Oh, Give Thanks to the Lord

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 19th of November, 2023, the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

Family, this coming Thursday we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving.  It seems like this year has flown by.  It’s already Thanksgiving and Christmas is just around the corner.

This is a joyous time of year, as we prepare for the celebration of our Lord’s birth in mortal form.  And it is indeed a time to be thankful, as Jesus coming to us is God’s love and mercy in action.  For only through Jesus, by the great mercy of our Father God, can we be redeemed of our sin and granted everlasting life in heaven.

Our celebration of Thanksgiving Day as a holiday is a relatively recent event.  What we consider the first Thanksgiving was in 1621 after the Pilgrims had survived - with the help of the natives - a very difficult winter in the new world.

George Washington set the very first official day for the nation to give thanks in 1789, and then in 1863 Abraham Lincoln proclaimed another day of national thanksgiving.  This day for giving thanks was annually proclaimed by every president afterwards, and it usually was set for the last Thursday in November.

But in 1939, it so happened that November had five Thursdays in it, with the fifth being on the 30th of the month.  Then president Franklin Roosevelt feared the late date would cut the holiday shopping season short, putting a damper on economic recovery, so he issued a proclamation moving it to the second to last Thursday.

Well, this created a lot of fuss and confusion, with some states accepting this new date while others stuck with the last Thursday.  So Congress finally got involved and in 1941 made it the law of the land that Thanksgiving Day would be the fourth Thursday in November from then on.

That’s the history of Thanksgiving Day in America, but people have been celebrating Thanksgiving for thousands of years.  And it wasn’t for just one day a year.  Throughout history, mankind has experienced certain circumstances where survival or success could only be attributed to the work of some higher power.  Those who believe in God recognize His hand at work in our lives, and give Him thanks.

During the reign of King David, the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem and a great celebration was held to honor the event.  Please listen and follow along as I read from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible, some selected verses from the 16th chapter of the Book of the Chronicles of the Jewish people from the days of Adam to captivity in Babylon…

8 Oh, give thanks to the Lord!

Call upon His name;

Make known His deeds among the peoples!

9 Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;

Talk of all His wondrous works!

10 Glory in His holy name;

Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!

11 Seek the Lord and His strength;

Seek His face evermore!

12 Remember His marvelous works which He has done,

His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth.

23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth;

Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

24 Declare His glory among the nations,

His wonders among all peoples.

25 For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised;

He is also to be feared above all gods.

26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,

But the Lord made the heavens.

27 Honor and majesty are before Him;

Strength and gladness are in His place.

29 Give to the Lord the glory due His name;

Bring an offering, and come before Him.

Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!

31 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;

And let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”

32 Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;

Let the field rejoice, and all that is in it.

33 Then the trees of the woods shall rejoice before the Lord,

For He is coming to judge the earth.

34 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

--1 Chronicles 16:8-12, 23-27, 29, 31-34 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, thank You for bestowing Your loving mercy upon us!  We see Your hand at work in our lives.  We see Your handiwork in the world all around us.  And we thank You.  But sometimes we take all Your many gifts for granted, especially the smaller blessings that go unnoticed or ignored.  Sometimes we just don’t stop long enough to say thank You, let alone show our appreciation in our service to others.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  Know that we do thank You for all that You give us, for all Your love and kindness.  Please help us find tangible, meaningful ways to show our appreciation.  Please continue to bless us so we can be a blessing to others.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand what You tell us this day.  Please protect us from those who serve Satan and carry out his evil deeds.  And Father, please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe in the days ahead.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

In 1789, our first president, George Washington, presented this first national Thanksgiving proclamation:

"Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the Providence for Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful to His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; And whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me 'to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public Thanksgiving and Prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness!'  Now therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday the twenty-sixth day of November next, to be devoted by the people of the States, to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be: That we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country..."

George Washington and others of our Founding Fathers realized that the colonies could have never won their independence from English rule had it not been for the intervention of God.  There is no way a hastily thrown together regular army and a bunch of farmers and store clerks formed into militias could ever defeat the mightiest military force on earth at the time.  Yet they did, and the American people won the right to govern themselves.  So Washington declared a day that year for all the people of this new nation to stop, unite, and render unto God their sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection.

But if you read closely, you can see that the President had more than saying “thank You” in mind.  He declared for that specific day to be devoted by the people to the service of God.  “Now therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday the twenty-sixth day of November next, to be devoted by the people of the States, to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.”

Saying “thank You, God” is fine, and really, it’s the very least we can do.  Showing our appreciation is much better.  And what better way to show it than by serving God.  This is what Washington must have had in mind.  Sadly, we seem to have lost sight of this ideal.

There are many ways to serve God.  Jesus showed us how in His own life, and left us with the mission of spreading the Gospel message and making more disciples.  He also told us that we can serve by feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, visiting the institutionalized and imprisoned.  But even long before this we are shown ways we can honor our heavenly Father and give Him our thanks.

As we see in our scripture reading, the author of the Books of the Chronicles - most likely Ezra – tells us that we can thank God by simply calling on His name and singing to Him.  What parent doesn’t enjoy it when their child sings to them?

The author goes on to say we should tell everyone about all the good things God has done for us, all His wondrous works, and declare His glory among the nations and His wonders among all people.  Give to God all the glory due His name, and worship Him, honor Him, rejoice in Him.  None of that is all that hard to do, and any of it can be done on any given day, not just once a year.

It’s really great when we can spend the day, or at least some part of the day, with family and good friends.  It’s such a special time when we can sit down with them and enjoy a meal together, chatting over warm memories, sharing our love for one another.  But Thanksgiving Day should be more than a turkey dinner and football games on TV.

We should pause and take a quick inventory of our lives, looking at those times when God worked His wonders for us - as individuals, as a family, as a nation, as a people.  We should stop long enough to recognize and acknowledge God’s divine intervention, not only in our greatest times of need, but also in our daily walks through this life.  And family, we should do this every day, not just on the fourth Thursday in November.

Giving thanks is easy.  Hear the proclamation of King David from his 100th Psalm, his Psalm of Thanksgiving…

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)

Make a joyful shout to the Lord.  Some versions say make a joyful noise, and in David’s days their “shouts” included musical instruments and clapping and dancing.

And there’s that word “serve” again.  Serve the Lord.  And not just out of some sense of duty or responsibility, but with gladness.  Serve the Lord because we want to, because we’re happy to serve Him.  And family, when we serve God for the right reason, when we serve Him by helping others without any thought of reward or even recognition, when we bless others with our time and our resources, we find that we are blessed in returned.  We are rewarded both in this life, by the simple joy it brings us, and in the next, where our true rewards are being stored up.

