Thank You, Jesus!

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday, the 21st of November, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

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

The Apostle Paul is certainly a very interesting man.  As a Pharisee, he served the temple with zeal, carrying out orders given to him without hesitation, bringing in these converts to the New Way to stand trial for their blasphemes.  He was a good Jew, well taught and knowledgeable of the scriptures and the Law.

And then he was personally touched by Jesus and shown the truth.  From that moment on, once his eyes were opened, Paul almost constantly suffered persecution for his belief and his service to Jesus.  He was arrested, beaten, shipwrecked, threatened, mocked and ridiculed time after time.

But yet, through all of this, Paul was thankful to God and Jesus, for he knew he had been saved.  Nothing else mattered – none of the beatings or time spent in chains.  He had been living a lie, but now was set free by the truth.  Before, he was dead in sin, but now he was redeemed and freed to enjoy life eternal with God.  Through all the pain and torment Paul had to endure, he was always thankful.

Paul shared his thanks with us through his many letters, where he encourages us to be ever thankful, too – not just one day a year, but every day.  Please listen and follow along to what Paul wrote in his 1st letter to his young protégé Timothy.  I’ll be reading chapter 1 verses 12 through 17 and chapter 2 verses 1 through 7 from the New American Standard Bible…

1:12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, 13 even though I was previously a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; 14 and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. 15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost. 16 Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost sinner Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

2:1 First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made in behalf of all people, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed as a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

--1 Timothy 1:12-17, 2:1-7 (NASB)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for sending Your Son to earth as one of us.  Jesus is Your word in the flesh, who came to shed the light of truth into the darkness of a sinful world.  Thank You, Father, for Your loving mercy shown us.  Please help us truly be grateful in our hearts for all Your many blessings.  Help us show our gratitude by being a blessing to others.  And help us to do as You will and not just what we want to do.  Please keep us strong in our faith and of one purpose in our service to Christ Jesus.  Please keep us healthy and safe through these trying times.  And Father, please guard us from Satan and those who do his bidding.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this morning.  May Your truth soak into every fiber of our being.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.   Amen.

In his book Folk Psalms of Faith, pastor and author Ray Stedman tells of an experience preacher H. A. Ironside once had in a crowded restaurant.  Just as Ironside was about to begin his meal, a man approached and asked if he could join him.  Ironside invited him to have a seat.  Then, as was his custom, Ironside bowed his head in prayer.  When he opened his eyes, the other man asked, "Do you have a headache?"  Ironside replied, "No, I don't."  The other man asked, "Well, is there something wrong with your food?"  Ironside replied, "No, I was simply thanking God as I always do before I eat."  The man said, "Oh, you're one of those, are you?  Well, I want you to know I never give thanks.  I earn my money by the sweat of my brow and I don't have to give thanks to anybody when I eat.  I just start right in!"   Ironside replied, "Yes, you're just like my dog.  That's what he does too!"

Can a dog give thanks for its meal?  Can it express gratitude?  I think so.  I believe it says “Thank you” in its undying, faithful service to its master.

Now I’m sure Ironside meant that comment as a slight to the non-believer.  But sometimes I think we should be more like our dogs, who love us unconditionally.  We can say “Thank you”, for our meal and for all that God provides, but those are just words, no matter how many we speak.  We need to be more like a dog, and express our thankfulness in our undying, faithful service to our Master, Jesus.

This coming Thursday is our federally recognized and nationally celebrated Thanksgiving Day.  We know that the early Pilgrim settlers celebrated God’s grace and mercy with a fall harvest feast in 1621, while this New World was subject to English rule.  The very first Thanksgiving Day of these United States was proclaimed by the Continental Congress in 1777 with a document authored by Samuel Adams.  In October of 1787, President George Washington assigned Thursday, November 26th of that year, as an official day to offer thanks to the Almighty God for all He had done to establish and secure this fledgling nation.

The importance of a national day of giving thanks continued off and on over the years until 1863, while this nation battled with itself.  President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday of November to be “a day of Thanksgiving and Praise”.  So for 158 years now, the United States government has recognized and set aside the last Thursday of each November as a day to give thanks to God for His many blessings in our life and the life of our nation.  For without those blessings, this nation may never have been born, and most certainly would not have stood these many years.

In his 1st letter to the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul tells us to give thanks in everything, in all conditions and situations.  And in his 1st letter to Timothy he himself gives thanks, thanks to Jesus.  And the amazing thing is that he is thanking Jesus for putting him – Paul – into service for our Lord, even though he was blasphemer, a persecutor of the church, and a violent aggressor before he came to know Jesus.  He is thanking Jesus for putting him into the service that saw him beaten, shipwrecked, threatened, and imprisoned multiple times because of that very service and belief in Jesus as Lord.

Of course, Paul isn’t thanking Jesus for the beatings and the rest.  He is thanking the Lord in spite of all he had to endure because Jesus came to save sinners, sinners just like him.  He is thanking Jesus for showing him the truth, for washing him clean of his sin, for leading him to eternal life in heaven.  And he’s thanking Jesus for using him as an example, that if he – the worst sinner of all – could be redeemed, then anyone could find redemption simply by accepting Jesus as Lord.

Thank You, Jesus!

And then Paul goes on to give us reasons why we should be thankful, as if we need more.  We should be thankful and prayerful in behalf of all people, even those we don’t love, or that don’t love us.  This not only might help us lead a more tranquil and quiet life, as Paul puts it, but mainly we should follow this advice because it is good and acceptable in the sight of God, who holds our fate in His hands.

God wants all people to be saved – all people – and to come to know the truth that is Jesus.  Jesus is the only mediator between us and God, the only bridge, the only way we can get back to our heavenly Father.  And He gave of Himself as a ransom for that very reason.  Thank You, Jesus, Lord of all!

Be thankful…  We who call ourselves Christian have the very best reason in all the world to be thankful, for God loves us so much that He sent His only begotten Son into this world that we might be saved.  And God, in His great mercy, gives us the faith to believe in His Son Jesus, to accept Him as our Lord, and to follow His commands.  We should thank our Lord with every breath.  We should sing His praises for all to hear.

We don’t know for sure the identity of the author of Psalm 100, but in that short psalm he makes a glorious declaration…

1 Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all the earth!

2 Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

3 Know that the Lord, He is God;

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

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

5 For the Lord is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

--Psalm 100 (NKJV)

Shout to the Lord with joy!  Serve Him with gladness – not because we should or we must if we want salvation, but because we want to!  Come before Him singing praises to His name, for He made us, we are His!  Be thankful to Him for He is good, He is merciful, He is the everlasting truth, He is God.

