Bible Text: 1Peter 1:17-25 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: 1Peter |

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February 14th, 2021
1Peter 1:17-25
“Secured by God’s Eternal Word”
 

Read 1Peter 1:17-21…
“17 If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. 20 For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you 21 who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

Through Jesus’ shed blood we are made righteous.

Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death and sovereign resurrection provides the opportunity for you to actually know God, and be made acceptable to Him! God created us so that we might know and worship Him; He saved us so that we might know and serve Him, while enjoying His blessings.

Jeremiah 9:23-24
“23 Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.”

Ecclesiastes 2:24,
“There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God.”

Until a person realizes that their main purpose for existence is to know, honor, and worship God, they are living in vain

(Ps 14:1),
“The fool has said in his heart, there is no God.”

Everyone is a sinner having been born dead in sin and separated from life with God, unable to have a relationship with the holy and righteous God of creation because of sin’s curse.

Romans 3:23
“23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

God’s Word (Rom 3:23) says no one is acceptable to God because of sin;

Romans 6:23
“23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 6:23 says the penalty for sin is death; but God’s grace [undeserved and unmerited favor] is freely given to all who believe in and receive Christ as Savior; for Jesus took our punishment upon Himself

Romans 5:8
“8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8 declares that because of His great love for us, expressed by dying on the cross we are forgiven.

God requires the death of a perfect sacrifice as payment for sin’s curse
and Jesus Christ took upon Himself our penalty, in order that we might personally know God,
be made acceptable, and receive unconditional love and eternal life from Him

Romans 8:38-39
“38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 10:11-13
“11 For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED”

Hebrews 9:11-12
“11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; 12 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”

Hebrews 9:15
“15 For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

Hebrews 9:26-28
“26 Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, 28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”

Through Jesus’ shed blood we are made righteous.

The writer of Hebrews tells us, by the shedding of His own blood Jesus became the one and only sacrifice for all time, that we might not only receive forgiveness, and eternal life, but also spiritual birth into the family of God, having been made righteous through Christ.

2Corinthians 5:21
“He (the Father) made Him (the Son) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

John 1:12
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” [born of God].

John 1:1-4
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.”

Jesus is the Word [Logos, the fullness of God].

Jesus is declared to be the Word of God [the Logos, the complete and full embodiment, expression, and manifestation of God’s character, nature, and revelation; through Whom all things were made and the Life of God [supernatural/ eternal] and Light of God [revelation of Himself] came to us, and darkness [godlessness, all that opposes God] has been completely understood and overcome.

2Corinthians 4:4
“The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

2Corinthians 4:6
“6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

John 3:19-21
“19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.””

Ephesians 5:8-12
“For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.”

Jesus was not just a physical expression of God’s revelation,
He was God in human flesh

(John 1:14)
“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:18
“No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

Colossians 1:15-17
“15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

Colossians 2:9-10
“9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;”

The word Christian (meaning “adherent” or “follower” of Christ)
comes from the Greek word christianos, and it
occurs only three times in the NT: First, it is used in

In Acts 11:26
“26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”

where the believers and followers of Christ were called Christians, at Antioch. Second, it is used in Acts 26, where Paul (as a prisoner) stands before King Agrippa and gives his personal testimony as to how he was saved through faith in Jesus Christ, then King Agrippa says to him

(Acts 26:28)
“Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”

Third, it is used in 1Peter 4:15-16, where we are told not to be ashamed if we suffer for being a Christian, but instead praise God that we are called by His name.

In 1Peter 4:15-16
“15 Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; 16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.”

Christians are believers and followers of Christ.

God’s Word speaks of becoming a Christian, growing up in Christ, suffering for Christ, and demonstrating God’s love in the relationship we have with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Christians are believers and followers of Jesus Christ .

(John 14:6)
the way, the truth, the life; the only way to have a personal and eternal relationship with God the Father through God the Son.

John wrote (1John 1:3)
“indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ,”

and Jesus said (John 14:20),

John 14:20
“I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” This relationship is initiated and cultivated by God, who loves us, calls us, saves us, sets us apart, purifies us, provides for us, and protects all those who belong to Him, having become one with Him through Jesus Christ, now and forever.

God loves us, calls us, saves us, purifies us,
provides for us,
and protects us through Christ, now and forever!

1Peter 1:22-23
“22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, 23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.

Our love for God is shown by our love for one another,
from the heart, for we have been born again through the eternal Word of God.

Matthew 12:34-35
“the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. The good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things.”

Our love for God (and for others) is to be expressed by what we do and what we say, because we belong to God.

1Peter 1:24-25 is a direct quote from Isaiah 40:6-8, but what doers it mean?

1Peter 1:24-25
24 For,
“ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS,
AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS.
THE GRASS WITHERS,
AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF,
25 BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER.”
And this is the word which was preached to you.”

Isaiah 40:6-8
6 A voice says, “Call out.”
Then he answered, “What shall I call out?”
All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
When the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.

See James 1:11
“The sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed.”

See James 4:13-15
“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’

Do you see, everything is temporary except the Word of God,
which is in us, making us eternal beings.

Jesus said to the religious leaders (John 10:27-30),

John 10:27-30
“27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.””

Read 1Peter 1:22-25…
“22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, 23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For,
“ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS,
AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS.
THE GRASS WITHERS,
AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF,
25 BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER.”
And this is the word which was preached to you.”

Speaking to His Father (John 17:22-23) Jesus said,

John 17:22-23
“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

A personal relationship with God is only available through a genuine belief in and a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

1John 5:11-13
“11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life

Do you have the assurance that you belong to God?

Do you believe in Christ for salvation,
having called upon Him for the forgiveness of your sins?

1John 1:8-9
“8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

If I claim not to sin, I deceive myself and I am not speaking the truth; God knows me, loves me, and in spite of myself He saved me, because He is faithful.

God wants you to have an intimate and eternal relationship with Him, but you have to come His way, and this is the message that has been declared to you: The Only Way to God, the Only Truth of God, and the Only Life from God, has come to earth, from the Father, full of grace and truth; He is the Living and Eternal Word of God, who put on flesh and lived among us, in order to show us and then to become the only means of forgiveness and eternal life

1Corinthians 15:1-5
“ 15:1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”

and therefore

(Romans 10:13)
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,” for we are sanctified and secured by the Word of God that endures forever. “And this is the word which [has been] preached to you.”
Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><
 

Bible Text: 1Peter 1:1-16 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: 1Peter |

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February 07, 2021
1Peter 1:1-16
“Secured for God’s Service

Read 1Peter 1:1-2…
“1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.”

Peter, writing to God’s elect [those who believe & follow Jesus Christ as Lord & Savior]. He calls them aliens in the world [strangers, pilgrims, sojourners, exiles, foreigners]; for their true citizenship is in heaven.

Peter encourages believers who are suffering.

Peter encourages these believers, who are suffering, as they faithfully live to serve God in a pagan society that is hostile toward God and His children.

The persecution of Christians is increasing every year. Over 340 million Christians are living in places where they experience high levels of persecution. Last year across the world:

• 4761 Christians were killed for their faith, about 13 every day
• 9,488 churches and other Christian buildings attacked
• 4,277 believers detained without trial, arrested, sentenced or imprisoned

The top ten out of 50 countries that are persecuting Christians, are North Korea, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, Eritrea, Yemen, Iran, Nigeria, India.

Peter tells us that Believers are set apart by the work of the Holy Spirit for the purpose of obedience to Christ through the personal application of His blood.

God has made each of us a recipient of His Grace, protected by His power, forever.

Read 1Peter 1:3-5…
“3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

It is by God’s great mercy that we have received forgiveness for our sins through Christ’s shed blood, and eternal life through His bodily resurrection from the grave. God has made each of us a recipient of His Grace, protected by God’s own power, forever.

Read 1Peter 1:6-7…
“6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;”

We are to rejoice in our new birth which is spiritual, incorruptible, and eternal; but mixed with our rejoicing is the reality that we will suffer, just as Christians all over the world are suffering. These sufferings prove our faith and confirm our salvation, bringing glory, honor and praise to God.

