The Only True God

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 17th of September, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  A recording should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

This morning we sang and spoke of God’s majesty, and it is right that we should do so.  That word majesty has been used for centuries to denote human royalty, a king or queen, or their children.  It means lofty, regal, holding supreme authority.  And that certainly describes God.  He sits high upon His heavenly throne.  He is the King above all kings.  And He holds the ultimate authority over all of creation because He is the Creator of all.

Now I admit that this is what we believe, and not everyone will agree with us.  First, this belief accepts that God is living, has always been alive, will always live.  Second, it accepts that God is the only god, that there are no other gods in existence.

There are many today who will not agree with the first, who say that God is dead, or that even if He is alive, He doesn’t care about mankind and has gone away.  And throughout history, man has worshiped many gods, even creating some with their own hands.  The god of the sun, a god of the stars, a god of wind, a god of fire, a god of water, gods of fertility, gods of the harvest, and on and on.  These people just couldn’t accept that there was only one true God who created all and manages all creation.  Sadly, some still can’t, even today.  They do not, or cannot, recognize and acknowledge the one true living God.

Family, I’ve given you a break from the New Testament epistles the last two Sundays, but today I’d like to return to them and close out John’s 1st letter.  And it is fitting that we do, because in this, John reassures us of the truth of God, and of Jesus His Son.

Throughout this 1st letter, John has emphasized love – God’s love for us, and our commandment to love others as we are loved by God.  He has given us instructions on how to conduct ourselves as Christians, our reasons for helping others, our need of separating ourselves from the ways of the world even as we must live in the world.  He has shown us how we should fellowship together, and warned us to be cautious of those who would come among us to teach false doctrine.  He has given us a way to distinguish between children of God and children of the devil, by whether or not they confess that Christ Jesus has come from God in the flesh.  And he has presented verification of our Christ’s credentials to us, as witnessed to by God at His baptism and before His crucifixion, and by His Holy Spirit speaking in our hearts.

So now let us be assured of the only true God’s sovereignty, His mercy, and our eternal life through His Son.  Please listen and follow along to the conclusion of the Apostle John’s 1st letter to the early church, from chapter 5 verses 13 through 21, and I’ll be reading from The Living Bible version of our Holy Bible this morning…

13 I have written this to you who believe in the Son of God so that you may know you have eternal life. 14 And we are sure of this, that He will listen to us whenever we ask Him for anything in line with His will. 15 And if we really know He is listening when we talk to Him and make our requests, then we can be sure that He will answer us.

16 If you see a Christian sinning in a way that does not end in death, you should ask God to forgive him, and God will give him life unless he has sinned that one fatal sin. But there is that one sin which ends in death, and if he has done that, there is no use praying for him. 17 Every wrong is a sin, of course. I’m not talking about these ordinary sins; I am speaking of that one that ends in death.

18 No one who has become part of God’s family makes a practice of sinning, for Christ, God’s Son, holds him securely, and the devil cannot get his hands on him. 19 We know that we are children of God and that all the rest of the world around us is under Satan’s power and control. 20 And we know that Christ, God’s Son, has come to help us understand and find the true God. And now we are in God because we are in Jesus Christ His Son, who is the only true God; and He is eternal Life.

21 Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. Amen.

Sincerely, John

--1 John 5:13-21 (TLB)

Let us pray…  Almighty God, Thank You for assuring us, through Your own voice, that Jesus is Your Son, sent to wash away our sin and offer us eternal life with You in heaven.  And thank You for making sure we will know this by having Your child and Jesus’ beloved apostle John write it in his letters to the early church, saved for us.  Father, we believe that You are indeed the one true God, the only true God.  Anything made by human hands can never be god because we are flawed and what we make will be flawed.  Only You are God, and You created all there is.  Thank You, Father, for loving us enough to give us the faith to believe.  Thank You for wanting us to live with You forever in Your heavenly home.  Sadly, Father, sometimes we are bombarded by messages of disbelief.  Too often we’re mocked and scorned for our belief.  And sometimes we give in to what others say.  Forgive us these times, please Father.  Help us keep our faith strong and vital.  Keep reminding us that You are always at our side.  Please help us by shielding us from all those who serve Satan and carry out his wicked deeds here on earth.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe in the days ahead.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Help us avoid committing that one fatal sin, and help us seek Your forgiveness for ourselves and others who sin.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Theologian Klyne Snodgrass, in his book, Between Two Truths - Living with Biblical Tensions, tells this little story:

Once the Devil was walking along with one of his cohorts.  They saw a man ahead of them pick up something shiny.  "What did he find?", asked the cohort. 

