, Your Son Jesus, to provide for our spiritual needs.  Help us, please Father, to accept and believe in the One whom You sent.  Help us to grow in our faith even as we help others along the path to righteousness.  Speak to us now, Father, 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.


I’d like to share a few quotes with you that I think bear greatly to our scripture reading and to the times in which we live:

The great reformed, Martin Luther, once noted:  “I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess.”

Christian author Marjorie Holmes added:  “...possessions are meant to enhance life, not to become the main focus of living. ...we come into the world with nothing and we leave with nothing.”

English writer, philosopher, and lay theologian had a slightly different take on possessions:  “There are two ways to get enough: One is to accumulate more and more, the other is to desire less.”

And American patriot Patrick Henry, best remembered for declaring, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”, also said this:  “I have now disposed of all my property to my family.  There is one thing more I wish I could give them and that is faith in Jesus Christ.  If they had that and I had not given them a single shilling, they would have been rich; and if they had not that, and I had given them all the world, they would be poor indeed.”


Our possessions, as gifts from God, should enhance our life, not become our number one priority in living.  The more we accumulate, the more we want.  The easiest way to have enough is to desire less.

I like things – most people like things.  But the underlying point to these and Henry’s statement is that in the end, things won’t matter.  All that will matter is our belief, and our faith.  And that is what we need to pass on and share.


Today’s scripture reading, on the surface, seems to focus on bread a lot.  The crowds followed Jesus because they had eaten the bread.  God gave the ancient Hebrews bread from heaven.  Jesus is the true bread that came down from heaven.

Bread is something we can understand, especially as regards how important it is to mankind.  As miraculous as the feeding of the 5000 was, it was still only bread, and fish - worldly things that last only a short while.  We call bread the “staff of life”, meaning it is and has been vital to mankind’s survival.  Jesus said “I am the bread of life”, and He is indeed vital to our spiritual survival and life everlasting.


Jesus made a couple of references to God sending bread from heaven to Moses and the children of Israel.  Let me briefly refresh our memory of what Jesus is talking about, reading from chapter 16 of Moses’ Book of Exodus, the first part of verse 4, verses 19 and 20, and verse 31…

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you."

19 And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning.” 20 Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.

31 And the house of Israel called its name Manna. And it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

--Exodus 16:4a, 19 & 20, 31 (NKJV)

Each day God provided for the peoples’ needs.  He wanted them to trust in His provision, that He would see to their needs each and every day.  Some didn’t trust Him and tried to gather more manna than they needed for that day.  But what they had labored to hoard away rotted, bred worms, and stank.  The manna, the bread from heaven, melted with the heat of the day and turned rancid if left overnight.

Jesus, the true bread from heaven, is eternal, and what He gives is eternal.  All those Israelis who ate of that sweet bread in the desert stilled died, as has everyone else who ever lived and ate of physical food.  But those who eat of the bread of life that is Jesus will live forever.

Anything of this world – our valued possessions, our very food – will eventually rot and decay, and become useless to anyone.  Only our spiritual possessions – our faith and belief – will serve us for eternal life.


Jesus said, “I am the bread of life”.  Those who go to Him will never be hungry.  Those who believe in Him will never thirst.  Jesus is the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats from this bread they will live forever.

And then in verse 51 Jesus said, “The bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”  The Jews were aghast, yet He goes on and adds, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.  The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.  For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.  The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood resides in Me, and I in him.”

If you’ve not closely looked at this scripture before, a lightbulb may be going off over your head about now.  This should be reminding us of our Lord’s last meal with His followers, of our Holy Communion.  Now this is coming from the Apostle John’s Gospel account, but while John did not report on the Last Supper itself, Matthew, Mark and Luke did, in their Gospel accounts, and so did Paul, in chapter 11 of his 1st letter to the Corinthians.  Listen to how Matthew recorded Jesus’ words that night, in chapter 26 of his Gospel account, verses 26 through 28…

26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

--Matthew 26:26-28 (NKJV)

Jesus said “this is My body”, “this is My blood”.  Take and eat for this is the true bread from heaven.  Eat this bread for eternal life.

When we observe Holy Communion, we do as Jesus commands.  We drink of His blood for the remission, the forgiveness, of our sins.  We eat of His flesh for eternal life, that we will be raised up on the last day, that we may live in Jesus and He in us.


Do we trust in God to provide for our needs - not our wants, but our needs?  Or are we like some of those ancient Jews who tried to accumulate more than they needed, only to watch it all rot and decay?

