Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Above is the link to YouTube.
(audio recording will be provided Sunday afternoon)

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March 24, 2024
“Jesus Enters Jerusalem to Offer Up Himself”
    

See John 12:1-2, 9-11…  This tells us time, place, and prevailing attitudes.

Read John 12:12-15…  It was on Sunday that Jesus rode into Jerusalem, after time spent in Bethany with Martha, Mary, Lazarus and the Twelve.

We are told that a crowd of those who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover, heard Jesus was approaching (from Bethany), they went out to meet Him.

Those of you who were with us in Sunday School this morning are aware that a crowd from Jerusalem had gone out to Bethany to see Jesus and Lazarus (who had been raised from the dead); that crowd was also following Jesus, and so these two large crowds of people looking with interest upon Jesus, enter the city.

John 12:13 describes the scene as Jesus enters from the SE side of the Mt. of Olives, a crowd of people are waving palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, even the King of Israel.”

This display on the part of the people was reserved for royalty, it came from the ancient practice of showing homage to a new king (cf 2Kings 9:12-13); and so, it seems that the people are recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, the King of the Jews.

“Hosanna!” is a contraction of the words “save” and “please,” so that the intent is adoration, praise, and pleading!  This is a Hebrew transliteration from Psalm 118:25-26, which says, “O LORD, do save, we beseech You; O LORD, we beseech You, do send prosperity! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD.”

Think about it, the name Jesus is Greek, in Hebrew it is Yeshua, they both mean, ”God’s salvation,” and so, the people are shouting, “God Please, Save Us!”

     Read again John 12:14-15…  Jesus finds a young donkey (a colt), gets on it, and rides it into town, this is the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Read Matthew 21:1-7…  Notice that Jesus sent two of His disciples into Bethphage to find a donkey tied up, along with her young colt, the disciples were to bring them to Jesus.  They did as Jesus said, they also laid their coats on both the mare and the colt (probably not sure which one He was going to ride, although the prophecy clearly said it would be the colt).

Read Matthew 21:8…  The people are excited, throwing their outer garments and fresh cut palm branches in front of Jesus, this is symbolic of the people’s expression of hope and desire for the Messiah-King to save and liberate them.

Read Matthew 21:9, “The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!’”

Read Matthew 21:10-11…  The OT foretells the birth, ministry, suffering, and death of God’s Son, the Messiah, through Whom forgiveness for sin would come.

Isaiah 7:14, says, “a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel,” with means God with us.

Zechariah 9:9 says He will enter Jerusalem on a colt.

Zechariah 11:12 says He will be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.

Psalm 22:16 says He will be pierced on the Cross.

Psalm 16:10 says He will rise from the dead.

Psalm 110:1 says He will ascend back into heaven.

Everything God said happened just like He said it would.  His Word is Sovereign Truth, declaring either Eternal Life or Eternal Judgment for all of humanity.

Read Matthew 21:12-13…  Jesus enters the Temple and begins to clear out all those who are desecrating the House of God.  The outer court had become a market place and stockyard; worshippers who came to offer sacrifices and pay their temple tax were forced to pay high exchange rates (Greek & Roman coins changed to Jewish currency); and high prices for sacrificial animals and birds (approved by the Priests, who were getting kickbacks from the vendors).

The Outer Court, where all this was taking place, was for the Gentiles; who were not allowed to enter any other part of the Temple, and so, this area was set apart for Gentile converts to Judaism to pray and worship.

It is here that these vendors of Temple goods, under the supervision of the Jewish religious leaders, had turned a place of prayer and worship into a robber’s den, where criminals were being protected by the Chief Priest and Pharisees, who should be arresting them and bringing them to judgement (Jeremiah 7:11), “‘Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,’ declares the Lord.”

These Religious leaders belonged to the Sanhedrin (the Supreme Court of Israel), presided over by the High-Priest, it met daily in the Temple to judge all matters of Jewish Law.

Jesus had offended the ruling body (Mark 11:18), “The chief priests and the teachers of the law… began looking for a way to kill Him, for they feared Him, because the whole crowd was amazed at His teaching,” (cf. Mark 1:22), Jesus taught as one with authority, unlike the scribes, who only taught what someone else had said, where as Jesus spoke the very words of God.

Read Matthew 21:14-16…  The blind and lame who came to the Temple to beg for money and seek healing, were despised by the religious leaders, who considered their ailments to be payment for either their own or their parent’s sins.

The religious leaders showed little, if any, mercy toward the poor and afflicted; where as Jesus healed all who came to Him; this infuriated the religious elite who (cf. Matthew 12:22-26) accused Him of casting out demons by the power of the devil, and perhaps healing the blind and lame by this same power.

Jesus condemns these self-righteous hypocrites and enemies of God (pp. Psalm 8:2), “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have prepared praise for Yourself,” in order to quiet your enemies.

God knew the Religious Leaders and most of the Jewish people would not accept Jesus as Messiah, for they wanted Him to come as a conquering warrior, defeating Rome and freeing Israel from Gentile rule; instead, He allowed Himself to be captured and crucified, and that did not fit with their plan for the Messiah.

     Read Matthew 21:17…  Jesus came to offer freedom from the penalty of sin, and eternal life in heaven with God; but they adamantly rejected His offer and despised Him, so “He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where He spent the night.”

John 1:11-13, “He [Jesus] came to His own [the Jews] , and those who were His own did not receive Him [just five days after being praised by the people, as He entered Jerusalem, the people cried out for Him to be crucified]. 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 from above, i.e., born-again].”

John 3:3, 6-7, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”

1Corinthians 15:50, “Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” 54-57, Only when the mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Jesus left the temple, at the end of a long day, leaving Jerusalem and those who rejected Him, he went to be with those who loved Him, those who believed in Him, like Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and many others, in Bethany.

The Nation of Israel didn’t receive Jesus as their Messiah because He came riding into town on the colt of a donkey (a beast of burden, a common animal used by common men).  Jesus didn’t come in on the back of a white stallion, like a conquering King, defeating His enemies with force; but as a servant, laying down His life for all who would believe in Him.

Mark 10:45, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many,” (John 1:11), “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.”

Israel didn’t understand that God’s Son was Lord and Savior, He came not to free them from Gentile rule, disease ,or mental illness, but from the penalty of sin.

In the future, all those who believe in God’s Son, will be taken up into heaven, followed by the rise of Anti-christ on earth, leading to 7 years of Tribulation; after which, Jesus Christ will return to the earth, as a conquering Warrior: KING of Kings and LORD of Lords, and everyone will see Him (cf. Revelation 19:11-16).

The truth is, no one remains neutral, after being exposed to God in the flesh, Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15-16), “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 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.” 19-20, “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness [of the God-head] to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

Everyone has a response to Jesus: many will believe in, love, and serve Him, like Mary, Martha, Lazarus, Peter, James, John, and Paul.

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

John 20:31, “these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”

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.”

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

The majority of people will remain indifferent, toward Jesus, like those in the crowds who witnessed His miracles but didn’t believe in Him.  Instead, they said in their hearts, “I don’t believe He is God’s Son,” “I don’t need Him for salvation,” “I’m good enough just as I am.”

Well, they are absolutely and eternally wrong (Romans 3:10-12), “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.”

The world needs Jesus, as Paul says (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.”

