Joyful, Joyful

 

[The following is a manuscript of my short devotional delivered on Sunday, the 30th of October, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church, right before we enjoyed our 5th Sunday sing-along of favorite hymns.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.]

Today is the 5th Sunday of the month, and we’ll enjoy singing our favorite hymns in just a few minutes.  But first I have a short message to share with you.  And it is based on the 100th Psalm of our Bible.

We don’t know for sure who authored Psalm 100, but it certainly speaks to us for our service this morning.  Please listen to his beautiful song, as saved for us in the Modern English Version of our Holy Bible…

1 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth!

2 Serve the Lord with gladness;

come before His presence with singing.

3 Know that the Lord, He is God;

it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

and into His courts with praise;

be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

5 For the Lord is good; His mercy endures forever,

and His faithfulness to all generations.

--Psalm 100 (MEV)

Have you ever been watching a movie or TV show and heard a mother scolding her somewhat disobedient teenage child by saying, “You better behave!  I brought you into this world, and I can take you out!”

Well, family, God brought us into this world and He can take us out at any moment.  He created us – we are His, His property, to do with as He pleases.  If for no other reason than that, we should praise Him and be thankful; thankful that He doesn’t take us out.  But really, He does so much more for us.

God is our good Father, seeing to our needs and giving us so much more than just what we need to get by.  He gives us life, and then He gives us all manner of treats and treasures to make life enjoyable.

But more than that, God is merciful.  Just like that mother in the movie, our heavenly Father keeps forgiving us our misbehaving and disobedience.  He is ever faithful to us, even when our faith wavers.

God is good.  All the time.  So it is right and proper that we make a joyful noise unto our Lord.  Let us serve Him with gladness and love.  Let us come before His presence with singing, with thanksgiving, and with praise!  In the beautiful name of Christ Jesus, Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, You are such a very good Father to us!  You provide for our needs, and then give us so much more.  Father, You give us life, and You should patient and faithful mercy to us.  You are gracious to us even when we don’t deserve it.  So Father, we come into Your presence this morning with singing, and especially with thanksgiving.  Thank You, Father God, for all Your goodness and kindness and mercy and grace.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

And now let’s have some fun with our sing-along!

In 1907, Henry van Dyke wrote a poem titled, “The Hymn of Joy”, with the intention of musically setting it to the famous “Ode to Joy” melody of the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's final masterpiece, Symphony No. 9.  Both the poem and the music are beautiful and uplifting, and I’d like to ask that this be our first hymn, because I believe it perfectly expresses why we should make a joyful noise unto our Lord and serve Him with gladness.

So go ahead and open your hymnals to #36 and let’s sing the first and last verses for the message that Mr. van Dyke, Mr. Beethoven, and the author of Psalm 100 blessed us with.

(Joyful singing follows.)

Our Only Answer

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday, the 23rd of October, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.]

I seldom work from the Old Testament.  I’m much more often led by the Spirit to the New Testament and the testimony of those who walked with or were divinely inspired by Jesus.

But the Old Testament is also filled with testimony.  It foreshadows Jesus and prepares us for His coming.  And it contains very important lessons for us, lessons provided directly by God, lessons we need to learn in order to be and remain right in God’s eyes.

In our opening invocation, we noted that the Lord hears and answers the prayers of the righteous, of those who obey God’s word, but that He stays far off from the wicked and doesn’t even hear their pleas.

Jeremiah was a righteous man.  He was so righteous, that God allowed him to be a prophet.  The Almighty God chose to speak through Jeremiah.  And God would listen when Jeremiah prayed.  But as we know, God’s answer to our prayer is not always what we had hoped for.  And that goes for Jeremiah, too.

I’d like to share with you one of the many times that Jeremiah prayed.  In this particular instance, he pleads with the Lord for the sake of His people, and the Lord responds.  Please listen and follow along to the exchange the prophet recorded, in chapter 14, verses 7 through 10 of the book bearing his name, and I’ll be reading this from the New American Standard Bible version…

7 “Though our wrongdoings testify against us,

Lord, act for the sake of Your name!

Our apostasies have indeed been many,

We have sinned against You.

8 Hope of Israel,

Its Savior in time of distress,

Why are You like a stranger in the land,

Or like a traveler who has pitched his tent for the night?

9 Why are You like a confused person,

Like a warrior who cannot save?

Yet You are in our midst, Lord,

And we are called by Your name;

Do not leave us!”