"A piece of the truth," the Devil replied. 

"Doesn't it bother you that he found a piece of the truth?", asked the cohort. 

"No," said the Devil, "I will see to it that he makes a religion out of it."

Making a religion out of a piece of the truth.  Many might wonder how that could be a bad thing.  Well, we only need look to the Pharisees as an example of how a piece of the truth, the truth that is God, can be shaped into an all-encompassing religion that actually takes away from worshiping God.  When religion gets in the way of worshiping God, it becomes a bad thing.  Jesus came to remind us that’s it’s all about love – God’s love for us, and our love for Him, shown by our worshiping and serving Him.  He told the Pharisees they had it all wrong, and one name Saul finally saw the truth once the Lord blinded him.

We still try to make religion out of things and concepts and ideas, even when we know the truth.  How many worship at the throne of NASCAR or the NFL on Sundays?  How many seek only after the almighty dollar?  How many fawn over celebrities and human idols?

Where we place our love, our heart, our worship, that is our god.  Let’s make sure we worship only the one true God.

John closes his 1st letter by assuring us of our eternal life in heaven because we believe in the Son of God.  We believe in Jesus, and we believe God will listen to our prayers because Jesus said He will.  But notice that John explains that God will answer our requests if what we ask is in line with His will.  If we ask for a million dollars and it isn’t in God’s will for us to have a million dollars, we won’t get it.  This is why, when we pray here in church, we say that we’re not asking God to do anything that isn’t in His will, but that He please include what we ask in His will.  If we’re not greedy or spiteful or seeking to advance our own agenda, but instead are asking for help out of love and trying to do His work, He will answer our request in a way that works to the good of all who love Him and are His called.  Because God is good, and He loves us dearly.

Then John speaks to us about sinning, and especially sinning in a way that ends in death.  Now we need to understand that this sin isn’t something like murdering someone and being sentenced to death by the courts of man.  Death in the Christian, biblical sense is the ultimate death, the final death – being separated forever from God.

John says there is one fatal sin, and if a person has committed it, then nothing can save them - no amount of prayer will help - for they are doomed.  We know that sin is disobedience of God, and so there are many sins we might be guilty of.  Which is this one fatal sin?

The Apostle Mark tells us of a time when a great multitude had gathered to be touched and healed by Jesus and to hear Him teach.  Some scribes in the crowd began spreading the word that Jesus could do all these miracles because He was possessed by a demon and had the spirit of the devil in Him.  After Jesus rebuked them, He said this to the crowd, as reported by Mark in the 3rd chapter of his Gospel account, verses 28 and 29...

28 “I solemnly declare that any sin of man can be forgiven, even blasphemy against Me; 29 but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven. It is an eternal sin.”

--Mark 3:28-29 (TLB)

The spirit within Jesus was God’s own Holy Spirit, not the spirit of Satan.  We know this because the Holy Spirit descended on Him as a dove after he arose from the River Jordan at His baptism.  So the scribes were in effect saying that God’s Holy Spirit is the spirit of the devil.  And that is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which can never be forgiven.  Denying God’s Holy Spirit is the one fatal sin.  Commit that sin and lose all hope.

We can take heart in knowing that Jesus will help us not to sin, and especially not the fatal sin, for we are children of God, the one true God.  The rest of the world around us might be under Satan’s power and control, but we belong to God through Jesus His Son.

The Apostle Paul addresses the church at Thessalonica, and us, by saying "to you who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ".  In his 1st Letter to the Thessalonians, verse 8 through 10, Paul goes on to say...

8 And now the Word of the Lord has spread out from you to others everywhere, far beyond your boundaries, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your remarkable faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it, 9 for they keep telling us about the wonderful welcome you gave us, and how you turned away from your idols to God so that now the living and true God only is your Master. 10 And they speak of how you are looking forward to the return of God’s Son from heaven — Jesus, whom God brought back to life — and He is our only Savior from God’s terrible anger against sin.

