Jesus Rescues

[The following is a manuscript of my brief devotional delivered on Sunday morning, the 29th of July, 2018 - the first Sunday following our annual Vacation Bible School.  This Sunday we lifted our songs of praise to our Lord in a Congregational singing.  Look for the video of this and other of our services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

As our Vacation Bible School progressed through each day and each lesson, God’s Holy Spirit stirred me to consider just how often Jesus comes to our rescue.  Our Bible is filled with many examples.  One that quickly came to mind was when Peter tried walking on the surface of the sea like he saw Jesus doing.  He was doing pretty good until he took his focus off Jesus and started worrying about the waves.  Jesus had to reach out His hand to Peter and rescue him or the disciple would have drowned.  We know God sent Jesus to save us spiritually, but here He saved Peter physically as well.

But the saving I’d like to look at came from Daniel’s experience in the lions’ den, when God rescued him from certain death.  King Darius was very impressed, to say the least.  Listen and follow along to what Darius did next, as reported by Daniel in chapter 6 of his book of prophesy, verses 25 through 27, reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible, followed by a message from Jesus Himself, from John’s Gospel account, chapter 3, verses 16 and 17 from the New King James Version…

25 Then King Darius sent this message to the people of every race and nation and language throughout the world:

“Peace and prosperity to you!

26 “I decree that everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel.
For He is the living God,
and He will endure forever.
His kingdom will never be destroyed,
and His rule will never end.
27 He rescues and saves His people;
He performs miraculous signs and wonders
in the heavens and on earth.
He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.”

--Daniel 6:25-27 (NLT)

And from the Apostle John’s Gospel account…

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."

--John 3:16-17 (NKJV)

God rescued Daniel from the lions’ den.  Jesus rescued Peter from the sea.  God showed His great love by sending His Son Jesus to rescue us all, to save us from ourselves and our lives of sin.


In Vacation Bible School we looked at some of the ways Jesus rescues us in our daily lives.  On the first day we learned from Hope the jaguar that when we’re lonely, Jesus rescues.  In Psalm 27 verse 10, King David tells us that the Lord will hold us close.

Next we learned from Beacon the Toucan that when we worry, Jesus rescues.  David also supports this statement in Psalm 34 verse 19, saying that the Lord comes to our rescue each time.  Not some times but each and every time!

On day three, Rae the manta ray assured us that when we struggle, Jesus rescues.  The Sons of Korah told us how to react to our struggles, in Psalm 46 verse 10, when they spoke for our Lord, saying, “Be still, and know that I am God.”  When we struggle, we should just settle down, be still, and know that God is at work in our lives.  Be still, and let Jesus rescue us.

The fourth day introduced us to Guac the iguana, who reassured us that even when we do wrong, Jesus rescues.  Now, Jesus promised that in this life we are going to make mistakes, bad things are going to happen to us.  That’s just the way it’s going to be.  In the Apostle John’s Gospel account, Jesus says, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

On our last day of Bible school, Moe the sloth told us that when we feel out of control, when we’re utterly powerless, Jesus rescues.  The Apostle Paul explains how, in his letter to the Ephesians, chapter 1, verses 19 and 20 when he writes, “This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead.”  Jesus will use the same power that was used to raise Him from the dead to rescue us when we have no power to save ourselves.


When we’re lonely, when we worry, when we struggle, when we do wrong, when we are powerless…  Jesus rescues us.  Praise the Lord!  In the name of Christ Jesus, our Rescuer.  Amen.

Obey His Teaching

[The following is a full manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 22nd of July, 2018.  Look for the video of this and our other services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

A woman caught in the act of adultery was brought before Jesus.  The Jews wanted to stone her for it but Jesus said that whoever is without sin should throw the first stone.  As usual, He then had to defend His words and actions to the Pharisees who accused Him of all manner of rubbish.  That’s when He responded that He speaks the truth, that if we know Him we know the truth, and the truth will set us free.

What follows next is rather interesting and contains two more solemn truths.  Listen and follow along as I read from the 8th chapter of the Gospel account of the Apostle John, verses 48 through 59, from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible…

48 The Judeans replied, “Aren’t we correct in saying that You are a Samaritan and are possessed by a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I am not possessed by a demon, but I honor My Father — and yet you dishonor Me. 50 I am not trying to get praise for Myself. There is one who demands it, and He also judges. 51 I tell you the solemn truth, if anyone obeys My teaching, he will never see death.”

52 Then the Judeans responded, “Now we know You’re possessed by a demon! Both Abraham and the prophets died, and yet You say, ‘If anyone obeys My teaching, he will never experience death.’ 53 You aren’t greater than our father Abraham who died, are You? And the prophets died too! Who do You claim to be?” 54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is worthless. The One who glorifies Me is My Father, about whom you people say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 Yet you do not know Him, but I know Him. If I were to say that I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know Him, and I obey His teaching. 56 Your father Abraham was overjoyed to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”

57 Then the Judeans replied, “You are not yet fifty years old! Have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, before Abraham came into existence, I am!” 59 Then they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus was hidden from them and went out from the temple area.

--John 8:48-59 (NET)

Let us pray…  Father God, You glorified Your Son Jesus because He obeyed You and did Your will, not His own.  Help us, please Father, to be more like Jesus.  Show us Your will for our lives and help us to fulfill it.  Speak to us now, Father, with the message we need to hear this morning.  Help us to understand the truth of Jesus and of what He said.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.   Amen.


A Father and his small son were out walking one day when the lad asked how electricity could go through the wires stretched between the telephone poles.  "I don't know," said his father.  "I never knew much about electricity."  A few blocks farther on, the boy asked what caused lightning and thunder.  "That too has puzzled me," his father replied.  The youngster continued to inquire about many things, none of which the father could explain.  Finally, as they were nearing home, the boy said, "Pop, I hope you didn't mind all those questions."  "Not at all," replied his father.  "How else are you going to learn!"


I’m not too sure this particular father would make a very good teacher.  Now granted, we want folks, especially students, to be able to think for themselves.  But sometimes we need to be able to help them along, provide some clues, give them a starting point, provide a solid foundation to build upon.

Throughout His ministry, Jesus took great care and showed infinite patience in giving us much to think about.  He not only provided a starting point for our mental exercises, He answered questions, He showed by example, He went to great lengths to explain the more difficult concepts.  He spent an enormous amount of time and energy teaching His disciples, teaching the people that gathered around Him everywhere He went, teaching us through His words and actions as recorded by the Gospel writers.

