Category: Sermons

Knowing You Jesus

Philippians 3:1-14

Pastor Barry Kerner

The greatest believers in history are those who had great passion to know God.

*In Exodus 33:18 Moses pleaded with the Lord, “Please, show me Your glory.” The psalmist in Psalm 42:1 cries out to God: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.” And here in vs. 10, although Paul has known the Lord for 25 or 30 years, he longs “to know Him” more!

And God wants us to know Him better, understanding that this word “know” does not mean just knowing facts about God. It does not mean knowing God in a casual way. This word “know” is talking about experiencing God in a close, personal relationship.

When Paul said, “I want to know Him,” he used the same word the Bible uses for the close relationship between husband and wife. That’s how much Paul wanted to know God. And that’s how much God wants us to know Him.

1. Jesus wants us to know Him first of all, because He can give us an excellent life.

As Paul said in vs. 7-8:

7. What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
8. But indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ

Paul talks about the excellence of knowing Jesus.

The NIV calls this the “surpassing greatness” of knowing Jesus.

Paul is telling us here that nothing could be better than knowing Jesus.

Here’s the background: Paul opened this chapter with a world class religious resume. Listen to vs. 4-6 from the New Living Translation.

Paul said:

4. I could have confidence in myself if anyone could. If others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!
5. For I was circumcised when I was 8 days old, having been born into a pure-blooded Jewish family that is a branch of the tribe of Benjamin. So I am a real Jew if there ever was one! What’s more, I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law.
6. And zealous? Yes, in fact, I harshly persecuted the church. And I obeyed the Jewish law so carefully that I was never accused of any fault.

Paul had a first class religious resume.

It was his security, his source of confidence and well-being.

But then Paul met Jesus Christ, and his life was changed forever.

Paul saw that his self-confidence was nothing compared to the Savior, so in vs. 7&8, Paul said:

7. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss (or worthless) for Christ.
8. But indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish (or garbage), that I may gain Christ.

Paul saw that everything he had was trash compared to the treasure of knowing Jesus Christ. And what Paul found out in vs. 7&8 is true for any kind of human achievement. God wants us to know that no earthly achievement can compare to the excellence of knowing Christ.

James Dobson was reminded of this in a remarkable way. The story started when he was in high school. Jim’s great ambition back then was to win the school’s tennis championship. He worked and practiced until he finally won. It was a great success, and Jim was very proud to see his tennis trophy in the school’s trophy case.

But years later, much to his surprise, the trophy arrived in the mail. The school was being remodeled, and someone had found Jim’s trophy in the trash. Dr. Dobson said, “Given enough time, all your trophies will be trashed by someone else!” (1)

Now is the time to understand that no earthly achievement can compare to the excellence of knowing Christ. And Jesus wants us to know Him, because He can give us an excellent life.

2. But also because He can give us eternal life.

In vs. 9, Paul was thinking about God’s gift of eternal life.

Here he talked about being found in Christ “not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;”

Paul gave up on having his own righteousness, because our righteousness can never measure up to God’s perfection. Yes, Paul kept the Old Testament ceremonial law better than most, but at the same time, his heart was filled with bitterness and hatred.

Paul was so aware of his own shortcoming that he once called himself the chief of sinners. So in vs. 9 of the New Living Translation Paul says: “I no longer count on my own goodness or my ability to obey God’s law, but I trust Christ to save me. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.”

The truth is that you need God’s merciful love as much as the worst sinner who has ever walked the earth. Alan Perkins explained: “It doesn’t matter if you’re a little better than someone else, or even a lot better than someone else. You’re still guilty of sin. You’re still condemned.

The person who jumps halfway across the Grand Canyon winds up just as dead as the person who only jumps 8 feet out from the cliff. They both fall a mile to the bottom. (2)

That’s why we have to depend on Christ’s perfect righteousness to make us right with God. Our goodness will never be enough. And the only way to have God’s righteousness in life is through faith in Jesus Christ:

Faith that the Bible is true in what it says about our sin.

Faith that God loves us in spite of our sins.

Faith that God became a man to live a perfect life and die on the cross for our sins.

Faith that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

Faith that Jesus will forgive all of our sins and give us eternal life, — If we will open our heart to receive Him as our Lord, Savior and God.

Now when we put our faith in Jesus, all sorts of wonderful things begin to happen in our life:

Our sins are forgiven.

He puts His righteousness into our spiritual account.

And we are born again with eternal life, which only exists through knowing Jesus in a personal way.

This is why in vs. 9-11, Paul said he wanted to:

9. . . be found in (Jesus) not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
10. that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
11. if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

Jesus wants you to know Him, because He can give you eternal life.

There is no eternal life outside of knowing Jesus in a personal way, because there is no other way to know the Father in Heaven.

We see this truth in the prayer the Lord prayed just a few hours before the cross. In John 17:1-3, Jesus spoke to His Heavenly Father and said:

1. “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,
2. as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.
3. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

There is no eternal life in trying to keep God’s rules, because you can’t keep them all. There is no eternal life in religious things, like coming to church, being baptized, reading the Bible, even praying. All of these religious activities are dead unless you know Jesus in a personal way.

Michael Dean tells about sitting next to a very religious man on a flight from Phoenix. They struck up a conversation when the man noticed Michael reading a book on the history of Christianity. And they talked for hours. This other man had an amazing knowledge of the Bible, freely quoting verse after verse, sometimes from little-read parts of the Bible.

At first Michael thought the man might have been a Bible professor at some seminary. He most certainly had to be a believer. But Michael began to wonder, and had to know for sure, so he asked him if he was a Christian. The man looked downcast and said, “I cannot say that I am.”

He then went on to explain that he was 56 years old and had been reading the Bible since he was 6. But for some reason he just could not get to the point of belief.

That man knew a lot about the Bible, but he didn’t know Jesus. So Michael pointed Him to the cross, and urged him to call on Jesus.

Michael later wrote: “Well, the man told me he would give it thought, and he did, right then and there. He then asked me why he should put it off any longer. I returned the question. ‘Why should you put it off any longer?’

He was again silent for a moment (in prayer). Then he lifted his head and said, ‘My wife will not recognize me when I get home. I can’t wait to call her.’

And then with amazement on his face, and on his voice, he held out his hand in front of us, as if holding the Bible. And he said, ‘I understand now! For the first time in my life, I understand. — Now I think I can explain to my brother the questions he has long been asking me about.’

Up until that moment the Bible had always been that story, but now it is his story. The people in the Bible had been those people, but now they were his people too.’”

Michael said, “He then leaned over a little closer to me, and in almost a whisper, he said, ‘I do not want to let my emotions get the best of me. But right now I feel as if I could run down that aisle and jump for joy!’” (3)

And why not! He got on that plane spiritually dead.

But now he had eternal life, because he knows Jesus.

Jesus wants us to know Him, because He can give us eternal life.

3. But also because He can give us an energized life.

We see Paul’s unstoppable energy in vs. 12-14:

12. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
13. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
14. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

God doesn’t give us this new life, so we can sit around taking it easy until we go to Heaven! No — God wants to give us a life full of energy, purpose, service and meaning. God wants to give us a life worth living.

Paul pressed on. And it helps to remember the tough situation he was in:

In chapter 1 Paul tells us that he is a prisoner for the Lord.

He was in chains and he had been for a while.

In fact, Paul didn’t know if he would live or die.

Then, in chapter 2, Paul tells us that he almost had grief piled up on top of grief, when a close friend almost died. Paul was going through extreme trouble. But in vs. 12, he said, “I’m pressing on!” And God wants us to press on!

That’s the energized life. We see it again in vs. 13, where Paul said he was “reaching forward to those things which are ahead.” It’s like a runner putting out maximum effort, stretching his whole body out to try to cross the finish line first.