Later this week we’ll join millions of others in celebration and observance of Thanksgiving Day.  For many, it will be nothing more than a paid day off and an excuse to overeat.

But I think most folks will take the time to remember, and maybe even talk about, the good and dear things in their lives, those things they are most thankful for.  They’ll cherish their loved ones and friends, whether together with them or not.  They’ll be thankful for their meal, whether a feast at the family table, or a humble plate among other less fortunate folk at the homeless shelter or soup kitchen.  They’ll lift up a quiet prayer to our Lord, a simple “Thank You”.

Family, for those of us so richly blessed by our Father God, for those of us saved by the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, every day should be Thanksgiving Day.  Every single day we should stop and take inventory of all that we have been given, all that we’ve been blessed with.  Every day, with every breath, our hearts should sing our thankful praise to the one true God and to Jesus His Son, who gave His all for us.

Thank You, Father!  Thank You, Jesus!

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

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for showing mercy to us poor sinners.  We disobeyed You from the very beginning but You never stopped loving us, and when the time was right, You sent Your own Son to offer us salvation.  Thank You, Father, for so great a love.  We believe that Jesus is Your Son, and we try to obey Him.  Sometimes, Father, we just have a tough time loving other people.  Sometimes we have trouble expressing how much Jesus means to us.  Please forgive us those moments of insecurity, those struggles with hatred.  Please help us remain strong and true during these frightening times.  Remind us of all the reasons we have to be thankful and for all Jesus has done for us.  Encourage us and strengthen us as we strive to carry out the work Your Son left for us.  Please keep us strong in our spirit, in our faith, and in our service to You and Jesus.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You from our hearts through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more faithful and true, putting all our trust in You and Jesus, and seeking Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, You came to this earth as a man of flesh and bone.  You came, knowing full well how it would all turn out, but You came anyway.  You came to fulfill God’s plan.  Thank You, Jesus, for coming in our behalf, and for taking our sins upon Yourself.  Lord, we ask You to help us be good servants and to obey You without hesitation.  Help us stay true to You and faithful no matter what may happen next.  And help us carry on Your work here on earth.  Strengthen our will to do what our Father God wills us to do.  Help us to be more loving, more understanding, kinder to all we encounter each day.  And please help us as we try to show Your love to everyone who crosses our path.  All this we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Signs of the Times

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday, the 14th of November, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

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

Have you ever seen the movie “Bruce Almighty”?  Bruce has had a very bad day and he’s in his car driving along while praying to God for a sign.  “Just show me a sign, God”, he prays.  “Show me what to do!”

And all the while we see road signs and construction signs telling him to “Detour”, or pointing “This Way” and “One Way”.  Yet Bruce just keeps driving and praying for a sign, oblivious to all the signs he’s being shown.  Until he wrecks his car, that is, because he didn’t pay attention to the “Road Closed” sign.

Family, our Bible is full of signs from God.  We have signs pointing us which way to go, and signs warning us about what is ahead.  We even have signs that Jesus Himself erected for us, to keep us on the right, and righteous, route.  Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle Mark recorded in his Gospel account, in chapter 12 verses 38 through 40 and chapter 13 verses 1 through 8, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

12:38 He said to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, 39 the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, 40 who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance's sake make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

13:1 Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”

2 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?”

5 And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 6 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. 7 But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.

--Mark 12:38-40; 13:1-8 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for all the signs You put in place for us to clearly see in our Bible.  All we need to do is read this great book to be guided through this life.  Thank You, Father, for showing us the path to walk and for warning us of the pitfalls ahead.  Please help us see and pay attention to the signs You give us.  Help us stay safe and be more righteous in Your eyes.  And help us to do as You will and not just what we want to do.  Please keep us strong in our faith and of one purpose in our service to Christ Jesus.  Please keep us healthy and safe through these trying times.  And Father, please guard us from Satan and those who do his bidding.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this morning.  Remove the scales from our eyes and the blinders over our hearts so we can clearly see Your signs.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.   Amen.

During the 1982 war in the Falkland Islands between England and Argentina, the Royal Navy's 3,500-ton destroyer HMS Sheffield was sunk by a single missile fired from an Argentine fighter jet.  It caused some people to wonder if modern surface warships were obsolete, sitting ducks for today's sophisticated missiles. But a later check revealed that the Sheffield's defenses did pick up the incoming missile, and the ship's computer correctly identified it as a French-made Exocet. But the computer was programmed to ignore Exocets as "friendly." The Sheffield was sunk by a missile it saw coming and could have evaded.

The ship’s systems saw the approaching missile in time to intercept and destroy it before it could impact, yet they did nothing to stop it.  Why?  Because the missile was correctly identified as one made by an ally, the French, even though it was launched, in this case, by an enemy.  So while it was definitely, clearly on a collision course, the missile was allowed to pass, untouched, until it struck the Sheffield and sank her. They saw the sign, but ignored it.

Well family, we humans have been warned of a missile called "condemnation" that is headed straight for us.  People can easily evade it by accepting Jesus as Lord, but so many won't.  So many people will ignore the sign that missile bears.  And they will be sunk, for all eternity.

In the first part of our scripture reading, Jesus tells us to be leery of those who are basically only pretending to be Christians.  They put on a good act so that they can receive the admiration and praises of their fellow man, while actually causing harm to others, including the most vulnerable in their community.

We’ve seen that kind of behavior in action, haven’t we?  Especially from some of our politicians and public officials who take advantage of photo ops to make themselves look good to the masses, while enacting and enforcing policies that actually hurt the people they purportedly help.  And sadly, we can see this behavior in many pulpits, where greed has taken hold even of those called to serve Jesus by tending to His flock.

None of this is new, because greed and avarice have always been man’s downfall.  But as incidents increase, we can take it as a sign of the approaching fulfillment of all that Jesus told us.

And then we come to the more explicit signs Jesus told us to watch for in chapter 13.  Again there’s that warning to beware false prophets, false teachers, false Christians, even those who may claim to be the returned Christ.  We can easily see the false teachers and fake Christians around us.  But family, there are also those who are claiming to be Jesus by putting writings out there the He supposedly wrote, new writings, telling us what He really meant by the things recorded in our Bible.

Signs of the times.  Wars and rumors of wars come next.  But again, this is nothing new.  Mankind has been at war with himself since Cain first struck down his brother Abel.  Jesus tells us not to let any of this trouble us because these things must happen.  Before He comes again, certain things must happen.  And these, therefore, become our signs.

