06-28-20 “Carry their mat!”

 Scripture      Mark 2:1-12

 Why it is important to read a single story in each place it is written?:

Matt 9:1-9      Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."

          3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"

          4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . ." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home."  7 And the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.

          9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

Luke 5:17-28

One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

          20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

          The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

          Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . ." He said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home."  Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today."

          27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

Mark 2:1-12

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.

3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

          6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

          8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, 11 "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home."  12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

 SONG

 THEIR FAITH:    (Matthew 9:2, Luke 5:20, Mark 2:5)  When Jesus saw their faith,

The faith of the Friends  /  (Jesus has authority to forgive sins)

 MY FOUR:

Mr. Mefford – baseball coach

Mrs. Bland – 6^th grade tutor

Zach Wilcox – backdoor neighbor

Bryan Hitch – best friend

 Who were your four? Give thanks!

Who are the ones you are carrying to set before Jesus?

 2 Tim 1:2-18

To Timothy, my dear son: I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also (because they carried you on a mat and laid you before Jesus). For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God (to carry other people to Jesus), which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

          What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you — guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

           May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me (he carried Paul to Jesus). May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.

Augustine of Hippo

“What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.”

1 Cor 13:1-3

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love (to carry someone on a mat to bring them before Jesus), I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love (to carry someone on a mat to bring them before Jesus), I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love (to carry someone on a mat to bring them before Jesus), I gain nothing.  1 Cor 13:13   And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

It’s hope that picks up their mat, it’s faith that sets their mat before Jesus, but, it is love that carries their mat. Once you get them their it is the words of Jesus – the words written in red – the words from the son of God that will bring hope, healing, encouragement and life eternal!

06-21-20 “My Father is an Overcomer!”

Scripture        John 16:29-33

Then Jesus' disciples said, "Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30 Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God."

          31 "You believe at last!" Jesus answered. "But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

SONG:  Click here for song: Overcomer

 Why Does Jesus Promise ‘In This World You Will Have Trouble’ in John 16:33?

There isn’t a father anywhere who has not faced a million troubles from: how to put the bike together on Christmas Eve, to how he will ever pay the bills with so little income. From how can I protect my family from Covid 19 to mass shooters with a gun? From how do I balance time at work and time with family and how do I balance my checkbook and still give generously to the work of the Lord?

 There isn’t a human being alive on this planet who isn’t acquainted with troubles. (We sing about it: “No body knows the trouble I’ve seen…” “Like a bridge over troubled water…)  Times of difficulty arrive unexpectedly, often remain indefinitely, and the sorrowful memories they produce take deep root in the mind. It is no wonder, then, why Jesus’s promise in John 16:33 also takes deep root in the minds and hearts of so many Christians: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” 

This comforting verse is found John-Chapters 13-17 = the Farewell Discourse. These are Jesus’s final words of reassurance, comfort, and encouragement to his disciples in the upper room before his betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion. 

In chapter 16, he speaks to them of his impending death and departure, as well as their desertion. In John 16:32, Jesus tells them, "But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. Certainly, this must have been disconcerting for the disciples to hear, which is why Jesus immediately followed up with his comforting words in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.” 

In this verse, we see two certain realities:

1) the followers of Jesus will suffer great troubles, and

2) Jesus has already won the victory. (Not I might, or I will – rather I HAVE!)

He didn’t want his disciples to be under the delusion that their future ministry would be full of ease and comfort, and he doesn’t want us to think that either.   

Following Christ would find opposition and victory.

 In Which Bible Version Does Jesus Say, ‘Take Heart, I Have Overcome the World?’

The specific phrase, “Take Heart, I Have Overcome the World,” is found in the NIV. Other versions say, (Greek: tharseite) “take courage” (NASB) or “be courageous” (CSB). The word “overcome” (Greek: nenikeika) could also be translated “conquered” (CSB, NRSV). 

Jesus’s claim of victory over the world is in reference to his death, burial, and resurrection. Earlier, in John 12:31, Jesus stated that his crucifixion would conquer and cast out the “ruler of this world.” Hebrews 2:14-15 says, Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil.