English Pastor Geoff Thomas explained Paul’s drive to press on: “Paul wanted the world to be changed, and the church to be revived. He wanted much more of the knowledge of Jesus Christ transforming his life. Often he felt his own walk with God was threadbare.”

Then Geoff gave a testimony about Rex Pocock. He was a deacon in Providence Chapel, and died in October of 2002, at the age of 90. Rex kept a little diary, and after walking with the Lord for almost 70 years wrote these words in 1995: “More like a devil than a saint.”

And Pastor Geoff asked, “How often did Paul feel that? We know that he wrote, ‘O wretched man that I am.’ If he had been talking about his pre-conversion experience he would surely have written, ‘O wretched man that I was.’ But he said, ‘O wretched man that I am.’” (4)

Paul felt that he had a long way to go. So do we!

Christian, can you see a gap between where you are and where you ought to be? — That’s the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. And we need to press on with great energy!

This is the God-given energy we see in Christians whose lives have counted for God.

The great evangelist George Whitefield said, “I am never better than when I am on full stretch for God.”

In his early years as a missionary in Africa David Livingstone expressed his willingness to serve by saying, “I’m willing to go in any direction, provided it is forward.”

One of Jonathan Edwards’ 70 Resolutions was this: “To live with all my might while I live.”

Amy Carmichael served as a missionary in India for 55 years without a trip home. And she wrote: “Give me the love that leads the way, the faith that nothing can dismay, the hope no disappointments tire, the passion that will burn like fire. Let me not sink to be a clod; Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.” (4)

God wants us to have this same kind of energized life.

And He will surely give you the energy to press on!

Are you weak? — Press on.

Are you weary? — Press on.

Are you worried? — Press on.

Are you weeping? — Press on.

“Press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

The first step is to know Him. — Do you know Jesus Christ?

Jesus Christ wants us to know Him…

Because He can give us an excellent life.

Because He can give us eternal life.

And because He can give us an energized life.

Do you know Him? — Open your heart to receive Jesus…

And then press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Let’s go to the Lord in prayer.

Jesus Takes Care Of  Us

1 Peter 5:6-11

Pastor Barry Kerner

Welcome to Delphi Falls United Church. I’m Pastor Barry Kerner and once again I glad that you could be with us today. Please remember to visit our website for past messages and devotionals or to contact us for any reason.

Let us open in a word of prayer.

Blessed Lord, you are the king of heaven and earth. All of heaven sings of your glory. You do wonders on earth and in heaven. We see the work of your hands as we gather in worship today. Accept our prayers in Jesus’ name. Do not forsake us as we strive to live our lives in honor of you. We have gathered in fellowship in your presence. Come down and allow us to feel your presence. As we continue today’s church service, we want to feel your great power and light. Let us encounter you in a new way and bless us in our lives. May we find everlasting joy through you. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen

Every parent’s nightmare on Christmas Eve is a box with those three words printed on top: Some Assembly Required.

Don Shelby tells the story about the father who had ordered a tree house for his children. The time came to assemble the tree house. He laid out all the parts on the floor and began reading the instructions. To his dismay, he discovered that the instructions were for a tree house, but the parts were for a sailboat! The next day he sent an angry letter to the company complaining about the mix-up. Back came this reply:

“We are truly sorry for the error and the inconvenience. However, it might help to consider the possibility that somewhere there is a man out on a lake trying to sail your tree house.”

The point is clear: To put something together, you have to have the right parts and the right instructions. This is where faith becomes important. The only way you can put life together is through faith. Faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, is what makes it work. That’s the way to assemble your life, to root it in Jesus Christ through faith, to tie it to Jesus Christ, to ground it in Jesus Christ.

Open with me this morning to the book of 1 Peter 5:6-11.

Christianity, at its very beginning, was seen as a Jewish faction. Toward the middle of the first century it established itself as being unique from Judaism. From the very beginning of the church Christians were persecuted for their faith in Jesus. At first they were persecuted by the Jewish religious authorities, such as Saul of Tarsus before his conversion. Later the Roman Empire persecuted Christians. From Nero in the first century to Diocletian in the first part of the fourth century, Christians were regularly martyred for proclaiming that Jesus was and is the Son of God. Throughout the middle ages, the Roman Catholic church killed many believers who would not submit to its dogma. Today, in communist and Islamic countries around the world, Christians regularly face persecution and death for their faith.

Peter wrote this letter not only to a persecuted church, but to one that struggled with living out its faith. The difficulty many of us face is not necessarily persecution. Most of our struggles come from a failure to remain constantly under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The secret to an effective Christian life is found in living in His strength, not in our own, in living under His control and not under self-rule.

It is easy to serve our Lord when times are good and it costs us nothing to hold our faith. But there are times when we grow weary, when we feel defeated, when it seems that the circumstances of life will surly overwhelm us. It is in moments like these that we choose between dealing with life in our own strength or remaining dependent on the Spirit of God living within us.

If you find yourself in this situation this morning, take heart. God has a word of encouragement for you. His desire is to use these difficulties to strengthen you, to perfect and establish you, and to demonstrate to you how He wants to care for you.

1 Peter 5:6-11

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

There are six things in this passage to which I would draw your attention.

First, we’re called to be humble

The Greek verb for “humble” here is in the passive voice, which could be translated, “be humbled.” In this case, it is the hand of God that is humbling us. We are being instructed to allow God to humble us.

To the first readers it was persecution that God used to humble them. To you and me it could be the frustrations of everyday life. Rather than complaining about them, we must submit to the lordship of Christ. Only when we humble ourselves under God’s hand will He exalt us.

God uses a variety of things to humble us. Sometimes He uses other people “extra grace required” people. Sometimes He uses tragedy and loss. Even though God may not have sent that calamity your way, He is able to use it for our good. Thus, as Romans 8:28 says, “all things work together for good to those who love the Lord.”

Our problem is that we often won’t accept the sovereignty of God in our lives. Living under the delusion of self rule, we complain, struggle, and squirm. Allowing God to humble us means that we remember that God is in control. Nothing will happen that He has not allowed. When He allows it He has a purpose for it, and that purpose is always for our good. It means accepting all that happens to us without resentment or rebellion against God.

Humility means accepting God’s rule instead of ours. It means accepting His rule when we don’t understand. It means accepting His rule when He doesn’t give us an explanation.

The word humility, in the Greek language, means to make low, to abase, to make small, or to weaken. It is contrary to our human nature to be made low. It goes against the grain of our pride and our sense of self-worth to allow anyone or anything to weaken us or make us small.

But in the kingdom of God things are different than in the empires of men. The verse immediately before this says that God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble. The rest of verse 6 says that at the proper time, God will exalt those who have been humbled.

The reason that “proper time” never seems to be in consonance with our schedule is because as long as we are thinking we should be exalted, we are still nursing our pride. It is not until our pride is dead that He will exalt us. Humility means we lose our pride, but we gain God’s favor.

When we are humbled, when we are made low, abased, and come to a sense of our own weakness, we will be forced to depend upon Him.

And that’s the next thing I want you to see in this text. Look at verse 7.

Second, we’re called to be dependent

“Casting all your care upon Him, because He cares for you.”

Whereas pride makes one self-reliant, humility positions us to recognize and accept our dependence upon God.

The Greek word translated “care,” or “anxiety,” here is used to express the burden that comes with anxious care and apprehension. Instead of fighting this, we are to turn it back over to the Lord, because God is sovereign. If we are His, the only things that come into our lives are things He allows.

In fact, listen to what Psalm 55:22 says: “Cast your burden on the Lord and He will support you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.”

