The Wondrous Cross

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 15th of September, 2024 - one day after Holy Cross Day.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

Yesterday, Saturday, September the 14th, was Holy Cross Day on our Christian calendar.  This may be an unfamiliar holy day for you.  It was set aside to honor our Lord's suffering on the cross, suffering that He willingly accepted for the forgiveness of our sin and for our salvation

Today, we see the cross in and on Christian churches the world over.  It’s worn as jewelry by believers and even some non-believers.  But the cross did not become an accepted and regularly used symbol of Christianity until the 4th century, when it replaced the fish and other commonly used signs of the faith.

Some who practice the faith use the crucifix as their symbol, which has an image of the battered, bleeding, thorn-crowned Jesus still hanging there.  Our cross is empty, just like the tomb where His body was laid.

The Apostle Paul wrote two letters to the church in Corinth, a city in ancient Greece mostly populated by Greeks, Romans, and Hellenists.  The Greek people were vey interested in knowledge and philosophy was widely practiced and respected.  One of the key themes of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians involved giving more emphasis to love rather than knowledge.

But very early in this letter, Paul mentions the cross, and what it means to us, to believers.  Please listen and follow along to the words of the Apostle Paul in the 1st chapter of his 1st letter to the church in Corinth, verses 17 through 24, and I’ll be reading from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

17 Christ did not send me to baptize. He sent me to tell the good news without using words that sound wise and would make the cross of Christ lose its power.

18 The message about the cross doesn't make any sense to lost people. But for those of us who are being saved, it is God's power at work. 19  As God says in the Scriptures,

“I will destroy the wisdom

of all who claim

to be wise.

I will confuse those

who think they know

so much.”

20  What happened to those wise people? What happened to those experts in the Scriptures? What happened to the ones who think they have all the answers? Didn't God show that the wisdom of this world is foolish? 21  God was wise and decided not to let the people of this world use their wisdom to learn about Him.

Instead, God chose to save only those who believe the foolish message we preach. 22 Jews ask for miracles, and Greeks want something that sounds wise. 23 But we preach that Christ was nailed to a cross. Most Jews have problems with this, and most Gentiles think it is foolish. 24 Our message is God's power and wisdom for the Jews and the Greeks that He has chosen.

--1 Corinthians 1:17-24 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for choosing us to follow Your Son Jesus.  This is truly an undeserved blessing.  Sadly though, Father, we sometimes forget the message of the cross.  We hesitate to do the work Jesus left for us to do.  We know that we need to reach out to the non-believers around us, but too often we hesitate to do so.  Forgive us these times, Father.  Please help us be more obedient to Your and Your Son’s commands.  Give us the courage and the will to worship You with our proper service.  Help us as we step out into the world, offering aid where we can and witnessing to the non-believers, sharing the Good News and showing Your love.  And please forgive us when we hesitate to speak and act on behalf of You and our Lord Jesus out of fear or anxiety.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Thank You for forgiving and forgetting our sin.  Help us share the Good News of forgiveness and everlasting life in our daily walk.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

The name of the person who made this observation is unknown, but they noted that, “If you were to look at Rembrandt's painting of The Three Crosses, your attention would be drawn first to the center cross on which Jesus died.  Then as you would look at the crowd gathered around the foot of that cross, you'd be impressed by the various facial expressions and actions of the people involved in the awful crime of crucifying the Son of God.  Finally, your eyes would drift to the edge of the painting and catch sight of another figure, almost hidden in the shadows.  Art critics say this is a representation of Rembrandt himself, for he recognized that by his sins he helped nail Jesus to the cross.”

Jews are often accused of executing our Lord, but we are the ones who did the dirty work.  We Gentiles, in the persons of the Romans, humiliated Jesus, tortured Him, and nailed Him to a cross to die.  And every time we sin, by our every disobedience, we drive a nail into His hand.

But in the act of dying, Jesus defeated death.  And He did it for us, that we might never die.  Isaiah said it best: “He was wounded and crushed because of our sins; by taking our punishment, He made us completely well.”

Maybe that’s each of us, standing there off to the side in Rembrandt's painting…

Paul says the message of the cross doesn’t make any sense to lost people – to the lost.  The New King James Versions phrases it that, “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing”.  But what is the message of the cross?

Well, it depends on who you ask.  To the Romans, the cross was a warning to anyone who would even think about upsetting the peace enforced by Rome.  To the world, a cross is where a man named Jesus was executed for his crimes.  And a little earlier, I alluded to what the cross says to us, we who believe.  It is a sign of God’s power in raising His Son from the dead, promising eternal life to all who follow Jesus.  But family, there’s another message of the cross of Jesus, and it is one He gave voice, one that has to do with following Him.

After Jesus had hand-picked His twelve disciples, He told them they were also to be His apostles, and He sent them out two-by-two to heal the people and spread the word about the kingdom of heaven.  Upon their return, He spoke some hard truths.  Listen to what Jesus told His chosen twelve, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in the 10th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 37 through 39…

37  “If you love your father or mother or even your sons and daughters more than Me, you are not fit to be My disciples. 38  And unless you are willing to take up your cross and follow Me, you are not fit to be My disciples. 39  If you try to save your life, you will lose it. But if you give it up for Me, you will surely find it.”

--Matthew 10:37-39 (CEV)

If we want to follow Jesus, truly follow Him, we must be willing to take up our cross, bear the load, not worrying about this life but giving our all to Jesus, just as He gave His all for us.

Much later in His ministry, after the feeding of the 5000 and then later the 4000, after Peter proclaimed that Jesus is the Christ, the long awaited Messiah, our Lord told His disciples of His upcoming death and resurrection.  At this point, He didn’t mention how His death would be carried out, but when He addressed His disciples and the gathered crowd, He hinted at the method of His impending execution.  Hear what the Apostle Mark recorded for us in verses 34 and 35 of the 8th chapter of his Gospel account…

34  Jesus then told the crowd and the disciples to come closer, and He said:

If any of you want to be My followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow Me. 35  If you want to save your life, you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for Me and for the good news, you will save it.

--Mark 8:34-35 (CEV)

We must forget about ourselves.  To save our life we must destroy it.  This doesn’t mean we need to develop amnesia or commit suicide.  No, He means we must let go of our self, our sense of self - we must destroy our sense of self.  We must give up selfishness and become selfless.  This is also a message of the cross to us, for this is one way we take up our cross so that we may follow Jesus, by giving ourselves to Him.

Crucifixion may not have first been devised by the Romans, but they certainly put it to horrific use as a means of torture and execution, intended as a deterrent against breaking the peace imposed by Imperial Rome.  They would leave the bodies hanging there for days as a warning to everyone who passed by.  To them, the message of the cross was, “This will be your fate if you cross us.”