Jesus did all this not to glorify Himself, not for bragging rights among men or in heaven.  He tells us in our scripture reading that to do so, to brag on Himself, would be empty and worthless.  Instead, God the Father glorifies Jesus, and that’s all anyone needs.  No, Jesus went to such great lengths to teach us all the truth for one simple yet very important reason: so that we might never see death.


Those new to the Christian faith, or who have not spent much time in their Bible, might be confused when Jesus talks about death, about not dying.  The confusion comes in when we fail to take the resurrection into consideration.  What we call death, Jesus considers to be merely a time of sleeping.  Jesus promises that we will all be brought back to life once He returns and conquers evil.

All of us, all who ever lived, will be resurrected to stand in judgment before God.  Everyone who practiced evil in their lives, who did not believe in Jesus, will be sentenced to a second death.  The second death will be eternal, everlasting pain and torment in the lake of fire.  But all those who believed in Jesus as the true Son of God and who accepted Him in life as their Lord and Master, who knew Him as their Savior, will be spared this second death and instead will live forever in paradise with God.  They - we - will not die the second death, but will escape it.

But with this greatest, most wonderful gift comes a commanded responsibility.  We must obey Jesus’ teachings.  This is a solemn truth He left us.  And one of the simplest of His teachings is right there in the second solemn truth He shared in our scripture reading today.  Jesus told the doubt-filled Pharisees, and us too, that “before Abraham came into existence, I am!”.  Jesus has been with God from before the world began and will still be long after the world as we know it will cease.  In the opening of his Gospel account John tells us this, and here Jesus reaffirms it.  This is a truth and a lesson to share: Jesus has always been with us and always will be with us!

But there is so much more, so very much more.  All four of the Gospel accounts - of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – are literally filled with Jesus’ teachings.  Of course the two main teachings center on belief and love.  Believe in God and in Jesus, the One whom He sent.  Love God and love one another as we love ourselves.  These teachings we must obey.


We must keep in mind, though, that the teachings we are to obey include helping others understand and obey them, too.  That’s part of the “love one another” command.  If we truly love someone else, we will want them to be saved, too, just like we are saved.

But it’s also a command that Jesus directly and plainly stated, and one you’ve heard me repeat often.  It comes from chapter 28 of Matthew’s Gospel account, verses 19 and 20…

19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

--Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV)

It’s not enough that we obey our Christ’s teachings, but we must teach others to obey them, too!  That’s what making disciples is all about, teaching someone else all about Jesus and helping them become one of His followers.  Showing them how and why to obey His commands and what it means to be a Christian.

And He reminds us that we don’t have to go this alone, that He is with us and will be with us until the end of time.  Before Abraham He was, and long, long after Abraham He will still be.


Escaping death is easy.  Jesus did all the hard work and paid the full price.  All we have to do is believe in Him as the One true Son of God and accept His Lordship over us.  Of course, part of that acceptance of Him as our Master is that we will do as He commands.  Not only that, if we love Him, if we are truly thankful for the gift He provides by the breaking of His body and the shedding of His blood, we will do as He commands of our own free will, joyfully, thankfully, lovingly.

So we come back to belief and love.  We believe in Jesus, but do we really love Him?  Have you ever heard the expression, to know someone is to love them?  So maybe my question becomes, we believe in Jesus, but do we really know Him?

Listen to what John wrote in verses 3 through 5 of the 2nd chapter of his 1st letter to the early church…

3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.

--1 John 2:3-5 (NKJV)

Do we keep Jesus’ commands?  John says that if we proclaim, “I know Jesus”, but we don’t obey Him, then we are a liar and the truth isn’t in us.  But if we do obey Him, if we do keep His commandments, if we do keep His word, then the love of God is made perfect and complete within us.  And by this we know that we are in Jesus and He is in us.


Jesus told us a couple solemn truths.  He always was and always will be, so we can depend on Him to help us to believe and to love.  Know Jesus, love Him, serve Him.  Heed the lessons our Lord teaches and never die.  And teach others all about Him, help them obey His commands, so that they too might have eternal life.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, we know how much You love us.  You gave Your own Son just so we could be saved.  Father, we long to have Your love perfected in us.  Forgive us, please Father, when we take for granted all that You give us.  Forgive us when we disregard those of Your commandments that inconvenience us.  Help us to better see and do Your will for our lives.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, promising to turn from our sin, and asking for Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, You taught us so much in the three short years of Your ministry on earth.  Help us to understand and remember the lessons You left us, that Your Apostles recorded for us.  Help us to obey Your commands.  Help us to teach others all that You taught us through Your lessons and Your word.  Help us to believe and to love.  And help us to share Your truth, and Your teachings, with a world that needs to hear and learn.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, our only hope.  Amen.

For Eternal Life

[The following is a full manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 15th of July, 2018.  Look for the video of this and our other services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

The people followed Jesus, as they so often did, to a remote area to hear Him preach and teach.  As the day grew late, His disciples worried about what the huge throng would eat.  A boy in the crowd happened to have brought along five loaves of bread and two small fishes.  Jesus took those loaves and fishes, gave thanks to His Father for their provision, then began breaking them into pieces that were distributed by the disciples to the people.  In all, well over 5000 men, women, and children were fed from that boy’s humble lunch.  What followed might be considered the moral or lesson of this story.

Our scripture reading this morning is rather long, but I think it important that we hear the whole story to better understand what Jesus was trying to tell us.  So please listen and follow along as I read from chapter 6 of the Gospel account of the Apostle John, verses 22 through 58, from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible…

22 The next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the lake realized that only one small boat had been there, and that Jesus had not boarded it with His disciples, but that His disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came to shore near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

25 When they found Him on the other side of the lake, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?” 26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, you are looking for Me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate all the loaves of bread you wanted. 27 Do not work for the food that disappears, but for the food that remains to eternal life — the food which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put His seal of approval on Him.”

28 So then they said to Him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds God requires?” 29 Jesus replied, “This is the deed God requires — to believe in the One whom He sent.” 30 So they said to Him, “Then what miraculous sign will You perform, so that we may see it and believe You? What will You do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

32 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the solemn truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but My Father is giving you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 So they said to Him, “Sir, give us this bread all the time!”

