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April Fools! He is Risen!

Of course the Bible tells us to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on every first day of the week, but many are looking for a particular emphasis on this topic on the cultural (and religious) holiday many call ‘Easter.’  It doesn’t happen very often, but this year that day falls on April 1.  So, just who were made fools because Jesus was raised from the dead?

  1. Hebrews 2:14-18.  Perhaps Satan was the biggest fool.  Because of our sin, he held the power of death and reveled in our fear of death.  On that Friday Passover so long ago, it certainly appeared that Satan and the grave had won.  All of mankind were sinners and had earned death by our sins.  Jesus denied any power that God in the flesh could have wielded and in weakness died a criminal’s death.

2.  Romans 1:18-32.  Sinners are next.  These are people who do not retain the knowledge of God although God’s eternal power (the resurrection) and divine nature are clearly seen from what has been made.  Without excuse, these unrepentant sinners plunge willingly into their various sins, while believing themselves wise, enlightened “Christians.”  God gives these “fools” over to their sins.

3.  Psalm 14:1.  God calls atheists fools.  In their book, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, Geisler and Turek argue that in the face of such overwhelming evidence for the existence of God, great faith is needed to hold to the untenable position of disbelief.  Beyond that, how sad that atheists let go of any hope for eternity that comes through Jesus’ resurrection overcoming sin and death.

We should not be fooled by Jesus’ resurrection.  Rather, that He was risen ought to help us prepare.

 

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Bible.03: By What Authority

“Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him.  ‘By what authority are you doing these things?’ they asked.  ‘And who gave you this authority?’” Matthew 21:23.  One of my students at a secular college once tried to argue in a paper with the question, “What gives God the right …?”  I told her that if she was going to refute God, she needed to prove that He wasn’t the sovereign Creator who did not have the right to establish His creation how He wanted to.  She chose a different argument.  God has all authority.  After the cross and His resurrection, Jesus said that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to Him.  With His authority, we who are baptized into Him, are to “go and make disciples … teaching them everything [He has] commanded.”  To know what to teach, the Holy Spirit brought men into all truth and carried them along to record His inspired Word.  For a while, that authority entrusted to us was in spoken and written forms and confirmed by various gifts, but by the end of the 1st Century, we had His completed Word that thoroughly equips us written.  Does His Word have authority over you?

I.  Matthew 21:23-27.  The chief priests and elders believed they were in authority and so demanded from the Son of God in the flesh “by what authority” He was teaching and who gave it to Him.  They knew of course that God, as the sovereign Creator, had all authority but were unwilling to accept that Jesus had authority (Luke 5:20-24).  But, God now speaks to us through His Son (Hebrews 1:1-2).

II.  Hebrews 2:3-4.  What a confusing time the 1st Century must have been before the completed Word of God was written.  Before the cross, Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit would lead them into all truth (John 14:26), and so through various gifts, God’s Word was spoken (1 Corinthians 14:1-5) and written down (2 Peter 1:19-21) until His authority was revealed (1 Corinthians 13:8-13).

III.  Matthew 28:18-20.  Because of mankind’s sin, the devil claimed to have authority to give Jesus if only He would worship him (Luke 4:5-8), but Jesus took the more difficult road to gaining all authority through the cross.  By His authority, now revealed to us through the completed Word of God that thoroughly equips us (2 Timothy 3:16-17), we are to go and make disciples of all nations.

Our reaction to the question “By what authority?” posed to Jesus should be “By what authority!”