The ever accelerating instances of wars and threats of war.  Nation rising up against nation, kingdom against kingdom, family against family, neighbor against neighbor.  Earthquakes, famines, and troubles popping up all over.  Jesus wasn’t overly specific here, but I think “troubles” could include floods, wildfires, drought, and pandemics.

And yes, we’ve been experiencing these things throughout our history.  But the thing is, they are increasing in numbers, in frequency, and in devastating effect.  And the scary things is, Jesus says this is only the beginnings of sorrows.  There’s worse yet to come.

Now none of this is meant to frighten us, but to prepare us.  If we truly believe in Jesus, we will trust what He tells us and take His warning to heart.  If we don’t ignore the signs of the times, we will understand what is to come – and it may be soon - and be better prepared.

The important thing is to keep our faith firm and secure, no matter what happens.  As we come across sign after sign, faster and faster, we must not lose hope and let our faith waver.  Trust in God always, and trust in the word of our Lord Jesus, for His signs are not all bad.

The last book in our Bible contains the vision of what is to come that Jesus showed to the Apostle John.  For many, this is truly a frightening glimpse into what we may have to endure.  But it resolves with Jesus coming again to set everything right.

Listen to the wonderful reassurances the Book of Revelation opens with, from chapter 1, verses 1 through 8…

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.

To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

--Revelation 1:1-8 (NKJV)

Hear these words of prophecy and hold them close to your heart, for the time is near when all will be fulfilled.  Jesus is coming again, and this time in all His glory, not hidden in some obscure manger but coming with clouds.  Every eye will see Him, believers and non-believers, those who follow Him and those who rejected Him.

And there will be a great mourning across the land as the non-believers realize it was all true; everything in our Bible was all true.  The signs were there all along.  But too many people ignored them.

Family, we don’t want to be like Bruce Almighty, not paying a bit of attention to the signs God has posted for us until we crash.  We must keep our faith strong.  We must continue to serve our Lord Jesus, trusting in Him to set everything right, trusting in His word.

Bad, scary things will happen, must happen, and with increasing frequency.  But we can’t let it get us down, or shake loose our hold on the truth of Jesus’ word.  When our Lord returns, He’ll call us home and none of what we’ve gone through will matter.

Just be watchful of the signs, knowing what is to come, and keep a firm grip on your faith.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus, our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for setting Your great plan in place that will allow us to live with You forever, just as You intended in the first place.  All we have to do is believe in Your Son Jesus and maintain our faith and obedience to the end.  Thank You, Father, for having mercy on us.  Please help us remain strong and true during these frightening times.  Sometimes, Father, we get too busy to watch for the signs You set for us.  Please forgive us when we ignore those signs and warnings.  Help us to endure what is yet to come.  Remind us that a far greater tomorrow awaits us if we remain faithful and true.  Encourage us and strengthen us as we strive to carry out the work Jesus left for us even as the world seems to be falling apart.  Please keep us strong in our spirit, in our faith, and in our service to You and Jesus.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You from our hearts through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more faithful and true, putting all our trust in You and Jesus, and seeking Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, You warn us of troubling times yet to come.  We realize that this is not meant to scare us, but to prepare us, to forewarn us.  Thank You, Jesus, for letting us know what lies ahead.  Lord, we ask You to help us remain vigilant and watchful for the sign of the times.  Help us stay true to You and faithful no matter what may happen next.  And help us carry on Your work here on earth.  Strengthen our will to do what our Father God wills us to do.  Help us to be more loving, more understanding, kinder to all we encounter each day.  And please help us as we try to show Your love to everyone who crosses our path.  All this we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Hold to the Hope

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday, the 7th of November, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

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

There is a lot we don’t know about our New Testament Book of Hebrews.  We don’t know who the author was, although there has been much debate and many names suggested, including the Apostles Paul and Barnabas along with Silas, Apollos, and Clement of Rome.  We don’t know for sure who the letter was written to, although it’s very title indicates its readership would have been the early Jewish converts to Christianity, and most likely those in Italy.  We don’t know when it was written, although most indicators point to sometime in the late 60s.

But we do know that the author displays great literary and rhetorical skills in his writing.  We do know that this letter provided much needed exhortation to those early Christians who were in danger of abandoning the faith in the face of persecution.  We do know that it shows the superiority of Christ and of Christianity by proving that Christ is superior in both His person and His priesthood.  And we know that it also serves as a warning to us all not to let our faith - our hope - waver and degrade so that we fall back into sinful lives.

Please listen and follow along to the message the author of our Book of Hebrews left for us in chapter 6 of that letter.  This is a little long, but please bear with me as I read from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

1 So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. 2 You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding.

4 For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened — those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come — 6 and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing Him to the cross once again and holding Him up to public shame.

7 When the ground soaks up the falling rain and bears a good crop for the farmer, it has God’s blessing. 8 But if a field bears thorns and thistles, it is useless. The farmer will soon condemn that field and burn it.

9 Dear friends, even though we are talking this way, we really don’t believe it applies to you. We are confident that you are meant for better things, things that come with salvation. 10 For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for Him and how you have shown your love to Him by caring for other believers, as you still do. 11 Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. 12 Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.

13 For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in His own name, saying:

14 “I will certainly bless you,

and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.”

15 Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.

16 Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. 17 God also bound Himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that He would never change His mind. 18 So God has given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. 20 Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

--Hebrews 6 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for ensuring that this great letter was saved for us through the ages so that we can share in and learn from the instruction it provides.  From this we see how Your Son Jesus is superior in every way to anything this world might offer.  From this we see why it is necessary that we hold to the hope available only through Him.  Thank You, Father, for the undeserved mercy You have shown us.  Please help us mature in our faith.  Help us hold to the hope of eternal life with You that You promise.  And help us to do as You will and not just what we want to do.  Please keep us strong in our faith and of one purpose in our service to Christ Jesus.  Please keep us healthy and safe through these trying times.  And Father, please guard us from Satan and those who do his bidding.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this morning.  We place all our hope on the promise You made of eternal life with You through Your Son Jesus.  Help us keep that hope alive and strong.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.   Amen.

English writer, philosopher, and lay theologian G. K. Chesterton once noted that, "Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all.  As long as matters are really hopeful, hope is mere flattery or platitude; it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength."

Mr. Chesterton says that the virtue of hope is hoping when things are hopeless.  Only when everything is hopeless does hope show its true strength.

Hopelessness, desperation…  I imagine we’ve all tasted those feelings at one time or another, that sense that all is lost, there’s no hope left.  Fact is, when we watch the nightly news or read about what’s going on around us, we may get the sense that there is no longer any hope for this old world.

