Blessed Is He

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the sixth and final Sunday in Lent, the 10th of April, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Today's service also included recognition of our Confirmands and the receiving of a new member.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Today is the last Sunday in our season of Lent and our walk with Jesus through the final weeks of His mortal life on this earth.  The cross is looming ever closer, but our Lord is the only one who truly understands what lies just ahead.  Even though He has tried to tell His followers what is soon to happen, they just have not been able to grasp what He has said.

The time of the Passover feast has come, and Jews from all over are streaming into Jerusalem.  Soon, the unspotted Lamb will be sacrificed for that celebration of the people’s deliverance by God.  Jesus’ followers now truly believe Him to be the promised Messiah, who will again deliver them from captivity.  And as they approach Jerusalem, they come with joyful hearts, singing and shouting along the way.

Please listen and follow along as the Apostle Matthew describes how Jesus and His disciples entered Jerusalem and the events that followed on that day, from chapter 21 of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 17, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,

‘Behold, your King is coming to you,

Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,

A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!

‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’

Hosanna in the highest!”

10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”

11 So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

12 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”

14 Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”

And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,

‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants

You have perfected praise’?”

17 Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.

--Matthew 21:1-17 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for sending Your Son, the Messiah, our Christ, to deliver us from captivity to sin.  Even though so many of Your chosen people failed to recognize it at the time, You kept Your promise to free us from the chains of sin and death, granting us access to Your heaven by our faith and acceptance of Your Son as our Lord.  Thank You Father for keeping that promise.  Forgive us, please, when we fail or hesitate to share this wonderful news with those who most need to hear it.  Please help us be more mindful of our commission to spread the Gospel.  And help us remember how much Jesus did and continues to do for us.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who carry out his evil works.  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 and better understand the message You have for us this day.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

In the early 1920s, Communist leader Nikolai Bukharin was sent from Moscow to Kiev to address an anti-God rally.  For over an hour he abused and ridiculed the Christian faith until it seemed as if the whole structure of belief was in ruins.  Then questions were invited.  An Orthodox church priest rose and asked to speak.  He turned, faced the people, and gave the Easter greeting, "He is risen!"  Instantly the assembly rose to its feet and the reply came back loud and clear, "He is risen indeed!"

This reminds me of the Apostle Luke's telling of Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  With so many people shouting their praises to Jesus, the Pharisees commanded He rebuke His disciples.  Jesus replied, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”  Bukharin may have thought he had silenced those Christians, turning their belief to stone, but then they all cried out, “He is risen indeed!”

The Apostle Matthew is most noted among the four Gospel writers for showing how Jesus fulfilled all the Messianic prophesies from the Scriptures, from what we now call the Old Testament.  Our reading this morning starts out with one of those times, as Jesus rode right into the heart of Zion on the colt of a donkey, as foretold by the prophet Zechariah.

A more humble entrance one could not imagine, yet the people treated Him as that King.  They cut branches from the trees and waved them and laid them in the roadway.  Some of them even spread their cloaks on the road, so the donkey wouldn’t kick up too much dust.

And they shouted:  “Hosanna in the highest!”  “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”  Little did they know that in just a few days they would be calling for this King’s death.  But Jesus knew.  Jesus knew, yet He continued doing what He had begun: serving His Father God, ministering to the people, healing them of their afflictions.

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.  In His mortal life, Jesus never acted all high and mighty, never “lorded” it over anyone.  Although He performed mighty acts and signs, He remained humble through it all.  Even with such a great fanfare greeting His arrival, He rode in on the back of a lowly donkey.  This was not a conquering king, but a humble servant.  In chapter 2 of his letter to the Philippians, verses 5 through 11, the Apostle Paul tells us to be more like Jesus in this regard…

5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

6 Though He was God,

He did not think of equality with God

as something to cling to.

7 Instead, He gave up His divine privileges;

He took the humble position of a slave

and was born as a human being.

When He appeared in human form,

8     He humbled himself in obedience to God

and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

9 Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor

and gave Him the name above all other names,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

--Philippians 2:5-11 (NLT)

The name of Jesus.  

Jesus was humble.  There should be no doubt, by anyone, that He was God in the flesh while He walked this earth.  He could heal any affliction, drive out any demon, even raise the dead back to life.  What more could He have done if He had wanted to?  Yet He used His great power only in service to God, not to His own glory but to glorify God.

We who profess our belief in Jesus as Lord call ourselves by His name: Christian.  When we come in His name, when we work in His name, we are truly blessed.  But as Paul said, we must have the same attitude that Jesus had.  We must take up the humble position of His bondservant, serving Him through our service to others, loving Him through our love to others.

May all we do glorify our Lord.  For some sweet day, every knee shall bow at the name of Jesus, and every tongue will declare that Jesus Christ is Lord.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus, our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, You bless us beyond measure.  You even sent us Your own Son that we might be reconciled back to You.  Thank You, Father, for such great mercy and love.  Father, sometimes we forget that we are here to serve You, to worship You, to glorify You.  Sometimes we get too wrapped up in our own lives to worry about how others might be getting along.  Forgive us, Father, when we turn too far inward, looking more to our own needs than to helping others.  Forgive us when we lose sight of the things of heaven.  Please help us be humble servants in all we do.  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 set the example of how we should live: ever humble, always serving others.  You glorified God in all You did.  Thank You, Lord, for coming to us and offering us redemption from sin and salvation from death.  Thank You showing us what it means to be a humble servant.  Please, Lord, forgive us when fail to follow Your lead.  Help us be worthy of bearing Your name.  Remind us that through all Your suffering, You remained steadfast in Your faith and Your mission.  Show us how we too can carry out the mission You gave us.  And Jesus, please strengthen us through these very difficult times.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us.  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 what this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Storm Clouds Gathering

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the fifth Sunday in Lent, the 3rd of April, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

I don’t know why it fascinates me so, but I’ve always enjoyed watching an approaching storm.  There’s something about those dark, threatening clouds rolling in that I find rather calming, even as lightning flashes and thunder rumbles off in the distance, as the wind begins to pick up.

In our observance of Lent, we are following along with Jesus during His last few weeks of life on this earth.  Our walk will eventually lead us to the cross, and then to an empty tomb.

But right now, the storm clouds are gathering as the Jewish religious leaders increasingly feel their positions of authority and extravagant way of life threatened by this humble teacher and healer, this Jesus.  This Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead, as witnessed by a large number of people – Jewish people – people who had come to console the dead man’s sisters Martha and Mary.  We can only imagine their reaction to seeing Lazarus, four days in the grave, rise up from the tomb, still bound in his burial cloths, and live again.