--1 Thessalonians 1:8-10 (TLB)

The Word of the Lord was spreading out from that church family in Thessalonica to others in the surrounding region.  They were sharing the Gospel with everyone, just as Jesus told us to.  This church family consisted mostly of converted Gentiles, as noted in verse 9.  They had turned away from their idols and pagan gods and accepted the one true God as their Master.  They rejoiced in their salvation through Jesus, God’s Son from heaven whom God brought back to life.  And they let others know that Jesus is our only Savior, the only One who can save us from God’s terrible anger against sin and disobedience.

Family, this is our job, too.  The Thessalonians carried it out not as a responsibility or as a chore, but as a blessing and out of love.  They wanted others to know the same joy they had found, to get the same everlasting life in paradise that they would receive.

This is the mission Christ Jesus gave us, to make more disciples by telling others about Him and sharing His love through our love.  Let us turn away from our idols and false gods, from anything we worship that is not the one true God.  We must not let anything, not even religion, get in the way of our worshiping God and serving Him.  Let us go out into the world, ignoring the hatred it levels at us, resisting the temptations to turn from our mission, and spread the Good News of salvation through Jesus alone – Jesus, the Son of the one true God.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, who gave His all for us.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for showering us with Your mercy, Your love, and Your blessings.  Even when we rebel against You, You love us and forgive us.   Most of all, Father, we thank You for giving us the faith to believe in Jesus as Your Christ, Your Son, that by our belief, we are assured we will live with You in heaven forever.  Forgive us those times, please Father, when we let other interests get in the way of our worship.  Forgive us when we make for ourselves idols and false gods.  Forgive us when we fail to spend more time with You and with Your word.  Forgive us when we neglect the needs of others, when we turn our back on them or cross the street to avoid them,  when we let fear or hatred overrule our love.  Please help us be more like Jesus and do good while we still walk this earth.  And please, Father, shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith and tries to pull us away from You.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before 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 obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, by our faith we believe that You are the Son of the one true living God, sent to atone for our sin by Your blood shed for us.  Thank You, Jesus, for redeeming us when we are so undeserving.  Before You returned to heaven, You left us with a mission to carry out.  You commanded us to love others as we love ourselves, and to make more disciples of the nations.  We show our love by helping others come to know You so they too can be saved.  Please forgive us when we fail to carry out the job You gave us.  Forgive us when we hesitate out of fear of what others may think of us, or of getting everything wrong.  We pray, Lord, that You will stay by our side and help us reach out to others, giving us the right words to say, the right actions to take.  And Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and empty promises.  Guide us around all traps and snares he lays in our path.  Help us see though his temptations.

Lord Jesus, please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and 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.

When Our Tent Is Taken Down

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 10th of September, 2023, Homecoming Sunday at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  A recording should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Family, today is homecoming at Pilgrim Church.  Now I don’t know when our celebration of homecoming first began, but since the church first started gathering in 1753 and was officially founded in 1757, we could have enjoyed as many as 270 homecomings!

Each one is special, because it is our reminder that we truly are a family, and as a family we can gather together in fellowship and love.  It’s a time when some of our brothers and sisters who’ve been away for a while come back to see us again.  And it’s usually a time for some great food!

So welcome home, Family!  It’s so good to see you all!

I think that many of us experience a number of homecomings in our lifetimes.  There’s been a bunch of church homecomings, and for some of us many at a number of churches and not just Pilgrim.  In high school we had a homecoming football game each year, where we crowned a homecoming king and queen.  And a family reunion is like a homecoming in many ways.  The main intent of each of these is to take us back to our roots, to reunite us with friends and family we may not have seen in a while, to bring us back home.

But what is home?  Two old sayings come to mind.  Home is where the heart is.  In other words, what is dearest to our heart is home.  And home is where I hang my hat, meaning I can make myself at home anywhere I am.

Some of us have lived in the same home for many, many years.  Some of us have moved around quite a bit, making a new home fairly often.  But none of this is the home we believers really look forward to.