 

 

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Lord of the Sabbath

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath’” Luke 6:5.  Do we exist to obey laws or do laws exist to benefit us? One of the Ten Commandments for the Israelites was to keep the Sabbath.  Nibbling on a few heads of grain to satisfy hunger was allowed by the Law, but the Pharisees saw that being done on the seventh day, in a very technical sense, as doing work and called Jesus out on it.  Jesus used the feeding of David’s men with the consecrated bread when they were fleeing Saul as an example from the past and then an illustration in the present to get to the very heart of the issue: “which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”  God didn’t create laws, then, just for something for us to obey; they are to help us as individuals or as a collective to draw closer to Him.  As a society, we create laws that we deem are necessary to benefit society.  A police officer could ticket a man for driving the speed limit if the conditions are icy and he is a danger to others or himself.  It is only in grasping this concept that we can draw deeper into our relationship with the Lord of the Sabbath when we are under grace and truth.  Do you?

I.  Luke 6:1-11.  Was what Jesus’ followers were doing ‘unlawful’?  Technically, yes, but that was a strictly by the letter of the Law.  They were doing work on the Sabbath.  By the example of David eating the consecrated bread (1 Samuel 21:4-6), however, Jesus pointed out that obedience to God’s commands are also in spirit.  The Law exists to serve man rather than man existing to serve the Law.

II.  Romans 2:25-29.  Though written to Jews who were trusting in their circumcision to save them, the same could be said to Christians who only trust in an outward checklist of hearing, belief, repentance, confession, and baptism to enter heaven one day.  An inward circumcision of our hearts, a living out of a submissive obedience, is also necessary.  This is why God, not ourselves, is the Judge when someone dies.  We can know if the person ever outwardly obeyed in baptism to receive the promise of eternal life, but only God can judge how that person lived out his obedience in daily living.

III.  1 John 2:3-6.  We must live in Jesus by grace and truth (John 1:17).  This does not, however, give us a license to sin (Galatians 5:13) or go to the opposite extreme by making Christianity a list of dos and don’ts (Colossians 2:20-23).  Rather, our daily walk must be as Jesus walked, being a true worshipper, worshipping in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

Though God and Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus while in flesh had to submit in every way just as we do.  He set us an example by showing us that true obedience to God is in both spirit and truth.

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You Will Catch Men

What’s the difference between a chicken and a pig?  Well, in terms of what they each provide for breakfast, the chicken in involved while the pig is committed!  Our pews may be full of involved Christians, some who have attended for years, but, like Simon, God confronts us to be committed to Him.

I. Luke 4:14-37.  After Jesus’ baptism and time of temptation, He began His ministry and was gaining quite a reputation for Himself around Galilee.  After Andrew introduced his brother to Jesus, the Savior said that Simon would be called Peter or ‘Rock’ (John 1:42).  But, that would not become his name that day as Simon just stayed involved with Jesus through the healing of his mother-in-law and the use of his boat for Jesus to teach from while Simon washed his nets after working hard all night (but catching nothing) from his own strength (Luke 4:38 – 5:3).  Like so many of us, he was content to have his ears tickled by this great man’s teaching without recognizing that it was the Creator in his craft.

II. Luke 5:4-11.  Jesus then confronts Simon by asking him to put his nets out into deep water.  Exhausted by his own limitations, Simon does not recognize what is possible for him through Jesus but does what Jesus asks.  It is in verse 8 that this simple but involved fisherman crosses over into being committed.  Never so tall as when he’s on his knees, never so much the solid ‘rock’ as when he is weakest, Simon recognizes his sinfulness in the presence of God in the flesh and is called ‘Peter’ here first.  Verse 11 demonstrates that committment as he and his partners “left everything and followed” Jesus.

III. Romans 4:1-5.  Even though Jesus could have pointed to His power as reason enough for Peter to follow Him, He instead pointed out what Peter could do through Him.  The fisherman could become a fisher of men.  If we were Peters instead of Simons, what could we do for Jesus as Jesus can do all things through us (John 14:12-14)?  To do that, we must be committed to God (Mark 8:34-35).

Are you a chicken or a pig?  Are you involved or committed?  Are you trying to serve God by your own strength or are you serving Him through His?  Are you still Simon or have you become Peter?

 

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Made You Alive with Christ

In David LaChapelle’s painting, “Last Supper,” Jesus is surrounded by the sinners of today, yet Romans 5:6-8 tells us that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Thus in the cross we see God’s love shown through His benevolence.