A person’s heart response to Jesus Christ will determine their eternal destiny (Acts 4:12), “for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved,” Romans 3:23 says everyone is a sinner, Romans 6:23 says the penalty for sin is death, but the free gift of God is forgiveness for our sins and eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

     No wonder Paul proclaims (2Corinthians 9:15), “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”  Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior, was crucified for your sins, buried, and then He rose from the grave on the third day to demonstrate that He alone is the resurrection and the life; he alone grants eternal life, and He alone freely grants forgiveness for sin to everyone who comes to Him for salvation.

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.”

Romans 10:13, for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD [for the forgiveness their sins] WILL BE SAVED.”

 
Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><

Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Above is the link to YouTube.
(audio recording will be provided Sunday afternoon)

Links from Our Website:
 
Bulletin (pdf)
 
Sermon Notes (pdf)
 
March 2024 Calendar (pdf)
 
YouTube Video Sermons
 
Upcoming Events
 
FBCW Website Calendar
 

March 17, 2024
“What Jesus Christ Did for You ”
    

Last week we studied the Person of Jesus Christ: Jesus is His human name [meaning Savior], Christ is His title [meaning the Anointed/Holy One of God].  Jesus Christ is God’s Son, Lord over all, Savior to all who believe in Him, Creator, Sustainer, Sovereign Ruler and King over all of Creation.

Today we are going to study what Jesus did for us.

1Corinthians 15:3-5, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”

That says it concisely: we are all sinners, deserving death, and yet Christ died for our sins, just like the Scriptures say He would.  He was buried, and on the third day He came out of the grave alive, just like the Scriptures say He would.

Why we need what only Jesus Christ can provide.

Romans 3:10-12, “There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”

Romans 5:6, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” 12, “Through one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men.”  15, “But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, [how] much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.” 17, For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, [how] much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”

God’s marvelous grace has come through Jesus to everyone who has sincerely confessed their sins to God and believed in God’s Son as Lord and Savior.

Before you accept the work of Christ in salvation, you are dead to God because of sin (Ephesians 2:1-3), “You were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world… 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”

But thanks to God, even though (Romans 6:23a) says we deserve death, (6:23b) “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” (Romans 5:8), “Christ died for us,” (Romans 5:10), “reconciled us to God through His own death,” and therefore (Romans 8:1), “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Remember (Romans 3:10-12), 7x’s it states that no one, according to their human nature, is acceptable to the Holy God of Creation (Romans 3:23-24), “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”

If it were not for Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross, there would be no hope for anyone; for we would all remain guilty of our sins, and we would be condemned to an eternity apart from God in a place called hell.

God’s Son, Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:6-8), “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

This is hard to fathom, God put on human flesh, only to become (Isaiah 53:3), “despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.”

Christ’s major Work was to pay the divine price required by God for our sins (1Peter 1:19), “the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

Hebrews 9:22 says, “the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”  And yet (Hebrews 10:4-6), “When He [Christ] comes into the world, He says [speaking to the Father], ‘Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, but a body You have prepared for Me; in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure.” 9-10, “Then He said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will.’ He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” 14, “For by one offering [God] has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”

By the one sacrifice of God’s own Son, in the flesh of Jesus, we have been offered forgiveness for sin and eternal life.  God says, concerning those who believe in His Son for salvation (Hebrews 10:17-18) “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”  God grants total and eternal forgiveness through Christ.

Hebrews 9:12 says Christ has, “once for all by His own blood,” obtained eternal redemption for those who believe in Him (1Peter 3:18), “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.”

Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior, has provided forgiveness for all of your sins (past, present, and future) and He has granted to you, eternal life with God.

The Work of Christ forced the Son to be separated from the Father, for the one and only time in all of eternity.  That is why Jesus, while on the cross, cried out (Matthew 27:46), “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”

God is holy and righteous and perfect, and sin can not coexist in the same space as God (Habakkuk 1:13), “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You can not look on wickedness with favor.”  God must judge and punish sin!

While Jesus was on the cross He became sin for us (Isaiah 53:6), “the LORD [Yahweh] has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him [Christ, Messiah],” i.e., the penalty for all our sins was poured out on Jesus (Isaiah 53:10), “[God] was pleased to crush Him, if He would render Himself as a guilt offering” [the only acceptable payment for our sin].

Sin must be punished, and the punishment for sin is death [not physical death but separation from all things God: God is Light, Love, Life]; if you don’t accept Christ’s punishment for your sin, then you are personally guilty of your sin and you will be punished in hell, for all of eternity.

Ephesians 1:7, “In Him [Jesus Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

John 16:8 says the Holy Spirit will convict the world of its guilt concerning sin, and John 16:9 makes it clear the sin that brings eternal judgement is not believing in God’s Son for salvation.

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”

The Work of Christ is to make us acceptable to God by the sacrifice of Himself, to redeem us from this corrupt world, in order that we might serve and worship God honorably, bringing praise and glory to Him, while telling others about Him.

Galatians 1:3-4, “Jesus Christ, …gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.”

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

2Peter 3:9, “The Lord is… patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

In Christ alone we are made acceptable to God, being justified in Him (John 1:29), “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

2Corinthians 5:21, “He [God the Father] made Him [God the Son] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf [i.e., He took our punishment, paid our sin debt in full], so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

2Corinthians 5:17), Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come,” (Ephesians 2:10), “For we are [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

God sent His Son to save us because He loves us, and there was no other way for us to receive His love (Acts 4:12), “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved,” (Acts 2:21), “And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord [for the forgiveness of sins] will be saved.”

The Son of God willfully set aside His own majesty, put on flesh, lived among us, allowed Himself to be rejected, arrested, mocked, unjustifiably sentenced, severely beaten, and then hung on a cross until He died?  He did this because He loves us, and there was no other sacrifice acceptable to God, no other payment that could be made to God for our sin debt (Hebrews 9:26-28), “but now [Jesus Christ] once at the consummation [completion, finalization] of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, 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.”

The last night Jesus spent with the Twelve, He forever changed the Passover meal to the Lord’s Supper, as we studied two weeks ago, when Jesus explained to them that it was His own body that would be given, and His own blood that would be shed, in order to save them from sin and provide for them, now and forever.

John 14:1-3, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” 6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Why did God’s Son come to earth?  He came to earth to save us!

Why do we need to be saved?  Because we are all sinners and sin separates us from, and makes us unacceptable to, the holy God of Creation.

What did Jesus do to save us?  He died in our place, taking upon Himself our punishment for sin; providing forgiveness, He rescued us from sin’s penalty [an eternity in hell separated from God’s love and God’s presence].

What do you have to do to receive forgiveness?  Repent of your sinfulness, believing in Jesus Christ alone to save you..

Jesus, through His death and resurrection, has provided a way for you to have a personal, intimate, and eternal relationship with God the Father, as a dearly loved child of God (1John 3:1), “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are,” (John. 1:13), “born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God,” (John 3:7-8), “‘You must be born again’ [from above] ‘of the Spirit [of God].’”

If you have never asked God to forgive your sins, confessing Jesus Christ as Lord, believing in Him as Savior, I urge you (2Corinthians 5:20), “on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2Corinthians 6:2), “Behold, now is ‘the acceptable time,’ now is ‘the day of salvation’” (See Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8;; 8:1).

Please don’t leave here today, without confessing your need for God’s forgiveness, repenting of your sin, and believing in God’s Son for salvation.

1John 5:11-13, “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 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.”