2Timothy 3:12,
“all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,”

James 1:2-4,
“2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Read 1Peter 1:8-9…
“8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”

Our victory in suffering comes through obedience to the Faithful One who saved us,
our faith in God gives reality and assuredness to things yet unseen and things yet fulfilled.

It is usually easier to trust something that we can see and/or touch, but

Hebrews 11:1-3
“1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the men of old gained approval.
3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.”

Hebrews 11:6
“6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

I have never seen Christ, and yet I am convinced that I am eternally saved by believing in Him whom I have never seen. Believing without seeing takes faith. It is only by the merciful grace of God, made effectual through the gospel of Jesus Christ, that we can express the faith to believe and to trust Him.

Ephesians 2:8-9
“8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast”

God has done everything to save us — all we are asked to do is to believe Him by trusting His Son, Jesus Christ, for even the faith to believe is a gift from God.

Read 1Peter 1:10-12…
“10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, 11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven–things into which angels long to look.”

The OT prophets didn’t understand that Christ would have to die to save us from sin’s curse.

The OT prophets spoke about grace coming to Gentiles yet they didn’t understand that Christ, the Holy One of God, would have to suffer and die in order for us to receive forgiveness from God.

The NT writers tell us that Christians are strangers in this world because they are citizens of heaven and members of God’s own household.

Those belonging to God will, in some way, suffer on this earth at the hands of those who belong to the world, for the world opposes God and hates His followers! Jesus told His disciples

John 15:18-19,
“18 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.”

1John 3:13,
“13 Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.”

We must remain prepared.

Read 1Peter 1:13…
“13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

We must prepare our minds for action, training ourselves to recognize and expose the deceit and lies of our enemy the devil, while trusting in the provisions and protection of God.

1Peter 4:7,
“The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.”

1Peter 5:8,
“8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

Ephesians 5:15-17,
“15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

We are to be alert, to pay attention, remaining sober minded and self controlled, always confident of God’s grace and God’s faithfulness as we obey God’s instruction, as we exhibit a changed life.

Colossians 3:17,
“17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

Colossians 3:23-24,
“23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”

Revelation 1:17-18,
“17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades”

Revelation 22:12,
“12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.”

Read 1Peter 1:14-16
“14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, 15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16 because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.””

Our obedience, expressed in our belief and behavior,
should conform to the Word of God and the Character of Christ.

Romans 12:1,
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

Ephesians 5:1
“Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children.”

We are to represent and imitate God, even in the midst of a pandemic, even if in subjection to a godless government. We are not to conform to the desires, attitudes, and behaviors we had when we were separated from God by sin; for we were either ignorant of His Word or in rebellion toward it, like those in the world today who continue to reject God’s Son.

The people of the world are separated into many groups: gender, race, wealth, intelligence, disability, political party, religious belief and practice, etc.; but God only recognizes two groups of people: those who believe in and follow Christ and those who do not. No other division makes any difference in eternity.

John 11:25-26
“25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?””

Romans 8:1-2
“1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

As Christians, the earth is not our permanent home; for we are pilgrims, foreigners, aliens really, and this earth is only our temporary home.

When you believe in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins—you are granted forgiveness for all your sins (past, present, future) and you are made spiritually alive [born again], for the purpose of pleasing your Father in heaven.

The majority of people, when exposed to the truth about Jesus Christ, will walk away unrepentant and unbelieving, unwilling to accept God’s gift of forgiveness and eternal life through God’s Son; mostly because they do not want to admit and repent of their sin.

On October 8, 1871 D.L. Moody had just given a stirring message to challenge the hearts of his listeners in the large meeting hall in Chicago. Moody, in closing, said this: “I want you to take home the question ‘What shall I do with Jesus?’ and come back next week with your answer.”

That very night the great fire that destroyed Chicago began to rage. Many of the people Moody challenged to come back the following week with their response, concerning what they should do with Jesus, didn’t have another week, many of them died that night, apart from a saving knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Never again did Moody close a message without making clear the urgency with which every individual must personally decide what they are going to do with the gospel of Christ.

We are to proclaim a message of compassion mixed with urgency;
that salvation is free, but there is no salvation apart from true repentance.

As God’s children, we are to be about the work of sharing God’s message with unbelievers, a message of compassion mixed with urgency, for although salvation is free and salvation is eternally secure; there is no salvation apart from the forgiveness of sin, and there is no forgiveness apart from repentance.

2Corinthians 5:17-21
“17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Ephesians 1:13-14,
“13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation–having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”

The message we share with the world today, tomorrow, and for as long as we have breath, is the very same message that was proclaimed almost 2,000 years ago

(Mark 1:14-15),
“14 Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.””

Mark 1:17,
“17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.””

Christians are eternally secure,

God has given us a new birth and a living hope through the death and resurrection of His Son; this is an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade, for we are indeed God’s possession, God’s children, protected by God’s power, so that we might apply God’s Word to our life, where others will see Christ in us, and perhaps ask us to tell them the reason for the hope that we have, now and forever,

Jesus Christ: Crucified, Resurrected, and Coming Again!

 
Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><

Bible Text: 3John | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: 1John 2John 3John |

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January 31st, 2021
3John
“Christian Hospitality: Part Two…”
 

3John:1-4
“1 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. 2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. 3 For I was overjoyed when brothers came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. 4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.”

John, the aged apostle, continues to write as a spiritual father figure to those in the Church, expecting his readers/hearers to accept his teaching as being from God.

Who is Gaius?
He is a man whose walk matches his talk,
this brings great joy to John.

We don’t know who Gaius is, but it would seem that John considers him to be a son in the faith, one who is walking in the truth; this is apparently testified to by those who know Gaius and have witnessed his obedience to Christ.

John prays for Gaius’s physical health to be equal to that of his spiritual health. Here is a man whose walk matches his talk; and his reputation is well known among the believers, this brings great joy to John.

Many believers profess one thing with their lips, but their life expresses something else; not so with Gaius, his genuine belief in Christ is exhibited in and through his example as a servant of God.

3John 5-8
“5 Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; 6 and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.”

Gaius shows hospitality to some brothers

Gaius is evidently showing hospitality to some brothers in the faith who are traveling about teaching the Word of God and encouraging the believers and followers of Christ.

Gaius is an example of those who do the good works God has prepared for us to do
(see James 2:14-17; Ephesians 2:8-10).

James 2:14-17
“14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”

Ephesians 2:8-10
“8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

The actions of Gaius showing Christian hospitality had evidently gotten back to John, who now commends him and then exhorts him to continue helping these brothers “in a manner worthy of God,” i.e., as God would want him to treat them.

Matthew 25:35-40
“35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’”

These itinerate teachers are in service

These itinerate missionary teachers, according to 3John 7a, are serving, “for the sake of the Name.” What does that mean exactly? Philippians 2:9-11, “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father,”

3John 7a
“for the sake of the Name.”

Colossians 3:17
“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

1John 3:23
“This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.”

1John 5:13
“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

These traveling teachers are proclaiming the message of Christ, “the Name which is above every name,” and they are depending upon God’s people to help provide for them (3John 7b).

3John 7b
“…they received “no help from the Gentiles [unbelievers].”

John encourages Gaius (and the Church) to continue showing hospitality to these men (3John 8).

3John 8
“so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.”

Showing hospitality to God’s servants is just as important as
denying hospitality to those who aren’t serving God,
as we studied last week,
(cf. 2John 7. 10-11).

2John 7
“7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.”

2John 10-11
“10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; 11 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.”

We are to do good to all people, but we must discriminate to whom we show Christian hospitality, for it is the Holy God of Creation we serve. John is not talking about those with whom we have minor disagreements, but with those who teach falsely about the divinity and the humanity of Christ. With such deceivers we are not to associate; and we are not to welcome them into our homes, for in so doing we actually help the cause of the enemies of God.

3John 9-10
“9 I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. 10 For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church.”

It would seem that Diotrephes is
slandering John and the other Apostles.

John had evidently written an earlier letter to the church about showing hospitality to these men who boldly taught the truth of God and trusted in God to provide for their needs through His people.

