Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 26th of May, 2024 - Trinity Sunday.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

Additional note:  Today's service included the recognition of our scholarship winners and of all our graduates, and the receiving of two returning members back into our church family.  And again, the editor will not let me change text color. <sigh>]

Family, today is Trinity Sunday, when we recognize and celebrate the Three Persons of God.  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  This has already been a long, jam-packed service, so I’ll keep this as brief as I can, letting our Father speak mostly through His inspired scripture.

And since this is Trinity Sunday, I chose scripture that tells of a time when the Son of God is speaking to a man of God about the Spirit of God and of God the Father sending His Son.  So please listen and follow along as I read from the 3rd chapter of the Apostle John’s Gospel account, verses 1 through 21, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”

10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? 11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

--John 3:1-21 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for making Yourself available and accessible to us in three distinct persons.  Each of Your persons provides a different and needed perspective for us.  As the Father, You comfort us and care for us and provide for all our needs.  As the Son, You redeem us of our sin and will come again some day to call us home and to judge the whole world.  And as the Holy Spirit, You live in us and join with our spirit to encourage us and strengthen us and guide us through this life.  Sadly though, Father, not everyone believes in You, they can’t accept any of Your three persons, and so they condemn themselves.  Satan is hard at work in this world, keeping people blind to the truth.  Please help us reach out to the non-believers of the world, sharing the Good News of salvation through Jesus.  Help us show Your love to all we encounter.  And please forgive us when we hesitate to serve You when we have no real reason not to.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Thank You for being our Father.  Thank You for Your Son.  And thank You for Your Holy Spirit.  Help us share Your love with all the world.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

A little girl walks up to the preacher one Sunday after the service dragging her younger brother by the hand along with her.  She implores of the pastor, "Could you please straighten my stupid brother out?  He has the Holy Trinity mixed up with Larry, Moe, and Curly Joe."

I don’t believe I’ve ever heard anyone confuse the Holy Trinity with the Three Stooges, but in this world anything is possible.  Many people have trouble understanding the concept of three persons in one.  But I like to look at it as being three roles, three areas of responsibility, filling three different needs.

For instance, a man can be a father, seeing to the needs of his family, providing care and comfort for them as best he can.  At the same time, he can be a fireman or policeman or first responder, risking his life to save others.  And he can also be an Elder in his church, helping others with their spiritual needs, strengthening their faith, encouraging them in their personal ministries.

This is how the Almighty God gives of Himself for His creation.  He provides for us, redeems us, guides us.  All praise and glory to God our Father, God the Son Jesus, and God the most Holy Spirit.  Amen.

We all know John 3:16.  It’s the most well known, often repeated verse in the Bible.  People of all faiths, and of no faith, of all walks in life, know this verse.  They may not believe it, but they know it.  But I bet few know why Jesus spoke those words, or to whom, or all the rest of the scripture surrounding that one verse.

Nicodemus knew about Jesus.  He’d heard about the mighty deeds this teacher had performed and the words He’d spoken.  Nicodemus may have even witnessed Jesus in action.  He certainly knew enough to acknowledge that Jesus came from God.  And we know that eventually, Nicodemus became a believer and follower of Jesus, although a secret believer for he kept his position as a leader among the Pharisees.

So he is granted a chance to speak with Jesus and immediately our Lord confuses the poor man.  Jesus does go on to explain that one must be reborn of the Holy Spirit to gain entry into heaven.  And we know that the Holy Spirit comes to us when we accept Jesus as our Lord.  This is the rebirth Jesus spoke of, baptism by God’s Spirit.

During this conversation, Jesus even foretold His own role, that He must be lifted up, like the serpent was lifted up by Moses so that the people could be healed and saved.  Jesus must be lifted up, on the cross, so that all people might be healed of their sin and saved.

And then Jesus tells of the loving Father, who sent His only Son into the world to offer it salvation.  Jesus did not come to condemn us – He didn’t need to.  We condemn ourselves by our disbelief.  He came to save us, to shine the light of truth into the darkness.  And yet, so many love the darkness and shun the light, because they think the darkness hides their sin.

This brief conversation describes the Father who loves us, the Son who redeems us, and the Spirit who gives us new life.

Now I think we can agree that we owe God a lot, in each of His Three Persons.  And not just for what He provides in earthly, worldly goods and services, not just what we receive in the flesh.  The Apostle Paul – who was given great insight into the truth by none other than Jesus – speaks of God’s Three Persons and our debt to Him.  Hear what Paul wrote in chapter 8 of his letter to the church in Rome, verses 12 through 17…

12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors — not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

--Romans 8:12-17 (NKJV)

God’s own Spirit encourages us to call God “Abba”, Father.  “Abba” is actually a little more familiar term for our male parent, closer to what we might say as “Dad”, or “Daddy”.  And it is indeed comforting to think of the all-powerful, all-knowing God, the Creator of all the universe, as “Daddy”.

