Category: sermon

EVERYTHING ALIVE 

EVERYTHING ALIVE 

Genesis 9:12-17 NET.

12 And God said, “This is the guarantee of the covenant I am making with you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all subsequent generations: 13 I will place my rainbow in the clouds, and it will become a guarantee of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 then I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures of all kinds. Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy all living things. 16 When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember the perpetual covenant between God and all living creatures of all kinds that are on the earth.” 17 So God said to Noah, “This is the guarantee of the covenant that I am confirming between me and all living things that are on the earth.”

We are now on our 5th day of the new year, which means that we are five days into our commitment to read two chapters a day in God’s holy word. I’m hoping that we all can keep to that commitment because I know that God wants to bless us with his wisdom and a closer relationship with him. The early chapters of Genesis teach us that God is holy and he wants to have a close relationship with his people. But he will not tolerate rebellion. Adam and Eve rebelled in the garden and so God banished them from it. That meant that our ancestors no longer had access to the Tree of Life. They were mortal, and our race began to die, starting with Abel, who his brother killed.

The rebellion continued among our ancestors and finally grew to such a degree that God could not tolerate it. Thus, God sent the flood to cover the planet in water and destroy all its inhabitants. But God is also merciful, and he chose one family of humans to rescue by his grace, along with the animals he chose to preserve for life after the flood. Genesis 9 describes the new covenant that God made with Noah, all humanity, and everything alive on this planet when the flood was over.

The version we are reading today uses the phrase “every living creature” to describe everything alive on the planet—humans and animals. That term is found in verses 12, 15, and 16. Verse 17 uses a synonym, “all living things.” Both terms refer to everything alive. The covenant God made was more comprehensive than we usually think. It was not made merely with Noah. It was a covenant with all the humans and animals on earth.

We should also note that the term for living creatures in verses 12, 15, and 16 reveals something that many religions (including many Christian denominations) refuse to accept. The average Hindu, Muslim, Catholic, and many others believe that the one thing that separates human beings from animals is that humans have souls, but animals do not.

One reason many Christians accept this doctrine is that many versions of Genesis 2:7 read something like the King James, which says, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” This reading led many to accept the concept that humans are endowed with an immortal soul and animals do not have souls.

Some modern translations correct the KJV. The NET reads, “The LORD God formed the man from the soil of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” The reason they had to correct this is that the exact phrase that the KJV translated, “living soul,” is found elsewhere in the Bible to refer to animals. The phrase is found in today’s text three times. Every time, it refers explicitly to everything alive. The point is not that every animal has a soul. The point is that the word translated soul (Hebrew נֶפֶשׁ) means something that breathes. The verb נָפַשׁ means to breathe. A נֶפֶשׁ is a throat which breathes.

This is a very unpopular belief, but it is proven true by the Bible. The Bible nowhere says that human beings are immortal – not even a part of them. Having a soul does not make us immortal. In fact, it proves the opposite. We breathe every breath until we breathe our last breath. We are temporary creatures, just like every other living creature. Our hope in Christ is not that we will survive death but that he will return and make us alive again. We don’t have immortality naturally by being human. We hope for immortality supernaturally by means of resurrection.

Now, I’m saying all this not just because of a doctrine I espouse but because it is essential context to understand the passage we are looking at this morning. The covenant that God made, as expressed in Genesis 9, is often called the Noahic covenant. But in fact, God made the covenant not just with Noah and not even with all humanity. He made this covenant with everything alive on the planet.

This passage gives the reason for the covenant

Notice the phrase “never again” in today’s text. In verse 11, God says, “Never again will all living things be wiped out by the waters of a flood; never again will a flood destroy the earth.” In verse 15, he says, “Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy all living things.” The reason for the covenant between God and everything alive is that the act of Judgment had a profound effect on the divine judge. He regretted that he had to destroy all those lives. Even though God, by his grace, rescued one family and enough animals to repopulate the planet, he still regretted having to kill everyone else.

God is the creator of all life, and he does not approve of reckless disregard for that life. There is a doctrine called the sanctity of human life, and I agree with it. I believe abortion is wrong because it is the taking of the life of an innocent human being who has done nothing wrong to deserve the death penalty. You can choose to rename abortion and call it reproductive rights or reproductive healthcare if you want to. But it does not change what is really happening. A human life is being destroyed. It’s not a suicide; it’s a homicide. The sanctity of human life is being disregarded.

But this passage is saying something even more comprehensive. It is saying that all life is sacred, not just all human life. God regretted the fact that he had to destroy every living creature in the flood. He determined not to do that ever again. It is wrong to kill a human being and show reckless disregard for that life. It is equally wrong to kill another creature for no reason and show reckless disregard for that life. The Noahic covenant was put into effect so that human beings would show the proper respect for all God’s creatures.

This passage gives the details of that covenant.

One of the details of the Noahic covenant was a repetition of a mandate that was part of the Adamic covenant. Verse 1 says, “Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” God still wants human beings to have children and expand their dominion over the planet.

A new mandate that is part of the Noahic covenant involves a change in the relationship between humans and animals. Human beings are allowed to take the lives of animals for the purpose of sustaining their own lives. Humans are allowed to eat animals but must not do so when the animals are still alive. Verses 3-4 say, “You may eat any moving thing that lives. As I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.  But you must not eat meat with its life (that is, its blood) in it.” The word “life” in that verse is the same translated creature in 12, 15, and 16. It’s that word “soul” again. It means something breathing. Humans are not allowed to eat an animal still breathing, with its blood still coursing through its veins.