Please follow along to what the Apostle Paul wrote in his 2nd letter to the church in Corinth, saved for us in chapter 4 verse 17 through chapter 5 verse 9, and I’ll be reading from The Living Bible version of our Holy Bible this morning…

4:17 These troubles and sufferings of ours are, after all, quite small and won’t last very long. Yet this short time of distress will result in God’s richest blessing upon us forever and ever! 18 So we do not look at what we can see right now, the troubles all around us, but we look forward to the joys in heaven which we have not yet seen. The troubles will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.

5:1 For we know that when this tent we live in now is taken down — when we die and leave these bodies — we will have wonderful new bodies in heaven, homes that will be ours forevermore, made for us by God Himself and not by human hands. 2 How weary we grow of our present bodies. That is why we look forward eagerly to the day when we shall have heavenly bodies that we shall put on like new clothes. 3 For we shall not be merely spirits without bodies. 4 These earthly bodies make us groan and sigh, but we wouldn’t like to think of dying and having no bodies at all. We want to slip into our new bodies so that these dying bodies will, as it were, be swallowed up by everlasting life. 5 This is what God has prepared for us, and as a guarantee He has given us His Holy Spirit.

6 Now we look forward with confidence to our heavenly bodies, realizing that every moment we spend in these earthly bodies is time spent away from our eternal home in heaven with Jesus. 7 We know these things are true by believing, not by seeing. 8 And we are not afraid but are quite content to die, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 9 So our aim is to please Him always in everything we do, whether we are here in this body or away from this body and with Him in heaven.

--2 Corinthians 4:17-5:9 (TLB)

Let us pray…  Almighty God, Thank You for preparing our eternal homes in heaven, our new bodies that will last forever.  Father, You know how tough this life can be for us.  Jesus even warned us that in this life we will face trials and difficulties.  But You promise that if we just get through this with our faith intact, we will be greatly rewarded beyond anything we can even dream.  Thank You, Father, for giving us so much just for believing in Your Son and accepting Him as our Lord.  Thank You for showing us such great, undeserved mercy.  Sadly, Father, sometimes we take Your love and Your blessings for granted.  Too often we let this life beat us down to the point where our spirits struggle and our faith begins to fail.  We start to doubt we can hold on long enough to receive our reward.  Forgive us these times, please Father.  Help us hang on to our faith as we cling to Your promise.  Keep reminding us that this life is only temporary, and that the next is forever.  Please help us by shielding us from all those who serve Satan and carry out his wicked deeds here on earth.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe in the days ahead.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Renew our spirits and restore our confidence in Your word as we long for our heavenly home.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Writer, filmmaker, and storyteller Phil Cousineau says this about Homer's great work, The Odyssey:

This story is about the awakening of a man who has not quite appreciated his wife, Penelope, and who has upset the gods who are wreaking havoc on his effort to get home again.   After his time with Circe, Odysseus goes down into the underworld to find Tiresias, the sage, who tells him: “You can get home again but you will have to suffer.   The gods will make it difficult for you to do this.  You will have to curb your desires and the desires of the men in your crew.  This is the psychological insight:  It’s your desires that have kept you from getting home again.”

Cousineau then asks, “What does that mean for us today?”  Getting through this life is tough, and we do have to suffer.  But our God tells us to curb our desires, let go of our attachments to this life and to earthly things.  This is what keeps us from going home: our desires, our love of what the world offers, rather than seeking only what God offers.  We can make it home – it won’t be easy, but we can make it home if we just trust in God and keep our faith strong.

As I mentioned earlier, while we may call this building the house of God, we know that He has chosen us to be His home while we walk this earth.  Our journey may seem long, because there are many hills to climb along the way, many rivers to cross, many pitfalls to avoid, may raging storms to weather.  Just being born into this life is a traumatic experience, as evidenced by a baby’s very first cry.  And some folks seem to leave this life in much the same way: kicking and screaming.

But I have to ask…  If this life is so tough, why do we cling to it so desperately?  Paul tells us that “every moment we spend in these earthly bodies is time spent away from our eternal home in heaven with Jesus”.  If we believe him, then why do we dread letting go?  Is it because we’re afraid of what comes next?  Do we worry that what we’ve been told might not really happen?  Is there really anything after this life, or do we just cease to exist and that’s it?