But we do owe a great debt to our heavenly Father, to His Son and our Brother Jesus, and to the Holy Spirit, for without them we would be forever lost and doomed.  So let us rejoice and celebrate all three persons of God, giving thanks for what They have given us.  In the blessed name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us so much that You not only sent Your only Son to die for us and atone for our sin, but then You sent Your own Holy Spirit to live within us and be our constant helper and companion.  You comfort us and provide for us.  Jesus redeems us and shows us the truth.  And the Spirit guides us and speaks for us when we can’t find the words.  We owe You so very much for all Your loving kindness.  Sadly though, Father, we don’t always show our gratitude.  We too often fail to do as we are commanded.  We’re too timid, too shy, too afraid to approach someone and tell them about Jesus.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  Help us share the Gospel message.  Help us take up the work Jesus gave us.  And as we do so, please help us be more forgiving, more merciful in our dealings with others.  And Father, guide us around any pitfalls in this life and strengthen our spirits to do Your will.  And please help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  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 came to redeem us of our sin and then You left us to return to heaven so that God’s Holy Spirit could come to be with us for the rest of our lives.  This is all part of our loving Father’s will that we never be alone.  As we walk through this life, please help us understand that all that happens around us is part of God’s plan.  Help us work for change where You want change, and help us accept what must be left as is.  Help us be more understanding, more merciful, more giving and forgiving of others, knowing that this is our Father’s will for us.  Help us reach out to the non-believing world with the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Lord Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations and all the false teachings.  Help us fend off his attacks.  Please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  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.

Our Helper

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 19th of May, 2024 - Pentecost Sunday.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

Additional note:  I'm not sure why, but this tool will no longer let me change the text color.]

Family, today is Pentecost Sunday.  The word “Pentecost” comes from the Greek work meaning 50th, and the Pentecost is celebrated on the 50th day of Easter.  And as I mentioned a couple weeks ago, this would be on the 10th day of Jesus’ ascension into heaven after His resurrection.

We all remember what happened on Pentecost, when God’s Holy Spirit came down onto the disciples still gathered in Jerusalem.  This was the gift that Jesus had promised.  He reminded them many times that the Spirit would come to them, including after His resurrection, when He told them, “I will send you the One My Father has promised, but you must stay in the city until you are given power from heaven.”  That was recorded by the Apostle Luke in chapter 24 verse 49 of his Gospel account.  “Stay in the city, stay in Jerusalem, and the Holy Spirit will come upon you and dwell within you.”

For this morning, I’d like to look at one of those times, not quite at the end of His ministry on earth, when Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would come to them.  And then we’ll take a brief glimpse at when that event actually occurred.  I believe this answers some questions that people still ask today, if not out loud then at least in their minds and hearts.

Our scripture reading this morning will be a little different, as it comes from two separate sources, and two slightly separated timelines.  The first comes from a Gospel account and occurs – like I said - while Jesus is still alive and going about His ministry, and the second comes afterwards, on the 50th day of His defeat of death and rising from the grave.  This might seem a little strange and disjointed at first glance, but I think you’ll see how well it fits together as we read it.

Please listen and follow along as I read from chapter 15 verse 26 to chapter 16 verse 15 of the Apostle John’s Gospel account, and then verses 1 through 4 of the 2nd chapter of the Apostle Luke’s Book of the Acts of the Apostles, and I’ll be reading from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible this morning.  We start out with Jesus speaking to us…

J15:26 "I will send you the Spirit who comes from the Father and shows what is true. The Spirit will help you and will tell you about Me. 27 Then you will also tell others about Me, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

16:1 "I am telling you these things, so that you will not turn away. 2 You will be chased out of the synagogues. And the time will come when people will kill you and think they are doing God a favor. 3 They will do these things because they don't know either the Father or Me. 4 I am saying this to you now, so that when the time comes, you will remember what I have said.

"I was with you at the first, and so I didn't tell you these things. 5 But now I am going back to the Father who sent Me, and none of you asks Me where I am going. 6 You are very sad from hearing all of this. 7 But I tell you I am going to do what is best for you. This is why I am going away. The Holy Spirit cannot come to help you until I leave. But after I am gone, I will send the Spirit to you.

8 "The Spirit will come and show the people of this world the truth about sin and God's justice and the judgment. 9 The Spirit will show them that they are wrong about sin, because they didn't have faith in Me. 10 They are wrong about God's justice, because I am going to the Father, and you won't see Me again. 11 And they are wrong about the judgment, because God has already judged the ruler of this world.