There is also a new mandate stipulated in the Noahic covenant suggested in verse 6: “Whoever sheds human blood, by other humans must his blood be shed; for in God’s image God has made humankind.” This mandate establishes human law against homicide and human government to enforce that law.

From the Noahic covenant, we know that our God holds us accountable for preserving all life—especially human life. He wants us to be agents of renewal, undoing the devastation of the flood and making this planet thrive.

This passage also gives the guarantee of the covenant.

It is a sign. The sign still exists today. Unfortunately, many are abusing this sign and using it as a symbol of pride in something they should be ashamed of. For many, the rainbow now means that human beings are free to have conjugal relations with anything they want – be it someone of the same gender or even a different species. That’s not what the sign means. The rainbow in the sky is God’s guarantee that he will never again destroy everything alive on earth by means of a universal flood. He has done that, and he will not do it again. If people commit crimes, there will be governments with authority to punish them. If people sin against God, there will be the final judgment and the lake of fire to punish that. But the rainbow is God’s promise to us that “Never again will all living things be wiped out by the waters of a flood; never again will a flood destroy the earth.” He is going to allow us to live how we want to live, and he will not intervene by retaliating against all humanity as he did in the days of Noah.

The rainbow is God’s commitment to life. It is his statement and sign of his love for us, even if we do not deserve it. We should certainly be aware that God is capable of immediate reprisal against any rebellion. We should not take the rainbow to mean that God is not capable of punishing sin. Instead, we should realize that God is giving us space and time to turn back to him—to seek him during this age of grace.

Holy Communion

In Matthew 26:28 Jesus said, “for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, that is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

The signs of the new covenant that Jesus established with his followers were the bread and cup of the communion ritual. The sign of the rainbow meant that God chose not to punish the sins of humanity with immediate retribution. The signs of the new covenant show God’s grace even more drastically. The bread and cup symbolized what Jesus did for us on the cross. He did more than delay God’s retaliation against sin. He brought about God’s forgiveness of sins. When the blood of Jesus flowed from his body while he was nailed to that cross, the flowing blood took our sins with it. We now stand as recipients of a new covenant with God. When we stand before Christ as judge, all of the world’s sins will be laid before him. But our sins will be marked “paid in full” because of the substitutionary death of Christ.

The rainbow is God’s commitment to life. So are the symbols we use today to celebrate Holy Communion. They are signs of sinners forgiven and given eternal life in the age to come. Hallelujah!

A quote from The Piney Grove Pulpit #5:

“God also said “(he) will put a new spirit within (them)” (Ezekiel 36:26b). The spirit is the breath that is inside a breathing body. The Hebrews used this breath as a metaphor for the internal life. As such, good breath inside a person suggested health, vitality and a good attitude. An evil breath (not to be confused with bad breath) meant that the body was unhealthy, dying and full of hate and bitterness.

So, when God said that he was going to put a new spirit in his people, he was talking about restoring their relationship with him through forgiveness, and that would result in health and wholeness.”

{The book has 72 pages and was published on September 15th, 2024}.

FEED MY SHEEP   

FEED MY SHEEP   

John 21:15-17 (pastor’s translation)

15  When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you care about me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you are aware that I have regard for you.” “Feed my lambs,” he told him. 16 He asked him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you care about me?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you are aware that I have regard for you.” “Shepherd my sheep,” he told him. 17 He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you have regard for me?” Peter was so grieved that he asked him the third time, “Do you have regard for me?” He said, “Lord, you are aware of everything; you are aware that I have regard for you.” “Feed my sheep,” Jesus said.

The incident that John described in today’s passage fell between our Lord’s resurrection and his ascension to heaven. Peter had decided to go fishing and had a disappointing night because they had caught nothing. But Jesus intervened and told them to throw the net on the right side of the boat. They caught so many fish that they could not haul in the net. Some of the other disciples came and assisted them in recovering the net. When they went onto the shore, Jesus instructed them to bring some of the fish they had caught. He had already started a charcoal fire. The conversation Jesus had with Jesus took place at this fireside.

This passage is about Peter’s grief.

The fact that they were at a campfire and Jesus asked essentially the same question three times got Peter’s memory going. He remembered another fireside – on the night of Jesus’ crucifixion. On that night the people had built a fire to keep warm, and Peter had approached the fire, hoping that nobody would recognize him. Sure enough, three different people had asked him if he knew this criminal – Jesus. Three times, Peter had denied knowing Jesus and being his disciple.

Our text says that Peter was so grieved that Jesus had asked him the same question three times. He was grieved that when challenged, he had chosen to deny Christ rather than admit that he had been his disciple. Peter had boasted that he would follow Jesus even if he had to die doing it. But when the time for testing came, Peter chickened out. The rooster crowed, and Peter had broken down in shame and grief. He was grieving not only because his master was being condemned. He was also grieving because he (Peter) had not lived up to his promise. He proved to be not as committed as he said he was.

Each of us who tries to live the Christian life will find ourselves in such situations. We will see that our actions do not match our testimony. As much as we love Jesus and declare our allegiance to him, we will discover times when we fail to live the life we want to live. We will be seriously disappointed with ourselves.

I’m glad that this passage is in the Bible. It tells us something about our loving Savior. It tells us that when we have failed him in the most public and shameful ways, Jesus will still be waiting at the seashore, ready to talk about it over breakfast. If we did not have this passage, we might be tempted to think that Jesus would reject us as soon as we fail to admit our loyalty to him. But this passage tells us that the one who taught us to forgive seventy times seven is going to be there for us with love and forgiveness.

