Category: sermon-archive

Come to Him

Matthew 11:20-30 NET

20 Then Jesus began to criticize openly the cities in which he had done
many of his miracles because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you,
Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles done in you had been
done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth
and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on
the day of judgment than for you! 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be
exalted to heaven? No, you will be thrown down to Hades! For if the
miracles done among you had been done in Sodom, it would have
continued to this day. 24 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for the
region of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you!” 25 At that time
Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you
have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed
them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will.
27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows
the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son decides to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all
you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my
yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and
my load is not hard to carry.”

We are continuing to look at the commands that Jesus gave us in the
Gospels. We have moved from those commands found in his sermons on
the mount and the plain, but we will still find many important commands as we read the narratives in the Gospels, and we will also notice several more sermons.

Today we focus on Jesus’ command for the weary and burdened to come to him. We find that command in verse twenty-eight. It comes with a promise from the Lord that those who come to him will find rest.

If we back up seven verses, we find that …

The Lord came to three cities with the gospel (21,23).

Those three cities are all in the region of Galilee, where Jesus performed
most of his miracles during this time in his ministry. Jesus grew up in Nazareth of Galilee. After his hometown rejected him, he moved to Capernaum, and the focus of his early ministry was in the region consisting of that city and others (like Chorazin and Bethsaida).

Jesus and his disciples visited all three of these cities numerous times, and they preached the gospel there. They gave ample evidence of the truth of their message by performing signs and wonders. All three of these cities are proud of the fact that they had a rich spiritual heritage. Capernaum, for example, seems to have adopted a motto that because of Jesus’ work among them, Jesus would exalt them to heaven. These cities expected Jesus to bless them because he had exposed them to the gospel.

But those cities refused to come to Him! (20,22,24).

Matthew tells us that Jesus criticized these cities because they did not
repent. In other words, Jesus had invited them to come to him, but they never came. It was like they had bragged about all the invitations they had received for the wedding but never got around to going to the ceremony.

You might remember that Jesus gave a parable (recorded in Matthew 22) about a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. In that parable, the king’s command was “Come to the wedding banquet.” The king became furious because the people he had invited “were indifferent and went away, one to his farm, another to his business.”

When people refuse God’s gracious invitation to come to his Son, it infuriates him. To show this, Jesus picked three pagan cities, notorious for their sinfulness. Those cities were Sodom, Tyre, and Sidon. These were three bad apples – rotten to the core. But Jesus said that on Judgment Day, these three cities would fair better than Capernaum, Chorazin, and Bethsaida.

Jesus said that because he had not blessed Sodom, Tyre, and Sidon by his presence like he had blessed Capernaum, Chorazin, and Bethsaida. The king had not invited them to the wedding banquet. Those who God blesses with the message are responsible to respond to the message. It is a sin to hear the gospel and to be indifferent to it.

But there is good news in today’s text. After his condemnation of
those cities…

Jesus Praises his Father for those who did come to Him (25-27).

Despite the refusal of these Galilean cities to repent and come to Jesus,
many individuals had responded to his message, repented of their sins,
and forgave them and welcomed them.

Jesus’ prayer in today’s text reveals two principles. Both principles are valid scriptural truths. People have problems with one or the other of these biblical truths. The reason is that it is hard to hold to one of these principles without denying the other.

The first principle is that everyone is responsible to repent of their sins and come to Christ. The second principle is that no one understands this responsibility unless God supernaturally reveals it to them.

The Galilean cities had heard the gospel many times, but they never responded to it. But the king was not going to sit idly by while those he invited refused to come to his son’s wedding. He told his slaves to go into the main streets and invite everyone they find to come.

The citizens of those Galilean cities were happy to be associated with Christ and his ministry, but they considered themselves too wise and intelligent to respond to the gospel by repenting of their sins. But there were some little children who were meek mourners who were poor in spirit, and hungry and thirsty for God’s righteousness.

Jesus blessed his apostles because they were hungry and thirsty for his righteousness, and he promised them that they would be filled. He gave them the proper wedding garments – he clothed them in his righteousness.