12 "I have much more to say to you, but right now it would be more than you could understand. 13  The Spirit shows what is true and will come and guide you into the full truth. The Spirit doesn't speak on His own. He will tell you only what He has heard from Me, and He will let you know what is going to happen. 14 The Spirit will bring glory to Me by taking My message and telling it to you. 15 Everything the Father has is Mine. This is why I have said that the Spirit takes My message and tells it to you."

A2:1  On the day of Pentecost all the Lord's followers were together in one place. 2 Suddenly there was a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind! It filled the house where they were meeting. 3 Then they saw what looked like fiery tongues moving in all directions, and a tongue came and settled on each person there. 4 The Holy Spirit took control of everyone, and they began speaking whatever languages the Spirit let them speak.

--John 15:26-16:15; Acts 2:1-4 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for all the many gifts and blessings You pour out on us!  You gave us Your Son Jesus to redeem us of our sin and You gave us the faith to believe in Him and follow Him.  And You even gave us Your own Holy Spirit after Jesus returned home; Your Spirit, to live in us and guide us through this life.  Sadly though, Father, not everyone believes, so not everyone receives Your Spirit and they have only the world’s devices to depend on.  Satan is working hard to keep people away from You and away from Jesus.  Please help us reach out to the non-believers of the world, sharing the Good News as John and Luke and the other apostles did.  Help us spread the message of salvation through Jesus and show Your love to all we encounter.  And please forgive us when we hesitate to serve You and our Lord, even though we know we should.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Thank You for Your Spirit of peace and reconciliation.  Help us make the best use of this great power by sharing the Gospel with all the world.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Gordon Brownville's book, Symbols of the Holy Spirit, tells about the great Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, the first to discover the magnetic meridian of the North Pole and to discover the South Pole.  Brownville writes, “On one of his trips, Amundsen took a homing pigeon with him.  When he had finally reached the top of the world, he opened the bird's cage and set it free.  Imagine the delight of Amundsen's wife, back in Norway, when she looked up from the doorway of her home and saw the pigeon circling in the sky above.  No doubt she exclaimed, ‘He's alive! My husband is still alive!’

“So it was when Jesus ascended.  He was gone, but the disciples clung to His promise to send them the Holy Spirit.  What joy, then, when the dovelike Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost.  The disciples had with them the continual reminder that Jesus was alive and victorious at the right of the Father.  This continues to be the Spirit's message.”

While our scripture reading this morning gives the physical appearance of the Holy Spirit as looking like “fiery tongues”, Mr. Brownville describes Him as being “dovelike”.  This is in reference to the baptism of Jesus at the River Jordan by His kinsman John, when it is said that the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove.  Doves and pigeons are closely related, being of the same family of birds and very close in appearance.  And both are mentioned in our Bible.

In my little illustration, Amundsen released a homing pigeon to let his wife know he had reached his objective, and in our Bible, Noah released a dove to let him know that God had reached His objective.  God sent His own Holy Spirit to descend upon each of us like a dove.  Let us use that great power to achieve the objectives God and Jesus gave us.

At the start, I said I thought these two chunks of scripture fit together nicely.  In the first, Jesus not only promises that the Holy Spirit will come upon His followers, but He also shares with us what the Spirit will do, what He will mean to us, and the relationship the two have with each other.  In our New Testament, we often read of the relationship between Jesus and His Father God, but this is one of the few times we see what the Spirit means to Jesus, how close the two are.

And in the second passage the Holy Spirit comes, not like a dove lightly descending from heaven, but on the wings of a mighty wind, looking like fiery tongues, which to me describes streaks of lightning blazing through the house and striking each believer.  Rather than knocking them dead, the Spirit speaks through them, praising God in languages that all witnesses could understand.  This is the Power Jesus described, the Power He promised, the Power God delivered.

Of course, this isn’t the first time – and certainly not the only time – that Jesus told His disciples the Holy Spirit would come to them.  A little earlier in His ministry, not too long before the first part of our scripture reading, we are given the following in John’s Gospel account, chapter 14, verses 15 through 17…

15  Jesus said to His disciples:

“If you love Me, you will do as I command. 16 Then I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help you and always be with you. 17 The Spirit will show you what is true. The people of this world cannot accept the Spirit, because they don't see or know Him. But you know the Spirit, who is with you and will keep on living in you.”

--John 14:15-17 (CEV)

“If you love Me, you will do as I command.”  God has given us the faith to believe in Jesus, but we have to put that faith into action.  There’s more to believing than just acknowledging that Jesus existed or even that He is the Son of God – the demons and Satan believe that but they are certainly not saved nor given the Holy Spirit.  If we truly believe in Jesus, we will follow Him, we will love Him, and we will do as He commands.  And so God’s Holy Spirit will dwell within us.