My dear brothers and sisters, it may not seem like it some days, but this life is short.  I think most of us, when we look back upon the path we’ve walked, are amazed at how quickly we got to where we are.  I know for me the years are flying by.  When I was in school or working at a boring job, it seemed like each second took forever, but now it was all just a blur.

This life is short.  But the next will last forever.  And yes, there will be a life after this one has ended.  We know this without a doubt if we truly believe in God and trust in His word.  Someday our tent will be folded up and it'll be time to go home; this body that we now inhabit will stop functioning.

But this tent, this body is just our temporary housing.  God has a new body all ready for us, a wonderful new home, one that will last forever.  The question is, where will we then live in that new body?  Will we dwell forever in paradise with God and with Jesus, or will we suffer all eternity separated from God in the lake of fire?  The choice truly is ours.  If our choice is heaven, then we should aim to please God in everything we do.  

The author of the Letter to the Hebrews has a great message to add to this discussion.  Please listen to what he writes in the 13th chapter, verses 8 through 16 of this letter to those Jewish converts...

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your spiritual strength comes as a gift from God, not from ceremonial rules about eating certain foods — a method which, by the way, hasn’t helped those who have tried it!

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 13:8-16 (TLB)

This world is not our home.  This life we are living right now is short and temporary.  No matter how much we might wish for it to, this life won’t last.  But Jesus does last, and will forever.  He is the same yesterday, today, and every tomorrow to come.  From Him we can take comfort and strength for the road ahead, the spiritual strength that comes as a gift from God.

Jesus was sacrificed on the cross so that we might have an eternal home with God in heaven.  Our author tells us that Christ suffered and died outside the city walls, so we should go beyond the city to Him.  And he explains that by this he means we should go beyond the interests of the world, not worrying about what the world thinks of us, being ready and willing to be despised for our faith and belief.  For just as the world hated Jesus, it will hate us for following Him.  But with our Lord’s help, we can remain strong during our walk through this life.

We know what we need to do, the job we’ve been given.  Let’s keep spreading the Gospel and telling other folks all about Jesus.  Let’s offer our sacrifice of praise to God with every word we utter, with every thought we think.  And let’s not forget to do good and to share what we have with those in need.  For such sacrifices are pleasing to our Father God.

Some sweet day our tent will be taken down and we’ll go to our true, permanent home.  Let’s keep our faith strong and continue serving God.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, who gave His all for us.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for preparing our new body for our return home.  You are so good to us and we thank You for Your many blessings in our lives.   Most of all, we thank You for giving us the faith to believe in Jesus as Your Christ, Your Son.  By our belief, we know that we will be with You in heaven forever.  Forgive us those times, please Father, when we just become so weary from our journey that we begin to doubt Your word.  Forgive us when we fail to carry out the work Jesus assigned us, when we hesitate to go out among the lost, telling them all about Your Son.  Forgive us when we get too wrapped up with the things of the world and lose our focus on the things of heaven.  Forgive us when we neglect the needs of others, when we shun others just because they are different, when we let hatred rule our hearts and overshadow our love.  Please help us be more like Jesus.  Show us those places where we can do good while we still walk this earth.  And please, Father, shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith and tries to pull us away from You.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before 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 obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You allowed You own precious blood to be shed so that we could be washed clean of our sin.  Your sacrifice provided for our atonement.  Thank You, Jesus, for giving of Your all just for us.  We carry Your name into the world, knowing the world will despise us, just so that others might see You in how we act and in what we do.  Please forgive us when we fail to give of ourselves for others.  Forgive us when we don’t carry out the job You gave us to the very best of our ability.  We pray, Lord, that You stand at our side and help us reach out to others, giving us the right words to say, the right actions to take.  And Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and empty promises.  Guide us around all traps and snares he lays in our path.  Help us see though his temptations.

Lord Jesus, please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and 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.

A Labor of Love

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 3rd of September, 2023, Labor Day weekend, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  A recording should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Tomorrow is the first Monday in September, which means it’s Labor Day here in the US.  An act of Congress in 1894 set aside this day as a federal holiday to recognize the many contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity, and well-being.  And as a federal holiday, Labor Day is a day off for many people.

