It Isn't Always Going To Be Easy

[The following is the full manuscript of my sermon delivered on the 13th of December, 2015.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Getting ready for Christmas can be a lot of fun, but it can also be an ordeal.  We get too caught up in all the rush, the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.  We try to do too much, spread ourselves too thin, run all over God’s creation trying to get everything done before Santa makes his visit.

Some of it’s fun, and some is easy.  But a lot of what we put ourselves through this time of year is neither fun nor easy.  And at least part of the reason for that, in my opinion, is due to our losing sight of just what Christmas is truly all about.

We can perhaps take some small comfort - in the vein of “misery loves company” – in knowing that even the very first Christmas was anything but easy for the mother and earthly father of our Lord Christ.  Listen and follow along to how the Apostle Luke describes the days leading up to that first Christmas, from the 2nd chapter of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 6, reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

1 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant. 

6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.

--Luke 2:1-6 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, before we get too much more caught up in the busyness of the holidays, please calm our hearts and speak to us of the real meaning of Christmas and of being a Christian.  Speak to us through Your Holy Spirit and give us the message we need to hear.  Help us prepare room in our hearts for our Lord.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.  Amen.


Do any of you remember Duz laundry detergent?  Well, a young boy entered a grocery store one day and asked the grocer for a box of Duz detergent.  The grocer was puzzled and asked why the lad would want a box of Duz.  “I’m going to wash my cat”, the boy answered.  “Young man,” the grocer protested, “you shouldn’t wash your cat with this kind of soap!”  But the boy insisted it would be OK.

A few days later, the boy returned and the grocer asked him about the cat.  “Oh, he died”, the boy replied.  The grocer shook his head and said, “Well, son, I warned you not to wash your cat with that Duz detergent.”  The boy shot back, “The soap didn’t hurt him a bit.  It was the spin cycle that did him in!”

[* From 1001 Humorous Illustrations for Public Speaking by Michael Hodgin, #284, “Easy Duz It”, page 333. *]


You’ve probably heard someone say, “Easy does it”, usually as they’re trying to ease something delicate into position.  Well, in this case, it doesn’t sound like there was anything easy about using “Duz” to wash a cat.  Maybe the cat would have survived after all if the boy hadn’t tried to spin dry him.  But anyone who has ever owned a cat knows that washing them is not an easy undertaking no matter how you do it, even using a washing machine and Duz detergent.


When I was trying to come up with a title for today’s message, the first thought that hit me was, “It ain’t gonna be easy”, which I’m sure would displease all our English teachers.  Other ideas included, “Nobody said it was gonna be easy”, which is a little lengthy, and “If it were easy, anyone could do it”, which is both very true and very long for a title.  No matter what label we put on it, the plain and simple fact is that there is nothing in our Bible that assures us of an easy life on this earth.

I want you to think for a moment about the 12 Disciples, the closest followers and dearest friends Jesus had while He walked this earth.  One of them committed suicide, driven mad by remorse at betraying our Lord.  Ten died horrible deaths, martyred because of their belief in and evangelism for Jesus as Christ, the one true Son of God and the only way to salvation.  Only one of the 12 lived to a ripe old age and died of natural causes, but he died alone in exile.  They didn’t exactly have it easy, did they.

Consider the mother and earthly father of our Lord Jesus.  They were blessed by God to bring forth and take care of His only begotten Son.  If anyone should have an easy life, it would be them, wouldn’t you think?  But our scripture reading today says otherwise.

Being privy to the full story behind Jesus’ birth, we know that Joseph had a pretty tough time accepting his betrothed wife turning up pregnant, when they had not yet been together in an intimate way.  He was ready to call off the marriage and have Mary taken to the Jewish version of a monastery until God’s angel came to him and told him it would be OK, that Joseph needed to take Mary as his wife and take care of the child as if it were his own.  I’m sure that wasn’t easy for Joseph or Mary.

And then there’s that journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where Joseph had to go to be registered for the census.  In our Bible Study class a while back, we looked at how they would have headed south and then turned east and crossed over into Jordan to avoid going through Samaria, the territory most good devout Jews would not set foot in if at all possible.  This detour would have added days to their trip.  The route was treacherous at places:  crossing the river twice, climbing rocky hillsides and descending the scrabble strewn slopes, through desert and wilderness, at times in the presence of dangerous wild animals, with dwindling food supplies.

This journey would have been a difficult one for two normal, healthy adults, especially if they had proper conveyance.  By all accounts, they had one burro which Mary rode while Joseph walked the entire trip.  Oh, and by the way, what did Luke tell us about Mary’s condition?  She “was now obviously pregnant”.  How pregnant?  “While they were there” in Bethlehem, “the time came for her baby to be born”.  Natural childbirth, without the benefits of modern drugs or medical teams or even a midwife, is certainly not easy, and had to have been especially trying after such a long and torturous journey.  The angel never told Joseph or Mary that it was going to be easy.


And then there’s the Apostle that never walked with Jesus, yet knew Him as well if not better than those who did.  The Apostle that I tend to associate with personally because of the dramatic change Jesus made in him, from what he was to what he became.

The Apostle Paul had an easy life, didn’t he?  He was a good Jew, a member of the Pharisees, the ruling class of religious leaders.  He studied at the feet of the greatest teacher Gamaliel and was destined for great things.  But then Jesus came to him on that dusty road to Damascus and everything changed.

Let’s listen to how easy Paul described his life to be, as he wrote in his 2nd letter to the church in Corinth, chapter 11, verses 22 through 27, when he is talking about those who persecuted and ultimately crucified Jesus, and then about himself…

22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. 24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

--2 Corinthians 11:22-27 (NKJV)

Yep, that’s an easy life for you – Not!

Notice that Paul mentions his labors for the Lord first, making them the least significant in this long list of woes.  The Jews gave him 39 lashes five times.  Three times he was beaten with rods, and stoned once and left for dead once.  Shipwrecked three times, and always on the move.  Facing perils on water and on land, from robbers and the Gentiles and even his own countrymen, perils in the cities, in the wilderness, in the sea, perils from those who falsely claim to be fellow believers in Christ.  Hungry and thirsty, sleepless, cold and naked too often to count.

Anytime I start feeling I have it tough and self-pity begins to creep in, all I have to do is remember all that Paul endured for our Lord.  You’d think that all of this would get Paul down, that it would slowly beat him up enough that he’d get tired and just give up.

Not Paul.  Instead, he just kept giving praise and glory to God and to Jesus.  Rather than lamenting, he would rejoice, just as he tells us to do, in his 1st letter to the Thessalonians when he says this in chapter 5 verses 16 through 18…

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

--1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV)

Paul is saying it’s not always going to be easy, but no matter what happens, find something to give God thanks for.  If life gets nasty and bad, rejoice in the Lord and pray to Him throughout whatever ordeal you’re going through, even pray without stopping.  Why?  Will this make it all better?  Maybe, maybe not, depending on God’s great master plan.  But it is what God wills for us to do, what Jesus wants us to do.


I don’t believe there’s a single person here who can look back on their life and say it’s been easy.  We’ve all experienced trials, tribulations, problems, difficulties, times when our faith wavered.  Paul would understand.  And he’d say it doesn’t matter.  In the end, in the grand scheme of things, none of what we have endured, endure, or have yet to endure will mean a thing once we have seen the glorious face of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I can only imagine that’s how it must have been for Mary and Joseph.  After that brutal trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem, they couldn’t even find a decent place to rest their weary bodies.  And then childbirth, without any help, in a crude stable with animals and straw all about.

