Don't Worry; Just Have Faith

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 27th of June, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  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, I think it’s safe to say that faith was a pretty big deal to Jesus as He walked among us.  We can find many instances in our New Testament where He noted a person either for the strength of their faith, or their lack thereof.  The usual target for the latter were His own disciples, whom He often scolded with the words, “O you of little faith”.  And there were others who had no faith, either in Him or in His authority.  These were primarily the Jewish people and their leaders, like the Pharisees and Sadducees and scribes.

Many times, though, Jesus found Himself facing a person of strong faith, one who came to Him even perhaps at great personal sacrifice.  Our scripture reading this morning has a little bit of both.  It tells of two people with great faith, and a number of scoffers who apparently had no faith.  Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle Mark recorded for us in the 5th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 21 through 43, and I’ll be reading from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

21 Once again Jesus got into the boat and crossed Lake Galilee. Then as He stood on the shore, a large crowd gathered around Him. 22 The person in charge of the Jewish meeting place was also there. His name was Jairus, and when he saw Jesus, he went over to Him. He knelt at Jesus' feet 23 and started begging Him for help. He said, “My daughter is about to die! Please come and touch her, so she will get well and live.” 24 Jesus went with Jairus. Many people followed along and kept crowding around.

25 In the crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had gone to many doctors, and they had not done anything except cause her a lot of pain. She had paid them all the money she had. But instead of getting better, she only got worse.

27 The woman had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind Him in the crowd and barely touched His clothes. 28 She had said to herself, “If I can just touch His clothes, I will get well.” 29 As soon as she touched them, her bleeding stopped, and she knew she was well.

30 At that moment Jesus felt power go out from Him. He turned to the crowd and asked, “Who touched My clothes?”

31 His disciples said to Him, “Look at all these people crowding around You! How can You ask who touched You?” 32 But Jesus turned to see her who had touched Him.

33 The woman knew what had happened to her. She came shaking with fear and knelt down in front of Jesus. Then she told Him the whole story.

34 Jesus said to the woman, “You are now well because of your faith. May God give you peace! You are healed, and you will no longer be in pain.”

35 While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from Jairus' home and said, “Your daughter has died! Why bother the teacher anymore?”

36 Jesus heard what they said, and He said to Jairus, “Don’t worry. Just have faith!”

37 Jesus did not let anyone go with Him except Peter and the two brothers, James and John. 38 They went home with Jairus and saw the people crying and making a lot of noise. 39 Then Jesus went inside and said to them, “Why are you crying and carrying on like this? The child isn’t dead. She is just asleep.” 40 But the people laughed at Him.

After Jesus had sent them all out of the house, He took the girl’s father and mother and His three disciples and went to where she was. 41-42 He took the twelve-year-old girl by the hand and said, “Talitha, koum!” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” The girl got right up and started walking around.

Everyone was greatly surprised. 43 But Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened. Then He said, “Give her something to eat.”

--Mark 5:21-43 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for shining Your mercies down on us fresh every morning.  When we accepted Your Son Jesus as our Lord and Master, You sent You Holy Spirit to be our constant Companion, and You gave us the gift of faith.  Thank You, God, for loving us this much.  Please help us make the best use of these wonderful gifts.  Help us reach out to others and show them what true faith is all about.  Help us remain faithful and true to You and Jesus.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and those who so willingly do his bidding.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and our service to Jesus.  Please keep us healthy and safe through these extraordinary 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.  Calm our worries and speak to us of faith and love.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus, your Son, who takes away our burdens.   Amen.

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

In his book, Eternity Shut in a Span, William R. Marshall told of a woman who for several years had been having trouble getting to sleep at night because she was worried about burglars.  One night her husband heard a noise in the house, so he went downstairs to investigate.  When he got there, he did find a burglar.  "Good evening," said the man of the house.  "I am pleased to see you.  Come upstairs and meet my wife.  She has been waiting 10 years to meet you."

The woman’s worries finally came to pass.  I wonder if it was worth it for her.

Walter Kelly described worry as belief in defeat, faith in the negative.  It’s good to have faith, but not if that faith is placed in the wrong thing.  When we begin to worry about something, then we are admitting we’ve taken it out of God’s hands and now we don’t know what to do with it.  We just need to stop worrying, kick our faith back into gear, and give it over to God.  Don’t worry; just have faith.