The interesting thing about that verse in Psalm 55 is that the Hebrew word translated “burden” means, “What He has given you.” A literal translation might read, “Throw upon the Lord whatever burden He has assigned to you, and He will sustain you as you bear it. He will not allow you to totter.”

Whereas humility causes us to see our own weakness, dependence causes us to recognize and rely upon His strength. And within the context of what scripture is saying, we are being told that God often allows the difficulties to come our way to teach us both our own weakness and His supernatural strength.

One of the problems with much of modern Christianity is that it nothing more than a secular self-help philosophy draped in religious garb. Instead of preaching that we are to see ourselves as nothing and find all we are in Christ, many pulpits today preach a message that basically says, “God helps those who help themselves.” Nothing could be further from the truth of Scripture.

Douglas Baker, in an article entitled, Putting Purpose in It’s Place, in the January 27th, 2006 edition of the Baptist Press points to this trend towards self-help in religious circles. Writing about the popularity of books like, “The Purpose Driven Life,” Baker says:

Jesus never structured the purposes of God around themes of self-importance or self-esteem. Rather, he spoke of taking up a cross, laying one’s life down for others, and following in the footsteps of one described as a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. Daily life for Jesus could seldom be described in terms of a purpose that brought no personal problems or freed him from daily spiritual battle. Purpose for Jesus meant facing opposition at every turn, enduring persecution from those closest to him, and finally submitting to the full fury of His Father’s wrath as he hung publicly before a rude and crude world. Would such a “purpose” find a place in the bookstores of America?

Peter says this to beleaguered and persecuted Christians: Dependence upon the Lord means that instead of struggling with our cares, nursing our anxieties, and complaining about all God has allowed to come into our lives, we are to turn them back over to Him, accepting the truth that He will sustain us because He cares for us.

In the midst of these difficulties, in the course of dealing with the trials and tribulations, we must be alert – “sober and vigilant” as the KJV says. While the Lord wants to use them to develop us, the enemy would use them to devour us.

Thus we are told to be alert, look at verse 8.

Third, we are called to be alert

The verbs translated “sober,” and “vigilant,” literally mean to be mentally calm and alert, both at the same time. Instead of being anxious, because we are depending upon the Lord we can be mentally calm and yet, because we know we have an enemy, we must be alert to the reality that our enemy wants to use every circumstance of our lives to destroy us.

The imagery here is that of a hungry lion on the prowl, looking for someone to devour. The literal meaning of this word translated “devour,” means to consume, or to swallow up.

Satan is the enemy of all believers. He is the eternal enemy of our souls. From the very beginning of time, in the Garden of Eden, Satan has sought to destroy all that God created to be good. Today he seeks to destroy you and me as we seek to live the Christian life.

How does he do this?

First, through Temptation

He entices us to act contrary to God’s plan and displease Him. Satan cannot have your soul so he wants your witness. If he cannot have you for eternity, he wants to render you ineffective in the present. Because he knows human nature better than we do, he is an expert at appealing to our fallen nature, our carnal desires.

First John 2:15-17 says, “Do not love the world, or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. Because everything that belongs to the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes and the pride in life, is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does God’s will remains forever.”

Satan will use the strong desires we possess to tempt us and draw us from God. Thus, we must be sober and vigilant.

Second, through Deception

He causes us to believe things about God and ourselves that are not true. Since we always act out of what we believe, we must believe what is true. Scripture says that the devil is the father of all lies and a deceiver. He will appear as an angel of light. He will get us to do his bidding, making us think we are somehow serving God. We have the Word of God to lead us down the pathway of righteousness, to be a light unto our path and a lamp unto our feet.

Third, through Discouragement

The devil has a way of causing us to question whether or not living for Christ is worth it. The Psalmist expresses this was is Psalm 73:2-3: “But as for me, my feet almost slipped; my steps nearly went astray. For I envied the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”

There are times in life when troubles come our way, and we look at the godless and their lives seem to be trouble free. It is in these moments that we are tempted to question our faith, to question the life we live and whether or not living for Christ is worth what we must endure. The devil loves discouragement. He loves to get us on self-pity kicks, to take our focus off of Christ and to put our focus on ourselves.

When we are totally surrendered to the control of Jesus, we will not focus on ourselves, but rather on what it is God wants to do through whatever He has allowed to come into our lives. The difference is between an ego-centric life and a Christo-centric life.

The devil wants to devour us, like a roaring lion. But instead of giving into his tricks, his temptations, deceptions and discouragement, we are told to resist, steadfast in our faith.

Look at verse 9 where we find our fourth observation.

Fourth, we’re called to be tenacious

When we have humbled ourselves and found our strength in God, when we have learned the secret of dependence, and when we remain on our guard against the devil, we stand our ground.

There is a direct relationship between a strong faith and the ability to live an overcoming life. Ephesians 6 tells us to take up the shield of faith, and having put on the whole armor of God we will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. James 4:7 says, “Therefore submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you.” And here in 1 Peter 5 we are told to resist the devil steadfastly in our faith.

When our faith is strong, when our confidence in God is unshaken, it is then, and then alone that we have turned the battle over to the Lord. As David stood before Goliath, in 1 Samuel 17,47 he said, The battle is the Lord’s. In Exodus 14:14 as Moses and his people stood between the Red sea and the armies of Pharaoh, Moses told the Israelites, “The Lord will fight for; you must be quiet.”

Throughout Scripture, whenever God’s people stood firm in their faith, God came through. Whether it was Daniel in the lion’s den, or Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail, when people put their trust in God, He came through. Resist the devil and stand firm in your faith. God will come through for you. Don’t give up. Don’t give in to discouragement. Do not give the devil a foothold. Stand firm in your faith.

Look at the last part of verse 9 and on into the first part of verse 10.

Fifth, we’re called to be prepared

Be prepared for the persecution that will come.

Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:12, “All those who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” As Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote these words to the early church, persecution of Christianity was spreading.

In July of the year 64, Nero set a fire in Rome that devastated the city. Needing a scapegoat, he placed the blame on Christians. The result was that Christians were beaten, tortured, and many were killed. Some were thrown into the arena, where they were torn apart by wild beasts. Others were boiled in oil, or encased in wax and burned at the stake like candles. For the better part of three centuries Christians would be persecuted. Until in 313 the Roman emperor Constantine issued the edict of Milan, declaring religious freedom for all faiths, including Christians.

Perhaps there is no more pertinent message the church needs to hear today than this one: It will get worse before it gets better. I was visiting with a fellow pastor this week of a different denomination. Over the lunch table we were talking about culture, faith, and the state of Christianity in general. He said, “I think the best we can hope to do is to retard the spread of evil in our culture. We will not change this culture.”

Our hope is in the triumphant return of Jesus to this earth. Our hope is in the eternal life He promises. This world is not our home. We are pilgrims, strangers and sojourners. We will suffer here for a while. That cannot be avoided.

But after we have suffered for a little while . . . look at the last part of verse 10.

Sixth, we’re called to be assured

Here we have the promise that as God accomplishes His purpose in us there are four things He will do. Notice the adjective Peter uses to describe God. He is the God of all grace, the God who shows unmerited favor toward us.

God loves us. His purpose in allowing persecution and suffering is motivated by nothing other than perfect love for us. He is the God of all grace. He will have mercy on us. As we stand firm and resisting the devil, God will.

God will Perfect us – To bring us to wholeness, nothing lacking, complete us in every way.

God will Confirm us – the idea here is to make us firm. Rather than being uncertain and weak, we will be resolute and determined in our faith.

God will Strengthen us – He will use the difficulties to make us stronger, to enable us to face anything He allows to come our way.

God will Establish us – the picture the Greek paints for us here is of a foundation that is not shaky but  has settled and is firmly founded.