But then they saw the face of the One of whom the prophets all foretold, the One promised by God’s messenger, the One who would offer salvation to the world.  And everything they had just gone through was forgotten.  Nothing else mattered but that sweet little Baby, wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying there in a manger where the animals normally fed.  Time just stood still as they quietly gazed into the face of God.


If we believe in Jesus as the Son of God and accept Him as our Lord and Savior, then one glorious day He will come to take us home.  On that day, everything we have ever endured – all the hardships and perils and beatings and trials… everything will be forgotten.  Nothing else will matter except the face of our dear Lord Jesus, smiling down on us.

It isn’t always going to be easy.  But if we stay the course, it will all turn our wonderful in the end.  God promised it.  We can believe it.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, You know how frail and weak we are.  Even the strongest among us sometimes buckle under the weight of the world.  We trip and we stumble over the traps that Satan lays all along our path as we struggle to walk that straight and narrow way of our Lord Jesus.  You know our suffering, Father, because You know how much Your own Son suffered when He walked this earth as one of us.  Forgive us, Father, when we fail to rejoice in You, when we forget to find something to give You thanks for even in the worst storms of our life.

Hear us now, Lord, as we come to You in the silence giving You thanks, offering You our praise, seeking Your help in our time of trial…

Father God, we know You never said it was always going to be easy.  We know we will face trials in our life, just as Your Son and all those who followed Him faced.  But Father, You have promised us that it will all come out good in the end, that all things turn to good for those who love You and follow Your voice.  We believe that promise, Father, and we put all our hopes, our faith, and our trust in Your Son Jesus, our Master and our Redeemer.  This we pray in that blessed name of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Are We Ready?

[The following is the full manuscript of my sermon delivered on the 6th of December, 2015.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Last Sunday we entered into the Advent season.  Now the dictionary defines “advent” as a coming into place, view, or being; an arrival.  And it specifically cites the birth of Jesus and the Advent season celebrating His arrival on earth.  This is the time of year we reflect on that humble birth and what that singular event means to this world.

Another milestone in the life of our Christ came at His baptism when God declared Jesus as His Son, affirming the Godhead of our Lord.  Jesus’ birth marks His advent into our world.  His baptism and God’s pronouncement mark His advent into His divinity.  And there is a third advent yet to come.

Today I want to look at how that second advent was announced and how it relates to the third.  Listen and follow along to what the Apostle Matthew recorded in his Gospel account, from chapter 3, verses 1 through 3, reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.’”

--Matthew 3:1-3 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, before we get too wrapped up in the commercialism of the holidays, please settle our hearts and speak to us about the real truth and purpose behind Christmas.  May Your Holy Spirit whisper the message You have for us this morning into our ears throughout the coming week.  Help us prepare the way of our Lord.  In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray.  Amen.


British Railways was looking for a way to test locomotive windshields when they heard about an unusual test cannon at British Airways.  Airways used the cannon to fire birds at great force into the windshields of passenger jets to simulate what too often happens in day-to-day take offs and landings and to ensure the designs and materials of their windshields were up to the task.  They gladly let Railways borrow the cannon for their tests.

Just before the first test run, Railways sent a man out to buy a dead chicken to serve as ammunition for the cannon.  The cannon was then loaded, aimed, and fired at the windshield of a locomotive.  The bird smashed right through the windshield, broke the engineer’s chair, and made a large dent in the rear wall!  Railways officials were furious!  They called Airways, demanding an explanation.  Airways sent out some inspectors to investigate, and they in turn reported back to Railways: “The next time you buy a chicken for this test, either make sure it isn’t frozen or thaw it out before you fire it.”

[* From 1001 Humorous Illustrations for Public Speaking by Michael Hodgin, #271, “A Cold Test”, page 115. *]


I believe this speaks strongly to the old expression: “The devil is in the details”.  The folks at British Railways had a great idea to use something that Airways had already successfully employed many times.  But they got tripped up by one little – but extremely critical – detail: they used a frozen chicken, as hard as a real cannonball.  They tried, but they were not fully prepared for their test.  And that brings me to the title of today’s message: “Are We Prepared?”


In the Advent season, we look forward to the coming of Jesus, to Christmas day and our Lord’s birth.  But many folks might not realize we are also looking ahead to when He will come again.  Isaiah may have been prophesying of Jesus’ first coming into this world, as the holy Infant.  And John the Baptist clearly was announcing His second advent, our Lord’s manifest coming into His divinity.  But both the prophecy of Isaiah and the record of Matthew look ahead to Jesus’ return, His third advent, with the words, “Prepare the way of the Lord”.

Look at what John the Baptist said in verse 2: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”  Now listen to the words of Jesus Himself as He began His ministry on earth, from the 4th chapter of Matthew, verse 17…

17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

--Matthew 4:17 (NKJV)

In both cases, what exactly is “at hand”?  Jesus!  Jesus is at hand.  Jesus is the kingdom of heaven!  Isaiah foretold His coming, at the same time providing us all with cautionary instructions.

Let’s take a moment to look at just what God said through Isaiah, as it is a bit more detailed than what Matthew gave us.  Hear Isaiah chapter 40, verses 3 through 5…

3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

--Isaiah 40:3-5 (NKJV)

“Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”  This world is a desert, a wilderness, separated from God’s beautiful garden by the sin of mankind.  Until we accept Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit, our very heart is also a desert, and we are lost, separated from God’s love by our own sin.

So the first thing we have to do is make sure our own heart is straight with God!  We’ve got to straighten out those crooked places in our lives where we deviate from the path Jesus would have us walk.  We’ve got to smooth over our rough places where we might trip up and briefly follow Satan for a few steps.  Then the true glory of the Lord will be revealed and eventually all mankind will see it together.

Understand that these are God’s words, not Isaiah’s.  It’s in the very last phrase of verse 5: “For the mouth of the Lord has spoken”.


This is all part of our preparation for Jesus’ advent, this straightening and smoothing of our own lives.  But it can even provide benefits in this life today.  Jotham was one of Judah’s good kings, who pleased God by his actions and thoughts, and because he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.  Listen to what 2nd Chronicles says of him in chapter 27 verse 6…

6 So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God.

--2 Chronicles 27:6 (NKJV)

He became mighty because he prepared his ways before God.  He took everything to God, sought His counsel, before making any decision or action.  He made his own life straight in God’s sight.


But as I said, I’m more concerned about what comes next rather than the here and now.  We need to prepare for Jesus’ third advent, His return to the earth.  And make no mistake – He is coming again.  We have that on good authority: His own words.  Listen to what Jesus says in the Gospel of John, chapter 14, verses 2 through 4…

2 "In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

--John 14:2-4 (NKJV)

But Jesus also issues a warning, and this is why we absolutely must be ready.  In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, verses 31 through 34 and verse 41, Jesus declares…

31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’”

41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’”

--Matthew 25:31-34, 41 (NKJV)

So really, our first step in preparing for the third advent of our Lord is to make sure we truly believe in Him.  If so, we will follow His word and repent!  We will turn completely from our sinful ways and dwell only on and in Him.  We will love God and we will love one another as we love ourselves.  And we will show that love by helping others get prepared.  Because we don’t want to be culled off to Jesus’ left side when He returns to judge this earth!  We don’t want to hear Him say, “Depart from Me, you cursed!”


