Living In Fear

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 12th of October, 2025.  A recording of our service may be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams for the older services or https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch3115/streams for later services.]

Family, there’s a lot of scary stuff going on in the world these days.  You can’t turn on the TV or read the news without seeing a report of another shooting or someone being attacked or a hit and run incident.  If it holds, there may finally be a bit of peace in the Middle East, but history teaches it probably won’t last very long.  Something many of us never expected: law enforcement officers are under attack in a number of our larger cities, and National Guard troops are patrolling the streets.

Violent crime is becoming a norm because of a blatant disregard for human life.  Respect for person and property is at a low.  We can’t even have courteous discourse any more.  Disagreements quickly turn violent and someone gets hurt, or worse.

Many people are now afraid to even leave their homes.  Of course, their homes may no longer be safe, what with all the home invasions we hear of.  And we don’t have to go overseas or even to Charlotte to experience some of this mess.  It’s going on all around us.  So yeah, we have pretty good reason to be scared.

So did the Apostle Paul.  During his service to our Lord, he experienced shipwrecks, suffered many beatings, was bitten by a poisonous snake, faced angry crowds many times, and was often thrown into jail.

This morning, I’d like to look at the point when he was imprisoned in Rome for the second time.  He likely felt his days coming to a close, so he wanted to write to his protégé Timothy one last time.  He may have intended this as a "farewell" letter to his young friend who was leading the church in Ephesus.  He wanted to urge Timothy to stand strong in his faith and his service, reminding him not to give in to fear of anything man can do to him.

Please listen and follow along to the opening 14 verses of Paul’s 2nd and final letter to Timothy, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I have been sent out to tell others about the life He has promised through faith in Christ Jesus.

2 I am writing to Timothy, my dear son.

May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.

3 Timothy, I thank God for you — the God I serve with a clear conscience, just as my ancestors did. Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 I long to see you again, for I remember your tears as we parted. And I will be filled with joy when we are together again.

5 I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. 6 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

8 So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for Him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. 9 For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time — to show us His grace through Christ Jesus. 10 And now He has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News. 11 And God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this Good News.

12 That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that He is able to guard what has been entrusted to me until the day of His return.

13 Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me — a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. 14 Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.

--2 Timothy 1:1-14 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, You watched over Paul the entire time he served Your Son Jesus.  You did not spare him any of the suffering or pain, in much the same way You did not stop the suffering Jesus endured.  But You did ensure he would be able to finish the task assigned him of spreading the Gospel message among the Gentiles.  Yet with all he went through, Paul was never afraid, for he knew that the world could not take away what was truly important, and that was his eternal soul.  Father, we need You to help us remember how Paul reacted to all the chaos going on around him.  We need to adopt his mindset and attitude.  We need to put all our trust in You and not worry about what the world and other people may do to us.  Please, Father, help us set aside our fears and go about the work Jesus assigned us, just like Paul did.  Please forgive us our failures and help us be more obedient to Your will, more loving, more open and caring, more compassionate, showing Your love to others so that they too might find 

salvation through Jesus.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better grasp the message You have for us this day.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, our worship, and our service.  And please keep us healthy and safe through these trying times.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Fear can be paralyzing.  And folks can be terrified of so many different things.  In his book, Nothing to Fear, author Fraser Kent lists just a few.  I’ll probably mangle the pronunciations, but here goes:

Peladophobia: fear of baldness and bald people. Aerophobia: fear of drafts. Porphyrophobia: fear of the color purple. Chaetophobia: fear of hairy people. Levophobia: fear of objects on the left side of the body. Dextrophobia: fear of objects on the right side of the body. Auroraphobia: fear of the northern lights. Calyprophobia: fear of obscure meanings. Thalassophobia: fear of being seated. Stabisbasiphobia: fear of standing and walking. Odontophobia: fear of teeth. Graphophobia: fear of writing in public. Phobophobia: fear of being afraid.

Personally, I have a dread, irrational fear of snakes - any snake, all snakes - but I don't let it keep me from going out in places snakes might be.  I try to practice the suggestion Robert Louis Stevenson gave when he said, "Keep your fears to yourself; share your courage with others."

So we can try our best to emulate Paul and not be afraid of a world gone mad.  But that doesn’t mean we can ignore the madness and take unnecessary risks.  We certainly shouldn’t step out into heavy traffic without looking for a safe time to cross the street.  And we know there are places we should avoid if at all possible, even in broad daylight.

We have to realize that if Paul suffered, if Jesus suffered, we certainly aren’t immune to the physical and emotional pain the world can inflict.  We must remember that Jesus promised that in this world we will have tribulations, but we can be of good cheer for He has conquered the world.  And Paul tells us that our suffering in this life cannot compare to the glory we will know when our next life begins.  Jesus has conquered the world and we will share in that victory at our last.

But we do have to get through this life, this world, first.  And while God is Sovereign over all of His creation, He has put our greatest enemy in control over the world and evil is all around us.  The Apostle John reminds us of this in his 1st letter to the early church, chapter 5, verse 19, when he writes…

19 We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.

--1 John 5:19 (NLT)

And evil has been among us since the very beginning, as noted by Moses in the 6th chapter of his Book of the Genesis, the last part of verse 9 and verse 11 through the first part of verse 13…

9b Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.  11 Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. 12 God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt. 13 So God said to Noah, "I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence."

--Genesis 6:9b, 11-13a (NLT)

Makes me wonder how much more we’ll have to endure before the earth has again been completely filled with violence.  And yes, we do have to endure the evil of the world, even as we try to stand against it.  But Jesus tells us that we must not respond to evil with evil, to not react in kind.  The Apostle Matthew recorded this instruction from our Lord in the 5th chapter of his Gospel account, in verses 38 through 40, as Jesus addressed the multitude during His Sermon on the Mount…

38 "You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' 39 But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. 40 If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too."

--Matthew 5:38-40 (NLT)

Too often we see where people respond to violence by being violent in turn.  It’s a natural reaction – we want to defend ourselves.  We feel there’s no other choice but to fight back.  Anger fuels anger.  And violence can set our fear on fire, kicking in our need to defend ourselves.