But I think what Mr. Chesterton is alluding to is that we only feel hopeless if we use the world’s definition of hope.  The world says that hope is the feeling that we will get what we want, that what we want to happen will happen.  It’s almost like a game of chance – either it will happen or it won’t; we’re just hoping that it will.  There’s no guarantee here, just a hope. 

But if we get away from the worldview and shift to our Biblical application of the word, we’ll see hope in a whole new light.  Here we will see hope is the expectation of the fulfillment of promise.  We don’t just hope it will happen, we expect it to happen.  For our true hope is based on God and His word.

Everything God has ever said has come true so far.  Everything He has promised has come to pass to date.  So we have every reason to trust that what He has said will come true, will happen in the future, will indeed come to pass just as He said it will.  This is the basis of our hope, that God’s word is trustworthy and true.

Our problem comes in when, like those early Christians, we start losing that hope, little by little, as the circumstances begin to weigh heavily on us.  Maybe it’s a sense of growing persecution from the unbelieving world, like those early converts experienced.  Maybe it’s a a virus sweeping across the land like the angel of death, infecting even our loved ones, even ourselves.

Slowly our hope begins to fade.  Slowly our complete trust in God shifts toward placing more and more trust in our fellow man.  Our hope begins to slip through our fingers, as hopelessness settles in.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews understood how all this could happen.  He saw it happening to those early converts, and God knew it would happen to us as well.  That’s why the author so strongly encourages them and us to hold to our hope.  He gives us the example of the promise God made to Abraham, a promise made and kept.  And he gives us the fair warning that those who have accepted Jesus, who have shared in the indwelling Holy Spirit, but then turn away from God and reject His Son, they can never be brought back to repentance and salvation.  In their betrayal, they are nailing Jesus to the cross once again, and holding Him up to public ridicule and shame.  This is true hopelessness.

But our author didn’t just leave it at one example, one warning.  A little earlier on in his letter, in chapter 5 verses 1 through 10, our author writes…

1 Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other people in their dealings with God. He presents their gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sins. 2 And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he himself is subject to the same weaknesses. 3 That is why he must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as theirs.

4 And no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He must be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was. 5 That is why Christ did not honor Himself by assuming He could become High Priest. No, He was chosen by God, who said to Him,

“You are My Son.

Today I have become Your Father.”

6 And in another passage God said to Him,

“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

7 While Jesus was here on earth, He offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the One who could rescue Him from death. And God heard His prayers because of His deep reverence for God. 8 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered. 9 In this way, God qualified Him as a perfect High Priest, and He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him. 10 And God designated Him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

--Hebrews 5:1-10 (NLT)

Now remember that the original audience for this great letter was composed primarily of good Jewish people who had come to believe in Jesus as the Messiah.  Our author used references that they would be familiar with and understand.  In this passage, Psalm 110:4 is cited as an indicator that Jesus had a right to a priesthood that pre-dated the Jewish priesthood begun under Aaron.  Jesus is our great High Priest, and through Him and Him alone we have a direct line straight to God.

Family, I know there is a lot of craziness going on in this world.  The news on TV is filled with it.  We hear of murders, crimes, scams, human trafficking, drug trafficking, use of excessive force by some law enforcement officers, lack of enforcement by others.  We get the latest numbers of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths from the coronavirus along with the health mandates.  Businesses desperately seek employees while supplies shrink and demand grows.  More and more, it just all seems hopeless.  And indeed, if we put our hope in man and mankind, all is truly hopeless.

Our only hope, family, is in God and the promise He made us.  Our only hope is Christ Jesus, who was sacrificed to atone for our sin, whose blood washes us clean.  Our only hope is our continued belief in Jesus, our acceptance of Him as our Lord and Master.  We must hold to that hope, lest we sink into the vast hopelessness of this world.

Hold to the hope, in the blessed name of Christ Jesus, our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for always being just and trustworthy.  We can fully trust in You because You have always done just as You said You would.  Thank You, Father, for promising us life eternal with You if we accept Your Son as our Lord.  Please help us hold to the hope You give.  Sometimes, Father, things just seem to be utterly hopeless.  We let the world convince us that we can only depend upon ourselves, upon our fellow man.  Please forgive us those times.  Help us hold Your word in our hearts.  Remind us that You have always kept Your promises.  Help us set the world off to the side and focus only on You and the things of heaven.  Encourage us and strengthen us as we strive to hold on to our hope.  Please keep us strong in our spirit, in our faith, and in our service to You and Jesus.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You from our hearts through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more faithful and true, putting all our trust in You and Jesus, and seeking Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, it is only through You that we can come and be with our heavenly Father.  By Your blood we are washed clean and by our belief in You we are saved.  Thank You, Jesus, for loving us this much.  Lord, we ask You to help us remain true and faithful to You.  Help us firmly hold to the hope of salvation You offer.  And help us carry on Your work here on earth.  Strengthen our will to do what our Father God wills us to do.  Help us to be more loving, more understanding, kinder to all we encounter each day.  And please help us as we try to show Your love to everyone who crosses our path.  All this we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Saints and Sinners

[The following is a manuscript of my brief devotional delivered prior to our sing-along service on Sunday, the 31st of October, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

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

Today, October the 31st, is Halloween.  That word, Halloween, is a contraction of All Hallows’ Evening, or All Hallows’ Eve.   And All Hallows’ Eve is the night before All Hallows’ Day, or All Saints Day.  All Saints Day is the time when the Christian church remembers and honors the saints, and especially those who were martyred for their belief in Jesus.  Here in America, the fun of Halloween has eclipsed the solemnity of All Saints Day, but I do think it is important for us to remember our saints, and to pay honor to believers everywhere.

Please listen and follow along as I read from the Apostle John’s Book of the Revelation of Jesus, of a time yet to come.  I’ll start in chapter 8 verses 1 through 5 reading from the English Standard Version of our Holy Bible, and then I’ll be switching over to the New King James Version for chapter 21 verses 1 through 8…

8:1 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. 5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

21:1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

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 8:1-5 (ESV); 21:1-8 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, we are here to worship You.  May the words and songs from our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.  Amen.

I love that imagery from chapter 8 verse 4 of the smoke of the incense and the prayers of the saints rising up before God on His throne.  In chapter 21 verse 7 God promises that those saints will inherit all things, everything there is.  He freely offers eternal life to those who will accept His Son, but the fate of the unbelievers, the evil-doers, is not so pleasant.  The cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will perish in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, the second death, there alongside Satan and the beast.