Are we ready?  If not, then it’s time we started straightening out a pathway for our Lord!  A path that leads directly to our hearts.

Be prepared!  That’s my motto.

Amen.


Let us pray…  Lord Jesus, when You return to judge mankind, we so desperately want to hear you say, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you.”  Help us be prepared for that glorious day, please Lord.  Show us the crooked places in our lives that need to be straightened out.  Help us feel the rough spots that need to be smoothed.  Help us be fully prepared for Your return.

Hear us now, Lord, as we come to You in the silence giving You thanks and asking for Your help.  May our Father’s Holy Spirit carry our unspoken needs and prayers to You in this moment of quietude…

Lord Jesus, You command us to love one another, and by that very example to show others Your love.  Help us, Lord, to serve You by helping others be prepared for Your advent for judging.  Grant us patience, courage and strength, understanding and sensitivity as we come face to face with those who may not want to hear of the Good News You bring.  Above all, Lord, help us be ready for when You come again.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Deceptive Partnerships

[The following is the full manuscript of my slightly abridged sermon delivered on the 15th of November, 2015.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Philip, Paul, Barnabas, Peter, John, and others spread the Gospel of Jesus far and wide.  Churches sprang up - in homes, in caves, anywhere two or more could gather in Jesus’ name.  To stay in touch and share the word with all these far-flung congregations, the Apostles wrote letters and had them passed from church to church so that as many believers as possible could hear from them.

Our scripture this morning comes from the second such letter that the Apostle John wrote, in which he addresses a threat that is still very much a concern today.  Listen and follow along as I read from 2nd John - there is only 1 chapter - verses 5 through 11, and I will be reading from The Living Bible…

5 And now I want to urgently remind you, dear friends, of the old rule God gave us right from the beginning, that Christians should love one another. 6 If we love God, we will do whatever He tells us to. And He has told us from the very first to love each other. 

7 Watch out for the false leaders—and there are many of them around—who don’t believe that Jesus Christ came to earth as a human being with a body like ours. Such people are against the truth and against Christ. 8 Beware of being like them and losing the prize that you and I have been working so hard to get. See to it that you win your full reward from the Lord. 9 For if you wander beyond the teaching of Christ, you will leave God behind; while if you are loyal to Christ’s teachings, you will have God too. Then you will have both the Father and the Son. 

10 If anyone comes to teach you, and he doesn’t believe what Christ taught, don’t even invite him into your home. Don’t encourage him in any way. 11 If you do, you will be a partner with him in his wickedness.

--2 John 5-11 (TLB)

Let us pray…  Father, we do love You, and we truly try to love one another just as Your Son Jesus loves us.  Speak to us, Lord, exactly what we need to hear.  Counsel us with Your Holy Spirit so we can better follow Your voice.  In the blessed name of our Lord Jesus we pray.  Amen.


Since part of our message today originates in the Old Testament of our Bible, I thought you might enjoy a condensed version of Genesis and Exodus, according to a grade school Sunday School class.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden.  (Not sure what they were driven in, because there were no cars yet.)

Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel.

One of the next important people was Noah, who built a large boat and put his family – including his wife, Joan of Ark – and some animals on it.

Then there was Moses, who led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh’s people.  The plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable TV.

After God helped the Israel Lights escape, He fed them every day with manicotti from heaven.  Then He gave them His Top Ten Commandments.  These include: Don’t lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor’s bottom.

[From “The Old Testament” in A Laugh a Day!, Day 306.]


It’s easy to chuckle at what kids can come up with when trying to explain complex concepts.  I don’t know about you, but I’d really like to try some of that manicotti from heaven.


Our Bible is full of complex concepts.  Some have been debated by scholars, often heatedly, for hundreds of years.  But I think today’s text is easier to grasp.  It contains a quick reminder, and then a warning – one that we are well-advised to heed.

First the reminder, and in verse 5 John tells us it is an urgent reminder at that, one we must not forget.  John wants us to remember the rule God gave us from the very start: that we believers should love one another.  If we love God, really love Him, then we will do what He says, and He says to love one another.

John wasn’t the first to remind us of this.  Jesus might even have said it better, as recorded in the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 22, verses 37 through 39…

37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’"

--Matthew 22:37-39 (NKJV)

Jesus makes two points here.  The first, that we shall love our God, comes from ancient times, as John infers.  Listen to what Moses wrote in Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 5…

5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

--Deuteronomy 6:5 (NKJV)

The second point, about loving our neighbor, also comes from Moses, in the Book of Leviticus, chapter 19 verse 18…

18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

--Leviticus 19:18 (NKJV)

Can we doubt the message here?  It does come to us from very authoritative sources.  We are to love God, first and foremost.  And because we love Him, we will do what He says and that is to love each other, just as Jesus loves us.


So the reminder that John left for us and those early Christians is pretty straight-forward.  But why the urgency of the reminder?  To answer that, we have to first understand how the Gospel was spread in those early days, so long before modern means of communication.

Evangelists and apostles during this period basically traveled from town to town, preaching and teaching and spreading the word.  This is what Paul himself did, and how he planted so many churches throughout the region.  These evangelists and apostles usually sought and received the hospitality of local residents who would provide food and shelter during their visit.

Not only were good solid Christians like Paul and Barnabas engaging in this practice, but also those who delivered a somewhat skewed take on the Gospel.  Many taught things that simply were not what Jesus actually did and taught Himself.  Paul called this type of people false prophets or false teachers.  John refers to them as false leaders here in verse 7, because they did indeed present themselves as church leaders just out spreading the word of God.  But what they were spreading was false doctrine.

One of these that John mentions specifically, in verse 7, is that they didn’t believe that Jesus came to earth as a Man, in human form, just like one of us.  We know that’s not true, or how else could we relate to Him if He had not come and lived and suffered and died just like we do?  But the fledgling believers back then did not have access to all the information we have today, and they were easily led astray by these false teachers and leaders and prophets.  And because they were to love everyone, they too often took these false leaders into their homes, giving them aid and comfort and encouragement.


John wasn’t the only Apostle to issue this warning.  Listen to what Peter says in his 2nd letter, chapter 2 verses 1 and 2, and this time I will read from the Contemporary English Version of our Bible for added clarity…

1 Sometimes false prophets spoke to the people of Israel. False teachers will also sneak in and speak harmful lies to you. But these teachers don’t really belong to the Master who paid a great price for them, and they will quickly destroy themselves. 2 Many people will follow their evil ways and cause others to tell lies about the true way.

--2 Peter 2:1-2 (CEV)

Just as false prophets misled the children of Israel in times past, false teachers sneak around and speak harmful lies to us.  Yes, even us today!  Sadly, Peter notes that many people will take up after these deceivers and cause even more lies to be told about the true Christian faith.

And I’ve already mentioned Paul.  He cautions against false teachers and false doctrine many times in his letters, but listen to this one specific instance where he wrote to his protégé Timothy, in his 1st letter to his young friend, chapter 4 verses 1 and 2, again from the Contemporary English Version…

1 God’s Spirit clearly says that in the last days many people will turn from their faith. They will be fooled by evil spirits and by teachings that come from demons. 2 They will also be fooled by the false claims of liars whose consciences have lost all feeling...