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to Me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in Me will never be thirsty. 36 But I told you that you have seen Me and still do not believe. 37 Everyone whom the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never send away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do My own will but the will of the One who sent Me. 39 Now this is the will of the One who sent Me — that I should not lose one person of every one He has given Me, but raise them all up at the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father — for everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him to have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

41 Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus began complaining about Him because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” 42 and they said, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can He now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus replied, “Do not complain about Me to one another. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to Me. 46 (Not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God — He has seen the Father.) 47 I tell you the solemn truth, the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that has come down from heaven, so that a person may eat from it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

52 Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus began to argue with one another, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” 53 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood resides in Me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who consumes Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread your ancestors ate, but then later died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”

--John 6:22-58 (NET)

Let us pray…  Father God, as Your chosen people wandered in the desert for 40 years, You sent bread from heaven to provide for the physical needs.  And Father, as Your children still wander in a wilderness of our own making, You give us the true bread of heaven, Your Son Jesus, to provide for our spiritual needs.  Help us, please Father, to accept and believe in the One whom You sent.  Help us to grow in our faith even as we help others along the path to righteousness.  Speak to us now, Father, with the message we need to hear this morning.  Help us to understand the truth of Jesus and of what He said.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.   Amen.


I’d like to share a few quotes with you that I think bear greatly to our scripture reading and to the times in which we live:

The great reformed, Martin Luther, once noted:  “I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess.”

Christian author Marjorie Holmes added:  “...possessions are meant to enhance life, not to become the main focus of living. ...we come into the world with nothing and we leave with nothing.”

English writer, philosopher, and lay theologian had a slightly different take on possessions:  “There are two ways to get enough: One is to accumulate more and more, the other is to desire less.”

And American patriot Patrick Henry, best remembered for declaring, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”, also said this:  “I have now disposed of all my property to my family.  There is one thing more I wish I could give them and that is faith in Jesus Christ.  If they had that and I had not given them a single shilling, they would have been rich; and if they had not that, and I had given them all the world, they would be poor indeed.”


Our possessions, as gifts from God, should enhance our life, not become our number one priority in living.  The more we accumulate, the more we want.  The easiest way to have enough is to desire less.

I like things – most people like things.  But the underlying point to these and Henry’s statement is that in the end, things won’t matter.  All that will matter is our belief, and our faith.  And that is what we need to pass on and share.


Today’s scripture reading, on the surface, seems to focus on bread a lot.  The crowds followed Jesus because they had eaten the bread.  God gave the ancient Hebrews bread from heaven.  Jesus is the true bread that came down from heaven.

Bread is something we can understand, especially as regards how important it is to mankind.  As miraculous as the feeding of the 5000 was, it was still only bread, and fish - worldly things that last only a short while.  We call bread the “staff of life”, meaning it is and has been vital to mankind’s survival.  Jesus said “I am the bread of life”, and He is indeed vital to our spiritual survival and life everlasting.


Jesus made a couple of references to God sending bread from heaven to Moses and the children of Israel.  Let me briefly refresh our memory of what Jesus is talking about, reading from chapter 16 of Moses’ Book of Exodus, the first part of verse 4, verses 19 and 20, and verse 31…

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you."

19 And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning.” 20 Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.

31 And the house of Israel called its name Manna. And it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

--Exodus 16:4a, 19 & 20, 31 (NKJV)

Each day God provided for the peoples’ needs.  He wanted them to trust in His provision, that He would see to their needs each and every day.  Some didn’t trust Him and tried to gather more manna than they needed for that day.  But what they had labored to hoard away rotted, bred worms, and stank.  The manna, the bread from heaven, melted with the heat of the day and turned rancid if left overnight.

Jesus, the true bread from heaven, is eternal, and what He gives is eternal.  All those Israelis who ate of that sweet bread in the desert stilled died, as has everyone else who ever lived and ate of physical food.  But those who eat of the bread of life that is Jesus will live forever.

Anything of this world – our valued possessions, our very food – will eventually rot and decay, and become useless to anyone.  Only our spiritual possessions – our faith and belief – will serve us for eternal life.


Jesus said, “I am the bread of life”.  Those who go to Him will never be hungry.  Those who believe in Him will never thirst.  Jesus is the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats from this bread they will live forever.

And then in verse 51 Jesus said, “The bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”  The Jews were aghast, yet He goes on and adds, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.  The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.  For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.  The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood resides in Me, and I in him.”

If you’ve not closely looked at this scripture before, a lightbulb may be going off over your head about now.  This should be reminding us of our Lord’s last meal with His followers, of our Holy Communion.  Now this is coming from the Apostle John’s Gospel account, but while John did not report on the Last Supper itself, Matthew, Mark and Luke did, in their Gospel accounts, and so did Paul, in chapter 11 of his 1st letter to the Corinthians.  Listen to how Matthew recorded Jesus’ words that night, in chapter 26 of his Gospel account, verses 26 through 28…

26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

--Matthew 26:26-28 (NKJV)

Jesus said “this is My body”, “this is My blood”.  Take and eat for this is the true bread from heaven.  Eat this bread for eternal life.

When we observe Holy Communion, we do as Jesus commands.  We drink of His blood for the remission, the forgiveness, of our sins.  We eat of His flesh for eternal life, that we will be raised up on the last day, that we may live in Jesus and He in us.


Do we trust in God to provide for our needs - not our wants, but our needs?  Or are we like some of those ancient Jews who tried to accumulate more than they needed, only to watch it all rot and decay?

All the things of this world, both great and small, are temporary – they will not last.  Only the things of heaven are eternal.  We cannot take the things of this earth with us when we breathe our last breath here.  We can leave them to our children and their children, or others of our loved ones left behind.  But unless we have left them with our faith, our belief, nothing else will truly matter.  We can leave our loved ones nothing else of value but our belief and our faith.  Only those matter for eternal life.

Jesus told us a solemn truth.  Hear the message our Lord speaks, eat of His bread, and live forever.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You provide for our worldly needs, and You also provide for our spiritual needs.  Too many, Father, take advantage of the former while passing up the latter.  Forgive us, O gracious God, when we don’t completely trust You to provide for us.  Forgive us when we don’t accept Your true bread from heaven.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, promising to turn from our sin, and asking for Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, You came to offer us eternal life, salvation through You and the sacrifice of Your own flesh and blood.  Help us to better understand the solemn truths You spoke to us.  Help us to better trust our Father God, that He will see to our needs.  Help us to grow and strengthen our faith and our belief, the only things that matter.  And help us to share Your truth and Your bread with the world while there is still time.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, our only hope.  Amen.

