John 2:13-22 - Why Do You Believe?

As we open God's word tonight I want us to remember why John has written this gospel to us. We want to keep this theme as our overall back drop of what John is communicating to us. As we progress through this Gospel we are going to see this theme occur over and over again and tonight will be no different. Let us turn in our Bibles to remember what this central theme is:

Please open your Bibles to John 20:30-31. 

30  Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 

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

So that we may believe that Jesus Christ is God and we may have life only through Him because there is no other way then through Him.

But why do we believe in Jesus Christ? Have you ever really thought about it, what is it about Jesus that made us believe in Him? Is there good evidence in what He says and what He has done? Do I believe because my parents made me go to church, do I believe because I think it is better than other religions? Why do we believe in Jesus, instead of Muhammad, Buda, Joseph Smith or any other religious leader? Are they all valid choices, just different ways to get to God? 

What authority does Jesus have that I should believe anything He says? Why should I put my faith and trust in Him alone over any of those other religious leaders?

The last few weeks we have seen men who dropped everything in their lives to follow after Him. We saw Jesus calling each of His disciples and each of them responding in different ways. Some of them needed a little more convincing than others but Christ sought after each of them and they believed. 

And last week we saw Jesus giving His very first sign that He is who He says He is, and that was at the wedding in Cana, where Jesus turned water into wine. He demonstrated to His disciples that He is God and He has super natural power. John 2:11 tells us why He turned water into wine, it was to demonstrate His glory, that He is the true Messiah and the result was this, His disciples would believe in Him. This is it God demonstrates His glory and our faith is confirmed by what He has done. If Jesus only said He was the Messiah but His life didn't demonstrate it His followers probably would have fallen away. But as we see through His miracles His disciples are convinced and they believe. 

We don't get to see these exact same miracles that Jesus performed but we get to read about them and we get to see other miracles that are just as amazing. All we have to do is look at our own lives and see the miracle that Jesus has done in our hearts. [Sarah Ortel, witness on Facebook]

Lets open our Bibles and turn to John 2:13 and read to verse 2:22.

John 2:13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 

John 2:14 And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.

John 2:15 And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; 

John 2:16 and to those who were selling the doves He said, "Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of business."

John 2:17 His disciples remembered that it was written, "ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME." 

John 2:18 The Jews then said to Him, "What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?" 

John 2:19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."

John 2:20 The Jews then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" 

John 2:21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 

John 2:22 So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken. 

In Verse 2:13 we see Jesus heading up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. The Passover was celebration in remembrance of the Jews being freed by their bondage of slavery to the Egyptians. When the Jews were in bondage to Egypt God told them to sacrifice a lamb and place the blood on the door frame of their homes and when the Lord came to strike down the first born of every house it would pass by those who had the lambs blood on their door frames. This was the final plague/judgement on the Egyptians. After Pharaoh's son died he released the Jews from their bondage. Every year the Jews would celebrate their freedom by making a sacrifice at the temple and have a great feast to acknowledge how God had freed them from the slavery of the Egyptians by the blood of lambs.

Here is the irony of this situation. 

And who is going up to Jerusalem to celebrate this feast, as we have learned Jesus is THE Lamb of God who is going to take away the sins of the world. Here we have the final sacrifice, Jesus Christ Himself going to the city to celebrate the Passover. The Passover is just a mere shadow of the things to come. We have Jesus who is going to free people from the bondage of their sins. Just like the Jews in Egypt were in bondage. We have the advantage of looking back through corridor of time and know that Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice. He is the Lamb who is going to shed His blood for all those who believe. 

As Jesus makes His way to the temple what does He find? Does he find people preparing for this feast? Are they giving worship and reverence to God for what He did for them in the past? Unfortunately not, what did he find but them doing big business. He found a place of business not a place of worship and giving God glory. The house of the Lord was being abused by its leaders and Jesus is going to address this issue. There were no God honoring acts of worship going on but  what is happening...?

Verse 2:14 tells us

John 2:14 And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.

Well why would this anger Jesus? Jews had to travel great distances to get to the temple and it was impractical for most to travel with their animal sacrifices or maybe they were people who dwelt in the city who didn't raise animals. They needed to buy their sacrifices which would be fine but we get to the root of the problem. People were selling animals at exuberant prices. Have you ever been anywhere when you have no choice but if you want a bottle of water that should cost a buck and they are charging five for it. You know you are being ripped off you just have no choice in the matter. 

Then there were the money changers, every Jewish male over the age of 20 had to pay their annual temple tax. The temple would only take Jewish or Tyrian coins. So foreigners would bring their currency and the money changers would charge them as much as a 12.5 % fee so people could make their annual temple tax payment. 

Those in charge of the temple where ripping the people off. These are the men who are holly above reproach, who are to be representatives of God and they were taking advantage of the people. Jesus was angered and it a was righteous anger. 

How does Jesus respond? It is so different than how we perceive Jesus in the New Testament. Isn't Jesus full of love and forgiveness? I say yes of course. But isn't He the just Judge as well. Yes of course and we see this righteous Judge bring judgement to the people of the temple. I think of all the images that have been painted of Jesus and it seems most the time they show Him as this frail kind of wimpy guy. But I don't think Jesus looked that way at all. I mean He was a carpenter by trade, I think that He was strong and probably had calluses on His hands and He was not meek or wimpy but strong and bold. So what did He do? Look at verse 2:15

John 2:15 And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; 

John 2:16 and to those who were selling the doves He said, "Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of business."

He clears the temple of unrighteousness and we have two groups of people who are watching all this go on. Let's talk about the first groups response. Watching in amazement are the new followers of Christ, His disciples. They saw His passion and his righteous indignation of God's Holy Temple being used as a market instead of place of worship. Here in verse 2:17 His disciples remembered that it was written, "ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME." 

This is a direct quote from Psalms 69 which is full of messianic prophecy about Jesus. Jesus was concerned for God's house and wanted no unholy activities to be taking place in it. He wanted it cleansed of all unrighteousness. The disciples were able to connect with what they saw with what was written about the coming Messiah. They see the connection they are being further convinced this is the Messiah, we believe!

The second group responds with a challenge. I can just hear the contempt in their voices for Him. The second group are the religious leaders, those who were overseeing the temple activities. Verse 2:18 tells how they respond. "who do you think you are?" John 2:18 The Jews then said to Him, "What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?" 

What is interesting to note here is that the Jews didn't have Him arrested immediately but they are looking for a sign from Him, maybe they saw the authority of what He was doing and they were wondering who on earth this guy is. 

Jesus responds with what must have seemed like a crazy response. NO one in that temple either the Jewish leaders or His disciples understood his enigmatic response. 

He declares destroy this temple and in 3 days I will raise it up!

What a response. It confounded the Jews it. It was a response to veil His statement of truth to unbelievers. It is the same way Jesus communicated truth in the parables He taught. The statement wasn't for the Jewish unbelievers but it was for His disciples and us as well. How glorious we get to understand this truth that they never understood. How did they respond?

John 2:20 The Jews then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" 

Woosh that went right over their heads. They have absolutely no idea what He was saying nor why. Even years later after Jesus was crucified and raised 3 days later they completely missed the point of Jesus' statement. It went right over their heads. 