Please listen and follow along as the Apostle John lets us in on what happens next and the plans the chief priests and Pharisees hatched to do away with this Jesus, from chapter 11 of his Gospel account, verses 45 through 57, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

45 Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. 46 But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “This Man certainly performs many miraculous signs. 48 If we allow Him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in Him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.”

49 Caiaphas, who was high priest at that time, said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about! 50 You don’t realize that it’s better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.”

51 He did not say this on his own; as high priest at that time he was led to prophesy that Jesus would die for the entire nation. 52 And not only for that nation, but to bring together and unite all the children of God scattered around the world.

53 So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death. 54 As a result, Jesus stopped His public ministry among the people and left Jerusalem. He went to a place near the wilderness, to the village of Ephraim, and stayed there with His disciples.

55 It was now almost time for the Jewish Passover celebration, and many people from all over the country arrived in Jerusalem several days early so they could go through the purification ceremony before Passover began. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, but as they stood around in the Temple, they said to each other, “What do you think? He won’t come for Passover, will He?” 57 Meanwhile, the leading priests and Pharisees had publicly ordered that anyone seeing Jesus must report it immediately so they could arrest Him.

--John 11:45-57 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for loving us so much that You would put a very intricate plan in place to give us a chance at salvation and eternal life in paradise.  Each actor in this plan had a role to play, including the Pharisees and chief priests of the Jewish people.  But the greatest was Your Son Jesus, who did everything You asked of Him.  Thank You Father for sending Your Son, our Messiah.  Forgive us, please, when we become too complacent and lazy in our faith.  Please help us be more obedient to Your voice.  And help us remember the great sacrifice You and Jesus made just for us.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who so willingly do his bidding.  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 and better understand the message You have for us this day.  May we remain calm and secure in Your love, even as the storm clouds gather.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Clergyman and author Warren Wiersbe, in his book Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching and Preachers, tells us that missionary Hudson Taylor had definite convictions about how God's work should be done.  We can make our best plans and try to carry them out in our own strength.  Or we can make careful plans and ask God to bless them.  Taylor added, "Yet another way of working is to begin with God; to ask His plans, and to offer ourselves to Him to carry out His purposes."

Long ago, Scotsman Robert Burns wrote a poem titled “To a Mouse”, in which he noted, “The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men Gang aft agley, An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, For promis’d joy!”  You’ve probably heard that more clearly stated as “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”  Man’s grand schemes, no matter how well laid out and planned, too often turn sideways and don’t end up at all as expected.  Burns adds that the joy our plans may promise, too often end in grief and pain.  But if we include God in our planning, letting Him guide us, working with Him all the way, and then letting Him carry out the plan through us for His purposes, then we will succeed.

Otherwise, prepare for the worst.  If we try to do it all on our own, we can watch as the storm clouds gather.

We are nearing the end of the Lenten period and our walk with Jesus during the last of His mortal days.  Next week we will celebrate His triumphal entry into Jerusalem to attend the Passover feast that will see our Lord offered up as the sacrificial Lamb.  Shortly after that entry, Jesus went into the temple and turned over the table of the moneychangers and drove out the sellers.  To me, this act was simply a metaphor.  For in His short, three year ministry, Jesus managed to turn the Jewish leadership on its head, just like those tables.

By this point they were seeing more and more people begin to believe in Jesus as the Messiah.  He could perform mighty acts of healing, miraculous acts, even bringing the dead back to life.  How could they compete with that?  They were losing their grip on the people, watching their authority over the masses slip away, worrying that their prestige and power were nearing an end.  “What are we going to do?”, they lamented.  “What else can we do, but have Him permanently removed from sight.”

They had been a little worried about Jesus all along, but now their thinking had turned to plotting, and their plans had turned sinister.  And the storm clouds gathered over Jesus’ head.

We know how that storm ended, even with the sun being blotted out when Jesus drew His last breath on the cross.  But just like our thunderstorms often benefit us by clearing the air and bringing brighter days in their wake, the storm the chief priests caused brought us a chance at salvation.

And it also showed us how poorly even our best laid plans work out.  The Jewish leaders wanted this Jesus business put to rest and done with and no one giving it any further thought.  Instead, the Gospel continued, Jesus lives on, and His name is widely known and worshiped today.

But there is another storm building.  And this one is of God’s making.  We can see the clouds rolling in from the horizon.  Wars, invasions, insurrections, riots, all on the rise.  Anger, hatred, brother against brother, fear of one another, everywhere we look.  Wildfires, earthquakes, floods, famines, diseases running rampant around the globe.  The storm clouds are gathering once again.

Hear what the prophet Joel wrote in the 1st two verses of the 2nd chapter of the book bearing his name…

1 Blow the trumpet in Zion,

And sound an alarm in My holy mountain!

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;

For the day of the Lord is coming,

For it is at hand:

2 A day of darkness and gloominess,

A day of clouds and thick darkness,

Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.

A people come, great and strong,

The like of whom has never been;

Nor will there ever be any such after them,

Even for many successive generations.

--Joel 2:1-2 (NKJV)

Jesus is coming back to us and bringing the army of God with Him, great and strong.  He’ll come riding in on those clouds to set the world aright.  Our Bible tells us He’ll call His church home before the battle begins, and all those left behind will tremble and shake in fear.  They’ll try to hide, even seeking death, but death will not come.

For them, it is too late.  But there is still time for folks to avoid that horrible fate.  All they have to do is accept Jesus as Lord and give their life to Him.  But they need to act fast, because the storm is building.

Family, the storm clouds were gathering as the Jewish leaders plotted Jesus' death.  And they are gathering now, in our current age, as Jesus prepares for His return.  Let us prepare as well.

In just a few moments we will be partaking of the body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus.  Paul tells us not to come to this table with any hatred or spite or anger or malice still in our hearts.  We must be right with God, having forgiven old hurts, tossing out personal pride, flinging off biases and prejudices towards others.

