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December 17h, 2023
“A Biblical Record of Those Who Honored the Christ Child”
    
See Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-7… 
 

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a young virgin, named Mary.

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”  Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.  You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”  The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, so that the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.”  Then the angel left her.

Because Joseph was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, for He will save his people from their sins.”

When Joseph was awakened, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

Joseph and Mary went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, in order to register according to the census being taken.  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and Mary gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Mary & Joseph Trusted God: All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet Isaiah 7:14, some 700 years before Christ’s birth, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” -which means, “God with us.”

Joseph kept Mary a virgin until she gave birth to a son, to whom Joseph gave the name, Jesus –which means, “God’s salvation.”       Christmas is in celebration of God sending His own Son to us in the flesh of a baby.  He is the Savior who has been born in the town of David; He is Christ the Lord.

 
The Shepherds Praised Him: (Luke 2:8-20)
 

See Luke 2:8-18 records that “there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. Suddenly a great company of heavenly host appeared to the shepherds, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace toward men on whom God’s sovereign pleasure rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

After looking upon the baby Jesus, the shepherds went out from the manger into the streets, sharing the good news that the Savior had indeed been born.

Luke 2:19 records, “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”  No doubt, Mary thought back to the angel’s announcement about her Holy conception, to how Joseph had responded to this news, and to the special names “Jesus” and “Immanuel,” to be given to her baby boy!

The shepherds according to verse 20, “returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”

How about you?  Are you praising God for this magnificent Gift: Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Who came to earth in the flesh of a baby; in His early 30’s He was put to death on a cross, because He claimed to be God; on the third day after His death, eye witnesses said He rose from the grave (just like He had said He would).

 
The Magi Worshiped Him: (Matthew 2:1-11)
 

See Matthew 2:1-11, “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.   When he had called together all the chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. In Bethlehem in Judea, they replied, ‘for this is what the prophet has written: But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'” Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.’  After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.”

These Magi (learned men who studied the heavens) came from the Far East, in order to find, honor, and worship the newborn King.  

     The Magi arrived sometime after the birth, for Joseph and Mary are at a house, no longer at the manger, they were waiting on instructions from God on where and when to travel.  Notice that Jesus is not called a baby here, but the word is child, for He is a toddler by this time.

The Magi present Jesus with very significant gifts:

Gold, one of the most precious metals, it speaks of Christ’s royalty and prominence as King of Kings.

Frankincense, an expensive incense made from tree resin, used on special occasions (sacrificial offerings), as a symbol of the people’s desire to please God; it may also speak of His Deity, and His obedient submission to the Father.

Myrrh, a valuable aromatic gum resin, was sold as a spice or medicine, and was commonly used in the preparation of bodies for burial; it, no doubt, is a foreshadowing of Christ’s own suffering and death.

The Magi brought gifts honoring the King of Kings –Jesus Christ, who came to provide forgiveness for sins and eternal life to all who would trust Him.

He went to the cross and died, in order to make final payment for all our sins; He rose from the grave on the third day, just like He said He would, in order to prove that He is Almighty God, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Savior of all who trust in Him.  He alone is worthy of Worship!

 
The Reason for the Season is  JESUS! 
 

Christmas is a compound word made up of the words “Christ” [which means, the anointed One], and “Mass” [which means, a festival for religious observance].  Christmas commemorates a celebration in honor and worship of Jesus Christ, the Anointed One from God, who has already come.

The statistical probability that any one man could fulfill just 8 of the prophecies made about the birth, life, death & resurrection of Jesus, would be written as one in one quintillion (1 in 10 to the 17th power or one with eighteen zeros: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000).

If you covered the state of Texas with silver dollars to a depth of two feet (marking one of the dollars in a special way), and you allowed someone to randomly pick out any one dollar and hold it up — the chances that the person would pick out the silver dollar that had been marked, would be 1 in 10 to the 17th power.

But you know, Jesus didn’t just fulfill 8 prophecies, He fulfilled over 300 prophecies; in fact, every prophecy made concerning the coming of God’s One and Only Son, the Savior of the world, and all that He would accomplish while He was on earth….Jesus Christ fulfilled every one of them!

How can anyone believe that what the Bible records about Jesus Christ is just a myth or a well constructed hoax?  What the Bible teaches about the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the absolute and sovereign truth.

Jesus Christ is God’s One and Only Plan, Provision, and Promise by which we might receive forgiveness for sins and eternal life.

 
Let us take time this Christmas to do the following:
 

Trust in and Reflect on who Jesus is, as did Mary when she Treasured up everything in her heart that had been said and done (the angel’s announcement about her Holy conception; Joseph’s response to this news; the special names given to the baby – “Jesus” [God’s salvation], and “Immanuel” [God with us])!

Spread the word like the shepherds, who once they had seen Jesus, couldn’t help but share the good news with everyone, Praising God for the Savior’s birth.

Honor Him, as did the Magi, when they brought their gifts in order to Worship the Child-King, God’s One & Only Son, the Lord and Savior of Mankind.

God came to earth and put on the flesh of a baby boy named Jesus; He went to the cross, so that everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness for sins and eternal life; then He rose from the grave to demonstrate eternal life.

John 3:16  For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.

Only through Jesus Christ can we [you] experience God’s LOVE, God’s PEACE, God’s PRESENCE, and the true JOY of Christmas.

2Corinthians 9:15, “Thanks be to God for His Indescribable Gift!

Again, let’s practice saying and meaning the greeting we should be proclaiming to everyone we meet, and those we talk with on the phone, or those we write a message to via text message and/or email: Merry Christmas!

 
Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><

Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: Advent | Above is the
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December 10th, 2023
“A Biblical Account of Those Who Missed Christmas”
 

Jesus Christ is the Reason for Christmas; and yet, most of the world’s 7,900,000,000 people will not celebrate the birth of God’s Son this year, just as the majority of people didn’t celebrate His birth, when He was born, in Bethlehem, over 2,000 years ago.   Most of the world’s people today reject or neglect God’s greatest gift of love to us, His own Son.

The shepherds, on the night of Christ’s birth, were given a marvelous message (Luke 2:11), “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.” (14), “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to [all people] on whom His favor rests.”

The first time Jesus came, He arrived in the flesh of a baby, born to a virgin, and only a few shepherds came to witness the Savior’s birth.  After seeing the baby, we are told (Luke 2:17-18), the shepherds went about telling everyone they met what had happened and what they had seen, just as God’s angel had told them.

Have you taken time yet to share the good news of Jesus Christ?  Perhaps you have been stressed out because of personal or family problems, health issues, worries about the economy, the war in Israel, or maybe you’ve just been too busy enjoying the season to tell someone the true meaning of Christmas [Christ, Holy One; Mass, a religious observance], i.e., Christmas is in honor of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior.

The majority of people in the world will miss Christmas this year, next year, and the years that follow.  How can that be?  How can anyone miss Christmas, given the history, the amount of publicity, and the commercial promotions that this holiday receives every year?

For those of us who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ, Christmas is a time to focus on His birth; but even Christians can get caught up in all the activity associated with Christmastime, forgetting to worship the Savior who has come.

How many of us really consider the sobering truth that Jesus, God’s Son, was born for the purpose of dying for the sins of the world.  That is God’s greatest gift to us, forgiveness for sins and eternal life through Christ the Lord.

Was Jesus really born in December?  Probably not, in fact most biblical scholars do not consider December 25th as the date of Christ’s birth, and there is absolutely no biblical support for that date.  So why do we celebrate Christ’s birth on December 25?

Truth be told, it was decided upon by the Catholic Bishops in Rome (4th century A.D).  At that time, a majority of the earth’s inhabitants were sun worshipers who praised the sun god for seasons and crops; they held feasts during the winter solstice (a time when the days are shortest); they built large bonfires to implore the sun god to lengthen the days, and as they grew longer, the worshippers rejoiced and celebrated.