John 2:21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 

No longer was anyone going to need this physical temple to perform animal sacrifices. Among them was the one who was the perfect sacrifice who would take away the sins of the world, Jesus Christ. This was a prophetic message that Jesus proclaimed His death and sacrifice were going to take place and in 3 days of His death He would be raised again. He promised and He fulfilled. 

This was the sign that He promised.

John 2:22 So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken. 

Two groups were given a sign. One group never even saw it. The other group recognized the sign. 

They believed and in Him they found eternal life. 

John 1:1-5 Unveiling Jesus Christ

Well this morning I want to start things off a little different then we normally do. I want us to take some time right now and brainstorm and write down a list of items that we cannot control. What are the things in this world or things in our life that we cannot control?

Diseases
Natural Disasters
Death
Life
Results of my witness encounters
Health
My Genes
War
Famine
Weather
Evil People
Persecution
If my boss likes me
Plane Crashes
Nuclear Disasters
Terrorist
False Accusations
Racism
Hatred
People making fun of another person


Here we have this huge list of things we say we don’t have control over, things that are out of our hand, and things that we cannot change. But there is one who is able to control these things. There is one who has such amazing power that he can even use these things for good. There is One who never changes and we can always trust. The Gospel of John presents us with Jesus, the Man, who is God. This is the God who was and is and is to come. He is living today, and able to bring us new life as well as to exercise His own control over those things that are beyond us. There is nothing that surprises Him there is nothing that He cannot overcome. He is God. Jesus Christ is the God of all. This is who John is introducing us too, the God who is in control, the God who is Light, the God who gives Life. Do you believe this is true?

Many years ago the Apostle John took up his pen to write to us about Jesus Christ and he wrote the things he saw, the things he witnessed and the things he knew as truth. And when the Apostle John was coming to a close in his letter he wrote the following to us:

John 20:30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
John 20:31 but these have been written (Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit I write these things to you) (For what purpose?) so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. John wrote this Gospel so we may have life in Jesus Christ.

John’s written Gospel is unique from the other 3 synoptic Gospels that were written to specific audiences in Jesus’ time. Matthew was written to the Jews and he wanted them to see Jesus as the King, behold our King. Mark was written to the Romans and he wanted them to see Jesus as the willing Servant, behold the suffering Servant. This is why Mark’s Gospel contains no genealogy because no servant had a genealogy that mattered. Luke was written to the Greeks and he wanted them to see the humanity of Christ, behold the man. Finally, John’s Gospel was written as a universal Gospel to present the deity of Christ, behold your God. John’s purpose is to unveil the Man, Jesus Christ, and to reveal Him as God! He is not half man and half God but He is fully man and fully God. He is the light unto this world and He is the author of life, not just physical life, as we will learn but that of spiritual life as well.

John unveils that Jesus Christ is God.

Like any great author, John is going to introduce us to the main protagonist of his book. However, this is not a book of fiction this is not some make believe story but this is the account of the God Man, Jesus Christ!

John is going to unveil one incredible fact about Jesus Christ. It is a simple truth that all of us have heard, Jesus Christ is God, all of us know this fact but the real question is do all of us believe? Does my life really demonstrate that I believe Jesus Christ is God? (Go BACK to the Whiteboard Do I believe God is in control of) Have I put my faith in trust into this God Man? Or are you like me and you question whether you believe, am I really sold out for Jesus Christ?

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:2 He was in the beginning with God.
John 1:3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
John 1:5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John begins his Gospel so different than Matthew or Luke who introduce us to the genealogy of Jesus. But John begins his Gospel unveiling Jesus Christ as God, the everlasting eternal God and He explains that he has always existed. In verse 1 we see Jesus called the Word and have you ever thought to yourself why does John call Jesus the Word. He is the only author who uses this term for Jesus.

Well there is a good reason and it has a two-fold meaning. First to the Greeks the term “Word” referred to the rational principle that supervised or governed the universe. The idea to them that there was some sort super power that controlled all things and they would philosophize that this being had a mind, had reason and had power.

To the Jew the term “Word” was a reference to God. We see this in the very beginning of Genesis that God created the universe by His Word, He spoke everything we see into existence by His Word. We see His power, His will, His mind directed towards men through His Word. John was communicating to his contemporaries that Jesus Christ is in control of everything and He is God. It is brilliant!

In the beginning was the Word and John is telling the Greeks you know that power you talk about, that thing that controls the universe, it is Jesus Christ and He is God. And to the Jews John is telling them you have been looking for this Word, the Messiah, and here He is Jesus Christ, He is God.

John continues in verse 1… that Jesus was with God in the beginning. They have eternally coexisted with one another for all of eternity. There was never a time when Jesus Christ did not exist. The Father, the Son and the Spirit have always existed together for all of eternity. There was no beginning for them but there was a beginning for us and they existed before that beginning.

We call this the doctrine of the Trinity, 3 distinct persons who make up the Godhead. I know trying to wrap our head around that fact can be really difficult and we are not going to dive into this doctrine but here is a perfect place were we see the distinct personhood of the Father and the Son.

John has told us that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and he concludes in verse 1 that the Word was God. They are one in the same. They are different persons but they makeup the One True and eternal God. The Word is literally God; Jesus Christ is God in body form. He is the perfect revelation of God. Jesus tells us Himself; if you have seen Me you have seen the Father, I and the Father are one.

Then in the 2nd verse, John reiterates so simply what he has already told us. He wants to make sure we understand this really incredible fact in such simplistic terms. Jesus Christ was in the beginning with God.

John unveils Jesus Christ is God. Do you believe?

He continues in Verse 3
John 1:3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

John tells us all things came into existence through Jesus and nothing apart from Him came into being. Everything we see the entire creation around us, even the things we don’t see like, love, gravity, thoughts, and feelings were all created by Jesus Christ, apart from Him nothing came into being.

Jesus Christ is the uncreated, who created all things. We know there is a God because all I have to do is walk outside and see creation around me. There is no denying this simple fact because God says His creative power demonstrates His existence. However, many people have denied God’s existence.

Listen to what Paul writes in Romans 1 about the creation and no man has excuse to deny John1:3.

Rom. 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

Rom. 1:21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Rom. 1:22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,

I was listening to a Podcast the other day by Greg Koukle, a Christian apologist, and he was having a discussion with a Biochemist Dr. Fuz Rana who has written a new book Creating Life in the Lab. And essentially Fuz Rana said that within a few years man would create life in a test tube. When you hear man has created a brand new life form does that create a problem for us? Is that going to shake the core of your faith? When you read in the newspaper one day and across the headline it says man creates life, there is NO God. Does everything we believe in crumble? Has man created something from nothing? We tell our kids God has made everything and my son looks over at a car and says He didn’t create that did He? And I tell him He did, not directly but He created our minds and provided the raw materials for it so in essence He did. But what about man creating a new species of bacteria, does that disprove a creator?

Absolutely not all it does is confirm what John is telling us in this gospel.

John unveils Jesus Christ is God. He is creator of all! Do you believe?