I.  Colossians 2:13-14.  We were dead in our sin, but God made us alive with Christ.  Through His work on the cross, we can see His benevolence through His forgiveness and justice.  While it is easy to see love in not counting our sins against us, it is harder to see love in Jesus dying to pay for our sin.

II. Hebrews 4:14-16.  Mercy is not getting what we do deserve, and grace is getting what we don’t deserve.  Because of God’s benevolence in the form of His Son on the cross, we don’t have to be eternally punished for our sin and will spend eternity in heaven with Jesus instead (Romans 3:21-26).

III. Ephesians 2:1-5.  We who have received God’s benevolence must, in turn, show benevolence to others.  This is illustrated well in Jesus’ parable of Matthew 18:21-35 in the story of the debtor, forgiven of his debt, who wouldn’t forgive another of the debt owed to him.

God’s love, as shown through Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross, brings us to another table, one laid out for the wedding supper of the Lamb.  We are spiritual beggars, knowing we are not worthy of a scrap from the King of King’s table, yet we find ourselves in robes washed clean and seated at the table, feasting for all eternity.

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Bible.02: Living & Active

“For the word of God is living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” Hebrews 4:12.  In a popular movie, The Monster Book of Monsters would try to take a bite from a person if not strapped shut.  This is not what is meant when the Word of God is described as ‘living and active,’ but rather it’s the difference between a doll and a baby.  A mother lets a toddler drag the doll by the foot down the stairs, but is adamant that she treat her newborn brother with great care when gently laying him in her arms.  So is the Bible unique and amazing, having only the appearance of a book with its cover and dead pages.  Its inspiration of God is its breath of life.  More than just an instruction manual for the human existence, God’s word is something we can treasure, study, and live out in our hearts and minds.  As a living seed, once planted there, it grows within us and overflows into the life we live out as Christians.  And, not only good for life, it is also accurate about life in every way, and through God’s Spirit guides us into all truth as it is itself ‘truth.’  Do you live out God’s Word?

The Bible is an amazing book.

I. Luke 8:11-15.  Like a seed, the Bible is living and active, but we must be good soil for it to grow within us.  Jesus is the Word (John 1:1-14).  We are baptized into Him (Galatians 3:26-27), but He also dwells in our hearts by faith (Ephesians 3:16-17).

II. 2 Timothy 3:16-17.  The Bible is inspired by God.  Not of human origin to fail (Acts 5:38-39), it has withstood the test of time because men were carried along by the Holy Spirit to write it (2 Peter 1:20-21).

III. John 17:17.  As it is truth, we would expect the Bible to be accurate.  Though it is not primarily a history or science textbook, unlike myths, it is accurate in details pertaining to history or science.  No “once upon a time in a land long ago” type of language in it, real people and places are described in the Bible (Luke 2:1-4).  Long before any scientists could have such knowledge, the Bible describes the earth being round (Isaiah 40:22), the paths of the sea (Psalm 8:8), and dinosaurs (Job 40:15-24)!

Even if the Bible could somehow be discounted, it still leaves us with the greatest moral and ethical code the world has ever known (John 15:12-14).  It truly is an amazing book.

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Bible.01: Ten Reasons Why the Bible is True

Convincing people that God’s Word is truth must come before they will believe anything you may show them and change their lives because of it.  This is part one of a twelve part series found only on sermonlines.com and heard throughout 2018 at plattsburghchurch.com.

Ten Reasons Why the Bible is True

1 The Bible itself says it is inspired of God and authoritative

a. We shouldn’t claim for the Bible what it doesn’t claim for itself (John 17:17, 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).

b. Prophecy fulfilled centuries after it was written prove this: compare Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 to the events of the cross or Zechariah 11:12-13 to Matthew 27:3-10.

