Click here to listen to the audio message of – John 15:12-17
This of course is the Memorial Day weekend. In many areas there will be parades and celebrations tomorrow to memorialized soldiers who gave their life for our country. The day has also been termed the official kick-off of summer. And of course once Memorial Day is here the kids know they only have a few more days of school.
Many men and women and even children have sacrificed their lives to fight for or preserve our freedoms here in the United States and other places around the world. People serving in the Armed Forces follow a particular code of conduct.
The first article of the code states: I am an American, fighting in the armed forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.
Article II: I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist.
Article III: If I am captured, I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.
Article IV: If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information nor take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them up in every way.
Article V: When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause.
Article VI: I will never forget that I am an American, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America.
We too as Christians follow a code similar to that. We are Christians fighting the good fight. Fighting the war on truth. We should be prepared to give our lives for the fight.
We will surrender our will to that of God’s will. If we are captured by the lures of the world we will rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to deliver us. If we become a prisoner because of our beliefs we will keep the faith.
When questioned, we will respond with the Gospel message, the Good News of Jesus Christ. We will never forget who we are. We will trust in God. We will love and serve God throughout our lives.
We see in our scripture this morning. Jesus said, “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.”
The commandment to love each other is not new. From the Old Testament, we are commanded to love God and love our neighbors and I have said before that your neighbor is anyone that you come into contact with.
The difference with the type of love that Jesus is talking about is the fact that it is a sacrificial love that is modeled after His own love. And it is produced through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in each of us.
Love is key to a Christian. I am not talking about an emotional or sentimental love. I am talking about the self-sacrificing love. The type of love that Jesus has for us, the love that took Him to the cross. That is the type of love that each of us as believers and followers of Jesus Christ should display throughout our lives.
If we don’t display that type of love in our life, then do we really love God? As I said, Jesus was filled with this type of love and is the perfect example of all things for us.
The two main characteristics of this type of love is obedience to God and laying down our lives. If we really are setting our minds and our hearts to follow Christ then we must show those two characteristics in our life.
First, we must obey God. We must do what He tells us. Now this doesn’t mean we will always perfectly obey Him. We are sinful people living in a dark world and we will fail at times. But the pattern of our life will be in obedience to Him.
One of His commands, of course, is to love each other. It is indeed a sad thing to see believers attacking each other, tearing each other down, talking about each other, arguing over trivial things.
One of the unique characteristics of the United Methodist Church is its focus on worshipping with other Christians. As I have said before, we have an open communion table. Anyone who is a believer is welcome in any United Methodist Church to come and worship, fellowship, and partake in the body and blood of Christ. Many other churches are not like this.
Secondly, we are to lay our lives down for others. Most of us would probably say that we would and quite honestly if the situation arose the Holy Spirit would give us the strength to lay our lives down for others.
For the most part we are pretty safe here in the United States, especially from religious persecution and especially out here in the country where we live. Most people just leave us alone because they think we are crazy for living in the middle of nowhere.
So for us, Jesus is not really calling us to die as He died, although we should be prepared to die if needed. Jesus is really calling us to live as He lived. We should lay down our lives for others. When we see people in need, we are to help, even if and especially if it is a sacrifice for us.
These types of things could be helping people financially, food, clothing, shelter, or simply visiting them. Doing these type of things is much more difficult that dieing for someone. This type of love comes at a price. But they also have their own rewards.
In particular, Jesus promises three things for those who obey His commandment to love.
First, He promises us that we will be filled with joy. In John 15, Christ is almost at the cross, yet He is filled with joy. He has a deep sense of satisfaction and peace. He knows He is obeying the Father’s will and will soon be seated at His right hand side. The reward is worth the cost.
Second, Jesus now says that He is our friend, not just our Master. He has experienced life as we experience it, only He didn’t fall short of perfection. He knows and shares in our feelings. That is true friendship. When we obey His commands, we too enter His circle of friends. We have fellowship with Him that is deep, rich, and meaningful. The reward is worth the cost.
Finally, Jesus answers our prayers. Our prayers activate the power of God. That is amazing! We have influence with the Creator of the universe! That reward is certainly worth the cost.
We must remember, however, that none of this is us. It is all God’s graciousness too us. He calls us. He sustains us. He empowers us to bear fruit. All of our goodness is simply a testimony to God’s grace and love for us.
Now you be a testimony for the world, by loving each other sacrificially as Jesus loves you.
Closing Prayer
Lord, we thank you for our time in your word this morning. We thank you for the many men and women who have served our country and gave their lives for our freedoms. Help us to be as committed to living out your word as they were committed to this country.
We continue to ask your blessings upon this nation and help us to truly be one nation under your care and guidance until you return again for us.
AMEN.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Jesus and the Angels
Click here for the audio message of – Hebrews 1:1-4
We continue our look at angels this morning. This time however, we look at Jesus and the Angels. We have probably all had a certain group of people knock on our door at some point in time and want to tell us about God.
When you ask these people about Jesus and who He is, you will get an answer that is completely different from Scripture. But that is a good question that all Christians should be able to answer. How would you explain who Jesus is to someone who doesn’t know much about Him.
Some people believe that Jesus was just another man. He was a great teacher. He was a great prophet and wonderful person. Some maybe even believe He is an angel of some type.
We know that angels are created beings by God to carry out His will. The Jewish people held angels in high regard. They believed they were the highest beings next to God. And as we saw with the Seraphim a few weeks ago, that is true in sense of proximity to God.