Today…

Jesus invites us all to come to Him (28-30).

He tells all of us who are weary and burdened that we can come to him
and find rest. This is the rest of God’s grace. We cannot earn this rest. It
only comes to those who choose to let God save them.

The invitation is to all. Even those Galilean cities are the target of this
invitation, even though they repeatedly refuse it. On the day of
Judgment, the books will be opened. A record of every time the gospel
was presented will be noted. A record of every time a person thought
“Not now” will be revealed.

He tells all of us to put his yoke on our necks. The version I read says
“you will find rest for your souls” but souls do not wear yokes. You put a
yoke on your neck. The master carpenter has built a yoke for you that fits
perfectly. When you are doing your work wearing his yoke, it will not
seem like work. It will be work and rest at the same time.

He tells all of us to learn from him. Oh, the hardship we suffer needlessly
because we stubbornly refuse to follow instructions. He has taught us
all we need to know to live our best life, but we leave his book on the
shelf. If there is one resolution I recommend every year it is to get back to
the Bible. Learn the word of God. Learn from the teacher who obeyed
every word his Father gave him.

The reason Jesus is the best teacher is that he is gentle and humble in
heart. We all know what it is like to have a teacher who is proud, cruel, and abusive. You can’t learn anything with that kind of teacher. But our
teacher cares about us. He is patient with us, giving us the same
instruction again and again until it sticks.

His yoke is easy to bear, and his load is not hard to carry. Compared to
the load the devil gives us, living the Christian life is a piece of cake. It is
a burden, but it is a light burden. Even when Jesus commands us to love
our fellow Christians, we will find that the more we do that, the more joy
we will experience in this life. We will find ourselves saying “He ain’t
heavy, he’s my brother.”

Now, what happened with the inhabitants of Chorazin, Bethsaida and
Capernaum? The citizens of those cities were told a lie and believed it.
The devil told them that there are three ways to live. He told them that
they didn’t have to live the devil’s way, and they didn’t have to live
Jesus’ way either. They could follow Frank Sinatra and live life their way.

Folks, I hope you are not planning to stand before Christ on Judgment
day and tell him “I did it my way.” “My way” is the devil’s way. Jesus
said that He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through Him.

Jesus invites us all to come to him because He is the way to the Father
(John 14:6).

Jesus invites us all to come to him because whoever believes in him will
not perish but have permanent life (John 3:16).

Jesus invites us all to come to him because the result of living life my way
is permanent death, but the Gift of God through Jesus Christ is
permanent life (Romans 6:23).

Jesus invites us all to come to him because God has given us a chance to
live a permanent life, and this promise of a permanent life is exclusively
for those who are in his Son. The one who has the Son has this permanent
life: the one who does not have the Son of God does not have this
permanent life (1 John 5:11-12).

Delco is not listed among the cities that Jesus condemned in today’s text.
But we are in danger of sharing their fate. We have been blessed with the
proclamation of the gospel, and with much evidence of its reality. We
have no excuse if we choose to live life our way – the devil’s way. The
invitation to come to Christ has been given. Each of us is commanded
to respond.

20230101 Build on Him

Luke 6:46-49 NET

46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do what I tell you? 47 “Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and puts them into practice — I will show you what he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep, and laid the foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the person who hears and does not put my words into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against that house, it collapsed immediately, and was utterly destroyed!”

We are starting a new year today, but we are returning to our old series of messages on the commands of Christ. I think all of us have areas in our lives over which we would like more control than we had last year. Today’s text gives us the advice we need to get our lives going in the right direction.

The first bit of advice seems to be about those who plan to build a house, but we know that is just a metaphor. Nevertheless, it is important for us to understand what Jesus meant by the metaphor he used. He said…

A well-built house requires a foundation on bedrock (48).

A house is a structure that provides shelter, safety and an environment for living. We all know what it is like to live in a house. We know that there are good houses and bad houses. There are houses made of strong, sturdy materials, and houses made of poor, flimsy, faulty materials. But it is interesting that Jesus did not give us the advice this way: He didn’t say that we should build our houses on good materials. Instead, he instructed his apostles — and all of us who name his as our master — to build our houses on the proper foundation. A well-built house requires a foundation of bedrock. If we don’t get the foundation right, it won’t matter what the house is made of. If we don’t get the foundation right, everything we put into the house is in danger.