Conclusion

What are you going through this morning? Maybe life hasn’t turned out the way you planned. Perhaps the cares and burdens of life seem more than you can bear. Don’t fight it. Let God use these things to humble you and cause you to depend upon Him.

Let us close our time together in a word of prayer.

Father, may our worship be acceptable before you. Let the peace that surpasses all understanding be with us as we leave this place. Help us to make a difference in the world this new week. Let our words and actions align with your word. Help us to practice what we have learned here today. Bless us as we leave our time together and help us to be a blessing to everyone that we meet and interact with. Help us never to forget that you’re with us always. In Jesus’ name, we believe and pray, Amen.

Jesus Opens Our Eyes

Luke 24:13-35

Pastor Barry Kerner

The last few weeks I’ve been speaking about what Jesus does for us. We’ve looked at the fact that Jesus died for our sins and last week we talked about how Jesus, because of his sacrificial death, forgives our sins. This week I want to look at how Jesus open our eyes.

If you’ll take a moment and turn in your Bible to Luke chapter 24 we’ll be looking at verses 13 through 35.

The Duck & the Devil

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was walking back he saw Grandma’s pet duck.

Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head, and killed it. He was shocked and grieved. In a panic, he hid its dead body in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch the next day Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen. Then she whispered to him, “Remember the duck?” So Johnny did the dishes.

Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, “I’m sorry but I need Sally to help make supper.” Sally just smiled and said,” Well that’s all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help.” She whispered again, “Remember the duck?” So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.!

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally’s… he finally couldn’t stand it any longer.

He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug, and said, “Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”

The Lesson is this:

Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done… the devil will keep throwing it up in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.), ..whatever it is….You need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing….. He has seen your whole life; He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven.

He’s just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you. The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He not only forgives you, but He forgets….. It is by God’s grace and mercy that we are saved.

On the Road to Emmaus

13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.

17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

19 “What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”

25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

We have before us this morning one of the most vivid and insightful accounts of our Lord’s appearances after His resurrection. Luke is the only one of the four gospel writers to include this story. It is a story that reveals to us not only something about who we are, but how Jesus opens our eyes to see Him for who He is and about how we can come to know Him.

The journey to Emmaus is both a literal and a spiritual journey. On one hand it recounts the story of two disciples who, after the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord, walk seven miles from Jerusalem to their village of Emmaus. Their journey is filled with anguish and despair because their Lord, who they thought to be the long awaited Messiah, had been crucified and sealed in a tomb. On the other hand, it outlines for us the journey that we all take from not recognizing Jesus, to understanding what the Scripture says about Him, to recognizing Him for who He is, and finally to our giving witness of what we have experienced.

Notice with me, as we celebrate our Lord’s resurrection this morning, four things from this passage.

First, Jesus seeks us

Although the disciples knew who Jesus was, they did not recognize Him. They knew a lot about Him. They had been witnesses to all those things that had happened in Jerusalem. They had heard, no doubt, on many occasions the things Jesus had testified about Himself. Yet, they were not able to recognize Jesus when they met Him on the road that day.

There were several reasons they did not recognize Jesus:

1. God did not want them to recognize Him

The original language conveys the sense that they were kept from recognizing Him because God had a purpose in blinding their eyes from reality. Jesus is not being cruel here. His gradual revelation of Himself allows them to learn certain lessons about trusting God’s promises. The disciples had been told about these events many times, but they had not believed.

1. Events had not happened as they expected

They had a preconceived idea of who Jesus was, what He had come to do, and how He should do it. But when things did not turn out like they thought they should, they dismissed the whole thing as a mere failure, as misplaced hope and trust.

While God always has a plan, we are not always privy to that plan. When things don’t turn out like we expect, instead of giving up and admitting defeat, perhaps we would be wise to see things differently, to see if maybe God is up to something we simply do not understand.

1. They had little faith

They had heard the reports of the women who went to the tomb. They had seen the empty tomb for themselves and yet they had not believed. The supernatural working of God to raise Jesus from the dead was outside their paradigm. They had never seriously considered who Jesus was.

We need to be careful not to make the same mistake, to discount what God has done simply because we cannot explain it or understand it. While God often uses natural things to accomplish His will, He also does things we can neither explain nor understand. These two disciples knew something had happened, but it was beyond their level of faith to see things as they truly were.

Just because they knew about Jesus does not mean they knew Him. Just because they could see Him does not mean they could see who He was. Many people today know who Jesus is. They have heard about Him, read about Him, use His name, and many even claim to know Him. They would not recognized Him if they saw Him. Their eyes have not been opened. Knowing about Him and knowing Him are two different things.

Secondly notice that Jesus himself opens our eyes

Verse 27 says, “Then beginning with Moses and from all the prophets Jesus interpreted for them the things concerning Himself in all the Scripture.”

While we do not know the specific passages Jesus used, we know He opened to them the Scriptures with a view toward showing them how all the Old Testament pointed to Him as its fulfillment.

Perhaps Jesus began with Genesis 3:15, where God cursed the serpent saying, “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. And He will strike your head and you will strike His heel.”

From there maybe He pointed them to Deuteronomy 18:15, which says, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to Him.”

And from there to Isaiah 7:14 where God says, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive, have a son and name Him Immanuel.”

From there Jesus could have taken them to Isaiah 53:3: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like one people turned away from; He was despised, and we did not value Him.”

Perhaps Jesus showed them what Isaiah 53:7 says: “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter, and like a sheep silent before His shearers, He did not open His mouth.”

Maybe Jesus quoted to them Zechariah 12:10: “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at Me whom they pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for Him as one weeps for a firstborn.”

We know that Jesus walked them through the entirety of the revelation to show how it gave witness to who He was, why He had come, and why it was necessary that he be crucified that day on Calvary. Jesus wanted them to see that if they would only believe what the Scriptures say about Him, they would understand why He came and why He had to suffer. They would have known who He was.

Scripture gives testimony of who Jesus is. He uses it today to open the eyes of those who do not know Him.

Luke 16:31: “If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.”

John 1:45: “Philip found Nathaniel and told him, ‘We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law (and so did the prophets): Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth!'”

In John 5:46: “For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me.”

Many people will try to tell you who Jesus is. They will tell you He is one of many ways to get to Heaven. They will tell you He was a good man, a great prophet, a good teacher, or a rebel who defied the Roman authorities. But outside of a knowledge of Scripture you will never have a proper understanding of who Jesus is. That is one reason to read your Bible regularly.

That is one of the reasons it is so important to believe that all of Scripture is God’s word. For if it is untrustworthy at any point then it can be untrustworthy at every point.

It is either all God’s word or it is not His word at all. When you know the Scriptures, they will build your faith, and only through faith can you come to Jesus. The truth of Scripture about Jesus leads to personal faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

God prevented these two disciples from recognizing Jesus to convey a deep truth: Even if we were to see, we might still not believe. We must trust the testimony of Scripture.

Jesus tells us that we must have the scriptural truth to understand who He is. Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

Outside of the word of God there is no reliable witness to who Jesus really is.

The scripture tells us the truth about Jesus.

Now look again at verses 30 and 31. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.

Our third point is that Jesus reveals Himself

It was only as they had fellowship with Jesus that He disclosed Himself to them. Jesus reveals Himself to those whose eyes He has opened through the truths of His Word.

It is not without significance that it is around the supper table that the disciples’ are opened and they see Jesus for who He really is.

After the resurrection, many of the appearances of Jesus are associated with table fellowship. This is true here, in Luke 24:41-43, in Acts 1:4, and in John 21:9-15. In the intimacy of fellowship Jesus reveals Himself to us. His working in our lives becomes clearer, and His provision and protection come into focus.

But when they recognized Him He disappeared. Fellowship with Him was not going to depend on their ability to see Him, but rather upon their taking Him at His word.