As I mentioned at the start, faith was a very important element of Jesus’ ministry and message.  Whether it was great faith or little or no faith that Jesus saw in a person, He pointed it out to them in front of others, using that person as an example.  Now, in my way of thinking, this merely represents the failure of mankind to recognize what is standing right in front of us.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews tells us that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”.  Faith is believing in that which we cannot prove with our senses or any other physical means.  So here was Jesus, healing people all around the area, performing miracles that astonished everyone who saw them.  They could see with their own eyes what should have been the impossible made possible right there in front of them.  And especially His own chosen disciples, who walked with Him every day.  And yet their faith was weak.

Even after feeding over 5000 men with nothing more than a few fish and five loaves of bread, the people still asked Jesus to show them a sign that He was truly sent from God.  What does it take for some folk!?  Thomas had to touch the risen Jesus’ hands and side to believe He had really conquered death.  Jesus said, “Thomas, you believe because you have seen.  Blessed are those who have not seen, yet believe.”

That’s where we come in, that’s us Jesus is blessing right there:  we who have not seen, yet believe.  We cannot prove that Jesus is the Son of God, sent by God to save us, but we have faith in Him anyway.  So if we have faith, why should we worry?  Did not Jesus reward those who had faith?  Jairus had faith that Jesus could heal his daughter, and Jesus indeed did just that, even after it was reported she had died from her illness.  He didn’t worry about what the other Jews might think or say, or even about his daughter once Jesus had agreed to go with him, he just had faith.  The woman’s faith in Jesus was so great that she knew if she could just touch His garment she would be healed of her incessant bleeding.  She didn’t worry about what the people might do or if the disciples might stop her.  She was a little taken aback when Jesus asked, “Who touched me?”, but she didn’t really worry too much about it.  She stepped up and admitted it was her.  She had faith that everything would be OK.

We have faith, so why should we worry?  Jesus even told us not to worry.  Listen to what the Apostle Matthew recorded for us as Jesus delivered what we call His Sermon on the Mount.  This comes from chapter 6 of Matthew’s Gospel account, verses 25 through 33…

25 "I tell you not to worry about your life. Don’t worry about having something to eat, drink, or wear. Isn’t life more than food or clothing? 26 Look at the birds in the sky! They don’t plant or harvest. They don’t even store grain in barns. Yet your Father in heaven takes care of them. Aren’t you worth more than birds?

27 "Can worry make you live longer? 28 Why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow. They don’t work hard to make their clothes. 29 But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth wasn’t as well clothed as one of them. 30 God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. He will surely do even more for you! Why do you have such little faith?

31 "Don’t worry and ask yourselves, 'Will we have anything to eat? Will we have anything to drink? Will we have any clothes to wear?' 32 Only people who don’t know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father in heaven knows that you need all of these. 33 But more than anything else, put God’s work first and do what He wants. Then the other things will be yours as well."

--Matthew 6:25-33 (CEV)

God loves us much more than the birds or the air or the lilies of the fields.  He sees to their needs; He will see to ours even more.  Is our faith not great enough to believe that?

Rather than worrying about all the troubles of the world, or even of our own little personal world, if we put God first and do what pleases Him, all the rest will take care of itself.  We just need to have faith.  We need to trust in God, trust in His promises, trust in His Son.

So don’t worry.  Just have faith.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for giving us the faith to believe in You and Your Son even if we cannot prove Your existence by means that the non-believers will accept.  Thank You for offering us life eternal in paradise just for maintaining our faith and doing Your will.  And thank You for seeing to our needs, and then providing so much more, so that we might be a blessing to others.  Please help us stay strong in our faith and our service.  Sometimes, Father, the world beats us down so much that we begin to lose strength, begin to even lose hope.  Please, Father, keep us strong.  Renew our spirits.  Revive our faith.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You from our hearts 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 rewarded those who showed great faith in You and Your authority as the Son of God.  You healed them or their loved ones, made them whole again.  Thank You, Jesus, for also rewarding us, for making us whole in You.  Lord Jesus, we ask You to help us be more pleasing in our heavenly Father’s sight.  Strengthen our will to do what He wills us to do.  Help us to be more loving, more understanding, kinder to all we encounter each day.  And please help us as we try to show Your love in a world filled with so much hatred and distrust.  All this we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Our Father

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Father's Day, Sunday morning the 20th of June, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  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.]