So let us enjoy this upcoming Thanksgiving Day.  If you are so inclined, the local Salvation Army is seeking donations to help make this a good Thanksgiving Day for the less fortunate in our county.  Or maybe you know someone who will be alone this coming Thursday, someone you could invite over to share a nice meal with you.

There are so many ways we can show our appreciation to God for all He has done for us.  Choose one, even if it’s just to make a joyful noise.  But let’s not stop with just one day of thanks.  Let’s make it a habit to give and show God our thanks.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, who showed us how to thank our Father.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for Your hand at work in our lives.  Thank You for Your help in our times of need.  Thank You for the beauty of this garden You have given us to live in.  Thank You for salvation through Your Son Jesus.  And thank You for all the opportunities You give us to show our appreciation.  Too often, though, Father, we don’t take the time to truly offer You our thanks in tangible ways.  Worse yet, too many times we don’t even recognize when You have blessed us.  Forgive us those times, please Father, when we just don’t see Your blessing.  Forgive us when fail to share Your blessings with others.  Please help us be more grateful.  Help us make Your wondrous works known to all the people we meet.  Help us not be embarrassed to make a joyful noise unto You as a sign of our thanks and our love.  And please help us to not be afraid to share our Lord Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  And Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith and tries to pull us away from You.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

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

Lord Jesus, You lived Your life on earth as a constant sign of gratitude to God.  You thanked Him for everything, and You showed Your appreciation in Your service to mankind.  Thank You, Lord, for the greatest service to us of the sacrifice You made on our behalf.  Please help us, dear Lord -- help us be more like You in our daily interactions with others.  Help us thank our Father God by serving others in their need.  And especially please help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message with the lost, showing them Your love through our love.

And Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Love All People

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 12th of November, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

Family, today we’ll delve a little deeper into the letter that the Apostle James wrote to the early church.  Now we need to remember that James was a half-brother of Jesus, so he would have known our Lord well, having grown up together.  And I mentioned earlier that James was mostly concerned with the practical aspects of Christian conduct and behavior.  In this letter, he gives us good, solid, practical instructions on how our faith should guide our everyday lives.

In the first chapter, he told us to resist the ways of the world, for the devil will try to destroy our faith.  He also encouraged us to live out the word of the Gospel message in our daily lives.  And he echoed the warning Jesus gave us that we would definitely experience trials, but by living the word, and not reacting as the world does, we can show others the power of faith.

Today we’re going to listen as James gives us a little lecture on our showing favoritism when dealing with other folk.  And again he will remind us of what Jesus - and our Father God - already told us.

Please listen and follow along to the first 13 verses of the 2nd chapter of the letter written by James to the early church, and I’ll be reading this from the Easy-to-Read Version of our Holy Bible (later on I’ll be reading from the New King James Version)…

1 My dear brothers and sisters, you are believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. So don’t treat some people better than others. 2 Suppose someone comes into your meeting wearing very nice clothes and a gold ring. At the same time a poor person comes in wearing old, dirty clothes. 3 You show special attention to the person wearing nice clothes. You say, “Sit here in this good seat.” But you say to the poor person, “Stand there!” or “Sit on the floor by our feet!” 4 Doesn’t this show that you think some people are more important than others? You set yourselves up as judges — judges who make bad decisions.

5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters. God chose the poor people in the world to be rich in faith. He chose them to receive the kingdom God promised to those who love Him. 6 But you show no respect to those who are poor. And you know that the rich are the ones who always try to control your lives. And they are the ones who take you to court. 7 And the rich are the ones who insult the wonderful name of Christ, the name by which you are known.

8 One law rules over all other laws. This royal law is found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.” If you obey this law, you are doing right. 9 But if you are treating one person as more important than another, you are sinning. You are guilty of breaking God’s law.

10 You might follow all of God’s law. But if you fail to obey only one command, you are guilty of breaking all the commands in that law. 11 God said, “Don’t commit adultery.” The same God also said, “Don’t kill.” So if you don’t commit adultery, but you kill someone, you are guilty of breaking all of God’s law.

12 You will be judged by the law that makes people free. You should remember this in everything you say and do. 13 Yes, you must show mercy to others. If you do not show mercy, then God will not show mercy to you when He judges you. But the one who shows mercy can stand without fear before the Judge.

--James 2:1-13 (ERV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, like any little children, sometimes we need to be scolded a bit when we do wrong.  Our Lord’s apostle James just lectured us about how we are too often judgmental in our dealings with others.  You told us not to judge, Jesus told us not to judge, yet we do just that far too frequently, discriminating against some while favoring others.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  Thank You for not showing favoritism on Your part, or we would all be doomed.  And thank You for inspiring James to write this letter to instruct us in how we should act in our daily lives.  Sadly, we don’t always spend as much time in our bibles as we should, gaining new insights and being reminded of things we’ve already been told.  Please help us see the worth of Your word not only in our future life, but in this life as well.  Please open our hearts and our minds to Your message.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand what You tell us this day.  Please protect us from those who serve Satan and carry out his evil deeds.  And Father, please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe in the days ahead.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

This is a little long, but very sweet, and I've actually shortened it just a bit.  It comes from author Dave Simmons in his book, Dad, The Family Coach:

Not long ago, I took my eight year old daughter Helen and five year old son Brandon to the local mall to do a little shopping.  As we drove up, we spotted an eighteen-wheeler parked in the mall lot with a big sign on it that said, "Petting Zoo."  The kids jumped up in a rush and asked, "Daddy, Daddy!  Can we go?  Please.  Please!  Can we go?"

"Sure," I said, flipping them both a quarter before walking into Sears.  They bolted away, and I felt free to take my time looking for a scroll saw.  A petting zoo consists of a portable fence erected inside the mall with about six inches of sawdust and a hundred little furry baby animals of all kinds.  Kids pay their money and stay in the enclosure enraptured with the squirmy little critters while their moms and dads shop.

A few minutes later, I turned around and saw Helen walking along behind me.  I was shocked to see she preferred the hardware department to the petting zoo.  Recognizing my error, I bent down and asked her what was wrong.

She looked up at me with those giant limpid brown eyes and said sadly, "Well, Daddy, it cost fifty cents.  So, I gave Brandon my quarter."  Then she said the most beautiful thing I ever heard.  She repeated the family motto: "Love is Action!"

She had given Brandon her quarter, and no one loves cuddly furry creatures more than Helen.  She had watched my wife and I both do and say "Love is Action!" for years around the house and the ranch.  She had heard and seen "Love is Action!," and now she had incorporated it into her little lifestyle.  It had become part of her.