And notice finally their response. Once they recognized Him, they could not help but share Him.

Fourth,  Jesus moves us to share

When your eyes have been opened, you will want others to have their eyes opened.

Can you imagine the excitement they must have felt? They said to one another, “Did not our hearts burn within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” Their encounter with Jesus had been emotional. It had stirred them on the inside. It had moved their very hearts. And once moved they could not help but share.

That very hour, dark as it was, late as it was, dangerous as the road was, they left for Jerusalem. They gave witness that Jesus was risen, that He had walked with them and talked with them, explained the Scriptures to them, and broke bread at their table.

All who have experienced the risen Savior should be moved with similar emotions. All who have come to know Him should react the same way. We should not be able to contain it. Jesus told Thomas in John 20:29, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Those who believe without seeing are blessed.”

Conclusion

Do you know Jesus this morning? Have your eyes ever been opened to who He is and what He has done for you? Do you know that He walks with you and talks with you? Can you testify to His presence in your life? Do you have fellowship with Him? Has your experience with Him been so real, so moving, so life changing that it has caused you to tell others about Him? What will you do with Jesus this morning?

Jesus Forgives Our Sins Colossians 1:13-14

Pastor Barry Kerner

The American Civil war was a military conflict between the Union and the Confederate States of America. It was a war that lasted four long years, from April 12, 1861 to May 26, 1865. The Civil War is sometimes called the War Between the States, or the War for Southern Independence. While the war took more than 600,000 lives and destroyed property valued at $5 billion, it also led to freedom for some 4 million black slaves.

Nearly 2,000 years ago, on a hill outside Jerusalem, another victory was won. This was a victory in which one life paid for the freedom of many. His name was Jesus, and He gave His life to set captives free from slavery to sin.

Our text today deals with this reality, that Jesus died for you and me. He died to set us free. Open with me this morning to Colossians 1:13-14

13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Paul continues to encourage these Christians to remember all they are and have in Jesus. He is reminding them of the truth that is found in Jesus, as opposed to the heresy being taught by the false teachers who had infiltrated the church.

Paul points out four things every believer has received from God, through Jesus Christ.

Notice, four things Jesus did for me:

First, Christ rescued me

Christ delivered us from the dominion or empire of darkness.

The word “Deliver” is the same word used by our Lord in Matthew 6:13 in the Lord’s Prayer, “deliver us from the evil one.” Second Peter 2:9 says God is able to deliver the godly out of temptation. It means to rescue. The Greek word means to draw to oneself, as a lifeguard would reach out to someone who was drowning and draw someone to himself.

One hymn writer put it this way:

I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore
Very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more
But the Master of the sea heard my despairing cry,
From the waters lifted me, now safe am I.

Love lifted me,
Love lifted me.
When nothing else could help,
Love lifted me.

The dominion and authority Christ delivered us from was the power of the evil one. This authority that Paul writes about denotes arbitrary power or tyranny, unrestrained, lawless power of a capricious ruler. This describes the power of darkness. This refers to the tyrannical rule of Satan and his demons over the unsaved.

Paul tells the church at Ephesus that before they were saved they were children of disobedience, who walked according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that works in the sons of disobedience. The Bible tells us that anyone who does not have Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior is a slave to sin.

Proverbs 5:22: A wicked man’s iniquities entrap him; he is entangled in the ropes of his own sin.

In John 8:34: Jesus says, “I assure you: Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.”

Many people are deceived into thinking that they are free agents – free to do whatever they will. But Scripture says those outside of Christ are slaves to sin.

Existentialism is the underlying philosophical tenant of postmodernism. It stresses the individual’s position as a self-determining agent, responsible for one’s own choices without any consideration of the past or the future. But the Bible teaches us that only in Christ do we have the freedom to make a choice as to whether or not we will sin. Before we come to Christ, we are in bondage, slaves to sin. The most insidious thing about this is we don’t even know it then.

Picture the person who is enslaved, serving a cruel and heartless master, but has been deceived into believing he is serving himself. Try as you may to convince him that he is enslaved, he will swear to you that he is free, all the while being led down the pathway to destruction.

Paul describes them well in 2 Timothy 2 where he instructs Timothy on how to deal with those who are blinded to the truth. He tells Timothy,  “With gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and that may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

So we see that people outside of Christ, those who do not know Jesus, try as they will, cannot escape bondage to sin.

It was Jesus, the Savior, who brought salvation. When we turn to Him in faith, He breaks the chains of sin and sets us free. He draws us to Himself, rescuing us from the authority and power of darkness. He rescues us from the power of Satan and sin.

That’s why we say, “Jesus saves.”

Second, Christ reestablished me

Jesus removed me from one place and situation to another.

This word, translated “transferred,” means to be transplanted, to be uprooted from one place and firmly planted or established in another place. God transplanted me. He took me from sinking sand and placed my feet on solid ground. He took me out from under the authority of sin and put me in His kingdom.

Jesus is the one who rescued me, and He is the one who reestablished me, moving me from the empire or rule of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of His love. He changed my destiny and He changed my citizenship.

There is an old hymn that says:

In loving kindness Jesus came,
My soul in mercy to reclaim,
And from the depths of sin and shame,
Through grace He lifted me.

From sinking sand, He lifted me
With tender hand He lifted me,
From shades of night to plains of light
O praise His name He lifted me.

He did not rescue me to leave me though. He rescued me to place me in His kingdom, not only to give me liberty, but to give me the opportunity to live in that freedom.

It is more than a change of citizenship. It is a change of opportunity and circumstances. Thousands of people each year immigrate into the United States, seeking a better life. They don’t simply want to be liberated from the citizenship of their former country, they want the opportunity to live and enjoy life in this country.

When Jesus rescued you, He reestablished you, transplanting you, granting you citizenship in His kingdom, where He reigns.

Third, Christ redeemed me

Redeemed means to buy back. God created us and gave us life, but because of Adam’s sin we are all born with a sinful nature that has betrayed us. Sin while promising us freedom and joy, sold us into slavery to that very sin out of which we could not purchase our freedom.

That’s why it says in 1 Peter 1:18-19

“For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from the fathers, not with perishable things, like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.”

With His blood He bought us back from the slavery into which our sin had sold us. That’s what it means to be redeemed.

Remember, in the ancient world slavery was an everyday reality. In fact, some of the Christians to whom this letter was written were probably slaves. They understood the concept of being bought and sold. So this idea of being redeemed, or bought back from slavery, was very applicable to their lives.

I would venture to say there is no one here who could physically relate to being a slave. But the truth is, at some point in every person’s life they are a slave and need to be emancipated from sin. We needed to be redeemed.

Abraham Lincoln, on seeing a slave offered on the block in New Orleans, is said to have commented: “There was a rising hatred inside of me against slavery, and I swore if someday I could do something about it, I would do something about it.”

In the same way God hated the slavery into which we had sold ourselves. He was willing to do whatever it took to buy us back, to set us free. He did that when He sent Jesus to the cross.

And fourth, Christ released me

I was forgiven, my debt erased, and my sins washed away.

When we place our trust in Jesus, asking Him to forgive us of our sins, God applies the blood of Jesus to our hearts. Those sins that had stained and marked us are erased. They are not simply whitewashed, they are gone forever

Psalm 103:11-12 says: For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Jesus did this by paying the price for my sins. He took upon Himself the penalty of my sins. Those sins that were accounted to me, the judgment I was under, He took. He erased all of the charges against me. He set me free by sending my sins away.

Isaiah 53:4-6 says of the Messiah:

Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses, and He carried our pains; but we in turn regarded Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds. We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; for the Lord has punished Him for the iniquity of us all.

As the Hymn says, “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.”

So how should this impact the way we live?

First, I can live free from the power of sin.

Second, I now live in the kingdom of God under His authority.