How does man creating a living organism demonstrate there is a creator? Because these men who have been working on this project for 12 years plus PROVE that you can only create life with intelligence. Life did not happen randomly like an evolutionists claim but to create life it takes a DESIGNER! These men have spent hundreds of thousands of hours to create the basic cell structure it takes very specific ways of aligning the DNA, proteins and molecules to create the basic structure. Its like the fictional challenge the Scientist make to God. We can make life just like you. They take a bucket of dirt and gather their materials to make life and God says what a second you don’t get to start with dirt you need to start like I did with nothing!

John unveils Jesus Christ is God! Do you believe?

And we come to verses 4 and 5 let me read them again to you, because it is so rich.

John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

John 1:5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

These two verses really articulate John’s entire message in his Gospel. Jesus Christ is life, and if we were to look up the Greek word here we would see that John is talking about spiritual life, He is telling us God is self-existing He is the Life, there is no life without Him neither physical nor spiritual. It is through His life that we may obtain spiritual life, that we can spend an eternity giving glory to our God.

The life was the Light of Men, here we see that Jesus Christ and His Gospel message is the truth and knowledge for all mankind. It is a common metaphor that John uses to demonstrate the truth and knowledge of God. This is why God came down to earth to give us the knowledge and truth of who He is.

This Light, Jesus, shines in the darkness. The God of everything was willing to enter His creation and continues to be actively involved in demonstrating His truth and His Holiness to this dark world, and the darkness did not comprehend it. Or a better translation would be and the darkness did not overcome it. Jesus Christ has conquered this dark world He has shed Light for all men to see, for all men to comprehend it, for all men to believe in Him.

Jesus brings light into this dark world; He brings His Truth and His Life. We go back to our whiteboard and we see these things that we have no control over. We see tragedy, we see despair, we see evil people; we see the darkness of this world. But there is a light, there is truth, there is someone who is Holy, and He has come to give you life, what an amazing God we have who was willing to give us His Light and His Life and darkness can never overcome it.

John unveils Jesus Christ is God! Do you believe?

John knew He was God, John walked with Him, John saw His miracles, John saw Him crucified and John saw Him resurrected. John unveils Christ is God.

There is only one question left for you today. Do YOU believe this fact? Not in some theoretical knowledge but do you believe with everything you are, that Jesus Christ is God? How does this work out in your life? Are you willing to give up everything for Him? Are you willing to do anything and everything He asks of you? If He is God and we believe this fact and we place our trust in Christ then we will answer with a resounding YES! We are on a mission to discover this Truth through the book of John in the coming months!

See, we live in a world full of darkness, full of things we have no control over, but there is One who has come to show you the light, the truth, and to give you life, do you believe?

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
John 3:19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
John 3:20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
John 3:21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

John unveils Jesus Christ is God! Do you believe?

If you say yes does your life demonstrate that fact?

Power of Prayer - James 5:13-18

Who here loves to study the bible? Who here likes to dig into the word and figure out what God is trying to communicate to us? Who here wants to know God’s Truth?

Well today we are going to be doing a bible study. We are going to dig a little deeper than what seems to be on the surface of our text today. I hope this is an exciting morning for us that we may get to learn some truths that you have never thought about before.

This is why we do what we do, first we want to learn about God’s truth and second our desire here at the Rock is for you to fall in love with God’s word and make it a priority in your life above everything else in your life. It is how we build our relationship with Christ our Lord. Sometimes it is going to take some work but the reward of our studies is so amazing. So we learn and then we apply what we learn to our lives and as James has taught us we become Doers of the word not just hearers. God blows my mind with His Word.

Here are a few questions for you.
What is the proper response when my boss at work treats me unfairly and causes suffering in my life? What is the proper response when I am struggling with spiritual weakness in my life? What is the proper response when it seems I just can’t stop that one sin I continue to struggle with in my life? It is prayer gentlemen it is getting on our knees and seeking after the Lord. We are to pray as individuals when we are suffering and going through hardships. We seek after the elders to pray for us when we are weary and worn out. We are to pray for one another when we are in sin.

You may believe your prayers are not effective but as we will learn today they are very effective and there is great power in our prayers.

Please open your Bibles to James 5 and let’s read from verse 13-18 and see what God has to say about prayer.

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.
14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;
15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.
18 Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

[Pray]

As we are winding up the book of James it is good to remember the theme of James is about living out ones faith. And this theme continues as we are coming to a close in James. We see the word pray, prayer and prayed used 7 times in these 6 verses. Part of living out our faith is trusting in the power of prayer. By faith we believe God listens to our petitions. It is why we pray because with trust that God will answer our prayers.

We come and pray every Wednesday morning because we believe God answers our prayers. James is encouraging us to pray, to pray in faith and God will answer our prayers. Maybe the answer is not what you expect but God will answer with your very best interest.

Well todays passage has a challenge in it. There are many biblical scholars who believe James is encouraging us to pray for sick believers to be healed. That is people who are physically sick. Other biblical scholars believe it can only mean a spiritual healing. They believe James is encouraging believers to pray for spiritual restoration. It could mean one or it could mean the other or maybe it could be both? It is definitely a possibility.

We even see Jesus in His ministry here on earth physically healing individuals all across Jerusalem. Everywhere He went we see people being physically healed of their infirmities. Can Jesus heal us physically even today? Of course we believe that, and it doesn’t even have to be a miraculous healing but He has provided knowledge to Dr. to heal us or medicines to heal us. We believe Jesus can heal the physically sick 2000 years ago and all through the centuries up to this very day.

But here is my question to you. Do you think the focus of Jesus’ ministry is more concerned about the physical healing of individuals or is His primary focus on spiritual healing. Did He come down to earth to physically heal us or did He come down to spiritually heal me of my biggest problem here on earth. Can anyone tell me what is the biggest problem I have? Bob Thompson would say it is my hair, Anthony Terrones would say it is my singing abilities, My wife would say my loud mouth. But what does God say my biggest problem is? It is my sin. This is the sickness I have, this is my disease. The Psalmist even tells me I was even born with it. This is the disease that can kill my body and soul. Jesus came to save me and you from the sickness called sin.

So why did Jesus physically heal people? His primary purpose was to prove that He could also heal them spiritually. We see the perfect example of this in Matthew chapter 9 where the paralytic is healed. Do you remember the story? The paralytic is brought by his friends, and Jesus sees them and Jesus seeing their FAITH tells the paralytic your sins are forgiven and Jesus turns and walks away? No He doesn’t He is going to prove to all the people who were watching that He does have the power to forgive people of their sins or as I said earlier to heal us of our greatest sickness which is sin. Jesus is surrounded by the Jewish scribes and Jesus knows the heart of the men who are watching this whole thing and says why are you thinking evil in your hearts. Which is easier to forgive this mans sins or to say get up and walk. He turns to the paralytic and says get up, pick up your bed and go home. Jesus first healed this man spiritually by what means? Through his faith. He didn’t need to heal him physically except for a single reason. To prove that He can also heal him spiritually. And this is what I believe James is telling us today.

Here is the big idea. Why does James tell us to pray? Because we all need prayer for our spiritual healing. This is James primary focus in verse 13-20. This is what he is encouraging us to do. If we are in spiritual suffering, then pray, if you are spiritually weak, then pray, if you are in sin then pray.