 
Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><

Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Above is the link to YouTube.
(audio recording will be provided Sunday afternoon)

Links from Our Website:
 
Bulletin (pdf)
 
Sermon Notes (pdf)
 
March 2024 Calendar (pdf)
 
YouTube Video Sermons
 
Upcoming Events
 
FBCW Website Calendar
 

March 10, 2024
“The Person of Jesus Christ”
    

Jesus is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Yeshua [Joshua].  This is the name that the angel Gabriel commanded (Matthew 1:21), “You are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”

The name Jesus means “The Lord Saves,” “God’s Salvation,” “Savior.”

“Christ” (Greek) is the equivalent of (Hebrew) “Messiah.”

Jesus came in the flesh of a baby (cf. Luke 1:34-35), by the power of the Holy Spirit, to be born the Son of God.”  Jesus was fully man, while also fully God.

Jesus is the Word of God, the Creator (cf John 1:1-4), “in Him was life, and that life was the light of men.” He put on flesh (v. 14) and lived among us, (v. 18) to make known the Father, who no one has seen, except God the Son.

Philippians 2:5-11, “Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 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.”

As a child (Luke 2:40), “He was filled with wisdom, the grace of God was upon Him,” (Luke 2:52), “He grew in wisdom and stature, in favor with God and man.”

Scripture tells us some marvelous things about the person of Jesus Christ:

Mark 4:38… He needed to eat.

Luke 4:2… He needed to sleep.

Hebrews 13:8… He is Immutable [unchanging].

Colossians 2:3… He is Omniscient [all-knowing].

John 6:69… He is the Holy One of God.

Revelation 1:18… He is Eternal.

John 11:25-26… He grants eternal life to all who believe in Him.

Matthew 28:18… He is sovereign…

Mark 4:39… He had power over creation (42), “the wind and the sea obey Him!”

John 5:8-9 says He had power over disease and sickness.

Luke 4:33-36 tells us He had power of demons, casting them out of a man.

John 11:43-44 says He has power over death.

Mark 2:1-12 says He has authority to forgive sins!

Matthew 1:23 says He is Immanuel (cf Isaiah 7:14).

Acts 2:36 Jesus is declared to be both Sovereign Ruler and Savior.

John 8:58 says He is the great “I Am” (Exodus 3:14), “I AM WHO I AM.”

See Colossians 1:15-20; Colossians 2:8-10; Hebrews 1:1-3…

See John 11:20-27, 32, 38-42…

Titus 2:11 says, “the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,” 13, “the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

Jesus Christ is God in human flesh; He is Sovereign Lord and Sacrificial Christ; He is (John 1:29) “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Jude 24-25, “To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory , majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore!”

Revelation 1:8, “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’” 17-18, “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, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.’”

John 14:1-3, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also,”

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

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

1John 5:11-13, “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 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. How you respond to Who Jesus is now, while you have life, will determine where you spend eternity after you die: in heaven with God, or in hell apart from God.

 
Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><

Bible Text: 1 Corinthians 11:23-29 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Above is the link to YouTube.
(audio recording will be provided Sunday afternoon)

Links from Our Website:
 
Bulletin (pdf)
 
Sermon Notes (pdf)
 
March 2024 Calendar (pdf)
 
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March 3, 2024
“The LORD’S Supper”
1 Corinthians 11:23-29
    

The Feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover has been celebrated by Israelites since about 1500 B.C., when God rescued them out of Egypt, after 400 years of captivity.  Passover is named for the event when God’s Death Angel Passed Over Egypt, after God commanded Israel to smear the blood of a yearling lamb on the door frames of their houses; this would serve as protection from God’s judgement, for in every house that did not apply the covering of blood, the firstborn males, both human and animal, died.  This led Pharaoh to release the Hebrews from their captivity as slaves.

The Bible tells us (cf. Exodus 1:11; 5:10-21) that the Hebrews were slaves in Egypt, and under Pharaoh they built the cities of Pithom and Raamses, using bricks of clay mixed with straw, bricks of clay mixed with stubble, and then bricks made of clay alone.

In 1883, Henri Édouard Naville, on behalf of London’s Egypt Exploration Society, excavated the ruins of Pithom, and what he found at that sight was three types of bricks, just like the Bible said: clay mixed with straw, clay mixed with stubble, and clay alone

Throughout Israel’s history (until 70 AD), Passover was celebrated much like the first Passover, in order to remember God’s rescuing them from slavery.  The Jewish Passover celebrated the physical deliverance of Israel from Pharaoh, after which God made a covenant with Israel, under the Law of God, given to Moses.

The Lord’s Supper, celebrated by the Church of God, declares the deliverance of all true Christians from the penalty of sin, by the Grace of God, under a covenant made by God through the shed blood and sacrificial death of God’s own Son.

Jesus transformed the Passover meal into the Lord’s Supper, fulfilling the Law of God, abolishing the daily sacrifices at the Temple.  The Lord’s Supper celebrates the forgiveness for sin and eternal life with God through Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death and sovereign resurrection from the tomb.

The Lord’s Supper [i.e., Lord’s Table, Holy Communion] is a special occasion for every true Christian, individually, and a sacred time for the Church of God corporately, to remember all that the Lord has done for us, while looking toward the future, when we will be with the Lord forever.

Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; and Luke 22:14-20 give an account of the Passover meal when the Lord presented the New Covenant through His own blood, and the offering of His own body which would be hung on a cross the very next day, in order to make the full, acceptable, and eternal payment for all sins, for all people, for all time.
 
Read 1Corinthians 11:23-26…  The bread originally eaten during the first Passover meal was unleavened, basically it was flatbread which baked very quickly.

The type of bread we use to symbolize the body of Christ doesn’t really matter, as it is only a symbol, a reminder that God the Son had a body and that He was put to death on a cross, as payment for all humanity’s sins.

No wonder Jesus says (1Corinthians 11:24), “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

The cup Jesus used at the Last Passover/First Lord’s Supper, was filled with diluted wine; this was representative of the Passover Lamb’s blood that was originally smeared on the doorposts of each house in Egypt where a Hebrew resided; it now represents the sacrificial blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

The new covenant (through Christ) is under Grace, for God’s Son fulfilled the eternal payment for the condemnation of sin for every person who repents and believes in Him for salvation, for He alone is (John 1:29), “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

No wonder Jesus says (1Corinthians 11:25), “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

God’s Word declares that apart from the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness for sins; and only through the shed blood of God’s Son could the eternal payment for all sin be made; the punishment we deserve was placed upon Jesus, through Whom God’s eternal forgiveness is granted to everyone who repents of their sin and believes in God’s Son for salvation.

Hebrews 8:10, “Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, when I will effect a new covenant.”

Hebrews 9:15, “He [Christ] 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.” 9:27-28, “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, 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 10:4-7, “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, ‘Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, but a body You have prepared for Me; in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure.’ Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come (In the scroll of the book it is written of Me) to do Your will, O God.’” 9-10, “He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

14-18, “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, ‘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.”

The old covenant (before Christ) was under the Law, sacrifices and offerings for sin were given, but those sins (before Christ) were left unpunished, i.e., the blood of bulls and goats [sheep, pigeons, doves] cannot take away sins, why? Because only human blood, from a sinless human, Jesus [God’s Salvation], Immanuel [God in the flesh], can satisfy God’s sovereign and eternal payment for sin.

What was celebrated once a year, as Passover, by all orthodox Jews until AD 70, with unleavened bread and herbs and a roasted yearling lamb, is now celebrated by most Jewish families, without any lamb.