This passage is about Peter’s love.

Y’all know that I do not normally use my translation when preaching. I usually use a modern translation that is available to anyone. However, I chose to use my translation because the modern translations and the ancient ones all have problems translating the passage. The difficulty is found in the fact that the passage was originally written in Greek with two different words, both of which are usually translated with the same word in English. The Greek words are ἀγαπάω and φιλέω. John is using these two words because even though both can be translated with our English word love, each has a different connotation. Each denotes a different aspect of love.

In order to show the differences between the two words being used, in my translation, I translate both words differently. I chose not to use the word love in my translation because it would not be clear which word was being used in Greek. When ἀγαπάω is used, I translate the word “care about.” When you care about someone, the focus is on what you can do for them. When φιλέω is used, I translate it as “have regard for.” When you have regard for someone, the focus is on appreciation for who they are and what they have done for you.

So, here again is my translation of the conversation:

“Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you care about (ἀγαπάω) me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you are aware that I have regard for (φιλέω) you.” “Feed my lambs,” he told him. 16 He asked him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you care about (ἀγαπάω) me?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you are aware that I have regard for (φιλέω) you.” “Shepherd my sheep,” he told him. 17 He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you have regard for (φιλέω) me?” Peter was so grieved that he asked him the third time, “Do you have regard for (φιλέω) me?” He said, “Lord, you are aware of everything; you are aware that I have regard for (φιλέω) you.”

Peter had grieved because he knew that he had dissapointed Jesus when he denied him at his crucifixion. His grief was natural because he cared about Jesus. He did not want to disappoint him again. But Jesus was teaching Peter that he didn’t want Peter to focus on his concern for Jesus. He wanted Peter to concentrate on his admiration and appreciation of Jesus because that is what he needed to be successful in his future ministry. In other words, his future ministry had to be based on the greatness of his master, not the strength of his concern for his master.

This passage is about Peter’s mission.

That is why Jesus kept telling Peter to feed and shepherd his sheep. Peter had to get his mind focused on his mission because that was to be the means by which he proved his regard for his master. The story began with Jesus asking Peter, “Do you care about me more than these?”  Who were the “these”? They were the fish. Peter had decided to go fishing. Jesus first met Peter when he was out fishing. Jesus called Peter and three other fishermen to follow him, and he would make them fishers of people.

The new mission required a new metaphor. The old metaphor was good enough when the disciples’ primary ministry was evangelism. Jesus made them fishers of people because their primary responsibility was to catch people in the net—to win them to Christ. They would still be doing that, but Jesus was adding a new ministry when he told them to feed and shepherd his flock.

The new mission was to assist and lead the congregations to maturity in Christ. This would be proof of their high regard for their master. Jesus had given them a new commandment: to love one another. Now, he was giving them a new mission to nurture and protect all the sheep in the fold.

The Lord has been dealing with me on the issue of feeding the flock as well. For this coming year, he wants me to focus on getting this congregation into the word of God on a regular basis. I am introducing a new calendar for the coming year. Each day of the calendar has a reference to two chapters from the Bible. We will be beginning in Genesis and reading through the Bible, finishing with Revelation in the middle of 2026. Each month, you will get a new calendar with the month’s readings. Each Sunday, I will take my Scripture passage from that Sunday’s texts. I want us to commit to reading or listening to those two chapters every day if possible. The Sunday School lessons will also be taken from that week’s readings.

There is more to spiritual growth and maturity than just reading the Bible regularly. But one of the reasons Christians stay spiritually immature is that they do not get into the word and let it nourish them. As a congregation, we are responsible to feed the sheep in this community. I want us to get more biblically literate because it is one of the means of becoming more spiritually mature. As we are preparing to begin a new year, let us take the opportunity to establish some new patterns. One of the most critical new patterns that anyone can set is to have a regular plan for reading and studying the Bible. As you read, if you encounter a word or phrase you do not understand, write it down to discuss on Sunday. You can also email or text me with a question.

The owner of the flock wants us all to be well-fed and strong. Let’s commit to becoming a congregation that knows the Word and lives by it. God bless y’all.

A quote from Piney Grove Pulpit #3:

““Make yourself an ark of gopher wood” (Genesis 6:14).

Noah’s response was that he “built an ark to deliver his family.” He built it by faith. Nobody had built such a thing before. There was no precedent. There hadn’t been any need before. God himself had to give Noah the blueprint for the thing. Building the ark was something that was going to be very hard to do, and it was going to take a lot of effort and resources to do it.

But … and this is very important… it could be done. God sometimes calls you and me to do the impossible, but most of the time he just calls us to do the impractical, to test our resolve and commitment to him. God didn’t call Noah to build a spaceship. A boat was what was needed, and Noah could do that. Noah’s faith helped him to respond appropriately to his fear and build that boat.”

GLORY TO GOD 

GLORY TO GOD 

Luke 2:14 NET.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people with whom he is pleased!”

We are back in the fields with the shepherds today. We are focusing on the words that the army of angels said after the angel had given his message to the shepherds. Are you aware that you know a little Latin? Yes, you do. In fact you just sang in Latin when we were singing “Angels We Have Heard on High.” “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” is one way of translating “Glory to God in the highest” in Latin.

The English word glory sometimes means the impressive appearance of someone or something. When we see something amazing, we might call it glorious. Luke used this word when he said that the glory of the Lord shone around the shepherds.