Now the Spirit is the bringer and giver of life, but He also gives us hope, comfort, help, guidance, reassurance, company, and constant companionship.  He is everything to us, a wonderful gift from God, given because we love Jesus and try our best to do as He commands.

Our Lord doesn’t ask much of us, only that we love others and go out making disciples.  But our personal prejudices and hatreds sometimes keep us from doing the first, and our fear and temerity hold us back from doing the second.  We must overcome these somewhat natural human tendencies so that we can better serve our Lord.

And Jesus promised the Spirit will help us do this.  The Spirit will show people the truth, that they are wrong about sin, that they have no faith, and that they are wrong about God’s justice and judgment.  The Spirit speaks for Jesus and carries His message.  And He will speak that message through us so that others may come to know the truth.  We just need to let the Spirit speak and do His work.

One last point…  Earlier I said that I thought our scripture passage could answer some questions still being asked today.  That answer comes in verses 5 through 7.

While Jesus is still with them, He tells His followers that He will soon leave them and return to His Father in heaven.  He’s tried to explain this before, and He will again, but this time He gives them the reason why, why He will be leaving.  So that the Holy Spirit can come.

While He is still here on earth, incarnate, in the flesh, the Holy Spirit cannot come.  There is no need for Him to come while Jesus is here.  But once Jesus leaves, He can send the Spirit to take over for Him.

And here’s the thing…  This is what is best for us.  Jesus did what is best for us by leaving us so that the Holy Spirit could come and be with us always.  Jesus left us because it was for our own good, because it had to be done.

And this is the answer I spoke of, the answer to many of the questions people still ask today.  Some things happen the way they do because they just have to, because it is ultimately for our own good.  Why did Jesus suffer and die?  Because He had to, so that He could atone for our sin.  Why is there so much wrong in our world today, so many wars, so much crime, so much hatred and distrust and division?  Because our Bible tells us these things must happen before Jesus returns.

We cannot see the future, but God can.  We don’t often know the reason behind the occurrences and events of the day, but God does.  He is working all things together to the good for those who love Him and are the called according to His purposes.  It is enough for us to know that God loves us, Jesus loves us, and they gave us the gift and the power of the Holy Spirit to be with us and help us for as long as we draw breath.

God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Believe in the Son, obey the Son, love the Son.  And cherish the gift of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus, the one true Son of God, who came in the flesh to redeem us, who was raised from the dead into flesh and returned to heaven, and who is coming again to judge us all.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for loving us so much that You not only sent Your only Son to die for us and atone for our sin, but then You sent Your own Spirit to live within and be our constant helper and companion.  With Him inside us, we are never alone.  He guides us, if we let Him, and He speaks for us when we can’t find the words.  Thank you for caring this much about us.  And thank You for working all things to the good for us, even if we can’t understand what is happening all the time.  Sometimes though, Father, we let doubt creep into our hearts because we just can’t reconcile what we see all around us with what we think You would want to see.  And then it makes us even more hesitant to share our belief and our faith with others.  We are too timid, or too scared, to approach someone, especially a stranger, and try to tell them about Jesus.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  Help us share the Gospel message.  Help us take up the work Jesus gave us.  And as we do so, please help us be more forgiving, more merciful in our dealings with others.  And Father, guide us around any pitfalls in this life and strengthen our spirits to do Your will.  And please help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  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 left us to return to heaven so that God’s Holy Spirit could come to be with us for the rest of our lives.  This had to be; this was for our good.  As we walk through this life, please help us see what happens around us as being part of God’s plan.  Help us work for change in those areas You want us to work, and help us accept the things that You have deemed must be as they are.  Help us be more understanding, more merciful, more giving and forgiving of others, knowing that this is our Father’s will for us.  Help us reach out to the non-believing world with the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Lord Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations and all the false teachings.  Help us fend off his attacks.  Please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  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.

What Is a Mother?

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 12th of May, 2024 - Mother's Day.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

What is a mother?

That might seem like a simple question with the obvious answer of a woman who bore a child.  Of course, in our modern society that holds to no absolutes, that word “woman” would be debated.  But I think we know what a woman is – and I’m speaking of a biological woman, assigned that gender by God at birth, although I never thought I’d have to make that distinction.

As you can already see, though, my question is not so simple after all.  For we can also ask does a woman have to bear a child to be a mother?  For that matter, must a mother be a woman?  I’ve known plenty of Moms who never had children of their own, or who were Mom to someone else’s children – a substitute mother, so to speak.  There are women who will adopt orphaned children and become a mother to them.  Then there are grandmothers who suddenly become mothers to their grandchildren.  And I’ve known single Dads who had to stand in as both mother and father to their children.  We can even see examples in the animal world, like where a dog adopts and takes care of orphaned kittens.