But as with most things in life, there were Jews that took this idea or concept to the extreme. Some of these people believed that Angels, in particular Michael the archangel, was more powerful than the Messiah.
The book of Hebrews was wrote about 30 to 40 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection. We do not know the human author, but we know that all Scripture is given by God so the human actually writing the words is immaterial to us and our discussion.
So, 30 to 40 years have gone by since the events of Jesus’ ministry and some of the Jews are still confused. They were still struggling with the concept of who Jesus really was. They were struggling with the difference between Jesus and the angels of God.
The Jews were familiar with the angels. They knew about their importance. They knew their power and closeness to God. They knew and saw the power of Jesus too and they just weren’t sure at times who He really is. Some people still struggle with this today.
The author of the book of Hebrews sets out to make it clear who Jesus really is. The simple conclusion is the fact that the Son of God is superior to the angels in every way. There is a more excellent name. That name is Lord and no angel is Sovereign Lord of all. That is reserved for Christ alone.
Versus one through three give us several facts about Jesus. We know that Jesus is appointed heir of all things. Everything that exists will ultimately come under the control of Jesus. In Matthew 28:18 Jesus says, “All authority has been given to me on heaven and on earth.”
Not only does Jesus have all authority, but through Him all things were made. Colossians 1:16 says, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”
Jesus is the Creator and Sustainer of all. When we see Jesus we see God. God’s glory shines through Him. Jesus is the exact representation of God, not just a reflection or godly person or being. He is God.
It is through Jesus that we have a path to salvation. Through the cross we are cleansed of our sin. And since that sacrifice, Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God the Father, the place of honor. Jesus’ redeeming work is done and now reigns over all.
That is the Son of God. That is Jesus. That is God. And no angel can claim that. Sure, several places in the Old Testament angels are called the sons of God. But no angel was ever given the title “Son of God”.
The term sons of God simply refers to the position of being in the glory of God. The angels are God’s servants, but the true Son of God reigns as Sovereign Lord of all. The author of Hebrews repeatedly reinforces the Sovereignty of Jesus. This should bring us strength and encouragement.
We have a God that we can trust and rely on. We have a God who sacrificed His life for us, so that we may have eternal life with Him. We don’t worship angels thinking they can save us. Nor do we rely on them for our strength. Yes, they are here worshipping with us. Yes, God uses them to help us. But they, like us, are servants of God.
The angels were created by God. God is eternal and unchanging. Even after the rapture and Heaven and Earth are destroyed, God remains. Angels do play an important role in God’s creation and care and ministry to His people.
In fact, angels are to serve those who will inherit salvation. And that’s us. Angels are sent to serve us. That is their role. That is their destiny. That being said, I want to caution you though. Even though angels are here to serve us, we are not to command or pray to the angels.
Scripture makes that very clear to us. The New Age movement tries to encourage people getting into contact with angels in some way. That idea goes against Scripture. As we have talked about before, our prayers are to God the Father, the Son, and or the Holy Spirit.
So, we realize that Jesus is Sovereign Lord of all and the angels are His ministering servants. Angels are inferior to Jesus. This should not discourage us though and we should not discount their ministry. They serve God faithfully as we should do as well.
Angels are a unique part of God’s creation. We should not worship them or try to contact them, but we need to realize their purpose and the possibility of their presence in our lives. We all need help in our lives and God gives us what we need. Sometimes it might be the neighbor who helps us. Other times it might be an angel. Who knows.
There were several occasions in Jesus’ life that angels came and ministered to Him, even though He is superior to the angels. They were there at the beginning of His ministry when He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. They were also there near the end of His ministry that night in the garden.
The angels were ministering to Christ, who is Creator and Sustainer of all. They strengthened Him through His trials and temptations. If they can do that for Christ, imagine what they can do for us.
God knows what we need and He will give it to us. Let us remember that during our times of trouble.
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for our time in your Word this morning. We thank you for the ability and opportunity to continue our study of your unique creation of angels. Help us to truly understand what it is that you want us to know.
We thank you for sending us your angels to serve and to minister to us. But we ultimately thank you for your Son and the sacrifice that He made for our salvation. It is through his name that we pray and give thanks.
AMEN.
We continue our look at angels this morning. This time however, we look at Jesus and the Angels. We have probably all had a certain group of people knock on our door at some point in time and want to tell us about God.
When you ask these people about Jesus and who He is, you will get an answer that is completely different from Scripture. But that is a good question that all Christians should be able to answer. How would you explain who Jesus is to someone who doesn’t know much about Him.
Some people believe that Jesus was just another man. He was a great teacher. He was a great prophet and wonderful person. Some maybe even believe He is an angel of some type.
We know that angels are created beings by God to carry out His will. The Jewish people held angels in high regard. They believed they were the highest beings next to God. And as we saw with the Seraphim a few weeks ago, that is true in sense of proximity to God.
But as with most things in life, there were Jews that took this idea or concept to the extreme. Some of these people believed that Angels, in particular Michael the archangel, was more powerful than the Messiah.
The book of Hebrews was wrote about 30 to 40 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection. We do not know the human author, but we know that all Scripture is given by God so the human actually writing the words is immaterial to us and our discussion.
So, 30 to 40 years have gone by since the events of Jesus’ ministry and some of the Jews are still confused. They were still struggling with the concept of who Jesus really was. They were struggling with the difference between Jesus and the angels of God.