What do you think I did?  Well, not what you might think.  As soon as I finished my errands, I took Helen to the petting zoo.  We stood by the fence and watched Brandon go crazy petting and feeding the animals.  Helen stood with her hands and chin resting on the fence and just watched Brandon.  I had fifty cents burning a hole in my pocket; I never offered it to Helen, and she never asked for it.

Because she knew the whole family motto. It's not "Love is Action."  It's "Love is SACRIFICIAL Action!"  Love always pays a price.  Love always costs something.  Love is expensive.  When you love, benefits accrue to another's account.  Love is for you, not for me.  Love gives; it doesn't grab.  Helen gave her quarter to Brandon and wanted to follow through with her lesson.  She knew she had to taste the sacrifice.  She wanted to experience that total family motto: Love is sacrificial action.

Let me repeat that:  Love is sacrificial action.  It has a cost.  It gives, rather than takes.  Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice to show God’s love.  He paid a tremendous price, just to give us atonement of our sins.  Unconditional love, sacrificial action.

In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul pleads with us that we make of ourselves a living sacrifice to God in our service.  We don’t have to give up our mortal life, as Jesus did.  We just need to take action and give freely of ourselves, of our talents, of our resources, of our time.

It’s not a sacrifice if it doesn’t cost something, if it doesn’t hurt a little.  The rewards later will far outweigh any pain now.

This morning’s section of James’ letter is all about love.  OK, so he doesn’t really mention “love” until about two-thirds of the way through when he reminds us that we are to love our neighbor the same as we love ourselves.  But the rest of it shouts “love”, too, for if we truly do love others in this way, we won’t discriminate against them, no more than we discriminate against ourselves.

James quotes God’s commandment in this, but he also emphasizes what his brother commanded earlier.  Hear the words Jesus spoke as recorded by the Apostle John in verses 34 and 35 of the 13th chapter of his Gospel account…

34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

--John 13:34-35 (NKJV)

This is a command from God and again from Jesus, to love one another.  This is part of the God’s law.  If we don’t obey this one part, we are guilty of breaking it all.  And family, too many times we fail to obey this part.

Now if we just look casually at our scripture reading, we can see that James talks about loving others, but there is no mention of sacrifice to be found.  Well, yes, in a way, there is.  James is asking us to sacrifice - to give up - that part of human nature where we are prone to judge others.

It just seems to be in our nature, our inner being, to judge people, whether individually or in groups.  We stereotype, we discriminate, we treat some better than others.  We judge them based on financial status, social standing, notoriety, where they’re from, what opinions they hold, what political party they associate with, how they talk, how they look, the color of their skin.  And we do it without even thinking about it.

So, again, James is simply reminding us of what God has already told us not to do.  Don’t judge others.  Someday, and maybe soon, we will be judged by God who will use the same measure against us that we used against those folks we were supposed to love.  James warns us to remember this in everything that we say and do.

Let’s turn to Jesus again, when He cautions us not to judge others during His Sermon on the Mount, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in verses 1 and 2 of chapter 7 of his Gospel account…

1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

--Matthew 7:1-2 (NKJV)

Discriminating is judging.  Showing favoritism is judging.  Treating one person better than another, for any reason, is judging.  Thinking some other person is more or less important than another is judging.  I’m guilty of this, and I bet you are, too.  It’s easy to do, and hard to stop ourselves.  But that’s why James tells us to think about it, to remember this in everything we say and do.

Rather than being judgmental, we should be just.  Instead of showing partiality, we should show mercy.  The prophet Micah expresses this quite clearly in chapter 6 verse 8 of the book bearing his name…

8 He has shown you, O man, what is good;

And what does the Lord require of you

But to do justly,

To love mercy,

And to walk humbly with your God?

--Micah 6:8 (NKJV)

To do justly and love mercy.  This is what our Lords requires of us.  Not showing favoritism, but instead showing mercy.

Loving others would be easy if we all looked the same and acted the same and thought the same way.  But that’s not how God made us.  We are each a beautiful creation, wondrously made, graciously loved by our Creator.  And He commands us to love each other, just as we love ourselves.

He loves us even when we sin against Him, and commands that we love others even when they sin against us.  So let’s not just love other Christians, or only those who look like us or think like us or act like us or share common interests.  Let’s love ALL people.  And let’s love them all the same.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, who showed us how to live and how to love.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for the apostolic letters in our bible, written by those who knew Your Son best, including His earthly brothers.  Thank You for the instruction and guidance they provide, and for their words of encouragement that help us get through each day.  Too often, Father, we fail to follow these instructions, we fail to heed their warnings.  Too many times we judge other people, letting prejudice and hatred guide our actions and words, overshadowing any love we may have for them.  Forgive us those times, please Father, when we disobey You in this way.  Please help us be more loving, giving of ourselves, putting our love into sacrificial action.  Help us love all people, not just those who love us or who might benefit us in some way.  And please help us to not be afraid to share our Lord Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  And Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith and tries to pull us away from You.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

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

Lord Jesus, You echoed our heavenly Father when You commanded us to love others and not to judge them.  You even warned us that we would be judged in the same way and by the same measuring stick that we use to judge others.  Thank You, Lord, for Your warning, but sadly we too often fail to heed it.  Please help us, dear Lord -- help us be more obedient.  And especially please help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message with the lost, showing them Your love through our love.

And Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Live the Word

  

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 5th of November, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

Two weeks ago, before our 5th Sunday sing-along, we began looking at the letter that the Apostle James, a brother of Jesus, wrote to the early church.  At that time, I said that James was primarily concerned with the practical aspects of Christian conduct.  In this letter he provides concrete, ethical instructions on how faith works in everyday life, with less focus on theology and more on practicality.

In the opening, he told us to resist the ways of the world, resist feeling sorry for ourselves when troubles befall us, resist the lure and desire for financial wealth, and resist the devil, as he tempts us to do evil and tries to destroy our faith.  Today we’re going to continue with James’ advice as he gives us good, solid guidance on living as our Lord would have us live.  Please listen and follow along to verses 16 through 27 of the 1st chapter of the letter written by James to the early church, and I’ll be reading from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible this morning…

16 Do not be led astray, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change. 18 By His sovereign plan He gave us birth through the message of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of all He created.