But there is another meaning of the word. It sometimes refers to the fame, renown, praise, and honor that someone is due. The opposite of glory is shame. What the angles appear to be saying is that the greatest glory belongs to the greatest God—the God who created all things and rules all things.

You will notice that I used the word “saying” there instead of “singing.” The Christmas cards and carols are wrong. The Bible does not tell us that these angels were singing. It says that they were praising God and saying something.

It probably felt like they were singing. They were, after all, angels. Their voices probably resonated throughout the countryside. When these shepherds went into the towns and villages to share the good news that these angels told them, the villagers probably asked them what all that racket was about. I imagine those angel voices shook the mountains. When the shepherds went to tell the good news on the mountains, over the hills and everywhere, they were explaining the miraculous supernatural event that they experienced firsthand. When they told the villagers about the baby boy in the manger, they could explain that he was the one that all this noise was about.

Well, once again, I have to say that it was not exactly a silent night. It was a typically quiet night up until the army of angels showed up and started praising God and talking about his glory. Then, it became a noisy night. The angels were noisy, and they passed the noise on to the shepherds. The shepherds went to see Jesus, and then they gossipped the gospel throughout the countryside. I imagine the silence was broken that night and people would be talking about that noisy night for years afterward.

On that night God’s glory shone around the shepherds. On that night, God’s glory was celebrated by the angels, then by the shepherds, and then by all the believers who heard the message that the king had been born. I want to talk about that glory today.

God’s glory is a message.

The message is about God, who lives in the highest place. We call that place heaven. It is the realm in which God resides and the realm over which he presides. No human being had ever seen that glory. Some of the people of God had come close to seeing it. But God does not share his visible glory with the likes of us. We can only imagine what it is like to be in the visible presence of Almighty God. Some have even dared to describe what it might be like, but all the descriptions we have ever heard or read about do not approach any proximity of accuracy.

Those angels celebrated this marvelous glory of Almighty God that night. The angel Gabriel – when he was sent to share the good news with Zechariah – told him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news” (Luke 1:19). Imagine standing in the presence of God. I don’t feel worthy even to lie prostrate in the presence of God. But this mighty angel stands in the presence of his creator without shame. He is one of God’s sacred angels. He is in another category – he is not a fallen creature, like all of us human beings are.

We miserable mortal creatures have decided that we are going to launch ourselves into space to see what is up there – to reach what is out there. We can go farther than we had ever imagined, but we have never reached the highest place. We never will reach the highest place. The Bible says that no one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven — that is Jesus himself (John 3:13). I hear a lot of people talking about dying and going to heaven. It is just not so. Religion has fostered that fallacy for generations, but the Bible denies it. Our goal in life is not to get to heaven but to be ready when heaven’s king comes back to earth.

One of the reasons that the angels were celebrating that night is that God was putting into action his plan to rescue humanity, and he had chosen this angelic army to begin the process of spreading that message. God’s glory is a message. It is a message that says that the God who lives in the highest place has decided to reach down to the lowest place. It is appropriate then, that these angelic messengers pass the baton on to these lowly shepherds. It is as if God is telling us that when he decides to act to redeem his fallen creatures, he is going to make that salvation available to everyone, great and small.

When we look at humanity as a whole, we see all kinds of differences. We see racial differences. I believe that black lives matter just as much as white lives. But we can talk about black lives because people who are African Americans grow up in a different world than those who are not. I am fortunate to have some black friends, but I can never be just like them because there is a difference that cannot be explained just by referencing the color of our skin. I was born into and live in a different world.

There are also socio-economic differences among human beings. We have a lower economic class, a middle class, and an upper class. Back in the biblical days, they also had a slave class. I thank God that we no longer have a slave class in America, but we do have many who are destined to live their whole lives as subservient to others. We have a long way to go before we can imagine a world in which there are no socio-economic differences.

There are also gender differences. God created us, male and female. Those differences are obvious. Some in our society today want to blur those distinctions. Some want to recreate the world and make it have several genders. Some want to medically alter themselves so that they can pretend to be a different gender than the one they were born as. Some want to turn gender distinctions into an opportunity to tyrannize others. It gets very complicated. But the fact that we were born with a gender difference is obvious.

There are also religious differences. There are different religions, denominations, and forms of atheism and agnosticism. There are fanatical cults and lukewarm pretenders. We cannot unify everyone under one religion because religions involve belief, and none of us believe the same things as anyone else.

When we look at all these differences, we discover that very few things are true of every human being. We are a divided species. But there is one thing that unites us because it is true of all of us: We are all part of a fallen species, a sinful species, a reprobate species. The message of glory is that our God is going to change that.

God’s glory is a mission.

The good news that the angels declared that night is the announcement that God in the highest place was beginning his mission to reach down and save all of us who live in the lowest place. So, the angels compared heaven (the highest) with earth. The earth is the mission field. It is characterized by sin, corruption, violence, and warfare. But God has made it his mission to bring peace on earth. He plans to bring peace back to the earth. He is not going to eradicate all our differences. But he does plan to deal with the sin problem because it is sin in us that turns all our differences into means of exploiting and hurting one another.

So, the Christmas cards get this one right. Christmas is a message of God’s mission to bring peace on earth. God is putting his plan into operation on this night, which will eventually result in a world restored to the original peace of the pre-fall paradise.

But some even manage to get this aspect of the mission wrong. They think that God has already brought peace to earth and we celebrate that on Christmas. They think that just by being born on this planet, Jesus has already undone the effects of sin and shame brought about by the fall. So, they misread what the angels declared that night.