Please take these next few minutes to get rid of that old stuff so we can all come to the table together with a right heart.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, You are in control and You’ve been in control all along.  When the Jewish leaders plotted against Jesus, You took their plans and turned them for our good through Jesus’ sacrifice.  Thank You, Father, for giving Your Son to atone for our sin.  Thank You for loving us that much.  Father, sometimes we fail to see what is truly happening around us.  We blindly go through life ignoring the signs You place in our path.  Sometimes we forget that Your great plan is still in play, building up to the return of Your Son.  Forgive us, Father, our blind eyes and cold hearts.  Forgive us when we don’t take all that is happening seriously enough to more actively share the Gospel.  Please 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 knew the Pharisees and chief priests were plotting against You.  As God, You could have put an end to their schemes before they were even formulated.  But instead, You carried out Your Father’s plan just as He asked, giving Your all for us sinners.  Thank You, Lord, for being the good and faithful Servant.  Thank You for making salvation possible for us.  Please, Lord, forgive us when we don’t enthusiastically do as You command.  Help us get out of our little boxes and start spreading the Good News of salvation that comes only through You.  Remind us that You are Lord, our Lord, to whom we owe our all.  Show us the lost that we might help them be saved.  And Jesus, please strengthen us through these very difficult times.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us.  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 what this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

The Clock Is Ticking

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the fourth Sunday in Lent, the 27th of March, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

I haven’t heard the term in a long time, but there actually is a point when a woman’s “biological clock is ticking”.  Medical professionals say this is around the age of 32, when a woman’s fertility starts to decline.  I never really cared for that term – it just seems like it was always said in a hurtful manner, so I don’t miss it at all.

There is a clock that is ticking, though, and it is biological, in a way.  This clock is ticking off the seconds until life on this earth comes to an end.  Each tick brings us closer to the return of our Lord, who is coming to set things right.

But we’re also in the midst right now of another countdown, and this one ends at the cross.  As we look ahead to the day the people turned against their Savior, we know how it all worked out.  Jesus knew, too, even before it happened.  He knew what was coming then, and what is yet in store for us today.

Please listen and follow along to just one instance where Jesus foretold the immediate future, as told by the Apostle John in chapter 12, verses 1 through 8 of his Gospel account, and I’ll be reading this from the Living Bible version of our Holy Bible…

1 Six days before the Passover ceremonies began, Jesus arrived in Bethany where Lazarus was — the man He had brought back to life. 2 A banquet was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus sat at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a jar of costly perfume made from essence of nard, and anointed Jesus’ feet with it and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with fragrance.

4 But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples — the one who would betray Him — said, 5 “That perfume was worth a fortune. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” 6 Not that he cared for the poor, but he was in charge of the disciples’ funds and often dipped into them for his own use!

7 Jesus replied, “Let her alone. She did it in preparation for My burial. 8 You can always help the poor, but I won’t be with you very long.”

--John 12:1-8 (TLB)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for providing believers with this time in our Christian calendar to reflect on the life of Your Son Jesus and the example He set for us.  Out of Your love and mercy, You sent Jesus to us when we were dead in our sin.  You gave Him up so that through Him and His sacrifice we might be saved.  Thank You Father for caring so much about us.  Forgive us, please, when we begin to take our salvation for granted, when we fail to fully respect the sacrifice You and Jesus both made just for us.  Please help us understand how this impacts us personally, individually, and as a people.  And then help us to show other people how it affects them as well.  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 and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Help us hear the clock as each precious second ticks away.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Suppose you had a bank that credited your account with $86,400 each and every morning, but that carried over no balance from day to day.  It would not allow you to keep any cash in your account from one day to the next because every evening it would cancel out whatever part of the amount you failed to use during the day, resetting your balance to zero.  The question is, what would you do?  I bet you’d soon learn to draw out every cent every day and use it to your advantage!  Well, Family, you do indeed have such a bank, and its name is TIME!  Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds.  Every night it rules off as lost however much of this you failed to invest to good purpose.  It carries over no balances, it allows no overdrafts.  Each day it opens a new account with you.  If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours.  There is no going back.  There is no drawing against tomorrow.  To an eternal God, our time on earth is brief and He doesn't want us to waste it.  When we do, we throw away one of the most precious commodities He gives us.  Each second is an irretrievable gift -- an unredeemable slice of eternity.  

Sure, we have to sit at stoplights, wait in line at the grocery store, and other unproductive moments.  But what about the rest of our time?  Are we using it to advance the cause of Christ and to enhance our relationship with Him?  Is our time well spent?

The clock is ticking.

Biblical scholars still debate the timeframe that the Apostle John actually penned his Gospel account, with dates ranging from the late 60s up to 89 or 90 AD.  In any case, he wrote this book well after the events occurred that he describes in it, including Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.  John walked with Jesus for the three years of His ministry, being one of the first four that Jesus called to discipleship.  He was a first-hand eyewitness to these events.  So when he describes Judas as the one who betrayed Jesus and who often dipped his hand into the common funds, he knew these things because they had already happened.

But during the actual time of the events, as they were playing out, no one knew what would come next.  No one but Jesus, that is.  Jesus knew exactly what was to come, and when it would happen, and He tried to tell His followers often, but they just couldn’t quite accept it.

In our scripture reading, when Judas complained about Mary “wasting” expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet, our Lord told everyone within hearing that His death to this world would come soon.  He knew that Judas wasn’t really concerned about the poor, but He wanted to remind us all that we will have the poor with us as long as this world still exists.  He wanted to let His followers know that the clock was ticking and that He wouldn’t be with them much longer.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke each recorded three times in our Bible when Jesus spoke of His impending persecution and death, and there are many more times when He hinted at it, especially in John’s account.  We just looked at one of those hints, when Jesus said, “I won’t be with you very long”.  Let me read another to you.

This comes from earlier in John’s Gospel, when Jesus is defending His self-witness to the Pharisees.  In other words, they accused Him of witnessing to Himself, which, for normal humans, is not always trustworthy.  Listen to this interaction as recorded by John in chapter 8 of his Gospel account, verses 18 through 24…

18 “I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”

19 Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?”

Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”

20 These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.

21 Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”

22 So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?”

23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

--John 8:18-24 (NKJV)

Those are pretty powerful and scary words that Jesus spoke.  “I am going away” alludes to His impending death and departure from this world.  He even adds, “I am not of this world… I am from above”, letting us know that this world cannot hold Him because He is not of this world.  And then those damning words: “Where I go you cannot come.  You will die in your sin.”

Now remember, Jesus was speaking directly to the Pharisees, those who refused to believe, who actively worked against Jesus, and thus against God.  Later on, when Jesus was speaking with His disciples, He said, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.”  This was directed to believers.

What a huge difference!  Believers will someday come with Jesus to heaven and live with Him there.  Non-believers cannot follow Jesus to heaven but will die in their sin, the second death of everlasting pain and punishment, eternal separation from God.

Jesus bore witness of Himself through His teachings and His mighty signs, and God bore witness of Jesus as His Son at His baptism and His transfiguration.  Those who will not believe this witness will die in their sins.