Hear the Voice

[The following is a full manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 8th of July, 2018.  Look for the video of this and our other services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

We’ve been looking at some of the statements Jesus made during His ministry on earth that He prefaced by saying, “I tell you the solemn truth”.  If our Lord took the time to tell us these truths, went to the extra effort to emphasize their importance, shouldn’t we listen to them?  Isn’t a solemn truth worthy of our attention?

Please listen and follow along as I read from chapter 5 of the Gospel account of the Apostle John, verses 24 through 30, from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible…

24 “I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears My message and believes the one who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned, but has crossed over from death to life. 25 I tell you the solemn truth, a time is coming — and is now here — when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in Himself, thus He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27 and He has granted the Son authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 

28 “Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice 29 and will come out — the ones who have done what is good to the resurrection resulting in life, and the ones who have done what is evil to the resurrection resulting in condemnation. 30 I can do nothing on My own initiative. Just as I hear, I judge, and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of the One who sent Me."

--John 5:24-30 (NET)

Let us pray…  Father God, we don’t know exactly when Your great plan for mankind’s salvation will be completed with Your Son’s return to earth, but we do know we will face judgment at that time.  Help us, please Father, to be prepared for our judgment.  Speak to us now with the message we need to hear this morning.  Help us to understand the truth of Jesus and of what He said.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.   Amen.


Two psychiatrists meet at their 20th college reunion.  One is alive and vibrant, while the other looks withered and worried.  "So what's your secret?", the older looking psychiatrist asks.  "Listening to other people's problems every day, all day long, for years on end, has made an old man of me."  "So," replies the younger looking one, "who listens?"


Speaking of listening, how good a listener are you?

• Since you think about four times faster than a person usually talks, do you use this time to think about other things while you're keeping track of the conversation? 
• Do you listen primarily for facts rather than ideas when someone is speaking? 
• Can you tell from a person's appearance and delivery that there won't be anything worthwhile said? 
• Do certain words and phrases prejudice you so you cannot listen objectively? 
• When someone is talking to you do you appear to be paying attention even when you're not? 
• When listening are you easily distracted by other sights and sounds?

Hearing is easy.  It is simply the act of perceiving sound by the ear.  If we’re not hearing-impaired, hearing just happens.  Listening, however, is something we consciously choose to do.  Listening requires concentration so that our brain can process meaning from the words and sentences we hear.

Jesus told us to hear His words, His message, but I really think He meant for us to listen.  That's why He added the word believe in verse 24, when He said, “the one who hears My message and believes”.  We can only believe if we've listened to the message of the Gospel and allowed ourselves to process what we've heard.


Jesus said that those who hear His message and believe the One who sent Him has eternal life and will not be condemned!  There are two very important points in this solemn truth.  The first is that believers already have eternal life!

We tend to think that we will be granted eternal life in heaven once this life is over, and that is true, kind of.  But the key here is that our life eternal has already been granted because of our belief and our faith!  It’s ours, God has already given it to us.  Once we die to this mortal life our everlasting life begins.  There’s no “if” involved.  We took care of any “ifs” when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Master.

And the second point is clearly related to the first.  Since we already have everlasting life, we will not be condemned to everlasting death, eternal torment.

The second solemn truth Jesus told us in this reading, in verse 25, is that the time is coming when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God – His voice – and will live.  The dead will hear and live.  For believers, our resurrection will be followed by life everlasting.  For evil-doers, resurrection will result in condemnation and everlasting torment.

Remember: believers will not be condemned.  Those who are already dead to this mortal life who did not believe are already condemned.  But those who are currently alive but are dead in sin need to listen and pay attention, for there is still time for them to accept and believe in Jesus as Lord.


In verse 27 of our reading, Jesus almost casually notes that God the Father has granted Him – the Son of God – the authority to execute judgment.  He does not say “to judge”, but “to execute judgment”.  In verse 30 He clarifies that He will judge according to what He hears, meaning what He hears from His Father God, because it is God’s will He is carrying out, and not His own.  Consider what Jesus tells us in chapter 12 of John’s Gospel account, verses 46 through 48…

46 “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. 47 And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.”

--John 12:46-48 (NKJV)

Jesus came to save the world, not judge it.  As far as condemnation goes, Jesus doesn’t have to judge us – we judge ourselves.  By our words, by our actions, by what’s in our hearts, by our belief or disbelief…  we judge ourselves.  If we hear His voice and don’t listen, if we hear His words and still don’t believe, then we condemn ourselves.  If we reject Jesus as Lord, we will be rejected from life eternal.


These things we have looked at so far, Jesus shared with us through His disciples, His apostles, from the time He still walked this earth.  But He showed His beloved disciple John even more, after He had returned to heaven to sit at His Father’s side.  He showed John what we can expect when He returns to this earth, and He instructed John to write it all down, to save it for us even to this day.  Listen to part of what Jesus revealed to John, in his great Book of Revelation, chapter 20, verses 11 through 15…

11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

--Revelation 20:11-15 (NKJV)

John sees God’s great white throne of judgment.  And standing before that throne is everyone still alive on that day and everyone who has ever lived.  All of mankind, from Adam onward to the last child born, will stand before God in judgment.

Books will be opened – not just one book as some think, but many.  Most of those books will contain everything that every person has ever done during their mortal lifetime.  The time you helped feed the homeless will be listed on one of those books, as well as the time you refused to even make eye contact with a person in need.  Everything we’ve ever done will be recorded in one of those books, and by them we will be judged.  I envision that one of those books opened that day will be titled, “The Life and Heart of Richard Raymond Moore”.

But those aren’t the books I’m as concerned with right now as the one book that John calls by name: the “Book of Life”.  The contents of this book testify as to our salvation, or our condemnation.  For anyone not found written in the Book of Life, anyone whose name is not listed there, will be cast into the lake of fire, there to burn in everlasting torment.  By our belief or disbelief we judge ourselves, whether to eternal life, or eternal death.


Jesus told us a solemn truth.  Dictionary definitions for “solemn” include sober, mirthless, earnest; gravely impressive; causing serious thought.  We hear the truth Jesus speaks, but do we listen?  Do we give His words serious thought?  We can clearly see that whether we are saved to eternal life or condemned to everlasting torment is entirely up to us.  And this pertains to every truth Jesus shared.