--1 Timothy 4:1-2 (CEV)

No less authority than the Holy Spirit Himself attests to the sad fact that believers will turn from their faith because they have been fooled.  They will hear and be enticed by evil spirits and the teachings of demons.  They will be fooled by the false claims of liars who have no conscience.

Family, please make no mistake – this is the work of Satan, doing his level best to draw souls away from the path of righteousness and lead them on the road to ruin.  This is the warning John gives, in verse 9: if we wander beyond the teachings of Jesus, we will leave God behind.

Like I told the kids earlier, John tells us in verse 8 that we must be careful not to fall sway to these false leaders or we risk losing everything that we’ve worked so hard for.  We risk losing the rewards God has set aside for us in heaven.  We risk losing our very salvation if we wander too far.  But in the last half of verse 9, John assures us that if we stay true to Jesus and His teachings as recorded for us here in our Holy Bible, then we will keep not only Jesus but His Father, our God, as well.


John concludes this cautionary text with one final, and very stern, warning.  We must be absolutely sure of the credentials of who we choose to listen to and heed.  If they don’t believe what Jesus taught, if they don’t follow Biblical lines of belief and of living, then do not, under any circumstances, invite them into your home.  Don’t encourage them in any way, or you will be found guilty as their accomplice.

Provide any of these false teachers with any form of encouragement that allows them to keep going and keep misleading others, and you will be seen as partners with them in their wickedness.  You will have joined their efforts in deceiving others.  You will have entered into a deceptive partnership, and one God will judge you for.


Family, please be very careful about who you allow into your home.  And I’m not talking only about those folks who might come around knocking on your door wanting to tell you about their brand of religion, one that doesn’t entirely agree with what our Bible says.  I’m also talking about those you might invite into your living room through your TV sets or your books or your newspapers.  Be very careful in discerning their meaning and intent.

Do they believe in the Jesus of our Bible, the one true Son of God, existing alongside the Father and the Holy Spirit from before time began and throughout all eternity, not created but born of God?  Do they teach that there is only one way to salvation and that is from the Father through the Son, or do they say there are many avenues to heaven?  Do they promise great riches and rewards and good health here on earth if you only have enough faith, or do they point to the example of Jesus and Paul and the rest of the disciples when noting that while this life may not be at all pleasant, greater rewards await us in heaven than we can even imagine here on earth?

Do they explain that certain parts of the Bible don’t really apply to us today because of how much the world has changed, or do they state that the Word of God is timeless, unchanged and unchanging, as sure today as yesterday and as certain tomorrow?  Do they pick and choose from the scriptures using only the parts that support their views, or do they present the entire Bible as the truth from God that points precisely to Jesus Christ our Lord?


Watch out for the false leaders, for there are many of them around.  Heed the words of John and Peter and Paul and be very careful of who you listen to, and what you believe.  Understand that there are many out there who would drag you into to a deceptive partnership with them by first deceiving you.

Be careful, be discerning, and be faithful and true to the Son of God, our Lord Jesus.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You have given us a book filled with many interesting characters and amazing exploits, and everything in it is for our good.  From it we gain instructions, warnings, reminders, encouragement, assistance, and counsel.  And everything in it ultimately points to Your Son Jesus and Your great plan of salvation for us and for this world, all through the sacrifice made by Jesus on our behalf.  Thank You so much for this wonderful book, Father, and please forgive us when we fail to follow Your word given to us in its pages.

Hear us now, Lord God, as we come to You in the silence and lift up to You our unspoken needs and prayers, straight from our hearts…

Lord Jesus, Your apostles warn us to take care who we pay attention to.  Help us, please Lord, discern the truth from the false doctrine that is floated by some.  Help us see who we can trust with our faith, who will be true to God’s word rather than try to deceive us for Satan’s wicked reasons.  Please point us to that truth as contained in our Holy Bible so we can know who to partner with and who to avoid.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Father, We Adore Thee

[The following is the manuscript of my sermon delivered on the 8th of November, 2015.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

What does it mean to adore someone or something?  We toss that word around a lot, along with the word “love”.

“I absolutely adore that new weatherperson on channel 2 – don’t you?”  “I just adore that delicious cake you brought to the covered dish lunch last week!”  “Man, there’s nothing I love more than a good steak on a Friday night before some high school football!”

These things or people please us, don’t they, so we say that we adore them.  But what should real adoration lead us to do?  Listen and follow along to what the Apostle Paul told the church in Rome, from Romans chapter 15, verses 1 through 9, reading from the New Living Translation…

1 We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. 2 We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. 3 For even Christ didn’t live to please Himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult You, O God, have fallen on me.” 4 Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. 

5 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. 6 Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. 8 Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises He made to their ancestors. 9 He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for His mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote:
        “For this, I will praise You among the Gentiles;
        I will sing praises to Your name.”

--Romans 15:1-9 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father, we love You.  We worship and adore You.  May our words, our acts, our very thoughts glorify Your name in all the earth.  Touch our hearts now with Your Holy Spirit and impart Your message to each of us.  In the blessed name of our Lord Jesus we pray.  Amen.


C. S. Lewis once provided a powerful image of the difference between heaven and hell.  He described hungry people sitting at huge banquet tables loaded with delicious food.  Every person had a three foot long fork and a three foot long knife attached to their hands.  The scene in hell was one of anger, frustration, and fighting as people scrambled to feed themselves.  They could reach the food with the oversized knives and forks, but the utensils were too long to feed themselves.  The conflict, screaming, and unfulfilled hunger continued for eternity, and that is hell.

But the scene in heaven was quite different.  The same tables were loaded with food, and the people had the same ridiculously long forks and knives attached to their hands.  But instead of chaos and conflict, there was joy, laughter, and pleasant conversation.  The difference?  In heaven, the diners weren't trying to feed themselves.  Each person was patiently taking the food and feeding the person seated across the table.

Lewis concluded that people who spend all their lives trying to fulfill their own selfish desires are already experiencing a kind of hell.  But those who live a life of service to others will find themselves quite at home in heaven.  They learned the joy of service on earth, and now they have eternity to enjoy it, only more so.


Lewis said that the selfish are already living in a type of hell, right here on earth.  But those who genuinely strive to serve others will find themselves right at home in heaven, where they will be rewarded.  This is part of what Paul was driving toward in the opening verses of our message text today.  We should not just work to please ourselves, but should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord as well.

And why should we do that?  It goes back to my earlier question of what our adoration should lead us to, and for that matter, what we should adore!

I believe the answer to the question of what we should adore is pretty obvious, especially in this gathering.  We should adore God, our Father in heaven.

If you look in a thesaurus you’ll find the words “glorify” and “worship” are the same as “adore”.  We tend to glorify that which we adore, going almost to the point of worshiping it if we adore it so much.

So is it really God we adore?  How often do we give Him the glory?  How much do we worship Him outside of this building or when we’re not all together?

Sadly, I worry that too many people tend to adore some of those people and things I mentioned earlier.  Sports figures, entertainers, politicians, power brokers, and many others all enjoy huge groups of followers.  Many of these can do almost anything and the American public will simply look the other way.  After all, we have terms like “hero worship” and TV shows like “American Idol” because we do seem to idolize certain people.

