Scripture John 5:24-26
About 1830, a
man named George Wilson killed a government employee who caught him in the act
of stealing the mail – he was a thief and killed the one who caught him. Wilson
was tried and sentenced to be hanged. The President of the United States,
Andrew Jackson, sent Wilson a pardon. But, Wilson did a strange thing: he
refused to accept the pardon.
No one seemed to
know what to do because of this, so Wilson's case was sent to the U. S. Supreme
Court. Chief Justice Marshall wrote the opinion: "A pardon is a slip of
paper, the value of which is determined by the acceptance of the person to be
pardoned. If it is refused, it is no pardon. George Wilson must be
hanged." And he was.
The death of
Christ on the cross is the pardon God has sent. But before it becomes a pardon,
we must accept it in faith and obedience. It is through the cross, and only
through the cross that we can be saved from sin and its consequence of eternal
separation from God in hell. It is the only way for us to receive eternal life.
These words I
speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements
to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life
on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who
built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado
hit — but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. "But if you
just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are
like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm
rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.
The
parable of the sower may be less about the parable and more about its meaning
that Jesus explains to his disciples.
Mark
4:13-20
Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you
understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed
along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and
takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky
places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no
root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of
the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns,
hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and
the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a
crop — thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.
Notice it
said, “HEAR the word, ACCEPT it, and PRODUCE a crop!”
Luke
8:19-21
Now Jesus' mother and brothers came to see
him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. Someone told
him, "Your mother and brothers are standing
outside, wanting to see you." He replied, My
mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice.
Some people find it impossible that they must believe in
Jesus (therefore that his words are true) to receive eternal life. Actually, if
we look at it another way it is the only thing that does make sense. What
should happen to me if I said, “I don’t believe in eating!” and I refused to
ever eat again. Within a few weeks, I would die. The same is true of our spirit
– we must feast on the one who gave us our life – our spirit.
Matthew
4:4
Jesus answered, It
is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes
from the mouth of God.'
Have you
ever noticed, at an airport, the difference between those who have confirmed
tickets, and those who are on standby? If you just learned that you must stand
in judgement before God in 15 minutes, what would you be doing? Do you think he
would say “Welcome home my child?” Or “depart from me you evil doer”?
Luke
9:23-26
Then he said to them all: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take
up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose
it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man
to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is
ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes
in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
John
15:5-8
I am the vine; you
are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit;
apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a
branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown
into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory,
that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
John 14:10
Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the
Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the
Father, living in me, who is doing his work.
Author Kevin
Huggins tells the true story of a church quiz team who had hit outstanding
heights in the knowledge of the book of Romans. He tells of an unusual
situation arising form the team’s actions. “The kids knew the book so well they
could finish any verse, word for word, if the quiz master called out the
chapter and verse numbers.
After
winning the district championships that year, the team traveled by van to the
naitonals in Florida. On the way there,
the team stayed overnight at another church. After the adult leaders fell asleep,
some of the team members snuck out of the church and vandalized the
neighborhood, tearing down mailboxes, damaging cars, and spray painting some
property.
These were
the same kids who had just spent a year memorizing and studying the book of
Romans! It isn’t enough to get the word
of God in to you – it is also about getting the word of God out of you!...lived
in your life!
John 14:23-26
Jesus replied, If
anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will
come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey
my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who
sent me. "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor,
the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all
things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
John 12:47-50
As for the person
who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not
come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who
rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will
condemn him at the last day. For I did not speak of my own accord, but the
Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his
command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has
told me to say.
Luke
11:27-28
As Jesus was saying these things, a woman
in the crowd called out, "Blessed is the
mother who gave you birth and nursed you." He replied, Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey
it.
John 8:51
I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never
see death.
As we near
the end with 3 more texts to read – let’s end where we began, with a story
about a pardon. This time we will see that the pardon takes place because of
the power of the word (in fact showing the difference of what a single comma
can make. Maria Fedorovna, the empress of Russia
and wife of Czar Alexander III, was known for her philanthropy. She once saved
a prisoner from exile in Siberia by transposing a single comma in a warrant
signed by Alexander. The czar had written: "Pardon impossible, to be sent
to Siberia." After Maria's intervention, the note read: "Pardon,
impossible to be sent to Siberia." The prisoner was eventually released.
John 5:24-26
"I tell you
the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life
and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. 25
I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will
live. 26 For as the Father has
life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.
These verses tell a
story when put in reverse order.
If a comma can make such a difference for one person,
imagine what difference the words of Jesus can make for all people.
John 6:63-64
The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The
words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
Matthew
24:34-35
I tell you the
truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have
happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
A
final pardon from the mouth of Jesus: Luke 23:41-43 One thief on the cross said to the other, “we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has
done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus,
remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him,
"I tell you the truth, today you will be with me
in paradise!”
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