It would seem, this man Diotrephes (a leader in the church) who “loves to be first,” had kept the letter from being read, for he rejects John’s authority and is bad mouthing John and the other Apostles (3John 9) “Diotrephes, who loves to be first… does not accept what we say
[Lit us, meaning, the Apostles].

Diotrephes is acting just the opposite of Gaius, whom John has commended for his Christian hospitality to traveling teachers and for living out his faith according to the truth; whereas, Diotrephes has withheld John’s teaching from the church because it goes against Diotrephes’ own bad behavior and teaching.

Diotrephes did not display Christian hospitality to those who were bringing the truth; but instead, he was promoting only himself and his own authority, while slandering John and putting out of the church anyone who was helping these itinerant teachers of the truth.

Diotrephes will have to answer to John for his godless leadership, teaching, and behavior; but he will also, more importantly, have to answer to God.

3John 11
“11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.”

John exhorts Gaius to keep doing what is right
(1John 3:7, 10) God’s children please God;
unsaved people serve the Devil.

John exhorts Gaius (and the rest of the believers) to continue doing what is right and not to imitate Diotrephes, who is doing what is evil and whose actions prove that he is not a Christian, for Christians cling to that which is right (Romans 12:9).

Romans 12:9
“Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.”

1John 3:7
“7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous;”

1John 3:10
“10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”

God’s children will seek to do what pleases God; unsaved people are under the control and influence of Satan, so they do what pleases their flesh, for their heat is evil.

Jesus, speaking to the religious scribes and Pharisees,

John 8:44
“44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

1Peter 1:14-16
“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

1Peter 2:11-17
“11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. 12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. 13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14 or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. 15 For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16 Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. 17 Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.”

The world we live in is rapidly throwing off behavioral and belief restraints and putting away what it calls old fashioned, out-of-date, archaic traditional values, especially those morals or values that are rooted in the Word of God. Why is that?

1Corinthians 1:18
“The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

1Corinthians 2:14
“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

God’s people will desire to please God above all.

Christians are new creations in Christ, indwelled by God’s Spirit: purchased, purposed, and eternally protected by Almighty God, that we might, each one of us, seek to honor, and serve Him with our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Jesus Christ is our example, and we must expose and turn away from all that offends God; no matter how politically correct, culturally acceptable, and lawfully protected SIN may become, we are to honor and obey God! We must fortify our hearts and minds, in order to live in accordance to the authority of God’s Word. God is the ultimate judge, not the Pope, not the Supreme Court, not the President, and therefore God’s people will live to please God above all other authorities.

3John 12
“12 Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.”

John has exhorted Gaius not to imitate Diotrephes
who is doing what is evil

Just as John has exhorted Gaius not to imitate Diotrephes who is doing what is evil; John now encourages Gaius to imitate a man named Demetrius, who is well spoken of among the believers and commended by John and the rest of the Apostles.

Concerning Gaius and Demetrius, we know nothing apart from what is written here, but it is clear that both of these men are known for their devotion to God, God’s Word, and God’s people.

It is very possible that Demetrius is the one delivering John’s letter to Gaius, so that Gaius can read it to the church for their instruction, encouragement and exhortation. Perhaps the combined presence and strength of Gaius and Demetrius is necessary to rebuke the teaching and self-imposed authority of Diotrephes (who it would seem, is a strong and perhaps intimidating personality).

3John 13-14
“13 I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink; 14 but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face.”

John closes this letter

John closes this letter with similar language to that of 2John 12, that he has more to say, and will do so in person [face to face].

John desires to confront Diotrephes face to face; while at the same time commending both Gaius and Demetrius for their obedience to the truth of God, their love for the brethren, and their examples of Christian hospitality.

1Peter 4:7-9
“The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint.”

 
And all God’s people said, Amen!
 
Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><

Bible Text: 2John | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: 1John 2John 3John |

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01-24-2021
“Christian Hospitality – Part One”
2 John
 

2John was written about the same time as 1&3John, sometime between A.D. 90-95, while John was serving the church in Ephesus; sometime before his arrest and excommunication to the island of Patmos.

John was elderly at this writing, but he writes as one with spiritual authority, expecting his listeners to accept and apply his instruction.

Read 2John 1-6
“1 The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not only I, but also all who know the truth, 2 because of the truth which remains in us and will be with us forever: 3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. 4 I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received a commandment to do from the Father. 5 Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. 6 And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you are to walk in it.”
John is writing to a Christian woman and her children, someone he was no doubt, close to; most likely she was well known in the church. John is commending this woman for doing that which pleases God, while living as an example of Christ in this world.

John knows this woman desires to obey and serve the Lord, and so he makes it clear, that what he is instructing her (and all who receive his letter), is not a new command, but is wrapped up in the most fundamental truth of love and obedience

(John 14:15
“15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

John 14:21
“21 The one who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him.””

It would appear that John has a special love and respect for this woman, and he reminds her that our love for God, is synonymous with our obedience to live out the fundamentals of our faith: the what, why, where, when, and how we live, should display our obedience to God’s Word and our love toward others.

John is reminding this saintly woman (and all his readers), that those who belong to God should live out the same attitude exemplified by Christ (Philippians 2:6-8).

Philippians 2:6-8
“6 who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.”

Read 2John 7-11
“7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. 9 Anyone who goes too far and does not remain in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who remains in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; 11 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.”

John describes these deceivers as, “those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh,” they are moved by the spirit of the antichrist and they seek to destroy the work of God, especially in the lives of those who belong to Christ.

Christians must be on guard against false teachers and false doctrine, for they are many and very deceptive, just as Paul warns us.

2Corinthians 11:13-15
“13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.”

Galatians 1:8-9
“8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, even now I say again: if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!”

Galatians 1:11-12
“11 For I would have you know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel which was preached by me is not of human invention. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”

And one of the clearest exhortations in the New Testament, concerning the Gospel of Jesus Christ is found in 1Corinthians 15:1-8.

1Corinthians 15:1-8
“Now I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand, 2 by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
3 For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.”

The Biblical record proclaims that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man; any teaching to the contrary is heresy, and anyone who teaches such heresy is not to be shown Christian hospitality.

Please turn to Romans 1:1-4
“Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, [called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son, who was born of a [descendant of David according to the flesh, 4 who was declared the Son of God with power according to the [Spirit of holiness [by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,” [cf. Romans 10:9-10].

Romans 10:9-10
“9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

God expects us to be hospitable to those who are truly in need (if we can), as we are to care for the poor, the hungry, the downtrodden, and for the widows and orphans who are without immediate family support.

Christians are to show hospitality to those in need, if at all possible, for that is what Christ would do (Matthew 25:31-40).

Matthew 25:31-40
“31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You as a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it for Me.’”

1John 2:4-6
“4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever follows His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says that he remains in Him ought, himself also, walk just as He walked.”

Colossians 3:23-24,
“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”

Yes, we are to do good, to treat others the way we want to be treated ourselves, but we must discriminate to whom we show Christian hospitality, for it is God we are serving. John warns us not to show hospitality to false teachers.

John is not talking about those with whom we have minor disagreements, but with those who teach falsely about the combined divinity and humanity of Christ [Incarnation]. We are not to associate with such deceivers, and we are not to welcome them into our homes, for in so doing so, we do evil (see 3John 11).

3John 11
“11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does what is good is of God; the one who does what is evil has not seen God.”

There are two main religious cults who promote false doctrine in our area (the Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witnesses); they send out their disciples to knock on our doors, with the desire to not only gain entrance into your home, but into your heart/mind with their deceptive and godless teachings.

When they come to your door, and you tell them, you are a Christian, they may same something like: “We are students of the Bible, just like you.” “We believe in Jesus, just like you.” But is that the truth? No!

Mormon doctrine Teaches that Jesus is a spirit child of Elohim, and is also a brother to Satan; but, through obedience and devotion Jesus obtained Godhood. They teach that there are many God’s, all of whom were once mortals like us, until they attained Godhood, through the teachings of Mormonism.