Jesus in the flesh was the begotten Son of God.  He called God “Father”.  And He told us – His followers – to call God “Father”, too, for we have been adopted by God into His family.

So every time Jesus told us what to do and how we should live, it was so that our words and deeds would be pleasing and acceptable to our heavenly Father.  Even when it came to the model He gave us for prayer.

Please listen and follow along to the instructions Jesus gave as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in the 6th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 14, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

10 Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

13 And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”

--Matthew 6:1-14 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for adopting us into Your family so that we can know You as our Father, our heavenly Father.  In You we have a good Father, one we can know, one we can live with for eternity.  Thank You, God, for so great a gift, and all because we follow Your Son Jesus.  Please help us be worthy of being in Your family.  Help us follow Your word in our daily walk.  Help us remain faithful and true to You and Jesus.  And Father, please protect us from all of Satan’s attacks, and from those who so willingly do his bidding.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and our service to Jesus.  Please keep us healthy and safe through these extraordinary 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.  Tell us of Your undying, all compassionate love, the true love of a father.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus, your Son, who suffered for us all.   Amen.

I think I've read this before, but it is well worth repeating.  Listen to how Paul Harvey once described what fathers are made of:

A father is a thing that is forced to endure childbirth without an anesthetic.

A father is a thing that growls when it feels good, and laughs very loud when it's scared half to death.

A father never feels entirely worthy of the worship in a child's eyes. He's never quite the hero his daughter thinks, never quite the man his son believes him to be... and this worries him, sometimes.  So he works too hard to try and smooth the rough places in the road for those of his own who will follow him.

A father is a thing that gets very angry when the first school grades aren't as good as he thinks they should be.  He scolds his son though he knows it's the teacher's fault.  Fathers are what give daughters away to other men who aren't nearly good enough so they can have grandchildren who are smarter than anybody's.

Fathers make bets with insurance companies about who'll live the longest.  Though they know the odds, they keep right on betting.  And one day they lose.

I don't know where fathers go when they die.  But I've an idea that after a good rest, wherever it is, he won't be happy unless there's work to do.  He won't just sit on a cloud and wait for the girl he's loved and the children she bore.  He'll be busy there, too, repairing the stairs, oiling the gates, improving the streets, smoothing the way.

My earthly father, my Dad, was very good with his hands.  He had little formal education, but he could make or repair almost anything.  He was always puttering around with things in the house and yard, and I can just imagine him in heaven, working on all the stuff there, getting things ready for me to come home.

Father’s Day – the one day set aside each year to honor our Dads, to make them feel special.  We should honor them every day, because God commands us to: “Honor thy father and thy mother”.

Sadly, not all of us have or had good fathers.  I think most fathers have good and bad aspects that influenced our lives.  My Dad gave me my inquisitive nature, to look at things and try to figure out how they work, how to fix them when they’re broken.  But he also gave me my irrational fear of snakes, all snakes.  And there are other sore points we won’t go into, but I loved my father and miss him a lot.

Not all of us knew our fathers.  Some of us, the only Dad we’ve ever known was not our biological father, but one who adopted us and loved us like their own.

This is what God has done for us, we who believe in and follow His Son Jesus.  No matter what kind of earthy father we have or had, whether we knew the man who gave us half of our DNA or not, God in heaven adopted us and loves us like His very own.

I try not to generalize, but most boys – and even some girls – who grow up with their father in their lives want to be just like them, at least in some way.  We use our fathers as examples, trying to do the same things they do.  And until we get to those rebellious teenage years, we try to do things that please them.  Especially on Father’s Day.

But this is a two-way street and fathers have a responsibility, too.  Listen to what the Apostle Paul tells us fathers in his letter to the Ephesians, chapter 6, verse 4…

4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

--Ephesians 6:4 (NKJV)

Too often, I’ve seen fathers who expect too much of their offspring.  They want their kids to be just like them, and if they’re not, they sometimes take their frustrations out on the children.  Rather than just loving them as they are, they provoke the kids to get better, even to the point of making their little ones angry, or sad.

All fathers need to heed the words that God spoke through Moses, as recorded for us in chapter 6 of the Book of Deuteronomy, verses 6 through 9…

6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

--Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (NKJV)

We fathers must teach God’s word to our children.  We need to drill it into them, constantly remind them, any and every chance we get.  This is the most important job we will ever have, to teach our children about God, about Jesus, and all about their love for us.