10 This is what the Lord says to this people: “So much they have loved to wander; they have not restrained their feet. Therefore the Lord does not accept them; now He will remember their wrongdoing and call their sins to account.”

--Jeremiah 14:7-10 (NASB)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for ensuring that Your word would be saved for us, even across many thousands of years.  Before You sent Your Son Jesus to the earth as one of us, to offer us salvation, You chose people to speak to us through.  Jeremiah was one of those prophets.  Thank You, loving God, for providing us with these lessons to help guide us in our walk through this life.  Forgive us, please Father, when we wander from You and the path You would have us follow.  Forgive us when we fail to heed the warnings You issued through Your prophets.  Please help us remember all the lessons from our Bible, from both Old and New Testaments.  Help us learn from the examples of those who went before us, both the good and the bad.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who do his work.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Give us greater insight into what it means to be righteous, to be right with You.  Please do not turn Your ear away from us.  This we pray in the glorious name of Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

A gentleman by the name of John Endsley once said, “It is not the severity of punishment that acts as a deterrent. It is its inevitability.”  I believe we can see this concept manifested in our society today, with horrendous results.  We have perhaps become too lenient as a society, too lenient in what we allow, in what we’ll accept.

We’ve all seen or heard of the frazzled parent who over and over again tells their child to behave or they’ll really get it.  But they never do.  The child receives no punishment for misbehaving.  There is no incentive to do better.

Criminals are caught and then released the same day.  They may stand trial, but receive little or no punishment for their criminal activities.  There is no incentive to do better, no deterrent to bad behavior.

We Christians would do well to pay attention to this trend, for it could greatly affect us, not only personally but in our assigned mission as well.  Too many people think they can get away with anything, that there will be no real or lasting punishment for their wickedness.  They may be right in their thinking… in this life.  But they won’t get away with it when God is their Judge.  He has promised not only will He turn a deaf ear to their prayers, but He will “remember their wrongdoing and call their sins to account”.  He told us this through His prophet Jeremiah, and we know it to be true because everything God says is truth.  In our efforts to help save the lost, we need to share God’s warning with them, and assure them that God’s punishment for the wicked is inevitable.

Now, Jeremiah isn’t the only one who warns the evildoers of punishment to come.  This message appears often in our Bible, in both Testaments.  And we know, and can share with others, that anytime something is repeated in our Bible, it is very important for us to pay attention and understand what we’re being told.

Isaiah is another who God chose to speak through, and is arguably the greatest prophet of all.  In the 11th verse of the 13th chapter of his book of prophecy, Isaiah recorded God saying…

11 “I will punish the world for its evil,

And the wicked for their iniquity;

I will halt the arrogance of the proud,

And will lay low the haughtiness of the tyrants."

--Isaiah 13:11 (NKJV)

Just as He did with Jeremiah, God speaks through Isaiah, warning that punishment will come.  The wicked will pay for their sins.  The haughty and the arrogant will be brought low.  Punishment for evildoers is inevitable.

Our passage from Jeremiah teaches an important lesson to us of the need to be righteous in God’s eyes, to obey His word.  And it speaks a grave warning, that our heavenly Father will turn His ear from the wicked and punish them for their sins.  But it also continues with the message from last week on the importance of and need for prayer.

We no longer have a Jeremiah or an Isaiah to pray for us, to plead on our behalf, and to relay God’s response to us.  Once Jesus came to us and died for us, He became our great High Priest, our Prophet of God.  We need to pray to our heavenly Father through Jesus His Son, pray for our own selves and for others as we are led.  And we know that prayer works, for James, the brother of Jesus, tells us that the prayer of a righteous person avails much.

Ezra was another righteous man, another prophet of God, and widely considered to be the author of the Books of the Chronicles.  Hear what God spoke through Ezra, from the 2nd Book of Chronicles, chapter 7, verses 13 and 14…

13 "When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

--2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (NKJV)

Through Ezra, God gives us the answer to all our problems: pray.  Just pray.  If we would just humble ourselves and pray, seek God’s face and turn from our wicked ways, then the Lord will hear our plea, forgive our sin, and heal our land.

Family, this is our only answer: just pray.  The world and the wicked may be seeing part of their punishment right now, but the worst is yet to come for them.  They need to join us in prayer.  If only they could hear and heed the words of Jeremiah and Isaiah and Ezra.

There’s one more person we need to hear from this morning, one who, while not a prophet in the traditional sense, still speaks for Jesus and for God.  Please listen as the Apostle Paul reaffirms why prayer works, in chapter 10 verses 3 through 5 of his 2nd letter to the Corinthians...

