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January-June 2004 Sermons
A Meeting in a Cave 040104
Elijah's failure should encourage us. Too often we fail to identify with the great men and women of the Bible because we think of them as being super-saints. We see that Elijah, the powerful prophet who called down fire from heaven and destroyed his enemies, ran and hid. In fact, he asked God to take his life. Now he reveals how self-centered and inconsistent he has become. Yet God still has much use for him and for us! I. Elijah ran from Jezebel into the wilderness. III. Elijah received strength to go on. III. Elijah had become self-centered. God's patience with our prophet should give us hope. He will be patient and longsuffering with us also. If He gives the gifts of His Spirit to people to be applied for the benefit of others He will surely employ those some qualities for His people. We all fail, at one time or another, to see the hand of God caring for us. Be sure of this He will not fail to show His faithfulness. 2 Tim 2:13 Instructions From God 040111 Elijah had failed to stand up to Jezebel. There was no spiritual failure on his part only prudence to protect God's interests. Jesus had given His disciples instructions that they should flee when persecuted and that is clearly what Elijah had done. Now he faced God on the mountain. He received instruction rather than rebuke. God is in the business of rescue rather than destruction whenever that is at all possible. I. God restores when we fail. III. God instructs Elijah to return. III. Elijah has work to do. It does not matter in God's plan that Elisha fulfilled the commands to Elijah. That is often God's way. One plants, another waters and God gives the increase. What is important is God. The motivating power is in His hands not ours. Praise the Lord He has provided What Does it Mean to Call Jesus "Lord"? 040118 In the late 1960's The Beatles recorded, "My Sweet Lord" and many people seemed to think it might refer to Jesus. Of course it did not. It referred to the Hare Krishna a pagan faith. There are many "lords" and many "faiths". The use of the word "Lord" does not imply anything other than we are a spiritual people. Meaningless repetition of religious jargon cannot please God. Yet a basis of our faith is the confession, "Jesus is Lord." What should it mean to make that confession? I. "Lord" must take on meaning. III. Obedience is essential to Christianity. III. How do we know what to obey? To hear and act on what we hear is to build a solid foundation for life. To hear and not obey is to leave our lives founded on the shifting sands of the world's philosophies. Jesus' rebuke to those around Him applies today more than then. We know more and have more to work with than they did. Why do we call Him "Lord" and yet do not do what He commands? Spiritual Armor and Its Purpose 040125 We were impressed with the importance of preparation in spiritual warfare when we went to the recent Evangelism Conference with Chuck Lawless. Seven from our church were there and this message grows out of Dr. Lawless' excellent teaching. May we go into battle with full preparation. I. The armor is important. III. Those without Christ are lost. III. We are to be prepared in order to pray. Prayer is the most important thing we do in this life. I confess that I do too little of it. I stuff it in here and there along the way and excuse myself that the scripture says we are to "Pray without ceasing". We are also instructed to go into our private place and pray alone. We are to pray with a partner, or two. We are to pray in congregation. If Satan can keep us from pray he will have us weakened and defeated, daily! Lets commit ourselves to a new dedication to pray at all times and in all ways. Christ Died For Us 040208 The death of Christ on the cross is a pivotal point in history. It is, for the human race, the most important event of history. His death is our only hope. Most people in the world have at least a basic idea that Jesus died for man's sins. Most Christians would quickly say that Jesus' death on the cross was to pay for their sins. That is true but it is so much more. John Piper has written a little book that lists 50 reasons why Christ came to die. It is called The Passion of Christ and every believer should read it to strengthen their faith and increase their joy in Christ. I. Christ Died to turn aside the anger of God. III. Christ died to show God's great love for sinners. III. Christ died to show His own love for us. The assurance of our salvation must rest on the testimony of the word of God. Too often we hang on to personal feelings that have been twisted by the world we live in. Too often we base what we believe about salvation on some teaching they have received apart for the word of God. God's love is so great that He would not withhold His own Son when our need and His justice demanded that sacrifice. We should rejoice in this great gift. Christ Died to Provide for a Discipled Church 040215 When we think of the death of our Lord on the cross of Calvary we usually think only of the salvation we receive and the "ticket" to heaven it provides. We forget that there is a much broader agenda than our individual salvation or even the general salvation of all who are called to believe. Christ died for the church. He is establishing a church that can change the world under His direction. A church that is discipled under the power of Holy Spirit. I. Jesus died and rose again to gain power authority. II. His last command on earth was to "make disciples". III. Jesus died for the church. