Have You Heard What Jesus Did?

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Palm Sunday, the 28th of March, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Family, on this day back around 30 AD, the people came out and lined the streets of Jerusalem.  They wanted to see this Jesus they had been hearing of, who could heal any illness and drive out all manner of evil spirits.  A large group walked ahead of Him, singing His praises and telling anyone who’d listen about all the wondrous things He’d done.

Included in this crowd were those who had been there when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and called him out of the tomb.  The onlookers were eager to hear these stories.  And the religious leaders were eager to hush them up.

Please listen and follow along to how the Apostle John described some of the events of Palm Sunday in his Gospel account, from chapter 12 verses 1 through 18, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

1 Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus — the man He had raised from the dead. 2 A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with Him. 3 Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping His feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.

4 But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray Him, said, 5 “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” 6 Not that he cared for the poor — he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.

7 Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for My burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have Me.”

9 When all the people heard of Jesus’ arrival, they flocked to see Him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead. 10 Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, 11 for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted their traditions and believed in Jesus.

12 The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors 13 took palm branches and went down the road to meet Him. They shouted,

“Praise God!

Blessings on the One who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hail to the King of Israel!”

14 Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said:

15 “Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem.

Look, your King is coming,

riding on a donkey’s colt.”

16 His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into His glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about Him.

17 Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. 18 That was the reason so many went out to meet Him — because they had heard about this miraculous sign.

--John 12:1-18 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for giving Your Son Jesus Your Holy Spirit and the power to perform great miracles while He walked this earth!  And thank You for the people who witnessed these mighty acts, and the men who recorded them for us to hear of.  Please help us understand and learn from all that Jesus did during those days.  Help us to also be witnesses to His wondrous works, and to share what we know with others.  And Father, please keep us safe from Satan and his evil works and from those who do his bidding.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and worship, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Show us how to better serve You and Jesus in our daily walk.  This we pray in the blessed name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Fritz Kreisler, the world-famous violinist, earned a fortune with his concerts and compositions, but he generously gave most of it away.  So, when he discovered an exquisite violin on one of his trips, he wasn't able to buy it.  Later, having raised enough money to meet the asking price, he returned to the seller, hoping to purchase that beautiful instrument.  But to his great dismay it had been sold to a collector. Kreisler made his way to the new owner's home and offered to buy the violin.  The collector said it had become his prized possession and he would not sell it.  Keenly disappointed, Kreisler was about to leave when he had an idea.  "Could I play the instrument once more before it is consigned to silence?" he asked.  Permission was granted, and the great virtuoso filled the room with such heart-moving music that the collector's emotions were deeply stirred.  "I have no right to keep that to myself," he exclaimed.  "It's yours, Mr. Kreisler.  Take it into the world, and let people hear it."

Collectors are well known for paying huge sums for what they consider prizes, especially very rare prizes.  And they are not likely to give those treasured possessions up for any price.  Such was the case surrounding this exquisite violin that Kreisler let slip through his fingers.

Being a very generous man, the great violinist had given away his own personal fortune and lacked the resources to buy the violin when the opportunity presented itself.  Later, when he had raised enough to make the purchase, its new owner had no interesting in selling.  Perhaps realizing that the collector was not a violinist himself, Kreisler asked if he might play it one last time.  Permission granted, Kreisler played, and the collector’s heart was changed.

This is what can happen when we share something beautiful with someone else.  Their heart can soften and change.  And family, there is nothing more beautiful than the offer of salvation through Christ Jesus our Lord.  We just need to share it with others.

We’re all pretty familiar with the events John relates in our scripture reading.  And he sure doesn’t hold back when describing Judas as a betrayer and thief, caring only about himself.

Then we have the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, with Jesus on the donkey along with His disciples and others that had joined them in Bethany and along the way.  John includes Lazarus in the crowd, the man Jesus had raised from the dead.  When the religious leaders realized that Lazarus was there, they decided to get rid of him too, along with Jesus, because a lot of the people had turned to Jesus after hearing about this miracle.  They didn’t pause to think, though, that killing Lazarus would not stop the spread of the stories concerning him, nor keep people from wanting to know more about Jesus.