For the Romans, the month of December marked the Festival of Saturnalia.  John MacArthur writes in his book (GOD WITH US:The Miracle of Christmas, pg. 50), “Our focus On December 25 came from the Roman holiday called Saturnalia.  This was a pagan observance of the birthday of the unconquered sun.  Saturnalia began December 19 each year, which, in the northern hemisphere, is when the days start getting longer, [the celebration] continued with seven days of wild revelry.  Many of our Christmas customs have their origin in Saturnalia, which was marked by feasting, parades, special music, gift giving, lighted candles, and green trees.  As Christianity spread through the Roman Empire, the pagan holiday was given Christian connotations.  In 336 A.D., Emperor Constantine declared Christ’s birthday an official Roman Holiday.  Some church leaders, such as Chrysostom, rebuked Christians fore adopting a pagan holiday, but December 25 has endured as the date we celebrate Christ’s birth.”

Many historians believe that the first Christmas tree was instituted by Boniface, an English missionary to Germany in the 8th century, who supposedly sought to replace the practice of sacrifices being made to the god Odin’s sacred oak, with a fir tree that was decorated in honor of Christ.  There are also credible accounts claiming that Martin Luther was the first to introduce a Christmas tree lighted with candles.

The name “Santa Claus” is a contraction of St. Nicholas, an actual Christian bishop in Asia Minor during the 4th century, who was known for his extraordinary generosity, and was later associated with the giving of presents at the end of the year.  It is said that St. Nicholas was adopted in the Netherlands as the patron saint of children, and on St. Nicholas eve, the children would put out their wooded shoes filled with hay for the saint’s white horse, only to find them filled with small toys and candy the next morning.

With all these historical renditions (whether true or not) of what goes on during Christmastime, is it any wonder that so many people are confused and miss Christmas?  The biblical story of the birth of Christ is overshadowed by a multitude of traditions and celebrations today; but the reality is, most of the people who were there when Christ was born in Bethlehem, missed it.  The Scriptures record several reasons why the people in and around Jerusalem 2000 years ago missed Christmas, as well as why most of those living today don’t celebrate Christ’s birth.

 
Self-importance…
 

See Matthew 2:1-3, 7-8…  Here we meet Herod, the so-called king of the Jews (by his own proclamation); he was fearful of the One born in Bethlehem, who was the true King of the Jews.  The Greek word translated “troubled” (Matthew 2:3) means, “to be agitated” or “stirred up,” “panicked”. Herod was afraid of baby Jesus.

Herod was known to be cruel and merciless; the thought of losing his position of power and prominence to some newborn child, was unthinkable!  Herod was known to have had anyone put to death who rose in popularity among the people under his reign, even his own wife, sons, and other relatives; but his most barbaric act (cf. Matthew 2:16) was the slaughter of “all the male children who were in Bethlehem and the surrounding areas, from two years old and under.”  By doing this, he hoped to kill Jesus, who was the major threat to his throne; the One who the magi said had been born King of the Jews.

Herod missed Christmas because he was a psychopathic megalomaniac: unwilling to give up his self acclaimed authority and control, like many people today who want what they want when they want it, and anyone who tries to prevent them from getting or keeping it becomes an enemy and a threat.  They won’t come to Christ because they think He will force them to give up or change the way they live.

Today’s psychologists, internet social platform gurus, false religious teachers, and media magnets are telling people to do their own thing, be the master of their own fate, and determine their own destiny.  The world is full of self professed kings who won’t recognize, let alone kneel before, Christ, so they miss Christmas just like Herod did.

 
Indifference…
 

See Matthew 2:4-6…  Once Herod learned from the magi that a child would be born King of the Jews, he gathered the religious experts [chief priests, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Teachers of the Law] who knew the Messiah was to be born in “Bethlehem,” as per the prophecy of Micah 5:2.

At the time of Christ’s birth, the Jewish nation had been waiting centuries for their Messiah [Redeemer, Rescuer, Deliverer] to come, they are still waiting and looking for Him to come, for these religious leaders were unwilling to travel to Bethlehem, just a few miles from Jerusalem, to find out if the Messiah had indeed been born, just like Micah had said.

These self-righteous overseers of religious law and practice missed Christmas because they just didn’t care, their hearts full of pride had no room for the Son of God.

From the moment Jesus stepped out to begin His ministry, these religious leaders hated and despised Him, and wanted to kill Him.  Jesus exposed their arrogant indifference to Him (Matthew 9:12-13), “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

See Luke 18:10-14…. Many people today miss Christmas because they don’t have any interest in the Savior; they don’t understand the depth of their own depravity and their need to be saved; and so they reject the Bible’s truth that we are all sinners, the punishment for sin is eternal hell, and the only hope is to repent and believe in Jesus Christ alone for salvation and eternal life (cf. Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 8:1;10:13; John 14:6).

 
Religious Activity…       
 

Luke 2:20 tells us that after seeing the baby Jesus, “The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.” Out of all the people in and around Jerusalem, God singled out a few shepherds to receive the news and be witnesses of the birth of Christ.  Shepherds in Israel were considered lower class citizens because, they couldn’t maintain all the ceremonial washings and religious activities mandated in orthodox Judaism

The majority of the people in and around Jerusalem missed Christmas because they were very religious, busy with rituals and ceremonies, so they missed Christ’s birth.  Religion apart from God will damn more people to hell than anything else, because religion gives a person a counterfeit sense of spiritual security, of being justified or made acceptable to a holy God.

People are deceived by cults and world religions that talk about God, reference the Bible, and may even teach about someone named Jesus; but He is not the historical biblical Jesus, Messiah, Christ, God’s Son, Creator, Sustainer, Lord, Savior, and Judge over all, who was crucified, resurrected, and is coming back.

Most of the world’s religious people are lost, separated from life with God because they don’t acknowledge Christ, like the people of Jerusalem (1st century A.D.) who missed the Messiah’s birth, while they were performing religious acts of piety that couldn’t save them.

 
Idolatry…
 

Most of the Greco-Roman [Gentile] world missed Christmas because of their idolatrous worship of false gods.  It is no surprise that today most people also miss Christmas because they worship a variety of idols, but mostly worship themselves.

See Acts 17:22-29…  About 20 years after Jesus ascended into heaven, Paul is in Athens standing before the Areopagus (the council or judiciary that judged the beliefs and behaviors of men), similar to the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem.

Paul tells them (cf. Acts 17:23) that he is going to introduce them to the god who was at that time unknown to them, “The God who made the world and everything in it.”  The God who doesn’t live in temples or need manmade things, for He is the Creator of all things; and in fact, He made from one man [Adam] every nation, determining when, where, and how long they should live. God did this so mankind would seek Him, know Him, and become His children.

See Acts 17:30-31…  Paul declares that until Jesus came, God overlooked the ignorance and idolatry of all who did not know God, but now God has commanded that everyone repent and believe in Christ, who died and rose from the dead, showing Himself to all who would believe in Him for salvation (cf. Romans 10:9-10).

The world today is still full of people who worship their own manmade gods, not statues made of gold, silver, wood, or clay, but idols still the same: money, cars, boats, houses, land, power, prominence, good looks, good health, etc., all these are equal to the idol worship of the first century A.D., leading people to miss Christmas.

 
Over-Familiarity…
 

Luke 2:39-40 says, “When they [Mary, Jesus, and Joseph] had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth. And the Child continued to grow and became strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”

Even the people of Jesus’ home town missed Christmas.

When Jesus returned to Nazareth, He was unnoticed, like any other Jewish child; and even though Jesus spent thirty years of His life in Nazareth, the residents failed to recognize Him as the Savior (Luke 4:16-22), “And [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written (Isaiah 61:1-2), ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.’ And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

Luke 4:28-30, “And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, He went His way.”