Family, the clock is ticking.  The countdown has begun.  Right now in our observance of Lent, as we look ahead to Resurrection Day, we are getting closer to the cross.  We’re also getting closer and closer to the day when Jesus returns to this earth, when He will judge us all, separating the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the chaff, the believers from the non-believers.

Soon, maybe very soon, the ticking will stop.  We’ll reach zero.  We’ll run out of options.  We need to get right with God, and we need to do as Jesus commands us and do what we can to help save the lost.  And we need to do it now, before it’s too late.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, You set a plan in motion to reconcile Your creation back to You, and Jesus carried out that plan to the letter.  He faithfully obeyed and served You, knowing all along how much He would have to suffer while in human form before He could return home to heaven.  Thank You, Father, for doing all this for us.  And thank You for giving us the chance to get right with You.  Father, sometimes we just don’t do as You and Jesus command us.  Sometimes we get too wrapped up with the day and all its busyness to concern ourselves with higher ideals than self.   We know the clock is still ticking, because Jesus has not yet returned to complete Your plan.  We know we still have work to do to fulfill our part of the covenant You made with us and signed with Your Son’s blood.   Forgive us, Father, our disobediences.  Forgive us when we fail to truly show our love to others.  Please 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 came to carry out God’s plan of salvation and You did everything He asked of You.  You showed us the truth and You set clear examples for us to follow in righteous living.  Thank You, Lord, for giving us a chance at redemption.  Too often, though, Lord, we don’t show our own love by doing as You command us.  We worry too much about ourselves and less about others.  We think the lost deserve what they get so that we can rationalize not helping them.  Please, Lord, forgive us.  Help us be more receptive to Your voice, more mindful of Your own example of sacrificial love.  Remind us that we are Yours, that You paid for us with Your own life.  Show us our failings and how to correct them.  And Jesus, please strengthen us through these very difficult times.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us.  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 what this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

What Can We Do?

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the third Sunday in Lent, the 20th of March, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Each month, I receive a nice newsletter from the Christian Law Association, a group of Christian lawyers who offer free legal help to churches, ministers, or any believer facing a moral dilemma.  The February issue was a little slow in coming, so the January issue sat on my desk for quite a while.  Staring up at me constantly were the words, “What can you do for the Lord in 2022?”

This was the theme of the newsletter’s editorial, but the cover kept asking me that question:  What can you do for the Lord?  What can we do?  So I turned to the Bible for help and inspiration.  And, as usual in such situations, there was the Apostle Paul to offer advice, instruction, and leadership.

Please listen and follow along to the exhortation that Paul gives us as he wrote to the church in Rome in chapter 12 of his letter to the Romans, and I’ll be reading this from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice — the kind He will find acceptable. This is your reasonable service. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the standard of our God-given faith. 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

6 In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

“I will take revenge;

I will pay them back,”

says the Lord.

20 Instead,

“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.

If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap

burning coals of shame on their heads.”

21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

--Romans 12 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for always being present in our life to provide us with guidance when we don’t know which way to turn, with clarity when we are confused, with leadership when we have gone astray.  You give us all this through Your Holy Spirit within us and through Your word as recorded in our Holy Bible.  Forgive us, please, when we don’t spend enough time in prayer and in studying Your word.  Forgive us when we hesitate to do what we know You would have us do.  Please help us be more obedient.  Help us do more to serve You.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who do his bidding.  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 and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Help us do more to help others.  Help us really love them, remembering that they are also Your creation and that You love them, too.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Christian author, speaker, and missionary Elizabeth Elliot, in her book A Slow and Certain Light, tells of two adventurers who stopped by to see her, all loaded with equipment for the rain forest east of the Andes.  They sought no advice, just a few phrases to converse with the Indians.  She writes: "Sometimes we come to God as the two adventurers came to me - confident and, we think, well-informed and well equipped.  But has it occurred to us that with all our accumulation of stuff, something is missing?"

She suggests that we often ask God for too little.  We know what we need: a yes or no answer, please, to a simple question.  Or perhaps a road sign - something quick and easy to point the way.  What we really ought to have is the Guide Himself.  Maps, road signs, a few conversational phrases are useful things, but infinitely better is someone who has been there before and knows the way.

We don’t know the outcome of those two adventurers, but we do know they passed up a perfectly good opportunity to increases their chance of success in their venture.  Right there facing them was someone who had spent a lot of time in the region and with the natives, someone who knew the terrain and the customs of the people.  In short, this was someone who could really help them.  Yet, all they sought were a few conversational phrases so they could chat with the locals.  Call it confidence or call it smugness, they thought they had everything they needed without any further aid than a few sentences to utter.

God gave us His Holy Spirit to be our Guide.  And He gives us gifts and talents to help others.  Ms. Elliot could have been and done both for these adventurers, but they refused her services.  How often do we refuse what the Holy Spirit offers?

We need to listen to the Spirit’s urgings and let Him guide us in our daily walk.  We need to share our gifts with those who need our help.  And we need to take advantage of the talents other folks bring to the table.

So that question pops up again.  What can we do for the Lord?  While this newsletter theme was intended for the New Year’s reader, to go along with any new resolutions for the year, I believe it also follows quite nicely with last week's message on "Righteous Service"

Anything we do for the Lord should be righteous, it should be something God sees as right in His eyes.  Of course, we don’t want to limit ourselves to righteous service only for the rest of the year, but instead extend the practice for the rest of our days on this earth.

Let’s look again at what Paul tells us.  Right at the start, Paul pleads with us to give our bodies to God, to let them be a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.  This doesn’t mean we should completely exhaust ourselves and die from our efforts, although that may indeed happen somewhere along the line.  No, Paul is saying that we should give more of our time and efforts in serving our Lord, using our bodies as the tools of service.  He says to let God, through His Holy Spirit, change us into a new person by changing the way we think.  We can’t let the world direct our thoughts and actions, because service in the world’s viewpoint is more about self than about truly helping others.

Paul also cautions us to be introspective, to honestly evaluate ourselves and our motives, so that we don’t end up thinking we’re more than we are, or that we’re better than anyone else.  This is worldly thinking, and not from God.  And it can also lead us into just pretending to love others rather than showing them genuine affection and honor.  This pretense is the work of Satan, not of God.  We can show our true love, for God and for others, by working hard and using the gifts, whatever they are, that God has given each of us, always being eager to help.

And I love the last thing Paul tells us in this chapter.  “Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.”  We defeat the devil when we do good for the right reasons.  We conquer evil by our righteous service.

We all know that none of this is as easy as it sounds.  Paul certainly knew it.  We are weak-willed at times.  We have to live in the world so we are constantly under bombardment from worldly enticements and behavior.  It’s tough to ignore the world viewpoint when it is all around us, ever present in our sight and our hearing.