There were many in the crowd that day who had personally witnessed what Jesus did, who saw Lazarus walk out of the tomb still wrapped in his burial cloths.  They were telling the other folks who had come out to see Jesus, who had already heard about the miracle.  Even though they themselves did not see what happened, they had heard all about it from witnesses and from others who got it from witnesses.  And this is why they came to Jesus.

One of my favorite stories of Jesus is the one about His encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well.  After she came to believe in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, she went back into the village telling everyone about Him.  Because of her and her testimony, nearly everyone in the village came to believe in Jesus and be saved.  John recorded this in chapter 4 of his Gospel account, verses 39 through 45…

39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of His own word.

42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”

43 Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee. 44 For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. 45 So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.

--John 4:39-45 (NKJV)

That short passage contains two incidents of people coming to Jesus after hearing the personal testimony of another.  The people were intrigued enough by what the Samaritan woman told them that they went out to see for themselves.  They were so impressed with Jesus that they asked Him to stay with them, which He did, for two days.  And in that time they came to know Jesus and to believe in Him, not so much from what the woman had said as from what Jesus had related to them.  But it all began with the woman’s testimony.

And then in the last verse, John tells us that the people in Galilee welcomed Jesus because they had seen and heard about what He had done in Jerusalem.  When people hear about what Jesus has done, they want to know more.

Ok, so all of this so far has been based on what Jesus did while He still walked this earth, and on those folk who told others about what they had seen with their own eyes.  He is no longer with us, here on earth.  How can we actually see or hear of His miraculous works?

Well, by reading our Bible, the word of God.  The Gospel writers saved for us what Jesus did, and what He said, including what I mentioned during the invocation, where He commands us to go into the world preaching the Gospel, the Good News, to every living creature.

Let me ask you this: how can someone get to know Jesus unless they are introduced to Him by someone who does know Him?  The Apostle Paul put it this way, in chapter 10 of his letter to the Romans, verses 13 through 15…

13 [For] “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

--Romans 10:13-15 (NLT)

How can anyone believe in Jesus if they’ve never heard of Him, and how can they hear of Him unless someone tells them?  Family, we have been sent, by none other than Jesus Himself.  We, each of us, have been sent out to share the Good News of salvation and eternal life for anyone who believes in Jesus and calls on His name.  This is our mission, our job, what we were commissioned to do the moment we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Master.

And it doesn’t have to be all that difficult a job.  I mean, haven’t we all at one time or another told someone else about something that happened to us?  How many of us have discussed our surgeries or heart attacks with anyone who would listen?  And we can talk for hours about our children and grandchildren, can’t we?  So it shouldn’t be so hard to spend a few minutes telling someone about our experiences with Jesus, about what He’s done for us, what He means to us.  I’ll even give you a starting point.  Walk up to someone and ask, “Have you heard what Jesus did?”.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God, our Savior and our Redeemer.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, again we thank You for our Bible and all that it contains.  This beautiful book allows us to share with others all the wondrous things that Jesus said and did.  Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son to offer us salvation.  Father, please help us keep our faith and belief strong and active.  Help us be more obedient to Jesus and do as He commands us, to love others, and to be a witness to them.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more faithful and true, putting all our trust in You and Jesus, and seeking Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, You performed great and miraculous acts while You walked this earth, and countless people witnessed them with their own eyes.  They in turn told others about what You had done, so that those people would come out to see for themselves.  Thank You, Jesus, for giving so many signs of Your power and authority.  Please, Lord, help us in our mission to be Your witnesses to those who do not know You.  Help us share with them all that You said and did.  Encourage us and strengthen us so that we are not afraid of rejection of of what others may think of us as we try to tell them about You and what You have done in our lives.  And Jesus, please help us keep our focus on the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer us.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

The Cross Looms Ahead

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the fifth Sunday in Lent, the 21st of March, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Today is the 5th Sunday in Lent, as we continue our walk with Jesus so we can remember all He did for us.  We’re very close to the days when Jesus was arrested, tortured, nailed to a cross, died, was buried, and then rose again from the dead.  So let’s look at this same time frame when Jesus experienced it, a couple weeks before His resurrection.  For you see, He knew exactly what was coming and when it would happen.