2 There’s a unity of thought and purpose over 1600 years of writing it (1500 B.C. to 100 A.D.).

a. There are no seeming contradictions that are not easily accounted for.

b. The theme is a loving God’s plan to bring sinful man back into a relationship with Him.

3 There’s a unity of thought and purpose though written by about 40 writers from many different backgrounds: kings, shepherds, fishermen, rich, poor, Jews and non-Jews.

a. The Bible was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic.

b. The writers were from different countries and political situations: Egypt, Babylon, Greece, Israel.

4 Careful copying through the centuries has given us the exact Bible as when it was first written.

a. See the methods of the Masoretes and monks who believed their salvation was at stake!

b. Found in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls, written about 100 B.C. to 100 A.D., prove the preservation of all the Old Testament books (except Esther).

5 Outside sources describe Bible events, places, and people.

a. In 93 A.D., the Jewish historian, Josephus, described Jesus rising from the dead, et. al.

b. Stories of the Genesis flood are preserved in cultures around the world.

c. The Chinese language depicts pre-Babel events in their ‘picture language.’

d. Outside sources are mentioned in Scripture (Joshua 10:12-14, Luke 1:1-4).

6 Archaeology continues to prove Bible events, places, and people(s) over and over.

a. Hazor was indeed burned by the Israelites when they came into the land (Joshua 11:12-13).

b. The temple was destroyed, rebuilt, enlarged, and destroyed again as the Bible states.

7 Man is more confident of the Bible’s accuracy than other ancient works.

a. Over 5,300 ancient Greek copies of the New Testament exist that are within two centuries of the originals.  It is better preserved and authenticated than Caesar, Plato, or Aristotle’s writings.

b. There were more witnesses to the Bible’s events, places, and people than to Shakespeare writing Shakespeare’s works.

8 The Bible was the newspaper of the day with witnesses who were for, neutral, and against Christianity attesting to the validity of the Bible’s events, places, and people.

a. Not even Christianity’s enemies of the 1st Century could explain away Jesus’ miracles or the empty tomb.  If they could have, they would have!

b. Jesus appeared at least ten recorded times over a period of 40 days after He was resurrected.  The largest group was 500 (1 Corinthians 15:5-6) to people who were not expecting to see Him alive.  Mass hallucinations do not happen in this manner.

9 Nature and science prove the Bible over and over.

a. Things tend toward chaos, not the complexity we see either through a microscope, telescope, or with our eyes (Romans 1:18-20).

b. The Bible speaks of the earth being round (Isaiah 40:22), the paths of the sea (Psalm 8:8), and dinosaurs (Job 40-41).

10 Changed lives prove the Bible is true.

a. Compare the apostles in Luke 22:54-62 to Acts 4:18-20.  Most died attesting to the gospel.

b. The changed lives of Christians today from how they were before they obeyed Christ attest to the Bible being true.

 

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Fulfilled in Your Hearing

“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” Luke 4:20-21.  For centuries, God’s chosen people had been expecting a Savior, God Himself.  In one of those passages, Isaiah had written over 700 years before that the Messiah would fulfill certain requirements: “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.”  After returning to Galilee after His baptism and temptation in the power of the Spirit, news spread about Him and He taught in the area’s synagogues.  It was in His hometown of Nazareth, however, where everyone knew Him as ‘Joseph’s son,’ that He chose to declare Himself, through the fulfillment of Isaiah 61, to be the Christ and God Himself!  No wonder those who remembered Jesus lugging tools for His earthly father were furious and wanted to drive Him off a cliff.  Who do you understand Jesus to be?

As all were praising Jesus at the beginning of His ministry, He went back to His hometown.

I.  Luke 4:14-22.  A hometown boy was gaining noteriety, and so the synagogue in Nazareth must have been packed when Jesus was handed the scroll of Isaiah and read a prophecy of the coming Messiah that they had all heard numerous times before.  Then, he did the unthinkable; He assigned those words uttered seven centuries before to Himself and let them sink in to the local crowd.