Of course, what the metaphor means is that…

A well-built life requires Jesus Christ as its foundation (46-47).

We all know of people who are living what appears to be healthy productive lives but who have never considered acknowledging Christ as their Savior and Lord. Today’s text is a word of warning for them. In the metaphor Jesus used in today’s text, they have large houses filled with all kinds of good things. But their houses are built on the wrong foundation. They did not dig deep and go to the bedrock. Consequently, it does not matter how strong their lives appear to be. They are in danger. 

They may not think they are in danger. They may have a good job, good insurance to protect them against a natural disaster or health emergency. They may have good friends that they can count on. They may have plenty of money in the bank. But according to Jesus, they are not as safe as they think they are. They covered every possible contingency except the one that matters the most.

You see, people can lose all that they have and still bounce back. They can suffer a catastrophic loss and eventually recover. They can lose their health, but slowly get well again. But what happens when a person loses their chance at eternal life? What happens when a person stands before the judge of all the earth at the end of days and discovers that those things he or she depended on are gone?

I’ll tell you what will happen. They will suffer a cataclysmic destruction from which there is no recovery. They will die the second death — the death from which there is no resurrection. That is what is going to happen to billions who are living this very moment. The watchword for all of us today is to get the gospel out to those who have not heard it. We need to do that desperately because it is our responsibility to evangelize those who have not heard the message of Christ.

But today’s advice is equally important for us as well. We have committed our lives to Jesus Christ. But we need to understand that …

Building on Him requires putting his words into practice (47-49).

Jesus did not say that professing the name of Christ as our Savior will keep us from disaster on the last day. He warned of those who would call him Lord but who do not do what he tells them to do. His instruction is for us to listen to his words. We do that often enough. But his advice goes further. He tells those of us who regularly listen to his words to put those words into practice. That means obeying the commands of our Master. That means regularly doing what he has told us to do. That means a process of constant evaluation of our lives to see that every aspect of those lives is being lived like Jesus wants us to live. That means constantly reforming — changing what we do to match the directions that he has given us.

To reflect back on the metaphor, what Jesus is talking about is house building. But the metaphor is not exact because most people who have houses are not in a lifelong process of building them. But in the metaphor that Jesus used, our house building is a lifelong process. It is not like we started building when we were children, but we stopped when we were young adults because the house is already built. No, it is a lifelong process.

I do not apologize for spending all this time focusing on the commands of Christ. I think if we really take the commands of Jesus seriously, we can learn how to keep building our lives on the bedrock foundation which is Christ himself. If we ever stop the process, it would be like digging up the foundation.

The message for those who are tempted to stop building on Christ, and the message to those who have never laid that foundation is the same message.

Not building on Christ will result in destruction (49).

Jesus said the person who hears and does not put his words into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against that house, it collapsed immediately, and was utterly destroyed!”

This destruction that Jesus is referring to is the destruction of soul and body in Gehenna hell (Matthew 10:28).

The apostle Peter said that the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly (2 Peter 3:7).

The apostle Paul said that when Christ returns, there will be those who say they are experiencing peace and security, but sudden destruction will come on them (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

The apostle John tells us that if we believe in Christ we will have eternal life, but if we don’t we will perish. (John 3:16). He said that those who have the Son have life, but those who do not have the Son will not have the life (1 John 5:12).

What Jesus and all these apostles are talking about is the bad news that accompanies the good news. The good news is that there is a permanent life that awaits all who trust in Christ and learn to obey his commands. The bad news is that permanent life is not something we are born with.

The psalmist says that “the LORD guards the way of the godly, but the way of the wicked ends in destruction” (Psalm 1:6).

The Proverbs says that destruction is going to overtake the wicked (Proverbs 3:25).

That alternate theme of the fate of the lost is found throughout scripture. We cannot afford to ignore it. There will be a place called hell, and it will do what God says it will do. Our Lord’s message to every one of us today is to not only listen to his words, but also keep putting them into practice. Build on Him, because there is a day of vengeance coming that only he can protect us from.