Nowadays, we treat Labor Day as the end of summer, or at least of summer vacations.  It’s a day for backyard cookouts and leisure time at the lake, or that last trip of the season to the beach.  So we recognize the American worker by giving them a day off, or at least that’s the idea.

I believe it’s fair to say we’ve all worked at some point in our lives, whether for gainful employment or just at some task that needed to be done.  We’ve all labored, and if we were blessed, we labored at a job we enjoyed.

But that’s not true of every task, nor every job.  Some we’ve had to take on were downright unpleasant, but had to be done.  We’ve done work because we were paid to, we’ve done work because we wanted to, and we’ve done work because there was no one else to do it.  We’ve all worked, and many times without a day off, or any form of recognition, or even thanks.

How much thought have you given to all that Jesus did while He lived among us as a man?  Do you think of His time here as “work”?  Well, He was assigned a job to do here by His Boss, His Father God.  Think about it…

He walked everywhere, with one exception we know of being when he rode into Jerusalem on a small donkey.  He spent all His time teaching and preaching and healing people of all kinds of diseases and infirmities.  Even when He'd sit down to eat a meal or to try to rest, people would clamor around seeking His help, hanging onto every word He spoke.  The only moments He could get some alone time was when He went off by Himself to pray to God.

The day that Jesus called Matthew to be a disciple was pretty much a typical day for our Lord.  He healed three or four people, gave a little lesson to some Pharisees and another to a couple of disciples of John the Baptist, even restored a young girl back to life.  Yep, just a typical day at work.

Follow along and hear what happened next as recorded in verses 35 through 38 of chapter 9 of the Apostle Matthew’s Gospel account, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

--Matthew 9:35-38 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Almighty God, Thank You for sending Your own Son to work here on earth with the job of washing us clean of our sin.  For Him, this was a labor of love – His love for You and Your love for us.  Thank You, Father, for giving us the chance to be saved and live with You forever.  Thank You for showing us such great, undeserved mercy.  Sadly, Father, sometimes we take Your love and Your blessings for granted.  Too often we fail to carry out the task we’ve been assigned.  We hesitate out of fear, we procrastinate because we’re too busy with other things.  Forgive us these times, please Father.  Help us be better servants, better laborers in Your field.  Keep reminding us of how everything Jesus did was done out of love.  Please shield us from all those who serve Satan and carry out his wicked deeds here on earth.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe in the days ahead.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Show us what task You would have us perform, what job You want us to do.  And then, dear Father, help us carry out that task to completion in a loving manner.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Philosopher Howard A. Stein once wrote in Reader's Digest, “A retired friend became interested in the construction of an addition to a shopping mall.  Observing the activity regularly, he was especially impressed by the conscientious operator of a large piece of equipment.  The day finally came when my friend had a chance to tell this man how much he'd enjoyed watching his scrupulous work.  Looking astonished, the operator replied, ‘You're not the supervisor?’”

I guess the operator never read these words and wisdom of C. S. Lewis from his book, The Weight of Glory:  “The work of a Beethoven, and the work of a charwoman, become spiritual on precisely the same condition, that of being offered to God, of being done humbly 'as to the Lord.'  This does not, of course, mean that it is for anyone a mere toss-up whether he should sweep rooms or compose symphonies.  A mole must dig to the glory of God and a cock must crow.”

How often does it backfire on us when we assume something, when we make an assumption?  In the case of the crane operator, his assumption that his supervisor was watching led him to be more diligent in his work, which we would see as a good thing but to him may have required extra, even unnecessary, effort.

We who believe don’t have to make the mistake the operator made, for we know that our Supervisor is always watching.  God is always watching us, in everything we do.  Are we humbly going about His business, or are we looking for personal recognition or gain alone?

Mr. Lewis points out what our Bible tells us, that anything we do, any job we take on, we should do it as though for the Lord, and not for humans.  Whether we are a composer of great music, or a sweeper of floors, whatever we do we should do for God and to His glory.