Hear the voice of our Lord and believe, and live forever.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, the day will come when You will sit upon Your great white throne and we and all of mankind will stand arrayed before You.  But we will already have decided our own fate by that point.  Forgive us, please Father, when we fail to give serious thought and consideration to Your word.  Forgive us those times when we do not fully accept Your Son Jesus as our Master, but only look to Him as our Savior.  Please help us give You our full attention.  Help us be ever faithful.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, promising to turn from our sin, and asking for Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, You told us the truth of what is to come.  You warned us that we will decide our own eternal life by whether we listen to Your voice or not, whether we believe in You as God’s own Son or not.  Help us believe without doubt, Lord.  Help us to hear Your voice and to listen to Your message.  And help us to share Your truth with the world while there is still time.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, our only hope.  Amen.

Of Freedom

[The following is a full manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 1st of July, 2018, the Sunday before Independence Day.  Today's service included the observance of Holy Communion.  Unfortunately, the video did not take, but look for the videos of our other services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Since this is the Sunday before our nation celebrates its independence, and also the first Sunday of the quarter, I’d like to look at what true freedom means and how it relates to communing with our Father's Son.

Jesus told us much about freedom, and also about its opposite: slavery.  His concern with slavery, though, was not as regards human ownership, but of a more spiritual nature.  One truth He shared with us might be familiar.

Please listen and follow along as I read from chapter 8 of the Gospel account of the Apostle John, verses 31 through 36, from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible…

31 Then Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed Him, “If you continue to follow My teaching, you are really My disciples 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 “We are descendants of Abraham,” they replied, “and have never been anyone’s slaves! How can You say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “I tell you the solemn truth, everyone who practices sin is a slave of sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the family forever, but the son remains forever. 36 So if the son sets you free, you will be really free."

--John 8:31-36 (NET)

Let us pray…  Father God, Your beloved Son Jesus offers to set us free from our slavery to sin.  He made the ultimate sacrifice of His own blood so that we might be forgiven of our great disobedience to You if only we would believe in Him and accept Him as Lord.  Help us, please Father, to not only believe, but to recognize and accept His Lordship over our lives.  Help us obey His commands and be more righteous in Your sight.  Speak to us now with the message we need to hear this morning.  Help us to understand the truth of Jesus and of what He told us.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.   Amen.


As we approach the day we celebrate our nation’s independence, we need to remember how our liberty was attained - through whose help and by whose hand.  Every day when the sun rises over Washington, DC, its first rays fall on the eastern side of the city’s tallest structure, the 555-foot Washington Monument.  The first part of that monument to reflect the rising sun is the eastern side of its aluminum capstone, where these words are inscribed: Laus Deo – which is Latin for “Praise be to God.”  This short prayer of praise, visible to the eyes of heaven alone, is tacit recognition of our nation’s unique acknowledgment of the place of God in its founding and its continuance.


Author Dorothy L. Sayer once noted that, "The divine 'scheme of things', as Christianity understands it, is at once extremely elastic and extremely rigid.  It is elastic, in that it includes a large measure of liberty for the creature; it is rigid in that it includes the proviso that, however created beings choose to behave, they must accept responsibility of their own actions and endure the consequences."


These two, taken together, describe where freedom truly begins and what it really means.  George Washington readily acknowledged that it was only by divine providence that his hastily assembled, barely trained, and poorly equipped army was able to defeat the most powerful armed force of his day.  God provides for our liberty, both as a nation and as individuals.

But as Ms. Sayer pointed out, freedom is not free.  Freedom requires sacrifice, a deep and steadfast commitment, and constant vigilance.  Our freedom from tyranny as a nation was and is paid for by the blood of countless men and women, shed on battlefields around the globe.  Our freedom from sin as individuals was paid for by the blood of One, the Son of Man, our Savior Jesus, shed on that cruel cross.

Freedom from tyranny or from slavery to man is short-lived, as is all life on this earth.  Freedom from slavery to sin is eternal, and only the Son is able to grant that freedom.


Ms. Sayer merely echoed what the Apostle Paul told us so long ago, in his letter to the church in Rome, from chapter 5 verse 20 through chapter 6 verse 2…

5:20 God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

6:1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?

--Romans 5:20-6:2 (NLT)

John Diefenbaker, a former Prime Minister of Canada, said, “Freedom is the right to be wrong, not the right to do wrong.”  This is what Paul is saying.  Just because we have been forgiven of our sins doesn’t mean that we can just go on sinning like before, go on living as if nothing has changed.  As Ms. Sayer put it, we must accept responsibility for our actions, even in our liberty, for those actions carry consequences.


So Jesus frees us from slavery to sin when we accept Him as Lord and Master, but isn’t that just trading one form of slavery for another?  Well…  yes, to accept Jesus is to willingly put ourselves in servitude to Him.  We willingly become His, give ourselves to Him.  And it is right that we do so.

American clergyman Phillip Brooks, in the 1800’s, noted that, “No man in this world attains to freedom from any slavery except by entrance into some higher servitude.”  That “higher servitude” we enter into is to Jesus.  Serving Him is our way to thank Him for freeing us from our sin, and by His request to our heavenly Father, for our being granted eternal life in paradise.

It is our responsibility to be worthy in God’s sight, to be right with God our Father, so we can receive this gift we do not deserve.  Paul points out the importance of our being worthy.  God’s Son frees us from our bonds of sin, allowing us to freely commune with Him anytime we wish.  As a family, we choose to observe Holy Communion with our Lord at certain times each year.  But Paul cautions us not to come to our Lord's table unless and until we are right with God.  Hear Paul’s warning from his 1st letter to the Corinthians, chapter 11, verses 26 through 28…

26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.

27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. 

--1 Corinthians 11:26-28 (NLT)

Jesus frees us from the death of our sins when we accept Him as Master.  Let us be worthy of His sacrifice and of God’s grace.  Let us take this time now, and during my prayer in a moment, to get right with our Father, to repent of our sin, to renew our own personal commitment to serving Jesus, before we come to His table.