Jesus says turn the other cheek.  Don’t return anger with anger, violence with violence.  Don’t let fear trigger a violent reaction of our own.

Family, in all these years of human existence, little has changed in the collective heart of man.  The wicked strut all around us, not caring a bit how blatant their lies are.  They spread false rumors and made-up claims just to cause trouble and strife.

This is not a political issue.  It's not left versus right.  It's not conservative versus liberal.  It's evil against good.  The church still stands as the bulwark against evil, just as Jesus promised.  We, His church, will endure and withstand.

So let’s ignore our fear.  Let’s keep doing the work Jesus assigned us, trying to save the non-believers from the horrible fate that awaits them, sharing the Gospel with anyone who will listen.  For this is God’s will for us, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In the blessed name of Jesus.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for giving us chance after chance to do the right thing as we walk this earth.  Thank You for Your patient mercy.  We know we can put all our trust in You, Father, but too often we let our fear overrule our faith.  Too often we walk in fear, we live in fear.  Please help us remember that this life is short and once we are through it, we will dwell in paradise with You.  So we don’t need to worry about what the world, other people, or even Satan might do to us as long as we remain faithful to our Lord Jesus.  We try to not live in fear, but it’s hard not to.  We need Your help, Father.  Please keep reminding us of our future life with You, which far outweighs any suffering we may experience in this life.  And please help us reach out to others and share with them all You teach and show us through Your word. 

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 comes our way.

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, thank You for standing with us in this world gone mad.  Even as we worry about our safety and the safety of our loved ones, we know that while the world may take our mortal life from us, our eternal life is secured by our faith in You.  We love You, Jesus, and thank You for all You have done and continue to do for us.  We just ask that you please keep blessing us, keep helping us through these crazy times.  And please forgive us, Lord, when we struggle to love others like You want us to.  We know it disappoints You when we let our fear keep us from approaching others and showing Your love as we walk through each day.  Please help us be more like You in how we live and behave.  Help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us the deeds to do to lead the lost to You.

Holy Spirit, 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.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Here We Are to Worship

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 5th of October, 2025.  This service is the first of our hybrid series - part traditional and part modern.  In this service, held on World Communion Sunday, we also participated in Holy Communion with our Lord Jesus.  A recording of our service may be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams for the older services or https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch3115/streams for later services.]

Jesus passed a loaf of bread and a cup of wine around His twelve disciples and commanded them, and us, to eat and drink in remembrance of Him.  The bread is His body, broken for our sake – Jesus taking our punishment upon Himself.  The cup is the new covenant God made with us, sealed by the blood of Jesus, the Spotless Lamb whose blood washes us clean of our sin.  When we share the bread and the cup in remembrance of Jesus, we worship our God for His grace and mercy.  That is why we are here this morning, to worship our loving, gracious, merciful God.

We all know about the meeting and conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well in Sychar.  Jesus asked for a drink of water and she scoffed at Him, for a Jew would never even talk to a Samaritan woman, let alone drink from her cup.  So Jesus told her a little about her life, things He had no way of knowing, and she began to believe.

Please listen as the Apostle John picks up the story from there, as recorded in the 4th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 19 through 26, and as read from the Modern English Version of our Holy Bible…

19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you all say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”

21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 Yet the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father seeks such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth.”

25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”

26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

--John 4:19-26 (MEV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, You are so very good to us and we thank You for all Your many blessings, including the blessing of our bible and everything in it that tells us about Your Son Jesus and Your great kingdom.  Father, even though we are disobedient children, prone to stumble and stray from the path of righteousness, we still plead for Your continued blessings, for we know we cannot get through another day without You.  Please help us ignore and avoid all the ways of the world that try to pull us away from You.  Help us return hatred with love, violence with prayer and forgiveness.  Help us be more like Your Son Jesus as we walk through this life.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us.  Tell each of us what we need to hear.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Pastor Rick Warren wrote a book titled The Purpose Driven Life, and A. W. Tozer titled one of his books, The Purpose of Man: Designed to Worship.  Both books answered the age-old question:  “Why am I here?”

Why are we here?  Why are we here on this earth?

I imagine each of us has posed that rhetorical question ourselves at one time or another, or had it asked of us.  Warren and Tozer both say that we are here, at this place in this time, to worship and serve God.  But then the world forces its way in and pushes all that aside.  And, at best, we’re left with an hour or two on Sunday mornings.  So each Sunday morning I open our service with a call to worship: “Come, let us worship our Father God”.

That is why we should be here, each one of us, to worship God and for no other reason.  There should be no personal agenda involved, nothing that would dilute just spending a little time with God, in the presence of His Son.  We’re not here to show off, or just to see our friends.  We’re certainly not here to be mindlessly entertained.  We are here to worship God, in words, in songs, in giving, in prayer.  In all things and all ways, let us worship our God, for He is an awesome God.

Now, someone may ask how do I worship?  What is involved with worship?  Am I doing it right by being here, by sitting here, by listening and maybe trying to sing a little, or at least speak the words?  Well… maybe; it really kind of depends.

Remember what Jesus told the Samaritan woman?  The time is now here when true worshippers will worship our Father God in spirit and truth.  Whether our worship is true depends on what is in our hearts, in our spirit.  It gets back to that question of why are we here.  And that word “here” can apply to here on earth as well as here in this building at this very time.  We are here – on earth and in this service – to worship God with all our heart and for no other reason than to be with Him and give Him all the glory and praise.

And looking at the question of are we doing it right, in a righteous way, we need to realize that there are many ways to worship in a manner pleasing to God.  Let me give you an example that some might not consider a form of worship.  Immediately after concluding His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was confronted by an outcast with a highly contagious disease.  Listen to how the Apostle Matthew relates this brief encounter as recorded in the first 3 verses of the 8th chapter of his Gospel account…

1 When He came down from the mountains, large crowds followed Him. 2 And then a leper came and worshipped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

3 Jesus reached out His hand and touched him, saying, “I will. Be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

--Matthew 8:1-3 (MEV)

The leper came and worshipped Jesus.  How?  How did the leper worship Jesus?