There is a grave and serious danger in carrying this adoration too far.  Listen to what God’s prophet Jeremiah says about worshiping things, or any other idol…

8 “In that day,” says the Lord, “the enemy will break open the graves of the kings and officials of Judah, and the graves of the priests, prophets, and common people of Jerusalem. 2 They will spread out their bones on the ground before the sun, moon, and stars—the gods my people have loved, served, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up again or buried but will be scattered on the ground like manure.”

--Jeremiah 8:1-2 (NLT)

These things that we might give all our time to, might adore and idolize - these things of the world will all simply dry up and be laid bare, scattered on the ground like manure.

Jeremiah speaks of a judgment to come, with a rather bad ending for the people he is trying to warn.  The Apostle John also speaks of a future judgment, as revealed to him by Jesus Christ, but with a more reassuring point for believers.  Hear the words John recorded in Revelation chapter 15, verses 2 through 4…

2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. 3 They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:
“Great and marvelous are Your works,
Lord God Almighty!
Just and true are Your ways,
King of the saints!

4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy.
For all nations shall come and worship before You,
For Your judgments have been manifested.”

--Revelation 15:2-4 (NKJV)

John is shown a vision of all those believers who, along with Jesus, will share in the victory over Satan and his Antichrist and his beast.  And all those believers are playing harps and singing a beautiful song.  “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord.  Your ways are just and true.  You alone are holy.  All peoples glorify Your name.  All nations come and worship You.”

John foresees a time right before the final great battle of Armageddon.  Do we really want to wait that long before we worship our Lord God above everything and everyone else?

Now I know there are a lot of people in this world that feel like they’ve been abandoned by God, forsaken.  They think there’s no way He could care about them, much less love them.  I bet the people of Israel felt the same way when they were in exile in Babylon.  But they were wrong, just as anyone with those kinds of thoughts today are wrong.  God did not abandon them, or us.  We might turn away from Him, but He has never left our side.  The author of the two Books of the Chronicles spoke to those Jewish exiles and he speaks to us today.  Listen to what he says in 1st Chronicles chapter 29 verse 11…

11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is Yours, O Lord, and this is Your kingdom. We adore You as the One who is over all things.

--1 Chronicles 29:11 (NLT)

God is the greatness, the power, the glory, and yes, the victory and the majesty, and He is definitely worthy of our adoration!


What do we adore?  If God, if we truly do adore and glorify and worship Him and His Son Jesus Christ, do others see any proof of our adoration?  Do we glorify His name outside of these walls, when we are with folks who are not part of this Pilgrim family?  Do we glorify and worship Him when we are among unbelievers, or those who may have strayed over the years?

Let’s look again at today’s scripture from the Apostle Paul.  We would have to go back a little, into verse 14, to see what Paul is referring to in the 1st verse as “things like this”.  Basically, he has been instructing the church in Rome of what it means to live a Christian life.  He realizes that not everyone these people will associate with daily will readily or easily believe the same things, even among the believers themselves, so he counsels them to be sensitive.

Doesn’t this sound familiar?  Even today, with Christianity and the Gospel of Jesus covering far more ground than in Paul’s day, there are people who do not readily or easily believe what we, as followers of Jesus, believe.  Among those who call themselves Christian, there is not really consensus in belief.  That’s why we have so many different denominations and subsets and independent Christian church bodies.

Paul says we should be sensitive to them – all of them, fellow believers and non-believers as well - and not just please ourselves.  We shouldn’t get all up in their face and tell them they’re going to hell if they keep refusing to believe.  Instead, he tells us in verse 2 we should help them do the right things.  We should slowly build them up, support them, show them the true love of Jesus so they can grow in that love and develop their own relationship with Him.  In verse 3 Paul reminds us that even Jesus didn’t live to please Himself, but to serve others.

Paul also gives us a very important reminder in verse 4 that the messages in our Bible offer us the hope and encouragement we need to endure until all of God’s promises have been fulfilled.  But I think the most critical piece of advice Paul gives us comes in verses 5 and 6.  It is fitting for followers of Jesus Christ to live in harmony with one another.

Do you remember the words Jesus said, right after He commanded us to love one another as He loves us?  It comes from the Gospel of John, chapter 13, verse 35…

35 “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

--John 13:35 (NKJV)

Love for one another.  Isn’t that what Paul is talking about in his message?  Helping each other, building each other up, living in harmony with one another, accepting each other just as Jesus accepts us.  This is love in action.  This can bring us all together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.


Let us adore God the Almighty not just here in this beautiful sanctuary among good friends and relatives, but everywhere we go in our walk through life.  Let us glorify His name not only among fellow believers, but in the presence of anyone we interact with each day.  Let us be sensitive to those people and help them, building them up into a relationship of their own with Jesus.

Let us live in harmony and peace with everyone we touch in our daily walk.  Then they will know we are disciples of Jesus, the one true Son of God.  They will know we truly worship God, not just with words but with actions, with our very lives.


Father, we love You.  We worship and adore You.  May we glorify Your name everywhere we go and with everyone we meet.  And all in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son and our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, we do adore You and worship You, especially when we are gathered together in this place You have made for worship.  But Lord we have a little more difficulty showing our adoration when we are out in the world.  So many other things grab our attention and monopolize our time.  The current master of this world tempts us to worship other gods, to make idols of other people, to devote less and less of our lives to serving You and Your Son.

Hear us now, Father God, as we come to You in the silence asking for Your help to remain true to You no matter where we might be.  Hear us as we ask Your forgiveness for those times when we fail to live in harmony with one another.  Hear us as we cry out from our hearts our unspoken needs and prayers…

Lord Jesus, You command us to love one another, and by that very example to show others Your love.  Help us, Lord, to serve You by serving our fellow man.  Grant us peace and patience, courage and strength, understanding and sensitivity, because many we face will not want to listen to the Good News You bring.  Many will refuse Your offer of salvation.  But let us love them anyway, because they too are Your Father’s treasured creations.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Water of Life

[The following is the manuscript of my sermon delivered on the 1st of November, 2015.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

God’s Holy Spirit seems to have led me to the riverside for today’s message.  And He did the same for the prophet Ezekiel long ago, and even for the Apostle John while he was in exile.

In his book, Ezekiel tells us of a vision God showed him of the end of the age.  Listen and follow along as I read from the description Ezekiel paints of the new temple that Christ brings down when He returns, and then I’ll read a short passage from the Apostle John’s Revelation of Jesus, both from the New American Standard Bible.

First from Ezekiel chapter 47, verses 1 through 5…

1 Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east; and there was water, running out on the right side. 

3 And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles. 4 Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist. 5 Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed.

--Ezekiel 47:1-5 (NASB)

And from Revelation chapter 22, verses 1 and 2…

1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

--Revelation 22:1-2 (NASB)

Let us pray…  Father in heaven, we seek Your direction for us from Your words.  May Your Holy Spirit touch our hearts and speak Your message to each of us today.  In the blessed name of our Lord Jesus we pray.  Amen.


You may have heard me tell this before, but you’re going to hear it again because I like it…

A small town passed some fairly liberal liquor laws even after a local preacher had fought against them.  He knew firsthand the dangers that alcohol posed, how people and families could be destroyed by its allure, so he preached fiery sermons against drinking.  One Sunday he got all worked up preaching the sins of consuming that demon rum.  He ended his message by saying, “We need to do away with all this whiskey in our lives.  Why, if I had my way about it, I’d take all the booze in this town and dump it right into the river.”  As he concluded his sermon with an “Amen” and wiped the sweat from his brow, the choir director stood and announced, “Now if everyone would please turn to #695 in your hymnals and sing our closing hymn, “Shall We Gather at the River”.