But to us - we who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God – to we who follow Him, the message the cross sends is much different.  It is a show of God’s power and wisdom.  It is a wondrous sign that our Lord defeated death and conquered the grave, winning a victory that we will share in.

And it is also a message of God’s love.  For like Jesus said, “God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.”

The message of the cross is not simply a saying or an ideal - it is a way of life.  Each and every day we may be challenged because of our faith.  We don’t know when we may once again have to lift our cross upon our shoulders and face the scorn of the non-believing world.  But if we find ourselves in that situation, let us willingly and gladly bear our load, giving of ourselves to Jesus.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, who bore the cross for us.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for loving us so much that You sent Your own Son into the world to offer us forgiveness of our sin and life everlasting.  You used the cross to send us a message, one that the world cannot understand and thinks is foolish.  But we get it, Father.  We understand that the cross, the empty cross, is a clear sign of Your love for us and Your creation.  Thank You for sending this message.  Sometimes, though, dear Father, we lose sight of what You did for us through Your Christ Jesus.  We hesitate or even downright refuse to go out into the world sharing the Good News and making disciples.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  And forgive us when we can’t seem to let go of our sense of self, giving of ourselves to Jesus.  Please help us reach out more into the world, serving You by serving others.  Help us be more like Your Son Jesus, being more forgiving and merciful in our dealings with others.  Guide us around any pitfalls in this life and strengthen our spirits to do Your will.  And please help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

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 up Your mortal life there upon that cruel cross, and You did it for our sake, carrying out Your Father’s will.  Your cross is our sign of Your sacrifice, and of how You conquered death so that we too might have eternal life.  Lord, we really do want to please You and do the mission You gave us.  We try to live as You would have us live, Lord, but sometimes we just get too caught up in the world around us and we lose sight of the cross.  Please forgive us our weaknesses, dear Jesus.  Forgive us our hesitation.  Please help us be more considerate and caring of others.  Help us as we go about spreading the Gospel message.  Help us share Your love by being more understanding, more merciful, more giving and forgiving of others, offering aid when we can.  Not everyone believes in You, so it is our job to help them see the truth and believe.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Lord Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations and all the false teachings.  Help us fend off his attacks.  Please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  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.

Come Home

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 8th of September, 2024 - homecoming Sunday at Pilgrim Reformed.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

Family, any homecoming is a special occasion, a time for celebration.  It brings families back together.  It is especially delightful when a family member returns who has been away for a while, like a student gone off to college or a service member returning from a deployment.  Homecoming is even special if that returning member left out of anger or for the wrong reasons, or did something terribly wrong while they were away.  No matter its size or how its made up, a family that truly loves each other, where love is the key focus, is a forgiving family.

Let me tell you about a family I read of in the Gospels.  The story starts, though, as do so many of these stories, with the Pharisees and the scribes complaining about the things that Jesus said and did, finding fault in everything and anything about Him.  Because of their hyper attention, He taught the people in parables, using word pictures they could more readily understand.

Please listen and follow along to one parable Jesus shared with His followers and the people gather around Him, as recorded by the Apostle Luke in chapter 15 of his Gospel account, verses 11 through 24, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

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

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

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

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

--Luke 15:11-24 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for the example of a loving and forgiving father in our Bible.  This shows us how much You love us and will forgive us no matter how far afield we may roam as long as we return home to You.  Sadly though, Father, we don’t always share this message with others.  We know that we need to reach out to the non-believers around us, but too often we hesitate to do so.  Forgive us these times, Father.  Please help us be more obedient to Your and Your Son’s commands.  Give us the courage and the will to welcome anyone who comes home to You.  Help us as we step out into the world, offering aid where we can and witnessing to the non-believers, sharing the Good News and showing Your love.  And please forgive us when we hesitate to speak and act on behalf of You and our Lord Jesus.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Thank You for forgiving and forgetting our sin.  Help us share the Good News of forgiveness and everlasting life in our daily walk.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

The "Law of the Search" states that the first place to look for anything is the last place you'd expect to find it.  Henry Miller's corollary to that law is that objects are lost because people look where the objects are not instead of where they are.  But objects have no will of their own, and can only be lost when we misplace them, or forget where we put them.  People, on the other hand, can choose to be lost.  It is said that actor Marlon Brando wandered so much on his way to kindergarten each day, that his sister eventually had to walk him to class on a leash.

You know, sometimes we act like young Marlon.  We wander around, heading off in different directions, straying off the path we should be following.  And of course you know I’m not talking about walking to school, but about our spiritual walk through life.

If we’re not careful, if we wander too far afield, we just might get lost.  Unlike my reading glasses that I may think are “lost” when I can’t find them because they’re sitting on top of my head, wandering is a choice I make, whether consciously or unconsciously.  We need to be very careful of just how far we stray off that straight and narrow path.

Our scripture reading this morning is from what is known as the parable of the prodigal son.  The word "prodigal" means wasteful.  The prodigal son wasted all his inheritance on living the high life, and then found himself in trouble.  Broke and desperate, he hired himself out as a farm hand just for something to eat.  He finally sucked in his pride and returned home, hoping to at least be treated as well as the servants.  But his father welcomed him back with open arms and had a great feast prepared in his honor, for his son was home again.

One thing we see in this parable is that when the lost return home, a great celebration is in order.  Just before He spoke this parable of the prodigal son, in the opening 7 verses of the chapter, Luke reports…

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

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

--Luke 15:1-7 (NKJV)

The parable of the lost sheep, of how the 99 are left while the one that is lost is searched for and found.  The shepherd celebrates and calls his friends and neighbors together.  Rejoice, for the lost has been found.  Rejoice, for the lost has come home.

In the 14th chapter of his Gospel account, the Apostle John records for us in verses 23 and 24 when Jesus is telling His disciples that He will soon be leaving them.  Jesus said…

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

--John 14:23b-24 (NKJV)

Do we love Jesus?  Then we will keep His word, carry out His mission, follow His example.  And then we can come home.  Our true home is with God and Jesus.  No matter what we do, or what we have done, if we come home to Jesus we will always be welcomed.  This is unconditional love.  This is God’s love.

Come home.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God, the best example for us to follow.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for preparing a new home for us when we accepted Your Son Jesus as our Lord.  We know our home is with You, and we await the blessed day when we can come home.  Thank You for being so gracious to us.  Sometimes, though, dear Father, we don’t follow Your Son as closely as we should.  We wander off, chasing after some dream that the world put in our head.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  Forgive us when we stray from how we know we should live.  Please help us reach out more into the world, serving You by serving others.  Help us be more like You and Your Son Jesus, being more forgiving and merciful in our dealings with others.  And please help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things.