All the things of this world, both great and small, are temporary – they will not last.  Only the things of heaven are eternal.  We cannot take the things of this earth with us when we breathe our last breath here.  We can leave them to our children and their children, or others of our loved ones left behind.  But unless we have left them with our faith, our belief, nothing else will truly matter.  We can leave our loved ones nothing else of value but our belief and our faith.  Only those matter for eternal life.

Jesus told us a solemn truth.  Hear the message our Lord speaks, eat of His bread, and live forever.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You provide for our worldly needs, and You also provide for our spiritual needs.  Too many, Father, take advantage of the former while passing up the latter.  Forgive us, O gracious God, when we don’t completely trust You to provide for us.  Forgive us when we don’t accept Your true bread from heaven.

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, You came to offer us eternal life, salvation through You and the sacrifice of Your own flesh and blood.  Help us to better understand the solemn truths You spoke to us.  Help us to better trust our Father God, that He will see to our needs.  Help us to grow and strengthen our faith and our belief, the only things that matter.  And help us to share Your truth and Your bread with the world while there is still time.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, our only hope.  Amen.

Hear the Voice

[The following is a full manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 8th of July, 2018.  Look for the video of this and our other services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

We’ve been looking at some of the statements Jesus made during His ministry on earth that He prefaced by saying, “I tell you the solemn truth”.  If our Lord took the time to tell us these truths, went to the extra effort to emphasize their importance, shouldn’t we listen to them?  Isn’t a solemn truth worthy of our attention?

Please listen and follow along as I read from chapter 5 of the Gospel account of the Apostle John, verses 24 through 30, from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible…

24 “I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears My message and believes the one who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned, but has crossed over from death to life. 25 I tell you the solemn truth, a time is coming — and is now here — when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in Himself, thus He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27 and He has granted the Son authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 

28 “Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice 29 and will come out — the ones who have done what is good to the resurrection resulting in life, and the ones who have done what is evil to the resurrection resulting in condemnation. 30 I can do nothing on My own initiative. Just as I hear, I judge, and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of the One who sent Me."

--John 5:24-30 (NET)

Let us pray…  Father God, we don’t know exactly when Your great plan for mankind’s salvation will be completed with Your Son’s return to earth, but we do know we will face judgment at that time.  Help us, please Father, to be prepared for our judgment.  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.


Two psychiatrists meet at their 20th college reunion.  One is alive and vibrant, while the other looks withered and worried.  "So what's your secret?", the older looking psychiatrist asks.  "Listening to other people's problems every day, all day long, for years on end, has made an old man of me."  "So," replies the younger looking one, "who listens?"


Speaking of listening, how good a listener are you?

• Since you think about four times faster than a person usually talks, do you use this time to think about other things while you're keeping track of the conversation? 
• Do you listen primarily for facts rather than ideas when someone is speaking? 
• Can you tell from a person's appearance and delivery that there won't be anything worthwhile said? 
• Do certain words and phrases prejudice you so you cannot listen objectively? 
• When someone is talking to you do you appear to be paying attention even when you're not? 
• When listening are you easily distracted by other sights and sounds?

Hearing is easy.  It is simply the act of perceiving sound by the ear.  If we’re not hearing-impaired, hearing just happens.  Listening, however, is something we consciously choose to do.  Listening requires concentration so that our brain can process meaning from the words and sentences we hear.

Jesus told us to hear His words, His message, but I really think He meant for us to listen.  That's why He added the word believe in verse 24, when He said, “the one who hears My message and believes”.  We can only believe if we've listened to the message of the Gospel and allowed ourselves to process what we've heard.


Jesus said that those who hear His message and believe the One who sent Him has eternal life and will not be condemned!  There are two very important points in this solemn truth.  The first is that believers already have eternal life!

We tend to think that we will be granted eternal life in heaven once this life is over, and that is true, kind of.  But the key here is that our life eternal has already been granted because of our belief and our faith!  It’s ours, God has already given it to us.  Once we die to this mortal life our everlasting life begins.  There’s no “if” involved.  We took care of any “ifs” when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Master.

And the second point is clearly related to the first.  Since we already have everlasting life, we will not be condemned to everlasting death, eternal torment.

The second solemn truth Jesus told us in this reading, in verse 25, is that the time is coming when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God – His voice – and will live.  The dead will hear and live.  For believers, our resurrection will be followed by life everlasting.  For evil-doers, resurrection will result in condemnation and everlasting torment.

Remember: believers will not be condemned.  Those who are already dead to this mortal life who did not believe are already condemned.  But those who are currently alive but are dead in sin need to listen and pay attention, for there is still time for them to accept and believe in Jesus as Lord.