The angels promised peace on earth “among people with whom he is pleased.” The peace that God brings only comes to some of the people on this planet. He is coming with a mission to eradicate sin. Only those who repent of their sins and put their faith in the Savior will experience redemption. They will know peace with God at first and will eventually experience universal peace from God when Christ restores all things.

That explains why Jesus said something that appears to contradict what the angels promised. He said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). Jesus’ mission was not to bring peace to all of us but to bring peace to some of us. Those of us who put our faith in him will experience division, persecution, violence, and martyrdom at the hands of those who do believe. The mission to bring peace to Earth will happen in stages. The peace is always conditional. Those who accept peace with God will be at war with those who reject his peace.

This explains why our Christmas traditions are filled with stories of violence and rejection as well as stories of blessing and joy. Herod rejected God’s mission of peace and went to war, trying to eliminate the newborn king. The wise men were warned not to disclose the whereabouts of the holy family to Herod but to return to their country. The other newborns in Bethlehem and the surrounding towns are violently put to death. The sacred family are forced to become political refugees and flee to Egypt and live there as immigrants.

There is one more aspect implied in the angels’ doxology that I want to point out today.

God’s glory is a man.

Before the angelic army chanted their “Gloria in Excelsis Deo,” a single angel told the shepherds not to be afraid because he was here to proclaim the good news that brings great joy. The good news was that a baby boy had just been born. What made that good news glorious was that it announced the birth of the world’s only savior. He was born in Bethlehem, the city of David, and he is Christ the Lord. God’s glory is a man.  

What does the Bible say about that man? Our Declaration of Principles sums up the Bible’s description of Jesus. It says that Jesus Christ is “our Lord, the only begotten Son of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary; who came into our world to seek and to save that which was lost; who died for our sins; who was raised bodily from the dead for our justification; who ascended in heaven as our High Priest and Mediator, and who will come again in the end of this age, to judge the living and the dead, and to reign forever and ever.”

The Bible also expresses who Jesus is by different titles that he holds.  Moses called him the Rock. Job called him his Redeemer.  Isaiah called him the Prince of Peace and Immanuel (God with Us). Jeremiah called him the Branch. God called him his Beloved Son. The angel called him the Christ – the Messiah – Anointed One. Jesus called himself the Vine, the Bread of Life, the Way, the Truth and the Life, and the “I Am,” Matthew called him the Son of Man.  John called him the Word, the Alpha and Omega, the Good Shepherd, the Lion of Judah, the Bridegroom, the King of Kings, the Bright and Morning Star, and the Lamb of God. Paul called him the Chief Cornerstone. The Author of Hebrews called him the Mediator.

Each of Jesus’ titles reflects a relationship that he has with us as his followers and something about his mission. God has a glorious message and a glorious mission and they all center around this glorious man. He stands at the center of time and calls everyone to himself. Christmas comes every year, but Jesus only came as our savior once. The next time he comes, it will be to fulfill the rest of the Bible’s promises about him. He is coming in his glory because God’s full mission to bring his glory and peace to earth has not been accomplished. As we celebrate the first advent of our Lord this year, let’s keep in mind that however spectacular that event was, his second advent will be even more glorious. Let’s get ready for that.

Jeff’s books available at Amazon.com

THE GLORY SHONE

THE GLORY SHONE

Luke 2:9 NET.

“An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were absolutely terrified.”

Two years ago, we examined the shepherd’s story, but this year, we are going to begin our Christmas series by zooming in on one incident in that story. The very first thing the shepherds saw that night was an angel. At first, it was just one angel. The text says that the glory of the Lord shone around them. It wasn’t just an angel with the glory of the Lord around him. When the angel appeared, the glory of the Lord shone around all of the shepherds.

the story begins in terror

If it was really a silent night when the angel showed up, it was because the shepherds were scared and speechless. We Christians sometimes talk about angels as if they are warm and fuzzy creatures who make everybody smile, but the picture we get in the Bible is that angels are supernatural warriors who are a force to be reckoned with. In fact, all it takes is one angel to slaughter an entire army.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians that they should not be immoral as some of the Israelites were in the wilderness. He spoke about the time when 23,000 immoral Israelites died in a single day. Paul told the Corinthians not to “put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by snakes.” He told them not to “complain, as some of them did and were killed by the destroying angel” (1 Corinthians 10:8-10). All it took was one angel to destroy thousands. All it took was one angel to kill all the firstborns in Egypt not protected by the blood of the lamb.

So, when the shepherds saw the angel on that first Christmas night, they didn’t feel like singing. They did not feel warm and fuzzy. They could only feel what anyone would feel when faced with an uncontrollable danger. Lions and tigers and bears, Oh my! An angel. Oh my, Oh my!

So, first contact had all the makings of a terrorist attack. Nobody would ever imagine that two thousand years later, we would be celebrating the event with Christmas cards, gifts, and chocolates! When the prophets saw angelic beings in visions, they had so little experience with their form that they often described them by saying that they looked like fierce beasts with a head of a “this” and legs like a “that.” Part of their terror was the fact that they looked so unusual.

But, then, sometimes, they looked just like a man. The angels sent to destroy Sodom looked like ordinary men – so much so that the corrupt inhabitants of Sodom wanted to abuse them. Lot realized that they were not the simple men they looked like. Joshua encountered the Angel of the Lord and dared to ask him whose side he was on – was he for the Israelites or their enemies? The angel told him that he was the commander of the Lord’s army. At that, Joshua “bowed down with his face to the ground and asked, “What does my master want to say to his servant?”