The Lord’s Supper was first celebrated by Jesus and the 11, before Pentecost (AD 32-33), and since Pentecost, Christians have celebrated it, and will continue to do so until Christ returns to gather all those who belong to Him (John 14:2-3), “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

No wonder Paul instructs us (1Corinthians 11:26), “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”

   The Lord’s Supper is a celebration for all believers and followers of Christ, remembering that we have been freed from the penalty of sin forever, by God’s grace, through the sacrifice of God’s One and Only Son, Jesus Christ: crucified, resurrected, and coming again.

Romans 3:10-12, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

Romans 3:23-24, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”

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

Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” [i.e., our payment for sin, what we deserve, is the death penalty, but God (in His mercy) provides eternal life to all who believe in Him].
 
Romans 10:9-10, “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.”

We are forgiven all our sins (past-present-future), and we are granted eternal life, by believing in God’s Son’s once for all sacrifice for all sin, for all people, for all time.  How should we respond to this?

Romans 12:1-2, “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.”

The Bible declares that God changes people.  You can come to God “Just as you are,” but you will not remain that way if you have truly been born of God; for when you repent of your sins and trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you are a new creation, a child of God, and you now belong to God.

2Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

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

God’s greatest demonstration of LOVE to us is Jesus Christ.

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.”

Man’s greatest demonstration of love for God is to obey God’s Word and to tell others about God’s Son (John 14:21), “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”

1John 1:1-4, “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. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.”
 
1Corinthians 15:1-5, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to [Peter], then to the twelve.”

Read 1Corinthians 11:27-29…  Paul warns us, that taking Communion in an unworthy manner makes us “guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.”  What does that mean?  We should soberly and sincerely consider all Jesus did for us on the cross, and also what God requires of us; to examine our relationship with God, God’s Word, and God’s people.

For when we come together to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we ought to do so reverently, seeking to bring glory and honor and praise to God.

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, He commanded His listeners (Mark 1:15-17), to “Repent (of their sins), Believe in Him (for salvation), and Follow His teachings.  Have you repented of your sins?  Do you believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior?  Are you willing to follow Him, by obeying God’s Word?

If you are not sure that you have received forgiveness for your sins and eternal life, through God’s Son, why not settle that issue right now?

Confess to God that you are a sinner. We all are (Romans 3:23) “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (6:23), “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Ask God to forgive you. He turns no one away (Acts 2:21), “And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Believe in God’s Son for salvation.  He is (John 14:6), the Only Way to God, the Only Revealed Truth from God, and the Only Life with God; for He is the only Savior (Acts 4:12), “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

1John 5:11-13, “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 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.”

 
Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><

Bible Text: Luke 11:1-4 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above is the link to YouTube.
(audio recording will be provided Sunday afternoon)

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February 25, 2024
“Jesus Teaches Us How to Pray”
    

      Read Luke 11:1-4…  Notice (verse 1), Jesus just finishing praying, and one of His disciples asks Him to teach them to pray, not just any old way, but “as John (John the Baptizer) also taught his disciples.”

John the Baptizer, was, according to Luke 3:4, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight” (pp. Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3), all of which are quoted from Isaiah 40:3.

Jesus’ older cousin John was a prophet; in fact, he was the last prophet of the OT, and the first prophet of the NT,  John had a following of disciples, who evidently prayed to God the way you should pray to God; not like the Pharisees, who prayed with many words and in a showy fashion, so as to elevate themselves.

Luke 18:11-14, “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.”

John’s followers had been to taught to pray more reverently and fervently, along the line of what we read in the Psalms.

Psalm 5:1-7, “Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my groaning. Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch. For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil dwells with You. The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. You destroy those who speak falsehood; the Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit. But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, at Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.”

Psalm 116:1-2, “I love the Lord, because He hears my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.”

Psalm 145:18, “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.”

Back to Luke 11:1…  This is not the first time the Lord has given instruction on how those who believe in Him ought to pray.  And remember, the present chronology here in Luke is near the last 6 months of Jesus’ life before going to the cross.  However, toward the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, during the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), where Jesus taught His followers how to pray.

Matthew 6:5-8, “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

Prayer that honors God should focus on who God is and on the relationship God has with those who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, as Savior and Lord.

The Lord’s Prayer should not be recited in mechanical repetition, but with thanksgiving, and in alignment with the expressed will of God.

John 16:23, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you.”

Ephesians 6:18, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit.”

Philippians 4:4-7, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Colossians 4:2, “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.”

1Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Nowhere in the NT is a prayer repeated or used in a repetitious or ritualistic manner.  God knows what we need, we don’t have to try and convince or coerce God, for He knows our needs and provides for us..

Back to Luke 11….  Luke’s narrative is much shorter than Matthew’s narrative, concerning the Lord’s teaching on how we are to pray.  Notice again, Luke 11:2, “And He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.”       This prayer is between two persons, God the Father and one of God’s children, one who has been born-again by the Spirit of God in response to genuine faith in God’s Son.

You will not find any prayer in the Old Testament that addresses God as Father; in fact, the Jews never called God their Father.

Once Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath (John 5), and the religious leaders began to persecute Jesus, to which Jesus responded (verse 17), “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” And John records (verse 18), “For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.”

John 10:30-33, Jesus said, “‘I and the Father are one.’ The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus [said], ‘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.’”

In the New Testament, God is called Father over 60 times in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke), and in John’s Gospel God is referred to as Father over 100 times.

The Greek word for father is pater, but the religious leaders of the Jews spoke Aramaic, using the word abba, a very intimate and endearing term of family love that is still used in Hebrew families today.  And so, in Christ’s instruction here in Luke 11:2, Jesus addresses God as Father, as should we.

God is the Creator of all but only the Father of His children through spiritual birth (See 1Corinthians 12:12-13; Galatians 3:26-29; Romans 4:3,13).

John 1:12-13, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, 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.”

     We become children of God though faith in God’s Son to save us, and we are to then pray Luke 11:2a, for God’s kingdom to come.  How does God’s kingdom come?  One saved soul at a time, for every time a person repents of their sin and trusts in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, the kingdom of God is expanded.

     In Matthew 6:10, Jesus tells us to pray to the Father, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  There is no sin in heaven, it is God’s perfect and sinless domain; although, here on earth, God is allowing sin and Satan to exist, but sin and Satan will end exactly when God has determined, according to HIs sovereign will.

2Peter 3:3-7, “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.’ For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”

2Peter 3:11-13, “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”

     God wants everyone to repent, believe and be saved, and to spend eternity with Him in heaven (1Timothy 2:3-4), “God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

We have everything we need to help advance God’s kingdom by sharing the message of Christ with everyone who will listen.

God is a loving Father who desires to provide for his children (Matthew 7:7-8), “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” 11, “how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”

God desires intimate relationship with His children through His Word, His Spirit, and through prayerful communion with Him.  And so, God encourages us to come to Him in prayer and to (1Thessalonians 5:17) “pray without ceasing.”

We are pray for God to (Luke 11:3), “Give us each day our daily bread.”  Not our weekly bread or monthly bread, but our “daily” provision, and so, we are to petition God to supply our needs through Jesus Christ as we come to Him daily.

God our Father is Holy and deserving to be worshipped; we express our worship of Him by sharing the message of forgiveness for sins and eternal life through Jesus Christ; and so, as we do that, we help to advance His kingdom here on earth, as it is in heaven.