Third, Since He bought me, I am His to do as He wills.

And finally, I can live free from the penalty, the guilt, and the shame of sin.

There are many Christians who live defeated lives. Burdened down by guilt and shame over long-forgiven sins, they are disabled. They do not live in the joy and freedom that is rightfully theirs because of Calvary. It is not that they have not been set free, it is that they have never grown to understand what freedom really is.

Noted historian Shelby Foote, in his work, The Civil War, writes about the freedom given to slaves in this country. He says:

Ultimately, the black slaves were set free. It became legal as of the first day of 1863, in what has come to be known as the Emancipation Proclamation.

“The word spread,” in the words of one historian, “from Capitol Hill out across the city, down into the valleys and fields of Virginia and the Carolinas, and even into the plantations of Georgia and Mississippi and Alabama. ‘Slavery Legally Abolished!’ read the headlines, and yet something amazing took place. The greater majority of the slaves in the South went right on living as though they were not emancipated. As though they were not set free. That continued throughout the Reconstruction Period.”

How tragic. A war was fought. A document was signed. Slaves were legally set free. And yet most continued to live out their years, and many of their children some of their years, in fear. Though emancipated, they remained in bondage serving the same master throughout their lives.

We need to understand that we are no longer slaves to sin but have been set free. We need to be living in the joy, the freedom, the power, and the authority available to us as a citizen of the kingdom of heaven?

Let us pray.

Jesus Died For Us

Colossians 1:19-23

Pastor Barry Kerner

Jesus is a popular figure these days. A quick search on the internet will give you a vast array of opinions and points of view about Jesus. There’s even a “Jesus Diet,” which gives you an eating plan based on what some people think Jesus ate. One website attempts to tie Jesus to the beginnings of vegetarianism. When it comes to Jesus, the opinions and views expressed are almost without end. Some people see Him as God, others say He was simply a good teacher, and still others deny that He ever existed.

But all opinions about Jesus are just that. It is only in the Scriptures that we find objective insight into the truth about Jesus – who He is, what He did, how He did it, and so forth.

The reliability of the Scripture, and its testimony about Jesus continue to be at the center of our faith. One of the reasons so many professing Christians are carried away into false doctrines is because they do not know what the Scripture says. As born again believers, we’re called to know the scriptures, their truth and the truth they reveal about God.

Paul wrote to the Colossian church under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. He did so to combat false teaching and teach the truth.

Let’s read Colossians 1:19-23

19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of[a] your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

Let’s now look at 5 questions about Jesus that can only be answered in Scripture – answers that speak to us about the fact that Jesus died for us.

The first question is this – Who is Jesus?

Colossians 2:9 tells us that, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.”

Many scholars believe that part of the problem at Colosse was an early form of Gnosticism. The Gnostics taught that Jesus was a created being, one of many spiritual beings mediating between man and God. Each spiritual being or Aeon would be at a different level depending upon their knowledge. The more knowledge, the higher up in the hierarchy the spiritual being. They taught that the spirit was good but the flesh or body was bad, thus, they said, God, who was perfect goodness, would not and could not dwell in flesh. So they denied the incarnation.

Paul refutes this kind of teaching head on. He says that not only did Jesus reconcile us through the body of His flesh, but he states that in Jesus dwelt the fullness of God. Some of the false teachers, who denied the deity of Jesus said that Jesus was a normal mortal man and that God’s Spirit only settled upon Him for a while. But, remember Paul makes clear that the fullness of God dwelt in Him bodily.

The word fullness is the Greek word from which we get our word “plentitude.” It denotes the totality of divine powers and attributes that reside in Jesus.

The word dwell is interesting. It means to permanently reside. In other words these divine attributes that Jesus possessed were not temporary, as some were teaching, they were and are a part of who He was and is.

The Scripture teaches that Jesus Christ, Son of God, was born of a virgin, with a human body, and a sinless human nature. They teach that in Him perfect humanity and the divine nature coexist.

Remembering, who Jesus is, is one of the most important issues we need to understand and believe. If He is not who He says He is, then He could not do what He said He did, and if He did not do what He said He did then our faith is in vain.

Is it any wonder that the world is trying to redefine who Jesus is? You can see it on the Learning Channel or on Public Broadcasting, or in Time Magazine. There are numerous articles and shows trying to redefine Jesus. As Christians, not only must we know who Jesus is, we must know how to explain Him to others. We must hold firm to the truth that Jesus was completely God and completely human.

The second question is – What did He do?

First, He died for us to reconcile us.

Reconcile means to bring back into proper relationship. Reconcile is only used three times in the New Testament. It means the restoration of a previously existing relationship. Sin puts us at odds with God. Jesus, through His work on the cross, bridged the gap between us and God, making it possible for us, once again, to have a relationship with Him.

Second, He died to bring us Peace.

Peace is the absence of hostility; the presence of tranquility. Peace is not only a cessation of hostility, but the presence of tranquility. Peace looks back to the Old Testament concept of shalom which meant to be healthy, to be whole, the harmony enjoyed when a person’s relationship with God is where and what it should be.

Peace is not only to be sought in our relationships with God and men, it is also a blessed experience in concrete life situations.

• This peace will be with the believer – I Corinthians 1:3
• It will reign in his or her heart – Colossians 3:15
• It will keep his or her heart and thoughts in Christ Jesus – Philippians 4:7
• It comes directly from Jesus – John 14:27
• It is the same peace that Jesus enjoys. It is His peace – John 14
• There is nothing that can rob us of that peace – John 16:33, Romans 8:35-39
• It is an external evidence of the internal residence of the Holy Spirit – Galatians 5:22
• Jesus Himself is our peace – Ephesians 2:14

The third question is –  Why did He die for us?

He died for us because we were Alienated – That was our position, our state of being. Alienation denotes isolation, loneliness and a deep sense of not belonging. It means to be estranged or cut off, separated. This is the natural spiritual state of fallen man.

He died for us because we were Hostile in mind – This defines our attitude towards God. Those who do not know Jesus, who live outside of a relationship with Him and outside of His will, are living in rebellion against Him. They are hostile in their minds, in other words they hate God. Have you ever wondered why some people seem so violently opposed to Christianity? You don’t see them being that opposed to other philosophies or doctrines, but you begin to talk about God or about Jesus and they get down right hateful. Why? Because their very nature, as Ephesians 2:3 says, made them enemies of God.

And, He died for us because we were engaged in evil deeds – Alienated from God, outside of a knowledge of His will, not possessing the ability to discern spiritual things, with a nature and an attitude that is hostile to God and His truth, the natural result is that one’s actions will follow ones attitude.

The fourth question is –  How did He do it?

He reconciled us through the blood of His cross.

A metonym is using the name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related. ex: “Scepter” for “Sovereignty.” The blood is used as a metonym to describe the entire redemptive work of Jesus. This concept is foundational to our faith.

I came across the website of an organization called, “Atheists for Jesus.” Its founder claimed that while He did not believe in God, in the divinity of Jesus or in any of the miracles, he did think the teachings of Jesus were good and that by the knowledge gained through His teachings we could better ourselves.

This is an expression of modern day Gnosticism. I recently read a publication by Maged Mikhail entitled, “The Gnostics, a survey of Gnostic beliefs.” Mikhail says, “In the Christian framework Jesus Christ being the Son of God and the Son of Man, being without sin, and actually dying and rising from the dead, makes Him the Savior. He did enlighten humanity with His teachings, but the actual salvation was through His deeds not His words . . . To the Gnostics, however, Salvation had a totally different meaning. Salvation was from uncertainty, thus the deeds of the savior figure, whoever he is, are quite unimportant; what is of absolute importance, however, are his teachings.”