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

--2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NKJV)

Prayer works because God is all-powerful, almighty, invincible.  God can do anything.  Nothing can stand against Him.

We mortals, in our flesh, can do very little, especially in warfare against evil.  Our manmade weapons are ultimately useless.  But we do have a not-so-secret weapon that is greater than anything the devil can bring to bear.  We have prayer, and a loving Father in heaven who hears and answers our prayers.  But we need to make sure that we are right in God’s sight, and not actually among the wicked.  We need to obey God’s word to avoid His inevitable punishment of evil.

Family, there is very little you and I can do to change the world, to right all the wrongs we see across the globe.  We can make a difference locally, even if only a slight improvement in conditions.  But really, our only answer is prayer.  Our only answer to all the craziness and hurt and injustice and wickedness in the world today is prayer.

Jesus is our Mediator.  When we pray in His name, God listens.  We just need to obey Jesus, for Jesus is God’s Word.  Obey Jesus, stay right with God, and pray.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for hearing our prayers.  Thank You for not turning Your back on us.  Father, too often we don’t take the time to stop and pray.  And even when we do, we’re too focused on our own needs and wants, with less concern that Your will be done rather than our own.  Thank You for warning us of the punishment that awaits the wicked.  Forgive us, Father, when we focus our time on the wrong things.  Forgive us when we seek a change in our situation rather than a change in our heart, in our character.  Please, loving Father, help us not only come to You more often, but with a right attitude.  Remind us what the next life will hold for both the good and the evil.  Help us be right in Your sight.  And Father, please help us remain strong, faithful, and true through all that we face in this age.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, once You came to this earth as one of us and died for us, we no longer had need for prophets.  You now speak for God, and You mediate with God on our behalf.  Thank You, Lord, for serving as our greatest High Priest and only Mediator.  Please, Lord, help us be more faithful in our prayer life.  Please help us open ourselves up to God, seeking only His will in all things.  Help us be more righteous, doing only what is right in our Father’s eyes, obeying His word.  And Jesus, please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us remain trusting and obedient no matter what we go through.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Just Pray

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday, the 16th of October, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.]

Jesus is God - one of the three Persons of God, the Son of God.  He came to us in the flesh; God in the flesh.  He walked this earth as one of us, as a man, but He was still God.  And yet He prayed to His Father God more than any other, the most times of any person as recorded for us in our Bible.

So did Jesus, the Son of God, need to pray to God more than the rest of us?  Filled with God’s Holy Spirit, was there anything that Jesus could not have done on His own?  I think not.  So why did Jesus pray so much?  Why were so many of His prayers recorded and saved to this day in our Bibles?

Well, for the same reason that some things are often repeated multiple times: so that we’ll know it is important for us to understand.  All those times Jesus spent in prayer should serve as an example for us.  They give us notice that this is critical behavior that we should adopt as our own and practice often.

And Jesus did pray a lot.  He prayed for big things and He prayed for little things.  He prayed and asked for God’s blessings when He broke the bread to feed a few or to feed thousands.  He prayed over water, that it be turned into wine.  As He approached the cross, He prayed, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”  He prayed for His disciples; He prayed for all those who would come to believe and follow Him; He prayed for you and for me.  He even specifically gave us an example of how to pray.  We call it the Lord’s Prayer.

The fact that Jesus prayed often shows that He was persistent in prayer, and He encouraged us to be persistent, too.  Please listen and follow along to a story Jesus told as recorded for us by the Apostle Luke in chapter 18 of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 18, and I’ll be reading this from The Living Bible version…

1 One day Jesus told His disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must keep praying until the answer comes.

2 “There was a city judge,” He said, “a very godless man who had great contempt for everyone. 3 A widow of that city came to him frequently to appeal for justice against a man who had harmed her. 4-5 The judge ignored her for a while, but eventually she got on his nerves.

“‘I fear neither God nor man,’ he said to himself, ‘but this woman bothers me. I’m going to see that she gets justice, for she is wearing me out with her constant coming!’”

6 Then the Lord said, “If even an evil judge can be worn down like that, 7 don’t you think that God will surely give justice to His people who plead with Him day and night? 8 Yes! He will answer them quickly! But the question is: When I, the Son of Man, return, how many will I find who have faith and are praying?”