The Jews were familiar with the angels. They knew about their importance. They knew their power and closeness to God. They knew and saw the power of Jesus too and they just weren’t sure at times who He really is. Some people still struggle with this today.
The author of the book of Hebrews sets out to make it clear who Jesus really is. The simple conclusion is the fact that the Son of God is superior to the angels in every way. There is a more excellent name. That name is Lord and no angel is Sovereign Lord of all. That is reserved for Christ alone.
Versus one through three give us several facts about Jesus. We know that Jesus is appointed heir of all things. Everything that exists will ultimately come under the control of Jesus. In Matthew 28:18 Jesus says, “All authority has been given to me on heaven and on earth.”
Not only does Jesus have all authority, but through Him all things were made. Colossians 1:16 says, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”
Jesus is the Creator and Sustainer of all. When we see Jesus we see God. God’s glory shines through Him. Jesus is the exact representation of God, not just a reflection or godly person or being. He is God.
It is through Jesus that we have a path to salvation. Through the cross we are cleansed of our sin. And since that sacrifice, Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God the Father, the place of honor. Jesus’ redeeming work is done and now reigns over all.
That is the Son of God. That is Jesus. That is God. And no angel can claim that. Sure, several places in the Old Testament angels are called the sons of God. But no angel was ever given the title “Son of God”.
The term sons of God simply refers to the position of being in the glory of God. The angels are God’s servants, but the true Son of God reigns as Sovereign Lord of all. The author of Hebrews repeatedly reinforces the Sovereignty of Jesus. This should bring us strength and encouragement.
We have a God that we can trust and rely on. We have a God who sacrificed His life for us, so that we may have eternal life with Him. We don’t worship angels thinking they can save us. Nor do we rely on them for our strength. Yes, they are here worshipping with us. Yes, God uses them to help us. But they, like us, are servants of God.
The angels were created by God. God is eternal and unchanging. Even after the rapture and Heaven and Earth are destroyed, God remains. Angels do play an important role in God’s creation and care and ministry to His people.
In fact, angels are to serve those who will inherit salvation. And that’s us. Angels are sent to serve us. That is their role. That is their destiny. That being said, I want to caution you though. Even though angels are here to serve us, we are not to command or pray to the angels.
Scripture makes that very clear to us. The New Age movement tries to encourage people getting into contact with angels in some way. That idea goes against Scripture. As we have talked about before, our prayers are to God the Father, the Son, and or the Holy Spirit.
So, we realize that Jesus is Sovereign Lord of all and the angels are His ministering servants. Angels are inferior to Jesus. This should not discourage us though and we should not discount their ministry. They serve God faithfully as we should do as well.
Angels are a unique part of God’s creation. We should not worship them or try to contact them, but we need to realize their purpose and the possibility of their presence in our lives. We all need help in our lives and God gives us what we need. Sometimes it might be the neighbor who helps us. Other times it might be an angel. Who knows.
There were several occasions in Jesus’ life that angels came and ministered to Him, even though He is superior to the angels. They were there at the beginning of His ministry when He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. They were also there near the end of His ministry that night in the garden.
The angels were ministering to Christ, who is Creator and Sustainer of all. They strengthened Him through His trials and temptations. If they can do that for Christ, imagine what they can do for us.
God knows what we need and He will give it to us. Let us remember that during our times of trouble.
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for our time in your Word this morning. We thank you for the ability and opportunity to continue our study of your unique creation of angels. Help us to truly understand what it is that you want us to know.
We thank you for sending us your angels to serve and to minister to us. But we ultimately thank you for your Son and the sacrifice that He made for our salvation. It is through his name that we pray and give thanks.
AMEN.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Angels are Among Us
Click here for audio message of – Genesis 18:1-8 and 19:1-3
In our Scripture reading this morning we continue our look at Angels. Often when we hear people talk about angels we think of the winged creatures flying around in the heavens, watching over us, or doing whatever it is that they do. Rarely do we envision angels looking like people.
However, we see in both of these instances angels appearing in human form to deliver a message. The angels that appear to Abraham had feet that needed washed so Abraham has some water brought to them so they can clean up.
The angels must have looked tired and hungry, because Abraham invites them to rest under a tree while he has a meal prepared for them. Abraham actually prepares quiet a feast and as I have said before food preparation was no quick and easy task in those days, so apparently these angels can eat.
It is also obvious from the Scripture that Abraham and Sarah, later on, are talking to these angels in their normal language. So far, these angels seem pretty much like normal humans. In fact, they are so much like humans that, that is exactly what Abraham thinks they are. We of course know that two of these men were angels and the third was the Lord.
After the angels and the Lord were finished talking to Abraham and Sarah, the two angels went to Sodom to meet and talk with Lot and actually announce judgment on the city and save Lot and his family from the destruction that was coming to the city.
These angels meet up with Lot at the city gate. Lot invites them to his house for some food and typical hospitality. The town gets word of these visitors and heads over to Lot’s house to essentially rape them. They bang on Lot’s door.
Lot goes out to try and calm the crowd down and get them to disperse and leave his visitors alone. In fact, Lot being the righteous person that he was, tells the crowd they can have at his daughters instead! The crowd refuses and presses in on Lot presumably going to attack and rape him now as well.
But the angels who were in the house opened the door, pulled Lot inside, and closed the door. I envision this happening in like a split second. The angels moved at the speed of light we would say and nobody realized what happened.