We aren’t told much about the scene, but we can imagine that he stopped the distance away from our Lord that the Jewish law required of a leper.  And we can envision that he probably got down on his knees, bowing before Jesus, which could be seen as a physical sign of worship.  But it is in his spirit, his heart, where the true worship is found.

“Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”  He had no doubt that first off, Jesus was Lord over him, and second that Jesus could cleanse him of this terrible disease if He was only willing to do so.

We don’t usually think of asking God or Jesus to help us as being a form of worship, do we?  It seems more self-serving than worshipful.  But this is what God wants, for us to put all our faith and trust in Him, knowing without a doubt that He can do anything, anything we might ask, if it is in His will.  Knowing and fully believing that God works all things to the good for those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose, this is just one of many forms of righteous worship.

Back in Capernaum, a crowd had gathered to hear Jesus teach and to be healed.  Among them was a pair of disciples of His kinsman, the imprisoned John the Baptizer, who had grown impatient waiting for Jesus to really do what He came to do, who wondered why he was still in chains when Jesus was supposed to free the prisoner.  Jesus told the two to go back and tell John, what they had seen, that Jesus healed the sick, cured the blind, made the lame to walk, and preached of the kingdom of God, all things according to Messianic scripture.  As they departed, He returned to addressing the crowd when…

I’ll let Matthew continue this story, as he recorded in the 9th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 18 and 19 and verses 23 through 25…

18 While He was speaking these things to them, a certain ruler came and worshipped Him, saying, “My daughter is even now dead. But come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus rose and followed him, and so did His disciples.

23 When Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the musicians and the mourners making a noise, 24 He said to them, “Depart. The girl is not dead, but is sleeping.” And they laughed Him to scorn. 25 But when the people were put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.

--Matthew 9:18-19, 23-25 (MEV)

The ruler came and worshipped how?  By asking Jesus to bring his daughter back to life, knowing without a doubt that He could do it.  So here again we see this form of worship, just asking for things we want to happen, and believing they will happen, if it is in God’s will.  The worship is in the belief, the faith.

Oh, and in between verses 19 and 23, Jesus also healed a woman who had suffered a bleeding illness for twelve years, when she just reached out and touched the hem of his robe.  She had faith that just touching His hem would be enough to cure her.  There was no doubt in her belief, her faith.  This too was a form of worship.

So yes, family, we are here to worship.  And it doesn’t matter what form our worship takes, as long as it is in sprit and in truth, that our faith and our belief drives our trust in our God.  We can pray, we can sing, we can just sit here and listen, as long as we are sincere in our faith, believing without a doubt in our Lord’s authority and ability.

But family, let’s remember that here, in this beautiful building, is not the only place and this hour together is not the only time we can stop and worship.  We are here, on this earth, to worship our God.  So let us extend our worship to any hour, any place, no matter the circumstance, no matter who we’re with.  Non-believers need to see the power of faith, and showing them is a form of worship.  Pray, sing, and preach if you can, all in the blessed name of Jesus.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, we are here to worship You.  We know that is what we are here to do, but Father, it is not something the world finds worthwhile or important.  Non-believers scoff at our faith.  Worse yet, they persecute us for it, even here in the United States.  So Father, sometimes we are worried and afraid to let our faith be seen, to worship in public.  Please forgive us, Father.  We thank You for the faith You have given us, to believe in You and Your Son Jesus, and to put all our trust in You.  Please help us be more open with our faith, more trusting that our service in Your name will work to our good, knowing that the world cannot take what is truly important from us.  You are our God and we love You and worship You.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for a moment so that each of us can 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, thank You for showing us ways to worship our God, both through Your own living and in Your interactions with others.  You tell us that true worship is in spirit, trusting and believing in the power and the authority of God.  Still, Lord, we worry about our safety and the safety of our loved ones if we let our faith be seen in public, for the world has become a dangerous place for believers.  But we can take heart from those who are now being more open in showing their faith, daring Satan to quieten their worship.  Please help us, Lord Jesus, to become one of those.  And forgive us when we struggle to love others like You want us to.  We know it disappoints You when we let our fear keep us from approaching others and showing Your love as we walk through each day.  Please help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, sharing Your love as we go.

Holy Spirit, 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.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Pay Heed Now

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 28th of September, 2025.  A recording of our service may be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams for the older services or https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch3115/streams for later services.]

The Apostle Paul gave us a bible verse that is familiar to almost as many people as is John 3:16.  In his 1st letter to his young protégé Timothy, Paul declares that, “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil”.  Paul goes on to say that, “some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows”.  Study after study and experience after experience have shown that money does not bring lasting happiness, nor even contentment; usually just the opposite.

Now Paul didn’t say that money itself is evil.  It can’t be.  Money is an inanimate object incapable of being good or evil, just like any other inanimate object.  It’s how we use money, how we treat it, that can be for good or for evil.  Having money in and of itself is not evil, nor is acquiring wealth.  It’s what we do with that money, that wealth, that makes all the difference.  Paul warned us about the love of money, and the possible repercussions of that love affair.  When acquiring wealth becomes a hunger, when it no longer matters how that wealth is gained, then money becomes our idol replacing God.

The world sees money as an indicator of success, of power, of influence, with more being better.  I think this is what drives some to seek ever greater wealth: a desire to hold greater power and influence over others.  British historian and politician Lord Acton wrote a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887 in which he said that, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  Lord Acton believed that power is dangerous and can degrade even the best of people.  The desire to build greater wealth underlies the desire for greater power, and blocks out any thoughts of future consequences that may arise.

I take my cue in this belief from none other than Jesus.  There was a day when He had been teaching His disciples about the perils of being obsessed with wealth and earthly riches.  Please listen and follow along to how the Apostle Luke related a stern lesson Jesus gave to His disciples and the Pharisees who had gathered to hear Him that day, as recorded in the 16th chapter of Luke’s Gospel account, verses 14 and 15 and verses 19 through 31, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible this morning…

14 The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at Him. 15 Then He said to them, "You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God."

19 Jesus said, "There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury. 20 At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. 21 As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.

22 "Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and he went to Hades, the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.