In Luke 11:4a we are told to pray for God to forgive our sins (1John 1:9), “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” (Romans 10:13), “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved,” 17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

As Christians, we have received God’s love and forgiveness through Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross, when He paid our sin debt to God in full, when He cried out, “Tetelesti!” Meaning it is finished or completed, full payment has been rendered and accepted by God the Father for our sin; and therefore we ought to love others and forgive them for any offenses they have committed against us.

Sin is our greatest enemy, therefore, we confess our sinfulness to God, and He forgives us completely, for all our sins (Hebrews 10:17), “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

     In Luke 11:4b, we are told to pray for God to “lead us not into temptation.”  What does that mean?  I believe we should pray for God to protect us from trials that could turn into temptations, knowing that God tempts no man, but He does allow us to be tested.

James 1:13-14, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.”

1Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”

We are to pray for God to place a guard over and around our eyes, ears, mouth, feet, and hands — so that, wherever we go, whatever we do, we will not give in and do that which is sinful.  We need God’s help to avoid the influence of world, the devil, and our own flesh, and so we confess our need for God’s protection and deliverance from sin.

We must recognize and acknowledge that God has granted us everything we need for life on earth and life in heaven, everything we need to know Him, love Him, serve Him, and declare Him to everyone who will listen.

2Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

Romans 12:2, “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.”

2Peter 1:3-4, “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 loves us and allows us to experience His love now and forever; and so, we pray to Him continually, always giving praise, glory, and honor, to His Name, His Kingdom, and His Will, thanking Him for the forgiveness and eternal life we have received.  “For His is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen!”

 
Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><

Bible Text: Luke 10:38-42 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Sunday Service on YouTube
(audio recording will be provided Sunday afternoon)

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February 18, 2024
“Christians Have One Priority”
Luke 10:38-42
    

In Luke 10:25-28, Jesus is asked by a lawyer, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life.”  Jesus confirmed that as a recipient of eternal life you would “Love the Lord your God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.”

The lawyer asked Jesus to define “who” his neighbor is, i.e., who specifically does he need to love as himself, in order to receive eternal life.  Jesus then tells him the Parable of the Good Samaritan, the main point of which is, it doesn’t matter who our neighbor is, but instead what is required of us is to be a good neighbor by showing mercy to anyone who is need.

Eternal life is exemplified in the life of those who have been born-again by God’s Spirit, for God’s children will be gracious and loving to all people, without partiality, but especially to those who are in need of mercy, like the man in Jesus’ parable.

Today we are going to look at an event that took place in Bethany, at the house of Martha and Mary, where Jesus will teach us what our main priority is, i.e., what is the most important thing for God’s children to seek and to do?

Our world is very complex, and at times chaotic and confusing.  We live in a society that is becoming more fractured and frantic day by day, people are more disconnected from one another then ever before; while, at the same time, people are much more connected to phones, computers, and other electronic devices.

Life in today’s culture has become more fragmented, as people find themselves involved in a wide variety of activities, pursuits, and responsibilities.  People are struggling to prioritize the many facets of their lives, as they sort out which things are more important then other things.

When we talk about something being a priority, we are usually speaking of what we consider to be most important to us.  The word “priority” is a form of the word prior which means ahead of, or preceding; something that comes before, i.e., the essential thing, that which is preeminent to everything else.

I imagine you could ask a dozen people on the street what their main priority is, and you would get a variety of answers.  But as a Christian, what should your priority be?  What is above all else, the most important thing in your life?  Your wife? Your husband? Your kids?  Your family? Your church?  Your job?

David tells us (Psalm 27:4), “One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple.”  David desires to behold the beauty of Lord and to be in His presence forever!

Paul tells us (Philippians 3:8-11), “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

Wow!  Paul’s single priority is to know Christ Jesus as Lord and experience the power of His resurrection and eternal life.

Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Look at Luke 10:38-42…  This story appears nowhere else in Scripture, and yet it is a marvelous story that encourages us to take inventory of what our priorities are, as witnesses of Christ.

Why does Luke put this story in his narrative, where as, nobody else does?  This section of Scripture begins the last six months off Jesus’ life on earth.  Starting here, all the way to the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus is on the road traveling through Judea, going from town to town and village to village proclaiming that He is the Messiah and that the Good News of the Gospel has come to them through God’s Son, the kingdom of heaven has come to earth.

Previously, Jesus sent the seventy disciples in teams of two, to prepare every town and village for His arrival.  Some would believe His message and most would not.  From Luke 10:38 through chapter Luke 19:28, the focus of Jesus’ was His teaching, not miracles, in order to teach His apostles and disciples, preparing them to take the message of salvation to the ends of the earth.

As we work through the rest of Luke’s Gospel in the coming months, we will study the Lord’s teachings about demons, prayer, forgiveness, divine judgement, persecution and suffering, the Holy Spirit, stewardship, unity, humility, pride, and the kingdom of God; we will study about HIs death, resurrection, appearances to His followers, and His ascension back into heaven.

From Luke 11:1-24:53, Jesus pours out His heart through His teaching, then pours out His life, as He becomes the once for all sacrifice for all sin, for all time.  Jesus’ teaching is urgent, powerful, and life changing, for all those who will hear, understand, believe in and receive Him as Lord and Savior.

It is interesting that in the study we did last week, we read the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37), that told us about four men who were going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and that is where the Samaritan took the man who had been beaten and robbed and left for dead.

In today’s text, we are going to learn about Mary, who is commended for sitting at the feet of Jesus; while her sister Martha, doesn’t take the opportunity to sit as Jesus’ feet and hear the Word of God being spoken in her home.

God speaks through His Word, God’s Son is the very Word of God

(see John 1:1-5, 14, 18; 10:27-30; 14:6-7; 15:15).

The most important thing in the world is divine truth; and sadly, there are many Christians who don’t understand just how important it is.  My blessing as a pastor-teacher is to tell you what Jesus said and what He meant by what He said, and how it applies to us, today, and for as long as we shall have life on this planet.

Hearing the revealed Word of God precedes every other spiritual duty that we have as Christians, for everything we do is motivated by, informed by, and defined by Scripture.  God’s Word is the what, why, where, when, and how of God, by which we are to live our lives for Him, and to tell others about Him.

Back to Luke 10:38…. The name of the village is Bethany, and although it is not mentioned here, we know from John 11:1, that this is where Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus lived.

The name Martha means “mistress,” not in the way we might think today, but as a feminine form of “master of the house,” as she is most likely the oldest of the two and probably without a husband, since he is not named.

We are told that Jesus came to the house and was welcomed in by Martha, and so He is now either standing or sitting and Mary is sitting at His feet [lit., alongside, as close as she could get to Jesus].  Mary is captivated by Jesus, transfixed on every word He says.  The Lord God was in her house, telling her of the things of God, nothing was more important to her then to hear what God was revealing to her.  She was hungry for the truth, there was no greater priority in her life at this moment.

Now Martha (verse 40) was, “distracted with all her preparations   .”  She was missing what was important, the Word of God was being proclaimed by the Son of God; but Martha was all caught up in her serving duties, and she was missing an opportunity to, like Mary, listen to the marvelous teachings from Jesus Christ.

Martha, getting agitated, came up to Jesus and basically said, “Don’t you see that I have all this cooking and cleaning and bed arranging to do, and Mary is just sitting here doing nothing!”  “Tell her to help me!.”

The Lord answers Martha (verses 41-42) saying, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

What does that mean?  Jesus gives a sympathetic rebuke saying, “Martha, Martha,” if you have ever responded to a person in a situation with a repeat of their name, while probably shaking your head slowly, it kind of softens the blow of what needs to be said, as Jesus responds to Martha, who has missed what is really important.

