[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 19th of August, 2018. Look for the video of this and our other services on our Vimeo channel: http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
Jesus entered Jerusalem knowing it would be His last visit, that His death awaited Him there. So He enjoyed one last meal with His friends, His disciples. After supper, Jesus surprised them all by removing His outer garments and then washing and drying each one’s feet. As we would expect of him, Peter tried to protest that he wasn’t worthy to have his feet washed by His Master, but Jesus quickly put him in his place. And then follows more of our Lord’s solemn truth.
Please listen and follow along as I read from the chapter 13 of the Gospel account of the Apostle John, verses 12 through 20, from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible…
Please listen and follow along as I read from the chapter 13 of the Gospel account of the Apostle John, verses 12 through 20, from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible…
12 So when Jesus had washed their feet and put His outer clothing back on, He took his place at the table again and said to them, “Do you understand what I have done for you? 13 You call He ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and do so correctly, for that is what I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you too ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example — you should do just as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the solemn truth, the slave is not greater than his master, nor is the one who is sent as a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you understand these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
18 “What I am saying does not refer to all of you. I know the ones I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who eats My bread has turned against Me.’ 19 I am telling you this now, before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe that I am He. 20 I tell you the solemn truth, whoever accepts the one I send accepts Me, and whoever accepts Me accepts the One who sent Me.”
--John 13:12-20 (NET)
Let us pray… Father God, at Your Son’s request, You sent Your own Holy Spirit to dwell within in, to be our constant Companion, to be our Guide. Too often, Father, we fail to follow Your Spirit’s prodding, we turn a deaf ear to His voice. Please help us to listen, Father. Help us to hear and understand the truth of Jesus and of what He said. Speak to us now with the message You need us to hear this morning. In the blessed name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
It has been said that some pastors preach "longhorn sermons": a point here, a point there, and a lot of bull in between. I pray that I never fall into that category.
Several years ago, the British Weekly Glass Window published a provocative letter that read: It seems ministers feel their sermons are very important and spend a great deal of time preparing them. I have been attending church quite regularly for 30 years and I have probably heard 3,000 of them. To my consternation, I discovered I cannot remember a single sermon. I wonder if a minister's time might be more profitable spent on something else?
For weeks afterwards, a tempest of editorial responses raged. The storm finally subsided with this letter: I have been married for 30 years. During that time I have eaten 32,850 meals - mostly my wife's cooking. Suddenly I have discovered I cannot remember the menu of a single meal. And yet, I have the distinct impression that without them, I would have starved to death long ago.
Are You getting fed on Sunday mornings, or might the time I put into sermon and service preparation be more profitably spent on something else?
I don't want you to think this is all about sermons and preachers. It's about messages and messengers. Preachers are simply messengers who strive to deliver the message God entrusts them with. I’ll keep trying to keep the “bull” to a minimum.
Jesus tells us many times, as recorded by all four Gospel writers, that He was sent by God, His Father. Shortly after entering Jerusalem for the Passover Feast, Jesus said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.” And He added, “And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.”
We know why God sent His Son into the world: to offer us salvation through the sacrifice of His own blood. But this also makes Jesus a messenger, bearing God’s message of salvation. One of the first things He did as an adult, when He went to be baptized by John, was to deliver God’s message to all those gathered there, to “Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
Note that part of the solemn truth He shared with us this morning is that the messenger is never greater than the one who sent him. Jesus acknowledged that even He is not greater than God the Father. If we need more reason to see Jesus as a messenger from God, we need only look at the 1st letter John wrote to the early church, in chapter 1, verses 5 through 10…
In John 3:16 we are shown that “God so loved the world…”. God wanted to make sure we know we are loved so He gave the message to Jesus to deliver to us. Jesus carried that message to us and added to it what God commanded so long ago to the ancient Hebrews that we love one another just as we love ourselves. Again John shares this message in his 1st letter, chapter 3, verse 11, when he says……
Allow me one last scriptural support of Jesus also serving God as His ultimate messenger. This one comes from the Apostle Paul’s 1st letter to the Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 18, when Paul tells us that…
That was the strongest, the most urgent message God had Jesus deliver: dying on the cross. Dying for us. But we have to had paid attention to that message for it to mean anything to us! Those already perishing think it nothing but foolishness. But for we who believe, that message bears the full and frightening power of God.
What do we do with that information? Jesus commands us to share it, to deliver it to someone else, to be a messenger. And here I go again, with chapter 28 in the Apostle Matthew’s Gospel account, verses 19 and 20…
The thing is, we need not be timid or shy or fearful of delivering that message. Jesus just told us right there that He will always be with us, even as we act as God’s messenger. And John showed us how that message has God’s power in it. We need not hesitate to deliver it.
I am a simple messenger, carrying God’s message to you and to whoever might hear. Of the hour we are together on Sunday mornings, I have only 10 or 15 minutes to actually deliver the message God has sent for you to hear, as some get a little ..um.. anxious when the hour extends past 11:30. So I try to include parts of the message in the congregational readings, parts in the so-called children's sermon, parts in the prayers... God's message must be delivered, one way or another, whether it is actually heard or not. For we humans are so easily distracted, and those of us with ADD or ADHD more so than most.
Someone recently commented that they thought the devil had entered the church. Yes, I responded, he has. Satan entered the church long ago, as soon as it was founded. He walks in here, into this beautiful sanctuary, every Sunday morning and sits down in a pew among us. We don’t see him, but he’s here. He’s here whispering in our ear… “Look at that person over there! How could they come to church dressed like that?!?” “Why is that man in the corner eyeing everyone?” “The preacher’s droning on… don’t you have something else you could be doing right now?”