But then the people start banging on the door still trying to get at these mysterious guests of Lot. The angels now strike the crowd with blindness, but that doesn’t stop them from trying to get into the house. The Scripture says “they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.” These people wouldn’t give up. They wanted these visitors for their desires.
That is what unrepentant sin does do you. You have the lust and desire to sin and can think of nothing else. That is what this city was like and that is why the angels were there. To announce God’s judgment upon the city and to get Lot out of there.
The angels continue their conversation with Lot and tell him and his family to get out of the city the next day. The next morning the angels urge Lot to get him and his family moving. But Lot was not in any rush.
The angels knew they were there to protect Lot and they knew what they had to do. So the angels literally grabbed Lot, his wife, and their two daughters and drug them out of the city to safety. Of course, we know the story continues with Lot’s wife looking back and turning into a pillar of salt. But that isn’t the end of it, Lot’s two daughters decide to have children with their father to continue the family line. This city has corrupted this family indeed.
So here we see the power of angels. They can appear and act like humans, but they are not humans. People do not turn into angels when they die. Angels have supernatural power from God to do certain things as needed.
Lot thought he was protecting these visitors by offering his daughters to satisfy the desires of the crowd. In reality, the angels protected Lot and his family. Angels have the power to not only take care of us, but they can take care of themselves too.
That doesn’t however leave us off the hook. We are to treat people with hospitality because you never know when one of them may actually be an angel sent from God to help us. Often times God will use angels to protect us. We may not realize it, but angels are among us today.
We can see that God uses angels to rescue the righteous, to show mercy to those whom He wishes to show mercy. But He also uses angels to punish the wicked. We must also keep in mind that direct contact with angels is rare.
We should never try to initiate contact or summon them as you see in TV shows. In fact, in many of the biblical accounts of angels, the angel starts by saying, “Do not be afraid.” So I suppose some angels must be pretty scary looking or at least have a scary presence about them.
But we must, as bible believing Christians, believe in their existence and be aware of their presence and their possible intervention in our lives. Angels can appear like normal human beings to us and we may not even realize it.
I have read of several possible angelic encounters and I can’t say for sure if it was an angel at work or not, only God knows for sure. But I do know the things that have happened in my life and you know the things that have happened in your life.
Think back to those situations in your life where you needed help, a time of critical danger, a near car wreck or other disaster, or whatever.
No doubt there where things that happened to you that you still to this day cannot explain. Or maybe there were people that seemed to appear at just the right time and you never knew who they were, but they helped you out.
Did God send His angels to protect you? I don’t know. But let us make no mistake about it, God still uses angels today for His purposes.
We should be encouraged and strengthened in knowing this. Angels are watching over us in order to serve the Lord so that we may carry out the will of God in our lives. We should always be grateful of the mercy and love that God showers us with and uses angels to protect us.
Closing Prayer
Lord, we thank you for creating angels to watch over us and act as Your mighty servants. We are also open to Your intervention in our life. Keep us open to Your will so that we may serve You this week.
Keep Your angels close to us so that we may serve You more faithfully.
AMEN.
In our Scripture reading this morning we continue our look at Angels. Often when we hear people talk about angels we think of the winged creatures flying around in the heavens, watching over us, or doing whatever it is that they do. Rarely do we envision angels looking like people.
However, we see in both of these instances angels appearing in human form to deliver a message. The angels that appear to Abraham had feet that needed washed so Abraham has some water brought to them so they can clean up.
The angels must have looked tired and hungry, because Abraham invites them to rest under a tree while he has a meal prepared for them. Abraham actually prepares quiet a feast and as I have said before food preparation was no quick and easy task in those days, so apparently these angels can eat.
It is also obvious from the Scripture that Abraham and Sarah, later on, are talking to these angels in their normal language. So far, these angels seem pretty much like normal humans. In fact, they are so much like humans that, that is exactly what Abraham thinks they are. We of course know that two of these men were angels and the third was the Lord.
After the angels and the Lord were finished talking to Abraham and Sarah, the two angels went to Sodom to meet and talk with Lot and actually announce judgment on the city and save Lot and his family from the destruction that was coming to the city.
These angels meet up with Lot at the city gate. Lot invites them to his house for some food and typical hospitality. The town gets word of these visitors and heads over to Lot’s house to essentially rape them. They bang on Lot’s door.
Lot goes out to try and calm the crowd down and get them to disperse and leave his visitors alone. In fact, Lot being the righteous person that he was, tells the crowd they can have at his daughters instead! The crowd refuses and presses in on Lot presumably going to attack and rape him now as well.
But the angels who were in the house opened the door, pulled Lot inside, and closed the door. I envision this happening in like a split second. The angels moved at the speed of light we would say and nobody realized what happened.
But then the people start banging on the door still trying to get at these mysterious guests of Lot. The angels now strike the crowd with blindness, but that doesn’t stop them from trying to get into the house. The Scripture says “they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.” These people wouldn’t give up. They wanted these visitors for their desires.
That is what unrepentant sin does do you. You have the lust and desire to sin and can think of nothing else. That is what this city was like and that is why the angels were there. To announce God’s judgment upon the city and to get Lot out of there.
The angels continue their conversation with Lot and tell him and his family to get out of the city the next day. The next morning the angels urge Lot to get him and his family moving. But Lot was not in any rush.