We saw that when the Israelites were in Egypt. God sent the destroying angel, and only the blood of the lamb on the doorposts could save those earmarked for death. The wages of sin is death. All of us who have sinned need a Savior. Only his atoning blood shed for us on the cross can keep us from the judgment to come. Come to Jesus, and once you come to him in faith, listen to his word. You have a house to build. You have a life to build. His commands can keep your life safe on the coming day of destruction.

20221225 Simeon and Anna’s Story

Luke 2:22-40 NET

I’ve been sharing the Christmas stories from Luke’s Gospel this month. We started with the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth and the angel’s announcement of the birth of their son John — whom we know as John the Baptist. Next, we looked at Mary’s story of how the same angel visited her and told her that she would have a son, and told her to name him Jesus. Next, we looked at the story of the shepherds who also were told of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. After hearing the message, the shepherds went to see Jesus themselves and left worshiping and praising God.

Luke’s final Christmas story is found in today’s text. It takes place in the temple in Jerusalem forty days after Jesus’ birth. We first learn of two rituals at the temple (22-24), then we learn of two prophets that Joseph and Mary meet at the temple (25-38) and then we learn that the two parents leave the temple (39-40).

The first ritual under the old covenant that involved Jesus was his circumcision. That took place when he was eight days old, and it took place in Bethlehem where he was born. That was when Jesus was officially named. Mary names him Jesus because that was the name they were instructed to give him. They had been told to name him Jesus because the name means Yahveh saves. Through Jesus Yahveh God will save his people from their sins.

Today’s passage does not mention circumcision. There are two other old covenant rituals that Joseph and Mary performed forty days after Jesus was born.

Two rituals at the Temple (22-24)

22 Now when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, Joseph and Mary brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male will be set apart to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is specified in the law of the Lord, a pair of doves or two young pigeons.

Mary and Joseph took the infant Jesus to Jerusalem to participate in two rituals according to the Mosaic law. First, there was the ritual of purification. Here is how the scriptures describe that ritual:

1 The LORD spoke to Moses: 2 “Tell the Israelites, ‘When a woman produces offspring and bears a male child, she will be unclean seven days, as she is unclean during the days of her menstruation. 3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin must be circumcised. 4 Then she will remain thirty-three days in blood purity. She must not touch anything holy and she must not enter the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled. 5 If she bears a female child, she will be impure fourteen days as during her menstrual flow, and she will remain sixty-six days in blood purity. 6 “‘When the days of her purification are completed for a son or for a daughter, she must bring a one-year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or turtledove for a sin offering to the entrance of the Meeting Tent, to the priest. 7 The priest is to present it before the LORD and make atonement on her behalf, and she will be clean from her flow of blood. This is the law of the one who bears a child, for the male or the female child. 8 If she cannot afford a sheep, then she must take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and one for a sin offering, and the priest is to make atonement on her behalf, and she will be clean.'” (Leviticus 12:1-8).

Jesus had already been circumcised according to this law on the eighth day. Now it had been forty days and it was time to declare Mary’s purification. The fact that Joseph and Mary presented the birds indicates that they were not rich enough to afford sheep. Even the animals that shared their space at Jesus’ birth were not theirs.

When we told the Christmas story during our Christmas program on the 11th, we were not quite accurate. One of the ways we were inaccurate is that we had the wise men join Mary and Joseph at the stable. That’s not how it happened. Even the Christmas carols we sing and the cards we send each other this time of year get it wrong. The star did not appear until later. The shepherds didn’t follow the star. And the wise men did not show up until much later. One of the reasons we know this is that if Joseph and Mary had been given gold on the night of Jesus’ birth, they would have offered sheep for Mary’s purification ritual.