Our Bible tells us of the mother of us all.  Eve, along with Adam, began populating the world, starting with sons Cain and Abel.  We know how that story plays out.

But our Bible also supports some of the alternate mother roles as well.  I mentioned one in our invocation, where our God, who we are instructed to call Abba – Father – reassures us that He will comfort us as a mother comforts her child.  In this brief picture, we can see God as both Father and Mother.

There is another very poignant passage where a woman is given the responsibility of acting as mother to a child not her own, and to a son accepting a woman as his mother.  Please listen and follow along as I read from the 19th chapter of the Apostle John’s Gospel account, verses 25, 26, and 27, and I’ll be reading from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

25 Jesus' mother stood beside His cross with her sister and Mary the wife of Clopas. Mary Magdalene was standing there too. 26 When Jesus saw His mother and His favorite disciple with her, He said to His mother, “This man is now your son.” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “She is now your mother.” From then on, that disciple took her into his own home.

--John 19:25-27 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for establishing the family unit for us to be born into, raised under, and live in.  Thank You especially for our mothers, who brought us into the world and nurtured us until we were able to go out on our own.  Sadly though, Father, not all women who bore children are good mothers.  And many of our mothers have already joined You in heaven.  But You, in Your loving mercy, have provided us with alternate mothers, with Moms, when we’ve needed them.  Father, please help us reach out to the non-believers of the world, showing them Your love, sharing the Gospel as the apostles and the early church did.  Help us spread the message of salvation through Jesus to all we encounter.  And please forgive us when we hesitate to serve You and our Lord, even though we know we should.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  And thank You for our mothers and our Moms.  Help us respect them and hold their memories in our hearts.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Back in 1915, Howard Johnson - not the restaurant owner - and Theodore Morse wrote a little song simply titled "Mother".  Most of us are familiar with, or have at least heard or seen, the chorus of that song:

“M” is for the million things she gave me, 

“O” means only that she’s growing old,

“T” is for the tears were shed to save me,

“H” is for her heart of purest gold;

“E” is for her eyes, with love-light shining,

“R” means right, and right she’ll always be,

Put them all together, they spell “MOTHER”,

A word that means the world to me.

But did you know there is a second verse, and another chorus?  The second chorus goes like this:

“M” is for the mercy she possesses,

“O” means that I owe her all I own,

“T” is for her tender sweet caresses,

“H” is for her hands that made a home;

“E” means ev’rything she’s done to help me,

“R” means real and regular, you see,

Put them all together, they spell “MOTHER”,

A word that means the world to me.

Our mothers should mean the world to us, for without them we would not be in the world.  Happy Mother's Day to mothers everywhere!

Since it is Mother’s Day, I don’t want to keep us too long this morning, so I’ll let our Bible do most of the talking.  And the first thing it has to tell us of is the old traditional Hebrew hymn to a good woman.  This is a song or poem of tribute for a man to celebrate and speak life over the woman in his life.  Some men would even sing it to their wives at the start of every Sabbath meal.  Hear what wise King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 31, verses 10 through 31…

10 A truly good wife

is the most precious treasure

a man can find!

11 Her husband depends on her,

and she never

lets him down.

12 She is good to him

every day of her life,

13 and with her own hands

she gladly makes clothes.

14 She is like a sailing ship

that brings food

from across the sea.

15 She gets up before daylight

to prepare food for her family

and for her servants.

16 She knows how to buy land

and how to plant a vineyard,

17     and she always works hard.

18 She knows when to buy or sell,

and she stays busy

until late at night.

19 She spins her own cloth,

20 and she helps the poor

and the needy.

21 Her family has warm clothing,

and so she doesn't worry

when it snows.

22 She does her own sewing,

and everything she wears

is beautiful.

23 Her husband is a well-known

and respected leader

in the city.

24 She makes clothes to sell

to the shop owners.

25 She is strong and graceful,

as well as cheerful

about the future.

26 Her words are sensible,

and her advice

is thoughtful.

27 She takes good care

of her family

and is never lazy.

28 Her children praise her,

and with great pride

her husband says,

29 “There are many good women,

but you are the best!”

30 Charm can be deceiving,

and beauty fades away,

but a woman

who honors the Lord

deserves to be praised.

31 Show her respect —

praise her in public

for what she has done.