Our Father God is speaking to us.  Do we stop long enough to hear and listen?  Whether we are fathers or mothers, whether we have or have ever had children of our own or adopted any, we, as followers of Jesus, have a responsibility to teach the world about Jesus, about God and His word.

Jesus told us what to do, how to act, what to say and when to say it.  He knows our heavenly Father better than us, so we should listen to what He tells us.  Love others and help them whenever and however much we can, but do it out of love and not to glorify ourselves or to look good to our fellow man.  Pray quietly, just as a nice little conversation between us and God, again not that others may think of us as being very pious and godly.  God knows what we need, but like any father, He wants us to spend time with Him, talking with Him, just  He and us alone together.  Be sure to thank Him for all He provides, and don’t be afraid to ask for what we need.  For He wants to know that we can see the difference between what we want and what we truly need.  And give Him all the glory, for He is God, the Creator of all there is.  And He is our Father, who loves us as His own.

Happy Father’s Day, God!  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for bringing us into Your family and loving us as Your own.  Thank You for providing for our needs, and for giving us so much more.  And thank You for hearing us when we come to You in prayer.  Please help us glorify You and obey You.  Sometimes, Father, we just get all wrapped up in the busyness of life that we don’t take the time to teach others Your word.  Please, Father, help us be more pleasing in Your sight.  Help us remain ever faithful and obedient to You.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You from our hearts 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, it is only because of You and the sacrifice You made on our behalf that we are able to know God as our Father.  You gave us the example of how to live.  You instructed us in what to do and say.  Thank You, Jesus, for teaching us God’s word and for never failing to love us.  Lord Jesus, we ask You to help us be more pleasing to our heavenly Father.  Strengthen our will to do what God wills us to do.  Help us to be more loving, more understanding, kinder to all we encounter each day.  And please help us as we try to show Your love in this world where hatred and distrust seem to abound.  All this we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Our Earthly Home

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 13th of June, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  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, we’ve all heard the expression and we believers pretty much agree that “this earth is not our home”.  We were meant for heaven, our final destination is heaven.  Heaven is our true home, the home we all long for.

Jesus said, “In My Father’s house are many mansions…  I go to prepare a place for you.”  Our home, waiting in our heavenly Father’s house, was prepared for us by Jesus.  And some day, we believers will go home.  But for now, we must live here on earth, in earthly houses and homes.

Oh, and I’m not only referring to these structures of wood or steel or brick and mortar.  I’m also talking about these structures of flesh and bone.  Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle Paul wrote in his 2nd letter to the church in Corinth, from chapter 4 verse 16 through chapter 5 verse 10, and I’ll be reading this from the English Standard Version of our Holy Bible…

4:16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

5:1 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened — not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

--2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10 (ESV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for adopting us into Your family and saving a place for us in Your beautiful home.  As we wander through this life, in a frail structure that wears out and falls apart and experiences all manner of pain and discomfort, we long for the new, indestructible, incorruptible body You have ready for us.  Thank You, Father, for loving us this much.  Please help us obey and serve You in all things.  Help us reach out the hand of love to others.  Help us remain faithful and true to You and to Your only begotten Son Jesus.  And Father, please protect us from all of Satan’s attacks, and from those who do his evil work.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and our service to Jesus.  Please keep us healthy and safe through these extraordinary 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.  Tell us of our home in heaven even as we serve from our earthly home.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus, your Son, who suffered for us all.   Amen.

Sometime long ago, an American tourist visited the Polish rabbi, Hofetz Chaim.  The visitor was astonished to see that the rabbi's home was only a simple room filled with books, with nothing else but a table and a bench.  This led the tourist to ask, "Rabbi, where is your furniture?"

"Where is yours?", replied the rabbi.

"Mine?" asked the puzzled American.  "But I'm a visitor here.  I'm only passing through."

"So am I," said Hofetz Chaim.

We have furniture in our homes so that we can be comfortable there.  Chairs to sit on, beds to sleep on, tables to dine on and pile up our stuff.  We find these things useful in our day to day lives.  So much so, that even when we travel, we expect to see them everywhere we go, we expect to have them provided for our use when we stop somewhere.  Even though we are only passing through.

Some sweet day, none of these will matter.  We’ll be made new with no more discomfort, no more need of things, no more aches and pains.  But for now, let’s just remember that we’re only visitors here, we’re only passing through.