First and foremost God wants us spiritually well that is why James is exhorting us to pray. Maybe God in his graciousness will physically heal us to demonstrate who He is but then again maybe that is not His will to physically heal us but to only spiritually heal us.

Lets take a really quick refresh in what we have learned from Bill Morris in the last two weeks. In James 5:1-6 we see James warning the rich how they are condemned because they have misused their riches and have taken advantage of the laborers. Then in verse 7-11 God is asking for the bretheren who have been taken advantage of to be patient. Be patient, God is going to set everything right when He comes back and He is returning soon to set all things right. James goes on to exhort them to not to complain against one another so you are not judged like the rich with the wrong heart. But instead be willing to suffer be willing to endure like the prophets of old. He tells them you know what happened to Job. He endured and we saw the outcome of the Lord’s dealings with him, the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful. The Lord will work all things out in the end.

And now we finally come to our passage today in verse 13. James asks a question. Are any of you suffering. Are any of you suffering because there is hardship in your life? Are you enduring afflictions against you? James tells us the solution to the suffering caused by evil treatment is seeking God’s comfort through prayer. It is prayer that comforts us in our time of need. It is when we need God the most. Does James tells us we Should pray? NO he tells us we MUST pray!

But what if everything is going great? If you have a cheerful heart you are not suffering with anything then do what as well. Sing praise to God. Which is just another form of prayer to God. Whether you are suffering or everything is going great we need to be praying or praising God. We are to communicate with our creator in the times of struggle and in the times of great joy. We MUST pray.

Now we come to verse 14 and we need to dig a little deeper to understand this scripture in its proper context of what James is trying to communicate to us. Remember where we are in this passage, he has just told us about the rich who are persecuting us, he warns us not to complain against our brothers, he exhorts us to be truthful, he is warning us not to be in sin, not to be in judgement, he tells us we may have to endure like Job did.

He then asks us a question - Is anyone among you sick?

This is kind of strange question why does seem he is shifting gears here. Lets dig.
If we look up sick here in the Greek it is the word astheneo which means to be weak in this context. James is asking are you weak in what you are dealing with, are you struggling with the persecutions that are coming against you? Are you spiritual defeated? Then what MUST we do? Another commandment.

Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him,

Have the spiritual leaders pray for your weakness in what you are dealing with whether it is persecution against you or your own struggling spiritual condition. It says to have them come and pray and anoint you with oil. This is not some sort of ceremonial anointing but it is actually meaning to rub with oil. Why did people rub oil on someone, it was how they would heal wounds in James day. Do your remember the parable of the good samaritan? He rubbed oil on the mans wounds and it is the same language being used here. James is telling us, if we are struggling then call upon the Elders of the church to come and support you, to encourage you, comfort you. Metaphorically the elders are anointing the weak and defeated with oil to encourage them, and to strengthen them.

The blessed result of the comfort and ministry of intercessory prayer of the elders is revealed in Verse 15.

and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick

Again we need to look at two words in their original language to understand what James is saying. First, the word sick here is the Greek word kamno which is only used in one other location in the New Testament and that is in Hebrews 12:3 and refers to those those who are weary spiritually. No where in the New Testament does this mean someone who is physically sick. But a person who is enduring the hardships and hostility of those who come against a believer. The second word we need to look at is restore which is sozo and communicates the idea restoration and commonly is translated as save. Here is the idea of this passage, the elders’ prayers will deliver weak, defeated believers from their spiritual weakness and restore them to spiritual wholeness. We know this power does not come from the elders but it is the power of God who restores an individual.

James continues to tell us if the spiritually weak believer has committed sins, they will be forgiven him, this tells us as well that James is probably not speaking about physical healing here because we know all sickness is not due to someones sin. Now God could allow someone to become sick due to their sins however do you remember the blind man who was healed by Jesus. Before Jesus healed him his disciples asked Jesus was it his sin or his parents sin that caused him to be blind? Jesus responded and said neither but this man was born blind to glorify God. We know that our sins can only be forgiven when we as individuals pray to God for forgiveness. An elder cannot pray for me, and my sins are forgiven. So the idea here is that the elders can encourage us to confess, to help us discern our sins and join their prayers for forgiveness of our sins. I think about the individuals even in this room who have been prayed over by us and the elders of this church. (Daniel asked permission) 1 John 1:9 Tells us that If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. When we pray He is faithful to forgiveness of our sins and restores us to our creator. (He restored Daniel)

Now we come to verse 16 and we see a transition take place with word therefore.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.

James turns his thoughts from those who are spiritually defeated and need of assistance from the elders to the rest of us. He exhorts us to confess our sins to one another and to pray for one another for healing. Obviously we are to first confess them to God first then to our friends. Again we want to look at the greek word for healed. We pray for each other for what kind of healing? The word healed in the Greek is iaomai. This is more than just a physical healing but is related to a supernatural event, a spiritual healing. Peter uses this term in 1 Peter 2:24 describing the healing from sin Christ purchased for believers on the cross. It is all about restoration to God, to turn from our sins and turn to God. Again this is not a suggestion but a command for us to do.

James is encouraging us to confess our sins so our secret sins don’t remain private because they can drag us down spiritually. We know the consequences of unrepented sin. They can be devastating in our lives. God knows your sin, He wants us to turn from them and one of the best way is to confess them with your brothers and have them pray for you. If one of my brothers is struggling with a sin I can help hold him accountable to it. I am able to pray for him and encourage him with his walk with Christ. It is about spiritual restoration.

And then in the last part of verse 15 through 18 James drives the point home with his example of Elijah.

17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.
18 Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

It is so important for us to understand why James choose Elijah. here as an example of righteous man who prayed and it did not rain for 3.5 years. What is James wanting us to know about this prayer by Elijah. These are the things in scripture that amaze me. God is so, so consistent. If James was focused on physical healing through prayer in all these previous passages it would be a very strange illustration that James used as proof for physical healing. So why does he use Elijah.

Well the back drop is that Ahab was the king of Israel and he was one of the most evil kings that Israel ever had. God warned the people of Israel if they turned from God to serve other gods he would cause a drought. We see from our passage in James that Elijah had prayed for this drought and God answered it. What god had the israelites and Ahab turn to back then? It was the god of baal, he was the god of the rains and fertility. Guess what? He was an impotent god. And our God proved that by not sending rain to the israelites for 3.5 years.

Elijah prayed this prayer for what reason? So they israelites would turn from Baal to the True and Living God. That they would turn from their sins and turn back to God. God wanted spiritual healing for the nation of Israel. He wanted restoration for His people to turn back to Him from the god of baal.

Elijah was a righteous man and his prayers were very effective. But guess what he just a normal one of us. James tells us that he had a nature like ours. If Elijah can pray and have the rains stopped for 3 years do you think our prayers of turning from sin can be accomplished. Do you think our prayers of spiritual restoration will be heard by God? Well he does listen because after 3.5 years Elijah prayed for rain to return and the dry parched land was restored.

If you are struggling and suffering spiritually, pray, if you are so weak that you need the help of the elders then call them, to pray, if you are in sin pray that God would help you overcome it. He wants to restore you and you have the key that will unlock the door for you. PRAYER.