--Proverbs 31:10-31 (CEV)

This passage describes a woman of valor, a truly good wife and the most precious treasure a man can find.  And we can clearly see that motherhood plays an important part.  She takes good care of her family, seeing that they are well fed and clothed.  Her children praise her with great pride.  She honors the Lord and so deserves to be praised and respected in public.  We did that just a little while ago, honoring two of our mothers, our women of valor.

In his letter to the church in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul lays out some family rules for us.  Now, this may seem a little old fashioned and even controversial by today’s standards, but there is wisdom and meaning in Paul’s instructions.  Please listen to the words Paul sent in the 5th and 6th chapter of his letter to the Ephesians, from verses 22 through 29 in the 5th chapter, and from verse 33 in the 5th chapter to verse 4 in the 6th chapter…

5:22  A wife should put her husband first, as she does the Lord. 23 A husband is the head of his wife, as Christ is the head and the Savior of the church, which is his own body. 24 Wives should always put their husbands first, as the church puts Christ first.

25  A husband should love his wife as much as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. 26 He made the church holy by the power of his word, and he made it pure by washing it with water. 27 Christ did this, so he would have a glorious and holy church, without faults or spots or wrinkles or any other flaws.

28 In the same way, a husband should love his wife as much as he loves himself. A husband who loves his wife shows he loves himself. 29 None of us hate our own bodies. We provide for them and take good care of them, just as Christ does for the church.

33 So each husband should love his wife as much as he loves himself, and each wife should respect her husband.

6:1  Children, you belong to the Lord, and you do the right thing when you obey your parents. The first commandment with a promise says, 2  “Obey your father and your mother, 3 and you will have a long and happy life.”

4  Parents, don't be hard on your children. Raise them properly. Teach them and instruct them about the Lord.

--Ephesians 5:22-29; 5:33-6:4 (CEV)

Yes, this is the infamous “wives, submit to your husbands” passage, and I know some folks don’t like it.  But I think the Contemporary English Version lends greater clarity to what Paul intended here.

It isn’t so much that a wife should be subservient, but that the husband is the head of the family, including the wife, just as Jesus is the head of His church.  So the wife should put her husband first, just as the church puts Jesus first, or should.

And likewise, the husband should treat his wife just as Christ Jesus treats His church.  Jesus doesn’t scoff at the church or belittle it or make it do things that it really shouldn’t do.  He loves the church, so much so that He gave up His own mortal life for it.  He made it pure by washing it with water and with His blood.  He loved His church and made it holy and glorious, without faults or blemishes.  It is this way that a husband should love his wife - just as much as he loves himself.  He should provide for her, encourage her, lift her up and take good care of her, just as Jesus does for His church.

And then Paul gets to the parenthood part by addressing the children in the family.  Obey your father and your mother.  This is how to achieve a long and happy life.  We should honor our mothers, not just on Mother’s Day but on every day.  As a dear friend once noted, “every day is Mother’s Day”, or at least should be.

A wife is not necessarily a mother.  And a mother is not necessarily a wife.  A “mother” may not have given birth to the child she mothers.  A "mother" may not even be a woman.

So getting back to my original question…  What is a mother?  A mother is an extension of God's love.

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers!

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, who loves us all so dearly, the one true Son of God, who came in the flesh to redeem us, who was raised from the dead into flesh and returned to heaven, and who is coming again to judge us all.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for our mothers.  Thank You for those women who gave us birth, and for those wonderful, kind, loving souls who cared for us and nurtured us when we needed it most.  Sometimes though, Father, we forget how You act as a mother to us, loving us and comforting us just as a mother comforts and loves her child.  Sometimes we don’t even pay the honor and respect our mothers deserve.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  Help us always cherish our mothers, even if only in our memories of them.  Help us show our love by sharing the Gospel message.  Help us take up the work Jesus gave us.  And as we do so, please help us be more forgiving, more merciful in our dealings with others.  And Father, guide us around any pitfalls in this life and strengthen our spirits to do Your will.  And please help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  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, we are Your church.  We are Your body on earth and You are our head.  As we walk through this life, please help us to love as You loved, as a mother loves her child – sacrificially, unconditionally, without seeking or expecting anything in return.  Help us be more understanding, more merciful, more giving and forgiving of others, knowing that this is our Father’s will for us.  Help us reach out to the non-believing world with the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Lord Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations and all the false teachings.  Help us fend off his attacks.  Please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  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.

Taken Up

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 5th of May, 2024, four days before Ascension Day.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

I’m still working with the Apostle Luke’s Book of the Acts of the Apostles this morning, but I’m going to back up just a little to the opening of this book.  As I’ve mentioned, this is the second book that Luke authored, the first being his Gospel account, and both addressed to Theophilus.  Luke ended that first book with the ascension of Jesus into heaven, and he recounts this event in the opening to the second book.