II.  Luke 4:23-30.  It was blasphemy if not true, the fulfillment of all that the Jews had been waiting for if it was.  But, rather than letting the neighbors from His childhood wrestle with this, Jesus confronted them with the truth–that accepting Him as the prophesied Christ meant that God would open the gospel to all people.  This was something the crowd gathered to hear the old stories wasn’t ready for.

III.  Luke 8:5-15.  How about us?  Many of us gather in Jesus’ hometown every Sunday morning out of habit or because we’re hoping to be entertained.  We can’t wait to hear what He’s been up to lately and some of the old stories that are comfortable.  But, He confronts us there on a personal level, challenging our understanding of who He is.  Will we accept that or try to drive Him over a cliff?

Sometimes it is those who have known Him the longest who need re-assess our view of Jesus.  If He truly is the Christ, how does that change us?

 

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The Need to Intercede

A 65 year-old grandmother, who cares for two disabled siblings and houses several adult grandchildren on the bank of the Saranac River, just lost everything in recent ice jams and subsequent flooding.  Although it has been years since she and some members of her family have come to church, I have been connecting her with various agencies with which I have contact and of course with her church family that wants to know how to help.

We all have a need for intercession and in turn need to intercede for others.  I have come across both givers and takers in my twenty years of ministry, and it is certainly the givers who have the hardest time accepting help.

I.  Exodus 32:7-14.  When God wanted to destroy the Israelites He had just saved out of Egypt because they had fallen into idolatry, Moses interceded for them, even offering to take God’s punishment upon himself.  Concerned for God’s Name, Moses even turned down God’s offer to make him into a great nation in place of Israel.  Being an intercessor can often take self-denial and sacrifice.

II.  Hebrews 7:23-25.  No one would know that more than Jesus, who as our High Priest, laid down His own life to intercede for us at the right hand of the Father with His own blood.  Like He did for the Israelites, God did not wait for us to repent first, but rather, before we realized our need, while we were still enemies to Him, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6-8).

III.  1 Timothy 2:1-3.  Because of the intercession that we have received, we in turn intercede for others, regardless of how they have conducted themselves towards us or the church in the past.  This is how God loved us, and so we in turn love others (1 John 3:16-18).  This pleases God who wants all men to be saved, and who knows that your intercession might lead them to a knowledge of the truth?

Will helping this giving grandmother lead her back to God?  Only God knows.  But, already she has acknowledged that the church has always been there for her–even when she was not attending.

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You Are My Son

“… And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’  Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry …” Luke 3:22-23.  After many convincing proofs from His birth and childhood about who Jesus was, Luke, writing from his investigations and eyewitness accounts, ties in John’s role as a forerunner to the Messiah’s ministry and then gives the biggest endorsement of all: the Father’s seal of approval.  Without that, Jesus would have just appeared as a carpenter from Galilee who, either through deception or lunacy, was going around Judea declaring Himself to be the Christ.  But, He, at thirty years of age, was baptized to fulfill all righteousness and publically declare who He was and what He was about.  This was not done in secret.  The crowds that John was ministering to are well attested to earlier in the chapter.  There were many who Luke must have spoken to who were there when Jesus stepped down into the water, who saw heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descend like a dove, and who heard the Father’s voice declare Jesus to be His Son.  Perhaps that was why they began to follow Him.  Do you follow God’s Son?

Intro: John prepares the way for Jesus, Luke 3:4-9

I Jesus was baptized … to Receive the Holy Spirit

  • Luke 3:21-22a
  • We do too, Acts 2:38-39; Ephesians 1:13-14

II Jesus was baptized … to Please His Father

  • Luke 3:22b; Matthew 3:13-15
  • We do too, 2 Corinthians 5:9-10; Romans 5:6-8; Romans 8:16-17

III Jesus was baptized … to Begin His Ministry

  • Luke 3:23
  • We do too, Luke 14:25-34