19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. 20 For human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. 21 So put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome the message implanted within you, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be sure you live out the message and do not merely listen to it and so deceive yourselves. 23 For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someone who gazes at his own face in a mirror. 24 For he gazes at himself and then goes out and immediately forgets what sort of person he was. 25 But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out — he will be blessed in what he does. 26 If someone thinks he is religious yet does not bridle his tongue, and so deceives his heart, his religion is futile. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their adversity and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

--James 1:16-27 (NET)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we are blessed to have this letter from one of Your Son’s earthly brothers to study and learn from.  It provide us with good, practical guidance on how we should act as followers of Christ Jesus, how we should live as He wants us to live.  And it encourages us to remain steadfast in our service.  Thank You, Father, for seeing to it that this letter would still be available to us today.  Sadly, Father, we don’t always spend as much time in our bibles as we should, learning more about and gaining insight into Jesus from those who walked with Him and knew Him best.  Too often the demands of life press in on us and consume all our waking hours.  Please help us see the wealth of good information contained in Your word.  Please open our hearts and our minds to Your message.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand what You tell us this day.  Please protect us from those who serve Satan and carry out his evil deeds.  And Father, please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe in the days ahead.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Here's an interesting little story that Clayton Bell wrote for a 1986 issue of Preaching magazine:

A number of years ago Norman Cousins wrote an editorial in Saturday Review in which he reported a conversation he had on a trip in India.  He was talking with a Hindu priest named Satis Prasad.  The man said he wanted to come to our country to work as a missionary among the Americans.  Cousins assumed that he meant that he wanted to convert Americans to the Hindu religion, but when asked, Satis Prasad said, "Oh no, I would like to convert them to the Christian religion.  Christianity cannot survive in the abstract.  It needs not membership, but believers.  The people of your country may claim they believe in Christianity, but from what I read at this distance, Christianity is more a custom than anything else.  I would ask that either you accept the teachings of Jesu in your everyday life and in your affairs as a nation, or stop invoking His name as sanction for everything you do.  I want to help save Christianity for the Christian."

Let that sink in for a minute: “I want to help save Christianity for the Christian.”  We don’t know exactly when this conversation took place, other than “a number of years” before 1986, nor could I determine if Mr. Prasad ever came to America.  But his assessment of American Christianity in the ‘80s was spot on, I’d say.  Unfortunately, the only thing that’s changed is that it might be in even worse shape now.

There are a couple of solid points in this, but I think the most telling in our culture today is that Christianity is not a social club.  We need believers, not members.  It’s not a custom to be practiced, or even honored as such.  It’s a way to live.

You may have heard me say it before, but we must not let anything, not even religion, get in the way of our worshiping and serving our Lord Christ Jesus.  If we continue to call ourselves Christians, we must fully accept and follow the teachings of Jesus in our everyday lives and affairs.

And family, this is the sermon James is preaching.  The message he speaks of, that was implanted in us, is the Gospel, the Good News of salvation through Jesus the Christ.  This is the Word, the Truth.  God gave us birth through this message of truth.  It isn't enough to hear the word, to listen to the word - we must live the word!

So here is James, a brother of Jesus, telling us to live out the word, to live as Jesus lived.  But what does Jesus Himself have to say?  Hear the words of our Lord as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in verse 21 of the 7th chapter of his Gospel account…

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven — only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven.”

--Matthew 7:21 (NET)

Calling Jesus “Lord” isn’t what secures our salvation.  Simply recognizing Him as the Christ, the Son of God, doesn’t cut it – the devil and his demons know exactly who Jesus is.  We must do the will of God.

That’s an action word there: “do”.  We must get up and get out and do the will of God.  And how do we know the will of God?  It’s contained within His word.  We must put His word into practice.

Again hear the words Jesus spoke, this time as recorded by the Apostle Luke in the 6th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 46 through 49…

46 “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do what I tell you?

47 “Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and puts them into practice — I will show you what he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep, and laid the foundation on bedrock.  When a flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.  49 But the person who hears and does not put my words into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation.  When the river burst against that house, it collapsed immediately, and was utterly destroyed!”

--Luke 6:46-49 (NET)

It can’t get any clearer than that.  “Why do you call me “Lord” but then don’t do what I tell you to do?!?”  If we truly accept Jesus as our Lord and Master, then we will obey His every word without question, without hesitation, without fail.

Is what Jesus tells us to do all that difficult to carry out?  Well, yes and no.  What He tells us is clear: love one another.  What He commands is simple: go and make disciples.  He even tells us how to go about it, by telling others everything that He has told us, teaching them all He taught, sharing with them the love He shared with us.

But for most of us, this is difficult.  We’re shy when it comes to spreading the word.  We’re timid, afraid of what others will think of us, worried about how they might react.  As for loving one another, some people just aren’t all that loveable.  So too often we fail to do what Jesus tells us to do.  We may sing, “On Christ the solid rock I stand”, but family, I worry that too many “Christians” today are standing in quicksand.

Family, God’s message today is fairly simple.  Don’t just listen to His word, don’t just read it – live it.  This is what Jesus did.  He did what His Father in heaven willed.  He not only lived God’s word, He breathed life into it.

This is the example He set for us to follow.  As did our Lord, let us live the word.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, who showed us how to live.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for the apostolic letters in our bible, written by those who knew Your Son best, including His earthly brothers.  Thank You for the solid guidance they provide and for their words of encouragement that strengthen us in our day-to-day lives.  Too often, Father, we are too timid to carry out the command Jesus gave us.  Too many times we let prejudice and hatred overcome any love we may have for a person.  Forgive us those times, please Father, when we falter and fail in our service.  Please help us understand the importance of doing Your will, just as Jesus did.  Help us live out Your word.  And please help us to not be afraid to share our Lord Jesus with others, sharing Your love, so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  And Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith and tries to pull us away from You.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

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

Lord Jesus, You warned us that we must put Your words into practice, to do what our heavenly Father wills us to do.  When we do what You tell us, we build our future on the firmest foundation of all.  Thank You, Lord, for showing us how we should live by how You lived.  We pray, Lord, that we will not only spend more time in God’s word, but that You will help us live it out as we move forward in this life.  Please, Jesus, help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message with the lost.  Help us show them Your love by showing our love.

And Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from the world’s lies and empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Sing to God

 

[The following is a manuscript of my devotional message delivered on Sunday morning, the 29th of October, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This is a fifth Sunday service where we sang our favorite hymns.  A recording should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

Please listen and follow along to the instructions the Apostle Paul gave the Colossians, and us, as written in the 3rd chapter, verses 12 through 17, of his letter to that church family, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

12 Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom He gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

--Colossians 3:12-17 (NLT)

Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, sent by God to redeem us of our sin and offer salvation to the world through the shedding of His own blood.  We carry His name into the world when we call ourselves “Christian”.  If we truly are followers of Christ Jesus, we will honor that name.

As God’s chosen, we should clothe ourselves in tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  This is what separates us from the world.  Looking at all that is going on around the globe, we see very little mercy being extended, scant kindness, hardly any gentleness, and no humility or patience whatsoever.