In verse 27 of our reading, Jesus almost casually notes that God the Father has granted Him – the Son of God – the authority to execute judgment.  He does not say “to judge”, but “to execute judgment”.  In verse 30 He clarifies that He will judge according to what He hears, meaning what He hears from His Father God, because it is God’s will He is carrying out, and not His own.  Consider what Jesus tells us in chapter 12 of John’s Gospel account, verses 46 through 48…

46 “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. 47 And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.”

--John 12:46-48 (NKJV)

Jesus came to save the world, not judge it.  As far as condemnation goes, Jesus doesn’t have to judge us – we judge ourselves.  By our words, by our actions, by what’s in our hearts, by our belief or disbelief…  we judge ourselves.  If we hear His voice and don’t listen, if we hear His words and still don’t believe, then we condemn ourselves.  If we reject Jesus as Lord, we will be rejected from life eternal.


These things we have looked at so far, Jesus shared with us through His disciples, His apostles, from the time He still walked this earth.  But He showed His beloved disciple John even more, after He had returned to heaven to sit at His Father’s side.  He showed John what we can expect when He returns to this earth, and He instructed John to write it all down, to save it for us even to this day.  Listen to part of what Jesus revealed to John, in his great Book of Revelation, chapter 20, verses 11 through 15…

11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

--Revelation 20:11-15 (NKJV)

John sees God’s great white throne of judgment.  And standing before that throne is everyone still alive on that day and everyone who has ever lived.  All of mankind, from Adam onward to the last child born, will stand before God in judgment.

Books will be opened – not just one book as some think, but many.  Most of those books will contain everything that every person has ever done during their mortal lifetime.  The time you helped feed the homeless will be listed on one of those books, as well as the time you refused to even make eye contact with a person in need.  Everything we’ve ever done will be recorded in one of those books, and by them we will be judged.  I envision that one of those books opened that day will be titled, “The Life and Heart of Richard Raymond Moore”.

But those aren’t the books I’m as concerned with right now as the one book that John calls by name: the “Book of Life”.  The contents of this book testify as to our salvation, or our condemnation.  For anyone not found written in the Book of Life, anyone whose name is not listed there, will be cast into the lake of fire, there to burn in everlasting torment.  By our belief or disbelief we judge ourselves, whether to eternal life, or eternal death.


Jesus told us a solemn truth.  Dictionary definitions for “solemn” include sober, mirthless, earnest; gravely impressive; causing serious thought.  We hear the truth Jesus speaks, but do we listen?  Do we give His words serious thought?  We can clearly see that whether we are saved to eternal life or condemned to everlasting torment is entirely up to us.  And this pertains to every truth Jesus shared.

Hear the voice of our Lord and believe, and live forever.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, the day will come when You will sit upon Your great white throne and we and all of mankind will stand arrayed before You.  But we will already have decided our own fate by that point.  Forgive us, please Father, when we fail to give serious thought and consideration to Your word.  Forgive us those times when we do not fully accept Your Son Jesus as our Master, but only look to Him as our Savior.  Please help us give You our full attention.  Help us be ever faithful.

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, You told us the truth of what is to come.  You warned us that we will decide our own eternal life by whether we listen to Your voice or not, whether we believe in You as God’s own Son or not.  Help us believe without doubt, Lord.  Help us to hear Your voice and to listen to Your message.  And help us to share Your truth with the world while there is still time.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, our only hope.  Amen.

Of Freedom

[The following is a full manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 1st of July, 2018, the Sunday before Independence Day.  Today's service included the observance of Holy Communion.  Unfortunately, the video did not take, but look for the videos of our other services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Since this is the Sunday before our nation celebrates its independence, and also the first Sunday of the quarter, I’d like to look at what true freedom means and how it relates to communing with our Father's Son.

Jesus told us much about freedom, and also about its opposite: slavery.  His concern with slavery, though, was not as regards human ownership, but of a more spiritual nature.  One truth He shared with us might be familiar.

Please listen and follow along as I read from chapter 8 of the Gospel account of the Apostle John, verses 31 through 36, from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible…

31 Then Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed Him, “If you continue to follow My teaching, you are really My disciples 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 “We are descendants of Abraham,” they replied, “and have never been anyone’s slaves! How can You say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “I tell you the solemn truth, everyone who practices sin is a slave of sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the family forever, but the son remains forever. 36 So if the son sets you free, you will be really free."

--John 8:31-36 (NET)

Let us pray…  Father God, Your beloved Son Jesus offers to set us free from our slavery to sin.  He made the ultimate sacrifice of His own blood so that we might be forgiven of our great disobedience to You if only we would believe in Him and accept Him as Lord.  Help us, please Father, to not only believe, but to recognize and accept His Lordship over our lives.  Help us obey His commands and be more righteous in Your sight.  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 told us.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.   Amen.