--Luke 18:1-8 (TLB)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for giving us the means of communicating with You, of talking with You and expressing our needs and concerns.  Through prayer, we can spend some valuable “me time” with You.  Thank You, loving God, for listening for and hearing our prayers.  Forgive us, please Father, when we fail to pray as often as we should, when we think we can do things under our own power and don’t come to You for help and guidance.  Please help us remember how much Your own Son prayed.  Help us learn from His example.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who do his work.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Give ear to our words and consider our meditations.  This we pray to You, O God, in the glorious name of Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Martin Luther, one of the founders of our Protestant faith, once said, “Pray as if everything depends on God, and then work as if everything depends on you.”  This seems to go along with what the Apostle James said about putting our faith to work.  We need to put everything to God in prayer, but then show that we’re serious about it by putting our prayer-life to work.

Pastor and theologian James Sidlow Baxter notes that, “Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons -- but they are helpless against our prayers.”  So we need to be aware that while our works may prove ineffectual, God’s power, through our prayers, can do anything, and no one can stand against Him.

I love the image of Moses standing on the hill, arms outstretched to heaven in prayer as the men of Israel battled the Amalekites below.  While his arms were raised, the Israelis were winning.  But when his arms grew too tired to hold up, he lowered them, and the tide of battle changed, with the Amalekites winning.  So his brother Aaron and another man held up Moses’ arms so he could continue praying to God and the Israelites won.

That is the power of prayer.  But prayer doesn’t have to be fancy, or long.  At a meeting of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Bobby Richardson, former New York Yankee second baseman, offered a prayer that is a classic in brevity and poignancy: "Dear God, Your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Amen."  That plea echoes Jesus’ prayer when He said to His Father God, “not My will, but Yours, be done”.  In all circumstances and situations, God knows the best action to produce the best result.  So we can trust Him and His will in all things.

As I said, Jesus prayed a lot and often, and His prayers can serve as examples for us.  And I think that what He prayed isn’t as important as why He prayed.  We should pay more attention to the purpose of His prayers rather than the words He spoke.

For one thing, not all of the instances recorded in our Bible of Jesus praying include the words He spoke.  Indeed, many prayers can be lifted without ever saying a word, letting the Holy Spirit in our hearts speak for us.  And in some cases, we need to take note of the duration of our Lord’s prayers - how much time He spent in prayer.

Let me give you one good example of all this.  This comes earlier in Luke’s Gospel account, soon after Jesus first began His ministry on earth, from chapter 6 verses 12 and 13…

12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles.

--Luke 6:12-13 (NKJV)

By this time, Jesus had many followers, many disciples, but He needed to choose just twelve from among them to be His apostles, twelve that He could send out to spread the Good News.  So He went to God in prayer, seeking His counsel.

Now Jesus did not really need help picking out His apostles.  He knew all along who they would be.  He was God, remember?  But by this act, He shows us that whenever we have a big decision to make, one that will impact not only ourselves but others as well, we need to ask God for help, for guidance in making the right choice.  And while we may have a preference, we need to be sure to ask that we follow His will and not our own.

Oh, and notice that Jesus spent all night in prayer, not just a quick, “OK, God…  what should I do?”  We need to spend more time in prayer, not just speaking but also being still and listening for God’s reply.

Jesus may have given us the most examples for our personal prayer life to follow, but others in our Bible also emphasized the need for prayer.  These include the Apostle James, the brother of Jesus, who exhorts us to pray in chapter 5 of his letter to the early church, verses 13 through 18, when he writes…

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

--James 5:13-18 (NKJV)

James says to pray in good times and bad.  If we’re suffering or cheerful, pray.  If we’re sick in body or spirit, pray and be healed.  Pray for others, as well as for ourselves.  Just pray, because “the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much”.

And then there’s the Apostle Paul, who gives us the best reason of all to pray, in chapter 5 verses 16 through 18 of his 1st letter to the Thessalonians...

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

--1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV)

Rejoicing in all things, giving thanks in everything, signing psalms and praises to God, these are all forms of prayers to our heavenly Father.  Prayer doesn’t have to be fancy or formal.  We don’t have to spend any time writing it down and coming up with just the right words to say.  God knows what we need.  He knows what’s best for us.  He just wants some alone time with us.  And He wants us to realize and understand what we really need, and not just what we want.