The angels knew they were there to protect Lot and they knew what they had to do. So the angels literally grabbed Lot, his wife, and their two daughters and drug them out of the city to safety. Of course, we know the story continues with Lot’s wife looking back and turning into a pillar of salt. But that isn’t the end of it, Lot’s two daughters decide to have children with their father to continue the family line. This city has corrupted this family indeed.
So here we see the power of angels. They can appear and act like humans, but they are not humans. People do not turn into angels when they die. Angels have supernatural power from God to do certain things as needed.
Lot thought he was protecting these visitors by offering his daughters to satisfy the desires of the crowd. In reality, the angels protected Lot and his family. Angels have the power to not only take care of us, but they can take care of themselves too.
That doesn’t however leave us off the hook. We are to treat people with hospitality because you never know when one of them may actually be an angel sent from God to help us. Often times God will use angels to protect us. We may not realize it, but angels are among us today.
We can see that God uses angels to rescue the righteous, to show mercy to those whom He wishes to show mercy. But He also uses angels to punish the wicked. We must also keep in mind that direct contact with angels is rare.
We should never try to initiate contact or summon them as you see in TV shows. In fact, in many of the biblical accounts of angels, the angel starts by saying, “Do not be afraid.” So I suppose some angels must be pretty scary looking or at least have a scary presence about them.
But we must, as bible believing Christians, believe in their existence and be aware of their presence and their possible intervention in our lives. Angels can appear like normal human beings to us and we may not even realize it.
I have read of several possible angelic encounters and I can’t say for sure if it was an angel at work or not, only God knows for sure. But I do know the things that have happened in my life and you know the things that have happened in your life.
Think back to those situations in your life where you needed help, a time of critical danger, a near car wreck or other disaster, or whatever.
No doubt there where things that happened to you that you still to this day cannot explain. Or maybe there were people that seemed to appear at just the right time and you never knew who they were, but they helped you out.
Did God send His angels to protect you? I don’t know. But let us make no mistake about it, God still uses angels today for His purposes.
We should be encouraged and strengthened in knowing this. Angels are watching over us in order to serve the Lord so that we may carry out the will of God in our lives. We should always be grateful of the mercy and love that God showers us with and uses angels to protect us.
Closing Prayer
Lord, we thank you for creating angels to watch over us and act as Your mighty servants. We are also open to Your intervention in our life. Keep us open to Your will so that we may serve You this week.
Keep Your angels close to us so that we may serve You more faithfully.
AMEN.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Mothers to the Faithful
Click here for the audio message of – Acts 12:6-12
Chapter 12 of Acts brings about the death of James and the arrest of Peter. While Peter was in prison the church was praying for his release. Peter was heavily guarded with four squads of soldiers, each with four members.
Two guards were always chained to Peter and two were placed outside the door. Every few hours the squads would swap. Peter was probably heavily guarded because of the embarrassment the Romans suffered by Jesus’ resurrection.
So Peter was under heavy guard. There was no way he was going to escape. There was no way anyone was going to come and take him away. Peter was definitely going to stand before Herod the next day.
So there is Peter, chained to two guards and he is sound asleep. Peter never had trouble sleeping and I think that is because he knew who was in control of his life. He had faith and confidence in his Lord.
An angel appears and wakes Peter up and tells him to get dressed. Peter thought it was a dream so he would have left without his cloths and shoes. You know, that’s usually the way dreams go. The angel leads Peter past the guards and once Peter is a ways from the prison and is safe the angel leaves him.
Peter then realized that this was no dream and that God had delivered him. Peter continues on his way to Mary’s house, the mother of John Mark. It is also interesting to note that when Peter arrived at Mary’s house the people didn’t believe that it was Peter.
I find that interesting because here was the church praying for Peter’s release and then when Peter shows up they don’t believe it. They think the servant girl simply heard his spirit. They didn’t think their prayers would be answered.
We can take comfort in that. The early church with all of its power, and first hand knowledge of the apostles and of Jesus, still had their troubles. Still today, at times, when God answers our prayers we are surprised. What a wonderful and gracious God we have.
Well, by now you are probably starting to wonder what in the world this passage of Scripture has to do with mother’s day. That’s a good question because most people skip over the mother in our Scripture today.
That person is Mary the mother of John Mark. This is the only place in Scripture that we find her mentioned, but when can figure out a lot about her by this passage as well as from the life of her son Mark.
Today, the body of Christ meets in a building like this that we call the church. In the early days, the believers, who are called the church, met in people’s homes. So right away, the first thing we know about this women is the fact that she was a true believer. She had the church meeting at her house. Since it is referred to as her house, she was probably a widow as well.
She must have also been a relatively wealthy women to maintain a house large enough to accommodate a gathering of the church. We know that she had a servant girl at the house who answers the door and hears Peter. She must have also been well known because Peter knows exactly where to go once he left prison.
Mary must have been a very brave women as well. James, the brother of John was just executed as I said and it appeared that Peter was next. The followers of Christ were being persecuted for their beliefs.
But here is this women, opening her home to fellow believers. No doubt at great risk to her life and the lives of her loved ones.
This isn’t all that we know about Mary though. The rest of what we know about her comes from the life of her son John Mark. After Peter leaves the area, Paul and Barnabas visit Jerusalem. No doubt they would have came to Mary’s house because Barnabas was Mary’s nephew.
After a while, Paul and Barnabas leave and take her son Mark with them on their missionary journey. Something happens on the journey and Mark deserts them and heads back home to mom. Paul didn’t accept Mark’s reason for leaving and this later becomes a problem for Barnabas.