The people of Nazareth missed the Christ of Christmas, because they knew Jesus as Joseph’s son, not as their Messiah.  Sadly, most of us know people who were raised in a Christian home and yet they don’t believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Over-familiarity can blind people to the truth, i.e., when you’ve heard something so many times, without believing it or confirming it in your own mind and heart, such over-familiarity can often breed indifference and/or contempt.

As we have studied today, there are many reasons why people miss Christmas, as I have mentioned: self-importance, indifference, religious activity, idolatry, and over-familiarity.  But behind all those so-called reasons remains the real problem: unbelief.  How sad it is that most people continue to reject God’s Son, Jesus Christ, for Salvation.

Luke 2:10-11, The angel said to [the shepherds] “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

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

Acts 4:12, “And 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.”

Matthew 1:23, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” 21, “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

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,”

(John 1:11-12), “He came to His own [the Jews], and [they] did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,”

(John 10:28), “I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish.”

Jesus is the Reason for the Season.  Don’t miss Christmas like most of the people in the world, for there is simply no excuse for rejecting God’s Son.  And therefore, I urge you to believe in and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, right here, right now, so that you will never miss another Christmas, but instead you will be able to say proclaim from your heart, “Merry Christmas,” now and forever!

 
Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><

Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | There are no
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December 3rd, 2023
“A Child Born to Die”

Jesus came to pay the penalty (for all sin, for all time, for all people), by His death on the cross; and three days later, He came out of the grave alive, demonstrating eternal life for all who believe in Him.

John 1:29, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Luke 4:22, “

Micah 5:2, “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah [Hebrew = fruitful]… from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.”

Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”

Isaiah 9:6, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

     See Isaiah 53:4-7, 11-12…

Read Hebrews 1:1-3… 

Jesus’ birth happened just as God had announced through the prophets,(Galatians 4:4-5), “when the time had fully come (i.e., at just the right time), God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.”

Politically –

Culturally –

Spiritually –

Luke 2:52, “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”

Luke 3:22, God declared from heaven, “You are My Son, whom I love, with You I am well pleased.”

Colossians 1:16, “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.”

Revelation 5:5, “one of the elders said to me, ‘Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.’” 6-7, “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne…  He came and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.” 9, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”

Colossians 1:20, “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.”

    See John 1:1-2… “Word” [Logos] means Jesus is God’s revelation of Himself to the world; He is the final testimony from God to mankind about God’s salvation

See John 1:4…. Jesus Christ is the Creator who is eternally existent.  That is, in a way, the awesome nature of God’s name “I AM,” (Exodus 3:14).

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, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.”

John 8:12, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

1John 1:5-9, “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.”

See Hebrews 1:3b… Christ is (Colossians 1:15), “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation,” 17, “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together,” 2:9, “in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.”

See Hebrews 1:3c…  Jesus created all things by His own Word.

Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

See Hebrews 1:3d… Jesus Christ fulfilled His sovereign work (Hebrews 9:12), “through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption,” (Hebrews 10:12), “having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, [He] sat down at the right hand of God.”

Jesus was put to death on a cross, buried, and on the third day He came out of the tomb alive, and He began showing Himself to His followers over a 40 day period; after which, He ascended back into heaven.

Christmas is about God’s Greatest Gift: the Lamb of God, who was born for the purpose of laying down His own life, as full payment for our sins.

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.’”

Revelation 1:17-18, ”I am the first and the last, the living One; I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”

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

2Corinthians 9:15, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”

The word “Christmas” is formed from two words: Christ and mass.

Christ is the Messiah; and mass means a religious observance.

Christmas is a celebration in honor and praise and worship of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior: crucified, resurrected, and coming again, to take all those who believe Him to live with Him in heaven, forever!

And that is why we can and should say, Merry Christmas!

 
Pastor Mike Hale
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November 26th, 2023
“Why We Should Be Thankful: Part Two”

See John 14:1-3…   Jesus, on the eve of His own execution, speaks words of comfort to the eleven, in the upper room, so that they should not be troubled by the incomprehensible reality that He is going to be taken from them and put to death.

See John 14:4-6…  Jesus expected the disciples to know that He would be returning to the Father in heaven, as He had already told them in John 7:33, yet they had not understood it.  Thomas states the obvious lack of understanding among the disciples, they do not know where He is going or the way to get there.

Jesus’ response in verse 6 is the sixth “I AM” statement made by Jesus in John’s gospel, and it is undoubtedly one of the most quoted sayings of Christ, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Jesus is the only Way to God, the only Truth of God, and the only Life with God.

      Day by day we draw closer to the time when Christ will return for His people, in the air; after which, dramatic events will occur: the rise of the Antichrist to world power will precede seven years of Tribulation (cf. Daniel 9, Matthew 24, Revelation 8, 9, 16).

The earth will experience a time of great suffering (chaos, confusion, war, famine, disease, death and destruction) like the world has never seen before and will never see again.

But before the tribulation period begins, Christ will leave the Fathers’ side and descend to the clouds above the earth, at a predetermined time, unknown to man.

See 1Thessalonians 4:13-18…  Paul speaks of the hope that all believers have in Christ; we are not to grieve like unbelievers who have no hope, for we will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and be with Him forever, wearing heavenly bodies that won’t suffer decay or death!

The believers in Thessolonica were young in the faith, and they were confused about the timing of the removal of Christians from the earth.  Paul reassures them that no believer will miss this event, whether they have already died or are still alive at Christ’s coming in the air, we will all be changed.

This event, the Lord’s coming to get His people, is often called “the rapture of the church.”  The word “rapture” [from the Latin “raptus”] meaning “to seize” “to catch away” or “to snatch up,” [from the Greek harpázō (har-pad’-zo ), suddenly and decisively].  Paul doesn’t tell us much about the rapture in 1Thessalonians 4, so let’s go to another text where Paul gives us more information about this event.

See 1Corinthians 15:50-58…  Paul tells us that some of the Lord’s people will not have to go through the experience of death, but that they will be “changed,” “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.”

Moment = from the word translated here, we get the word atom, it refers to “something that is indivisible,” i.e., “in the smallest amount of time imaginable” our mortal bodies will become immortal.

Twinkling = the word translated here means,

“a very rapid movement,” because the eye can move faster than any other visible part of the body, i.e., the change from our earthly to our eternal bodies will be instantaneous.

When Jesus comes for us, it will be instantaneous; it won’t be a process, but will happen so fast it will be over before we even know it started!  It makes no difference whether our bodies are dead in the grave or alive on the earth; all of God’s people will be raptured, in their bodies, taken away suddenly and changed forever!

     The earth will be emptied of all Christians (prior to the 7-Year Tribulation), after which the first 3.5 years will have a pseudo-peace between the Jews and the Arabs, and the last 3.5 years will be The Great Tribulation, the Day of the LORD.

See Matthew 24:1-8…  Jesus is answering a question from His disciples about the signs of the end of the age.  Notice in verse 8, “all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs” [sudden sharp pains]: wars and rumors of wars, nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.

See Matthew 24:9-14…  Christians are the most persecuted and harassed religious group in the world today.  The major conflict in the news today is what is going on in Israel-Gaza.  We should all be opposed to the killing of thousands of civilians and non-combatants on both sides, but more appalling is the fact that half of the casualties are children.

There are 16 million Jews in the world today, and 464 million Arabs whose religion and culture promotes the animation of the Jewish people.

Matthew 24:4-12 speaks of the days we are in now

(2Timothy 3:1-5), “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.” 12-13, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

See Matthew 24:15-23…  The abomination that causes desolation occurs during the middle of the 7 year Tribulation (cf. Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11); the Antichrist will seek to kill all of Israel, and all those who hold to “the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ” (cf. Revelation 1:2; 20:4).

Both the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation make it clear that the time of Tribulation is 7 years, and the time of the Great Tribulation (cf. Matthew 24:21), will be a period of 3.5 half years that will close with the Son of Man appearing (cf. Matthew 24:29-30).

