[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…
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…
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…
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.
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)
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)
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.
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