Jehovah’s Witness doctrine teaches that Jesus is not God, nor is He the Creator; but that He is none other than Michael the archangel, the very first creation of God.

So is John saying that you shouldn’t show hospitality to false teachers? Yes, I believe that is exactly what he is saying; but, and please understand, if you are equipped to authoritatively reprove these deceivers in reference to what God’s Word says in the areas where their cult has lied to them, and they will listen to you… go for it!

2Timothy 2:15,
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”

If you aren’t equipped to handle the Word of God accurately, or if those who are deceived won’t listen (but only promote their own false teachings), you must turn them away. You are not to show them hospitality.

Read 2John 12-13
“12 Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made complete. 13 The children of your chosen sister greet you.”
John’s desire is to speak “face to face” [up close and in person], to this woman and those who are part of the fellowship to which she belongs.

John writes a greeting to this woman from her sister, her nieces and nephews, who all appear to be believers. Perhaps John is experiencing Christian hospitality with them, as he writes this letter to her.

There were in John’s day, just as there are today, many false teachers who roam about, for the purpose of planting doubt, propagating falsehoods and deceptive doctrines in the minds and hearts of susceptible people, attempting to lead them away from the One True God.

2Timothy 3:12-13,
“12 Indeed, all who want to live in a godly way in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 But evil people and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

We must always submit to sound biblical doctrine, exposing any teaching about Christ that does not acknowledge and confess that He is God: the Creator, Sustainer, Lord, Savior, and Judge over All.

Jesus is God in the flesh, He conquered sin, death and judgment forever, so that all who repent of sin, believing in and following Him, receive eternal life.

Our hospitality to others must be Holy, i.e., it must conform to that which pleases God; and so, we are not to help, in anyway, those who promote false teachings about the divinity and humanity of Christ.

As believers and followers of Jesus Christ, we above all people on the earth should be hospitable to each other, and those who need to be shown hospitality.

1Peter 4:7-9,
“7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. 8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint.”

Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><

Bible Text: 1John 5:6-21 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: 1John 2John 3John |

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01-17-2021
“God’s People are Overcomers”
1John 5:6-21
Through Christ, God encourages, equips and exhorts us to devote ourselves to knowing, applying, and proclaiming God’s Word through every aspect of our lives, giving evidence that we are in Christ.

Read 1John 5:6-8
“6 This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.”

We overcome sin, death, and judgement in Christ, no wonder God gives clear testimony that Jesus is indeed both Lord and Savior. John says Jesus Christ has come by water and by blood; in fact, that there are three who testify (the Spirit and the water and the blood), and they are all in agreement:
At Jesus’ baptism both the Father and the Spirit testify (Matthew 3:16-17).

Matthew 3:16-17
“16 After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and settling on Him, 17 and behold, a voice from the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.””

At Jesus’ death (Matthew 27:50-51, 54).

Matthew 27:50-51
“50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and gave up His spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.”

Matthew 27:54
“54 Now as for the centurion and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the other things that were happening, they became extremely frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!””

Romans 1:1-3
“Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son… …who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Hebrews 9:11-12
“11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things having come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made by hands, that is, not of this creation; 12 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all time, having obtained eternal redemption.”

Hebrews 9:22
“22 And almost all things are cleansed with blood, according to the Law, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

Hebrews 9:27-28
“27 And just as it is destined for people to die once, and after this comes judgment, 28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”

Hebrews 10:4-18
“4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says,
“You have not desired sacrifice and offering, But You have prepared a body for Me;
6 You have not taken pleasure in whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come (It is written of Me in the scroll of the book) To do Your will, O God.’”
8 After saying above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Law), 9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second. 10 By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.
11 Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; 12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time onward until His enemies are made a footstool for His feet. 14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,
16 “This is the covenant which I will make with them After those days, declares the Lord: I will put My laws upon their hearts, And write them on their mind,”
He then says,
17 “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will no longer remember.”
18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, an offering for sin is no longer required.”

[Jeremiah 31:33]
‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, and on their mind I will write them,’ He then says, ‘And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’ Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”
God has clearly given testimony, as to the deity of His Son. He has done this through the writings of the prophets, through His birth, through His baptism, through His death, and through His resurrection.
In the OT, the law required that there be two or three witnesses in order to establish truth about any particular matter:

Deuteronomy 17:6
“On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.”

Deuteronomy 19:15
“A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.”

This principle of 2-3 witnesses is also clearly established in the NT:

Matthew 18:15-16
“15 “Now if your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that on the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be confirmed.”

John 8:17-18
“Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true. I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.”

1Timothy 5:19
“Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses.”

Read 1John 5:9
“9 If we receive the testimony of people, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son.”

If we accept the testimony of 2-3 men (in agreement); how much more then ought we to believe God’s testimony about His Son, written in His Word, confirmed by His Spirit, and written upon the heart of each and every true believer who then lives as a testimony to God’s plan, purpose and provision of eternal life through Christ.

Read 1John 5:10
“10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.”

When anyone genuinely believes God’s testimony about Jesus Christ, God confirms in that person’s heart that he/she has been saved, for God’s Spirit takes up eternal residence in our heart (cf. Romans 10:9-10; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13).

Romans 10:9-10
“9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Galatians 4:6
“6 Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba! Father!””

Ephesians 1:13
“13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise,”

God’s Spirit confirms that this testimony about the birth, baptism, death, and resurrection of God’s Son, sovereignly declares His divinity!

Those who do not believe that Jesus was God in the flesh, are calling God a liar and rejecting His Son, and to reject the deity of Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior, is to bring eternal judgment upon oneself (cf. John 8:24; John 16:8-9).

John 8:24
“24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.””

John 16:8-9
“8 And He, when He comes, will convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment: 9 regarding sin, because they do not believe in Me;”

John 10:24-30
“24 The Jews then surrounded Him and began saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep. 27 My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.””

Read 1John 5:11-13
“11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

Everyone who has genuinely repented of their sins, and trusted in Jesus Christ to save them, will have the sovereign testimony of God in their heart that they indeed belong to Him, for they have received eternal life.

God wants you to be secure in your knowledge that you belong to Him. If you have any doubt as to whether or not you have received forgiveness and eternal life, please, ask God right now to forgive your sins, and settle this issue once and for all, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Read 1John 5:14-15
“14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.”

As God’s children, we have the right and the privilege to enter the throne room of God in prayer, at any time.

See Hebrews 4:14-16
“14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let’s hold firmly to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need.”

But, we must ask according to God’s will.

John 14:13-14
“Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”

God’s people have God’s Word and God’s Spirit, and we can know God’s will; and so, as we come to God in prayer, we ask in accordance with God’s will.

Matthew 6:9-10
“9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.”

Romans 12:2
“2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Read 1John 5:16-17
“16 If anyone sees his brother or sister committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will, for him, give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death; I am not saying that he should ask about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.”

It would seem that there is sin which can lead to a believer’s death. Sometimes Christians become so insensitive to sin that they do not repent; but instead, they may continue in sin and become unwilling to repent, this could bring about God’s judgment, leading to physical death, so as to remove the rebellious believer from being such a bad witness for God (see Acts 5:1-11; 1Corinthians 11:27-32).

Acts 5:1-11
“But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and kept back some of the proceeds for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.” 5 And as he heard these words, Ananias collapsed and died; and great fear came over all who heard about it. 6 The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.
7 Now an interval of about three hours elapsed, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for this price?” And she said, “Yes, for that price.” 9 Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.” 10 And immediately she collapsed at his feet and died; and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard about these things.”

1Corinthians 11:27-32
“27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy way, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 But a person must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For the one who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not properly recognize the body. 30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number are asleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”

God may very well bring to an early end, the life of one of His children who continues in sin, unwilling to repent of it.