We should not be setting dates for the Lord’s return for us, we should be living for Him as we wait for our imminent departure when the Lord will take us home.

     We are saved through Christ, so while we are on this planet, we should be telling others about Him.  We are purposed and provisioned (cf. 2Corinthians 5:14-21) as ambassadors for Christ, urging, pleading with, unbelievers to be reconciled to God through Christ [reconciliation x2, reconciled x2, reconciling x1].

God has given us eternal life through Christ Jesus and we will have unlimited joy and celebration throughout all of eternity to make up for the short time of suffering and struggle that we experience in these mortal bodies, on this earth.

See Matthew 24:42-44…  Christ’s return should not surprise you like a thief breaking into your home.  Think about that!  If you are awakened at night to the sound of what you think is a thief breaking into your home, it might cause you to be fearful; however, if you are awakened at night to the sound of what you think is a loved one returning home from a long trip, you will most likely become happy.

As we await the time when we will be raptured to meet Christ in the air — we should be busy doing God’s business, living obedient lives and sharing the good news of salvation with all who will listen.  Once we are taken to heaven, it will be too late for us to witness to those who are left behind.  So, while we still have the opportunity, we must spread the truth of the Gospel of Christ through our words and our life to every one who will listen.

1Peter 2:11-12, “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

2Peter 3:17-18, “ You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”

See 2Peter 3:9-10…          God is merciful and long-suffering, He doesn’t want anyone to die in their sins, but instead for everyone to come to a knowledge of the truth (John 14:6), Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me,” (1Timothy 2:3-4), “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men [women and children] to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

God’s timing for Christ’s return will not be delayed, it will not be late, but will be according to God’s perfect timing, when the fullness of time has come, which will also coincide with God’s patience reaching its maximum capacity.

Those of you who have the assurance of salvation ought to continually be giving thanks to God.

Anyone who has not yet repented of their sins and believed in Christ for salvation can be very thankful that there’s still time to do so.

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.” 36, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, [for] the wrath of God remains on him.”

In Acts 4:12 says, “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,” only that of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:9-11), “God… …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,” (1John 5:11-13), “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.”

God provides forgiveness for sin and eternal life through Jesus Christ:crucified, resurrected, coming again to take all who believe in Him to be with Him forever.

What should you do with that marvelous message?

2Corinthians 5:20-21, “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.”

How should you be living because of that marvelous message?

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

 
Pastor Mike Hale
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Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale |
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November 19th, 2023
“Why We Should Be Thankful: Part One”

The Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year season is often associated with times of celebration and family get togethers and expressions of gratitude toward God for His many blessings.

God’s gifts come in a variety of forms, at various times, often providing or supplementing what we need, and sometimes, with totally unexpected blessings– day by day, year after year.

James 1:17, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. 18, In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.”

1Peter 2:9, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

God doesn’t save us because we are wise, strong, rich, handsome, or influential people; He chooses us in our weaknesses, so that we will testify to the world how the holy God of Creation is reconciling lost sinners to Himself.

1Corinthians 1:18, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 26-31, “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

2Corinthians 5:17-21, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 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.”

2Peter 1:2-3, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”

God desires for us to personally know Him now and forever!

John 1:1-3, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” 14, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 18, “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

As Christians we have everything we need to personally know and to grow in a relationship with God, now and forever, in Christ.  We do this by understanding, obeying, and proclaiming God’s Word through our lives.

God expresses His uncompromising love toward those who believe in and follow Him, granting us the privilege of being His witnesses on the earth, while allowing us to come to Him in heaven, anytime, in prayer, so (Hebrews 10:22a), “let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith,” (Colossians 4:2), “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.”

Paul expands on the importance of prayer (Philippians 4:6-7), “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.”

Have you ever gone to God in prayer, and you begin thanking Him for all the wonderful things He has created for you to see, touch, taste, smell, hear, and experience, e.g., sunsets, sunrises, birds, fish, animals, insects, flowers, trees, clouds, breezes, rivers, lakes, beaches, and oceans; but most important, the awesome hope we have of eternity in heaven with God.

Today, we will consider two of God’s blessings: Our relationship with God through Salvation.  Our relationship with the family and friends God has given us..

Salvation…  Before coming to Christ we are spiritually dead, guilty of sin, condemned to hell, basically hopeless; but God, in His mercy and kindness, provides forgiveness for sin through Jesus Christ (cf Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 8:1; 10:9-10, 13).

God wants everyone to be saved, for no one to go to hell (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.”

No wonder Paul declares (2Corinthians 9:15), ”Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”

God’s has provided everything we need to know Him, to live for Him now, and to trust Him to bring us into heaven to be with Him for eternity: He has revealed Himself to us in and through Jesus Christ, who is (John 14:6), “the only way” [to God: through Jesus’ death and resurrection]; “the only truth” [from God: Jesus is the Living Word of God, as recorded in the 66 Books of the Bible], “and the only life” [with God: made effectual through God’sSpirit living in each person who is born of God for the purpose of serving Him], “no one comes to the Father but through [Him].”

As you serve the Lord you will experience difficult times (2Timothy 3:12), “Indeed, all who desire to live godly [lives] in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

Paul who suffered greatly because of Christ said (2Corinthians 12:10), “I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong” (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,” 19, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

God will see us through our struggles if we hold fast, trusting Him, seeking to honor and obey God’s Word. James 1:2-4, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing,”

(2Corinthians 4:7-9), “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed,” 16, “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.”

It is often during times of struggle that we will experience God’s presence like never before, enabling  us to serve God sacrificially, while also empowering us to be more compassionate toward others.

2Corinthians 1:3-4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

      Family & Friends…  We often receive comfort and encouragement from the family and friends God gives us, and although we might not express our thankfulness to God for them, they are definitely gifts from God.

My best friend, Nancy, is also my wife; and God has blessed us with four children, six grandchildren, one daughter-in-law, and one son-in-law.  And God is so gracious to have given both, Nancy and myself, Christian parents who have been a blessing to our children and grandchildren; although now, all four of our parents, one of our children and two or our grandchildren are with the Lord in heaven..

God also blesses us with many brothers and sisters in Christ, who encourage and exhort us to live by faith, as children of God and citizens of God’s kingdom.

We all have family, friends, and acquaintances, but true Christian family and friends are sent from God to share our journey on this earth (Proverbs 18:24), “A man of too many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

The Bible says true friends tell us the truth, not necessarily what we want to hear, even if it temporarily hurts us (Proverbs 27:6), “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.”

God is so good to provide family and friends during our life on earth, some with whom we will share eternity in heaven; but the best friend God provides, is His own Son, Jesus Christ, who, although He is the KING of Kings and LORD of Lords, the Creator and Judge over all, He calls us His friends (cf John 15:15), “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

During this season of Thanks-Giving, please consider the many blessings God has given you, and take time to thank God for each one of them, especially for the Gift of Salvation, and for Gift of Family and Friends.

Salvation is by Grace, through Faith in Jesus Christ who took our punishment for sin, so that we might receive forgiveness and eternal life from God.

Family & Friends are used by God to comfort and challenge us while we live on this earth.

      Thankful people we should be!

1Corinthians 10:31, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God,” (Colossians 3:17), “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

Our God is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above, with wisdom, power and love, our God is an awesome God!

And it is for that very reason that you should (1Thessalonians 5:16-18), “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

 
Pastor Mike Hale

Bible Text: Luke 10:1-16 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale |
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November 12th, 2023
“Seventy Sent Out: Part Two”

Luke 10:1-16
 

       Last week we began a study in Luke 10:1-2, where we find Jesus sending out 70 true believers and followers ahead of Him, that they might go into the villages and towns where Jesus will visit, in order to prepare the way for Him, to proclaim the message of salvation through Jesus Christ the Lord.

We saw this before, when 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.”