In the Book of Daniel, an angel appeared as just the palm and fingers of a human hand writing something on a wall. King Belshazzar saw it, and the color drained from his face. The joints of his hips gave way, and his knees began knocking together. He was terrified and visibly shaken (Daniel 5). All it took was this meager demonstration of God’s power to take down the pride of the most powerful man in the empire.

Now, these men out in the fields that night were not powerful kings. They were just ordinary men. In fact, they were the lowest of the low. They were humble shepherds. As shepherds, they were probably pretty tough. They kept watch over their flocks. They were perhaps prepared if a wolf or lion came after their sheep. But they saw that angel, and they were absolutely terrified. It was not just their sheep who seemed in danger. They saw an angel. They were probably convinced that it would be the last thing they saw.

Add to that, the glory of the Lord shone all around them. It was night-time. None of these me had ever seen a flashlight, much less the glory of the Lord. It was a brilliant light, brighter than anything in their experience, and it shone all around them. Their first feeling was not the blessed assurance of their salvation. It was a desperate feeling of doom and impending destruction.

But the story ends in joy.

The angel immediately tells them not to be afraid because he is not coming to destroy them. Angels are agents sent from heaven. An angel is a messenger. The message can be bad news or good news. On this occasion, the message is good news. He said, “Do not be afraid! Listen carefully, for I proclaim to you good news that brings great joy to all the people: Today, your Savior is born in the city of David. He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10-12).

A woman travails in labor – sometimes for hours while her anxious friends and family await the news in anticipation and trepidation. Then the news comes in just three words: “It’s a girl” or “It’s a boy.” The last message these shepherds expected to hear that night was, “It’s a boy.” But that was the angel’s message.

The wise men from another country got the message when they observed his star. That sent them on a mission to find this newborn king and honor him with gifts. Despite the Christmas mythology, they didn’t show up that night. They came later after Mary, Joseph, and Jesus had moved into a house in Bethlehem.

But that night, when the angel told the shepherds that it was a boy, they hurried to find this newborn. When the wise men saw the star, they were overjoyed. When the shepherds saw the baby, they rejoiced and spread the news. They “related what they had been told about this child and all who heard it were astonished at what the shepherds said” (Luke 2:17-18). Then, the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen; everything was just as they had been told (Luke 2:20).

The whole universe had been waiting for this good news. Paul told the Galatians that “when the appropriate time had come, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we may be adopted as sons with full rights” (Galatians 4:4-5). Because he was born, we can be reborn. Because he lives, we have the option of living again and forever.

Today’s text suggests the question, how will you meet Jesus?

The glory of God that shone around the shepherds that night terrified them until they heard the good news. It was the Shekinah glory—the glory of God’s presence among his people. That was a one-time event, not to be repeated. But the Bible does speak of a time in the future when Jesus himself will appear in glory.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne” (Matthew 25:31). When Jesus was born, he did not look glorious. He looked like an ordinary child. The shepherds had to be told that Jesus was the savior, or they would not have gone to look for him. His birth was normal, aside from the fact that his mother was a virgin.

The angel announced his birth with glory. A whole sky full of angels joined him to celebrate that good news. Then, the shepherds went to see Jesus. Many others went to see Jesus while he walked this earth. The apostles said, “We saw his glory — the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father” (John 1:14). But they saw his glory in a vision—on the Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus came in the flesh but not in his glory.

We are still waiting for when the Son comes in his glory. My question for you – brother or sister – is how will you meet Jesus.”  Will you meet him as your savior, master, and king? Will his coming terrify you or be a cause of great joy? The answer to that question will depend on your relationship with him now. When he comes, he will separate the faithful followers from the faithless pretenders. The sheep will be put on his right side, the goats on his left. The sheep will know the joy of a permanent life in his kingdom. The goats will depart from him, destined for a fire which is called the second death. It is a death from which there will be no resurrection. It is what Paul called the penalty of permanent destruction (2 Thessalonians 2:9). All of us will meet the same Jesus. For some, it will be a time of weeping and gnashing of teeth. For some, it will be a blessed reunion with our loved ones to be with the Lord forever. I cannot answer for you. I can only ask the question for you. I can answer the question for me because I have put my faith and hope in Jesus Christ, so my destiny is sure.

Is your destiny sure? If so, good. But I have one more question.

how will your neighbor meet Jesus?

Yes, that neighbor who you see on a regular basis as he comes and goes. When the shepherds got the good news, the first thing they wanted to do was go and see Jesus for themselves. Then, they did not rush back to their regular jobs and regular lives. They had to share the good news. It was too good to keep to themselves. They had the joy of meeting Jesus; then, they had the pleasure of sharing Jesus. But it was not just for their benefit. The villages around Bethlehem were filled with people who needed to know that God had not forgotten them. They needed to understand that a savior had been born.

Your neighbor needs to know that Jesus is not just a religious myth or an excuse to get together with family and pass out presents. Your neighbor needs to know the gospel. The Bible says, “Look! He is returning with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes on the earth will mourn because of him” (Revelation 1:7). Why will the tribes of the earth mourn? They will mourn because they will meet Jesus as their judge, not as their savior. He must be one or the other. He will either be their savior and welcome them to permanent life, or he will be their judge and punish them with permanent destruction.

On that first Christmas night, the shepherds were given a great privilege. They saw the baby in a manger that all heaven had rejoiced over, and that experience caused them to rejoice as well. But with that great privilege came a great responsibility. The shepherds had to get the good news out. So, as you celebrate the birth of your savior this year, use this holiday period to reach out to your friends and neighbors and make sure they are ready to meet Jesus. Because, when he comes again, it will not be as a baby in a manger. He’s coming in his glory as king of kings and Lord of Lords.

