Pastor's Postings

John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. (KJV)

Are any of you bad about not getting around to finishing up what you started? I know I am. There are things left undone, and if you would ask my wife, there are probably more things than I have even thought about.

tetelestai – perfect, pass, indicative, 3^rd person, singular – telew – to finish, accomplish, to bring to perfection

an ocean of meaning in a drop of language, a mere drop, for that is all that we can call one word. ---Charles H. Spurgeon---

Moulton points out, the perfect tense is “the most important, exegetically, of all the Greek Tenses.”  Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics

The force of the perfect tense is simply that it describes an event that, completed in the past, has results existing in the present time. Or, as Zerwick puts it, the perfect tense is used for “indicating not the past action as such but the present ‘state of affairs’ resulting from the past action.”  Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics

1 Peter 1:18-20 (KJV) 18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

It is a fulfilling cry.

Part of what is done is the fulfilling of the requirements.

Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament Prophecy.

6189. Christ's Death—Prophesied And Fulfilled (D)

A Mathematical Improbability:  Peter Stone in Science Speaks cited just 11 Bible prophecies and calculated their probability of fulfillment at 8 x 10 to the 63rd degree. That is 10 with 63 zeros following it!

But that is just 11 prophecies from the Bible. There are over 10,000 other predictions in Scriptures which are already, or soon to be, fulfilled.   —Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations

Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. (KJV)

Genesis 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Psalms 69:21 They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. (KJV)

Acts 3:18 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. 19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; (KJV)

Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the law.

Luke 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. (KJV)

John 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. (KJV)

Romans 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. (KJV)

Ephesians 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. (KJV)

Jesus fulfilled the request of the Father.

John 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. (KJV)

John 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. (KJV)

John 14:31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence. (KJV)

The triumphant cry

John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. (KJV)

ended on His terms

no one here can end their life, without help, no one can dismiss from themselves the Spirit.

Crucifixion was supposed to be a slow, days-long process of dying by exposure and gradual asphyxiation. The position in which the hands/wrists are tied/nailed (either or both methods were used for different crucifixions) makes it difficult to breathe, so the crucifixee is forced to push himself up on the nail in his feet (ow) to bring his arms even with his shoulders and draw deeper breaths. Because the Sabbath was coming, the Jews asked the Romans to break the crucifixees' legs to hasten their deaths, but they found that Jesus had already died.

John 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. (KJV)

ended in His time

John 7:30 Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come. (KJV)

John 8:20 These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come. (KJV)

John 16:32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. (KJV)

John 17:1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: (KJV)

Jesus conquered death.

2 Timothy 1:9-11 (KJV) 9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

The story of the father and the bee stinger.

The concluding cry

Christ work is complete

Cecil Rhodes' cry of frustration, as he lay on his deathbed, "So much to do, so little done!"—Olford's Expository Preaching Outlines

John 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. (KJV)

Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (KJV)

Salvation’s work is complete

My Father will never say to me, “I cannot save thee by the death of my Son, for I am dissatisfied with his work.”  ---Charles H. Spurgeon---

We are taught from the very beginning of God's word in Genesis, the innocent must die for the guilty. It is seen in passing in Genesis 3 and it is already in full practice in Genesis 4.

Throughout human history from creation until Christ, the innocent have shed their blood. From the time of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Isaiah and Jeremiah, the Old Covenant required the shedding of blood, but there was promised a new covenant with a more excellent sacrifice.

Hebrews 9:8-14 (KJV) 8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

The confident cry

confidence in what was done

The task was completed and it was sufficient

Matthew 26:42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. (KJV)

From the beginning to the end of Christ’s life there is nothing omitted, no single act of service ever left undone; neither is there any action of his slurred over, or performed in a careless manner. “It is finished,” refers as much to his childhood as to his death. The whole of the service that he was to render to God, when he came here in human form, was finished in every single part and portion of it.---Charles H. Spurgeon---

The confident cry

confidence in what was not yet done

Jesus knew the resurrection was coming, it was assured

John 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21 But he spake of the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said. (KJV)

Mark 8:31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

In Conclusion

Realize you cannot save yourself

Are there any of you here who are trying to do something to make a righteousness of your own? How dare you attempt such a work when Jesus says, “It is finished”? Are you trying to put a few of your own merits together, a few odds and ends, fig-leaves and filthy rags of your own righteousness? Jesus says, “It is finished.” Why do you want to add anything of your own to what he has completed  ---Charles H. Spurgeon---

Realize, because of what He has done, you must try to save others

“Has Christ finished his work for me? Then tell me what work I can do for him.”

“Rescue the perishing,

Care for the dying,

Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave;

Weep o’er the Erring one, Lift up the fallen,

Tell them of Jesus, the Mighty to save.”

not to save myself, for that is all done, but because I am saved.

---Charles H. Spurgeon---

Know that your sins are forgiven, past, present and future

As you leave today, let me ask you, have you realized that you can do nothing and the Christ has done it all.

It is a fulfilling (completion) cry.

The triumphant (conquering) cry

The concluding cry

The confident cry

Comments (0)     

MEMO'RIAL, n. That which preserves the memory of something; any thing that serves to keep in memory.

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead" (Source: Duke University's Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860's tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.

General John A. Logan

Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, [LC-B8172- 6403 DLC (b&w film neg.)]

Today we remember the sacrifices of the men and women of the armed forces that have given so much of themselves for this great country. Today I want to take a few moments and talk about our responsibility and our role as Christians in this country and not only in this country but in any country. One of the facts about God's word is its universal truth. God's word is not only true in Independence Mo but it is also true in any part of the world.

Government is God ordained and it is a necessary part of life.

C.S. Lewis said this about the necessity of government: "I am in favor of democracy, not because everyone is equally intelligent or equally qualified to have an equal say; but because everybody is equally sinful and we all need to keep an eye on one another."

Without Government there would be chaos.

Now we happen to live in a unique government where we actively participate and have a powerful role in.

Our government is of the people, by the people and for the people!

When our government is not right, it is simply a reflection of her people

First Vice President and Second President, John Adams wrote in 1798:

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

Theodore Roosevelt, America's 26th President, wrote:

"In this actual world, a churchless community, a community where men have abandoned and scoffed at, or ignored their religious needs, is a community on the rapid down-grade." - 1917

what is our Responsibility to this great nation.

1 Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.
15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.
17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.

Our first responsibility is to live righteously.