Complete in Christ - Colossians 2:8-15

Can anyone make sense of these philosophies? Why should I believe any of them? Do they have the authority to validate their claims. Should I be persuaded by these men and women to believe what they say? Should I be taken captive by their world views?

Today we have so many different religions and people telling us who is Jesus...

The Mormons tell us Christ is satan’s brother, Muhammad says Christ is a great prophet, Jehova Witness’ tell us Jesus is really the Arch Angel Michael, Dan Brown the Author of the Divinci Code says Jesus was just a man who was married and had children, Oprah Winfrey tells us Christ is not the only way to God but there are many ways to God, Ekhart Tolle the spiritual guru tells us Christ came to show us the way to Christ consciences.

It goes on and on and on. Who is right? Who do I believe? Why should I believe one over the other? Should I believe any of them at all? Are you persuaded by these claims that men and women of the world make? I am here to proclaim the Truth to you tonight. I am telling you by the authority of Gods Word that each of these peoples claim come directly from the liar of liars. These are demonic beliefs and ideas and their power comes from satan. We are not to be persuaded by these empty deceptions by these traditions of men. They are false and untrue.

Do you know 2000 years ago there were people teaching the same type of falsehoods about Christ? Do you know that there were teachers who used the name of Jesus but mixed in their own ideas about Him. People were perverting the true nature of Jesus and were trying to take believers captive with these deceptions. But there was a man, a man, who was taught by God himself, who God has used to reveal who Jesus truly is. This man has written a letter from God to us. This man is Paul and just like 2000 years ago there were people in his day and age who were twisting the truth. It is the same as today. The power of darkness continually tries to cause people to stumble in their faith. The power of darkness is trying to pervert the true identity of Christ. The power of darkness is trying to twist the completed work of Christ on the cross. The power of darkness is telling us Jesus is not God.

So lets open our Bibles tonight and see how Paul warns the Colossians against the empty and deceitful teachings of men. Paul is going to give an answer why the Colossian believers should not be persuaded through philosophies, empty deceptions and traditions of men rather than according to Christ. Please open your Bibles to Colossians 2:8-15.

Believer, I want you to take one thing home tonight, it is this: in Him, Jesus Christ you have been made fully complete. You don’t need anything else but Him. In Him You Are Complete!

Colossians 2:8-15 (NASB95)
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;
12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

Here we have Paul in verse 8 telling the Colossians do not let the elementary principles of the world take you captive. Do not let these philosophies and empty deceptions persuade you. What are these philosophies Paul is speaking about? Well the word philosophy comes from two greek words phileo and sophia which means the love of wisdom. Men throughout all time have been using their own wisdom to come up with answers to the big questions in life. Why am I here, what is my purpose in life, where am i going when I die, where did all this stuff come from, who is God and so on.

Paul is telling us, their is wisdom from the world to answer these questions or there is wisdom from God. There is philosophies of the world or there is Christ. There are men who want to deceive us into believing all kinds of crazy worldly ideas. These ideas originate from satan himself. He twists and contorts the truth in ways to deceive men. He deceives them for a single reason to destroy their souls. He is the great deceiver who roams on the earth looking for those who he can destroy.

You want to know how satan uses these world philosophies to capture people? His strategy has been the same since the day he was thrown out of heaven. It is the same lie he has been telling over the centuries. It is how Eve was deceived in the Garden by him. He mixes truth with deception.

You want to know one of the big deception he has used over the centuries? What is the one thing that all world religions and cults have in common? They deny who Jesus Christ is. They deny His deity. They deny Jesus is God. He doesn’t tell them Jesus does not exist but he denies the true nature of Christ. Here is where all religions divert from the truth.

This is exactly what Paul is addressing to the Colossians, there are men who are teaching a different Jesus. They are not denying Jesus they are just twisting the truth of who Jesus is.

But who does Paul say Jesus is? What claim does Paul make about Jesus? Please lets read verse 9 again from Colossians. Paul writes. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in the bodily form, For in Christ all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in his human body.

This is one of the strongest statements in the Bible that is used for the Deity of Christ. Paul is making a very clear claim that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. The word Deity is theotetos and it means Christ essence as God. The full deity of Christ is contained in bodily form. He dwells, God dwells in the body of Christ forever. He does not go and come but He continues. We are going to see Him again in his fully glorified body.

You think Jesus is just a good person, you think Jesus is prophet, you think Jesus, is a good teacher, you think anything other than He is God then you are wrong. He is the God man. He is 100% God and He is 100% man. How this works is one of those mysteries about God and what an awesome fact it is. It is comforting to know that God is greater than what I can understand about Him.

We don’t have some new age zealot telling us we can find god by creating thoughts in our mind, we don’t have some spiritual guru who tells us we can find god in ourselves, but we have God Himself who came down to earth in bodily form to teach men about who He is and what He has done for us.

Don’t be persuaded by these false claims about Jesus. Jesus is God and In Him You Are Complete!

This is the first argument that Paul makes against the false teachings of his day. He is telling the Colossians and us as well that Christ is, was, and will ever be God. You don’t need the philosophies of men you just need Christ. He is God. It is the plain and simple fact that Jesus Christ is God.

You may be thinking in your mind. I get it. I get that Paul and the Bible clearly state that Jesus Christ is God. But why should I even believe Paul? Why should I take his opinion over lets say a Mormon who claims Jesus is just a man who earned His way to godhood?

I believe that is a great question to ask. I want to know the truth I don’t want just someone’s opinion about who Jesus is, I want to know that I am not mistaken about this fact. Everything is riding on this question, our eternity rests on the claim that Jesus is God.

So why should I believe Paul about His claim?

Of course we have the Bible which states it, we have all the miracles that Christ did, we have the greatest miracle His resurrection but why should I believe Paul. What does he bring to the table that helps us understand his claim is truth. Why should I be convinced what he says is true rather than lets say Oprah Winfrey?

What are the facts that we know about Paul. First before Paul became a Christian he was a Pharisee. He was a zealot for the law. His whole life was wrapped around Judaism and the keeping of the law. He was such a zealot that when he heard about Christians who said they no longer needed the Law or Judiasm he was infuriated. So what did he do? He became one of the chief persecutors of the Christians. We see him in Acts at the stoning of Steven. He gave approval of the very first martyr for Christ when they stoned Steven. He was a killer of Christians. He hated the Christians and wanted to destroy christianity.

But something happened to Paul. What happened on the Damascus road is an incredible event. We know after this experience he was a changed man. No longer a zealot for Judaism, but he became a zealot for Christ. What caused this instantaneous change of heart? It had to be something incredible.

Have you heard the story of Carrie Lightner? It was just another beautiful day in Fair Oaks CA. It was early afternoon and Cari dressed in her orange and white softball uniform started a short walk to the neighborhood church. Cari and her friend were in fits of laughter as they made their way down the sidewalk anticipating an afternoon of fun. But Cari never made it the church carnival and it forever changed a family and a nation. On that quiet suburb street Cari and her friend were crossing the street to the carnival when a 47 year old man who had been on a 3 day drinking binge climbed into his car drunk. Barreling down the residential street the drunk driver swerved and hit Cari throwing her 125 ft and killing her. For the Lightner family life changed that day.