As the cross loomed just ahead on the horizon, Jesus took every opportunity possible to teach both the multitudes that gathered around Him and His chosen disciples.  Of great importance was to instruct them on what was about to happen in the days ahead.

We are in those days now, in our Christian calendar, so let’s listen to what Jesus has to teach.  Please follow along to what the Apostle Mark saved for us in his Gospel account, from chapter 8, verses 27 through 33, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

27 Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?”

28 So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.”

29 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”

30 Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.

31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but the things of men.”

--Mark 8:27-33 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for ensuring that the words of Your Son Jesus were saved for us so that we too can benefit from His teachings.  He gives us great insight into His thoughts and feelings during His final days of mortal life, and lets us know what to expect at the end of this age.  Please help us learn from what Jesus taught.  Help us be prepared for what is about to happen, just as He tried to prepare His followers in the weeks leading up to the cross.  And Father, please keep us safe from the devil’s evil ways and from those who do his bidding.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and worship, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Show us what is most important to You and then help us do those things for You.  This we pray in the blessed name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

In 1926, Lee deForest, the inventor of the cathode ray tube, was quoted as saying, "Theoretically, television may be feasible, but I consider it an impossibility, a development which we should waste little time dreaming about."

In 1943, Thomas J. Watson, Chairman of the Board of IBM, famously said, "I think there is a world market for about five computers."

And then in 1962, an unnamed recording company expert proclaimed, "We don't think the Beatles will do anything in their market. Guitar groups are on their way out."

As a retired IBM employee, I love the prediction that Thomas Watson made.  Of course, when he said that, a room about the size of our sanctuary was needed to house a computer and its peripheral equipment.  Now I carry a computer more powerful than those of his day right here on my hip.  We call it a cell phone, but it’s really a computer with a phone app, and a camera app, and many other apps.

The point is, when we mere humans make predictions, too often they fly wildly off target.  But the predictions recorded for us in our Bible have all come true.  Especially those things predicted by Jesus.  Everything that He said would come to pass as His mortal life neared its end did indeed happen.  So we have every reason to believe that all He told us will happen when He returns will also happen, just as He said it will.

As I mentioned, Jesus was trying to prepare His followers for the weeks ahead.  I think one could say that these were the most important weeks in the life of mankind, for they hold the key to our eternal life.  Jesus wanted His disciples especially, but also the others who came to hear Him teach, to grasp just who He was and what was going to happen.

As the cross loomed ever closer, His sense of urgency had to have been growing.  In our scripture reading, we can see Him trying to get His closest friends to recognize Him as God’s Messiah.  Peter finally gets it, so then Jesus turns to the subject of His immediate future, of how He will suffer and die at the hands of those He came to try to save.  He also let them know that He would not stay dead, but would rise again from the grave on the third day.

Peter just always had to deny that anything bad could happen to Jesus, and this time was no exception.  I can almost hear him, taking Jesus aside and saying, “Now Jesus, You know You don’t have to let anything like that happen.  We’ll take care of You.”  But Jesus knew exactly what would happen, what must happen, so He reminded Peter to stop dwelling on the things of this earth and set his thinking on the things of God and the divine.  Now understand that Jesus wasn’t calling Peter “Satan”, but was acknowledging that Satan was behind Peter’s thinking.  Just as the devil is behind our thinking whenever we focus more on this life than our future life with God.

So, the cross is visible ahead, at least to Jesus.  His followers are still somewhat clueless.  Three times Jesus predicted His death and resurrection.  Three times He told His disciples what was to happen.  The first one I read to you in our scripture reading.  Mark also recorded the second prediction in chapter 9 of his Gospel account, verses 30 through 32…

30 Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it. 31 For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.” 32 But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.

--Mark 9:30-32 (NKJV)

Still the disciples just could not understand what Jesus was trying to tell them.  They failed to grasp what He was preparing them for.  So as the cross loomed ever nearer, He gave them one more chance to get it.  Mark saved this instance for us in chapter 10 of his Gospel account, verses 32 through 34…

32 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him: 33 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; 34 and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”

--Mark 10:32-34 (NKJV)

These are similar words, spoken in the days before Jesus entered Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday.  He will be betrayed, arrested, and handed over to the Romans who will mock Him, whip Him, ridicule Him, and then execute Him in the cruelest way.  But, on the third day, death will not hold Him, the grave cannot contain Him, and He will rise to life again.