1 Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Did you know that you are a sojourner and a pilgrim? Well .. that's what Peter says. And do you know what that means? It means that this world is not our home!

Now .. we're not gypsies! It's not like we don't have a home. In fact .. we're headed home! And the way to influence our community and country is found here in verse 11, "... abstain (hold yourself back .. keep away from; present tense) from fleshly lusts which war against the soul."

The world will tell you that we are merely evolved animals. We have desires and as long as we don't hurt anyone else in pursuing those desires it is right, it is moral and it is appropriate.

God's word says no. You have not descended from animals, you were created above the animals.

Our responsibility is first of all personal.

We must, ourselves, live righteously.

Our responsibility, secondly is social.

It is our responsibility to our family, to our friends, to our neighbors to cry out and say that there is a right and there is a wrong and here it is.

We must stand up and say that abortion is murder.

We must stand up and say that the homosexual lifestyle is an abomination.

Further more, we must stand up and say that any sexual relationship outside of marriage, between a man a woman is against God.

We must stand up and say that we the people have a right to be Christian and to be Christian in public.

It should not be the TV that sets the morality standard in America, it should be the churches.

Churches are merely a collection of individuals. Let me ask you this morning, if America was made up of Christians just like you, would we be heading in the right track?

Gerald Ford, our 38th President, quoted a 1955 speech by Dwight D. Eisenhower on December 5, 1974:

"Without God there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first - the most basic - expression of Americanism. Thus the founding fathers of America saw it, and thus with God's help, it will continue to be."

*President Ronald Reagan:

"If we ever forget that we are 'One nation, under God', then we will be one nation gone under."

Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.

Our first responsibility to our Government is to live righteously.

Our second responsibility to our Government is to Submit.

1 Peter 2:13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.
15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.
17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.

Proverbs 24:21 My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:

Jeremiah 29:7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. ² Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

1 Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; ² For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

Titus 3:1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,

We are not, as Christians, called to rebell or reform our government. We, as Christians, are called to go into all of the world, baptizing and making disciples. We are called to seek and to save that which is lost.

My, friend, we are living in a politically charged time. I know right now in this congregation there are people that follow both political party and probably some independents and few others.

Democrat, Republican, Independent, that title does not matter near as much as Christian.

Peter, Paul, John all lived under governments and rulers that we could not imaging. Now, I know most of you have read the New Testament, tell me how many times in their letters are they planning a political rally to drum up support for the opposing party.

Now I am not saying that being involved in politics as a Christian is wrong. The question I am raising is, are the Christians spending as much effort, time, money in winning the lost to the Lord as they are in winning the next election.

Our first responsibility to our Government is to live righteously.

Our second responsibility to our Government is to Submit.

Our last responsibility to our Government can be seen in our relationships.

1 Peter 2:17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.

Honor all – treat all as creations of God

We have to realize that even the most vilest sinner, the most hated retrobate is still one of God's most beautiful creatures and must with all that we have stand up and say that what they are doing is wrong, but we are also commanded to treat them with honor, respect as part of God's creation.

Love the brotherhood – as difficult as it is to honor all, it is probaly more difficult to love the brotherhood. What Peter is saying is love your fellow church members, love your fellow Christians, and boy that sometimes is difficult.

Fear God - In regard to the Lord, meaning to reverence God, to stand in awe of God - The Complete Word Study Dictionary – New Testament.

Honor the King – Honor those that are in authoriy. If at anytime in the Bible we would think it appropriate to put a clarifying clause, it would be here

Honor the King, as long as he is good

Honor the King, as long as he is righteous

Honor the King,...

No, Honor the King.

My friends, men and women, fight for our country every day.

Our we, as Christian citizens doing our part.

Our first responsibility to our Government is to live righteously.

Our second responsibility to our Government is to Submit.

Our last responsibility to our Government can be seen in our relationships.

(Sermon Prepared with help and ideas from Ernest Easley)

Comments (0)     

First Thanksgiving Proclamation

America’s first national Thanksgiving occurred in 1789 with the commencement of the federal government.

That congressional resolution was delivered to President George Washington, who heartily concurred with the request and issued the first federal Thanksgiving proclamation, declaring in part:

"Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly implore His protection, aid and favors...

"Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26 day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these states to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the Beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be;

"[T]hat we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country, and for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us."

 -Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations

This is the time of year that we, as a nation, set aside to give thanks.  And today I am going to go in a little bit of a different direction than usual.

Usually Thanksgiving Holidays are about our Christian heritage and national recognition of what God has done for this country.  And we usually speak of the pilgrims and the Indians and God’s special provision for them and God’s special hand in the forming of this great nation.

But the Lord has put something else on my heart this year.  Partly because of the things that have happened in my family personally, the losses that we have gone through, and also because of where several of the families are in their lives here at Blue Ridge Baptist.

Today we are going to talk about Heaven!

Some of this message has been sparked by questions asked, some by thoughts of my own over the last year.  I was talking with someone and questions of Heaven came up and as I was talking I realized something, I didn’t know nearly what I needed to know about Heaven.  Now I had beliefs and have beliefs but what I could not do was go to scripture and verse immediately and back up, with God’s Word.  So I began to read a little and look into it a little and I thought well if I am having these questions, maybe some of you are.

And so today we are preparing for Thanksgiving, we have so much to be Thankful for, but one of the greatest things that we have to be thankful for is the promises of God.

Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (KJV)

My outline today is going to be somewhat different, we are simply going to ask and answer a few straightforward common questions about Heaven, but we are going to do it from the perspective of God’s word.  My thoughts, my opinions about Heaven are worthless, when you are in your loneliest moments and you are missing the ones that were dearest to you, it is the Comfort of God’s Word that can sooth the heart like nothing else can.

1.  Do you immediately go to Heaven when you die?

Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise. (KJV)

So what can we learn about this, we can learn that Jesus, the day He died, went to Paradise, we also learn that this thief, the same day, went to Paradise.

2 Corinthians 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

8              We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (KJV)

Luke 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23           And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (KJV)

Luke 16:19

He had taught the danger of the love of money <Luke 16:1-2>; the deceitful and treacherous nature of riches <Luke 16:9-11>; that what was in high esteem on earth was hateful to God <Luke 16:15>; that people who did not use their property aright could not be received into heaven <Luke 16:11-12>; that they ought to listen to Moses and the prophets <Luke 16:16-17>; and that it was the duty of people to show kindness to the poor. The design of the parable was to impress all these truths more vividly on the mind, and to show the Pharisees that, with all their boasted righteousness and their external correctness of character, they might be lost.