I believe that the Apostle Paul reinforces this concept in our scripture reading.  He compares two distinct time periods each of us believers will experience:  our life now, and our eternal life yet to come.  And he does so in terms we should be able to easily understand: our houses, our homes.  Of course, it takes very little insight to realize he is referring to our bodies and our souls when he says that our outer self is wasting away while our inner self is renewing constantly.

I love that he used a tent to refer to our current body, our earthly home.  Most of us consider a tent to be a very temporary shelter, not even comparable to a real house.  This is how our current body compares to our eternal body that will be given to us, our eternal home crafted by God.  Right now we’re in a tent, just something to keep the rain off, something to keep us from being seen as naked, as Paul puts it.  But we long for something more, we groan just thinking about the home that awaits us, the home Jesus prepared for us.  That knowledge, that hope, that promise gives us the courage to stay in this tent one more day.

Did you notice that at the end of that passage, in chapter 5 verse 10, Paul actually gives us a word of warning?  We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.  All of us – good and bad, believers and non-believers.  We will all be judged and we will all receive what is due us for what we have done, or not done, while in this earthly home, this body.  Whether we’re done good or evil, we will be judged.

I think it would behoove us to do good, if we truly follow Jesus.  He did good, while in an earthly body.  He even fulfilled the Law of Moses, as handed down by God.  Listen as the author of the letter to the Hebrews tells us of what Jesus did while on this earth, and what we should to in obedience to Him.  This comes from Hebrews chapter 13, verses 10 through 16…

10 We have an altar — the cross where Christ was sacrificed — where those who continue to seek salvation by obeying Jewish laws can never be helped. 11 Under the system of Jewish laws, the high priest brought the blood of the slain animals into the sanctuary as a sacrifice for sin, and then the bodies of the animals were burned outside the city. 12 That is why Jesus suffered and died outside the city, where His blood washed our sins away.

13 So let us go out to Him beyond the city walls (that is, outside the interests of this world, being willing to be despised) to suffer with Him there, bearing His shame. 14 For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven.

15 With Jesus’ help we will continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by telling others of the glory of His name. 16 Don’t forget to do good and to share what you have with those in need, for such sacrifices are very pleasing to Him.

--Hebrews 13:10-16 (TLB)

In every way, Jesus fulfilled the law, even to the point of how His blood was shed outside the city walls, the blood that washed our sins away.  So in that manner, we need to go to Him outside the city walls.  And the author makes it clear that he means beyond the interests of this world, outside the influence of this earthly life, even if we are despised for doing so.  There we must be willing to suffer for His name, as He suffered for us, taking the risk of being shamed for our belief and faith.

And here we have it, the crux of this message: for this world is not our home.  This world is not our home so we should not allow it to chain us here in this existence.  We should not let it influence our actions and deeds and thoughts to the detriment of our eternal souls.

This structure we sit in this morning, built by human hands, is not the house of God.  This earthly body we inhabit is not our eternal home.  We just have to live in it temporarily, this tent of ours.  It will continue to be tough, walking through this land as a visitor.  But Jesus will help us if we only ask, so that we can continually offer our own sacrifice of praise to God through our service to Him.

So let us tell others all about Jesus and what He’s done for us, and what He can do for them.  And let’s not forget to do good and to share what we have with those in need.  For all this is pleasing to God.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for having a new home all prepared for us, a new body to inhabit in paradise.  Thank You for the wonderful promise You made with us.  And thank You for Jesus, who is the foundation of our hope.  Please help us uphold our part by obeying Your word and loving others in our daily walk.  Sometimes, Father, we let the world hold us too tightly, forgetting that this is only our temporary residence, that we are only visitors here.  Please, Father, help us remember that we are just passing through, on our way to a far greater life.  Help us remain ever faithful and obedient to You.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You from our hearts 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 set the example as to how we should live this life when You took on an earthly body.  And then You sacrificed all so that we could be freed from the chains of this world, washed of our sins, and set free to live forever in paradise.  Thank You, Jesus, for giving of Yourself for us.  Lord Jesus, we ask You to help us let go of this world.  Strengthen our will to do what God wills us to do.  Help us to be more loving, more understanding, kinder to all we encounter each day.  And please help us as we try to show Your love in this, our earthly home, where hatred and distrust seem to abound.  All this we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Faithful to God

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 6th of June, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  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.]