Their God-given authority to heal diseases and cast out demons marked them as having come from God with God’s authority, to proclaim the message of the gospel, first given by Jesus at the beginning of His ministry.

Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”  Then He said to Simon and Andrew (17-20).”’Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and [followed] Him.”

What a drastic difference in response we see in those first four believers and followers of Christ (Simon, Andrew James, and John), in comparison to the three “tentative” disciples we studied about last week in Luke 9:57-61, where one declared, “I will follow yYou wherever You go,” another said, “Lord let me first go and bury my father,” (in reality this man’s father was most likely still alive and well), and still another said, “I will follow You Lord; but first permit me” to go say good bye [to my friends and family]”.

There is no confirmation that any of these three ever returned to follow Jesus.

In Luke 10:1 Jesus sends out the 70 in pairs, saying to them (verses 3-11), “Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘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.’”

Jesus, just months away from the cross in Jerusalem; has compassion for the lost, the unbelieving, and so He sends the 70 ahead of Him to the villages and towns that He will come to, in order to prepare the people so they might believe and receive Him as Savior when He comes.

The 70 sent out are true believers, they belong to the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, along with all those who come to believe in Christ for the forgiveness of sin and eternal life. All those born of God, are equipped to proclaim the truth of God to those who have yet to believe.

Do you remember when we studied the story of the demoniac in the region of the Gerasenes (cf. Mark 5:1-7; Luke 8:26-39) who was indwelled by an unclean spirit that caused the man to live out among the tombs, naked and cutting himself with rocks, screaming uncontrollably?  Jesus freed him from his bondage, and the man was then sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.

When Jesus was getting ready to depart from that region, the man He had healed was begging Jesus to let him come also; but Jesus sent him away, saying, “‘Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.’ So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.”  This healed demoniac had no knowledge of who Jesus was, but Jesus had healed Him; Jesus now sends the man home to tell his household and those in the city where he lived, what great things God had done for him though Christ.

       Back to Luke 10:3…. These disciples are to “Go!”  They aren’t to wait for unbelievers to come to them, but are to take the message of Christ to the world, “like lambs among wolves.”  The world hates Christ, it also hates those who bring the message of salvation through Christ alone.  Like lambs in a world of wolves, believers must trust in the Shepherd-Savior to protect and provide for them.

The 70 would face persecution, just as the Apostles, 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.

See Luke 10:4….  The Lord did not want the 70 to take extra provisions, but instead to trust Him for supplying what they might need; just like Jesus had commanded the Twelve (Luke 9:3), “Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two tunics apiece,” (Mark 6:8-9), “He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belt— but to wear sandals; and He added, ‘Do not put on two tunics.’”

Clearly the Twelve, when they were sent out, as are the Seventy who are now being sent out, to trust the Lord completely for all of their provisions and protection and even lodging, as they go out to proclaim salvation through Jesus, while also healing all those with illnesses or unclean spirits.

After Jesus sent out the Twelve and then the  Seventy, the first time, He later reminded them of the protection and provision He had provided (Luke 22:35), “When I sent you out without money belt and bag and [extra] sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?” They said, “No, nothing.”  But then Jesus added (verse 36), “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one.”

Notice again in Luke 10:4, “and greet no one on the way.”  What is that about?  There is no explanation given in the text, but we recall that in Luke 10:2, Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”

I don’t believe Jesus is telling them not to give a greeting to anyone, but that they are to get to the villages quickly and must not to be deterred.

Back in Luke 10:3, Jesus had told them they were like lambs among wolves, i.e., prey among predators. The majority of people then, as the majority of people now, are not neutral, let alone friendly, toward Christ’s message that they need to repent and believe in Him.  No doubt, some of those along the way may very well be adversaries of the Lord and of those who proclaim His message, so, Jesus is probably saying, get to where you will stay, and proclaim the message from there. There was no need to create opportunities for a confrontation leading to hostility or persecution from unbelievers because of unnecessary interactions with them.

See Luke 10:5-9…  Jesus tells them to seek out a house where they will be accepted and to stay there until they are ready to leave that town or village. In other words, a house that accepts the message of Christ is where they are to camp out for a time; and while there they are to accept the provisions of that house and they are not to keep moving from house to house for a better situation or finer provisions.  But there is more to it then that, Jesus is freeing the Seventy from the jewish dietary laws and customs, so that if they are staying in a Gentile’s home, they should eat and drink what is provided for them; for Jesus had already declared all foods to be clean and acceptable before God.

Mark 7:14-25, “He began saying to them, ‘Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. [If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.’]  When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. And He said to them, ‘Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.). And He was saying, ‘That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.’”

Back to Luke 10:5-9….  Again in verse 6 we read, “If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.”  Simply put, the disciples would know whether or not their message was genuinely accepted, if it was rejected, they should move on.

But in the village where their message is accepted, they should heal those who are sick, and say to them the kingdom of God has come near in Jesus the Messiah-Savior-King, who has come into the world to save sinners.

See Luke 10:10-11….  Clearly the seventy would not be accepted in every village and town, even Jesus was previously rejected by a whole Samaritan village (Luke 9:52-53), “[Jesus] sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. But [that village] did not receive Him,” [they rejected Him].

Jesus then tells the Seventy that if any house or town will not receive them, they are to shake the dust off their feet as a “testimony against” those who rejected them and their message.

The disciples were sent out to bring God’s message of reconciliation and healing to the lost unbelieving of society.  For someone to reject them or their message, was the same as rejecting 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 followers of Christ were saying that any house or village that rejected them also rejected God’s salvation and remained condemned.

Turn to 1Peter 2:11-12; 3:14-16; 2Peter 3:3-7, 10-13…  Until the Lord returns, we must urgently and compassionately share the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ; for all who reject Him are condemned to an eternal hell. 2Corinthians 5:17-21, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 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.”

Like the Twelve and the Seventy, we too 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,” (John 3:36), “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, [for] the wrath of God [remains] on 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,” (Matthew 11:28), “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest,” (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 a [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.”

 
Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><

Bible Text: Luke 10:1-16 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above is the
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November 5th, 2023
“Seventy Sent Out: Part One”

Luke 10:1-16
 

Last week, in Luke 9:57-62, we studied about three “tentative” disciples of Christ, who said they would follow Him, but it appears that none of them did.

Today we’ll begin our study about 70 true believers of Christ, who were sent out ahead of Jesus, in pairs, to prepare the towns and villages for His coming.

Read Luke 10:1…  Unlike the three men in last week’s text, who didn’t count the cost of following Christ, those in today’s reading were true disciples, willing to trust God alone for their needs, as they take the gospel message to the lost.

Jesus’ concentrated ministry in Galilee is over and He is now heading toward Jerusalem, where He will be put to death, buried, rise from the grave, appear to His followers, and then ascend back into heaven to be with the Father.

Jesus has appointed [cf. Acts 1:24, “chosen,” personally selected] these seventy messengers to prepare the way ahead of Him and the Twelve, much like John the Baptizer, at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry (John 1:23), “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah (40:3) the prophet said.”

Luke 10 is the only account of Jesus sending a specific 70 (or 72) disciples out. The discrepancy in number is because approximately half of the ancient scrolls used in translation record 70, the others 72. Scholars do not agree on whether the number should be 70 or 72, but it is interesting that the number 70 (not 72) is repeated other places in Scripture [70 elders: Exodus 24:1, 9; Numbers 11:16; 70 years: Jeremiah 25:12; 29:10; 2Chronicles 36:21].

Numbers 11:16, “The Lord therefore said to Moses, ‘Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you.”

Seventy men take their stand with Moses (70+1= 71 men).  In the theocracy of Israel, the Sanhedrin was the supreme ruling court of ancient Israel, it was made up of 70 men and the high priest (71 men).  Coincidence, I don’t think so.

So, was 70 (or 72) who were sent out to preach the gospel and heal the sick, it is most likely 70, and the number 72 was an error made by an early scribe, whose subsequent copies contained the number 72.