Read 1John 5:18-20
“18 We know that no one who has been born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.”
Humility and obedience are to be practiced by God’s children, for we have been given God’s Spirit and God’s Word. As you serve and obey God on earth, the devil can’t touch you; Satan is powerful, but he is still God’s devil and he can do only that which God allows him.
We have nothing to fear from the devil, as we studied last week, we have overcome the world, the devil, and the curse of sin, through Christ. As you submit to God’s will in your life, you have nothing to fear; but when you turn your back on God, living as an unbeliever, you set yourself against God, and He will discipline you because He cares for you; He may also, if you do not repent, bring your life to a premature end.
We belong to God and therefore our life must be consistent with that which pleases God. We are not to live as those who reject God’s Son, for they serve the devil who is the god of this present world system; Christians, however, belong to and serve the God of the universe, the Creator and Judge over All.
If we genuinely belong to God through Christ, we know the truth that Jesus is the Son of God and that He has come in the flesh to provide forgiveness for our sins and eternal life; this should be reflected in and through our life by obedient service to God, as we express our love for one another.

Read 1John 5:21
“21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.”

In closing this letter, John commands us to stay away from idols. Idols are representative of any and all philosophies and practices, attitudes and behaviors, that do not please God. We, God’s people, are to imitate our Father in heaven, and as has been sovereignly demonstrated by God’s Son on earth.

Ephesians 5:1-2
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”

God and God alone is to be worshipped: God’s Word revealed is our divine and sovereign instruction; God’s Son is our example, being the fullness of God in human flesh; and God’s Spirit is our indwelling Helper, Counselor, Teacher.

And why has God lavished on us His great riches with all wisdom and power? So that we should live victoriously as overcomers in this world, with our confidence placed fully upon Jesus Christ; for it is He and He alone, who has overcome sin, death and judgment forever!

Therefore, let each of us who genuinely belong to God through Christ, commit to serve Him, through every aspect of our life, with full confidence that we might accomplish every good work that God has prepared for us to do, in Christ.

Ephesians 2:8-10
“8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

 
And all God’s people said?
Amen!
Pastor Mike
>’(((><
 

Bible Text: 1John 5:1-5 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: 1John 2John 3John |

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January 10, 2021
1John 5:1-5
God’s People are Overcomers…
1John 5:1-5
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves the child born of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and follow His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whoever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. 5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? ”

Read 1John 5:1-3a
“”Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves the child born of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and follow His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. ”

Being a Christian, born-again, a child of God, a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, are all synonymous with having repented of sin and trusted in God’s Son to eternally forgive and save you. If that describes you, you will desire to express God’s love toward your brothers and sisters in Christ.

God commands us to love other believers (cf. 1John 4:21); obeying God and loving those who belong to God is the same thing (John 13:35),

John 13:35
“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Because biblical love is not a feeling, you don’t have to necessarily like someone in order to love them. It can be hard enough, at times, to love someone you like, let alone those who offend you, or those who, for whatever reason, you just don’t like!

Thankfully, we are never commanded in God’s Word to “like” our neighbor, or our Christian brother or sister; but we are clearly commanded to love them.

God’s love is supernatural, it is not dependent upon our emotions, i.e., we don’t have to “feel” like loving someone, but we are to love them regardless, for love is a willful, intentional act of obedience.

As we submit to the authority of God’s Word and the control of God’s Spirit, we will be able to obey God’s commands; we will love one another, and we may even find out that we actually like one another, imagine that.

Read 1John 5:3b-5
“3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whoever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. 5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? “”

True believers are fully equipped and quite capable of loving other Christians; for you see, God never commands us to do something that we are not able to accomplish.

The Greek verb here in 1John 5:4-5, translated overcomes, is nikao, and it means to conquer, to win, to defeat, to be victorious, to overcome. The noun form of this word is spelled nikē but it is pronounced nee-kay. The Greeks had a goddess Nikē; she was the goddess of victory, conquest, success.

God never commands us to do something that we are not equipped to do.

Through Christ, we are able to have victory over, to conquer, the corruption of sin, the cravings of the flesh, and the deception of the devil. This is possible because Christ conquered sin, death, and judgment forever, and those who belong to Him, those who are in Christ, have also overcome these things.

Romans 8:37-39
“But in all these things (verse 35, tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword) we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Jesus said,

(John 16:33)
“These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

2Peter 1:2-4
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”
God equips and exhorts us to love our neighbor, to love one another, even to love our enemies, for in doing so, we express our obedience to, and our love for, God.

Christians are born of God.

Every person who has confessed Christ as Lord, believing in Him for salvation, is born of God (cf. John 1:12-13), to all who received Jesus Christ, “even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” [born from above, born of God’s Spirit], i.e., every true believer and follower of Christ, is able to overcome the self-centered human preoccupation with the flesh, because we have the Holy Spirit living is us.

John 1:12-13
“12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.”

In Matthew 1:20
an angel came to Joseph and told him, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.”

And in Luke 1:31
the angel came to Mary and told her, “you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.”

Mary responded to the angel,

(Luke 34-35)
“How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”

Jesus was born not of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God [born from above, born of God’s Spirit], isn’t that awesome!

God’s people (those born-again, born from above), are to devote themselves to knowing, applying, and proclaiming God’s Word through every aspect of their lives, just as Jesus did!

God’s people are to devote themselves to God.

Colossians 3:17
“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

According to 1John 2:15-17, unbelievers, during the 1st century A.D. (like those of the 21st century A.D.), devoted themselves to serving the flesh and the godless world. John describes the love of the world as “the lust of the flesh” and “the lust of the eyes,” and “the boastful pride of life.”

1John 2:15-17
“15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God continues to live forever.”

How we respond to what we see, hear, touch, and taste, will either reflect the control by,

God’s Spirit in our life or the control of the flesh.

1Corinthians 6:19-20
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

We aren’t to live like unbelievers, we are overcomers; unbelievers are losers, in fact, every person on this planet is born a loser, an enemy of God, dead in their sins, until they come to trust Jesus Christ to forgive them.

Ephesians 2:1-3
“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”

What do the following verses have in common?

Joel 2:32
“And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord Will be delivered.”

Acts 2:21
“And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Romans 10:13
for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Unbelievers are enslaved in a world system that is dominated by Satan, and the spirit of the antichrist; they are unable to overcome the lusts and cravings of this godless world because,

(2Corinthians 4:4)
“the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

Christians overcome the world system.

Christians are able to overcome the flesh and the devil, and the world system that promotes them both. How is this possible? There is only one way.

John 14:6
Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

As we believe, trust, obey, and serve Jesus Christ, the Son of God, we give evidence to the fact that we are overcomers.

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

We overcome eternal death in Christ, Who died, was buried, then came out of the tomb alive on the third day. Before His arrest and subsequent crucifixion

(John 11:25-26)
Jesus told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.”

Moments later Jesus went to the tomb where Lazarus had laid dead for four days.

John 11:43-44
“[Jesus] cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ Out came [Lazarus] who had died, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to [those who were there], ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’”

John 3:18
“He who believes in [God’s Son] is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Through Jesus Christ the Lord we have overcome judgment.

John 3:36
“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

We overcome God’s wrath by believing in and obeying the Son of God.

John 5:39-40
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.”

We are overcomers because we are in Christ.

John 6:28-29
“‘What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?’ [I.E., What does God require, that we might be made acceptable to Him who is Holy? How can we justified, i.e., how can we be without sin]. Jesus said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.’”

Believe what about Him?

John 8:23-24
“[Jesus said] to them, ‘You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He [God’s Son, the Messiah], you will die in your sins.’

John 8:25-28
“They were saying to Him, ‘Who are You?’ Jesus said to them, ‘What have I been saying to you from the beginning? I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.’ They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said, ‘When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.’”

John 8:38
“I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”

John 8:44-47
“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”

John 10:24-26
“The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, ‘How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered them, ‘I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.

John 10: 27-33
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.’ The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus [said to] them, ‘I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?’ The Jews answered Him, ‘For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.’”

Wow! To believe in Jesus, God’s Son, is to believe that He is God in the flesh, Immanuel [God with us].

Saving faith is not based upon something you do, or acquire, or something you intellectually agree with, i.e., salvation doesn’t occur in your head, but in your heart [your soul]; and therefore, genuine salvation is expressed in your life after you confess your sins and trust in Christ alone to save you.

Romans 10:12-15
“For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for ‘Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without [someone telling them]? How will they [go to the them] unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”

Romans 10:17
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

Overcomers proclaim the message of Christ, so that others might be saved.