Jesus told us the solemn truth – the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  And the truth sets us free.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You placed us here in this “land of the free” so we could enjoy our liberty.  But Father, true freedom only comes from You, and is only available to us through Your Son Jesus.  Forgive us, please Father, when we think we are so independent we don’t need You.  Forgive us when we take liberties with our freedom.  Please help us cherish and honor the sacrifice Jesus made for us so that we might be free from slavery to sin forever.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, promising to turn from our sin, and asking for Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, You told us the truth and the truth will indeed set us free, but only if we do our part.  We must believe in You as the one true Son of God, who sacrificed Your all for us.  And we must remain worthy and righteous in God’s eye, remaining faithful to You and our Father.  Help us to do just that – to remain true and to stay right with God.  Help us to acknowledge and honor Your sacrifice.  And help us to share Your truth with the world around us.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, our only hope.  Amen.

Nothing On Our Own

[The following is a full manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 24th of June, 2018.  Look for the video of the service on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Today I’ll be continuing our little series based on statements our Lord Jesus made during His ministry.  These statements are fairly simple, yet very important.  We know they are important because Jesus prefaced each one by saying, “I tell you the solemn truth”.  He wanted to make sure that we understand what He is about to say is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Please listen and follow along as I read from the 5th chapter of the Gospel account of the Apostle John, verses 16 through 23, from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible…

16 Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began persecuting Him. 17 So He told them, “My Father is working until now, and I too am working.” 18 For this reason the Jewish leaders were trying even harder to kill Him, because not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was also calling God His own Father, thus making Himself equal with God.

19 So Jesus answered them, “I tell you the solemn truth, the Son can do nothing on His own initiative, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He does, and will show Him greater deeds than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever He wishes. 22 Furthermore, the Father does not judge anyone, but has assigned all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him."

--John 5:16-23 (NET)

Let us pray…  Father God, You showed Your Son Jesus exactly what He was to do during His time on earth.  You were explicit in Your instructions to Him because our eternal lives were at stake.  And Father, Jesus did exactly as You told Him.  Help us, please Father, to be more like Jesus and willing to do exactly as You show us.  Help us to understand that it is for our own good to obey You.  Speak to us now with the message we need to hear this morning.  Help us to understand the truth of Jesus and of what He said.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.   Amen.


In 1978, during the fireman's strike in England, the British army took over emergency firefighting. On January 14 they were called out by an elderly lady in South London to retrieve her cat. They arrived with impressive haste, very cleverly and carefully rescued the cat, and started to drive away. But the lady was so grateful she invited the squad of heroes in for tea. Driving off later with fond farewells and warm waving of arms… they ran over the cat and killed it.


I think this little story illustrates the inescapable fact that even when our intentions are the very best, we can still mess things up pretty badly.  These soldiers managed to save the cat, right before killing it accidently.

I don’t know of anyone who hasn’t made a mistake in their life.  Some of us seem incapable of not goofing up.  We’re human – we’re going to make mistakes.  And the biggest mistake of all, perhaps, is thinking that we can do anything on our own.


The Apostle John tells us of yet another time when the Jewish leadership was giving Jesus a hard time, trying to trap Him in some mistake or misstep.  In this particular instance they accused Him and His disciples of doing some form of labor on the Sabbath.  Jesus replied that since His Father was working, so was He also working.  And then He shares what to us should be a remarkable truth.  Jesus says He can do nothing on His own initiative, but only follows the lead of His Father.

Like Father, like Son – what the Father does, the Son does likewise.  Now remember that Jesus is one with God, one of the three persons of God, Jesus the Son of God the Father.  If Jesus can do nothing on His own, what makes us think we can?!?


The Jewish hierarchy really didn’t like Jesus.  He patiently tried to explain to them who He was and why He was here among us mortals, but they refused to listen.  I like the response He gave them once, in John’s chapter 10, verses 25 through 33…

25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one.”

31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”

33 The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”

--John 10:25-33 (NKJV)

“My sheep hear My voice and they follow Me.  You are not My sheep.”  That should have been bad news for them, had they understood the truth.  Instead, they accused Jesus of making Himself out to be God, when in fact He indeed is God.

Now this also shows that Jesus did not shy away from telling everyone the truth that He is the Son of God, and that the Jews knew this.  But Jesus never really made Himself out to be God, nor to put Himself on the same level of authority or even capability of God, of God the Father.  He always acknowledged God the Father as the absolute authority under whom He worked.  He clearly stated time after time that He only did what His Father God told Him or showed Him to do.  Such as in John’s chapter 5 verse 30…

30 "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."  

--John 5:30 (NKJV)

Or chapter 6 verse 38…

38 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." 

--John 6:38 (NKJV)

John even captured a moment when Jesus told the Jews that when they finally succeed in having Him put to death, only then will they realize the truth of what He had been telling them.  Listen to what Jesus said in John’s chapter 8, verse 28…

28 Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things." 

--John 8:28 (NKJV)

Jesus told us the solemn truth: “I can do nothing on My own initiative”.  “I do all works in My Father’s name.”  “I can of Myself do nothing.”  “I came not to do My will but the will of Him who sent Me.”  “I do nothing of Myself.”

Family, I think this points out two very important lessons for us.  The first I have already mentioned: if Jesus could do nothing on His own, what makes us think we can?  That’s nothing but pride, isn’t it, to think that we can actually accomplish anything on our own?

It’s human nature, though, that whenever we manage to do something, to make something happen, that we swell up and get all proud of ourselves and think we actually did it ourselves, without help.  Or even if it’s a group effort, we still get proud of our role in the effort, of being in the group, and of the group as a whole.  Even the simplest things, we tend to think we managed them on our own.  We don’t acknowledge God’s role, we don’t give Him all the glory, all the thanks.  Jesus, the Son of God, could do nothing on His own, nor can we.

And the second point is related to the first.  Jesus did nothing on His own, but only what God the Father showed Him or told Him to do.  Isn’t that kind of a strong indication that we too should only do what our Father God shows us or tells us to do?

Have you ever tried to do something and it just keeps crashing down at your feet, no matter how hard or often you try?  While that might be Satan trying to trip you up and make you stumble, it might very well be God telling you, “This is not what I want you doing.”

There was a point during one of his missionary journeys when God’s Holy Spirit prevented Paul from going into Asia to preach the Gospel.  God knew the time wasn’t right yet, so He instructed His Holy Spirit to stop Paul.  What do you think might have happened had Paul gone on, thinking he could do it on his own?  My guess is he would have failed miserably and the early church might have suffered for it.  Later on, when the time was right, the Holy Spirit directed Paul’s steps into the very land He stopped him from entering earlier, and we know how that turned out.  When Paul did what God showed him to do, he was wildly successful.