Now after Jesus rose from the grave, in the flesh, He walked among us for another 40 days, as witnessed by around 500 people.  It was on that 40th day of Easter, counting Easter Sunday itself, that our Lord was taken up in a cloud and carried back home to heaven.  This coming Thursday, May the 9th, marks that 40th day and has become known as Ascension Day.  Since next Sunday is Mother’s Day, we’re going to celebrate Ascension Day this morning.  So please listen and follow along as I read the first 14 verses of the 1st chapter of Luke’s Book of the Acts of the Apostles, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day He was taken up to heaven after giving His chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. 3 During the forty days after He suffered and died, He appeared to the apostles from time to time, and He proved to them in many ways that He was actually alive. And He talked to them about the Kingdom of God.

4 Once when He was eating with them, He commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift He promised, as I told you before. 5 John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking Him, “Lord, has the time come for You to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”

7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

9 After saying this, He was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see Him. 10 As they strained to see Him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday He will return from heaven in the same way you saw Him go!”

12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile. 13 When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying.

Here are the names of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the zealot), and Judas (son of James). 14 They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.

--Acts 1:1-14 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for raising Jesus from the dead and that He was seen and heard, in the flesh again, for 40 days and by over 500 witnesses who never refuted what they had seen.  By this, You showed us that we too will be raised from the dead into new, incorruptible bodies, if we only follow Your Son Jesus.  Sadly though, Father, too many people do not believe.  They have never exercised the faith You gave them.  They neither believe that Jesus is Your Son nor accept Him as their Lord.  Satan is working overtime in this, keeping people away from You, away from Jesus.  Please help us reach out to the non-believers of the world, sharing the Good News as Luke and the other apostles did.  Help us spread the message of salvation through Jesus and show Your love to all we encounter.  And please forgive us when we hesitate to serve You and our Lord, even though we know we should.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Thank You for the faith, the strength, and the courage You give us.  Help us take up the Gospel and take it out to the world.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Theologian Richard J. Mouw, in his book Uncommon Decency, writes:

“Theologians tell a story to illustrate how Christ's triumph presently benefits our lives:  Imagine a city under siege.  The enemy that surrounds the city will not let anyone or anything leave.  Supplies are running low, and the citizens are fearful.  But in the dark of the night, a spy sneaks through the enemy lines.  He has rushed to the city to tell the people that in another place the main enemy force has been defeated; the leaders have already surrendered.  The people do not need to be afraid.  It is only a matter of time until the besieging troops receive the news and lay down their weapons.  Similarly, we may seem now to be surrounded by the forces of evil -- disease, injustice, oppression, death.  But the enemy has actually been defeated at Calvary.  Things are not the way they seem to be.  It is only a matter of time until it becomes clear to all that the battle is really over.”

There’s an old hymn – we don’t have it in our present hymnal – whose first verse tells us, “The strife is o'er, the battle done; the victory of life is won; the song of triumph has begun.  Alleluia!”  Family, the battle is over.  Jesus won.  He defeated death, and He defeated Satan.  Unfortunately for us, not all the enemy has heard the news, and Satan has not quite yet surrendered, so we’re still having to fight some skirmishes in this world.  But it’s only a matter of time until there will be no more strife, no more war with this life, no more pain or suffering.

Let us always remember that the victory of life is won and we get to share in the spoils of that victory with our Lord.  So take up the song of triumph and lift Christ’s banner high!  Alleluia!

Luke first reminds us that, when Jesus appeared before His disciples after His resurrection, He instructed them not to leave Jerusalem until they had been baptized by the Holy Spirit, which would happen in a few days.  Today we know that event as the Pentecost, which occurred on the 50th day of Easter, or 10 days after the Ascension.  So a lot took place within the first 50 days after Jesus was raised from the dead.  And it all helped establish a foundation for the church.

Of course the disciples, being human and impatient by nature, kept asking Jesus if it was now time for Israel to be freed from foreign powers and their own kingdom restored.  Even after all He’d said and done, they still had it in their heads that the Messiah came to do battle with human enemies rather than with Satan and sin.

So He reminded them that it was entirely up to God when all would be set right.  But He also encouraged them by promising that the Holy Spirit would soon come upon them.  After that, they would go throughout the world, giving witness of everything they had seen Him do and heard Him say, telling people all about Him.

And then Jesus was taken up into a cloud, rising into heaven.  The remaining disciples witnessed this amazing occurrence, and then gathered together with Jesus’s mother Mary and His brothers and several other women, and they all united in prayer.