24 "The rich man shouted, 'Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.'

25 "But Abraham said to him, 'Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.'

27 "Then the rich man said, 'Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. 28 For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.'

29 "But Abraham said, 'Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.'

30 "The rich man replied, 'No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.'

31 "But Abraham said, 'If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'"

--Luke 16:14-15, 19-31 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for the warnings You’ve given us as to how our behavior, our sin, will impact our future life after this life has ended for us.  Through Your inspired word in our bible, we know what sin is and how it not only displeases and disappoints You, it also stains us and paints our world with horrible, ugly strokes.  Father, we thank You for showing us how our lives, in eternity and even still now in this life, are affected by our obedience or disobedience to You and Jesus.  But, Father, we live in this world and can’t escape what it holds as important.  We are surrounded by evil, by greed, by selfishness and self-centeredness.  We’re inundated by visions of how great our life can be if we only do this or buy that.  Everywhere we look are people hating each other, hurting each other.  It is becoming more and more difficult to love others, to reach out and share the Gospel with them.  Loving Father, please forgive us our failures.  Help us be more obedient to Your will, more open and caring, more compassionate, showing Your love to others so that they too might find salvation through Jesus.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better grasp the message You have for us this day.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, our worship, and our service.  And please keep us healthy and safe through these trying times.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Back in 1992, the Moody Institute's little "Today in the Word" devotional reported that during the 1982 war in the Falkland Islands between England and Argentina, the Royal Navy's 3,500-ton destroyer, HMS Sheffield, was sunk by a single missile fired from an Argentine fighter jet.  It caused some people to wonder if modern surface warships were obsolete, sitting ducks for today's sophisticated missiles.  But a later check revealed that the Sheffield's defenses did pick up the incoming missile, and the ship's computer correctly identified it as a French-made Exocet.  But the computer was programmed to ignore Exocets as "friendly."  The Sheffield was sunk by a missile it saw coming and could have evaded.

The crew of the Sheffield surely knew what would happen if an enemy missile hit their ship.  They knew what to look for and how to defend against it to prevent their destruction.  But they misread the information presented to them.

We have been told what will happen.  We've been told what to look out for.  The end of the age is coming.  We don't know exactly when, but we have been told what signs to watch for.  Will we recognize those signs in time?

So Jesus gave us a pretty good lesson on the perils of choosing wealth over compassion, of gaining power without mercy.  The rich man had everything; Lazarus had nothing.  But then they both died to this life and the tables were suddenly turned.

This parable also make the very strong and clear point that once we are dead to this life, once we have drawn our last breath, it is too late to have any effect or influence over our next life.  We’ve been warned, often and in numerous passages, all in our bible, throughout both the Old and New Testaments.  We need to pay heed to these warnings now, while there is still time.

Our scripture reading this morning contained just one of the many parables Jesus used to instruct us, to teach us, and to warn us.  One of those parables taught about the word of God and centered on a sower spreading his seed.  The disciples had a little trouble understanding the meaning behind this parable, as many people have since that day.  So for our benefit, Jesus explained it in detail.  After that explanation, the disciples were still a bit perplexed.  The Apostle Matthew recorded what followed in the 13th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 10 through 16, when Jesus gave us greater insight…

10 His disciples came and asked Him, "Why do You use parables when You talk to the people?"

11 He replied, "You are permitted to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. 12 To those who listen to My teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. 13 That is why I use these parables,

For they look, but they don’t really see.

They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.

14 This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says,

'When you hear what I say,

you will not understand.

When you see what I do,

you will not comprehend.

15 For the hearts of these people are hardened,

and their ears cannot hear,

and they have closed their eyes—

so their eyes cannot see,

and their ears cannot hear,

and their hearts cannot understand,

and they cannot turn to me

and let me heal them.'

16 "But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear."

--Matthew 13:10-16 (NLT)

Right there Jesus backs up the prophecy of Isaiah that says there are people who just will not listen.  Their eyes and ears are closed to the truth.  They’ll never listen, they’ll never believe that they’ve been told, even when the world comes crashing down around them.  Just like the rich man never listened, and feared his brothers would never listen.  But our eyes are open, our ears are open, and we have been shown and told the truth.  It’s up to us to pay heed now.

Power corrupts.  Family, many today are worried about the rapidly increasing incidents of violence in our society.  We’re seeing more and deadlier persecution against all religions, including Christianity.  Some call it “political violence” but I think a more proper term would be violence born of ideological differences.

How do we react to all the hatred?  Do we fight fire with fire, an eye for an eye?  No – we combat hatred with love, with compassion, with forgiveness, with mercy.  Just as Jesus did, on the cross, when He asked our heavenly Father to forgive those who put Him there.

Let’s pay heed to all Jesus said and did, so that when our time comes, we can join Abraham and Lazarus at that grand feast.  Let’s keep doing the work our Lord assigned us, trying to save non-believers from the horrible fate that awaits them, sharing the Gospel with anyone who will listen.  For this is God’s will for us, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In the blessed name of Jesus.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for showing us how we should live each day, and then giving us so many chances to behave in a righteous way.  We know that too often we displease and disobey You, but we are trying hard to do what is right.  Thank You for hearing us, forgiving us, and helping us.  And thank You for giving us the faith to believe in and follow Your Son Jesus.  Please help us follow Him and His teachings more closely, something we admit we don’t always do.  We try to not desire the things the world sees as important, but it’s difficult because everyone around us has the same desires.  We need Your help, Father.  Please keep reminding us of our fate if we continue to disobey and displease You.  Keep reassuring us of our reward for following Your commands.  And please remove all distractions that pull us away from spending more time with You and Jesus.  Please help us reach out to others and share with them all You teach us through Your word. 

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 comes our way.

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, thank You for standing with us in our daily life.  Yes, we worry about our safety and the safety of our loved ones, but we do not fear death because we know that You have already fought and conquered the grave.  The world may take our mortal life, but our eternal life is secured by our faith in You.  We love You, Jesus, and thank You for all You have done and continue to do for us.  We just ask that you please keep blessing us, keep helping us through these scary times.  And please forgive us, Lord, when we struggle to love others like You want us to.  We know it disappoints You when we let our fear keep us from approaching others and showing Your love as we walk through each day.  Please help us be more like You in how we live and behave.  Help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us the deeds to do to lead the lost to You.