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 how to live by how You lived as You walked this earth as one of us.  You painted word pictures for us to make Your teachings more easily understood.  We try to live as You would have us live, Lord, but sometimes we just get too caught up in the world around us, we pay too much attention to what it says is important, and we wander.  Please forgive us our weaknesses, dear Jesus.  Forgive us our hesitation to serve as we should.  Please help us be more considerate and caring of others.  Help us share Your love by being more understanding, more merciful, more giving and forgiving of others.  Not everyone believes in You, so it is our job to help them see the truth and believe.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Lord Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations and all the false teachings.  Help us fend off his attacks.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  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.

Come to Me

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 1st of September, 2024 - Labor Day Weekend.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

Family, tomorrow is Labor Day, the day established as a national holiday to recognize and honor the contributions and achievements of the American worker.  For many, it represents a paid day off.  Banks will be closed, non-essential governmental offices will be closed, our church office will be closed.  For a lot of folks, though, it's just another day of labor, with police and fire departments and first responders all going strong, and pretty much every convenience store open for business.

Traditionally, Labor Day marks the end of summer and the last vacation of the year.  Many folks will be at the beach or the mountains or on the lake, or just in their own back yards grilling hamburgers and hot dogs with friends and neighbors.  And if my memory is correct, Labor Day is the time when you should stop wearing white pants for a while.

Today I’d like to look at a time when Jesus talked about our labors.  John the Baptizer was sitting in prison and probably getting a bit anxious about the way things were going.  Didn’t Isaiah say that the Messiah, the Christ, was supposed “to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound”?  Yet here he sat.

So he sent two of his followers to ask Jesus if He was indeed the Christ, or should people start looking for another to come.  Jesus told them to return to John and tell him of all they had seen there, how He had healed people of illnesses and infirmities, even raised the dead.  And then He turned and addressed the crowd regarding the many signs He had performed and how there was still so much disbelief.

Please listen and follow along as Jesus rebukes those who refuse to repent and then calls us to service, calls us to Himself, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in chapter 11 of his Gospel account, verses 20 through 30, and I’ll be reading from the Modern English Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

20 Then He began to reprimand the cities where most of His mighty works were done, because they did not repent: 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the Day of Judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, who is exalted toward heaven, will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works which have been done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the Day of Judgment than for you.”

25 At that time Jesus said, “I thank You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to infants. 26 Even so, Father, for it seemed good in Your sight.

27 “All things are delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son, except the Father. And no one knows the Father, except the Son and he to whom the Son will reveal Him.

28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me. For I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

--Matthew 11:20-30 (MEV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for choosing us to follow Your Son Jesus.  This is truly an undeserved blessing.  Sadly though, Father, we don’t always do the work Jesus left for us to do.  We know that we need to reach out to the non-believers around us, but too often we hesitate to do so.  Forgive us these times, Father.  Please help us be more obedient to Your and Your Son’s commands.  Give us the courage and the will to worship You with our proper service.  Help us as we step out into the world, offering aid where we can and witnessing to the non-believers, sharing the Good News and showing Your love.  And please forgive us when we hesitate to speak and act on behalf of You and our Lord Jesus out of fear or anxiety.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Thank You for forgiving and forgetting our sin.  Help us share the Good News of forgiveness and everlasting life in our daily walk.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

A gentleman by the name of Glen Pierpoint notes that, “Our labor for the Lord is: 1) a labor of love (I Thes 1:3); 2) a labor not in vain (I Cor 15:58); 3) a labor known by Christ (Rev 2:2); 4) a labor God does not forget (Heb 6:10); 5) a labor which is to be done together (I Cor 3:9); 6) a labor for eternal things (Col 1:28-9); 7) a labor which is to reward (I Cor 3:8); 8) a labor done to be accepted by Him (II Cor 5:9); 9) a labor which doesn't have an end (Luke 10:2).”

Usually, when we think of doing labor, we’re thinking about our jobs – when we had one – or about doing some necessary chore.  So we generally associate “labor” with hard work, possibly as a heavy burden to bear.  Jesus calls those who feel overly burdened to come to Him for rest.  But I think He also calls us to labor again, maybe after a brief rest, and to labor in a different way.

Mr. Pierpoint gives us some very good examples of what it means to labor for our Lord.  I asked Dama to include this in your bulletin so you would have all the reference scriptures to look up and read at your leisure, and I would encourage you to do just that.

We serve our Lord out of our love and respect for Him, and it is not done in vain, for it is known by Christ Jesus and accepted by Him.  It’s something that we can do together, supporting one another in our mutual efforts.  It is a labor that is seen and remembered by God and for which we are richly rewarded, not in earthly things that rot and decay, but in the eternal things of heaven.  And it is a job we can keep doing right up to our last breath in this life.  Let us take up the call to labor for our Lord, for His burden is light and our compensation will be great.

I like to say my boss is God since by virtue of my chosen occupation I work for the Lord.  But pastors and preachers aren’t the only ones who labor in God’s fields.  The good people who man the soup kitchens and food banks and clothing closets and all the folks helping the needy, the poor, and the homeless are actively doing God’s work.

Remember that Jesus said that “as you have done it for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you have done it for Me”.  It really doesn’t require much of us to labor for our Lord.  The main thing is commitment, doing what we know is right, and for the right reasons.

There was a point fairly late in His ministry when Jesus asked His disciples who they say He is, and Simon answered "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God".  Jesus blessed him and gave him his new name, Peter.  Then Jesus told them about what was to come, about His arrest and execution and His resurrection.  Peter actually rebuked Jesus for saying this, so Jesus had to set him straight.  Hear what happened next, as recorded by Matthew in the 16th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 23 through 27…

23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things that are of God, but those that are of men.”

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man shall come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay every man according to his works.”

--Matthew 16:23-27 (MEV)

You may be wondering what this passage has to do with laboring for the Lord.  Well, first off, Jesus scolds Simon Peter for thinking in the manner the world thinks, rather than keeping the things of heaven in mind.  When we place too much value on worldly things, when we work too hard for them at the exclusion of other more important matters, we tend to look at what our efforts can bring to our benefit rather than the benefit of others.  Jesus reminds us that we won’t profit anything at all if we gain the whole world but lose our eternal soul.