I’ve often heard it said that timing is everything.  Either this pastor didn’t have anything to do with picking out the music, or the choir director had a wicked sense of humor, or perhaps sometimes God just likes to poke a little fun and insert some irony into our personal crusades.


In his vision from God, Ezekiel is taken on a tour of the new temple that comes to earth for the Millennium Kingdom – Jesus’ 1000 year reign of peace.  Water flows from the temple itself, right from the threshold, from under the doorway.  It starts as a mere trickle, but by the time Ezekiel and his guide have gone 4000 cubits, or a little over a mile, it becomes a huge river, too deep to cross.

In the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the Apostle John is shown the same river as it flows through the streets of New Jerusalem, originating from the throne of God.  This is no ordinary river, not just a stream of water running through paradise.  This river provides for the needs of God’s people, giving them continuous blessings.  The trees planted alongside it bear different fruits and every month, so that no one need eat the same thing all the time.  And the leaves of those trees bring healing to the people, to the nations.

The Book of Revelation is a terrifying and frightening look at the future of mankind and the world, full of fantastic creatures and bloodshed and destruction.  But it has a wonderful ending and offers great hope and promise to those who believe in and follow Jesus.  This river shown to Ezekiel and to John has everything to do with that promise.


Our scripture passages for today - the one from the Old Testament and the one from the New Testament - both indicate that the source of this river is the throne of God.  Now these were simply visions shown to mortal men.  But like the parables that Jesus so often employed, visions from God are often intended to relay a complex message in a simpler, more easily understood manner.

So what is the message here?  I believe Jesus gives us a hint when He spoke during the Festival of Booths, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles, held in Jerusalem to commemorate the 40-year experience of the children of Israel in the wilderness.  This comes from the 7th chapter of John’s Gospel, verses 37 and 38…

37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

--John 7:37-38 (NKJV)

At this festival, huge water vessels were brought up for the purification rituals during the first seven days, but not on the eighth day.  On that last day, with no big water jugs around, Jesus shouts, “If you’re thirsty, come to Me and get a drink.”

So do you suppose Jesus and His disciples were handing out water bottles to the people?  I don’t think so, especially when He talks about rivers again, and these flowing from the hearts of believers.

We have other clues, including this from one of my favorite stories in the Bible.  Do you remember the Samaritan woman at the well?  Her past was rather shady, to put it mildly.  To avoid the stares and whispers of the other women, she would go to the well to draw her household water at midday, much later than anyone else would go.  She met Jesus there, and He told her all about her life.  In the end, she managed to bring the entire community to Christ, but the offer Jesus made to her bears greatly on today’s message.  Again I am reading from the Gospel of John, chapter 4, verses 10, 13 and 14…

10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” 

13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

--John 4:10, 13-14 (NKJV)

Jesus offered the woman the living water.  He offers to us all a fountain of water that springs forth into everlasting life.  That river that Ezekiel and John saw sprang forth from a trickle and became a mighty fountain indeed.  A river originating from the new temple, from the right side of the altar, according to Ezekiel.

Who do we know that sits at the right hand of God, on the right side of God’s throne?  Jesus!  That fountain of water that flows greater than any river springs forth from Jesus Christ our Lord and leads to everlasting life with Him and our Father God in paradise!


Of course, the catch is that we have to believe - believe in Jesus as the one true Son of God.  And if we believe, we will follow His commands.  We will repent and accept Him as our Lord and Master.  And we’ll do it now, rather than wait.

Going back to the Book of Revelation, chapter 22, verses 10 through 12, we’re given a warning…

10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.” 

12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done."

--Revelation 22:10-12 (NASB)

John’s guide notes that there are folks who have done bad things and they’ll keep doing bad things.  But he encourages those who have lived righteous lives and are holy to keep practicing righteousness and stay holy, to stay right with God.

And then Jesus gives us a promise and a warning in the same breath.  He is coming soon, and He’s bringing a bundle of rewards with Him.  And each person will receive what they deserve – the good and the bad.  The righteous and those who persevere in His name will be rewarded for their good works, as well as granted salvation for their belief.  The wicked will be punished, according to what they have done in their lives.

If Jesus is coming soon, as the word of God promises, why would anyone hesitate even a minute to accept his offer of that living water?  For when He does come back, it will be too late!  Listen to the words of God as spoken to John in Revelation chapter 21 verses 6 through 8…

6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

--Revelation 21:6-8 (NKJV)

That’s good for believers like us that overcome and persevere, but even scarier for the wicked than the punishments that Jesus promises!

And there’s that “fountain of the water of life” again.  The water shown to Ezekiel that originates from the right hand of the throne of God.  The water of life shown to John that provides for all of man’s needs.  The living water that Jesus offered the Samaritan woman at the well.  The fountain of the water of life given freely, without cost.

And yes, Jesus is that water, the river flowing from the right hand of God, the living water, the fountain that leads to everlasting life.  We can drink freely of that water because Jesus paid the cost, there on the cross of Calvary.  He provides for all our needs, throughout each month of the year, with endless variety.  His touch brings healing to God’s people.  All we have to do is wade in and take a drink.

We can trust in God’s offer – it appears twice in the last chapters of Revelation alone.  The last part of verse 6 in chapter 21 says…

6c “To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.”

--Revelation 21:6c (NLT)

And then the last part of verse 17 in chapter 22 repeats it…

17c "Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life."

--Revelation 22:17c (NLT)

Before our service began this morning, I had our guys play a song for you by the Rhett Walker Band from a few years back.  The song is titled “Come to the River”, and the refrain goes like this…

You say come to the river,
Oh and lay yourself down,
Let your heart be found.
You say come to the river,
Drink from the cup I pour,
And thirst no more.


Are you thirsty?  Come and take a drink.  It’s free for you – the price has already been paid.

If you can’t fully rid yourself of the influence of the world and its culture, come jump in the river and let your heart be found, stand in the river and be washed clean.  If you haven’t yet completely given yourself to Jesus as your Lord and Master, then come – He offers you the Living Water, the water of life.

Jesus says come and drink from His cup.  And thirst no more.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, Your love for us flows like a mighty river, so deep it cannot be crossed.  It covers us with Your love, providing for all our needs, healing all our wounds, mending our spirits.  Your Son Jesus offers us a drink from that river.  He is the true essence of Your love.  He is that living water, flowing from Your throne and leading to everlasting life for all who believe!  If we but drink of that water, we will never thirst again.

But Father, we can be a stubborn and fearful people.  We’re afraid of making a decision sometimes.  We want to follow Jesus but we want to do it on our terms rather than His.  He calls us to repent, but we don’t want to give up all the aspects of our world and its culture.  We’re too comfortable with our lives to want to change everything.  Help us, please Lord.  Take us by the hand and walk us down to that riverside so that we might drink freely.

Hear us now, Father God, as we come to You in the quiet with our eyes closed and our heads bowed, repenting of our sin, seeking Your forgiveness.  And Lord, if anyone feels drawn to Your altar, to Your Son’s cross, urge them to come now…

Lord Jesus, give us that water please, the living water you offered the Samaritan woman.  Spring forth Your fountain and cover us with Your love.  Flow over us and wash us clean.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

"Conquered, or Conqueror?"