The day after Cari’s funeral the circumstances of her death became know. She was killed by a drunk driver who had already been arrested multiple times for drunk driving. It was the day a mother got MADD. Cari’s mom Candace found out that the man who had killed her daughter was probably going to be put on probation and that was it. Propelled by the grit and determination to stop drunk driving, MADD got to work. On October 1 1980 Candice on the footsteps of Capitol Hill announced her plans to change the laws and penalties for drunk driving and became a force to be reckoned with. For 29 years Mothers Against Drunk Driving have been fighting to change the laws and increase the penalties for drunk drivers. A dramatic event changed Candace’s life forever.

Paul on the way to Damascas to imprison more Christians had a dramatic life altering change. He met the true and living God on that road. That day he was killed. Not physically but he died to himself that day. He became a follower of Christ no longer a persecutor of Christ.

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.

What do we see Paul doing shortly after meeting Jesus? Acts 9:20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

Can someone explain this radical change? Not only was Paul willing to proclaim the Gospel, but he was willing to suffer for it. We know he was beaten, shipwrecked, stoned, and ultimately killed for his faith in Jesus Christ. He was an eye witness of Jesus Christ who met him on that Damascus road. Everyone he knew as well had seen the risen Lord.

If Paul had not met Jesus on that road that day then what other reasonable response would there be for his life altering change? One day you are killing Christians and the next day you become one? People could make up some lame reasons why this is not true but the plain answer would be He met God that day and it changed his life. He was willing to die for the truth. This is just one of the many reasons why I believe Paul is telling the truth about Jesus’ deity.

Paul tells us not to be taken captive by these empty philosophies because Christ is God and He has done what for you?

Verse 10 tells us: 10 and in Him you have been made complete,

I can just hear him saying You don’t need any of these false teaching you don’t need anything else because Christ is God and in Him you have been made complete. You have everything you need in Christ. He is all you need. In Him is everything why would you possibly look to anyone else to take you captive? By their silly philosophies, some man made ideas? You are followers of Christ you have everything you need!!! You are complete in Christ!

He has made you whole. This is his point he is making you are whole. You don’t need human philosophy, you don’t need empty deceptions, you don’t need any spiritual guru, you don’t need anything when your receive Christ and His Salvation. You are whole. There is absolutely nothing missing you are full! What a declaration!

So what is this definition of being complete. Paul is going to tell us in the next couple of verses. It is so powerful it is so amazing what Christ has done to complete us.

We have complete salvation in Him.
We have complete forgiveness in Him.
We have complete victory in Him.

Do you see a pattern how we have been completed. It is not through any other mechanism then through Him, Christ our Lord.

Look in verse 9 in Him, verse 10, in Him, Verse 11 in Him, Verse 12 with Him two times, verse 13 with Him, verse 14 both have the phrase He Has. Who has made us complete? Why should I never look to anything but Christ. Because in Him I have been made complete.

Verse 11 and 12 we see our salvation complete in Who? In Him.

In Him You Are Complete!

11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;
12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

In the Old Testament the act of circumcision was pictured as the removal of sin. Cutting away the sinful flesh.

Paul was telling the Colossians you don’t have to be physically circumcised in the flesh but you have already been circumcised by a spiritual operation and. The idea Paul is communicating to us is we have been circumcised of our sins by what Christ did on the cross.

Why is Paul bringing up circumcision? He is telling the Colossians this, there are people who are telling you if you want to be a follower of God you must be circumcised. It is something you must do earn the approval of God. Paul is telling them don’t listen to this empty tradition. It is only through Christ that your sin is removed. Paul in Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything...

We can’t physically cut away our sinful nature it was only in Him that are sinful nature was cut away.

Verse 12 In who? In Him we were buried with Him in baptism. We are also raised with Him through faith by the working of God who raised Him from the Dead. We are in his burial we are in His resurrection and it is all done by God. Our old life has been buried and we are now alive in Christ.

We can summarize salvation in Christ in these two verses. You believers you have no need of external circumcision. You have already received the true circumcision of the heart and you live. Your sinful nature has been cut away. You have been made complete by Faith in Christ. When he was buried your wicked selves were buried with him. When he was resurrected as new creature you were resurrected with him. All by the power of God when you believed. it is done. It is complete. You have complete salvation and you need nothing else.

Someone may say yes you need belief but what about keeping the law. No, well don’t you have to do this or that? No it was finished on the cross. Complete Salvation, is it not awesome!

Verses 13 and 14 explain how we have complete forgiveness in Who? In Him.

In Him You Are Complete!

13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

Those two verses are absolutely incredible. The depth and majesty of them are so awe inspiring. Here Paul tells us we have complete forgiveness. Any one in this room needs forgiveness? Let me raise both my hands because this is why I need a savior. I need forgiveness for my sins. I know I was in bad shape and we actually all were in bad shape. We were dead in our transgressions.

What does it look like when I am dead in my sins? It would be like me laying at the bottom of a pool, drowned and dead. Is there any possible way I can save myself? Is there anyway if I am dead laying at the bottom of the pool that I can make myself alive? Can I reach up to grab the life preserver? No I am dead! Oh wretched man who can save me? I have no ability to respond to anything.

Next thing you know I was pulled up from the bottom of the pool and made alive. How? He, Jesus Christ, made us alive. He breathed life into this sinful dead body and made me alive by forgiving us of our sins!

In our former lives we were controlled and dominated by sin, completely powerless to break the chains of sin, powerless to discover the truth of God without hope, without God and we were dead. But He made us alive in Him.

How did He make us alive? When we received Him by faith. It is when Christ becomes the Lord of our lives when we turn from our ways and put our faith in trust in Him. When that is accomplished in our lives what does He promise us in verse 13? He forgives All of our sins? How many? a couple hundred? No he forgives us of all of our sins!

In verse 14 what did He do with our sins? He cancelled the debt I owed God and and He nailed it on the cross taking it away from me. Can you see what He has done for you and me. We owed Him an I.O.U. that we cannot pay but he nailed it on the cross and paid that I.O.U.

We each have sinned against God, all I have to do is look at the 10 commandments which Paul calls the school master. When I go through each of them and as you go through each of them we see how we have fallen short of God’s perfect standard. How many lies have you told? Have you always put God above everything? Have you always honored your parents? Have you ever stole anything in your life? We know we have broken His commandments. We have broken His laws and there is a debt we owe. But He, Jesus Christ has nailed it to the cross and paid our debt through his sacrifice. Incredible.

In Him You Are Complete! Why on earth would we ever look at mans philosophies verses Christ. It is foolishness if we are ever taken captive by their empty deceptions.

Last verse 15 proclaims the Victory over satan and the principalities of this world. Where was it that Jesus bruised the head of satan, at the cross. Where was it that he broke his power, at the cross? Where was it that he took away the power of death, at the cross?

Death and Sin were conquered at the cross. He has triumphed over them, through Him, Jesus Christ. In Him You Are Complete!