This all seems pretty clear to us, to we who know the rest of the story.  And we know it happened just as He said it would.  But being human, and knowing how poorly our predictions pan out, would any of us have understood Jesus any better than did His disciples of that day?  And couldn’t this very human failing be why so many people have trouble believing what we are told in the Apostle John’s Book of Revelation?  After all, a human wrote that book, and humans don’t have very good track records at making predictions.

What we need to understand is that Jesus showed John these things.  Jesus revealed to John what is going to happen when He returns and our world comes to an end.  John simply recorded what Jesus showed him and told him to write.  So whether some want to believe it or not, these things will happen!  Jesus has been urgently trying to prepare us for it, through His teachings in the Gospel accounts, and through His revelations to John.  Listen and take heed!

There is one more time Jesus warned His friends about the days ahead.  Turning to chapter 26 of the Apostle Matthew’s Gospel account, verses 1 and 2 and then skipping ahead to verse 32…

1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, 2 “You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”

32 "But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”

--Matthew 26:1-2, 32 (NKJV)

This message sounds similar, but it includes a beautiful promise.  “I will go before you”.  Jesus promised His disciples that they would see Him again, in Galilee, where it all started.  He would once again rise from the dead and they would witness Him for themselves.

Family, this is a promise for us as well.  He has risen, and He has gone before us, to heaven.  If we maintain our faith and belief and obedience to Him, then we will see Him for ourselves when it is our time to go home.  We can believe this promise, because everything Jesus ever said came true.  He has gone before us to prepare a place for us so that where He is, there we may be also.  

Praise the Lord!  Thanks be to God!  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God, our Savior and our Redeemer.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, again we thank You for our Bible.  We thank You for inspiring the people who wrote down the words that You gave them.  Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son to offer us salvation, and for raising Him from the grave so that we can share in His victory over death.  Father, please help us keep our faith and belief strong and active.  Help us be more obedient to Jesus and do as He commands us.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more faithful and true, putting all our trust in You and Jesus, and seeking Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, as the cross loomed near, You tried to prepare Your followers for the fateful days ahead.  Thank You, Jesus, for teaching them so that we too may learn.  Please, Lord, help us fully recognize and acknowledge You as the one true Son of God.  Help us learn from all that You said and taught.  Help us be prepared for that day when You will return to set the world right.  And Jesus, please help us keep our focus on the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer us.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Believe the Scriptures

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the 4th Sunday in Lent, the 14th of March, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Today is the 4th Sunday in Lent, as we continue our walk with Jesus so we can remember all He did for us.  The time when Jesus is arrested, tortured, and nailed to a cross, when He dies and is buried, and then rises again from the dead is rapidly approaching.  So let’s continue looking at these weeks as Jesus experienced them, the final days before His death and resurrection.

The incident I want to look at this morning was recorded for us by Matthew, Mark, and John in each of their Gospel accounts.  According to John, this occurred fairly early in Jesus’ ministry, right after His first miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana.  But Matthew and Mark both have this coming shortly after Jesus made His triumphal and final entry into Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday.  I don’t think the exact timing matters as much in this case as the message the words carry.  And toward the end of the passage, we should see that the message indeed relates to the time we are observing now.

So, please listen and follow along to how the Apostle John, the beloved disciple, related the cleansing of the Temple.  This comes from the 2nd chapter of his Gospel account, verses 13 through 22, and I’ll be reading this from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible…

13 Not long before the Jewish festival of Passover, Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14 There He found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves in the temple. He also saw moneychangers sitting at their tables. 15 So He took some rope and made a whip. Then He chased everyone out of the temple, together with their sheep and cattle. He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and scattered their coins.

16 Jesus said to the people who had been selling doves, “Get those doves out of here! Don’t make My Father’s house a marketplace.”

17 The disciples then remembered that the Scriptures say, “My love for Your house burns in Me like a fire.”

18 The Jewish leaders asked Jesus, “What miracle will You work to show us why You have done this?”

19 “Destroy this temple,” Jesus answered, “and in three days I will build it again!”