Holy Spirit, 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.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Ripe for the Picking

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 21st of September, 2025, the International Day of Peace.  A recording of our service may be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

Family, with our advanced agriculture methods and being able to import edible goods from all over the world, we enjoy a rich supply of food year-round.  But Fall is still our typical harvest time.  We have fall festivals to celebrate the harvest, and Thanksgiving Day to give thanks for the harvest.  Jesus even spoke of the time for harvest.

One day when He had been out in the towns and villages, teaching about the kingdom of God and healing folks of their infirmities and illnesses – you know, the usual things He did – He looked out over the multitudes and had compassion for them.  He felt they were weary, and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.  So He turned to His disciples and said, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few.  So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask Him to send more workers into His fields.”  In this, Jesus meant that there were many souls that needed to be saved, so more workers are needed in the field making disciples.  And this need also holds true still today.

Our good bible speaks of another type of harvest in a number of passages, and often as a warning as much as a plea.  For instance, Jesus tells of what will happen at the end of the age, when the wheat and the weeds will all be harvested together, cut at the same time, with the wheat going into the barn and the weeds being burned in fire.  That’s a warning to us that we do not want to be a weed in God’s garden.

I don't often lead off with scripture from the Old Testament, usually referring to it for supporting text.  But what we are about to look at has great relevance today.  It is definitely one of those warnings, and it comes from God Himself through His prophet Amos.  Leading up to this passage, Amos has been shown a series of visions from God.  Please listen and follow along to another of these visions as related by the prophet Amos in the 8th chapter of the book bearing his name, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 Then the Sovereign Lord showed me another vision. In it I saw a basket filled with ripe fruit. 2 “What do you see, Amos?” He asked.

I replied, “A basket full of ripe fruit.”

Then the Lord said, “Like this fruit, Israel is ripe for punishment! I will not delay their punishment again. 3 In that day the singing in the temple will turn to wailing. Dead bodies will be scattered everywhere. They will be carried out of the city in silence. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”

4 Listen to this, you who rob the poor

and trample down the needy!

5 You can’t wait for the Sabbath day to be over

and the religious festivals to end

so you can get back to cheating the helpless.

You measure out grain with dishonest measures

and cheat the buyer with dishonest scales.

6 And you mix the grain you sell

with chaff swept from the floor.

Then you enslave poor people

for one piece of silver or a pair of sandals.

7 Now the Lord has sworn this oath

by His own name, the Pride of Israel:

“I will never forget

the wicked things you have done!

8 The earth will tremble for your deeds,

and everyone will mourn.

The ground will rise like the Nile River at floodtime;

it will heave up, then sink again.

9 “In that day,” says the Sovereign Lord,

“I will make the sun go down at noon

and darken the earth while it is still day.

10 I will turn your celebrations into times of mourning

and your singing into weeping.

You will wear funeral clothes

and shave your heads to show your sorrow — as if your only son had died.

How very bitter that day will be!

11 “The time is surely coming,” says the Sovereign Lord,

“when I will send a famine on the land —

not a famine of bread or water

but of hearing the words of the Lord.

12 People will stagger from sea to sea

and wander from border to border

searching for the word of the Lord,

but they will not find it.

13 Beautiful girls and strong young men

will grow faint in that day,

thirsting for the Lord’s word.

14 And those who swear by the shameful idols of Samaria —

who take oaths in the name of the god of Dan

and make vows in the name of the god of Beersheba —

they will all fall down,

never to rise again.”

--Amos 8 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for both the words of assurance and the words of warning contained within our bible.  You inspired its authors to tell us what to look forward to and what to look out for in the days to come.  Your Son even shared His words with us, recorded and saved for us by the men who walked with Him.  Father, we thank You for giving us the means of knowing how our lives, now and in eternity, will be affected by our obedience or disobedience to You and Jesus.  But, Father, we seem surrounded by evil.  People do the worst things to each other.  We know we’re supposed to hate the sin and love the sinner, but how can we love them, Father?  Please forgive us our failures.  Help us be more obedient to Your will, more open and caring, more compassionate, showing Your love to others so that they too might find salvation through Jesus.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better grasp the message You have for us this day.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, our worship, and our service.  And please keep us healthy and safe through these trying times.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Christian author Patrick Morley writes that the church's integrity problem is in the misconception that, “we can add Christ to our lives, but not subtract sin.  It is a change in belief without a change in behavior."  Morley goes on to say, "It is revival without reformation, without repentance."

Perhaps this misconception leads to what George Gallup, the famous pollster, once noted when he concluded, "There's little difference in ethical behavior between the churched and the unchurched.  There's as much pilferage and dishonesty among the churched as the unchurched.  And I'm afraid that applies pretty much across the board: religion, per se, is not really life changing.  People cite it as important, for instance, in overcoming depression -- but it doesn't have primacy in determining behavior."

We often easily believe what we want to believe, whether it is true or not.  We adopt the good parts, while ignoring what makes us uncomfortable.  More and more, people do not want to hear the full truth, just the truth that agrees with their worldview.  We see this all around, in the news, in our neighborhoods.

“Somebody is saying things I don’t like, all kind of stuff I don’t agree with?  First I’ll demonize them and try to turn others against them.  If that doesn’t work, I’ll just kill them.”

These folks don’t want to hear that they are dooming themselves to eternal damnation by their behavior.  The truth hurts, and will hurt for some in the end, whether they want to believe it or not.

At the beginning I referred to Amos as one of God’s prophets, but a little earlier in his book he described himself, saying, “I'm not a professional prophet, and I was never trained to be one. I’m just a shepherd, and I take care of sycamore-fig trees.  But the Lord called me away from my flock and told me, ‘Go and prophesy to my people in Israel.’”  And he did just that.

One of the accusations God levied through Amos comes in verse 5, which, when translated directly from the Hebrew reads, “You make the ephah small and the shekel great, and you deal falsely by using deceitful balances.”  Now an “ephah” was a unit for measuring grain while the “shekel” was a unit of weight.  So these people were making a little look like a lot while charging more.  Sounds like ancient shrinkflation to me.