As representatives of our Lord Jesus, we must do better than this, just as Jesus Himself did better than the world.  We should give one another a break, making allowances for each other’s faults, because we all have faults.  We should forgive others, just as we have been forgiven.  Let love be our impetus, our motivation, the deciding factor in anything and everything we do.  And let the peace that only Jesus can give settle into our hearts and guide our lives.

So right now this morning, let us sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.  For God is good all the time.  And all the time, God is good.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for choosing us to follow Your Christ, Your Son Jesus.  Thank You for sending us out as His representatives.  Please help us be more merciful, kind, humble, gentle, and patient, so that we can show the world Your love.  May we always sing Your praises, glorifying You in all we do.  This we pray in the blessed name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Be Resistant

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 22nd of October, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  A recording should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

Family, we have two more general apostolic letters to examine.  Now, I’m not including all the letters Paul wrote, nor the letter to the Hebrews that may or may not have also been authored by Paul.  We’ve looked at the two letters written by Peter and the three by John, and that leaves those by James and Jude in our New Testament.

Now James and Jude were both half-brothers of Jesus – same mother, different Father – so they knew Him quite well, even as a child.  James writes primarily about the practical aspects of Christian conduct.  He provides concrete, ethical instructions on how faith works in everyday life, with less focus on theology and more on practicality.  Jude was more concerned with defending the apostolic faith against false teachings that were springing up and beginning to spread through the early church.

Since we can always use more help in how to act and cope in our day-to-day travels through this life, we’ll begin with James’ letter.  Please listen and follow along to the first 15 verses of the 1st chapter of the letter written by James to the early church, and I’ll be reading from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 From James, a servant of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Greetings to the twelve tribes scattered all over the world.

2 My friends, be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble. 3 You know you learn to endure by having your faith tested. 4 But you must learn to endure everything, so you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything.

5  If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won't correct you for asking. 6 But when you ask for something, you must have faith and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like an ocean wave tossed around in a storm. 7-8 If you are that kind of person, you can't make up your mind, and you surely can't be trusted. So don't expect the Lord to give you anything at all.

9 Any of God's people who are poor should be glad He thinks so highly of them. 10  But any who are rich should be glad when God makes them humble. Rich people will disappear like wild flowers 11 scorched by the burning heat of the sun. The flowers lose their blossoms, and their beauty is destroyed. This is how the rich will disappear, as they go about their business.

12  God will bless you, if you don't give up when your faith is being tested. He will reward you with a glorious life, just as He rewards everyone who loves Him.

13  Don't blame God when you are tempted! God cannot be tempted by evil, and He doesn't use evil to tempt others. 14 We are tempted by our own desires that drag us off and trap us. 15 Our desires make us sin, and when sin is finished with us, it leaves us dead.

--James 1:1-15 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we are blessed to have these letters written by Your Son’s apostles to study and learn from.  They provide us with tips and instructions on how we should live and act as followers of Christ Jesus.  And they warn us of what to avoid.  Thank You, Father, for making sure we would have these letters available even today.  Sadly, though, Father, we don’t always spend as much time in our bibles as we should, reading these letters and all about Jesus.  We get too caught up in the demands of the world on our lives.  Please help us see the wealth of good information contained in the Apostolic letters.  And please help us heed their warnings and instructions.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Please protect us from those who serve Satan and carry out his evil deeds.  And Father, please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe in the days ahead.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

During a Monday night football game between the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants, one of the announcers observed that Walter Payton, the Bears' running back, had accumulated over nine miles in career rushing yardage.  The other announcer remarked, "Yeah, and that's with somebody knocking him down every 4.6 yards!"  Walter Payton, the most successful running back of his day, knew that everyone - even the very best among us – everyone gets knocked down from time to time.  The key to success is to get up and run again just as hard.

There’s an old saying that goes something like this:  It's not how many times you get knocked down in life that matters.  It's how many times you get back up again that makes all the difference in the end.

None of us quit trying to ride a bicycle when we fell off the first time, did we?  No, we got right back up and tried again.  Eventually, after a few scrapes and scratches and bruises, we got the hang of it – not to say that we still didn’t fall once in a while.  We kept trying until we succeeded riding a bike.  We resisted the urge to quit because we knew the reward that awaited us – the freedom only a bike can bring.  Sometimes we just have to be resistant in order to reach a goal, to reap a desired reward.

In our scripture reading this morning, James tells us to be resistant to the ways of the world.  We should resist feeling sorry for ourselves when we are faced with trials.  We must resist the devil's attempts to destroy our faith; resist the lure of wealth, for riches will disappear; resist temptations to do evil, for these do not come from God but from Satan.

If we are resistant and don’t give up when our faith is being tested, God will bless us and reward us with a glorious life.  And we know the most glorious life of all will begin after this one ends.

Resist and endure.  This is the message James brings: resist and endure.  Jesus gave His twelve disciples a warning before sending them out to spread the Gospel message throughout the region.  Hear the words Jesus spoke as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in verse 22 of the 10th chapter of his Gospel account…

22 “Everyone will hate you because of Me. But if you remain faithful until the end, you will be saved.”

--Matthew 10:22 (CEV)

Resist and endure, remain faithful until the end.  Since we have also been sent out by our Lord to share the Good News and make more disciples, we would do well to heed this warning too.  Because of our belief in Jesus as the Truth, the Christ, the Son of God, and the only way to salvation, the world will hate us.  It will try to keep us from carrying out our mission.  We must be resistant to what the world says to us and about us, and keep on serving our Lord, being faithful and enduring to the very end.  And the promised blessings will be ours.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews agrees with Jesus and His brother James.  Listen to what he wrote to those early Jewish converts to the Christian faith, in the 10th chapter of his letter, verses 32 through 37…

32 Don't forget all the hard times you went through when you first received the light. 33 Sometimes you were abused and mistreated in public, and at other times you shared in the sufferings of others. 34 You were kind to people in jail. And you gladly let your possessions be taken away, because you knew you had something better, something that would last forever.

35 Keep on being brave! It will bring you great rewards. 36 Learn to be patient, so you will please God and be given what He has promised. 37  As the Scriptures say, 

“God is coming soon!

It won't be very long."

--Hebrews 10:32-37 (CEV)

Resist, endure, and be brave.  Our author speaks of the hard times we may have gone through, of abuse and mistreatment we may have suffered, because of our faith.

Now all of this isn’t really a given, although Jesus assured us that in this life we will have trials.  We’ve all suffered through trials of one sort or another, but they haven’t necessarily been a result of our faith and belief, of our work for Jesus.  But there are people in this world – good Christian people – who are physically and emotionally suffering, even dying, because of their service to our Lord.