(from Barnes' Notes)

Now, let me explain something right here and right now, I am just beginning to explore this truth in detail.  I am not the end all and final answer to these questions, they were raised to me and I went to God’s Word to find the answer as best I can, with the help of some other learned men. 

Here is what does not happen, we do not sleep.

There are passages in the Bible that speak of the Saints sleeping and so what are they talking about, they are talking about our physical bodies.

Have you thought about this, death is unnatural.  Most everyone of us have dreamed or imagined what this world would have been like if Adam and Even had not sinned.  Well, one truth that we have is that part of their curse was death, meaning that they were created without death and because of the fall they now face death. 

So Death is unnatural, we talk of it being a natural part of life, when in God’s perfect plan it is most unnatural.

When did Adam become alive.  When God breathed into him the breath of life.  While he was a clump of clay he was lifeless, he was not a living breathing creature until body and soul united, and at death that is unnaturally separated.

But that separation is only temporary.

1Thessalonians 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

14           For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

15           For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16           For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17           Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

18           Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (KJV)

Look very closely to verse 14.

14           For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

Those which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.

Now are they asleep, in some sort of non-existence sleep, waiting on the rapture.  Or are they with God and coming with Him.  Well the simple answer is both.  Their bodies are in the ground, a part of this world and it appears as if they are asleep, yet their Spirits are in the very presence with God!

So the answer to the question, if you have ever lost a loved one, and that loved one loved the Lord, the moment they left you they arrived in Paradise, in the presence of God.

2.  Will we remember our earthly lives when we die?

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. (KJV)

Matthew 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. (KJV)

Now we are rewarded in Heaven, we are rewarded for the work that we have done for the Lord.

Now this brings up a real truth and that is judgement, we are told that we will stand before God and give an account.  But remember this is not the Great White Throne of Judgment.

In other words there are two judgments mentioned in scripture.

One of them will condemn you to a life in Hell.  It is the throne of God whereby he will declare, depart from me I know you not.

Now, let me make this clear.  When you stand before God in this judgment there is only going to be one requirement, do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

This is not a place of examining deeds, this is not a place to see if you have been a part of a church, if you tithed regularly, if you were better than this man or this woman.  The only question will be, is your name written in the book of life.  Do you know Jesus as Lord and as Savior, if yes then you will be with the righteous, if no then you will be forever separated from God.

Now for the righteous then we will have another judgment, the judgment seat of Christ.

And we will stand before the one that sacrificed it all for us and we will give an account of what we did for him.

Now I could go on and on, but I want to see the simple truth for us for today, we will know who we were.

3.  Can those in Heaven see us while we are here on earth?

Luke 9:30 And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias:

31           Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. (KJV)

1 Corinthians 4:9 For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. (KJV)

Luke 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. (KJV)

So there seems to be a great awareness in Heaven about the things of this earth.

Now here is another question that might arise out of this, the Bible says there will be no more tears in heaven, no more sorrow, no more pain, then how can someone look down on this sin ravaged earth and not experience that, especially, how can our loved ones be aware of our hurts and not hurt?

Happiness in Heaven is not based on ignorance but on perspective. - Randy Alcorn

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (KJV)

They are now in the presence of God and they now know the plan of God and they now know fully the culmination of that plan.

4.  What will we do in Heaven?

Before I go much further I want to make something clear right here.

Heaven now, the place where one goes when they die right now is different than what Heaven will be like in eternity future.

God is unchanging, not Heaven.

Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

2              And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3              And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

4              And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5              And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. (KJV)

Heaven now is a temporary home, waiting for God to redeem his creation.

God is a God of redemption, He is redeeming man, He is redeeming creation.

One day new bodies will live on a new earth.

Matthew 25:14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

15           And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

20           And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.

21           His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

22           He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.

23           His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

24           Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

25           And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

26           His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

29           For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

30           And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (KJV)

Luke 22:23 And they began to inquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing.

24           And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.

25           And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.

26           But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.

27           For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.

28           Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations.

29           And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;

30           That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (KJV)

Two distinct things we have in these passages, ruling and eating, I like the eating and what does the ruling say.

One might have reservations about one being a ruler over another.  We have to realize that we will not have with us the sinful nature, the part of us that rebels and fights against those that rule us.  Also, those that rule us will be without the sin nature and will be rulers without sin and selfish hearts.

The old picture of us continually worship is partly right.  We will continually worship, but it won’t be like worship on earth.  Today our idea of worship is confined to Church.  That means work, getting up, getting ready, getting the kids ready, the spouse ready and by the time we get to church we are tired, we are aggravated and we are not in the right kind of worship spirit.  Worship in Heaven, in my opinion, will not be a church service; it will be how we will live.  We will worship in our work, in our play, in all that we do, the way we should be doing here and now!

Comments (0)     

Comments (0)     

Today we are dealing with sin and the question I want to ask you this morning is what is your relationship with sin.

If I were to ask each and everyone one of you what is your most important relationship in life, those of you that were Christians would immediately declare, my relationship with Christ.

And that is correct.

Some would list as very important your relationship with your spouse and that would be very important.

Others would maybe say my relationship with my children or my church.

No one would say that your relationship with sin is important, but I declare to you this morning that your relationship with sin will dictate and impact all of the relationships I have just mentioned.

Now I have asked and brought to your mind your most important relationship in your life, now keep that in your mind this morning, your most important relationship, what you think it is.

Now, for a brief moment take an inventory of this last week.

Last week there were 168 hours, how many of those did you invest in your most important relationship

Last week I don’t know how much money you have coming in or going out, but think about that for just a moment, how much of every dollar coming in went into your most important relationship?

Each of you here have different talents and abilities, but how much energy did you expend in your most important relationship.

Do you remember what James said, show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works.

Here is the point I am getting at with this little illustration this morning, and the question I would like you to ponder for just a moment, is the relationship that you claim to be most important the one that your inventory proved to be most important?

In other words if you claimed your relationship with Christ as most important then does that show in where you invest your money, your time, your talents?

Well I can’t speak for all of you but I can for me and the truthful answer I would have to give is no, I all too often fall short in each and everyone of these categories, why is that, why do we fall short in what we want to do?