Paul wants to make it abundantly clear that it was the sacrifice Jesus made on Calvary’s cross that saved us from our sins, not simply His teaching.

Look at what he says in verse 22: 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation

Knowledge by itself cannot save us. It is what Jesus did on the cross, paying the price for our sins that offers us salvation. Knowledge of that sacrifice offers us the opportunity to accept His free gift of grace. But in order to be useful knowledge must be founded upon truth, so just thinking that Jesus died for our sins, or just wishing it were so would not help us. Jesus, as God in the flesh, died for our sins and rose again. That’s what enables us to be reconciled to God.

But Paul goes on to make another point, a point that is aimed at contradicting false teaching.

Paul speaks of the Body of His flesh through death – Jesus died physically, He was and is fully God and fully human. He could not have died a physical death were He not Human, He could not have been a sacrifice for our sins were He not divine.

It is absolutely essential to our faith that we understand Jesus came in the flesh. He was not simply some spiritual apparition. One of the key teachings of most Gnostic beliefs was a doctrine known as Docetism. The Docetists taught that Jesus was not fully man, because God and man could not dwell in one person. Thus, they said, Jesus was simply a ghost, the Spirit of God disguised to look like a human. Their name came from the Greek word “dokeo” which means, “I seem.” So they said Jesus just seemed to be human but was not. Paul wants to put that false doctrine to rest. Thus, you have such a great emphasis upon the bodily resurrection of Jesus.

The fifth question is –  Why did He do it?

Why did Jesus die for us?

First, He died for us because the Father loves us and there was no other way to be right before God. An acceptable sacrifice had to be made for our sins and that sacrifice was Jesus. Romans 5:17 says, For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

One day we will all stand before God. Each of us will give an account for our works, for our words, for every part of our lives. Those who have been redeemed, who have been reconciled through Jesus will have nothing to explain, all of their sins, all of their shortcomings will be covered by the blood of Jesus.

Second, He died in order to present us Blameless – without accusation. The devil is the accuser of the brethren. He wants to point out all our sins, he wants to keep us in bondage to sin. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, so that when we stand before God no one will be able to point the finger at us, we will be without blame and beyond reproach.

You see, what Jesus did was all we need. He paid it all. When He said, ” It is finished,” it was finished. The deed was done, the sacrifice made, the price for our souls was paid. We don’t need some special revelation, some secret knowledge, something extra on top of what He did. He did it because, as Ephesians 1:9 says, it was the Father’s good pleasure. God wanted to reconcile us to Himself.

A read a story about Starbucks taking four used shipping containers and turning them into a coffee shop. They say they are reclaimed, renewed, and revived. Sounds like what God does in our hearts through the sacrifice of His Son.

Conclusion

Allow me to suggest four practical ways to apply these truths to your Christian experience.

1. Know the Scriptures

His Word will help keep you from sin: “I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You.” – Psalm 119:11

His Word should be precious to us because we love Him:  “I delight in Your commands, which I love.” – Psalm 119:47

His Word is powerful as a weapon: “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word.” – Ephesians 6:17

His Word sanctifies us. Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.” – John 17:17

1. Recognize the difference between position and condition

You have standing with God because of what Jesus has done. You have been declared a saint. The blood of Jesus has washed your sins away. Jesus will present you to His Father someday, spotless, without blame or cause for accusation. Don’t confuse the temporal condition of your spiritual life with your position as a child of God. You have been adopted into the family, made a friend of God, reconciled by the blood of Jesus. No one can take that away.

We can lift our heads and declare, “I am and always will be a child of God.”

1. Walk in the confidence that God loves you

This will keep you from falling prey to the devil’s lies that you have to be good enough to deserve God’s love. God loves you. He sent His Son to die for you before you even knew Him. His love never changes. He will always love you. You could never be good enough for Him to accept you. It is the righteousness of Jesus that makes us acceptable to Him, not our own.

“God loves me and nothing I do will ever change that.”

4. Persevere – Hang in there

His Spirit is there to strengthen you, to enable you, to help you be the person He wants you to be.

When I was a kid I remember playing with a toy clown. It was not a doll. It was an inflatable punching clown. It was rounded on the bottom and had sand in it. Whenever you punched it, it would go back, but then the sand in the bottom would bring it back to a standing position. No matter how many times you punched it, it would always rebound.

That’s the idea Paul is conveying here. We are to keep coming back, keep rebounding to our standing position. The Holy Spirit is deep within us, enabling us to bounce back, regardless of how many times we are knocked down.

Let me close with this thought. Surrender your life to the Lord. Let Him fill you afresh and renew His Spirit within you.

Let us pray.

Wisdom Is Fearing The Lord

Job 28:28

Pastor Barry Kerner

One of Aesop’s fables concerned a turtle who envied the ducks who swam in the pond where he lived. As he listened to them describe the wonders of the world they had seen, he was filled with a great desire to travel. But being a turtle, he was unable to travel far. Finally two ducks offered to help him. One of the ducks said, “We will each hold an end of a stick in our mouths. You hold the stick in the middle in your mouth, and we will carry you through the air so that you can see what we see when we fly. But be quiet or you will be sorry.”

The turtle loved the idea. He took hold of the stick and away into the sky they went. The ducks flew up above the trees and circled around the meadow. The turtle was amazed and overjoyed at his new perspective on the world. He marveled at the flowers on the hillside. Just then a crow flew past. Astonished at the sight of a turtle flying through the air carried by two ducks he said, “Surely this must be the king of all turtles!”

“Why certainly…” the turtle began—but as he spoke, he lost his grip on the stick and fell to the ground below.

While there are times when we need to speak out and take a stand, more frequently we find ourselves in trouble because we talk too much.

Proverbs 17:28 tells us, “Even a fool, when he holds his peace, is counted wise: and he that shuts his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.”

Job 28:28 – “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.”

In the midst of his sufferings when Job couldn’t make sense of what was going on in his life with his finite wisdom that he ponders over the question of where man can find true wisdom. The true search of wisdom can only find an end in Christ Jesus.

Job 28 is the passage of the scripture that answers the most important questions of life. The question that the author is trying to answer in this chapter is:

“Where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?” (Job 28:12)

The book of Job itself is a remarkable one. This book is categorized in wisdom literature. The book probes into issues near to the heart of every man experiencing pain and suffering.

The book of Job opens with a testimony on the character of Job -God himself testified twice the very same thing that Job was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil”  In fact God Himself said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”

The first few verses of the Book of Job are also dedicated to explaining how extremely wealthy Job was. God had blessed him enough. However, all of a sudden, all of Job’s possessions, including his dear children, were taken away through God-ordained calamities. Job’s entire understanding was challenged. Job’s understanding of wisdom was now shaken to its very roots.

Job strongly felt that he did not deserve to suffer since he had lived an upright life. Job’s plight of unjustifiable misery forces us to ask the question that has been existing since old, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

In the midst of his sufferings when Job couldn’t make sense of what was going on in his life with his finite wisdom that he ponders over the question of where man can find true wisdom. Probably this is the question that would be in each of our minds during this COVID-19 pandemic when all the worldly wisdom is failing.

The chapter, in its search for wisdom, begins with man’s efforts to find treasures and wealth.

Job 28:1-11 – “Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore. Man puts an end to darkness and searches every recess for ore in the darkness and the shadow of death. He breaks open a shaft away from people; In places forgotten by feet They hang far away from men; They swing to and fro. As for the earth, from it comes bread, but underneath it is turned up as by fire; Its stones are the source of sapphires, And it contains gold dust. That path no bird knows, Nor has the falcon’s eye seen it. The proud lions have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed over it. He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the roots. He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing. He dams up the streams from trickling; What is hidden he brings forth to light.”