From this passage, we see that to follow Jesus, we must deny ourselves, deny the world, and take up our cross.  There are all action words – deny, take up.  Now, denying ourselves and denying the world doesn’t mean that we should run around naked and sleep outdoors.  It means that we should not obsess about the things the world thinks are important, or even essential.  We do need the things of the world to survive in the world because we do live in the world.  But we don’t need to make these things our highest priority, placing their acquisition ahead of serving our Lord and doing the work He assigned us.

We must take up our cross, roll up our sleeves, and do the work that Jesus started and left for us to carry on.  And remember: Jesus will return, and when He does, He will repay every one of us according to our works.  So let’s get to it – there’s much to be done.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God, the best example for us to follow.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for blessing us so richly.  Among our many blessings is Your inspired word saved over the centuries for us in our Holy Bible.  It contains the instructions and insights we need in order to know You and Jesus and to live a righteous life.  Thank You for seeing to our needs, including our need to do what is right in Your eyes.  Sometimes, though, dear Father, we ignore those insights and instructions and set out to do things on our own.  We think our way is better.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  And forgive us when we stray from how we know we should live.  Please help us reach out more into the world, serving You by serving others.  Help us be more like Your Son Jesus, being more forgiving and merciful in our dealings with others.  Guide us around any pitfalls in this life and strengthen our spirits to do Your will.  And please help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

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 us a job to do, and it truly is light work, a light burden, just as You promised.  Lord, we really do want to carry on Your work and do the mission You gave us.  We try to live as You would have us live, Lord, but sometimes we just get too caught up in the world around us and we slip up.  Please forgive us our weaknesses, dear Jesus.  Forgive us our hesitation.  Please help us be more considerate and caring of others.  Help us as we go about spreading the Gospel message.  Help us share Your love by being more understanding, more merciful, more giving and forgiving of others, offering aid when we can.  Not everyone believes in You, so it is our job to help them see the truth and believe.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Lord Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations and all the false teachings.  Help us fend off his attacks.  Please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  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.

Spirit and Truth

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 25th of August, 2024.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

Family, last week in our message on the Bread of Life, I referenced the conversation Jesus had with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well where He told her He is the promised Christ and the Living Water.  That exchange was the subject of my message in mid-July, when we looked at the promise Jesus made of giving us the living water that springs up to eternal life.  I want to return to one small portion of that conversation this morning, where Jesus gives us an insight into our relationship with God.

If you’ll recall, the woman was initially doubtful about this Jewish man who was either recklessly bold or very careless in speaking to a Samaritan woman.  She scoffed at Him when He asked for a drink of water, reminding Him that He had nothing to draw the water.  She even accused Him of implying that the water in the Jewish lands was better than the water from that well.  But slowly, her indignation began to turn to belief.  Her belief solidified when He told her about herself, things He had no way of knowing.

Let’s pick up from there.  Please listen and follow along to a brief snatch of the exchange between Jesus and the Samaritan woman as recorded by the Apostle John in chapter 4 verses 19 through 26 of his Gospel account, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible.  In fact, all my reference scripture this morning will come from John’s account of the life and ministry of Jesus, and all will be read from the New King James Version.

So, during that conversation at Jacob’s well…

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

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

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

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

--John 4:19-26 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us the faith to believe in Your Son, Your Christ, Jesus.  We are truly blessed in our faith and our belief.  Sadly though, Father, there are many people like that Samaritan woman was at first – closed off to the idea of Jesus being anything other than just some historical figure, just another man from long ago.  We know that we need to reach out to these folks, but sometimes we just can’t work up the courage or the will to do so.  Forgive us these times, Father.  Please help us be more obedient to Your and Your Son’s commands.  Give us the courage and the fortitude to do what is right.  Help us as we step out into the world, offering aid where we can and witnessing to the non-believers, sharing the Good News and showing Your love.  And please forgive us when we hesitate to witness for You and our Lord Jesus out of fear or anxiety.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Thank You for forgiving and forgetting our sin.  Help us share the Good News of everlasting life in our daily walk.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

In a 1991 letter, Christian author Dr. James Dobson writes about some of the survey results that George Barna reported in his book, What Americans Believe.  Part of that letter reads, “In the survey taken in early 1991, interviewees were asked, ‘Do you agree strongly, agree somewhat, disagree somewhat, or disagree strongly with the following statement: There is no such thing as absolute truth; different people can define truth in conflicting ways and still be correct.’  Only 28% of the respondents expressed strong belief in ‘absolute truth’, and more surprisingly, only 23 percent of born-again or evangelical Christians accepted this idea! 

What a telling revelation! If more than 75 percent of the followers of Christ say nothing can  be known for certain, does this indicate, as it seems, that they are not convinced that Jesus existed, that He is who He claimed to be, that His Word in authentic, that God created the heavens and earth, or that eternal life awaits the believer?  That's what the findings appear to mean.  If there is no absolute truth, then by definition nothing can be said to be absolutely true.  To the majority, apparently, it's all relative.  Nothing is certain.  Might be.  Might not be.  Who knows for sure?  Take your guess and hope for the best!”

While under trial, Pilate rhetorically asks Jesus, "What is truth?", without waiting for an answer.  In the old rock opera, “Jesus Christ, Superstar”, when Jesus says He looks for truth, Pilate poses the question like this: “But what is truth?  Is truth unchanging law?  We both have truths.  Are mine the same as Yours?”

Those who consider themselves open-minded often see truth as being relative, changing to fit the situation.  There is no absolute truth, no absolute right or wrong.  What's wrong for one culture may well be right for another.  As a people, do we really understand “truth”?

Jesus said that since God is Spirit, we must worship Him in spirit.  How do we worship in spirit?  We’re physical, we have physical bodies, we’re not spirits like God is.  So how do we worship in spirit?

Well, we have a spirit.  It’s the intangible, untouchable, non-physical part of us that gives us life.  And we also have God’s own Holy Spirit within us, we who believe in and follow Jesus.  The Apostle Paul tells us that God’s Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.  So to worship in spirit we need merely go before God with His Spirit within us and solemnly acknowledge our dependence upon Him, thank Him, and humbly give Him all the praise and glory without a thought of self.

But Jesus added two more words to that instruction.  We must worship God in spirit and truth.  Here’s where things may get a bit tough.  Truth can be an elusive beast.  I bet you’ve heard the very sarcastic statement, “I read it on the internet so it has to be true.”  And we all know how truthful campaigning politicians can be.

To worship in truth we must first know the truth.  Jesus once said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”  Earlier in His ministry, John recorded this in the 8th chapter of his Gospel account, in verses 31 and 32…

31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

--John 8:31-32 (NKJV)

If we abide in Jesus’ word, live by what He taught us, then we will know the truth.  Jesus is the truth, what He taught us is the truth, His words as recorded by His disciples and saved for us in our Bibles are the truth.  We worship God in truth by living in the way Jesus taught us and showed us.