We just need to pray, to spend time with our Father, to seek His help and His guidance in all we do.  For this is the will of God for us, we who are in Christ Jesus.  Just pray.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for wanting to spend time with us.  We are Your creation, You made us, yet You love us so much You want us to come to You and talk to You and just be with You for a while in our daily lives.  Thank You, Father, for caring this much about our welfare.  Father, too often we don’t take the time to stop and pray.  And even when we do, we’re too focused on our own needs and wants, with less concern that Your will be done rather than our own.  Forgive us, Father, when we focus our time on the wrong things.  Forgive us when we seek a change in our situation rather than a change in our heart, in our character.  Please, loving Father, help us not only come to You more often, but with a right attitude.  Remind us that even Your Son Jesus prayed, so we need to follow His example.  Help us be more obedient to Your word.  And Father, please help us remain strong, faithful, and true through all that we face in this age.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You spent more time in prayer to God than any mortal man.  Thank You, Lord, for showing us just how important a good prayer life is to us.  Please, Lord, help us be more faithful in our prayer life.  Please help us open ourselves to God, seeking only His will in all things.  Forgive us when we become too self-centered in our prayers, ignoring the needs of others.  And Jesus, please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us remain trusting and obedient no matter what we go through.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Jesus Died for Sinners

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday, the 9th of October, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.]

A lot of questions about Christianity have been asked over the centuries since Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected from the dead, including why did He die.  Why did Jesus have to die?  For that matter, did He even have to die?  If He was truly God, couldn’t He have simply jumped down off that cross and walked away?

Well yes, He could have.  But yes, He did have to die because that was necessary for God’s plan to be worked.  Only a blood sacrifice could atone for our sins, and only the Spotless Lamb would suffice to redeem us all, once for all time.

And that leads many who are lost to ask, “I am a great sinner – why would God sacrifice His only Son just to save me?”  But they’re missing the entire point, for that is exactly what God did!

Sadly, there are far too many stubborn people who refuse to believe there even is a God, let alone any of this stuff about Jesus.  Their disbelief will be their downfall and only a divinely led change of heart can save them.  But there are many lost - like those who feel unworthy of our Lord’s sacrifice - who yet can be saved.  For Jesus came for sinners, not for the righteous.  Jesus died for sinners.

Our scripture reading this morning comes from the good physician and Apostle Luke’s first letter to Theophilus, what we call the Gospel of Luke.  In it, I believe we can clearly see the mission of Jesus’ ministry on earth, it’s purpose, and the result each time it succeeds.

I’ll be jumping around a bit in Luke’s Gospel account, starting in chapter 5 with verses 27 through 32, then moving to chapter 15 and verses 1 through 10, and ending in chapter 18 with verses 9 through 14.  And I’ll be reading everything from the Modern English Version of our Holy Bible this morning.  So please listen and follow along to the account the Apostle Luke saved for us…

5:27 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector, named Levi, sitting at the tax collector’s station. He said to him, “Follow Me.” 28 And he left everything, rose up, and followed Him.

29 Then Levi made Him a great feast in his house. And there was a group of many tax collectors and others who sat down with them. 30 But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

31 Jesus answered them, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

15:1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 But the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”

3 So He told them this parable, saying, 4 “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he places it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 Then when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ 7 Likewise, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous men who need no repentance."

8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins and losing one, does not light a candle and sweep the house and search diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.’ 10 Likewise, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

18:9 He told this parable to some who trusted in themselves, as though they were righteous, and despised others: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed these things about himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men: extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week, and I tithe of all that I earn.’

13 “But the tax collector, standing at a distance, would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but struck his chest, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner.’

14 “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

--Luke 5:27-32; 15:1-10; 18:9-14 (MEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for demonstrating Your love toward us, that while we were still sinners, You sent Your Son Jesus to redeem us, to die in our place.  Thank You, loving God, for showing us such great and undeserved mercy.  Forgive us, please Father, when we fail to fully repent.  Forgive us when we just can’t seem to let go of all our sins.  Please help us break completely free from the world’s grasp.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who do his work.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  You are a very good Father.  Please teach us sinners the right way to live.  This we pray in the glorious name of Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Here's a little story whose creator is unknown...

A man purchased a white mouse to use as food for his pet snake.  He dropped the unsuspecting mouse into the snake's glass cage, where the snake was sleeping in a bed of sawdust.  The tiny mouse had a serious problem on his hands.  At any moment he could be swallowed alive.  Obviously, the mouse needed to come up with a brilliant plan.

What did the terrified creature do?  He quickly set up work covering the snake with sawdust chips until it was completely buried.  With that, the mouse apparently thought he had solved his problem.  The solution, however, came from outside.  The man took pity on the silly little mouse and removed him from the cage.