Mark’s leaving actually split up Paul and Barnabas for a time as well. But we do know that the relationships were reconciled near the end of Paul’s life. In fact, while Paul was in a Roman prison he actually sent for Mark and said he was useful in ministry.
As we know, John Mark became a devoted fellow worker for Christ and went on to write the inspired Gospel of Mark. Now, getting back to mother’s day. What does all this tell us about Mark’s mother, Mary?
Well for one thing, she raised her son according to the Word of God. She taught him what she knew and no doubt she lived the things she taught. She loved God. She raised a son who loved God too. She let him go out on a dangerous and potentially life threatening mission trip. She willingly raised her son for service to God.
No doubt, she also loving accepted her son back home after he deserted Paul and Barnabas. Mark knew that even if he was considered to be a failure by everyone his mother would still love and accept him. I’m am sure that while Mark was back at home his mother never stopped ministering to him.
In fact, I would bet that Mark’s mother played a big role in his return to the ministry. She no doubt knew that failure is often times a part of growing up and would remind him of those Old Testament saints that would fail God at times, but never gave up on God.
The life of John Mark demonstrates the power of a godly mother in their child’s life. Whether you mother’s out there realize it or not, you too have tremendous power over your children’s lives. And not just your children, but your husbands as well. You can use this power for godly good or worldly evil.
If you look back at the Old Testament Kings you will see many scriptures that read something like this, “In such and such a year, so and so becomes King and reigns for so many years and his mother’s name was so and so.” Most of these Kings were pretty bad, but some were good. Whether good or bad kings, there mother’s name is mentioned and associated with their reign.
Mother’s surely do have a tremendous influence in the lives of their children.
If you are a mother to young children, then raise your children in the ways of God and give them into His service. Live your life as you want your children to live. Set an example for your children to follow.
If you are mother to adult children, remember to always open your door to them. Allow them to come back to you when they fail. Don’t criticize or condemn them, just continue to minister to your children throughout their lives. Encourage them, be there for them, and pray for them.
Mary the mother of John Mark was indeed an extraordinary mother. She gets no applause. She gets no thank yous. Rather she simply gives herself to her loved ones. She gives to God all that she has. That is what makes a mother extraordinary.
Closing Prayer
Lord we thank you for the mother’s that we have. We thank you that you made them to be kind, compassionate, and nurturing to us. We thank you for the many lessons we have learned from them.
We pray for our mother’s here this morning. We pray that they may see their children grow in the faith and raise them for your service, honor and glory. AMEN.
Chapter 12 of Acts brings about the death of James and the arrest of Peter. While Peter was in prison the church was praying for his release. Peter was heavily guarded with four squads of soldiers, each with four members.
Two guards were always chained to Peter and two were placed outside the door. Every few hours the squads would swap. Peter was probably heavily guarded because of the embarrassment the Romans suffered by Jesus’ resurrection.
So Peter was under heavy guard. There was no way he was going to escape. There was no way anyone was going to come and take him away. Peter was definitely going to stand before Herod the next day.
So there is Peter, chained to two guards and he is sound asleep. Peter never had trouble sleeping and I think that is because he knew who was in control of his life. He had faith and confidence in his Lord.
An angel appears and wakes Peter up and tells him to get dressed. Peter thought it was a dream so he would have left without his cloths and shoes. You know, that’s usually the way dreams go. The angel leads Peter past the guards and once Peter is a ways from the prison and is safe the angel leaves him.
Peter then realized that this was no dream and that God had delivered him. Peter continues on his way to Mary’s house, the mother of John Mark. It is also interesting to note that when Peter arrived at Mary’s house the people didn’t believe that it was Peter.
I find that interesting because here was the church praying for Peter’s release and then when Peter shows up they don’t believe it. They think the servant girl simply heard his spirit. They didn’t think their prayers would be answered.
We can take comfort in that. The early church with all of its power, and first hand knowledge of the apostles and of Jesus, still had their troubles. Still today, at times, when God answers our prayers we are surprised. What a wonderful and gracious God we have.
Well, by now you are probably starting to wonder what in the world this passage of Scripture has to do with mother’s day. That’s a good question because most people skip over the mother in our Scripture today.
That person is Mary the mother of John Mark. This is the only place in Scripture that we find her mentioned, but when can figure out a lot about her by this passage as well as from the life of her son Mark.
Today, the body of Christ meets in a building like this that we call the church. In the early days, the believers, who are called the church, met in people’s homes. So right away, the first thing we know about this women is the fact that she was a true believer. She had the church meeting at her house. Since it is referred to as her house, she was probably a widow as well.
She must have also been a relatively wealthy women to maintain a house large enough to accommodate a gathering of the church. We know that she had a servant girl at the house who answers the door and hears Peter. She must have also been well known because Peter knows exactly where to go once he left prison.
Mary must have been a very brave women as well. James, the brother of John was just executed as I said and it appeared that Peter was next. The followers of Christ were being persecuted for their beliefs.
But here is this women, opening her home to fellow believers. No doubt at great risk to her life and the lives of her loved ones.
This isn’t all that we know about Mary though. The rest of what we know about her comes from the life of her son John Mark. After Peter leaves the area, Paul and Barnabas visit Jerusalem. No doubt they would have came to Mary’s house because Barnabas was Mary’s nephew.
After a while, Paul and Barnabas leave and take her son Mark with them on their missionary journey. Something happens on the journey and Mark deserts them and heads back home to mom. Paul didn’t accept Mark’s reason for leaving and this later becomes a problem for Barnabas.