1John 5:5
“Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God!”

Saving faith is expressed in and through your life, as you love others on God’s behalf, and by this, you testify that you genuinely believe and have been saved through Jesus Christ: crucified, resurrected, and coming again. You have overcome the world, the devil, and his opposition to God, God’s Word, and God’s Son; in Christ; you have overcome sin, death, and judgement!

God’s people are overcomers, and we are to live out and proclaim the message of Christ, so that others might be saved out of this corrupt generation.

Romans 10:9-11
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. For the Scripture

(cf. Isaiah 28:16) says,
‘Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed’”

1John 5:11-13
“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

Do you know for sure that you have received forgiveness for sin and eternal life? If you are not sure, settle it right now; I beg you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

 
Pastor Mike
°°° >’(((><

Bible Text: 1John 4:7-21 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: 1John 2John 3John |

Links from Our Website:
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01-03-2021
“God Loves Us -We Love Others”
1John 4:7-21
 

Genesis 1:26,
God said, “Let Us make [carve out, shape, form] man in Our image, according to Our likeness,” i.e., let Us replicate Ourselves in man.

Humankind was created to be like God, to exhibit His likeness; this is not talking about our physical attributes, but those having to do with our nature, and especially in reference to relationships.

John 1:1-2
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”

Notice here, the “Word” was in the beginning, the Greek [Logos] means, the source, origin, embodiment of all divine authority, power and wisdom.

Not only was the Word [masculine] in the beginning, the Word was God, and yet was with God [the Greek phrase translated, “was with God,” literally means “was face to face with God,” i.e., the Word [Christ, God the Son] was in an intimate, up close and personal relationship with God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit, long before anything was created.

The Word, being there in the beginning, means He is God, because only God is
preexistent and eternal, everything else is created,

(John 1:3-4)
“All things came into being through Him [the Word], and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life [biological and spiritual], and the life was the Light of men [i.e., God’s revelation of Himself was presented to us in Jesus].

John 1:14
“And the Word became flesh, and [lived] among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten [unique, one of a kind Son] from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:18
“No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

Jesus is Immanuel [God in the flesh], God’s revelation of Himself to the world. No wonder Jesus said,

(John 14:6-7)
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit existed before anything was created. Think about that (but don’t dwell on it too long, as you will not be able to make logical sense out of it); the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were in constant relationship and intimate fellowship, before anything existed. This is not something our mind can grasp, but God’s Word helps to explain (Deuteronomy29:29).

Deuteronomy 29:29
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law,” i.e., in order to trust God, we don’t have to fully understand how God has always existed, and everything else has been created, but we know He is Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Eternal and Loving.

Today, let’s center in on God’s Love, and how He expresses that love in and through the relationship He has with those who are made in His image, those who demonstrate God’s love in their relationships.

The human soul desires love more than anything else in the world. No wonder the prominent theme or subject of most books, poems, songs, and movies, is love. We, as God’s children, are made for relationships, and love is the purpose and priority of those relationships.

Let’s turn our attention now to 1John 4:7-21.

1John 4:7-21
“7 Beloved, let’s love one another; for love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 By this the love of God was revealed in us, that God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we remain in Him and He in us, because He has given to us of His Spirit. 14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God. 16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. 17 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, we also are in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19 We love, because He first loved us. 20 If someone says, “I love God,” and yet he hates his brother or sister, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.”

Read 1John 4:7-8
“7 Beloved, let’s love one another; for love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

To obey God is to love God: Love and obedience are synonymous, they are to be exemplified through the patterns and the priorities of a Christian’s life. Belonging to God, i.e., being born-again, born from above, born of the Spirit, born of God, will be reflected in the love expressed by those who are saved, those who have been spiritually and eternally born into God’s family.

John 1:12-13
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.”

[not biological, ancestral, willful, or legal]

John 3:5-8
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”

God shows His love for us by placing His Spirit in us, and so, we are to express His love toward, and share His love with, others (cf. Matthew 22:36-40).

Matthew 22:36-40
“36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.””

To say you love God but are unwilling to love others is a contradiction, a dichotomy, because God is Love. If you are born of God, you have His love in you and you will love others; if you don’t love others, it is evident that you are either not saved, or you are disobedient.

Read 1John 4:9-10
“9 By this the love of God was revealed in us, that God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins, so that we might live for Him. This is God’s greatest expression of love and His greatest gift to mankind; everyone who trusts in Him receives eternal life, and has come into an intimate relationship with God for all of eternity.

Read 1John 4:11-12
“11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us.”

We do not deserve God’s merciful expression of love, sending His own Son to die for our sins, that is why it is called GRACE! But, if you have genuinely been saved through Christ, you will seek to obediently serve God, offering up your own life as a living sacrifice to God, being transformed day by day, knowing and doing His will, by HIs grace, for His glory.

Romans 12:1-2
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Jesus allowed Himself to be put to death, then raised Himself from the grave by His own authority.

John 10:17-18
“For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

After Christ completed all He had come to do, He went back into heaven to be at the right hand of the Father, to rejoin Him in intimate fellowship; and therefore, because of what Christ accomplished, those who believe in and follow Him also have fellowship with the Father, and the Holy Spirit.

John 14:16-20
“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you.”

John 14:23
“I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. After a little while, the world no longer is going to see Me, but you are going to see Me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I in you.”

1John 1:1-3
“What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.”

As Christians we are God’s children and we will therefore demonstrate His love while we are here on this earth, so that others might come to be saved.

Read 1John 4:13-18
“13 By this we know that we remain in Him and He in us, because He has given to us of His Spirit. 14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God. 16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. 17 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, we also are in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”

God confirms in your heart that you belong to Him; He gives you the Holy Spirit at the moment of genuine salvation.

Romans 10:9-10
“if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Romans 10:13
’Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

Romans 8:1
“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

John 5:24
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

Ephesians 1:13
“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.”

1Corinthians 12:13-14
“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.”

As Christians, we have full confidence that we have been eternally forgiven and we sovereignly belong to God, therefore we have no fear of condemnation, judgment, or punishment.

Read 1John 4:19-21
“19 We love, because He first loved us. 20 If someone says, “I love God,” and yet he hates his brother or sister, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.”

We are able to love because God first loved us. If you have received God’s love, you will love others in His name. Jesus is not only our Savior, He is our example of what real love is and how we are to express that love in our relationships.

1John 3:16-18
“We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”

Godly love is not just a feeling, it is an intentional, selfless, unconditional sacrifice. When a Christian brother or sister is in need, we are to reach out and help them as God has provided for us to do so. You cannot love God apart from loving God’s children (your brothers and sisters in Christ).

1John 4:7-8
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

1John 4:20-21
“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.”

We all fall short when it comes to sharing God’s love with those around us; and so, as we prepare to take the Lord’s Supper, let each of us sincerely ask God to reveal in our heart where we have failed to express our love for God, our love for God’s Word, and our love for God’s people; and then let us each, in the quietness of our own heart, admit our sin, thanking God for His forgiveness, and asking God to strengthen us, so that we might live in such a way that others may see our good works, and glorify our Father who is in heaven.

 
Pastor Mike
>’(((><

Bible Text: Isaiah 43:18-19 | Pastor: Pastor Mike Hale |  The printable Bible Study Notes are located at the
bottom of this web-page (click “Notes” link to download)
(this Bible Study is not recorded)
 
12-31-2020 Thursday (New Years Eve) (7pm)
“Looking Back at 2020 ~ Looking Forward to 2021”
 

Greetings,
 
I do hope you can join us on New Year’s Eve, at 7pm, on Zoom,
for some share and prayer time: looking back at 2020 and forward to 2021.
 
Use this Link to Join us on Zoom:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6482229307?pwd=ZmVxamRUMGhSTG85UmoxSjczdEordz09

Wear your party hat, party dress, party shirt, etc., and join us at 7pm.
 
pastor mike
 

Isaiah 43:18-19
“18 “Do not call to mind the former things, Or consider things of the past. 19 Behold, I am going to do something new, Now it will spring up; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.”