The answer is one that we don’t like to hear, but the truth is our relationship with Christ is often found wanting, often found inadequate because we don’t have a proper relationship with sin?

Let me ask you this morning, what is your relationship with sin?

Well the week before Mother’s Day we began to look at Romans chapter six and to help us set the context of where we are today I want to remind us of the flow of the book up until this point.  Romans 1- the first part of three are all about how we are all sinners.

Sin is not the happy feel good stuff but it is a fact of life and what I think we as pastors need to do more of in our handling of the word of God is stop shying away from it for fear of hurting someone’s feelings and I also believe that we don’t need to simply stand at the pulpit and say you are a sinner and leave it at that.  We need to preach the truth about sin, but we need to give real answers on how to handle sin.  Knowing there is a problem is not necessarily knowing how to solve it, everybody in America knows that there is an oil leak in the Gulf this morning, but only a few even have guesses as to how to handle it.  So my heart, not only in Romans, but in my ministry, is to teach one another the truth about sin and give scriptural helps to help us life our lives from day to day in a sinful world.

And so Romans 1- first part of three are all about making sure each and everyone of us realizes we are all guilty and are all sinners.

The end of chapter three through Chapter five are dealing with justification.  The truth where we all can stand before God blameless because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  Paul ends this section in chapter five with the truth that were sin abounded, grace did much more and now in chapter six Paul begins, for all practical purposes a two chapter aside to teach us the truth about what our relationship should be to sin.

I want to, this morning, try and help you begin to understand your relationship with sin and begin to help you learn how, as Christians to live a victorious life in the midst of a defeated world.

Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

2          God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

3          Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

4          Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

5          For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

6          Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

7          For he that is dead is freed from sin.

8          Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

9          Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

10        For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

My entire message this morning is going to be spent looking at one phrase in verse 2: - we are dead to sin.

What I am going to do, since this is so vital to the rest of this chapter and to our lives as we try to get a handle on our relationship with sin, is take this morning to address some false beliefs that come out of this passage and try, as best as I can present the heart of the truth that Paul is preaching.

This could be stated by saying that a Christian has no response to sin.

Here is the question that is posed, what can a dead man do?  Now I have used that illustration and that question before, but in a different context.  As sinners we are dead, we are dead in our trespasses and sins and without the quickening of the Spirit we cannot respond to God’s call.

But that does not get at the heart of what Paul is saying in this passage about a Christians response to sin.

This can simply be seen by observing life.

There is a picture on the internet taken in a foreign country in some monestary somewhere and there are two guys that are obviously monks, they have their heads shaved and they have the coats and the whole get up and they fit the part of the ones who are trying to set themselves apart, but what is funny and also very telling is that in the picture there is a lovely lady that has just walked by and both of these men are obviously taking more than a passing glance at this young lady.

That is the fault with all of those that try to separate themselves physically from the world and from sin, sin is inside and it follows them.

Once you give your life to Christ you do not immediately become immune to sins, we do not become non-responsive to sin.

Think of all the Bible passages that urges the saints to refrain from sinning, if we literally have become dead to sin and its urges and its temptations we would not need these passages of scripture:

John 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

1 Corinthians 15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12        Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

1 Peter 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16        Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

I John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

In each of these cases, whether it is the Lord Himself in The Gospel of John or Paul or Peter or John, they are telling us and through these books teaching us that we are to sin no more, if we literally died to sin in the aspect of being no longer responsive to sin, then why would so much of God’s word be spent teaching us and telling how to face temptations and sin?

So the truth that Paul is saying in this verse is not that at the moment of salvation you are literally dead to sin in the fact that you are non-responsive to sin, stop and think about your own life.

This is not a time to be confessional, but I guarantee you that each and everyone of you here has a sin, has a place of weakness and if the Lord had made you literally dead to sin, then you would not have that pull.

 1.  The Christian should die to sin.

What is the difference between die and dead, very simply when it happens.  Die is now, dead is in the past.  And the Greek really brings this out in 6:2.

2.  Another wrong view, along the same lines is heard in the phrase dying to sin day by day, we are dying to sin day by day.

And I think maybe the truth that is at the heart of this phrase is that we are to be on guard against sin on a daily basis and that is so true, but that is not what Paul is talking about in this verse.

3.  Another misconception that I will put in the same category is the idea that we have renounced sin.  If we renounce sin and live in sin it would be a contradiction to now live in sin.

Now I know that maybe I am nit-picking and that there seems to be elements of truth in these that I have just mentioned, but the truth is there is an element of un-truth in them and one element of un-truth is too much when handling the Word of God.

Here is the misunderstanding in these statements.

First lets look back at 6:2

Romans 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

In these last three the un-truth lies in the responsibility of the person. 

1.  The Christian should die to sin.

2.  The Christian should be dying to sin day by day, we are dying to sin day by day.

3.  The Christian should renounced sin. 

The Christian should the Christian should and the Christian should.

The truth of the matter is that Christ did and how we relate to sin is not incumbent upon what we do, but what He has already done for us.  It is not within us to do!

There are a couple of things wrong with this idea and thought process.

First of all Paul all through this chapter is talking about how to deal with the reality of sin, not the consequences, that is guilt. 

Secondly, there is a sense that justification and the truth of salvation does give to us relief in the area of guilt.

The truth is that if you are a sinner you can give your life to Christ and you can be forgiven of your sin and it doesn’t matter what sin or how bad and that does give to you and to me freedom from some guilt.

But the removal of guild is a by-product, if you will, it is helpful and it is a part of the picture, but Jesus Christ didn’t die on a cross for the removal of the guilt of sin, He died for sin.

So now you ask me, why did you spend so much time talking about the wrong ways in which we understand our relationship with sin.

The truth is perception is reality.  If you perceive your relationship with sin as one of these previous ways when the truth and reality hits it can be damaging.

It is just like in a marriage relationship.  If you have a perception of your marriage relationship that is not real, the moment you are hit with the reality it is a shock.

Here is where I am coming from, if you are having trouble with sin, don’t worry I won’t tell anybody!  But if you are struggling with sin and your perception of sin is faulty then your response and relationship to sin will be faulty also.

If you think, well because I am a Christian I should be dead to sin, in a literal since, but then you fall and you find your self having to deal with sin, with that view it will be troublesome, how to you now go to God, if you were supposed to literally be dead to sin and its lure and its temptation, but yet you have sinned.

This mindset will lead people to the false belief, well I have sinned I have lost my salvation, there is almost no other honest way with this to handle sin.