On Halloween, it has become popular tradition to dress up like some of those in verse 8 that we are told will be condemned.  Sure, it’s all in fun, a little escapism for the kids and an excuse to gather in bunches of candy.  But we need to teach the children about the real and eternal peril of being a true, unrepentant sinner.  And tomorrow, All Saints Day, would be a good time to start.  They need to know the truth, so that when it comes times for them to choose whether to support Satan or work for Jesus, they’ll choose to be saints.

Actually, there are plenty of adults out there we could help in this regard, too.  So let’s share what God has to say about the fates of saints and sinners.  And maybe we can make a huge difference in someone’s life.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for letting us know exactly what we have to look forward to, whether we be counted among the saints or the sinners at the last.  Thank You for telling us of what is to come so that we can make the right decisions now while there is still time.  Sometimes we let ourselves get caught up in whatever popular craze is current and we forget about Your timeless truth.  Please, Father, help us be more obedient.  Help us strive to be saintly in all our endeavors.  And give us the strength and courage to share Your word with others.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Pray for Everyone

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday, the 24th of October, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

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

Family, I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that I hold prayer to be very important in our worship life.  It is our personal time that we choose to spend with God, and it is precious to Him.  We don’t pray to let God know what’s going on in our lives, because He already knows.  We pray because it is our way of talking to Him, and listening for His reply.  We pray because it reaffirms to ourselves our complete and total dependence on God and His goodness.  We pray because we love Him.

Prayer was important to Jesus, too, and He prayed often, even though He was God in the flesh, the Son praying to His Father.  Prayer was also very important to the Apostle Paul, who frequently encourages us to pray in his letters.  Please listen and follow along to one such time Paul wrote about prayer, this in his 1st letter to his young protégé Timothy.  I’ll be reading verses 12 through 17 from chapter 1 and verses 1 through 7 from chapter 2, and all from the Modern English Version of our Holy Bible…

1:12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful and appointed me to the ministry. 13 I was previously a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and an insolent man. But I was shown mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord overflowed with the faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, first, Jesus Christ might show all patience, as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life. 17 Now to the eternal, immortal, invisible King, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever. Amen.

2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that you make supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for everyone, 2 for kings and for all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty, 3 for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all. This was the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I speak the truth in Christ and do not lie), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

--1 Timothy 1:12-17, 2:1-7 (MEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for having mercy on us miserable sinners.  Only by Your grace and the sacrifice of Your Son Jesus might we be saved if we accept Jesus as Lord.  Thank You, Father, for loving us so much.  Please help us stay true in our faith.  Help us be an example to others of what Your love can do in a life, of how much Jesus means to us all.  Help us to seek to serve rather than to be served.  And help us to do as You will and not just what we want to do.  Please keep us strong in our faith and of one purpose in our service to Christ Jesus.  Please keep us healthy and safe through these trying times.  And Father, please guard us from Satan and those who do his bidding.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this morning.  Please hear our prayers and impress upon us the importance of praying for all others.  Help us show that much love.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.   Amen.

William Barclay, in his book, Prodigals and Those Who Love, informs us that "when we pray, we must remember the love of God that wants the best for us, the wisdom of God that knows what is best for us, and the power of God that can accomplish it."

Over 100 years ago, author and clergyman E. M. Bounds noted that, "What the Church needs today is not more or better machinery, not new organizations or more novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use -- men of prayer, men mighty in prayer."  And family, this still holds true today.

Australian evangelist and author Sidlow Baxter reminds us that, "Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons -- but they are helpless against our prayers."

It is said that Martin Luther had a puppy that would sit by the table, looking for a morsel from his master, watching intently with open mouth and motionless eyes.  This scene led Luther to remark, "Oh, if I could only pray the way this dog watches the meat!  All his thoughts are concentrated on the piece of meat.  Otherwise he has no thought, wish, or hope."

This is how we should pray, focused only on God and the things of heaven, with no other thought, wish, or hope than to serve our Lord

While the first part of our scripture reading, from chapter 1, doesn’t directly address praying, I think we can hear Paul’s prayer of thanksgiving to God in it.  Paul is thankful to Jesus, for enabling him and strengthening him and appointing him to the ministry.  And he is thankful to God, who showed him great mercy, even as he described himself as the worst sinner of all.

Paul notes that he was shown mercy because everything he did before was done in ignorance and unbelief.  And family, we have been shown mercy also, for those acts done before we came to know Jesus and the truth.  But now that we do know, and now that we have pledged ourselves to Jesus as our Lord, we must be very careful not to return to those earlier sinful ways.  We must stay true and faithful, for, like Paul, we received mercy so that we might be seen by others as an example of the patience of Jesus, that all might believe in Him and be saved.

We can only serve as an example of Jesus’ love if we show that love to everyone we encounter in our daily walk upon this earth.  And how can we show the love of Jesus other than by doing the same things He did, by helping others in their time of need?  Please listen to what Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica, in his 1st letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 5, verses 14 through 18…

14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. 15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.

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 5:14-18 (NKJV)

These are just some of the acts of love and kindness Jesus carried out during His mortal life, and we are certainly capable of performing them, too.  We may not be able to cure the lame, but we can comfort the fainthearted.  We can’t bring the dead back to life, but we can help out the weak and be patient with others.  Rejoicing always and giving thanks in all things should be easy enough for us who have been given so much.  And more in line with our topic, Paul also admonishes us to pray without ceasing.

Now that doesn’t mean that we must be in prayer every single second of every minute of every hour of every day, and on and on.  It would be great if we could do that, but we do need to take a break every now and then to eat and sleep.  No, what Paul means is that we must not stop praying.  Even if it seems to be taking forever for something to happen, even if what we are asking for doesn’t occur, even if it seems to us that God isn’t listening, we must not give up and stop praying to Him.

God does listen, and He does answer our prayers, but He does what He knows is best for us, for all of us.  I used to hate it in the corporate world when I’d question a management decision only to be told I didn’t see “the big picture”.  Well, we don’t!  But God does.  God knows what is best and He promises to make all things work together for good to those who love Him and are called to His purpose.  Just keep praying… keep praying.

And this brings us back to the second part of our scripture reading where Paul exhorts us to pray.  He encourages us to make supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for everyone.  For everyone – not just those we love, not just those like us, not just other believers, but for everyone.

A supplication is a humble prayer, a plea.  An intersession is similar, but usually a prayer for another person rather than ourselves, such as praying that God intercede in the life of another and help them.