In today’s text, Jesus selected and sent out seventy men, in pairs.  But why did He send them out in pairs?  I’m glad you asked.  Jesus had done this before (Mark 6:7), “He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.”

Solomon speaks to the wisdom of “two being better than one” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-11), “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?”

But there is yet another reason, more important (Deuteronomy 19:15), “On the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.”

The 70 men (Luke 10, in pairs) are going into villages to give testimony about Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior; therefore it is important that their testimony conforms to the requirements of the Law, as written in the Prophets.

Read Luke 10:2b…  Here we find another phrase that needs some explanation in order to fully understand its meaning, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”  That phrase is often interpreted as if it means there are many who are coming to Christ, and so few going out to find them.  That however, is not the teaching here, as can be seen by comparing other texts; but first, consider the deep compassion Jesus had for the lost and unbelieving.

Matthew 9:13, “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” 36-37, “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.’”

Luke 13:34, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!”

Luke 19:41, “When [Jesus] approached [unbelieving Jerusalem], He saw the city and wept over it.”

Jesus had compassion on humanity, for He knows the fate of all who reject Him (John 16:8-9), “When He [Holy Spirit] comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me,” (Matthew 7:19-21), “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter,” (John 6:40), “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day,” (Matthew 25:41), “Then He [Jesus] will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels,” (Revelation 20:10), “the lake of fire and brimstone… and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Think about that phrase again, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”  Is there a bounty of people in the US coming to Christ? Are people flocking to Jesus as their Shepherd-Savior?  I don’t think so, in fact, most of humanity continues to reject salvation through Christ.

The Bible is clear that those who reject God’s Son will receive God’s divine judgement for their sin, and they will spend eternity in hell.  The only ones who get a pass on eternal condemnation, are those who believe in and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (Romans 3:10-12, 23-24; 5:8; 6:23; 8:1; 10:9-10, 13, 17).

When Jesus says (Luke 10:2b), “The harvest is plentiful,” He is talking about the people who will be taken away in judgement, unless they come to Christ by faith.

Joel 3:12-13, “I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.”

Matthew 13:24-30, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.’” 36-43, “Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, ‘Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.’ And He said, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.’”

See Matthew 24:36-39…  The people at the time of Noah paid no attention to Noah’s warning; they just went about each day like the day before, as if nothing different was going to happen – then judgement came, the flood (v. 39), “took them all away” (cf. Genesis 6:11-13, 17; 7:1).

See Matthew 24:40-41…  The man and the woman who are taken, are taken in judgment; the man and the woman who are left, belong to God.

We should be living everyday for Christ, who has granted us forgiveness and eternal life.  At any moment He could return, and what should He find us doing at His return?  We ought to be proclaiming salvation through Christ, while also warning unbelievers about God’s coming judgement.who We are to be living in a manner that expresses our trust in and obedience to Jesus Christ, as we seek to warn unbelievers about God’s coming judgment.

Revelation 14:14-19, “Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ‘Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, ‘Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.’ So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God.”

Clearly, the harvesting in Matthew 13, Matthew 24, and Revelation 14, is the taking away of the ungodly, those who reject Christ, i.e., there will always be plenty who are in need of being saved, but as our text today declares (cf. Luke 10:2), it would seem that only a few are going out to proclaim to them the message of salvation through Jesus!

     See again Luke 10:2c, “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.  Because of the impending judgement coming upon unbelievers, we are to pray [beseech = implore, petition, plead with the Lord] for more Christians to be about the ministry of seeking to save the lost.  We are to have compassion for those who have not yet come to Christ for salvation; our concern should be for the unsaved.

As we await the time when all true believers will be caught up to meet Christ in the air, we are to be reaching out to the world with the message of Jesus Christ (2Corinthians 5:20-21), “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.”

May we each live out and proclaim the life-saving and life-giving Gospel of Christ, to every person who will listen, for whatever time we may have left.  We must urgently, boldly and yet humbly, with compassion, share the Good News, that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, then rose from the grave to demonstrate eternal life, before ascending back into haven from where He had come; and He will return to take all those who believe in Him, to live together in heaven, where there will be no more mourning or crying or pain or death, but only perfect peace and harmony, for all of eternity.

 
And all God’s people said, Amen!
 

 
Pastor Mike Hale
 

Bible Text: Luke 9:57-62 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above are the
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October 29th, 2023
“The Cost of Following Jesus”
Luke 9:57-62
     See Mark 1:14-15….  After John the Baptizer was put into prison by Herod, Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming that the kingdom of heaven had indeed come to earth.  The Son of God had come from the Father in heaven in order to proclaim the good news of salvation, calling people to repent of their sin and believe in God’s Son for salvation.

See Mark 1:16-17…. Jesus then told Simon and his brother Andrew (fishermen) to follow Him and He would make them become fishers of men; they would become the first of Twelve Disciples who would spend three years with Jesus, watching, listening, learning, and then taking the message of forgiveness and eternal life to the Jews first and then to everybody else.

See Luke 9:57-58….  The title “Son of Man” was first used in Daniel 7:13, where Daniel has a vision,“One like a Son of Man was coming [in the clouds],” (cf. Revelation 1:7), “Behold, He [Jesus Christ] is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.”

See Matthew 8:19-20, “Then a scribe came and said to Him, ‘Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.’ Jesus said to him, ‘The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.’  This is a parallel passage of the same event, and so, we know that the man in Luke 9:57, who is a tentative “disciple” or “follower” of Christ, is a scribe, a teacher of the law who came to Jesus, calling Him Teacher, declaring that he would follow Jesus wherever He went.

Scribes and Pharisees were authorities on Jewish law and typically were highly educated and prideful of their position; they were normally teachers, not followers or students of “other” teachers.  So, for this guy to call Jesus “Teacher” was a big deal; but Jesus gives him a reality check saying to him, “foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

The phrase Son of Man is used more times in the New Testament than the phrase Son of God.  Jesus loved the title Son of Man, for it spoke of His relationship with humankind, which He had created.  Jesus is God, the Creator, Sustainer, and Judge over all.

John 1:3, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

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.”
 
Hebrews 1:1-3b, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

Revelation 4:11, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”.  And even though the “Son of Man” has divine authority and power to heal and to perform miracles, He doesn’t have the simple comforts that most people and many animals have; He has no house, no place of safety or comfort, not even a tent to call home; but then, He was born in a stable and laid in an animal feeding trough for His bed as newborn baby.

Interestingly, the scribe who said he would follow Jesus anywhere seems to disappear and nothing more is heard about him.  This scribe may have been impressed by Jesus’ miracles or His teachings, or he may just be identifying with Jesus for some personal benefit, some imposed recognition; but he clearly has not counted the cost of associating with, let alone following Christ, which may include religious excommunication, suffering, sacrifice, even death.

See Luke 9:59-60…. Jesus says to another tentative disciple, “follow Me,” but the man asks if he can first go and “bury” his father; not at all implying that his father had died, I mean, why would the man be there conversing with Jesus if his dad had died?  Much more likely this man is speaking of his obligation to assist his father in business or in working their land, etc., until such a time as his father dies and the inheritance is distributed among the heirs, i.e., ”Lord, first let me go fulfill my obligations to my father until he dies, then with my inheritance, I will come back and follow you.”

Like the first tentative disciple, in verse 57, the teacher of the law who disappeared, it would seem that this second guy also wants others to think he is ready to follow Jesus, but more likely he just wants some imposed recognition for having an association with Jesus, when actually he has other priorities in his life that override any real commitment.

Jesus’ response to this man is “Follow Me! Let the dead take care of themselves; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”  Jesus knows this man’s heart, he was not ready to commit himself to Jesus as Lord.  This man’s spirit was not regenerated, for he had rejected the gospel of the kingdom of God, and therefore he could not tell anyone else about it either.