[The following is the manuscript of my sermon delivered on the 25th of October, 2015.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

With the events of the last few weeks, I feel it critical that we not lose sight of one very important message that our Father God gave us in our Bible.  It has to do with us, as well as our loved ones who’ve gone on home to live with our Father and with Jesus.  It’s a sweet and simple truth that we absolutely must remember, especially when the storm clouds gather overhead.

Listen and follow along as I read from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 8, verses 31 through 35 and 37 through 39, from the New Living Translation of our Bible…

31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these?  If God is for us, who can ever be against us?  32 Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t He also give us everything else?  33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for His own?  No one — for God Himself has given us right standing with Himself.  34 Who then will condemn us?  No one — for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. 

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love?  Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 

37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.  Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow — not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.  39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below — indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

--Romans 8:31-35, 37-39 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, speak to us using my voice, but let Your children see only Jesus and hear only Your words.  May Your Holy Spirit touch our hearts and write Your message upon our very souls.  In the blessed name of our Lord Jesus we pray.  Amen.


A man whose heart had been deeply touched by the death of a friend, expressed a desire to begin the Christian life, and he told the minister so.  "There's just one thing that makes me hesitate," he added.  "I'm afraid I can't hold out.  Where I work, there are some pretty rough fellows.  I don't believe there's a real Christian in the crowd."  For an answer the minister reached down and lifted a flower from the vase on the table.  "Do you see this flower?" he asked.  "It grew in the mud and slime of a marsh, yet see how clean and spotless it is.  That's because God kept it.  And He can keep you, too."

A pastor in Virginia phoned the editor of religious news for the local paper and gave him the topic for his Sunday morning's sermon: "The Lord Is My Shepherd."  The editor asked, "Is that all?"  The pastor replied, "That's enough."  The editor, thinking that those two words were part of the preacher’s subject, posted the topic in the newspaper as follows: "The Lord is My Shepherd.  That's Enough."


The Lord is my Shepherd and that is enough.  To know the Lord as our protector and provider is enough to dissipate all fears and dilute all sorrows.  What more could we need than to have God by our side?  God keeps us - in the palm of His hand, in the safety of His arms, in the warmth of His heart.


Have you ever felt defeated, beaten down by life?  Do you just get to the point where you hate facing another day?  I'm not talking about “Gee, I had a hard day and just want to put my feet up and snooze in front of the TV for a while”.  And I’m not talking about losing at Rook or Phase 10 here on game night.  I’m not even talking about Duke beating Carolina, which is extremely difficult to cope with!

What I mean is that feeling of being completely conquered, truly and utterly defeated.  That feeling where all you have the strength left to do is to run up the white flag… but you don't know who to surrender to.  Have you ever had one of those days, or weeks, or years?  I know I sure have.


I titled this message "Conquered, or Conqueror?" for two reasons.  The first is because sometimes we feel more like one than the other.  And the second reason is that I believe we have a choice in the matter.

What are some of the differences between these two conditions?  Well, if you simply look at the words, they only differ by two letters at the end: an "ed" on one and an "or" on the other.  They share the same root word: "conquer".  One of the dictionary definitions for that verb is to gain a victory over, to surmount, to master, to overcome.  A conqueror does those things, while the conquered suffers them.  One is defeated, the other triumphant.  One lost everything, the other won.

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday, the people cheered and shouted "Hosanna", "Savior".  They expected that the Messiah would come as a victorious leader, conquering the Romans and freeing the masses from tyranny.  Jesus indeed won the great victory for us all, but not in the sense or the manner the people expected.


So while we may at times feel conquered, Paul tells us that through Jesus, not only do we win the fight, but we gain an overwhelming victory!  Look at verse 37 again: "No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us."

What is it we face?  What are "all these things" Paul refers to?  Look in verse 35: troubles, calamities, persecution, hunger, destitution, danger, and even threats to our very life.  Nasty stuff!

Yet Paul assures us we have an overwhelming victory through Christ.  We are conquerors through Jesus.  And Paul confirms this in his second letter to his young protégé, Timothy, in chapter 1 verse 7…

7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

--2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)

When we confess our belief in and give our lives to Jesus, He sends God's Holy Spirit to live within us, to be our constant Companion and to augment our own spirit.  Our spirit becomes one of power, not fear.


But we're human, with human weaknesses.  We may have trouble really believing we are conquerors, especially when life just batters us day after day after day, in much the same manner it did Paul, who was beaten, shipwrecked, imprisoned, time after time after time.  Sometimes it just seems humanly impossible that we could be conquerors.  And indeed it just might be humanly impossible, a fact Jesus Himself affirms.

Do you remember the story of the rich young ruler who asked Jesus how he could gain eternal life?  After a little back and forth Jesus told him he must sell all he owns, give to the poor, and follow Him.  The young man refused to do so and Jesus commented that it is very difficult for a rich man to enter heaven.  The disciples, astonished at this, asked how then could anyone gain heaven.  Matthew recorded the rest of this exchange in chapter 19 verse 26…

26 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

--Matthew 19:26 (NLT)

Man, by his own actions, cannot save himself - it is impossible.  But with God, all things are possible.  All things.  And that's good, because it gets really scary when we see what we're up against.  As I noted a little earlier, Paul gives us a taste in today's verses 35.  In effect, we can expect to be tried, persecuted, starved, stripped of our possessions, maybe even slaughtered.

None of that is very pleasant to think about.  But exactly who or what does this threat come from?  What is the wall made of that we beat our heads against?  Paul reveals our true enemy in his letter to the church in Ephesus in chapter 6 verse 12…

12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

--Ephesians 6:12 (NLT)

We are made to conquer and we have a spirit of power.  But we have to contend against Satan?!  Against the very devil, pure evil in every sense of the word?!  How can we possibly succeed, or even hold our own?


Let's go back to our message text for a moment.  Verse 32 tells us that God gives us all things, including a spirit of power.  Verses 33 and 34 ask that if we have been chosen by God, are justified by the Creator of all,  then who can bring a charge against us, who can accuse us?  No one!

Verse 34 goes on to assure us that Jesus intercedes for us, He sits at the right hand of God the Father and pleads for us!  And verses 38 and 39 declare that nothing, nothing can separate us from God’s love, from His protection, from His help.  The love that He revealed in and through His only Son, Christ Jesus our Lord, will always be ours.


The author of Hebrews, in chapter 2 verses 14 and 15, gives us insight into how Jesus worked this already, and why…

14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could He die, and only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could He set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.

--Hebrews 2:14-15 (NLT)

Our human fear of death can hold us in slavery all our lives.  When we were dead in sin Jesus came to us, to free us from the slavery of sin, that we need no longer fear death, but instead look forward to salvation and to eternity with Him.


So how do we deal with all this?  How do we stand up to the constant onslaught life throws at us?  We all face personal problems, as individuals.  We face interpersonal problems, with our family and others.  We Christians face troubles even here within our church families.

Many churches are seeking new pastors right now.  Traditional churches are seeing declines in membership and attendance.  Many, including some right here in our own community, worry about paying the bills and keeping the doors open.  These churches are us.  We are the church.  We are the body of the risen Christ here on earth.  How can we hope to cope with all this?


Again we can turn to Paul for instruction and assurance, this time from his letter to his beloved church in Philippi.  In Philippians chapter 4 verses 12 and 13, Paul says…

12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

--Philippians 4:12-13 (NLT)

In any and every circumstance, Christ will strengthen us.