Most interesting of these, perhaps, is a prayer of thanksgiving for others.  I believe there are two facets to this.  One is in giving God thanks for something good He has done for them, thanking God for them just in case they didn’t stop to do so.  And the other aspect is thanking God for them, for something that they have done, for Him placing them in our life.  This can be tough, especially if they hate us and wish to do us harm.  Yet we need to find something in them, or something in our interactions with them, or something that they have caused, just something to give God thanks for.  Just pray for them.  Pray for everyone.

Paul gives us a couple valid reasons for why we should pray for all others.  For one, it can make life better for us.  He specifically cites kings and those in places of authority as being good to pray for.  And the reason is obvious.  If those folk are well taken care of and happy, then we should be allowed to enjoy a little peace and quiet ourselves.  This is indeed a practical reason to pray for them.

But the real meat of the matter is that praying for everyone is good and acceptable behavior in the sight of God, our Savior.  God wants everyone to be saved.  That’s why He sent His only Son to earth, to be sacrificed on a cross for our sake, for our salvation.  Jesus is our only way to God, our only mediator between us and God.  And Jesus gave Himself as a ransom for all, for everyone.

God wants us to pray.  He enjoys it when we spend a little time with Him.  And it’s OK to ask Him for help for ourselves and our loved ones.  It’s OK to plead with Him to intercede in the lives of those close to us, or for those we’ve been asked to pray for.  God expects that.  After all, it shows that we love those folks, when we ask Him to help them.  But Jesus tells us to love all others, and Paul encourages us to pray for everyone.

We should pray for everyone, those that we love and that love us, and even those that hate us.  We should pray for those in positions of authority, and for those who have no authority at all.  Pray for our kinfolk, pray for the strangers.  Pray for the lost, pray for those who have rejected Jesus, that they might yet come to know Him as Lord and be saved.

Pray for everyone, for it is good and acceptable in God’s sight to do so.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus, our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for listening to our prayers.  We don’t always understand why some things happen the way they do, but we know that You only want what is best for us and work things in that way.  Thank You, Father, for blessing us with Your great love and mercy.  Please help us to be more true and faithful in our prayer life.  Sometimes, Father, we get too caught up in the busyness of life and we don’t pause long enough to spend time with You in prayer.  Sometimes there are people we just don’t want to pray for, that we don’t want You to help.  Please forgive us those times.  Help us be humble in our requests.  Remind us that You love all of us and want all of us to be saved.  Help us see some good in all people, and to show them Your love in all things.  Encourage us and strengthen us as we strive to carry on the work of our Lord.  Please keep us strong in our spirit, in our faith, and in our service to You and Jesus.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You from our hearts through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more faithful and true, putting all our trust in You and Jesus, and seeking Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, You came to earth as one of us, and offered Yourself for all of us, that we might believe in You and accept You as Lord and receive eternal life with God in heaven.  You came that all might be saved, and You show great patience even to us poor sinners.  Thank You, Jesus, for loving us all this much.  Lord, we ask You to help us be a better example of Your love.  Help us show others what it means to believe in You, to accept You as Lord, to carry out Your work.  Help others see You in us, in our actions, in our love.  Strengthen our will to do what our Father God wills us to do.  Help us to be more loving, more understanding, kinder to all we encounter each day.  And please help us as we try to show Your love to everyone who crosses our path.  All this we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Open and Laid Bare

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday, the 17th of October, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

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

It’s relative easy to fool someone, or to be fooled ourselves.  Some people are just very good at making up a story, and we tend to be trusting of others, at least up to a point.  If we make up a story and tell it often enough, we’ll get good at it and folks will believe it if they have no other reason not to.  After a while, we may even start believing it ourselves.  Yes, we can even fool ourselves.

Some folk may be fooling themselves when they say they believe in Jesus and follow Him, obeying His commands, when in fact they really don’t.  While we humans can usually get away with fooling each other, there are serious consequences for unbelief, for not truly believing in and following Jesus as Lord.  We touched on this a few weeks back, when we learned we will not be allowed to enter into God’s rest if we disobey Him and don’t accept His Son.  But since God is a loving and merciful God, there is remedy, a cure for unbelief.

Please listen and follow along to the message the author of the Book of Hebrews wrote in that letter to the early Jewish converts.  I’ll be reading verses 12 through 16 of Hebrews chapter 4 from the New American Standard Bible…

12 For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom we must answer.

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need.

--Hebrews 4:12-16 (NASB)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for Your word.  Your word slices through any falsehoods and cover-ups, cutting straight to our hearts.  Thank You, Father, for Your loving mercy, for always giving us a remedy for when our belief falters and weakens.  Please help us understand that we cannot hide from You.  Nothing escapes Your view, nothing can be covered so that You cannot see it.  Help us see ourselves as You see us.  And help us to do as You will and not just what we want to do or are comfortable doing.  Please keep us strong in our faith and of one purpose in our service to Christ Jesus.  Please keep us healthy and safe through these trying times.  And Father, please guard us from Satan and those who blindly do his work for him.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this morning.  Show us our failings.  Lay bare to us those areas in our lives and our deeds and our words that are not pleasing to You.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.   Amen.

The man huddled on the cabin floor was slowly freezing to death.  It was high in the Rockies in southwestern Alberta, Canada, and outside a blizzard raged.  John Elliott had logged miles through the deep snows of the mountain passes that day checking for avalanches.  As dusk and exhaustion overcame him, he had decided to hole-up for the night.  He made it wearily to his cabin but somewhat dazed with fatigue, he did not light a fire or remove his wet clothing.  As the blizzard blasted through the cracks in the old cabin walls, the sleeping forest ranger sank into oblivion, paralyzed by the storm's icy caress.  Suddenly, his St. Bernard dog sprang into action, and with unrelenting whines finally managed to rouse his near-comatose friend.  "If that dog hadn't been with me, I'd be dead today," John Elliott says. "When you're freezing to death you actually feel warm all over, and don't wake up because it feels too good."

I believe this story illustrates the spiritual condition of too many people today.  They are cold spiritually, and sadly they are oblivious of their true condition.  But God sends His “messengers” to nudge such sleepers awake.  Sometimes the methods used are drastic, but always for the person's good.  God does not shake us because He hates us.  Our heavenly Father awakens us from our lethargy because He loves us, and wants to save us from eternal death.

In his letter to those early Jewish converts to Christianity, our author says that the word of God is able to cut through all the clutter in our lives, slice away any pretense we might erect, and judge the very thoughts and intentions of our hearts.  Now we know our heart is merely a muscle that pumps blood throughout our bodies, but we use that word to denote so much more than mere physiology.  The word "heart" is used in scripture as the most comprehensive term for the authentic person.  It is that part of our being where we desire, we deliberate, and we decide, often by flipping an invisible coin.