Jesus is empathetic in His response to Martha, who Jesus says is, “worried [unjustifiably concerned] and bothered [troubled] about many things.”  But the reality is that only one thing is necessary, i.e., there is only one priority here, and it is not cleaning, cooking and making beds, it is beholding the Son of God who is speaking the Word of God, revealing Himself to those who will but listen.

Jesus tells Martha He won’t take what is important away from Mary, the truth is, Martha needs to stop fussing and sit at Jesus feet like Mary, who has chosen the right priority, Christ the Lord!

Our lives can fill up with busyness; and we can get frustrated over stuff that just doesn’t matter in eternity: politics, the environment, health, wealth, power, even hospitality like Martha; we may wrongly commit ourselves to earthly things; when in reality we should commit ourselves to heavenly things, like Mary, worshipping Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior.

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

Philippians 4:8-9, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Philippians 4:12-13, “I know how to get along with humble means, 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. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

Philippians 4:19-20, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

As Christians, our greatest priority is to know, love, and serve God there and now, with whatever time we have remaining.  We are to do this by encouraging our brothers and sisters in in the Lord, as we share the message of salvation through Jesus Christ with all those who will listen; while trusting God to take care of us, now and forever.  And all of God’s children said, Amen!

 
Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><

Bible Text: Luke 10:30-37 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Sunday Service YouTube Live stream
(audio recording will be provided Sunday afternoon)

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February 11, 2024
“God’s Children Should be Merciful”
    

Recap from Luke 10:25-29…

Of all the questions to be asked, this is the most important to hear and understand, because every human soul lives forever; for although our bodies die, our souls live on for eternity, either in heaven or in hell.

What does God require of you in order to inherit eternal life?

Luke 10:27, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

     In Mark 12:30-31 Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

So, if you want to inherit eternal life, all you have to do is love God totally, with your whole being (heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor just as you love yourself, with your whole being (heart, soul, mind, and strength).

Notice (Luke 10:28), Jesus affirms the man’s response, saying to him “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”  It would seem from the man’s next question that he is not confident he has qualified to inherit eternal life (Luke 10:29), “But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’”  In other words, the man is asking, exactly who do I have to love in this way, as myself, who specifically is my neighbor?

What a great question!  Let’s turn to our text and learn the answer.

     Read Luke 10:30-37…  By showing our love for God and for other people (defined here as our neighbor), we show that we have received forgiveness for our sins and that we have eternal life from God.

Jesus explains to this lawyer the true meaning of loving your neighbor, and just who your neighbor is, by telling him a parable (Note: a parable is not a story about real people, it is a made up story meant to convey a moral or spiritual truth).

Ultra-orthodox Jews, e.g., Pharisees, Lawyers, Scribes, Priests and Levites, consider themselves righteous because they are descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and therefore sons of God; members of the Nation of Israel which was established through the twelve sons of Jacob (cf. Genesis 25:19-26), whose name means, “heal catcher; one who supplants, usurps, replaces]; but God changed Jacob’s name to Israel (“one who struggles with God,” Genesis 32:28, “for you have striven [struggled] with God and with men and have prevailed.”)

Let’s go back to the lawyer’s question in Luke 10:29, “who, exactly, is my neighbor,” i.e., “who do I have to love as myself?”

Jesus now uses a parable to express how all those who have received eternal life, those genuinely born of God’s Spirit, will obey the greatest and foremost commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. ”

Look at Luke 10:30-32…  A man was going down the road from Jerusalem (2500 ft above sea level) to Jericho (900 ft below sea level).  Most likely this man is a Jew, as most of those who would be going from Jerusalem to Jericho would be of the nation of Israel, unless otherwise stated.

This road was very steep and treacherous, and there were caves and rock outcroppings that provided hiding places for robbers.  Evidently, this man was attacked by robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and left him half dead.

Along comes a priest (a Jew), a “servant of God” who carried out sacrifices and offerings at the Temple.  You would expect a priest to help this man who is in need; for a priest should be of the highest virtue, morally and spiritually, and yet, he passes by on the other side of the road, offering no aide to the man.

Jesus then introduces another traveler who was going down the road, a Levite (also a Jew), another servant of God who assisted the priests in their work at the temple.  Surely the Levite would help someone in need; but he doesn’t, he too passes by on the other side of the road, unwilling to help this man.

By failing to help the man, who is clearly in need of mercy, both the priest and the Levite fail to express God’s love to the man (a fellow Jew), who is a neighbor by God’s reconning, yet they fail to express love, let alone compassion, to the man.

Look at Luke 10:33-35…  Jesus introduces a third traveler, a Samaritan who is on a journey [a long trip].  Going down the road he comes upon the man who has been robbed and beaten.  But now we find a totally different response to the man in need of help, and instead of passing by on the other side of the road, he goes to the man and takes care of him.  He bandages the man’s wounds, pouring oil and wine on the abrasions and bruises to sooth and disinfect them.

This is amazing, because the Jews had been at enmity with the Samaritans for over 700 years, referring to them as dogs and half-breeds; and yet, this Samaritan tends the man’s wounds (most likely a Jewish man), and then puts the injured man on his own donkey or mule and takes him to an inn, where he takes care of him through the night and (verse 35), “the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’”

Wow! What an example of Godly love; the Samaritan didn’t just tend to the man’s immediate needs, but offered to pay whatever was necessary for the man to receive good care until he returned from completing his journey.

     Look at Luke 10:36-37…  Jesus now gets to the foremost truth of this parable; answering the original question of the lawyer (verse 29), “Who is my neighbor?”  Jesus answers the question with a parable about a man who is beaten, robbed, and left half dead along the road.  Jesus tells how three different men come upon this man, at different times, and how each one of them responds to him.

Jesus then asks the lawyer (verse 36), “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” The lawyer replied (verse 37a), “The one who showed mercy toward him.” To which Jesus said to him (verse 37b), “Go and do the same.”

Wow!  The sovereign priority truth of this parable is a summation of all of the Law and the writings of the Prophets, i.e., the foremost greatest commandment of God, that fulfills all the requirements of God in order to have eternal life, is to be merciful to those who are in need, no matter who they are, whether they are a one time acquaintance or a life-long friend, whether they are an ally or an enemy, whether they are someone who is good to us or someone who persecutes us — all those who have been born-again by God are God’s children, and they will seek to act accordingly, in love, in all situations, for this sums up the requirements of God. Luke 10:27, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind (cf. Deuteronomy 6:5); and [you shall love] “your neighbor as yourself” (cf. Leviticus 19:18). 

Jesus said (Matthew 22:40), “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets,” (Mark 12:31), “There is no other commandment greater than these.”  James 2:8 records, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” as “the royal law” [lit. The Law of the King], this is the greatest and foremost teaching, fulfilling all of “the Law and the writings of the Prophets,” summed up by Jesus who is the “King of kings and Lord of lord’s” (cf. .1Timothy 6:15).

The problem is that no one, by human effort or capacity, can receive or give God’s love [Gk, agapao]; although, a person may give or receive brotherly or friendship love [Gk. philia], or even familial love [Gk. storge]; but in order to love God or to love another person on God’s behalf, with God’s love, you must be born-again by God’s Spirit.

See 1John 4:7-15…   God is Love.  A person cannot exhibit God’s love [Gk, agapao] if they have not been born-again spiritually, as a child of God.