Ezekiel 11:19-20
“19 And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20 so that they may walk in My statutes, and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God.”

God wants us to learn from the past, but He doesn’t want us to dwell on it; He has given us everything we need to know Him, trust Him, and do what pleases Him today, tomorrow, and forever.

2Peter 1:3-4
“3 for His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 Through these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world on account of lust.”

Colossians 3:16-17
“16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

Colossians 3:23-24
“23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people, 24 knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”

As you think back to 2020, what event, struggle or blessing (to you or a family member) was pivotal in your relationship with the Lord:

Was there anything that happened this year that caused you to seek God?

Did God use others to help you this past year, during some tough times?

Did God use you to help others?

Was there anything that happened to you, to someone in your family, or to someone you know, that caused you to seek God’s help and/or to trust Him more?

Proverbs 3:5-6
“5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.  6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”

Philippians 4:6-7
“6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:12-13
“12 I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

What does God want?

1Timothy 2:3-4
“3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

1John 2:4-6
“4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever follows His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says that he remains in Him ought, himself also, walk just as He walked.”

1John 1:5-7
“5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Ephesians 2:10
“10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

As a Christian, the greatest thing you can do is to share God’s plan, purpose and provision of Jesus Christ, showing God’s light in this darkening world where unbelievers remain prisoners of darkness and only Jesus Christ can set them free.

2Corinthians 4:4-6
“4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants on account of Jesus. 6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

2Corinthians 5:17-21
“17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Ephesians 5:1-2
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”

1John 2:4-6
“4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever follows His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says that he remains in Him ought, himself also, walk just as He walked.”

Matthew 5:14-16
“14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Hebrews 10:24-26
“24 and let’s consider how to encourage one another in love and good deeds, 25 not abandoning our own meeting together, as is the habit of some people, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.  26 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,”

As we enter 2021, let us continue to encourage one another to know and to obey God’s Word, while at the same time showing God’s love to others.
Pastor Mike
>’(((><

Bible Text: Matthew 2:1-27 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale |  

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12-27-2020
“Different Responses to the Birth of God’s Son”
Last week we studied in Matthew 1; Luke 2, how God had announced the coming of His Son (through Angels) to Joseph and Mary, and to the shepherds who were in the fields around Bethlehem.
Even so, the majority of people in and around Bethlehem, some 2,000 years ago, missed the advent of God’s Son; just like most of those who live in and around Waldport, missed the true meaning of Christmas this year: the advent of God’s Son Jesus, God’s Salvation; Immanuel, God with us.
Read Matthew 2:1-12…
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For from you will come forth a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” 9 After hearing the king, they went on their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on ahead of them until it came to a stop over the place where the Child was to be found. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And after they came into the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary; and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And after being warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.”

Herod was in a panic over the birth of this Child (King of the Jews), who was being sought by some prominent men [Magi] from the east. Herod called together all of the chief priests and scribes asking them where the Child was to be born. The religious leaders quoted Micah 5:2, telling Herod the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, and He would become the Ruler over Israel.
Herod sent the Magi to search out and find this Child, saying that he wanted to go and worship Him. When the Magi found Jesus, they worshipped Him, presenting to Him their treasures of gold. frankincense, and myrrh; but they did not report back to Herod, instead they returned to their home (most likely Persia) bypassing Jerusalem.
Read Matthew 2:13-16, 19-21…
“13 Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”  14 So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. 15 He stayed there until the death of Herod; this happened so that what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”  16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent men and killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.”

Matthew 2:19-21
“19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, 20 “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.” 21 So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.”
Herod was jealous of the Christ Child, not only was he unwilling to honor God’s Son as King, but he sought to kill Him, so that there would be no competition for the title of “King of the Jews,” which he applied to himself.
The world is full of self proclaimed kings who are unwilling to bow down to Jesus, not because they are ignorant of Him, but because they reject His sovereign authority as Lord and Savior of the world.
Even the religious leaders in this narrative knew what the Scriptures said concerning the birthplace of Christ; they would also have known that He was born to a virgin, as a sign of God’s power and purpose; yet, it would seem that they didn’t bother to go look for themselves, to see whether or not the prophecy had come true. Evidently, they were comfortable with their own religious rituals, rules, and traditions, and they had no need for a Savior.  The religious leaders were so full of pride, they didn’t have any room for Jesus; foolishly thinking they were acceptable to God just as they were.
Rabbis, during their daily prayer times, gave thanks to God for having not created them as a Gentile, a woman, or a slave. This is found in the Mishnah, the first part of the Talmud’s exegetical commentaries/teachings on the Torah (Pentateuch), that form the basis for Jewish Law.
In Luke 18:10-14,
Jesus told this parable to people who trusted in their own righteousness, and viewed others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Most the world’s people are unwilling to admit that they are sinners in need of the forgiveness that God alone provides, only through Jesus Christ.
Jesus said (Mark 2:17),
“It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus came to offer forgiveness and eternal life to those who would recognize and receive God’s salvation; the truth is, we are all sinners in need of the Savior.
Isn’t it amazing, Christ was born in Bethlehem, just 6 miles SW of Jerusalem where the Temple was located, and where most of Israel’s religious activity took place.
The birth of Jesus fulfilled many OT prophecies, and yet, it would appear that at His arrival He was given no more attention than any other baby born that night.
Most of people who were in or near Bethlehem missed the opportunity to witness the birth of Immanuel and to worship God’s Son. Perhaps they were busy with rituals and ceremonies; as religion allows people to feel spiritual even when they are not, and to to believe that they have spiritual life, even though they are spiritually dead!
Religious activity cannot produce God’s righteousness or provide God’s salvation, but it can promote a false sense of security spiritually. Religion that doesn’t include a personal relationship with God through Christ, leaves a person guilty of sin and unacceptable to the Holy and Righteous God of Creation.
Many people are religious, but only a small percentage of people are saved. (See Romans 3:10-12, 21-23; 5:8; 6:23; 10:9-10, 13; 8:1; 10:13.)
Romans 3:10-12
” 10 as it is written:  “There is no righteous person, not even one; 11 There is no one who understands, There is no one who seeks out God; 12 They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, There is not even one.””

Romans 3:21-23
“21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 but it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 5:8
“8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 6:23
“23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 10:9-10
“9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Romans 10:13
“13 for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.””

Romans 8:1
“Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 10:13
“13 for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.””

Why did most of the world’s people miss the advent of God’s Son? Ignorance! Indifference! Religious Activity!
Most of the people in the world miss the advent of Jesus because they are either ignorant of Him, indifferent toward Him, or they are very religious, trying to justify themselves before Him through rituals, ceremonies, and good deeds. Religion may very well damn more people to hell than anything else.
We have already considered how various people, in and around Bethlehem, responded to the news of Christ’s birth; but there are two important people we have not yet considered, and so, I’m going to focus on their story.
Please turn to Luke 2:25-26…
“25 And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.”
Simeon appears only here in the Scripture, and no where else. We know from the narrative that he is a righteous [right with God, acceptable to God, justified in the eyes of God] and devout [one who is reverent toward God, careful to obey and honor God in word, deed, and thought] man.
We are told that Simeon is looking [waiting] for the consolation of Israel [the consolation is not a thing, it is a Person: the Messiah, the Holy One who will bring God’s comfort and deliver them from their oppression].
Notice, it tells us that the Holy Spirit is upon Simeon, having revealed to him that he will not die until he has seen the Lord’s Christ, the Messiah, the Comforter.
Jeremiah 29:11-13,
“‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’ Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 31:31-33,
“‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,’ declares the Lord. ‘But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’”
Isaiah 61:1-2,
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.”
This is in reference to the Messiah (cf. Luke 4:14-30), Jesus quoted this while teaching in the synagogue in Nazareth, at the end of which He said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing,” i.e., I Am the Messiah, I am the Consolation of Israel!
Rabbis sometimes referred to the Messiah [Hebrew] as Menachem, meaning “Comforter” or “Consoler.”
See John 14:16, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another [allos, meaning another of the same kind] Helper [Parakletos, meaning one called alongside to help, comfort, counsel, exhort, encourage] that He may be with you forever.” 26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
Please turn back to Luke 2:27-35…
“27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, 28 then he took Him in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

29 “Now, Lord, You are letting Your bond-servant depart in peace,
According to Your word;
30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation,
31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all the peoples:
32 A light for revelation for the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”

33 And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and as a sign to be opposed— 35 and a sword will pierce your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.””