God is spirit, and Jesus promised that God would send His Spirit to be the constant Companion to all who believe in and follow His Son.  John saved this promise for us in the 14th chapter of his Gospel account, in verses 15 through 17, where Jesus said…

15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

--John 14:15-17 (NKJV)

God’s Spirit lives within is to always be with us, so He can guide us and help us any time, anywhere.  All we have to do is love Jesus and keep His commandments, do what He told us to do.

God's Spirit is the Spirit of truth who brings us the truth and shows us what is true.  Jesus tells us this in the 16th chapter of John’s Gospel account, in verses 12 through 15, when He says…

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”

--John 16:12-15 (NKJV)

The Spirit of truth, God’s Spirit, has indeed come to those who truly believe in God’s Son Jesus.  We worship in spirit and truth when we come before God with His Spirit thriving in our heart and as we live as Jesus taught us.  In spirit is God’s Spirit joined with our spirit.  Truth is God’s unchanging word.  This is what the Father is seeking, those who worship in spirit and truth.

Whether on the mountaintop or in Jerusalem, whether here in this beautiful sanctuary or at home in our living room, let us humbly worship our Father God in spirit and truth.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God, the best example for us to follow.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for sending Your Spirit of truth to live within us and show us the truth.  We love Your Son Jesus and try our best to live as He taught us.  Thank You for seeing that we would have His words and His ministry saved for us through the ages so that we can know Jesus.  Sometimes, though, dear Father, we do fail to carry out what Jesus commanded us.  Our courage and our will abandon us when we need them the most.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  And forgive us when we stray from how we know we should live.  Please help us reach out more into the world, serving You by serving others.  Help us be more like Your Son Jesus, being more forgiving and merciful in our dealings with others.  Guide us around any pitfalls in this life and strengthen our spirits to do Your will.  And please help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

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 are the truth.  You told us the truth by Your words and showed us the truth by how You lived and interacted with others.  We try to live as You would have us live, Lord, but sometimes we just get too caught up in the world around us and we slip up.  Please forgive us our weaknesses, dear Jesus.  And please help us be more considerate and caring of others.  Help us as we go about spreading the Gospel message.  Help us share Your love by being more understanding, more merciful, more giving and forgiving of others, offering aid when we can.  Not everyone believes in You, so it is our job to help them see the truth and believe.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Lord Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations and all the false teachings.  Help us fend off his attacks.  Please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  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.

The Bread of Life

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 18th of August, 2024.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

Family, around this time last month, we looked at the promise Jesus made of giving us the living water that springs up to eternal life.  This came about in a conversation with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, a woman who was forced to come to the well in the heat of the day because she was shunned by the other women of the village due to her sinful lifestyle.  Interestingly enough, after her conversation with Jesus and her belief that He is the Christ, she ran back into the village to tell everyone she could all about Him, and many came to believe in Jesus because of her.  A little later on in His ministry, while attending the Feast of the Tabernacles with His disciples, on the last day Jesus stood and shouted to the people, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

Jesus is trying to tell us that His word, God’s word, and obeying His word is as important to our next life as water is to this life, and we know we can’t go long in this life without water.  Well today we will hear Jesus comparing His word to another life-critical element as He calls Himself the living bread, the bread of life, the bread from heaven.

This all began shortly after the feeding of the 5000.  Jesus had left Jerusalem and He and His disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee to an area along the coast near the town of Bethsaida.  A great crowd followed Him on foot along the shore.  After a time of teaching them, the people grew hungry, and Jesus ended up feeding them all, and He did it with only five loaves of barley bread and two small fishes.

Later, after Jesus and His disciples left and went back to Capernaum, the multitude tried to find Him.  They crossed the Sea of Galilee to come to Him again.  He told them they should seek after that which does not perish, by doing the will of God.

Please listen and follow along to the exchange between Jesus and the people  as recorded by the Apostle John in chapter 6 verses 27 through 58 of his Gospel account, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning.  It starts with Jesus saying…

27 "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”

32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”

35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

41 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 42 And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who hears and has learned from the Father comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”

53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is true food indeed, and My blood is true drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven — not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

--John 6:27-58 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us the true Bread of life from heaven by sending Your Son Jesus to bring us food that does not perish, but leads to everlasting life.  Sadly though, Father, not everyone will accept Jesus’ words, let alone do as He commands.  And sometimes even we who know and love Him hesitate to carry out the mission He gave us.  We even struggle to love one another as we should.  Forgive us these failures, Father.  Please help us be more obedient to Your and Your Son’s commands.  Give us courage and fortitude.  Help us as we step out into the world, offering aid where we can and witnessing to the non-believers, sharing the Good News and showing Your love.  And please forgive us when we hesitate to witness for You and our Lord Jesus out of fear or anxiety.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Thank You for forgiving and forgetting our sin.  Help us share the Good News of everlasting life in our daily walk.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

The 4th-century archbishop of Constantinople, Gregory of Nazianzus, wrote of Jesus that, “He began His ministry by being hungry, yet He is the Bread of Life.  Jesus ended His earthly ministry by being thirsty, yet He is the Living Water.  Jesus was weary, yet He is our rest.  Jesus paid tribute, yet He is the King.  Jesus was accused of having a demon, yet He cast out demons.  Jesus wept, yet He wipes away our tears.  Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver, yet He redeemed the world.  Jesus was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, yet He is the Good Shepherd.  Jesus died, yet by His death He destroyed the power of death.”

Gregory points out a number of contradictions about Jesus, and I can add a few more.  At one point in His ministry Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth.  I did not come to bring peace but a sword.”, and yet He is the Prince of Peace, and later on He promised us a peace not like the world gives, but a true peace within.  Jesus indeed died, but then He lived again, and by His resurrection we receive the promise of new life, too, once our time on earth is finished.  We could come up with more, but all I can say is, thank God for contradictions!

In our scripture reading, the people questioned whether Jesus would show them some sign of His divinity and authority, even though He had just fed so many with so little.  They noted that their ancestors had been given manna in the desert, bread from heaven to eat.

This dates back quite a bit, to early on during the Israelites’ 40 year wandering in the wilderness.  And it came about because the people complained.  Hear how Moses described this time in his Book of the Exodus, chapter 16, verses 1 through 5…

1 And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt. 2 Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. 5 And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”

--Exodus 16:1-5 (NKJV)

The people complained to Moses and Aaron, and God heard their complaint.  I guess this is a case where the squeaky wheel gets the grease, for God sent the manna each and every day so that the people could eat.