20 The leaders replied, “It took forty-six years to build this temple. What makes You think you can rebuild it in three days?”

21 But Jesus was talking about His body as a temple. 22 And when He was raised from death, His disciples remembered what He had told them. Then they believed the Scriptures and the words of Jesus.

--John 2:13-22 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, even today, some make a marketplace of what should be Your temple.  Some churches go to the extreme to bring more money into their coffers, including having ATM’s in the Narthex to encourage more giving into the offering plates.  Thank You, Father, for showing us how Your Son felt about this sort of activity, and how He handled in in His day.  Thank You for everything You give us in our Bible, saved for us for our benefit.  Please help us bring honor and glory to You, and not to ourselves in any way.  May we give generously and willingly to support our church and the work of our Lord Jesus through it, and may we be proper and good stewards of all we collect for the church.  And Father, please keep us safe from Satan’s traps and snares and from those who do his evil works for him.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and worship, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Teach us Your word so that we may be more righteous in Your eyes.  This we pray in the blessed name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Economist Edgar Fiedler once gave these rules for forecasting:

(1) It is very difficult to forecast, especially about the future.

(2) He who lives by the crystal ball soon learns to eat ground glass.

(3) The moment you forecast, you know you're going to be wrong -- you just don't know when and in which direction.

(4) If you're ever right, never let them forget it.

Physicist Niels Bohr echoed Fiedler's rule #1 when he said, "Prediction is a very difficult art, especially when it involves the future."

And all this just goes to show that we humans are not very good at looking into the future and predicting, with any degree of accuracy, what will happen.  Even when it comes to the weather, with all the fancy technical tools at their disposal, the forecasters still get it wrong way too often.  And if you understand how Niels Bohr put it, we don’t always correctly report on what is happening in the present, or in the past, without wildly divergent views.

But here’s something to think about…  Have you ever noticed that the predictions found in the Book of Revelation are often written in the past tense?  This is because, although the Apostle John is writing of future events, he has already "seen" them happen.  Also, since God resides outside of time, for Him the events have already occurred.  As Christians, we know what's ahead for this world, and that knowledge should keep us living closer to God, should make us strive to be more righteous.

Now, this isn’t about forecasting and predictions, but let’s face it – most of our Bible is involved with forecasting the future.  Many of those predictions have already occurred, and the biggest one, the most important one, is yet to happen but eagerly awaited by all who truly believe.  For all the Bible points to Jesus and what He has done and will do for mankind.

Much of what Jesus said was to impart to His followers, including us, what was going to happen, not only during His time on earth but also at the end of the age.  And here’s the point: everything that Jesus said would happen while He walked among us, did happen!  Everything God said, through His prophets, would happen, did happen.

Our church reading this morning was one of those predictions.  It came from God’s prophet Isaiah, who lived and spoke those words hundreds of years before Jesus was born!  Yet in them he describes exactly what Jesus did for us, what He suffered for us, and why.

This is just one prophecy in scripture come true.  And I’m talking about those predictions that have already come to pass, not those yet to occur.  But because all those predictions came true, we can certainly have good reason to believe that those yet to occur will indeed occur!  This is why we can believe the scriptures, like the disciples finally did.

We humans might do a lousy job of predicting the future, but for God, everything is His knowledge.  For Him, the future is the past and the past is the present and time is merely a tool for us mortals.

Believe in the scriptures.  As we’ve seen, a lot of what Jesus told His disciples centered on what would happen when they made what turned out to be Jesus’ last trip into Jerusalem.  And as that time grew closer, His message grew ever more urgent.

Today, we are three weeks away from celebrating our Lord being released from the grasp of death.  In Jesus’ day, at this point in time, He was predicting His death and resurrection for the third time.  Listen to what the Apostle Luke recorded for us in chapter 18 of his Gospel account, verses 31 through 34…

31 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32 For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. 33 They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”

34 But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.

--Luke 18:31-34 (NKJV)

Jesus told His friends exactly what was about to happen.  He would be handed over to the Gentiles, the Romans.  He would be mocked, insulted, and spit upon.  He would be scourged – severely whipped and beaten.  He would be killed, executed in a horrible fashion.  And He would rise again on the third day, freed from the bonds of death and the hold of the grave.  All of this He predicted three weeks before the events, and all of this happened, just as He said it would.