This is like one of the parables Jesus told.  It shows that no matter how hard we try to cover up or deny our sinful nature, it's just fool's work.  Sin will eventually awake from sleep and shake off its covering.  Were it not for the saving grace of the Master's hand, sin would eat us alive.

Getting back to our scripture reading, did you notice that two of the three passages had tax collectors as central characters, and that they weren’t looked upon very kindly by others?  There was a good reason for this.  In Jesus’ day, the tax collectors were mostly Jewish men working for the Roman government.  Now the Romans set specific fees for the various taxes, but the tax collectors would often increase that amount in order to pad their own pockets.  And the Romans didn’t care, as long as they got the amount they set.  The tax collectors were, in effect, increasing their personal wealth by stealing from their countrymen – their own kinsmen in some cases.

Naturally, the normal Jew did not think very highly of the tax collectors, considering them the worst of all sinners.  So when Jesus often ate with some, even calling one particular tax collector to be His disciple, the religious leaders of the Jews were appalled and disgusted.  If this was a great prophet, why was He always seen consorting with tax collectors and sinners?

Speaking of that tax collector turned disciple turned apostle, Luke calls him by his Hebrew name, Levi.  We know him better by his Greek name, Matthew.  But there’s something special here that I wanted to point out that’s easy to miss.

Jesus approached Levi, the tax collector, while he was on the job, sitting at his collection station.  Jesus spoke two simple words: “Follow Me.”  And Levi stood up, left everything behind, and followed Jesus.  Levi gave up his occupation, he left his station vacant (which likely upset the Romans), so he basically left his chance at great wealth behind.  Levi – Matthew – gave up great earthly riches for the heavenly riches that awaited him.  He gave up everything to follow Jesus.

What have we given up?

So the Pharisees and scribes are upset that Jesus spends so much time with sinners.  In response, Jesus reminds them of the obvious, that someone who is well does not require the services of a doctor.  Only the sick need a physician.  He didn’t come to help the righteous, but only to call sinners to repentance.

Still not satisfied with that answer, the religious leaders continued to grumble and murmur among themselves and to anyone who would listen.  So Jesus used a couple parables to illustrate His point of coming to save the lost, and the result of that happening.  He told of saving a lost lamb, of recovering a lost valuable, and how the owner in each case rejoiced not only by themselves but by calling all their friends and family in to celebrate with them.  This is how all of heaven rejoices when even one of those sinners Jesus calls has repented and turned from their sin.

Then we come to the passage I like the best of the three.  Two men are praying in the temple; one a self-righteous Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee starts out by thanking God that he is not like those other men, those sinners, like that tax collector over there.  But the tax collector prays simply, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

The Pharisee thought himself so much better than anyone else, especially the tax collector.  The tax collector knew he was a sinner, and admitted it to God, seeking only mercy.  This is what Jesus came for: to call us sinners to realize our sin and to repent.

The Apostle Paul knew himself to be a sinner, especially when he persecuted Jesus and His church, before Jesus showed him the truth.  He was also given insight into why Jesus came to this earth.  Listen to what Paul wrote to his young protégé Timothy about Jesus’ mission, and how he described himself, in verse 15 of the 1st chapter of his 1st letter to Timothy…

15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.

--1 Timothy 1:15 (MEV)

Paul called himself the worst of sinners.  We know that without him, the early church may not have flourished, or even survived to this day.  God can take even the worst of us and do great things through us.  Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners, to save us, so that God can work through us.

Upon all of this we build our hope.  Because Jesus came to save sinners, because He died for sinners, we have hope for a greater tomorrow, an everlasting life with God.  Listen to what Paul wrote in this regard to the church in Rome, in verses 5 through 10 of the 5th chapter of his letter to the Romans…

5 And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

6 While we were yet weak, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Rarely for a righteous man will one die. Yet perhaps for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

9 How much more then, being now justified by His blood, shall we be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, how much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.

--Romans 5:5-10 (MEV)

Christ Jesus showed His love by dying for the ungodly.  When we were weak, while we were still enemies of God, rebellious in our behavior, God demonstrated His own love by sacrificing His Son for the atonement of our sins.

Jesus died for us sinners so that we could be reconciled to God – made right in His eyes.  Jesus died, so that we might live.

Paul notes that a normal mortal might be willing to give up their own life for a good friend or relative, but rarely for a perfect stranger or especially not for an enemy.  And we know that Jesus was raised from the dead and then returned to eternal life with God in heaven.  Jesus doesn’t necessarily expect us to give up our mortal life for someone else, though it may come to that for some.  But He does expect us to give up something.