The second ritual that Mary and Joseph performed at the temple that day was the ritual of presentation. Not every child is involved in this ritual. It only applies to the firstborn male. Here is how the law describes that ritual:

12 … you must give over to the LORD the first offspring of every womb. Every firstling of a beast that you have — the males will be the LORD’s. 13 Every firstling of a donkey you must redeem with a lamb, and if you do not redeem it, then you must break its neck. Every firstborn of your sons you must redeem. 14 In the future, when your son asks you ‘What is this?’ you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the land of slavery. (Exodus 13:12-14).

Because Jesus was the firstborn male of Joseph and Mary’s family, he was to be formally presented to the Lord and redeemed according to this law. The ritual celebrated God’s deliverance of all the firstborn males from the destroying angel in Egypt. When the destroying angel saw the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of the Hebrew slaves, he did not enter those houses and take the lives of the firstborn males within them. The ritual celebrated that deliverance.

What Mary and Joseph did that day was to ritually redeem the Redeemer. They paid the price for their son, who would one day pay the price for everyone’s sons and daughters. The angels in heaven were watching.

Oh, and there were two others in the temple that day who were watching. From the two rituals in the temple, we move to the two prophets in the temple.

Two prophets at the temple (25-38)

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon who was righteous and devout, looking for the restoration of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 So Simeon, directed by the Spirit, came into the temple courts, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was customary according to the law, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and blessed God, saying, 29 “Now, according to your word, Sovereign Lord, permit your servant to depart in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples: 32 a light, for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” 33 So the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “Listen carefully: This child is destined to be the cause of the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be rejected. 35 Indeed, as a result of him the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed — and a sword will pierce your own soul as well!” 36 There was also a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old, having been married to her husband for seven years until his death. 37 She had lived as a widow since then for eighty-four years. She never left the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 At that moment, she came up to them and began to give thanks to God and to speak about the child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Luke had begun his Christmas stories with the story of two old people — Zechariah and Elizabeth. He concludes his Christmas stories by mentioning two more old people. Simeon and Anna. Note how Luke describes the character of these two prophets. Simeon is righteous and devout, looking for the restoration of Israel, and the Holy Spirit is upon him. Anna is a 91-year-old widow who never leaves the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.

It just so happens by God’s miraculous plan that these two old prophets meet up with this young couple and their newborn child that day. Both of them are in tune with what the Holy Spirit is doing, and both recognize that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. Both of them give thanks to God and speak about the child Jesus, sharing what God had revealed to them with the others present in the temple that day. Both had been waiting for God to act, and this day was going to be the most important day in both their lives. In fact, Simeon’s prayer told the Lord that he was ready to depart in peace. He has seen the Savior as a child. The next time he sees him it will be at the resurrection.

But it’s not all good news. Simeon reveals to Mary that Jesus would not be accepted by all. The newborn king will bring peace on earth — but not to everyone. In fact, there will be terrible sorrow for Mary herself. No doubt Simeon was prophesying of the horrible day on which Mary watched her son die on the cross.

But the events of this day at the temple ended, and so the two parents got ready to go home.

Two parents leave the temple (39-40).

39 So when Joseph and Mary had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him.

Luke does not tell us of the wise men’s visit, the star, or the gifts. He fast-forwards to Jesus being raised in Nazareth because the next story he wants to tell is of Jesus as a twelve-year-old returning to the same temple. But Luke’s message about Mary and Joseph is that they remained faithful to God and they got to be witnesses of their son — God’s Son — growing and becoming strong and wise. The same favor that God had blessed Mary with, he now imparts to her son.

As parents, that is what we want of our children. They won’t grow up to be the savior of the world — that job is taken. We only need one. But every parent wants to see their children blessed with wisdom and strength. It is also important that we end the Christmas story here. Christ is no longer a babe in a manger. He is now — and will forever be — God’s Son and our Savior and coming king.

We should all be thankful that God gave us his Son in such a precious and peaceful way. But we should also never forget that the next time we see him, it will not be as a helpless child, but as a warrior on a white horse, doing battle against all God’s enemies, and restoring order to his universe. The road that started in Bethlehem led to the cross in Jerusalem, but it didn’t stop there. He rose from the dead victorious and glorious. The glorious King is coming, and he is going to make all things new.

That’s when we will sing as we never have before – “Joy to the World, The Lord is Come.”