Mark’s leaving actually split up Paul and Barnabas for a time as well. But we do know that the relationships were reconciled near the end of Paul’s life. In fact, while Paul was in a Roman prison he actually sent for Mark and said he was useful in ministry.
As we know, John Mark became a devoted fellow worker for Christ and went on to write the inspired Gospel of Mark. Now, getting back to mother’s day. What does all this tell us about Mark’s mother, Mary?
Well for one thing, she raised her son according to the Word of God. She taught him what she knew and no doubt she lived the things she taught. She loved God. She raised a son who loved God too. She let him go out on a dangerous and potentially life threatening mission trip. She willingly raised her son for service to God.
No doubt, she also loving accepted her son back home after he deserted Paul and Barnabas. Mark knew that even if he was considered to be a failure by everyone his mother would still love and accept him. I’m am sure that while Mark was back at home his mother never stopped ministering to him.
In fact, I would bet that Mark’s mother played a big role in his return to the ministry. She no doubt knew that failure is often times a part of growing up and would remind him of those Old Testament saints that would fail God at times, but never gave up on God.
The life of John Mark demonstrates the power of a godly mother in their child’s life. Whether you mother’s out there realize it or not, you too have tremendous power over your children’s lives. And not just your children, but your husbands as well. You can use this power for godly good or worldly evil.
If you look back at the Old Testament Kings you will see many scriptures that read something like this, “In such and such a year, so and so becomes King and reigns for so many years and his mother’s name was so and so.” Most of these Kings were pretty bad, but some were good. Whether good or bad kings, there mother’s name is mentioned and associated with their reign.
Mother’s surely do have a tremendous influence in the lives of their children.
If you are a mother to young children, then raise your children in the ways of God and give them into His service. Live your life as you want your children to live. Set an example for your children to follow.
If you are mother to adult children, remember to always open your door to them. Allow them to come back to you when they fail. Don’t criticize or condemn them, just continue to minister to your children throughout their lives. Encourage them, be there for them, and pray for them.
Mary the mother of John Mark was indeed an extraordinary mother. She gets no applause. She gets no thank yous. Rather she simply gives herself to her loved ones. She gives to God all that she has. That is what makes a mother extraordinary.
Closing Prayer
Lord we thank you for the mother’s that we have. We thank you that you made them to be kind, compassionate, and nurturing to us. We thank you for the many lessons we have learned from them.
We pray for our mother’s here this morning. We pray that they may see their children grow in the faith and raise them for your service, honor and glory. AMEN.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Angels: Burning in God’s Presence
Click here for the audio message of – Isaiah 6:1-7
Chapter 6 starts the call and commission of Isaiah the prophet. The King is dead after 52 years of reigning over his people. King Uzziah was considered to be a good king overall and the southern kingdom of Judah was blessed during his reign, according to God’s promises.
But now that the King is dead, Isaiah is sad, afraid, and concerned for the future. He knows the history of the Israelites and He knows what will happen. They will be taken captive again and their prosperity and blessings from God will cease.
So what does Isaiah do? He does what all of us should do when we are distressed, upset, afraid, or concerned. He goes to the temple, a place to be with God. He comes to the earthly temple seeking comfort from God and he was given this vision of the heavenly temple.
Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on His throne. The temple shook and smoke filled the air. He sees these beings hovering above the Lord. And they would call out to each other singing, “Holy, Holy. Holy, is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory.”
What a sight to see and experience. Most of us today would pull out our cell phones or digital camera’s and start snapping pictures to send to all of our friends, but not Isaiah. He was overwhelmed with the presence of God.
As he looked around he realized how unworthy he was. He realized he fell way short of perfection. He saw God’s purity, His majesty, His holiness.
Isaiah cries out, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips.” He realized that the only thing he was worthy of was God’s wrath and judgment. And not only himself but also of those around him.
It exposed the corruption of his society. The same holds true for us today as well. The closer and closer we get to God the more we realize that we too are unworthy of His blessings and that our society is also deserving of nothing but God’s judgment and wrath.
After Isaiah said these thing an angel, a seraphim, flew over to him and touched his lips with a burning coal. Isaiah was purified because he realized his unworthiness. God cleansed him and Isaiah repented of his sin. Repentance is truly painful, but satisfyingly joyful as well.
What an experience this must have been for Isaiah. There are so many things we could investigate here, but this morning I want to focus on those angelic beings, the seraphs or seraphims.
Seraphim are around the throne of God. We don’t know much about them as they are only mentioned a few times in Scripture. Much of what we do know, however, can be gleaned from this passage and Isaiah’s experience.
We know the word Serpah means to burn. So the Serpahims are called the burning ones. These angels are the closest to God. They fly around Him praising Him and glorifying Him. They burn with God’s holiness.
We need to remember that angels are personal beings. They have intelligence. They are not just mindless robots obeying commands. Rather, they have a deep desire and ability to see and respond to God’s glory.
Angels have a will of their own, however, their will is in perfect tune with the will of God and therefore act obediently to what God commands. Angels have the ability to speak as we see in our passage this morning. They are praising God as well as talking to Isaiah.
Angels are a unique part of God’s creation. They were created to relate to people and to God. They assist God in carrying out His will. They also assist people with carrying out God’s will as well.