But there was a catch.  They could only collect as much as they could eat in that day, for any manna kept overnight would spoil.  Except for Friday, when they could collect twice as much and save a day’s portion for the Sabbath, when they should do no work, not even to go out and pick up manna.  This was a test of whether they would obey God’s law or not, and of whether they truly trusted in Him and His word.

We don’t always know when we’re being tested.  It may be in our momentary reaction to something that offends us, or how we respond to someone different.  But God is still testing us with the true Bread from heaven, to see who truly believes in Jesus and follows Him.

If you remember the previous scripture recounting for us the experience of the Samaritan woman at the well with Jesus, you may note some similarities.  We have the obvious, where Jesus told her He is the Living Water compared to here where He says He is the Bread of Life.  But there’s more, for there the woman asked that Jesus give her the living water so she won’t have to go to the well at noon any more.  And here, the people asked Jesus to give them this bread always, for all time, saving them from having to do anything else to eat.

I think the most significant comparison, though, was made by Jesus.  He told the woman that whoever drinks of the Living Water will never thirst again, and He told the people whoever comes to Him, the Bread of Life, will never hunger again.  In both instances, Jesus is relating to the people in a way they could understand, talking about essential elements for sustaining their life, this life on earth.  And then using that example to tell them that He is the essential element for receiving eternal life in heaven.

Then we get to a very interesting part.  We’ve heard Jesus talk of being the Bread and Water of life, the food and liquid necessary to sustain us.  Now He adds His flesh is the bread and His blood the liquid, and that we must eat of His flesh and drink of His blood in order to abide with Him, or else we will have no life in us.

Does this sound familiar?  This echoes the words Jesus will speak while enjoying His last meal on earth with His disciples, the words we speak and hear each time we take the elements of Holy Communion.  The bread is His body broken for us, the cup our covenant with God sealed by His blood.  Eat and drink, in remembrance of Him.

I want to leave you with one last thought.  When we say what we call the Lord’s Prayer, we ask that our Father God give us this day our daily bread.  While this clearly brings up the image of the manna in the desert, it should also remind us of the true bread from heaven, the Bread of Life.

Yes, we need nourishing sustenance each day to maintain our earthly life.  But right after Jesus was baptized by John in the River Jordan, when He was hungry and tempted by Satan to turn the rocks into bread, Jesus responded with scripture when he replied, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”  Along with food, we need the word of God each day.

God’s word is in our Bible.  Let’s make an effort to read our Bible at least a little, every day, to collect the manna from heaven, to partake of the Bread of Life.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God, the Bread of Life, the Living Water, sent to us from heaven by God that we might have eternal life.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for sending us Your Bread of Life from heaven.  Through Jesus, we can have eternal life.  And thank You for our daily bread in our Holy Bible.  It sustains us in our walk through each day on this earth.  Sometimes, though, dear Father, we don’t take the time to read and study Your word.  We don’t spend time in our Bible or even see or receive a verse of the day.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  And forgive us when we stray from the way You have shown us to live.  Please help us reach out more into the world, serving You by serving others.  Help us be more like Your Son Jesus, being more forgiving and merciful in our dealings with others.  Guide us around any pitfalls in this life and strengthen our spirits to do Your will.  And please help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

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 are the Living Water and the Bread of Life.  Through You and You alone, by Your sacrifice of Your flesh and blood, we have forgiveness of our sin and life eternal in heaven.  Sometimes, Lord, we forget or ignore what You taught us about loving others, about how to love even our enemies.  Please help us be more considerate and caring of others.  Help us as we go about our corner of the world spreading the Gospel message.  Help us share Your love by being more understanding, more merciful, more giving and forgiving of others, offering aid when we can.  Not everyone believes in You, so it is our job to help them see the truth and believe.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Lord Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations and all the false teachings.  Help us fend off his attacks.  Please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  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.

Do As God Does

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 11th of August, 2024.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

There’s a saying that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”.  In other words, if we copy something for our own use, it’s because we like that thing or find it useful.  And in effect, we are complimenting the person or thing that we copied from, implying that we liked it so much we wanted it, too.

The same holds true for following someone’s example.  We can learn a lot that way.  In fact, the practice of shadowing is quite often employed as a teaching tool.  This is when an inexperienced person is tasked with simply following along with a more experienced person to just watch how they do things, how they handle certain situations, how they interact with others.  And isn’t that how the disciples learned from Jesus?

Of course, there’s a flip side of following someone else’s example that can best be summed up by “do as I say, not as I do”.  I think we all know how this one goes, since we don’t always do what say should be done, and too often do what shouldn’t be done.  The Apostle Paul admitted to this one.  He confessed in his letter to the Romans that “instead of doing what I know is right, I do wrong”.  He knew how hard it was to always do what is right, even when we have a good model to follow.

Now the other apostles actually had the experience of shadowing Jesus during His ministry on earth, while Paul only came to know Jesus personally after our Lord’s death and resurrection.  Still, Paul did know Jesus quite intimately, for Jesus gave him a special insight into Himself and God.  Paul was called to serve Christ, being first sent to the Jews only, but then later to the Gentiles when the Jews rejected his message.  He was given the task to help the Gentiles come to Jesus, to encourage the people to be worthy of God’s calling, to live as He would have them live – as He would have us live.

Please listen and follow along to the instructions the Apostle Paul gives us in his Letter to the Ephesians, from chapter 4 verse 17 through chapter 5 verse 2, and I’ll be reading from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

4:17 As a follower of the Lord, I order you to stop living like stupid, godless people. 18 Their minds are in the dark, and they are stubborn and ignorant and have missed out on the life that comes from God. They no longer have any feelings about what is right, 19 and they are so greedy they do all kinds of indecent things.

20-21 But this isn't what you were taught about Jesus Christ. He is the truth, and you heard about Him and learned about Him. 22  You were told that your foolish desires will destroy you and that you must give up your old way of life with all its bad habits. 23 Let the Spirit change your way of thinking 24  and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God, and so you must please Him and be truly holy.

25  We are part of the same body. Stop lying and start telling each other the truth. 26  Don't get so angry that you sin. Don't go to bed angry 27 and don't give the devil a chance.

28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Be honest and work hard, so you will have something to give to people in need.

29 Stop all your dirty talk. Say the right thing at the right time and help others by what you say.

30 Don't make God's Spirit sad. The Spirit makes you sure that someday you will be free from your sins.

31 Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don't yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. 32  Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.

5:1 Do as God does. After all, you are His dear children. 2  Let love be your guide. Christ loved us and offered His life for us as a sacrifice that pleases God.