Disarming Your Doubts

Have you ever questioned your faith? Have you ever had doubts that the Bible is God’s Holy Word? Is God really there? Have you ever doubted your salvation?

Have you ever cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” as the father of a demon possessed boy did in Mark 9.

Doubt is one of those things that can cause us to stumble or we can use our doubts to trust and grow in our relationship with Christ by digging deep into His word. I always like what Pastor Ken “Hutch” likes to say, “I should always doubt my own doubts and just trust the promises of God.”

Today we are going to look at disarming our doubts. What is doubt? Doubt is defined as this: distrust, mistrust, suspicion, cynicism, uneasiness, apprehension, reservations, question, challenge, feeling uneasy. But what I think what really helps to define doubts the best is looking at the antonym (or the opposite) of doubt and what is it? Trust. So doubt is lacking trust.

How do we doubt God? How do we doubt our salvation? It is when we don’t trust His word and ultimately we don’t trust Him and His promises. This is when doubt can start to creep into our lives and cause great havoc when we don’t trust in His promises.

I want to address 3 ideas today the first is what and who does the world say to trust, second what some Christian teachers say to trust, and lastly what does the Word of God say about what and who to trust.

As I have been preparing this message it is funny how God works through our circumstances to reveal His truth in everyday life. What the world says to trust was reinforced this week in the disguise of something that seems so good but is laced with a lie.

Well if you didn’t know I was on a Disney Cruise this last week with my wife and boys. It was an amazing trip to say the least and I would highly recommend it to any of you looking to go on a cruise. The rooms were huge, the food was just so good and I think I probably gained about 5 pounds in one week. All the deserts served did not help out my diabetes to say the least.

There are events for every age throughout the day and you will never be bored unless you choose too be. However, as wonderful as the cruise was and even as we had probably the best vacation of our lives there was a prevailing wicked/worldly idea that Disney pushes upon its patrons. It is oh so subtle but it is there right in our faces. Because it is of the world and not of God.

It reminds me of the example of the chocolate chip cookies that look so sweet and so good but there is something grossly wrong with it. From the outside everything looks good but hiding in all the yumminess of it is just a smidgeon of rat poison that would make you extremely sick if you were to eat one. This was the message from Disney. It looks really good on the surface but if you really apply it to your life you are going to be as sick or worse than eating a cookie with rat poison.

What is this dangerous message?

Faith, Trust and pixie dust. Here is my question that I wanted to stand up and scream what in the heck are you putting your faith and trust in? Pixie dust or something far more dangerous?

Well let me tell you (spin and say I believe in me I can do anything I dream of).

So according to Disney I am to put my faith and trust into myself. Do you think this is a dangerous message for our youth? Now I am probably going to a pretty extreme example and many of you may be saying cmon Wes that is just Disney fun. Just ask my wife if I can be to extreme but I argue that it is the same as the cookie with hidden rat poison. If I buy into I am no longer putting my trust in the one who can conquer my doubts but I am putting trust into myself.

I don’t know a scripture in the Bible that tells us to believe in ourselves but the exact opposite is taught by God.

Proverbs 28:26
Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

Jeremiah 17:5-8
5 Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.

7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
8 He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Verse 7 tells us to trust in the Lord and if we do we will not have to fear anything even our doubts. But if we trust in ourselves or anything besides God we will be left as a dried out weed in the desert. Not a pleasant thought at all.

So the world tells us to trust in ourselves but there is something that I believe can even be more dangerous than what the world teaches us and that is professing Christians who say we can’t even trust the words of God which include His promises to us.

How many of you have heard of the the Emergent Church?

I want to read a few quotes from their leaders in this movement and see if it lines up with what the Bible tells us. Do these ideas and philosophy's help with my doubts or does it just throw gasoline on the fire?

These are Christian leaders who are basically telling me I can’t trust the word of God. I can’t know and trust in the Bible. Again instead of encouraging us to rely on God’s word they feed on my doubts. If I cannot trust the Word of God what do I have? I am a step closer to falling off the cliff of doubting God. These quotes take me strait back to Genesis 3:1:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

They are twisting the word of God!

When I hear comments about mistakes in the Bible, or that it is a not authoritative or it is not infallible I always think about God this way. If my God can speak the universe into existence from nothing, don’t you think he can communicate to us so clearly through His word? Couldn’t he make the Bible so clear that even a child can understand its basic concepts? Yes there are some “mysteries” in the bible but the basic promises are so clear that I can put my trust in them. We have a God who has clearly communicated His promises to us.

This is why small groups are so critical and why going through the bible chapter by chapter is fundamental to the Christian life. If you have spent the last year and a half studying Genesis with us you KNOW the promises of God are true. He does what he says and says what He is going to do and He follows through 100% of the time. I know this is why my pastor, John Werhas, never deviates from preaching from God’s word line upon line. It is how we test all things.

We even have Satan trying to make us doubt the promises of God. He wants us to doubt our salvation. You know that feeling you get when you have sinned against God? What does Satan whisper in your mind? “You’re not a Christian. Why would the Lord ever save you? You’ll never make it—you’re not good enough. You don’t deserve to be saved.”

Some people even preach that we can lose our salvation or we can really never know we are saved until Jesus returns or we die and meet Him face to face. What a burden this type of teaching puts upon people. But what about 1 John 1:4 when it says And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. or 1 John 5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

John MacArthur writes:
Why does Satan want us to doubt our salvation? Because he wants us to doubt God’s promises. He wants us to believe that God doesn’t keep His Word. He wants us to believe that God won’t hold onto us forever. He wants us to deny God’s power and think that God’s a liar. He knows that, in effect, if we doubt our salvation, we have removed our helmet.

However this being said there is a place in scripture where Paul writes to us to examine ourselves. 2 Corinthians 13:5 says Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

And Peter writes 2 Peter 1:10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

We are also to examine ourselves when we take communion in 1 Corinthians 11:28: Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

But why does God want us to examine ourselves? It is to KNOW we are in the faith as is written in 1 John 3:19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;

He does not tell us these things to increase our doubts but to know that we have true trust in Him. It is all about knowing Him and knowing His word is always true.

Our salvation and trust in God has a past, present and future result. And like Pastor John tells us it really is not about how we start but how do we finish. Paul writes in Philippians 1:6

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Lets read that again:
And I am sure of this, that he who began(past - starting the race) a good work in you (present - I am running the race) will bring it to completion (future - how I finish the race) at the day of Jesus Christ.

I don’t have to doubt I can trust in God that His promise is true to keep me running the race until He brings in me to a full completion at the return of Jesus. How encouraging is this that we know who is truly in control of all things.

Christ even tells us in John 6:37
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.

John MacAurther also writes:
“God’s calling cannot be removed, His inheritance cannot be defiled, His foundation cannot be shaken, and His seal cannot be broken. Because that is so, there’s no need for believers to fear Satan’s assaults. Our future glorification is divinely assured.
In John 10:27–29 Christ gives this picture of the believer’s eternal security:”

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, [1] is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

It is one of those great things about the Christian faith that our continuance in eternal life depends not on my weak hold on Christ, but His firm grip on me. And the beauty of this passage is that there is a double protection. Not only is Christ holding onto me but in verse 30 it says the Father also keeps us from being snatched away. How awesome is that!!