The finished work of Christ removes the teeth from suffering. By entering into our world and suffering alongside of us, Jesus offers certain hope that transcends the temporal sorrow and suffering this world throws at his followers. 

Therefore, we are not called to overcome the world ourselves because Jesus already did. He provides his children with a certain future — a “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” and “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” (2 Peter 1:3-4). It is because of this reality that we can “take heart” and “be of good courage.”  

 How Are Christians Invited to Live in Light of John 16:33?

The apostle Paul stated bluntly in 2 Timothy 3:12, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Anyone who claims that believing in Jesus brings financial prosperity, physical health, and perfect relationships hasn’t read his Bible. Life is tough and the Christian life is often tougher. The Bible, far from dodging this fact, acknowledges it and embraces it. Jesus himself guaranteed it. And instead of promising to eliminate trouble from our lives, Jesus instead promises to give peace and comfort in the midst of trouble. 

Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Could it be that troubles and trials make our heart sick because we are placing our hope in that which does not satisfy—a job, a relationship, a position? Christ calls us, not to place our hope in temporal, uncertain things, but in his eternal victory over sin and death on the cross of Calvary. As one commentator states, “It is the victory of God that the Christian celebrates, knowing that all enemies (past, present, and future) have already been defeated, even death itself”

This is why Jesus exhorts us to “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matt. 6:20-21)

         What Are the Two Principle Lessons of John 16:33?

1)    Count on trouble.    2) take courage in Christ’s victory.

We should never be shocked or surprised when trials come our way. As the Apostle Peter says, “Don’t be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” (1 Peter 4:12) 

We are called to take heart, not in our own abilities or will power, but in the finished work of Jesus. 

Scripture is filled with assurances of peace amidst trials and the courage to persist through them.

Romans 8:31-39

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

          No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Take Heart, Christian—Jesus Has Already Won the Ultimate Victory

If you’re facing trials right now, you can have joy while your tears flow. You can be courageous even when your strength fails because your savior, Jesus, took on your sorrow, pain, and weakness. Most importantly, he took your sin and nailed it to his cross. This trial can’t remove you from his love. 

 John 17:1-5

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

"Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

Job is an obvious overcomer.

Noah is an obvious overcomer.

          Jairus is an obvious overcomer.

          Joseph is an obvious overcomer.

Abraham is an amazing overcomer and most closely reveals what I mean when I say “My Father is an Overcomer”

was a father who was an overcomer.

Ur to Haran (75 yo) to Egypt. (Built altars)

Ishmael born to Hagar (86 yo)

Lied twice about Sarah as sister

Isaac born (90/100)

God, the Father also had a son whom people never really believed would come – did not believe he was God’s son when he did come – and he was mistreated by his own until he allowed his son to be laid on an altar – like Isaac, he was God’s only true begotten son and yet needed to be sacrificed. The difference is why. Isaac was almost sacrificed to prove Abraham’s love for God. Jesus, the Heavenly Father’s son was being sacrificed to prove God’s love for us. 

OVERCOMER

Stay in the fight 'til the final round. You're not going under 'Cause God is holding you right now. You might be down for a moment feeling like it's hopeless. That's when he reminds you that you're an overcomer.

06-07-20 “Welcome back!”

Scripture:   John 4:19-26

We do not have to be present together to worship Jesus because we worship in Spirit and Truth. However, there is something special about coming together. At a surface level, I have always preferred Live stage shows over movies. There is an inherent interaction that you get when something is live instead of recorded or live streamed.

Beyond that surface level, Jesus said, Matthew 18:20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. Yes, that is more about the hearts coming together than the body. And, there is a fear among some pastors that people will have decided they can stay home and “get church” instead of going “to” church. (Today you can order free deliver to your home any kind of church you want without ever getting out of a chair.)

          Let me state clearly, I did not worship as well while I was not physically present with you and I know that you did not worship as well without being physically present with your brothers and sisters in worship. We are designed by God to be physically present together in worship and ministry. But we had NO choice so we have done and are doing the best we can. Some will not return physically until a cure, a vaccine, or an eradication of COVID 19 has occurred.

          I have to tell you that I do not know how much longer I could preach to an empty sanctuary – out here it would be like preaching to the trees.