But note that the full implications of these words were actually hidden from His disciples, so that they could not understand.  It wasn’t time for them to understand, not yet.  But they soon would, and then they would believe in everything the scriptures say, and everything Jesus said.

When Jesus walked the earth, the only scriptures His followers had to go by were what we call the Old Testament.  The Gospel accounts and all the letters of the Apostles had not yet been written.  But we today have both sets readily at our hands, the Old and the New Testaments.  Our scriptures include the Old Testament with all its predictions about the coming of Jesus, the Messiah.  Some even predict His second coming.  And we have the New Testament, where we can see how all those predictions were fulfilled in Jesus, the Son of Man come to offer salvation to the world.  We can read of His life and His teachings.  And we can see what will happen when He returns.

All of the predictions of both Testaments that have already come to pass happened just as we were told they would.  So we have no reason to doubt that those predictions that are yet to come won’t also happen just as we are told they will.  We can believe the scriptures.

We are living through the last few weeks of Jesus’ mortal life on earth.  Soon, we will again be shocked at the treatment He receives at the hands of those He came to save.  We will watch as He is arrested, mocked, beaten, hung on a cruel cross.  We will listen as He cries out to His Father with His last breath.  And then we will celebrate in wonder as we look into the empty tomb, knowing He has risen from the dead just as He said He would.

And someday, maybe soon, He will come back to us.  He will return to take His church home to be with Him in heaven, and He will then judge the world.  We can believe in this, because He said it.  Believe in the scriptures.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God, our Savior and our Redeemer.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, we thank You for our Bible, the scriptures, Your word written down and saved for us.  Through these words we can learn how we should live each day, and we can see what will happen as our days come to an end.  Thank You, Father, for Your word.  We can trust and believe in the scriptures.  Father, please help us keep our faith and belief strong and active.  Help us be more obedient to Jesus and do as He commands us.  Help us trust Him in everything He says.  For everything You and He tells us is indeed trustworthy.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more faithful and true, putting all our trust in You and Jesus, and seeking Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, You often told the people and Your disciples what to expect as Your time on this earth neared an end.  Much of this – the true meaning of Your predictions - was hidden from them, for it was not yet time for them to know.  But Jesus, it has all been revealed to us today, and we can see how it all came to pass as You said it would.  We who believe in You can believe in the scriptures, for it has all been saved for our benefit.  Thank You, Jesus, for letting us know what is to come.  Please, Lord, help us understand the full impact of what You have predicted.  Help us be prepared for what is to come by keeping our faith strong and alive.  And help us always to do as You commanded us, to love others and tell them all about You.  And Jesus, please help us keep our sights on the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

What Do We Want?

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the 3rd Sunday in Lent, the 7th of March, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Today is the 3rd Sunday in Lent, as we continue our walk with Jesus so we can remember all He did for us.  We’re just a few weeks away from the days when Jesus was arrested, tortured, nailed to a cross, died, was buried, and then rose again from the dead.  So I’ve been trying to look at this time frame when Jesus experienced it, the last weeks before His death and resurrection.

Now, Jesus knew what was coming.  We’ve seen how He has been preparing His disciples for those terrible days ahead.  But He still had work to do, advancing the kingdom of God, leading the lost sheep to salvation.  He basically continued His mission on earth as if nothing was about to happen.

Please listen and follow along to one incident that occurred during this time.  This is one of my favorite stories, about Bartimaeus.  The Apostle Mark saved this for us in chapter 10 of his Gospel account, verses 46 through 52, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

46 Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.

Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”

50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.

51 So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”

52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

--Mark 10:46-52 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, we have so many things to thank You for.  Thank You for Your Son Jesus who gave of Himself that we might be saved.  Thank You for the gift of faith that we might believe and be made well.  And thank You for everything You give us in our Bible, saved for us for our benefit.  Please help us better understand all these gifts and how best to use them.  Help us recognize what we truly want and need.  And Father, please keep us safe from Satan’s temptations and his evil works.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and worship, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Show each of us how we can glorify You.  This we pray in the blessed name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Thomas A Kempis wrote that, "A wise lover values not so much the gift of the lover as the love of the giver."