Please listen to a warning Paul gives in his letter to the Galatians, chapter 5 verses 16 through 26, about making sure that what we do is right in God’s eyes…

16 If you are guided by the Spirit, you won’t obey your selfish desires. 17 The Spirit and your desires are enemies of each other. They are always fighting each other and keeping you from doing what you feel you should. 18 But if you obey the Spirit, the Law of Moses has no control over you.

19 People’s desires make them give in to immoral ways, filthy thoughts, and shameful deeds. 20 They worship idols, practice witchcraft, hate others, and are hard to get along with. People become jealous, angry, and selfish. They not only argue and cause trouble, but they are 21 envious. They get drunk, carry on at wild parties, and do other evil things as well. I told you before, and I am telling you again: No one who does these things will share in the blessings of God’s kingdom.

22 God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, 23 gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways. 24 And because we belong to Christ Jesus, we have killed our selfish feelings and desires. 25 God’s Spirit has given us life, and so we should follow the Spirit. 26 But don’t be conceited or make others jealous by claiming to be better than they are.

--Galatians 5:16-26 (CEV)

It’s hard to ignore the world and the conflicting desires it creates within us.  But we have a secret weapon.  We have God’s own Holy Spirit living within us.  He is our Confidant, our constant Companion, our ever present Guide through this life.  We only have to take advantage of His presence and allow Him to lead us.

People who follow the voice of the world become jealous, angry, and selfish.  They hate each other and are always fighting over things that are not at all important.  They will never know the blessings of God’s kingdom unless they repent and accept Jesus as Lord.  But we who listen to the Spirit’s voice become more loving and happy, more peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled.

Are we perfect?  No!  A resounding No!  So we can’t get all big-headed about it, thinking we’re better than others.  But we are being molded into a closer form of perfection, closer to the image of Jesus, by the work of the Spirit within us.

What can we do for the Lord?  Family, we’ve been given gifts by God, the best of which is His own Holy Spirit.  With His Spirit’s help and guidance, we can use those gifts to help others.  We can share God’s love, embodied in Jesus, letting His love shine through us so that others may see the glory of God.  By doing so, we may just help save their eternal life.

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

Let us pray…  Father God, You shower us with so many blessings and gifts.  The greatest of these are Your own Son Jesus, Your Holy Spirit to dwell within us, and the faith to believe.  Thank You, Father, for these wonderful blessings.  And thank You for gifts You provide that we can use to minister to the needs of others.  Father, sometimes we let the world have too much influence over our thoughts and deeds.  Sometimes our motives are not pure and righteous.   Forgive us, Father, when we think more of self and less of true service.  Forgive us when we hesitate to use the gifts You have given us.  Please help us be courageous yet selfless in our work to help others, as we strive to show them Your love through our love.  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 showed us just what righteous service looks like, how it acts, why it does what it does.  You used the gifts Your Father gave You, most notably the power of His Holy Spirit, to show Your love to us all.  Thank You, Lord, for setting such a clear example for us to follow.  Too often, though, Lord, we let the world and its views shape our thoughts and actions.  We become complacent with things the way they are, not willing to take any risks to serve You by helping others when they need it the most.  Please, Lord, help us be bolder in our service.  Help us make better use of the gifts our Father gave us.  Remind us that we can do even greater acts than You because of the Holy Spirit leading us from within.  Show us a clearer view of what we can do for You, this year and for the rest of our life on this earth.  And Jesus, please strengthen us through these very difficult times.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us.  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 what this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Righteous Service

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the second Sunday in Lent, the 13th of March, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

We’re probably all familiar with God’s commandment to “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”  God gave us the Sabbath as a day of rest, a day to spend with Him, a time of worship and reflection.  It commemorates the day that God Himself rested after creating the world and all that is in it - the seventh day of creation.

The Jewish people had strict rules to follow in keeping the Sabbath holy, mostly forbidding them from any type of labor.  After all, how can you rest and spend time with God if you’re working on something?  This even extended to not cooking a meal during the Sabbath, so they had to prepare enough to eat for the day before the Sabbath began.

Their religious leaders were adamant that the people properly observe the Sabbath, even though they didn’t fully obey the commandment themselves.  Their intolerance in this regard often led them into direct confrontation with Jesus.  Please listen and follow along to one such incident as reported by the Apostle Luke in chapter 13 of his Gospel account, verses 10 through 17, and I’ll be reading this from the Modern English Version of our Holy Bible…

10 He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years and was bent over and could not straighten herself up. 12 When Jesus saw her, He called her and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” 13 Then He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight and glorified God.

14 But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, and said to the people, “There are six days in which men ought to work. Therefore come and be healed on those days, but not on the Sabbath day.”

15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead it away to water it? 16 Then should not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham whom Satan has bound these eighteen years, be loosed from this bondage on the Sabbath?”

17 When He said this, all His adversaries were put to shame. And all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.

--Luke 13:10-17 (MEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for giving us a day to rest from our labors.  You know that we need to rest, that we can only function at our best when we are well-rested.  Forgive us, please, when we don’t take advantage of this time, and when we don’t spend more of it with You.  This is one way we serve, by obeying Your commands and spending time with You and with Your word.  Please help us better understand and more closely follow the example Your Son set for us in how to live this life on earth.  Help us be better servants and to serve righteously.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who do his bidding.  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 and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Help us not be hypocritical in our obedience or our service.  May we serve You and only You, and may we serve with true heart-felt gladness.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

James Packer, in his book Your Father Loves You, writes:

"Servant" in our English New Testament usually represents the Greek doulos, which translates as "bond slave". Sometimes it means diakonos, translated as "deacon" or "minister".  This is strictly accurate, for doulos and diakonos are synonyms.  Both words denote a man who is not at his own disposal, but is his master's purchased property.  Bought to serve his master's needs, to be at his beck and call every moment, the slave's sole business is to do as he is told.  Christian service therefore means, first and foremost, living out a slave relationship to one's Savior.

What work does Christ set His servants to do?  The way that they serve Him is by becoming the slaves of their fellow-servants and being willing to do literally anything, however costly, irksome, or undignified, in order to help them.  This is what love means, as He himself showed at the Last supper when He played the slave's part and washed the disciples' feet.

I believe Mr. Packer lays out the foundation for righteous service right there.  "Righteous" means right with God, right in God's sight.  So "righteous service" is service that is right in God's eyes, service done the way He wants it done.