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ doesn't just save individuals to go to heaven. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ created a church that is empowered to disciple the nations. Not in military might or political power but in the strength of Holy Spirit that the world might be brought to see and know Jesus who is the Christ. Christ Died to Provide for a Discipled Church 2 040222 We need to consider the plan Jesus has for us to fulfill. As we look again at the last command of Jesus we can see a progress in the business of "Making Disciples". When God stirs a person to come to Himself He is calling them into a process. Satan would have people avoid God's process and, instead, simply claim a belief in "god" or in spiritual things. There is only one way to enter the kingdom and that is through Jesus Christ. I. His last command on earth was to "make disciples". II. Baptizing them. III. Teaching them. Jesus said that all authority had been given to Him in heaven and on earth. With that authority and His command as we go we are to disciple the nations. We must begin to plant seeds of truth in our homes, among our friends, at our workplace and then wherever we go even to the further parts of the earth. He has enabled us "as we go". We cannot wait on His power we must expect it when we face opportunity to share our faith with others. The Reward of a Disciple 040229 There are inheritances for all people. We inherit our physical makeup, some of our emotional response and tendency toward a particular level of health or being prone to certain disease or illness. A person may sometimes dream of discovering there is a rich uncle, previously unknown, who dies and leaves a great fortune to them. Christians often do not know what Jesus bought for us in His Passion. We know little about our inheritance. I. We are bought out of darkness into light. II. We are brought to this by His strength alone. III. Our inheritance is abundant and secure. As we go about our daily lives we easily forget whose we are. The old song says, "This world is not my home I'm just passing through my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door and I can't feel at home in this world anymore" He came to give us so much more than we will ever realize apart from His reveled word. Salvation Offered to All 040307 On Thursday night, at our Bible study, the question was raised as to how it could be that God decides who will be saved and yet men seem to be able to choose salvation? Doesn't the Bible say that "God wishes all to come to repentance"? How can we understand this? If people do not have a choice why should we tell others about Jesus? Won't they be saved (or lost) no matter what we do or say? We cannot use the truth of God's overriding grace as an excuse not to witness to the unsaved around us. I. There are mysteries we will never understand. Rom 11:33-36 II. Many will believe, many will not. III. We cannot know who will believe We cannot know who will respond. God certainly does and has already written their names in the book of life. Yet, Christ came to save sinners. He came to give life instead of death. Not all will respond but whoever will, will be saved. If there is a tug in the heart to come to God then there is hope that God is calling. There is hope that life can be given to those who will respond. Never take salvation for granted. Salvation Purchased for the Chosen 040314 Last Sunday, I presented the truth that we must offer salvation to all people. We do not know who will be saved nor do we know when. However, to say that since we offer salvation to all then Christ died for all is to say that scripture is not accurate. Isaiah foretold Jesus' suffering and death. God said, "He will . . . be satisfied" and "will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquity. The death of Jesus is certainly sufficient to pay for the sins of all mankind. Yet scripture says He died for the chosen. I. Jesus suffered beyond our imagination. II. He gave Himself up willingly. III. "He will see and be satisfied." We must trust ourselves to the wisdom of God. His word is clear. Those who receive and believe are born anew. Yet only those with life given by God can receive and believe. We must be sure of our own salvation and pray for the salvation of those around us. We must offer salvation to all and trust God to draw out those He has chosen. His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. Praise God for the completion of His atonement. Seeking Lost Sheep 040321 How are we to respond to the seeking Savior who goes relentlessly after the one lost sheep? Rejoice? Yes, especially when we are that sheep. Join Him? Yes, we need to join in the seeking for the sheep that are lost. He knows His own. We do not know who are His own but must reach out to all and seek His guidance in the process. I. Jesus' very purpose was to seek the lost. II. We are to seek the unlikely. III. We are to use all means available to us. We must trust ourselves to the wisdom of God. His word is clear. Those who receive and believe are born anew. Yet only those with life given by God can receive and believe. We must be sure of our own salvation and pray for the salvation of those around us. We must offer salvation to all and trust God to draw out those He has chosen. His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. We are to seek them and rejoice as they respond to His voice. In the World but not "of the World" Easter is two Sundays away. Spring is here, even here in