Jesus made a great sacrifice for us.  God made a great sacrifice.  What have we given up for Them?  I would suggest the thing that would please them the most would be for us to give up our favorite sin – give up whatever it is of this world that we refuse to let go of, whether it is our pride or anger or lust or hatred or whatever disobedience we hold.  Just give it up, and when we do, all of heaven will rejoice.

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

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for showing how much You love us.  You give us our great hope for a wonderful future with no more pain, no more suffering, only love and joy.  Thank You, Father, for offering salvation to us disobedient sinners.  Father, too often we keep doing what we know we shouldn’t do.  And then we fail to do what we should.  Forgive us, Father, when we just can’t loosen our grasp of this world and all its charms.  Forgive us when we don’t completely turn from our sinful ways.  Please, loving Father, help us repent.  Remind us that we are Yours, that You created us.  Help us be more obedient to Your word.  And Father, please help us remain strong, faithful, and true through all that we face in this age.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You came into our world not for the righteous, but to call us sinners to repent, to turn from our sinful ways and to follow You.  Thank You, Lord, that while we were still sinners, You died for us so that we might be redeemed and reconciled to our Father God.  Please, Lord, help us turn from our sin and sin no more.  Please help us leave all desire for worldly things behind and follow You.  Forgive us when we just can’t let go of what holds us back.  And Jesus, please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us remain trusting and obedient no matter what we go through.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Communing with Jesus

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday, the 2nd of October, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.]

Family, today is World Communion Day.  Ideally, Christians all around the world will, at some point in the day, take of the bread and the cup offered by our Lord Jesus.  So in a way, we will all be communing with Jesus together today, we are all joined together with one another and with our Lord.

The observance of Holy Communion is a sacred rite, a special time of fellowship with God when we remember the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf.  After all, Jesus commanded us to do this.  During His last meal on this earth with His closest followers, He passed the bread and the wine and said, “Do this in remembrance of Me.”

When we give thanks for the bread and break it, we are to remember how Jesus allowed His body to be broken, taking the punishment we deserve.  When we drink from the cup, we are to remember the covenant God made with us, sealed by the blood of Jesus, the Spotless Lamb sacrificed for us.  Now, while our rite of Holy Communion takes its basis from what we call the Last Supper, this morning I’d like to look at an earlier time when Jesus broke the bead, and when a miracle happened.

Jesus had been near the Sea of Galilee, healing the people of all manner of diseases and infirmities.  And as always happened, a great multitude of people had gathered, seeking healing of their own ills, watching His mighty works.  Jesus led His disciples onto a mountain and the huge crowd followed.

Please listen and follow along to the truly amazing event that occurred that day, as recorded for us by the Apostle John in chapter 6 of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 14, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were sick. 3 And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.

4 Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” 6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.

7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”

8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”

10 Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” 13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

--John 6:1-14 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for sending Your Son to this earth to save us from the tyranny of sin.  He who was without sin bore the burden of our sins, took our punishment, died so that we might live.  Thank You, gracious God, for having mercy upon us.  Forgive us, please Father, when we show ourselves unworthy of the sacrifice Jesus made.  Forgive us when we fail to thank You for our daily bread, when we don’t take a moment to remember our Lord when we eat and drink.  Please help us always remember and never forget the love You and Jesus show.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who do his work.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Bless us, please Father, as we all join together in communing with Jesus.  This we pray in the glorious name of Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Neil Marten, a member of the British Parliament, was once giving a group of his constituents a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament.  During the course of the visit, the group happened to meet Lord Hailsham, then lord chancellor, wearing all the regalia of his office.  Hailsham recognized Marten among the group and lifting his hand cried out, "Neil!".  Not daring to question or disobey the "command", the entire group of visitors promptly fell to their knees!

Part of communion is communing, and part of communing is communicating.  Sometimes we can send mixed or confusing messages in our communications, messages that can be misunderstood.  What messages are we sending when we commune with our Lord?

Today’s scripture reading is the Apostle John’s version of what we commonly call the Feeding of the Five Thousand.  In the Gospel accounts of the Apostles Matthew and Mark, this great gathering and miraculous feeding took place immediately after John the Baptist was executed.  The Apostle Luke recalls that Herod, when told that some people thought Jesus to be John the Baptist risen from the dead, said, “John I have beheaded”.  The Apostle John, is his account, does not mention the Baptist’s execution, but using the Synoptic Gospels as a timeline, this great feeding takes place right after Jesus received news that John, His kinsman, had been beheaded.