How does God want this service done?  Well…  Like Jesus did: out of love, unconditionally, without any consideration of gain or reward.  No matter how personally costly or distasteful, regardless of how irksome or undignified we may think it, we are to obey our Master and do what it takes to help our fellow man.  Never forget that our Lord humbled Himself before those who called Him Master, and washed their dirt-stained feet.  Jesus humbled Himself before us all, allowing Himself to be nailed to a cross, to be sacrificed on our behalf, so that we might be washed clean of our sin.

This is love.  And this is righteous service.

Today is the second Sunday in Lent, that time of reflection and introspection, when we carefully consider all that Jesus did for us.  It’s also a time for us to deliberate on what we can do for Him.  That last should be quite simple.  Jesus asks very little of us, only that we love others as we love ourselves and that we tell them all about Him and all the things He did and said.

As Mr. Packer noted, we serve our Lord Jesus when we serve our fellow man, for in this we show the love He commands us to show.  Jesus clearly showed us how to serve righteously while He walked this earth.  He healed thousands of people, removing evil spirits, erasing the handprint of Satan on their lives.  He taught them the truth so that they might believe.  And He died for them so that they might be saved.

Yes, Jesus does not ask anything of us that He was not willing to do Himself.  And showing love through service is no exception.  Please listen and follow along to a conversation between Jesus and His original 12 disciples that the Apostle Mark saved for us in chapter 10 of his Gospel account, verses 35 through 45…

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.”

36 And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

37 They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.”

38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”

39 They said to Him, “We are able.”

So Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; 40 but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared.”

41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. 42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. 44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

--Mark 10:35-45 (NKJV)

James and John wanted a special privilege from Jesus.  They wanted to be seated beside Him in glory, to occupy the places of highest honor.  I find it rather interesting that Jesus first asked if they thought they were ready to go through what He was about to endure, letting them maybe think that they could earn that honor.  But He quickly sets them straight that God has already determined who will receive what rewards in heaven.

Now when the others learned that James and John had been so bold and presumptuous, they got more than a little ticked off.  So Jesus had to call them all together for a little talk.  He started out by reminding them of how the Gentile rulers, like Caesar, lord it over the people.  Their great ones hold themselves in higher esteem and impose their authority over those beneath them in status and station.

Quite frankly, I believe Jesus could have included the Jewish religious leaders in this context, for they clearly lorded it over the common Jewish people and exercised their authority at every opportunity.  But he didn’t mention them.  Instead, He spoke words of caution that must have confused His followers: “Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.”

Now I don’t think Jesus chose those words on a whim, or because they might be more familiar to His listeners.  I think He chose them specifically for their meaning, and that goes back to what Mr. Packer said in my little story at the start.  Jesus is directing us to Christian service, and that service requires of us to live out a slave relationship to our Christ.  To serve Jesus is to serve our fellow man, being willing to do anything – anything – to help them.  Putting them first in this life so that we might go first in the next.

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”  Jesus – God in the flesh – came to this earth not to be served, as He most assuredly deserves, but to serve, to be a servant to us, giving His life that we might live.  Jesus came as a Servant, and His service was righteous.

Family, if it was good enough for Jesus, it should be good enough for us.  If He could come as a servant, to serve rather than be served, then we should willingly act as servants, too.  Otherwise we need to strip off that name “Christian” because we are not showing the love that Jesus commands us to give.  For righteous service is the embodiment of love.

Our service must indeed be right in God’s eyes.  We can’t do it in hopes of any earthly rewards, or even based on what we think will be our heavenly reward.  No feeding the homeless so that they or anyone else will think more highly of us.  No helping the Workshop just so we can get our name and picture in the paper.  No picking and choosing what we might do so as to avoid anything too dirty or distasteful.  Remember that Jesus washed the dirty feet of His followers.  Nothing was beneath Him when it came to serving us, and nothing should be beneath us when it comes to serving Him.

Let us go forth and serve, and may our service be righteous.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, the psalmist tells us to serve You with gladness.  We should be happy to serve You because this shows our love and respect for You.  Thank You, Father, for loving us so much that You sent Your Son to serve us, and by His righteous service, to save us.  And thank You for preparing our place in glory and our reward in heaven.  Father, sometimes we fail to act when we could make a difference in the life of another.  We’re afraid or we’re worried, we don’t want to get our hands dirty or we just don’t want to be seen doing something undignified.   Forgive us, Father, when we don’t try to follow the example that Jesus set.  Forgive us when we fail to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  Please help us be more loving, more forgiving, in all we do, treating others in the same way we would want to be treated in a similar situation.  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 set the example of what it means to provide a righteous service to others.  And You did it out of love for all mankind.  You lived a life of service while here on earth, showing us what it means to humbly serve others while gladly serving God.  Thank You, Lord, for being such a great role model.  Too often, though, Lord, we don’t follow Your example.  We fail to live up to our name of Christian when we don’t help others in their time of need.  Please, Lord, help us be better servants.  Help us more closely follow Your command to love others and to show our love by humbly serving them, giving no consideration to any personal gain or reward.  Remind us of all that You did, and all You’ve done for us.  Show us how to love as You love – unconditionally, sacrificially, with a heart to serve rather than be served.  And Jesus, please strengthen us through these very difficult times.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us.  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 what this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Call On His Name

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the first Sunday in Lent, the 6th of March, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Family, the Christian season of Lent began this past Wednesday, which we observed here with our Ash Wednesday service and some good fellowship and food afterwards.  We are now in a period when believers are asked to engage in deliberate repentance, and personal reflection upon all that Jesus has done for us.  It’s a time to ask ourselves, as individuals, “Just what does it mean to me personally that Jesus allowed Himself to be ridiculed, beaten, and nailed to a cross just for me?”  “How does it make me feel that He died on that cross just so I would not have to endure eternal suffering?”  “What is the full impact of His sacrifice, not only on me but on the whole of mankind?”

I believe that the Apostle Paul and his life’s example can serve as a very good answer to those questions, especially the last.  Please listen and follow along to the reassurance Paul gives us in chapter 10 of his letter to the church in Rome, and I’ll be reading this from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

1 Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. 2 I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. 3 For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with Himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. 4 For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in Him are made right with God.

5 For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands. 6 But faith’s way of getting right with God says, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven?’ (to bring Christ down to earth). 7 And don’t say, ‘Who will go down to the place of the dead?’ (to bring Christ back to life again).” 8 In fact, it says,

“The message is very close at hand;

it is on your lips and in your heart.”