The three that I mentioned together

            The Christian should die to sin

            The Christian should die daily to sin

            The Christian should renounce sin

Puts a responsibility on people that they cannot handle.  And now once this person is told day in and day out to handle sin you must and you must and you must.  If you are struggling with sin all you need to do is, you need to do this and do that.  It becomes a vicious cycle of I got to do better!  This leads to a depressed lifestyle, why can’t I conquer sin.

The truth is that you don’t and in a lot of cases can’t do better!  What you need to do better is learn to trust Christ better!  He has done all that you are trying to do, it is not that you have to do all of this, you have to trust that Christ has done it for you!

The final one, that it only refers to guilt, would lead us back to the end of chapter five, the guilt, the consequences of sin are removed and so why not!

Ok so how should we understand Paul in 6:2

Romans 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Romans 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11        Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (KJV)

Here is the truth, and we will explore this in a lot greater detail in the next few weeks, we must realize or know, look at verse three Paul begins with know you not, our being dead to sin is not something we achieve, but it is something that we need to understand and know that if we are a child of God, it has happened.

And that a picture of our relationship is sin is seen in our relationship with Christ, we have been changed and we are now a new creature.

Let me give you an illustration, John R W Stott.

Our lives are lived in two chapters.

Chapter one without Christ.

Chapter two with Christ.

At the end of Chapter one, the moment we give our life to Christ we die with Christ, we are buried with Christ and we rise again and anew with Christ.

We then begin our next chapter in life.

The old life the old man, the new life the new man.

We are changed and we should have no desire to go back to that captivity.

Yet even though we are a new man, a new creature a new creation, we are still living in this old world and sin is still a part of our lives.

The truth that Paul is sharing is that as A Christian, you should know that your death to sin has happened and now you have freedom from the reign of sin, now you have the ability to say no to sin, now you .

It doesn’t mean you are exempt from sin, you now have answers.

Let me say to you this morning if you do not know Jesus Christ as Lord, you are still a sin to slave, you cannot stop sinning.  Without Christ all of your righteous acts are even as filthy rags.  It is only through Christ and His righteousness that we can then be righteous.

Comments (1)     

Mother's day is a day that has been set aside for all of America to remember their Mothers.

This special day presents a great challenge to pastors.  We look forward to the time that we can recognize and honor our Mothers but at the same time we realize that just as this may be a great day for some, for others this is a difficult day.

Maybe you have experienced the loss of your mother or some other member of your family and that brings sadness to this day.

Maybe you are here and you have tried and you have struggled and you have wanted a child yet there is no child to call your own, this day then becomes extremely difficult as so many are celebrating and maybe all you can feel is loss.

Maybe your relationship with your mother was not a good one and the separation and the anger and the whatever is on this day an opened wound.

Maybe as a mother you and your child have become estranged for whatever reason and there won't be a card and there won't be a phone call and there won't be any real reason to celebrate.

As a pastor, and maybe I approach this wrong, but I try to the best of my ability to be aware of all of these needs.

That makes the preparation of this message one of the most challenging, to me, of all the messages.

I won't try and take up much of your time this morning and I will let you spend your time with your family.

I want to, this morning, take a look at the relationship between Jesus and Mary.

One of the reasons that Jesus came to this world was to be an example for us.  If you want an example of how a person is to live perfectly, look to Jesus.

If you want an example of how to live righteously, look to Jesus.

If you want an example of how to be Baptized, how to preach, how to teach, how to have compassion, how to endure, how to suffer, look to Jesus.

But also we can look to Jesus to see not only the heavenly aspects but also the earthly aspects.  How did Jesus interact and relate to his earthly mother?

            The Birth of Jesus

            Mary and Joseph taking Jesus to the temple Simeon and Anna blessed him and gave thanks and they performed the traditional blessings of a child

Jesus at the Temple

The one story I want to look at a few moments this morning is the found in John

John 19:25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

26        When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!

27        Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. (KJV)

Today we are going to see three ways in which Jesus related to his Mother.

            1.  Jesus noticed his Mother.

            2.  Jesus noticed the needs of His mother.

            3.  Jesus provided for her needs.

My purpose for preaching this message this morning is to encourage you to thank your mother and if your mother is no longer with us, thank the Lord for your Mother!

John 19:25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

26        When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by,

Jesus noticed his mother.

That sounds so simple that it would almost seem like it is not worth mentioning, Jesus noticed his mother.

But let’s not forget the scene in which Jesus noticed his mother.

Jesus is the Son of God.  He has been given a task to complete that no other person is capable, He must deal with the sins of the world, He must reconcile all of sinful humanity to a righteous God.

He must suffer, He must bleed, He must die on the cross.
The Bible tells us that while he is hanging on this cross that the sins and the weight of the world's rebellion is placed on him and that while that is happening God the Father must turn His back on His son, making Him to cry out, My God My God why hast thou forsaken me.

Jesus had been in the garden of Gethsemane and had been praying so hard and in so much earnest that the Bible says he was bleeding sweat drops of blood.

Jesus was at the height, he had just gone through an all night mockery of a court that pronounced him guilty.

He had just come from a flogging a cruel beating.

And now he is hanging on a cross.

My friend if this statement, Jesus saw his mother, was in any other situation it would be expected, but here, while he is literally hanging in the battle of good vs evil and His life is on the line, if he had failed to notice his mother at this moment, we couldn’t blame him, he was distracted.

Yet in his distraction, in his hurt, in the midst of him being betrayed by all, in the midst of the scene of the cross, Jesus noticed his mother.

Have you ever thought about it this way.  We don't have a lot of mention of Mary in the Bible, she is not recorded being at the feeding of the thousands

She is not recorded being present when Jesus was healing and teaching and performing many of His miracles, but when her son is hurting, she is there.

The blind man, he is not there

The lepers, they are not there

The thousands, they are not there

The twelve, only one is there

Think back through your life, through all of the difficult moments, the moments when things in your life were going so bad and so wrong and all of your friends betray you and you seem to be alone, I bet you your mother was there.

Now here is the question this morning, did you notice?

When something is always there, when something is a constant in our life we tend to take those things for granted and we tend to expect them to be there and then we only notice in their absence.

Jesus, the Son of God, gave to us the example of how we as children are to treat our mother, the first step is to notice.

That is what this day is about, notice your mother, remember all the times that she was there for you, remember all the tears that she cried for you, remember all the bumps and bruises she has healed for you.