Again, it isn’t too difficult to imagine the state of mind, and of heart, Jesus must have been in at this time, and as the people thronged around Him.  Still, Jesus took this as an opportunity to teach His disciples.

Testing them, He asked, “How are we going to feed all these people?”  Philip responded that the bread that 200 days’ worth of labor could buy would only provide a little to each person.  Andrew, likely feeling frustration sinking in, mentioned that a boy was there who had five loaves of barley bread and two small fish, but what good was so little when so very much was needed?

Well, Jesus answered that question.  He took the loaves and gave thanks to God for providing them.  And then He began breaking the loaves into pieces, giving the pieces to His disciples who distributed them among the people.  He did the same for the two small fishes, until all those gathered there that day were fed as much as they wanted.

And when they were all filled, Jesus ordered His disciples to gather up the leftovers so that none would be lost, and twelve baskets were filled.  Jesus was always concerned that none be lost, and I don’t mean bread crumbs.  This collecting up the leftovers, His parable of the lost sheep, they both refer to all the people who are lost to sin, doomed to eternal death.  And the twelve baskets refers to God’s effect multiplied among the people, just as the twelve disciples spread the Gospel to the generations to come, including us.  And just as five loaves of bread and two small fish were multiplied in the hands of our Lord to feed over five thousand people.

This was a miracle, this great feeding.  And I wanted to look at it as a foreshadow of communing with Jesus.  On the mountainside, the people had gathered to be there with Jesus, to hear Him preach and teach.  Later on, during His last days as a mortal man, Jesus chose to be with just His twelve disciples.  Listen to how the Apostle Matthew described the last meal Jesus shared with His closest followers, His dearest friends, from the 26th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 17 through 19 and 26 through 30…

17 Now on the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

18 And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.”’”

19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.

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. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

--Matthew 26:17-19, 26-30 (NKJV)

And this is where we base our rite of Holy Communion.  In his 1st letter to the church in Corinth, the Apostle Paul describes this Last Supper, and it is from this passage that I take our communion script.  But the gist is the same.  Jesus shared the bread and the cup with disciples, telling them, and us, to always remember Him.

Now while those gathered together that night didn’t really believe what Jesus had said was about to happen, we indeed know what Jesus did for us, and why He told us to remember Him.  Remember the sacrifice He made.  Never forget it.  Not only just when we observe Holy Communion, but any time we eat or drink.

To commune is to converse or talk together, usually with profound intensity and intimacy.  To be in communion with Jesus is to be in intimate communication with Him, to share intimately with Him.

In a few minutes, we too will share the bread and the cup, and then we’ll sing a hymn, just like Jesus and His friends did so long ago.  Christians all around the world will be joining us today in communing with our Lord Jesus.  In this way, as we all share with Jesus, we are all joined together with one another and with our Lord.

The Apostle Paul warns us not to come to this table until we are right with God.  So please take this time to silently confess any wrongs to our Father God and seek His forgiveness.  Remember what Jesus did for us, for you and for me.  He died just for you, just for me, so that we might live.

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

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for offering us salvation through the sacrifice of Your own Son.  You sent Him that through Him we might be saved.  Thank You, Father, for showering such gracious mercy upon us poor sinners.  Father, too often we lose sight of what really matters – of what matters to You and should matter to us.  We think it’s some great sacrifice to give a few minutes of our time serving our Lord, forgetting the truly great sacrifice Jesus made for us.  Forgive us, Father, those times when we fail You and Jesus.  Forgive us when allow ourselves to get too wrapped up in worries and things of this world, shifting our focus away from the things of heaven.  Please, loving Father, help us be more obedient to Your word.  Remind us that You made a new covenant with us, a promise to us, and signed it with the blood of Your Son Jesus.  Help us be better servants.  And Father, please help us remain strong, faithful, and true through all that we face in this age.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You gave Your all for us, that we might be spared eternal death and receive everlasting life.   And although Your ministry on this earth was short, You provided us with all the information we need to get through this life with our faith intact.  Thank You, Lord, for allowing Your mortal body to be broken, Your life’s blood to be shed, so that we might avoid being forever separated from God.  Please, Lord, help us always remember You and the sacrifice You made on our behalf.  Please help us not only remember what You’ve taught us, but to share this Good News with others we encounter.  Forgive us when we hesitate to do so, either out of fear or timidity, or for any excuse we might make.  And Jesus, please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us remain trusting and obedient no matter what we go through.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.