Luke isn't the only Gospel writer to mention Jesus returning to heaven.  Mark also reports the event, in his usual brief manner.  This came after Jesus gave His followers - including us - the great commission to go into the world making disciples and spreading the Gospel.  In the 16th chapter of Mark’s Gospel account, verses 19 and 20, we read…

19 When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 20 And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.

--Mark 16:19-20 (NLT)

Jesus was taken up into heaven, and the disciples took up His command to them, going everywhere and preaching the word.  And the Lord Jesus worked through them, so that they could perform miraculous signs as proof of what they preached.

This is our example.  We may not think we can perform miracles, but we don’t know what might be a miracle to someone who comes to know Jesus because of our efforts or words.

In his Gospel account, Luke picks up when the two disciples who walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus returned to Jerusalem to tell the others what had happened.  The risen Jesus appeared among the now gathered disciples, chastising them a little for their doubt and not believing He was alive again.  Hear what Luke reported in verses 44 through 53 of the 24th chapter of his Gospel account - his first book…

44 Then He said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about Me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 And He said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. 47 It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of His name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ 48 You are witnesses of all these things.

49 “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as My Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

50 Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting His hands to heaven, He blessed them. 51 While He was blessing them, He left them and was taken up to heaven. 52 So they worshiped Him and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy. 53 And they spent all of their time in the Temple, praising God.

--Luke 24:44-53 (NLT)

This is the passage I referred to at the very start, where Luke initially told Theophilus of the ascension of Jesus into heaven.  First Jesus gave His followers a message that they could carry into the world in His name: “There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.”

And family, this is the message we can share as well.  We may not be able to come up with words we feel will do the job, but we can start with this and let the Holy Spirit continue from there.  There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.  When we accept Jesus as Lord, believe that He is the Son of God, and commit to follow Him, God sends His Holy Spirit to live within us.  He will tell us what to say, but we can reassure folks that their sins will be forgiven if they turn from their sinful ways and seek Jesus.

So Jesus was taken up into heaven.  Why?  Could He not have stayed on earth and done even more incredible things, so that all the world might believe?  Did He go just to be with the Father?

His job here was done, His work on earth finished, so He went home.  But our work has just begun.  That phrase “taken up” can have a number of meanings, like “I’ve taken up a new hobby”.  Have we taken up our mission from Jesus like His first disciples did, like the early church did?

Our Lord’s ascension to heaven served a higher purpose than just getting Him home.  Listen to what the Apostle Paul explained in the 1st chapter of his letter to the Ephesians, verses 15 through 23…

15 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, 16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, 17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. 18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope He has given to those He called — His holy people who are His rich and glorious inheritance.

19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe Him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 21 Now He is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else — not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made Him head over all things for the benefit of the church. 23 And the church is His body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with Himself.

--Ephesians 1:15-23 (NLT)

Jesus had been dead and in the grave since Friday afternoon, and on Sunday morning God raised Him from the dead.  Human medical professionals may be able to revive someone after a few minutes of lifelessness, but certainly not after hours.

We can only imagine the power that must have been required to revive Jesus.  This is the power only God has.  Spiritual wisdom speaks of this power and provides us with hope, the hope that we need to get through each day, the hope of a much better tomorrow.  Because this is the same power that will raise us from the dead and carry us to heaven.  In the last of our responsive reading this morning, we all proclaimed, "The Lord is risen.  We shall be raised with Him."  Just like Jesus, we believers will also be raised from the dead, and will rise as He did into heaven.

May our hearts be eased of any burden, knowing that we too will be taken up to join our Lord.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus, the one true Son of God, who came in the flesh to redeem us, who was raised from the dead into flesh and returned to heaven, and who is coming again to judge us all.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for taking Your Son Jesus back to be with You in heaven.  By this we know that we too will be taken up to live with our Lord forever.  And thank You for choosing us and giving us the faith to believe.  Sometimes though, Father, we don’t take up the mission Christ Jesus gave us.  We hesitate to share our belief and our faith with others.  We are too timid, or too scared, to approach someone, especially a stranger, and try to tell them about Jesus.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  Help us share the Gospel message.  Help us take up the work Jesus gave us.  And as we do so, please help us be more forgiving, more merciful in our dealings with others.  And Father, guide us around any pitfalls in this life and strengthen our spirits to do Your will.  And please help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  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 died, and many people thought that was the end of it.  But then God raised You from the dead in the flesh and You walked among us for 40 more days, being seen by many eye-witnesses.  And then You were taken up into heaven to be with our Father God again.  As we walk through this life, please help us be taken up in our mission to serve You.  Help us be more understanding, more merciful, more giving and forgiving of others, knowing that this is our Father’s will for us.  Help us reach out to the non-believing world with the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Lord Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations and all the false teachings.  Help us fend off his attacks.  Please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  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.