Remember in Mark 1:15, Jesus declared that the kingdom of heaven (which is holy, where no sin can exist) had come near to [sinful] mankind in and through God’s Son, Who is Perfect; therefore mankind needs to repent of their sin and believe the good news that Jesus came to save us, and He is the only Way to God, the only Life with God, and the only Truth of God.

See Luke 9:61-62….  Jesus has an encounter with another “tentative disciple,” who says, “I will follow You, Lord, but first, let me go home and say good bye to my family and friends.”  Jesus knows this man’s heart, he is not ready to commit to the Lord, he is still looking for fulfillment from the things of the world.  So Jesus says, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Jesus is talking about a farmer using a plow to make straight rows for planting, keeping his eyes on a distant object, never looking back to where he came from.

Jesus’ message is “follow Me” and don’t look back. There is an old story about a farmer’s son who wanted to plow his father’s field. The father eventually agreed to let him try one day and told his son to look straight ahead at a far away object while he was plowing. This would result in straight rows. His son said he understood, so the father left. After awhile the father came back to see how his son was doing, only to find that the rows were uneven and crooked, for son had continually been looking back at a cow in the field, that was distracting him.

True followers of Jesus must constantly, continually, fix their eyes on Him (Hebrews 12:2), “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

This may surprise you, but Jesus said (Matthew 10:34-38), “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”

If you’re going to follow Christ, you must count the cost and be willing to give up everything else if necessary.

Luke 14:25, “Multitudes were coming along. Jesus turned and said, ‘If anyone comes to Me and doesn’t hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brother, sisters, yea and hate his own life, he can’t be My disciple.'”

It doesn’t mean that you hate the people in your family, it simply means that your love for the kingdom of God [salvation in Christ] is your deepest desire.

Again Luke 9:62, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God,” i.e., ”You can’t plow a furrow looking backwards.”  You can’t follow Jesus looking if you are back at the things of the world: comforts, possessions, relationships.

The issue here is salvation, coming into the kingdom of God.  Jesus is simply saying, “if you’re holding back anything, you can’t come in.”  The Lord may not take away your comforts, possessions, or relationships, but the value of belonging to Christ is so great that if He asked, you would gladly give it all up for Him.

It is not some superficial interest in Jesus, or a matter of just saying, “I will follow.”  It is a matter of self-denial, a willingness to give up everything because the value of Christ is so overwhelming.  When a sinner has reached that level of desperation by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, he will take up his cross and follow Jesus is not worthy of Him, Jesus said (Luke 9:24), “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”

We are told Luke 9:57-62 how these men responded to Jesus’ command to follow Him, they turned away, remaining in unbelief, separated from life with God.

When the Holy Spirit comes to convict us of sin we must respond or remain unsaved (John 16:8-9), “And when He [The Holy Spirit] comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me.”

True believers must follow Jesus (1John 2:6), “The one who says he [lives] in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked,” following Christ.

The world hated and killed Jesus. His Disciples were martyred because they believed in and followed Him.  Obedient Christians today will be in conflict with the worldly beliefs and behaviors all around them.  Living as a Christian is tough!  In 2Timothy 3:12 Paul writes, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

Christianity is not for wimps!  We must count the cost to follow Jesus.  There are many who make a “profession” of faith and even show up for Sunday Morning Services, but when they are instructed about holy living and realize they are going to be held accountable to the Word God for how they live, they leave the fellowship of believers.

Serving God must include knowing and doing that which pleases God, just as it must also include knowing and not doing that which displeases God (Romans 12:9), “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.”  “Good” is whatever pleases God.  How do we know what pleases God?  It is in the Bible, and the Holy Spirit encourages us, enables us, to obey the Word of God (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.”

You must love God and hate the world (all that opposes God), or you’ll hate God and love the world, there is no third option.

Unbelievers are devoted to serving self; God’s people are to serve God by knowing, living out, and proclaiming God’s Word (as revealed in the 66 Books of the Bible).

The Bible is all about Jesus, so that we might personally and eternally know Him, the One who healed the multitudes of every illness and disease, taught with divine wisdom and authority, and commanded the wind and the waves and they obeyed Him.  This is God’s Son, who is both Lord and Savior, for He was crucified, resurrected, and is coming again, to take all those who believe in Him, to be with Him forever, in heaven.

Jesus is Lord and Judge over all and Savior to those who call on Him by faith (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13), “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord [Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of sin], will be saved,” becoming a brother or sister to all those who believe in Jesus Christ for salvation.

The question you must answer is this: Have you asked Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and are you willing to follow Him?  If you have not done this, I pray you will do it right here, right now, and that you will tell me or someone else that you have committed yourself to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior for (1Peter 2:9-10), “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

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.”

Don’t delay, follow Jesus today!  If you aren’t clear about this, please talk to me, let me hello you understand how much God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life, now and forever, in Jesus Christ the Lord.

 
Pastor Mike
>’(((><

Bible Text: Luke 9:51-56 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Above are the
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October 23rd, 2023
(full sermon notes)
“A Mission of Mercy”
Luke 9:51-56
       Last week we gave attention to the highest virtue off Christianity, humility.  Jesus is our example, for although He was fully God, He humbled Himself by putting on flesh in order to go to the cross, as the Lamb of God, making the once for all payment for all sin, by the perfect sacrifice of Himself (Philippians 2:5-8), “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in 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.”

Jesus was the supreme embodiment of God, yet He came as the Humble Servant of God, and therefore, we also are to exemplify humility in and through our lives, for this honors and pleases God.

Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth,” (Luke 14:11), “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted,” (1Peter 5:6), “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.”

James 4:6, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 10, “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

Jesus gave an example of greatness (Matthew 18:3-4) by taking up a child in His arms and saying, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Today we are going to look at the true mission of the Messiah, God’s Son, Who came to earth on a mission of mercy.

Read Luke 9:51-56…  I think it is interesting and somewhat disheartening that humility is a dying attribute in our culture, and because of that, mercy is also an endangered virtue.  We see this played out every day in every way, and it isn’t getting better.  But as Christians, children of God, witnesses of Christ crucified, resurrected, and coming again, we must earnestly display mercy in a world where mercy is desperately needed.

Both the Old and New Testaments praise the worthiness of mercy.  Mercy is lovingkindness, it is unmerited kindness given to one who is in need of generosity, compassion, grace, forgiveness, charity, sympathy, etc.

It is said that God is both loving and just.  If we only received His justice, we would have no hope, for only eternal condemnation would await us (cf. Romans 3:10-12. 23; 6:23a).  But God is merciful, sending His Son to proclaim the message of forgiveness and eternal life, and then to make full payment on the cross for all sin, be buried, and then to rise on the third day to demonstrate His sovereign authority over sin, death, and judgement.

God is indeed a merciful and loving God, having forgiven us for our sins and granted us eternal life with Him, all this made effectual through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s Son (cf. Romans 3:24; 5:8; 6:23b; 8:1).

God is the God of Truth, but He is also the God of Love, and so He is Merciful.

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

Psalm 86:15, “But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.”

2Corinthians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.”

And so, as Christians we should exemplify God in us (Luke 6:36), “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”  We are to show lovingkindness toward those who are in need; we are not to withhold loving compassion and care, but are to give it freely and generously.

1Peter 4:8, “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”

James 2:13, “For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.”

Back to our text, Luke 9:51…  As I mentioned last week, Jesus’ Galilean ministry is about over, and he will soon be heading for Jerusalem, for the last time, where He will be put to death in about six months.  Jesus’ personal ministry to the people was coming to an end, the focus now is the cross and resurrection (Luke 9:51a), “when the days were approaching for His ascension [lit. lifting or taking up].  Luke goes on to say (Luke 9:51b), “He was determined [lit. set His face] to go to Jerusalem,” this expresses Jesus resolve and single-mindedness of purpose to complete His mission in Jerusalem: bringing forgiveness for sins and eternal life through the sacrificial death of Himself; for although none of us are deserving of God’s mercy, God is merciful to those who believe in Him (cf. Hebrews 11:6).