A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death. 

"But I don't ask for justice," the mother explained. "I plead for mercy." 

"But your son does not deserve mercy," Napoleon replied. 

"Sir," the woman cried, "it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for." 

"Well, then," the emperor said, "I will have mercy." And he spared the woman's son.

Aren’t we like that woman’s son?  Aren’t we guilty of offenses against God that would demand our death?  And by “death” I mean our eternal death, everlasting separation from God, unending punishment and pain?

But God does not seek justice against us.  Instead, He offers mercy, even though we don’t deserve it.  All we have to do is accept and acknowledge His Son as our Master, and we are spared.  That mercy, while indeed being a gift, truly shows the love of the Giver.  We must value that love even more than the gift.

There are a couple things to point out in our scripture reading.  The blind man knew exactly who Jesus was, with an insight greater than what other people seemed to be able to see with their eyes.  Jesus, born of the house of David; the Messiah of scripture and prophecy.  And then, when he addressed Jesus face-to-face, he used the term “Rabboni”, which in this context literally means "My Great One”.

When asked, Bartimaeus immediately responded with what he wanted Jesus to do for him: to give him sight.  And then, when Jesus granted that request, He told Bartimaeus that his faith had made him well.  And again in context, Jesus literally said, "your faith has saved you."

“Your faith has saved you.”  Bartimaeus knew what he wanted and he knew exactly who to ask, acknowledging Jesus as the Christ, and as his own, personal, Great One.  Do we always know what we really want of Jesus?

The Apostle Luke tells of ten lepers who, like Bartimaeus, knew what they wanted and acknowledged Jesus as their Master.  Listen to their story as recorded by Luke in his Gospel account, chapter 17, verses 11 through 19…

11 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. 13 And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

14 So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.

15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.

17 So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

--Luke 17:11-19 (NKJV)

Ten were given what they wanted, what they asked for, but only one returned to glorify God.  Only one came back to say, “Thanks!”  Only one valued the love of the Giver more than the gift of the One who loved them.  And Jesus again said, “Your faith has made you well.”  “Your faith has saved you.”

Family, what do we want?  What do we want Jesus to do for us?  Whatever it is we ask, He’ll do – He promised that – as long as we ask in His name.  And that means we must truly believe in Him as the Son of God, must fully accept Him as the Christ, our Master, doing as He commands us.

Did you notice in our scripture reading that Bartimaeus threw aside his garment, his cloak, to go to Jesus, and then followed his Great One after being given his sight?  As a blind man forced to beg, his cloak would have been pretty much all he owned.  It represented his livelihood, as he would spread it out before him for people to toss coins onto.  And yet he cast it aside to go to Jesus.  He gave it all up just to follow the Lord, and everyone present would have seen this all take place.  What are we willing to give up?  What do we do to show that we have truly accepted Jesus as our Lord?

Family, let’s make sure we know what we really want before we go to Jesus to ask.  Then, let’s be willing to let go of anything that is holding us back from reaching Him.  Let’s always thank Jesus for granting our request, or even just for listening, so that God our Father is glorified by the works of His Son.  And let’s value the love of the Giver.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God, our Savior and our Redeemer.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, we thank You for loving us enough to send Your Son into the world so that we might be saved.  Through Him and His example we can see how we should live.  Thank You, Father, for giving us love, mercy, and faith.  May we always value Your love.  Father, please help us keep our faith and belief strong and active.  Help us be more obedient to Jesus and do as He commands us.  Help us trust Him in everything He says.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more faithful and true, putting all our trust in You and Jesus, and seeking Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, You gave sight to the blind.  You made the lame to walk.  You cleansed lepers and healed all manner of illnesses.  And for each, You saved them by their faith.  Thank You, Jesus, for saving us by our faith.  Please, Lord, help us recognize what we truly want and need from You.  Help us free ourselves of anything holding us back, keeping us apart from You.  And help us always remember to thank You, to glorify God.  And Jesus, please help us keep our sights on the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer us.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.