And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: 9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced.” 12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on Him. 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

--Romans 10:1-13 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for devising a means of reconciling us to You, of making us right with You.  It hurts us to think that Your only Son had to suffer and die to this mortal life just so we could live forever in Your heaven if we only accept Him as our Lord.  Please help us better understand and appreciate the full impact of His sacrifice and Your mercy.  Help us be better servants of our Master so that we are more worthy of His love.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who work his evil plan.  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 and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Show us just how important our faith is to each of us personally.  May we always trust in You and call on the name of Your Son in all things.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

In an article for "Reader's Digest", Luanne Oleas wrote:

When the 1960s ended, San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district reverted to high rent, and many hippies moved on down the coast to Santa Cruz.  Like most, they got married and had children, though not necessarily in that order.  But they didn't name their children Melissa or Brett.  Folks around Santa Cruz grew accustomed to their children tossing Frisbees with little Time Warp or Spring Fever.  And eventually Moonbeam, Earth, Love, and Precious Promise all ended up in public school.

That's when the kindergarten teachers first met Fruit Stand.  Every fall, according to tradition, parents bravely apply name tags to their children, kiss them good-bye and send them off to school on the bus.  So it was for Fruit Stand.  The teachers thought the boy's name was odd, but they tried to make the best of it.

"Would you like to play with the blocks, Fruit Stand?", they offered.  And later, "Fruit Stand, how about a snack?"  He accepted hesitantly.  By the end of the day, his name didn't seem any more odd than Heather's or Sun Ray's. 

At dismissal time, the teachers led the children out to the buses.  "Fruit Stand, do you know which one is your bus?"

He didn't answer.  That wasn't strange.  He hadn't answered them all day.  Lots of children are shy on the first day of school.  It didn't matter.  The teachers had instructed the parents to write the names of their children's bus stops on the reverse side of their name tags.  The teacher simply turned over the boy's tag.  There, neatly printed, was the word "Anthony."

As a child of that era, I remember some of the weird names children were given.  Fortunately, I don’t recall anyone in these parts being saddled with Moonbeam or Earth Child or Sundance.  But I don’t think I ever heard of any of those children complaining that their names caused them grief in life.  Like little “Fruit Stand”, I guess folks just got used to the odd names and it was no big deal.

The name we call someone can make a big difference, though, especially in our relationship with them.  Had those teachers called the child “Anthony”, I’m sure he would have been far more responsive to them.

Our choice of words are important; they matter.  We need to stop and look at all sides of a person before we attach a name or label to them.

Jesus has many names and labels attached to Him.  Lord, Master, Son of God.  Christ, Messiah, Savior, Redeemer.  The prophet Isaiah added these:  Good Servant, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  The beloved Apostle John called Him the Word, and the Light of men.  Jesus even had some He called Himself: Good Shepherd, Vine, Living Water, Bread of Life.  And then there’s my personal favorite…  Jesus: Friend of sinners.  My Friend.

All of these names, all of these additional labels, serve to identify Jesus in some way, by what He does and what He is.  And they acknowledge His promise to us.  For it is through that name - that beautiful name of Jesus - that we who believe are saved.

Paul makes the point that trusting in the Law of Moses for salvation is misplaced trust.  This goes to the issue that there is nothing we mortals can do ourselves to save us.  We’re not capable of adhering strictly enough to the Law to be saved.  And if the Law were sufficient, God would not have needed to send His Son to fulfill the Law for us.

It is by fully believing in Jesus and accepting Him as our Lord that we are made right with God.  We need to trust in God and His mercy, not the Law, and certainly not any mortal man.  For anyone and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved.

You know, our Bible really is a very fascinating book.  Of course, we need to read it and study it a bit to see some of the more interesting points that are revealed to us in it.  Take for instance what happened at Pentecost.

After God’s Holy Spirit touched the believers that day, some of the witnesses began to question what they had just seen, even to the point of declaring that those who had been affected by the Spirit were just under the effects of fermented spirits – that they were drunk.  The Apostle Peter stood up to refute this and answer some of their questions.  In his impromptu sermon, Peter included these words, as saved for us by the Apostle Luke in his Book of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 2, verses 16 through 21…

16 "[But] This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,

That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;

Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

Your young men shall see visions,

Your old men shall dream dreams.

18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants

I will pour out My Spirit in those days;

And they shall prophesy.

19 I will show wonders in heaven above

And signs in the earth beneath:

Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.

20 The sun shall be turned into darkness,

And the moon into blood,

Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.

21 And it shall come to pass

That whoever calls on the name of the Lord

Shall be saved.’"

--Acts 2:16-21 (NKJV)

Did that last part sound kind of familiar?  Peter quoted the prophet Joel as saying that, “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved”.  In our scripture reading, Paul also quotes from Joel’s writings, putting it like this:  “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Now Paul was not present at Pentecost, at least not that we know of.  But he was familiar with the scripture and the prophets.  And I believe he received the same message as Peter from Jesus and God’s Holy Spirit.

We see this frequently in our Bible, where more than one person can give the same account even though there appears to be no connection between them.  Yes, our Bible is a fascinating book.  It’s a shame it doesn’t get read all that much.

So here we have both Paul and Peter repeating the words written by Joel that anyone and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  Do we sense some special emphasis here?  Do you think maybe we should treat this as something that God wants us to understand, that it is important enough to be stated three times like this?

What does it mean to call on the name of the Lord?  Well, first off, it means that we must believe that we can indeed by saved by merely calling on the Lord.  To believe that, we must believe in the Lord, in His power and ability, and in His promise, to save us.  We must believe that He is the Lord, the one true Son of God, the Messiah sent to offer us salvation, the Christ who came to redeem us.  And if we believe, if we truly, fully, believe, then we will accept that Jesus is our Master and we will do what He says.

To call on the name of the Lord Jesus is to show that we truly believe.  Jesus made it so that anyone can call on Him, because He wants for everyone to be saved.  God sent His Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world - the whole world - through Him might be saved.

Jesus is our Lord.  Call on His name.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, I’ve said it often and I’ll keep saying it… thank You for our Bibles and the great lessons they contain.  Thank You for breathing Your word into the men and women who penned these pages.  And thank You for repeating and emphasizing the points that are most important for us to grasp.  Father, too often we let the busyness of life pull us away from spending more time with You and Your word.  Sometimes we just can’t grasp what we read.   Forgive us, Father, when we don’t take the time to study.  Forgive us when we hesitate because we don’t think we’ll understand what You’re trying to tell us.  Please help us understand, help us grasp what You are saying to us, help us take hold of what is important, and help us trust in Your word.  And Father, please help us remain strong, faithful, and true through all that we face in this life.