When reading this prophecy, we need to understand and keep in mind that the Old Testament is not just a history lesson.  It always ultimately points to Jesus in some way.  For instance, the 9th verse of our passage, Amos says the sun will go down at noon and darken the earth while it is still day.  This happened exactly as stated when Jesus hung on the cross, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in the 27th chapter of his Gospel account, in verses 45, 46, and 50…

45 At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 46 At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?”

50 Then Jesus shouted out again, and He released His spirit.

--Matthew 27:45-46, 50 (NLT)

And family, we’re told this will happen again at the end of the age, by none other authority than Jesus Himself, as recorded again by Matthew a little earlier in his Gospel account, in chapter 24 verse 29…

29 "Immediately after the anguish of those days, 

the sun will be darkened,

the moon will give no light,

the stars will fall from the sky,

and the powers in the heavens will be shaken."

--Matthew 24:29 (NLT)

So here in this passage from Amos, I feel we’re not only looking at the fate of Israel, but also at the end of time, the end of the age when Jesus comes back to judge us.  This could just as easily be the fate of the United States and other nations around the world, including Israel.

And just what is this fate that Amos warns of?  That the word of God will no longer be heard, will no longer be found, no matter how far we search.  Those who worship false idols will fall, never to rise again.  Some have said that the true “hell” will be total separation from God.  Doesn’t this sound like what Amos is warning us of?  If God’s word can no longer be heard nor even found, wouldn’t that mean that God has abandoned that person, that they are now separated from God?

We’re also warned to be careful of worshiping false idols, or spending our time and resources on things or other people while ignoring our Father God.  Anything or anyone we put above God in our list of priorities becomes our false idol.  Anything we give our heart to instead of to God is our idol.  Worshiping anything other than God will lead to our downfall and we’ll never be able to rise again.  After we’re dead to this life, it will be too late.  The time to repent is now, while we still draw breath.

Family, we’re seeing a lot of craziness in the world.  Today is the International Day of Peace, but peace seems to be in very short supply right now.  There is so much outrageous behavior, so much disregard for human life, so much cruel intent.  Violence has seemingly become the answer to any disagreement, from the nation’s highways to its college campuses.  Intolerance rules.  Some blame politics, some blame ideology, but this is not an issue of left versus right, of conservative versus liberal.  We can even see that believers are not immune, as noted in the earlier comments of Morley and Gallup.

What we’re seeing up close and personal is the war between good and evil being fought in our streets.  Satan is hard at work, making his converts more active as the day of reckoning draws near.  We need to heed the words God spoke through Amos, we need to heed the words of our Lord Jesus, and avoid the mindset and worldview and behavior that will lead to our ruin.  And we need to face evil with the strength of faith, standing firm in our belief, knowing Jesus is standing right beside us.  Let’s keep doing the work He assigned us, trying to save the non-believers from the horrible fate Amos describes, sharing the Gospel with anyone who will listen.  For this is God’s will for us, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In the blessed name of Jesus.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for giving us so many chances to get things right in this life so that we can spend the next life with You.  As long as we draw breath, we have the opportunity to turn from our disobedience and avoid the fate You warned of through Your prophet Amos.  And thank You for giving us the faith to believe in and follow Your Son Jesus.  Please help us follow Him and His teachings more closely, something we admit we don’t always do.  We often behave in ways that displease You.  We try to not live as the world lives, but it’s hard to differentiate ourselves from our non-believing neighbors.  We need Your help, Father.  Please keep reminding us of our fate if we continue to disobey and displease You.  Keep reassuring us of our reward for following Your commands.  And please remove all distractions that pull us away from spending more time with You and Jesus.  Please help us reach out to others and share with them all You teach us through Your word. 

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 comes our way.

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, thank You for standing by our side in this world gone mad.  Even as we worry about our safety and the safety of our loved ones, we know that while the world may take our mortal life from us, our eternal life is secured by our faith in You.  We love You, Jesus, and thank You for all You have done and continue to do for us.  We just ask that you please keep blessing us, keep helping us through the difficult times.  And please forgive us, Lord, when we struggle to love others like You want us to.  We know it disappoints You when we let our fear keep us from approaching others and showing Your love as we walk through each day.  Please help us be more like You in how we live and behave.  Help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us the deeds to do to lead the lost to You.

Holy Spirit, 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.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Welcome Home

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Homecoming Sunday morning, the 14th of September, 2025.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

Homecoming.  For many, the word brings up memories of afternoons at the church, with bowls of fried chicken and mashed potatoes, and all sorts of cakes and pies.  Kids playing, adults chatting, forks and spoons clanking, homemade ice cream churns cranking.  And all the ice-cold watermelon you can eat.  Sadly, that kind of day only lives in memory now, as most folks are too busy anymore to spend an afternoon just enjoying fellowshipping with their church family, even for those who still attend a church.

Homecoming also applies to high school football games and dances after, with a king and queen crowned, and lots of former students filling the stands.  We still have those, although these days they may crown a king and king or queen and queen.  Not matter, they’re still loads of fun and its great to see old friends again.

There’s another type of homecoming I’d like to look at this morning.  It may or may not have actually taken place, but if it did, it was a long time ago.  And I bet it has been repeated for one reason or another many, many times over the years.