John 19:25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

26        When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!

Not only did Jesus notice his mother, Jesus noticed her need.

Now there are moments in our lives when the needs of our parents become greater than ours.  There are times, if the Lord allows our parents to keep living, when we as their children will have to begin to help them and make the decisions for them and help to provide for them, so many of you are there or have already been there or maybe you are to the point where your children are helping you.

As children it is hard sometimes to notice the needs of our mothers or our fathers for that matter.

The role is from infant to maturity, the mother takes care of the children.  It is the mother that is changing the diapers

It is the mother that is doing the feeding at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 in the morning

It is the mother that gets the children ready, that put the children down

It is the mother that loves away the hurts and kisses away the pain

But there are times in our lives when we need to notice the needs of our mothers.

As children we often do not even know that mothers have needs, mothers don't have needs, mothers meet needs, mothers take care of everybody else's needs, they don’t need.

But Jesus knew that at this moment in His mother's life she had a real need.

It has always interested me that at this moment Joseph isn't around and as custom goes Joseph, at this point he has already passed away. 

Here is what Jesus shows to us an example of a child loving his mother and caring for his mother, when he himself was in great need and great pain.

It reminds you a little bit of a mother doesn't it.  Sacrificing, caring, being concerned while they are in great need.

Finally, Jesus noticed his mother, noticed her needs and finally Jesus met her needs.

John 19:25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

26        When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!

27        Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. (KJV)

There is a story of a father that is leaving town and he tells his young son, you take care of momma while I am gone and that night while he was saying his prayers he asked God to take care of his daddy while he was gone and to take care of his brother and his sister, but he told the Lord, you don’t have to worry about my momma, I'll take care of her!

Jesus, in his darkest moment, is taking care of His mother.  Jesus has the responsibility of the world, yet that does not supersede his responsibility to his mother.

Jesus takes care of Mary, in a sense what he does here is give Mary to John.  John now has the responsibility and the care of Mary, John also is to receive the affection and love of Mary, the interaction is to be as if John was always Mary's child and Mary was always John's mother.

It is interesting of all the disciples why John?  John was the only disciple of our Lord and Savior that died a natural death.  That is not to say that he did not face hardship, but he lived to be an old man and in living to be an old man was able to take care of Mary.

It is our Christian duty to honour our mothers and our fathers, and that means more than just saying yes maam and no maam, that means that just as our parents inherited the responsibility of taking care of us when we were born, we now have the responsibility of taking care of our parents.

Let me ask you this Mother's Day, have you noticed your Mother lately, besides today when all the advertisers are trying to get you to buy their products for your mother, have you, in your busy life and busy schedule taken time out to notice your mother, you should?

Next have you noticed her needs?  This is often times most difficult, mothers usually hide this and put before us a sense of all is right with me, now how are you?

Finally have you taken the time out of your busy life and done what is necessary to help meet your mother's needs.

Mother's day, Father's day both of these, for me is a celebration of family and today we see that Jesus took very seriously his responsibility to his family, we must follow him.

Let me ask you, if you are here today and you have never given your life to Christ I want you to know that while Jesus was on that Cross and while he was taking care of his mother, He was dying for your sins.  This man who knew no sin, took upon himself the sins of the world and died for you, all you have to do is repent, turn away from your sins and make him Lord of your life and you will be a part of His family and you will have the promise that Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you, I promise you whether your mother is living or if she is gone on to be with the Lord, the best gift you could give her is giving your life to Christ!

231. Lessons in Faith

There was a devout Christian mother who was always teaching her daughter lessons of faith and trust, especially telling her that she need never be afraid at any time because God was always near. One summer evening she tucked her little girl in bed after her prayers, put out the light, and went downstairs. Then an electrical storm came rolling out of the west with vivid flashes of lightning and a reverberating roar of thunder. Suddenly there was a simultaneous blinding flash and a deafening crash, and when the echoes died away, the mother heard the little girl calling desperately, "Mama! Mama! Come and get me." The mother found her trembling, little girl in tears. After she had soothed her somewhat, she thought it might be an opportune time to teach a spiritual lesson, and said, "My little girl, has Mother not taught you many times that you need never be afraid, that God is always near, and nothing can harm you?" The little one put her arms around her mother's neck and said, "Yes, Mama. I know that God is always near, but when the lightning and the thunder are so awful, I want someone near me that's got skin on him."

 Bible Illustrations - Bible Illustrations – Illustrations of Bible Truths.

Comments (0)     

Last week we looked at the truth, where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.

What a truth what a comfort.  But the truth is that that statement, without further explanation could lead someone to argue, well if that is the case then why don’t I just sin more and allow God to show his grace more.

Well in the words of Paul, God forbid!

That is what we find in Romans 6 and through 7, Paul raises this argument he knows that as his letter is read throughout the church there will be some there that are new converts, that are new Gentile believers that have been living under the pagan laws and they will see this as maybe a loophole to keep living their old lifestyle and Paul says absolutely not.

There are some today that will use this verse as a crutch and say that I know I am a sinner, but I know God will forgive me!

Well someone that has that attitude, as Paul will disclose, is either someone that is immature in their faith or simply lacking real faith.

God didn’t save us to sin, but he saved us from sin.

Today we are observing the Lord’s Supper, it is a time to remember the sacrifices of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Why did He suffer, sin.

Why was He beaten, sin.

Why was He bruised, sin.

Why was He betrayed, Sin

Why was He spit upon, Sin.

Why was He nailed to a cross, Sin.

Sin is no laughing matter and sin is not to be taken lightly.  I stand before you this morning so unworthy to preach to you on sin and its consequences.  I suffer daily from its hold on my life.  The people I love the most suffer, my family suffers, but lest we forget the one that suffered the most is my Lord and My Savior!

So last week we saw the truth about grace in the life of a believer, today we are going to see the truth about sin.

My goal this morning is to help you, help me, begin to understand sin so that we can begin to control sin in our lives.

Today we are going to look at our two-fold relationship to sin.

Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

2          God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

3          Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

4          Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

5          For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

6          Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

7          For he that is dead is freed from sin. (KJV)

 We are dead to sin.

In the passage we just read our relationship to sin is referred to in the terms of death in sin or dead to sin 6 times in 7 verses.

Here is the reality that Paul is portraying, as believers, as Christians our relationship to sin should be as a dead man is to life.