There's truth in the saying that if God leads us to it, He'll see us through it.  He gave us that spirit of power, and of love, and of self-discipline, as Paul told Timothy.  And those three gifts show God's wisdom.  He gave us the power to stand up and face the evil one, but tempered it with love that - if we use it properly - can keep us from hurting others.  And He gave us the self-discipline to use these gifts as He intends, and to help us stay focused on the true enemy.

The only contribution we need to make in all this is to have faith in Jesus' love and God's grace.  Jesus tells us if we have faith as small as a mustard seed we can move mountains.  Our faith that He will strengthen us to stand strong against whatever we face will see us through.  Our faith will make His strength ours.


Our text today tells us that the One who died for us, who sits at the right hand of God, pleads for us.  He sent us the Holy Spirit and filled us with a spirit of power.  He loves us and nothing can separate us from His love.  Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, God is always with us, comforting us with His sovereign authority and power.  God's grace, Jesus' sacrifice, Their great love for us…  What more do we need?


Have courage.  Stand strong.  We are conquerors, through Jesus Christ our Lord who loves us.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Loving Father, You know how weak Your children truly are, so You gave us Your Holy Spirit to empower us, to make us conquerors.  You do not want us to ever feel conquered, no matter what life throws at us, so You assure us that we can find strength in Your Son Jesus.  Please help us remember this, Father, any time we might begin to feel utterly defeated.

Hear us now, Father God, as we come to You in the silence of this beautiful place, speaking to you from our hearts, offering our thanks and seeking Your forgiveness for our disobediences…

Lord Jesus, You gave Your all for us just that we might be freed from the slavery of sin and death.  In You we are conquerors, and never conquered.  You are our hope and our salvation – in You we place all our trust.  This we pray in the glorious name of God’s Son and our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Trust in the Lord

[The following is the manuscript of my sermon delivered on the 18th of October, 2015.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

I just don’t know what’s going on here!  I don’t know why this is all happening.  What have we done to deserve this?!?  What brought this mess down on us?!?  I just don’t understand!!!


I’m willing to bet most, if not all, of us have uttered one of those plaintive cries at some point or another.  Maybe even within the last few days.  Life too often seems like one long stretch of pain and heartbreak interrupted only occasionally by short spans of happiness.  We just don’t understand what is going on.  We can’t figure out why all this is happening.

Well, we’re not alone.  King Solomon was a very wise man, known far and wide for his great wisdom.  But even wise King Solomon could not understand how so much stuff can happen to us in this life.  So he reached into his treasure trove of wisdom and pulled out a concept he and we should all be able to live by.  Listen and follow along as I read a short passage from the Book of Proverbs, chapter 3, verses 5 and 6, from the New Living Translation of our Bible…

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.

--Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, speak to us softly yet strongly, shout silently to our hearts that we might hear You over the roar of our grief.  Help us receive Your message and grow a deeper trust in You.  In the blessed name of our Lord Jesus we pray.  Amen.


An American astronaut lay strapped into his capsule, ready to be blasted off into space, when a reporter asked him via radio, “How do you feel?”

“How would you feel,” the astronaut replied, “if you were sitting on top of this powerful rocket assembled from 150,000 parts, each supplied by the lowest bidder?”

[*  From 1001 Humorous Illustrations for Public Speaking, #814, “A Space-Age Mustard Seed”, p. 309.  *]


It kind of sounds like the astronaut had some doubts and concerns regarding his fellow man’s craftsmanship, doesn’t it?  But he was still willing to be blasted off in that container of lowest bid parts.  Perhaps he had more trust in God when settling into that seat while his crew strapped him in.


Trusting God.  Sometimes that takes a lot, doesn’t it?  We’ve all heard the question, maybe asked it ourselves: If God is such a loving God, why do so many bad things happens to good people?  I could do an entire sermon series on that one question, and still never answer it adequately for some folks.  But if we look at what the arguably wisest man in all of human history says, we’re simply not meant to understand some things.

Something happened and you don’t understand it?  That’s OK.  It’s very likely many others don’t understand either.  Solomon tells us that we should not trust in our own understanding because, quite frankly, there are just some things we cannot understand.

Why?  Because we’re not God.  We’re not in His league.  The Almighty Himself, speaking through His prophet in the Book of Isaiah, chapter 55, verses 8 and 9, informs us that…

8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.

--Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV)

Solomon’s father, King David, wrote this for one of his psalms, first appearing in the 2nd Book of Samuel, chapter 22, verses 31 and 32…

31 As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
32 “For who is God, except the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?

--2 Samuel 22:31-32 (NKJV)

God’s thoughts and capabilities are so much higher than ours, just as heaven is far above the earth.  God’s way is perfect, His word is proven, He is always correct, and He always keeps His promises.

And I love that rhetorical question, who is God, except the Lord Almighty, the Creator of all there is!  Wouldn’t it be somewhat arrogant of us to think that we can understand everything He understands?


So what are we left with, but to trust in the Lord.  Trust in His wisdom, trust in His understanding, trust in His word, trust in His promises.  We have to have faith – that’s what trust is all about.  And one of the most difficult things to have faith in is that all this stuff that happens to us happens for a reason, and for a good reason at that.

I think the Apostle Paul provides the best basis of all for trusting God, in his letter to the Romans, chapter 8, verses 27 through 29…

27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

--Romans 8:27-29 (NLT)

God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love Him and who follow His call to the purpose He has for them.  At some point in time, all this bad stuff will be kneaded and massaged, sawn and sanded, melted and remolded, and turned into something very good.

The three loved ones who went home this week each had suffered for a long time, both physical pain and emotional anguish also because of their growing infirmities.  Now, we know they suffer no longer.  There is no more pain, no more suffering, no more anguish, no more tears.  The good promised them has been fulfilled.

We may be brokenhearted, but they are in heaven and we should rejoice for that, for them.  And someday, our turn will come and all the good will be returned to us, multiplied, magnified, and made into more goodness than we can even imagine.  All we have to do is love God, and follow His call.  Solomon said the same thing.  We are to seek God’s will in everything we do.  And He will show us the path to take.

Trust in the Lord, even when everything turns south.  Trust in the Lord, even when your heart is breaking and you can’t stop crying.  Trust in the Lord, when all others betray you and your own understanding fails you.  Trust in the Lord, with all your heart.  And He’ll make everything turn out good.

Amen.


Let us pray…  Father, your children are hurting.  Sometimes it seems our world has gone crazy, that more bad happens than good, that too many people who love You and believe in You are suffering.  We don’t understand, Lord!  And Your prophets tell us we can’t understand, because, after all, You are God and we’re not.  So we have to trust in You, Lord.  And we can do that because You’ve never lied to us, You’ve never broken a promise.  You have been, always are, and always will be faithful, steadfast, and true.

Hear us now, Lord, as we come to You in the silence, speaking straight from our hearts, giving our thanks and seeking Your strength and courage and comfort and peace…

Help us, sweet Lord.  Heal our hurts.  Soothe our nerves.  Mend our broken hearts.  And show us the path You call us to walk.  We love You, Lord, and want to serve You.  We want to do Your will for us, to fulfill the purpose You have called us to.  But sometimes, Father, we get in the way of our best intentions.  Help us, Lord, to put all our faith in You and to trust in You with all our heart.  This we pray in the beautiful name of Your Son and our Master and our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.