The passage begins with the finite wisdom of man in his search for treasures of the earth such as gold, silver, copper, ore and sapphires. Man treads the untrodden places to get them. They are places which neither the birds nor the proud lions have traveled. Man puts his life at risk by overturning the mountains at the roots and cutting out channels in the rocks. With all his great efforts, he brings to light, all the hidden treasures.

However, the author concludes by saying that although man is able to discover all kinds of hidden treasures, he is not able to find wisdom.

Job 28:12 – “But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?”

Although, man acquires great material possessions and lives a luxurious life, he cannot be considered wise. These are things that cannot stay with him permanently. He must leave them behind once he dies. Even when alive, these riches cannot stay with a person permanently. Job stands himself as an example. He had great riches. He was the greatest man in the East (Job 1:3). But in one stroke, he lost everything. He even lost his health. Now, he questions his wisdom and understanding.

Job realized that true wisdom was not in acquiring material wealth. They are to be left behind once we die. True wisdom lies in obtaining what is of value after our bodies die – winning our souls for eternity.

We can replicate the same in what Jesus said.

Mark 8:36 – “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”

And, Luke 12:16-21 – “Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

In this parable, Jesus condemns the rich man who had a magnificent harvest. He assumed that his wants were covered for many years to come. In fact, he thought that his future would be the one in which he could simply eat, drink, and be merry. Jesus call him a “fool,” as he saw himself secure based on his material possessions and consequently had a false sense of security. He may have been wise in his own eyes, but he was actually a fool.

This is what the author of Job says in Job 28:12-14 –

“But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man does not know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living. The deep says, ‘It is not in me’; and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.”

Wisdom cannot be found in the land of the living. It cannot be found in the depths of the earth, or the vastness of the sea. This is very important information since it nullifies all the fruitless search for wisdom in the land of the living. It invalidates the attempt to discover wisdom by even the greatest of human philosophers. The author continues that even if one were to find out where wisdom existed, they cannot obtain it by human means.

Job 28:15 – 19 – “It cannot be purchased for gold, nor can silver be weighed for its price. It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire. Neither gold nor crystal can equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral or quartz, for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.”

Gold, silver, precious gems, coral, quartz, rubies and topaz cannot be exchanged for wisdom.

We even find the value of wisdom in Proverbs 8:11:

“For wisdom is better than rubies, And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.”

So, the question remains unanswered.

Job 28:20 – “From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?”

Job answers himself:

Job 28:21,22- “It is hidden from the eyes of all living, And concealed from the birds of the air. Destruction and Death say, ‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.”

He concluded that wisdom is hidden from all living – including the rich and the poor, the people who claim to be wise and the fools. Although man has an amazing ability to dig deep the earth and overturn mountains, thereby bringing hidden things to light, wisdom is concealed. Even birds known for their keen eye sight cannot discover wisdom. Wisdom cannot be even found in the ultimate limits of humanity – destruction and death. Death with its afterlife is said to have heard a report that wisdom does exist. Probably, those who reach the death bed or in their afterlife may have a belated understanding of what they missed in life. They may realize that they had missed to apply wisdom during life. However, they cannot go back and apply it retrospectively.

This verse explains the utter futility of human efforts to seek wisdom. Human philosophy and reasoning have tried their best to explain wisdom but the end of everything is destruction and death. When we fail in certain areas in our lives, we begin to question our decisions which we once thought were wise. We begin to search for more precise understanding of wisdom. May be, Job was in a similar position. When he began to suffer miseries in life for reasons unknown to him, he began his quest for wisdom and its ways. However, Job realizes that wisdom cannot be discovered through any diligent human efforts such as philosophy, religion and reasoning.

Then, the question remains: where is the way to wisdom? Job answers:

Job 28:23 – 26: “God understands its way, And He knows its place. For He looks to the ends of the earth, And sees under the whole heavens, To establish a weight for the wind, And apportion the waters by measure. When He made a law for the rain, And a path for the thunderbolt.”

God knows of wisdom, and in the poetic sense, where it exists and the way to true wisdom. It is because God alone is omniscient. He is only one who can see all things. Nothing can escape His knowledge. In the words of Job, God sees to the “ends of the earth” and “everything under the heavens.” It was God, who through wisdom, who laid out the laws governing every created thing.

So, Job continues that it was God who created wisdom. He prepared it.

Job 28:27 – “Then He saw wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.”

We find it also in the proverbs of king Solomon:

Proverbs 8:22- “The Lord possessed me [wisdom] at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old.”

God possesses wisdom as part of His very being.

Colossians 2:3 – “In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

1 Corinthians 1:30a – “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God.”

Thus, God is the only one to whom every person must turn in his search for wisdom.

What has God to say to mankind about wisdom?

Job 28:28 – “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.”

We have other Bible verses also reiterating the same.

Proverbs 9:10 – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Psalm 111:10 – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.”

What is fear of the Lord?

Fear of the Lord involves two things:

First, it involves loving, honoring, respecting and worshiping the Lord by recognizing His Lordship.

Deuteronomy 10:12 – “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Psalm 33:8 – “Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.”

Fearing the Lord does involve a deep sense of respect to God and His presence. We must accept His sovereignty over our lives, irrespective of how things turn out. Be it good or bad happening in our lives, we must accept His Lordship. This was an important lesson that Job learned at his most difficult hour. All this while, he was confused and troubled over the Lord allowing evil to happen in his life.

Job, after His encounter with the Lord, says:

Job 42: 5, 6 – “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”

This attitude of fearing the Lord and His ways, which in turn lead to repentance, is what the Bible calls – the beginning of wisdom

Second, it involves a good understanding to depart from evil

Psalm 34:11-14 – “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.”

Fearing the Lord cannot be disconnected from departing from evil. You cannot cling to sin and claim to fear God. That is not the wisdom of God. That is being wise in one’s own eyes in the words of king Solomon.

Proverbs 3:7 – “Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil.”

In the book of Ecclesiastes, we find king Solomon’s attempt to understand wisdom and the meaning and purpose of life. In his attempt, Solomon searched out all things under the sun. He finally found out that human wisdom does not answers to life’s questions and problems. Rather, it simply brings grief and sorrow. He concludes the book with his important finding in his quest.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 – “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, whether good or evil.”

Conclusion – If you want to be truly wise, you need to look at Jesus – the source of wisdom. We must fear Him and depart from all our sins. It is he whom the Lord sent to take away our sins.

And how is that possible.

It is not possible by ourselves. Paul writes in Romans 7:19 – “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.”

How is that possible? Only by looking at the cross.

Wisdom is ultimately manifested in the cross of Christ.

Paul write in 1 Corinthians 1:21-25

“For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Greeks were known for their wisdom. The insights of great Greek philosophers like Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Pliny, Galen, and others still seem fresh and relevant today. However, Paul makes an interesting statement in the passage above. The crucifixion of Christ for the salvation of humanity was a foolishness to the wisest Greeks. However, that was the way of God in his wisdom to reach out to humanity. That is the only way for us to Heaven.

I’ll close with this thought. Wisdom can be found in the person and lordship of Jesus Christ as given to us through Scripture. When we seek wisdom we need to listen to it when we find it in God’s Word.

If we’re not going to listen to what God has to tell us why would we even bother to ask? 

This is the attitude James warns about in James 1:5-6 when he says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”

James tells us: don’t come to God asking for wisdom, and then just ignore the wisdom which he gives. The problem is, we often don’t like the advice we get, so we try to set it aside. But James says, if you ask God for wisdom, and then ignore what He shows you, you’re unstable, and will make no progress in life!

God is even more eager to give to us; James says that He “gives generously.”How great to know that God is not only all-knowing, but generous to boot!

We can be victorious over sin and evil but only through Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 2:14 – “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ.”

The true search of wisdom can only find its end in Christ Jesus.