Simeon came into the Temple at the same time as Joseph and Mary are bringing Jesus to be dedicated; Simeon takes Jesus into his arms and thanks God, saying (Luke 2:29-32), “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, A Light of revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”
Mary and Joseph are amazed at what Simeon says about Jesus, and then Simeon says to Mary (Luke 2:34-35), “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
Mary’s agony will reach its peak when she watches her son suffer and die on the cross, and then be placed in a tomb; but He comes out alive on the third day and over the next 40 days He shows Himself to those who believe in Him, after which, He returns too the Father in heaven.
Jesus is the sovereign Lord, Savior, and Judge, and He will acquit or condemn every person who has ever lived on this earth (cf. John 3:18-21, 35-36).

John 3:18-21
“18 The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, so that his deeds will not be exposed. 21 But the one who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds will be revealed as having been performed in God.””

John 3:35-36
“35 The Father loves the Son and has entrusted all things to His hand. 36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.””
Please turn to Luke 2:36-38…
“36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage, 37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She did not leave the temple grounds, serving night and day with fasts and prayers. 38 And at that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak about Him to all those who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.”
Here we are told about Anna, a prophetess, a widow, who is eighty-four years old; she has been serving at the temple night and day since she became a widow.
So, on the heels of Simeon’s interaction with Joseph, Mary, and Jesus; while he is proclaiming praise to God for allowing him to see God’s Salvation [Jesus, the Messiah]; at that moment, Anna comes up to this little group of people (Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Simeon) and she begins giving thanks to God for God’s Son.
It would seem that Anna continued to proclaim, from inside the temple, the good news as it is foretold by God’s prophets, concerning the One who was to come, the Savior, the only source of hope, forgiveness, and eternal life, now being fulfilled in this Son who was given, this Child who was born to a virgin, in Bethlehem, in Judea, who was called Immanuel, which means, God with us: He is Christ the Lord!
The simplest yet the greatest truth of all, is this:
Jesus loves me this I know,
for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong
They are weak, but He is strong
Yes, Jesus loves me
Yes, Jesus loves me
Yes, Jesus loves me
The Bible tells me so
Jesus loves me, He who died
Heaven’s gate to open wide
He will wash away my sin
Let His little child come in
Yes, Jesus loves me
Yes, Jesus loves me
Yes, Jesus loves me
The Bible tells me so
God loves you so much that He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him receives eternal forgiveness and eternal life.
If you have never asked Jesus Christ to forgive you sins and save your soul, do it today, right here, right now. Only then will you understand the incomprehensible excitement and the overwhelming joy expressed by Simeon and Anna that day at the temple; by the Magi’s fervent and quiet worship when they found Jesus, Mary, and Joseph at the house; the exuberant declaration of the shepherds as they went  through the streets of Bethlehem telling everyone about the One who had been born: Christ the Lord; and then Joseph and Mary who considered all the angels had told them, and all the things that had happened.
Listen! Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. He lived among us, died for our sins, rose from the grave, just like He said that He would.
As you begin this new year, don’t forget how Joseph, Mary, the shepherds, the Magi, Simeon, and Anna, all pondered the wonders of God, praising Him for the Savior who has come: Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior.
1John 5:11-13
“”11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.  13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.””
Knowing God’s Son as Savior puts the “Merry” in Christmas and gives us Hope for the
New Year, and so, to all of you Believers and Followers of Jesus Christ the Lord, I say,
Merry Christmas and a Hopeful New Year!
Pastor Mike
>’(((><

Bible Text: Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:26-38, Luke 2:1-20 | Pastor: Pastor Mike Hale |

The printable program is located at the
bottom of this web-page (select “notes” to download)
The printable hymn lyrics are located at the
bottom of this web-page (select”bulletin” to download)

“Christmas Eve Candle Lighting Service”

December 24, 2020, 7 pm
Matthew 1:18-25
Luke 1:26-38
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about:
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin
named Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are
highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his
words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel
said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You
will be with Child and give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the
name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will
reign over the house of Jacob forever; His kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The
angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of
the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be
called the Son of God. “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be
to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
Mary was pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant
of David. Mary was with child although she and Joseph had not yet come
together intimately in order that she might be pregnant.
Because Joseph was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to
public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had
considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife,
because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give
birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will
save His people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what was recorded in Isaiah 7:14.
Isaiah 7:14
 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child
and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel” [God with us] When
Joseph woke up, he did what the angel had commanded him and took
Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth
to a Son, and he gave Him the name Jesus–which means, “God’s
salvation.”
Luke 2:1-12.
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census
should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that
took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) Everyone went to his
own town to register. Joseph went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee
to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the
house and line of David.
He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to marry him
and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the
Baby to be born, she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son, wrapped Him in
cloths placing Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the
inn.
There were shepherds out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their
flocks at night, when an angel of the Lord appeared to them, God’s glory
shining around them, they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do
not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy, that is for all the people;.
today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the
Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths
and lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:13-16.
“A great company of angels appeared, praising God and
saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom
His favor rests.’” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven,the
shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing
that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off
and found Mary and Joseph, and baby Jesus, who was lying in the manger.
 
Special Music (Anne):
“O Holy Night”
 
Luke 2:17-20.
After witnessing the Christ child, shepherds went out and
shared the good news of the Savior’s birth with everyone they met. They
spread the word concerning what had been told them about this Child, all
who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, worshiped quietly. “She treasured up all these
things and pondered them in her heart.” Imagine Mary, as she considered
all that Gabriel had announced concerning her special conception, and how
Joseph had responded to her pregnancy, and the very special names to be
given this Child: Jesus (God’s salvation) and Immanuel (God with us).
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things
they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. They
praised God for His indescribable Gift, Jesus, the Savior born in Bethlehem!
 
’Twas the Night Before Jesus Came…
‘Twas the night before Jesus came and all through the house,
Not a creature was praying, not the man or his spouse.
Their Bibles weren’t read, they had no concern,
That Jesus had said, He soon would return.
All the children were getting ready for bed,
Not one ever kneeling or bowing a head.
The wife in her rocker with a cat in her lap,
Was watching the Late Show while the man napped.
When out of the East there arose such a clatter,
The man sprang to his feet to see what was the matter.
Away to the window he flew like a flash
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash!
When what to his wondering eyes should appear,
But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.
With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray,
They knew in a moment this must be The Day!
The light of His face made them cover their heads,
It was Jesus returning just like He had said!
And though they possessed worldly wisdom and wealth,
They cried when they saw Him in spite of themselves.
In the Book of Life that He held in His hand,
Was written the name of every saved child, woman & man.
He spoke not a word as He searched for their names, then
He said, “they aren’t here,” and their heads hung in shame.
The People whose names had been written with love,
He gathered to take to His Father above.
All those who were ready rose up with no sound,
While everyone else was left there on the ground.
For this man and his wife it was too late,
They had waited too long and thus sealed their fate;
They stood and they cried, as everyone rose out of sight,
Oh, if only they had been ready tonight.
In the words of this poem the meaning is clear,
The coming of Jesus is drawing near;
There’s only one life and when comes the last call,
We’ll find that the Bible was true after all!
 
“Silent Night, Holy Night”
hymn #236 verses 1-3
(select to view the lyrics)
 

Let us, like those first shepherds,
worship Him and spread the word
to all who will listen,
the Savior has come.

Jesus Christ is the Light of the world.
Whoever believes in and follows [Him]
will never walk in darkness,
but will have the Light of Life (John 8:12).
John 8:12
Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying,
“I am the Light of the world;
the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness,
but will have the Light of life.”
Merry Christmas!
Pastor Mike Hale