          It’s said that missionary statesman and Canadian pastor Oswald J. Smith would go out into the woods and preach to the trees. I am sure that some will say this is no different than modern preachers doing a midweek practice run in an empty auditorium, and I am 100% confident the response rate was extremely low.

          Many of you know that once I prepare my sermon notes, I go into the sanctuary and audibly preach. This is not to practice as Smith did with one exception – I do want to see how long the actual preaching is compared to what I imagine it might be. Other than that, speaking the message aloud is another part of preparation, and in that moment I do prefer to be completely alone because I am worshipping in Spirit and Truth and God uses that method to continue to speak and confirm or change the message. But, the actual preaching event is incarnational. The bible does not say, “For God so loved the world, that He sent a pre-recorded message…” No! He sent His son. Preaching and all of worship is designed to be in person for the preacher and the hearer. PRAISE GOD for the technology that has and still does allow us to reach people who are not able to worship in person. It is a next best thing…but it is not the same.

          All of that is to say, as different and crazy as all this still is, like to the prodigal son when he finally returned home, I say; “Welcome back”

          (Play the welcome back song)

 Heb 10:19-25

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

THE WORDS OF JESUS FOR TODAY

John 4:19-26

"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." 21 Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." 25 The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he."

Worship in spirit can mean two things – 1) Our worship must come from the heart, not from formalized ritualistic routines. It must come from the center of who we are. 2) Worship in the Spirit can mean in the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:26-27 We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. It is the Spirit who leads us in worship. So, to worship in spirit and truth first means we worship from our heart as guided by the Holy Spirit.

But then we worship in truth. Our worship must be rooted in and tethered to the realities of biblical revelation.  Worship is not meant to be formed by what feels good, but by the light of what’s true.  Genuine, Christ-exalting worship must never be mindless or based in ignorance. It must be doctrinally grounded and focused on the truth .

Some people worship in spirit without truth – it is only about feelings and emotions. If I walk away having gotten an emotional high then that was good worship.

Some people worship in truth without the spirit – it is only about the bible and church doctrine. If I walk away having learned something or confirmed what I already believe then I have worshipped.  Strong affections for God rooted in truth are the bone and marrow of biblical worship.

Genuine, Christ-exalting worship, after all, is the fruit of both heat and light. The light of truth shines into our minds and instructs us about who God is. Such light in turn ignites the fire of passion and affection and the heat of joy, love, and gratitude.

          Let’s see an example of worshipping in spirit but not truth.

Luke 4:15-30

Jesus taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,   to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked. They were so in the spirit – “this worship feels good.”

But then Jesus gave them some truth.

23 Jesus said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.' I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed — only Naaman the Syrian." All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. How did they go from praise and adoration to being ready to throw him off a cliff? It happens today – people love to worship Jesus in spirit but not when the truth is hard.

          Good news: v30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

          Here is an example of worshipping in spirit and truth from the Old Testament:

          Nehemiah 8:1-6

…all the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.  2 So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. 3 He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.  4 Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah; and on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam.  5 Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. 6 Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

Justin the Martyr was executed for his faith around A.D. 165. His writings and leadership helped shape and influence countless believers. He has given the oldest non-biblical description of Christian worship we have. He wrote, “On the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place (a spirit is present), and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read (truth is present) as long as time permits.

 

The communion table is the perfect combination of worshipping in spirit and truth. It is the truth that Jesus went to the cross so that we could be forgiven and cleansed of our sins and it is the spirit as we come to Jesus with a broken and contrite heart to receive that cleansing.

 Wash Your Hands After Dealing with Death

Consider that in 1818, Ignaz Philip Semmelweis was born into a world of dying women. The finest hospitals lost one out of six mothers to the scourge of “childbed fever.” A doctor’s daily routine began in the dissecting room where he performed autopsies. From there he made his way to the hospital to examine expectant mothers without ever pausing to wash his hands. Dr. Semmelweis was the first man in history to associate such examinations with the resultant infection and death. 202 years later we find ourselves in the midst of a global pandemic and the single most effective thing we can do to combat it is “wash our hands”. As we worship Jesus through communion, we come to spiritually wash our hearts and our heads the seat of spirt and truth.