Joseph Stowell, in his book Fan The Flame, described the heart as "the place of conscious and decisive spiritual activity, the person as a whole: his feelings, desires, passions, thought, understanding and will, the center of a person, the place to which God turns".  And our author of the letter to the Hebrews would add that it is open and laid bare to God.

No matter what we might say, no matter the stories we may tell, no matter what we may even think, the truth of us is in our hearts, and God, who will judge us, can see that truth.  King David attests to this in his 7th Psalm, verses 8 through 10, when he writes…

8 The Lord shall judge the peoples;

Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness,

And according to my integrity within me.

9 Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,

But establish the just;

For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.

10 My defense is of God,

Who saves the upright in heart.

--Psalm 7:8-10 (NKJV)

I think most of us would pray, “O Lord, please let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end.”  We’re tired of seeing and experiencing all the evil in this world.  This idea is certainly nothing new.  David felt this way, and we can see it in the future, as reported by the Apostle John in his Book of Revelation, when the saints in heaven plead with God for His vengeance, to put an end to the evil of the world.

But in the same breath of asking that the wicked be dealt with, we ask that the just and the upright in heart be upheld and saved.  The truth of us – whether good or evil - is in our hearts, where God can clearly see.

Like I mentioned earlier, we can easily fool one another, and sometimes even ourselves.  If deceit is in our heart, we can hide the truth from prying eyes.  Well, from human eyes, that is.  The prophet Jeremiah speaks for God when, in chapter 17 verses 9 and 10 of his book of prophecy, God says…

9 "The heart is more deceitful than all things

and desperately wicked;

who can understand it?

10 I, the Lord, search the heart,

I test the mind,

even to give to every man according to his ways,

and according to the fruit of his deeds."

--Jeremiah 17:9-10 (MEV)

The Lord looks straight into our hearts, searching there for the truth of us.  And we are judged by what He finds there, with each of us receiving our just due, according to our ways and the fruits of our deeds, whether for good or evil.

We can deceive others.  We can deceive ourselves.  We cannot deceive God.  No creature is hidden from His sight.  All things are open and laid bare to Him whom we must answer.

Now while our author warns that nothing can be hidden from God - no deed, nor thought, nor even intention – he does offer a remedy for our disobedience.  Jesus is our remedy.  In Jesus we have a great High Priest, one who came down from and then returned to heaven.

We must hold firmly to our confession that He is the Son of God, who we know as our Redeemer, who we accept as our Lord and promise to obey.  And we must hold this not just in words we speak, or in thoughts running through our heads, but in our very heart where the truth of us resides.  We can put our faith in Jesus because He came to earth as one of us, just like us, with human mortality and all our frailties.  He was tempted by Satan in all things, just like us.  Unlike us, though, He bore no sin of His own, but took our sin upon Himself that we might be seen as clean before God.  He took our sin so that we might approach our judgment with confidence, knowing that when God looks into our hearts, He will see only His Son Jesus.

But we must hold fast to our confession, be true to the words we spoke when we accepted Jesus as Lord, follow His commands to love others and through that love to help others along the path to salvation.  We must stop trying to fool others.  We must stop fooling ourselves.

At the last, when all truth is revealed, when our hearts are open and laid bare before Him to whom we must answer, may only Jesus be seen.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus, our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for Your word, which gives us fair warning that we will be judged at the end of the age.  You will search into our hearts, into the truth of us, to determine if we really did accept Your Son Jesus as our Lord and tried our very best to follow His commands.  Thank You for giving us the cure for our disobedience by truly living up to our confession of Jesus as Lord.  Father, please help us carry out the assignment He gave us.  Sometimes, Father, we find it difficult to love certain people, or even a whole group of people.  Sometimes we’re just too afraid to step out of our comfort zone and continue the work Jesus started.  Please help us be better servants.  Remind us that we are here to worship You and Your Son.  Help us follow through on our promise to serve and obey Jesus.  Encourage us and strengthen us as we strive to carry on the work of our Lord.  Please keep us strong in our spirit, in our faith, and in our service to You and Jesus.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You from our hearts through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more faithful and true, putting all our trust in You and Jesus, and seeking Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, You came to earth as one of us to offer us salvation, cleansing us by Your own precious blood.  And then You returned to heaven after promising to stand by our side when we face God, to intercede with Him on our behalf.  Thank You, Jesus, for giving of Yourself for us.  Lord, we ask You to help us fully live up to our name of Christian.  Help us put the needs of others ahead of our own.  Help us to always be humble in our service, not seeking the praise and admiration of men but only to be seen as righteous in God’s eyes.  Help us tell others all about You, what You did for us, what You mean to us.  Strengthen our will to do what our Father God wills us to do.  Help us to be more loving, more understanding, kinder to all we encounter each day.  And please help us as we try to show Your love to a world that hates You.  Most of all, Lord, when our Father God looks into our heart, may He see only You.  All this we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Have We Received Jesus?

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday, the 10th of October, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

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

The transfiguration of Jesus occurred about a year before His crucifixion and resurrection.  At that time, Jesus told the three disciples who witnessed the event – Peter, James, and John – not to tell anyone what they had seen or heard until after He had risen from the dead.  They wondered what He meant by saying “risen from the dead”.  But this marked the first time Jesus began to speak of what was to come.

When they came back off the mountain, the remaining disciples had been trying to rid a boy of a mute and evil spirit, but they were not able to.  You probably remember the story.  After driving out the spirit, Jesus noted this kind could only be cast out by prayer and fasting.

They left from there and passed through Galilee.  Along the way, Jesus again foretold of His impending death and resurrection, this time in no uncertain terms, saying that, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him.  And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.”  (Mark 9:31b (NKJV))  So a year in advance, Jesus was trying to prepare His followers, His closest friends, for what God had planned for the days ahead.

Please listen and follow along as I continue from there with the Gospel account of the Apostle Mark, in the 9th chapter, verses 33 through 41, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you discussed among yourselves on the road?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. 35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” 36 Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”

38 Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.”