See again Luke 9:52-53…  This is rather surprising that Jesus would choose to go through Samaria, for most Jews would go out of their way to bypass traveling through that land.  In fact, most Jews traveling south from Galilee to Judea would go east and cross the Jordan River, then head south to Perea, and then again west across the Jordan at Jericho.  Most Jews didn’t want to defile themselves by going through the land of the despised and ceremonially unclean Samaritans.

Hatred between Jews and Samaritans was fierce and long-standing dating back to the days of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob).  Jacob had twelve sons, whose descendants became twelve tribes of Israel.

The tribes of Israel divided into two kingdoms. The northern kingdom, called Israel, established its capital first at Shechem, a revered site in Jewish history, but later established its capital at the hilltop city of Samaria.

In 722 B.C. Assyria conquered Israel and took most of its people into captivity. The invaders then brought in Gentile colonists from Babylon and surrounding areas (cf. 2Kings 17:24) to resettle the land. The Gentiles brought with them their pagan gods and idols, which the remaining Jews began to worship alongside the God of Israel (cf. 2Kings 17:29-41), many of the Jews intermarried with these Gentiles (Ezra 9:1-10:44;Nehemiah 13:23-28).

Meanwhile, the southern kingdom of Judah fell to Babylon in 600 B.C. and its people, too, were carried off into captivity. But 70 years later, a remnant of 43,000 was permitted to return and rebuild Jerusalem.

The Samaritans who now inhabited the former northern kingdom opposed the repatriation and reestablishment of the nation of Israel.

The orthodox, full-blooded, monotheistic Jews detested the mixed marriages and worship of their northern half-breed cousins.  So walls of animosity and bitterness grew for the next 550 years, with the end result being a deep hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans.

The Jewish leaders during the time of Christ retained a hatred for the Samaritans, just as the Samaritans did for the Jews.  In John 8:8 the religious leaders called Jesus a Samaritan, expressing their scorn and disdain for Him.

In Luke 9:53, Jesus sent some messengers ahead to find a place for Him and the Twelve to rest on their journey to Judea; but notice their request for food and lodging was rejected, “because they were traveling toward Jerusalem” no doubt, to worship at the temple.

The Samaritans had no place to worship, as their temple had been torn down by John Hyrcanus, a member of the Hasmonean dynasty, a priestly family that ruled Judea from 152 to 63 BC.  He became high priest in 135 BC and between 111-105 BC, he enlarged Judea’s borders through a series of military campaigns, destroying the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim and imposing Jewish laws and circumcision upon the inhabitants.

The Samaritans of Jesus time refused to recognize the Jerusalem temple as a proper place of worship, and therefore they refused to provide food and lodging to Jesus and His followers.

See again Luke 9:54-56…  James and John consider the Samaritan refusal to provide food and lodging an insult to the Lord, so they ask Jesus if they should call down fire upon these Samaritans and destroy them.

Interestingly, Elijah had used this method of destruction in that very same region, when King Ahaziah (8th century BC) of the northern kingdom of Israel had sent a company of men to arrest Elijah and Elijah called down fire from heaven that incinerated the soldiers (cf. 2Kings 1:9-16).

Jesus rebukes James and John, and no doubt the others who didn’t understand the ministry of mercy that the Son of God had come to fulfill; and the message they would proclaim long after Jesus was gone (John 3:16-17), “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. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

Jesus came to save lost sinners, even those who were hostile toward God and God’s people, of which the Apostle Paul was one of the worse (1Corinthians 15:1-7), “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. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; 8-10, “and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”

1Timothy 1:12-17, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Prior to Paul’s “come to Jesus meeting” on the road to Damascus, when he was converted to Christ, if he had died he would have gone to hell; but God is all-knowing, fully aware of all those who will come to Him.

I believe there were Samaritans at that time, living in the village that refused food and lodging to Christ and the Twelve, who would one day believe and receive Christ as Lord; and so, Jesus rebuked the Twelve (Luke 9:55-56), “‘You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.’ And they went on to another village.”

It was not time for judgement to come upon those in that village, Jesus showed mercy on them, and He clearly demands that His followers also show mercy on those who have not yet believed.  We must be purveyors of the Good News, that Jesus Saves Sinners!

Mercy is at the very heart of the Message off Christ, and may you never forget that you, as a child of God, are a recipient of God’s marvelous, merciful, lovingkindness that has come to you through Jesus Christ the Lord, and your main purpose for being alive is to tell others about God’s Son who came to save them, so that they can live for Him, now and forever, as Paul so clearly expresses, (Galatians 2:20), “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

God’s people are to be humble people, because apart from Christ we have nothing to boast about; and for that reason, we ought to be merciful toward others, just as God in Christ has been merciful to us.

Ephesians 2:1-10, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 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.”

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?”

 
Pastor Mike Hale
 

Bible Text: Luke 9:46-50 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above are the
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October 15th, 2023 – (AM outline)
“The True Mark of Greatness”
Luke 9:46-50
Read Luke 9:46-50… 

This section of scripture begins the end of Jesus’ ministry in the area of Galilee.

Turn to Genesis 1:31; 3:5; 2:16-17; 3:17-19…

Turn to Isaiah 14:13-14; Ezekiel 28:11-15, 17…

Turn to Revelation 12:9; 20:1-3, 7-10…

Pride is the prime characteristic of the unbelieving, and throughout history it has been applauded as a virtue in the godless world that rejects the existence and holiness of God.  Pride is the soil in which all other sins sprout, damning those who are characterized by what is rebellion against God, who alone is worthy off worship.

Of all the human authors in the New Testament, Paul had reason to brag (Philippians 3:3-6), “Although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh, if anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.”

Paul after meeting Christ, renounced all human virtues (Philippians 3:7-11), “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, 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.”

Turn to Romans 7:18-25…

       Turn to 2Corinthians 12:9-10…

Godly humility (Matthew 5:5), “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth,” (Luke 14:11), “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted,” (1Peter 5:6), “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.”

Pride belongs to the unbelieving (Proverbs 11:2), “When pride comes, then comes dishonor, but with the humble is wisdom,” (16:18), “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling,” (29:30), “A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor,” (Philippians 2:3-4), “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

       Read Luke 9:46…  See again Luke 9:22-23, 44.  Jesus is telling them about His suffering on their behalf, and they want to know who is will be the greatest among them.  They really don’t get it, they are hearing but not understanding.

Read Luke 9:47-48…  All the disciples were thinking about their own self-importance and individual glorification.

Jesus teaches them the error of their thinking. In Judaism, children under the age of 12 couldn’t be taught the Torah, so spending time with them was considered a waste.

In Mark 9:36, Jesus picks up a child in His arms, in Matthew 18:3-4 saying, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

There is no spiritual ranking of greatness in heaven. In Luke 9:48a, Jesus says we are equals in the kingdom of heaven (Luke 48b), “for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”

Humility is the greatest characteristic of true and genuine salvation.

Matthew 23:11-12, Jesus said, “But the greatest among you shall be your servant.     Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” James 4:10, “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

John 13:33-35, Jesus said, “Little children, I am with you a little while longer… A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

1John 2:1, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.” 12, “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake.” 15-17, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

       Read Luke 9:49-50…  John, seems to be having second thoughts about a previous encounter with someone was casting out demons in Christ’s name.  The apostles tried to prevent him from doing so, because he wasn’t one of them.

Jesus again teaches the priority of humility and the danger of pride, Jesus said “Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you.”

Godly humility promotes unity among those who belong to God’s Son, no matter what denomination or group they they represent; whereas, godless pride promotes disunity among those who reject Jesus Christ.

Proverbs 16:5, “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; assuredly, he will not be unpunished.”

James 4:6, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

1John 3:18, “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.” 23-24, “This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

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

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

 
Pastor Mike
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