Satan is here doing everything he can to distract us from the message God wants us to hear. The devil knows we’re saved, those who are, but he can still keep us from learning what God says we need to know. And there’s always the off-chance that some unsaved soul might walk in. Yes, Satan is in the church, trying his best to distract us from our worship, and from God’s word.
Now I know that I am not the most eloquent preacher in the world. And I know that, no matter how hard I try to keep it from happening, our services tend to run over more times than not. I am a poor messenger… but the message I bear comes from God and it is urgently important.
Hear God’s message, and be fed. Believe, and be saved. In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, no one nor anything could ever be greater than You. Your message is powerful, especially when delivered by Your Son Jesus. Please help us be more receptive to Your message. Help us to better understand what You say. And help us turn a deaf ear to Satan rather than to You or Your messengers. Forgive us when we let too many things distract us from what we really need to hear.
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 served many roles during Your short time on earth. In one You served our Father God as His messenger, bringing His message of power to us mortals. And You commanded us to take up that message and deliver it to others, that they might hear, respond, believe, and be saved. Help us to, Lord Jesus to understand the message You carried, and to share it with others in our daily walk. Help us to be better servants.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, our only hope. Amen.
It has been said that some pastors preach "longhorn sermons": a point here, a point there, and a lot of bull in between. I pray that I never fall into that category.
Several years ago, the British Weekly Glass Window published a provocative letter that read: It seems ministers feel their sermons are very important and spend a great deal of time preparing them. I have been attending church quite regularly for 30 years and I have probably heard 3,000 of them. To my consternation, I discovered I cannot remember a single sermon. I wonder if a minister's time might be more profitable spent on something else?
For weeks afterwards, a tempest of editorial responses raged. The storm finally subsided with this letter: I have been married for 30 years. During that time I have eaten 32,850 meals - mostly my wife's cooking. Suddenly I have discovered I cannot remember the menu of a single meal. And yet, I have the distinct impression that without them, I would have starved to death long ago.
Are You getting fed on Sunday mornings, or might the time I put into sermon and service preparation be more profitably spent on something else?
I don't want you to think this is all about sermons and preachers. It's about messages and messengers. Preachers are simply messengers who strive to deliver the message God entrusts them with. I’ll keep trying to keep the “bull” to a minimum.
Jesus tells us many times, as recorded by all four Gospel writers, that He was sent by God, His Father. Shortly after entering Jerusalem for the Passover Feast, Jesus said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.” And He added, “And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.”
We know why God sent His Son into the world: to offer us salvation through the sacrifice of His own blood. But this also makes Jesus a messenger, bearing God’s message of salvation. One of the first things He did as an adult, when He went to be baptized by John, was to deliver God’s message to all those gathered there, to “Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
Note that part of the solemn truth He shared with us this morning is that the messenger is never greater than the one who sent him. Jesus acknowledged that even He is not greater than God the Father. If we need more reason to see Jesus as a messenger from God, we need only look at the 1st letter John wrote to the early church, in chapter 1, verses 5 through 10…
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
--1 John 1:5-10 (NKJV)
11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another...
--1 John 3:11 (NKJV)
18 [For] The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
--1 Corinthians 1:18 (NKJV)
What do we do with that information? Jesus commands us to share it, to deliver it to someone else, to be a messenger. And here I go again, with chapter 28 in the Apostle 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.”
--Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV)
I am a simple messenger, carrying God’s message to you and to whoever might hear. Of the hour we are together on Sunday mornings, I have only 10 or 15 minutes to actually deliver the message God has sent for you to hear, as some get a little ..um.. anxious when the hour extends past 11:30. So I try to include parts of the message in the congregational readings, parts in the so-called children's sermon, parts in the prayers... God's message must be delivered, one way or another, whether it is actually heard or not. For we humans are so easily distracted, and those of us with ADD or ADHD more so than most.
Someone recently commented that they thought the devil had entered the church. Yes, I responded, he has. Satan entered the church long ago, as soon as it was founded. He walks in here, into this beautiful sanctuary, every Sunday morning and sits down in a pew among us. We don’t see him, but he’s here. He’s here whispering in our ear… “Look at that person over there! How could they come to church dressed like that?!?” “Why is that man in the corner eyeing everyone?” “The preacher’s droning on… don’t you have something else you could be doing right now?”
Satan is here doing everything he can to distract us from the message God wants us to hear. The devil knows we’re saved, those who are, but he can still keep us from learning what God says we need to know. And there’s always the off-chance that some unsaved soul might walk in. Yes, Satan is in the church, trying his best to distract us from our worship, and from God’s word.
Now I know that I am not the most eloquent preacher in the world. And I know that, no matter how hard I try to keep it from happening, our services tend to run over more times than not. I am a poor messenger… but the message I bear comes from God and it is urgently important.
Hear God’s message, and be fed. Believe, and be saved. In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, no one nor anything could ever be greater than You. Your message is powerful, especially when delivered by Your Son Jesus. Please help us be more receptive to Your message. Help us to better understand what You say. And help us turn a deaf ear to Satan rather than to You or Your messengers. Forgive us when we let too many things distract us from what we really need to hear.
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 served many roles during Your short time on earth. In one You served our Father God as His messenger, bringing His message of power to us mortals. And You commanded us to take up that message and deliver it to others, that they might hear, respond, believe, and be saved. Help us to, Lord Jesus to understand the message You carried, and to share it with others in our daily walk. Help us to be better servants.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, our only hope. Amen.
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