Deoxyribonucleic acid (or DNA) is the organic chemical that contains genetic information and instructions for the development of every cell in your body.  DNA is the key part of human reproduction in which genetic heredity (all that makes you human) is passed on from parent to child.

In similar fashion, only God’s children, those born-again by the Spirit of God, can legitimately imitate, let alone demonstrate, God the Father’s unconditional, sacrificial, divine (agapao) love.

All true Christians have received God’s Love, God’s DNA (Agapao love); we have inherited, through spiritual birth, the very presence of God (2Peter 1:3-4), “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.”

We have received God’s unconditional and eternal love through Jesus Christ, made effectual by God the Holy Spirit (cf. 2Corinthians 5:17), “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come,” 21, “He [God the Father] made Him [God the Son] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

1Corinthians 13:4-8a, “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”

     Genuine belief in Jesus Christ will be exemplified in and through the manner in which we love others, i.e., without partiality or favoritism, just as God mercifully loves us (Ephesians 5:1-2), “Be imitators of God, as [dearly] loved children; 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.”

In Luke 10:25 Jesus was asked the question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  He answered by telling a parable, about a man who needed to receive mercy, and the responses of three different men who came upon him separately, in his time of great need, and only one of them showed mercy by helping him.

It is not a question of who we must love in order to inherit eternal life; but that we should be gracious, merciful, and loving to all people, without partiality, and especially to those who are in need of mercy, like the man in Jesus’ parable.

Jesus said Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”  Luke 6:31, “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.” 36, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

All Christians, genuine believers and followers of Jesus Christ, should be merciful toward others, just as God is merciful toward all those who call upon Him for the forgiveness of their sins and eternal life.

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.”

Romans 10:13, “for ‘Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” 17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

John 20:31, “These have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have [eternal] life in His name.”

And all of God’s children said, Amen!  If you are here today, or listening at home, or if you read or listen to this at a later time, and you are not sure of your salvation — please, contact me, so that I may help you know, in your heart, that you have forgiveness for your sins and eternal life.

 
Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><
 

Bible Text: Luke 10:25-28 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | (No YouTube Live stream of our service, broken equipment)

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January 7th, 2024
“How to Know You Have Eternal Life”
Luke 10:25-28
    

Read Luke 10:25-28….

Of all the questions that could ever be asked and answered, none is more important than this one, because every human soul is immortal.  Every human being ever born lives forever.  Our bodies die but our souls go on eternally; you will spend eternity in one of two places, heaven or hell.

You will be forever conscious that you are in heaven or hell.  Jesus now expresses that reality to a man who comes to ask how he can be sure he will be with God in heaven.

The timeframe here is important, for Jesus has already gone through Galilee with the message of the gospel.  He is now in His final months and is going through Judea’s villages and towns, where He is proclaiming the wonderful message of forgiveness for sin and eternal life, calling people to be true disciples of His.

In less than a year, Jesus will be executed on a cross, buried, rise from the dead on the 3rd day, show Himself to many of His followers over forty days, then He will ascend back into heaven, from where He will send the Holy Spirit, and the church age will begin.

Think about those who have pledged to follow Jesus so far, we know of the twelve (of which one would betray Him), then there are the seventy who He sent out and have just returned.

We know that after His resurrection He appears in Galilee to a group of 500 believers.  And yet, when the Holy Spirit comes to those who are gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem, after His ascension, their number is only 120.  After three years of Jesus demonstrating God’s divine love and power and healing, there is but a small remnant of those who have experienced God’s redeeming power

In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Jesus is that narrow gate, he is the only way to God, for salvation cannot be acquired through ancestry, rituals, law keeping, or good works (John 14:6), “I am the [only] way, and the [only] truth, and the [only] life [from God]; no one comes to the Father [goes to heaven] but through Me.”

In Luke 10 we find a one-on-one encounter between Jesus and a lawyer [scribe] who asks, “What do I need to do to inherit eternal life?  Jesus will explain and expose what is necessary, according to God, for a person to have eternal life.

The phrase “eternal life” is used over 40 times in the New Testament.  In fact, it appears in every gospel.  But the encounter with this man is not a parallel to any other event.  This encounter is unique, and the main point here is for people to realize that they are going to live forever, either with God, or apart from God, and if you want to be in God’s kingdom for eternity you must have eternal life.

Let’s look at what some of the Scriptures say about eternal life:

John 3:14-16, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

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.”

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.” 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.”

John 6:28-29, “Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” 40, “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds [looks upon, observes] the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

John 17:3, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

1John 5:11, “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” 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.” 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.”

The lawyer, in Luke 10, clearly has a recognition of eternal life, if he didn’t he wouldn’t ask how to have it.  He knows there is eternal life, not in the biological sense, eternally living in the body we have now [Greek, bio], but he is asking in the spiritual and eternal sense [Greek, Zoe] to live in a state of eternal blessing.

God promises an eternal kingdom of blessing, a place of joy, peace, and love where hope is realized and fulfilled beyond any human comprehension.

The question wouldn’t have been asked if the man didn’t believe in eternal life.  He wouldn’t need to know how to inherit it, if he didn’t believe that it existed.

God our Creator has put the longing for, and reality of, eternity in our hearts.  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven— A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.“ 11, “He has made everything appropriate in its time. [God] has  .” 14, “I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear [revere with awe] Him.”

The subject of eternity is taught in both Old and New Testaments, in fact, Daniel writes that, after the time of the Lord’s return and judgement, man will either experience eternal rejoicing or eternal mourning, (Daniel 12:1-2), “There will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people [those with eternal life], everyone who is found written in the book [Lamb’s Book of Life], will be rescued. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life [in heaven with God], but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt [condemnation in hell].”

God established an eternal kingdom, where all those who belong to Him will live and enjoy all of its pleasures and joys, in God’s glorious presence (Revelation 21:1-8), “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars [all who reject God], their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

So who can overcome sin, death, and judgement?

1John 5:4-5, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

We have talked about the reward of eternal life, it is granted, inherited, to all those who belong to God through belief in God’s Son, Jesus Christ.  But we really haven’t answered the lawyer’s question to Jesus of how he can have eternal life.

Let’s look again at Luke 10:26…  Jesus said to him.”What is written in the law? How does it read to you?”  In other words, what is written in the law concerning what God requires for someone to inherit eternal life?

The man is a lawyer, an expert in the Law of God, and he knows that Jesus is referring to the first five books of the Old Testament, called the Pentateuch, which was written by God through Moses.  These Books are summarized in the Ten Commandments, and further summarized in the Shema [meaning “hear and obey,”from Deuteronomy 6:4-5].  This portion of Scripture was to be recited by all Jews two times every day.

The lawyer responds to Jesus in the first part of Luke 10:27, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind,” and the additional clause, “and your neighbor as yourself,” is quoted from Leviticus 19:18.

When Jesus was asked this very same question in Mark 12:28 (by a scribe), Jesus responded (Mark 12:30-31), ”’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.’”

The word used for love in the above passage is agapaō; it’s not phileō, brotherly love; it’s not eros, sensual love; it’s not storgē, family love.  Agapaō is sacrificial, willful, devoted, perfect, godly love, and is used repeatedly in (1Corinthians 13:4-8), “Love is patient, love is kind not jealous; love does not brag, is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”

In other words, if you want to inherit eternal life on your own merit, all you have to do is love God perfectly, without any sin, without any failure, and you are to love others as you love yourself.  But the reality is no one can do that, no one is perfect, no one is without sin, no one can earn or merit eternal life, for it is unattainable and can only be received as a gift from God to all those who believe in God’s Son for salvation. (See Romans 3:10-12, 23-24; 6:23; 5:8; 8:1; 10:9-10, 13).