--Ephesians 4:17-5:2 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for all the insights and instructions the Apostle Paul saved for us in our Bible.  We can greatly benefit from his experiences while he served You.  Sadly though, Father, like Paul, sometimes we don’t do what we should do.  And sometimes we do what we shouldn’t.  Please help us live as You would have us live, dear Father.  Help us better follow the example Your Son Jesus set for us.  Help us as we step out into the world, offering aid where we can and witnessing to the non-believers, sharing the Good News and showing Your love.  And please forgive us when we hesitate to witness for You and our Lord Jesus out of fear or anxiety.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Thank You for forgiving and forgetting our sin.  Help us share the Good News of everlasting life in our daily walk.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

The early church leader Augustine was once accosted by a heathen who showed him his idol and said, "Here is my god; where is thine?"  Augustine replied, "I cannot show you my God; not because there is no God to show but because you have no eyes to see Him."

I read of a study that concluded that how we see God as our heavenly Father depends to an extent on how we see our earthly father.  If our father was distant, impersonal, uncaring, someone who would not intervene for us in any situation, we may see God as being distant and uncaring.  If our father was pushy and inconsiderate, we might think that we are worthless in God's eyes.  If our father was demanding and intolerant of mistakes, we may feel that God will never accept us for our flaws.  If our father was weak, we may think we can't depend on God to help us.  But if our father was patient and kind, we are likely to see God in that light also, being patient and forgiving of our faults, our sins.  If our father accepted us and supported us no matter what, we probably see God loving us and helping us in any situation, accepting us even when we sin.  Which Father do we see in heaven?  Which God do we want to be like?

My father was a human being, and by that I mean he had many flaws, just like the rest of us.  But he was a hard worker, an honest man, and I never doubted that he loved me dearly.  He couldn’t always give us what we wanted, but we never went without.

I guess that does color how I see God as my heavenly Father.  He doesn’t always – or even usually - give me what I want, but always what I need.  And I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that He loves me dearly, and calls me His own.  And quite frankly, I don’t see how anyone can think otherwise.  For God is good, all the time.  He goes beyond seeing to our needs to providing us with the things that make this life worth the living.  This is the Father, the image of God, that I want to be like: the loving one who helps bring joy to the joyless, love to the unloved, hope to the hopeless.  What God do you want to copy?

“Do as God does”, Paul says, right there in the opening verse of chapter 5.  Since we are God’s dear children, we should do as God does.  That’s a pretty tall order, isn’t it?  Can we create a universe and everything in it?  No, not like He did.  In truth, we cannot create anything material.

I’m reminded of the old joke where a man is challenging God and he says, “I can do anything You can do.”  God responds that, “I created man from a handful of dirt and My spit.”  The man says, “I can do that”, and reaches down and grabs up a handful of dirt.  But God stops him and says, “Wait a minute!  That’s My dirt.  Make your own.”

So, no, we should never even think that we’re God nor anywhere close to His awesome power.  But Paul means that we should try to imitate God in what He does, rather than the world and how it handles things.  We should live as God would have us live rather than as the world lives.

Paul tells us to be like God so as to please Him, to please God, to do as He does.  But that doesn't mean life will be easy for us.  Life was certainly not easy for His own Son Jesus, nor for His apostles.  Nor was life easy for King David, the man that God said was after His own heart.  But like David, we all have hope.  Hear what David wrote in the first five verses of his 130th Psalm…

1 From a sea of troubles

I cry out to You, Lord.

2 Won't You please listen

as I beg for mercy?

3 If You kept record of our sins,

no one could last long.

4 But You forgive us,

and so we will worship You.

5 With all my heart,

I am waiting, Lord, for You!

I trust Your promises.

--Psalm 130:1-5 (CEV)

We don’t always do what we should do, and too often do what we shouldn’t.  But God doesn’t keep a record of our sins.  Instead He forgets them.  He erases them from His memory and forgives us, otherwise we would be lost.  So it is right that we should worship Him.

Do as God does and don’t give the devil a chance.  These are very sound words of advice Paul delivers.  When we vary from what God has shown us through His Son, we are giving the devil a chance.  When we, as Christians, don’t shadow Jesus, don’t follow His example, we are giving Satan a chance to come back into our lives on a full-time basis, where he will try to steal our souls away from God.

Jesus showed us how to live.  Paul tells us what we should do.  Don’t be stubborn or greedy.  Discern what is right and what is wrong, and do what is right.  Stop lying, even about little things, and start telling each other the truth.  Don’t get so angry that we sin, and don’t go to bed angry.  Be honest and work hard so we can help others.  Don’t be bitter and angry and mad, yelling at one another and cursing each other and being rude.  Instead be kind, merciful, and forgiving of each other.  Don’t make God’s Spirit sad.

We are God’s dear children.  Let love be our guide, just as Jesus loves us.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God, who set the perfect example for us to follow.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for sharing Your word with the Apostle Paul and the other men and women who penned the contents of our Bible.  And thank You for saving these words throughout the centuries.  Our Bible contains all the examples and instructions we need to live a righteous life and be pleasing in Your sight.  Sometimes, though, dear Father, like Paul, we don’t always do what we know we should do, what is right to do.  Even though we might not want to, we do what is wrong knowing it’s wrong the whole time.  Please forgive us these failures, Father.  Forgive us when we vary from the way You have shown us to live.  Please help us reach out more into the world, serving You by serving others.  Help us be more like Your Son Jesus, being more forgiving and merciful in our dealings with others.  Guide us around any pitfalls in this life and strengthen our spirits to do Your will.  And please help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

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 perfect example for how we should live, and especially for how we should treat others.  Sometimes, Lord, we fail to follow Your example, going off on our own impulses and desires, ignoring how it might impact others around us.  Please help us be more considerate, more caring.  Help us as we go about spreading the Gospel message.  Help us share Your love by being more understanding, more merciful, more giving and forgiving of others, offering aid when we can.  Not everyone believes in You, so it is our job to help them see the truth and believe.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Lord Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations and all the false teachings.  Help us fend off his attacks.  Please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  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.

Are We Losing Flavor?

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 4th of August, 2024.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

Our responsive reading this morning came from the Good News Bible version of what many consider to be the most important and most earth-shaking sermon Jesus ever gave.  This sermon included some of the best-known sayings of Jesus, including the Beatitudes – our responsive reading – and what we call the Lord’s Prayer.  It also contains the central tenets of discipleship, giving us a road map of how we should live.  Jesus had so much to say, it took the Apostle Matthew three chapters to record it all.