Jesus told us the solemn truth – the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  We can do nothing on our own.  We should only do what God our Father tells us to do, what He shows us to do, what He guides us to do by His Holy Spirit.  For even the simplest tasks, we should go to our Father in prayer and seek His guidance.  Since we can do nothing on our own, we shouldn’t even try without first asking for His help.  And this is especially true when our actions will have an effect and impact on others.

Let’s only do what God shows us, for we can do nothing on our own.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You showed Jesus everything He needed to do to carry out Your great plan to reconcile mankind to Yourself.  And even though You gave Him all authority in heaven and on earth, Jesus did everything You showed and told Him to do.  Forgive us, please Father, when we are not as conscientious about serving our own role in Your plan, when we fail to do as You will.  Forgive us for taking liberties with the grace and salvation You mercifully provide.  Please help us to do as You would have us to do, to serve as You would have us serve, to do Your will and not our own.  Help us to be more like Jesus.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, promising to turn from our sin, and asking for Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, even though You were still God while living among us in the flesh, You did exactly as our Father God told You to do.  And it was all for our benefit.  Help us to remember that we can really do nothing on our own, that without God we are nothing.  Help us to be more like You and to do as God wills for us.  Help us to set aside our own wishes and goals in better service to You and our Father God.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith.  Amen.

Born From Above

[The following is a full manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 10th of June, 2018.  Look for the video of the service on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

A couple weeks ago I introduced a little series based on statements Jesus made during His ministry.  Now these particular statements are special in that Jesus felt it necessary to preface each by saying, “I tell you the solemn truth”.

We consider our Bible, as God’s word, to be holy, inerrant, and true… especially the things that Jesus tells us in it.  And that’s why these particular statements are so important to us, because Jesus let us know right from the start that what He is about to say is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Today’s solemn truth once again comes to us as recorded by the Apostle John in his Gospel account.  So please listen and follow along as I read from the 3rd chapter of John, verses 1 through 15, from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible…

1 Now a certain man, a Pharisee named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council, 2 came to Jesus at night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs that You do unless God is with Him.” 3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time, can he?”

5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

9 Nicodemus replied, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things? 11 I tell you the solemn truth, We speak about what We know and testify about what We have seen, but you people do not accept Our testimony. 12 If I have told you people about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven — the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.”

--John 3:1-15 (NET)

Let us pray…  Father God, when Your Son Jesus came back to heave to be with You, He asked that You would send Your Holy Spirit to us, to be our Companion and our Guide.  And You did just as He asked, sending Your own Spirit to live within us, to always be there for us.  Help us, please Father, to live more spiritual lives, to allow Your Spirit to lead us.  And help us, please, to understand Your message for us this morning.  Touch our hearts, and show us Your way.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.   Amen.


Although Jane was raised a Methodist, she started attending a Baptist church when she moved to a new community. One day she was helping a group of women clean the church kitchen. She emptied the large electric coffeepot and handed it to the lady washing dishes.

The lady washing dishes asked, “Can this be washed like everything else?”

“No,” Jane replied. “This is a Methodist coffeepot. It says right here, DO NOT IMMERSE.”


That could just as well have been a Reformed coffeepot, couldn’t it.  Most of us prefer to be “sprinkled” rather than full immersion.  And of course we’re talking about baptism here.  Just as was Jesus, kind of, in His little discussion with Nicodemus.

There’s a little something we need to be aware of regarding Nicodemus.  One of the neat things about our Bible is that we can read a passage in it and gain a lot of good information and insight.  We can learn the things Jesus tried to teach us.  But we gain even more when we read through it all and tie passages together.

For instance this man Nicodemus - who came to Jesus one night to question Him for his own reasons, to try to understand Him a little better – this man was a leader and teacher of the Jewish people.  He was a Pharisee and a member of the ruling body, the Sanhedrin.  Now this is the same Nicodemus that we read of in chapter 7 of John’s Gospel account, who tried reminding his colleagues in the High Council that their law does not allow them to convict a man without first hearing from him.  When they were in fact condemning Jesus, Nicodemus tried to defend Him.

And then, in chapter 19 of John’s account, we read of how Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man, asked for and received the body of Jesus after His crucifixion, to lay the body in a tomb he had recently had dug.  But if you remember, there was also a man named Nicodemus mentioned, who brought a large amount of a mixture of myrrh and aloe to anoint the body.  This is the same Nicodemus.  Through this discussion with Jesus, this man ultimately became a believer.


So what is it Jesus really tried to tell Nicodemus?  The man’s confusion is understandable, perhaps, because we know no one can be born a second time in the flesh.  But Jesus wasn’t talking about physical birth, but spiritual birth.  Being “born from above” is that spiritual birth.

God is a spiritual being, not a physical one, so to truly be closer to Him, we must become more spiritual in our lives, in how we live.  Jesus said that it is the solemn truth that we must be born of water and the Spirit if we are to gain eternal life with God in heaven.

There are a couple of ways of looking at that “born of water” part, and one of them could be considered when we are physically born of our mother, and the amniotic sac bursts right before labor, releasing its fluid, or “water”.  We all must be born into life, or we would not exist, and if we don’t exist we can’t believe.

Another aspect of the phrase has to do with baptism and the cleansing effect of water, both physical and symbolic.  John the Baptist saw the connection between being born of water and Spirit and being baptized with water and the Holy Spirit.  Listen to what the Apostle Matthew recorded for us in chapter 3 of his Gospel account, verses 11 through 17…

11 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”

15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.

16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

--Matthew 3:11-17 (NKJV)

John baptized with water, even baptizing Jesus.  God baptized His Son with His Spirit, as we see the Spirit descending like a dove and alighting upon Jesus.

Our Lord Jesus also baptizes with God’s Holy Spirit.  How?  By asking God to send His Spirit to dwell in each and every believer, and by God granting that request.


But this isn’t really about baptism, neither by water nor the Spirit.  It’s about living.  Jesus is looking at two aspects of our lives: the physical, or the flesh, and the spiritual, that which gives life to our flesh.  Here, He is trying to impress Nicodemus and us on the greater importance of living a more spiritual life.

Once we have been baptized by the Spirit, as believers, we need to follow the lead that the Spirit provides!  We might not know where the Spirit will lead, where He will take us next, but God does, for God directs His movements, actions, and words.  We need to follow, because God loves us and is trying to get us to do what is best for us!