As we approach the day we celebrate our nation’s independence, we need to remember how our liberty was attained - through whose help and by whose hand.  Every day when the sun rises over Washington, DC, its first rays fall on the eastern side of the city’s tallest structure, the 555-foot Washington Monument.  The first part of that monument to reflect the rising sun is the eastern side of its aluminum capstone, where these words are inscribed: Laus Deo – which is Latin for “Praise be to God.”  This short prayer of praise, visible to the eyes of heaven alone, is tacit recognition of our nation’s unique acknowledgment of the place of God in its founding and its continuance.


Author Dorothy L. Sayer once noted that, "The divine 'scheme of things', as Christianity understands it, is at once extremely elastic and extremely rigid.  It is elastic, in that it includes a large measure of liberty for the creature; it is rigid in that it includes the proviso that, however created beings choose to behave, they must accept responsibility of their own actions and endure the consequences."


These two, taken together, describe where freedom truly begins and what it really means.  George Washington readily acknowledged that it was only by divine providence that his hastily assembled, barely trained, and poorly equipped army was able to defeat the most powerful armed force of his day.  God provides for our liberty, both as a nation and as individuals.

But as Ms. Sayer pointed out, freedom is not free.  Freedom requires sacrifice, a deep and steadfast commitment, and constant vigilance.  Our freedom from tyranny as a nation was and is paid for by the blood of countless men and women, shed on battlefields around the globe.  Our freedom from sin as individuals was paid for by the blood of One, the Son of Man, our Savior Jesus, shed on that cruel cross.

Freedom from tyranny or from slavery to man is short-lived, as is all life on this earth.  Freedom from slavery to sin is eternal, and only the Son is able to grant that freedom.


Ms. Sayer merely echoed what the Apostle Paul told us so long ago, in his letter to the church in Rome, from chapter 5 verse 20 through chapter 6 verse 2…

5:20 God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

6:1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?

--Romans 5:20-6:2 (NLT)

John Diefenbaker, a former Prime Minister of Canada, said, “Freedom is the right to be wrong, not the right to do wrong.”  This is what Paul is saying.  Just because we have been forgiven of our sins doesn’t mean that we can just go on sinning like before, go on living as if nothing has changed.  As Ms. Sayer put it, we must accept responsibility for our actions, even in our liberty, for those actions carry consequences.


So Jesus frees us from slavery to sin when we accept Him as Lord and Master, but isn’t that just trading one form of slavery for another?  Well…  yes, to accept Jesus is to willingly put ourselves in servitude to Him.  We willingly become His, give ourselves to Him.  And it is right that we do so.

American clergyman Phillip Brooks, in the 1800’s, noted that, “No man in this world attains to freedom from any slavery except by entrance into some higher servitude.”  That “higher servitude” we enter into is to Jesus.  Serving Him is our way to thank Him for freeing us from our sin, and by His request to our heavenly Father, for our being granted eternal life in paradise.

It is our responsibility to be worthy in God’s sight, to be right with God our Father, so we can receive this gift we do not deserve.  Paul points out the importance of our being worthy.  God’s Son frees us from our bonds of sin, allowing us to freely commune with Him anytime we wish.  As a family, we choose to observe Holy Communion with our Lord at certain times each year.  But Paul cautions us not to come to our Lord's table unless and until we are right with God.  Hear Paul’s warning from his 1st letter to the Corinthians, chapter 11, verses 26 through 28…

26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.

27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. 

--1 Corinthians 11:26-28 (NLT)

Jesus frees us from the death of our sins when we accept Him as Master.  Let us be worthy of His sacrifice and of God’s grace.  Let us take this time now, and during my prayer in a moment, to get right with our Father, to repent of our sin, to renew our own personal commitment to serving Jesus, before we come to His table.


Jesus told us the solemn truth – the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  And the truth sets us free.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You placed us here in this “land of the free” so we could enjoy our liberty.  But Father, true freedom only comes from You, and is only available to us through Your Son Jesus.  Forgive us, please Father, when we think we are so independent we don’t need You.  Forgive us when we take liberties with our freedom.  Please help us cherish and honor the sacrifice Jesus made for us so that we might be free from slavery to sin forever.

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, You told us the truth and the truth will indeed set us free, but only if we do our part.  We must believe in You as the one true Son of God, who sacrificed Your all for us.  And we must remain worthy and righteous in God’s eye, remaining faithful to You and our Father.  Help us to do just that – to remain true and to stay right with God.  Help us to acknowledge and honor Your sacrifice.  And help us to share Your truth with the world around us.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, our only hope.  Amen.