Now, this sermon came fairly early in Jesus’ ministry.  After calling Simon and Andrew and James and John to follow Him, there on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus went all through the region around Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the Gospel, and healing folks of all manner of illnesses and infirmities.  His fame spread and the people came from all over, just to hear Him, to be touched by Him, following Him.

One day He went up onto a mountainside to preach to the multitudes and His disciples.  Please listen and follow along to the beginning of our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in the 5th chapter 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 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

For they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,

For they shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

For they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,

For they shall obtain mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

For they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

For they shall be called sons of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.”

--Matthew 5:1-14 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for the faith to believe in Your Christ, Your Son, Jesus our Lord.  We exercise that faith by following Your and His commands, by loving others and doing Your will.  Sadly though, Father, we sometimes hesitate or even fail in those efforts.  Sometimes our faith becomes lukewarm, neither hot nor cold.  Please help us retain our flavor, our saltiness.  Help us as we step out into the world, offering aid where we can and witnessing to the non-believers, sharing the Good News and showing Your love.  Help us shine the light of truth everywhere we go.  And please forgive us when we hesitate to witness for You and our Lord Jesus out of fear or anxiety.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Thank You for forgiving and forgetting our sin.  Help us share the Good News of everlasting life in our daily walk.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

A gentleman by the name of David H. Johnson notes that,  “Sodium is an extremely active element found naturally only in combined form; it always links itself to another element.  Chlorine, on the other hand, is the poisonous gas that gives bleach its offensive odor.  When sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride -- common table salt -- the substance we use to preserve meat and bring out its flavor.  Love and truth can be like sodium and chlorine.  Love without truth is flighty, sometimes blind, willing to combine with various doctrines.  On the other hand, truth by itself can be offensive, sometimes even poisonous.  Spoken without love, it can turn people away from the gospel.  When truth and love are combined in an individual - or in a church - then we have what Jesus called 'the salt of the earth', and we're able to preserve and bring out the beauty of our faith.”

My mother – God bless her – was bad about speaking her feelings with giving thought to the impact her words might have.  “But it’s the truth!”, was her usual defense when someone was shocked by her bluntness.  Truth without love.

Then there’s puppy love, a love so flighty it can change in a week or less.  Or a couple who proclaim love for each other, but are really only interested in staying together, maybe for financial reasons.  In either case, they don’t really mean it when they say, “I love you”.  Love without truth.

Jesus tells us to speak the truth, especially when we may be trying to offer advice to someone, but to do so in love.  We are to think about what we are about to say, think about the impact our words might have, treat the other person with love, just like we would want to be treated.  Sodium and chlorine, love and truth – combined, they flavor our Christian walk.

Jesus says we believers are the salt of the earth.  I’ve heard that expression used many times to describe someone who is a good person.  “They’re the salt of the earth!”, someone might say.  But did you know that salt is mentioned throughout our Bible, in both Testaments?

For instance, our Bible speaks of salt covenants, covenants that are permanent, eternal, such as when God spoke to Moses' brother Aaron.  Listen to the promise God made to Aaron as recorded by Moses in the 19th verse of the 18th chapter of his Book of Numbers…

19 “All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord with you and your descendants with you.”

--Numbers 18:19 (NKJV)

A covenant of salt, a covenant forever between God and Aaron and all his descendants, forever.  Where did they get this idea of permanence, of eternity, from salt?  Well, salt acts as a preservative – it is used to preserve food so that it will last longer.  So in our Bible, salt is used to signify permanence, loyalty, durability, fidelity.  It was also used practically for purification purposes.  Salt was so important to the Jewish people, they were supposed to include it in any tithing to the Lord, as described by Moses in the 2nd chapter his Book of Leviticus, verses 12 and 13…

12 As for the offering of the firstfruits, you shall offer them to the Lord, but they shall not be burned on the altar for a sweet aroma. 13 And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt. 

--Leviticus 2:12-13 (NKJV)

Nowadays, our offerings are pretty much strictly financial – paper money or a check or a bank draft.  We don’t pour a little salt on our cash before dropping it in the collection plate.  But the idea of permanence and fidelity, of forever giving to the Lord out of our Love for Him, should indeed flavor our offering.

Jesus called us the salt of the earth, but He also included a warning.  Now I don’t know if the Apostle Mark was reporting on the same sermon as did Matthew, but he did capture a remark Jesus made that sounds very similar.  After His transfiguration, Jesus issues some warnings to His disciples, including us, that Mark quoted in the 9th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 49 and 50, when Jesus said…

49 “For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. 50 Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.”

--Mark 9:49-50 (NKJV)

That last bit is a good lesson for us.  We should have salt within ourselves and peace with one another.  Love and truth, fidelity, loyalty.  Yes, we will be seasoned with fire, tested by trials, but we have also been seasoned with salt, by the eternal Holy Spirit living within us.

And salt is good, unless it loses its flavor.  If that happens, how can it be seasoned?  This is the warning Jesus gives us, not to lose our saltiness, for we cannot be made salty again.

Salt is a preservative that can make food remain edible longer.  Salt enhances the flavor of our food.  And salt is a healing agent, helping wounds to heal.

We Christians, as a preservative, are to hold back the evil of the world, its corruption and decay.  As a flavor enhancer, we are to be part of the world's renewal and redemption.  And as a healing agent, we are to be part of the world's healing, not its destruction.  In this way we can retain our flavor, our saltiness, and always be pleasing to God.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, who came to free us from sin, and who is coming again to judge us all.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for our wonderful gift of faith and for Your Holy Spirit living within us.  He is our covenant of salt, sealed by the blood of our Lord Jesus.  He will be with us as long as we draw breath.  Sometimes, though, dear Father, we run the risk of our faith wavering, or losing our flavor.  We hesitate to do what we know You would have us do, more concerned with carrying out our will than Yours.  Please forgive us those times, Father.  Forgive us when we don’t let the light of truth shine out for all to see.  Please help us reach out more into the world, serving others in our service to You.  Help us be more forgiving, more merciful in our dealings with others.  Guide us around any pitfalls in this life and strengthen our spirits to do Your will.  And please help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

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 call us – Your church - to be the salt of the earth.  We are to hold back the evil of the world and slow its decay, to be an integral part of its redemption, and to aid in its healing, not its destruction.  Sometimes, Lord, we fail in these tasks and we risk losing our saltiness.  Please help us carry out our mission.  Help us sprinkle the world with salt by spreading the Gospel message.  Help us share Your love by being more understanding, more merciful, more giving and forgiving of others, offering aid when we can.  Not everyone believes in You, so it is our job to help them see the truth and believe.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Lord Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations and all the false teachings.  Help us fend off his attacks.  Please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  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.