STAY 

STAY 

John 15:4-7 NET.

4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me — and I in him — bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown out like a branch, and dries up; and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and are burned up. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you.

Back in February, I was preaching from Matthew 20, where Jesus described the work of the kingdom by comparing it to work in a vineyard. He told a parable about a vineyard owner who hired a bunch of people to work in his vineyard. The vineyard owner paid all the workers the same regardless of how many hours they worked in the harvest. That parable was actually a description of God’s grace. It taught that all of us who sign up for God’s coming kingdom will be blessed with that kingdom when it comes, and the eternal life we get will all be the same, no matter how much kingdom work we do. That’s because salvation is by grace. It is not brought about by our work – even our kingdom work. It is all bought at the same price, and Jesus paid that price on Calvary’s cross.

Today’s message is by the same Jesus, and it also mentions a vineyard. But in John 15, he is not talking about kingdom work. In this parable, Jesus is not the vineyard owner – he’s the vine. And we are not the workers in the vineyard. We are the branches of the vine.

Jesus’ parable of the workers in the vineyard was intended to remind all believers that God initiates our salvation, and he blesses us with the promise of eternal life not because of the quantity of our work for him but because of the quality of his grace toward us. It is helpful for us to know this because even on our best days, we are not going to accomplish anything by ourselves that would warrant any unique standing with God. Salvation by grace tells us that whatever God accomplishes through us or however much we are blessed, it is all because of his grace and his sola gratia – his grace alone.

Today’s parable puts the accent on the other side of the coin. It reminds us that even though we are all saved by grace, and we supply nothing to add to it, God still requires that we persevere in our faith. It is not totally passive – as if a person could be saved without ever knowing it.

Jesus says that his Father is the gardener and He is the vine. He says that the gardener will attend to every branch in him that does not bear fruit and take away all the branches that do not bear fruit. Even the branches that are bearing fruit will undergo pruning so that they can become even more fruitful.

Again, salvation is not described as passive. God himself is involved in the lives of every believer and works out the details of their lives so that they are fruitful. So, even though Jesus is telling us that he expects us to stay committed to him, he is not suggesting that our commitment is the only thing that matters for our salvation.

Before he tells us to stay in him, he tells us that his Father is already working in the background of our lives to produce that commitment. This gives Christians a whole new approach to the problem of suffering. We see every instance of suffering in our lives, not just as the work of the devil. We see the Father’s hand—the gardener’s hand—at work, building commitment and fruitfulness by means of suffering.

That is the background to today’s text. Now, let’s look at what the text tells us.

The text tells us where we should stay (4-5).

Jesus commands us to remain in him and promises that if we do, he will remain in us. He said that he is the vine, and we are the branches. The only thing he requires of his branches is that we do not jump off his vine and jump onto some other vine. It is a ridiculous thing to ask, in a sense. Have you ever noticed any grapes jumping off their vine and jumping on another vine?

Jesus was well aware of how unnatural that sounded. I imagine one or two of the disciples who heard Jesus say these words might have giggled at the notion. But they might also have remembered that low point in Jesus’ ministry when the crowds stopped coming, and even some of those who had been following him earlier decided to stop.

Jesus had been teaching using another illustration. He was teaching in a synagogue at Capernaum and said that unless people eat his flesh and drink his blood, they will not have eternal life and be raised on the last day. After that, “many of his disciples quit following him and did not accompany him any longer” (John 6:66). So, Jesus asked his disciples if they wanted to desert him too. That is when Peter said, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God!” (John 6:68-69).

What was happening? It was a separation of the sheep from the goats. It was a church split that revealed the authentic believers and the inauthentic wannabe Christians. To use the wording of today’s text, some of the branches stopped staying in the vine.

I know that there is a considerable theological debate about whether a person can lose their salvation. This text does not actually speak to that issue. The parable that Jesus uses does not suggest that true believers can jump off the vine. Instead, it indicates that many who claim to be true believers or who want to be true believers will not stay with Jesus. They will depart. They will apostatize. They will not remain in the vine. They will jump off. As ridiculous as that picture is, it does describe what happens when people discover the cost of following Jesus and decide that they are not willing to pay the price.

True believers will never make that choice. But it is not always possible to see who is the true believer and who is the imposter. Judas did everything that the other apostles did. The eleven were shocked to find that he was the betrayer. If the parables in Matthew 25 inform us regarding this issue, they teach us to be diligent to be found faithful and not to assume that we are the elect and, therefore, not in danger of defection. Today’s passage teaches the same thing. Jesus had just told the eleven that they were clean already because of the word that he had spoken to them. But he didn’t follow that up with: “Relax, you are safe.” No, the very following words he said were, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.” He did not want his disciples to hide behind the doctrine of election; He wanted them to stay committed to him and to remain diligent in doing his work.

I should also point out that this word translated “remain” or “stay” is the Greek verb μένω. It is directly related to the noun Jesus had just used in John 14:2. He said that in his Father’s house there are many dwelling places. That word is μονή. So, when Jesus commands us to stay, he is pointing back to that promise. He’s saying that we not only have a future in God’s presence when he returns, but we can stay in that presence now. We do that by staying faithful to Christ and staying in Christ.

The text answers the question, ‘What if we don’t stay?’ (5, 6).