Like I said, it was just a typical day for Jesus.  Now we know He had compassion for all the people because He healed them everywhere He went.  He cast out evil spirits, even raised the dead back to life, and all because He cared; He cared for God’s creation.

On this particular day, though, Jesus looked out on the multitude that had gathered and He saw how lost they appeared.  They were tired, not just physically from their travels but spiritually, burdened by all the cares of the world.  They were unfocused, with no real direction other than getting through the day.  They were like sheep without a shepherd – scattered and wandering all around with no true sense of where to go, or why to go there.  And Jesus was moved with compassion.

Remembering that He was a human being in the flesh at the time, with human needs and human frailties, I think it conceivable that Jesus could not physically see to the needs of all the people everywhere, neither their physical needs nor their spiritual needs.  Yes, He is God and He could have just snapped His fingers and made everyone on earth whole and saved them all at once, but then there would be no need for faith or belief.  And besides, that wasn’t the job He was given.  Plus, He knew that His time on earth would be short and that there would be plenty more people in all the years to come that would still need to be ministered to.

So He told His followers to pray to God for more helpers.  “The harvest is plentiful, there are many, many more lost souls out there that need our help, so pray that the Master of the harvest sends more helpers out into His field.”

Jesus, working for God and doing God’s will, did not want to see anyone lost, neither this particular day, nor later, after He was executed and returned to life to walk among us again.  During that brief span before He ascended back into heaven, Jesus appeared to His followers a couple times and to over 500 people in all.  Not everyone believed when they were told of His resurrection.  Listen to one particular incident the Apostle Mark recorded for us in chapter 16 of his Gospel account, verses 14 through 16...

14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”

--Mark 16:14-16 (NKJV)

This is our job assignment, the Great Commission.  We are to go out and do as Jesus did, preaching the Good News of salvation through Christ and telling the whole world about Him.  If they believe, we will baptize them and they’ll be saved.  If they can’t believe, if they refuse to believe, then they are condemned by their own disbelief.

Now since this is our job, we must be sure to do it for God, and not for humans or human reasons.  Our work must be pleasing to God.  We must labor for the right reasons, for righteous things, always focusing on the things of heaven.  In chapter 6 of Matthew’s Gospel account, verses 19 through 21, Jesus tells us…

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

--Matthew 6:19-21 (NKJV)

If we are truly doing God’s work, we’re not looking for earthly rewards or recognition.  We know our rewards are being held for us in heaven.  And we should have no concerns about overworking, not at this job.

Looking again to Matthew’s Gospel account, chapter 11 verses 28 through 30, Jesus reassures us by saying…

28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

--Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV)

As we labor for the Lord, the world will definitely resist us and will try to overburden us, wanting us to quit, to give up our efforts.  Jesus promises to lighten our load and give us rest.  He loves us, God loves us, and while He expects us to work for Him, He wants us to love our work.  For a labor of love is really not work at all.

Let us be the answer to that early prayer.  Let’s be laborers in our Lord’s harvest.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, who gave His all for us.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for having pity on us, for having mercy on us.  Thank You for Your many blessings in our lives.   And most of all, thank You for giving us the faith to believe in Jesus as Your Christ, Your Son.  Forgive us those times, please Father, when we fail to carry out the work Jesus assigned us, when we hesitate to go out among the lost, telling them all about Your Son.  Forgive us when we get too wrapped up with the things of the world and lose our focus on the things of heaven.  Forgive us when we neglect the needs of others, when we shun others just because they are different, when we let hatred overshadow our hearts.  Please help us be more like Jesus.  Help us remember how much compassion He showed while He walked among us.  And please, Father, shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith and tries to pull us away from You.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before 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 obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You set the example for us to follow.  We carry Your name into the world, so we should also carry Your life as our own way of living, so that all might see You in how we act and in what we do.  Thank You, Jesus, for giving of Yourself for us, for having such great compassion for us.  Please forgive us when we fail to give of ourselves for others.  Forgive us when we don’t carry out the job You gave us to the very best of our ability.  We pray, Lord, that You please help us work for the right reason, that our labor be righteous.  And Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and empty promises.  Guide us around all traps and snares he lays in our path.  Help us see though his temptations.

Lord Jesus, please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and 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.