Now we cannot be mistaken here and go too far in respect to sin and say that a Christian that is dead to sin will then sin no more, death is not annihilation, death is not the end, death is a separation.

Several here have experienced the death of a loved one recently, it is not the end of their existence, it is a separation from us.  Now it completely changes our relationship with them.

That is what the picture that Paul is using here in chapter 6, we are now dead to sin, separated from its power.  Because of our new relationship with Jesus Christ our relationship with sin has permanently changed.

Paul uses the phrase that we were once servants to sin.  And actually servant is not an accurate translation we would better understand it as slave, a slave can only experience freedom two ways, someone else buys them, remember a true slave earns no money, someone else has to purchase them or they die.

Here is the problem we have this freedom, we have died to sin through Christ, we are no longer under sins control and mastership.  Yet we still sin, why is that?

Think about the children of Israel as God led them out of bondage, they were captive, they were slaves and God miraculously gave to them their freedoms.

But they were out in the wilderness with their newfound freedom only days when life began to struggle and they began to remember fondly the good ole day.

I have learned as I have gotten older that the good ole days weren’t as good as folks make them out to be.

Numbers 11:4 And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?

5          We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:

6          But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes. (KJV)

Here is what sin will do it will paint you a picture that will awaken the old man, the old self and it will paint a picture and say to you do you remember when?

But what Paul is saying is that now we have this new man, this new self and we no longer are slaves, we have been given an option and that option is righteousness.

The truth is we do not always follow righteousness, but when we don’t it is no longer by force of our old nature it is now by choice of a new man.  The truth is that now we are responsible for our sins.  The truth is that Christians must also deal with sins also.

Now we need to understand the truth behind the analogy given.

If you are truly saved, you have the Holy Spirit indwelling you to help you battle temptation. The Holy Spirit helps you to say "No!" to sin. You cannot persist in sinful, wicked living often or indefinitely. The Holy Spirit would be grieved, your conscience would be guilty, and you would be miserable. God uses suffering and chastisement also to change your course and lifestyle.

Hebrews 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

6          For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. (KJV)

Hebrews 12:11—Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Revelation 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. (KJV)

If chastisement does not change your lifestyle, the Lord may cut your life short and bring you home to Heaven.

1 Corinthians 11:30—For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

The word "sleep" is a term for death for the believer.

If you are not bothered by sinful living or not chastened, it is time for a spiritual checkup. You need to ask yourself, "Am I truly born again?" If holiness never starts in your life, you can conclude that justification never started either in your life.

2 Corinthians 5:17—Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Shall we continue in sin? You cannot do this.

You need not do this. Sin's dominion is broken in your life. You have the power to say "No!"

Mattoon's Treasures - Mattoon's Treasures – Treasures from Romans.

Let me ask you this morning as we draw this part of the service to a close, have you died to sin.

More Scriptural References:

Romans 3:8 And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just. (KJV)

Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. (KJV)

1 Peter 2:16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. (KJV)

Romans 7:14  For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. 

Comments (0)     

Is Jesus Christ Lord our boss?  Today we hear so many trying to "modernize" the message and claim that a modern equivalent to Lord would be boss.  Well there are several places where this analogy falls short, in my opinion.  (1).  Our relationship with our boss is confined to a work relationship.  We don't see our bosses at home; they don't impact our decisions outside of the company or business.  A Lord has complete ownership of his peasants.  They are his, not only while performing a specific job, which they would do on occasion, but also while at home.  We are commanded multiple times in scripture to give to our Lord all that we have, not just while doing specific task.  (2).  Our boss has only the interest of the company or business, not the employee.  When you go to work your boss has an agenda and that agenda is to get you to perform tasks or duties that will benefit him or the company.  When an employer gives someone benefits the reality is that the employer is seeking a return on that benefit, they hope that the benefit will be an incentive to stay with the company or to perform better or in some other way benefit them. Your Lord has ownership of you and He has a desire that you will benefit.  Your Lord died for you, what has your boss done for you lately?  The Lord died for you while you were a sinner and in no way could be a benefit to Him!  (3).  Finally, through the pressures of jobs we are often driven to despise and resent our boss.  Our understanding of the sacrifice of our Lord should drive us to praise, love and adoration.

I think as Bible teachers and preachers we would be better served teaching the truth of Lordship rather than trying to find a modern equal. 

Just a thought.

Comments (0)     

The following notes are from Sunday's message.  This is not necessarily the message as I preached, because sometimes the Holy Spirit leads me in other directions and then on occasions I go in different directions on my own.  These are my notes as I prepared and I hope for those that were present they can be a reminder of the message and for those who were not able to hear my message I pray that they will be an encouragement and a help in your walk with the Lord.

As parents one thing that we try to do is teach our children to appreciate what they have been given.

Kids don't realize where things come from, how much things cost and how much work goes into making things happen.

That is why when someone gives something to our children, we as parents usually have to force them to say Thank you.  And until they get old enough to do it on their own and even after they are grown, my momma is constantly asking me, did you thank them.

Well today we are going to get a picture of what Christ has done for us and as your pastor I want to encourage you, give thanks to God, praise God, worship God.  

He has done so much and what He did cost Him so much, we shouldn’t need reminders, we shouldn’t need prompting or encouraging, yet I stand here as one needing this message too.  We can get so caught up in our lives, in our struggles in our own little battles and lose sight of how blessed we have been, how blessed we are and how blessed we are promised to be.

Out of this passage today we are going to see three reasons we should be thanking Jesus Christ today.

1.  We are to be thankful for the law.

2.  We are to be thankful for sin.

3.  We are to be most thankful for grace.

Romans 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

Out of this passage today we are going to see three reasons we should be thanking Jesus Christ today.

1.  We are to be thankful for the law.

The Law is a mirror. When you wake up in the morning at some point part of your routine is to go and look in the mirror and see how much damage the last night of sleep did on you.

But have you ever noticed that the mirror has no ability to clean your face, the mirror has no ability to come or style your hair, the mirror has no ability to put on your make-up or pop your zits.

All the mirror does for us is make it where we can see our flaws, make it where we can see our imperfections, the mirror in itself can take no action for us, but it can show us the action we need to take.  

James 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:  24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. (KJV)

Before the Law there was sin, there was rebellion, there were trespasses and evils and all of that.

But what happened when the Law came was they were clearly defined.  The loopholes were sealed tight and the excuses were taken care of here is right and here is wrong.