And family, persecution of the church is not only occurring but growing here in the United States.  We must resist the attempts to crush the church, and endure all that comes our way.  We must keep on being brave and patient, and our reward will be great.  For God is coming soon.  Jesus is coming again soon.  It won’t be very long.  And God will be with us, and we will be with God.

Resist, endure, and be brave.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, who showed us how to live.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for the warnings in these letters in our bible of what is to come, of what we can expect to happen.  But thank You most of all for the words of encouragement that strengthen our resolve to carry on.  Too often, Father, we become weary from the beatings of this life.  Too many times we are shown all the wonderful things the world has to offer if we would just let go of our silly beliefs and enjoy ourselves to the fullest.  Forgive us those times, please Father, when our faith begins to weaken and we falter in our service.  Please help us understand the warnings You’ve provided.  Help us take strength from Your promises.  Keep reminding us that our only hope is in You.  And please help us to not be afraid to share our Lord Jesus with others, sharing Your love, so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  And Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith and tries to pull us away from You.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

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

Lord Jesus, You warned us that we will suffer in this life.  You warned us that the world will hate us, just as it hated You.  But Lord, You also reminded us of the great reward that awaits us if we remain faithful to the end.  Thank You, Lord, for paying for our salvation with Your own precious blood.  We pray, O Lord, that we will resist the world and endure whatever befalls us as we move forward in this life.  Please, Jesus, help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing Your story, the Gospel message, with the lost.  Help us show them Your love, for this is the ultimate good.  Shield our minds and our hearts from the world’s lies and empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.

And Jesus, please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Imitate What Is Good

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 15th of October, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  A recording should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

Family, today we’re going to look at the Apostle John’s 3rd and final letter.  Now, the Apostolic letters were pretty much passed around from church to church in the Asia Minor region, especially those written by Paul, so that all believers might have the chance to read and learn from them.  While John’s 1st letter appears to be written to the church at large, the 2nd and 3rd seem to be addressed more to either specific church families or to certain individuals.

We mentioned last week that the 2nd letter was addressed to “the chosen lady”, which could have indeed been a specific woman, or a sister church to the one John was currently with in Ephesus.  This 3rd letter, though, is definitely addressed to an individual, and one to whom John is expressing his concern about another specific individual and his actions within the church.

The message John conveys is one we would do well to heed ourselves.  So please listen and follow along to John’s 3rd letter to all who might read it, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 This letter is from John, the elder.

I am writing to Gaius, my dear friend, whom I love in the truth.

2 Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. 3 Some of the traveling teachers recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living according to the truth. 4 I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.

5 Dear friend, you are being faithful to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though they are strangers to you. 6 They have told the church here of your loving friendship. Please continue providing for such teachers in a manner that pleases God. 7 For they are traveling for the Lord, and they accept nothing from people who are not believers. 8 So we ourselves should support them so that we can be their partners as they teach the truth.

9 I wrote to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us. 10 When I come, I will report some of the things he is doing and the evil accusations he is making against us. Not only does he refuse to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church.

11 Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.

12 Everyone speaks highly of Demetrius, as does the truth itself. We ourselves can say the same for him, and you know we speak the truth.

13 I have much more to say to you, but I don’t want to write it with pen and ink. 14 For I hope to see you soon, and then we will talk face to face.

15 Peace be with you.

Your friends here send you their greetings. Please give my personal greetings to each of our friends there.

--3 John 1 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, You have blessed us so richly by making sure we would have the letters to read even today that were written by our Lord's Apostles.  Their insights and instructions enrich our lives.  Thank You, Father, for inspiring them.  And thank You for ensuring their words would be accessable to us in our age.  Sadly, though, Father, we don’t always spend as much time in Your word, reading these letters, as we should.  We get too wrapped up in the day-to-day workings of our lives.  Please help us see the wealth of good information contained in the Apostolic letters.  And please help us heed their warnings and instructions.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Please protect us from those who serve Satan and carry out his evil deeds.  And Father, please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe in the days ahead.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

John Wesley, the father of the Methodist Church, once challenged us Christians to, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all people you can, as long as ever you can.”  That ought to be enough to keep us busy and out of trouble for a while.

Back in the 1970's, the Association of Life Underwriters of Washington, D.C, conducted a little survey where it was shown that for every dollar reaching the needy, the sick, the underprivileged child, and the aged adult, the cost of channeling it through the church is just eight cents, while the cost of channeling it through voluntary charitable organizations or the federal government is 27 cents and $3, respectively.

Let me repeat that...  For every dollar intended for the needy, the church can deliver that dollar for the cost of only 8 cents, whereas it costs 27 cents to go through a voluntary charitable organization and $3 for the government to handle the task.  Every one dollar that our government spends helping the poor, the sick, the underprivileged, the elderly, costs the American taxpayer three dollars!

Now granted, those figures are 50 years old now, but I bet the ratios are pretty close to the same today.  It looks to me like the church is the most efficient provider of services by far.  So let's follow John Wesley's encouragement and do all the good we can as a church family, working for Jesus.

One might ask how can the church do so much better at helping those in need, providing so much at so little a cost?  I think we can look at the time when Jesus fed over 5,000 people with nothing more than two small fishes and five small loaves of bread.  He did this miracle by putting it in God’s hands.  When we trust in God, when we put a seemingly impossible task in His hands, He can make a little go a long way.  When the church imitates Jesus in this manner, we can do a lot with a little.

After an opening introduction similar to what we read in the 2nd letter, John gets right to the point.  He is concerned about the treatment that some “traveling teachers” received in Gaius’ church.  Some versions of our Bible call these folks “brothers” or “brethren”.  In effect, they were disciples who went from church to church throughout the known world, sharing the Gospel message and teaching those church families more about Jesus.  These were people much like Paul, who not only planted churches but also visited some that other missionaries had started, like the church in Rome.

Well, some of these traveling teachers brought back a report of how that church was staying faithful and living according to the truth of the Gospel.  And apparently they made sure to note that Gaius himself had been especially welcoming and supportive of them while there.

Let me point out something here that comes up very briefly toward the end of the letter, where John mentions a man named Demetrius.  Demetrius was very likely one of these traveling teachers, perhaps the one who brought the report back to John.  John speaks highly of Demetrius, to let Gaius know how much his support was appreciated.

In this letter, John encourages Gaius and his church to continue being hospitable to these teachers, even though they might be complete strangers, for they are traveling and teaching for the Lord Jesus.  And for their efforts they receive only support from the churches that sent them and the churches that receive them, as Gaius did.