After a rather eventful meal at a Pharisee's house, a multitude of people, including "sinners and tax collectors", followed Jesus.  He decided to take the opportunity to teach them by telling parables.  Please listen and follow along to one of the parables Jesus told, about a homecoming, one that should be familiar to all of us, from verses 11 through 32 of the 15th chapter of the Apostle Luke’s Gospel account, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

11 Then Jesus said: “A certain man had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. 13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’

20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

25 “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’

28 “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’

31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”

--Luke 15:11-32 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for ensuring that we would have at least some of the things that Your Son Jesus did and said during His short, three year ministry.  Our bible contains so many important lessons for us.  Thank You for it, and thank You for all You give us, especially for the faith to believe in Jesus and the desire to learn from Him.  Father, we know that we should be more faithful in obeying Your commands, especially when it comes to loving others and sharing our witness with them.  But there is just so much evil all around, so much violence and violent reactions to people’s words, that we have trouble trusting others, let alone loving them.  Please forgive us our failures, Father.  Help us be more obedient to Your will, more open and caring, more compassionate, showing Your love to others so that they too might find salvation through Jesus.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better grasp the message You have for us this day.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, our worship, and our service.  And please keep us healthy and safe through these trying times.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

When I think about homecoming here at Pilgrim, realizing that most of us are getting a bit on in the years, I found some new hymn titles for us to try:

Give Me That Old Timers Religion

Precious Lord, Take My Hand, And Help Me Up

Just a Slower Walk with Thee

Go Tell It on the Mountain, But Speak Up

Nobody Knows the Trouble I Have Seeing

Guide Me, O, Thou Great Jehovah, I’ve Forgotten Where I’ve Parked The Car

Count Your Many Birthdays, Count Them One By One

Blessed Insurance

It Is Well With My Soul, But My Knees Hurt 

Maybe those come a little too close to home, even if this is homecoming.

OK, looking at our scripture, the father had two sons, and upon his death, they would inherit all he owned, all he had worked for his entire life.  But the younger son had other ideas.  He couldn’t wait; he wanted his share now.  Once he received it, he went off and blew threw it all rather quickly.

This is a common theme, even today, with those who come into sudden wealth, such as through inheritance or lottery winnings.  When there’s money burning a hole in our pocket, we just have to get rid of it, and now!

The son comes to his senses and heads for the only place he thinks will take him in and feed him: home.  And of course his father welcomes him back.  What loving father wouldn’t?  The father proclaims that his son was dead but now is alive again; he was lost, but is now found.

Jesus spoke of what it means to be found after being lost, and He did so just a few minutes before telling the parable of our scripture reading.  You see, this all started, the parable and what I’m about to relate to you, because the Pharisees and scribes had once again complained about something Jesus did.  Please hear this earlier exchange, as recorded by the Luke in the first seven verses of chapter 15 in his Gospel account…

1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying:

4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine upright persons who need no repentance.”

--Luke 15:1-7 (NKJV)

Just as did the father when his prodigal son came home, so will all of heaven rejoice when one lost sinner is found and comes home.

We often think of the prodigal son parable being about a lost son, especially since the father in the story describes his younger son as having been lost.  But the word “prodigal” means wasteful.  The younger son asked for something he did not yet deserve, and when he received it, he wasted it all away on a short but lavish lifestyle spree.  He wasted everything he had been freely given.  Did he deserve a second chance from his father, who he turned to when there was nowhere left to go?  No, but one was given - given out of love and mercy.

Is there any one of us who can’t see ourselves, at least a little bit, in this story, and I mean from the son’s perspective?  Whether it was given to us or whether we earned it, haven’t we all – or at least some of us - wasted something at some time in our lives?  I can only speak for myself, but I know that for a long time I wasted the precious gift of faith that my heavenly Father gave me.  I tried to run away from God, but He waited patiently for me to come home after I’d run out of options.

God wants us all to come home, figuratively and literally.  He has a home all prepared for us, with Him, once our time on this earth is at an end.  Jesus knew His time as a mortal was approaching its end when He kept trying to prepare His disciples for the day He would no longer be with them.  Please listen to this discussion as recorded by the Apostle John in chapter 14, verses 19 through 24 of his Gospel account…

19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”

22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”

23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me."

--John 14:19-24 (NKJV)

If we truly love Jesus, we will keep His word, we will do as He commands us, and He and the Father will love us.  And they will come to us and make Their home with us.

We can look at this in two ways, both of which are correct.  When we accept Jesus as Lord, God’s Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us.  The Holy Spirit makes His home in us.  The Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are all God, so God has made His home with us.

And as I said, when our time on earth has come to its end, God has a home ready for us in heaven, and we will make our home with Him.  We just need to keep on following Jesus and doing as He commands, and we’ll be a part of that great reunion in the sky, the most magnificent homecoming of all.  And our heavenly Father will welcome us home with open arms.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for loving us so much that You want us to be with You always.  So You have a home all ready for us when we leave this earth.  We just need to keep our faith strong, to keep following Your Son Jesus, to obey Your Spirit within us, and to love all of You.  And thank You for calling us to be by Your side.  But sadly, Father, we don’t always live each day like we know we should.  We don’t always behave very well or play nicely with others.  We try, but we don’t always love others as You love us.  We try to be more obedient, but we need Your help, Father.  Please remind us of the welcome we will receive when we come home, even though we have wasted parts of our life, some of our opportunities to serve You.  Remove all distractions that pull us away from what we know we should do, and forgive us those times we fail to please You.  Please help us reach out to others and share with them all You teach us through Your word.  Help us lead them to Jesus so they too may be saved. 

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 comes our way.

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, thank You for all the stories You told that teach us invaluable lessons, both about our heavenly Father and His realm, and about how we should interact with other people.  We love You, Jesus, and want to be with You forever.  Please forgive us, Lord, when we struggle to love others like You want us to.  We know we disappoint You when we let our fears and prejudices get in the way of showing Your love as we walk this path.  Please help us be more like You in how we live and behave.  Help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us the deeds to do to lead the lost to You.

Holy Spirit, 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.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Are You Weary?

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 7th of September, 2025.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

A couple weeks ago, we looked at the gift of the Sabbath, that one day each week to rest and worship.  God set the example for this when He “rested” for one day after creating the universe in six days, not that He needed rest but to show us that we need rest.  And more importantly, that we need to take time, to purposely set aside the time, to spend with Him, to worship Him.  This is why He gave us the Sabbath.

Today we look at the rest God has ready for us, a rest He has promised us, and what we need to be mindful of in order to secure that rest.  Please listen and follow along as the now uncertain author of the Letter to the Hebrews tells us about heeding God’s word to gain His promise of rest, from verse 16 of the 3rd chapter of that book through the 16th verse of chapter 4, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible this morning…

3:16 And who was it who rebelled against God, even though they heard His voice? Wasn’t it the people Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness? 18 And to whom was God speaking when He took an oath that they would never enter His rest? Wasn’t it the people who disobeyed Him? 19 So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter His rest.