When the Law came this verse is not saying that the Law caused sin to abound, in other words people sinned more because the Law was now here, but because the Law was here the world was more aware of the Law.

Now there are those that intentionally try the limits of the law.  There are those just like a child. 

Now one thing that Paul is addressing to in this crowd is the Jewish audience and their misunderstanding that the Law came to deal with sin.

Philippians 3:4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:  5          Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;  6          Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 7          But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. (KJV)

The Law's only responsibility to sin is to point it out make it known and let you and I know that we are totally and completely broken under its light.

 I like the way that Spurgeon described this particular aspect of the law.  We were like a man living in a dungeon that did not know it until the light shone in and a window was open and the light revealed around him horrible conditions with insects and rats and waste and filth and all that you would expect in a dungeon, but until the light shone in he could have just as easily been living in a palace.

 My friend we are to thank God for the Law, not for its actions but for its power of revealing to us our condition, which moves us toward God.

 If you think that you can stand before God and declare I am better than this man, I am better than this man, you better rethink you stand.

 Because when we stand before God we stand beside Jesus Christ and we are either covered by His blood or we are condemned by His righteousness!

 Out of this passage today we are going to see three reasons we should be thanking Jesus Christ today.

 1.  We are to be thankful for the law.

 2.  We are to be thankful for sin.

Ok now you say hold on preacher I don't know much but I know sin is wrong and sin is bad and at what point in my life should I be thankful for sin.

Well there is only one reason for you and I to be thankful for sin.

 The Law revealed to you and I just how awful we are.

 Sin revealed just how loving and full of grace and mercy God is!

 More of God is to be seen in the great work of redeeming love than could have been reflected in the creation of myriads of worlds, had each one of them been replete with marvels of divine skill, and goodness, and power. In Jesus crucified Jehovah is glorified as never before. Where sin abounded to the apparent dishonor of God, grace doth much more abound to the infinite glory of his ever-blessed name.

 Charles Spurgeon

 If Adam had not sinned and if someone humanity had been able to avoid sin we would be living in God's wonderful creation, we would be living in God’s perfect creation.

 But our understanding of the ability of God would be limited to Creator.  We would not know God as redeemer, we would not know God as a God of love, a God of mercy, a God of Grace.

 Sin brings and draws out the worst in humanity which in turns reveals the best in our God.

 Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17        And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18        For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (KJV)

 First, then, sin abounded in its effect upon the whole human race: one sin overthrew all humanity; one fatal fault, the breach of a plain, and easy law, made sinners of us all. “By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners.” Simple as was the command which Adam broke, it involved obedience or disobedience to the sovereignty of God. All the trees of the garden were generously given to happy Adam in Paradise: We are all living in the consequences of Adam’s Sin.

 Charles Spurgeon

 Sin is desiring for, reaching for, moving toward more than what God has desired for you.

 Adam had all of the garden, but he wanted more.

 The consequences of sin are enormous and we often fail to see them, its like the beer commercials, if they were to show the car wrecks, the families fallen apart, the jobs lost, the way it leads to harder and more powerful drugs and so on and so on.

 Let's take on sin, just one sin and follow its consequences for us.

 God gives man the gift and the blessing of intimacy in marriage.  This is something that is good and is right used properly.

 But the desire to have what God has not given to us leads to premarital sex, leads to extramarital affairs, leads to homosexual lifestyles and all of these leads to std, aids and all kind of physical diseases and problems.

 The desire to have these relationships outside of marriage leads to mistrust and divorce and broken homes and all kinds of family problems.

 This also leads to teen pregnancies and unwanted pregnancy and abortion.

 I could go on and on about the consequences of this one sin, this one desire to have an intimacy that God did not give to us!

 Out of this passage today we are going to see three reasons we should be thanking Jesus Christ today.

 1.  We are to be thankful for the law.

 2.  We are to be thankful for sin.

 3.  We are to be most thankful for grace.

 Raised from hell, we are lifted not to the bowers of Eden, but to the throne of God. Redeemed human nature has greater capacities than unfallen human nature. To Adam the Lord did not say, “Thou art a son of God, joint heir with the Only Begotten”; but he has said that to each believer redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus. Beloved, such a thing as fellowship with Christ in his sufferings could not have been known to Adam in Paradise.

 Our Paradise Regained is far more glorious than our Paradise Lost.

 The second Adam has repaired the desperate ruin of the first, and much more. By his death upon the cross, our Divine Substitute has put away those myriads of sins, which have been committed by men since the first offense in Eden. Think of this! Take the whole aggregate of believers, and let each one disburden his conscience of its load of sin. What a mountain! Pile it up! Pile it up! It rises huge as high Olympus! Age after age believers come and lay their enormous loads in this place. “The Lord hath made to meet on him the iniquities of us all.” What Alps! What Himalayas of sin! If there were only mine and yours, my brother, what mountains of division would our sins make! But the great Christ, the free gift of God to us, when he bare our sins in his own body on the tree, took all those countless sins away. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world”! Here is infinite grace to pardon immeasurable sin! Truly the “one man’s offense” abounded horribly; but the “one man’s obedience,” the obedience of the Son of God, hath super abounded. As the arch of heaven far exceedeth in its span the whole round globe of the earth, so doth grace much more abound over human sin.

 If I were to ask you, now, to give the best illustrations of grace abounding in individuals, I think your impulse would be to choose men in whom sin once abounded. What characters do we preach of most, when we would magnify the grace of God? We talk of David, and Manasseh, and swearing Peter, and the dying thief, and Saul of Tarsus, and the woman that was a sinner. If we want to show where grace abounded, we naturally turn our eyes to the place where sin abounded. Is it not so?

 Charles Spurgeon

Comments (0)     

I am working on posting my notes from this Sunday's message but the program will not let me cut and paste and I am working on that problem.  I am not ready to re-type it just yet.  As soon as I get this problem figured out I will get the sermon notes posted.  Thanks for your patience.

Bro. Chad

Comments (0)     

Welcome to the Pastor's Postings.  My name is Chad Higgins and I am currently the pastor of Blue Ridge Baptist Church in Independence, Mo.  I have created this blog as an opportunity to share comments and thoughts with my congregation and anyone  else that would like to share comment or add to the discussion.  The general format is intended to be a post on Monday that will give an overview of the previous Sunday's message.  I hope through this we may all grow in Christ through His word.

Comments (1)