39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40 For he who is not against us is on our side. 41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

--Mark 9:33-41 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus into the world to offer us salvation and reconcile us with You.  It is up to each of us to receive Him into our hearts and accept Him as our Lord.  Thank You, Father, for giving us the faith to believe, to allow us to be on Jesus’ side.  Please help us be as a little child, innocent and loving in our hearts and our actions.  Help us work miracles in the lives of others.  Help us to do as You will and not just what we want to do or are comfortable doing.  Please keep us strong in our faith and of one purpose in our service to Christ Jesus.  Please keep us healthy and safe through these trying times.  And Father, please guard us from Satan and those who blindly do his work for him.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this morning.  Remind us what it really means to accept Your Son Jesus as our Master.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.   Amen.

Keith Hernandez was one of baseball's top players.  He had a lifetime batting average that few players ever attained and he won numerous Golden Glove awards for excellence in fielding.  He won a batting championship for having the highest average, the Most Valuable Player award in his league, and even the World Series.  Yet with all this, he missed out on something crucially important to him: his father's acceptance and recognition that what he had accomplished was valuable.  In a very candid interview about his relationship with his father, Keith revealed that one day He asked, "Dad, I have a lifetime .300 batting average and many trophies.  What more do you want?"  His father replied, "But someday you're going to look back and say, 'I could have done more.'"

“I could have done more.”  Have you ever thought those words, maybe when called upon to help out in a particular situation?  Maybe I could have worked a little harder.  Maybe I could have given a little more time or money.  Maybe I could have done more with my life.

That’s the one I dread thinking about the most.  When I’m at the end of this earthly travel, getting ready to go home, I really don’t want to look back and think I could have done more with my life.

I’m willing to bet Keith Hernandez’s father wasn’t talking about baseball when he uttered those words.  Keith’s ball playing days were limited, but he had his whole life to do more.  And we have the rest of our lives to do more, too.  So let’s do all we can to ever avoid thinking, “I could have done more”, and instead look forward to hearing those beautiful words, “Well done, good and faithful servant”.

As I mentioned, Jesus had just begun to forewarn His disciples that He would be put to death and then resurrected from the dead.  This puzzled them and led to many discussions, including who among them would be considered the greatest, in this life and especially in the next.  Jesus let them know that the greatest is the least, the one who goes last, who puts the welfare and needs of others ahead of their own.

Then He took a small child in His arms and said that whoever receives one such as this – vulnerable and innocent – in His name, in effect receives Him.  And whoever receives Him is really receiving God, who sent Him to earth.  When we receive the least of the world, acting in the name of Jesus, we receive Jesus, and we receive God.

And then we have a moment where the beloved disciple John expresses concern with a man acting in the name of Jesus but not walking alongside Him with the rest of them.  In our scripture reading, speaking of this non-disciple casting out demons in His name, Jesus said that whoever “is not against us is on our side”.

This is kind of the flip side of the coin to what He said when the Pharisees accused Him of casting out demons under the authority and power of the devil.  Jesus told them that Satan would not have anyone cast out his own helpers, because a house or kingdom divided like that would soon fall.  And then the Apostle Matthew captured Jesus’ next remark, in the 12th chapter and 30th verse of his Gospel account…

30 "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad."

--Matthew 12:30 (and Luke 11:23) (NKJV)

Interestingly, this comment was also recorded by the Apostle Luke in chapter 11 verse 23 of his Gospel account, and that means it is important for us to fully understand its meaning.  There’s no middle ground here, no fence to be ridden.  If we’re not working for Jesus, we’re working against Him.  But if we’re not against Him, we’re on His side.  Just as was this non-follower.  So Jesus told John and the others not to keep him from doing his works.  And then He adds that anyone who helps a believer in any way, just because the believer has received Jesus, will be rewarded.  So again it’s still about receiving Jesus.

We see another aspect of this idea of receiving Jesus and receiving those who have received Jesus a little earlier in His ministry.  Jesus sent the 12 out into the surrounding cities and towns, to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons".  In chapter 10 of his Gospel account, verses 11 through 15, Matthew recorded Jesus as He commanded them…

11 “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. 12 And when you go into a household, greet it. 13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"

--Matthew 10:11-15 (NKJV)

The disciples were sent out by Jesus, to teach and heal in His name.  Anyone who did not receive them or listen to their words would be judged harshly at the end, even more so than Sodom and Gomorrah.  The cautionary tale, then, is to be receptive to all those who have received Jesus so as to be looked at favorably in the day of judgment.

Receive the innocent, the vulnerable, the needy in the name of Jesus and receive Jesus.  Receive Jesus and receive God.

Have we, at some point in our lives, by our actions or deeds or words, received Jesus?  Have we gone out of our way to give love and care to someone in need?  Have we answered the knock at our door?  Have we done enough, or could we have done more?

Another word for "receive" is "accept".  Have we accepted Jesus?  Have we truly accepted Him as our Lord and Master, putting our entire fate into His hands, following His every command as if our life depended on it?  For indeed it does.

It’s never too late to do more.  As long as we draw breath, we have the chance to give Jesus our all, obeying His commands, showing His love to the world, caring for the innocent and vulnerable and destitute, seeing to the needs of other believers.  There are countless opportunities today to serve others, to put their concerns ahead of our own.  We still have time to receive one of these, the least among us, and so receive Jesus, and so receive God.

Let us open our hearts and fully, honestly, completely accept Jesus as our Master as well as our Savior.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus, our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for giving us a bridge back to You.  Because of our sin and disobedience, we were separated from You.  We turned our back on You.  Thank You for never abandoning us, for giving us another chance.  Father, please help us take full advantage of this gift of Your mercy so freely given.  Sometimes, Father, we get too wrapped up with worldly things and mortal cares.  Sometimes we forget what matters the most to You.  Please help us stay focused on You and Your word.  Remind us that we are here to worship You and serve Your Son.  Give us the full conviction of our promise to follow Him.  Encourage us and strengthen us as we strive to obey and serve our Lord Jesus.  Please keep us strong in our spirit, in our faith, and in our service to You and Jesus.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You from our hearts through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more faithful and true, putting all our trust in You and Jesus, and seeking Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, when we accept You as Lord, we receive You into our lives, into our hearts.  And when we receive You, we receive God and His Holy Spirit who lives within us to guide us and be our constant Companion.  Thank You, Jesus, for telling us, through Your own words as saved in our Bible, what it is we need to do to receive You.  Lord, we ask You to help us be obedient servants.  Help us put the needs of others ahead of our own.  Help us to always be humble in our service, not seeking the praise and admiration of men but only to be seen as righteous in God’s eyes.  Help us tell others all about You, what You did for us, what You mean to us.  Strengthen our will to do what our Father God wills us to do.  Help us to be more loving, more understanding, kinder to all we encounter each day.  And please help us as we try to show Your love in this dark world while we still tread this path.  All this we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.