As I mentioned the seraphs are the closest angels to God. As I said, they fly around God’s throne and praise Him continually. They simply worship God perpetually. So when we come here each week and worship God we are not alone with our worship. The seraphs are worshipping with us as well.
I think we often times forget that today. We need to pass the truth about angels on to our children and other believers. Angels are used by God throughout the bible. We sing hymns that have references to angels in them.
Of course, we must have our scripture correct. We should never worship angels, but we should remember that they too worship the God we worship. They worship with us and we worship God with them.
I have heard from Christians that don’t believe in angels. I always wonder what other portions of Scripture they don’t believe in as well. Angels are a part of God’s creation, they are described throughout His Word. Angels are real and they are here serving God.
Think about Isaiah’s experience and how he must have felt as he left the temple that day. He went there in grief and concern, but left with probably the best worship experience of his life.
Think about your own life and worship experiences. Can you think of a time when you felt very close to God during a worship service? What is preventing you from that same feeling again?
I am sure after this experience, Isaiah’s own personal worship of God was changed for the rest of his life. Think about your most memorial worship of God this week and try to worship God like you felt that day.
As we worship God we become closer to Him. And that is our ultimate goal, right?
Closing Prayer
Lord, we thank you for our time in your word this morning. Help us to learn the mysteries of your word and help us to realize the presence of angels with us. Fill us with your spirit so that we too may be close to you, praising you each and every day of our lives like the seraphim.
AMEN
Chapter 6 starts the call and commission of Isaiah the prophet. The King is dead after 52 years of reigning over his people. King Uzziah was considered to be a good king overall and the southern kingdom of Judah was blessed during his reign, according to God’s promises.
But now that the King is dead, Isaiah is sad, afraid, and concerned for the future. He knows the history of the Israelites and He knows what will happen. They will be taken captive again and their prosperity and blessings from God will cease.
So what does Isaiah do? He does what all of us should do when we are distressed, upset, afraid, or concerned. He goes to the temple, a place to be with God. He comes to the earthly temple seeking comfort from God and he was given this vision of the heavenly temple.
Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on His throne. The temple shook and smoke filled the air. He sees these beings hovering above the Lord. And they would call out to each other singing, “Holy, Holy. Holy, is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory.”
What a sight to see and experience. Most of us today would pull out our cell phones or digital camera’s and start snapping pictures to send to all of our friends, but not Isaiah. He was overwhelmed with the presence of God.
As he looked around he realized how unworthy he was. He realized he fell way short of perfection. He saw God’s purity, His majesty, His holiness.
Isaiah cries out, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips.” He realized that the only thing he was worthy of was God’s wrath and judgment. And not only himself but also of those around him.
It exposed the corruption of his society. The same holds true for us today as well. The closer and closer we get to God the more we realize that we too are unworthy of His blessings and that our society is also deserving of nothing but God’s judgment and wrath.
After Isaiah said these thing an angel, a seraphim, flew over to him and touched his lips with a burning coal. Isaiah was purified because he realized his unworthiness. God cleansed him and Isaiah repented of his sin. Repentance is truly painful, but satisfyingly joyful as well.
What an experience this must have been for Isaiah. There are so many things we could investigate here, but this morning I want to focus on those angelic beings, the seraphs or seraphims.
Seraphim are around the throne of God. We don’t know much about them as they are only mentioned a few times in Scripture. Much of what we do know, however, can be gleaned from this passage and Isaiah’s experience.
We know the word Serpah means to burn. So the Serpahims are called the burning ones. These angels are the closest to God. They fly around Him praising Him and glorifying Him. They burn with God’s holiness.
We need to remember that angels are personal beings. They have intelligence. They are not just mindless robots obeying commands. Rather, they have a deep desire and ability to see and respond to God’s glory.
Angels have a will of their own, however, their will is in perfect tune with the will of God and therefore act obediently to what God commands. Angels have the ability to speak as we see in our passage this morning. They are praising God as well as talking to Isaiah.
Angels are a unique part of God’s creation. They were created to relate to people and to God. They assist God in carrying out His will. They also assist people with carrying out God’s will as well.
As I mentioned the seraphs are the closest angels to God. As I said, they fly around God’s throne and praise Him continually. They simply worship God perpetually. So when we come here each week and worship God we are not alone with our worship. The seraphs are worshipping with us as well.
I think we often times forget that today. We need to pass the truth about angels on to our children and other believers. Angels are used by God throughout the bible. We sing hymns that have references to angels in them.
Of course, we must have our scripture correct. We should never worship angels, but we should remember that they too worship the God we worship. They worship with us and we worship God with them.
I have heard from Christians that don’t believe in angels. I always wonder what other portions of Scripture they don’t believe in as well. Angels are a part of God’s creation, they are described throughout His Word. Angels are real and they are here serving God.
Think about Isaiah’s experience and how he must have felt as he left the temple that day. He went there in grief and concern, but left with probably the best worship experience of his life.
Think about your own life and worship experiences. Can you think of a time when you felt very close to God during a worship service? What is preventing you from that same feeling again?
I am sure after this experience, Isaiah’s own personal worship of God was changed for the rest of his life. Think about your most memorial worship of God this week and try to worship God like you felt that day.
As we worship God we become closer to Him. And that is our ultimate goal, right?
Closing Prayer
Lord, we thank you for our time in your word this morning. Help us to learn the mysteries of your word and help us to realize the presence of angels with us. Fill us with your spirit so that we too may be close to you, praising you each and every day of our lives like the seraphim.
AMEN
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