But there was one man there in Gaius’ church who rejected the teachers and refused to have anything to do with them.  Not only that, but he also told other believers not to help the teachers.  And if they decided not to listen to him and helped the travelers anyway, he kicked them out of the church!

Now John describes this Diotrephes as one who loves to be a leader.  We might call him a self-styled leader, someone who wants to be in charge of things.  John makes it clear that when he comes to visit, he will make everyone aware of what this man has been doing, including the evil accusations he has made against John and the brethren, all of which is in sharp contrast to the teachings and commands of Jesus.  In this letter, John is exercising his apostolic authority and rebuking Diotrephes, and he has every intention of doing so in public when he comes to visit.

Then John offers his friend, and us, some very good advice.  Don’t let this man’s bad behavior have any impact on how we live and act.  Don’t let his bad example influence us.  Follow only what is good.  Imitate what is good, not what is evil.

Now we today are in a great position to see what is good, for we have all the works and deeds of righteous men and women throughout the ages saved for us in our Bible.  And in all of that, we can easily see that Jesus is the best example to follow, the best to imitate.

Hear the words the Apostle Peter spoke to the household of the Roman centurion Cornelius as recorded by the Apostle Luke in chapter 10 verses 38 and 39 of his Book of the Acts of the Apostles…

38b "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

39a “And we apostles are witnesses of all He did throughout Judea and in Jerusalem."

--Acts 10:38b-39a (NLT)

Jesus went around doing good, everywhere He went.  He healed all who were oppressed by the devil, those afflicted in body and in spirit.  He taught the truth of God’s word.  Then He gave His all, sacrificed Himself, just so we might be saved.  And His Apostles witnessed it all.

He could do all this because God was with Him.  He put everything in God’s hands.  That’s a great example to imitate – putting everything in God’s hands.

In his three letters, John fully endorses doing good.  He says that doing good shows we are children of God.  In this final letter, he reminds us that “those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God”.  We are to do good and not follow the example of Diotrephes, who has proven that he does not know God.

Of course, we know that doing good brings many rewards, including personal satisfaction.  In the 5th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 28 and 39, John recorded Jesus saying…

28b “The time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, 29 and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment.”

--John 5:28b-29 (NLT)

In this life, we have choices.  Jesus is telling us the results we can expect from one of those choices: to do good in this life or to do evil.  The folks who have done good in their life will rise from the dead to everlasting life.  Those who continued in evil will also rise from the dead, but to judgment.

Now notice that Jesus didn’t say “those who have done evil”.  It’s a pretty safe bet that we’ve all done something bad in our lives, something with evil intent.  But we’ll only be judged for it if we keep on acting that way, if we continue doing bad things rather than repenting and trying to only do good.  If we truly are children of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus, we will turn from any evilness and do only good.  We will follow only what is good, just as Gaius did, with Jesus being our very best example.

So let us imitate what is good.  And God will be with us.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, who showed us how to live.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for giving us so many examples of how to live in a manner that is pleasing to You.  And thank You for all the warnings for us to avoid bad behavior.  Too often, Father, we get confused as to what really is good and what is evil.  Too many times we hear what we think is good being called evil, and what we think is evil being called good.  Forgive us those times, please Father, when we begin to wonder what we should do.  Please help us better understand Your word and how it applies to our life.  Keep reminding us to spend more time with You and in Your word.  And please help us to not be afraid to share our Lord Jesus with others, sharing Your love, so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and grace.  And Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith and tries to pull us away from You.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

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

Lord Jesus, everything You did while in human form was done out of love.  Even when You would rebuke the religious leaders, it was out of love – Your love of Your Father God, and Your love for us that we not be led astray by the false teachings of the Pharisees and scribes.  Thank You, Lord, for Your words and deeds - for how You lived - this serves as the best example for us to follow.  We pray, dear Lord, that we do only good moving forward in this life.  Please, Jesus, help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing Your story, the Gospel message, with the lost.  Help us show them Your love, for this is the ultimate good.  Shield our minds and our hearts from the world’s lies and empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.

And Jesus, please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

A Reminder

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered during Pastor Appreciation Month, on Sunday morning, the 8th of October, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  A recording should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

Family, we finished the Apostle John’s 1st letter to the early church a few weeks ago, but I’d like to return to his letters this morning.  He wrote three that we know of, with the 2nd and 3rd being fairly short, so short that they became single-chapter books in our Holy Bible.  Since they are quite brief in length, we’ll cover the 2nd letter today and the 3rd next week.

All three were very probably written in roughly the same time period – around 90 AD - and from the same location – most likely Ephesus, which played a huge role in the rise and spread of the Christian church.  Now Ephesus in Paul’s time was a major port city on the Mediterranean Sea.  It was the second largest city in the Roman Empire and considered by many to be the most important Greek city and trading center in the Mediterranean region.  And it was a hotbed of early Christian evangelism.  Today, it’s well-preserved ruins lie in the Central Aegean region of Turkey, where it remains a Christian pilgrimage destination.

But back to the topic at hand, the main thrust of John’s 2nd letter deals with walking through this life as new creations, following Christ’s teachings and commands.  And it also serves as a great reminder of what we have been told before.  So please listen and follow along as I read John’s 2nd letter to the early church from The Living Bible version of our Holy Bible…

1 This letter is from John, the elder.

I am writing to the chosen lady and to her children, whom I love in the truth — as does everyone else who knows the truth — 2 because the truth lives in us and will be with us forever.

3 Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ — the Son of the Father — will continue to be with us who live in truth and love.

4 How happy I was to meet some of your children and find them living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded.

5 I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. 6 Love means doing what God has commanded us, and He has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.

7 I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. 9 Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son.

10 If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. 11 Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.

12 I have much more to say to you, but I don’t want to do it with paper and ink. For I hope to visit you soon and talk with you face to face. Then our joy will be complete.

13 Greetings from the children of your sister, chosen by God.

--2 John 1 (TLB)

Let us pray…  heavenly Father, You inspired some of Your Son’s followers to write about His life and all He did and said, and some to write letters to the young Christian church, offering encouragement and instructions on how they should live.  Thank You, Father, for allowing us to share in their insight and teachings.  Thank You for saving their words over the centuries in our Bibles.  Sadly, though, Father, there are many who will never read or hear these words.  And there are too many who refuse to believe what they have heard or read.  Please help the first group gain access to Your word, and have mercy on the second so that they may someday come to believe.  Please help us reach out to the non-believers.  Help us share Your word and Your love with them.  Please protect us from those who serve Satan and carry out his evil deeds.  And Father, please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe in the days ahead.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Please help us walk in the truth, obeying Your Son’s commands.  Keep reminding us of what we have been taught and told.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Pastor and author A. W. Tozer once lamented, “We have gotten accustomed to the blurred puffs of gray fog that pass for doctrine in churches and expect nothing better.  From some previously unimpeachable sources are now coming vague statements consisting of a milky admixture of Scripture, science, and human sentiment that is true to none of its ingredients because each one works to cancel the others out.  Little by little Christians these days are being brainwashed.  One evidence is that increasing numbers of them are becoming ashamed to be found unequivocally on the side of truth.  They say they believe, but their beliefs have been so diluted as to be impossible of clear definition.  Moral power has always accompanied definite beliefs.  Great saints have always been dogmatic.  We need a return to a gentle dogmatism that smiles while it stands stubborn and firm on the Word of God that lives and abides forever.”