Have you ever seen someone suffering and wonder why?  Why are they hurting so much?  They’re a good person, maybe even a good, faithful follower of Jesus.  Why are they having to suffer so much?  Maybe you’ve even asked that question of your own condition: why am I having to suffer so much?  And I’m not talking only about physical hurts here, but suffering of the spirit as well.

This is a question that has been asked and debated for thousands of years now.  If God loves us all so much, then why does anyone ever have to suffer in this life?  If God loves us, why do we too often hurt so much?

The Apostle Peter was a fisherman by trade before he gave it all up to follow Jesus.  As such, he would not have been overly educated in any discipline, and most would not have thought of him as a biblical scholar.  But let’s hear how Peter responded to that question, so often asked.

Please listen and follow along to what Peter wrote in the 4th chapter of his 1st letter to the early church, verses 1 through 11, and I’ll be reading from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible…

1 Christ suffered here on earth. Now you must be ready to suffer as He did, because suffering shows that you have stopped sinning. 2 It means you have turned from your own desires and want to obey God for the rest of your life. 3 You have already lived long enough like people who don’t know God. You were immoral and followed your evil desires. You went around drinking and partying and carrying on. In fact, you even worshiped disgusting idols. 4 Now your former friends wonder why you have stopped running around with them, and they curse you for it. 5 But they will have to answer to God, who judges the living and the dead. 6 The good news has even been preached to the dead, so that after they have been judged for what they have done in this life, their spirits will live with God.

7 Everything will soon come to an end. So be serious and be sensible enough to pray. 

8 Most important of all, you must sincerely love each other, because love wipes away many sins. 

9 Welcome people into your home and don’t grumble about it.

10 Each of you has been blessed with one of God’s many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others. So use your gift well. 11 If you have the gift of speaking, preach God’s message. If you have the gift of helping others, do it with the strength that God supplies. Everything should be done in a way that will bring honor to God because of Jesus Christ, who is glorious and powerful forever. Amen.

--1 Peter 4:1-11 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for giving us so many chances to do right in Your eyes.  You even sent us Your Son, that through Him our sins might be forgiven if we only accept Him as our Lord.  Thank You, Father, for also giving us a special gift, a talent or ability to be used in our service to You.  Please help us make the best use of that gift.  Help us reach out to others and share the Good News with them.  Help us remain faithful and true to You and to bring honor to You in all that we do.  And Father, please protect us from Satan’s traps and snares and from those who do his evil work.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and our service to Jesus.  Please keep us healthy and safe through these extraordinary 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.  Tell us of Your steadfast love, even in our times of suffering.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus, your Son, who suffered for us all.   Amen.

There was a French tightrope walker who did amazing feats at scary heights.  His greatest act had him crossing over a span while blindfolded and pushing a wheelbarrow in front of him.  An American promoter heard about this and invited the man to do his act over Niagara Falls, first stating that he didn't believe the walker could make it.  The walker accepted the challenge, even though he had never been to America nor seen the Falls.

The day of the highly promoted event came and a great crowd anxiously awaited the act.  The walker started from the Canadian side and ended on the American side, all the while blindfolded and pushing his wheelbarrow.  When he finished, he asked the promoter if he now believed the walker could do it.  "Of course," the promoter replied.  "I just saw you do it."  "No," the walker insisted, "do you really believe I can do it?"  "Yes,", the promoter replied again, "I really do believe you can do it."  "Then hop in the wheelbarrow and let's go again."

The word "believe", in the Greek, means "to live by".  We say we have faith in God, we believe in Christ, but do we live by that faith and belief?  Do we live daily as Jesus would have us live, as Peter instructs us to live?  Or are we afraid to get in the wheelbarrow?

At the start, I posed the age-old question: If God loves us, why do we have to suffer?  One way to respond to that question is with another question: where does our suffering come from?  Or more to the point, does our suffering come from God?  According to Peter, it isn’t God’s doing.  God does love us.  Every true believer knows that without a doubt.

So why do we suffer?  Peter says that our suffering shows that we have stopped sinning, that we have turned from our earthly desires and wish only to serve God.  So our suffering must be coming from the relentless attacks of Satan as he tries to pull us away from God.  Our suffering is from all the temptations of this world in conflict with our longing for eternal life in paradise.  The world will continue to grasp at us, trying to hold us back.  Some of our old friends may have abandoned us since we gave our lives to Jesus.