There are two outcomes that Jesus highlights in today’s text. There is the present-day outcome and the ultimate outcome. The present-day outcome for those who decide to jump off the vine is that they will “accomplish nothing.” Someone who claims to be a Christian but does not stay in Christ will not bear any fruit for Christ. They might stay in church, but they are outside of Christ. As a result, their lives will be unfruitful for Christ’s kingdom.

They might look like they are working toward a harvest, but at the end of the day, they will have no produce to show for their work. In Jesus’ day, the nation of Israel had whole groups of committed workers who were not really in the vine. The Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees were such. They had the appearance of being committed to God but Jesus called them out for their hypocrisy. He said they were like whitewashed tombs. Outwardly, they looked clean and tidy, but inside them were dead people’s bones.

Jesus pictured the ultimate outcome of such lives by describing them as branches that fall off the vine, are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and are burned up. What Jesus is describing is Gehenna hell. Jesus had said that we should not fear human beings, but we should fear God because he “is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Here, Jesus is saying that those branches that do not stay in him will be gathered all together in one place at one time. The place is hell, and the time is judgment day. When Jesus throws those branches into hell, they will NOT burn forever and ever. They will be destroyed. According to today’s text, they will be burned up.

The prophet Malachi predicted the same thing. He said, “The day is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant evildoers will be chaff. The coming day will burn them up,” says the LORD who rules over all. “It will not leave even a root or branch” (Malachi 4:1). Imagine that. Malachi even used the same word that Jesus did in today’s text. Rebellious branches will not be given the privilege of eternal life – even in hell. They will be burned up, obliterated, annihilated. That is the ultimate result of not staying in the vine.

The text also answers the question, ‘What if we do stay?’ (4, 5, 7).

Jesus was not aiming at scaring the disciples with the parable. He used the parable of the vine and the branches to encourage them. He told them that choosing to stay in the vine – that is, remain in Christ – will result in the ability to bear fruit. After all, that is what the vine is for, and that is what the branches are for. A branch that does not bear fruit is pruned because it is not accomplishing the task it was created for. If we do stay in Christ, we can expect a fruitful life and fruitful ministry.

In fact, Jesus promises in verse 5 that if we stay in him we will not only bear some fruit, but we will bear much fruit. Apart from him, we can do nothing, but in him, we can do anything. We should all be looking at our lives and expecting Jesus to use us to bear much fruit for his kingdom. We should be praying for more than “Lord, get me safe into the coming kingdom.” We should be praying, Lord, make good on your promise to make my life bear much fruit for you today.

If we get into that mindset where we expect to bear much fruit for the Lord now, we will have no problem fulfilling the other promise that is in today’s text. In verse 7, Jesus says, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you.” This is an actual promise from Jesus. Some people think that the promise no longer applies because they don’t see any evidence that Jesus is answering their prayers. So, they come up with a doctrine that the gifts and miracles have ceased.

I want to challenge you on this issue because I am not such a person, and I do not believe the Bible teaches that the gifts and miracles have ceased. Instead, if we look at the context of Jesus’ promise here, we will find out why there seem to be so few examples of answered prayer. The context is that of remaining in Christ and having a fruitful life and ministry for him. The two conditions of the promise are these: “if you remain in me” and “if my words remain in you.”

The condition “if you remain in me” speaks of maintaining an authentic relationship with Christ. The condition “if my words remain in you” speaks of learning and living by the commands of Christ and trusting in the promises of Christ. We all have a long way to go before we can claim that we have met those conditions. But, again, Jesus is not asking us to despair. He wants us to aim at fulfilling those conditions because he wants to create an army of faithful Christians who are well-known for answered prayers.

John Wesley commented on this verse, “Prayers themselves are a fruit of faith, and they produce more fruit.” The devil knows that there is one sure way to prevent us from bearing fruit as Christians. He can keep us from being productive if he can convince us to stop praying. Praying is not an additional condition that Jesus adds to the ones Jesus already pointed out. Those are having a relationship with Christ, learning and living by the commands of Christ, and trusting in the promises of Christ. So, when Jesus says, “Ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you,” he is telling us to pray because we are in him, and his word is in us. Prayer is not a third condition. It is a natural outflow of meeting the two conditions.

That means that anytime we get into our prayer closets and are determined to spend some quality time praying, we can pray with confidence. There are only two conditions that Jesus lists for fruitful prayer. Perfection is not one of those conditions. His grace covers our inadequacies and faults. His love overlooks our obvious failures and imperfections. We need only concern ourselves with two questions: do we have a relationship with Christ by faith, and do we know and trust his word? If we can answer “yes” to those two conditions, then we can pray with confidence.

Now, I know what happens when I pray and I don’t see an immediate answer. I begin to doubt my ability to pray productively. That doubt is the devil’s work. Jesus did not add any further conditions to his promise. So, what will happen if I give in to that doubt and stop praying? Remember what the command is. Jesus said, “Remain in me.” We honor him when we keep praying and keep staying. We show our trust in his promises by persevering through the dry times and waiting for him to produce the water from the rock. Our Lord wants people who dare to persevere.

HEAVENLY FATHER, thank you for the gift of Jesus Christ. Thank you for his sacrifice on Calvary’s cross that made it possible for us to be saved by grace. Thank you for the privilege of being in Christ by faith. Oh, Lord, we want to stay in him. Protect us from the temptation to defect from him, to stop trusting in his finished work, or to doubt his sure promises. We thank you that he is the way to your eternal presence. We ask you for the strength we need to stay in him as we wait for the fulfillment of all his promises. In Jesus’ name, Amen.