I want to end today with one of those passages that in the time of your greatest doubt is to hide this passage in your heart. It is why I never need to doubt God nor do I ever need to doubt my salvation. Nor do you.

Romans 8:38-39
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 - Sexual Purity

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

We are going to learn something special in todays message, what is the will of God? There is absolutely no ambiguity about what God expects from us in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8. I hear people talking about what is God’s will in my life? This answers one of the clear expectations He has for us.

What we are going to look at today affects every single male sitting in this room without exception. We are going to see what God has to say about moral purity and how do I abstain from sexual immorality.

In today’s society we are completely bombarded with sexual iniquity. It is in our music, it is on TV, in the movies, in books, magazines and I can’t even drive on the freeway without being assaulted with advertisements for gentlemen’s clubs. But most recently it has become the preoccupation of millions of people on their computers as they access pornography over the internet.

We are drowning in this sea of sexual evil and we don’t even know it. In today’s society we don’t care if our leaders are full of sexual sin as long as they agree with our politics. We don’t care because with think it is a private issue and it is a personal matter. What is even more of an oddity is the idea that it is becoming increasingly strange for those who stay faithful and married to their spouses. We make fun of men who desire to be sexually pure. There are movies created to mock a 40 year old virgin like there is something wrong with that if someone chooses to wait till they are married. All I have to do is look around me at my place of work and I am constantly faced with the talk of pornography, glorifying of sexual sins and married men gawking at other women and talking complete trash amongst one another.

We are so like the frog in hot water that we don’t know we are being cooked. Think about this just over 40 years ago on the Ed Sullivan show refused to show Elvis Presley from the waste down shaking his hips. Now days that is comedy for us, we think how silly is that. But I ask you, where are we today with simulated sex on the stage of MTV. We are lost in a world of sexual sin.

But there is hope my friends. There is hope from God’s word how we can truly separate ourselves from this world. You know God calls to live in the world but not of the world. He tells us does not want us to conform to this world but be transformed by a new mind set that is focused on His will. Romans 12:2

And do not abe 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.

Here we see that we are to renew our minds so we can prove what the will of God is, and His will is good and acceptable and perfect. Lets take a look at what God’s will is for our life. Please open your Bible to 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8.

1 Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more.
2 For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality;
4 that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
5 not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God;
6 and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.
7 For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.
8 So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.

In verse 1 we see that the Thessalonians were doing a pretty good job of walking in the ways of God. They were being an Acts 2 Church who were continually devoted to sound doctrine, fellowship, communion, prayer, worship and giving. But Paul wanted to them to excel even more. Paul knew sexual immorality was a problem in the Thessalonian Church and he wanted to make it perfectly clear that God is calling them to be holy.

When we look at our society and know we are in a society filled with sexual immorality. Well the Thessalonians were in a society that compared to us or even worse. They were involved in prostitution, adultry, homosexuality, pedophilia, the only difference from then to today is the exposure of it. We can’t get away from it today because it penetrates everywhere. We need to learn how to be holy in this perverse world of ours.

In verse 2 Paul tells them you know these commandments and these commandments came from God. They are well aware of the need to abstain from sexual immorality. This is not something man has made up but it is the will of God.

Verse 3 tells us that, it is His will for us to be pure. God care so much about this topic to clearly state this is His will. He tells us it is our sanctification. Sanctification means to be set apart. Not to be like the world. God is telling us the world is full of sexual sin but I require from you to be pure not to be like the pagans and their lustful passions. God is telling us to be set apart from sin to holiness. James 4:4 Says

You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God

Let’s take a look at scripture and see why God takes sexual immorality so seriously. I want to look at several passages so we get a broad understanding of what God is telling us and why. You might want to write these down and just listen instead of turning to each passage. You can go back and take a look at them later.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,
10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 10:8

Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day.

Ephesians 5:3-5

But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints;
4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which bare not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Colossians 3:5-6

5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.
6 For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience,

Jude 1:7

just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

Revelation 21:8

“But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Do you think God is serious about this subject? So how do we overcome this, how do we stand against sexual immorality? Verses 4 and 5 tell us how. First, We need to learn to posses our own vessels to deny ourselves. Don’t let your body control you. We need to gain mastery over our bodies. Paul says in

1 Corinthians 9:27

but I discipline my body and make it my slave

Verse 5 really gives us the root problem of sexual immorality and that is not knowing God. The lustful passions of the gentiles were a result of not knowing God. I want to read a quote from John Piper because I think he articulates what it means to know God.

“It's knowledge that stuns you, and humbles you. It's knowledge that wins you and holds you. It comes like it did for Lydia when the Lord opened the eyes of her heart. At one moment you think you will burst with its fullness, and suddenly there is a chasm of longing for more. It's the knowledge we call faith—the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things not seen.

It's a knowledge that is so real, so precious, so satisfying to your soul, that any thought, any attitude, any emotion, any addiction which threatens to hinder this knowledge will be attacked with all the spiritual zeal of a threatened life. This is the fight of faith that rages in the godly soul when lust lures the mind away from God.”

How do I know God? There is only one way gentleman and that is through His word. How do I stop being sexually immoral, how do I become pure? I want to tell you how and it is a passage that I have held unto with complete conviction and passion. Pastor John has gone over this verse in the last few weeks and it is found in Pslam 119:11

Your word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.

This is it guys. This is what we need. We need the word of God in us, through us it is everything. It is the only way I know what God wants from me. We need to want to consume it, meditate on it, live it, obey it, and most of all apply it to our lives. This is the solution men. This is what we need to stand upon. This is what will give us victory in our bondage to sin. It is the guide book on how to live our lives and to keep from sinning. This is what will convict your heart to stop slapping Jesus in the face with our sins.

God gives us free moral will to choose between right and wrong. Now God has a sovereign will that will get accomplished no matter what moral choices we may make. Look at verse 8 if we reject this idea and say that I don’t care what God thinks about this then are we not only sinning against God but we are rejecting Him. We are not rejecting some human philosophy but the actual will of God.

Why does Paul mention the Holy Spirit in this verse. It is because the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins. If we are not convicted by this type of sin then God is not in us. J. Vernon McGee writes:

A child of God is in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit. He cannot continue to live in sin because the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit. The time will come when the child of God will long for holiness in his own life.”

So what does the bible say about practical steps of dealing with sexual sin. Here are 5 steps

Confess your sin 1 John 1:9, God is faithful to forgive us of our sins. Then confess it to a brother. Get an accountability partner who you can discuss these things with. This is part of the fellowship of the Acts 2 Church.
Be like Joseph and RUN. He was confronted with the potential of a sexual sin and instead of pondering it, going over it in his mind, toying with the idea HE RAN from it. What does this mean to me and you today. Throw the TV out, Get rid of the computer, run from the temptation.
Hide God’s word in your heart. Make the word a daily part of your life. It is the only weapon we have against the evil one.
Prayer, we need to be on our knees praying for holiness, praying to God to help us obey his commandments.
Stop, whatever it takes stop it now. Just stop. Stop your complete selfishness. Deny yourself and pick up your cross.

James 1:21
Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.

Wes Porter
Galatians 2:20