4:1 God’s promise of entering His rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. 2 For this good news — that God has prepared this rest — has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God. 3 For only we who believe can enter His rest. As for the others, God said,

“In My anger I took an oath:

‘They will never enter My place of rest,’”

even though this rest has been ready since He made the world. 4 We know it is ready because of the place in the Scriptures where it mentions the seventh day: “On the seventh day God rested from all His work.” 5 But in the other passage God said, “They will never enter My place of rest.”

6 So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. 7 So God set another time for entering His rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted:

“Today when you hear His voice,

don’t harden your hearts.”

8 Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come. 9 So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. 10 For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. 11 So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.

12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes, and He is the One to whom we are accountable.

14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

--Hebrews 3:16-4:16 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for offering us rest, in this life and in the next.  And thank You for letting us know how we can attain that rest.  In this life, You give us rest through Your peace, an inner peace even as the storm rages around us.  And when these days on earth are finished, You will give us an everlasting peace and rest if we live this life in a manner that pleases You.  We know that we should be more obedient, especially when it comes to showing our love to others and sharing our witness with them.  But, Father, we’ve seen so much evil all around that we have trouble trusting others, let alone loving them.  Please forgive us our failures, Father.  Help us be more obedient to Your will, more open and caring, more compassionate, showing Your love to others so that they too might find salvation through Jesus.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better grasp the message You have for us this day.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, our worship, and our service.  And please keep us healthy and safe through these trying times.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

The sign in the store window read: "NO HELP WANTED".  As two men passed by, one said to the other, “You should apply -- you'd be great.”  There's an old traditional saying that, “God gives the birds their food, but He doesn't throw it into their nests.”  In a 1994 issue of Bits & Pieces magazine, a farmer observed that, “The hardest thing about milking cows is that they never stay milked.”

Some labors seem never-ending.  Prolific authors Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov helped popularize the expression “TANSTAAFL”, an acronym of “There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.”  Someone has to pay for it.  Someone has to work for it, and that someone is usually us.  Even the birds have to leave their nest to go search out their food.

Nothing comes completely free of charge – it is earned by someone’s or something’s labors.  When it comes to telling all about Jesus and making disciples, there's a lot of work to be done.  But we can still take time to rest a bit.

Our author of this great letter to the Hebrews quotes scripture often, at least three times in our relatively short passage.  He doesn’t give a citation for any of those quotes, but he probably didn’t need to.  Each quoted scripture comes from what we now call the Old Testament, but back then it was the only testament, the only scripture for the Jews.  And after all, that was his audience: the Jews, the Hebrews, fairly recent converts to Christianity who would have been familiar with the scripture the author quoted.  For us, though, not so much.  But if you’re interested and want to dig a little, there are three quotes in chapter 4 verses 3, 4, 5, and 7 that come from verses 7 through 8 and 11 in the 95th Psalm and from verse 2 of chapter 2 of Genesis.

The whole point of this, though, is that those who refuse to heed God’s commands, who fail to obey Him, will not gain that eternal rest I mentioned earlier.  And for those who do hear God’s voice, we are warned not to let our hearts harden, but to remain compassionate, merciful, and loving, to keep our faith intact and strong.  God has not hardened His heart against us all.  His offer of rest still stands, His peace is still ours for the taking.  For we have a great High Priest in Jesus who intercedes for us because He understands our weaknesses.  He is our example.  He suffered trials and tribulations like us, even worse than us, yet He never sinned.  And He gave His life to cleanse us of our sin, but we need to stay clean.  This is how we please God - by repenting of our sin, keeping our faith strong, and loving as Jesus loves us.

Speaking of Jesus’ love, our Gospel writers saved so many instances of Jesus showing His love, in His deeds and His words.  The obvious, of course, was when He gave up His life for us, that we might be freed from the chains of sin.  But there is another time, much earlier in His ministry, when Jesus took pity on us and covered us with His mercy, all with a promise.  You’re probably familiar with this.  Please hear the loving, compassionate words Jesus spoke, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in verses 28 and 29 of the 11th chapter of his Gospel account…

28 Then Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

--Matthew 11:28-29 (NLT)

Are you weary?  Do you feel heavy laden and overwhelmed?  Then come to Jesus and lay your burdens at His feet.  What He requires of us is so little, only that we love others in the way He loves us.

Even though He is our Lord, even though He is God, He doesn’t Lord His authority over us.  He is humble, and asks that we be humble, too, and in our humility, to show His love to all we meet.  For we are His church, we are His arms and legs and mouth, we are His representatives here on earth.  And when we represent Him well, when we do the simple things He asks of us, He will give us rest, in this life and in the next.  He will calm the storms within us, and He will welcome us into heaven when that time comes.

No matter what we labor in, no matter what we’re weary from, Jesus offers rest.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for loving us enough to send Your Son, who in turn loved us enough to give His mortal life for us, that we might be seen as clean of our sin in Your eyes.  And thank You for offering us rest in this world of constant unrest.  But sadly, Father, we don’t always do what we need to do to gain this rest.  We don’t always behave in a manner that pleases You.  But we do try to not keep living our old lives, following our sinful ways.  We try to be more obedient, but we need Your help, Father.  Please remind us of our debt to You and our need to follow Your commands.  Remove all distractions that pull us away from spending more time with You, and forgive us those times we fail to live and behave righteously.  Please help us reach out to others and share with them all You teach us through Your word.  Help us lead them to Jesus so they too may be saved. 

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 comes our way.

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, thank You for offering us Your peace and rest when we are weary, when our burdens become more than we can bear.  We love You, Jesus, and thank You for all You have done and continue to do for us.  Please forgive us, Lord, when we struggle to love others like You want us to.  We know we disappoint You when we let our hatreds and prejudices get in the way of showing Your love as we walk through each day.  Please help us be more like You in how we live and behave.  Help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us the deeds to do to lead the lost to You.

Holy Spirit, 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.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.