Stamford. There are lots of things that come to the average mind at the prospect of Easter and of spring. Most of those thoughts are not about the suffering Savior but rather about bunnies, chicks, eggs and new clothes. It is so easy for a Christian to be drawn into the world's way of thinking. Most of the research in America today shows no substantial difference between the Church and the world. What should we do to help correct this problem? I. We can hide our heads and pretend there is no problem. II. We can aggressively fight back and condemn the world. III. We can follow the pattern of Jesus. Our responsibility is to keep the influence of the world at a minimum in the church. We will never remove it all. At the same time we must remember that our goal should be the same as Jesus'. We are to join Him in seeking and saving that which is lost. To do that we must remember to be "wise and serpents and harmless and doves." Not the other way round. If These are Silent On the Sunday before His crucifixion Jesus rode toward Jerusalem with a heavy heart. The city where the Father had put His Name had clearly rejected the Son. In a matter of days the public authorities will arrest Jesus and drag Him from place to place in a mock set of trials. The crowd, some of whom were now crying out "Hosanna", would cry out "Crucify, Crucify". His ministry, to all outward appearance, will end in shame on a Roman cross with no one who understands why. I. He had come to "His people". John 1:11 II. On "Palm Sunday" the crowds cried out. III. If these are silent. We should be sure to serve with our praise just as the creation was designed to do. When we consider that God called forth the creation as an instrument of praise we should remember to join in that praise. When we consider what Christ has done for us we should rejoice in our salvation. Let Easter be a time of praise to the Father for the work of the Son. A Living Hope 040411 Many years after the resurrection of Jesus from the dead Peter still dwelled on it as the sure hope of life. God's great mercy has caused us to be born again. We are born into a living hope. This is a scriptural hope not a worldly hope. This is not something we wish for but are not sure of this is something we anticipate with eager expectation. It is surely ours only not yet complete. A farmer might hope for a crop with assurance it is going to be what he planted but he cannot know for sure that it will be good. We can be sure because we have God's promise on it. I. His great mercy has caused us to be born again. II. To a living hope. III. Through the resurrection of Jesus, our Lord. He has caused us to be born again and given us an inheritance that will not pass away since it is reserved in the most protected place possible heaven itself. What a blessing to know we will never have our gift of eternal life taken from us. His resurrection is evidence of the power that protects us. The Risen Lord at Work 040418 We do not often think of the work of Jesus after that brutal death and His time in the tomb and His resurrection. We should praise God that His work continues day after day. His work continues even today in our world and we are a part of that work. Look at what He did at the end of the first week as the disciples gathered in mourning of His death. I. He was concerned for the one who was struggling. II. They gathered on the second Lord's Day. III. He cared for the one in need "Doubting Thomas" We need to let Him deal with our personal needs when so often we turn away. We should seek out other believers when our need is greatest. Instead we often turn away and wait until we are stronger before returning to the fold. The bible is always there for us. John tells us that these are written so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that we have life in His name. He came that we might have life. Let's seize that life when He offers it and rejoice in it no matter what the world may hurl at us. Working Without Christ 040425 We cannot tell exactly when this event occurred. Sometime between Jesus' resurrection and His ascension is the best we can do. Luke tells us that period was forty days long. His disciples saw Him and heard Him teach in a very intense manner. How they must have hung on His every word! At the same time how easily they were distracted. I. Peter led them on a fishing trip. II. Jesus demonstrated how useless work is without Him. III. God is merciful. That is the essence of Grace. When the disciples decided to follow their own lives without consulting the risen Lord they soon felt the frustration of working without Christ. Yet Christ
came and showed them their fault and put them on the right path. In the same way, the word of God will rebuke, correct and restore when we listen to it. Do You Love Me 040502 If the Lord Jesus stood before the average Christian (you and I) and asked, "Do you love Me?" How would we answer? How could we answer? We might be encouraged by the attempts of Peter, Jesus' chosen apostle, to answer the question unsatisfactorily. Jesus has a message about how we are to show that we love Him in this world. We need to learn from this struggle how to be more responsive. I. Do you love Me more than these? II. Do you love Me? III. The third question used Peter's word. We must remember that Jesus verbally taught His disciples and the recorded teaching was for our benefit. John 20:31 These words are for our benefit. Romans 15:4 We must apply the truth of the word to our day-to day lives. See also:
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