Strong words there, and quite a condemnation of the present day church.  Tozer says that Christians today are being brainwashed, and I have to agree with that.  But not all of that is coming from the church itself, from the pulpit, as he somewhat implies.

Yes, for sure there are false teachers standing in pulpits around the world who are indeed misleading their flocks.  It’s not really a new phenomenon, although it certainly has been rapidly increasing the last few decades.  The Apostle Paul warned us about this.  Paul also said that the people themselves would not abide by sound doctrine but would hire these preachers who would say what the people wanted to hear, the things that made them feel good about themselves with no regard to actual theology.  Hear what Paul wrote in his 2nd letter to his young protégé Timothy, from chapter 4 verses 2 through 4…

2 Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.

3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

--2 Timothy 4:2-4 (NLT)

Paul and John are firmly in agreement in this warning.

So where does the brainwashing originate?  In the popular culture, the playground of the devil.  Today, people don’t want to hear the truth.  They want to justify their chosen lifestyle, whatever it might be that makes them feel good.  Right and wrong no longer has meaning.  There is no hell, so why fear it.  God – if one even exists - loves everybody, so we’re all going to heaven.

And sadly, some preachers are more than willing to go along with this way of thinking, as long as their congregations are large and the money is flowing.  Family, this might be Pastor Appreciation Month, but not all pastors are worthy of appreciation.  I pray that you will never hear anything but the unequivocal truth – the true word of God – coming from this pulpit.

So what did you think of John’s 2nd letter?  It’s quite different, isn’t it?  One might even call it a little strange, especially in its opening and closing verses.

Who is John writing to?  I said this is a letter to the early church but who is this “chosen lady”?  Who are her children?  And who is her sister?

Well, these are questions that have been asked for many, many years, and without complete resolution.  The “chosen lady” may refer to a specific individual, so her children would thus be her actual children.  Or the term may refer to a given church, or to the church at large, in which case her “children” would be the members of that church, or all Christians in total.

But phrases John uses in the letter make it more likely that he was addressing a specific church that was located at some distance from Ephesus, and thus to the members of that church.  Part of this is implied in the opening, where John introduces himself.  Why introduce yourself if the people already know you?  And then he states that he had met some of the children, the members.  Had he actually visited that church, one would think he would have met them all, or at least most of them.  Later on he even says he hopes to visit them soon, so he hasn’t done so yet.

Adding to the confusing nature of this epistle, we have the closing, where John speaks of the chosen lady’s sister and her children.  This would be simply be a “sister” church and its members, possibly the church in Ephesus.

So put it all together, and John is writing to a sister church some distance away, warning them of the missionary efforts of false teachers, deceivers and antichrists, and the danger of welcoming them into the congregation when they arrive.  But it is also a reminder of all that we believers have been told from the beginning.  John reminds us of our commandment to love.

Now I mentioned that all three of John’s letters were likely written at the same time and from the same general location.  So it shouldn’t seem all that unusual that he would repeat key parts of his messages, especially in this 2nd letter which serves as a reminder as well as a warning.  In the 2nd chapter of his 1st letter, verses 7, 18 through 19, and 24, John wrote these words…

7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment — to love one another — is the same message you heard before.

18 Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. 19 These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.

24 So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father.

--1 John 2:7, 18-19, 24 (NLT)

Those of us fortunate enough to read all three letters can see the repeated reminders of what we have been told before.  The importance of loving one another is drilled into our heads and into our hearts, along with the warning to beware those who would try to teach us other than the truth of our Lord.  We must remain faithful to what we have been taught so that we can stay in fellowship with our Lord Jesus and our Father God.

John speaks often of the truth in this letter.  He writes to this church that he loves in the truth, just as does everyone else who knows the truth.  The truth is the Gospel message: salvation through Jesus and only through Jesus.

All who believe and abide in this truth love each other, or we should since we are commanded to do so.  If we abide in the truth, it lives in us and will be with us forever.  And even better, the grace, mercy, and peace of God the Father and of Jesus His Son will also be ours.  But we must be wary, for there are many who deny the truth, who deny that God came to us as one of us.  There are many who will tell us not to worry about how we live for there really is no sin as long as we’re not hurting anyone else.

We must be careful not to be lulled into this false doctrine, not to pay heed to this message that makes a lie of the truth.  We have the truth implanted into our hearts the moment we believed and accepted Jesus as Lord.  And we have a reminder of the truth at our fingertips, in our Holy Bible.

Let us trust in the word, trust in the truth, trust in God.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God who gave of Himself to reconcile us with the Father.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for seeing to it that we are reminded time after time of Your truth.  It is critical that we understand we are to love others.  It is crucial that we know the truth that is the Gospel message, that You sent Jesus to wash away our sin by the outpouring of His own precious blood.  Thank You for providing the truth for us in our Holy Bible and for saving it throughout the ages.  Too many times, though, we just don’t take the time to read Your word and study it and take its meaning into our hearts.  Too often we lose sight of what we have been commanded to do and we fail to love as Jesus loved.  Forgive us those times, please Father, when we disappoint You.  Please help us set aside those worldly attractions that rob us of the time we could spend with You and Your word.  Help us better see how obeying You is to our ultimate benefit.  And please help us to not be afraid to share our Lord Jesus with others, sharing Your love, so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and grace.  And Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith and tries to pull us away from You.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

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

Lord Jesus, You came into this world to free us from our sin, to save us from ourselves.  You allowed Your body to be broken, Your blood to be spilled, just so that we could be forgiven and washed clean in God’s eyes.  And You taught us how to love, to love God and to love others.  Thank You, Lord, for Your words and deeds that stand as an example for us to follow.  We pray, dear Lord, that we can show as much love for others as You have for us.  Please, Jesus, help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing Your story, the Gospel message, with the lost.  Help us show them Your love.  And help us endure any trials or persecution our efforts may bring.  Shield our minds and our hearts from the world’s lies and empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.

And Jesus, please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.