Although Jesus affirms the man’s response (Luke 10:28), “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”  It would seem from the man’s next question that he clearly is not confident that he has inherited eternal life (Luke 10:29), “But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’”

The next time we are together, on February 11, I will do a little recap on today’s lesson and then I will make a diligent effort to comprehensively answer the lawyer’s question to Jesus in Luke 10:29, “Who is my neighbor?” by providing an exegesis of the parable of the Good Samaritan given by Jesus in Luke 10:30-37. 

     The parable of the Good Samaritan is a simple, and yet, a very complex illustration of how a person’s life gives evidence that he or she has received eternal life from God.  I hope to see you on February 11.

 
Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><

Bible Text: Luke 10:17-24 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | (No YouTube Live stream of our service, broken equipment)

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December 31st, 2023
“The Seventy Return!”
    

The last time we were in our Luke study was November 12, when we studied what happened after Jesus sent out the seventy disciples in pairs (cf. Luke 10:1), telling them in Luke 10:8 “Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9 and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’”

When Jesus first began His ministry we read (Mark 1:14-15), “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”

Clearly the purpose for the gospel is to make people aware of their sin, and therefore, their need for forgiveness; which can only be received by those who genuinely believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

As the seventy went out, according in Luke 10, they were bringing the good news that God’s Salvation had come to them, and forgiveness and eternal life could be received by believing the One of whom the Seventy were proclaiming.

In Luke 10:3, Jesus told the seventy that they were to “be going!”  They weren’t to be waiting for people to come to them, but were to take the message of Christ, being sent “like lambs among wolves,” because the world hated Christ, it also would hate those who bring the message of salvation through Him alone.

Like lambs in a world of wolves, believers today, just like the believers in Luke 10, must trust in the Shepherd-Savior to protect and provide for them.

The seventy would face persecution, just as the Apostles would, who, as far as we know, were martyred for the sake of Christ, all except John who was thought to have died on the island of Patmos, after receiving the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

As we read earlier, Jesus told them (cf. Luke 10:8-11), to stay with those who received their message about Him, and to heal all of those who were sick, both spiritually and physically, among those who received their message; but for any house or town that would not receive them, they were to shake the dust off their feet as a “testimony against” those who rejected the message of Christ.

See Luke 10:16….  The disciples were sent out to bring God’s message of reconciliation and healing to the lost and unbelieving.  For someone to reject their message, was to reject the forgiveness and salvation of God.  The Jews had a practice, when returning to Israel from a Gentile country: they would shake the dust from their feet and sandals, so as not to bring pagan soil into Israel.  By this same gesture, the Seventy were saying that any house or village that rejected them, also rejected God’s salvation, and therefore remained condemned.

2Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

2Corinthians 5:18-21, “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 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. 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. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Until the Lord returns, we must urgently and compassionately share the good news of salvation through Christ; for all who reject Him are condemned to an eternal hell.  Like the Seventy who were sent, we also are to be going, telling unbelievers about God’s Son, so that they might believe in Him and be saved. Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe [obey] all that I commanded you.”  Why do we do this?  John 3:36, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey [believe and receive] the Son will not see life, [for] the wrath of God [remains] on him.”

Romans 10:9-10, “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; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Romans 10:13-15, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord [for the forgiveness of sin] 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 [tell them] unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!’” 17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

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

See Luke 10:17….  The seventy returned to Jesus full of joy, because they had power over demons.  Earlier in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus sent out the Twelve (Luke 9:1-2), “And gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing.”

Demons are subject to the name of Christ, for He is Almighty God and Sovereign Authority and Judge over All.  Demons are not however subject to any human authority or power, except those who are given the authority from Christ Himself, e.g., in Acts 19, there were some exorcists at Ephesus who tried to expel a demon from a man (vv. 15-16), “‘And the evil spirit answered and said to them, ‘I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?’ And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them [the exorcists] and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”

The seventy return to Jesus, excited because they had authority over demons, and Jesus responds to them (Luke 10:18) saying, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.”  What does that mean?  I’m glad you asked!

First of all, the verb translated ”I was watching,” is speaking of a continual process, not just one event.  And when you add the imagery of Satan falling from heaven like lightning, in reference to the seventy’s having had power over demons to release prisoners from their spiritual captivity, it most likely is speaking of how Jesus was watching Satan’s kingdom being destroyed, as one person at a time was freed from the kingdom of darkness and condemnation of sin, while being brought into the kingdom of light and salvation, made effectual through Jesus Christ alone!

2Corinthians 4:3-6, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case 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. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. 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.”

Luke 15:7, 10,”I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”  “I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

See Luke 10:19….  What does that mean?  Good question.  How could having power over serpents and scorpions even come close to having power over demons?  Well, it couldn’t, unless serpents and scorpions are metaphors for demons.  Guess what?  They are, as the following passages will affirm.

Revelation 12:9, “And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

Revelation 20:2, “And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.”

In Revelation 9:1-11 we are told that demons like locusts are released from the abyss to come upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They are to hurt only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. And men will seek death; they will long to die, but death will not be found. The locusts had faces like the faces of men, hair like the hair of women, and their teeth like the teeth of lions. The sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle.

They have tails like scorpions, and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months. The king over the demon locusts, is the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek Apollyon [Destroyer].

We are victorious overcomers by believing in what Christ accomplished on the cross and at the empty tomb.

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

See Luke 10:20….  Jesus reminds the seventy of the greatest reason for rejoicing, not because of anything we might accomplish, even though we are doing it to the honor and glory of God; but we rejoice because our names are recorded in the Book of Life, the contact list for all those who will spend eternity in heaven with God (Revelation 21:27), “those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

See Luke 10:21….  You have no doubt heard it said that God has so convincingly revealed Himself to us by what He has created [for there must then be a creator: painting = painter; building = builder; watch = watch maker], that a child can see and understand and believe that God exists.

Mark 10:13-15, “And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, ‘Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.’”

Jesus was saying that children have nothing to be proud of or to boast about, no wisdom or knowledge, or wealth or fame or power; they come to God humbly, admitting their need for Him; as all who come to God must do.  And this is well-pleasing to the Father, Who has turned all things over to the Son, so that He might show us and impart to us those things that prophets and kings desired to see, and to know, and to understand; all that has been revealed to us in and through Christ.

Hebrews 11 is called the Hall of Faith, where we find the names of people who pleased God: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Samson, David, Samuel, and many others of who it is said (Hebrews 11:39-40), “having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.”

Wow!  As New Testament believers, under the New Covenant, we have the privilege to know the mysteries of God’s Kingdom that were kept secret in the Old Testament and could only be revealed through the life, death, and resurrection, of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:7-10, “ In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.”

1John 1:1-10, “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. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. 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. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 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. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”

There are two groups of people in this world: Forgiven Sinners and Unforgiven Sinners.

Romans 3:10-12, “as it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one; ‘there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.’”  Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  Romans 8:1, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Again, there are only two groups of people in this world: Forgiven Sinners, and Unforgiven Sinners.  Jesus turns no one away (Romans 10:13), “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  Which one are you?

 
Pastor Mike Hale
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Bible Text: various | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | (No Live stream of our service, broken equipment)

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