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 have been given many names and labels, but the most important is “God”.  You are God.  You, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, created the universe and all that is within it.  You hold our eternal lives in Your hands.  And so, dear Jesus, we call You Lord, we call You our Master, and we who truly believe this try our best to do as You command us.  Too often, though, Lord, our faith is tepid.  We are only lukewarm in our service to You.  Please, Lord, help us be better servants.  Help us more closely follow Your voice.  Remind us of all that You have done for us.  Make it clear in our minds and in our hearts that we cannot receive eternal salvation through our own efforts, but only by calling on Your name.  Forgive us, Jesus, when we hesitate to tell others about You, when we fail to love others as You love them.  Help us reach out to the lost souls of this world.  And Jesus, please strengthen us through these very difficult times.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us.  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 what this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Forty Days

 

[The following is a manuscript of my meditation delivered on Ash Wednesday, the 2nd of March, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

The number 40 is seen quite often in our Bible.  It rained for 40 days and 40 nights as God washed the earth clean in the days of Noah.  Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebekah as his wife, and his brother Esau was 40 when he took Judith and Basemath as his wives.  The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, during which Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights on the mountain with God.  Nineveh was given 40 days to repent or be destroyed.

And there are many more, but today we’ll look at another important 40.  For today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the 40 days and 40 nights that Jesus spent in the wilderness praying and being tempted by Satan.  We don’t know all that went on during this time period, but we do know a little of how it began, of what Jesus did, and how it ended.

Please listen and follow along to what the Apostles Matthew and Luke saved for us of this event, beginning with Matthew’s Gospel account in chapter 4, verses 1 through 11, and ending with Luke’s account, also in chapter 4, verses 14 and 15, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

M4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:

‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’

and,

‘In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”

8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

L4:14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

--Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:14-15 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, one of the most useful features of our Bible is that it provides us with a wealth of examples of what to do and what not to do.  If we carefully follow these examples, we can be seen as righteous in Your eyes.  This is especially true if we try our best to do as Jesus did.  Father, please help us follow the examples Your Son set for us.  Help us come to You for advice and assistance.  Help us spend more time with You in prayer and devotion.  Forgive us our disobedience and save us from ourselves, please, O merciful God.  In the name of Your Son Jesus we pray.  Amen.

Our scripture reading begins right after Jesus is baptized by John in the River Jordan.  So immediately following the voice of God from heaven declaring that, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”, God’s Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for the sole purpose of being tempted by the devil.  Jesus didn’t just up and take a stroll into the desert.  He didn’t just happen to meet up with Satan there.  No, it was all planned by God.

And I believe it’s purpose was three-fold.  I think one purpose is provided in the verses from Luke’s account.  News of Jesus went out through the surrounding region and the people glorified Him.  This gave Him the opening, so to speak, the start of His ministry, the spark that first brought the people in to hear His teachings.

And then I believe we are given a clue to another purpose in the last verse of Matthew’s account.  Once Jesus had resisted all that Satan had to throw at Him, the devil left Him alone and did not directly try to tempt Him again.

But I feel that the most important purpose of this event, for us today, is in the lesson it provides and the example Jesus set for us.  A good piece of that lesson is to understand that God does not always make things easy for us.  Sometimes He will lead us into situations we would have preferred to avoid, so that we can either learn from them or to perform a task He needs us to do.  And sometimes He lets us get into those situations on our own, so that maybe we won’t keep making the same mistakes over and over.  Should we blame God for this, for allowing us to be uncomfortable or be put on the spot?  No, because this is the only way some of us hard-headed people can learn.

And that leaves us with how Jesus handled the situation He was placed in.  Matthew, Luke, and the Apostle Mark all reported the incident in their Gospel accounts.  Luke and Mark make it very clear that Jesus was being subjected to the devil’s temptations for the entire 40 days, even though only the last of these are recorded for us.

Now I think we all know that none of us could have survived this without giving in.  After all, Eve was given only one temptation, with a few extra urgings, before she gave in and took a bite of the fruit that was forbidden to her and Adam.  If we’re honest with ourselves, I believe each of us could find at least one little temptation that we just can’t resist.  We each have our own vice that we cannot give up, one sin that we cannot turn from, our own personal irresistible temptation.  Some of us have many, and I’m talking believers and non-believers alike.  So no, we cannot resist all of the devils shiny, sparkling offers like Jesus did, because we are not God like Jesus is.  But we can still follow His example.

How did Jesus respond to Satan’s offers?  In each of the three separate temptations as recorded by both Matthew and Luke, Jesus answered the devil by quoting scripture.  Jesus rebuked Satan by repeating God’s own word.  How could He quote scripture?  By reading it and learning it, by spending time with God’s word until it became familiar.

This is something we should do.  We should spend more time studying God’s word that has been faithfully recorded and saved for us in our Holy Bible.  Would it be realistic to say that most Christians watch TV more than they read their Bible?  In other words, we’d rather be entertained than to make the effort to learn what God wants us to know and understand.  How many of us could quote scripture, or even just paraphrase a passage, if we were put in a position of needing to defend our faith?

There is one last point I would like to address, and it is one that this particular passage does not mention, but it is frequently reported in our Bible.  Besides fasting and being tempted over a 40 day span, I am willing to bet that Jesus spent a lot of time in prayer.

We can find instance after instance of Jesus praying to His Father God.  Prayer was so important to Him that He even gave us a model of how we can pray, too.  He, even though being God Himself, prayed more than any man.  As the cross loomed on the horizon, His spirit racked with anguish by what He knew was about to occur, Jesus prayed for strength, for protection over us, and that God’s will be done.  Isn’t it reasonable to think that He also prayed as He faced Satan head on?  And isn’t it reasonable that we should spend more time in prayer, too?

Today we enter into the season of Lent.  The cross stands just ahead, a stark reminder that we have been forgiven and shown mercy by God, even though we’ve done nothing, nor can we ever do anything, to deserve it.  And our Father commands that we be forgiving and merciful, too, in our dealings with others.

The cross also serves as a sign of God’s love.  God made a covenant with us and signed it with the blood of His own Son.  We acknowledge our end of that covenant by our baptism and our service to our Lord Jesus.  Part of that service is to repent, to turn from our sin, for Jesus called us to repentance while announcing that the kingdom of God is at hand.

To help us resist the temptation to sin, we can spend more time with God, both in prayer and by studying His word.  In a moment we will receive a symbolic imposition of ashes that I hope will be useful meeting both these goals.  My prayer is that this will last far longer than ashes on the forehead, and have a far greater effect on ourselves and others we encounter.

But first we will offer a confession of our sins and receive an assurance that we’ve been washed clean by the precious blood of Jesus.  In the name of our Redeemer, the Son of God, Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.