The gift of the Holy Spirit is like the gift of faith.  Both come from God, both are freely given to believers, and it is up to us to use them both to benefit from them.  Just as we need to exercise our faith to keep it strong and vibrant, we need to follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance to keep strong spiritually.


I said this wasn’t about baptism, but baptism is an important aspect of our spiritual life.  If we are baptized as infants, that is the action of our parents saying they will guide us in our spiritual and Christian growth.  At some point in our maturing process, we become capable of making the decision on our own whether to accept Jesus as our Lord and Master, to give our lives to Him, to do His will.  At that time, we may wish to be baptized as an outward sign of our inward faith, our belief in Jesus as the Son of God – as a visible and public acknowledgement of our invisible and private baptism by God’s Holy Spirit.

This is the type of baptism Jesus spoke of, when He commissioned us to carry on His work here on earth.  Listen to His command, from chapter 28 of Matthew’s Gospel account, verses 18 through 20…

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

--Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)

We’re quite familiar with that command to go and make disciples.  We are to make believers, teaching them all about Jesus, showing them what Jesus has done in our lives.  And we are to baptize them, with water, to complement their baptism by God’s Spirit.

We don’t know if Nicodemus was baptized with water, but by the end of John’s Gospel account, we can see that he had been born from above, baptized by God’s Holy Spirit, for he served our Lord.  We can’t see it in this morning’s reading, but he listened to what Jesus told him this day and took it all to heart, and perhaps especially the parts about the only way to heaven is by being born from above, the only way to the Father is through the Son.  What Jesus said put this Pharisee on the path to redemption and everlasting life.

Will we take to heart what Jesus said?  He spoke the solemn truth to us.  We need to be more spiritual in our lives, and less concerned about things of the flesh.  God will see to our physical needs, so we can attend to our spiritual needs.

Let’s exercise our faith more.  Let others see that we have been born from above.  Help them become disciples, followers of Christ Jesus.  We’ll even baptize them if they want it.  I’ll be happy to baptize anyone, if they ask, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Be born from above.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, on the day Your Son was baptized in the River Jordan, You blessed Him by baptizing Him with You own Holy Spirit.  And then You send Your Spirit to baptize all who would believe in Jesus, to dwell within us and be our constant Guide and Helper.  Forgive us, please Father, when we fail to take advantage of this wonderful gift.  Forgive us when we refuse to follow His lead.  Forgive us when we ignore His pleadings, His presence.  Please help us to always be faithful, to listen to Your Spirit, to follow where He would guide us.  Help us to live more spiritually, to live as truly born from above.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, promising to turn from our sin, and asking for Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, when You returned to heaven, You asked our Father to send His Spirit to help us, so that we would never be alone, so that we need never be lost.  Help us, please Lord, to take full advantage of our Guide and Companion.  Help us to remember why You want us to receive this wonderful gift.  Help us to understand the solemn truth of our need to be born from above, and to live like it.  Help us to be more spiritual.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith.  Amen.

Sweet Beulah Land

[The following is a manuscript of my brief devotional delivered on Sunday morning, the 3rd of June, 2018.  This Sunday we welcomed the Beulahland Quartet of Gilbert, SC, who shared with us their ministry of beautiful music.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Before we bring the Beulahland Quartet back up, I thought it might be interesting to take a few minutes and see where the term “Beulah Land” comes from.  Normally, a word we use from our Bible has many references, many places we can find that word.  The land of Beulah can only be found once – in the Book of Isaiah.  Listen and follow along as I read from chapter 62 of that great book of prophesy, verses 1 through 5, reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

1 For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
And her salvation as a lamp that burns.
2 The Gentiles shall see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory.
You shall be called by a new name,
Which the mouth of the Lord will name.
3 You shall also be a crown of glory
In the hand of the Lord,
And a royal diadem
In the hand of your God.
4 You shall no longer be termed Forsaken,
Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate;
But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah;
For the Lord delights in you,
And your land shall be married.
5 For as a young man marries a virgin,
So shall your sons marry you;
And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
So shall your God rejoice over you.

--Isaiah 62:1-5 (NKJV)

Remember that Isaiah warned the kingdom of Judah about falling into the same pattern that ended with the northern kingdom of Israel being exiled into slavery.  God showed Isaiah that Judah would also be defeated and taken away into slavery, but that someday the Hebrew people would come back to God, that God would then smile upon them once again and they would be restored to their land.  The Hebrew word “Hephzibah” literally means “My delight is in her”, and “Beulah” means married.  The people would again be the delight of God and He would marry them to their land.

In his book, Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan defined the term “Land of Beulah” as “that peaceful land in which the pilgrim awaits the call to the Celestial City”.  The land of Judah could indeed be seen as that “waiting place”, as the Hebrews awaited their promised Messiah.  A gentleman by the name of Edgar Stites was inspired by this view when he wrote the hymn “Beulah Land” in 1876.  Part of the lyrics go like this:

O Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land,
As on thy highest mount I stand,
I look away across the sea,
Where mansions are prepared for me,
And view the shining glory shore,
My Heav’n, my home forever more! 

My Savior comes and walks with me,
And sweet communion here have we;
He gently leads me by His hand,
For this is Heaven’s border land.

Stites took Bunyan’s idea that Beulah Land is that land that borders heaven, where we await our Savior’s coming, where we can look out across the distance and see our forever home.

But I think most of us are more familiar with the much more recent Southern Gospel hymn, “Sweet Beulah Land”, composed in 1973 by Squire Parsons.  It’s lyrics, in part, say:

I'm kind of homesick for a country
To which I've never been before.
No sad goodbyes will there be spoken
For time won't matter anymore. 

Beulah Land, I'm longing for you.
And some day on thee I'll stand.
There my home shall be eternal.
Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land. 

I'm looking now, just across the river,
To where my faith, shall end in sight.
There's just a few more days to labor.
Then I will take my heavenly flight. 

Beulah Land, I'm longing for you.
And some day on thee I'll stand.
There my home shall be eternal.
Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land.

Whether it’s the last stop before we head off to heaven, or that great Celestial City itself, Beulah Land is the place we all want to be, the land we are called to.  There we will walk with our Savior Jesus and have sweet and complete Communion with Him.  In that land we will live forever.  God’s Holy Spirit, dwelling within us, beckons us to our eternal home.

Beulah Land, I'm longing for you.  In the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.  Amen.