Peter reminds us that, soon, this life will come to an end, and God will judge us all for what we have done.  So we must pray – seriously pray.  We must love each other sincerely, unconditionally, not judging others because that is God’s job.  We must be hospitable to one another, welcoming folk without grumbling about it.  And we must use the gift that God has given us, whatever it is, in our service of others.  By serving others, we serve God, and we must do so in a way that brings honor to Him and Him alone.  And all this we do because of our Lord Jesus and His sacrifice on our behalf, our Christ who is glorious and powerful forever.

So according to Peter, our suffering is an indication that we are being faithful to God.  We are trying our very best to not sin, to resist temptations, to withstand Satan’s attacks, to love one another unconditionally and sacrificially.

Peter notes that even Jesus suffered while He walked this earth.  The very Son of God suffered and hurt, so we should be ready to suffer as He did.  Granted, we most likely will not be whipped to the very point of death, nor nailed to a cross to die.  But I think the greatest pain Jesus endured was the wounds inflicted upon His spirit: being scorned and rejected by the very people He came to save, taking the sins of the world unto Himself, He who was without sin.  We can’t take on someone else’s sins, and we certainly are not without sin ourselves, but in all likelihood we will be scorned and rejected by some of the folks we try to share the Gospel with.  We may be ridiculed and made fun of, just as Jesus was.

Let me add just a bit more to our scripture reading, picking up where I left off in the 4th chapter of Peter’s 1st letter.  Please listen as I read verses 12 through 19…

12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised or shocked that you are going through testing that is like walking through fire. 13 Be glad for the chance to suffer as Christ suffered. It will prepare you for even greater happiness when He makes His glorious return.

14 Count it a blessing when you suffer for being a Christian. This shows that God’s glorious Spirit is with you. 15 But you deserve to suffer if you are a murderer, a thief, a crook, or a busybody. 16 Don’t be ashamed to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God that you belong to Him. 17 God has already begun judging His own people. And if His judgment begins with us, imagine how terrible it will be for those who refuse to obey His message. The Scriptures say,

18 “If good people barely escape,

what will happen to sinners

and to others

who don’t respect God?”

19 If you suffer for obeying God, you must have complete faith in your faithful Creator and keep on doing right.

--1 Peter 4:12-19 (CEV)

We shouldn’t be surprised when we have to suffer, when our faith is put to the test.  Instead, we should be glad to suffer as Jesus suffered.  I’m sure He was glad to endure His pain, knowing that it would bring us eternal life in heaven.

I’m willing to bet most of us would not consider suffering to be a blessing.  But Peter says that suffering for the sake of Jesus, suffering because we follow Jesus, is indeed a blessing.  It’s a blessing because it shows that God’s Holy Spirit is within us, and that we belong to Him.

God will indeed judge us all, good and bad, believers and non-believers.  Our present suffering doesn’t even come close to how much those who continue to sin and those who don’t respect God will suffer.

So even as we suffer in this life, let our suffering be because we obey God.  Whether we are suffering from illness or loss, from rejection or ridicule, no matter the source of pain, let us remain completely faithful to God.  For He is ever faithful to us.  As long as we obey and serve Him and our Lord Jesus, we will have to suffer in this life.  But our reward in the next life will be great.  And then, there will be no more suffering.

Be faithful to God.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for being faithful to us.  Thank You for adopting us as Your own children when we accepted Jesus as our Lord.  Please help us in our suffering.  Sometimes, Father, this life just beats us down.  Sometimes we falter and stumble under the blows of Satan and all he throws in our path.  Please, Father, help us endure all this with peace and grace.  Help us remain ever faithful and obedient to You.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You from our hearts 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 left Your beautiful home in heaven and came to earth to offer us all the chance to live eternally with You in paradise.  And we showed You our gratitude by ridiculing You, by nailing You to a cross, by rejecting You and all that You offered.  Thank You, Jesus, for suffering for our sakes.  Thank You for taking all our sins upon Yourself so that we could be seen as clean and sinless by God Almighty.  Lord Jesus, we ask You to help us be ever faithful to our Father God no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in nor what situation faces us.  Strengthen our will to do what God wills us to do.  Help us to be more loving, more understanding, kinder to all we encounter each day.  And please help us as we try to show Your love to a world where there seems to be such a short supply of love.  All this we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.